Zombie Dash and the Week that Disappeared...

Last weekend, I already had plans for last Monday's post - a simple weekend recap of a 5k race + a 16 mile long run and maybe some cute family photos.  Well, Sunday afternoon, life intervened.

I'll back up to Saturday 4/28.  My oldest daughter and I (along with a friend) were all set to run her first 5k race.  She played basketball this winter and has been running track, so it seemed like a good time.  And she was too excited to miss the Zombie Dash.  I mean, what could be cooler to a 15 year old than trail running while being chased by zombies?  :) The race shirts were pretty epic too:

 

S and I with one of the zombie volunteers. This lady was intense - stayed in character the entire time pre-race.  Kind of spooky really.  Hard to get the full effect, but her make-up was incredible.

 Us runners were "survivors" and there were a few good costumes there too.  

Here are some army guys, ready to save the day!

This may have been my favorite costume - a zomBEE. hahahaha  :)

The race was a lot of fun, but there some surprises. I'd never really run on trails before and the dirt (and hills!) make for a harder run.  However, that effort was balanced out by the walking. Yes, walking.  More than a few areas on the trails were very narrow - single file.  So, if someone in front of you walked (and many did) everyone walked. This was frustrating at times.  Not a good race to "race" but not so bad if you just go with it to have fun. I think our final times were in the low 40 min range.  Even at my slowish pace, that's a slow 5k.  But it was also nice to enjoy it and not have it go by so quickly.

On Sunday we went to church and I got ready for my long run without a firm plan.  I wanted to do a minimum of 10 miles, but also really wanted to hit the 15+ mile point once more before the Riverbank Run. I was kind of secretly hoping to do 16 miles.  Unlike my last 15.5 miler, this run wasn't very comfortable.  My body felt heavy and it was humid.  But I had slogged through over 10 miles and thought 16 seemed attainable, even though some walking was involved.  Around mile 10.5, I heard my phone ring.  This is unusual in itself, since I frequently forget to turn my ringer on. And it was also odd that I answered it. But I did.

It was my husband.  Initially I was annoyed - why was he calling? He knew I was running.  Long story short, something was wrong with our daughter, S.  He didn't know what it was, but she wasn't herself and it scared him.  I told him to take her directly to the ER.  I called my neighbor to come get me (I was still well over 5 miles from home at this point) and started running toward where her car would be coming. She rushed me home, I found another neighbor to watch the other kids, and hurried to the hospital. I didn't even take the time to change - just grabbed a sweatshirt. (yes, pity Mark and everyone else - I STANK).

The next few hours and days are both a blur and yet firmly etched into my memory.  I realize it seems cryptic, but I'd rather not get into sharing private medical information on a public blog. I will say I had to sit and watch my oldest daughter as sick as I've ever seen her.  I had to hold her hand, not knowing what was wrong and not knowing if she'd be okay. It was the scariest week of my life.

I love my children - all of my children. And this week proved that to me a million times over.  As I watched S lying there, so sick, my heart broke for her, worried for her, ached for her. I was not able to hold S as an infant. We did not have that time together.  Nevertheless, that was my baby lying there. A mother's pain is such a unique and powerful thing.

Long story made very short, S is okay and we expect no real issues going forward. It was a very crazy, stressful week.  But so many positive things as well. I was reminded again of my love for S.  I was reminded again (and again) of how wonderful and supportive our family and friends are; how much others love my family too.  I was blessed with gifts of food, of time. I was reminded that such love and kindness is not a debt to be repaid, but a gift to pass on to another family when the time comes.

So, as I sit typing, it is now Wednesday, May 9.  My mind roams over the past 10 days and comes up both full and empty.  It's as if that time disintegrated.  But it doesn't matter.

Because it's time for us to look forward. And the future is bright.