Life Happens

The thing about working, training, having kiddos and a hubby who is on call is that you just never know what's going to happen! As I'm sure you all know, when you have limited time for training, you just have to hope that things go smoothly so that you can fit in everything that needs to get done!

This weekend was one of those weekends where things just didn't go as planned. Saturday was a full day:

• Kiddo's soccer game
• Grocery shopping
• Pick up dry cleaning
• PetSmart for dog food
• Wal-mart/target for contact solution
• Misc errands
• Birthday party with the kids at Pump It Up
• Movie night with the kiddos

The game plan was to start my run at 5:30 am, so that I'd have plenty of time to get showered and dressed, as well as help the Hubby get the kids fed and ready for soccer. The alarm clock went off at 5:00 am and I hear the sound of rain. Lots of rain. I am not opposed to running in the rain, but then came the thunder and lightening. After that came the sound of my Munchkin crying - he hates thunder. Five minutes later, it was the Kiddo crying - she's scared of the ligtening. By 5:15 am, both kids were in bed with us and it was clear that there would be no pre-soccer run.

We tried calling the soccer league's hotline to check on the status of the day's games, but the line was busy. By the time was time to leave for soccer, the rain had stopped and a cool front was moving through - the temps quickly dropped from the low 70's to 56 degrees. We called the soccer league's hotline one last time and find that the games for the day have been canceled. Score! While that means a make-up game in the future, it also means I can get the grocery shopping and errands out of the way and still have time to run before the birthday party!

After getting the grocery shopping done, I headed out for an 8-miler. I was loving the cooler temps, but holy crap is was windy!!!! There were times I'd be running into the wind and wonder if I should just walk...I was running that slow. I decided to take advantage of the times that I had the wind at my back, or the wind was blocked by the trees - that was when I would pick up the pace a bit. The majority of the run was at a 10:25 pace, but I was able to pick it up a little in the final mile for an overall 10:20 pace. I'll take it. The legs felt great and if I had more time, I think I would have added an extra mile or two. But, it was time to get ready for the birthday party...and yes, I went down the "big slide" about 20 times with the Munchkin - fun times!

Sunday we had full day - 2 hour bike ride, Church, kid's haircut at the mall (which also means they get a cookie and have to ride the carosel), run a couple of errands that didn't get done on Saturday, and meet up with some friends at a local festival.

The Hubby was on call until 7 am on Sunday morning. Whem we went to bed on Sunday night, the Hubby made a comment about almost making it through the weekend without getting called into work. Naturally, he got a call from work at 4:50 am.

Scratch that 6 am bike ride.

We decided to improvise - the hubby was done with work and home by 11 am, so he agreed to take the kiddos to get their haircuts and run an errand for me while I rode my bike. Such a sweetie that Hubby of mine!

My bike ride was uneventful, which is good. I decided to drive to the neighborhood where I ride...I usually ride there, but being mid-day there is more traffic than in the early morning hours. Once I arrived, I realized I forgot my bottle of Gatorade. I almost went back, but decided to make due with the bottle of water I had in my car. It was a gorgeous day for a ride - 55 degrees, beautiful blue skies and just a little wind. AWESOME!

I headed out on my ride and decided to be adventureous and check out some new roads. After awhile I realized that this might not be the best idea, because if I needed help I may not have any idea how to direct someone to me. Doh! My first loop is normally around 12 miles, but because of my exploring, it ended up being closer to 18 miles. It felt good to be more than halfway done! I had some of my PowerBar and kept on going. I was happy that my legs felt strong the entire time and I managed to maintain a pace just at 16 mph...considering the occasional wind, I guess I'll take it.

Once I made it back to my car, I packed up my bike and put on my running shoes. I was planning to get in 2 miles by doing an out and back run. But, after about 6 or 7 minutes, mother nature was calling...I really, really needed a bathroom. Gee, and I wondered how I would have felt if I had all my Gatorage to drink! So, I ended up turning around and heading back to the car and home. A 15 minute run would have to do!

Oh, and I started my ride with long sleeves but quickly warmed up. As a result, I pushed up my sleeves to my elbows....you should see my lovely tan lines! From my wrists to my elbows, my arms are nice and red!

All in all 2 great workouts even with the roadblocks!

So tell me, how do you manage to squeeze in your workouts when life throws you a curveball? Even the best planners out there get thrown off track, right?