Lots of great things have happened this year, but the most notable thing is how much more active our lifestyle is! Now that I've finished my 10th race event of the year, I thought I'd do a little retrospective. This time last year, I never would have DREAMED I was capable of doing all of this, including losing 55 pounds. But walking has done wonders for me, and I've learned just how much I CAN do! The races have been fun, great for accountability, and a good gauge to see how far I've come in my training, but what's really great is how all this has affected my day-to-day life. I can hop on my bike and ride down to the park with the kids... I can play on the playground equipment... I can run around... I can dance and dance (I didn't say I can dance well)... I can go to San Francisco and walk the crazy hills and still be OK at the end of the day... I can take my son to the zoo and see every single animal... My life is different and better, and I'm excited to see where I'll be in another year! Shout outs to Brenda, Ashley, Meredith, Erin & Madeleine, Ketti, Cassi, Mike, Elias, Victoria, Mom & Dad, Aunt Dee, Doni, Elizabeth & Rosanna for all the love and support throughout the year. What's written below is more for me, but I'm happy to share with anyone who is interested in reading it.
Race for the Cure 5K: April 9, 2011
My first race event ever, and my daughter’s first as well. We were early-on in our training and our weekly walks were only about 2-4 miles. I woke up late and almost didn’t bother going. But we showed up just in time, except the roads had already been blocked off. We parked at least a mile away from the race start and started power walking toward the starting line. The super-fast runners started coming our direction and we couldn’t even see the start line yet! Then, the big herd of runners started to show up and we passed Brenda, walking hard and fast against the racers. We finally made it to the beginning, thought I didn’t actually make it to the actual start line with 14,000 participants, but began about 100 feet away from it. We found our friends Erin & Madeleine, who were so nice to wait for us, and then started walking (already exhausted just from getting to the start – lol). Fun walk overall; I got a blister or two and was just happy to finish my first 5K, hand-in-hand with Erin. Huge accomplishment for me.
Heels & Hills 10K: May 1, 2011
My first 10K ever! Rainy & cold, but so proud to finish! The day started off horribly – it was the first day of my short-lived quitting smoking regimen, drove to Las Colinas in heavy rain, got my breakfast all over my shirt while driving, so I had to change into the race shirt in a stairwell at the event, which was a size or two too small. Luckily I had a poncho on over that! lol Meredith and I walked 95% of this (jogged a little here and there to keep up), so we were finishing the 10K while those around us were finishing the half-marathon. Turns out we were handed a medal that I later learned was for the half-marathon finishers – oops! Oh well, it’s a nice memento. I got some nasty blisters and I could hardly even walk around the house for a week. This prompted the discovery of Body Glide on my feet & I learned about GOOD socks.
Buffalo Boogie 5K: May 7, 2011
A lovely, small, nature-y race event I did with my family. It was Mike & Elias’ first 5K – we all did great! It was a pretty uneven path and I was still a bit sore from the 10K the week before, but overall we had a great experience out at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Wildlife Refuge. This event had tons of families and doggies and I would love to do this event every year.
Firemen’s 5K: May 28, 2011
This 5K was the best race time I had all year (16 minute miles walk/jogging, but mostly walking). The scenery/neighborhoods were fantastic and the event overall was small enough that parking wasn’t a problem, but big enough to be fun. This was probably the most well-planned & executed small race event I have ever been to. Great time had by all, for a great cause! I would do this event every year too.
American Heroes 10K: May 30, 2011
Oh, this race... This race still irks me because I didn’t finish it. I got right up to mile 5 of the 10K and after multiple attempts to scoop me up from the back of the pack, I finally caved in and let a police officer take me in on a golf cart. I was in a lot of pain and had been crying as I walked for about a mile or so, and once I was dropped off at the finish, I was so ashamed, I didn’t even go pick up my race T-shirt (they hadn’t been available yet when I did packet pick-up earlier that week). It was a nice route around the ballpark though, and a very well-planned race, complete with a touching military flyover (being on Memorial Day and all), 21-gun salute, and a Blackhawk helicopter on-site. The only photo I have of me at this event, since I did it by myself, is this one. I’m on the right-ish in a turquoise shirt with my signature hot pink headband. I was scared to keep going and scared to quit. At the first 10K, I pushed through the foot pain and got hurt, so I was torn between pushing myself and listening to my body. Push through the pain at the risk of an injury? I wasn’t sure. I hate giving up and I am super-competitive, so I was pretty hard on myself after this race. This race prompted me to make an appointment with an awesome foot doctor who made me some custom orthotics, which helped a ton.
Firefly 5K: June 4, 2011
This was our second 5K event as a family. A nighttime run with glow-in-the-dark everything. I have a LOT of gripes about the way this race was put together, but I won’t bash the organizers – they received enough feedback already. From what I understand, they experienced a HUGE amount of growth this year and were just ill-prepared. I have faith that next year will be great and they learned a lot from this year. It’s a REALLY cute and fun concept and supports a great cause (Children’s Medical Center), so I would consider doing it again.
Trinity Bright 5K: October 1, 2011
A fun, leisurely walk on a beautiful course through Trinity Park in Fort Worth (unless of course you want to run) ;). Family-friendly, Halloween costume-friendly and the perfect time of year to be outside in North Texas. The registration fee was inexpensive and the event was just gorgeous – everyone should be doing this race! And it supports an amazing cause — The Forever Trinity Dream Foundation and The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Komen 3-day for the Cure 60-mile walk: November 4-6, 2011
Prepping for this event is what started it all – the pièce de résistance that all of this training was for. ‘Nuff said. I could write a novel about this event alone – there is just too much to say to do it concisely. If you were there, you know.
Arlington Turkey Trot 5K: November 24, 2011
Why stop after the 3-Day? We don’t want all that hard work to go to waste, so I decided to walk this 5K with my family on Thanksgiving Day, as a commitment to health (on quite possibly the unhealthiest day of the year). Beautiful course around the ballpark amidst the gorgeous trees changing colors in the fall weather – love it! Very well-executed event which was fun, short and sweet, with no traffic problems, and it got us all home in time to start cooking and before the traffic piled up for the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game. I hope we make this a family tradition.
Don Zetnick Winter Run 10K: December 3, 2011
This was a fun little 10K walk around UTA and neighborhoods west in its 34th year in Arlington! The race benefited YMCA of Arlington and there was also a 1k and a 2-mile – very family-friendly. Meredith and I walked 90% or more of it and were the last to finish – woohoo! But with the little bit of jogging we did do, we were able to maintain a 17.75 mile pace. I think everyone was just ready to get out of the rain. I wanted to finish out the year with an even 10 races, and I did!!
My wall of race bib "trophies" from the year!
(there were no bibs for the Buffalo Boogie 5K, so I only have nine)
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