159: My first 25k

Timmy and Alex chose the Shotgun Blast Trail Run for their Christmas race. There was a 50k option, a 25k, or a 10k - they chose the 25k ... that's 15.5 miles. On trails.  I've done a full marathon, but this is on trails. It sounded scary to me. But up until this weekend I really had pictured us just going out for a really long jog. But then they got here and Alex said that Timmy was planning to bomb it and see how fast he could do it. So there went the "easy run" mentality that had given me an ounce of comfort. It was scary again. I was so nervous this morning. But it was so much fun ... I say that when I think of PART of the race, not the entire thing, though.

The race was 3 loops of a 5.2-mile course, which is one of my mini hells - I hate multiple loop courses, but even worse for me are out-and-backs so this wasn't ALL that terrible. The hardest part of those loops, though, was that the first two miles were straight. up. hill. Two miles. Uphill. And uphill on single-track trail. The first loop was hard, but not horrible. The second time was painful. The third time was down-right destroying to my legs. I was barely moving. It was faster for me to actually stop running and walk in parts.

The next mile of the loop was downhill. It was such a welcomed change on my legs for all three laps. And the final two miles of each lap were rolling. My legs got so tight on the insane two-mile up that the downs were a big relief and I was able to pick up my pace significantly. However, the downhill also got a little scarier with each lap, too. It was raining - dumping actually - and with that many people going running it became a serious mud fest by the second lap. There were a couple of sections where I literally braced myself through my core and hips and surfed down the mud because I thought it was safer than trying to run step by step through it. I lost my footing a couple of times and nearly launched off the side of the trail. We did catch a few moments where there was no rain, but they were few and far between. By the end of the race I probably had an extra 10 pounds to lug around with my drenched clothes and mud filled shoes. I wish we had taken a picture of us before and after to really capture how muddy and wet it actually was. Kevin hung out with the girls and they cheered us through each transition with their cow bells.

Timmy did awesome - he came in 3rd overall!

Alex was amazing and was smiling all the way to her frolick at the finish.

I did try to smile, but the camera was apparently taking too long and only caught me looking exhausted - which I was.

All-in-all, it was a great run. Those dang two-mile uphills on each loop slowed my overall pace down significantly, but it was encouraging to be able to pick it up as much as I did even on the third lap. I'm not too concerned with my time on this one. I'll take it for my first ever 25k, and a trail race at that. I am surprisingly less sore and tired than I thought I would be, but we'll see how things feel tomorrow.

158: Timmy and Alex weekend

For Christmas, we gave Timmy and Alex a trail race weekend. They picked a race and we registered and did food, etc for the weekend. The weekend is finally here! Kinsley has been SO excited for them to come all week - beyond herself excited. She actually sat in the window of her bedroom waiting for about 30 minutes watching for them get here and calling to them ... "Uncle Timmy? Alex? Helloooo? Are you here yet?" ... and that was after I made her come in from the rain where she was sitting and waiting for them about an hour before they were supposed to be here. She's pumped.

Today was very low key. We played around a bit, Kinsley showed them how she can ride her two-wheeler now, we walked to the market, made dinner, and then Kinsley asked if she could watch "Despicable Me" with them. She was in HEAVEN. And it's so fun to have them here.

157: bed naps for Dagny

After Bounce today, the girls were pretty wiped but still in really good spirits. Dagny was still awake as we pulled into our parking space but her eyes were drooping pretty heavily. I asked Kinsley to be really quiet for just a minute to see if Dagny would fall asleep. Sure enough, within a minute or so of parking Dagny was out. She was so tired that she stayed asleep on my shoulder when I got her out of her seat and even let me lay her down in her bed without budging. That never happens. She never takes naps for me in her bed anymore. She naps, but it is ALWAYS in the ergo, the stroller, the backpack, the car, or on my shoulder. But she was out cold in her bed for this one. And she slept for 2 hours! It was so great because it gave Kinsley and I the chance to hang out. We read books, we did a few puzzles, we made some lunch, we played Chutes and Ladders and Go Fish, and we read more books. I don't mind in the least that Dagny typically naps when we're out and about. But it is really nice to be able to occasionally have days like today where I can spend some inside, quiet, alone time with Kins.

156: BOUNCE!

Today was a crummy day weather-wise. It was overcast and rainy on and off all day. We got a text from a classmate of Kinsley's that they were heading to Bounce for open gym and asked if we'd like to join them. Kinsley literally jumped out of her seat when I asked if she wanted to go and said, "YES! Let's get dressed RIGHT now and go." I had to stall her for another two hours, but I promised her that we could go.

What a great way to spend a rainy day. For $5 a kid, they can run and jump and tumble as much as they want for over an hour. I don't think Kinsley or Dagny stopped moving for the entire time we were there. They went from the trampolines to the uneven bars to the balance beam to the trampoline runway and all over again. I was so proud of how they waited patiently for their turns in line. Kinsley was such a great example that even other parents commented to their children about how they should wait nicely like this little girl. And Dagny followed suit to her big sister. It was pretty cute to watch her stand quietly with her hands down to her sides just watching and waiting so patiently but SO anxiously for her turn. And the best part is that it gets their energy out in a way that is completely different from how they are normally able to do it. Changes like that are always welcome for these girls.

155: school's in again

I think that preschool has been such a great thing for Kinsley. The social piece of it has been priceless - just having other kids to play with and interact with has been great. She has friends that she talks about and little inside jokes that she laughs about and she's becoming even more of a KID instead of a little girl. I also think that it has been amazing invaluable to have Miss Ali and Miss Melissa working with her. Having someone else set structure to her day and have rules that may or may not be the same as at home and help guide her through different learning situations has been really good for her.

Spring Break was great and I really loved having Kinsley with us the whole time. But I think that she really missed her other routine. She asked almost every day if she had school today. When we'd say no, she'd ask if school was tomorrow. She also got a little more testy over break than she's been. I think being with us all day every day was starting to get to her (I can't imagine why). I'm glad that we're back into our normal routine and that she has her little break from home again. Even if it's only 3 hours a day and only 3 days a week, it is exacly what she needs.

154: Baba!

I am so thankful that I have in-laws that are so fantastic in so many ways. The girls absolutely adore Baba. They love when we stay there and they get to say good morning to Buddha from the kitchen nook with Baba when we wake up. They love playing ball with him in the backyard. They love it when he brings them spring rolls for lunch after his workouts. I love watching them play with him because there is always so much joy on their faces. He is such a good man who has worked so hard to bring great things for his family. We wouldn't be where we are without him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABA!

153: march running challenge

There was a challenge posted on the facebook page for "I{heart}Running" for the month of March. I should clarify, I do not love running. I do, however, like the posts on that page - they are inspiring, I can relate to many of them, and they are a good kick in the butt for me. The challenge for March was to run every day, at least one mile. I told myself that I was going to do it, so I had to. And I did. I ran every single day in March - all 31 days. It has led me into the longest running streak I think I've ever had - 42 days now including the couple of weeks in February and today. It's not impressive by many standards - I know people personally who have had streaks of 100 days, 365 days, and even 1000+ days (seriously) - but it is MY longest streak. I ran 163 miles in the month of March, which is an average of roughly 5 miles a day. That's nearly 20 miles more than the month prior to my last half marathon, which is really exciting for me. I'm hoping that this mileage translates into another PR at the end of this month for the Eugene Half. I'm not sure I would have put that in if it weren't for the "I{heart}Running" challenge, so ... thankful for another facebook challenge.