The Race

I'm finally getting to write about my first race. It was a little weird being at the start waiting for the race to start. It just didn't seem like a place I should be. I'm looking around at all these people you can tell are natural runners. I just kept telling myself that I just want to finish, even if I come in last.

The first mile went by really quickly. I think we were under 10 minutes. We (the other girls from Mom's on the Run) thought she was joking! About 1.5 miles into it, there was a house playing the "Rocky" theme song. That was fun and got us pumped. Some people were such good cheerers! My best cheerleader ran the entire way with me, Lisa. This 4-mile run was a piece of cake for her. But she was very supportive and had some great words of encouragement on the way.

The second to third mile was the toughest. For some reason it felt like it was never going to end. So, I decided to walk for a little bit. We probably walked for a minute or two. Once we started running, that third mile came up quickly. Wish I would have just pushed through it. The last mile was good because I knew I was in the home stretch.

I pulled into the finish line around 44 minutes. I was surprised by my time. I thought I'd be doing more like 12 mintues miles. But, it was an overall great race for my first ever.

The weather cooperated. It rained the night before, so the humidity was low. The sun was hiding behind the clouds until the last .5 miles.

Now onto my next race, Tiger Tracks at the MN Zoo on August 28th. Come and cheer us on!

The Practice Run

Next Saturday is my first race. It's 4-miles. What was I thinking? Seriously? A 4-mile race. Something I never thought I'd do. Something I always wished I would do, but I didn't think I would. I've never liked running. Maybe it's the fear of failing that always put the cobosh on the idea. I'm not sure. Well, somehow I put that fear behind me this Spring and have been running since the end of April. I was not totally convinced that I'd be able to run the whole 5k (3.1 miles) at the end of August as we are training to do. So needless to say, signing up to do a 4-mile run is not something I thought I'd do a whole month prior!

I decided that I better see how a 4-miler is going to be like, so that Saturday, the 24th, doesn't become a, "what was I thinking" moment. So off I ran this morning to complete an almost 4-mile run.

Mind you, I've been doing interval training, so I am allowed to walk between runs. I think this last week we ran for 4 minutes, walked for 30 seconds and then repeated the process 7 times. So I haven't even attempted running without walking this entire summer. OK...

I decided I would run from our corner to Harmony Village (almost 2 miles) without stopping if entirely possible. (I don't think I've ever run for 2 miles without stopping.) The first mile was a little difficult, but once I hit my stide, it wasn't so bad. I made it to Harmony Village and sort of psyched myself into walking. I walked for a minute. My body was telling me just keep running. So off I ran again. This time I say I'll just run until I have to stop. I made it back to our corner without stopping! Holy crap. I couldn't believe it. I was even able to pick up the pace at the end. From corner to corner it took me 40 minutes, 30 seconds.

I think I did a little over 3.5 miles. Now maybe next Saturday won't be such a shock to the system. Plus, now I know I can do it! Whoo Hoo!!!

Tomorrow I'll probably be posting about how sore I am....

Too Cute

Pumpin' Some Iron

The Handsome Bielke Boys

Bielke Update

We seem to be on the mend here (knock on wood). Scott's blood clot is getting better and he told me this morning that his leg feels like it's at 90%. We'll take it. He was into the dr. this morning to have his blood "density" tested. He was at 3.2. They want his blood to be between 2-3 so this week he gets a slightly smaller dosage. Next week he has an appointment with a hematologist. They are going to try to find out what causes the clotting.

This past weekend was the Anderson Christmas in July, which now I think is just called the Anderson Reunion. We surprised Grandpa with a few songs and a big cake to celebrate his upcoming 90th birthday. Grandpa surprised us as well by playing his violin and the harmonica. He even sang a song about Issac and his goats. I've never seen Grandpa so charasmatic before. He was having a great time and I think we all enjoyed watching him perform.

We pitched our new tent for the first time. This was our first camping experience with the boys. They both did really well. With the rain in the forecast for Saturday night, we thought it best to sleep in Ryan and Melanie's camper. We didn't want Owen to get scared since we could hear thunder from a distance. Both boys ended up sleeping with me for most the night. Scott got his own bed.

I've signed up to run my first race. It's the Rosemount's Run for Gold 4-mile race. I don't plan to run the whole 4-miles, but I am hoping I don't have to walk much. This will give me a head's up to the 5k (only 3.1 miles) in August. I still think to myself, "Who is this girl?" I have to say now that I'm actually enjoying running (just not my knee so much). I was already thinking that I would sign-up again next year.