Why Running Marathons FREAK Me Out.

2014-Beginning of 2015 Race Calendar.

     It's always a wacky feeling for me when race day is near....or multiple race days. I had a bit of a freak out the other day when I looked at my calendar. Oh wait. This is my blog...I should be honest and say that I HAD A MAJOR FREAKOUT. My husband just looked at me as I was already packing clothes for a race that is months away and said "Do you actually hear the words coming out of your mouth? What is your problem? You're an insane person." Hey hubby. Thanks for that!

      He followed it up by saying..."You'll be fine. You are always are. Hey baby, you're looking good today. Now, what's for dinner?"  I guess there's a tiny little bit of him that cares about my running. Maybe. Ha!

     I try not to mix my running weirdness issues with my family...so hard to do.  They don't get it nor do they care. They are busy busy people and my marathon training is not their concern. I'm fine with it.  They all like to get their run in but they are not like me. They do not have the runner brain 24/7....YET. My little apples didn't fall far from their tree so I expect (and hope) that one day they will love it. One day....later in life when their sanity needs it. :)

     That's where the Mom in me has to take a step back, re-evaluate and just soak it ALL in for what it's worth. Again, it's just so hard to do!!!  I would like to call it "balancing" but I won't even go there. There's no balance in being a marathon runner and living a normal life. This, I am convinced of. Runners are a strange/good/strange breed of folk. And I'm 100% okay with it. I'm proud to be one of "those runners".

     I'm freaking out. Not just because I'm running alot of races soon. I've got to get the calendar straight for six people. So much laundry to do. So many miles to run. Tie up the loose ends. I need cute new running clothes. I need new socks. Time to stock up on the sports-strength deodorant. Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so sick of wearing the same sports bra!!! My kids have late night ballgames. I can't get to bed early if I tried. I NEED sleep. Did I say I need cute new running clothes?? #OperationFreakOut in full session.

     REALLY. It's not the mileage, its all of the other "stuff" that goes along with being a runner. The running part is the icing on the cake. It's the relaxing bonus for me. It's the You've-been-acting-like-a-nutjob-for-six-months-now-go-get-that-medal-that-you've-had-your-eye-on. Yep. Those are the reasons for my freakout.

     I KNOW that I'm not alone. I read other blogs. I talk to other Moms. I see thousands of Twitter and Facebook posts! I can only compare myself to me...and thank goodness for that! I'm not sure if the world could handle more than one "me". lol!! Lucky for my family, I'm not perfect and I have a very funny sense of humor so I can usually laugh off my "imperfect crazy". My kids say things like "well you know how she is or she's not like other moms". I know that they say these things with the most love. :)

    In saying all of this, I'm really excited to run the Talladega Half Marathon this weekend at the Talladega SuperSpeedway and see my running peeps. One of my guy friends called me last night and said "hey girl. whatcha gonna run Dega in?" I said "time? or cute skirt?" He fell out laughing and said..."Well this ought to be fun, I can see you're already on it".

    So there ya go. Freak out sesh is over and I'm ready to run!  But between now and Sunday, I must go clean off my camera, fold up at least 12 loads of laundry, and figure out what's for dinner! ;)

Happy Running and See you at the track!