I DID IT!!!!!

On Saturday, March 22 I reached my goal of running a 5k!

I was so nervous the night before that I slept terribly. I woke up every couple of hours and I tossed and turned like crazy. My alarm went off at 6am and I stumbled out of bed. I was tired. I felt like I had only gotten a few hours of sleep; that made me really nervous. I got ready to head out the door by 7:15. Oh no, there went my spastic colon, I had to make a bathroom run. Or three! I ate some crackers with cheese, a fun size m&m and headed out the door with my hubby and some bottled water.

I had butterflies in my stomach. I was worried; was I really going to be able to do this without a treadmill to regulate my speed and without distance markers to push myself? I knew I had to try!

I registered and received my free t-shirt. Yay! Then came the wait time, sitting in the car with the heater blasting since it was only around 40 degrees. Brrr!! Everyone started lining up, it was time! I kissed my hubby for luck and took my place with the crowd. I set my ipod up; I had some killer running songs! They yelled go and we took off. The crowd quickly ran off MUCH faster than me, but I didn't care! I wasn't here to race anyone, I was here to prove to myself that I could do this!

It was cold. And windy. Very cold and very windy! But it felt so good to be moving my body with a destination and goal in mind instead of just running on the treadmill. My lungs were working harder than I was used to, dang cold and wind! I walked for about 30 seconds 2 or 3 times and jogged the rest of the time. I felt so good. Pretty soon my hands were too hot and sweaty to keep my gloves on so I stuck them in my jacket pockets. My nose started to run, but I had thought ahead and stashed some tissues in my pocket. I could see the 2 mile marker just ahead, I was more than half-way done!

When I had about a quarter mile left, I pushed myself. I ran faster, but then I felt like I might throw up. No good, had to slow it back down. I could see Paul and his sister Lorrie and her husband Ron waiting for me at the finish line. They were cheering me on! I ran past the guy with the cards and he yelled out my time: 38 minutes, 10 seconds. WHAT!? You mean I did it in under 40 minutes! NO WAY!!! I was so pumped!

I stopped jogging (because that's what you do when you finish a race) and walked around and talked with Ron and Lorrie and Paul. Lorrie only beat me by 2 minutes and Ron only beat me by about 10 minutes! Sweet. We took some pictures, and then the pain came (you'd think I had run a marathon with this story, but nope, I just did 3.1 miles.) All the muscles across my rib cage and around my back started to tighten up and I thought I was either going to be sick or pass out from the pain. Luckily, I didn't do either. After about 10 minutes of deep breathing to try to relax those muscles, the pain went away. Then we went to O'Charley's for our free breakfast. It was awesome. Ron and Lorrie both won 2nd place in their age divisions! Yay for them!!!

When I got home I soaked in the tub (and fell asleep!) I am so excited to keep going! My goal is to run a 5k every month from now through September. Then in October I am going to Bowling Green with Paul, Ron and Lorrie to do a 10k!

I am not trying to brag, I realize I'm not top of the line at this running thing, but I am so proud of myself! If you had told me three months ago that I was going to be running a 5k now, I would have laughed in your face! I am so excited with how far I have come and how much further I can go!!!

THE HOT SIGN IS ON!

I have discovered Krispy Kreme and I shall love it FOREVER. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have always liked doughnuts. If someone offers me one, I will usually eat it. However, I very seldom say to myself, "I think a doughnut will hit the spot." I usually say that about anything chocolate. :) Paul loves doughnuts, specifically hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts. What do I mean, "hot?" Brace yourself, because this will change your life. I knew nothing about it until Paul told me. I had heard of Krispy Kreme, but there is not many of them in Utah, at least not when I lived there. Here it is: Krispy Kreme makes their own doughnuts in house and when a fresh batch of original glaze are coming out of the oven and into the glaze, they turn their HOT sign on for everyone to see in all its glory! If you rush right over (just don't run anyone down, like I almost did while swerving through traffic) you can eat one while it's still warm and they melt, I am not kidding you, MELT in your mouth. There are not words to describe the joy your mouth and stomach will feel if you eat a hot glazed doughnut. And don't even think about buying any other type of doughnut and heating it up in the microwave, it won't even be close to the same (trust me, I tried.) So, if you have a Krispy Kreme nearby, heck, even if you don't and you have to drive 2 hours to get to one, you MUST try the hot doughnuts. You'll never be the same. I know I'm not.

GOOD TIMES WITH PAULY

Paul is probably the funniest man I know. He constantly has me laughing and giggling with all the things he says and does. Here is some proof:

We were at Walmart one night and he decided to play dress-up. Needless to say, I was laughing so hard in the sporting goods section that I almost peed my pants. He really is so GREAT!

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Paul (who is the best husband EVER) gave me tickets to the Phantom of The Opera (amazing, isn't he) for Christmas. The performance was in Louisville, so we got all gussied up.

It was AMAZING! The singing was beautiful, the actors were perfect and the stage and effects blew me away! If you've seen the movie version, then you can understand how amazed I was that they were able to keep some of the same effects. When the show opened it was the auction scene that takes place in the dusty, dirty, old, theater. Then they hoisted the broken chandelier and it lit up and swung across part of the audience. They pulled all these gray curtains down and underneath everything was new and golden and sparkly.

It was awesome! I had the best time. Thanks Pauly!!

CHRISTMAS 2007 CATCHUP

I am still trying to play catch up with this blog, so here are some pictures from Christmas 2007. The season started off for us on November 3. Yes, you heard me right, our CHRISTMAS season started in NOVEMBER. 3rd to be exact. Paul is CRAZY about all things Christmas (we've been buying decorations and ornaments since June) and he got so excited that we put up all our decorations and our trees (all 4 of them) on November 3. We had one regular tree, one 3 foot hodge-podge tree and 2 table top trees.

We also hosted some of Paul's family at our apartment for a Christmas Eve party and gift exchange. We had lots of yummy food and lots of laughter and fun.

We woke up Christmas day and opened our presents and stockings.



Then I made some killer (not literally, we are alive and quite healthy) breakfast quiche. It has been one of my family's traditions to eat quiche on Christmas morning and now I am continuing that tradition with my own family!




Yay for Christmas!

STUPID RAIN

So, it's raining today, big surprise, and they postponed my 5k until next Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer that the weather will be good for running next week!