4.05.2009

birthday rounds

I went to 2 birthday parties today for friends' kids. I always feel a little odd at those types of parties because I have no children, no spouse and seemingly nothing to talk about with the parents that aren't my friends. Luckily the parties I went to today had parents that I knew other than the b-day child's so I felt a little less awkward.

I did have some fun while shopping for presents though - how many people (with or without kids) can name most of the characters from Thomas the Tank Engine? That must be what's taking up all the space in my brain!

5K... bitching and moaning

So my friend M decides that she wants to start doing charity walks this year as a way to not only "give back" but also to rebuild her waning t-shirt collection. I plead with her that I would be happy to buy her $100 worth of t-shirts if she'd just find someone else to walk with but she declines. Secretly (or maybe not so much) I think she wants to do this in an effort to help me shed some (read: A LOT of) unwanted lbs.

And we are off - the first walk benefits the Women's Center of Fort Worth - a great cause. The morning starts off with us playing phone tag bitching and moaning about the weather, sunscreen, water, parking, etc - it is WHAT we do. We decide that our warm up should be getting a jump start on the walk so we head down the path. We get caught starting early so we hide out on the side about .25 mi up the trail and once the runners start we join the pack.

Mile 1 - 14.5 minutes - my legs are feeling good, I am a little out of breath but pushing through.
Mile 2 - 31 minutes - my legs start hurting a little, but I'm still breathing all of the sudden I have the urge to go to the bathroom and there are NO facilities along the way.
Mile 3 - 51 minutes - the most difficult of all the miles, I'm battling a serious need for a bathroom, a slight burn in my shins and the fear that tomorrow I am going to hurt like a SOB.

The finish line is in sight - We made it!! AND in under an hour. Now this may not seem like a feat to anyone else but for me (quite overweight AND totally out of shape) I was SUPER excited.

The new goals is completing the Jingle Run in December in 30 minutes or less. Stay tuned.