It's been how many weeks?

Twelve.  It's been a dozen weeks since my last post. Three months is quite a long hiatus considering my goal was once a week. Maybe I should consider writing once a quarter.

So what have I been doing during this time? Obviously nothing too exciting to write about. I'll give you the quick rundown with a few photos, of course.

I'll skip February. It was cold. Enough said.

March 8:   I ran a beer mile! This was a fun event. Four laps, one beer per lap, try not to fall down or puke. Check, check aaaand.... CHECK! I did not fall down or puke! In fact I had a victory beer after the race. My race time was terrible, but that wasn't the point! I would totally do this again.

March 25:  We went to Branson for part of Spring Break! We received season tickets to Silver Dollar City as a Christmas gift (really great idea), so we decided to take a long weekend. However, the weather was kind of crappy. It rained really hard on our way down. It was sunny the next day but really windy and chilly. We went to SDC anyway, and it was super crowded. We waited in line for over an hour for our favorite rides. It rained the next day, so we found other things to do like Ripley's Believe It and hiked along Table Rock Lake. And on the way home, we stopped at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and Bass Pro. All together, it was nice to get away for a few days as a family.

April 18:  Missouri Beer Fest! Always a fun time. Breweries from across the state meet in Columbia to share their craft. We had special shirts printed up for Broadway Brewery which I was geeking out over! Don't you just love them?

Welcome to the Craft Side!

So that should catch you up to the present day. I promise I won't be as much of a stranger on here.

More posts to come!!!

Rivalry Run 2014

It's that time of year again! The fifth annual Rivalry Run was held in downtown Kansas City on August 16. Missouri and Kansas has had a long rivalry that has existed since the Civil War. I will always love to hate Kansas. So whenever there is a chance to beat up on them, I'm there.

For this run, each registration earns a point for your state. The top three finishers in each age group earns points. The overall finishers will earn points. And fundraising dollars for the Domestic Violence Protection Services Agency earns points as well. The first two years, Missouri was the winner. The last two years, Kansas has taken the cup. Will Missouri win it back and break the tie?

Even though Missouri had more participants, there sure was a lot of blue.

This year I also registered my son. It would be his first competition 5K. He ran last year without a bib and did very well, so this year he ran as a participant. And he did awesome! Look at that time!

He was disappointed with coming in 4th in his age group. So close to a medal! But that only fueled his desire to try harder next time. We're considering doing the Komen Race for the Cure in Columbia on October 4th. Plenty of time to train between now and then. 

And I'm happy to report that Missouri WON the cup. We smoked them 556 - 487. 

Until next time! Mizzou-RAH!

July 100 Miles Challenge #July100miles

Am I crazy or what?

I joined this challenge on Facebook sponsored by ilovetorun.org. The challenge was to run (or walk) 100 miles during the month of July. When you average that out over 31 days (thank you extra day in July), it is a little over 3.2 miles per day. That's doable. I joined knowing I probably wouldn't be able to run all of the 100 miles. I do love to run, but my knees don't love to run as much as my mind does. I told myself I'd run as much as I could and walk on the days I just felt like I couldn't.

I needed a fitness refresh, and this challenge was a great motivator. Plus, it taught me a few things along the way.

1. Morning workouts ROCK!  If you know me, you know I'm not really a morning person. I'm more of a mid-morning person. My favorite time to exercise is around 7:30 a.m. after I'm fully awake. During the work week I try my best to get my butt out the door by 6:30 a.m. Doesn't always happen, but when it does, I feel so much better. My metabolism is off to a great start, and I'm full of energy. Getting started is the hardest part. 

2. I love my Fitbit!  I should say I've been tracking my miles via my Fitbit. This may seem like "cheating" to some because I wear my Fitbit all day. If you don't know what a Fitbit is, it's a tracking device that records every step I take and adds those steps into a mile total for the day. I say... it's not cheating; I'm being smart. I'm tracking my activity (or inactivity), and everything should count. And I'm really close to reaching 500,000 steps. If I could complete 100 miles this month, I'll have met that milestone. Midway through the month, I hit 50 miles total. YES! Right on schedule.

3. It's all about attitude. But towards the end of the month, work was a lot busier and my activity level started to decline. After July 28th, I had completed 85 miles. That's only 5 miles per day, but more than my usual daily average of 3.2. My daily average the week of July 21 - 27 was only 2.55 miles. Ugh! Where was my momentum? Where was my drive? I was struggling with my knees, busy with family obligations, and making too many excuses and not enough time for me. I started to get a little nervous and wondered if I was going to make it to 100 miles by July 31.

And then I saw this....

Yes. This is MY challenge. I will not fail. This is MY journey, and no one else's. I will do this. I WILL reach 100 miles by the end of July! I found my positive attitude and kept going.

4. Self-discipline will get you there! I logged over 15 miles in the last three days. I met my goal of 500,000 steps and... I completed 101.47 miles this month! Set you goal. Don't lose hope. You will get there.

Proud? You bet I am.  Now beer me.

Rivalry Run 5K 2013

The rivalry between kansas and Missouri has existed since before the Civil War. Even though the landscape has changed with kU and Mizzou in different NCAA conferences, the rivalry has not. I was raised to hate the kansas jayhawks (not a typo, I never capitalize kansas), and I'm raising my kids that way too. It's a competition kind of hate, mind you. So any time there is a mechanism in which I can participate in this competition, I am sooooo there.

August 17th was The Rivalry Run in downtown Kansas City. This was the fourth year for the race and the second year for me. This year I brought my twelve year-old son along as a last minute decision. He's been wanting to try a race, and so I asked him if he wanted to join me this year. He did GREAT! Based on his time, he would have placed third in his age group. I'm definitely registering him for the next one. This was the longest distance he's ever run, so we weren't sure how he would do. He just blew me away... He told me he liked running with a group of people and looks forward to the next one. A runner in the making!

I did fairly well. I must admit that I've been pretty lazy with my running lately, so I knew I would be slow. My goal was to run under 40 minutes, and I did that. I crossed the finish at 39:00. My son was there at the finish line cheering me on. That was the best part.

The next race will be the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on October 12 in Columbia. My daughter would like to run this one. We're going to start training together this week. Soon we'll be a family of runners!

I'm very proud of my kids wanting to participate in these races. Not only is it great exercise, but it's building their self-esteem. It's a great feeling of accomplishment when you cross the finish line.