In A Rut.

I hate mice. They get into my trailer, eat the PB off the traps, eat some of my fruit... and leave a trail of nastiness where ever they go. But that's not the point for today.

Today my thoughts are on fitness, and the lack thereof in my life. I was in a routine this summer, where I got up really early and went running. I felt great doing that. Ryan went to camp, I started sleeping in, then I went to camp... it's all been downhill since then. Part of the problem lies in the fact that it is darker in the mornings. At 5:30, it's just too dark. If I wait until 6am, then the kids will be up 30 minutes later... which is good practice because school starts soon, and that's when they need to be awake. But, 30 minutes isn't enough time for me. Because, the thing is, I want to train for a half marathon. There is no way to train for 13 miles by running 3 miles a day. Or is it? I'll have to research. I may have to set my sights on something else.

I was going to do a triathlon in October. Just a sprint distance. But then I went swimming. And decided I couldn't kid myself into thinking if I could run a 10k, then surely I could swim .25 miles without ever actually swimming beforehand. I can't. It's totally different. Because of the lack of pool access (for lap swimming) and time crunch with the kids, I changed my goal. Run a half marathon in November. On the plus side, it's local! (In B-town, anyway.) Also, it's only one sport, and running is easy. All you have to do is put on your shoes and fly out the door. The problem? I can't get away from my kids. They are always with me, and I just can't run with them. Kacy and Will are going to be in school soon. A jogging stroller will not work in the sand. (Think beach!) I was thinking of buying Jocelyn's bike trailer, but after talking to Ryan, the safety factor is getting in the way. My road is too windy/hilly/not a lot of visibility for cars coming around corners. So that's going to be a no-go. What to do?

Here are my options:

1. Run in the early mornings anyway, and not be a baby in the dark. Technically, there is nothing in the dark that can get me, unless you count the coyotes, but they wouldn't hurt me. This will work until it gets to be 30 degrees... will take George with me (he's lazy and slows me down!), my pepper spray, and just tell myself that 30 minutes is a good workout. I might even get 45 minutes in... that would be great!
2. Jump rope in the unfinished house. I forget about this workout. It works your whole body, costs around 10 bucks for a rope, and takes up very little room. Will have to incorporate, or at least keep this in mind for winter.
3. Keep up free weights. This is a no brainer- free weights are an easy way to build/tone muscle, and according to my heart rate monitor, burns a lot of fat!
4. When school starts, and Jessie and Ed are napping, maybe run laps around the trailer. This will require me firing up the tractor and leveling out my track... ya, right. I'm going to have RYAN fire up the tractor. I don't do tractors. (Because if I did, then that would be one more thing I "could" do, but don't wanna.)

Could I still do a half marathon on three or four miles a day/4-5 days a week? (Anyone? Emily? Lisa?) Stick with 5k/10K?

Okay, so typing out what was in my head helped me clear up my thoughts. Amazing, but not unexpected. I will just toughen up and try running in the semi-darkness tomorrow. It's just so easy to look out the window when the alarm goes off at 5:20 and say "Ugh. It's too dark." and then go back to sleep. And Mom, if you are reading this, don't worry about me in the dark. There are no people out here where I run. George will eat anything animal like, and I carry some police strength pepper spray. I'm worried about the dark because, well, it's DARK. There are no street lamps out here. There are barely streets! I will not give up. I just need a goal. Something to shoot for. I'll go revisit the BTC website and see if there are any shorter runs, and then NEXT year, when I have a house, and a husband again who can watch kids, I'll set my sights a little higher. To everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn...