crazy woman

Or so they – my husband, my friends – say. I wake up at 5 a.m. to run (not every morning – other mornings I do a weight routine or a self-created spinning routine, but even then waking at 5 a.m.). After about 6-7 hours of interrupted sleep (my eight-month-old is a lousy sleeper – like his brother before him). So I am probably adding to my chronic sleep deprivation. But when else am I to be alone?

And they think this is crazy. I have told no one of the true running craziness to come.

It all started when I decided to run the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 6. (I have run it a few times before, including after having my first child in 2005 and 2006). From experience, I knew I had to register as soon as registration opened online – on December 12. This race closes fast, usually within a few days.

That day, I had a sick baby and a ton of editing work to do – all of which I dealt with in the morning. So I lost track of registering first thing. Online registration was closed by the time I got online at 1pm – within a few hours, not a few days. Mail-in was open, but I had little hope – though I filled out that form by hand and popped it in the mail.

In a fit of needing to do run something BIG, I registered for other races: The Wirefly National Half-Marathon on March 29 and the George Washington Parkway Classic 10 Miler on April 27.

And then I found out I did indeed get in to the Cherry Blossom. That is three 10+ mile races in a month.

And I intend to run them all. With what will be a four-year-old and a nine-month old in the house. At least my husband is supportive. But I don’t think he yet has the whole picture.

I do have the training under my belt: I can cover 10 miles these days with (some) ease, and I ran the Parks Half-Marathon in September (yes, with a three-month-old at home).

But am I crazy?