Another 5K finish!

Del Mar Iron Girl 5K - Finisher!

When I started this blog it was really about my kiddo.  Now that he is getting older, I am starting to have a life again.  I will be sharing my thoughts and events for both my kiddo, and me now!  :o)

A little over a year ago (Sept. 2010) I was encouraged to start running by some folks at the school I was teaching at - Rincon Vista Middle School.  I was about 45 lbs. overweight at the time, but in a short couple of months of running...I had lost all 45 lbs!  I ran my first race in November of 2010, which was a 5K Turkey Trot, on Thanksgiving day.  I then ran in a relay for the Tucson Marathon in December of 2010...and I've done a few other events since.  I ran my first half marathon, which was the Arizona Distance Classic in March of 2011, and finished in 2:34:39.  I was proud of my time for my first 13.1 miles, but also knew I could do better.  I must pause for a second to mention that I have such a supportive husband...who is either up early with me cheering me on at the finish line, or watching Kyle at home so I can go for a race.  Sometimes I have to wake up crazy early just to get to a race,  and it just doesn't seem to make sense to drag the whole family.  ;o)

After my first half marathon, I thought..."Ok, what's next?"  So...I signed up for more races and entered the drawing for the Nike Women's Half in San Fransisco.  I was selected to run in the race...a very big deal!!  After moving to California, and not running for 5 months, I have put on about 20 lbs.  I ran the Nike Women's Marathon anyway, even though I was not in shape for it, and finished in 3:09:57.  That time also includes the 6 stops I made for photos, as well as all the nutrition stops...which were a train wreck of people trying to merge...so that took up some extra time.  All in all, I was happy with the time, and proud to finish!  The energy at that race was incredible and indescribable!  20,000 people all there to run that day - amazing!!!  I'm not sure any race after the "red carpet" treatment of the Nike race, will be the same....it was a pretty fancy race!  ;o)  That was 3 weeks ago...

Today I ran the Del Mar Iron Girl 5K.  I finished in 35:46.  Not bad for only dieting for one week, and running a total of 4 miles this week since the half marathon.  ;o)  I'm proud of my accomplishments as a runner, and am happy with all of my times.  I always do the best I can for that day, and that is all I can expect of myself.  I try to respect my body, and listen to what it is telling me.  If I need to slow down, I slow down...if I know I can push harder, I push harder.  It was fun to see the Del Mar horse racing track today.  I've never been to a horse track before.  We got a finishers medal, of course, and a nice technical shirt, that I will definitely wear.  Lots of goodies in our bag, and a "sack breakfast" afterwards with a banana, yogurt, muffins, and OJ.  It was a nice event for being "small."  I met up with my friends Sarah and Deborah from the U of R, at the race.  That was a nice bonus to the day!  It's always fun to see friends!

I am finding that running is like my experience as a musician.  When I was in the 4th grade I started playing the flute.  From then on, my music took me literally around the world.  I saw so many places, met so many people, and accomplished great things as a musician.  I am finding the same with running.  It is taking me to cool places, where I am meeting nice people, and accomplishing things that I never dreamed I could or would ever do in this life!  I am also learning that my experience running marathons has taught me so much about life.  Life too is like a marathon.  ;o)

Happy To Be Three...

Well, I have realized that it has been 16 months since I last blogged!  Whoa!  A lot happens in the life of a child in a year!  I'm kind of kicking myself now that I let it go...but that is the past, and I will try to do better to keep up with things now.  ;o)

We now live in Southern California, and Kyle is 3 years old!  He is so tall that most people think he is about 4 or 5 years old.  The pediatrician said at his 3 year well check that he will be 6'3" or 6'4" when he grows up...WoW!

Where to even begin...!  Since we have been in California (about 6 months now), we have been SO busy!  The parks here are beautiful and EVERYWHERE, lol!  We have passes to Sea World (of course!), and the Train Museum in Parris, CA.  Kyle is in love with trains!  In fact, we will be going to the train museum tomorrow to ride THE Thomas Train.  ;o)  This is a big event in our house this weekend for a special little boy.  We took Kyle to the beach for the first time, and he loved it!!  What a water baby!

Jump!

Splash!

Run!

And...tide pools at La Jolla, of course!

We went to my brother's lake house for a weekend, and Kyle got to do the water ski trainer for the first time!  Just turned 3 years old when we went!  Here is a picture of our adrenaline junkie, haha!  And that is me trying a paddle board for the first time.  My darling husband is such a great photographer!!!

I have plugged into a great Mommy's group here, and Kyle and I do so many fun things throughout the week.  One of the things we did recently was visit the Fire Station.  That was a big thrill for a little boy!

Kyle driving the Fire Truck.

On Sunday I will be running a 5K down in Del Mar.  I just completed my second Half Marathon a couple weeks ago up in San Fransisco for the Nike Women's Half.  I got my Tiffany necklace at the finish line, and boy was that an awesome experience!  =)  I even got to visit with some family while I was up there.

I am a stay at home mom once again, and Kyle and I couldn't be happier with the arrangement!  He is such a joy to have in our home, and we are so blessed to have such a happy, bright, intelligent, fun little guy!  =)