If you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in our house:

My side of the story:
Today was the big day!  I was to finally run my very first half-marathon and enter the world of the serious runners.  Last night I carefully chose my clothes and laid them out in preparation for my big run.  I got to bed early.  I drank plenty of water.  I did everything right except for one glaring mistake.  I thought the race was at 7am.  Well, it was at 7.  But I also thought that it was Daylight Savings time this weekend.  To be sure, I had checked it on the internet.  Indeed, it did say that October 25th was Daylight Savings, and Aaron confirmed it as well.  So we set all our clocks back. 

I arrived at the race about 10 til 7.  As I was parking, I noticed a few runners already on their way.  Strange.  But then I figured they were the true marathoners and were probably running a full marathon today and had a head start.  As I neared the race course, I began to realize my terrible mistake...there were a whole lot of people running.  In fact, everyone but me seemed to be running.  I checked my watch and saw it was still 3 minutes to 7.(yes, I was cutting it close anyway)  And then I saw the Marthon Clock which said 00:57:23.  Nope...the 57 wasn't seconds, but minutes.  They were already 57 minutes into the race! Oops. I guess it wasn't Daylight Savings after all.  My heart in my throat, I jumped on the course at the start line and took off running at an incredible pace.  Adrenaline rushing, I powered my way past scores of people, trying to regain the lost hour. 

I did okay until about mile 7.  I hit a wall; I was running much too fast and it was catching up with me.  I slowed up a bit and ran the next few miles at this more moderate pace.  About this time, the race course had cleared ( I was on my third and final lap and everyone else had already finished) A cop car rolled up behind me and announced on his loudspeaker that I would have to get off the road because they were opening it up to traffic again.  I was mortified.  He encouraged me to quit and head back.  I did consider it.  I was terribly embarassed to be out here (mostly) by myself and I felt sad and tired.  But, I remembered the poster my MOPs group had made for me.  Each one had signed their names with a word of encouragement for the race.  I looked around me.  There was nobody left handing out drinks.  Those who had been cheering us on had already gone back and I was alone...except for a very old man who was about 1/2 mile ahead of me.  I imagined my MOPs group standing along the sidelines, cheering me on...hoping and believing in me.  I pressed on, stopping occasionally on the last two miles to walk for a bit.  I finally finished the race just barely ahead of the very sweet old man, so I guess I can say I was not the very last person! 

My time?  It was 3 hrs and 37 minutes according to their clock.  But it was 2hrs and 37minutes by my stopwatch.  The volunteers at the finish line were packing up when they noticed me coming in.  A cheer went up and they joined me and ran the last tenth of a mile with me, encouraging me all the way.  What a sweet group of people!

His side of the story:
Meanwhile, back at the homestead, Aaron was playing Mr. Mom.  He had agreed to meet me at the 10 mile marker at 9am (what we now realize was 10am by everyone else's clock) He decided to leave at 8am so that he could have plenty of time to get there and park.  By 8, the boys were both ready to go.  Well, at least they had clothes on...Jackson's clothes were pajamas, but why should that matter?  As he was about to walk out the door, he realized he hadn't fed Jackson yet.  After a bottle, he tried to leave again.  But Jackson's projectile spitup and poopy diaper meant a trip back to the house for clean clothes.  Well, Jackson has had a bit of a growth spurt and some of his clothes are a bit small for him.  So Aaron finally arrives at the race course, two boys and a dog in tow...Jackson wearing a rather ill-fitting shirt with a bare midriff.  But I've never seen a more welcome sight than my three boys walking towards me, all smiles.  Thank you Aaron for all the effort you put into that!

Well, the moral of the story is you can't trust anything you read on the internet.  We even checked it again when we got home and found that some websites say Daylight Savings is today...others claim it is November 1st.  After a cozy nap, we reflected on my marvelous acheivement.  "I feel so accomplished" I said "like I've made a major acheivement, beyond the daily dishes and laundry" I quipped, wiping spitup off my ear.  Well, it is a huge accomplishment.  I plan to run it again sometime, and this time I'll be there when it starts.  Meanwhile, I need to go set my clocks back. 

I'm sure you have all been waiting breathlessly to hear about my progress The sad truth is that after weeks of struggling forward, I am still no closer to my goal than I was before.  We are eating very healthy these days - Aaron has lost 10 lbs (!) and his wedding ring is loose.  But I haven't lost an ounce!  I got Caleb's stomach virus and was violently ill, unable to keep even water down for 36 hours.  I still didn't lose an ounce. 

The half-marathon is a week from tomorrow and I've been training arduously in the sweltering heat and humidity (somewhat akin to running through a hot bathtub, uphill, pushing 60 squirming pounds).  It's very difficult to muster the gumption to run in such depressing weather.  It's simply unconstitutional that temperatures can be ninety plus in OCTOBER! Fortunately, we had a breakthrough yesterday and a 'cold' front brought temperatures down to the 70s.  With the onset of these arctic temperatures, we've all experienced coughs, sore throats, and even some minor frostbite. (grins)

I was supposed to go to my Mary Kay training this Tuesday (which I do every other week and usually enjoy).  But this Tuesday was different.  I felt incredibly bloated and found to my horror that none of my clothes would fit in an acceptable manner.  After trying on my fifth shirt, which clung to my belly and accentuated the stubborn baby pounds, I melted to the ground in a heap of tears.  Defeated, depressed and a little hopeless.  I wallowed in this state of self pity for about 45 seconds.  I was getting angry. I could feel the frustration building, the adrenaline rising.  And anyone who's ever been angry, knows that it is the best time for a good run.  I scrambled into my running gear, grabbed my i-pod and fled out the door, leaving the bewildered children with Aaron. 

Despite the heat and humidity, I had a great run.  I felt better.  Fall was in the air; or at least on the front porches of every house in the neighborhood.  There are enough pumpkins on this street to feed a starving village for a month...funny that there are people starving and yet we decorate with food!  Stranger still the things you think about while you have a long run in front of you.

I ran six miles that night.  Today I ran 10.  We are only one week away from Race day - next Sunday.  I think I'm ready.  Pushing the baby jogger has been a great form of resistance training!  When I leave the boys at home, I feel like I'm flying down the trail.  It's very freeing.  I don't know when I will lose this weight.  I have run the gauntlet of emotions from patience to desperation many times; but I am never complacent. I've set a new goal.  I want to lose all this weight by Thanksgiving.  I'm open to suggestions or ideas. 

Meanwhile, I ventured out and purchased some larger sized clothing.  At least I can feel well dressed.  People say I look as though I've lost weight - I guess all that working out is doing some good after all, even if the scale says otherwise.  It's a journey; a challenge.  I like challenges.