easter weekend + a running comeback

If you haven't had that nasty stomach bug that's going around yet, thank your lucky stars because it is a doozy.  MacKenna had it a week and a half ago and didn't really eat for almost a week.  Now I know why.  It hit me HARD on Saturday afternoon and I still have little appetite 5 days later.  So, instead of getting a "day in the life" post (believe me, the lack of food I've eaten is less than exciting), I figured I'd give you a little glimpse at our Easter weekend.Friday was fantastic - a much needed day off after a couple of emotionally exhausting weeks.  I have been dying to head out toward the city so we could finally try Strange Donuts.  We've been making it a family tradition to go get donuts on Saturday mornings at our local donut shop, but it's really hard to get all 4 of us up and out the door early enough to drive 40 minutes on a Saturday morning before they sold out.  So, we decided Good Friday was a great day to go.I'll admit, that while the donuts were decent, I wasn't overly impressed.  The yeast donuts were really dense and the cake donuts were just alright.  I did love the originality of the flavors they offer (French toast!  Lemon poppyseed!  Gooey butter cake!) and I would love to go out there one night to try one of their "stranger" donuts, where they pair up with a local restaurant to make a donut.  They are extremely original and do a great job at marketing, but we probably won't be making a trip back out there.Saturday is when I went down for the count.  I woke up feeling what I thought were hunger pains, so we went to get donuts again, this time at Heaven Scent Doughnuts - these were better but still not my favorite.  We headed off to the grocery store to get stuff for dying Easter eggs and making food for our Easter gatherings, but I started feeling pretty bad.  I spent the rest of the day laying on the couch, dozing on and off between trips to the bathroom and nursing Miles.  It was not a fun day.  I just kept praying that I would feel better in the morning since I had missed Christmas already and didn't want to miss another major holiday.Thankfully, I was feeling better in the morning, so we put on our Easter best and headed off to church.  You know you're not feeling well when you don't even get a family portrait - or your kids in their Easter clothes - on Easter.  I didn't even make Kenna's Easter basket until right before she woke up that morning.  #mommyfail  But, we still had a great day spent with family.  Miles was able to meet his Great Grandma and Kenna had a great time hunting for Easter eggs with her cousins.  And we all made out really well with our Easter baskets from the Easter bunny - aka both sets of parents.  (I'm praying I will get to enjoy some Easter candy in the next few days - nothing like giving it up for Lent only to still not be able to eat it days after Easter.)But, before the bug struck me down for a few days, I actually got some running in!  Just a week ago, I could've swore I was going to be out for awhile.  After heading back to the chiropractor for my 3rd adjustment in a week, all of a sudden, my hip/back/leg started feeling amazingly better.  I was having less and less pain every single day that by Thursday, I did an easy 2 mile run virtually pain free!  Followed by a 3 miler on Friday with no pain!  I have been pain free since last Friday and it looks like I won't be taking more time off from running!I am, however, taking my time building my mileage back up.  I was feeling much better by Monday afternoon that I went on an easy 2 mile run - walking breaks included.  Yesterday, an easy 3-miler - again, with walking breaks.  While I don't have to worry about hip pain anymore, I also still have no appetite, which means there's been nothing in my system to fuel my runs, so walking was a necessity.  I also deferred our team relay until next year due to several us being completely undertrained, including myself.  I will officially start half marathon training for Rock 'n' Roll Chicago at the end of this month, so I'm just working on building up my mileage slowly, to where I can do a 5 mile run by the time training starts.  No training plan.  No worrying about paces.  Sounds like a good comeback to me... And if you want to come run with me in Chicago this summer (or in St. Louis in October), you can use my RnR discount code at checkout to save $15 on your race entry!  (This code is valid on ANY Rock 'n' Roll marathon or half in the U.S., so if Chicago or STL aren't convenient, find one close to you!)