Rock and Roll To the Finish Line

 Race day included rain, cold, wind, and pain. Mom and Chris were my AWESOME cheer team and we all got up and left the house before 5am to get me downtown in plenty of time. We parked at LP Field and I was able to take a bus over to Centennial Park. Poor mom and Chris had to walk in the rain. I met up with Nicholas and Sydney at the start line.

It never stopped raining the entire race. I was soaked and my hips got tight much earlier in my run than normal, which lead to a very slow run where I had to walk more than I had originally planned. By the time I got to mile 7, I was walking more than I was running. I was able to see Chris and my mom at mile 10. I may or may not have told them I wanted to quit. They cheered me on and let me know they would wait for me at the finish line.

Even though it took me what seemed like forever, I DID FINISH the half marathon. That's 13.1 miles in case you didn't realize how AMAZING I am :) I definitely don't have any plans on doing another half anytime in the near future, it wasn't quite as bad as I had imagined (except for the weather...that was awful).

I am so thankful that I was able to do this. I saw a guy who was running on two prosthetics and one guy who was using arm crutches because his legs didn't really work. It was inspiring to see them and made me feel so lucky that I am healthy! I am so blessed!

 



 

In other news, Foam Fest 5k is coming up soon! I hope it's better than the half!

Pickles, Olives, and Slawsa...Oh My!

Last week, I had the opportunity to work at Second Harvest Food Bank with the bank. One of the other girls from my branch, Peggy, and I got to go together! It was so much fun! We started out sorting in the grocery recovery room, but decided we didn't like the fact we were having to decide whether or not the food was usable or not. I felt bad throwing food away!!!!

We then headed over to the packing, where we had to fill boxes with 20 pounds of "assorted food." The list included things like ketchup, pickles, Alfredo sauce, and other random food items. However, most of what we had were olives and pickles...yuck! There was even something called Slawsa which is apparently the only condiment you'll ever need. Together we packed 87 boxes. As a group, we sorted and packed over 13,000 pounds of food, which equates to about 17,000 meals for hungry people! It was so much fun and rewarding to do this and I'm so glad I was able to participate!

 

After I got done at Second Harvest, I headed over to the Health and Fitness Expo to pick up my bib and goody bag for the Music City Half Marathon. I am feeling less than thrilled about the weather forecast for Saturday, but I am somewhat excited about the race.

 

After the Expo, I met Chris at Outback Steakhouse for a yummy dinner. We then headed over to Flying Saucer, one of Chris's favorite places. Darts and a few drinks filled up the rest of our evening before we headed home to watch my favorite TV show, Grey's Anatomy! What a great date night with my hottie hubby!

 

On Friday, Mom and I hung out after work. She went and carb loaded with me at Olive Garden. I love that restaurant, but unfortunately Chris isn't a big Italian fan so I try to go with mom when I get the chance. Music City Half...here I come!