week of april 8th

this past week was a big one....DB passed his Licensing Exam!!!
this is huge, he not only went to grad school, excelled at that
he completed his 3300 hours in record time
took and passed the first exam, started studying again, took and passed the second exam
all the while; we had little Will,
and through it all, DB works 50ish hours a week...quite the accomplishment!!

i am personally thankful the studying is done, selfishly because we will see him more!
and for that i am over-the-moon.
DB took the exam at 8am, and then after passing,
went directly to the doctors office for Will's 2 month visit.
our little mister received his first round of shots...he cried, but then quickly got over it!
what a champ!
he was very fussy and sleepy the rest of the day though

(this is me attempting to smile and enjoy the sleeping moments as he would alternate between screaming and fussy, then only sleeping when held; then back to crying...this cycle lasted a good 5 hours!)

you go girl

today, another runner made my day.
we were running in opposite directions, and the timing of our passing was brief,
but in that moment she said was, "you go girl!"

 truly, those three words inspired me to keep going, not only today, but going forward.
those three word affirmed all the hard work it took to get out to the trail this morning.
i know its vain, but it was so nice to be acknowledged and noticed
getting out there, planning Will's eat and sleep schedule, just so i could get in a run,
ensuring i have all the essential items i might need, the mom just-in-case back ups
its not like the "old days" of run when you want, for however long you want...
simple things back then, aren't so simple now.
miss anonymous runner made my day by encouraging me with those three simple words.
(thank you lady)

i'm back in running mode and training for my next race.
(its feels so good!)
this past weekend's 5k reignited my love and enjoyment of running
i have an awesome jogging stroller, and an even more awesome running partner

i am excited for the days when we get to run together!

what is normal

this past sunday morning when alarms were going off,
Will was still sleeping and we were getting ready to take off for our race,
DB said, "we are not normal"
referring to the fact we wake up multiple times a night to feed our little child,
and then wake up early ourselves to go running.
but i couldn't agree with him;
because running feels NORMAL.

finally, i am starting to feel normal.
the past 8 weeks of recovery and adjusting to my new way of life;
i have felt anything but normal.
 i am SO incredibly thankful i am healed up enough to get back to running.
it feels SO good.
during the race, I just kept thinking "this is a gift"

i haven't been able to run much since my 7th month of pregnancy
i was thinking how incredible it is my mom wanted to watch Will that morning,
so we didn't have to worry about him
i was thinking how thankful i am for being "able bodied and healthy"
simply to be able to lace up my running shoes and to get out on that trail.
another thought that ran through my mind,
   how can it be, 8 weeks ago i was getting 2 blood transfusions and undergoing surgery?
i am a mom who chooses to wake up early on a sunday morning to go running
and i am thankful.
i am starting to feel better and i am getting back to normal
its a gift.

trail less traveled, 2013

we ran the Trail Less Traveled this past weekend, our 3rd year in a row we have run this event along the lake up in the foothills south of Chico.

i love the smallness and the intimacy of this event.
there are less than 500 participants, and there are families, parents running with their children.
i love it.
this is the first year we have done the 5k, versus the 1/4 marathon
for obvious reasons of inability to train being that we just had a kid 8 weeks ago.


DB placed 3rd for his age group this year, which was incredibly fun to see him received a medal
but also incredibly fun to see his excitement for such an accomplishment
he did a really great job, running his first mile super quick, and then adjusting his pace to allow a strong finish!

Kristy joined us this year, and she and I placed 6th and 7th in our age group.
i absolutely love that we have great friends who also love to run  :)