Oh treadmill! How I have missed you!!!

I love my kids. Having kids is wonderful, but the thing nobody tells you (well one of the things nobody tells you) is that kids are carrier monkeys.  They are always bringing home some sort of germ and this year it has been especially bad.  I have even accused them of going around and licking things in public places.  So you have three choices with kids: 1) Never go anywhere (a fate worse than death!) 2) dress them in hazmat suits or 3) just know they are going to get sick and deal with it.  As my doctor said, "There is no if, it is when.  They will get sick now or later.  It is called building their immune system."  And the kids have been filling up their immunity punch cards at a break neck speed this year.

However, this last rounds of germs was brought to our house by me!  Was I licking things?  I don't know how it happened but last Friday (the day I ditched the gym for the mall) I started to get a cold.  And this particular strain has been nasty and clingy.  I have been having a hard time shaking it.  It was then passed to Emerson (who now has an ear infection from it) and then Kevin.  Mason is our last hold out but he just sneezed and said, "I think I'm sick."  Ugh!

So as you can imagine all this sickness has put a major kink in my training schedule.  The kink being that I didn't have a training schedule this past week.  Each day I thought I would be able to squeeze in at least a short gym session, but each day it just was not possible.  As the days without a workout passed my anxiety grew.  I am not going to be able to finish this half marathon was the thought that was constantly running through my mind.  I think I can actually feel my butt getting bigger was the other thought.  I hadn't done a long run since April 11th and I was starting to feel everything I had worked for slipping away.

Kevin could tell how upset I was and, even though he was feeling really bad yesterday, he made sure I was able to run.  I only had time to run 4 miles, but those 4 miles felt wonderful.  I was a little apprehensive about how I would do.  I hadn't really run in a week and a half (the horror!) and I was still a little sick.  But I got on the treadmill, cranked up the music, and enjoyed every blissful step I took.  Oh how I had missed the feel of that moving belt beneath my feet.  When my time was up I felt renewed, calmer, and more at peace with my ability to finish the half marathon.  Of course I won't feel totally better until I can fit in another long run, but my fears of unraveling all my training in a week were unfounded.  Three weeks until race day!  I think know I can!