A Crazy Week and Checking Out the Mega

It's amazing how life can get turned upside down and inside out with a single phone call.  My dear old dad calls last Saturday evening around 6:00:  "Mom was washing dishes and she turned to sit down and her hip gave out.  I called 911.  She's in terrible, terrible, pain."  Mother broke her other hip and had hip replacement surgery #2.  She now has two new hips so no more can break, right?!  I spent Saturday evening in the emergency room, Sunday morning with the bike club retrieving a bridge, Sunday afternoon at the hospital, Monday at work and visiting mother at lunch, Tuesday at my parents doing wash/cooking/cleaning for mom and dad only to get a phone call around 11:00 that mom was coming home THAT day... so off to the hospital we go after lunch to pick her up but only to stop off at Rick's 93-year old mother's to do HER wash first (my dear hubby helps too).   I had to work on Wednesday so father helped mom on Wednesday, and I've been helping mom every day since.   I'm doing little stuff, but to a person that can't do things on their own, it's big stuff to them: washing dishes, going to the store, going to the butcher (ugh... I really, really hate going to the butcher), running the vacuum, changing the cat litter box, etc.  TODAY is the first day I'm getting out - finally.   I'm heading to Weiser State Forest to do an 8.5 mile run/walk.  I've been doing early morning weights and the occassional trainer ride, but it ain't nothing like the out-of-doors.   Rick wanted me to paddle with him and I probably would have if I could have gotten into the woods earlier this week to run (hunting prevented that from happening).  Perusing sites for Ultra trail runs has me anxious to get out.  This one, the Megatransect, is intriguing me the most.  It's based just outside of Lock Haven, and is a little over 26 miles -- the marathon I'm itching to do!  The timing is perfect next year in September after a spring and summer of slowly building miles to the 26 big miles.  It's also a hugely popular race that sells out in 48 hours.  I marked the calendar for January 1 when the registration opens up to get registered.  I haven't officially decided if I want to do it, but maybe.   Trail running, here I come.