Cleveland 10K

About a week before I went back to work and about 6 weeks after I had Tenley I made a commitment to get back in shape and lose the baby weight.  I knew I had to stick with it since my sister's wedding is this August.  In order to keep myself accountable I signed up for Weight Watchers and I also got the crazy notion to sign myself up for the Cleveland 10K.  After I had Rylee I made it a goal to run a 5K and I did.  This time I wanted to set my sights a bit higher so I could push myself.  At the same time Paul made the decision to run the Half Marathon.  

I stuck with my training, even though it got pretty hot the weeks leading up to the 10K.  I was having some knee issues and was starting to wonder if I would be able to actually RUN the whole distance without stopping.  The 10K actually started at a separate time that the half and the full, so I knew Paul wouldn't be around at all to keep me going. Luckily I wasn't running alone. A couple of my mommy friends had signed up too!  They were also 10K virgins so that put me a little more at ease.  Except for Becky who is super woman and ran her first full marathon!

Here we are pre-race:

Another thing that kept me going during my run was thinking of my friend Jen and her sweet little girl Ainsley who had passed away the week earlier after a long battle in the NICU. Becky and her husband made these awesome signs for us to pin to our back and run with that said Running in Memory of Ainsley.  If I ever felt the need to stop (which thankfully I didn't!) or push a little harder, I thought of that sweet little girls face and how brave and strong her and her family were during her short life.  

Here is us with our signs:

 I have to say, I'm not a morning person, let alone a morning exerciser. We were able to stay with Mindy in Lakewood the night before but we still had to get up around 4:45 am to trek our way to downtown Cleveland. Once we got down to the race the whole hype and adrenaline of everything started to kick in. I was REALLY nervous to start but away we went.  It was hot. Really hot.  I started out and pretty much knew after the first mile that it was going to be a good run.  My knee wasn't hurting and I really felt in the zone. My goal was to finish under 1:15:00.  I ended up finishing in 1:12:26.  Crossing that finish line was one of the prouder moments of my life.  I'm not a runner by any means and that is what makes these accomplishments that much more awesome! I went from feeling like I was going to pass out on C25K Week 1 Day 1 to running 6.2 miles!

I'm also proud to say that Paul finished his first Half Marathon even though he had minimal training due to some injuries.  I'm clearly in better spirits post-race than he was.  

I ran into a few old friends there and we got to catch up with Pauls cousin Dee and husband Joe who also ran the half. Speaking of Halfs, somehow I decided it would be awesome to run the Akron Half. We'll see how awesome it is running in the summer heat!  Wish me luck!

7/30/11: Dirty 30!

Many of the girls on my mom board turned/will turn 30 in 2011.  We decided we needed to celebrate this momentous occasion with a GTG.  We ending up picking an Indians game (and a great one at that!) and everyone met downtown to start the festivities.  All in all I think there were around 25 of us.  The weather was perfect, the game was awesome, and the company was even better! We even got to enjoy a great fireworks show after the game as part of Rock N Blast. While I was sad that I was unable to go out afterwards with everyone, I'm very much looking forward to the next big group GTG when I am a lot less pregnant. :)

7/23/11: Just Relax, it's hot as hell.

Mr. and Mrs. Food Planners

Mike mixing the hits!

Dana and the band rocking out.

Mmmm...Beer...

Yours truly, handling my raffle duties.

Our lovely ticket ladies.

Bartenders getting a hand from JJ.

Whoring ourselves err..the side board raffles

The lady who put it all in motion!

Let me start off by saying that I didn't actually take any of these pics.  I stole some from Andrea's Blog and Lynn Berger and Tammy Schimpf's Facebook pages.  Now that the royalties are out of the way let me tell you about how fabulous and hot tonight was.

I cannot begin to describe how awesome the night went.  I'm incredibly blessed to have found a super group of women who started out as internet buddies but, that I now call my friends. Tonight was a double bonus because I got to meet a lot of them in person tonight.  Everyone really came together from decorating, to cooking, to donating, etc. etc. etc.  Even people who couldn't attend and don't even reside in Ohio these days. I was super proud to be a part of this event.  I can't leave out the husbands either.  Everyone's husband who was there (mine included) jumped in and helped the entire night.  They totally rocked.

This idea started out so small just a mere few months ago and to see it all come together tonight was incredible.  The fact that we had no air conditioning didn't phase anyone either.  Except my hair.  I am not a pretty sweat-er. :)  We were uber successful and raised upwards of $10,000 for the Kneppers!  Can you believe it!?!  

Nights like these leave you all warm and fuzzy and gives a restored appreciation for the kindness that still lives in people.  There is so much negative in the world at times, it's great to see a community come together for one of its own.

Or maybe two of its own. :)

Guests of honor deluxe!

Don't forget to check out Jen's Blog! for more on their story.

2/26/11: ADM Sunshine Committee

I'm incredibly fortunate to be a part of a great group of women. ADM as it is known is a group of moms, mothers to be, etc in the NEO area.  I joined when I was pregnant with Morgan and I cannot even begin to tell you how helpful these girls have been.  I have developed some great friendships over the past few years and gotten tons of great advice. Individually and collectively we've had some ups and downs over the years.  During one of the downs - the ADM Sunshine Committee was born.  If one of our own is having a rough time or maybe needs a pick me up, we try to do what we can to be there for one another. It's amazing how generous these women are and how we can band together for each other.

One of our members Paige is stuck on bed rest with her twin boys. What was incredibly scary for her at first has turned into what I have to imagine is pretty boring. You can only Facebook and watch TV so much people!  I had the pleasure of delivering her a gift basket of things to pass the time and make her more comfortable.  There are a few larger items I left out of the picture but if any of you ADM-ers wanted to a snapshot view, here it is!

If you have a moment please send Paige any good healthy baby thoughts and prayers!