Adventures of a one year old baby.

Well, since turning ONE Anisten has had quite the adventurous life! .. she's learned to walk! She is now a very independent women! She goes to daycare once a week. ( fixing to be 2 more days a week) She is still too little to sit facing front wards in the car seat, but we did have to use it once when Dad took our other one. She met chuck E cheese! She had her first ride on a carousel! She's become quite the mechanic. She loves to "help" Daddy fix things around the house!  And the adventures are not slowing down! Summer is about to come..

This child LOVES to be outside any chance she can get. She doensn't really enjoy wearing shoes anymore. :-/ But what can ya do?

Aquarium Run

This past weekend, ( on top of the massive amount of other events I had going on) I ran the aquarium run. The weather was muggy, dark, and borderline rainy. It was at 7:45 am on a Saturday morning. My knee was a little bit in pain. I had 2 cakes to finish before 4 and 7 that night. Work. And I just down right didn't want to go! I had every excuse in the book not to go. But. I did. And I raced.

The FULL MOON run was the weekend before this one. I  was much more motivated, and pumped up about that one than the Aquarium Run!

Anyways, I'm glad I went. I had a good time running it. I think it was a pretty hard run for everyone. The humidity level was 94%. That makes it hard to breathe standing, let alone running! I finished the race in 33:17.  Which is still faster than most of my 5k's that I run during the week. But I wasn't happy with my time at all.
Scott on the other hand had a HUGE PR!!! He finished in 28:52!!! That shaved of f 2 minutes and 14 seconds from this prior race. That's AWESOME!! I was so proud of him!

The course was fun, it took us across the riverwalk and in to the neighborhoods. It was fun to see all the people sitting on their porches watching us and cheering us on. (while drinking their coffee!)

We also hung around to see some of our friends come in from the HALF marathon. (13.1 miles). If you have never been inspired or touched by anything. Go stand at a finish line for something like that. There were people in their late 60's and even in the 70's running this half marathon. Some who ran it for the 1st time, run across the finish line and just become overwhelmed with emotion. That self satisfaction takes over them.... they would just lay down and cry. Some were ran in on the last stretch with their kids, or friends and family members...
My favorite thing in the world, was seeing my baby girl there after the race was over! I was so happy that she was able to come see me!! She enjoyed some chocolate milk and apples as well.

This girl started out in front of us.. Yes she's wearing a bumble bee costume...

This is how Glynna felt about the bumble bee... We quickly passed her..

Jeanean finishing the HALF!! -- wearing a princess tiara none-the-less!

My dear friend JESS. Soooo proud of her!

Glynna ran so hard, she sweat her hair color off!!!

After posting these pics, I came to realize, I didn't take any of us! LOL.

Race-o-holic!

I have several of my friends that are interested in running now. I know that having better weather is much more motivating!!

I am the crazy one who started in the dead middle of winter, but hey , I made it! :-)

So there are SEVERAL races coming up. I was looking at the schedule. And just off the top of my head here are a few that I am interested in. I would LOVE to have any of you do them with me!

This weekend is the Autism Run ( Ready.. Set ... Run ) on Saturday. It's a 5k. I'm also doing that night The Full Moon Run that same evening. This should be interesting... 6 miles in one day? hmm..

But in the up coming months there are some fun things that I want to attend...

•   June 26th - The Green Corn Run  Of course this is my high school home town! This just something fun I thought I would do. I like to go to Green Corn Festival every year. So, why not catch a run?? 5K

• July 3rd  The Fire Cracker Run!!!!! The girls from the Salon are all gearing up for this run! It's the day before my BIRTHDAY! And I'd love nothing more than to do this with some of my friends! 5K
• August 21st - Tulsa Mud Run. Yep you read that right.. Mud Run. This is only a 2 mile run. It's on a muddy course, with tire and other obstacles. I think it's meant to be for pure FUN! 
• September 19th- Ladies First Run This is a race where the ladies get a 3 minute head start in the race, and the men have to "chase " them... How cute?? It use to be refered to as the "Skirt Chasers" and the ladies in the race can get running skirts, instead of TEE shirts. Now that's what I'm talking about! 5K
• September 25th - Race for the CURE This is a big one. Well, it's only a 5K, but it's one that I've done before. I always look forward to it every  year. Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness! Even if you don't run, come out and support!!!
• October 30th-  Tulsa Run! Well, this is it... the ONE that I WAS training for. This is the 15K that I had set my heart on. It's 9.3 miles... That's a long way to run! But I've got my heart set on bigger and better.. .Keep reading!
• November 21st -  Route 66 Half Marathon .... This is really it.. This is where my eyes are set! This will be my new training goals! I will run the Tulsa Run in October which is 9.3 miles, and the HALF marathon is 13.1 miles. SO in the scheme of things it's only 4 more miles.. Oh how I have the burn to get one of those 13.1 stickers for my back windshield! 

• December 31st/ January 1st- Race to the NEW Year!  And that's exactly what you do. This race begins at 11:45 pm on Dec. 31st...  5K How fun???

So this is about a race a month or so. I know it seems like a log..   But as of now,  I'm doing 5K plus 3-4 times a week. So the races are just for something to do with all the training! :-)  ( finished up my couch to 5k a few weeks ago.. it really does work!!)


These are some of the ones that I want to do, and I attached links to all of them, that way some of you who have been asking can see what, when and where they are!


Also, if you are just interested in running, here is the COUCH TO 5K training program. I have promised to send to several people. So figure out a race you'd like to do ( if you start the couch to 5k now, you can do the FIRECRACKER RUN with us!!) and make that your goal.

 Also, just a little note for some of you who are doing the C to 5K, it's OKAY to repeat weeks. It should be challenging, but if you feel like it's not getting easier by your 3rd work out of the week, then repeat the week, or atleast just do the work out another time or 2... And another little side note, find the times of day that are working best for you. 
A few other little side notes...

• You may have to go later or earlier in the evening. It's starting to warm up. ANd we don't want to let the heat dis courage us.. We went for a run the other night at 9pm on the river, and it was beautiful. I went with my husband, so I don't recommend going to a place like that at night by your self, but maybe in your neighborhood or something. 

• Remember ----go at your own pace. Don't try to work for speed.
• Breathe in your nose and out of your mouth. If your getting a side stitch or muscle tiredness, it's good to take to swift breaths IN through your nose, and exhale through your mouth.. This is better than trying to take very deep breaths, your allowed more oxygen this way. 
• Relax....Keep your shoulders relaxed, and down ( not tense and up by your neck). Make sure you're hands and jaws aren't clenching, this burns more energy and can make you more tired easier.
• Listening to music can increase your endurance by up to 15% ( I think it's more for me!)

* By all means am I no expert. But I do run with some great Physical therapists, and have some great friends who are extremely seasoned and have passed down some great advice! I hope I can do the same for someone else!