We Did It!!!

Jeff and I have made every excuse in the book of why we don't have time to work out. And true, we do have THREE good reasons why our free time is limited, but it is also true that we aren't getting any younger, and the kids are requiring more and more of our energy to keep up with them!! Todd and Erica have been running for awhile now, and we have been so proud of all they've accomplished. Todd just completed his second marathon in October, and Erica completed her first. We are so excited to head to Boston with Todd in 2011 - he qualified!!! Suffice it to say they have motivated us to get our butts off the couch and get in shape! We also have a few good friends who have motivated us as well - you all know who you are!!!

Seven weeks ago, we downloaded a program called "Couch to 5k", printed it out, hung it on the fridge, and followed it step by step. Literally. And it led us to our very first race...well, some people called it a race. For the first time in my life, I entered a "competition" with absolutely NO intention of beating anyone. Weird.

So on Saturday, we officially laced up our running shoes, donned our race numbers, and hit the road with over 1000 other people. They played the national anthem, shot the gun thingy, and we were off! Our only goal was to complete the entire 3.1 miles without walking. For the first 1/2 mile, I felt like I was running backwards! People were flying by me on my left and right...one guy sprinted by as he hurdled the orange cones! My fiends were all well ahead of me, and I remember patting Jeff on the back as he ran ahead. Erica, God love her, ran my pace with me, so after about 5 minutes it was just me, her and the road. A very hilly road. A mostly uphill hilly road.

Mile one was a breeze! When we saw the mile marker we cheered and high-fived! It was much easier than any of my first miles in training! Mile 2 was another story! We climbed up...and up...and up and for some reason, we rarely went down! By the time I saw the 2nd mile marker, I couldn't even speak, let alone cheer and high five! I did, however, have the energy to chuckle at the cone-hurdling idiot who was sucking air and barely walking at that point!!! The third mile is a total blur! I remember Erica coaching me on keeping my head down and leaning forward to go up the hill (did I mention we were going up still?). Bless her heart, I yelled "I'm hurting" several times in that last mile...I think I scared her! I wanted to stop SO bad, but she kept telling me we were almost to the top of the hill (liar)!

The race finished with a final lap around the minor league baseball stadium. In my mind the night before, I imagined entering the stadium and finding another gear and really running to the finish. Well, reality was quite different! I most certainly did NOT find another gear, and I'm almost positive I was drooling. Good thing it was raining...

I finally shuffled my way through the outfield and crossed home plate!!!! Jeff and Todd were there waiting for us in the stands! Jeff did SO awesome!!! Todd was a great coach for him...they ran together the entire time and Todd kept him on pace. I was so proud of him! He ran it much faster than any of his training runs, and seriously kicked my rear end!!! He did however get beat by a man dressed in women's clothes. That's rough. When we were comparing notes afterwards, we realized Jeff really didn't see much along the way. He just put his head down and ran. Too bad. Maybe he would have seen the transvestite in time to kick it up a notch.

So it's official. We are runners. And it actually feels good. Oh, and I did beat a few people along the way. Including the pylon hurdling moron who is still on the side of the road downtown.



THE WARM-UP JOG TO THE STARTING LINE - LOTS OF ENERGY AT THIS POINT!















JEFF AND TODD FEELING GOOD ON THE WAY TO THE START!















MY BUDDIES MARY AND REGINA!




















OUR RUNNING CREW: TODD, ERICA, STACY, REGINA, JEFF, ME AND MARY















THREE OF MY AWESOME STAFF MEMBERS WHO BEARED THE RAIN AND HILLS BECAUSE THEIR BOSS IS CRAZY AND THEY WERE AFRAID THEY WOULD GET FIRED IF THEY DIDN'T SHOW UP!!!!



















ME AND MARY AT MILE 2.75 (CAN YOU FEEL OUR PAIN?)
















TODD AND JEFF FEELING GOOD AFTER A GREAT RUN!
















SO THERE YOU HAVE IT. 3.1 MILES LOGGED. WATCH OUT WORLD.