One Year Run-iversary

October marked one year of consistently running!  When I went out for my first "jog" with my little running trio, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.....

A handful or 5ks, one half marathon, many, many miles around the hood, learning to run and talk at the same time, figuring out that my stomach prefers evening runs over morning runs (except when I eat Chinese), accepting the fact that I will never be fast (which I'm totally fine with)....

But above all else, the laughs, the griping, the dodging frogs, the hiding behind your fellow runners when the occasional stray dog comes your way, the picking out a race outfit, the running in the heat, the wind, the freezing temperatures....those MEMORIES trump everything!

Memories that also include a special someone....



 Chet running his first 5k and totally kicking butt!



And making memories with new running partners....





Memories of running 30 miles from McPherson to Newton....FOR DONUTS!!!



Hello, we're nuts!



































































































































































































































Running through a tractor leaking ammonium will before be embedded in my nose...






































































I most definitely had not been training to run that far, so once I made it to Moundridge (14.5 miles, very slow running, but no walking), I realized I really had nothing to prove, and it was probably physically best for me to cheer the others on the rest of the way.





Arriving at 2am, going to bed at 3:30am, then getting up at 7:30am for soccer....dumb dumb dumb! I burned like 1200 calories, and even that wasn't worth it!

Our trio doesn't have to be running to make memories....like getting up early, driving an hour, trying to strategically read the race route map, cheering on others running a full marathon, and making it back in time for church!



Celebrating our run-iversary at the spa!!!!







And this is where we learned that we suck at selfies....a joke now every time we run!





We may suck at selfies, but we sure kick butt at drinking margaritas!



You'd think I would have shed some pounds running all those miles!  Which is why most people would have probably quit by now, if not before.  But, for me, it's about so much more than that.

It's time away from the house.  It's time talking to someone other than a toddler.  It's exercising my aching, swollen joints.  It's accomplishing goals that I never imagined or thought possible.

And it's doing all of that with some pretty fantastic friends.



Happy run-iversary, girls!!!

Cheers to many more miles, many more laughs, and even more MEMORIES!