BIG NEWS!

I RAN A 5K TONIGHT! I am so stinkin excited! Especially since my day has been one of those super hectic, chaotic days where nothing seemed to go right! The boys were bickering back and forth all day, school took forever to get done with, Mike couldn't come home for lunch so I had to wake the baby to bring him some food ( I wanted to... I had no problem bringing him food!), then he got home late. I was supposed to go running with my friend Amanda at 4, only Mike didn't get home until 4:35, so I didn't get out to the track until 4:40 warmed up a little and started running. I Had a little over a mile and a half done, and feeling good when all of a sudden the retreat ceremony started. For those of you who aren't military, thats when they play the National Anthem. Everyone stops everything if they are outside. Cars stop. People mowing their grass stop. Everything! I just couldn't bring myself to keep running out of respect for my country! So... I stopped. And it made me angry! So I came home, made dinner and announced that I would just go hit the gym after dinner. I am not much of a eat and go running type of person. It doesn't end well! haha. Anyway, I waited like a half hour and went. I felt good for the first 1.5 miles, then I started having to really focus on what I was doing. I went through my song list... Rocky "Eye of the Tiger" seemed to do the trick. 2 miles down, a little over 1 to go. Just keep running! Just keep running! If Eye of the Tiger can't get you pumped up to reach your goal NOTHING WILL! haha. Anyway, after what seemed like an eternity I finally reached 3.2! Wohoo!!! I did 5.1 as my speed, and 1% incline, and finished up in like 34 minutes. Can't wait to get out and run again friday!

BTW... meatloaf and I are no longer on speaking terms... turkey and chicken from here on out! :)

The past few days...

Ok, so I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news first... I'm terrible at blogging! Haha, obviously since I haven't posted since what, wednesday?! Whew! Glad I got that out there...

So now for the good news... I HAVEN'T QUIT YET! Friday I lost my running buddy, she went home for the weekend BUT I set out to do a mile with the jogging stroller and GUESS WHAT?! I finished nearly 20 seconds faster! And it was windy! Wohoo! Thank you BOB for making such awesome strollers! Why didn't I buy one YEARS ago!?!

Saturday I decided to add a little more distance than what I've run so far, so I got in the car and mapped out a course that was 2.3 miles. Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and headed out on my run. It was a road run, not a track run like I've been doing which is like WAY different! There were hills! Nearly MOUNTAINS! Ok, thats a bit of an exaggeration but this girl is from DELAWARE! We have slight inclines, thats all! We had to build a hill with snow if we wanted to go sledding in the winter! haha :) Anyway... I did it! Mountains and all! I am so excited! It was a great run! Not quick by any means, but I really felt like a runner!

Tomorrow a new distance record... 2.5 miles!

Two miler

Yep, its official! I am a two miler! And I did it faster than my 11 minute, best so far time! Wohoo! Go me! :) 21:34 is my official time. I know, all those "runners" out there are laughing because they run 7 minute miles and can run 3 miles in the amount of time I run 2, but hey... they can kiss this... well you know :)

Now that you are aware of the fact that I made it, let me show you what it was like...

Remember that last post I wrote about getting a song, and a partner, and a phrase to tell yourself while you running? Yeah I had to use ALL of the above! I went out there thinking it was going to be cake, after all, I've been running every day this week, and I just ran a mile and a half, so its only 2 more laps... right? WRONG. I had to dig DEEP today. Deeper than I had to Saturday when I ran the mile and a half! Deeper than any day so far! From lap 2 I wanted to just call it quits and enjoy a leisurely walk, so I just started singing. For some reason the song Dorie sings from Finding Nemo popped into my head "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming... swimming swimming swimming..." yeah, only I changed it to "Just keep running. Just keep running...." That lasted me until about lap 6!  6 down, 2 to go and soooooo ready to call it a day! So I just started reciting "I can do ALL things through Christ, I can do ALL things through Christ!" over and over again until all I had left was a half a lap, then a quarter.... rounded the bend and saw my son Thomas standing right before the finish line with his hand out, saying "GO MOMMY!" and my friend Amanda waiting at the finish line (with my baby)!  I gave everything I had left and MADE IT! 21:34! My starting time for 2 miles, now to build on that! :)

The Plan...

So about a month ago, I started walking on nice afternoons with some lovely lady friends. Our base has a 1/4 mile track with a playground positioned directly in the middle! (What a great idea whoever came up with that!) Anyway, while walking I mentioned that I've never ran any great distance but really would like to try. That turned into me googling the "couch to 5k challenge". If you don't know about the "couch to 5k challenge" heres the link. Its a training plan to get the non runner, non active adult up to running a 5k in 9 weeks. Since we had been walking some, we decided to start on week 2. We are now on week 5. Today I attempt to run my first 2 miles straight! No walking! We'll see how it goes!

Overall though, my GOAL is to run a half marathon. There is one specifically I'm trying to shoot for...  the Air Force Marathon/ Half Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. It benefits the wounded warrior project, the USO, and the Fisher houses on military installations which house the families of injured service members.  I'm debating whether to sign up now, or wait to see how I progress over the next month or so. Its 80$, plus will require a hotel room and traveling expenses. Should prolly talk to the hubs first! :D

My words to anyone thinking about starting: JUST DO IT! (I know, so original...). Get a running buddy, get a song, get a reason, get a motivational phrase! Just GET GOING. You never know what will be unless you try! If my large size 16 behind can run a mile SO CAN YOU!

My running buddy: Amanda
My reason: Get fit so I can be the best wife and mother I can be for many years to come!
My motivational phrase: "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengtheneth me!" Its what I repeat to myself during that last lap when I feel like giving up, knowing that the power to finish isn't from me, but from the Lord!

So... off I go... 2 miles. I'll let you know how it goes!

Intro...

Let me just start out by saying I am NO runner. I despise it. Always have. I think it stems from the fact that its never been easy for me! Or maybe because runners are always these tiny little stick figures, walking around in their short shorts, showing off their runner legs. Don't get me wrong, I was always active and involved in sports. Always been an outdoorsy kinda girl, but I've always done everything I can to NOT run. I played soccer... as goalie. I swam in the winter because the only other winter sports were all about running. I was on the track team... for shot put and discus. Never ran more than I had. Never ran because I wanted to. Until recently... 

My name is Sarah. I'm a Christian. I've been married for nearly 7 years now to my husband Mike who is active duty Air Force. We have 3 beautiful children together. Thomas who's 6, Jackson who's almost 4 and Gabbie Marie our little miracle baby who's nearly 7 months. I'm a cancer survivor. And now I'm going outside of my comfort zone to try to do the one thing I've never done in my life. RUN.