The Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon

Last Sunday I participated in the Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon. This almost didn't happen because Brian had a change in his work schedule at the last minute. Fortunately, I have the best mom in the world and she woke up a 3 a.m. to come to my house and watch the kids so that I could run. This was the last race in the Tri-2B-Tuff half marathon series (three half marathons in three months). I really enjoyed this race. The marathoners (aka- the crazy people) ran a portion of the same course as the halfers, so I was able to stay with a pacing group for the first couple of miles. This really helped me out. My time was 1:56:37, which put me under the two hour mark (finally). I was thrilled with my time. This was a great way to round out the year.





Since this is my last race of the year, I would like to take a moment to reflect on what a great running year this has been. I ran eleven 5Ks, two 10Ks, one 15K, four half marathons, and one duathlon. I set a PR in each category except the 10K. I am currently (and excitedly) working on my running schedule for next year. One of my goals is to run more half marathons. I find that this is my favorite distance for racing, and I want to do more of those. I am also hoping to purchase a quality bike and work toward more duathlons. This may or may not happen- we'll see how the money goes. I think that I also want to try a mud/obstacle run next year, so I'm on the lookout for one of those. I've got a rough draft of a schedule sketched out already, so if any of you run or are looking to start running next year- let me know. We'll carpool =)

Olivia's Christmas Dance Performance

Olivia's dance class had a short presentation for the parents this week. The girls were given cute little reindeer ears to wear with their leotards. Olivia's class presented two routines- a ballet and a tap. Olivia did well in both. Here is a link to a video of the ballet routine, which was the better of the two. (The link will open youtube). The video is about a minute and a half long. As you can see, the girls do a great job until the end- then someone starts fooling around and they all catch a case of the giggles. Enjoy!

Children's Christmas Play

The kids had a small part in the children's Christmas program at church this year. Owen was a sheep, and Olivia was a shepard girl. The pre-k group sang two songs- including "Baby Jesus" (see video below). Those pre-k kids know that they have lots of energy. I get tired just watching them. After the play was over, we enjoyed finger food with our church family. Santa made a guest appearance, and the kids got to sit on his lap. Olivia asked for a pillow pet for the second year in a row. She did get one last year, but she wants a pillow pet "family". We couldn't get Owen to talk to Santa, but he did sit on his lap. I was a little disappointed that Owen wouldn't tell Santa what he wanted because he is so hard to buy for. He hardly ever asks for anything- which is pretty much the opposite of what Olivia does.

Run, Reindeer, Run!

The kids and I participated in the YMCA Reindeer Run 5K and 1 mile races this morning. Ava and Claire, who have apparently been bitten by the running bug, also participated. The kids were given reindeer ears to wear during the race, and Santa came all the way from the North Pole to help the little "reindeer" stretch before running. Owen and Olivia did not run fast, but I'm so proud of them for not giving up. All of the kids made it across the finish line- some (Ava) faster than others (Owen)- and received medals for participating. After their run was over, Hannah took the kids to the playground area while I ran the 5K. My friend Krystial and my sister Quincy were also running in the 5K, so we all lined up to begin. I started the race at a good pace and was able to keep it up the entire time. I finished with a new PR of 24:30, and I won first in my age division. I received a medal and a Christmas ornament as a prize. To be honest, I was surprised that my time as good as it was because I've not been able to be on the road much lately. This was my last 5K of the year, so I'm glad to have PR'd .

Christmas Parade 2011

Monday was our town's annual Christmas parade. The theme was "Light up the Night", and all of the floats were decked out with Christmas lights. In fact, the entire downtown area was set up to impress. There was Christmas music playing on the downtown speaker system, there were vendors selling glow sticks and funnel cakes, and they were giving away free cookies and hot chocolate at the bank. We met up with the Murrays, Walkers, and Boyettes at our "usual spot". Daddy had parked his truck early to ensure that we got to be in our desired location. Before the parade began, the man from the newspaper came and took a picture of daddy with the kids (similar to the one posted on this page), and it ended up in this week's edition. The kids were really into the parade this year. They were so excited to see all of the floats and to catch the candy. The highlight of the parade was that a local costume company had people out walking in some of their costumes- including Mickey, Minnie, Dora, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, Barney, and Mario- to name a few. When this group of characters got near to us, all of the smaller children from both sides of the street ran out to give them hugs. I think that Olivia successfully hugged 75% of the characters. She was on a mission. As always, the parade ended with Santa Claus. The weather was just perfect, and everyone had a great time at the parade.

More Swim Lessons

In August, Olivia completed a session of swim lessons at the YMCA. It went so well that I enrolled both her and Owen in the October-November session. Today was the last lesson of the session, and there was a little awards ceremony at the beginning. Each kid received a repot card that charted their progress and a medal for their effort. Owen completed the level 1 requiremets this session, and Olivia completed level 3. The kids absolutely love swimming lessons and they look forward to going to the YMCA every week. I am sure that we will continue lessons with both kids after the new year.