So I have officially completed my first two 5K races. I have been working for a few months to build up my endurance and to feel comfortable with running outside. I have done one other race before, but honestly I was not prepared for it and ended up walking way more of the race than I wanted to. Being honest I probably spent 75% of that race walking. My goal was to be able to complete an entire race without walking. For some people this might come easy (just ask my husband who hasn't ran in years), but for me it was definitely a challenge.

The first race was in Kansas City at Rock the Parkway.  I was initially just going up to cheer on my sister in law as she completed her half marathon. Did I mention that she is the one that inspired this little challenge? Somehow she convinced me that I was ready for this race and that it would give me a starting point for the real race I was training for in May. My nerves were unreal as we were standing there that morning, but I tried so hard to act like I had it together. As I started off I remembered her words, "don't run too fast in the beginning, just keep your pace." I truly think this is what helped me have the endurance to make it through. After I made the turn and knew I was on the downhill slope, I allowed myself to think about what I was actually accomplishing. Towards the end of the race there were families standing on the side with signs, children cheering on their mothers, and friends encouraging their runner and strangers alike. Crossing the finish line was hard! Yes my legs were sore, I was starting to tire, but the feeling that came over me was so intense. It was a good thing I remembered there was going to be pictures....because I had been running with tears streaming for the last mile. I did it, and not only did I meet my goal of not walking, I finished almost 5 minutes under what I thought I would.

It has finally hit me that my sweet little boy is going to be 6 in a very short time. Not really sure why this age has been so much harder to handle than 5, but wow am I a mess! Riley is such a funny, sweet, and bright boy that it is sometimes hard for me to realize that he is quickly becoming a little man. I can remember holding him in my arms at night rocking him to sleep.  It was our special time to just be the two of us. There were plenty of nights that he would fall asleep in my arms and I would choose to hold him just a little bit longer. I never realized that it would go by so fast.

1. Our first dance song at our wedding was "I Wanna Know" by Joe
Danny and I met in college, so it is no surprise to anyone that our tastes in music were a little different back in the day compared to now. When we met there was no other song that could express our love better than the smooth tunes of Joe. It may not be the standard wedding song but it was definitely our song.

2. Feet
I seriously hate feet....they just look silly and the thought of them touching any part of me sends chills up my spine. Danny on the other hand seems to think that rubbing his feet on mine is the best thing ever. Ugh!

3. Homebody vs Social Butterfly
We could not be more different in how and where we want to spend our time if we tried. I think Danny would be more than happy to spend all of our time sitting at home together. On the other hand I would much rather be out and about surrounded by friends and family. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy spending time at home watching a movie and doing nothing at all sometimes.

4. Hannah's name
We came up with our daughters name before we were married one evening during a totally random conversation. It was one of those conversations that seems so funny at the time. When we were listing off possible names of our future children we were also stating what the appropriate nicknames could be. With Hannah we somehow came to the conclusion that it would be fun to be cheering for her from the stands yelling, "Hannah get a woot woot!" Like I said, way more funny at the time. =) Since that conversation there was never another name that came close to Hannah.

5. Pet lover
Our family owns two dogs and a fish. I can honestly say that before getting married I was not really a pet person. After spending time with Danny and seeing how much he cared for the pets he grew up with, it was easy to see how having pets would complete our family. Our puppies were definitely our furbabies until our kids came along.

6. Friday the 13th
The movie, the day, and spooky Halloween fun describe our special days. For some time we had a fun tradition to have a movie night on any Friday the 13th to watch those movies.  It usually included food, fun, my sister and cousin, as well as many of our favorite memories. It just so happened that we became on engaged on one of these Friday the 13th evenings.  Now whenever the date comes up it holds even more of a memory for us.

I keep seeing celebrities and everyday ladies rocking the wedge sneaker.  They range in colors from black and tan to fuchsia and teal. The thing is, I just don't understand it. I have not been able to get on this bandwagon for many reasons.

1. How can these really be comfortable?
2. They look like a throwback to Back To The Future...."Hello, McFly!"
3. The cost!
4. There is literally no way I could wear a pair of these and not look completely stupid.

Over the past few months there have been many attempts at finding what routine works best for working out. Working out primarily in the afternoon is hard because my energy is so low and it is really easy to have conflicts that come up.  I don't have the availability to workout over the lunch hour, but I do think this would be a nice option to get in a little cardio when the weather is nice out. The magic time for me has been to get up bright and early and start my day off with a 4:45 am workout.  My runs have slowly progressed to about 35 minutes each day.  When I couple my run with lifting weights, I can easily put in a little over an hour.  

Each year it is easy to start off with a list of resolutions and ways to be better in the coming year.  The problem I usually have is that I feel like the list just hangs there over my head.  Taunting me if I haven't quite succeeded in each area.