I wish I could say that we had a wonderful weekend, planting flowers that we bought at the Farmer’s Market, and a fun trip with the kids to the Greensboro Children’s Museum… but life had other plans for us. I sure am thankful to be feeling better, because the past 4 days have been very challenging. It all started Wednesday night….
It was one of those horrible, nightmarish nights that I’m sure I’ll look back on someday and say, “Wow that sucked, but we got through it.” Gabe threw up everywhere. In my bed. In his bed. On the carpet. In the bathroom. In the kitchen. In the hallway. And finally he got it right–in the toilet. Sorry, TMI. There were about 8 bouts of puke for the poor kid. In addition to the runs, and of course, a fever. I ended up staying home with him on Thursday since he was in such bad shape. I did have to go into work for an awards presentation for our project team, so Javi came home to stay with Gabe for a few hours (Asher, meanwhile, was at daycare, away from his brother’s germs).
With 5 loads of laundry in (pretty much every sheet we owned was soiled), I *thought* we were in the clear. My parents arrived Thursday evening, and we had a nice dinner at home, since I didn’t want to go out with a 4-year-old with a stomach bug, and turns out Asher’s ear infection is still not gone… so he’s on his 3rd round of antibiotics. Sigh. I won’t take good health for granted again for a looooong time.
Friday was Good Friday, so I had the day off. Since I missed my run Thursday, taking care of Gabe at home, I decided to just get my long run done on Friday, and out of the way. I wanted to do 10 miles, since my race is in one week–gulp. My dad said, “You’re not quite ready for the race, are you?” And I replied… well, I’m a little undertrained [thanks to several long runs sabotaged by the GI distress], but I’d rather be undertrained than overtrained. I’ll gut it out. So anyways, I was very careful about what I ate the night prior. The morning of, I had half a banana, and half a cup of oatmeal with strawberry jam, and then waited 1.5 hours before running. Then Gatorade and 2 packets of GU during the run. Worked out great!
I went to Salem Lake, did my usual clockwise route, with a stop at the bathroom around mile 4, did 2 miles of the extension (to add to the 7 mile loop), and an addition mile up a trail I had never been on. Felt OK the whole time… not completely rested from being up all night with Gabe two nights prior, and not super well-fueled because of a loss in appetite after dealing with all the mess. But I felt OK through mile 8, averaging about 9:45/mile, then the heat started to get to me (it was 74* and sunny–it was late morning already). The last 2 miles I didn’t do so well, but I really didn’t care. I stopped to take some running pics:
And I just wanted to get to 10 miles, which I did. So 3.1 more added on next weekend… it’ll be challenging, but I know I can do it. Will I get a PR? Only time will tell. I think I’m fit enough, but not sure I’ll be able to maintain my goal pace of 8:35/mile throughout.
I came back from the run, and my mom had made some Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden soup recipe), which was amazing. I was hungry like a bear. I wanted to eat everything in sight to refuel. She, Gabe, and I went to Costco and Dewey’s Bakery later on…
…and when I got back, my stomach was rumbly. I couldn’t tell if it was upset, or just hungry, so I went with hungry and had a bowl of her second batch of soup, chicken & black bean. It has cilantro in it, tasted great, and the house smelled wonderful. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter I began to feel yucky… and after a few trips to the bathroom, I knew I got what Gabe had. I can deal with the runs, it probably won’t last long, just as long as I don’t throw up.
It went from bad to worse for me, and I ended up losing all the lunch/snacks I had earlier… gross…dang, I absolutely hate being sick. I went to bed Friday around 8:30, feeling completely miserable. Saturday morning was no better. I slept in til 9, which was awesome, so I thought maybe everything is better?! Nope… went downstairs, only to find Asher had the runs too–and had projectile vomited on my mom… twice. UGH. Gabe seemed to be better, though. So I deemed it the 48 hour bug, since he was sick for two solid days. The doctor told us Thursday that half of Kernersville has it… but that doesn’t make me feel any better!
To make a long story short, my mom ended up sick too. They left this morning–Easter morning. I didn’t do Easter baskets, or prepare an eggs for a hunt, since I didn’t feel well. Javi woke up feeling crummy. So everyone got it except my dad, and time will tell if he stays healthy. I pray he does, because this was a miserable way to spend a long weekend. My race is in 7 days. Hoping I get my strength back. I felt so weak yesterday–Javi wanted to go see “The Imitation Game” and I’ve really wanted to see it, so I went with. While he ate buttery popcorn and drank Sierra Mist, I ate Saltines and drank apple juice. I saw my reflection in the bathroom later, looking all pale and sickly. Not a good way to enter race week, but I’ll make it work. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t run a fast time.
I updated my 2015 mileage on the Race Schedule page. I hit 200 miles on my last run in March! I’m really happy to be so consistent thus far this year. I think if I could remain consistent, I will see the speed and endurance gains I’d like to see. Right now, I’m just thankful for my family, this weekend to relax and recover, and for keeping my breakfast down. I really missed coffee… and my buttermilk pancakes were the bomb.com this morning 😉
Here’s a few favorites of the boys (and one of Baby Kitty!) from the past two weeks:
Boys were both feeling better today, after big naps:
My favorite pics are of the boys together. I’m so glad they have each other. We didn’t do a darn thing for Easter, so no cute outfits or anything. All good… my boys are cute regardless of outfits 😉
Lastly (cuz I know this turned into a super long post), Gabe has some budding photog skills 🙂 Check it out! Have a great week!
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