Turkey Trot 5K

The rain held off for the 5K at Marina Park in Kirkland today. Kaitlyn, Tim and I met up with my friend from work, Blair this morning and we ran with hundreds of other people from Marina Park to Carilon Point and back. The rain started back up again as we hit the car for the drive home. Amazing!
I had my best 5K finish time yet, at 29:49. :)

Pumpkin Push 5K

It was pouring down rain this morning and we still got out there and ran...with about 730 other crazy people. This was the first of my 7 5Ks that Tim actually ran with me. It was fun to do it together. Our friends Christa and Leo joined in the wet fun too. The race was around Seward Park and then up into the middle. The hill was brutal and killed my time. I am just thankful I survived and finished the darn thing. Didn't even throw up this time! 31.29 Following the race, in our soaking wet clothes, looking like drowned rats, the 4 of us went out for breakfast. That was the best part of the morning! :)

My best 5k time is the Haunted Hustle that I did just 2 short weeks ago with Kaitlyn and Charlie. I finally broke the 10 minute mile and finished in 30:34 - that's a 9:52 mile. I'm not going to win any prizes, but it is a heck of an accomplishment considering 7 months ago I couldn't run around the block! :)

 

All Grown Up!

This is what 19, 20, and 21 looks like!

 

Another 5k.....

Yep! I finished my 5th 5K last weekend. It was the Harmon Tap Room Hustle. I improved my time again to 31.34. This was a Pub Run....so after the race everyone met up at the Harman Tap Room for beer and pizza. It was a pretty fun way to end the race!

 I am well on my way to my goal of a 5K every month since I finished my "Couch to 5K" class in April. I have my October and November races scheduled already. Next month is the Haunted Hustle in Puyallup with Kaitlyn and Charlie on October 14th.

 

5K #4 - Redmond's Great Day of Play

Last night I completed my 4th 5K race, and I did it in record time. Well, record time for me anyway. 32:02!
This was my 4th 5K in 4 months. My goal is to do one every month for the rest of 2012. I finished my Couch to 5K class in April. My first 5K was in May (Color Run), June was the Shore Run. In July, Kaitlyn and I did the Redmond Derby Day 5K Dash. This month though, it was just me. Kaitlyn had already moved back to Portland for school. Tim was there supporting me (yelling at me to sprint). There were about 400 people running along the River Trail in Redmond from City Hall out toward Marymore Park and back. The first half of the race was brutal. Every time I do these races, when I'm about 10 minutes in, I am always questioning my sanity, wondering why I thought this would be a good idea. Thankfully though, I don't quit, I keep running and then feel like I've accomplished something when I cross the finish line. Getting to the turn around point last night seemed to take forever! The run back wasn't as bad. I tried to pick up the pace when I was about 1/4 mile from the finish. The only person I am truly racing is myself. My goal is always to beat my last time. As I got about 60 feet from the finish, Tim was there along the path, yelling at me to Sprint. The only thing I got out of my mouth was, "what does the clock say?" Unfortunately, the time clock wasn't showing on both sides. When I finally crossed through the tent and turned around to see the clock, I was very happy. My time was better than the last one. Having given it my all, as with the last race, once I cross the finish line, I find the nearest grassy section, because I feel like I am going to throw up!
When the official timing chip results are in a few minutes later, I find that I was 51 seconds faster than my last finish. Yay Me!
Next race...September 15th....This one is a Pub Run! How fun is that? You run 3.11 miles and then head to the bar for a party. Sounds like a good time to me!

The Shore Run 5K

Today I completed by 2nd 5K run. My goal was to finish the race in under 38 minutes. My official race time was 35:05! Yay! Kaitlyn was a good sport and got up early on a Sunday morning to run with her Mama again. Two of my friends from work, Teresa and Blair also ran with us. Teresa kicked butt and finished in 25 minutes and shortly after Kaitlyn came in at 27. Awesome!

The Shore Run - Benefiting Fred Hutchinson Survivor Center! 6/10/12.

The Color Run 2012 - Mother's Day

I DID IT!!! I finished my first 5K!

The "Before" Picture. All ready to run through some color!



It's over and Kaitlyn got all colored up!



The massive color plume at the finish celebration!

This was one crazy run! The 3.1 miles included several hills, one that was not steep but really LONG and steady. Then, just when you think you are free and the finish line is almost in sight, you turn a corner and there is one last steep hill. Ugh! This hill almost got me, but I pushed through and finished. I ran the entire 3.1 miles. I was so freaking proud of myself! Kaitlyn and my friend Emily ran with me. It was awesome. Kaitlyn came in about 10 minutes before I did, but Emily stayed with me the whole race. After the race we went out for a much deserved breakfast celebration including Mimosas!

I have already signed up for my next 5K run - The Shore Run on June 10th.

San Francisco

Tim and I both had to travel to the Bay Area last week for work, so we decided to spend the weekend in San Francisco. The weather was sunny and warm the entire time. It was amazing! We ate, drank and walked all weekend long! Did the Fisherman's Wharf, completed with crab and clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. Yum! Went through China town, walked through Union Square, went to see a SF Giants game at AT&T park, and took a ferry to Sausalito.

Couch to 5k

So, 5 weeks ago I tried something I never thought I would do! I joined a Couch to 5k running class? Why? I needed to get my butt off the couch! I never have been able to run, so I thought I would try and if I failed, no big deal. I wanted to tell no one! Tim agreed to take the class with me, even though he could run a 5k in his sleep. The contract for the class required that I tell 2 people for accountability. I told Kaitlyn and my friend and assistant Emily. With their support and encouragement I made it through the entire class. It was one of the toughest things I have done.
Tonight was the last class. I ran 3 miles, the most yet. I have my 5K race coming up next month. My cheerleaders and Tim are running with me. My goal is to keep up the training and run the entire 5k. With this post I just took it public. No quitting now!

Beauty and the Beast

Last night I got to spend an amazing evening with an amazing young lady! When Kaitlyn was little she LOVED Beauty and the Beast. She pretended she was Belle and she was adamant that she was going to marry Beast. The Broadway musical came to Seattle so she and I got the chance to go to the theater. We had dinner at PF Changs in Seattle and then walked down to the Paramount. The show was really good and I had the best company I could have asked for. She is the REAL BEAUTY!

SNOW-MAGEDON 2012 - Enough Already!!!

Christmas 2011

Our first Christmas in our new house. Since I had just unpacked a gazillion boxes, there was no way I was packing it all up again to decorate for Christmas. I did swipe a mini tree from my Mom on Christmas Eve and that's what we put our gifts under. Hey, don't judge! It worked! :)

I made a 19 pound turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes and salad for dinner. My Mom came over along with Kaitlyn, Derek, Rose and her boyfriend Shea.

Kids all got their "wish" for Christmas with a Kindle for Rose, a laptop for Derek, and a Columbia Sportswear jacket for Kaitlyn.

Our New Home

These are the marketing photos, but now it has our furniture and belongings! It is truly starting to feel like home, especially now that Kaitlyn is home from college.

Holiday Lights on the Lake!



Our friends' boat that we were on as we participated in the Coulan Park lighting and boat parade.



 

Coulan Park all lit up for Christmas. Awesome!







Kris & Tim on the Emeral Star for Tim's Christmas Party






The Christmas Ship with the carolers!



Holidays 2011

May you find the wonder in the Season!