Race Time, Once Again, A Trip Down Memory Lane and a Return to the Blog!

     Well everyone....I am back!! It has been a long time coming, and to be honest, school has kept me incredibly busy, which is why I have found so little time to blog, yet, this upcoming week has brought me nearly full circle and I felt like I needed to let my readers know what has been going on. 
     This coming weekend, I head back into the fray. I will be running in my 2nd ever runDisney event. This time, the good Lord blessed me with wonderful family, who came "running" to assist me in my desire to pursue a race on the other side of the country. My wonderful cousins, Danny and Angie, have assisted me financially and emotionally in this pursuit. 
     This coming weekend, I will be running in the Neverland 5k at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The desire has been nagging at me since the Princess 5k here in Florida, which is now almost a year ago. (Thus, the "full circle.") After running in the Princess, I felt so passionate and invigorated. I desperately wanted to take this new hobby to California, and to experience a race at Disneyland. 
     As I poured my heart out to my cousins, who live in the San Fernando Valley, I tugged at Angie's heartstrings just enough that even she decided to do it with me. So we made an exchange (one where I benefited far more that Angie.... :)) The deal was, I would pay the registration for both of us for the race, and she would cover my airfare. (See...I totally came out ahead! Love my cousins!!) 
      I feel like this blog post might be a little long, because it is important that I bring you from where I left you all of those months ago, to where we are today. I left you all hanging back at the end of March 2012. At that time I was only in my third semester of school, the second semester of the actual paralegal program. My classes were becoming more intense. I persevered through everything and even continued to go to the gym religiously through Spring term. I ended the term with straight A's and made the President's List!!

Screenshot of President's List Letter

      Here is where the hard honesty comes in. Once summer term came, I was still pulling two classes while staying home with my kids. The gym began to fall by the wayside. I headed to Boston to watch my best girl, Kelly, get married, as her matron of honor. It was a wonderful experience! And as fall approached, I headed back into a full class load, the hardest of my school career. 

      Even during this, my husband set forth a challenge that no runner, and certainly no paralegal student, could turn down. He told me that if I could locate a "Hooters" race, he would run it with me. I am sure he thought that no such thing would exist. LOL! And yet, as a smart cookie, I knew that there likely WAS a Hooters race, and that moreover, if there was one, where would it be, if not in Florida? This is the home state of Hooters. So, the next day I sat down and began my search. It took me about 5 minutes to locate a Hooters 5k & 10k race, taking place in St. Pete, Florida in September 2012. 
       He was cornered. So, after many ups and downs with his work schedule, we finally did it!! Our whole family, even my kids, along with my friend, Monica. My time was actually a few minutes better for this race than it was for the runDisney race, which was exciting to me. And I think the best part, was that my family quickly learned that these 5k's Mom does are no chip shot! My son, who is 13, thought that a 5k was nothing. Never understood why Mom wasn't rushing to move on to a bigger and better race, until he ran one. Then he had a new found respect for what I was doing, by pacing myself and planning bigger races for the distant future. 

My family with Monica and Hootie before the race!

       
       As the remainder of 2012 continued, it was a hard year end, with a great deal of loss. My dear friend, Nigel, lost his wife Paula to complications from cancer. Both of them mean a great deal to our family and it was devastating when she passed. Then, about a month later, my former professor, Dr. Jonathan Green, passed away from complications of emergency surgery. He has retired during my summer term and we had become very close, like father and daughter, and his loss broke my already fragile heart into pieces. 

Nigel and Paula

    During all of this, and school responsibilities, the gym went to the wayside along with my diet. I am proud to say that for the most part I have kept off the 40 pounds that I lost when I was working at it, and I am headed back to the healthy me. I went back to the gym this week, and was proud when I kicked it on the treadmill and it didn't kill me the way I feared it would. 
    I am so unbelievably excited to run this race in Anaheim next weekend. I am not as prepared or as skinny as I hoped to be for it, but I know that I am going to give it my all next Saturday and I am so pleased and proud that my family and friends will be supporting me, either in spirit, or in person. :)
    Blessings....and know that ANYTHING is possible with God!!