FitOne 9k

This morning I ran the FitOne 9k with several friends from my running club, Moms RUN This Town.  If you are a woman and you like to run, look it up, there are clubs nationwide!

I've been working really hard to get back into my old running shape.  While I ran...ahem...shuffled...my way through my pregnancy it has still been a lot of work to get myself back to the point where I can handle the long distance runs again.  Before Gideon was born I registered myself for the FitOne 9k, knowing that it would force me to get back to training after he was born.  I was excited when they added the 9k option to this 21-year-old 5k and I was even more excited when I saw the course.  It started up at the Old State penitentiary and moved down to the greenbelt where it met up with the standard race course up Capital Blvd and across Americana to end in Ann Morrison Park.  I love a good point to point race, especially in this cooler fall-like weather.

There were 7 people from our local MRTT chapter running the 9k this morning and I started out with 2 of them.  We barely made it to the starting corral in time!

We stayed together for the first mile and then met up again at the finish line.  The after race fare was AWESOME!  The bagged breakfast was fine, but in addition to that there was Chobani Greek yogurt and CHOCOLATE MILK!  In case you don't know, chocolate milk is the perfect post-race fuel out there.

 Eventually we were able to meet up with most of our Moms Run This Town group for a fun group photo.  We had gotten together earlier in the week to make our shirts and skirts for the race.  A perk that I hadn't anticipated, it was so easy to spot everyone after the race because of the bright, sparkly skirts.

It was so fun for me to get to run with these friends here.  They are my fellow playgroup moms.  Our children are all so close and behave like siblings and I'm beyond excited that they have all chosen to take up running!

 Tyson met me at the park with our children since I wasn't going to make it home in time for him to go to work.  It was a rough night, they were all up a lot and early and I was only able to get about 3-1/2 hours of sleep.  I was a little excited when we got home and they were all asleep, I thought that I might just get a little nap.  But that wasn't to be.  The girls stayed asleep as I moved them into the house, but Gideon did not.

  The best part about the race, other than an instant PR because I've never run a 9k before (though I missed my time goal by 24 seconds) was the great medal!  I love getting racing medals.  If you really want to know what I am working my way back to half marathon shape, this is it.  I want to earn more medals for my collection.

My next race is in two weeks, on my birthday!  It was my last 10k before I dropped down to shorter races for my pregnancy and my first 10k coming back.

The Color Run and a Trip to the Zoo

This morning I ran The Color Run 5k with several friends from my Moms Run This Town running club.  We met up this morning in our clean white shirts and got ready to run.  This is such a fun run when you are with a group of good friends.

 After a fairly muggy 3 miles we finished as a hot and colorful mess!

 Like I said, a MESS!  But how often do grown-ups get to play around like this?

 The best part...I promised the kids that since we would already be downtown I would take them to the zoo.  I brought a clean t-shirt, but that didn't help much.  I went through about 10 baby wipes scrubbing my face before I went into the zoo bathroom where I scrubbed my face and arms for a while longer, but still, I was a blue mess!  I got a lot of interesting looks from people.

 That's okay, the kids had fun.  Lily had to see her beloved jelly fish.

Gideon tolerated it all very well.

I was glad to get to go home and since Gideon was asleep I jumped right in the shower (after putting my clothes in the wash) and still, some of my skin is very much dyed.  Hopefully my neck and ear are no longer blue tomorrow for church...that could be interesting.

Independence Day!

We had a great time yesterday celebrating the 4th of July!

We went to Settlers' Park in the afternoon with friends and let the kiddos play. As always Lily had a blast in the water.
She kept trying to get a hold of this water to drink it.
Charlotte lounged in the shade with me and the other grown-ups.
She was happy though.
My little sister Hailey came with us.
Apparently to eat and apple it must first be place on a fork.
Around 9 o'clock we left the park and went to my parents' house. Their neighborhood gets together and does fireworks and shares treats. Lily needed my sunglasses I guess.
The last couple of years I had pretty much stayed home on the 4th because Tyson always has to work and going somewhere alone never appealed to me. It was so nice to get to be out with friends celebrating such a wonderful holiday.

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we had our Easter egg hunt. Just like last year we met up with some family and friends at Lyon's Park and had a great time having our own little egg hunt.

Last year Lily wasn't even walking yet so this was her first time really participating in the hunt. She loves to pick things up so she went straight for the eggs.

However she was not at all interested in holding her basket. I guess that is what momma is for.
She accidentally broke an egg open and discovered that they were filled with candy. At that point she was no longer interested in gathering more.
Finally carrying her own basket! This lasted for 2 minutes.
Examining her basket of eggs.
She was ready to break right into them, but it was lunch time so she had to wait. I'm not so mean though, I let her have a few jelly beans.
I keep trying to get a picture of Lily and Charlotte smiling together, but well, it just isn't happening. Lily does love to sit and hold her sister though and Lottie is learning to tolerate her better.
She will smile at me though!

I finished the girls' Easter dresses this afternoon (nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?) and I'm so excited to dress them up in them tomorrow for church.