Whew! It’s been a long time since I posted! Currie had her third birthday:

Happy 3rd Birthday Currie!

And then she held a snake.

I had a big work project (I woke from home), then I got a killer cold. The cold started in my sinuses and was so bad in the beginning I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. Everything hurt! It’s the kind of cold that will slightly affect my breathing (think phlegm in throat while racing) during hard efforts for another month or so. The kind of colds runners dread. I’m not one to take days off unless I really need it, and let me tell you – I took a day off, another day of 1 mile, another day of 2 miles… and so on. I’m still only up to 4.3 miles as it’s hard to breathe with all the “drainage”. Eww. It came at a bad time because:

• My mother-in-law is in town and I like to get quality running and home projects done when I have help in town. That isn’t happening. I feel lucky that she’s been here to help with Currie though!
• It’s time to get ramping up for 2013 races. The local races are piling up, starting with Syracuse Half on 3/24/13 which I planned on running but won’t be because we have an out of town wedding that weekend. Next up is the Flower City Half Marathon at the end of April. It is the USATF Niagara Half Marathon Championships this year and has a potential $1,000 on the line for the winner who also hits time bonuses. Oh, and another $150 for an additional time bonus for USATF Niagara members.  Pretty big payday potential! And this is just the beginning. More big races, more big money coming up as the weather gets warmer.

And right now I’m running 4 miles a day. But, I know it’s better to run short and easy until I’m 100% then to prolong the sickness and more training. Taking it in stride by…

wearing shirts that say “run” a million times.

spending money on more running apparel. Hello Oiselle Lux Layer.

So, what else do I do when I’m not running much? DREAM about running! Or running friends. Anything running related will do. If you follow me on twitter (@jenbigham) you know I had a dream a few days ago where Oiselle‘s Marketing Director + Model, Sarah, was in a music video being shot here in a Rochester thrift store. It was produced by none other than Lauren Fleshman. I was in charge of wardrobe. Hey, it could happen.

Then last night, I had a dream that my younger brother and I were flying to a highly competitive race where there was big money on the line. The race director said they would pay his flight, lodging and food. Then they told me all they could offer me was a little kale at meals. What?! I don’t know where that dream came from and I woke up before I actually got to eat. Womp Womp… Looks like I need to work on confidence?

Today, for my longest run in over a week, I ran to the library. The library is just over 2 miles away, but the route there is along busy roads, especially during rush hour. I had a DVD (that I didn’t even watch!) that was due yesterday and I needed to get it back before the library opened to avoid a 25 cent late fine. I know, 25 CENTS! Must get that DVD back immediately!

I’m no stranger to literally running my errands, but I was hesitant because the route isn’t exactly safe to run during rush hour thanks to crazy traffic. I couldn’t drive it because I only had time for a run OR a trip to the library before my Currie’s gymnastics class and you know the running was going to win. I didn’t want a fine mostly because I feel like with anything in life, once you start giving up/letting things slip/not caring in general, it just makes it easier to do in the future. Kind of like dropping out of a race. Do it once, more likely to do it again. (On a side note, I have dropped out of a race and run many successful races after that. I’ve also finished dead last in a large race where I should have been a top finisher because I just gave up. You can overcome these things, but in general I’d rather not give in, no matter how silly the task.)

So, I ran to the library. I got the DVD in without a fine. I feel better than I’ve felt all week. And I made it 4.3 miles! Things are looking up!

Do you RUN your errands? Shop when you’re stressed/sad? Do you have crazy dreams every night like me? My dreams aren’t always about running, but have been running intense this week!