The BEST One Yet!

This was the best Apple Blossom we've had yet! It has been a completely wonderful weekend!!

Cheering on the kids in the Bloomin' Mile. My girlfriend's son placed SECOND in his age group!! He looked so strong and fit!! (Yay, D!! and family~~his mom and dad and SISTER, who is a fifth grader, ran the 10k the very next day!!)

My running friends, helping me through the 10K. I love these girls so much! One is a mother of four and the other a mother of five and they both work out of the home. They are incredible!

The 10K was so much fun. Two of my running friends ran with me, which meant so much to me. I actually felt a little choked up when I finished because I love those girls so much and I've really missed our runs together lately. It meant a lot for them to stick with me throughout the race because they really could have ditched me to run a race of their own. Our time was great, just under fifty-seven minutes. The conversations throughout were even better, though.

Michael chatting with a new friend. They were sharing cars in this photo. Michael really, really likes this little guy~~ when he finished his cookies, he passed the leftovers to Michael. Michael takes cookies whenever he can, he says that we don't give him nearly enough at home.

The parade was also a surprising success, as well! Josh and I tend to dread the parade because of traffic, parking, walking really far, not having a great place to sit; but not this year!! We were able to get in and out of town without any trouble. In fact, we didn't sit in traffic at all, which never happens. Our seats were fantastic, there was plenty of space for Michael to move around. And, when he got too restless Josh took him out to run around the grounds of Handley. Even though we had such a good time, we were ready to head home by five. Josh took a couple pictures of Michael and me after the parade, but my eyes were barely open at that point. All of them were trashed. : )

Taking a break with dad.

So Silly!

Well.  It's time for the AB 10k!  And, for some ridiculous reason I still feel nervous.  I'm totally OUT of the racing scene, there's no question!  However, I still feel nervous and I'm foolishly creating little goals for the race. Each time I talk about the race to someone, I mentally shave a minute or two off of my goal time.  Part of me thinks that I shouldn't even do the race if I can't set aside my competitive streak, but that's definitely not fun.  I have tried numerous times to get Josh to run with me, but I don't think that would work, even if he agreed. He's too fast and is too much of a sprinter.  We'd get in an argument after the first mile, I have a feeling.  

As always, I love this race and I am so happy that I'm still running and that I'll be able to participate.  When I was pregnant with Michael I was just weeks away from delivery and had no desire to run in this 10k; though I was extremely jealous of my fellow runners!  Also, around this point with my pregnancy with Michael running three was a tremendous struggle.  I got these awful side stitch cramp things.  Which made me feel reminiscent of running during middle school gym class after a lunch of 'tator tots (GROSS!) and chocolate milk (BARF!).   It will be interesting to see how the race goes for me and this babe.  It's fun to think that this is the second race that this baby will have run with me....  ; )

In other news, Michael related, I am becoming completely frustrated with the night-time routine.  Every evening he gets out of his bed at least four to five times a night.  It's not the middle of the night, it is as soon as we lay him down.  I'm trying to figure out some sort of consequence that will make him want to stay in the bed.  Time out seems silly(-he's getting out of going to sleep, which he WANTS!), we don't spank, my stern voice makes him laugh; so I'd say we're kind of up a creek right?  However, I may have (at least for tonight) gotten him where it hurts:  no cars (Wing-go, Leak Less, Lightning McQueen, Dinco Blue, DJ---all from the Cars movie)  tomorrow if he gets out of his bed one more time.  He initially laughed when I mentioned this, and then he realized that I was serious.  I asked him if he likes his new car- "Leak Less".  He said yes, and then I told him again--Leak Less will be taken by mom if you get up one more time.  So far, so good.  I absolutely refuse to start the whole laying down with him, rubbing his back, talking to him, etc, etc, to get him to sleep.  

Maybe I'm onto something....Let's hope, at least!

(The photo is from last year's race--a bunch of friends from school ran in this 10k.  We all had matching shirts!)

On the road again.

"On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is runnin' with my friends. And I can't wait to get on the road again"

Last Tuesday as Michael and I were walking to the car at the sitter's house, he asked me a very sweet question. He looked at me and point blank said, "Are you a runner, Mom?" I couldn't help but giggle. I was sick as a dog at this point, still, and couldn't possibly think about running one single step last week.

Yesterday was my first day back to my running "regiment". It was a miserable and exhausting run, I honestly can't even pretend it was fun. I took about a week and a half off, and with being sick, my stamina was nil. Today was a different story, however! I met two running friends and we ran about five miles, or so. I felt, surprisingly, stronger than yesterday AND I wasn't ready to fall over with exhaustion today at school. It seems I have finally recovered from the virus, thank goodness! I have a few running goals for this spring: a half marathon in April (the 20th) and a 10K in early May. In order to run another half, I've got to start running on the weekends again and increasing the distance of my "long" weekend run. I love the half marathon distance, and I really do enjoy running a little bit longer on the weekends.

Michael is also a runner! Check out the following pictures from this evening. This is his starting position for running in a race. He runs races against himself every evening. We're a quirky family, I know. I love how the start of his race is all about the pointer finger placement. Don't you? He says the finger placement cuts down on his time.

"On the road again Goin' places that I've never been . Seein' things that I may never see again, And I can't wait to get on the road again."

Guess who had the most fun this weekend?

Some photos from this weekend! I'm pretty sure that if you click on the picture, it will enlarge on your screen. We had a wonderful time, but we're all dragging a little bit this week. Baby brother Clay comes home this Friday for spring break and Daniel is

 supposed to come home sometime next week. 

For what it's worth, posting pictures lately has been a total PAIN. The computer is slow or blogger is slow....maybe I should switch to typepad or wordpress or something. This is waaaay too time consuming! Now I'm experiencing a scheduled outage...or something....Can't save, can't post, can't add more pics! What a hassle!!

Weekend Report:

The race went really well!   I finished in under two hours, I think my time was about an hour and 53 minutes, or so.  My "splits" were so consistent throughout the race, which made me happy.  I did struggle from miles 9 to 10, I had to do a little "self talk" to drag my butt up those hills.  There was one really steep one that took my breath away, it was past a bridge which crosses the James River.  (The view was beautiful!) 

The weekend as a whole was even BETTER than the race.  We really need a night away as a family during this time of year.  Michael was able to bond with Josh, and I was actually able to SIT DOWN on the hotel bed and just chill out.  It always feels SO GOOD to go back to our Alma Mater, without the stress of being a student.  I'll provide more details and lots of pictures tomorrow or later in the week, it's been a really long day and I'm tired!  

Here's a list of my afternoon activities:

1. Emailed a zillion parents after school.
2. Went to get $$$ for the sitter, since I wasn't prepared last Thursday.
3. Ran into the grocery store for fresh fruits and veggies.
4. Picked up Michael.
5. Here's where it got sticky-- The sitter's husband got home around the time I got to MB.  He walked towards the road to get the paper and seemed to be checking out my car.  He patiently waited for me to get outside, and then told me in a very, very concerned voice that my tires were going to blow out.  He kindly pointed out the WIRES sticking out of my tire and noted that they shouldn't look that way.  He stressed that I really should not be driving my car with the tires in that condition.  (I was so incredibly grateful for his advice!  You have no idea! )
6. I call Josh.  Call the kennel to cancel the pick up date for Duncan because I had to get tires today!  LIKE ASAP!  Serious, serious safety violation on my part.
7. Go to the tire shop and get all four tires replaced.  Waited for about 30 minutes. The tire guys were AWESOME. 
8. After we got all set up with new tires, I called the kennel to say:  I'm coming to get him!!  
9. We got to the kennel just before 5:30, the closing time.  Michael lost his stinking cars while we were there....those cars drive me crazy!
10. I'm exhausted and don't feel like waiting for the picture upload from this weekend. : (  I've got some good ones, so check back tomorrow night!!

And, We're Gonna Race!

Michael is just as excited as I am about the impending half marathon, if not more. I told him about our weekend plans on Monday night during his bath. We talked about who is going to run in the race on Sunday, which Uncles he is going to see this coming weekend, and we talked about spending the night in a hotel. He was full of excitement on Monday night, and that excitement is carrying him right through the week. Yesterday morning, when we got to the sitter's house, he began telling her all about his Mommy RACING! and his Granddad RACING! I If you ask Michael about the race, he gives a "fake whistle" and pretends he is starting the race. He will then yell, with arm motions, "We say: GO, MOMMY, GO!!" He also says that he is going to run, too, and that my dad and I are going to chase him. That is certainly going to be true one of these days, but hopefully not this year.

Yesterday, as I was driving to school, after dropping Michael off; I couldn't help but hope (and wish) that he finds the same fulfillment in running one day. I know I shouldn't be exclusive in saying "running", and I should hope that he finds fulfillment with music or art or basketball or even football (!yiiikkes, don't want my baby to get tackled!). Running is such an empowering sport. There's nothing like warming yourself on a cold, winter's morning with a good, fast, strong run. To feel the crisp, fresh air fill your lungs in the dead of winter; what a blessing! Crazy as it sounds, I mean it!

It's so hard to explain the joy that I have found in running. It has brought so many wonderful friends into my life, people that I probably never would have met if I was not a runner. As a high school student, I would have laughed in disbelief if someone would have told me that I would go on to complete a marathon or wake at five am to meet running friends for a morning jaunt. What a gift my coach gave me as a seventh grade girl. It's funny to think that this love started so many years ago, at our park, here in our little town.

I can only hope the same for our son.

(The picture is from the 1st time I did this same half marathon postpartum! Michael was about nine months in this picture. We had such a wonderful time on that race weekend....)