Missing Martha - Heidi

Today was my first day back from vacation and I'm feeling behind in all aspects of life. My office greeted me with an overflowing inbox and a big stack of charts on the floor. I got a lot of paperwork done in the midst of seeing a busy day of patients, but left the office with a towering stack of charts to dictate. Thank goodness, I'm on call tomorrow and will hopefully leave a clean desk by the time I leave the Hospital on Wednesday morning. Despite doing multiple loads of laundry once we got home on Sunday night, there is a mound of whites to fold on my bed. Given its location, that will have to be dealt with before I can crawl in to sleep tonight. I “trained” all but two days of my vacation but did lighter work outs to accommodate the family schedule and the absence of a long-distance running partner! I came home to read Martha’s blog about her arduous 20-mile run. Two women in our running group did a 20-mile run around Martha's Vineyard last Saturday. I had been feeling good about my six to nine mile runs over vacation, but now I'm feeling mostly - behind!

Before anyone feels sorry for my current state, let me tell you that I spent this last week in Los Angeles and San Diego. My husband had business meetings to attend, so my son and I accompanied him over the school vacation week. According to a father in a line at Sea World, it was about as cold as it gets in Southern California last week, but we're talking 50's and 60's without snow and ice on the ground. In Santa Monica, I had the “strand” to run along while I was still on east coast time and my family was snoozing in their comfy hotel beds. This is a 22-mile stretch of path along the Pacific Ocean where people run, rollerblade and bike. In San Diego there was a similar path along Mission Bay that was at least three miles in each direction. I took advantage of both venues, but I would take battling the New England snow and ice for more than ten miles any day with Martha at my side over a sunny stretch of concrete with only my ipod to entertain me for a shorter distance.

I did get in a little cross training, which included my first ever rollerblading. Thank goodness I didn't fall and break anything. I would think that my heart rate soaring during my two rides on Space Mountain in Disney Land would count for something (or at least standing in line for more than an hour to get on the ride).

Well, it is nice to be back on the beautiful and less-congested east coast. Given the snow today, I did a 50-minute run at the Hospital fitness center. I'm looking forward to my track workout with The Suburban Striders on Wednesday. I'm hoping Martha's knees will be feeling ok so I can enjoy another long run with someone to talk to this weekend.