It was a very interesting and eventful summer. My oldest boy turned 16, Ashley will soon be 15 and i have to tell you, time is moving fast!! My 12 yr. old flew to my dad's farm for Labor Day weekend. So, it's a quiet Labor Day for me, with just 3 children. No wonder i have time to ponder this blog. I finally have a substitute teaching job and it will keep me busy, because i am noticing a lot of pregnant teachers already.
Zilker relays came and went and it was nice to meet up with the other gazelle groups, which i hardly see at all. I have become more of a social "afternooner". Training has been a little sporadic and i am hoping to run a little more when the weather starts getting cooler and we head into Fall. I always like the 3M half, so might start counting the weeks and see if i can get motivated to attempt that. I have also thought about Boston in April. But, i will do it for fun and not try to force myself into super long runs which tear me up and make me dislike running. Running that far makes me feel as if i am fighting for survival or doing some sort of human challenge....not for me anymore. A nice hour or hour and a half at a steady pace is about all i can handle. Unless ofcourse, i can win the lottery and have a full time cleaning person...mopping, cleaning, dusting has become my predominant form of exercise. Not to mention yardwork or car washing.
So, back to Zilker..i think our team did pretty good placing 4th overall woman. The next morning i had to miss the long run group, because we had our first high school cross country meet. It was only 1.8 mile and Ashley ran the varsity division. She placed 5th and wasn't super thrilled. She looked a little worn out from the excitement of first week of high school, getting up to early practices etc. I also think we need to work a little on speed/faster turnover. We have about 6 weeks till the State Meet, so i think i can pull out all my old running logs and try to get her where she needs to be. It's difficult because she trains with the high school group and depending on what happens there, i add a little here and there combined with the gazelles. At this point i think it's important for her to enjoy her running and run with girls her age and keep it fun.
Oh, another exciting thing that happened was that my uncle from South Africa came for a visit. He was my running inspiration..well, my dad too, but i loved hearing about how he placed 12th at the world cross country championships when he was only 16 yrs. old. Ran a 2:24 marathon at the same age. How he had to stitch up the bottom of his foot with needle and thread before a national cross country championship. Interesting stuff!! He has some incredible times for a junior (even held the record for covering the farthest distance in one hour around a track which was covered in potholes) and although riddled with arthritis at the moment still manages to keep in great shape...we walked a brisk 4 mile loop with him, my dad, Ashley and our new dog.
Here's a picture of the 2 old chaps who was once known as the 2 brothers who ruled cross country in South Africa....but, could never have the opportunity to qualify for the olympics, because of all the political mess south africa was in.
