I've been meaning for ages now to really step it up when it comes to my running regimen but just haven't quite gotten there. That stomach bug the other week didn't help matters. I'd pledged to myself to run 6 days that week. Lying on the couch wanting to vomit sort of puts a damper on plans like that. Oh well.
One thing that has been helping are the runs we make on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I take E in his buggy and meet the Husband about 1.5 miles from the house as he's on his way home. We also take loads of walks during the week just to keep my weekly distance up even if the cardio is a bit lacking. So what's the next step? How do I actually make sure I'm in good enough shape to run the Grim come December? Because we've already registered and paid. Somewhere, there's a size small t-shirt with my name on it...err, figuratively speaking, that is. My thought: Saturday runs.
I grant that this isn't easy on the face of it. Saturdays in this house mean cleaning and grocery shopping and random errands that don't make the grade during the week. Last week, Saturday meant child-proofing all the cabinets in our house so that E would stop trying to fling my dishes on the floor or wander around wielding a hammer or a spanner like he was Thor, God of Stealing Daddy's Tools. (Or of Thunder...you choose.) This Saturday will be grocery shopping and a bit of General Conference with some game-oriented candy-eating thrown in for good measure.
But Saturdays also mean that I have the Husband at home. He can stay in and watch E if I need to run alone, or he can be my running and buggy-pushing partner for motivation on longer runs. He can suggest new and fun routes to run to keep my interest engaged and remind me to charge my iPod so I have something to listen to while I'm pounding the pavement.
Another idea is to start sneaking in morning runs. You see, E likes to get up early and he generally spends about 2 hours of a morning with his dad. They eat cereal together, wash/brandish the dishes (I'll leave you to guess who does which), get clean and dressed, and spend a bit of time reading a few blogs. Normally, I spend this time sleeping since E gets up a few times a night and needs calming or a feed. The past few nights have been worse as, judging by two razor sharp patches on his lower gums, I think we are finally teething for realsies. But perhaps, once the emergence of baby fangs has passed, I can sacrifice an hour's sleep to go do short 3-milers of a morning. And since I definitely have Tuesday and Thursday evening family runs to look forward to, I wouldn't even have to make this Herculean effort every weekday. That way, dinner never needs to be postponed in the evenings for the sake of a quick whip round the block in my lycra spandex shorts.
We'll just have to see. I think I have to commit to testing out both of these ideas in what remains of this week. Otherwise, I'm sure nothing will come of it and I'll end the Grim vowing never to run again. And since I'm squinting with steely-eyed determination right now thinking of running that Fleet half marathon come March, not running ever again really isn't an option. Maybe I can just bribe myself...
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