Sleepless in Virginia

It was rainy today and I didn't feel like battling the elements, so I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill at an 8:00/mile pace - a welcome improvement over my last few runs. However, my treadmill pace feels like I'm cheating, since there are no hills, traffic lights or other road impediments. But seeing my faster-than-usual pace on the dashboard definitely makes me feel better.

What is not making me feel better, though, is the continuous sleep deprivation that comes from raising a newborn and an 18 month-old. I really shouldn't complain, since my wife, who feeds our youngest every two hours, has it much worse. But the sleeplessness is certainly making my training and overall sanity slip, especially when both kids cry at the same time. We go to bed tired, get up tired and often hear friends use "zombie" and "new parents" in the same sentence. How the world remains populated remains a mystery to me. It also makes me realize that the standard wedding vows of in sickness or in health, for richer or poorer doesn't cover the half of it.