Another race, and still my best time goes unmet, oh well

We raced for AIDS today in the

Sacred Steps 5K

C did the Kids Fun Run with Landry

and they were adorable

{That is until C did a face dive into the landscaping

and was sportin' the William Wallace look}

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C blew my mind last night. As usual she joined me at the park while I ran my three (ah-hem, two) miles. Normally she and J play on the nearby jungle-gym while I try not to keel-over-dead and run a few laps. Last night she came over as I passed and said she wanted to join me. Sure, I thought, I need a nice slow pace, then she took off. She ran not only one, not two, but three full laps without stopping, chatting the whole way. Mostly asking questions like "Do you think Daddy will be surprised!?!" "Do you think Grandpa will cheer!?!" It was phenomenal. She would have kept going after three, but my flippin feet kept crampin, it was mightily uncomfortable.

We started off our Labor Day with a run in Madison. C went first, participating in the Tot Trot and doing an awesome job! Not a bit of hesitation at the starting line, she was off and running hard (see photo below). Then it was my turn. After two days of non-stop walking through the beautiful streets of Madison, my legs were less than thrilled with the three-mile-jont that lie before them. None-the-less I embarked on my second 5K. After an initial half-mile through lakeside arboretum I found a cluster of women who seemed to be running a pace I was comfortable with. Judging by their gear they looked fairly serious, so I thought I was good. Given that I stopped for water and walked with Brandon for a bit at my first race, I thought the fact that I ran non-stop this time would shave a good 2 or 3 minutes off my time. No such luck, I finished two seconds slower than last, 34' 12"...d'oh.

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We headed home after a quick breakfast with my brother. It was sad to say goodbye, but there's always texting, email, Facebook, and the good old fashion phone calls (wireless of course) to stay connected.

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Then we commenced our 9+ hour drive home, highlights included repeat viewings of Barbie Princess video, not one but TWO Olympic caliber diaper blowouts by J, lunch at in the stinkiest cow-town in Illinois (I didn't even know IL had cow towns), and seeing Brandon's brother and sister-in-law's new house (seriously, this actually was a highlight!) It was a nice break to stop in Columbia for a while for much needed leg-stretching and a late yummy dinner. We rolled into KC a little after 11:30 - and rolled straight into bed.

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Today was laundry and the girls reaquainting themselves with every toy they've ever owned. It's good to be home.

run C run!!!

(in the pink pants and cute bobbed hair)

Runner's World has this awesome tool for preparing a training plan to fit your goals. Today I used the tool to create a training plan that should prepare me to do a 10K in November. I love this goal-setting, regimented training, and then fun race day! Why didn't I start this a long time ago?

Becky, Katie, Brandon (yes! He did it!) and Andy

We were lucky to have the perfect first race. My dear friend, Becky who had encouraged me to start running in the first place and another great friend, Andy who is training for a marathon (check out his running blog...crazy stuff) ran with us. It was a nice cool morning, too - perfect.

We can't forget our cheerleaders, who helped us finish strong. Brandon and I finished together in 34min. 10sec. [see more photos of all the fun by clicking here]

I discovered something this evening - it is far more fun to run with a partner. B joined me tonight for the first time and it was so much more enjoyable to run next to someone! We are not doing any intense runs this week, as Saturday is the big run, my first 5K [It is kind of weird to me that I now run 1.5 miles and don't think it is a big deal, pretty cool how this training thing works]. B is considering joining me on Saturday, we'll see...

I finally did it (I think). I ran two miles, and I did have to stop at stop lights, but for the most part I ran straight through. This was a monumental run for me for two reasons - the distance, and this was my first run off of a track or treadmill. I actually ran from my house to my in-laws house, which measures 2.7 miles by car, and I did a 5 minute warm-up walk and similar cool-down (hence the 'I think'). It is good to know that I don't need the repetition of the track to keep me going. And the run was very hilly, so it is good to know I can attempt to tackle that as well. The race happens a week from Saturday, so I've still got a ways-to-go!

The red arrow is pointing to me on the trail tonight, the way the sun looks its as though the rays are actually firing like freakin' lazer beams from the heads of a sun shark...if you're having a hard time seeing me it could be the glare from my brand new running shoes that are so white every seasoned runner knows I'm a newby - or it might be my incredible speed, ok yeah that's definetely not it. Anyway, I ran one of my hardest runs yet tonight. Not because of the distance, but because of the sweltering humidity. My lungs were trying to convince my brain that I might suffocate, luckily they were wrong... phewf...At least the girls enjoyed themselves as I was torturing myself.

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[Note the art on C's legs. Coincidentally J's legs also have art on them. C tried to convince us that Julia did it all, but Carolyn made the fatal mistake of drawing very distinct letters all over herself - dead giveaway, sorry C]

1 1/2 miles without stopping!!! Take that asphalt!!!

[I would have posted an update at one-mile, but I thought that was pretty lame]

Sunday morning I had the priveledge of watching my good friend Becky (the one who got me into this whole running thing) run a 5K at the caves in Independence. It was the first 5K I've watched and it got me all pumped up.

Her goal time was 30 minutes, but as you can see here she totally killed it!

WEEK TWO TRAINING - complete!
34 days until my first 5K

This is Carolyn's impersonation of what I will look like in about 5 1/2 weeks! Oh yes, my training plan is going to have to kick into over-drive, as I'm signed up for my first 5K in mid-August...Lord have mercy. [But seriously, what is she doing???]

I have completed my first week of couch-to-5K training. I am excited about all of the comments I got about the 5K, hopefully there will be many friends to run with me, so you all can take turns on the mouth-to-mouth when I pass out mid-mile-one. I have found that runing at our local elementary school gives the girls something to do, and helps me know exactly how far I've gone. Everytime I round the bend past the playground I get a loud "LOVE YOU MOM!", now that's motivation. And when they run to meet me at the end of the last lap, it's great, that is if the ringing in my ears would stop and my legs weren't about to buckle.

My friend Becky has challenged me to do a 5K with her in September. To many people this would not be a big deal, however I haven't run a mile since I was literally forced to in 7th grade - and it was a pathetic attempt even under duress.
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I found this running plan online, which is supposed to take you from couch to 5K in two months (I wish it would have said 'couch & cookies' because the cookies are more of a problem than the couch). I gave it a-go tonight, and the first day went fairly well...I could still feel toes/fingers when I got done, that's always a good sign.
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Should I complete this 5K, it will be the first time I've met a physical endurance challenge. Physical exhaustion isn't my 'thing', so this is going to 'stretch' me as-they-say.