July 24, 2012

Running on adrenaline

I think I ran the fastest mile of my life today. And unfortunately, I will never know, because I wasn't wearing my Garmin. In fact, today was a rest day, so I wasn't even planning on running.

My mom, my sister, and I all took the boys (and Jeanie's dogs) to the state park today. Eli wanted to fish, so he brought his fishing pole; and Noah wanted to ride his bike. Jeanie and I decided to walk the dogs around the three-mile loop, and Noah could ride his bike along with us. (Lucy, my sister's other basset, doesn't like to walk too far, so Jeanie brought the wagon to pull her, haha)

We started walking, and I told Noah he didn't have to stay right next to us, but he had to stay in our sight (if he couldn't see us, he had to stop and wait for us to catch up). It worked out pretty well--if he got out of sight, I just yelled, "Noah!" and hear him respond, "What?!" and I would yell back, "Wait up!" so he would wait for us.

After about 1.3 miles or so (I know that path like the back of my hand), Noah asked if he could turn around and ride back to where my mom and Eli were. I thought about it for a minute--I could call my mom, tell her that he's on his way back, and she could watch for him. But then I thought about the one fork in the path, and I worried that he might turn the wrong way. He said he knew which way to turn, but it can be really confusing (I got lost lots of times when I first started running at the park).

I told Noah no, that he still had to stay in our sight--but we would turn around and head back instead of finishing the loop. So we started back along the path, and I noticed Noah wasn't in sight. So I yelled, "Noah!" expecting him to yell back. I didn't hear anything, so I yelled again, as loud as I could. Still, nothing. Jeanie suggested that maybe the wind was drowning it out because we had turned around, so I decided to do a short run ahead to see if I could see him (he was supposed to stay in sight, remember).

I started running, and when I went around the curve, I could see pretty far ahead--and Noah wasn't there. I picked up the pace and started running as fast as I could--faster and faster until I was running so hard, I felt like my lungs would explode. Every 10 seconds or so, I would yell his name, but there was no response. I had my phone with me, so I called my mom's cell and asked if Noah was with her. She panicked and said no, he wasn't.

I really freaked out then. I felt like I was choking, and as I ran, I was picturing all the horrible things that could have happened to him. After about a half-mile, I saw some people on bikes coming toward me. I asked them, "Did you see a little boy on a bike?" And they said yes, they had passed him "waaay back there". I kept running, and asking everyone I saw if they saw a boy on a bike. About a 1/4 mile from where my mom was, my mom called and said he showed up with her. I told her to tell him to stay there, and he was in big trouble.

Eli is obsessed with fishing lately
I was trying to catch my breath after that uber-fast sprint. I reached where my mom and the boys were, and I sat and talked to Noah about what he did. My mom told me that as soon as he reached her, she said, "Your mom is really worried about you" and Noah burst into tears--knowing that what he did was wrong. I was furious that he disobeyed me, when I was so specific about the fact that he was not allowed to go by himself (or out of sight). Of course, I was also very relieved that everything turned out okay.

I'm sure the state park is very safe, and I've never heard of anything bad happening there, but it's also very secluded, and I don't even feel safe running there by myself. I always take pepper spray if I don't have a running partner there.

My sister and her husband are going back to Illinois tonight--but first, they decided to stay and watch Noah play his final baseball game. Noah was actually chosen by his coach to play on the all-star team! There were only five kids chosen, so he is pretty proud. I'll be seeing my sister again in about a week, because we are going to visit her in Illinois. I'm excited to go--we always have fun when we visit!

26 comments:

  1. good thing you're a runner! otherwise you would have hurt yourself running so fast. glad he's ok.

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  2. Where in IL are you going? I'm from Aurora, IL, about 40 miles west of Chicago, and also lived in Chicago for about 4 years. Now I live in Atlanta! Have a great time! I hope you get a chance to go to the city!

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  3. Oh my goodness! My heart was pounding just reading that! I would have done the same thing! Poor you...it sounds like he learned his lesson, though.

    How very exciting that Noah was chosen for the All-Star team--that's a major accomplishment! Congrats to him!!

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  4. Katie, I just want to say thank you. I have spent the last few days obsessively reading your blog from the beginning. I've come to a few conclusions... 1) You're awesome. 2) You are such an inspiration. 3) You're hilarious. 4) I love you (in the most normal, non-stalker, blog reader kind of way. Haha) you have completely inspired me to change my life. I found you on pinterest (big surprise, I'm sure) and would not put my phone down until I got to your current post. Haha. It shocks me that someone my size (currently 261) could get down to a size 4!!! I finally started walking last night after years of saying I'll lose this weight. I haven't and the only one that can do anything about it is me. So, thank you for writing out your story for us all to read. <3

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2012

      I second everything in this comment! I have read all of your previous posts and look forward to your daily post! I've since done two 5ks and am looking for my 3rd :) Congrats on getting started Karen- you are in good company!

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    2. AnonymousJuly 24, 2012

      Karen, I too found Katie's blog via pinterest. I weigh 239. Would you like to be friends on my fitness pal? I am pokat302 on there.

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  5. LoveAnAnimalJuly 24, 2012

    Good grief! Thank goodness Noah was safe! He just aged his mommy...and her readers.

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  6. Oh my goodness! My heart was racing just reading that! I would totally freak out too! I'm glad he was ok! Kids can really freak you out, thats for sure! My son (3 1/2 years) had a lego spider man toy last night when he went to bed, and the toys legs pop on and off. All of asudden my husband heard him coughing and gasping for air. He choked on a leg and then ended up swallowing it. My husband and I were shaking with adrenaline. He never puts toys in his mouth, but we cleared out all his little toys, not he can only play with them at the table when we are around.

    You are a great mom! I <3 your blog and read it every night :)

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  7. How freaking scary. I'm glad he's ok. Also, in a completely different direction ... I love that Lucy is such a queen. She's all, "I know I'm the girl dog, but I don't want to walk so Imma make you all my b*tch." Awesome.

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  8. Naughty Noah! I'm so ashamed, I did stuff like that alll the time as a kid. I just wanted to be independent, push the limits. My poor mom did not deserve that!! So glad he was fine. You're right to worry, better safe than sorry. But congrats on him being an all star! As for Eli, he makes a pretty cute fisherman!

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  9. Geez....that sounds scary, I am glad it turned out fine!!!!

    ~Laura

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  10. Can there be anything worse than fear over your child? So glad he was safe-I hope you made him hug you for an hour as punishment! (I know I would, lol!)

    How cute is the dog in the wagon? It's like he's his own float in a parade.

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  11. I felt the panic you must have been feeling. How were you not sobbing the entire way? Unfortunately, we're really not safe anywhere and even though you never heard of anything happening, there's a first time for everything. I have a nature preserve near me, on acres of woods and I won't go in there by myself. A girl was attacked 25 years ago, by her boyfriend, but I still won't go in by myself. I'll never forget the story on Oprah about an aunt who let her 8 yr. old nephew go in the men's room at a campsite by himself (because he refused to go in the women's room)and he never came out. We have to be proactive and certain things you just can't do.

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  12. Oh, and Lucy in the wagon reminds me of Aunt Edie's dog on 'The Middle!' It's even a bassett hound!

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  13. Oh my gosh! My heart was racing just reading your story I would have been in a panic. I am so glad he is safe, you just never know these days!

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  14. You gave me a great idea! I just may have to get a wagon (or stroller?) for my 16-year-old cocker-golden retriever mix! I don't know if he'd go for it though. He'd probably want to walk the entire time, but then won't be able to stand the next day due to his arthritis.

    I can't even imagine the panic you were feeling... I'm glad he made it safe and sound... but sure did give you a good scare. Completely understand!

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  15. Where in IL? I'm down south by St Louis! :)

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  16. That would have been SO scary! Not to freak you out, but in my tiny area, two little girls (ages 10 and 8) went missing last week. And they are still missing. And it is in a very safe area. At least now you have the opportunity to really instill in him how important it is he never do that again!
    How is the Wii challenge going? You have inspired me to do my own challenge, I am going to do Jillian Micheal's Ripped in 30 at least 5 days/week for a month. I took pictures yesterday and hope to see some awesome results!

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  17. That is so scary! I am glad everything turned out ok in the end. I suppose that is what kids are for... to give us mini (or massive) heart attacks whenever humanly possible. My kids haven't pulled anything quite like that yet (they are only 5 & 2) but they have given me those moments of panic more times than I care for.

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  18. Oh Katie-I can imagine what you went through. A mother's mind can work overtime when she is worried about her kid! I'm glad everything was okay and hopefully Noah learned a lesson to stay close by! Again, your sister makes me laugh with how much she pampers her babies (dogs). The pictures of the big old Bassett Hound in the wagon is hilarious. You can tell he is loving it!

    When you talked about panicking when you lost sight of Noah, it made me think of those two little Iowa girls who just completely disappeared last week, they were last seen riding their bikes. SCARY! Once again, I'm glad everything was okay in the end. And you got a good run out of the whole deal. But not what you want to do. I wonder if adrenaline burns a lot of calories? I would sure think so.

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  19. Ugh...that is the one of the worst feelings, when you can't find your kid (even if it's only for a few minutes). Glad to hear everything turned out okay!

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  20. AnonymousJuly 25, 2012

    that is super scary!!! and i know the feeling: once when i couldnt find my daughter while shopping at JCPenny's, and minutes of calling for her and calling for her, having other moms call her name out in the dept store -- only to find her hiding in the clothes racks (her idea of fun!!). I wanted to yell at her so bad - but instead, since I was so scared and I could do is cry and tell her to NEVER EVER hide from mommy again.

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  21. So glad he was ok! I'm sure he wont do that again. So scary.

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  22. AnonymousJuly 25, 2012

    There is truly no anger worse then anger that stems from fear :( I remember once a lady came into a dairy queen to retrieve her four year old that left the yard and walked to dairy queen. She spanked him on the spot and the people at dairy queen said "dont do that cant you see hes scared" She looked them square in the eyes and said " No THIS is scared" as she pointed to herself. Fear turned to relief turned to anger. oh its bad.... Draftlover

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  23. I live in Iowa and we had two girls ages 8 and 10 from a community. Their bikes were found on a bike path going around a lake. This was two weeks ago and they have not been found. Always be aware of where your children are. You did the right thing to worry.

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