The marathon...that almost wasn't

After 18 weeks of daily training (including 20, 18, 16, etc. mile runs) Jeff prepared for his payoff--running the Akron marathon last Saturday. After a relaxing Friday night and a high carb dinner he was looking over the race instructions when he read..."all runners must pick up their numbers in person by 10:00 pm the NIGHT BEFORE the race." Huh? What? Why?! We looked at the clock (9:10 pm) and knowing that Akron was 40 minutes away....Jeff and Christy hopped in the car to get Jeff into his race. I booked them a hotel room on their way down and after a few phone calls (with some insulting words from the race director) and a 10:05 pm arrival to Akron a special exception was made for Jeff to pick up his number early Saturday morning. WHEW!! After all that hard work...it almost didn't happen!




But, he made it! He ran the marathon in a great time and we were all there to cheer him across the finish line! What a great accomplishment! He has had this goal for a long time and now he's done it. Of course, after meeting some of the maniac runners there, the question is...when and where is he going to run his next marathon?!?





This experience again reminds me of why I married Jeff. He's the kind of person that is consistent in a way that balances my inconsistency...and someone always up for a new challenge. Life is always interesting at Jeff's side!!!

Possessed?!

So, I will start this blog by admitting that I have had a bit of a transformation...and for some of you this may come as quite a shock. In fact, I may need to change that to MOST of you might find this quite a shock. But, since I've been living it for over a month, I think it might actually be a viable change in my persona that I have to share.

Dermatology has been a fun and challenging change. No longer as physically demanding as my internship but more intellectually demanding. I'm reading medical literature again, memorizing lists of differential diagnoses and drug side effects while presenting and writing papers again. It's hard, but I like it...better than last year that's for sure!

The only problem is that I happen to be a wife and mother at the same time. For those of you that also fill these role you know that they can easily consume every waking moment of your existence -- and you still could have more to do. So to survive the demands of my residency and feel like I'm not just a mean-stressed-out mom, I have started waking up at 04:00.

It's great--it's quiet and I can read without any guilt. I can shower without wondering what surprise the kids are going to come up with and I can actually exercise again. Nothing monumental...just a few miles 3-4 days a week when I don't have early conferences. It's like heaven. I can't believe I never learned this secret before!! I've always been a night person (as my roommates Marty and Sarah and anyone else who knew me in college can testify. Actually, Marty and Sarah are probably is no longer reading this as that have fallen on the floor with laughter and disbelief. I had a wee bit of a reputation for sleeping in at BYU! :)

It's great, I feel like I'm living my life on purpose and when my kids wake-up at 07:00, I can spend all my time with them. I have such better control of my time and accomplish 3-4 times as much as I used to do at night. The only problem is, now I'm afraid I'm going to continue to morph into my mother (who regularly got up at 04:00 when I was a teenager. Of course that was before she moved it up to 03:00 as a senior, of course that was when we were just going to bed. :) I remember frequently promising myself that I would never be as crazy as my mom...but I guess the high fiber wheat bread, making my daughter practice the piano, folding clothes while watching a movie, and driving while nursing a baby (okay...I haven't adopted that one yet!!!) are all signs that I am eating all my teenage words and becoming just as crazy as my mom.

Oh well...I guess that's life...just thought I'd share :)