Friday, October 27, 2006

Pumpkin Carving

Picking out our pumpkins at the farm:
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Kiera finds a small one, maybe too small.
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Carving is fun!
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Mommy's Pumpkin:
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Daddy's Pumpkin:
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Kiera's Pumpkin:
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Mackinac Island Great Turtle 5.7 Mile Race

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

So there I was, at the start line 10 minutes before the start and realized that I was at the wrong start! This was the one for the half mary, oh crap!

I hauled butt over to the correct starting line and got there with 30 seconds to spare.

Off goes the buzzer and I take off...I set my watch as I go over the start, and it f**ks up and goes all haywire...oh no, now I have to reset everything all the defaults and all while I'm running, crap! Oh no, it's uphill too, at least I have my mind off of that as I try to restart my watch.

Phew, finally got it restarted, and I'm doing good, feeling good, and getting passed by everyone...oh well, just run at your own pace, I'm thinking. I might be going a little too fast, can I keep this up?

Hey there are walkers ahead of me...WTF? I'll try to catch them! Damn they are fast! Yay, I caught them, but what's this we are going downhill and they are running past me...up hill again and I pass them, down hill and they pass me...up hill again and I pass them and think, "good thing I trained on hills"...so much for that...they pass me again...I'm starting to hate walkers. ;) I have no idea how far I have gone or how fast...but I'll just keep pushing...still wondering if I am going too fast, but my legs feel great...not so much my chest and breathing...I am breathing really hard...this course is really hilly!

Hey, I'm finally catching up to some of the runners that I have been following all the way, woo hoo!!! "Good Job! You're doing great!" I say as I pass....then I figure I have no clue how I am doing, so I might as well crack some jokes. I start talking to people around me and saying "Are we there yet?", and trying to keep the mood light as it really is quite brutal so far...can't wait to get to the flat paved part that I know is after the halfway mark.

Yay, finally another water station! and a downhill!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo we are finally past halfway and going to the paved road! Now I just need to keep this pace up until the finish!

Lookin good, legs feeling good, but my body is getting tired...why am I breathing so hard?

Hey, WTF???? A man WALKING and WEARING JEANS is PASSING ME. OMG?!?!? I know I am not going to win anything, but this is ridiculous! I decide to try to push just a little harder!

Ok, now I am really tired...I decided that in order to get to the finish strong, I better speed walk for a bit...there goes my goal of running the entire thing...oh well, I will still finish, and I am doing well for my first 5.7 mile race!

ONE MILE TO GO!!!! I start running faster...I pass a few of the walkers and walk/runners that passed me a little earlier...I try to catch as many of them as I can...

.5 TO GO!!! Now I can really kick it in!!!!

There is the finish and there is my husband and daughter! I smile and wave! My daughter yells "That's my Mommy!!!" I almost cry it is so sweet...what is she doing running toward me? Oh no...I am going to trip over her?!?! *boom*, she falls down, Phew, I think I may have avoided a collision!!!

I cross the finish line just as the clock ticks over to 1:16:00! YAY!!!!! I FINISHED!!!!! I cry from the relief of finishing and the joy of being a runner.

My official time was 1:15:29!!!! A new race distance and a new PR!

Friday, October 13, 2006

Like...Love...Rock 'n Roll...Moon

Lately, I have been describing things to Kiera, like the changing colors on the trees, snow on the ground (yes we have snow!!!), the moon in the sky, rock 'n roll music, etc.

The other day I said to her look Kiera at the trees, they are all different colors, red, yellow, orange, and green. She says "I like orange"...grin, I love that, makes me smile.

The next day a good song came on the radio and I was bopping and singing to it and I said to Kiera this is a rock 'n roll song. She says "I like rock roll"...we spent the rest of the drive dancing and singing to music. YAY!

Another cute story...we walked outside in the early morning just after sunrise and she looks at the sky and says "Look mama, MOON!" I say to her yes that is the moon, but it won't be out for long since the sun is coming up and she says "Bye bye moon"...awww...then right after that "I like schun-schine"

Finally, Kiera has started to say "I love you" without you saying it first or prompting her. YAY!!!!!!!

I just love it when I do something for her and she says "Thank you, mama, I love you, mama"...awww...melts my heart every time!

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Fall Lawn Mower Ride

Well, we did the apple orchard, pumpkin patch, fun fall harvest festival thing and forgot the camera, so instead you get Kiera riding the lawn mower for the first time. She absolutely loves it when Daddy mows the lawn and wants to watch outside, but we could never get her anywhere near it until this time.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Monday, October 02, 2006

Running again...

I have decided to take up running again...and do a 5.7 mile race on Mackinac Island on Oct. 21st. I didn't want to post all my running logs here, so I started a new web page to track it all.

Running Journal