Sir Monkeyshines Funkybutt

About a year ago, my older sister asked me to make her a blue sock monkey, which I did.  She loved him and hugged him and named him Sir Monkeyshines Funkybutt, or Shiney Hiney for short.  Being a dork runs in the family.

Well, I'm not the world's greatest at hand sewing, so she had to give him back for some arm surgery.  She also gave me about 1/4 of a yard of this gold fabric and requested a pair of pants for Shiney Hiney.  She moved off to Oklahoma, I forgot about my sewing machine for months upon months, and Shiney Hiney took up residence in a dark corner of my neglected sewing shelf in the closet.

My sister is in Arkansas for a few days and asked me about Shiney Hiney.  I admitted to forgetting all about fixing him and making his pants.  So, this morning, I set about taking care of it before we went out there to visit.  I dug out the gold fabric and made a quick draft of a pair of tiny gold pants.  It's a good thing he's a stuffed toy, or else I would have never sqeezed him into his new skin-tight pants, but I did.



I was just so amused with myself and this monkey.  I posted a picture on Facebook for her and mentioned that I thought he needed some chest hair.  Just joking.  But then... oh, but then I remembered this black furry fabric I have had laying around.  I couldn't help myself.  I snipped a corner off of the fabric and this happened...



I thought I'd never stop laughing.  That's about the time Bill woke up and he just gave me that "Did I really marry you?" look and poured a cup of coffee.

The gold around his neck was supposed to be a gold chain, but it looked stupid.  However, the little piece of fabric I cut it from just happened to look just like a cape after I had cut the little circle out and Isabelle slipped it over his head.  I don't have a good picture of that, but it just perfected it.  The gold pants, the gold cape, the chest hair.  Sir Monkeyshines Funkybutt was complete (oh, and I sewed his arm back on).  

I did actually do a little sewing over the past week, so I'll show that off as well.



Isabelle is modelling a red dragonfly paper bag-waisted skirt.  I added a drawstring belt so that Olivia The Skinny can cinch it up a little more should she want to wear it.



Zoe is modelling a purple dragonfly halter dress.  It reminds me of an apron.  If I make another one, I will adjust the neckline so that it's a little less apron-like.



And, finally, Isabelle is modelling a very rock-and-roll looking maxi sundress.  This was made for Olivia, but she declined to wear it.  We actually ended up taking the front ties and tying them in a halter fashion and tucking the back straps into the dress.  I thought it looked better.  

Isabelle has picked out more fabric wanting another dress, but I really am not sure when I'll get around to it.  We'll just have to wait and see.  I need to really focus on keeping the house tidy this week, getting back into the workout groove again, and eating better.  Those are my priorities.  If anything else happens, it's a bonus.

Color Me Rad 2013

Today was the day my kids have been waiting months for... Color Me Rad!

You know, I did The Color Run last year and I had fun, but I had pretty much decided that the only reason I would do another one was for my kids.  When I found out CMR was coming, and it was cheaper - and the age limit for registration was lower - I jumped on it.  If we had done The Color Run, I would have had to register Isabelle... they require it for 7 and up.  CMR is 8 and up, so I only had to pay for Olivia.

We got all dressed in our whitest clothes 



and picked up my sister and brother-in-law.  We met up with one of my sister's friends there and she had a few friends, but they must have been running, because we didn't see them again after the race started.



Always have to have a picture with my sister before a race.  =)  Funny story about her shirt...  we're assuming that some of the people associated with the race here work for a competing gym, because the first color station we passed, one guy made sure to hit her right in the logo.  Another color station, a guy commented on how he could still see the logo and blasted her again.  



Zoe was just the cutest thing ever this morning.  She was so serious about it all.  She was very calm and patient waiting to actually get to start, and as soon as we got through the start, she wanted to run.  That didn't last long, but we ran for a little bit.



My sister and brother-in-law had an old wagon that we brought along, in case the girls pooped out.  This was their first 5k (and actually the distance was way less than 5k, my Runkeeper was only at 3 miles AFTER our long walk back to the van).  The girls took turns riding in it, but towards then end all of them got in.  This was about 30 seconds before one of the wheels popped off.  But hats off to Uncle Lee for toting that thing around the whole time.

The race course wound throughout our State Fairgrounds, which was absolutely awesome... no traffic whatsoever to worry about, no crossing streets.  I'm sure they saved a ton of money not having to have police out blocking streets for the race.

I'm just assuming that almost all of these color runs are pretty much the same.  The only real difference between The Color Run and Color Me Rad was that every other color station was liquid.  Our first color station (purple) was powder, the next (yellow) had a bunch of people with what looked like the tanks exterminators use and they just sprayed us as we walked past.  I liked it.  I think it made for a much messier experience.  Orange was powder (and went all down inside my shirt - I still am a little oompah-loompah-ish), Green was liquid, and Pink was powder.  Then we got our own color bomb at the end and blasted each other with that.  When I did the Color Run, honestly, that was the most color we got since it was all powder and a lot of it just dusted off of us... we weren't all that colorful until we pelted each other with several color packs.  But today we were a mess before we got our color bombs.



After shot =)



They had sooo much fun.  Isabelle's poor face is still green... it stained pretty badly.  I have splotches of green on my legs, and pink stripes here and there, and my orange chest.  Sweat and liquid color made a huge difference in the mess factor for sure.

I'm sure the girls will be begging me to take them to another one next year.  We'll have to see, since I'll be paying for 2 of them in the future.  That's some pretty expensive fun.  =P

Rock N Stroll 5k

So, today was the big day!  The Rock N Stroll 5k.  My first 5k as a runner.

My sister has also been training for this 5k.  She sent me a message yesterday expressing her concern about being able to complete it.  She's been super busy all month... she's been out of town practically half the month and hasn't had the chance to train like scheduled.  She had decided that if she wasn't able to run the whole race today that she'd sign up for another 5k next weekend, hoping that having a back up goal would keep her from getting discouraged if she couldn't run this one.  I told her not to be too disappointed, she's come a very long way and should be proud of herself no matter what.  And I promised to push her through any disappointment if I had to.  =)  I like having her as a goal buddy, I don't want her to give up.  We have a half-marathon to do in October.  =)

I picked up my race packet on Friday, and I was a little disappointed in the tshirt.  There were two different races having packet pick up in the store that day, and the other race had a much cooler shirt.  I was jealous.  LOL

 

Anyway.  My alarm on my phone went off this morning at 7am and promptly froze as I tried to hit snooze.  By the time I got it to turn off and stop buzzing, I was wide awake.  No oversleeping for me.

I was actually more nervous about the parking situation than the actual race.  I hate parking downtown and I have absolutely no sense of direction.  I managed to park without any issue, but I had no clue where the start was in relation to where I was.  I saw two people walking in athletic gear, and decided to follow them.  At one point, there was a group of people with race bibs on walking the opposite way, and I thought "Hey, they're obviously running my race, so I should be following them." 

Um.  No.  After a few blocks, we met up with another group of people who asked us where the start was.  The group I was following said they didn't know, they were hoping the other people knew.  So there was a group of about 10 of us, lost as can be.  We did make it to the start on time... it turned out I should have followed the original couple.  Figures.

Then I started worrying about my sister.  I had texted her and tried to call her and no response.  I was worried about her oversleeping or something.  But she eventually found me and all was right with the world once again.

Yes, I rocked the Wonder Woman shirt.  Maybe by my next race I will feel a little more comfortable in it, but I'm proud of myself for wearing it today. I'm just not used to snug-fitting clothes.  But once I got there and saw how clingy most athletic shirts tend to be, I didn't feel like anyone would be all like "OMG, she left the house like that?"  =)  Oh, and Bill thought it was a Whataburger tshirt.  :::sigh:::

And then the race started.  I planned on sticking with my sister.  We run pretty much the same pace, and if she had gone to a walk, she walks as fast as she runs, so I still would have been fine.  =)  But I wanted to stay with her in case she felt like giving up, hoping that having me there would encourage her to push as far as she possibly could.

I wasn't all that concerned with whether or not I could do the distance, because I did it last week.  But I was concerned with the bridge we had to cross because I trained mostly on the treadmill and my outdoor routes are pretty flat.  But it wasn't too bad, really.  

I slowed to a walk just once to drink some water because I sloshed it all over my face trying to run.  

I had to stop very briefly to retie my shoe about mile 2.  I always double knot my shoes.  I don't know what I was thinking today.

We got close to what we thought was the finish line and I knew it wasn't 3.1 miles yet.  As we got closer there were volunteers there pointing the way to the real finish line.  I think my sister wanted to scream.  She was still there, by my side, by the way.  She had stopped running for maybe 5 seconds at one point and then decided there was no way she was giving up.  And she did not.

We saw the real finish line and the clock was reading 44:something.  I said, "there is no way that clock is hitting 45:00 with me on this side."  I just took off and jumped across the line like a crazy person.  I'm sure I looked like a dork.  I don't care.  My time was 44:35:53  =)  My sister was 44:35:86!  She finished the race!  She rocks.

I'm so happy.  Not one time did I ever want to quit, I felt great the entire time.  All the volunteers were just so friendly, all my lost people were super nice, I just loved every minute of it.  10 weeks ago, I really didn't think I'd ever be able to actually run 3.1 miles.  60 seconds was too much.  I'm just amazed at how far I've come.  Still intimidated by how far I want to go, but I don't think I can stop.  I can't say I'm in love with running itself, but the feeling of accomplishment.... what a high!  I'm definitely not stopping.

I'm going to try to work on getting a little faster when I do my weekday runs at the rec center, and then my weekend run will be distance.  I have 22 weeks or so until the half-marathon. 

I don't have any "real" races lined up until my half-marathon.  I have a few virtual 5ks, and I'm still planning on doing a virtual 10k for my sister and I in August (it may just be us, but I'll try to get other people to participate).  My sister mentioned a 5k in July she's thinking about registering for... the Firecracker Fast 5k.  It's mostly downhill and the record time for it is something crazy like 13 minutes.  Can you imagine?  I can't even run 1 mile in 13 minutes!  I'm thinking about it, though.  I worry about two things... I know people are more prone to injury running downhill and I'd hate to have a PR that I can't possibly beat in any other race!  

Oh, and wouldn't you know that today I discovered the Three Bridges Marathon... OMG!  It crosses the Clinton Bridge, the Big Dam Bridge, and the Two Rivers Bridge.  I love, love, love our bridges.  December 2013 is the inaugural race.  I still am not sure I'd ever go for a full marathon, but I'll be damned if these people aren't tempting me.

Necessity is the mother of invention

I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day!

We went to visit my Mom.  I made sure to take a picture...



And a photo of me and my kids.  They were less cooperative that my Mom.  =)



While we were there, my sister and I were talking about how it would be nice to do a 10k race between our 5k and the half-marathon in October.  But, summer is a very slow race season.  I only know of one 10k between now and then, and it's a little sooner than I'd be ready for a 10k.  Plus, when I looked at it, it looked like the 10k was full, not to mention expensive.  

It's not like we HAVE to do a 10k, but it would be a nice addition to our accomplishments, you know?

I had to just force my run in yesterday.  It meant the girls were up later than usual, but I needed to do it - for the training and for my mental well-being.  I've just been in a mood lately that I can't shake.  But when I run, I feel better.  I never really thought running would do any more than any other activities I've done exercise-wise, but it really does.  

I went to the track, because it was close and because I was just going to get my 2 miles in and be done, no extra walking other than warm up and cool down.  Pressed for time, you know...  I don't particularly enjoy the track.  Running in circles is kind of boring.  But it wasn't bad.  I ran 2 miles in about 26-27 minutes.  I'm not really sure exactly.  I walked a lap, ran 8, walked a lap.  I focused on distance instead of time since it was easier to track.

As I ran, I had this idea.  I've seen a few virtual 5ks lately.  I'm planning on taking part in one in July, and I believe one in June, but it hasn't been officially announced yet.  So I thought.... well, why not do a virtual 10k?

I know there are 3 of us doing this half-marathon, possibly 4.  It would be a good mid-way goal in our training.  I have discovered quite a few internet running friends the past few months.  There might be other people interested, you know?  Even if it's just me and my sister, though, it will be fun.

So, I'm planning a Crayon Bomb Virtual 10k for sometime in August.  I'm pretty excited about this.  We even have an idea for a cute, cheap, cheesy medal =)  Because that's the main goal of races, right... the swag!

I'll be sure to post the details here, in case any of you guys want to participate. 

The Weekend

Saturday was the 2013 MS Walk.  We registered for the one in Hot Springs instead of Little Rock, because the Little Rock walk interfered with the Diabetes Walk I did.  Since it was an hour away, I took the girls with me.  It was only a 1 mile walk, so they can do that easily.

I haven't done an MS Walk in a few years.  I used to do them all the time because my mother has MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  My sister and I signed up this year, and hopefully will make a tradition of it again.



It was pretty chilly... I swear, Winter just won't die this year...  

I've been to Hot Springs many, many times - obviously, because my parents live there, but even sight-seeing.  I've never been on the walk they had us go on, and it was just beautiful.



The girls got to see why Hot Springs is named Hot Springs.  We passed several springs and, since it was cold, they were steamy.  They thought it was just the coolest thing ever.  We'll definitely have to go back out... I'm not sure how much of that part of Hot Springs Bill has seen either.

Today was my outdoor non-treadmill run of the week.  I always worry about my weekend runs, and I really shouldn't.  Yes, I have had problems a couple of times, but they usually go pretty well.  Today happened to be a very, very good run.

I went out with the intention of 20 minutes or more, hopefully 22 (since I try to build 2 minutes per run).  Even knowing full well that I am prone to cop out at the minimum when I'm outside.  I walked 5 minutes to warm up, then ran for 20 minutes... and stopped.  I was doing really, really well.  I wasn't struggling with my breathing at all.  I felt like I had kept a really decent pace.  So as soon as I stopped and turned around to head back, I thought, "Jennifer...  You know you can do more than that."  

I walked a little more and as the song I was listening to was about to end, I thought... run this next song, it will put you over the 22 minutes.  So I ran the next song.  Walked a song, ran another song.  My legs were starting to feel it... normally my breathing gets me way before my thighs can start to get sore.  Walked a song, decided to try to run another song.  That was 3 songs worth of extra running.  Walked another song, and still wasn't back to the van, so when the next song came on, I said, "May as well carry it on home!"  I actually got to the parking lot before the song ended and.... kept running.  I had to finish that song.  4 songs of extra running!  I walked back to the van after that.  

I walked/ran 4 miles total.  20 minutes plus 4 songs of running, the rest was walking. When I looked up how long the songs were, it was a total of 16 minutes of extra running for a total of 36 minutes of running.  I ran more than I walked!  That has never happened until today!  I know I probably ran about 1.5 miles in my 20 minute stretch, and based on my usual pace, I had to have ran a little over 1 mile total on top of that!  That means I ran somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 miles today in total!

Even before all the math, just the fact that I had pushed myself to do all the extra running... I had the biggest smile on my face walking back to the van.  Huge.  After the math, I was just in awe of myself.  

Rock n Stroll 5k is in 3 weeks!  I'm going to keep adding my 2 minutes to each run, and I think I'll try to keep up the run a song/walk a song thing after my big stretch of running until I am just running the entire time!