C2 WHAT...???

I must be having a mid-life crisis finally...or something! Somehow I got the hair-brained idea that it would be a good idea to run a 1/2 marathon, yeah, me the aging non-runner! Speaking of hair-brained, that's kind of where the story turns!

As mentioned, I have never been a runner, never even really entertained the thought of becoming one. Yes, I did sort of train to 'run' the Wenatchee 5k a few years ago, but I really didn't believe that I'd run it, just that I could give it my really best 'speed walk' effort. I was, after all, raised by Mr. Speed Walker himself, Jerry Larkin.

When I was a kid if you wanted to go anywhere with Dad, you darn well better have your tennis shoes on because there was no 'lolly gagging' around. No sir-eee, WE went places with a PURPOSE! Anyway, that was pretty much the extent of my life long training except when I was getting ready for the Wenatchee race and did some speed walking with a tiny smattering of jogging...UNTIL I went to my hair dresser this spring.

So...I go to Danna just to get a haircut mind you and the darn girl inspires me to add a 1/2 marathon to my bucket list! You see, Danna has never been a runner either, but in 4 months she prepared herself to run a 1/2 marathon. Now keep in mind, my hair dresser is a friend of my daughter Lindsey. They are in their 20s for pete's sake not approaching 50! So in my warped aging mind I figure, well Denise if Danna can prepare in 4 months and you're older than she is, you should give yourself a little extra time. So, in a moment of generosity I decide that 6 months is plenty of time for a 49 year old total couch potato to prepare.

I still don't understand what came over me! But, I'm happy to report that I started the runners journey on April 7th with the Couch to 5k program (aka c25k). This is my first baby step to preparing for a 1/2 marathon, because it's really hard to run 13.1 miles if you can't even run from the front yard to the back! I'm determined to achieve my goal and have made sure that even when I have sick days I do makeup work so I stay on track. I committed (paid my entrance fee) to run a 5k in the Free Wheeling Run in Eagle, ID on June 9th when I'll be in Boise for Lindsey's baby Brooklyn's birth. My final c25k training day is on Wednesday the 6th and then race day on Saturday!

I have my eye on the Indian Summer Run in Tri-Cities at the end of September for my 1/2 marathon (registration doesn't open until June). That would keep me within my 6 month goal and would have me running a 1/2 marathon a few weeks before my 50th birthday. That'd be a pretty good way to celebrate a milestone birthday, don't you think?

My oh my!!

Keeping Busy

I've been keeping busy recently. We really enjoyed having Lindsey and Thomas come visit for a long weekend last weekend (March 29th). It was fun to host a baby shower for her while she was here. I really enjoyed trying to transform the house into girl territory! Wendy Middleton helped me host it. She was gracious enough to be our photographer for the evening. She made her awesome artichoke dip and also made some yummy raspberry sherbet and ginger ale frappe. Along with that I bought some tasty pastry treats and made a delicious 4 layer strawberry lemonade cake and a chocolate mousse pie. The turnout was very good (thankfully as that is always a source of anxiety for me when hosting a party) and everyone seemed to enjoy the company, the refreshments and the games. We played 'Don't Say Baby', Baby Shower Bingo and the Baby Attributes game. Lindsey got a lot of wonderful gifts. In fact, their car was FULL for the trip home! While Lindsey and Thomas were here we made a visit to Grandpa's, took a couple of walks, played games went out to eat and just enjoyed each other's company. This week is spring break so I'm not getting up early for Seminary each morning. Lindsey and Thomas were kind enough to bring me the Hunger Games trilogy of books to borrow. I'd previously listened to the first book, so I started in on the second book and ended up finishing the third book today! They are too hard to put down and with no need to get up early in the morning and Darvin working graveyard shift this week...well that's all I need to get into bookworm mode!