Ahhhh….blog.  Dear blog.  How I have missed you.  To what do you owe the honor of my presence?  Ermmm….let’s see.  If I didn’t archive this experience for the entire world to see, the world would be incomplete.  Indeed.

Yes world.  We strapped on some plastic butts, pulled up our tutus, and laced up our tennis shoes, for a Warrior Dash.  Let the craziness begin.

In case you didn’t know, the Warrior Dash is a 5k race laced with 15 obstacles to navigate.

I don’t have too many pics of us on the obstacles because we were actually ON them….

……or in them.

And then there were the costumes.

We were the Red, White, and Blue Mooners.

We got dirty.

We got crazy.

We laughed really hard at stuff. 

We met the Avengers.

Most of all, I had an ahhhhhmazing fun time with two awesome girls.  Thanks Bri & Kelly for being my friends! 

Three Girlies Take on the Triathlon!

Yesterday, the Three Girlies added bikes and running shoes to their awesome swimming talents, and did a triathlon!

They all wore their new team warm-ups so the Yokota Stingrays could represent!

Unfortunately, Allie (the middle girlie) attempted parkour over our living room couch the night before and sprained her wrist….so she became the official “transition assistant” for Amber.

My pictures of this event are lacking.  I watched the girls at the pool and then shot them out to Brian at the bikes.  He rode with Abbey and I ran with Amber.  Kinda hard to catch those photos with all the excitement!  Here’s Abbey before her 300 meter swim…..

During the swim…..

Amber about to start her 100 meter swim…..

Amber getting started on her bike….

Needless to say, it was once again amazing to be able to watch the girls achieve their goals.  Amber swam 100 meters, biked 3 miles, and then ran a mile with me!

Abbey swam 300 meters, and then was supposed to bike 10 miles….but by accident, did the course twice.  Ooops!  We think she biked 15 to 20 miles.  It didn’t matter though, because once she received her finisher’s medal, she was all smiles!

Great job to all three of my Girlies….daddy and I are so proud of the strong and healthy young women you are becoming! 

We love you!  

1000 Ummmm Er....500 Miles In 2011

I finally have started running again.   I stopped for awhile. I stopped for four months.

Now I will officially be on the wrong side of the depressing statistic, “that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions will be completed.”  Boo.

I am not really surprised at myself.  I go through various phases of being in shape ….and not so in shape.  It’s no secret that I am hopelessly addicted to unfinished projects.  I even blogged about it once.

Back in June, I decided enough was enough, and I went out for a short 2 miles.  My fat cells screamed the whole time, but I did it…….and that “runner’s high” gave me the tiniest pat on the back when I was finished.

Gradually, I worked up to three miles, then four, until last week I finally did a 6 miler.  It really doesn’t sound like much, but considering the I-never-want-to-run-again-for-the-rest-of-my-life mindset I had adopted in February, it is pretty good progress.

In an attempt not to burnout again, I am setting some new goals for myself.  First off, I am slowing it down a bit. 

Instead of getting mad at myself when I don’t go faster and longer, I am simply putting one foot in front of the other until I get to the finish.

Secondly, I am resting more.

(This says, “Stop for traffic.”, in Japanese)

At the beginning of the year I took on too much too fast.  My knees hurt, my shins hurt, and my hip was begging me to stop.  I have finally figured out that listening to my body isn’t following the voice in my head that says, “Ummmm, it’s sort of hot outside this morning, do you really want to go on a run?”  (That’s laziness talking.)  It is more like being able to FEEL your body telling you it has to heal and letting it take the time to do the healing.

Finally, my third goal is to set new goals…..and I am aiming high.

My new goal is 500 miles in 2011.  I love this quote….. “Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will be far short of it.”  In other words, I would rather make a goal and not quite reach it than, never make a goal and not accomplish anything.

What goal are you going to set today?

*The pictures in this post were taken on my usual running route on our Air Force base in Japan.  Can you tell I love my new smart phone and photo editing apps?

1000 Miles in 2011 - Day 4

I busted out a whole whopping mile this morning on a run. 

It wasn’t pretty.  I was underdressed and thanks to giving birth to three 8+ pounders….I peed myself the entire time.  So, I decided to turn around and walk home with pee chaffing and freezing on my thighs.

Too much information?

Running isn’t always pretty, but just when you think you might stop….something happens.  Maybe you win a pretty medal for being a finisher or reach a new PR.  Maybe you get some much needed quiet time away from kids.  Maybe you meet a new friend or you get an old friend to run with you.  Maybe you think it’s going to be a bad day and are having a pathetic run and you look up and see this…..

Mt. Fugi…Jan 4^th, 2011 running the flight line on Yokota Air Force Base, Japan

What happens when you go running?