Race for the Cure!

This morning was the Des Moines Race for the Cure, my very first in fact, and boy was it awesome! For the first time ever, I was late for a race. As I was walking up the road of the Capitol Building to the starting line, I hear the gun shot and see 20,000+ people running down the road. So instead of the usual warm up of stretching and what not, I ran up the hill past the starting line and squeezed in with other fellow late comers and I was off! I ran two miles last night, and a 10K on Sunday so I was thinking a 5K should not be a big deal. Unfortunately for me I broke my cardinal rule for a race day. ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST! So about two miles in, I get an abdominal crap. I run fairly often so I can usually run through a side cramp with breathing techniques and stretching while running. However this was not a dull aching side cramp, this was more like I'm running and I'm totally fine then OMFG SOMEONE IS TRYING TO RIP OUT MY KIDNEYS! Worst pain I've ever experienced running. I had to stop and walk which I was not happy about since I mean really? I can't even make it 3.1 miles? I was irate to say the least and disappointed in myself, but then I saw two girls run by with honorary bibs on their backs that said I'm running for my mom. 11 year survivor. Then I felt like a huge A-Hole, because really it doesn't matter if I run the whole thing, or walk. The important thing is that there was 20,000+ Iowans out there raising money for a cure, and it was an honor to be one of them. So in conclusion, great day to be in Des Moines and so proud of all the Iowans out there racing for a cure!

Weddings

Weddings always get me. I tear up when seeing the bride walk down the aisle and when they exchange vows. It's bizarre because I have no desire to get married myself. The thought of having to go through all that makes me shudder. I know it's weird, but I'm not religious and marriage is at it's core a religious institution, so I just can't find a reason to get married. It's expensive, and time consuming and stressful, but for some, being able to call someone their husband or wife makes it all worthwhile. I love D, more than anything, but I don't want to call him my husband that badly. So please invite me to your wedding, I love them it's fun to attend. Also I make an excellent bridesmaid. Just don't expect an invite to my wedding or to be one of my bridesmaids.

And now a picture of me being an awesome bridesmaid.

I Did It!

Today was the Des Moines Marathon. Don't get to excited I didn't run the marathon, or even the half. I'm not that in shape. However, my office always gets together a Marathon Relay team and I ran a whole 6.2 MILES!!!!! How the relay works is you have 4 people run 5 miles and then 1 lucky person (yours truly) runs the last 6.2. I am not a runner. I played tennis and soccer back in the day, but I never ran to keep in shape or anything, and in college I always used the ellipticals. As of late though I've gotten into running and this was a great way to challenge myself to achieve what I once thought was the impossible. I've run 5Ks before, but nothing more than that. So to accomplish a 10K in a pretty decent time was a truly amazing feeling. So now I'm looking forward to the next challenge the Des Moines Dam to Dam. It's a 20K. Watch out running world I'm taking over!