3.1

In February of this year, I went to visit Kare in AZ. We relaxed the way any mom who has a few days of being kids-free would--we sat in front of the TV and ate as much Ice Cream as we possibly could. It was amaaazing. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner: Rocky Road!

But then one time as I was making the Ice Cream run to get our 3rd or 4th carton... as I was running out to the car I became aware of how winded I was. I was a little confused because all I had done was run in, grab Ice Cream, and run back out.

How pathetic.

No, I'm not talking about how much Ice Cream we consumed. One thing at a time, okay?

I'm talking about how out of shape I am!

I mean, I have 3 boys! How am I gonna keep up with them if I can't even run in and out of a store and not have problems?

So. Kare and I decided that we were not gonna be lame moms who can't run around with their kids. We were gonna do something about it. We were not going to run a marathon, do a triathlon, or even a half marathon. We were going to be realistic and start slow.

It's like my Dad (the triathlete) always tells me, "Everyone has to start somewhere!"

So we decided to start at the bottom. A 5k.

Anyone can do a 5k, right? Walk, jog, walk, jog.

No. We wanted to do one without walking. Jog the whole time.

Without dying.

That was our goal.

So... 3 months later... after a little bit of "training..." Don't laugh! ...

...Ta-da!


No, this is not Kare... that one will come later. (Right, Kare?) This is Julie. She is my awesome friend who inspires me to:

1. workout more
2. eat better
and
3. never take a picture next to a tall slender person ever again.

Julie is awesome. She loves to run 5Ks, so she didn't mind slowing down her pace to stick with me. Her husband, Ryan, asked me what my goal time was. Hmmm... I hadn't actually thought of that before. My only goal was to finish and do it without walking. Just a nice 3.1 mile jog.

So here we are trying to figure out where we start.


Our race was at Liberty Park, so while we ran, Charles and Ryan took all the boys to the playground.



They got back to the finish line just as we were rounding the corner!


Our last stretch...

Oh! On the way to the race, Jaden asked where we were going and Charles said, "to Mommy's race." Then Jaden said, "What? You are going to race? You're gonna lose..."

Wow! Let me tell you, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of support! :) It's okay Jaden. You're six.

Well here's proof of at least two other runners who we beat. At least I didn't lose to them!


I didn't care about a "finishing time", until I saw a big clock at the finish line. It was at... well, I won't say what minute it was at, but I was certain I didn't want another one to pass before we got there.

So I said, "GO! We can make it!" And we kicked it up a notch those last few yards.


We made it before that next minute passed. And best of all, we made it without stopping! Unless you count a tiny little mishap at the beginning... but everyone I talked to said they don't so I won't either!

Afterward, we got all these free snacks... which we had to sneak more of... for the kids.


It was awesome. I felt good for getting up and doing something, instead of just complaining about it. I don't know if I want to try for a 10K next or not. Maybe I'll just work on improving my time, for now. That's a good goal too.