Lazy Days, Part 2

It seems like there was no time to catch a breath when we got home from the beach. The first week, of course, was spent unpacking, buying groceries, cleaning, and just generally getting my house back in order.

The Saturday after we got home, Kate, Lia & I all ran the Elvis Presley 5K (actually called Running with the King). Mark had to work, so thanks to my mom & dad for coming to watch over Sam & Rachel while we ran.

For weeks, my goal had been to get my 3.1 mile time under 40 minutes (please remember I'd only been running a matter of weeks at this point). The Saturday before, at the beach, I'd finally met that goal with a time of 39:11. For this race, a week later, I'd set a lofty goal (for me) of 35 minutes. AND I DID IT! I had an average pace of 11:15, which put me just under 35, a definite personal best.

Lia after the race. Don't know where her arms are!


Kate after the race, doing what she loves most: READING!


Lynn, me & Kim after the race.

"Big Buddy" with Sam & Rachel!

One great thing about that race is that it really motivated Kate to see that she really could finish! Her track team's running camp was coming up the next week, and we had been pretty wishy-washy about her going or not, but after the 5K, she was all about it.

So, the following Wednesday, we drove her to Beaver Lake, where she would spend the next three days making new friends, working out, and running some crazy big hills. I did make her call home each night (Daddy's rules!) and each night she was full of excitement. She had such a great time!

The same week, my cousins girls were down from Olive Branch staying with my grandparents, and Lia stayed there with them...for THREE DAYS! One of those overlapped with the time Kate was gone, so I had a really weird week, as I'm used to having ALL of them with me ALL of the time! They both had such fun, though, and I love that they're building great "summer memories".

That Saturday, it was time to drive back to the Lake to pick Kate up. But first, I went the other direction to Pratts Community, to run another 5K, the Frog Level. This time I was going in with a goal of something around 33 minutes, but more specifically, I wanted to keep my overall pace under 11 minutes.

We started the race a little late due to some thunderstorms, and although we were wet during the run, I'll take wet over hot any day! The course was just straight down a road, turn around and come back. I didn't 'love' that, as I like the distractions of twists, turns, and things to look at, but it was flat, so no complaints!

The only thing I will complain about is that they had a sweet little man standing at the 3.0 mark, who called out the time as you went past. I assumed I was done, turned off my timer, and started walking. Thankfully, John Parker called out, "Ms. Emily, you have to go to the NEXT umbrella!" At which point my earring fell out and I stopped to get it. Grrr!!! My friend Nikki from Canada makes fun of me for running with earrings on...I'll never hear the end of this one!

Finally, I sprinted the last tenth of a mile to the finish. I don't have to tell those of you who know me how very frustrated I was to lose time that way, but hey, things happen, and I still averaged a 10:55 pace, so all in all, I met my goal. Oh, and I got a cute little trophy for finishing 3rd in my age group! I was proud, not so much of "placing", because that was a fluke, but because I knew I'd worked hard to cut my time nearly six minutes in two weeks. That's what I think of when I look at the trophy!



That crazy week was finished up with all my babies home, all of us exhausted, napping Saturday afternoon away!

Have a great Sunday!
Blessings,
Em