Happy Anniversary!!!

This year was a big year/month for anniversaries in the Mitchell Family.  Mary and Leon celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss.  Not only is it amazing to have both spouses live long enough to see 60 years, but even more amazing to to stay together that long. 

Mary wanted family pictures taken.  The   last pictures were taken 10 years ago for their 50th.  I'd say it was about time.  I was overly impressed at how photos turned out.  Kincaid is a very photogenic kid :)  It's going to be hard to narrow down my purchase. 


That night we went out for a nice meal.  We got to hear stories and memories of their marriage and family.  Family is a top priority to Mary and Leon and the memories showed it.  

I took a few pics of my own. 

 Mike and Barb celebrated "40 freakin' years".  Barb's words, not mine.  We celebrated by spending the weekend at Honey Creek Resort.  All 4 of the kids and families, Mike & Barb, and Mary & Leon spent a wonderful weekend at the water park, around a fire, biking, eating, playing and running (ok, maybe just me). It was great spending so much time together.  That hardly ever happens unless it's a holiday.  It's fun to see the cousins play together.  They are lucky to have each other.   

Wendi and Brandon celebrated their 10th anniversary this month.  It's hard to believe because I remember when they first started dating.  I remember their wedding day very well too. 

Time really does fly.  In the word of Ferris Bueller "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." 




Last but not least, Alison and Brandon celebrated their first year of marriage.  They are doing an incredible job of raising their 4 girls.


Family really truly is a gift.  

First fall race

Back in July Courtney asked if I'd run Park to Park with her.  We ran the half marathon race last year and loved it.  I said yes, as long as we did the 5K or the 10K.  There was no way I'd be ready for the half.  Over the next few weeks I pushed myself to be ready for the 10K, but also knowing I'd be walking part of it. 

Aaron (Courtney's husband), Emma (Courtney's 3-month old), and Michael came to cheer us on.  I love when Michael comes to watch me race.  I'd love if he were at the finish line every race, but I also know he has a life outside of my addiction. 

Courtney and I lined up at the start, not knowing we were in the wrong group.  The 10K was supposed to start 10 minutes later with the 5K.  Oops.  Michael text to let me know about a mile into it.  Oh well.  We were started and there was no stopping us.  The course is beautiful.  It's through a park so we were surrounded by trees and nature.  It's very peaceful.  Courtney and I carried on a conversation the whole time, mostly about how we felt silly starting too early.  Soon we were at the half-way point still feeling fantastic.  I knew I'd be able to finish without walking.

We finished strong.  Out of all my races, I feel like I accomplished the most with this one.  My body went through some pretty rough sh*t over the summer and I still came out of top.  I was still relishing in a runner's high two days later.  No joke. 


I've found my stride again.  And it feels euphoric. 

My dad the speed demon

August 26th I ran my first 5K in almost 5 months.  I wasn't as prepared as I usually am, but it fired up my competitive spirit.  No where to go but up from here.  I was a little nervous about running by myself so I asked my dad to run with me.  He agreed telling me that I'll be leaving him in the dust.

Not the case.

Within the first half mile he was almost out of sight.  I had to slow my pace if I wanted to run most of it.  I never did see him until the finish line when he was already cooled down and I was still huffing and puffing.

I love that both of my parents run.  My dad doesn't come by the exercise stuff as naturally as my mom does, but he's never afraid to lace up his running shoes, throw on some denim shorts, and get his heart pumping.  Yes, I said denim shorts.  He ran the 3.1 miles in 27:54 and placed 3rd in his age division... in jean shorts.  I'm sure more than one person (including me) chuckled about it.  But, that's my dad.  Farmer through and through.  I prefer the jeans shorts over the shorty shorts that some males wear that make me question how 'things' are being held in and fearing the worst. 

Thanks for running/leaving me in the dust, Dad.  Next time I will be keeping up.

**I'll add a few more pics from the race when my laptop and/or blogger aren't being dumb and uploads the pics correctly.    

Fartleks

Fartleks:
Not just a funny name... also an intense training workout. 

Courtney, Mallory, and I started a marathon training program.  Our target marathon is next May, so we have plenty of time to add mileage slowly.  Courtney found a 26-week training schedule online.  It takes the stance "Slow and steady finish the race".  Our first few weeks we don't run over 3 miles.  In comparison to the half marathon training I did last year, this is extremely relaxed.  After 4 months away from running, I need relaxed.  It's taken my body a while to find its stride.  But, I'm back and loving every minute. 

This morning's workout was fartleks.  Fartleks are intended to increase pace.  After a 5-minute warm-up, we did 4 cycles of 4 minute run/ 1 minute walk.  The 4 minute runs were tough.  We were grabbing our sides by the end.  The 1 minute recover felt closer to 15 seconds.  The fartleks were tough, so our 10 minute cool-down was easy in comparison.  Both Courtney and I had drenched our shirts and felt amazing.  I'm looking forward to next week when we repeat them!

This weekend Courtney and I are running a 10K.  We aren't up to 6.2 miles of running, but we'll do our best to run as much of it as possible.  Each race I run, I'm reminded how strong my competitive spirit is.  I get it from my mom!