Auntie Time!

I spent some time in Knoxville this past week helping care for my sister and her kiddos while her hubby was in Haiti on a medical missions trip. I was also there about 6 weeks ago when Amelia Faith Hovis was born. We were very busy caring for kiddos but we were able to get in some fun girl time (PF Changs and pedicures) and went to the zoo. Here are some pics from our time there...

The Greenway 9 Mile...

Me after my long run celebrating at EarthFare with a green smoothie: Organic pineapple, mango, banana, spiriluna and hemp protein!

So, I did it! I completed my first long run without stopping! I am super proud of myself. It was a gorgeous day in the hills (lets stress HILLS) of East Tennessee. The Greenway went all through Knoxville and there were people out everywhere. I thought I might be having a heart attack around mile 8...but thought, well at least I will die trying!:) The entire run was pretty difficult, I think mainly b/c it was on my mind all week. Not only am I not at home, but I had to find a place to run and get myself there. In the end, it was a huge accomplishment and really gave me the courage to know that I can tackle anything!

When I got tired and felt like all I could do was put one foot in front of the other, I thought about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF7Bv9Rjl0E (a video we watched at Mini marathon training on Thursday) Take the time to watch it. I cried the entire video...the love and dedication of this father really struck me to my core. I dont think I am the same after watching it...really.

Shamrock Run!

Green juice and green larabar ready for race day (thanks to Abby for the sweet gift basket of snacks!)

Here we go! In the parking garage

Brian and I freezing!

Me and my boys!

Brian gets to spin the wheel!

and he wins...what else? but a movie card! Hooray!

Chase dancing to the live music

Get down, get down!

Stretching

National anthem

Getting ready to do the honors

The crowd

Crossing the finish line 41:23!!

After the race

aNd as promised.....Now you see the hair

Now

you

Don't!

The race was awesome!! I got up at 6 am to fuel up for the 4 mile race. I had organic brown eggs scrambled with cheese ina  brown rice tortilla. I also had some organic, fair trade expresso bean coffee. I topped it off with organic cucumber and organic pear juice! Wouldnt be a St. Patty race without green juice!

We got downtown and it was freezing and windy! I was so excited to get in the start line...we took off and my I pod wasnt working...I kept running but slowed down to figure it out. The first two miles were hard (I think this is a new trend for me) but 3 and 4, were great..my energy was pumping and it literally felt like someone was pushing me! I wasnt trying to speed up, I just was!

 I didnt see mile markers past mile 1 so I wasnt sure where I was...I knew I had to be near the end, so I put on David Crowder's Deliver Me...(love this song) A few minutes later, I turned the corner and saw Monument Circle (the finish line) As the music played, tears streamed down my face...it was a glorious moment. I was surprised when I crossed the finish line to see that I did so in 41:20..I wasnt trying to go for speed at all. It was a pleasant surprise to see a 10:20 mile. And even better was seeing my boys there with a camera all proud and ready to take my picture...what a beautiful moment.

I want to thank my boys and especially Brian who sacrifice time with me so that I can train. It is a huge sacrifice and does not go unoticed. They give me their undying support and I truly appreciate it. Thank you for letting me follow my dreams...I love you.

Race results, visit http://www.indystpats.com/ I finished 706 out of 1192. Not too shabby for a rookie:)

Training Update

This is me after Mini training last night. Got a 4 miler in..but the best part was that we got our training shirts...

This is the back...gotta love it

I picked up my race number, timing device and shirt downtown this morning..so excited for my first race tomorrow! (hoping to have time in the morning to make a green juice for my Shamrock run!)

So its been a great week of training..with the 10 miler on Sunday, the 5 miler on Tuesday, 4 miler last night and 4 tomorrow, I will be at 23 for the week. So excited about that. One thing our trainer talked about last night was training pitfalls and mistakes. One of those was trying to do too much too soon...and comparing or trying to keep up with fellow runners. This is so me! So, I have resolved to take his advice and stay at my own pace and not get discouraged. He said that we might run this marathon and decide we arent marathoners. Perhaps we are just 5 or 10kers. And that is okay. I have been so worried that I am not a long distance runner and that I will have to walk some of the half. But, now, I am okay with that if it happens.  And perhaps, I will run a few of these, train my body and not have to stop during the half. Afterall, I've only been running for six months. It just really takes the pressure off. And I think b/c of that, I will have a better chance of running the half without stopping. What races have you run? How'd your first race go?

On another note, I have wanted to cut my hair for a year now. So, after the race, I am rewarding myself with a fun, shortest I have gone haircut. I am hoping to donate to locks of love but am concerned I may be right under what they need inch wise...I just had 5 inches off about six weeks ago..bummer.

I'm getting a mix between

these two cuts...

What do you think?

A taste of spring...

Loving the outdoors. Something tells me we will be outside a lot this year.

Not sure what to make of this grass...

Can I have the ball?

Now what do I do with it?

Mom and dad.

Tayler preparing for the big matchup. He needs all the practice he can get :)

Chase cleaned up after playing outside

 

I know like everyone else we had to get out and enjoy this beautiful spring weather. It was so fun watching Chase get used to walking on the grass and playing. Of course I had to defend my reign as champion in basketball- though Tayler is getting closer (the score was 10-9). I'm sure by next year he'll take me out. But, then the reign starts over against Chase.