Diva Run Myrtle Beach 2013!

THE RACE IS ON!

At least it was.  I have pics that I will post as soon as I get home. (And I'm home, and this is the picture!)  I finally have a minute to tell you all about the DeFluffing Divas and just what went down on the last week-end of April.

First of all, the hotel was awesome, and I really loved seeing my family.  It was just enough time that we really liked each other and forgot for a few days why we annoy the bleep out of one another.  Timing is everything.  Here's what went down and with who.

Aunt Val, aka the Source of the MidWest Heat Wave, finished her first 5k even though she didn't really think she could.  Hello?  Our gene pool of awesome practically guarentees that we are too stubborn to fail.  Still, it is way awesome to go further than we ever thought we could.  Life Lesson:  Don't ever sell yourself short.

My Jennie (my fantastical niece) and Mamma Llama finished the 5k together.  They didn't even train that hard.  Jennie can't wait to do another 5k, and Mom is going to work hard to beat her time at the next 5k she does with Jennie.  Life Lesson:  Natural talent can take you far.  Especially, when you're surrounded by cuteness.

Shannon wasn't able to walk the race.  She was just happy to make the trip.  There was all kinds of business drama that threatened her fun.  She worked really hard and made it work.  She still walks 4 to 5 miles a day and is ready for next year. Life Lesson:  Sometimes the hard work is just getting to where you wanna go.

Becky, my super SIL, joined us.  YAY!  She made her best time ever AND was the first DeFluffer to cross the finish line!  She did awesome, and I am super proud of her!  She is an amazing person; I hope she knows that.  Life Lesson:  Marry people with awesome family members; it makes you look really smart.

Beckey, Prince Charming is Waiting for Me, ran/walked in the half marathon.  All the 5k spots were filled, so she gave it her all!  She had to get on the bus around mile 10, and at mile 12 she asked to do the last mile on her own.  She did cross the finish line.  Life Lesson:  Sometimes you need to hitch a ride to make it to the end...finish it.

And as for me, Cotton Candy Awesome Sauce, I feel like a total baller.  Why?  Despite having surgery two weeks prior to my race,  I made my best time ever.  I walked 16.50 min. miles like a boss!  Life Lesson:  Some times the races you win are against yourself.  You win when you just don't give up.

The coolest thing of the whole race was watching some ladies drag themselves in tears across the finish line because they were gonna finish dang it!  I can't tell you have many times I almost broke down in tears watching these ladies practically carry each other over the finish line when someone couldn't walk.  It was amazing and beautiful and I can't wait to be apart of it again next year.

I will keep this blog up and let you know how we be doing.  Thanks for supporting us this year!  Let's do it again next year!

And That Just Bites

I had to face it.  I just wasn't going to make it.  I wasn't going to make the half marathon.

We got the flu, and that took me out of training for 5 weeks.  Then we moved.  Then I got bronchitis And, in case you didn't know, you need to breathe in order to walk.  I rarely feel old, but that last trip on the sick train sure made me feel all of my 36 years.  I could barely walk the kids half a mile to school.  Not because I was sore, but because I couldn't catch my breath.  It took 2.5 months to be able to take deep breaths again.  Two weeks ago I was able to begin the training again.  It's been quite the set back

I was able to change to the 5k.  I cried when they confirmed it.  It felt so much like failure.  I was so sad.  I really had to grieve the loss for a bit.  I was really upset.  And then I got redundant, and kept saying I was sad over and over.

Now, I've taken my Big Girl pill while putting on my big girl panties and dealing with it.  I'm doing what I need to do to get where I want to be.  It's not easy working my way back up the miles ladder, but I'm doing it.  I will continue to work hard and make those 15 minute miles.  Because I am Cotton Candy Awesome Sauce.