So I did this little race today...

It was the race that almost didn't happen.

I did not train for this - and I really should have. But life keeps getting in the way and making getting out to run harder and harder to do. I almost skipped it because I knew that I wouldn't do well.

Then, there's the whole Lack Of A Running Vehicle issue. But thanks to a wonderful friend who loaned me her car for the day, I had a way to get there and back. So The Dude spent the night last night and we got up bright and early and loaded Daniel in the car and took off for Wichita.

They watched me start, and then they took off to get some breakfast for themselves. And I ran jogged and walked until I felt like I couldn't go any farther, and then I kept going. It was cold, and breezy, and it drizzled almost the entire time - so it definitely wasn't optimal running conditions. But at the same time, it was better than the thunder, lightning, and torrential downpours that we had last year, and at least it wasn't 95 degrees either. So it definitely could have been worse.

My good luck kiss.

The start - lots of people.

Somewhere around mile 10-12.
I was DYING but I refuse to walk
when I see a camera aimed at me.
I'm weird like that.

"Come at me, goose. I dare you."

I spotted Daniel waving at me from across the river.

OK, so he caught me walking. But - I was tired. LOL

Coming up to the finish.

.....and DONE.

Foil cape on my back, medal in my hand, and an orange
heading for my mouth.

Love the post-race hugs.

Another one to add to the collection.
Although this one is a bit..... festive.

As far as my time went - I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I did better than I expected for my lack of preparation. I hurt right now, but not as bad as I had thought I would - although it's still early. We'll see how I feel in the morning, because I bet it's not going to be as good as I feel right now.

I know that I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again. I couldn't do these races without the support that I get from The Dude. He's the one who keeps encouraging me and telling me that I can do it, even when I don't want to - and knowing that he's there at the finish line waiting for me makes it all worthwhile. He really didn't feel up to this today - but he went with me and took care of Daniel and took pictures for me and drove me home so that I could regroup - and for that I am forever thankful.

Getting a running start for the New Year!

Yep, I did it again. I survived another 5K.

The Dude and I took off this morning and headed to Wichita for the race. We got started later than I had wanted to, and there were a few moments of nervous panic when we couldn't find a place to park, but we ended up getting there with about 15 minutes to spare.

The weather was beautiful - but it was COLD! It was one of those days where if you were in the sun, it wasn't bad - but get in the shadow of a building and wow - yeah - it was cold.

So here are your complimentary shots of the day. :)

First, the crowd at the start. Of course, I made my way to the back of the pack to get started so that I wouldn't get trampled by the speed demons. I might be slow, but I'm not dumb.

I kept my phone with me to use my running app, but I couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures. It was just a beautiful day. If you look closely, you can see the runners coming back up on the other side of the river.

The Dude had Daniel and my camera at the finish line, and he got some pictures of some of the more interesting characters in the race...

....and then there was me.

After the race, we opted to not stick around for the complimentary chili and cocoa - there were just too many people, so we headed back to the van to go out to lunch. Daniel has definitely found himself a new buddy in The Dude - or maybe it's the other way around. Either way, it's a good thing, and seeing moments like this makes me smile.

So we hit the Golden Corral for lunch...and dessert...

So the final results are as follows:

My official time: 42:29
Pace: 13:44 per mile
Overall ranking: 316th out of 384
Ranking for age group (40-44, female): 23rd out of 27
Ranking for all females: 163rd out of 212

Overall, I'm happy with it. It wasn't my best 5K time, but it wasn't my worst. I've been working on finding more races so that I can meet my goal of doing one per month, and I have a bunch lined out. The Dude has already graciously offered to help in any way that he can.

Which leads me to my final thought for the night....The Dude.

He has been so amazing to me and to my kids - but today in particular, he did something that means more to me than I can ever explain.

He was there for me. He was at the start and he was waiting for me at the finish - and he supported me and cheered for me and honestly, inspired me to keep going until the end. Knowing that he was there waiting for me made running 3.1 miles worth it. When in the past, I've been told that I could never do something like this, he reminded me that I could do it.

And for that, I can't thank him enough.

I'm crazy about this guy - just in case you didn't know that already.

We are a community.

When I started this blog back in January, I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. None. A friend suggested it, I thought that it sounded like fun, and so I did it. While I am nowhere near a big blog, I am always surprised at the number of people who follow what I have to say.

Of course, some of them are my friends or family, and they probably follow me because I told them to. Some are friends of theirs. I look at the lists of people who follow this blog and most of the time, I can't figure out who in the heck they are.

As I started following other blogs, those bloggers started following me back. That's kind of cool. :)

(I'm going into Vague Mode for a little bit - bear with me.)

Right after I started blogging, I started following the blog of a certain celebrity. I noticed that the followers of that blog would not only comment on the blog, but would also have conversations amongst themselves and had formed a tight little group of friends - all through comments on a blog.

Of course, by commenting on a blog, it leaves a link back to your own blog in your profile. So as I joined in on this little group of commenters on the celebrity's blog, the other commenters saw my blog and I saw theirs - and some of us started following each other.

One of these 'blogging friends' made the announcement that her 34 year old daughter had been diagnosed with colon cancer. 34 years old? She's younger than I am was my first thought. She has kids was my second thought. She has started going through chemo, but as anyone knows, it's not a cheap process - especially when there are travel expenses involved. Her mother blogged one day about some tshirts that had been made - friends and family members bought them for 2 reasons: to help defray expenses, and to show her daughter (through photos of them wearing them in front of their houses) that regardless of where they were, they were fighting the fight with her.

Of course I got one. Why wouldn't I?

The majority of the blogs that I follow are parenting blogs - and I love how we have gotten to "know" each other. Whether through comments on a particular post, or through conversations on facebook, we learn about each other. We support each other through the rough times, celebrate during the good times, and amuse each other when we are bored. We ask for and offer advice on everything from potty training to getting more followers and everything in between.

I never expected any of this when I started. I remember my friend saying I bet you can get 30 followers in no time at all and I laughed at her. I never expected to become part of a community like this. Hell, I never thought that anyone would even read anything that I had to say.

But it has happened, and it's real, and I love it. I am thankful for the bloggers (and followers) who I have "met" during this process. I look forward to meeting some of you in real life at some point (no, I'm not a crazy stalker - but a few of us have talked about getting together).

And I'm just happy that we can support each other like we do.

NOTE: I went into Vague Mode to protect the identities of my friend and her daughter as they go through this difficult time in their lives. If either one of them chooses to reveal their identities, that is up to them. I won't do it, and would like to ask that our mutual friends not do it either - leave it up to them if they want to do so. Thanks!