June No Bananas!

We were a small group on Sunday, only the die-hards show up when it rains. There were ten of us. It was the first time I ran since Reach the Beach on May 21st. I've been out of the boot for a week and I might have overdone it. Felt pretty winded and slow, but only a little over a minute slower than last months PR.  Probably not a good idea to race before trying the foot out.  I would have thought this over if I had more time.  Last week was the week of what felt like five Fridays in a row. My senior graduated on Wednesday and graduation week can be pretty intense.  Prepping for roasting the seniors on Monday Night, Senior Night on Tuesday, Graduation on Wednesday and then Gateways (our schools public exhibitions) all day Thursday and Friday.  Add in a day of over 95 degrees (no AC) and a visit to Boston to meet with an education foundation and it was a big week.  It was no surprise that running literally ran up on me this morning.  My foot is a bit tender and should be icing it as I type this.  While I don't think I need to be wearing that awful boot anymore, I may want to train instead of race.  I believe mostly biking and swimming are on the calendar for June and July.  I'll have to give the Olympic Tri a bit more thought once I'm done with this week. Traveling to Vermont for three days with the juniors and finishing up narratives.  Got to love this time of year.  A friend of mine at church on Sunday warned me not to operate small machinery.  A lovely suggestion.

Sorry no pics of No Bananas, our group photographer is even busier than I am.

Last weekend's Middlesex bike challenge

I will post on No Bananas 5k tomorrow. I'm waiting on some pics from my friend Pat.  Once you read tomorrow's post you will figure out why it took me a week to post on last weekend's bike.

Last weekend's weather far exceeded this weekend's constant deluge. (Can you tell I spent this weekend writing year-end narratives?) Fortunately I signed up to participate in the Middlesex Community College Bike Challenge which was organized by my husband and some of his talented colleagues.  We were lucky to have a free babysitter so I didn't think twice about signing up for the 40 mile ride. Thanks Auntie Heather!

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I initially hadn't planned on participating but our kids' daycare provider was interested and she said she wouldn't do it unless she had someone to bike with.  Sandy is so inspiring. She is willing to try almost anything and over the last couple years she has completely transformed herself physically.  Halfway into the 40 ride she admitted that two years ago she could hardly bike one mile.  She is in incredible shape and spirit.  True evidence of this was the smile that was plastered on her face the entire ride.  I'm so thankful she asked me to ride with her as the weather was beautiful and we took our time so as to maximize our enjoyment.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting up with the kids at the end. One of the college photographers was there and captured these awesome pics.

Da boot or not da boot...

Today marks the end of my first week in da boot.  I have behaved myself quite well, only left it home when we headed to the beach on Monday.  Although the Atlantic provided a nice ice bath, it wasn't surprising that the boot felt good that evening.

The doc is pretty confident it is a very small stress fracture.  I'm thinking it is just severe bone fatigue.  My body was telling me that running a half-marathon the weekend after 23 miles in the Race to the Beach Relay was going to be a really bad idea.  Fortunately I listened.  It was a little hard to be in Boston during the half, but there are many more races ahead of me, just not in June.

A few things I've learned since I began wearing da boot:

• I'm a much nicer person when I can work-out every morning.  Okay, make that a much nicer mama.  Getting the kids ready for the day is much easier when I have done an hour workout before making toast and packing lunches.  
• I really miss my work-out peeps.  I never thought I had my own work-out tribe. Now I know I do. I almost cried when one of them called me yesterday to see how I was doing. These women are turning out to be quite an eclectic friend group who I have come to really enjoy over the last year. 
• Spinning is something I can still do pain free. This might just be my ticket to tri-training for the next couple weeks.
• Finally, my students really care about me.  Yesterday I suggested that I might just leave da boot at home for graduation and I got quite a talking to by my seniors.  They suggested I take some of my own advice and "Follow the directions and take your time."  This was a great teacher-as-student, student-as-teacher moment.

So it looks like I'll be in da boot for another couple weeks.  Or not...it'll be maddening to be at the No Bananas Race without running.  Guess I'll just have to wear my race director hat.  And just maybe I'll learn a few more things over the next couple weeks.