Proud Momma Moment

Saturday was the Love Your Library 5k.  LP and MP were planning on running it, but LP had baseball practice early, so it was just MP for his first 5k.

almost finished

Since I was working the water aid station I didn't get to see him start. :( But it was so exciting watching for him and seeing the look of determination on his face.  My friend and Fleet Feet racer Jon, ran the last part with him and really gave him an extra boost of confidence at the end.

I tried to help him prepare like I would for a race. Wake up early. eat breakfast. get dressed....he was not interested in any of that.  He rolled out of bed, threw some clothes on(not the ones I had laid out) and took one bite of a banana.  It tried to explain to him about fueling your body...blah blah blah...he wasn't interested. He just wanted to run.
 

Skipping breakfast certainly didn't seem to slow him down.

But when he was finished...the child ate like it was nobody's business!!!

eating straight out of the box! LOL!!

 he ate at least 20 doughnut holes, 10 orange slices, 1 bagel, 1 banana, and 1 apple.......
On top of that he drank about a gallon of water and Gatorade! The doughnut lady actually cut him off....so he found someone to go get him more.

mouth full of doughnuts

When he heard the announcement for the 1 mile fun run, he asked if he could run that too.  I told him it probably wasn't a good idea since he had just ingested about 20lbs of food, but he insisted on running it.  I told him if he felt like throwing up to stop, throw up, then keep on running.  He said no problem but wanted to know if he could put some extra doughnuts in his pockets for the run! I of course told him NO! but as you can see from this next picture he is still eating at the starting line of the 1mile.

1 mile starting line

Amazingly, he finished strong!  I can not believe this kid!  He said he felt good the whole time...he was just hungry. Go figure! If anyone wants to send donations for my future grocery bills email me!!lol!
  He finished 4th in the 0-14 age group and was the youngest in his age group!

gosh I love this kid!

He has definitely caught the race bug and is already filling up his own race calendar!
Saturday was a proud momma moment. It's in those moments that I realize God's love for us. And how much more does he love us with His perfect love....

Have you had a proud momma (or daddy) moment lately?

Grace and peace,

3 Things Thursday

Love Your Library 5k and Running Readers 1 mile

1.  This Saturday I was planning on running my first 5k of 2011, the but plans have changed.  The event coordinator needed some more help, so I volunteered.  I think I am more excited about working the water aid station than I was about actually running the race.  LP(9) and MP(7) both decided to run the 5k.  I'm a little nervous for MP.  This will be his first 5k and he is running it with out mommy!! He has done plenty of 1 mile fun runs, and even a couple 2 milers, but never the full 5k.  I asked LP if he would stay with his little brother and he said "No way!".  Thankfully I know several people coming to watch other runners, so I am going to try and strategically place them along the route.  I'm so proud of my running boys! sniff, sniff...

2. Monday night I went to a leadership seminar for the Volunteers Center.  I have really had on my heart lately to reach out more into the community and find a way for my church to get more involved in community matters as well.  Well, before the night had ended I was part of a team that works with on a program called Cinderella's Closet. 

Cinderella's closet provides formal wear and accessories to high school girls who can not afford to purchase their own for prom, pageants, and other formal events.  Through donations of new and gently used formal dresses and accessories, they are able to fulfill the dreams of high school girls.

I am very excited and honored to be a part of this great program!

This is NOT Cinderella's Closet....

this is a disaster aka: April's Closet.:(

3.  This morning I spent 15 mins trying to find the match to my shoe in my closet....I think it's time to clean her out.  I still have clothes in there from high school. I mean it's not like it was that long ago. 15 years to be exact.....I don't know why I am hanging on to some of that stuff.  I still have my jazz shoes from 1994, like I'm ever going to wear those again! And I still have this number from prom:

a beauty huh? Yikes! We all hang on to something! I just can't bear to part with it for some reason.  I need help.  There is no way I can do it by myself.  I am OCD about everything else in my life except my closet...it's just easy to throw stuff in there and close the door.
 I lost my Garmin Saturday....I put it on the kitchen counter after my long run and haven't seen it since.  J says it was probably thrown in my closet with everything else....I guess I'll find out...I kind of glanced around in there for it last night but didn't see it.  If ever there was cause to clean out my closet, finding Garmin is it!  I need Garmin....bad.

What ridiculous items do you hang on to from your past?

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!!


Grace and peace,

 

New Additions

Say hello to my little friends!

I'm excited about 3 new additions to my running wardrobe.

Last week I was checking out Runningskirts.com and saw they were having a little sale on some of their skirts.  Normally when they have a sale they are already out of my size, 8.  But this time they had plenty!
So I got these 3:

The cheetah/purple is an Athletic Skirt with the shorts underneath and the other two are Running Skirts with the briefs underneath.  They have plenty left and they are only $20.11 each!!
If you haven't checked out this sale yet, you should!

Happy Shopping!!

Grace and peace,

Superhero and a Petzl Review

Last night I got in 8 miles.

Mile 1-9:08
Mile 2-9:03
Mile 3-9:12
Mile 4-9:09
Mile 5-9:11
Mile 6-8:58
Mile 7-9:01
Mile 8-8:36
Hopefully that negated all of the sweet treats I ingested in honor of Valentine's Day.
Not the fastest run ever, but I really, really, really, enjoyed it.

I wanted to do a nice, easy, longish run.  It was about 6pm and 65 degrees outside.  As I headed out, I did something that I never, ever do.  I grabbed my ipod, which for the past 2 years has had a permanent docking place in my car.  I'm a little OCD when I run and can't stand to have my hair touch my face, my garmin has to be just right, and my shoes tied just so....really..I'm not high maintenance.  In the past(like 2 yrs ago) when I ran with my ipod I would get super annoyed when the earphone cord would bounce against my shirt or neck.  it was just something extra to fool with.
I don't know what was different about yesterday, but it didn't bother me.   I'm going to try it again tonight.

I would love suggestions for some songs to download to a running play-list.

I also got a new gadget a few weeks ago that I have been bringing along with me on my nighttime runs.

The Petzl Zipka 3LED Compact Headlamp

I have been looking for a "headlamp" for months.  Most of them are big and bulky and have a big thick strap that goes around your head.  I knew those would annoy me and feel heavy when I was running so I never got one.  Instead I would carry a pocket flashlight.  Since most of my runs are in the dark time either morning or night, I really needed a light.

Then one of my running buds Jon showed up with one of these little lights.  Instead of a thick strap that goes around your head, it has a retractable zip-cord.  Genius!

This is a little description:

Product Features Ultralight 3 Leds headlamp mounted mounted on retractable cord Long burn time Operates on 3 AAA/LR03 batteries (included). Weight : 65 g including batteries 3-year guarantee

Product Description
Ultralight 3 Leds headlamp mounted mounted on retractable cord. Ultra-compact and ultra-lightweight mounted on retractable cord, single compartment contains LED and batteries, 65 g including batteries. Long burn time. 3 LED produce flood beam lighting with a long burn time. one lighting level. The retractable cord allows the light to be worn on the head, around the wrist or attached to a shoulder strap on a backpack, etc. Certification: CE. Technical specifications. Water resistant for all-weather use. Cord made of strong Dyneema. Light beam cannot be tilted.
_____________________
I wear mine around my hand (kind of like a super-hero lazer) ;)
Last night I tested it's super powers.  A large dog was approaching me from behind and I turned and charged at it with my Petzl(lazer) aimed at it.  It's pretty bright, so either the dog was scared off by the amazing powers or thought I was a total moran...either way it left me alone.

Tonight I am going to do some speed work.  A little HIIT maybe.  I am loving this weather!

Hope you have been able to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Grace and peace,

Love it , love it , love it!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

I love Valentine's Day...even though it's not an "official" holiday.  It's a good excuse to tell all the special people in my life how much I love them.

A little Valentine's breakfast for my little loves...

Friday night J and I went to the Valentine Ball for our church.  It was a semi-formal with a banquet meal and a 3-piece jazz band and dancing...unfortunately 20mins into the evening our babysitter called to say LP had thrown up all over...ick....

So we left, but not before getting a couple pics...proof that I wear more than running clothes and jeans.

J promised to take me out this weekend so I can wear that dress again...totally gave me a J-Lo booty!!!

♥♥♥♥♥ I love♥♥♥♥♥

J and the kids...

early morning summertime runs 

the smell of clean sheets

Al Green

the last mile of a long run

Philippians 4:13

the smell of a baby

In running news....

I have been asked to be on a 4 person relay team for the Delano 12hr run in March.  Talk about pressure.  Like it's not bad enough when I'm running solo, now I have 3 teammates that are counting on me.  I'm excited to be running with this team though.  One of the guys, Jon, holds the record for the fastest mile in the 40-44yr AG in Alabama.  It was something like 4 mins....totally obscene!  So I have been stepping up my speed work.  I really can't even begin to compete on his level, but I want to be able to run consistent 8:00-8:15min miles.

The Fleet Feet No Boundaries 5k program starts in March and I'm going to be coaching again.  It is such an inspiration to see people go through this program and make life changes.

Planning on an 8 miler this evening.  The weather has been perfect lately.  65 degrees today!
Goal for the week: 40 miles 

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Hope you all have a day filled with love, chocolate, and the ones you love!


Grace and peace,

Merely human

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

~E.E. Cummings

Sometimes I allow a good/bad run to define who I am as a runner.

I mentally beat myself up over missed runs. Going over and over in my head what I should of or could have done.

Example, I had a run planned for early Mon morning. J worked nights and I would head out at 5am when he got home from work....unfortunately, MP was up all night long throwing up.  I nixed my run and settled in for 30 extra mins of sleep.  Could I have run?  Absolutely.

Another early morning run planned this morning....this time LP up all night throwing up. Who knows why it always happens in the middle of the night!  Another run missed.  This time I didn't settle in for extra sleep.  Instead, I lay there thinking about the run I could be doing.  The mileage I could be adding toward my goal.  Condemning myself for my "lack" of motivation and thinking about my upcoming race and telling myself how horrible I would do because of my missed run.  I could have run but I didn't. 

I know we have all had similar things happen and I'm sure as a running mother we have all had those times of self-condemnation. 

Why are we so hard on ourselves?  I tell the runners in the No Boundaries C25k program I coach, to be flexible, to not be so hard on themselves if they miss a run but to get it in when they can.  Just last week I told a friend who is training for a marathon that she should allow herself to be flexible with her training schedule because life will get in the way sometimes....being a full-time working mother of 3 kids = a chaotic schedule, throw in training for a marathon and it is over the top!

In the middle of my self bullying session, the Lord brought this verse to mind:  "therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

It snapped me out of my little pity party and reminded me of who I am.  But not just who I am as a mom, runner, wife...who I am in Christ.   I am who God says I am.

Who am I in Christ?

I am a joint-heir with Christ Romans 8: 17
I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Cor.5: 21
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6: 19
I am the apple of His eye. Zec.2: 8
I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor.5: 20
I am free from condemnation Romans 8: 1
I am more than a conqueror Romans 8: 17
I am the salt of the earth. Mathew 5: 13
I am the light of the world Mathew 5: 14 & Eph. 5: 8
I am a member of the household of faith Gal.6 :10

My passion and love for running was not put in me by accident.  God put it there.  It is in my make-up...part of who I am.
I won't be defined by anything else.

Hope your week is going well!

Grace and peace,