I didn’t expect 2019 so far to be a prolonged adjustment period, yet it’s May 5th and I’m finally updating the blog.

My last post was March 11th, and since then a lot has happened. I’m not going to spend too much time on the past, so I’ll give you all the main points.

1. Work is still crazy. The major training period in April is past and wasn’t as bad I thought, but overall I’m still wading through the daily demands of emails and revisions and emails and meetings and more emails.

2. My boyfriend and I are still together and going strong. Last month we went to spend a weekend with his family in rural Pennsylvania, where he grew up. The day before the trip to Pennsylvania I took as an unexpected PTO day – the stress of the past few months finally came out and I needed the mental health day to try and get myself back together. Initially meeting his parents was stressing me out, but it ultimately was a lovely time. I like them, and he’s already met my folks, so we both got a potentially nerve-racking (okay, for me it was) milestone out of the way.

3. Since the last post I’ve completed the first half and full of 2019. My half was March 29th in Carmel, Ind. and my full was Glass City up in Toledo on April 28.

Yesterday marked two weeks out from my second full and Marathon #6, Cleveland. The last time I went there was 16 years ago; my boyfriend has never been. I’m not feeling overwhelmed-stressed like I did leading up to Glass City, but I’m still worrying from time to time this may be another disappointment.

I finished Glass City in 4:59:12. My original projected based off how I ran the first half was 4:30-4:40 and beat my time in Indy (4:51:15 is my full marathon PR.) I felt great through Miles 1-13, got tired through 14-18 and then on Mile 18 – which is the hill up Sylvania Road – I felt like tacks were getting jammed into my arches. I finished and my circle of friends and family congratulated me, but to be honest I still can’t shake the disappointment.

Glass City was supposed to be my PR. The better than my best. A bragging right.

And instead all I got was tendonitis.

Remember how I wrote about soul care a few months ago? I’m now helping her sister – the ego.

I’m in Ego Care mode, which sounds pretty ridiculous now that I’m reading this back to myself, but everyone who’s ever ran a distance race that didn’t turn out as they hoped knows what I mean.

There’s that voice in the back of my head trying to resign me – in the name of practicality of course – to accept that maybe a barely sub-5 might just be my pace. “Not everyone can be Meb and when you think about how many people actually do marathons compared to the general population, finishing is still incredible regardless of the time,” it’s telling me.

“Yeah but I don’t want to spend all the time training just to go backwards on race day,” my ego retorts.

“Didn’t you also once say that the people finishing second-to-last and running even when they aren’t ‘traditional’ runners are probably more badass than elite athletes because they committed and did it?” Practical Voice asks.

“Yes and it still is badass,” Ego replies. “But I want to be my own form of badass and the ‘well maybes’ are complacency talking. I’m not ready to be complacent.”

Miss Ego and I have been having a lot of talks the past week – and probably will until Cleveland is done – and I’m taking care of her. In addition to training, I’ve been making an effort to remind Miss Ego that running is a huge part of my life, but there are other parts I’m also good at.

Blogging, for one. Homemaking, for another. Yesterday morning I got up and decided to get my flowers on my patio and front planted, and the end result – bloom selection, color coordinating, placements and exterior design – turned out even better than I expected. This means a lot for a notorious plant killer.

Tonight I was meal prepping and decided to put together a Frankenstein creation. That’s what I’ve started calling cleaning out my freezer and mixing veggies and meats together. I have a bag of zucchini noodles I bought when zoodles we’re the big health trend – which I then forgot about completely – as well as a bag of rotisserie chicken. The expiration date said it was good, so I plopped the chicken in a skillet and the zoodles in the microwave.

Once those two were done I stuck them in a mixing bowl, added two spoonfuls of roasted red bell peppers and squirted some lemon juice in the mix, followed by a sprinkle of garlic powder.

If you haven’t tried lemon and garlic mixed with anything, you really haven’t lived.

It came time to determine if my creation was edible. To my surprise – because let’s face it, with Frankenstein creations you dig up from the back if the freezer, it’s anyone’s guess what’s coming alive – the flavors married perfectly.

I found me a new quick work night dinner.

And Miss Ego was pretty satisfied and felt that maybe Glass City was alright and Cleveland will be to.

Love and zoodles to all of you in need and practicing some Ego Care tonight,

Allison

P.S. Here’s the zoodle chicken mix.