Wednesday, February 1, 2012

No regrets

I had hoped to run on campus after work. However, my running partner was ill and Luke had a doctor’s appointment at 4pm. Before I knew it, it was 4:45pm and I was on I-75 heading home …

Since I arrived home earlier than usual, I could run in the neighborhood before sunset.

Not happening.

By the time I pulled into the garage, both of us were hungry.

We ate dinner and played with blocks. I gave Luke a bath and he immediately asked for “Muk, muk” (milk).

No reading. No rocking. Little man was tired and done for the night or so I thought …

It was well after 8:30pm when I headed out for a run.

A little later than usual and a little lighter … Sans stroller, cellie and podcast.

The great thing about my neighborhood is that it is small and everyone knows you. However, its ‘smallness’ can be frustrating when trying to log more than a mile or so. I had to run six boring loops to equal three miles.

Poor me.

So, what does one think about to make the loops go by faster?

Unfortunately, a lot of USF work related stuff. Sad, huh?

Once I got over work, I noticed all of the open windows in my community. They reminded me of pre-Luke days when I too would have every window, plus the slider open.

It really was a gorgeous night. Not sure what the temp was, but I was more than comfortable running in a sleeveless top.

The skies were almost clear. I insisted on gazing at the half moon and tried to find constellations. I am pretty sure I saw Orion and Cassiopeia before I had to look downward for fear of a crook in my neck or a misstep and fall.

It occurred to me that The Gasparilla Distance Classic is almost one month out.

Yikes, it is February and I didn’t use my January

Chick-fil-a cow calendar coupon. Shucks!

I also need to put my 2012 vehicle registration sticker on my license plate.

My original goal was three miles, but heading out I told myself I’ll do four loops and see how I feel. I felt good and pressed on for the last two loops with a final count of 3.6 miles. I was consistent with my walk breaks—one minute, every half mile. My pace and breathing were relaxed. In the end, I was happy I made myself run.

And, the first thing I did after returning home was to open a few windows (away from the nursery) and enjoy the cool breeze and moonlight.

* * *
I originally started this blog post at around 10pm last night.

My office is next door to the nursery. Even with both doors closed, I could hear Luke coughing. It was bad and pretty consistent.

I stopped typing to look at the video monitor and Luke had coughed himself awake. So much for sleeping through the night …

“Hi.” That’s what he said as I entered his room. Poor baby.

Between 10:30pm and 1:30am it was rough going for us.

He wet the bed and his clothes. Change of clothes for him and new linen on the bed. After that, he was really awake and wanted milk. We caved. He was on his way to sleep. Gave breathing treatment and passed off to hubby.

Wrong move.

Luke woke and was crunk. He wanted mommy, but mommy still had tasks to do and it was
getting late. In his crunkness, he fussed and fought. With his nasal congestion it wasn’t long before he spit up on the floor and me. Change of clothes for both of us.

“Muk,muk.” Luke wanted more milk.

I resisted for 30 minutes, but Luke can be stubborn. He continued to fuss and fight. No one got sleep. I caved. He went to sleep and so did I, right in the rocker.

The last time I looked at the clock it was 1:30am.

In hindsight, do I regret going for a run instead of turning in early?

Not a chance. Little did I know that the time I spent star-gazing, to-do listing and looping my neighborhood was the calm in the midst of a storm.

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