Lately

Life has been hectic and crazy -- but in a good way. And the easiest way for me to share, because of the craziness, is a nice and organized list of what has been going on lately.

1. Vacation- we took our first trip away from Molly and escaped to Chicago (my favorite city) to stay with family and friends. It was a fantastic trip. We slept in, we napped, we stayed out late. It was exactly what we needed and more. A full Chicago post is coming.

2. Rise and Shine!- since we returned home from our vacation Molly has been fighting naps and waking up SUPER early. Her normal nighttime sleep is 8 to 8. For 2 weeks she has been getting up earlier and earlier. 6:30am this morning. What! Not okay. I am struggling to deal with how to adjust her schedule accordingly. Its stressing me out.

3. Fall Weather- this past weekend some cooler temperatures finally arrived in Dallas. A, ghasp, "cold" front! Highs in the mid 80's which mean mornings in the high 60's. Bliss. We spent the extra early morning hours (see above) outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

4. 1st Birthday- Molly is 10 months old today! Unreal. I can't even begin to understand how this has happened. To cope, I am starting to plan her first birthday party. Fortunately one of my very good friends is extremely gifted in the DIY department so I am going to abuse our relationship for my benefit. : ) We had our first planning meeting last night. Its going to be EPIC!

5. Packed Lunches- last night I packed my first lunch for Molly. I almost cried (not really). Today was her first day at Mother's Day Out. She will be going 2 days a week from 9:30am - 2:30pm. And when I dropped her off I didn't cry! Wohoo. 

6. First 10k- my first ever 10k is this Saturday -- probably should have trained. Luckily the weather is going to be really nice so theres that. I am thinking it will be more of a wog than a run. Whoops!

Things have been pretty interesting, entertaining, busy and fun around here lately. And the next few months (birthday party, holidays) are going to be even crazier. Hang on tight!!

Oh, and happy 10 Months beautiful girl. It has been an amazing ride.

the next goal

After the getting the latest 5k under my belt and feeling and finishing a lot better than I thought I would, I am ready to set a new goal.

My first ever 10k.

I have never been a distance runner. I grew up playing basketball, a sprint and stop sport. I have always been fast (ish) and I ran track back in the day but it was always the 100m sprint and nothing longer than that. So, a 10k is a big deal for me.

I was able to squeak by in the 5k last month with absolutely no training. I know this isn't even remotely possible for a 10k so I am giving myself plenty of time to get my body back in shape.

I am setting my sights on the Tour de Fleurs 10k Dallas. The race isn't until September 15 so that gives me plenty of time to train and be ready.

Until then I plan on running a couple more 5ks this summer to stay motivated. I am also finally getting my BOB this weekend. I am really looking forward to running with Molly.

Training starts now!

RedBud Classic Recap

My plan for the past 4 weeks has been to train, running at least 3 times a week. Did that happen? Not quite. I actually only ran twice. Yep, 2 times since I was about 6 months pregnant. So when I woke up Sunday morning I was a little nervous about the 5k I was set to run.

I had decided my goal was to finish in under 35 minutes...not a quality time by any means but I haven't been running and I thought I would definitely have to walk on occasion. So that was my goal.



My brother was also running so we headed to the race together and lined up in the middle back of the pack.

I stretched, warmed up and was as ready as I was going to be. And the start gun went off.

After the first 1k I felt great and after the first 2 miles I felt great. In fact I was completely surprised by how my body was responding. My new goal mid race - no walking.


By no means was I running at a great pace and with a little training I could have actually done pretty well but I was enjoying the run and getting a little bit of satisfaction by passing people (I expected to be the one getting passed all race).

I picked up my pace the last 1k and fought my way up the hill and against the wind to the finish line. And this year I had a new fan waiting for me at the finish. It was so much fun to see Molly's little face watching her mama come across that finish line. An entirely new level of satisfaction.



So all in all I am pretty pleased with myself and am very impressed with how my body responded. Maybe its just that much stronger after having a baby and being a mom for the past 5 months. Looking forward to the next 5k and doing a little training.

Official Results:
32:33 - 6:31 pace

Off the Couch

Okay so I am not literally sitting around on the couch all day -- I am working and taking care of a 4 month old and trying to keep the house in decent shape. That is a full day so when do I find time to run?

Well I am still figuring that out but I better do it fast because I have a 5k in 3 weeks. Yep, 3 WEEKS! The Redbud Classic is on the calendar for April 15th. Uh oh. I haven't ran more than 5 feet since I was 6 months pregnant and I only have a mere 3 weeks to get myself in shape enough to run 3.2 miles.


Redbud run 2008

I am leaning on my natural athletic ability to allow me to bounce back into decent shape fast. Although it should be noted I don't really consider myself a runner.

So what's the plan? Now that spring weather is here and its warmer outside I have to got to hit the pavement. I still don't have a jogger so Chase will have to be on baby duty while I get in a run here and there. My goal is to run 3 times a week and to go the entire distance of 3.1 miles. For awhile there will be a lot of walking involved (and who am I kidding, I will probably have to walk part of the 5k) but I will get there eventually.

So its time to lace up those shoes and get this lady back in shape!