My First 5K!

Yesterday I participated in the 2nd Annual Hendrick Marrow Program Half Marathon & 5K. Now I've participated in 5Ks before but this is the first time I ran in one.

I started my "training" at the end of June. It consisted of running in the neighborhood on the days that I didn't have Boot Camp at the gym. For the most part I was running about 10 - 15 minutes which was about a mile (I found a website where I could plug in my route to find out how far I had gone). If I was only making it a mile, how the heck was I going to make the 3 mile run??

It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. I got to the race and got ready to go. Once the horn sounded, I was in the zone. Sure I had to walk a few times but for my first 5K I made it in 34:48. I was 93rd overall (135 participants) and 9th in my age group - not too shabby!

We saw an ad this morning on the news for a 5K in two weeks, David said "there you go, sign up for that one". I told him I needed to pace myself - although being able to nap all afternoon would be worth it.

Riding Lessons

I think Grace has found her thing. She started riding lessons last night and was a natural. She got to work with a horse named Breeze. First she had to tack and groom him and she walked right up and did it.
Next she and her instructor brought Breeze out to the middle of the barn so she could mount him - and I couldn't believe how she just threw her leg over and hopped on.

Once she was on, her instructor led them them outside and showed her how to hold the reigns, direct the horse and move her body for control. She rode with the instructor holding the reins, played a few games and then got to trot - by herself!! She had the best time and didn't want to leave the stable. The entertaining part was when we put the horse up. He could tell we were new and kept pushing us toward the grass so he could graize. We'll get the hang of that part - but I am so glad that she found the thing she really likes !!!!!

Our Routine

I've heard people talk about how one thing can throw off their entire day. I know exactly what they are talking about. For example, if I don't park in the same spot at work every day, it messes me up. But more importantly for me, if one thing gets messed up in our morning routine, it starts a free fall of problems that lead to us being late.

Case in point, a few weeks ago, Adam was awake earlier than usual. So David got him out of bed and took him downstairs. Harmless - right? Well once David left for work, I couldn't get Adam upstairs. So then, I had to stop what I was doing to get ready in order to bring him upstairs to get ready. All the while he was crying because he wanted to be downstairs with all the toys. And Grace was no help because she was doing her thing.

This instance allowed me to reinforce our need to maintain the routine. David gets up and gets ready for work. He thens gets Grace out of bed and takes her downstairs for breakfast. In the meantime, I get up and get ready for work. Just before David leaves, I get Adam out of bed so he can see him. And then the kids get ready.

Ok you get the point but this is what keeps me sane in the morning. I'll be honest, I used to yell - a lot - in the morning. Grace would move at a snail's pace and then I would hear the school buses rolling which meant we were late. Now everyone knows what they have to do to be on time. When we stay in the routine, mornings are a lot quieter at our house and that's what really makes everyone happy!

Day at the Fair

Last Saturday we made our annual trip to the Cabarrus County Fair. Grace was all about the "games of chance" and winning more stuffed animals. She ended up coming home with a very large dog, a panda, a duck and a new ball (which Adam has claimed as his own). She also rode the rides with David and took a pony ride.

Adam got to try a game too. He was sitting in his stroller pointing and saying ball, so the carny told us to put him up on the wall so he could play. He made three baskets and was given his choice of three stuffed animals. He picked up each one and threw them in the basket, then pointed and said "BALL!". That's what he wanted.

All the Activities

We are now two weeks in to the school year and things are going well. This weekend begins all of our activities - so it's about to get exciting. Grace has swimming on Saturday, Faith Formation on Sunday and dance on Monday. She wants to take karate/tae-kwon-do too! This is fine for now but what happens when Adam starts participating in activities? Will I still get to go to the gym - of course I will, at 10:00 pm.

I have already become that mom - you know her, the one with all the magnets on the back of her car for the activities that her child is in. I've got a Next Step Dance magnet and an Odell Elementary School magnet. Grace wants me to get one for the swim school and of course if she does take a martial arts class, that one will go on too. Didn't I used to make fun of that mom? Oh no, that was the mom bragging about her Honor Student; although I do hope I get to add that magnet to my collection!!