My Second 5k- Forest Lakes July 4th 5k

Here is another throw back Thursday. I never got a chance to recap my second 5k race.

July 4- 2013.

(Pre-Race. Not sweating or red)

OH MAN IT was hot and humid. Just heavy feeling. I was sweating before we left the gate! I had a hard time sleeping the night before again due to fears of getting lost and being the last one. When we arrived we were like the first ones there. (Great parking spot because of it but a lot of waiting around.) I saw a ton of people running and walking around. I didn't know what the heck to do. I had been in my training program for a couple of week now. Hadn't quite run 3 miles yet but I could do it. I was considering this as my long run for the week.

My friend and her husband were running in the race too, but they are speed demons and I didn't expect to run with them. My friend's hubby went out and ran 1/2 the 5k for a warm-up before the race began. My jaw hit the ground when L told me that because I thought that was crazy. But he loves to run! I had some other friends running in the race too from my training program. Janet, who is now a good friend of mine was there but she is a speed diva! (she ran with me on my 10k if you remember.)

It was time to get lined up. I milled around the back because I knew I would be in the back. Started talking to those around me. One nice lady said that she was recovering from an injury and would run with me since I was a slow runner. Thus began another great friendship. This would be Jen, who also ran with me on the 10k. She did the whole race with me. Gave me tips and pointers to do better. Encouraged me, pushed me and helped me come in at the time I wanted.

The course was beautiful. It is in this beautiful neighborhood. The hood that we wanted to live in when we first arrived in VA but couldn't afford the prices of the homes. The course took us on a footpath near one of the many lakes and rivers. It was covered in silt and shaded and very slippery. (there was a fall at the beginning of the race right next to me. and I hoped there wasn't another later.) Not too many hills to worry about except for coming out of the footpath.

My favorite part of the race is the end though. Because you know you are close to the end and you can push yourself just a little harder. I also feel like the horse going back to the barn. I feel that pull of, I am almost done, almost done. I can sit down and rest if I just get there a little faster. Jen pushed me up till the end having me run a longer split at the end to cross the finish line. I was pouring sweat, tired and I had done it. Came in the at the time I wanted to. Knocked 10 minutes off my original time from the month before! I was faster. Stronger. And crying. Yes, I cry at the finish line because I am doing something I didn't think I could do and wasn't strong enough or courageous enough to try. But I am now!

~My new running friends!~

How Wonderful Life is vol. 2

I really am enjoying this. Week 2 of writing what I am thankful for! It really is fun and therapeutic. Here it goes:

My health- I am so thankful for my health. That I am strong enough mentally, emotionally, and physically to be able to push myself harder than I have before and accomplish something that I once thought was impossible! I am not the typical looking runner. But is there really a "typical body type" that is only able to run? My body is doing it. I am doing it. It is hard, but man it feels so wonderful to cross that finish line and look back at what I have done and say, "I DID IT!" But seriously when I heard people say, "If I can do this, anyone can." I always thought, yeah right. BUT IT IS TRUE! Because I am the one that would rather sit on my couch watching TV and relaxing and not doing much. But where is that going to get me in life. We have to keep pushing ourselves and DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT!

My Studio- I love teaching! I LOVE IT! I knew in 8th grade that I wanted to teach. I thought that I wanted to teach JR. High Band. YEAH RIGHT! In college when I helped teach at a local high school, I realized that it was not the right type of job teaching multiple kids who really didn't want to be there. I was called more names and bad words than I knew existed at the time. I didn't have that "thick skin." I realized that I worked best one on one with kids. Not huge groups. So I decided that I would only teach a "studio" when I was in a place long enough to make a difference. That started in 2007. I began teaching. It was amazing. I love seeing the wheels turn in my student's head and then they finally get it! I have taught hundreds of students now and I LOVE IT EVERYDAY! Now that we moved to a new city, and having Mason, I knew I would have a smaller studio. I only teach a couple of days a week and it is divine to be a mommy and still be able to teach amazing kids piano!

(IF YOU ARE IN THE C-VILLE AREA AND LOOKING FOR A PIANO TEACHER LET ME KNOW! ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS TO BEGIN JANUARY 2014! Click here to go to my studio web page! )

I had to do a little plug for the upcoming openings! I hope all of you have a wonderfully fantastic day. Keep on Moving!

QOTD: What are you thankful for today?

One More Step!

~I will be adding this to my running wardrobe soon! For Two fitness~

I'm getting stronger everyday that I run or even walk, walk quickly that is! Exercise while pregnant is hard business! It takes extra dedication to go to the gym and get your butt moving. Well that is how I feel because my butt doesn't want to get moving most days. It would be so much easier to just stay at home and rest, and let my body make a baby and just not push it to work any harder. But you know what the amazing thing about our bodies are. THEY CAN DO IT! Women used to work out in the fields up until they had the baby, and would be out working again in a few days. That happens still now! Women work up until they have the baby and are back at work in a week because they need to support their family. Those women are strong, and powerful and amazing! I couldn't do it. HONESTLY! Well, I guess if I had to I would do it but I sure wouldn't want to. I am so thankful to my husband in supporting me in our decision to be a stay at home mom, with an at home teaching part time job. I'm am doing the 2 things I love!

The cool thing I keep thinking about though when I am exercising now is, how much more easy this will be when I am not pregnant. How much more I will be able to push myself and yes, I might be able to run without stopping. This is a for seeable goal of mine now because I am pushing myself during the hardest time in my life and it will just be easier after this! (at least that is what I am thinking.)

So here is to one more step and getting stronger. Feeling empowered! And making great choices for me and my family in choosing to exercise!

QOTD: What did you do today to be one step stronger?

Veteran's Day

Today is my wonderful husband's day. He is a vet, well he is still in the military but this has always been his special day to spend with the family. This is the first year of teaching that I haven't taken the day off to spend with him. But that doesn't mean we can't spend the morning and most of the afternoon together.

~Matt leaving for his Iraq deployment when Mason was 3 days old.~

There was actually a time where I thought about joining the military. I thought about joining one of the army bands. (A good friend of mine from college is actually doing that now, way to go Kristen S.!) But my fear about joining the military was, I could NEVER run the 2 miles PT test. I could do the minimum number of pushups and the sit-ups but apparently I could never learn to do the run. I made excuses and didn't even really try. (In college Matt and I were in the ROTC PT class in the morning and I had a hard time running with the groups, we were living in Flagstaff, AZ at the time at 7,000 ft elevation, of course learning to run at that altitude would be hard!) So the idea just fizzled out. (at that same time I saw my first advertisement in a magazine for the WDW Marathon and the beautiful medal.) I wanted to run but I was too scared to really try.

Well now 7 years later, no military but I AM RUNNING! I am a runner. I will be running in my first Disney race next year with my husband and kid cheering me on!

~Matt having a little fun at training many, many years ago when he was a Private~

I am so proud of my husband and for his amazing choice and decision to join the military and remain in the military for nearly 13 years now. He has accomplished so much, gained great respect from his fellow soldiers and protects and provides for our family!

Matt's opinion of Veteran's Day:
My wife has dealt with the frustrations and pain that being an army wife can bring. From multiple deployments to raising our first son without me. Being an army wife is not easy. I thank all the Army Wives (spouses) out there for their continued support! I'm grateful to have a companion that actually stayed and supports me in my choice to serve our country.

I'm grateful that we have a day to remember all the people who have sacrificed for this country. I'm lucky to have a Grandfather and Dad who are vets. One who served in WWII and the other in Vietnam. I wonder if my children will follow in my footsteps and join the military one day.

Becky here:
Thank you to all the veteran's and spouses for all you have done and sacrificed! So proud to be part of such a strong community of military families in my town! Post your comments below to show your support to the military!

QOTD: Are you doing anything special to celebrate the day?

Baby It's Cold Outside!

(Disney and New Balance will be announcing new running shoes next year. This weekend at the Wine & Dine race weekend is the last chance to snatch up these beauties!)

Ooooo! BURRRR! It was cold, cold, cold this morning! Morning run was in the upper 30's when we finally set out. That kind of cold just burns your lungs awake!

This morning was the 3rd week of the training program, 1st week for me though. There was a ton of confusion though with which training group to join and such. The program has us broken down into 6 different groups. I was put in the 2nd group. (I was hoping for the 3rd but I run/walk and don't run straight.) I do have to meet a certain mileage by January and the 3rd group is where I need to be.

I met my running captains for my group and one of them happens to be a Labor and Delivery nurse at my hospital. We had a bit of a talk during the run. She is going to tell my doc that she will watch over me and keep me safe and such. She gave me pointers on what to "listen" for with my body if I pushing too hard and when to back off. She did say that it is ok the whole time to just do run/walk intervals because my focus right now is for health for me and my baby and keeping up good exercise habits, not breaking personal records. She was very helpful, and I will probably do the mileage for group 3 next week because the 2 miles today just wasn't enough. I felt ready to go and it was time to stop. 3 miles is my base amount during the week. Anyhew. I will figure it out.

QOTD: How did you transition to run/walk to run all the time?