My last post was really a bit of a downer, but I won’t apologize for it because, honestly, that’s where my head’s been lately. I’ve been struggling, but I feel like I turned yet another corner yesterday. The weather is slowly turning towards spring, I was able to get outside, and the Vitamin D was like medicine for my soul. My friend, Mareike, and I took the kids to the Thompson Park Zoo, and it was a blast. Spencer’s been a few times before, but this was Porter’s first visit, and we had so much fun!
The zoo features all indigenous animals, so I don’t feel too guilty about paying to see some exotic creatures in captivity. Spencer was fascinated by the Mountain Lion and the Canadian Lynxes, and he really loved the river otters – as did I! We watched the wolves have an Easter egg hunt, which was hilarious and funny, and we had a lunch date outside, which made for some happy boys.
During naptime, my neighbor’s husband watched the boys so Emily and I could get our long run of the week in – 60 minutes. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was hoping to get about 6 miles in. I figured I could do a 10-minute pace, and I crushed my goal. I went 6.46 miles in 60 minutes, an average of 9:17 pace, and I held tight splits the entire time. I also PRed my 10k by a whole minute, which was a huge ego boost after how awful I’ve felt lately about life in general.
I also made a decision last night with my mom, who came to visit (yet again) to help me for a couple days. I’m going to brave the trip to NH to see them in a couple weeks, and I’ll stay with my parents for a week before we head to South Carolina for a week for my mom’s birthday. On the way back up, we’ll be stopping in NJ for the NJ marathon. I’m doing my first half of the year, and I’m hopeful for a good time. I also signed up to do Lake Placid in June with Emily, so I’m pretty excited about that!
Deployment life is hard. I won’t sugarcoat it at all. I’ve really struggled a lot lately, but I’m working hard to keep positive and remember all the good stuff. I think that as the weather turns, so does my psyche, and I’m so glad for that.
