I did it!

OK, so I'm a little late getting this post up, but I wanted to share...Last weekend, I finished the half marathon!!!! It was an amazing, inspiring, exhausting experience that I would do all over again in a heartbeat! My original personal goal was to simply finish the race. As I started training and running longer distances, I started putting more pressure on myself. (you do know me, right? :) ) I wanted to run the entire time and finish under 2:30. Well, I did it. I ran the entire time - even though the definition of running could be challenged on some of those hills - and came in at 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Here's a finish line photo courtesy of my wonderful photog bestie JS.

Wow, I look tired in that photo.

Here's a glimpse into my thought process throughout the race...

At the start line: Wow, this is the first all-women half marathon in NC?!?! Cool. Damn it's cold, let's get this thing started!

Mile 0.2: Look, there's Scott, Tyler, Jake and my mom! HI!!! Oh crap, don't trip waving at them.

Mile 3: Feeling good! Only 10 miles to go.

Mile 5: Wow, they put a lot of hills at the beginning of this course. The rest HAS to be pretty flat.

Mile 7: Getting a little run down and I just ran out of water in my bottle. I'm going to take one of these GU things.

Mile 7.1: Damn, that GU stuff is nasty!!! Yuck!!!

Mile 8: Oooh! I'll take a picture of the mile-marker and send it to Scott.

Mile 8.2: Ahhhh, he texted me back. "Go girl go!"

Mile 10: Wow, was I wrong about the rest of this course being flat. What!?!?! There's another hill!?!

Mile 12: OK, please don't stop working (me talking to my legs)

Mile 12.5: Reading one of the signs from supporters "If this was easy, everyone would do it!" . 

Mile 13: O-M-G!!!! I am actually going to do this! Cue my "finish" song. Don't Stop Believing, by Journey, performed by the cast of GLEE. :)

Mile 13.2: DONE!!!

Sorry blog, running kicked you out

So, it's been awhile - over a month - since I last posted anything here. I have missed you blog. But, it's been for a good reason, a slightly healthier reason. As I gear up for the half marathon next month, my short runs in the evening have been getting longer and I find myself with less and less "free" time in the evening. I am getting very excited - and quite nervous - about the race coming up. I got a little glimpse this past weekend when I ran in my first 10K, a race called Mebane on the Move.

It has been quite some time since I ran in a race, and it was really exciting! As the gun singled the start of the race, I took off - WAY faster than I should have. I felt really good for the first several miles and then I started the second half of the course. The runners doing the 5K went to the right and the rest of us went to the left. And then the route went from slightly elevated to what I would deem as mountainous for Mebane standards. Why would they place all of these hills on the last half of the course ?!?!? It was insane, but so challenging in a great way. I was determined to run the entire race and I did. I wanted to stop so many times, but I just kept telling myself, "You can do this!" What drove me on was the thought of my boys waiting at the finish line for their mom. I cam up to the end of the race and all of the volunteers started clapping and cheering! It was incredibly inspiring and supportive. I crossed the finish line at just over an hour.

As I ran back to find the boys, Tyler ran up to me and said, "Mommy!!!! That was a great run! Did you win?" I told him, "No, I didn't win the race, but I did win for me."

My baby turned 4!

I just can't believe it. Where did the time go? I don't know a single parent who doesn't say that at some point. Tyler celebrated the big 4 today and did so with great pride and stature! He has become such a wonderful, sweet little boy and I am incredibly proud to be his momma!

Check out our Tyler over the years!

Wordless Wednesday - WV Edition

 

Jake's first steps (and Tyler's directing debut)

Things continue to be quite hectic here in the Jones household. With Jake 100% mobile, there are a new set of fun challenges presented for this mom. Tyler can no longer have a snack on the coffee table, because Jake will dive on in for himself. Everything under 2 feet in our house that isn't bolted down has been moved - usually by Jake first, and then me once I realize he can reach it now. He's started to pull up, move from one thing to another, and then stand on his own for a few seconds. My first experience with Tyler tells me that official walking could happen any day now! We managed to get some of Jake's first steps here with the Flip.



Once I realized that I really should use both of my hands to catch Jake - and I didn't have a third to hold the Flip video - we trained Tyler to hold it. As you can see, it took a minute for him to get the concept, but now he's running around the house, taking 4 second clips of everything from Mattie to his monster trucks!

Ummm, yeah...Probably

Tyler came home this evening and announced, "I went to timeout today."

Scott asked him, "Well, why did you have to go to timeout?"

"I went to my cubbie," replied Tyler.

Thinking this was a strange reason to go to timeout, I asked, "Well, Tyler, were you supposed to be doing something else when you went to your cubbie?"

To which Tyler replied, "Ummm, yeah...Probably."

Gotta love the honesty of a 3-year-old.

Happy 4th!!!

We've had a fabulous, relaxing weekend! Since I want to get back to it ASAP, I'm just posting a few recent pictures of the fun!