Sooooo, I woke up Saturday morning after a sleepless night and stretched for 30 minutes. I drank a bottle of water, a bottle of my "joint juice" and I ate a tangerine as I sat in peace and quiet while meditating on the race. It was not your ideal weather for race day.... it was cold (about 40 degrees), windy, cloudy (with NO sun in sight) and just plain miserable! I had my capri tights, superfly shoes, a matching shirt, my ipod, comfy socks and etc.... all set out and ready to go. After stepping outside and feeling the brisk cold air, I quickly switched to longer tights, an extra shirt and a light jacket. When I arrived to check in and pick up my package I learned that their were only 60 registrants for the race!!!! 60!!! I had a mini panic attack just thinking about how I was gonna have to step up and stay with the crowd just to be sure that I didn't finish in LAST! As we lined up for the race, there was no one there to cheer me on. My hubby took the kids to my baby girl's soccer match and wouldn't return until after my race was complete. That didn't bother me though because I didn't want them to see their mama coming in last (if that were the case).
So, we took off running at 9:30am. As we went down the first hill my ipod wasn't playing the play list we had put together the night before, runkeeper (the app I use to calculate my distance and time) malfunctioned and I had no backup! I fiddled around with the ipod & runkeeper for the first half mile which resulted in me getting tangled up in my head phones! I ended up having to turn everything off so that I could focus on trying to tackle the upcoming hills and figure out a way for me to finish the race. At about 1 1/2 miles I started coughing and getting the chills from sweating profusly underneath the layers of clothing I had on. I had to stop and walk more than I wanted.... I was not feeling well but I wanted to finish. I continued to jog when I felt strong enough to do so and walk when it got too difficult. The whole time I had snot, sweat and a few tears plastered on my face while the cold wind continuously beat against my face. It was NOT a pretty sight but I continued to press on. I eventually crossed the finish line to the cheers of maybe 2 people. I did a cool down walk and silently thanked God for helping me to finish the race. It was the stellar finish I had imagined it would be. There was no trophy, a pat on the back or a job well done spoken to me BUT I finished! I was proud of myself for hanging in there and enduring the tough conditions.
After the race, my family arrived and congratulated me. My kids then participated in the "kid's fun run" and did a fantastic job.
Josh finished 1st and Joi finished 2nd... baby girl Jaida finished 12th and it was such a wonderful sight to see :).
Afterward, they enjoyed spending time on an inflatable slide... face painting.... gift bags... medals, music and food. We then had to take my son to Spring Football Conditioning and 2 soccer games. Speaking of soccer games, their seasons finally ended and the next season starts THIS SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! We are in for a very busy "MAY" with birthday parties, field trips, baby showers, soccer games, graduations... ohhhhh and Hubby has to travel back to Europe for 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the life!
In closing, I just wanted to share that I joined another weight loss challenge. Yes, I know that I said I would never do another one because of the stress of weekly weigh ins and etc... BUT the prize is up to over $300 (cash), a polar heart rate monitor and a make up pallette. After sharing the details with my hubby, he talked me into going for it. So, i'm allllll in!!! I'm going to kick it up a notch with my intense workouts, continue to closely monitor my eating (via myfitnesspal) and win this thing!!!! This challenge will last for 3 months so i'm hoping to lose 8-10 lbs per month! Let's Get It!!!!!
So, we received more happy news earlier this week as well. My eldest "soccer diva" got an offer to play on the competitive level (pre-challenge) soccer team. We've gladly accepted and submitted her paper work. She's so excited!!!! She's only been playing since November and she never touched a soccer ball before her first game. It was evident that she had a special talent the moment her foot touched the ball. Her coach told us from day 1 that she needed to advance. She's now talking about her potential to get a scholarship in the years to come. She's got skills that i've never seen. Her coach played collegiate soccer and said she's the best defensive & offensive player she's ever seen at this age :) We're blessed.... and she loves it so much!!! Look out world, she's gonna break down some barriers and take soccer to another level!!! Oh and she has a little sister right behind her who's just as good as she is :-)
