Caption contest, or, Thursday's laugh of the day

That's me in the yellow, before last summer's 4th of July 5K. Caption contest, GO!

No, you don't win anything besides the ability to laugh at with me. If you really want to giggle, go back a few posts to the "I'm a pretty princess" twirl I must have been doing when a different camera caught me unaware.

I need to be more aware of photographers... I'm glad I'm not a celebrity!

Coasting

I haven't sewn in forever (which means a week), so today I finished an over-sized coaster for my small side table. Ok, so it's basically a mini placemat since I eat most of my meals in front of the tv so I don't feel so alone when the hubs is at work. Whatever. :)
We did run 5.25 miles together this morning- that is one bonus about his work schedule. Half marathon #2 is on Saturday!

FAST!

I turned in a job application for a group fitness instructor position on the base on Monday night, and at 8:10 Tuesday morning I had a response! I was so ecstatic yesterday. I'm waiting to find out an interview time- things are moving fast, and yet I feel very little of the anxiety that I usually have job hunting, just mostly excitement.
If yesterday is any indicator, I should hear back any minute now.... :)

I wish I had some pictures of SOMETHING to show you, but I don't think you'd be interested in pictures from work or sleep- I feel like that's all I've done the last 5 days.

Happy Wednesday! Here's hoping I get an interview scheduled soon, and that I nail it!

I did it!

I passed my group fitness instructor exam! Woot woot! And then, since I had to drive 1.5 hours and was near a Real Shopping Mall (aka civilization), I bought some shoes, yoga pants, and a new sporty tank- after all, next step is Zumba certification! Squeeeel!

Thank goodness there was only one!

If this is any indicator, I'm glad they didn't catch me in any other photos- what the heck am I doing? I"m the one on the right who looks to be in I-Have-To-Pee pose, but I know that's not what was going on. More likely, it was mid-fidget. But, you see that little girl in pink? She's the future track star with whom I ran that 5k. Yep, she ran in jean shorts! Gotta love kids. Her mom, in red, is pretty Bad A. too. She finished in 24 minutes. If that girl calls herself slow one more time, I might smack her- you know she did her 1.5 mile PT test for the Air Force this last weekend in 11 minutes flat? My friend is fast, and needs to give herself more credit.

The awesome quilt has begun!

I decided on a single block to commemorate the year's running events- wonky stars with a focus fabric tenuously related to something about the race. These two are for the Run for Fun half marathon and the Apple Blossom 5k.
Now, I need a pigma pen to record some fun details on each one.

Running like a 5-yr-old

Volunteering yesterday was fun- my mom came down to help, too!
We got set up, then she went out to the first water station while I "guarded" the shirts with the Major (which mostly meant taking about me being the official Race Director next year- squeeeeeee! Dream job!)

The turn out was better than expected, with 18 people- double what they had registered, so not bad for a first time 5k. I like to think my last-ditch papering of the town got at least a few of the walk ons.

The highlight for me, though, was running- with our friend's 5-year-old daughter. Before the race, the Major and Senior were telling me I "needed" to win, despite me telling them that my fastest 5k was in 26:11 (which is NOT fast by any means, and especially since the nearby running club has girls who always run sub-20). Makayla, meanwhile, had been tugging on me as usual and asked if she could run, then pleaded, saying it would make a dream come true- how can you say no to that?

We lined up at the back of the runners, and she was excited. They said go, we took off, and that little girl ran nearly 1/2 mile before she took her first walk break! She made it all the way to the turn around and a good w ay back before she made a single complaint, too. Most 5-year-olds I know might have made it a mile, tops, but not her- every time I told her in the beginning that we could turn around, she shook her head and said she wanted to finish "the Whoooooooole thing." So we did, in about 56 minutes. It was a combination of running and walking, with more walking at the end. She actually beat one of the walkers! Towards the finish, her dad started cheering her in, and she ran the last 50 meters like a champ, carrying a few found flowers, too.

That kid has more determination than many adults I know. Maybe next year, we can get her a PR!

And the award goes to....

First off, thank you to Heather at Creative Confessions for giving me a Liebster Award! I'm blushing.

Never heard of Liebster Awards? Well, here you go, cut straight from the source or my award:

The Liebster Award (German for favourite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.

The Liebster Conventions says that:

1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/ her

2. Copy and paste the award to your blog

3.  Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized

4.  Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

5. Have faith that your follower will spread the love too

It's my turn to pass this along. And so, without further ado, I would like to highlight these 5 lovelies:

Marilyn- North Hills Quilter

This lady quilts so many donation quilts, she leaves me exhausted just reading about it! She teaches school, quilts for herself and for charity, and she's raised some great kids. Pretty amazing.

Ricole Runs

This one's a runner- and a funny one, too! I read her blog and think, "If she were my neighbor, we'd be great friends (or she'd build a big fence). She helps out with her local Girls on the Run, a group that promotes running and healthy lifestyles for girls, and she has ran some of my bucket list races already. You might get tired reading her blog, too!

Kate- The Quilting Professor

Another quilter, and a professor. She's smart. I found this busy lady through Bonnie Hunter's Mystery quilts, and while mine always end up half-done and bagged up, she actually finishes hers. Plus, she's been working on a really cool hexie quilt, which I envy, since it has a well-planned design and mine is simply random diamonds. See a trend? Similar tastes, yet she's my opposite- focused and a project finisher.

Christie- Describe Happy

Another active gal, she sews, quilts, gets outdoors, and has the cutest golden retrievers! She sure keeps busy, and is very organized (or at least comes off as such, which is more than I can say!). I love her blog because it's so often full of pictures of flowers, crafts, and dogs!

Krysten- The misadventures of a Darwinian fail

I can't remember what brought me to her blog, but I'm so glad it did- this girl is truly inspiring. She's made decisions I can't easily imagine, and maintains such a positive attitude. If she didn't live in Canada, I'd want to train with her- we have similar running goals this year.

So, there you have it. 5 women who ROCK. Some quilters, some runners, but all-around strong gals. 

I wish they all lived closer- they could join me a t a 5k Run/walk today- my first time ever being at one as a volunteer!

My little girl, and being volunteered to volunteer.

Poor, pitiful Prudence. If only she was an endurance runner, she could come with on my runs (but she sounds like a steam engine after 20 feet!).

How can you not love that little girl? Even though this is the face of concern I get when I get ready to go for a run. She hates it whenever I leave without her.

Tomorrow, I'll be volunteering at a 5k for the first time ever (the one that I got volunteered to volunteer by one of my husband's commanding officers.... can't really say no to that. And I would have volunteered if I hadn't already been volunteered!). I'm almost as excited as I would be if I were running it. I might still get to run it, too, which is awesome. Will work for race entry!

My mother is coming down to help, too- any excuse to come visit is a good excuse to us both. I'm hoping I can convince her to go get Mexican food and margaritas afterwards- there's a restaurant 50 feet from the finish that has BOGO margaritas on Wednesdays. And, since we can walk to the 5k and then back home after dinner, why not?

I'm having my usual night-before-an-event wardrobe debate. I need to get back to that, and make big decisions like grey tank or blue, and black skirt with pink or black skirt with red. This is the burden of my night tonight. And hoping Maria and Derek don't get booted from DWTS.

Happy Finishers!

So, we finished our first 1/2 marathon of the year! YAY! And, it was actually 13.6 miles long instead of 13.5- that extra half mile was killer! I'll admit, I had to walk part of it (and stretch... stood by the side of the road hanging from my waist, trying to touch my toes to relieve my hamstrings, all the while cars were honking since there were no other runners in sight0 I'm sure I looked silly).

I finished in 2:20, (he was just 10minutes behind- way to go, Hubby!) which is pretty awesome all things considered:
1. Lack of training this spring meant I was underprepared.
2. It warmed up more than predicted, and the sun came out! Which was good, but toasty.
3. On top of that, they only had 5 water stations, and #4 ran out of cups! So that meant I went from about mile 6 to mile 11 with no water. BAD! I stopped sweating, which is REALLY BAD. When I finally got water, I had them fill 2 cups, one I chugged, then walked while drinking the other.
4. I've never walked this much in a race. Probably a good 10 minutes were spent walking. I never do that. But I needed it, for all these reasons.
5. That last .5 mile. It seems like if I can run 13.1, another .5 should be nothing, but when I had to stop and stretch, my body KNEW that I had run the distance required. It said we're done. Oddly enough, that was where 13.1 should have finished.

So, I'm thrilled with how we did we were both about 7 minutes slower than last fall- only 7 minutes with less than 1/3 the training! I'm tormented by the fact that if I had just not walked as much, I could have PR'd. I also (re)learned that I need to stop underestimating myself. I mean, come on, Kasey, YOU COULD HAVE PR'd. Stop doubting yourself and just run!

For their first time doing a half, the organizers did a great job. The shirts were nice tech shirts, and we got a free water bottle in our swag bags (that just happens to fit the water bottle rack I put on my bike- YAY!).

The whole water debacle could have been avoided, but honestly, they probably checked the same weather apps I did, which made it seem like it would be cooler/cloudier. And the .5 mile difference, while frustrating, is understandable- different GPS systems have different variances. which is why the course should be checked with multiple systems both by satellite and by ground (car or foot or bicycle- someone on the surface). Basically, I'm taking notes so that if I ever get my dream job of being a race organizer, I can obsess over all these details. :D

I didn't wear a watch, which I think was one of the reasons I ran so well. I listened to my body and held a comfortable pace. I walked when I felt like I had to, and ran at a pact I knew I could hold, no numbers attached, which meant I was running faster than I had all year!

And the phantom pains were just that. Such a weird thing.

My next 1/2 is in June. Not sure if the Hubs is going to join me or not, but I hope he does. I think we could both PR. It's a flat course, out and back. I can't wait.

Decisions.

Which layout to use? Hmm. I'll have to think on this over lunch.

Repair girl

I fixed my bike- changed both tire tubes all by myself. The hubs said he'd do it tomorrow if I waited, but I'm pretty sure he knew I'd be able to figure it out for myself. Now I have one less excuse for why I'm not cross training.
By the way, I bought this bike when I was 11. This bike is 16 years old! I guess that speaks to the quality of Trek!