1/2 Marathon Mommy, 13.1 Miles of Peace & Quiet

I did it! 13.1 miles. After 4 months of training I finally did my first 1/2 marathon. Here's a recap...

The night before I went to a Carb party with some of my fantastic and inspiring Girls In Training ladies. My goal was to be in bed by 8pm but I made it by 9pm. It usually takes me a while to fall asleep but the minute my head hit the pillow I was out. Woke up at 4am feeling refreshed and nervous. My friend Shelly picked me up and some other friends around 5am and off we went to the race. Man was it busy! People were everywhere. We got a parking spot, stretched, prayed together.

Down to the corral we went. It was so crowded that all of us from G.I.T. couldn't find one another. 168 sec of silence for those lost in the bombing. It was very emotional and reflective. The national anthem. That one always gets me, probably because Isaac is in the military. Then it was time. The gun went off. We walked to the line for 6 min, then we were off. My stomach had all sorts of knots and butterflies and there were so many people to run with and around, plus there was the roar of the people cheering. It was very motivating.

For about 1/2 a mile I could see Shelly and then I lost her in the crowd. Shelly is my running partner and my motivator. It was up to me now. I had set three goals for myself.

1.Don't ever stop running

2.Don't stop to use the bathroom

3. To make it on time to see little Isaac run the kids marathon

I try to find a good pace but it's hard with such a big crowd to run in. Speed up to get past people. Slow down because you can't find a hole to maneuver through. Which is how I hurt my foot around mile 3. I sped up to pass someone and saw another runner do the same. To avoid hitting the other runner I took a side step and almost ate the asphalt. My first thought was, "wow, that was so embarrassing. Thank you Jesus for not letting me fall". My second thought was, "my foot kinda hurts". I ignore the pain and keep running. I was feeling great. Even the hills were not that bad. At mile 6 my foot started to throb. I kept ignoring it. My only thought was, " Isaac is counting on you. Don't you dare let him down". I actually do Gorilla hill without even knowing I did till I get to the top. Miles 7-10 I still feel great, minus my foot. At mile 11 I wanted to quit and walk. I thought about Little Isaac and picked up the pace the best I could. Mile 12 seemed like forever. People were beginning to pass me and I look far a head and see the finish line. I pick up the pace a little more. The last 100 yards I sprint as fast as I can. I was done! I was so relieved, happy, and proud. I grab my medal and ask where the kids marathon is and start to run as fast as I can through the crowd. I hear a man say, "Dang, look at her, she's still running". I make it to where they told me it would be and I don't see any kids. I ask a lady about it and she says, "The finish line is a block up but the race is all ready over." My heart fell into my stomach and the feeling of disappointment washed over me. Disappointment that I miss the race. Disappointment that I didn't push myself harder. I call Isaac and begin the walk back 2 blocks. It felt longer and harder than the whole 13 miles. I see little Isaac in the distance and I start to tear up. However, when I walk up he excitedly says, " Look mom! Look at my medal! Hey! You have a medal too! Way to go mom!". All is right in the world again. It's drizzling and we decide to head home. Then it hits me. I am so thirsty and my foot is killing me.

Isaac went and got the car and picked Israel and myself up. Not before I snapped at him a few times on the phone because I had to bring Israel in a nasty port a potty with me. Poor guy. He is an amazingly patient husband and fantastic father. He ran the 1.2 mile with Israel in the back pack carrier and took pictures just for me. I am so blessed to have him. Anywhoo, he tried to take me to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate but I was  so sick I just want to go home. About an hr later I took myself to the ER hoping they would give me an IV but they said I was not dehydrated enough. They did ask about my foot though and checked it out. Turns out I had a sprain so I got some meds for that.

All in all it was a great experience. I want to do another but this time I won't schedule a run for anyone else in the family but myself :)

My Results

OKC 1/2 Marathon
3,868/8,138- Over all
386/851-age division (25-29)
1834/4985-out of the females
2:23:50-my time



10min after the race holding my little inspirations. Wish I would have moved my cell phone so that the medal would be showing.

 Don't know what I would do without my guys!

SO PROUD OF MY BOY!

Meet Scooter!

We've had two dogs, since Isaac's been two years old. We couldn't keep Malaya because she would jump our fence with ease  (it's well over 6ft) and got out multiple times a day. Then in Dec. we had to give away Thor because he tried to bite little Isaac twice and was being way to aggressive. If a 140lb dog even nipped our 48lb son it would be a bad, bad deal. We were tired of breaking our kids hearts and getting attached to a dog and then having to give them away ( I hate to admit it but I cried and gave Thor the beast a hug and kiss and thanked him for making me feel safe while Isaac was deployed when his new owner picked him up). So we told the boys, "no more dogs until our next duty station! And it has to be a rescue dog". We meant the dogs that are all ready trained and the Air Force can no longer use. I think Little Isaac has asked for a dog every week since Thor had to go. Saturday I wanted to go garage sales. There were no garage sales so I decided to go to Ross. Pet Smart happens to be in the same shopping center. The Animal shelters were there seeing if people would adopt dogs. I had zero intentions of getting one and told Little Isaac we were just looking. Then I saw Scooter. The only dog who was not barking, his blanket was still nice and neat, and his water bowl was not spilled. I went to pet him and he licked my hand. I asked if we could see him out of the kennel and he loved Isaac and Isaac loved him back. Dang it. Took a picture of him (above) and went home to show Isaac. So, back we go to "look" at Scooter. We looked at his description. House broken, check. Good with kids, check, neutered and has all shots, check. Sits, stays, plays fetch, check, check, check. They take him out and Israel hugs his neck. We come home with Scooter. He's a wonderful dog. Plays so nice with the boys and even sleeps on the rug in their room. Barely sheds. Doesn't jump on us. Puts up with Israel hanging all over him and he even went on a decent run with me. We took him for a walk yesterday and Little Isaac was standing next to Scooter. A guy tried pet him and extended his hand towards Scooter but it looked like he was going for little Isaac. Scooter growled and snapped. Good Scooter. Glad he's part of our family :)

Mother of the year award *insert sarcasm*

Today I woke up early and went for a run. When I came home I asked little Isaac what he wanted for breakfast and he really wanted pancakes. He also wanted lifesavers (yes, the candy). Of course I told him he would have to wait. Meanwhile, Israel is playing with the door to the laundry room. He does this everyday and it keeps him really entertained. A few minutes later he walks back into  the kitchen jibber jabbering and chewing on something crunchy. I assumed little Isaac gave him a lifesaver and was about to lecture him until Israel handed his Dad something. The something was a piece of glass. Of course we rinsed his mouth out right away and the shards of glass that were falling in the sink were not making us happy. They were actually making me very panicky but I had to hold it together because Isaac had to leave asap for a flight, which left me in charge of our little glass eater. I get the kids dressed and head to the ER. Long story short. Israel is ok and he didn't even cut his mouth. They were more worried that he ate the new type of light bulbs because they contain mercury in them. Lucky for us he didn't eat enough glass. They also told me that they don't usually worry when a kid eats something sharp because it will pass right through their system. Instead they worry when they swallow something small and heavy (like a BB) because it will get stuck in the appendix. Hmmmm interesting. I would be less panicky about a BB.
*By the way we have a very small trash can in the laundry room. It is meant only for lint but when we left for TX a few weeks ago Isaac accidentally broke some light bulbs, quickly swept up the pieces and headed out. We totally forgot when we came back. That won't ever happen again!

priceless



Before I was a mom I would see ladies with a beautiful outfit, cute heels, sparkly diamond earrings, and a macaroni necklace? Really? I got that they loved their kids and all that but you have to draw the line somewhere. Then I became a mom. Tonight we went out to dinner. Little Isaac ran out of my room with the necklace he had made me for Valentine's Day, " Here's a beautiful necklace mommy! You look so pretty when you wear it!" It wasn't even a question in my head if I would wear it or not. I wore my scribbled, paper heart, red straw necklace, proudly. How can I not when it was made and given with so much love? Through the eyes of a mother I can honestly say that my paper necklace is just as valuable (if not more valuable) to me as my ruby, diamond, gold, and pearl necklaces, it hangs with them in my jewelry box because that's where it belongs :)






Valentine's

Isaac and I have been married for 5 years. Usually on Valentine's Day we stay at home and Isaac makes me a steak...I love his steaks. This year he wanted to go out. He made reservations at a nice restaurant. Online it said their Valentine's special was a four course meal. I thought that when we showed up we could choose something else off the menu, apparently that was not an option. Each course had four options and we could chose one. With the exception of course four.

Course one: I chose the crab cake. It was so delicious. I was so full.

Course two: I decided to be brave and try something new. I never do this. 'what is the Lobster Bisque?' Server: " It's delicious. They take the claws, shell, everything you don't eat on the lobster, boil it down, add a heavy cream, and spices." ....I thought to myself, ' you want to charge us an arm and a leg for something that usually goes in the trash?' my mouth said, " I'll try it!"....It actually was very good. However, I couldn't finish it b.c. I was so full from the crab cake.

Course three: Stuffed lobster. One bite. I had one bite. My stomach did protest..."Where do you want me to put this!? You are full! Stop it!" Not to mention he said the words "in heavy cream" again. Course # 2...in heavy cream, there went my 6mile run calories. course #3 in heavy cream, there went my 7 mile run. Darn. Gained all my friggin calories back.

Course four: Dark Chocolate decedent cake with passion fruit. Before I could tell them not to put that kryptinite in front of me, it was there. I broke my vow and had 4 small bites. It was ok. I should have stopped at the first b.c. I was not that impressed.

Convo at the end between Isaac and me: " That was a great dinner, thanks for taking me out, I love you. We should do Long Horn next year." Isaac smiling back at me, "yea, we should. The valet parking was nice though." I'll be happy to park the car for him :)

Mama needs to rant

I had an appointment for little Isaac today on base. At first the meeting went really well. While I was discussing his results with one therapist another therapist was asking him if he could say his ABC's and write his ABC's. Isaac sang, wrote upper and lower case and told her all the sounds each letter makes. The lady was in shock. She had the other woman look at what he could do. They both talked about how advanced he was for his age. Then they said, "Draw you". So, Isaac drew the letter "U". When they explained they wanted you the person he turned the letter U into a person. They were even more impressed. They went on and on about how well behaved he was. Then I asked a simple question, " when we PCS can he test into Kindergarten or First grade?" I explained that his handwriting needed some improvement and that I wouldn't mind him repeating pre-k if he could test at another State. The ladies got upset when they found out he was in a private school. They told me he needed to be socializing and playing and learning "just enough" I wouldn't want to "push him and make him feel like a failure." They also told me, " Your younger son would never be allowed in a school like that. He is too care free and adventurous" I guess they were trying to put it nicely. Lets face the facts. Israel likes to run, he likes to climb, he likes to challenge me and push the limits. That is him. That is his personality. It is my job as his mother to take his headstrong and stubbornness and show him how to use it for good. It will be great when he stands up for what he believes in and does not budge. He will be social. He will not be quiet and have kids come ask him to be their friend, he will ask them to be his. That is my Israel and I love him the way he is. My Isaac is quiet, he observes, he rarely challenges, he's stubborn. These to are great qualities. I have taught him to ask a child to be his friend. I have taught him it is ok to speak up for himself. What I do not teach him is that goals are unattainable. That things are meant to be handed to you. That life is one big socializing party and you skate by with what you can do at bare minimum. No! My boys will push themselves. I am glad that Isaac goes to a school where his teacher says, " He is learning a ton and has improved so much but he can do better." That means she gives a crap! It means she cares for him and she cares for his future. I am glad that the school he is in teaches him to be the best he can be. That there are times to be loud and times to be quiet. That the main reason we go to school is to learn! Imagine that!? What if all schools were like this? What if all schools taught to always do your best and never accepted less from you, to show honor to your teacher and classmates, that you earn what you work for? It seems like now a days people want their kids in all day day care. Guess what? The teacher is there to teach your child not babysit them! Imagine if there is a behavioral problem at school the teacher could say, "Little Johnny is talking in class and distracting others" if a parent corrected Johnny and didn't yell at the teacher. It's time to put education first and play time second. Isaac gets both and if we are here long enough for Israel to get to go to this school. My kids will work on Wall Street not protest and be lazy on it.

I finally decided to start hiring a sitter. Of course I printed up a Bed time routine for the boys. I asked Isaac to double check it for me and add anything I might of forgotten. We'll we came back form our date....check out the highlighted part Isaac added...

Boys Bedtime routine
· 7:20pm start picking up toys

· If toys are picked up by 7:45 Isaac can pick out 1 big book or 3 short books to be read to him. If he does not have his toys picked up he can have 1 small book

· After story time Isaac says a short prayer. If he does not want to pray, remind him that he is a sinner and on his way to hell!! Jk. Just say a prayer for him and Israel

· Change Israel’s diaper.

· Isaac gets 2 vitamins, Israel gets 1 (on counter)

· Isaac has a camel back and Israel has a Sippy cup of water to bring to bed with them.

· Tuck the boys in (Israel sleeps in the pack and play). Israel will cry for 5-10min but do not get him. The longer Isaac is allowed to stay up the more hyper he gets. Israel will just get crankier. It’s best to have them in bed by 8 pm

TV
The remotes are located in the couch console. To watch a movie on the DVD player hit the “composite” button. To watch TV hit the “HDMI” button.

*Thanks for watching our boys. Please call or txt if you need ANYTHING….we also request you have no boyfriends over at the house.

Feel free to help yourself to any snacks or drinks