I Run...

I run.

 I am a runner.

 It's not about finishing first. It's not about speed.

It's about me, the pavement, and the time.

I run.

For my sanity. 

For my health. 

For the natural high. 

To forget the day.

To forget the troubles. 

To spend time with my family. 

For fitness. 

To clear my mind. 

Because it's cheaper than therapy.

To get away from it all.

I run...because I can!

Carson's First Race

This past weekend, as you may recall, our family ran three different races. I ran the 5K Friday night, Chris ran a half marathon on Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon Carson ran his first race, a 1K (slightly more than a half mile). Each race finishes at the 50 yard line of Memorial Stadium, home of the fighting Illini.

I got to run with him since he's so young. He'd been looking forward to it for a few weeks, ever since I told him I signed him up for it. Before the event he told my parents that he didn't want to run with me because I slow him down....little stink!  Carson and I lined up in the front half of the group originally but we moved and started toward the back of his age group due to so many kids pushing each other at the start line in eagerness to finish first.   The event isn't officially timed because all the kids are winners, but I had Chris' Garmin 310XT with me just to see how fast this kiddo really is. We ended up passing the majority of his age group and even some of the 4 year old age group that started 10 minutes before us! We ran 0.56 miles in 5 minutes and 46 seconds!  He LOVES to run.

Here he is before the race:

And here he is after the race with his medal!

The whole race he kept looking at me saying, mommy I see the stadium, we're almost there! Both of us were encouraging the other the entire way. I loved that he kept turning to me with a smile on his face saying, 'We got this mom!'. He smile one his face makes me one happy momma!

Super proud of himself for running the race and "being like daddy". He seriously looks up to his dad for running races and doing triathlons. I happen to think it's pretty cool too ;)

Friday Free For All

I know, once again I have been slacking on the home front, lol.  Truth is, I've been outside enjoying my time with my family. AND training for another 5k tonight! Yes, I am running a night glo 5k! I can't wait to share the experience with everyone. 

This weekend is jam packed with activities. Tonight, I run a 5k. Tomorrow, Chris runs the Illinois Marathon, half marathon. I am attending the Great Cloth Diaper Change. Then Carson is running his first race, the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon Kids Run! He is so excited to be joining daddy and I doing something we all love.

Yes, Running is life for us now...and that's ok! I especially appreciate the BOB stroller I got a couple months ago now that we all can go run together.

As for life lately, here's the scoop!

Carson has been doing fantastic at school since starting the new medication. I wish we didn't have to medicate, and we may be able to stop it in the future, time will tell. He starts T-Ball next week and is super excited for that! 

Jonathan is doing great, I wrote a post about him yesterday actually. You can read it here.

Chris and I have been busy at work and busy training for our races this week.

Sorry it's short this week, I am swamped with things to get ready for the weekend. Oh by the way, keep a look out for a new giveaway opportunity on the blog on Monday! Happy weekend!

Friday Free For All

This week has been a whirlwind! I can't believe it's already Friday?!

Spring had sprung this week and we've had a lot of time outside playing as a family. Watching my boys bond is seriously one of the most heartwarming and rewarding experiences a parent could ever ask for in life.   The memories we are making can't be topped.

His first time getting to purposely ride through the puddles!

Aside from lots of family time, work has been at a dull roar lately, which is a welcome change!

Carson has been signed up for his first kids fun run in just 2 weeks and we've been training for it together. He's such a good runner! I think we found his sport!  School has still be a struggle for him, as you may have seen in my post about his anxiety. Next Tuesday I have a meeting (Chris can't go due to work) with the school to discuss possible evaluation and putting a plan in place for addressing his behavioral and emotional needs.  I'm not too optimistic about it, but that's more than I can fit into today's post. I will have to write about it next week!

Jonathan is so close to walking all over! He will let go and take a few steps but doesn't venture all the way across the room just yet....I'm thinking he will do it before he's one next month though for sure.

Anyways, enough rambling for now! Time to enjoy the nice weather some more before it cools off again next week.

I ran a 5K!

A couple of weeks ago I ran my first ever official race! I ran a 5K with my husband...well he ran and finished 6 minutes ahead of me, but still, we ran the same race.

Pre-race Selfie, haha!

I had set a goal of 45 minutes for the 3.1 miles.....to my surprise I finished in under 39 minutes! I was so proud of myself when I crossed the finish line. Here's some pictures from that day :)

"Oh I see the finish!"

Almost there!

Finally done...yes I shared this even though it's an awful photo of me!

Dropping the Muffin Top!

For a while now I've been trying to drop my muffin top from having Jonathan. Oh who am I trying to kid?! It was there before he was conceived! Anyways, this past week I took my first steps toward getting serious about it! I made two big purchases to start getting out and being more active.

Purchase #1

Photo Source: Amazon.com

I have to be honest. I have been drooling over this stroller since I found out we were expecting again in October 2012.  I kept saying it was too much to spend on a stroller that I wouldn't use that much...Then my faithful old stroller died last fall and I needed a new one.  I decided if I was going to get fit, I had to have the right equipment to do so, regardless of the cost. Thus, I researched for months and finally decided to bite the bullet and buy a B.O.B. I've only had this a couple of weeks and taken it out a couple of times, but so far I am in love! I look forward to writing a review of it soon for any readers who may be in the market for a jogging stroller.

Purchase #2

Photo source: Brooksrunning.com

You can't have a new stroller without having a new pair of running shoes.  Enter: Brooks PureCadence 3.  I went and had my feet "fitted" at a local running store for shoes that would work for me. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have shoes that fit perfectly! My husband bought me these for my birthday and I love them! I've worn these for two walks now and can't wait to run in them tonight.

I look forward to sharing my weight loss and fitness journey with all of you in the weeks and months ahead!

This post was not sponsored by any company. Both products have been purchased by myself/my family for my use. All opinions shared are entirely my own.

New Year, New Goals

This year I have made a few goals for myself. I tried to choose things that were achievable, and reasonable.

1) Run a half marathon with my husband in April.

2) Run a total of 500 miles this year.

3) Cook more meals at home, eat out less.

4) Be a more "green" family.

5) Worry less, stress less, and smile more while making memories with my family!

What's your goal(s) for 2014?