Kiss Me Dirty

While in Utah I ran the Kiss Me Dirty mud run with my two sister-in-laws Michelle and Kassidy.  It was SO much fun.  It was my first "mud run" type 5K but it won't be my last.  My crazy brother Mitch took pictures of us.  He would run ahead and wait at the obstacle, take our pictures, then run ahead to the next one.  He is CRAZY!  But I'm grateful he did that because we now have all these awesome pics!

 

Before the race...I was so proud of our matchy tanktops...until I saw how elaborate some of the other runners were with their costumes.  Next time I'll be more creative!

 

The first "obstacle"...there were a lot of up & over type obstacles.

 

See the yellow tutu?  There were LOTS of people in tutus.  

 

This was the first messy obstacle...no mud but our feet were super soggy after this, which made running oh so fun. 

 

We had to climb up on top of this train cargo car...and then slide down the pole.  Let me tell you - that is harder than it looks!  And it BURNS!

 

Then we came up on our first messy obstacle.  We crawled through those tubes and into a mucky muddy mess...and had to crawl under a net to the end.  All while a sprinkler was spraying us.  

 

Michelle came out almost 100% clean (how??) so Kassidy and I helped her out.  

 

The last obstacle was a big muddy pit that we had to get through while being sprayed with a firehose.  

 

Then we got Pinked. 

 

A quick run through the foam to loosen the dirt

 

We made it!!

 

Miles wanted NOTHING to do with me after the race.  

 

It was such a fun day with my sister-in-laws...and it was awesome to have my mom, dad, and brothers come out to support us.  

 

Race for the Cure - Roma

As soon as I ran my first 5K I started looking for more to run.  It is tricky here in Italy...races are harder to come by.  But lucky for me the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure was held in Rome this past weekend.  Two friends and I woke at the crack of dawn, drove up to Rome, ran the race, grabbed lunch, and then drove home.  Seriously how lucky are we?!  

Here are some pics:

You were supposed to write words of encouragement on this banner...I wrote "You are stronger than you know"

Waiting in the starting line...this race is the LARGEST Susan G Komen race in the world!  Over 60,000 people participated.

Waiting for the race to start. 

I stopped mid-race to snap a pic as I ran past the Colosseum. 

I'm not exactly sure what my time was...the race started at 10, but EVERYONE started then...walkers and runners.  It took us 12-14 minutes just to make our way to the starting line.  And then the race course was a bit longer than a 5K.  But my pace was faster than my Glow in the Dark 5K so I was happy.  It was very cool to be running again, and I am amazed by the things my body is being capable of...things I thought I'd never be able to do again.  

My next race is June 29th...a mud run with my sister-in-laws.  I'm pretty excited!! 

Glow in the Dark 5K

Tonight I did something I never thought I'd ever be able to do again...run a race.  Even as I sit here and type that sentence I get teary.  Running was something I enjoyed for so many years, and then I let it fall my the wayside when my weight started to creep up.  With the added weight my knees and ankles ached at even the thought of a run.  But then I was inspired by the changes I saw in a few friends.  I made some decisions, some massive lifestyle changes, started Isagenix, and decided to take my life back.  

As I pushed the last 100 yards of the race tonight, my body was telling me to stop.  My lungs were aching and my right knee was throbbing; but I pushed through and crossed the finish line running.  The final stretch there were people along the course cheering you on, telling you the end was close...you were almost there.  I felt enormous pride in this thing I was doing.  This thing that I thought was so far out of reach for me.  

I am proud of my hard work.  It hasn't been easy, that's for sure.  And there have been many moments where I thought "this is good enough" but I kept pushing and I'm glad I did.  My only regret is that I waited until last summer to start...I should have started earlier.  So if there are any of you out there who want to change something...whatever it is...do it.  Today.   Make a change today - whether it is large or small - that will get you closer to your goal. 

Thank you to those who have encouraged me on my journey...now bring on the next race! 

And now for the pics:

Me and my biggest fan...pre-race.

The girls...yes those are tutus...and yes we ran in them. :)

Me and Becca...about 2/3 of the way through

All done - we got our finisher medals!

You know what I did today?

Ran 5K...in 32 minutes. 

With my new running buddy, Becca.  :)

I ran a mile on the 5th...first one in too many years to admit to...and today I ran 3.1 miles.  I'm always amazed when I do something that just a few short weeks ago I wasn't able to do.  The body is an amazing thing. 

We are running a 5K race this Saturday.  It'll be my first race ever.  

It's a fun run...at night...we're wearing tutus and glow in the dark bracelets. 

I can't wait.

The goal is set...

I decided I am going to run the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure 5K in May. This is good because I have a solid date in mind and a goal to work towards... So Kristen - you up for it? I know you said 10K in April, but I fear that may kill me - and I'm all about not dying...

I have been doing better, I did lose 13 seconds on my time when I ran this morning... but that's ok, at least I'm running. :)

I have found my motivation!

I used to run - A LOT - and I loved it, but somewhere along the line I got really tired of it or something...not really sure, but I had expressed a desire to run a marathon and my keen hubby got me the Nike + for Christmas. I found out my friend Kristen got one too so we decided to 'race' each other and do a 10K in April... well since Christmas my Nike + has been tucked away sleeping silently in its box - until I read that Kristen had gone on her first run... So Sunday night I set it all up and then this morning I ran my first run with it (although I wasn't as brave as Kristen to go outside...I ran on our treadmill)...

All this time I used losing weight, new clothes, etc for motivation and NOTHING has worked...even the thought of running to get healthy so I could have a baby didn't do it.. But the thought of me being beat by someone got my lazy butt out of bed at 6:15 to run... amazing.

Funny thing is that when I read Kristen's time (16 minutes) I thought I would blow it away...(sorry Kristen...that was just the idiot in me) and I finished in 13:39... and I almost died...ok I really didn't ALMOST die, (Nathan says I have a flair for the dramatic...) but for a few minutes I thought I could have...and in the words of Kristen: "Death would have been welcomed" .

I know I have it in me...my best mile time is (or was) 6:17... so hopefully I can get near that again.