Friday, September 21, 2007

Ups & Downs...

Well, another week passes and all is ok. I'm a little behind on my mileage and I would not be telling the truth if I said it doesn't bother me, it does.

Right now I can go out and run between 10-13 miles and my training plan has me at 16 this weekend. I could sit here and blame that on the addition of night classes and busy work schedule but there is no excuse not to get out and get those runs in. Reality is 26.2 is just around the corner and I refuse to fail. These next 50 days are going to go by very fast and before I know it I will be standing at the start line ready to tackle 26.2.

Tomorrow we are headed over to my sister's house which is about an hour and half away to hang out with my two sisters and brother. My brother got there tonight to spend the weekend. He lives in Orlando, FL and was in Columbia, SC for a conference and decided to pop over to spend the weekend. It should be a fun time hanging out with everyone. Gracie really enjoys playing with her cousins. Sunday is my long run and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to run the full 16 but will be happy to get in at least 14. I'm going to start out early and give it 100% effort.

I'm really excited about next weekend. My father-in-law and I are going deep sea fishing off the coast of North Myrtle Beach with a few other friends. I will be taking my running clothes to get my Sunday long run of 12 miles done....I'm looking forward to flat road down on the coast!:) We are going to be on a 40 footer about 40 plus miles out all day Saturday. We leave the dock around 6am and come back in around 5pm. I've never been deep sea fishing and I'm looking forward to it. I will be taking lots of pics of the weekend fun. We leave around 3pm next Friday and come back early Sunday night.

I don't have to teach a class next week which will be a nice a break and give me the chance to catch up on some of my other work. Normal class schedule next week Mon-Thurs night with one test on Wednesday night. I will be studying some this weekend to prepare. Then on to spend the weekend out on the water. It will be another busy week but what week isn't busy anymore?

Gracie is having a lot of fun at school and is doing really well. I really enjoyed being home tonight and getting a chance to actually spend some quality time with her. Every minute is so precious now because I don't get a chance to spend a lot of time with her Mon-Thurs and it really breaks my heart. It's so hard to get home after work and rush around trying to get ready for class with her not wanting me to go. Walking out that door never gets easier for me. By the time I get home she is already fast asleep. I feel like I'm missing so much and I sometimes question why I'm doing what I'm doing with these classes. Is it worth it? If it is, why does it hurt to walk out that door every night? When I get into class and start to soak up all this new knowledge it feels like I'm doing the right thing, it feels like, yes, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Still, when I walk out of those classrooms all I want to do is get home and be with Ashli and Gracie. It has been an emotional roller coaster for me the past 2 weeks. I do know that without my faith and family I wouldn't have made it this far.

So, I move forward, taking one day at a time and at the end of every night I pray and ask God for the strength to do it all over again. - Jason

6 comments:

Wes said...

If you've all ready done 13, try for 15. You can do it...

Deep sea fishing is a blast! Have a great time. Don't drink too much beer :-)

Gracie is a lucky, lucky girl....

J~Mom said...

Oh man, your paragraph on Gracie was so touching. I know how hard that is.

One day at a time. God will give you the strength.

Unknown said...

You have the right attitude and I am sure that your prayers will continue to be answered. The deep sea fishing sounds like fun. I went once when I was in Hawaii, but caught nothing.

Marcy said...

I agree with Lisa. (((HUGS))) Geez, you ARE a busy, busy guy!!

Unknown said...

I don't know if it will help fitting your runs in, but if you do two runs on the same day (say, two 8-milers) it has been proven that it has nearly the same training effect as a 16-miler. Maybe that will help you get your mileage in.

streak said...

You do have the strength to do it cause look how far you have come. It isn't easy and when it is all said and done, you will all look back and say I can do anything cause look what I did. Mind over matter.

Unfortunately, we can't spend every second with our loved ones but it teaches us a great lesson, love the time we spend with the ones we love and live in the moment. The time away is temporary and soon you will be spending lots of time together.

Keep up the great work!