Reflections on our first run

Yesterday, we began our journey on our way to 460 miles.  I have to admit that it wasn't an easy start.  We had to get all the kids up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7AM.  On a typical Sunday, we try to be out by 8:30.  And those of us who see us cruise up the side aisle at church looking for an empty pew know that we hardly ever meet that goal.

The kids have been running races for a while now.  J started when I did, around 2 years ago.  She even ran a few 5ks.  Then running started to be painful for her last winter.  Whether it is growing pains or food allergies, we are still uncertain.  She still loves to compete, and often takes prizes in her age group, but always pays a price after she runs.  She wants to run, but doesn't want to run.  Between signing up for a race and race day, she often changes her mind several times.

C started running 1.5 years ago.  He was still young enough to do the kids fun run during the Great Train Race.  It is 400 m all downhill and they have snacks at the finish line.  Who wouldn't love that? Now he is old enough to run the mile.  He is quite fast, but often has trouble staying focused on running.  Many times I have seen him during the mile striking up conversations with his fellow runners, course marshals, costumed characters, etc.

I've been running races for 2 years.  I started to try to lose weight and just to prove to myself that I could finish a 5k. Now I have four half marathons behind me and I am looking to finish a full marathon before this challenge is over.

The past month has been tough for training.  The challenges that come with working a full time and a part time job and being a Mom to four kids have made finding time hard.  I tease that I can't train without a bib on my shirt, but this past month it has been true.  I ran a 10k on Oct 20th and a 10 miler on Oct 26th.  Then my sister-in-law passed and we traveled to be with my brother's family. I had not run at all for 2 weeks before this 5k. 

Every runner knows how therapeutic running is.  It is a time to be alone with your thoughts, which can be good or bad.  I tend to run with headphones in case I need to drown out those thoughts, though it doesn't always work.  Our local running club often enforces no headphones rules for safety.  Little do they know the voices in my head are much more distracting than those from my Ipod.  I had headphones yesterday, but I may as well have run without them.  I had a question to answer.  What was this website for?

My sister-in-law's death has left many people with holes in their heart.  She was much too young to go and she had so much left to do in this world.  I know I am not alone in wanting to do something, anything to lessen the pain for her family and friends.  I know that our challenge can't do that, this website won't do that.  I think it may be more our own therapy than anything else.  It is something we can do to honor her memory.  I know that she enjoyed running, and she was successful in using running to lose weight and improve her health.  But her determination to accomplish her goals was evident in many things that she has accomplished during her life.  And so we are determined to accomplish our goal.

In short, this website is part therapy, part accountability, and part tribute.  I guess we will have to figure it out as we go.

But I do hope that if you read this, and happen to find yourself in a situation to help out a stranger in some way, however small, please do so and let us know about it.  You never know how much a small act can change a person's day.  You never know what people are going through.  The world can always use more kindness. 

A journey of 460 miles begins with the first steps.

Today J, C, and I will take the first steps on our journey at the FCA 5k and 1 mile. The kids run first at 8:00, followed by the 5k at 8:30. J and C will be running the 1 mile and I'll be running the 5k. A healthy, if chilly, start to out total of 460 miles.

J and C ready to run.

And they are off..  It was about 50 degrees as they headed out of the chute.

B-Dad, cheered them on with K1 and K2.

J coming in for a strong finish!  She finished her mile in just over 9 minutes.  1 mile.

Poor C took a spill mid-race, but still finished strong.  Still coming in just over 11 minutes.  2 miles.

Post-race bounce. Because, of course they will...

While they bounce, I head out on my run.

The first two miles, I averaged a 10 minute mile, but the 3rd mile was basically uphill and I lost a lot of time there.  As I turned the corner toward the finish line, I gave it all I had.  You always have to finish strong.  I passed both of the women in the picture below and finished in under 33 minutes.  5.1 miles. 

C earned 2nd place in his age group

J also earned 2nd place in her age group.

I earned 3rd place.  Not in my age group, because that will never happen.  This was in the special group for women of a larger persuasion.  I was minutes behind the 1st and 2nd place and about 20 seconds ahead of the 4th place.

It was a beautiful morning to run.  It was a great start to our journey. 5.1 miles down.

Welcome

Welcome to the 460 Miles blog.  This blog will document a pledge by our family to run 460 miles in the next year.  This pledge begins on November 10th, as I run the FCA 5k and my two oldest kids, J and C, run the FCA 1 mile in Fredericksburg, VA.  (I have two other kids, K1 and K2, but as they are still under 5, they arent quite up for the mile. B-dad will be watching them during the race) The 460 miles will be logged during races as well as outdoor training runs and we hope you will join us in celebrating this journey.

Why would anyone want to pledge such a thing?  460 Miles is the distance from our house to my brother's house.  Last week, he suddenly lost his wife and the mother of his two young children.  We recently made the trip (by car) and expect to do so many times in the next year.  We hope that our journey this year will produce some good, and perhaps encourage others.

So what do you have to do with this?  I thought about asking for pledges to raise funds for his children, but I could easily direct anyone wishing to donate for a fund already set up for them.  In this blog, I would rather encourage you to pay it forward.  For every mile that we run, I would like to hear about a random act of kindness performed in their honor. 

Thank you for reading and we will see you at the finish line!