Welcome to the Wandering Drays!

Not all who wander are lost...

Welcome to my blog dedicated to my family and our crazy foreign service life. Never content with staying in one place, we are excited to share our journey. We've survived two unaccompanied tour (Baghdad 2010-2011 and Baghdad again in 2015-2016), multiple TDYs, and enjoyed a two-year family assignment in Cairo, Egypt. The fab hubby is currently learning Turkish for our next assignment...Istanbul, Turkey! We leave for Turkey sometime in summer 2017. I write about what I know. Which is mainly kids, tween drama, gross pets, dealing with lots of government info, our moving adventures, being a nurse, yoga, running, living on too-little sleep, and an addiction to coffee lattes. I hope you'll enjoy this glimpse into our lives.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Why Now? And Geeze the Toddler Turns TWO!


It took me three years.
In summer 2009, we were living in Los Angeles where the fab hubby was first assigned.  I love L.A., pretty much more than any place I've ever been.  The weather is nearly always perfect and we were fortunate enough to live close to the ocean in San Pedro (near the Port of L.A.).  Every day before my ER shift (I worked afternoons 11a-11p), I would stop by Starbucks, grab a latte, and head to the shoreline.  I'd run a fabulous 4 miles or so, sit and watch the ships weave in and out of port while drinking my latte and enjoying the smell of the salty air.  Then I'd head home for a quick shower before starting my workday.

It was that year that I truly began to love running.  I'd been dabbling in running off and on for years; first when I joined the Army in college, later as I tried to get in shape after popping out the first kid.  But I never really enjoyed it as much as I began to the year we lived in L.A.  Owen was five year old and Abby was three years old (and having baby #3 wasn't even a thought in our mind that summer). I could no longer claim 'new baby' as the reason I was out of shape.  It was the perfect time to dedicate some time to run and take care of myself.

It was that summer that I wrote out a personal goal and posted it on Facebook (remember when you could write "notes" on Facebook?).  I was going to run a marathon!  I had all the time in the world to train.  No newborn to keep me up all night.  A good work schedule and childcare.  Perfect weather with a perfect ocean view.  Yes.  A marathon.

And then my doubting brain took over.  I looked at training schedules.  16, 18, 20, 22 mile training runs? Heck.  I couldn't even fathom 10 mile runs.  FIVE MONTHS of commitment to train?  And even then, what if I didn't finish??!!

I backed out of the dream almost as soon as I posted my goal out loud.  Thankfully, I didn't give up on running though - because by then I absolutely I loved it.  I ran two half marathons while we lived there.  One in Malibu in October 2009 (and it was a beautiful coastal view) and one in Huntington Beach in February 2010 (also coastal and oh-so-beautiful).  A week after my half marathon in Huntington Beach, I found out I was pregnant.  A month later we returned to Ohio, the fab hubby went to D.C. for training and then on to Baghdad for a year.
My running buddy.
He's about 7 months old here.
BTW, this kid ran his first race in utero.  

Our son Kellen was born on October 20, 2010 (Two years ago! Oh My Gosh!  He's two today!!).  Just five weeks later, with newborn in stroller, and latte in hand, I hit the trails and began running again.  Soon I was up to three miles as he slept in the stroller.  I again began to dream about running longer distances - but honestly, even a half marathon seemed unlikely.  Three kids in tow, hubby in Baghdad, part-time job in the ER, and the weather in Ohio wasn't exactly accommodating.  I hardly even dared to think the word marathon - I *knew* it was impossible.

The fab hubby returned home from Baghdad in July 2011, and I was able to get a bit more mileage in.  Just before we left for Cairo the following month, I ran a 10K.  It was a great run but exhausting.  I couldn't believe the toll just a 10K could do.  I ached everywhere - knees, hips, calves.  I guess it was also time to admit that I was a bit older and, after three kids, my body wasn't exactly what it used to be.

So true.
Cairo has definitely been a challenge for running.  Minimal green space, terrible traffic, aggressive street dogs, and of course the hot desert climate.  I ran off and on after arriving here, but with a full-time job and trying to adjust to a new country while also staying sane with three kids, I felt something had to give.  I started to give up on running.  At one point, I even considered quitting running forever.  Thankfully, the fab hubby was super fabulous and convinced me otherwise.  So I kept running.

Then, just a month later, I got an email from Nike about the 2012 Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.  Slated for October 14th, I toyed around with the idea.  Five months to train.  But all those obstacles...Cairo.  A toddler who wasn't sleeping well (and hence, neither was I).  Going to the U.S. for R&R in July.  Full-time job.  Fitting in my annual Army Reserves training. Not to mention San Francisco was a 17-hour trip.  With a 9-hour time zone difference.

Why now?  Why not wait a few more years?  The toddler would be older.  Maybe we'd be living in a running-friendly country.  Maybe I'd have more time.  Heck.  Even when I'd had more time three years ago, I hadn't done it.  Why now?

I couldn't shake it.  I had said it in 2009, and it still followed me.  If I don't do it NOW, maybe I'll never do it?  I want to run a marathon just once in my life.  I want to know I can do it.  Signing up for it was scary.  Once my fee was paid (it was hefty - $200), air flights scheduled, and a hotel booked, ALL OF WHICH WERE NON-REFUNDABLE, I was locked in.

But here's the thing.  All those obstacles - - the toddler, the kids, the job, the lack of green space, impending jet lag --- they aren't what really mattered.  What really were the issues were the doubts in my head.  What if I don't finish?  What if I CAN'T finish? Those were the ones that were truly holding me back.

One other real obstacle?  Committing myself to the time to run.  Committing myself to running instead of say, going out to lunch with friends, or dinner or the movies or even just hanging out with the kids and the hubby on a Saturday evening.  Most training schedules recommend running 4 - 5 times per week with at least one long run of 20-22 miles.  I knew I would only be able to run 3 - 4 times per week.  And I would only be able to get one long run of 18 miles completed just two weeks before my marathon.  But that was ok.  Because it had to be.

I should have done it in 2009 when we were living in Los Angeles and I honestly had the time to do it!  But back then, my fear of not finishing got the better of me.  So here I am three years later.  Technically at a busier, crazier time than it was then.

And I just ran a marathon.

It wasn't easy.  And honestly, I can't say I'll ever do it again.

The first 20 miles?  They were easy.  The last 6.2?  The most painful, most challenging 6.2 miles I've ever done.  I called the fab hubby at mile 20 when things were looking rough.  He and the kids cheered me on.  And he told me that he never doubted once that I would finish.

The cool thing?  I actually didn't doubt myself either.  It was hard; it felt impossible!  But it wasn't impossible, I kept telling myself.  I wasn't going to stop.  One foot in front of the other.  Keep moving forward.  Don't look back.

5 hours.  38 minutes.  41 seconds.

Nike makes it easy for me to be cheesy.

Post race.  Wearing the new bling.


San Francisco firemen in tuxedos passed out
the necklaces at the finish line off of
silver platters.  It was a nice touch.


And now for a sweet trip down memory lane.  Happy Birthday to our youngest, Kellen! He's two!  I know.  Every one says this - time sure does fly.  It seems like just yesterday I was this...

38 weeks pregnant with Kellen.  He was 8 pounds 8 oz at birth!

And he was really tiny (in comparison to now), like this...

One week old.
And I always love to put him in ridiculous shirts.  Like this...

You know this little dude is gonna love Starbucks, right?

Simply because this is amusing...

 He's always been bigger than the dog.


I hate first birthdays.  So messy.  Like this...
First birthday!  Finally.  He grew some hair!


And next thing you know, we've got a toddler. Dang.  He's cute!

This past spring.  He suddenly morphed into a toddler!

With Daddy.  Matching blue eyes.


Happy 2nd Birthday, Kellen!











2 comments:

  1. Lovin this on every level!! YAY YAY YAY to takin on the marathon and owning it!! Should be a sweeter victory for all the obstacles you overcame to make it happen. :) And those pictures of your new 2 -- adorable! Happy Birthday to the little guy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. congratulations on your accomplishment, and happy bday to your little one!

    ReplyDelete