A Weekend of Building Blocks

I went to bed on Friday knowing I was beat. Just mentally and physically exhausted. The local Moms Run This Town group was planning a run around Burke Lake and several folks needed to go the same distance as me. (10 miles) I knew as soon as my head hit the pillow that I wasn't going to make it. I will be honest and  admit that the crazy cold weather had something to do with it too. I am not yet outfitted to run in the cold and if you told me I would be out in 32 degrees, I would have laughed. Facebook has evidence that these ladies are heartier then I and about 14 showed up to run in the 14 degree weather!

Oh and while we are being honest - my eating has SUCKED the past few days. I really need to get back to consistent meals made up of good stuff. I have had more pizza this week then in the last 2 months! Moving on, just wanted to be transparent. :)

I put my focus towards the Birthday Bonanza for Boy Wonder. Saturday was his lego/robot party at a local place and I had a cake to make. I have turned out some crazy cakes for this boy - Rock climbers, Angry birds, but I didn't kick into creative gear with this cake until Friday afternoon about 3 pm. The local cake store saved me with a chocolate mold for bricks.

Fun was had by all and Mom was able to wrap up the day with a star next to her name. I found out later my mother in law was telling my son how lucky he is to have a mom that makes cakes for his birthday and he informed her this one was just a rectangle, so not complicated at all. Ha!

Once I collapsed, I focused on my run. I was daunted by the mileage and really didn't want to do it on the treadmill. That is a long time (about 2.5 hours) and the reality is, it is just asking for kid drama while I am trying to keep moving. However, the trails are much more sparsely populated this time of year. Then a posting from another mother asking if folks were interested in a run - and not at the crack of dawn! Double yea! So I met several runners at the famed Vienna Caboose for a run.

Courtesy of Kelli Wright

Turtles like me never know if there is going to be someone at my pace. People say they are slow, but they often aren't. Sure enough after our introductions and photo the group was off and it quickly was one other mom and I. She had 11 on the books, so I knew at least we were in for the long haul. I could tell she was a strong runner - meaning she doesn't just stop and walk every time the going gets a little tough.

We started up the WO&D towards Reston and after a few miles met the others coming back. One mom that lived in the area peeled off and offered to show us some trails to keep things a little more exciting. The W0&D is essentially a highway for runners, walkers, bikers and horses - complete with a bright yellow strip down the center. So off we went.

This picture was better before she ducked behind the tree.

It was a really nice portion of the CCT and Kelli kept up a good pace and conversation to keep us going. She clearly could have blown us out of the water, so it was so nice to have her lead us. It got me thinking that I can see the value of training with a pace group. They push you to stay steady and keep moving! My running schedule is too all over the place at the moment, but let's face it, I continue to redefine what I think makes sense on this little adventure of mine!

Rebecca on the stepping stones

Kelli led us through the beautiful woods, off the trail into a neighborhood with some nice hills. I totally walked them knowing we still had miles to go. She peeled off at her house and we easily found the WO&D again. The snow started coming down a little harder and I certainly felt like it was getting colder. Some of my accessories like gloves came back out. We walked some, but over all I was so happy to have finished 11 miles in just over 2 hours, 30 minutes. I suck at pausing runkeeper, so that includes most of our breaks.

I was hurting the rest of the day, luckily I just needed to pull out the leftovers from the party to head to my friends house for the first half of the Super Bowl. They are currently making a real game of it as we speak and then I need to head to bed.

So what have you done that you never thought you would? How have you redefined what you consider crazy?