Life 'n Legos: 22 Weeks: Run to Remember

Well, the only really big news from this week is that Brian, Mikey, and I ran a half marathon in memory of our dear friend, Evan Miller. I kinda fell off of training altogether and didn't do ANYTHING this past week. It was good and bad. I was well rested, but my lack of cross training the past month really killed my endurance and speed. Its okay though, this half marathon wasn't nearly as bad as the ones that I did in the past and I am feeling like I can actually do a full.

Anyways, Evan's parents came down on Friday night so that we could all head down to Wichita Falls together on Saturday morning. They took most of these wonderful pictures! We had dinner out at Meer's, one of Evan's favorites and then headed back to the house. We were all pretty spent and wanting to be prepared for the next morning, so we crashed around 9:30. Brian and I watched a movie in our room which was kind of special, I think I can count on one hand the number of times we have turned on the television in our room. It felt like a short nap when the alarm clocks went off the next morning, it was around 5. I guess that's normal for Brian, but I was pretty sure that 5 only came once a day. Once we got up, packed, fed the boy, and dressed we hit the road. We arrived about 30 minutes before the race was to begin, it was a small one, but it couldn't have been a more perfect race for me to run. It was called the Xpress Half Marathon and it was to raise money for a non-profit soccer club!! Most of the runners there were pretty good runners, none were stellar, but none of them were bad...which left me at the back of the pack, but that's okay. I just had a baby 5 months ago, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Brian and I were going to make t-shirts, but by the time I found the art that I wanted on it, it was too late to get it made. Since Evan's favorite animal was a turtle we went and bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirts and I just wrote his name in Sharpie on it. Kind of tacky and last minute, but everyone there needed to know that I was running for him, so I made due. I am going to get a nice dry-fit shit made exactly how I like it and wear it in my next race that will definitely be faster. It will also be made so that it will not rub Brian's nipples raw, hahaha!!!

Anyways, the race started with a fire engine's siren going off. We took off at a pretty good pace, of course Brian was flying and left me in the dust...even with the stroller. He ran in probably the top 15 people for the first 9 miles! He had to stop at the 9 mile mark though and give Mikey to Evan's parents because he was hungry and having a major meltdown. Just as he was passing the baby off I caught up to him and he ran about a half mile with me before he took off again.

Mikey in his turtle outfit

Ready to run!

It would have been so awesome if the little dude could have held out 3 more miles

and we're off!

I started the race running at a 9:30 pace, I continued the first 3 miles at that pace before falling off a bit. I ran pretty strong, around a 10:10 pace (which is average for my training runs) until about 6 miles. Once I hit the turn around fatigue started to set in, but I was only about halfway, so I had to keep chugging along. Every time that I wanted to stop and walk I just kept telling myself that a few minutes of pain is nothing compared to the hurt that Evan's parents are feeling and will continue to feel. Somehow this motivated me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It was a beautiful and flat course along Lake Wichita and through an apartment complex. I tried to take in every bit of the scenery, it was a run that I wanted to remember. I wanted to see if I could feel Evan's presence...all I could hear was him making fun of me for being so slow. I also felt him enticing me with a beer. It was a GORGEOUS day! Just chilly enough to keep the sweat out of my eyes, but warm enough to keep the cramps out of my muscles. I hit a major running block at 9 miles...I slowed significantly and just wanted to lay down. Shortly after that block set in the course took us about 3 miles on a gravel road...let me tell you how much fun that was! Around 11 miles my stomach started to act up and I seriously doubted my ability to make it the remaining 2 miles. At 11.5 I was done...I didn't know how I was continuing to pick up my feet and continue. Just when I was having a conversation with myself about walking for a few minutes I saw Brian standing and waiting for me! He waited at the 12 mile mark so that we could finish together!

Pretty close to the turn around...You can see how slow I was moving

It was exactly what I needed to finish this race at a run. We chatted for a minute, but I was so tired that I had to put my earphones back in and concentrate. We could see the finish, .75 miles away. We were gaining on the girl in front of us, so I decided that we would pass her before the finish. We overtook her and continued up the small hill. Once we rounded the final corner I couldn't wait to finish and noticed that the girl behind us had picked up speed. There was no way I was going to let her pass us! I started running faster and faster with every step. The closer the finish got the faster I ran (which really wasn't all that fast). I saw Evan's mom holding Mikey and I contemplated stopping and grabbing him to finish with him. I was too tired and had too much momentum to stop though. Brian and I crossed the finish line together, it was an awesome and emotional moment. I expected to bawl my eyes out, but the second I started crying all these damn people started asking me if I was okay. They ruined my moment, so I stopped crying. It felt AWESOME to sit on the ground...AWESOME. We sat, chatted, drank water, ate bananas, and felt oddly freed of some of our pain.

OMG...almost there...can't wait to finish!

Yes...I felt like I was about to die

YAY!!!

feels awesome to sit!

We love you, Evan!

Mikey checking out his medal

In loving memory of Evan W. Miller. We miss you, buddy.

And yes...I support my child by pushing my stomach out...lol

Shortly after, we left and headed to lunch at Chilies. We enjoyed the company and then headed back to Geronimo. Brian, Mikey and I all fell asleep in the car...it was a quiet ride back.

I had my first epic failure of a cooking adventure: I made chicken and dumplings, I thought the recipe called for 4 tubes of biscuits...it only called for 4 biscuits...oops! I made an Italian crockpot chicken also...it was bland, I won't be making it again. I also made molten chocolate cakes...they were horrible. I made them correctly, but the flavor was just terrible...crossed that one off the list too.

Italian Crock pot Chicken...I will not be posting the recipe because I didn't like it

Parmesan squash casserole...it would be an alright side dish...not so much a main dish

Mikey ate squash, zucchini, peas, and bananas this week! I thought that he would love the bananas, but really wasn't a fan. I am really enjoying making baby food though. There is just something about knowing what exactly he is ingesting and that it doesn't have stuff added to give it a shelf life of 3 years. Its also super cheap and easy. All I have to do it boil the food then puree it. It sure beats driving the 20 minutes to the grocery store when I accidentally run out of food.

Extra veggies go straight into a pot of boiling water and then the Baby Bullet. I freeze it in 1 serving and pop into the fridge the night before Mikey eats it!

MOM!!! FEED ME FASTER!!!

I think you got a little something on your face there, buddy

Eating of exfoliating?

I am going to take it easy this week and resume regular workouts next week. I have a new routine coming, it will be progressive before it actually becomes a routine, but I am hopeful that it will give me some pretty good results. I did do a short recovery run yesterday. The first few steps were difficult, but once I got going and realized that I only had 2 miles to run I felt awesome. I walked a half mile because I wanted to run solely to recover, not to work. When it felt like I was working, I stopped and walked! IT WAS GREAT! Hope you're all having a great week. Enjoy the photos!