Chicago!

 Scott and I at the Sky Deck at the top of Willis Tower. It was the best part of the trip and I loved it. I am scared to death of heights but this did not bother me that bad. 

Found the BEST cupcake at Molly's cupcake. They have been on Cupcake Wars and won; for good reason. The Cookie Monster Cupcake is to die for!!! I figured the 10 miles we walked that day would cancel out the calories. 

Seriously fell in love with Chicago. We were planning a trip back before we had even left.  It is the 2nd best trip I have ever been on. Honeymoon to Ochos Rios at a Sandals Resort will always be the best trip. 

That is as fancy as it gets for this girl. But two homeless men told Scott I was a pretty lady : )

I have said that I would NEVER run the Chicago marathon but this trip was enough to make me change my mind. It may be my one really big marathon that I run. I think I could deal with 44.000 people to run a marathon thru this city. 

Working out is going great! Lots of swimming, biking and weight lifting... not so much running. I will probably not even hit 100 miles this month. That will have to change soon but I am enjoying the change. I feel a lot stronger and am happy with how my body looks. I have decided to stop weighing for a long time. It was just holding me back. Why do I worry so much about 3 certain numbers in a certain order??

Do I eat good? yep; getting better about that too

Do I work out 5 to 6 days a week? yes! 

Do my clothes fit? yes! 

Does my husband still think I am beautiful? YES! and 2 homeless men too : ) 

Up next: Brass Band 5K on June 9th to see if there is any fast left in these legs. 

Jennie Carol 5K Pictures

I was pretty happy at the start! Nothing like running with 2 people for the first time! 

Scott about halfway.

Catching Scott at the finish : ) That is his former wrestling teammate beside him. 

He won A HAT! Pretty big deal because only people that get an award get one. Way to be the 2nd fastest first time male!!!

Jennie Carol 5K 2012

 Three years ago I showed up to a 5K to walk and maybe run a little because there was a race for a good cause and a local teacher who had died suddenly while celebrating finishing a half marathon the year before.  Now I am officially a "runner"with many 5Ks, a few half marathons and 6 completed marathons. The Jennie Carol is my favorite race because it is the race that started what some might call an addiction.  Honestly, I just love to run! Three years ago I had never ran a mile in my entire life and did not even know how far a 5K was or how many miles were in a marathon. In three years I have grown stronger and more confident in so many ways. So when others around me start to run I begin to get excited! Not because I want them to run a marathon or run every day of the week; I simply want them to set a goal and achieve it. Since January my husband and teaching partner have started running and I have been their support system to them.  Last night I was so excited to lay out my running outfit beside my husbands and have a 20 minute phone conversation with Jerrica to settle her first race nerves.  I knew the race was going to go great for both of them and was so excited to be there for both of them. 

Parker was up and ready to go! No nerves there : ) I was feeling awesome because it would be the first 5K I had ever ran with others and no goal time or pressure for myself. The plan was to stay with Scott for the whole race and then go back for Jerrica. At the start I could tell Scott was feeling good and he was running with an old high school wrestling teammate so I let him to go on his own and stuck my Jerrica. Her first mile was super fast at 9:05 and her second mile was around 18:00 minutes meaning she had a good 12 minutes to finish right around 30 minutes. Scott was a blur off in the distance but I really wanted to cross the finish with him. I decided to run ahead and catch him. WOW! Crazy speed work for me. I ran the last mile @7:15-7:45 trying to catch him. I caught him on the track just in time to cross the finish with him. I headed out to find Jerrica and she was no where to be found. When I found people who were over 30 I decided to head back in case I had missed her and she had finished quicker than I thought! Guess who ran her heart out the last mile?!? She was done and waiting on me! AMAZING first time races for both! 

Scott : 27:46 2nd place First Time Overall Male Award

Jerrica: 28:06 3rd place First Time Overall Female Award 

What a great way to start my Mother's Day Weekend and the 5K bug is back in my system. I can very eager to do some speedier training and hopefully set a new PR this summer (old PR is 22:55).