Week 11: Post Gluttony Weekend

He did it! My brother finished the Columbus Marathon and I'm so proud of him for sticking through even though I know there were moments when he was cursing the heavens above for ever getting himself into this mess. It's his third marathon and he barely had a chance to train for it at all, so finishing with a 5:10 is a major accomplishment in and of itself.

As for me, I spent the weekend surrounded by the three most important things in my life: Family, Friends and Faith (and copious amounts of bad food). I love going home to visit, but it's always a danger zone because I tend to slip into old patterns with relatively no effort at all. I did manage one swim workout thanks to my friend, coach and kickass triathlete Tracy. She offered to look at my stroke and giv me some pointers. That, of course, turned into a one hour lesson!! Because we were on the go so much with my parents, Shawn's parents, friends and other family, we did not get a chance to run otherwise. It's a shame because while it was chilly, the weather was gorgeous and the leaves were changing during this midwestern autumn weekend. It's definitely a change from the 90 degree days we're still having in Austin. Other than that, the only running I did was alongside my brother for about 1/2 mile during the maraton at mile 21. We called my Mom and let her know that he was doing great! ( and to have a pillow ready for him when we got home for our family cookout)

All in all, it was a fabulous and relaxing weekend in Ohio. We spent the day with both of our parents and it makes me so thankful and grateful that we all get along. I watched the football game with some old high school friends, many of whom I haven't seen in 5-6 years! It was just like old times with beer and pizza. The only difference? They all have toddlers and infants now!!! My, how things change. I visited with my friend Lisa on the marathon course who was out there cheering for her sister at mile 21. I, too, watched my brother achieve his goal and we celebrated that with a cookout at Mom and Dad's house, complete with my three sis-in-laws, 8 nieces and 1 nephew. Seriously, does it get any better than that?

While I love living in the 'fantasy world,' it didn't take long to get back to reality on Monday. I'm having soooo much trouble getting up early now to train. It's darker than ever right now (two weeks until daylight savings!!) which just makes you want to stay asleep longer. After work on Monday, I had to coerce myself into doing a quick brick workout before it got dark...35 minutes on the bike followed by a 35 minute run...Nothing major...nothing strenuous...just a little kick back into reality.
I tried to get up early this morning to go to swim workout...no dice. I'm at the end of my training season and I can taste it. I'll practice my new swim form at lunch.