One moment...

One moment... changes your life forever.

On Wednesday i got a call from my husbands co-worker. "Your husband has been in an accident. He got caught in a machine at work and an ambulance is taking him to the emergency room. He is in alot of pain", they warned.

That was the moment everything changed.

I had a marathon planned for today. Instead i am sunken away in the intesive care unit making sure my husbands kidneys don't shut down.

Crushed pelvis/hip and internal bleeding.

Pray and... take a run for me.

There will be no more running for a while.

Lots of love.

My first non-race

Okay, i'm just going to get it out there. I pulled out of the South Valley Half Marathon.

Do i feel guilty?
No.

Do i wish i ran it this morning?
Yes.

Is the world going to end if i pull out of a race and spend the day cleaning my house and going school shopping with my girls?
No.

Will i ever pull out of a race again.
Probably.

Do i need to sneak in a 10 miler this evening anyway.
You bet!

Saturday run and contemplations

12.5 miles through rough rocky trails, loose gravel hills, and rooted and windy switch backs. All the while, seeing the sunrise on the golden canyon walls.

Can a Saturday get any better than that? Not really.

I'm comtemplating...

1. Not running the South Valley Half (my upcoming week

is a nightmare and i will have to push my body beyond physical and mental limits to combine a 60 hour work week with running/training).

2. Seeing "Smurfs" with my girls today.

3. Eating a big piece of chicken, a slice of chocolate cake and then taking a nap.

4. Running Hope to Hobble marathon (non chipped) in 3 weeks. Yikes!

5. Cleaning out the garage.

6. Starting a savings acount for Christmas (it's never too early!)

Alternate

I am officially the alternate for the RedRock Relay in Septmber.

This morning at CrossFit, we were talking about the 186 mile course, and i asked if they had any alternates just in case someone got injured.

They actually needed one -and i thought, "What the heck!"

3 legs, anywhere from 4 to 13 miles. It sounds like fun.

Enjoying the little things

Livi on her new bike

Growing up in sunny California had it's upside. My childhood was magical. Chasing the ice-cream truck, eating a half melted push-up pop on the hot curb, watching Dukes of Hazards and Little House On The Prairie, and riding bikes until dusk with my big brother. Riding bikes was a huge part of my childhood.

That brings me to our new purchase for Livi... a new bike. A new bike for a 6 year old is like getting a new car for an adult. It's a big deal! I am so happy to be able to give my children the same things that made me happy in my childhood. Bikes, toys and treats... they are all great, but my favorite memories are when my mom whispered in my ear, "I love you -i will always love you."

A bike can't beat that!

Livi & Farrah

My Own Calcutta: Enjoying the simple things... like a new bike or an out-of-the-blue "I love you."

... Even Weeding The Garden

No energy... didn't want to wake up. Crawled under the covers when the alarm went off at 5:30 am, hit the snooze button and proceeded to dream about a lazy pancake Saturday morning with my girls and husband. THEN.. BOOM BOOM ... it hit me!

You know.. thee feeling. "Thee" feeling that all runners cherish when the alarm goes off and we contemplate the warm bed or running. As much as i love my husband and girls, the run pulls me out of bed and makes me brush my teeth, and forces me to put on my running clothes.

To make a long story short, it was a miracle. Last Saturday's run was a disaster... burning lungs, undefined pain, shortness of breath -actually no breath. In my mind i chalked it up to high elevation, but in my runners heart i thought i lost my endurance over my month long european vacation -everything i worked so hard for. I actually thought, i am unworthy of running because i am so bad at it. It was a turning point for me. A point where i thought, "Maybe i am in such bad shape, that i shouldn't run anymore??"

But, this particular mountain club run changed everything. It felt light. The hills filled my lungs with pain, but pain i knew. Runners pain. Not scary, "i can't breath" pain. It was wooooonderful! I felt like i was back in the game. I ran up the canyon with 4 magical girls, we ran towards the sunrise on a scary cliff, we got lost and took an adventurous 2 mile off road run on a windy bushy trail, and ended up back down the sunfilled canyon 12 miles later.

I ran 12 miles and loved every minute of it. Was it hard? YES - but bearable. So bearable, i can't wait for the next challenge.

Little did i know the next challenge was getting home by 9:00 am, making the girls a pancake breakfast and weeding the garden with my adorable husband and Livi.

My husband made my day when he smiled at me in wonder and said, "How can you run 12 miles in the mountains, fix pancakes and weed the yard with us for 2 hours?"

The only thing that came out was, "Because i love it." He shook his head in discernment.

What i ment to say was, "When i run, it intesifies life's other pleasures -even weeding the garden!"

My Own Calcutta: Regaining my confidence- feeling the good (running) pain again- spending the day in the garden with my girls and husband.

Soldier Hollow to Deer Creek Dam

Deer Creek Reservoir

Since i've returned from Denmark i have been under a pile of stress. I took a new position as an Early Childhood Director, but i couldn't let go of my current job as a Pre-K teacher, so i kept that one as well. In this economy i feel very blessed to have 2 jobs. Two wonderful jobs at that! But it's so stinkin' stressful. 

Even though i have been stressed out, I've been keeping up my CrossFit 3 times a week and getting in a few medium runs here and there, but nothing too impressive. Lately i've been feeling very winded and sluggish.

Saturday i went on my club run to Soldier Hollow and then on around Deer Creek to the dam. A gorgeous 9 mile run following the Heber Valley Railroad tracks. About 3 miles into the run i could not breath. My lungs stung, my heartfelt heavy, and my breathing was not normal. I couldn't even speak to my fellow runner. All in all, i felt like i was dying.

I hit the dam at mile 9 and called it a day. Everyone else complained of sluggishness too and chalked it up as "elevation problems". Then it hit me -oh my gosh it's the elevation!! I went home, did some research and found out Denmark has an elevation of 103ft and Soldier Hollow has a wopping 5,477ft!!!! No wonder i thought i was going to die.

Has anyone else had elevation issues at some point?? How long does it take to get back to normal?