Just a week after Grandfather's funeral, I participated in my first longer-than-5K race. I've never been much of a runner. And I've been very ok with that. But after my friend Andrea died in July, some of her friends here decided that they were going to run this 10 mile race in October in her honor. Andrea had planned to run this race as a follow up to her marathon in the spring, but she wouldn't be here to do it. So in the heat of August, there were more than 30 people in our neighborhood that began training to run it for her. I was honored to be part of "team Andrea". And I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed getting ready for the race. I'd been steadily running and increasing my distances, but I apparently went a little too fast because by the end of September, I had pulled a muscle in my thigh and had to take the last 3 weeks before the race off. Then I got sick the day before the race and spent most of the day feeling awful and trying to stop throwing up. The longest I had ever run prior to race day was 6 miles. So my goal for race day was to make it farther than that. I ran with my sister Carrie (always up for a race) and my friend Sarah. I was doing great, staying right at 10 minutes a mile and I made it all the way to 7 miles without stopping. Then at mile 7, I started to feel really fatigued. So Sarah and Carrie went on without me and I walked for about a mile before starting to jog again (SLOWLY). I was pretty happy as I crossed mile 8 to see my good friend Ashley waiting for me. She ran with me for miles 8 and 9 (or at least she encouraged me to run--I was WIPED) and I made it over the finish line at 1 hour, 24 minutes. Thank you Andrea for inspiring me. I was so happy that I finished.
Mile 8--I put on a happy face for Ashley
Mile 9--a little harder to muster a smile
After the race with Carrie--we did it!
My dear friend Kate was in town in mid-October and she arranged a quick get together for the 4 of us that grew up as such close friends. We met downtown at Discovery Green so that Jenn could walk over and say hi on her lunch break while the kids played. It was a fun time together. It was made especially fun when Kat announced that she was expecting her second baby. I'm so excited for her!
Kat and Kate...
My girlies...
The fab 4--Jenn, Amber, Kat, and Kate
I spent about 15 hours in October on my first commissioned sewing job. It was for someone in the neighborhood who wanted me to take the bedding from her daughter's crib (plus some spare material she had) and make a new bedskirt, shams, and throw pillows for her new big bed. It was nerve wracking and a lot of fun. I was pretty proud of how it turned out. I finished on Oct. 18.
This is the aftermath of a week of solid sewing--chaos in the craft room! But I got it done :).
Brooke was being especially cute on Oct. 19. She LOVES her pink tutu skirt.
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