Good and bad

Good: marathon training. Everything is going smoothly so far.
Bad: the realization I was finally forced to accept yesterday that it’s just not going to be feasible for all four of us to head back east for the race. As much as I wanted it to be otherwise, it wouldn’t work. Too expensive (by far) and too much time for Sam to be out of school. I’ll be flying by myself, then, which both bums me out and TERRIFIES me – I hate flying, and I’ve never done it alone before!

I was worried about disappointing my parents, too. I called Dad yesterday to explain and sort of apologize about not bringing the grandkids with me. He reassured me that I rank right up there with them. So they’ll be picking me up at the airport, taking me to my hotel, and then probably staying there with me (I had to reserve a double bed room at minimum, so it’s not like I don’t have the space!) the night before and after the marathon. That will be nice and convenient, and it’ll be reassuring for me to have them there. As much as, when it comes down to it, the actual event is all on my own shoulders, having people I know and love there to cheer me on is a hugely motivating factor.

And then I Twittered about it, and I got reminded that there are plenty of people I’ve come to know online who will also be there and who will be happy to root for me. Okay, so a few of them will also be running, and probably doing it a heck of a lot faster than me, but I’m not opposed to a two-way cheering system; I can support them while they support me!

As time gets closer, I’ll try to assemble some more details about potential meeting spots and times. It may not be a family trip, but I’ll make it work for what it will be: my first trip away from my kids ever, some time with my folks, a chance to meet up with some people I’ve been eager to meet face-to-face (some of them for years!), and…oh, yeah, that marathon thing.

Eric’s back at work today, though he was feeling sort of wiped out by the time he was showered and dressed to go. Other than that, though, he seems to have recovered (the fever that was the worst part has finally subsided), so he figured he’d give it a shot. Likely, the exhaustion is due in part to having eaten barely anything over the past few days. Now, the incubation period for these things lasts for about two days maximum, so if we can get through to Thursday, I’ll consider us mostly in the clear!