Go Time.

Tense muscles, one foot forward, acutely astute with a palpitant heart. BANG. And I'm already running without thought. I see people flood past me and I rush to catch up. Slow and steady I tell myself. I look down at the Garmin Aaron got me for valentine's day and I am running at a 6:40 min/mile pace. "SLOW DOWN" I tell myself. More people pass. I finally get into a rhythm and see that I am at an 8:30 min/mile pace. "Slow down!" I tell myself yet again. My first mile passes (8:28 min/mile). Breathing is heavy but I feel fine. Slowly but surely I pass houses, cars,  and onlookers. I climb small steady hills and TRY to pace myself. As my watch beeps, I have already finished mile two (9:02 min/mile) and I tell myself "Whew, more than halfway done." As I turn the last corner my eyes zero in on the finish line. Watch beeps at three miles (9:11 min/mile). I have one-tenth of a mile left! I pick up pace and earn my best pace of the race at 6:26 min/mile pace. Victory is mine!

Hope you enjoyed my recap of my 5k yesterday. :) I set a new PR at 27:57 minutes at an average pace of 8:54 min/mile. I had previously run two other 5k's. I thought it would be interesting to share all of my race endeavors.

- June 13, 2009, OKC, Downtown Dash 5k, 31:41 minutes, 10:13 pace. Proud to finish my first race ever that had huge hills, a start time of 8pm (IN JUNE?!), and smelly downtown streets.
- September 5, 2009, Norman, Brookhaven 5k, 30:37 minutes, 9:53 pace. Disappointed I didn't break 30 minutes, but still happy to have finished.
- April 25, 2010, OKC, Memorial Half Marathon, 2:23:25 minutes, 10:56 pace. Overwhelmingly happy to have finished. Disappointed I did not meet my goal of 2:10:00 finish time.
- August 7, 2010, Tulsa, Route 66 Quarter Marathon, 1:19:08 minutes, 12:04 pace. Proud to finish this race alongside my sister. I had not been training as much as necessary for this race. :)

Tomorrow, I will complete my third last long run before my second half-marathon. Yes! I have decided I  like to be active, but training is tiring and trying. I hope to keep running, but don't think I will be running another long distance race for a while. 5k's are long enough! Haha.

This past week has been so busy! Girls night in Tulsa Monday night, Ash Wednesday, and Shaler's surprise party on Thursday night. Whew! I had so much fun Monday night. The eight of us ate a delicious four course meal at Polo Grill for $35! Can't beat that! Here is a picture of my favorite course:

Dessert, of course!!! This bread pudding was the best I've ever tasted; I just had to finish all of it! And here's a picture of the girls:

Such a fun group! 

Wednesday, Julie and I headed to mass after work (and working out) to receive ashes. Ash Wednesday begins the 40 day journey until Easter. When we receive the ashes, we are reminded that "from ashes we came and to ashes we shall return." For Lent, I have decided to give up soda. I have given this up before. It is a challenge I must say though. Why choose something that isn't? In addition to giving up soda, I am trying to not cuss (I have a sailer's mouth sometimes), and I'm giving up road rage. None of these "sacrifices" are equal to what Jesus has done for us, but it is a small expression of our faith that shows our awareness of Him and our gratefulness toward Him.

Thursday was an important person's birthday-- Shaler! He and his wife always share their home at least twice a month to host new hires for game night and movie night. To let him know how much we appreciate that, his wife arranged a surprise dinner after work at Tumbleweed's Steakhouse. Delish! 

Also, a special birthday announcement for Stacie who was born on the same day!!! Happy birthday Stacie and Shaler!

And finally, the weekend came. "Lost," sleep, food, reading, Phase 10, and grocery shopping were all on the agenda this weekend. Aaron and I are so nerdy, we love board games and card games, heck, any sort of game. Alphabet game anyone? ;) 

Time for another week! Stay tuned for a book review on "The Guernsey and Potato Peel Pie Society." It is SUCH a good book! All of you should read it!!

Goodnight! XOXO