Summertime!

I think I look forward to the end of school and the start of summer even more now than I did when I was a little kid. Oh, sure, when I was a student I always looked forward to summer vacation, when I could play with my friends and swim in the pool all day long, never put on shoes, and stay out until the streetlights came on. But by the end of vacation, I was always kind of ready to go back.

When I became a teacher, I developed the same antsy, drooly summer-lust I had as a kid -- and appreciated the vacation all that much more, because really, it's awfully short. Soon enough, I'd be back to work, teaching everyone else's kids, and don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but there's always that one kid (or two, or five, or that whole class) that makes you think maybe collecting garbage might have been a better career choice.

This year, I've been awaiting summer more eagerly than ever before, because it's been TEN MONTHS since I've had TLB all to myself. I know parents joke about dreading summer vacation and loving the start of school, and when TLB is school age I'll probably make the same jokes, but he's at the age right now where everything he does is nothing short of awesome, and now that I'm out of school, there are so many things we can do together.

We can go for longer walks. We can go for more bike rides. We can go to the beach. We can visit a different park every day, and figure out which one we like best. We can meet Daddy for lunch, and I can order TLB something off the menu instead of having to pack bottles and jars of food. We can play music and dance in the play room. We can go to story time at the library. We can go to the zoo, and the Alligator Farm, and Silver Springs. There are endless possibilities.

I've had some pretty good summers, but I think this is going to be the best one yet.

Progress

Couldn't sleep at 4 am today, so I got up and got busy.

Doubled my running distance today. It was farther than I'd intended to run, but I felt like I could do it, so I did.

Years ago, 1.2 miles is a distance I would have scoffed at, but this morning it felt like a major accomplishment. I ran the whole distance without even thinking about quitting. I hardly limped at all, and I wasn't even wearing my brace. I probably could have gone farther, but I'll save that for next week.

I logged a total of 3.6 miles before 5:30 am -- .6 warmup, 1.2 run, .6 cool down, and 1.2 walking the dog (if I can double my distance, she can, too).

I am reminded that RUNNING STINKS. No, literally. But I've missed that stinkypants smell.

Zombie Plan

I ran tonight. Twice as far as last night, which really isn't saying that much, but still, it's TWICE AS FAR. And really, running any distance is a huge accomplishment for my ginormous butt.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I can do this.

I guess I should backtrack a little. It all began when I went to see "Zombieland" with Philip and Roland. I always felt like I had a pretty good chance of surviving a zombie apocalypse. But that was BEFORE. Before the destroyed ankle, before the reconstructed ACL, before the pregnancy.

The #1 rule for surviving a zombie apocalypse is CARDIO. And frankly, after a few years of injury and consequent inactivity, my cardio is crap. So I revamped my Zombie Plan, and set some goals.

When I was training for the 2000 Olympic trials, I used to run about 25 miles a week. It was a nice, comfortable mileage that was merely a supplement to my taekwondo training. For kicks I ran some road races, including the Gate River Run. I'd always wanted to run a marathon, but was advised against it by a doctor and more seasoned runner who said it would affect my kicking speed.

As I'm no longer competing in taekwondo, a marathon seemed like a fun goal. A half marathon seemed like a more plausible one. So in January, I registered for the 2011 Disney Half-Marathon.

The announcer at the Gate River Run this year said you can train for a half-marathon in six months. I figured I'd need it. It's been two years since I tore my ACL, and the strength of my left leg is still considerably less than that of my right. My "running" is really more of a hobble. Not wanting to re-injure my knee, I've been putting off running. And putting it off... and putting it off...

My friend Carolyn, a runner who had ACL surgery shortly after mine, has kept after me ever since I made this commitment. I need to just do it, she'd tell me. Running is the only thing that's going to build strength in my knee. Easy enough for her to say, since she was already in fantastic shape when she injured her knee, and she weighs, like, half of what I weigh. But still... she's right.

So last night I ran. It wasn't very far, and it was pretty pathetic, but it was a legitimate jog.

Tonight, I wore my brace and doubled my distance. And you know what? It wasn't too bad.

I will (once again) be revamping my workout schedule, and increasing my distance weekly.

I can do this.