Running Streak Day 500 and Beyond

It just doesn't seem right to blog as usual today with a milestone being passed yesterday. Yep, I got to run day 500 of my running streak on Mother's Day. This is very special to me for many reasons but one reason is because the lady who inspired me to try this happened to start her running streak on Mother's Day, which happened to fall on May 10th for her, and she is "streaking" amazing! 3 years amazing. And ready to tackle 100 miles amazing. Thanks so much Shelly!
How did I celebrate day 500? The thought of running long and solo outside tempted me for awhile but then, it was going to be Mother's Day and I really wanted to be with my daughter. What can I say? We did do slumber party night and that created a situation with not enough sleep for us, darling daughter getting whiny, me getting irritable (sleep deprivation for a few days due to bad dreams and the wrong time of the month was adding up), and creating a wonderful tension-filled day. I started my day with 5 miles for 500 days, argued with darling daughter about what to wear to church, decided it didn't matter what she wore, told her she was right and could wear whatever she wanted, we both were intensely disappointed that rain prevented us from going to our lavender field scavenger hunt, we went to the movies instead, returned home, dear hubby went outside to run in the rain, I did another 3 miles or so on the treadmill just to test out my new yurbuds and guess what? I wouldn't change a thing! It is the perfect representation of my life and my ongoing juggling act of trying to get everything in while finding some resemblance of peace of mind! It is the life of a Mom.
Now onto training!

The moments that make a mom proud!

I have completed my third week of strength training and I have been feeling out of focus and missing my longer runs. It couldn't happen last week and this week I had other commitments as well. On Saturday, darling daughter and I skipped our standard gym routine to walk for charity. And I am so proud of that little girl since she walked almost the entire 5K! The aid stations rocked the boat too! I will be feeling very deprived at my next marathon and missing the nut and fruit bars, pineapple pieces, strawberries, orange slices, and random gifts along the way. But then, I really wouldn't want to carry a freebie given to me along the course while running 26.2 miles.
As much as I tried to prepare for this weekend with front loading my miles, I felt like I was failing miserably. I was obviously too tired, too crampy, too stressed, and too irritable to see what was really unfolding before my eyes. I didn't realize how far my legs carried me and am quite happy to say I ran 40.9 miles this week! I just don't really know how I did it. Okay, some double days and commitment but still, they snuck up on me. And if you wanted to count that walking time of my feet, it would bring me to 44 miles this week but I won't officially count those miles as they are not streak miles.

I would love to say my plan for next week is crystal clear but the thing is, I am not racing on Saturday now since that race was cancelled. So no need for a couple of days of taper. I can run longer and not race 10K hard. Time will tell what I end up producing but I would love another 40+ week. And next week, there is no tempo run on the plate. Just easy running. It should be good! But right now, I am kinda missing the idea of pushing myself hard on Wednesday with a tempo run.

Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for my Mom.
Daily Affirmation: I am setting a good example for my daughter even when I am showing her that even moms can have hard days and will need to say, I'm sorry I was grouchy.