The Broad Running Broad

First off to all the other Americans (like the two of you) who read here – Happy Labor Day!

This past week was a first in a long time and long overdue. My mom came out on Saturday for a weekend together, which included a lot of deep talks that don’t hit quite the same over the phone, good food, apartment touring and ultimately, kayaking for the first time on Sunday.

Prior to Mom’s arrival I went on a long run. I know I haven’t mentioned a lot about my marathon training and I am The Broad Running Broad, but sometimes life throws a minor monkey wrench in my plans.

During the week of Aug. 14th through the 21st, I ran my first 30 mile week in a long time. 18 miles during the week, and 12 on my long run. This training cycle has looked a little different on the long run front. In cycles past I’ve been able to run every Saturday morning for months on end. This time around, I’ve had some weekends off running to either head home and visit Grandma or nurse some stomach bug. During that 30-mile week I thought I was on top of the world.

Then came Monday the 22nd. I went on a treadmill run that didn’t go well. Usually I can wait to use the restroom until my run is over, but on this particular day, I had to stop the treadmill and run straight to the restroom at the gym. Part two of my run felt awful. This was the beginning of the end …. the 24-hour nausea bout.

Tuesday the 23rd into Wednesday the 24th was a mess, with me having to run to the bathroom about an hour after eating each time. Nothing was staying down, and you all know the general rule of thumb about exercise: any symptoms from neck down are going to require a day of rest. I was so mad about that stomach bug throwing off my groove. I was especially mad because I would be going home that weekend and planned to run at least 30 miles during the week to keep my momentum up. But instead, doctor’s orders and medication ordered me to rest until the nausea with the unknown cause was completely through me.

At least I was able to get the stomach bug through me before Mom’s birthday weekend. Silver lining moment.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I got 18 miles in during the week and a 14-mile long run on Saturday morning. Initially I didn’t know if the long run was going to happen. I’m slow-moving in the mornings and was questioning if I could get out of the door, hit the trail with enough time to get home and shower before Mom got out to my place. I got to the trailhead a little after 7:30 – I was aiming to get there at 7, so you all can probably guess what kind of a mood I was in – and hoped three hours max would be enough to complete my out-n-back.

Thankfully for me, it was.

14 miles were done in 2:49:09, at a conservative 12-minute pace. The first three miles tend to be the most challenging. Then I got into a groove and felt incredible, strong and free as I hadn’t felt in a little while. I took a few more walk breaks on the trip back, as it was around 10 am when I really felt the sun on my shoulders. I got back to my place just as Mom texted she was heading out. This gave me time to shower and detangle the rat’s nest on top of my head. Perfect.

The rest of our Saturday was apartment searching and finally getting up to Carfagna’s. I was last there almost two years ago, while Mom has never been. Carfagna’s is a local icon to Columbus, and it is delicious. We ordered arrancini as the appetizer, house salads on the side and a half pan of the Siciliano pizza. If you like meat and spice, you can’t go wrong with the Siciliano.

Next door to Carfagna’s restaurant is the market, home to all the authentic Italian foods and ingredients you could ask for. We picked up some Parmesan Romano for my grandmother and bought too many cookies, which were dinner for me tonight. As well as breakfast and lunch.

Then it was Sunday morning. The girls – my mom and me – were headed back up north to Hoover Reservoir, specifically the boat ramp at Oxbow Road. Mom wanted to try something different in honor of turning a year older, and since she’d never been kayaking before, that was the something different she had decided on. I hadn’t been kayaking before either and found Hoover Adventures during a web search for local to me kayaking. I surprised Mom with the trip, and she was game. The kayaks we rented were waiting for us, and after a quick explanation of everything a newbie would need to know, Mom and I were on the water.

Sometimes there’s a lot to be said, and sometimes, there’s not. Reader-friends, I know I write a lot, but I don’t think I can truly capture how fun, calming and ultimately freeing it was to be paddling on Hoover.

Mom and I explored the islands around Oxbow, taking in how the trees are already starting to turn colors. Other kayakers and paddleboaters were out, as well as the waterfowl perched on the islands. I underestimated how much of an upper body workout paddling is, and discovered I don’t know how to paddle straight to save my life.

And yet being out on the water, exploring the reservoir and taking in sunshine, it was probably the most at peace both of us have been in a while. It even topped the run from the day before.

Now I’m trying to decided the next place to kayak.

Sometimes I try to find the lessons, and sometimes the life lessons find me. Do you remember how this past year I thought was going to be the year of the wild child? Well, I was way off in that declaration, and I’ll write more about that at a later date. A lot of this year (so far) turned out to be a year of having to readjust, prepare for a new direction and be very methodical. It’s been a year of running, and working, and having to dig deep into those upper body muscles to paddle ahead. But I’m not a robot, and at 31 I’m having to acknowledge limitations and the need to rest. There’s even some times where I’ve discovered I don’t need to paddle so much, so I can sit back and drift for a bit.

Maybe that’s the lesson from the kayaking adventure – make sure to enjoy yourself while you grind, and don’t forget to take in the world around you. Connect with nature, make friends with the water and just be.

I hope you all find those moments to just be.

Yours in running and life,

Allison