I have not been too busy to blog, but I have been too busy to haul two small children to a camera/battery store across town, try to listen to a salesman while the girls pull various and sundry expensive items off the shelves, pay the money for something that may or may not work, and try to fix my camera so that I can blog. SO, I have missed y’all. That picture is our mileage and time from our long run on Saturday morning. Almost a half marathon. This week I felt tons better than last week. I think this was mostly because I wasn’t afraid to slow the entire group down and be at the tail end of the line while we ran. I gave them one run to get to know me before I became the leech that’s not afraid to slow down everybody else. I’ve decided they can leave me, they can kick me out, or they can do like they did this week and run back to me over and over again in the run so that we finish at the same time 🙂 I am exaggerating a little…but not much.
Several of you asked about how I got the pictures, and so this week I asked Tom Riser if he would hand the camera to another group member so that we could snap him in a shot for the blog. Here’s what we got. He’s the one in the front, double fisting it with the power drinks, but you see he’s blurry as all get out. Maybe next week. Apparently Dr. Riser (and his wife Margaret, far left, also Dr. Riser) loves gadgets, and this is some new runners camera or something…that he is trying out on us. He is almost always at the front of the group, but he’ll sprint a little farther ahead, and then turn around and snap us.
Everyone in the group is medical but me. On the first run, they each sort of ran beside me (huffing away) for a while to talk. Me: So What do you do? Them: I am a [insert specialty here] doctor. What about you? Me: I am a stay-at-home Mom (that sounds sort of lazy)…and I like to write (so do a lot of people)…and I have a blog (they probably have no idea what that is)…and I have a small business where I embroider for people sometimes (that’s sort of a lie. would you really qualify the Flossy Finch as a business)…but I went to school to be a chemical engineer! (ok, now you sound like one of those people who put their high school presidency of the French Club on their grown-up resume). I am going to stop now. Mainly, I am just a Mom (and they would have been perfectly happy with that answer you insecure fool).
In the meantime, I have done some other things besides run. I have spent an entire day getting a sewing lesson from Riley’s (Caroline, my sister’s, boyfriend) Mom while Caroline watched my girls. I learned a lot, but to spend an entire day and have only the TOP of a dress made was a bit discouraging…Discouraging enough that the lesson was Tuesday (a week ago) and I still have not even had the heart to take my sewing machine out of the back of my car.
Let me try to end on something positive… … … … Mary Aplin has started talking more. We’ve moved past single grunts, to grunts that sort of sound like words 🙂 I’ll try to be back sooner, but I am still dreading that trip to the camera shop!
I have decided to try to train for a marathon. Let that sentence, and the realization that that is 26.2 miles, settle in for a second and then ask the question that my neighbor Ashley Johnson asked, “Abby, have you ever even run a half marathon?” The answer to that would be “nope.” This very kind group of people have agreed to drag me along with their group in my attempt to do the impossible (we are fake running in this picture and look how worn out I still look).
So, I rolled out of bed at 5:30 this Saturday morning and met the group for my first long run–10 miles! I sort of want to shout it and wear a sign 🙂 It was hard for me. I have been running 5 to 6 miles three times a week for a long time and to double it with a group that keeps a faster pace than I am used to was a challenge. Look how intense I look (and apparently I also have a pot belly) in this shot–and you should know that everyone ELSE was smiling and talking the whole time.
At the end, we were all feeling pretty happy (and sweaty). I am excited about adding a couple of miles next Saturday…sort of 🙂
First, I did get spared…somewhat…from the terrible havoc of the stomach flu. I was nauseated off and on all weekend but it never…led to…anything 🙂 If there weren’t others (and men) around me who were experiencing the same symptoms, I would have been worried I was pregnant, because it sure felt a lot like morning sickness. Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes 🙂
Second, I never did tell you the place I would live if I were to randomly pick and take family out of the equation. VIRGINIA. Is that weird? When I told Jeremiah, he looked at me like I’d just thrown a curve ball from nowhere. It is farther north but still Southern…I am not sure I could live life as anything but a Southerner, no offense to the rest of y’all 🙂 But, while Virginia is still southern, it is far enough north that is has distinct seasons. Oh the thought of a crisp fall with all those changing leaves! Then, there is the fact that they have mountains and beach right there together, and all that history…
Last, my camera is still not working (hence the no picture of the bedding). I did some on-line trouble shooting and it seems the next step is to buy a new battery. I tried at Walmart a couple of days ago, but they didn’t have what I needed. It’s a hard life as a blogger without a camera! I’ll try to get the pictures I had on a disk so that I can at least have another post in the meantime.