I was run-ning!

It's been a while since I posted about my running. Ok, well it's been a while since I posted...anything! A busy fall (full of co-op, field trips, football x2, basketball, and some illness) along with the regularly scheduled program got the best of me. Ha! But that is a different post. I have fun running news to share. :)

So we're still doing Run for God. We are about to finish up week 10 right now. The devotional is going well. I love how each week's devo seems to go right along with that week's sermon.

Bo and I have already ran in two AWESOME races this fall.

The first was race in honor of cancer survivors and in memory of those who didn't survive. It was a pretty emotional run. Our team ran in memory of a past member of our homeschool group. She passed away one year ago. The race actually fell on the anniversary of her death. I didn't get to actually meet her before she passed but we did get to meet her family on the day of the race. Also my aunt passed away five years ago. The anniversary day of her death was the day after the race. My father-in-law is a cancer survivor after beating prostate cancer this last year. Add in all if the survivors who were there with their teams, the survivors who held up signs to encourage US as we ran, and the pictures people wore of their loved ones who had passed...emotional!! I spent my run thinking about my aunt and praying for the survivors, their families, and the families of those who didn't survive. Our team theme was Disney and I dressed as Minnie and wore the cutest tutu, several people lined the streets to cheer us on (including some guys from BACA...love those guys!!) so it was also a super FUN run!!

While I ran the 5K race, Bo tackled the 10K and had a GREAT time!! I remember a time last year when Bo laughed at me when I suggested a 4 mile race. He said "there's no way I'm running 4 miles." :) Silly hubby. He did 6 like it was nothing!!

Next up was a race I have been waiting to do since I learned about it during my pregnancy....The Color Run!!!! If you've never heard of the Color Run, you must google now! It's "the happiest 5K on the planet!!" It was SO fun!! I loved every minute of it! We're going to take the boys next year.  I know they will LOVE it!!

So thankful that I was able to even run it. A few days after the Survivor Run, I ran my fastest 5K ever....34:16. It was a great run. I felt good the whole time. No pain at all. So that weekend I ran again pretty hard on Saturday and then we had our Run for God life group that Sunday evening. I ran an even faster pace that night and knew that I was thisclose to a 30 min 5K. My legs were TIRED though from running so hard two days in a row. I really needed a day or two off. So I took Monday off, right? WRONG!! I got it in my head that I was fine and could hit that 30 min 5K. Even though I realized my legs really were sore when i took off running and with the thought that maybe my shoes were too broken down, I kept running anyway. Guess what! I hurt myself. Yep, my calf muscle swelled up about three times the normal size and cramped. I had to limp back to my car. I took the rest of the week off. Tried again on Saturday and still had a lot of pain so I didn't run that Sunday during group. Took the whole week off, hoping that I would be ok to run in the Color Run.

With new shoes and a sparkling white t-shirt, I took off and felt pretty good. My calf cramped a little but as we ran, it loosened up. We took it slow and even walked a bit (seriously...I soaked up as much color as I could at each color point!!), and by the end I realized I didn't hurt at all!!

The moral of the story: (That i kinda sorta already knew but I'm a teeny tiny bit stubborn and impatient so sometimes it takes a time or two for these lessons to sink in) From now on, at least one rest day between hard runs and no more than two days of running in a row. Duh! :)

So I took a few days off (due to a sinus cold) this week. Bo and I took off for a short 2 mi run last night....and it was AWESOME!!! Felt great. No pain. No problems.

Our next race is Thanksgiving morning. "Um yes I AM having mashed potatoes and gravy....because I ran 3.1 miles this morning, thank you very much" Ha! Hoping for a 32min time but would just die if I hit 30!!! We'll see. It's a nice flat run so it could happen!!

My oldest son, Nathan, is running with us....his FiRST 5k!!!! Super excited about that!! I think he really just wants the shirt.....but then again, so do I. Not a bad reason to run!! :)

Before the Color Run...

....and after!!!!