Monster Dash 2013 ~ 10 Miles

Well, I did it.

Not particularly well, or very fast...

but I did it. 

I ran a solid 10 miles.

Saying I was "nervous"... This is the understatement of the decade.

I was pretty much a wreck.

But I had some really great supporters and lots of love encouraging me on!

It was REALLY COLD Saturday morning, but once you got going

it actually was pretty decent weather for running. 

The course was lovely (Summit Ave is gorgeous in the fall) and there

was lots of fun stuff to look at while you run, many people ran in costumes!

My biggest disappointment was that only 2 miles in, my right knee

started protesting.  At first it was just a little complaining, more like an 

annoying whine.  By mile 8.5... well, this was a full on tantrum and I 

basically wanted to saw off my leg.

I ran the Dash with one of our dearest friends, who although is MUCH

better at this whole running thing, stuck with me to the end.

Just poked along with me.

Kept encouraging me the whole way.

Bob... You've been such a great support! 

Thank you!

Clearly... he's feeling a little better than I am! 

My littlest supporters!

Ryan brought the girls out, all bundled up against the cold to watch me
come across the finish line! It was so damn good to see their faces
when I finished!  :) Thanks baby!

Two of Ryan's sisters, Kris and Kim also ran the Dash.

They however ran the Half marathon (crazies!), but we were able to 

see them a few times along the way!

Hey Kris... you've still got 3 miles to go...
Haha!!!

Quick pic of the girls before they continued on their way!

I'm so glad I did it and I'm proud of myself for commiting to something

and following through.  If someone last year had asked me if I would

ever run 10 miles, I would have laughed in your face.

Yet here we are!

GO ME!

:)

Happenings

Life is busy.

Isn't it always?

Suddenly we're talking flurries, and I feel like I still should be relishing the colors of the fall!

There has been so much going on in our lives, some big things... others, not so big, but worth

mentioning anyway.  I've gone from posting every few days, to hopefully 1 a week, often not 

even that much.  I want to keep this up.  

So, here goes...

long, random, not well thought out... but here's the Volovsek happenings for the month of October.

I crashed.

Sucky.

No one was hurt, except my car.

 Fortunatley, I have some great men in my life that managed to put my car back together

Lila had her 5 year checkup... all is great, she's awesome, and even was a champ through her shots! Not a tear shed!

Elle decided she'd be a tough girl too... flu shot went without a hitch.
That is until she fainted and had a small seizure in the office!
UGH!  Little stinker took a few years off my life!  

But all is well, there is no lingering issues, and she was up and running full steam ahead 

after a bagel and some fruit smoothie.

My girls being tough before shots!

still a little pale and not feeling so stellar

My Dad came for a visit around Lila's birthday

Lila is a goofball

My dogs are cute.   Total pain in the butt, still cute.

We went to the zoo with my friend Sarah and her girlies

Sometimes the simple things in life make you take pause and feel grateful.

Lila is turning into such a big girl.  She spends time alone and likes to be outside by herself.
She loves playing with the pups, and I'm sure they love her for it too! 

Both girls love to color, but Elle is still a little less attentive than her big sister!  

She's a little squirrely... kind of an instigator... (but so dang cute!)

I'm still running.  It's not always real awesome, but I'm still going.  More on that later.

The girls had some serious Daddy snuggle time the other night!

I got some flowers from my hubby.  Why? Just because.  And at the end of a rough week, 

they came at the exactly perfect time!

Bear with me... I know this is long...

Ryan and I got something kinda fun... 

INK!

 Yes, it hurt.   Yes, I'm happy I did it.   Yes, I LOVE THEM!

The other day I let the girls play Play-Doh.  

Confession:  I hate Play-doh.  
 (a friend recently told me that hating play-doh is "un-American", but I let that slide).
However... I was having a mommy moment, so out came all the stinky, messy stuff

and the girls loved all 45minutes of it! Haha!

 It was worth it! Especially when most days I feel like this....

.... getting close here, hang in there...

We went yesterday to get our pumpkins.  There is this little place not too far from us...

The girls call it the Yellow Barn... kinda fun little place if you ever make it down to our neck 

of the woods!  They've got all kinds of fun, unique treats.  Old fashioned candies, and of 

course, the pumpkins!  

Remember these?

Or these??

And lastly... we spent a little time at our friends cabin.   The guys put up gutters and I got some editing done and a short run in.  The highlight of our weekend for me, was an early morning walk in their woods.  Cold, but so pretty it took my breath away.  I captured some images that will act like memories of that walk.  I had a rough week, when I thought that I accidentally deleted all of them, but somehow, Ryan found them hiding on my new laptop!

Working outside, while I edited in the warm cabin

This is the look of "woman... get out of here so we can finish our work!" Haha

I have many more... I'll share them another time.

But it's my bedtime.   

Thanks for hanging with me... Good night!

Just a thought

Family isn't always blood. 

Its the people in your life who want you 

in theirs.  The ones who accept you for

you are.  The ones who would do 

anything to see you smile and 

who LOVE you,  no matter what.