Five Minute Friday

I was inspired to write this "Five Minute Friday" after seeing a friend's similar post on her blog. So here's the deal with Five Minute Friday... set the timer for five minutes and just write...

I'm at work, just sneaking a quick break to grab a bite to eat and jot down a few thoughts. My car is packed and as soon as work is done, I'll pick up the boys from MDO and head south with them to visit my parents in Texas for the weekend. The boys can't wait to spend some time with their grandparents. And I'm running a half marathon tomorrow morning... my eighth. I'll run my ninth in a couple weeks, and I'll run my tenth at the end of April. I'm SO looking forward to finishing that tenth. 10 has been a big goal ever since probably 2 or 3, so I'm excited about getting there soon. After that, I'm not sure what my next running goal will be. I'm afraid to stop and lose all I've worked so hard for... but I think I'm also ready for a little break. Wow... five minutes goes really fast! Back to work...

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend we had! Early Thursday morning, Brad and three of his friends left for a guys' weekend. They went up to Minnesota to watch the Ryder Cup and to play golf at a couple courses in Minnesota and Iowa.

I solo-parented Thursday/Friday, and then my parents arrived to our house Friday evening. The boys were thrilled to see their grandparents, and we were excited to have our first overnight guests in the new house. 

We headed to downtown OKC bright and early Saturday morning for the Down Syndrome Festival and 5k. I walked the 5k and pushed the boys in the Bob Duallie stroller. The boys got out of the stroller toward the end and ran across the finish line... so adorable!. We had a great time at the festival and loved seeing so many family/friends there!

Following the festival, we headed down to Lawton, OK and spent some time at the Museum of the Great Plains. We get free admission there with an Oklahoma museum pass that we have, so we were excited to check it out for our first time. After the museum, we went to an early dinner and then my parents took the boys to their house in Wichita Falls, TX (about 40 minutes away). I checked into a hotel room in Lawton and enjoyed a super quiet night's sleep.

I woke up early Sunday morning and ran the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon. It was my fourth half marathon in 2016 and my seventh ever. Miles 0-10 felt great, but then my right calf cramped at about mile 10. I struggled the rest of the way in. My parents and the boys drove back up to Lawton that morning and were there to cheer me across the finish line. Hearing Caleb and Tyler yell "Go Mommy!" might just be one of my most favorite things! Caleb was excited to get his hands on my finisher's medal, and Tyler was eager to get his hands on my post-race snacks. 

I hurried back to the hotel for a shower, and then we all went to an early lunch. The boys and I returned back to OKC Sunday afternoon, and Brad arrived home from his trip Sunday evening. And now another busy week has begun! 

Go Girl Run OKC

Last Thursday evening, I was looking ahead to the weekend and dreading the 11 mile run I had on my schedule. I'm in the middle of training for the OKC Memorial half marathon that'll be toward the end of April. I needed to get that run in, but it just sounded long, hard and boring. And then I remembered that I recently heard about a half marathon that was happening in OKC on Saturday... the Go Girl Run. Some sick running-obsessed part of me actually thought that running 13.1 miles with a bunch of other runners would be more fun than running 11 solo. So anyway, I got online and realized that I had until 11:59pm that night to register. I debated about it for about an hour and finally registered at 11:04pm... 30.5 hours before the race would begin. The longest I've run since early January was nine miles, but I figured it was worth a try.

The race started at 6:30am in downtown OKC and went through some fun neighbhorhoods (Deep Deuce, the Paseo District, Crown Heights, the Plaza District, etc.). I didn't go into the race expecting much, other than hoping I'd survive that last 2.1 miles I didn't feel totally prepared for. The run actually went better than expected. I finished in 2:20:46, and I missed my PR by only 76 seconds. Not too bad. The OKC Memorial half marathon is just a few weeks away, so the training continues on. Maybe I'll set a new PR at that race?!

Prairie Fire

I ran another half marathon! The day after I ran the OKC half marathon, I realized that the Prairie Fire springs half was coming up the next Sunday (May 4th). I debated back and forth about doing it for a couple days and decided last Wednesday evening to go for it. Brad, Caleb, and I went to Wichita, KS on Saturday afternoon. We checked into the hotel, picked up my race packet at the Expo, had dinner and then returned to the hotel in time to watch the Thunder beat the Grizzlies! After a good night's sleep, I woke up at 6:00 to get ready for the run. The half marathon started at 7:30. Our hotel was right at the start/finish line, so I didn't leave our room until just a few minutes before the start.

View from our hotel room of the start/finish and runners' village

Since I ran a half marathon the week before, I didn't want to push myself too much. I didn't worry about my time and just allowed myself to enjoy the run. Temps were in the 60s when I started and in the 70s when I finished. Sounds nice, but that's hot for a runner! Between dealing with the heat and just being tired from the week before (and a potty break at mile 6), I ended up finishing in 2:23. So... two half marathons in eight days. Three in seven months. I think I've officially been bitten by the running bug. And I need a pedicure.

After the run. Caleb was more interested in my medal than smiling for the photo

Busy Weekend

What a fun and busy weekend we had!

Brad and seven of his friends formed two teams for the 10th Annual Jacob's Buddies Golf Tournament on Saturday morning. This golf tournament was started by the grandparents of a boy named Jacob. He has Down syndrome, and the golf tournament is a fundraiser for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma. Brad won "longest drive", and his prize was a new putter. A couple of our friends won raffle prizes, too!

Caleb and Jacob's grandmother

We met some friends for dinner on Saturday evening. Everyone was decked out in Thunder gear for Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzles.

Brad watched the game at our friends' house, and Caleb and I went home. I watched the first quarter of the game and then went to bed, because I had an early morning the next day.

I woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning to prep for my half marathon. Brad got up around 5:20, and we tried to move Caleb from his bed to his car seat without waking them, but that didn't work so well. They dropped me off downtown at about 6:00, and they went to park near the 3 mile mark on the course. Some storms were moving into OKC, so the start time got pushed back from 6:30 to 7:00... and then 7:15... and then 8:00... and then we finally got started at 8:20. I felt great for most of the run and was on pace for a sub-2:15, but the last three miles absolutely killed me! I ended up finishing at 2:19:30. 4:30 behind my goal time. Oh well. I did improve on my time from my first half marathon last fall, so I'm glad about that. I'm definitely a faster runner than I was just a few months ago, so hopefully I'll continue to improve... and maybe I'll finally beat 2:15 whenever I run my next half marathon.

Per the surgeon's instructions, I removed Caleb's bandage Sunday afternoon. He still has several scabs and stitches, but his fingers are looking great!

Buddy Walk and Run for T21 5k

We attended our first Buddy Walk on Saturday, October 19th. The day started with the Run for T21 5k. It was so cold outside at 8:00am, so Brad and Caleb ate breakfast at Starbucks while I ran. Immediately following the 5k, the Buddy Walk started at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. About 25-30 of our friends and family came to support Caleb. From 9:00 to noon, we visited and let the kids enjoy all the Buddy Walk activities! At noon, we joined all of the other teams for a walk around the ballpark to show support for people with Down syndrome. Team Caleb raised $2909.00 for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma!

Wichita

Brad, Caleb and I spent a great weekend with friends in Wichita, KS! The guys played golf while the girls took the kids to Botanica on Saturday afternoon. My future botanist was in Heaven with all the plants! And this morning, Katy and I ran our first half marathon! My time was a little slower than I had hoped but not too bad for my first attempt.

OKC Marathon

On Sunday, we ran in the OKC Memorial Marathon. I ran the first leg (10k) of the marathon relay, Brad ran the second leg (5k), and some other friends ran the remaining three legs. My younger brother, Kyle, ran the half marathon. The weather was beautiful, and we all had fun.