Happy Mother's Day To Me

Spring has finally, finally sprung, and I am so happy about it! Due to marathon training and post-marathon emotional upheaval, I was several weeks late in getting our veggie garden started, but last weekend I got most of our crops planted.

I took the easy way out this year and got mostly plants, rather than starting things from seed. A little more expensive, but still delicious and tasty homegrown veggies, so it's all good.

So far, I've planted several varieties of lettuce - red leaf, romaine, Boston, and arugula. I also got two 6-packs of spinach plants, because we go through a ton of spinach in this house.

Other things that went in were beets, swiss chard, cucumbers, broccoli rabe (never tried this before, but I hope it does well, because I love it!), zucchini, eggplant, and squash - and a few sunflowers, just because I love to look at them, and the boys love to see how tall they get.

In the coming weeks, I'll also be planting potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and pumpkins. This sounds like a lot of stuff, but we are very lucky to have a huge area for planting, and I also don't plant a whole lot of any one thing. I'd rather have more variety, and it's fun to experiment with a few new things every year.

I also finally put away all the mittens and hats and gloves - what was left of them, anyway - the dozens of pairs of gloves I bought at the beginning of the season gradually disappeared over the course of the winter, until each of the boys was down to one mismatched pair.

And while putting away the winter gear, I pulled out the sunblock and bug spray. As much of a pain as it is to coat everyone up with sunblock, I'd so much rather go through that hassle than the hat/coat/gloves/boots routine every morning. Our getting-out-the-door time is once again totally streamlined, and we can now pull it off in well under 5 minutes!

While I am loving the warm weather, I am also mentally preparing myself for running in it. It looks like I'll get my first taste of it at the half this Sunday, when temps are supposed to be near 70, with relatively high humidity. Since we're running early in the morning, it probably won't be quite that warm, but the humidity will certainly be a factor.

The first few runs will be rough, but I'll acclimate. And I'll continue doing as many early morning or evening workouts as possible, to avoid the worst of it.

With everything being so busy lately, and since it's still just barely 4 weeks after Boston, I haven't given this weekend's half much thought. I usually spend the week before a race consulting pace charts and past race results, to see where I might end up, and what I want to aim for.

But since this is a race I haven't really trained for, and I've just been running easy (aside from the super hilly 18K and the 5K the week before) my mind hasn't been terribly focused on setting new goals.

But I'm getting closer to that point. I'm definitely ready to start putting in some speedwork, and can't wait to get back to the track. And I hope to run a fast pace on Sunday, but although I've felt pretty good these past few weeks, I've also felt a lingering tiredness, and my muscles have held onto a tightness that I've had a lot of trouble shaking.

I will be the first to admit that I probably didn't pay enough attention to proper recovery after Boston, but I think that's understandable, given what occurred. I've tried, these past two weeks, to spend a lot more time stretching, and this week finally got out my foam roller - hopefully that will help loosen things up and leave me feeling a bit more refreshed for the race.

But if it doesn't, that's ok, too. I don't have my heart set on a PR for this one - I just want to go out and run my best, and I won't know until 8am Sunday morning what that's going to be. I was contemplating not wearing my Garmin, but I think I've gotten good enough now at not looking at it too frequently, so I think I'll wear it, but mostly ignore it.

I've had a few people seem surprised that I was running a half-marathon on Mother's Day, but to me, it's perfect -  the best gift I could ever get. That, plus a few handmade cards and hugs and kisses are all this mommy needs.

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous, amazing moms out there, including my own. I will never ever be as good at this job as she is, but I'll never stop trying!

Comments

[Mom and Dad]

Oh Michelle you have no idea how often I felt like there was no way to measure up to my Mom ! You are a wonderful caring, loving Mom and your boys adore you and don't forget it....Dad and I are so proud of you in so many ways ! Love you lots and big hugs going your way....Happy Mother's Day !

[Beth]

Great present to yourself for Mother's Day! Enjoy it! Admittedly I won't miss that sharp down hill long about mile 9, I will miss the finish line!