waking up from a haze...

When people tell you that parenting goes fast, they're not kidding. Really, they should be jumping up and down in front of you in an obnoxious neon bike commuter outfit with a flashing sign that reads, "YOUR NEXT YEAR(S) WILL BE A BLUR."*

For me, make that a little more than a year-and-a-half so far. Give or take. But I have been waking up lately with an increasing awareness of, well, reality: that I am getting enough sleep, that Elliot is taking care of some of his basic needs by himself, that I'm getting some pretty decent runs in, and that all personal pursuits that previously were pushed to hiatus are suddenly knocking on my door wondering when they'll get to come out and play again.

This sort of came to a head when friend-from-my-previous-life Galen posted a link to this blog about a man who completed the Barkley Marathons. I know I will never even think about entering the Barkley Marathons (that's insane!), but it's surely an inspiration.

In that previous life, I completed a race called the Dogwood Half Hundred. I also dropped out halfway into the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge in 2003 after deeming the steep mudslick trail impassible. But suddenly, just this week, decided I want to go back and finish the sucker. And that 400k brevet. And a number of really improbably lonely remote long-distance events. And then I learned that the Dogwood was somewhat resurrected as the Elizabeth's Furnace Fat Ass 50k, and it seemed wrong not to do an event that's seemingly named after me.

How on earth could I train for 30+ miles on foot, let alone a marathon, or 24+ hours on my bike, given the time constraints of toddler-parent-hood? And how could a Chicago flatlander train for ultrahikes with significant elevation gain? These two questions have kept me awake for several hours in the last few nights. (I could do training hikes with Elliot in the backpack! That could count as good weight to train with, right? Hmm. We need to move.)

But I should also mention my bike mileage this year (not including grocery-getting, taking-Elliot-to-the-Shedd, etc): 0. 0 trail, 0 bike workouts, just 0. Did I mention that I re-upped with Half Acre Cycling and now have an 8 race commitment to fulfill? Yikes.

Anyway, happy spring, fellow travelers. While everyone is working out their race schedule for this summer, I'm trying to figure out if I can find a reasonable target long hike in the woods or sleepy night lit by generator hubs. The long-slow-happy is what I'm good at. I've always said there's nothing I enjoy more than waking up in the morning with nothing to do that day but ride my bike/hike/run all day long. I need to get back to that, just child in tow. Now to figure it all out.

*I do believe length of blur is determined by length of sleep deprivation, as determined by one's children's affinity for sleeping, which we all know E is not a fan of.

Going down

Seeing as how I haven't had anything useful to say, I'm pulling down the blog this weekend. Maybe it'll come back, who knows.

Everything of any consequence that happens in my life now is pretty much E-related, so it goes here.

attached.

E and I are just back from a week in Montauk with my mom. What do you do in Montauk in the off-season? I used to joke about working on my novel, but truthfully, with Elliot around that would be nearly impossible. (No, I am not working on a novel.) We visited a pumpkin patch, a few wineries, some trails, some playgrounds, and just about every breakfast place in town. There was some great running, too, and for the sake of a placekeeper for if we go back next year, I really enjoyed this hilly loop and this scenic jaunt. Pushing the stroller up some of the steeper hills is, erm, interesting, but it works.

And for posterity: I did take my BOB Revolution stroller on the plane. It didn't fit through the security x-ray thing so they had to test it/pat it down like a wheelchair but it was no problem. I just folded it up, used the velcro strap, and left it with the strollers. It came back undamaged plane-side both times. Nobody- security, airline staff, other passengers- even batted an eye at it. It was definetely a beast to deal with on the jetway but those rad ~20 miles made it totally worth it. And it worked pretty well on the beach/sand too.

After a week of hilly miles and chasing a toddler around, though, I was (and still am) exhausted. I was signed up to race on Sunday at DeKalb cx but woke up feeling like I hadn't slept in days and decided to opt out, particularly after considering what it would take to get myself, my bike, and my baby and related gear together. Instead E and I just rolled out and helped out a little. It was fun. E sure does like being outside, toddling around, hamming it up using the few words he knows.

Needless to say, it was hard to leave him behind to go to work today. I miss that little guy.