I have wanted to run a marathon for a long time! Ever since I saw my good friends Carla and Amanda run one in fact. They ran the 2003 Country Music Marathon after training together for months. I spent their entire race traveling from point to point, ready to cheer them on! I think i got to see them run by 6 times and it was so exciting. My love of running was born that day!
Now 8 years later I am finally getting around to doing that marathon. Since seeing them run that day in 2003, I have been doing 5k's, 10k's and half marathons, but I am just now making the leap to full marathon. I think the sheer amount of time it takes to train for one has been my main roadblock up until now. That and the idea of covering 26.2 miles just didn't seem fun! But as I run longer and longer distances I am finding out that it's just getting more fun! I love how it feels to be 12 miles into a long run and feel just as good as when i started.
My main motivation to run in the past has been races. I just love the excitement of attaching my number to the front of my shirt, attaching my timing clip, and waiting for the start in a crowd of people. At the bigger races, there are people on the sides cheering for the runners and you feel like they are cheering for you! I love the feeling of turning a corner and seeing the finish line ahead and sprinting for the finish. Crossing that line is a feeling like no other. I can only imagine what it will feel like to cross the finish line of the marathon. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!
A lot of the half marathons I have done in the past are paired with a full marathon. At some point those full marathoners have to split off from the half marathoners. In the races I have done that has been around mile 11 or 12, where the half marathoners have only one or two miles left to go. I have watched the marathoners go past that split off point thinking those people were crazy, wondering who would want to keep on going when they could be done if they just went with the half marathoners! Now I get it! Those crazy marathoners have done the training and probably actually feel like they're just getting started at the same point the half marathoners are ready to be done. I can't believe in just two weeks I'm going to be one of those crazies that doesn't take the split off and keeps trudging forward with 15 miles to go.
I can't wait until race day!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Staycation
Last week Kevin, Luke and I enjoyed an amazing week! Kevin was on vacation and I took last weekend off...and we did absolutely nothing! Well, that's not completely true but for the most part we stayed at home and enjoyed some quality family time. It was so nice to just be at home! I even let the housework slide a little bit :)
Our weekend could have been a little better but Kevin was sick with a nasty cold. The weather was beautiful and I really wanted to get out to the dog park or something but settled for just playing in the yard a lot with Luke. He loves going "outsiiide, outsiiide" and he says it in such a cute way that it just makes you want to get your shoes on and take him out. This spring we are planning to do a flower bed in the backyard and I can't wait to make it look all pretty.
Saturday night Becca and I went out for a girl's night. It was so nice to sit around and chat with a dear friend- I have missed getting to do that! We talked for 3 hours, mostly about our kids!
Monday was my big 20 mile training run for the marathon, which is in 2 weeks!! I can honestly say I felt great until about mile 16, and then I was feeling more of an "are we done yet?" kind of feeling. But the last half mile I was able to pick up the pace and finish strong, so I was proud. I rewarded myself with an ice bath afterwards, and boy did that hurt! After a few minutes though my body went numb and I really felt like it paid off the next day. I had no soreness and felt pretty good!
Tuesday we took advantage of the wonderful weather and took Luke to the zoo. Kevin hadn't been there in a while and he was impressed with how much Luke gets into the zoo. He loves naming the animals and telling us what sounds they make. We also let him walk most of the visit, which was a first. He was exhausted when we got home and took a 3 1/2 hour nap!
Thursday we went to the Children's museum. As we pulled up we noticed several school buses parked to the side- and got a little worried! There was a HUGE school group there, and the place was loud and crowded. But Luke is a tough little guy and didn't seem too bothered by all the kids going wild all around him! I did have a "momma bear" moment when this kid wanted to sit on him because he was sitting where she wanted to be. But he never seemed to notice. I just love taking him to the Children's Museum though. I just let him roam free and I just follow him and let him do his own thing.
We had such a great week, I was so sad to return to work Friday. One of the bonuses of the week was that Luke got to spend tons of time with Kevin and you could tell he had become a bit more attached to him! There were times he preferred Kevin over me, which I actually thought was pretty cool. I wish we could both be home all the time!
Our weekend could have been a little better but Kevin was sick with a nasty cold. The weather was beautiful and I really wanted to get out to the dog park or something but settled for just playing in the yard a lot with Luke. He loves going "outsiiide, outsiiide" and he says it in such a cute way that it just makes you want to get your shoes on and take him out. This spring we are planning to do a flower bed in the backyard and I can't wait to make it look all pretty.
Saturday night Becca and I went out for a girl's night. It was so nice to sit around and chat with a dear friend- I have missed getting to do that! We talked for 3 hours, mostly about our kids!
Monday was my big 20 mile training run for the marathon, which is in 2 weeks!! I can honestly say I felt great until about mile 16, and then I was feeling more of an "are we done yet?" kind of feeling. But the last half mile I was able to pick up the pace and finish strong, so I was proud. I rewarded myself with an ice bath afterwards, and boy did that hurt! After a few minutes though my body went numb and I really felt like it paid off the next day. I had no soreness and felt pretty good!
Tuesday we took advantage of the wonderful weather and took Luke to the zoo. Kevin hadn't been there in a while and he was impressed with how much Luke gets into the zoo. He loves naming the animals and telling us what sounds they make. We also let him walk most of the visit, which was a first. He was exhausted when we got home and took a 3 1/2 hour nap!
Thursday we went to the Children's museum. As we pulled up we noticed several school buses parked to the side- and got a little worried! There was a HUGE school group there, and the place was loud and crowded. But Luke is a tough little guy and didn't seem too bothered by all the kids going wild all around him! I did have a "momma bear" moment when this kid wanted to sit on him because he was sitting where she wanted to be. But he never seemed to notice. I just love taking him to the Children's Museum though. I just let him roam free and I just follow him and let him do his own thing.
We had such a great week, I was so sad to return to work Friday. One of the bonuses of the week was that Luke got to spend tons of time with Kevin and you could tell he had become a bit more attached to him! There were times he preferred Kevin over me, which I actually thought was pretty cool. I wish we could both be home all the time!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
It has been brought to my attention...
...that I have not updated my blog in 4 months! So to appease the masses (of one), I am updating! As much as I love reading other people's blogs you'd think I'd do better with mine!
Life at our house hasn't changed much in the last 4 months. Luke is still the center of attention and the topic of most of my conversations! He is 19 months which is a really interesting age. It is amazing to see how fast he is learning. He learns new words so fast and I am constantly surprised at his comprehension when I talk to him! I sometimes test him by asking him to do new things just to see if he knows what I'm talking about. I was floored the first time I asked him to throw something in the trash and he did it- and was so proud of himself! He has this fish puzzle that has 10 different colored fish and can name them all! That doesn't always translate to him knowing his colors away from the puzzle but it's a start!
Luke had his 18 month appointment a few weeks ago and he was a whopping 20 pounds 8 oz and 31.5 inches long. That's less than 3rd percentile for weight and 20th percentile for height. He's just now getting into 18 month clothes! He is a very active little man though. We constantly comment on how he never stops moving!!
Look how grown up he is :)
Last November a friend from work and I did a half marathon and it got me motivated to train for my first full marathon. For the past two months I have been running and running and running! The best part is that I am really enjoying it! I have been doing long runs while Luke is at Mother's Day Out and have made it up to 18 miles at once. I never thought I could enjoy running 18 miles, but I really do! The race is one month from yesterday. I am nervous and excited already!
I sometimes take Luke with me on my shorter runs, sometimes even when it is cold. He really likes it, but mostly because I have an Elmo movie and a Thomas movie on my Iphone and he gets to watch while I run. He got a snowsuit for Christmas so he won't get too cold.
Here's a pic (not the best quality) of his running gear!
Kevin is doing well, just plugging along in his residency program. He is now officially over halfway done (2.5 years into a 5 year program). I am really proud of him and how hard he works. Next week he gets to take a well earned vacation week, and we don't plan on doing anything exciting! I am taking the weekend off as well and can't wait to just be at home together and enjoy being a family.
Well I hope that's enough to satisfy those that have been anxiously awaiting a new post!
Here's some parting pictures of Luke from the other day when we went shopping:
He had a blast playing on this little ride on toy!
And here's after I took him off of it!
Ah, the joys of a toddler!!!
Life at our house hasn't changed much in the last 4 months. Luke is still the center of attention and the topic of most of my conversations! He is 19 months which is a really interesting age. It is amazing to see how fast he is learning. He learns new words so fast and I am constantly surprised at his comprehension when I talk to him! I sometimes test him by asking him to do new things just to see if he knows what I'm talking about. I was floored the first time I asked him to throw something in the trash and he did it- and was so proud of himself! He has this fish puzzle that has 10 different colored fish and can name them all! That doesn't always translate to him knowing his colors away from the puzzle but it's a start!
Luke had his 18 month appointment a few weeks ago and he was a whopping 20 pounds 8 oz and 31.5 inches long. That's less than 3rd percentile for weight and 20th percentile for height. He's just now getting into 18 month clothes! He is a very active little man though. We constantly comment on how he never stops moving!!
Look how grown up he is :)
Last November a friend from work and I did a half marathon and it got me motivated to train for my first full marathon. For the past two months I have been running and running and running! The best part is that I am really enjoying it! I have been doing long runs while Luke is at Mother's Day Out and have made it up to 18 miles at once. I never thought I could enjoy running 18 miles, but I really do! The race is one month from yesterday. I am nervous and excited already!
I sometimes take Luke with me on my shorter runs, sometimes even when it is cold. He really likes it, but mostly because I have an Elmo movie and a Thomas movie on my Iphone and he gets to watch while I run. He got a snowsuit for Christmas so he won't get too cold.
Here's a pic (not the best quality) of his running gear!
Kevin is doing well, just plugging along in his residency program. He is now officially over halfway done (2.5 years into a 5 year program). I am really proud of him and how hard he works. Next week he gets to take a well earned vacation week, and we don't plan on doing anything exciting! I am taking the weekend off as well and can't wait to just be at home together and enjoy being a family.
Well I hope that's enough to satisfy those that have been anxiously awaiting a new post!
Here's some parting pictures of Luke from the other day when we went shopping:
He had a blast playing on this little ride on toy!
And here's after I took him off of it!
Ah, the joys of a toddler!!!
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