Going the Distance : Looking Forward to my 28th Year!!

Happy Birthday to MEEE!!

Happy Birthday to MMMMEEEE!!

Today is my birthday... na na na na na na

Everyone always says birthdays are more fun when you're young...I disagree. Especially this year. I'm SO EXCITED for what this year has in store for me and my sweet little family.

It seems like for years on end I have been making babies, feeding babies, changing diapers, and making more babies...

This year... I can say with confidence...that WE WILL NOT BE HAVING ANY BABIES!! Now let's keep in mind that the only one of our babes that was in the plans was the Max Man...aka the busiest little body in our house... God blessed us with our other two for sure but they were not planned by us...The moral of this paragraph is we are incredibly irresponsible adults....but I'm 99% sure I WON'T BE PREGNANT THIS YEAR!!

So why is that exciting?!?! Because I've started to fill up my running schedule with some AWESOME events. From 5k's to Snow Shoes Runs to 1/2 Marathons...My 28th year of life is going to be pretty freakin awesome.

It technically kicked off last weekend with the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot. The last time I ran this race was in 2011...5 Months after Max Man came shooting into this world. It was my second 5k I had ran and had been actively running for about 3 months. The things I remember about this raace 2 years ago include:

1. Standing at the start line with one of my lightning fast runner friends thinking I could at least keep her in my sight...

2. Seeing said lightning fast runner friend speed ahead of me after 100 yards.

3. Seeing the mile 2 marker and wanting to jump on the stroller that just went past me.

4. Seeing the mile 3 marker and thinking that last .1 miles was the LONGEST stretch of the entire race.

5. Crossing the finish line just under 37 minutes....Meeting my goal to just be faster than my last race which I was by almost 2 minutes. BOOM.

6. The awesome video my runner friends husband took of me chugging to the finish line. I can't find it...but as soon as I do I will share it with all of you...But basically it was this....

The other fun fact about this course is it's a 3 mile loop around Hudson Mills Park that my bff and I walked the spring after our first babes were born. We would try and run from a bench to a trash can...and if we were feeling daring UP a hill...And I would think..SOMEDAY I HOPE I CAN RUN THIS. But I thought that day would be A LONG time from now.

3/8/2010: Me and Zack on our first walk around Hudson Mills

Fast forward to November 9, 2013...I ROCKED THE SHIT OUT OF THAT 3 MILE LOOP!!! My goal going into that race was to just beat my last 5k time which was 29:31.

I love race day...There were quite a few of us from our little town that had made the trek to Hudson Mills to run which made this day that much more fun. And guess who jumped on the running wagon.......................................... This dead sexy man...Not only is he running semi regularly in a running group throughout the week, but also VOLUNTEERED to come run in this race with me! I'm so proud of him...Running has completely changed my life and it's really nice to be able to share some of it with him...even if he complains the ENTIRE way there and home...ENTIRE.WAY.

Do you see that number 1 he's holding up...it's because he thought he could beat me...Mr. I've-ran-3-times-to-prepare-for-this-race........Mr. I-carb-loaded-last-night-with-a-6-pack.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIght.

We lined up at the start line and took some more pictures because that's how I roll...Consider this fair warning friends...If I take your picture...you most likely will end up on my instagram or my blog....Don't worry...it just means you're practically famous.

I wasn't particularly nervous about this race...But I think part of that was the large group of people I knew there. I'm telling you...there's this support system runners have that's unlike anything else I've ever experienced. You don't know have know each other well...just know that we are all doing this to better ourselves. I didn't feel part of this group until I deemed myself a runner...which was DUMB because as soon as I took my first step out the door I was in.

We sang the National Anthem...crowded the start line...the gun shot and we were off. And I just ran. I didn't think about anything really. 3 of the 4 women I started the race with were seasoned runners and I knew I wanted to keep within eyesight of them...so I just kept running. I didn't get tired. I didn't slow down. The park we were running at didn't have any cell phone service so my Map My Run wouldn't work. I literally had no idea how fast I was going or how far I had gone. It was kind of nice...peaceful almost. When knew we were getting close to the only hill on the loop which would also be the end of mile 2. I felt like I was flying. I still wasn't tired. I still didn't slow down and up the hill I ran.

Then I started thinking about the last time I ran this race...and how incredibly hard running up this hill was for me. I remember hating ever step...thinking I needed to walk....thinking I couldn't do it...hating this stretch of the race but knowing how amazing it was going to feel crossing that finish line. Then I thought back to the days of just walking this path...and coming to this hill thinking how the HELL am I going to make it up there!??! And here I am...running...RUNNING FAST...up this hill...I just kept running faster and stronger. It felt so incredibly good. So good.

I crossed the finish line 28 minutes and 36 seconds after I started... 28:36. That's an average pace of 9:13/mile...and IN THE TOP 20 IN MY AGE GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 20th out of 77 to be exact.

About 4.5 minutes FASTER than this guy...Mr. I'm-going-to-beat-my-wife-that's-been-kicking-ass-and-taking-names-since-April.

One of my favorite parts of the race is watching the rest of the people finish. It's awesome to see the pride they have for what they've just accomplished. I ugly cry...every time...without fail.

So what do you do after crushing your last 5k time by almost a minute!?! Take some pictures with the awesome people that inspire me to keep moving. To keep getting better, faster, and stronger.

That Skinny Hooker that introduced me to this whole concept of running......

Some awesome women from our church....that may or may not have me convinced to do a Triathlon in the spring.........................................................................................

And a few members of the group that got Dana started on the running train.

So what else have I been doing to continue my road to fitness and health?

1: Buying cute winter running clothes...TJ MAXX rocks my socks. Bright colors, cheap prices....One thing I've noticed about my running attire is it's gotten brighter and tighter...Dana's a fan.

2. Buying things to deck out my stroller for the Holiday Hustle I'm running in December...It's a night time run through neighborhoods that are all lit up for the holidays...I'm pushing the Max Man who loves everything Christmas...I can't wait to see his face when I turn the lights on on his stroller.