First Day of Preschool

We've been spending the last month getting Caitlin and Rosalie ready for preschool! This year is the first year that our girls will be in school! We decided to keep Caitlin home last year for the 3-year-old year, but decided later that it probably would've been good for her to have gone. So when preschool sign up came this year, we decided to put Caitlin into the 4-year-old class and Rosalie into the 3-year-old class!

After all of the paperwork, orientations, doctor appointments, dentist visits, and more, we took the girls to the Open House so that they could see their class rooms and find their seats and cubby holes!

Caity found her seat!

Rosalie found her cubby!

The girls felt more comfortable knowing where their seats and cubbys were! They didn't want to leave that night, but we told them they had less than a week before school started!

I had purchased the girls' backpacks when Walmart first put them out because I wanted to get the good ones before they were gone. The Walmart here sells out of stuff within days, so as soon as I saw the Disney backpacks, I purchased them immediately! I kept them in my bedroom because we wanted to surprise the girls with them! It was hard to wait so long, but it was worth it when we saw their faces! Charles brought them outside yesterday morning while the girls were on the porch playing! We got Caity a Tinkerbell backpack and Rosie got a Disney Princess backpack!

Looks of joy and happiness!

They spent the entire day putting things into their backpacks, taking those things out, wearing them all over the place, and more! They were SO happy! We gave each girl three pencils and a Disney Fairies notebook.

When it became time to take a bath and get ready for bed, I pulled out the note that Caity's teachers gave to her the night of the open house. It said, "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL MONDAY NIGHT!" It was hard not to open it, but I resisted! It was worth it, too! I gathered the girls around the table and opened the letter. Confetti fell all over the place! There was a poem inside the card that wished the girls sweet dreams! The confetti was to help them sleep better and have sweet dreams. It told them to sprinkle some under their pillows. I put it inside of some plastic baggies and let the girls put the baggies under their pillows! Then we set out the girls' clothes, shoes, and backpacks for the next morning!

This morning, the girls woke up without any problems! They got their clothes and shoes on immediately and let me do their hair without too much fussing! We went outside, I snapped some photos!

Afterwards, we loaded up the car and headed to school! Once at school, I got one more photo of the girls before we went inside! Charles wanted to take the girls into the school since his work starts at the same time school starts. So it was nice to have him there to help me corral the girls inside!

I dropped Caity off first! Her classroom is the closest to the doors we come in. She did very well with hanging her backpack and jacket up and going through the morning routine! She found her name tag, washed her hands, and then found her name on the floor by the big carpet!

Rosalie started getting fussy because she wanted to go to her class! So she cried a little, but once we got inside her class, she was fine! She hung her backpack and jacket up, put on her nametag, washed her hands, answered the question of the day, then sat in the morning circle! When I went to leave, she gave me a hug and never looked back!

I stopped back in Caity's room to tell her goodbye, she hugged me, then never looked back! Vivian and I left the school alone! It was weird only loading up one kid in the car! Vivian and I have spent the morning eating breakfast, playing, and running around the yard! I am very excited to spend some one-on-one time with her! Oh, and here's a picture of her this morning at the school!

I am excited to pick the girls up and hear about their day!

The Doctors Dash 6.4 Race Recap

A few weeks ago, I ran my first official 10K! Although, it was technically 6.4 miles instead of 6.2! I'll count it as my first official 10K!

In the beginning of July, a local woman held a fun run/walk on July 3rd to see how many people she could get to come. Our town doesn't have a Fourth of July running event, so this was to see if anyone was interested! There was a 5K/10K option. Although only a few people, myself included, signed up for the 10K. This was a free event! I wanted a test run to see how to pace a 10K! All the runners had to be careful because there was no "official" course, so we had to be careful for traffic and obey all traffic rules! I knew my neighbor, Malissa, was going to run the 5K, so we took a quick picture before we got started!

We've both lost a lot of weight AND gotten into running!
She tells me that I inspire her! She inspires me, too!

All the runners ran the first 5K together, then the 10K runners were able to continue on. The 5K route was awesome! I was one of the only people, at first, to continue on the 10K route. Running the second 5K alone kind of sucked! Especially on the HILLS! It was in the evening, it was hot, and I was alone. But I pushed through and finished with a time of 56:28! I was so proud of myself! I really wanted to get under an hour!

I uploaded my data from my Garmin and laughed about my splits! I started of WAY too fast! If my splits were backwards, they would've been a perfect progressive run with negative splits! My splits were:

But I was still proud of my effort! It prepared me to run the Doctor's Dash! I knew that the Dash would have hills, so I was glad that the practice 10K had a HUGE hill right at the end!

My home town was retiring the school mascot, the Red Raider, to welcome the new mascot for the new school year. The school district combined with another and decided to have a new name, mascot, and school colors. It makes me terribly sad, but that's small town Iowa for you! There were fewer and fewer kids in the graduating classes. They needed to combine with another school district to boost numbers. I get it... but it still makes me sad. I graduated a Red Raider! Now there won't be anymore!

I decided to dig out my old cross country jersey to wear during the run! I ran a lot of miles in that jersey, so I thought it'd be fitting for the Dash! It would be the first time I've ran in my home town since graduating in 2005. I wanted to retire my jersey with one final run! Technically, I wasn't suppose to even have that jersey, but when I was a sophomore(or maybe a junior...) in high school, they wanted to get new jerseys for the next year. I just couldn't part with it... so I kept "forgetting" to turn it in... I was such a rebel.

The night before the Dash, I drove to my home town to stay with a family that is like my own family! They were so kind to open their door for me and let me stay in one of their extra rooms! We played a board game, had a banana shake, and said good night! I slept alright, but I never sleep well when I'm not home!

Doctor's Dash morning, July 27, 2013! 54 degrees and sunny! I woke up, got ready, and ate a banana. I drove to Central Park and met up with my running buddy, Jordan! I signed in, got my packet, then chatted with some friends! Jordan and I had a quick bathroom break, then started warming up and stretching. I got a lot of comments on my jersey! It was fun to see my old teammates! I also talked to the members of the Creston Run Club! (Which I'm in! Haha!) It was nice to see so many faces that I knew!

Then it was go time! My goal for the run was to finish under an hour and to pace with Jordan! Because she's a strong, fast runner!

Mile 1 - 8:31 I am always nervous at the start of a race! Always. But once I get going, I'm just fine! They wanted all the 10K people in front, I have no idea why, and we were overtaken with 5K runners within seconds! Jordan and I ran in a single file line to avoid any run-in's with other runners! Once things started smoothing out, we ran side-by-side. I very much enjoy running with her! We had a chance to catch up and talk about pacing! One of the downhills had loose rocks and made me nervous. I knew that on the way back, we'd have to run up the hill on the rocks.

Jordan and I, before I decided to run behind her for safety!
My shoes are red, hers are the cotton candy blue!

Mile 2 - 8:36 Our first big hill! I told Jordan that the route we were on was an old cross country workout route! The hill was gradual, and I haven't decided if that was a good thing or not, but we got through it! At one point, a kid stopped along the road and threw up. I felt bad for him. Once we got up over the hill, we could see the people in the very front. They were making great time! We could also see the 5K turn around point. Once we passed it, the crowd thinned out majorly! Which was nice! We turned onto the road that would take us around the lake. Only with this route, we went backwards around the lake! Well, backwards from the route I use to run in high school! 

Mile 3 - 9:09 We were on grass that was very bumpy and unstable. Which scared me! I'm use to running on the pavement! I've ran a few nature trails, but for the most part, I'm on the pavement! Jordan and I caught up with a group of three runners. Two of them are members of the Creston Run Club. I'm not sure who the other lady was. We paced behind them and followed the little pink race flags. They took us through trees, through the campground, and around campers! Our pace slowed down because some of the route was very narrow and we had to run in single file lines. Once we got back on the gravel, I was more than relieved! We passed the group of three and continued on!

Mile 4 - 8:43 I started feeling tired during this mile, but I did very well with keeping up with Jordan! We weren't talking as much, but it was nice to have her next to me. I don't talk as much when I'm tired and working hard to maintain pace! We could see the other runners in front of us on the other side of the lake. I knew we were going to place within our age group and that kept me pushing strong! I started to lose Jordan on one of the hills. She is a crazy strong runner! She made those hills seem easy! As she pulled ahead of me, I made it my goal to try and catch her! I got out my GU and refueled!

Mile 5 - 8:37 Seeing the road we started on was a welcome sight! I felt great and I could still see Jordan in front of me! There was a man in front of me, but behind her. I tried to catch him, too! Once I got back onto the main road, I remembered the hill that we came up! The other side of that hill was another gradual incline. I passed the 5K turn around point and knew I was on the homestretch! I grabbed a cup of water from the aid station and kept running! Running and drinking water isn't my favorite, but I didn't want to stop! I pinched my cup, inhaled some water, and threw the cup in the trash.

Mile 6 - 8:39 Coming onto the flattest part of the course! I knew I was running out of energy, but I really wanted to finish strong! I passed a few of the walkers from the 5K and they cheered me on! It was nice to have the support! I needed it! One guy in a truck pulled up to me and told me that I could catch the man in front of me! I told him that I'd sure try! I started up the hill with the loose gravel and decided to stay as far to the left as I could, on the shoulder of the road. There weren't many rocks and I had a chance to sprint up the hill. I saw some of the members from the Run Club. They started cheering me on and it gave me the boost I needed to finish!

The last .4 - 2:34 (pace of 7:32) Mark, one of the Run Club members, started running with me. He said, "Now I'm going to pace with you! Keep up with me now! Finish hard!" I kicked in my sprint to keep up with him, but man was he fast! I saw my neighbor, Malissa, cheering me on as I came up one of the hills. She ran with me while cheering me on, and I almost started sobbing! We always want to run together, since we're neighbors, but our schedules are always different! So it was nice to actually run with my friend! It meant SO much to me that she did that! I started feeling funny at this point. My legs were tingling, I felt dizzy... but I kept trying to catch Mark! I was trying to catch my breath and run fast. It was hard! Mark kept saying, "Just a little bit more! Come on, girl! You can do it!" Then I saw the finish line! I ran for it with all that I had! And I finished!

I heard the man at the finish shout my finish time and I about fell over with excitement! He said, "Fifty Four...." and I didn't hear the rest because I was overjoyed and shouted!

10K #1
Official Time 54:55

Garmin Time 54:52

average pace 8:39

Third in Age Group 20-29

How did I manage that?! I have NEVER ran that fast for more than three miles! Holy smokes! I was on FIRE! The race people took my name off of my running bib and I walked around for a few minutes! Then met up with Jordan for a few pictures!

Jordan and Carie, Distant Running Buddies
Our shoes are the same, just different colors!
We were on our way back to the award ceremony with our stuff!
This photo was taken by an event coordinator because we were alumni runners!

Distant Running Buddies
Picture on Jordan's camera without our bags!
I should have put my arm on my hip to match! Haha!

Then I met up with Malissa and Mark and thanked them for running with me! I went over and checked the finsiher's board and saw that my friend, Josie, took first in our age group for the 6.4 mile run, Jordan got second, and I got third! We all placed! What an amazing feeling! Then Malissa came up to me and said, "I got first in my age group for the 5K!" And that's when I started crying! I gave her a HUGE hug and told her how proud I was, and am, of her! She's been working SO hard to improve her 5K time. I am SO glad that she got a medal! She deserved it! 

Then it was time for the award ceremony. There were a lot of age groups announced! I cheered loudly for everyone I knew! Then all the medal winners got together for a group photo!

Jordan is in the second row, all the way to the right, on the end!
I'm in the third row, fifth from the right, sitting next to Malissa!

Then the Creston Run Club got together for a photo! We ALL brought home medals! This isn't our whole group, some people left before the award ceremony. And there were some runners in the club that I've never met! 

Back row (L to R): Mark, Duane, Wilma, (not sure), Julie, Malissa, and Kristy
Front row (L to R): Rose, Josie, Carie, and Monica 

Afterwards, I went back to my friend's house to shower and get ready for the parade! Jordan and I have a pact that if we get a medal from a race, we have to wear it for the next 24 hours! So as I walked in the parade with all of my alumni cheerleader friends, I was wearing my medal!

Not the greatest picture of me... but it makes me laugh!
I was waving at Jordan! She took this picture!

I wore it the entire day! I wore it proudly! I got asked about it a few times! I hardly won any medals while in high school, so to have won one this weekend meant a lot to me! My old cross country jersey has been washed and I'm going to have it framed! It's had a good career! I will miss my old high school colors and mascot!

I look forward to running the Doctors Dash next year! And the year after that... 

ABC's About Me!

I haven't been tagged to do this, but Katie left an open invite for anyone who wanted to do this! So I ACCEPT! I use to do "surveys" like this via email when I was in high school! I loved them! This is kind of nostalgic for me! Here it goes!

A. Attached or Single?
Attached! Very much so! Charles and I knew from the get-go that we belonged together! We've been together for just over six years, with our six year wedding anniversary next month!

B. Best Friend
I consider myself to have a few! I know that everyone defines "friend" differently. I have had many "best friends" throughout my life, through all different stages. And while I have lost contact with some of these wonderful people, I have, and always will, consider them my BEST FRIENDS! They have all stuck by my side through thick and thin!
Childhood: Alyce, Dan, and Angie
College: Caity, Jenelle, Chris, Ryan, Sara, and Lindy
Adult: Charles, Karmen, Jamie, and Amber
Blogging/Running: Katie and Jordan

C. Cake or Pie
Dairy Queen's Ice Cream Cake! AMAZING! 

D. Day of the week?
Sunday! Which is not only the Lord's day, but it's my workout/running REST day!  

E. Essential Item?
ChapStick! I cannot live without this item! I have at least 20 in my house! And I can never find them when I need them! My favorite flavor? Strawberry! But the new Fruit Punch flavor is an easy second!

F. Favorite Color?
Pink! But it's a tie from among pink, orange, and green! 

G. Gummy Bears or Worms?
BEARS!

H. Hometown?
Omaha, Nebraska

I. Favorite Indulgence?
Chocolate! In any form, but especially in the form of Dairy Queen's Chocolate Xtreme blizzard!

J. January or July?
July! My BIRTHDAY month! 

K. Kids?
I am the mother of seven children. God has blessed me with three daughters that are here with me and has blessed me with four children I never got the chance to meet. Each child that I have carried has a special place in my heart. The Lord has blessed Charles and I with Caitlin, Rosalie, and Vivian! We are so glad that they are here with us! We plan on having more children in a year or so! But for right now, life with our three daughters is pretty perfect!

Caitlin (4), Vivian (20 months), me, Rosalie (3), and Charles
June 2013

L. Life isn't complete without?
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! If it weren't for the wonderful example that my best friend, Alyce, had set for me, I wouldn't be here today! She taught me all about God's love for me and my divine worth! Want to know more about my faith? Check it out here!

M. Marriage Date
Charles and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity on August 11, 2007, in the Nauvoo, Ill, Temple!

 

N. Number of brothers/sisters
I am a child of divorce and a few re-marriages. This is a very touchy subject with my family, but I consider myself to have 8 brothers and 3 sisters! (Not including my in-laws)

O. Oranges or Apples?
 Apples! Especially with caramel! 

P. Phobias?
Spiders, wasps, and bees. I am petrified of them all!

Q. Favorite Quotes?
I have A LOT! But my favorites are:

"You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on."
-- Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

 "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."
-- Moulin Rouge

 "You know the great thing, though, is that change can be so constant you don't even feel the difference until there is one. It can be so slow that you don't even notice that your life is better or worse, until it is. Or it can just blow you away, make you something different in an instant. It happened to me."
-- George, Life as a House

"My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."
-- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 2010

R. Reasons to smile?
There are too many to count! But some random reasons are: Zumba, running, pandas, ice cream, my children laughing, butterflies, winning giveaways, and watching the sun rise/set! 

S. Season of Choice?
SPRING! (Minus the week or two that my allergies act up) I love watching the earth become alive again after a cold, dark winter!

T. Tag 3 people.
Jordan, Amber, and anyone else who wants to!

U. Unknown Fact about me:
I have a guilty pleasure in watching shows like Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, etc! The "love" shows on VH1 and MTV! I was a total sucker for them in my college years! I'm embarrassed to admit it now... but it is what it is! I loved it! Hulu has a few of those shows under their "Guilty Pleasure" show list!

V. Favorite Vegetable?
Spaghetti Squash! It's a fairly new favorite, but I am pretty much OBSESSED with it! I would have it everyday if I could! Before that, it would've been a tie between fresh spinach and steamed broccoli!

W. Worst habit? 
I am a pack-rat! I have been emotionally tied to my junk for SO long! I am just now "letting go" of most of it! I'm going to be having a HUGE garage sale soon! It's a process. I'm sure I'm a hoarder, but not like the ones on TV.

X. X-Ray or Ultrasound?
Ultrasounds! I've been on both sides of the happy/sad ultrasound spectrum, but I love the advances in ultrasound technology.

Y. Your favorite Food?
Spaghetti! In any form, really! Spaghetti with pasta noodles, spaghetti squash, goulash, etc. If it involves tomato sauce with noodles, I LOVE IT! I love my husband's spaghetti sauce! He uses Italian Sausage and his own spices! It's always different and AMAZING!

Z.  Zodiac Sign?
I'm a Leo! I don't follow the whole zodiac/horoscope thing. I use to when I was in junior high/high school, but that's only because the girls that I use to hang out with read their horoscopes all the time. I am proud to be a lion, though! I've always had a love for lions!

Grinnell Games Half Marathon Race Recap

This race was my first official half marathon! I had decided a while back that I wanted to complete at least one official half marathon before my first full marathon in September. I had looked for one, but couldn't find one that worked with my schedule. My friend Jordan mentioned one that she wanted to sign up for. I looked into it, and we decided to sign up together!

I knew that it would be the weekend after the Dam to Dam 20K, but I thought that I would be fine. I was in for a reality check! But we'll get to that soon enough!

The plan was for me to drive to Jordan's house the night before, carpool with her to Grinnell, carpool back to her house, then drive home. As the race got closer, Charles thought it would be a better idea if he came along. I was thrilled when he suggested it! He hasn't seen me run or race at all! We had some planning to do to find people to watch our girls, but everything fell into place and he would be able to go with me!

We left Friday evening after we put the girls down for bed. The first few minutes of the ride were quiet and awkward. We haven't been alone like that... well... in a long, long time! We have never spent a night away from our girls together. We laughed about the awkwardness and general nervousness of leaving our girls overnight, but soon found plenty to talk about and catch up on!

It was wonderful for us both!

We arrived at Jordan and Tyler's house and chatted for about an hour or so before heading to bed. Jordan and I knew we wouldn't sleep very well, so we wanted to get as many hours as we could before we had to leave early in the morning.

RACE DAY! Morning came too soon! I was up and getting ready before Charles, but he never takes too long to get ready. I worked out some of my pre-race nerves by saying some prayers! We headed out at 6:15 a.m.! The drive was gorgeous! The sun was up, there was a nice mist/fog over the hills and corn fields! It was a sight! We had to take a detour so we were on the road longer than we had planned. I ate a banana about 45 minutes before the start of the race.

We showed up at registration/packet pick-up with 20 minutes to go before the race start. YIKES! Tyler and Charles left to go get some breakfast, so Jordan and I had to leave our packets at registration. We took out our race bibs, pinned them on, and dropped off our packets. We needed to use the porta-potties. The line was crazy! A ton of people and only three toilets! We started getting anxious as the minutes were getting lower and lower to the start. We finally got in and out with 5 minutes before the start! Talk about pre-race nerves! We had a few minutes to chat lightly. I was sad that we weren't able to get a photo before the start! We saw Tyler and Charles and told them to grab our packets. Since I don't have a SPIbelt or anything to hold my racing fuel, I had to hold my Cliff Shot Bloks.

Then it was go time!

So you can see the route Jordan and I ran.

Mile 1 - 8:39 There were 109 runners with us this time! It was a huge difference from the Dam to Dam! Jordan and I talked about not starting too fast, but we felt good at this pace. We merged with the 5K runners, so things were tight for a little bit, but we separated right after the first water station. There were so many spectators along the sides cheering us on with COWBELLS! My watched chirped the first mile before we hit the "MILE 1" sign, so I knew we'd be off at the finish line.

Mile 2 - 8:48 I mentioned to Jordan that if she lost me, to go on ahead and try for her sub-2 hour goal! I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up at this pace! Half way through this mile, there was the sign for "MILE 8". We knew that we had a large loop that we were doing twice. This was the start of two large hills that were back to back. I told Jordan that these hills would hurt the next time we visited them!

Mile 3 - 9:14 I kept up with Jordan as best as I could. I settled into a place right behind her for most of this mile, but she lost me for good about half way through. I told myself to stay below 10:00 miles and try hard to get a good time. I could feel myself slowing down, but I still felt alright by this point. I decided to eat one Cliff shot blok. I read earlier this week about runners needing to fuel about 30 minutes into a race in order to keep their energy. The shot block went down easy and I pressed on.

Mile 4 - 9:22 I could see Jordan ahead of me. She was with a group of girls and doing so well. I paced with a lady in pink. I felt really good at this pace, but again, I could feel myself slowing down. I decided to get a drink at the water station, and it helped.

Mile 5 - 9:24 I felt really good after my drink. I noticed a porta-potty outside of the college here. I felt like I needed to use it, but kept going. There were a lot of spectators on this stretch and they did awesome about cheering! Especially the little kids! I kept looking down at my Garmin because I could feel myself getting slower, still. It was frustrating.

Mile 6 - 9:42 Creeping up on that 10:00 minute mile time was frustrating for me. I ate another shot blok, but it wasn't sitting well with me this time. The package was now small enough to fit into the hidden pocket on my running skirt, so I quickly put it there and felt better about not having to carry anything while I was running. I was crazy proud of myself for sticking it out so far, but feeling my legs getting heavier and heavier was mentally hard. I kept saying, "The Dam to Dam was so much easier! Why is this so darn hard?" And that was just the thing! I had a really good race last week! It was hard on my body! I was super sore for about four days afterwards! And it was starting to catch up with me! I was getting more optimistic at this point because I knew I was close to the half-way point and Charles was there!

Mile 7 - 9:46 Getting closer to Charles kept me pushing hard to keep my miles under 10:00. I came up on central park and knew he'd be there. As I came down the main stretch that would serve as the finish later, I heard someone shouting like crazy for me. It was a woman. She was wearing a green shirt and a purple headband. I couldn't quite see who she was, but she knew me, and that helped me so much! I shouted back and waved! I went over a mental list in my mind and couldn't remember if I had other friends who had signed up to run or who lived in Grinnell. Then I saw Charles. I tried so hard not to cry. I wanted to look strong for him. I could hear him cheering for me and it lifted me up! I pushed on and kept my pace.

Half way!

Mile 8 - 10:22 This is where things took a turn for the worse. My legs started feeling tight. My body was so tired. I felt extremely dehydrated and tired. I got another drink from the water station. I thought about walking, but kept going. I looked down at my Garmin and kissed my goal of keeping my miles under 10:00 goodbye. I started getting mad... I started hating the runners who were passing me... I was not in a good place. I knew the two large hills were coming up and I decided to start praying for strength to get through them. I needed it. I could feel some blisters on my feet forming. I decided to not look at my watch again.

Mile 9 - 11:22 (1 minute walk) I made it up both hills. I made it up them while thinking some not-nice words. I hated running. I kept asking myself why I even started running again. I started doubting I would ever finish the race... I doubted that I would EVER run a marathon. I hated how heavy my legs were. I hated how tired I felt. I decided to walk when I reached the water station. I grabbed a cup, chugged it, and walked for about a minute. I thought about eating another shot blok, but decided against it. Then started running again. Okay, it was more of a jog/shuffle. I told myself that I wouldn't walk again until the next water station.

Mile 10 - 11:39 (1 minute walk) I didn't make it that long. I needed to walk. Not so much because of my body needing it... it was purely a mental break. I started crying. It was a dry-cry because I felt no tears. I kept thinking about how much I wanted to finish, how much I wanted to see Charles again... I kept thinking of how good Jordan was doing. I couldn't see her at all at this point, so I knew she was getting closer to the end. I knew the end was getting closer for me, too, but it was hard at the time to realize that. After my walk break, I told myself that all that was left was a 5K. I could run the entire thing! I wanted to! So I set out with that as my goal. Finish the last of this half marathon without stopping.

Mile 11 - 12:26 (2 minute walk) Nope. I hit the water station and started walking again. This time was longer than the others. I started cheering on the people who were passing me. Saying, "Good job!" and "Keep it up!" I had a hard time wanting to start running again. I decided that I was NEVER going to do back-to-back race weekends EVER again. Never ever. NEVER EVER. A lady wearing a neon yellow tank passed me and encouraged me to keep pushing because I was so close to the finish!  Something happened in my brain because I started running again. I started praying out loud, "Lord, lift me up, carry me through, and don't let me die!" I said this over and over, OUT LOUD! People who were passing me gave me an encouraging chuckle and some even said, "Amen!"

Mile 12 - 11:32 Then I started singing. Yep. You read that right. SINGING. Out loud. It was to the tune to Wham's song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". It went something like this:

Lift me up, and help me go-go,

Don't leave me laying dead on the side of the road-road

Lift me up, and help me go-go, 

I don't want to run this but I'm trying real hard,

Lift me up, and help me go-go,

Cause I'm not planning on quitting today!

I started singing that over and over again! It made sense in my head! I know it's not exactly a match to the tune on the song, but it helped me to not walk during this mile! I also started allowing myself to run slower at this point. I started to accept that I was going to run my miles slower. And that was okay! I embraced my "training pace" and had a much better mental run. I saw Jordan getting ready to finish and started cheering her on from where I was running! I didn't look at my watch, but I kept praying that she would finish well! I jogged through the water station and got a drink. I knew I was almost done!

Mile 13 - 13:03 (2:30 minute walk) A lady said to me, "ONE MILE LEFT!" I stared her right in the eye, and started walking. I had lost the place that I was in my mind. It was gone. All the positive vibes and songs in my head were gone. I walked for a minute, then started running again. Then walked again. The tidal wave of things going through my mind weren't very nice. A lot of people passed me at this point. I just wanted to quit. I didn't want to go on. I was done. Mentally. I told myself that I would run at the next driveway. When the driveway came, I kept walking. I couldn't get my feet to move. I crossed a busy street and came up on the central park area again. I started running again. I knew I was almost done. I could see the big blue finish line and I wanted to get there so badly. One more person passed me and I had had enough. No one else was going to pass me. I started running faster.

The last 0.25 - 2:12, a pace of 9:17 As I came into the busy block, there were so many cheers of support from the runners and spectators. It helped a lot! There was a couple blowing huge bubbles for the runners to run through, but I wanted to stay in the middle of the road, so I just waved. As I turned down the road, I felt a combination of pure exhaustion and pure joy. I started running hard. I had nothing left, but I didn't care. I saw Charles, Tyler, and Jordan cheering me on.

Exhausted but pushing hard!

I need a better racing bra... Hooray for saggy boobs after breastfeeding three children!

Face of determination or exhaustion? Both?
Also, I LOOOOOOVE this picture of me!

I waited until I hit the final block before the finish line and I threw my arms up and celebrated my first half marathon finish.

I crossed that glorious finish line and wanted to fall over.

The time in the photo and my "official" chip time are off... not sure why.

The man who took my chip timer was very nice and walked with me for a minute before I found Charles. I stopped my Garmin and noticed that it had my distance at 13.25 miles! I got my finisher's medal. The first thing I wanted to do with it was throw it to the ground and stomp on it... but I had no energy left. I decided it would be best if Charles grabbed it and put it on my neck. I hear some other runners complaining about the course going a little long, I wanted to chime in, but I didn't want to argue anymore. I wanted a nap. I finished my very first half marathon! I am an official half marathoner!

Half Marathon #1

Official Chip Time 02:17:34

average pace 10:22

Overall #89 out of 109

I saw Jordan and asked her how she finished. She said she was SO close to getting her sub-2 hour goal! She finished in 02:05:30! I'm SO proud of her! Charles got a picture of her finishing strong!

She's a STRONG runner!

I had to walk around for the first 15 minutes after I finished. My legs were so tight. It hurt to walk, but I knew I needed to stay moving. I was starving and thirsty. I was a bit crabby right afterwards, too. I snapped at Charles a few times, then apologized right afterwards. He was so great about opening my water bottle, peeling my orange and banana, and just being there to talk to me and walk with me. I was so, so happy that he was there! I kept telling him that I didn't think I would be able to do a full marathon and how much I hated running. He calmed me down and reminded me about how I felt last week when I ran the Dam to Dam. He said that I will run my full marathon on fresh legs! I didn't want to talk about it anymore because I knew he was right and I wasn't going to argue with him!

I looked around for the woman who yelled at me when I hit the half way point. I couldn't spot her, but I knew that whoever it was would say something on Facebook to me!

Jordan and I decided to get some photos of us with our racing bling on!

We still had some smiles left in us!

Distant Running/Training Buddies

I wish my camera didn't suck because I LOVE this photo of us! I'm sad that it was so dark. I did my best on enhancing it and making it brighter. I kinda like the vintage look, though!

We have a friend, Nadyne, who made us some signs to cheer us on with. She was going to be there with us, but things didn't work out and she wasn't able to come. But she posted a photo on Facebook saying, "Good luck to some of the most inspiring runners I know! Wish I was there watching you finish!"

How awesome is that?! She should mail that sign to me so I can put it up in my bedroom near my medal rack!

Since Jordan and I were so rushed before the race, I didn't get a chance to look inside my swag bag! I was pumped to see my tech shirt and goodies! There were coupons, a fun clapper, a Frisbee, a sports drink, and more! I was not disappointed!

We decided to go ahead and head home. I was so tired. We talked about how Jordan felt during her run, how I felt, and how proud we were that we finished the thing! When we got back to Jordan's house, I went inside to use the bathroom and change my running shoes into my flip-flops. As soon as I got them off, I counted FIVE blisters on my toes! BLAH! I'm sure it was because my feet were so heavy and I was so tired that my shoes were pounding into the pavement and I got so many blisters as a result.

I really need bigger running shoes. It's my next investment before my full marathon in September! Another thing that I am excited to buy are the 13.1 shubeez shoe tags for Jordan and I! I already have a marathon one that I wear for motivation (which confuses other racers, but makes sense to me!) and a Boston Strong ribbon shubeez. I am also excited to get a 13.1 sticker for my car!

When we got home, I uploaded the data from my Garmin. I was nervous about it because I stopped looking at it around mile 8. I felt like my miles were 13 to 14 minutes long. But they weren't, aside from mile 13, of course. And that felt good! I felt better about it. I also jumped onto Facebook and found out who the lady was that was cheering for me! It was my friend Susan! We went to UNI together and were in the Marching Band's Colorguard! She ran the 5K that morning and was cheering on a friend who was also running her first half marathon!

Me, Jenna, Susan, and Abby

Susan has started her own weight loss journey and has done an amazing job so far! It was awesome to have another supporter on the side lines!

I can't even begin to describe how hard it was to write this race recap. This was a hard run for me. I seriously considered quitting running for good. I thought to myself, "There's no way you're EVER going to qualify for Boston OR run a full marathon!" I hate remembering all the negative things that went on inside my head. It was pretty vicious stuff for a few miles. I kept calling on God to strengthen me and carry me through. It helped, but those negative thoughts kept creeping back in and taking over. It really helped to have Jordan running with me. I know that she was ahead of me, but knowing that someone who inspires me would be cheering me on helped tremendously. Maybe someday we'll be trained enough to run a sub-2 hour half marathon together!

But I came out of it a stronger runner. Both mentally and physically. I will always look back at my first half marathon and be proud that I didn't quit. That I kept going even though my body and mind were against me. I read a post by Colene Lord yesterday that had me in tears. It was like she was speaking directly to me. She said:

"Our times, our pace, our distance, our training DOES NOT define us.

What defines us is working hard when your body wants to quit and moving forward anyway.

What defines us is finding the strength to keep going when your mind is telling you otherwise.

What defines us is accepting a challenge and giving it your all in that moment.

What defines us is being sensitive to the fact that your worst could be someone else’s best on a particular day and not putting down what they are capable of because you are disappointed in your own performance.

What defines us is celebrating our own accomplishments and celebrating the accomplishments of others, NO MATTER WHAT.

What defines me today is knowing that I did my best and being 100% happy with my accomplishment – because the happier I am with it, the less I give a rip how anyone else feels about it."

I WILL RUN A FULL MARATHON.
I WILL RUN ANOTHER HALF MARATHON.
I WILL REST MORE BETWEEN RACE WEEKENDS.
I AM A RUNNER.
I AM STRONG.

DAM to DAM 2013 Race Recap

I set my sights and goals on running the Dam to Dam a year ago. I have a friend, Willy, who lost weight, trained, and ran the 20K last year with an impressive time! Seeing him do all of those things gave me hope that I could, too! And this past weekend, I did!

I thought that I would be super nervous for this run! But as it turns out, I wasn't! I thought that I would be a ball of nerves, on the edge, and freaking out. But I kept my cool! I got a little nervous in the hotel and right before the bus ride to the dam, but that was it!

Friday afternoon, Charles took me to Jen's house to wait for Shelly. We carpooled with her for the ride up. We talked about how we got into running, our goals, and more. It was nice to hear about her experiences at other races and know what to expect going into the Dam to Dam.

We got to packet pick-up around 7:00 p.m. I picked up my packet first, then picked up Desiree's. The racing bibs were awesome! It had my name on the front with the distance I was registered for. It had my timing chip attached to the back of it. This was the first year that this event used this method. I was also told to go get my event shirt. I was very  happy with the tech shirt I was given! It's neon pink with the DAMtoDAM log on it! I also got a pair of Brooks running socks! Call me crazy, but I love me some good running socks!

On the way to the hotel, we passed HuHot and I mentioned that I had never eaten there before. Jen said that we HAD TO GO there for supper! I was a little nervous because I've been told to not have any new food the day before a race, but I really didn't want to pass it up! We dropped our bags off in the hotel room, picked up Jen's husband, and headed to HuHot for supper!

It. Was. Amazing! A totally new experience for me! I stuck to foods that I know I can handle and didn't go too crazy with my food! I totally got my carb load on! Delicious food! I kept telling Jen that I was going to have my husband come up the next day so that I could enjoy the food all over again! It was that good!

We got back to the hotel room, watched some YouTube videos, and went to bed. The alarm was set for 4:00 a.m. I was worried that I wouldn't get enough sleep, but I ended up sleeping fantastically! I only woke up twice to check the clock, then fell right back to sleep! When the alarm went off at 4, I got right up and got ready! I started getting a little nervous then, but I think I was more worried about the food I had the night before. I was hoping that it wouldn't go right through me. I felt fine, but I still worried. Jen was worried that it would storm before we finished the race, but I had a feeling that we'd be fine!

Desiree called Jen and told her that she was outside the hotel and ready to take us to the bus loading place. We got everything packed and headed out to the car. We got on a bus pretty quickly and started the trip towards the dam! It was the first time since High School that I was on a bus! I sure didn't miss it! Desiree and I sat next to each other and talked about our plans for the run and where we wanted to meet up afterwards.

I kept thinking, "This drive is so long! That means that it's going to be forever to run back!" I kept my mind off of that thought and enjoyed looking at all of the gorgeous houses along the route. We were dropped off at the dam and waited until we found Shelly to head towards the port-a-potties. It was chilly, but bearable. We had to leave our gear bags near the bus drop-off before we were able to head towards the dam. When Shelly found us, we decided to drop off the bag and head to the potties.

I saw a lot of friends on the way there! Joe, Willy, Karen, Cassie, Emily, and Sara! I talked to some of them, wished them "good luck", then headed towards the short line to the potties. I was blessed that the HuHot food was nice on my system! I don't have any before-race horror stories to tell! Once everyone had gone, we headed to the start on the dam!

We got a photo of our group with the finish line in the background! It's the "big" building between me and Jen in the photo below!

Des, Shelly, me, and Jen

I kept thanking God that the weather was so gorgeous! There was hardly any wind, the sun was shining, and it was just perfect for running! After we snapped the photo, we headed towards the pace signs. I told the ladies that I wanted to keep my miles under 10:00 so that I could finish in under 2 hours. I realized then that I was going to be on my own! I hugged each of my friends and went to stand between the 9:00 and 10:00. I said a silent prayer that I would find someone to run with. I really enjoyed training with Des, but I hated the thought of not having anyone to talk to. I don't listen to music when I run.

My prayers were answered! I met a lady named Nikki! I made a comment on her shorts! Sounds funny, but they were black and yellow. I said, "Those look like Hawkeye shorts!" She turned and said, "Oh! They are!" Then showed me the Hawkeye logo on the other leg of her shorts! We started talking a bit about our pace, if we'd ran the race before, where we're from, etc.

Then it was go time! It took us about 5 minutes to get to the start line, I started my Garmin, jogged a bit to warm up, and kept a nice pace with my new friend!

Mile 1 - 9:25 It felt good to see all the people! It was wall-to-wall packed! (Photo here) It was nice to have Nikki there to keep me on pace. We did a lot of weaving in and out of people. I made a few comments on how gorgeous the scenery was around us! The breeze was perfect and there were a ton of people on bikes cheering us on! My Garmin chirped "Mile 1" about 0.04 before I actually crossed the DAM's "MILE 1" sign.

Mile 2 - 9:09 Getting kind of fast! It was hard to go any slower because the crowd was pushing us along. It was a "stay with the pack or get eaten alive" kind of deal! Nikki and I managed to weave in and out with plenty of time to talk in between weaves. She told me that we needed to slow down a bit because we were going too fast! We saw the first water station and she mentioned wanted to get some water, but she wanted to wait until the next one.

Mile 3 - 9:21 That's better for pace! We weren't weaving as much now. We were finally able to get comfortable with our pace and talk. We talked about how we met our husband's, how many kids we have, and more! It was awesome to have her there to talk to for the next few miles!

Mile 4 - 9:35
Mile 5 - 9:41 Nikki got a drink at the water station and mentioned that if I lose her, to keep going and pushing to reach my goal of finishing under 2 hours. She kept with me for a little bit more, then I lost her. I said another prayer that I would be able to be fine without someone to talk to. I was blessed because there were some awesome water stations, fan signs, and hilarious runners!

Mile 6 - 9:17 The first hill came in this mile! It was right near the end of the mile. I was hoping that there wouldn't be any people walking in my way along the hill. I had to do some weaving, but managed to make it to the top without slowing down! It was cool to cross over I-80! There were a ton of cars, trucks, and semi's that blasted their horns! I ate my packet of SportBeans.

Mile 7 - 9:19 I realized here that I was getting closer to downtown as I reached the 10K point! Half way! I got excited, but the hills were still coming! As I was heading up a hill, there was a man on the side of the road (photo here) ringing two cowbells like crazy! I shouted, "MORE COWBELL!" Then a runner behind me shouted, "YEAH! MORE COWBELL!" Then the guy with the cowbell shouted, "I GOT A FEVER!"

And all I had in my head was the image of Will Ferrell with his cowbell:

Then the runner guy behind me started yelling, "MORE HILLS! JUST KIDDING! LESS HILLS!" It was great to get my mind off of the run and focus on laughing!

Mile 8 - 9:17 Finally in residential Des Moines! There was a lot of runner support along the route here! It helped! There were some hilarious signs! "Worst. Parade. Ever!", "Good job random runner!", "Don't walk now! There are people watching!", "You think you're TIRED?! My arms are KILLING ME!", and more! There was a yard that was totally decked out with breast cancer awareness stuff! It was awesome!

Mile 9 - 9:05 There was a man sitting in his yard with his garden hose turned on and spraying a mist into the street. I ran through it! Sweet relief! It was HOT! I was sweating like crazy and it was awesome to run through the cool water! I want to take to thank the woman handing out sponges soaked with water during this mile, as well! I didn't grab one, but there were so many people thanking her!

Mile 10 - 9:20 I prepared myself for the hill that was during mile 10. It looked scary, but it wasn't too bad! I started realizing here that I was getting very tired. I thought of my friends behind me and it kept me going. I wanted to finish and be able to cheer them on as they finished. I said a few prayers during this mile that my body would remain strong and bring me to the finish line!

Mile 11 - 9:16 I can see the building near the finish! It's much bigger than it was when we first started! It was a wonderful sight! The route took us past some bars and restaurants and smelling the food was almost torture! My stomach started gurgling! In a good way! I really wanted some french toast!

Mile 12 - 8:55 I kicked it into a higher gear here! I was battling the negative thoughts in my mind saying, "It's okay if you don't get under 2 hours! Go ahead and walk!" Then, something happened! I turned into a mad woman! I started weaving in and out of people along the trail. It was super narrow right before the final bridge to cross. I ended up having to run in the dried mud to get around people. I kept shouting, "EXCUSE ME!" I'm sure some people thought I was rude, but I just wanted to get the thing DONE! I crossed the bridge and knew I had a little over a mile left and started going faster!

The last 0.54 - 4:15 (7:51 pace) As soon as I came onto Grand Avenue, I knew it was the home stretch! I gave it my all! I'm sure I looked crazy to the people who were watching! I'm interested to see the photos of me finishing! I'm sure I look insane, but I wanted to finish! I had to pee! I was weaving in and out of people all over again! I started passing people and getting a lot of support from the spectators! "Go pink! Way to finish!" "Get it girl!" "Great job pink!" I figured by then that I was "pink" because of my tank top! Although I'm sure my face was somewhere between pink and red! As soon as I saw the "400 METERS" sign, I started going even faster! Then I saw the "200 METERS" sign. I started to cry. I looked forward towards the glorious "FINISH" line and threw my hands into the air as I crossed the finish line! The clock said "2:00:56". I thought, wait a second? I know I finished in under two hours! Then I remembered the 5 minute walk/jog to the start line.

I stopped my Garmin and it told me that I had finished with a time of 1:55:55! I DID IT! I finished in under two hours! I was overwhelmed with tears. I was trying to catch my breath. I started walking wobbling back and forth. I kept my head up and noticed the medals that were being handed out. I got my medal, put it around my neck, then started sobbing like a fool. I thought I was going to pee my pants, but that went away pretty quickly.

I got a Powerade Zero, got my photo taken, stretched in the grass, then headed to the finish line to watch my friends cross the finish line.

I was only able to watch Desiree cross the finish line. I started shouting at her like a crazy person and crying at the same time! I was so happy that I got to watch my training buddy cross the finish line! I walked back to the photo place to have a photo taken with her! We got some after-race fuel which consisted of bananas, oranges, apples, and chocolate milk. Then we found Jen and Shelly and snapped a photo of the four of us with our medals!

Jen, Shelly, me, and Des

I was ready for a nap by then! I was excited to go home and show my medal to Charles and the girls! I was also excited to upload the data from my Garmin and see what my official chip time was! The results were posted an hour and a half later than they told us, but that was alright by me! The anticipation about killed me, but I was very pleased once I found my name!

My splits from my Garmin:

My Garmin had me going a little more than a 20K, but I still finished under two hours and I am so, so pleased with that!

Overall, I am so, so happy I did this! I kept saying afterwards, "I can't believe we just did that!" I looked up at the big building and realized that the finish line was past that building! Holy crap! We finished it! The race was amazing! The weather was just perfect! The rain clouds started rolling in after I crossed the finish line, but it didn't start raining until after the event was over!

I realized when I got home that one year ago, I was 51 pounds heavier and completely out of shape. And in a year's time, I was able to lose that weight slowly, keep it off, and be race-ready! I trusted my training and enjoyed my first official DAM to DAM!

I will be back every year to run it! I am looking forward to next year's race already! But first, I am running my first half marathon THIS WEEKEND! Yep! 13.1 miles a week after a 20K!

I'm crazy!

But you already knew that!