The Matejkas Equal Three: And Will I Achieve the Dream?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

And Will I Achieve the Dream?

Last year I was brave and tackled the Flying Pirate Half Marathon. I was scared, more like petrified, the morning of the race. My stomach was in knots, literally. I finally got my act together, and conquered the sucker. I have to say, it was one those "bucket" list moments, and I was so proud of myself for the accomplishment. I always hit a wall around mile 8, whether it's running on the treadmill at the Y or running in the hills of Goochland, I want to crash.

I did a practice run of 13.1 on Sunday. My motivator? A four-year old giving me high fives as I ran by our home. My Achilles tendon on my left ankle is killing me. Last Saturday while shopping at Kroger, the little rugrat had his own grocery shopping cart and decided to ram it right into my ankle. It was doing better, but that run Sunday kicked it back into some pain. I did a four mile light run last night, and it didn't seem too bothersome, and added in 30 minutes of circuit training (more like torture) with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I burned 20 Weight Watcher Points on Sunday with that run. Hello to Edy's Frozen Yogurt...lol :) Amazing what all this running does for your core muscles. Bring on the two-piece!

Anyway, all this leads up to my race this weekend (Run for the Dream)! Matthew is "beside himself" with glee about visiting Colonial Williamsburg. He is ready to go NOW. I am keeping him home from school on Friday, just to enjoy a little fun time with him, get packed, etc. We head down Saturday morning for the fitness expo and my race packet pick-up. We will then go to Jamestown to see the boats and take in some of the history there. Check in at the Embassy Suites Williamsburg is not until 4. I got our stay for FREE! I have traveled so much for work, that my Hilton Honor points added up to a free stay. We enjoy this chain....free buffet breakfast and the manager's reception is always nice, and the rooms are huge. With a four-year old, you need all the space you can to put all his crap. In addition, I want to be able to sleep in a separate area due to my very early start Sunday morning. Here's hoping the Ambien kicks in when it is supposed to.

I have my box of pop-tarts packed, and ready. One of my quirky running habits is to eat a packet of pop-tarts 30 minutes before a run. If I don't, I'll crash badly mid-way through the race. All that sugar, woohoo. Any suggestions for some kid-friendly restaurants in the Burg? Matthew is pushing for Red Lobster (blick)...not something I want to tackle before a big race. They have sandwiches, so that will be the route I guess I'll have to take. I can't keep the four-year old away from his cheesy biscuits.

Onto other more depressing news....many of you close to me know that my job with PBS is being eliminated as of June 22nd. You can read the article here.... Public Station To Cut 11 Positions. I am pretty much under "gag" order, so I have to keep my mouth shut, but at least you can read about it. I've come to love what I do for the past 11 years, and have really put my heart and soul into working with the FBI on an Internet Safety Project. We actually won the president's award for all of that hard work. I just suppose this is another "bump" in our road, and we'll get past it. I think it's my calling to go back into teaching. Applications are in... I LOVED teaching and I was good, no GREAT, at it, and hope that door opens before September 1. Ahh, to whip out the red pen again and to do some proofreading!

Blessings to all of you....especially my mom buddies. I hope you had a glorious Mother's Day. I spent the afternoon playing Putt Putt with Matthew. He sucks at it, but with his mom's guidance he will get better. :) I at least won a free game, so when I am totally broke within the next few months, we can get a free game of Putt Putt in on the greens.