Just Because

After finally looking at my Garmin on Sunday night, I was really thrilled to see my splits from the race - 7:34, 7:18, 7:09, 6:46. It doesn't get much better than that!

Later Sunday, my knee was feeling a bit stiff and creaky, and I wondered if I should maybe not run on Monday. But then I thought maybe a slow recovery run was a better idea, so that's what I did. A nice, slow 2.8 miles (around a 9:30 pace).

I have to say, even at that slower pace, it was one of the toughest runs I've had in a while. Running a 23:30 5K definitely took its toll on me. Nothing was painful, I just could tell that I had run really fast the day before, and my body was very grateful that I wasn't asking it do that again.

In the end, though, I think the run was the right idea. I took a long, long time stretching afterward, and felt much better later that day.

So much better that I ran again on Tuesday!  I had wanted that to be my tempo run for the week, but I also knew that if I was still feeling tired, I wouldn't push it too hard. As it turned out, I was able to complete my 4 miles in just over 32 minutes, and aside from the first mile, which was a bit of a struggle, it all felt fine, and I was glad I went.

Swam today - no drills, just a bunch of 100s and 200s, for 1200m total. And tomorrow is a nice, easy 3 miles. I want to be sure to take it easy, because I've got my 10-miler on Saturday. Woohoo!!!!  Not sure if I'll be doing that on my own or with the running club. Either way, though, I'm really looking forward to it.

We had music class this morning, and one of the things she took out for the kids to play with were hula hoops. Gabe and Dante both loved them! It got a bit chaotic, with a roomful of toddlers playing with hula hoops, but it was fun to watch.

Gabe has been fixated lately on buying new toothpaste. He saw some sparkly, flashy tube of kids' toothpaste in the store one day, and insisted that we buy it, but I told him that he had plenty of toothpaste at home, and we didn't need to buy any more until that was all gone.

Apparently he planned on making that happen sooner rather than later. He came bursting into our room at 2am a few nights ago, and came running over to my side of the bed and informed me that "We need to buy more toothpaste, because I brushed my teeth."

I followed him down to the bathroom, where he had in fact brushed his teeth. And given that I had at one point locked up the toothpaste because I found him trying to eat it, I'm guessing that he was probably 'snacking' on it again, in an attempt to use it all up so that we would have to buy more. So toothpaste is once again a contraband item in our household.

And I think I've mentioned  about how Gabe is completely obsessed with gloves. Well, that hasn't abated at all. If anything, he grows more interested in all things glove-related. Any time he sees a picture of someone wearing gloves, he asks us "What do they have on their hands?"  And he always wants to know WHY they're wearing gloves.

So last night, he went over and got a pair of my gloves, and insisted that I put them on, so I did. And he came over and gave me a big hug and said "I love you, Mommy." Just joking around, I asked him "Do you love me more because I have gloves on?"  And he said "Yes."   I'm beginning to wonder if I can use this to my advantage. Will he listen and follow directions better if I have gloves on????  Hmmmm.....   

When Dante had Early Intervention the other day, she mentioned that one of the things we could work with now is modeling the use of the word "I" for him, and I guess he was listening, because now he's constantly saying "I do it." Such a big boy.

He gave me a lot of trouble about going to bed tonight. Naptime was fine. He fussed for a couple minutes, but then went to sleep and took a great nap.

But at bedtime, he was just freaking out. Crying and saying "No, no, no, no!" 

I tried asking him what was wrong. He said "out. play."

I tried asking him why he didn't want to go to sleep. He said "because."

I tried explaining to him that he didn't have to go to sleep right away, he could read some books in his bed.

I tried explaining to him that it was nighttime and everyone was going to sleep.

I tried explaining to him that I was going to lose my mind if he didn't just lay down and go to sleep.

Ok, I didn't say THAT to him, but I was growing increasingly frustrated and angry about the whole situation, and I could feel my blood pressure rising.

Then I sat down with him in the rocking chair, and I wrapped his blankie around him, and I sat and held him and listened to his slow, steady breathing.

And I thought about all the nights I sat there with him when he was an infant, falling asleep with him after a middle-of-the-night feeding.

And I thought about how I used to be able to nestle him in the crook of my arm, and now here he was with his arms wrapped around me and his legs sprawled off the edge of my lap.

And then I imagined a day many years from now, when I might be sitting on the couch at 7pm reading, or watching TV, and feeling sad that my boys are grown up and out doing their own thing, living their own lives.

And I imagined myself, years from now, feeling a lot of sadness and regret that I didn't realize what a gift it was to sit quietly with my baby while I had the chance.

I don't want to feel that regret.

So I took a deep breath, and I kissed his forehead and rubbed his back, and I sat there a little longer than I needed to.

Just because I could.

Comments

[Shawn]

Yes we do need to cherish every moment with our little ones.

[Wes]

Hmmmm. I need to check into the dietary benefits of tooth paste :-) Maybe Gabe is on to something! Great post!! I remember carrying my 16 year old around in the crook of my arm....

[Sarah]

Holy cow. I can't get past your 5K time - you mean, there's more in that post? Because I stopped right there and just about fainted. I'm green with envy!

[Javamom]

I am like Sarah, still drooling over your 5k!! When you see the splits it's even more amazing!! You rock!

[Taryn]

Okay... I get it now. You're one of those people who call a 9:30 pace slow. I think I have to stop reading your blog... ;)

Aside from that - awesome 5K!

And very sweet post.