Sleep Deprivation

I am sleep deprived. How did I ever make it with an infant and function at work on 3 or 4 hours of sleep on a consistent basis? Maybe I didn't function well. Let's not ask my boss.

My boy is sick. Cough. Snot. Sleepless nights. No appetite. Around 3 AM last night, my husband and I hear a sad whining sound coming from our boy's room. My husband goes to check on him. After some high-pitched screaming, my husband returns to our room, gets back under the covers and says, "He wants his mom." I feel delighted that my boy wants his mommy in the dead of night, but so frustrated that these sleepless nights are continuing. I go into his room and he screams, "Go away! Go away!" I didn't even know my boy knew those words. I got down closer to his head (well, as close as I could without actually getting into his crib) and quietly whispered, "It's mommy... are you ok? It's mommy." After a few moments, he opened his eyes noticing it was me standing there. He grabbed one of his blankies and nuzzled his head into my neck as if saying, "I'm ready to come sleep in your room now. Thanks." And, so he did. I'm a pushover. The kid is sick and I just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, he sleeps sideways when he comes in our room and I generally get kicked in the head or ribs until sunrise. But my little boy wanted to be with me. I can handle the kicks. I think I can handle the sleep deprivation. I'm not sure I can handle leading a meeting in a few short hours at work. Can I just please stay home and sip on a pot of hot coffee in the morning? Please?

In order to unload all the crazy that has been going on in my world lately, I am planning to hit the trails this afternoon. I am going for a run by myself to clear my head and to continue training for a new race! A few weeks ago, I signed up for the TC 10K with a couple friends. The race is in 24 days and I'm really looking forward to it. First, I'm excited that it isn't 13.1 miles. Second, I'm excited it is more than a 5K. Basically, I'm excited that I have to train, but I don't have to kill myself training. This will be a good distance for me. I hadn't been doing much plain old running while soccer was in full swing this summer, so getting a race on the list of things to do this fall is a good thing.

My soccer season ended 2 weeks ago and I'm so proud to say that our team came in second! Go Club America! Playing with this team was certainly a highlight of my summer. I scored two goals, played a lot of center forward and played a lot of defense. I had horrendous shin splints during and after each game for days, but I didn't let it slow me down. Soccer ended up being a great (and healthy!) stress reliever for me in the midst of a very stressful time at work. I'm thankful to have such a fun team to play with and I love that we all enjoy playing together.

But the soccer season is over. I don't have that once a week 90-minute exercise time built into my schedule anymore. The TC 10K comes at a great time. The race is about a month after soccer ended, which doesn't allow me to stop running. I can't stop running. No matter how sleep deprived I am. Gotta keep going. My body is telling me "noooo..." but I know my mind could benefit from sweating a bit.

More to come on the training!