Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

Another great challenge to participate in. I'm excited!!

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

I thought yesterday was bad.

I woke up to very sad news today. A good friend of mine lost his wife to cancer after a very long, hard battle. While in the end, this was the best for her and him, because she had gone downhill over the past month and a half and hospice was in everyday, it still doesn't make it any easier. I ran into him in the grocery store last weekend, and it broke my heart. He was telling me how when hospice came, she tried to be strong and prove that she could still do stuff for herself even though she really couldn't and was relying on him completely. He was telling me how he couldn't do everything for her anymore, it was just too hard, and he was glad hospice was there to help him. He was lucky enough to have enough sick time to spend the last month and a half at home with her, cherishing every last moment he could. They also got to do something on their bucket list while she was still feeling well enough, and spent almost 2 weeks in New York City and Boston. She fought her cancer for almost two years, trying everything possible to survive it.

Their story together was heartening. They both had bad marriages before they met each other, hers resulting in a son. They were sole mates and he took care of her son as if he was his own. They were still so young, supposed to have so many more years together. She was vibrant, loved her job - worked almost up until the day hospice came in. Why does bad stuff have to happen to such good people. You have rapists, murderers, thieves out there, and they live their lives scott free, and then you have good people, who love each other, live to spend every moment together, and they are ripped apart way too soon. It's just not fair. My heart is breaking for my friend. I want to scream why!! But I know there is no answer. I have faith in God, but things like this tend to make me question why God allows this to happen. I just could keep saying over and over, it's just not fair!!!

You all need to grab your loved ones, hug them and tell them how much you love them, because you just don't know when something is going to happen, and they will be taken away from you forever. Do not waste a minute of your life on petty bullshit - don't fight over stupid things. Love your family with all your heart, and live every moment with them to the fullest, because it could be gone in an instant!!!

things are still rough

So even though I resigned myself to that fact that by myself I couldn't help my son get over his tantrums, I am still so conflicted about him being on meds. Things were great when we first put him on them, but slowly they got a little worse. Now, I will admit that things are better than they used to be, but we are still having tantrums. And even though, they aren't as long as they used to be, they are still as intense, and I don't know what to do. If I go in with him, and help him calm down, its easier all around - but I wonder is that really teaching him. But if I don't go in and help him, he doesn't calm down, and eventually he'll cry himself to sleep, but I don't think he has learned anything. My husband feels I'm too easy on him, but I think he's a different type of child, that has different needs. I honestly think that when he has a tantrum he gets to a point where he cannot calm himself down. I don't think it has anything to do with not knowing how to calm himself down, I think he gets himself so worked up, that physically he cannot calm himself down. But I don't know what the fix for that is. Maybe a different drug, I don't know, but it is surely killing me inside. I, absolutely hate to see him like this, and I hate what it does to my family. I love my son, and will protect him to the end, but I wish I knew how to help him. It kills me to see him this way, and not know what to do to help him.

Loving my hubby!!!

My small collection of bling is starting to grow, and I have a few races planned that will be giving out finishers medals. So, I have been thinking about what to do with them. I had put them on the corner of the mirror on my dresser, and with only 3 medals it wasn't so bad, but it really didn't display them like I wanted. I had been looking around Target, but really didn't find anything I liked. When I mentioned to hubby I was looking for one, he made a hanger to put on the mirror, and actually I was okay with that for the time being.

So I came home from the store today, and my youngest son says mommy what's this runner girl? I said are you talking about my shirt, I have a run girl tech shirt. I walked into the hallway, and looked up and there were my medals hanging on this awesome Runner Girl display. I was so shocked - hubby had ordered one for me and installed it, and I had no clue. I love my hubby!!!

My hubby told me that the place he bought it from was awesome to deal with and we received it within a week. So I'm giving a shout out to Allied Medal Displays. They have some really awesome designs, and the prices aren't too bad. When I was looking at their website, they had tons of designs, plus you could do a custom one, and the quality is awesome. http://www.alliedmedaldisplays.com/  I would definitely recommend them if you are looking for a medal display. 

I can't wait to add some more medals to it!!!

Donate and win great prizes

Donate to this great cause and you could win some awesome running prizes.

http://longlegsontheloose.com/brooksraffle/

Wow!!

I am going to toot my own horn tonite. So far, and I plan on running 5 miles tomorrow, I have run 95 miles this month. To me that is amazing, I feel like I can now really call myself a runner. I finally feel like I have earned it. I know, as long as you run, you're a runner - I tell my fellow running mama's that all the time, but before this month, I really questioned my ability to run. Even training for my 1/2 last year, I never ran more than 30-40 miles a month, and even that amount was a rarity. I am in awe of people who run 100 mile runs, it's truly amazing and they are awesome.

I'm also going to brag about my oldest son. He PR'd at his cross country meet on Wednesday. He's in JV, and he came in first of our JV team, and 78th out of all the JV's running. He ran 2 miles in 18:52. He actually beat out 2 of the varsity runners on his team. He's hoping since his run was really good that he might be bumped to varsity for the next meet. On this runner's high, he has committed to run a 10K in December and  a 1/2 in March. I'm really excited to share these experiences with him.

My youngest son ran a 5k last summer and came in first in his age group, and is planning on running a 5k again in October. I know he's going to want to run the 10k, but I just am not comfortable with him running that kind of mileage at his age. Does anyone have any information about children running long runs? I definitely don't want him running that many miles if it will be detrimental to him.

Miracle Miles 15k Race Report

I ran my first 15k this morning, the Miracle Miles 15k race. The minute my sister in law and BFF, Kerri mentioned it to me, I knew I wanted to do it. One, it was right in line with my training plan, and two, it benefits the women and children's hospital, Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando. The race was set to start at 7:20, so I was up at 4:30 and out the door by 5:00 to meet up with Kerri and head to the race. Traffic was a bit rough when we got there, but we quickly found a spot and out we went to talk to the start/finish line. Wow, I was thoroughly overwhelmed with the amount of people. I had heard that they anticipated 3500 people combined for the 5k and the 15k, but I guess I just didn't realize how many people that really was.

5k went out first at 7:00 am, and more than half of the runners were off. About 10 mins later, we began to line up for the 7:20 start of the 15k. I was shocked that right before we were to set off, 3 of the 5k runners were finishing. Amazingly quick - if this was any inclination of what the competition was like in the 15k, I was in trouble. Not that I expected to place, anyways - this was just for fun. 7:20 hit, but by the time I crossed the start line it was about 7:25. Definitely not used to that.





















We started off with a nice, easy pace, and some good conversation. This was how we started our very first race together, a 5k back in 2009. We both did well in that race, and it was so enjoyable. We did 3/1 intervals and just kept a pace that was comfortable. No reason to start off too fast, and not be able to finish. Off through downtown Orlando we went, over brick-layed roads, out to almost Lake Underhill and then back down past Lake Eola. It was really fun race, and I felt pretty good through all of it. When we got close to the finish line, I decided that I was going to run my hardest and so did Kerri. We finished, at the same time, with a clock time of 1:54:44, and a chip time of 1:52:54. Placed 1355 out of 1698 overall, 128 out of 165 in my division, and 708 out of 956 in my gender, and got some pretty nice bling. Not too shabby for my first 15k.

Front of Finisher's Medal

Back of Finisher's Medal