BABY.SITTER.

Maddie is at a sitter's house right now.  I met the lady on my local FB cloth diaper page, and we've messaged back and forth about kid stuff in the past.  Today, she's watching my kid.  She used to do a daycare in-home and now watches kids on her days off from her internship for her master's (in counseling).  Not a bad find.  She even called to let me know how Maddie was doing and that she is napping.  She was real tired after playing with the other kids!!  *Happy squeal*  I may even do this again tomorrow.  I love Maddie, but it's so nice to have a break!!  I think I'll be a better mother with a little time away.  In trying to get everything done around here there are some days I feel like I don't really see her.  Ah motherhood.  Hopefully this helps both Maddie and me.

Now a quick running update before I go run some errands...

Last weekend I got to run by myself...and with music (I don't listen to music when I run with Maddie so I can keep all my mama spidey senses on high alert).  It was glorious, and I managed to make it five miles.  My best distance yet.  Then, Monday evening I decided to try an interval training run.  It was sundown.  I'd left Maddie with Joe, and beef stew simmering on the stove.  I ran one minute higher intensity to two minutes lower, couched between a five minute warm up and another five cool down, totaling 34 minutes and what ended up being about a 5k.  It was probably my best run to date.  I felt like a million bucks: the sun setting behind the mountains was beautiful; the crisp, chilly air felt amazing; the Christmas lights on the passing houses were fun to look at.  Overall, it just gave me such an energy.  I tore it up.  My splits were 11:02, 10:25, 10:46, and those are my best times ever.  IT WAS AMAZING.  By the end of the three miles, I was snapping along to the music and still felt great.  I tried to recreate that feeling yesterday...under the big desert sun, pushing a stroller, with a head wind, uphill, and it fucking sucked.  My splits were 11:36, 11:51 (stopped and walked during this mile due to a side stitch), and then I got just incredibly pissed off because it was going so awfully and cranked out a 10:25 third mile.  Not every run is your best, no, but I run so much better without the sun or a stroller in front of me.  However, I am grateful because without that jogger stroller, I wouldn't be running at all.  Can't have it all. 

I also did a strength training circuit for runners this week, and it was pretty great.  I didn't realize how much I was working until the next day.  Sore.  Good sore, though.  It was the second circuit of the two listed at the bottom here:  http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/build-better-body?page=single.  I so want to do the first circuit but gotta look up an alternate exercise to the back extension...don't have one of those.  And I guess have Joe put up the chin up bar.

With that, I gotta try the post office while I'm still sans child.  I'll proof this later.  Or, someone else do it.  Cheers.