Marathon Weekend

Wow! What a great weekend! As I have mentioned on here before, I decided in December to run the half marathon. I started training in January. I literally started with 2 miles and worked my way up to about 8. (I was supposed to go up to 10 but never made it.) The big day was Saturday. We were blessed with the most perfect weather. In the midst of all the horrible storms, Saturday dawned cool and sunny. Start time temp was around 59 degrees. No humidity. Perfect running weather.

I had very low expectations for myself and was just hoping to have fun and finish. My friend Melissa is the perfect running partner for me. We both run fairly slow, but she is a strong runner and keeps me going. I was hoping to finish around 2 hr 45 min. and we finished at 2 hr 49 min. So, not bad for my first time.



I really felt great until right after mile 11. Then both my hips started hurting and pain was shooting down from my hips to my upper legs. I was pretty much in pain until the finish line. I didn't want to stop for too long because I knew I would never get started back again. We walked a little bit and Melissa just kept me going, pointing out the mile 12 sign, then the mile 13 sign, then we rounded our last corner and saw the finish line! We were both in tears at that point. Relief, happiness, and a huge sense of pride in what we had just accomplished. At one point we were running next to a woman pushing her husband in a wheelchair. That kind of put things in perspective for me.

So, overall, my first half marathon experience was pretty close to perfect. Being a part of something with 31.000 others is simply amazing. Seeing the thousands of people that come out just to cheer on the runners and walkers is also amazing. What a sight to behold! People lining street after street with parties spilling out their front doors onto their front lawns, holding signs, bands playing music, cheering, yelling, and slapping high fives to everyone that runs by! One of the best experiences of my life! I am now one of those annoying people who tries to persuade everyone I talk to that they too need to do a half marathon. It's like when you have done something so great, you want others to experience it too. Doesn't matter how old, or what size you are or what shape you are in, you could do it! It's worth it! You are worth it!

So, how do I feel today, you ask? Well, 4 ibuprofen and 9 straight hours of sleep last night, and I feel great! Ready to do it all again next year! Let me know if you want to join me!

Melissa and I waiting to start. We were in corral 26 so we had a while to wait.

Here I am at mile 8. I was still feeling good here. John Will, his parents, and my boys were all waiting for me! So great to see them! See Ryan's cute little face there in the background? Best part of the race is when we would see people we knew cheering for us!

Here we are coming up on maybe mile 9. You can see it is a slight hill so I look like I might have been walking. My parents were waiting for us at the corner and my Dad took this shot. My parents had to get up early and drive about 30 minutes into town to see the race. I was thrilled to see them!

A friend standing at mile 11 took this shot of me as I was coming up. I had no idea she was going to be there so I was really surprised to see her. So fun! Again, one of the best parts of the race!

Will ran in the Kids Marathon downtown at LP Field on Friday night. That was also a lot of fun! All the kids from his school had matching t-shirts. They did great. Fun to see so many kids and parents out running.

Ryan is 5!!

I am a week late updating the blog, but wanted to share a few pictures from Ryan's birthday. (Today, the 11th, was his actual due date.) We had some friends from his class at school and family to a little bowling alley/arcade party. His cake was Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb. He loves that show right now. It was low-key and the kids all had a blast. I am over the shock and starting to accept the fact that he is 5. We go to the pediatrician tomorrow for his 5 year check-up and shots. My kids are really amazing with shots. It is usually no big deal, so for that I am thankful. We still might need some Sweet CiCi's afterwards for Mommy :)

Blessings.

So many blessings in our life. So thankful for the little piece of universe God has put me in for such a short time.

1. Thankful that both my boys had a great start to baseball season this week. They both enjoyed their games and had fun. I have complained about having them both playing this year because it means double the time at the ball field. But, I still wouldn't trade them for two girls.

2. Thankful for my sweet boys and their good health. My baby turns 5 on Sunday. I am taking this birthday pretty hard. 5 is a big number.

3. Thankful that I was able to run a total of 14 miles this week! Half marathon is less than a month away now!

4. Thankful that my friends and I were able to find the Grilled Cheeserie Truck today at lunch! So fun! We had a yummy lunch "tailgate" style in a parking lot. Food trucks are very popular in Nashville now. Next up, the Marshmallow Truck- no joke!

5. So thankful for the good news I have received this week regarding two special people I have been praying for that are having health- related issues. God is so good!

Procrastination

Ryan turns 5 in 12 days.

There is a stack of birthday party invitations sitting on my kitchen counter that I have not sent.

There is a green folder sitting on my dining table full of very important forms that I must fill out and return to our elementary school so he will be enrolled for Kindergarten in the Fall. Not a single one has been touched. Many of these forms require me to actually do something, like obtain a birth certificate, have forms notorized, obtain proof of address, have health forms completed, etc. 

These forms are not going to fill out themselves. Invites are not going to distribute themselves, either.

So, I will just sit here and blog about it instead. It makes me feel better. Because thinking about the other makes me want to vomit.

Frist Student Art Show

Will was one of two first graders from his school that had artwork chosen for the Frist Student Art Show.

I will admit, I think I was much more excited than Will. But, maybe someday he will appreciate the fact that he had his artwork hanging at the Frist! Probably a once in a lifetime event. We went to the opening day for family last Sunday.

Will and his art teacher

Will's artwork. A castle done in oil pastel

Will and his museum certificate

My beautiful boy. I can't believe how old he looks in this picture.

Ryan and Will. Ryan was quite the handful that day. A crowded art museum is not the place for a wild 4 1/2 year old.

Pinewood Derby

After being sick all week, we were so glad Will was well enough to go to his Pinewood Derby. It has already been rescheduled once due to snow.  The boys had so much fun and it was nice to be able to celebrate all the hard work they had put into their cars.

 The track was quite elaborate. Apparently, the same older man has been in charge of running the track for many years. He has it down to a science and is quite serious about his job.

 Will's car is the red one in the middle.

Will and his buddy Owen. Owen's car ended up winning for their Den.

All the cars lined up for display.

Will's car is the red one in the lead. His car won the first round, but did not win the second round. You can see the front end kept popping up. It was fast, but needed more weight in the front. We were proud, but Will kept saying: "next year I want to get a trophy."

Happy Things

Will seems to have caught the "flu-like" virus that has been moving rapidly through our area. Almost half his class was absent one day this week. So, he has been home all week. Thus, I have been home all week.
Today is cold and grey and I thought we all needed a happy list.

1. Yellow patent high heel shoes. Ahh! So happy! So Spring-y! A dreamy thought on a day like today with a high of 32 degrees. (Unfortunately, these are not my shoes, I just found them on the internet.)

2. 8-pound bag of navel oranges from Trader Joes's. $4.99. I have been juicing them for Will. I also slice them and make the boys eat them with almost every meal. I also put them in their lunches, but who knows if they get eaten at school.

3. Jessica Seinfeld Brownie Recipe. I love making these brownies! They have 1 cup of pureed spinach and carrot!! My boys love them! I love watching Ryan (my picky eater) scarf them down!

4. My Under Armour Running Pants. http://www.underarmour.com/. These pants have been a life-saver on these cold days when I've been running. Unfornately, I do not look like this in the pants, but they still keep me warm. I'm thinking I need more than one pair!

5. American Idol. So happy. So happy it's back. Yes, I confess, I watch American Idol and I love it. I wasn't sure how much I would love it with the new judges, but so far it has been great! I actually love Steven Tyler even though he can be slightly crude. I just think he's cool. And surprisingly compassionate. I fell in love with American Idol the season of Adam Lambert and have watched it ever since. So, we'll see how this season goes.