Coming off of that exhausting Glass City Marathon (recap here), you’d think I’d be able to take it easy. But did you hear, we’ve got newborn kittens!! This is maybe our 5th year fostering kittens from the Toledo Humane Society. We’ve had a lot of kittens, and a lot of challenges, but this is by far our biggest challenge. Feeding four kittens around the clock has left us pretty tired after just one week! Kitten feeding takes one person 30 mins if all is good. 45 mins if other things happen, like fussy eaters and messy beds. Luckily we can get through it in 15 mins when my husband and I are both feeding them and they are good eaters. But probably every other feeding we’ve got at least one kitten who refuses to latch on to a nipple and wants to just cry, while still acting like she wants to eat. This gets very frustrating. And to do the math, we are collectively spending 3 to 4 hours feeding kittens each day! One days that I work, I get the 6am feeding. That’s not bad. But on the other 4 days I take the 2am feeding and my husband gets the 6am feeding. Waking up at 2am isn’t the bad part – it’s trying to fall back asleep after being awake for 30-45 mins. I am struggling with that. I hope we are able to finish our assignment of raising these kittens. I’m just putting it out there that we were told they could find another home for them if they are too overwhelming. It would seem like a failure, but becoming parents to babies again is super tiring and restrictive on when we can leave the house :). Just saying. Ok, that being said… here are some pictures of the adorable kittens – [and sorry in advance if I don’t get to reply to your comments. I do read them all!!]
We groom them with a toothbrush!
But, on to other fitness related topics…..
Mon – oof. The pain is real. Walking down stairs is challenging! I am working at home due to kittens and recovery. I can barely sit down to feed the kittens without falling over. Overall everything else feels good, other than those killer stairs… On a fun note, we celebrated our races!
I did buy two of the race pictures. The “crop top” racing shots of me weren’t as bad as I predicted.
Also, here is proof that we did have some hills on the course.
Tues – 15 mins elliptical. Still sore quads. Good enough workout for today! Mom brag: my son was inducted into the National Honor Society. We’re so proud of him!
Weds – 2 mile walk. I had to get outside and get some fresh air! My legs felt super wonky at times, but the sunshine was nice.
Does anyone else display their race bling after their race?? I convinced my next door neighbor that it’s a thing so she brought her medals from the 5K and half marathon in too!
Thurs – 3 mile hike at the park with Alan. I’m feeling 90% better now.
Fri – 2 mile run! My legs are working again! Felt a little sore afterwards, but not bad. Also did weights at the gym.
18 mile bike ride. I had a lot of things to do, but my bike was calling my name. I took advantage of the nice weather and rode along the river.
Sat – Last day at my gym!! We got the sad news that our gym was closing. Seems it was a victim of being closed during the pandemic and not charging dues during that time. That sucks. We will miss it 🙁
Sun – I wish I could tell you that I’ll be sleeping in… but you know, kittens. So I’ll just be working around the 2-3 hours I have in between feedings 😆
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
My brain isn’t functioning enough for questions now. I’ll take anything you got! 🙂 Hope you are having a great week!
My gym closed March 2020. Definitely sucked.
Love love your kitten picks. FOMO.
Glad you are recovering well.
Congrats on another marathon completed.
I didn’t use the gym nearly as much as my husband did, but it was a well equipped gym. We’re hoping maybe someone else will buy it up cheap and reopen it maybe!
Those kittens are cute! It’s so nice of you to foster them and do those ‘round the clock feedings!
Your race photos look great!
Bummer on the gym closing. Seems odd that they made it through and are closing now, but maybe debts piled up ….
The gym posted a notice back in November that they couldn’t make any sales “in store” because of back due taxes. They sell smoothies and personal training, but I guess they could still sell memberships online. So it wasn’t completely unexpected but we really hoped they would pull through.
Okay, that does sound really hard. Selfishly, I hope you keep these kittens the whole time so we can keep seeing pictures. But it would be totally understandable if you passed them along to someone else. Whatever time you spend with them is invaluable.
It sucks that your gym is closing! Unfortunately I’m not surprised. With the money they lost during Covid, and now I’m also wondering if a lot of people are going to just continue doing Peloton workouts at home instead of going back- it might be a hard time for gyms.
Glad your legs are starting to feel more normal. Yes, that post-marathon DOMS is insane!
One more thing- congratulations to your son! What a great kid.
We keep trying to keep our eye on the end goal – healthy, adoptable kittens! Watching TikTok videos of adorable kittens really helps, but man oh man, they keep us busy. It’s a bit stressful because we need to make sure they drink a minimum amount of formula each time so they don’t get dehydrated. One of them is really tiny and fights us on the feedings. So frustrating. She is really frail and I worry about her. We just keep hoping we are doing the right thing!
OMG those two baby kittens are precious!
I know that the marathon was hard but you had some really great race photos!
So sorry to hear that your gym is closing 🙁 A Crossfit gym near me closed a few months ago and it was so sad because they tried so hard to keep it open.
Thanks! There were a couple of race pictures that weren’t flattering, but I was shocked there were some good ones! I am especially thrilled that both of my feet are off of the ground when I crossed the finish. 😂
Your race photos are great, I have not mastered that skill yet! MIne still look like I just started running that day. Glad your recovery is going well!
My pro tip for good race pictures is wearing sunglasses! And big smiles, no matter what 🙂 Based on how awful I felt, it was a great coincidence they got some got shots of me! What is really funny is that I was only running in the “crop top” picture because I saw the photographer. Then we all went back to walking. haha!!
You are amazing–no one else I know would run a marathon and then agree to foster kittens! I was exhausted after my half last weekend and I needed sleep and lots of it! I do display my medals at home. But no one runs at work, so they wouldn’t understand.
Glad you are recovering well. Now off to read your recap!
I know, I’m crazy for taking in these kittens!! We keep telling ourselves that “this” is the hardest week. Seems it hasn’t gotten much easier in the past week, but we’ll keep telling ourselves that!
I do hope that every coworker will stop by and ask me about the race, but sadly that isn’t the case!
Sounds like a lot of us were in recovery mode last week 😉 (I think you were the only one who had the round-the-clock kitten care, though!). Oh, I’m jealous of your outdoor cycling! It’s been just too obnoxiously windy and cold here…and I’m getting claustrophobic in my basement.
I went for a bike ride today and it was super windy! But it was oh so speedy with the tailwind as we rode home. Gotta love it when it works out that way!
Glad you’re recovering from your marathon. I can’t wait to read your recap; hopefully, sometime this week.
Those kittens are lucky to have you fostering them! I’ve probably told you this each time you foster kittens… I found and rescued an abandoned newborn kitten in my uncle’s barn when I was in high school. My aunt gave me a paper bag so I could carry it gently in one hand while riding my bike home on the gravel road. We named the kitten Little Bones (he was skin and bones) and used a doll bottle to feed him warm milk. Mom and Dad still had Little Bones long after I graduated from college. 🙂
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Aww, that is a sweet story about the kitten!! We do have a runt who is also just skin and bones. Reminds me of a baby bird. So fragile. I hope she is OK but really makes me worry.
Bummer about your gym!
Glad you celebrated your race and you look so strong in the pics! And here I thought Glass City was totally flat!
Those kittens…sounds like a ton of work for sure, but you are doing such a great thing for those little babies!
Seems like there are at least 3 hills, and that one was probably the biggest. They happen early in the race and do tend to drain me!
Those kittens tho…so sweet and yes that’s an intense schedule.
When I ran my first two halfs in 2019 I brought the medals in to work and kept them on my desk so yes I’m team Bragging Rights.
Heck ya, what else are you supposed to do with shiny race bling?? I mean, you can’t wear the race shirts at work and how else would everyone know you were doing awesome things over the weekend 🙂
Oh wow I hope the combo of kittens and marathon recovery is going well! They are beyond cute so how can you resist? Haha! Bummer about the gym. So sad to see businesses fail. Congrats to your son! That’s an awesome accomplishment!
The gym was so convenient, only 4 miles from my house. A bummer for sure. Yep, it’s the cuteness factor of kittens that got us into this predicament! 😂 It is hard to resist!!
Bless you for nurturing those precious kittens! I can’t imagine doing that without a marathon. You did a lot while being so sleep deprived (there’s a reason it’s usually young people having kids!). This too shall pass!
Congrats to your son.
You can definitely see the hills in your race!
No kidding, being sleep deprived is rough!! Luckily their growth is measured in weeks and not years or months, so the finish line is relatively near!
Great race photos and recovery week. You’re doing well by those kitties, so well, but if you need to pass them to someone else for the next shift, that is also OK. I know you know that. I love that you took your medals in. When a load of us from running club had done the Birmingham Marathon (many people first-time-marathoners, it was my second), we went for a (short) recovery walk and (long) cafe session the next day, and all wore our medals and t-shirts!
I’m shocked that my coworkers have the restraint to not ask me about my medal 🤣 Oh well, their loss. I’ve got great running stories.
Being a foster does have its highs and lows but I am very happy to move them along on their path to a permanent home 🙂