Run, Kelly, Run!

"My friends, you have to run-runna-runna-run, freedom, run away!"

I started running (pretty much for the first time in my life) a few months ago. I was trying to change my exercise focus from weight loss to something more motivating and less discouraging. My hope was to increase my endurance, which would help me when hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc. I set a goal of running a 5k (without slowing to walk) within a couple of months. I consider myself to be in reasonable shape thanks to my outdoor activities and occasional aerobic workouts, so I thought that I would get used to the running thing pretty quickly.

I was wrong.

Apparently, running is a whole different ball game. It uses completely different muscles and requires very different endurance abilities. I wasn't bad at it, necessarily, just much slower than I hoped. But I kept plugging along on my way to running my first 5k.

Then I remembered that the Bolder Boulder was coming up, and I got excited to participate! The Bolder Boulder is a HUGE 10k race that takes place each Memorial Day in Boulder. It's a pretty epic event, with lots of crazy people and marshmallows. With my first race determined, I gave up on the running a 5k without stopping and focused on just completing the 10k in under an hour and a half.

Now, I know that 1:30 is not a very fast time, but remember: I'd just starting running and I'd just realized that running was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Anyway, I developed a little training schedule for myself to make sure I could handle the whole 6.2 miles, and I kept running until race day was finally here!

Of course, I took a little time to celebrate my birthday and grad school graduation with a little party on Memorial Day weekend:

Food and fun, complete with a late night run to 7Eleven!

But then I was all business and focused on the race!

What made the whole event even more fun was that my dad and my brother-in-law were running the race, too!

Getting ready to start the race with my dad and LOTS of other people.

Matt was our photographer for the day, so he got shots of us and some of the 54,000+ runners.

And we're off! This is the start of our wave, but you can't see us because we're more towards the back.

Dad quickly left me behind once we started running, which was ok because I turned up my music and got into a groove. I was able to run without walking for much longer stretches that I thought I would. And I had a lot of fun taking in the sights and sounds of the bands:

And crazy people:

Now, are you ready to hear my time? Ready?

1:23!

Under my goal! Woohoo!

Look at us rock stars!

Dad finished in 1:10 and George finished in 52 minutes (showoff).

After the race. A little tired, but happy!

Next year, I hope to be much faster. Mostly so that I can run in a faster wave and not be slowed down by all the walkers who get in the way... But also because I know I'll keep getting in better shape this year! I'm back to working toward running a whole 5k, and I'm getting closer. Hopefully, I register for a 5k race later this summer!

Hiking a Mountain

We're well into hiking season at this point, but we've still only gotten out in the mountains a few times so far. There's plenty of summer left, though, and we tried to start big so that we're ready to tackle the giant mountains before summer's end. A few weeks ago, we took our first 7+ mile hike of the year (and only our third hike total this season) up to Deer Canyon Park in Jeffco Open Space. The hike took us through various terrains to the summit of Plymouth Mountain. The mountains are finally starting to get green (in places) and the flowers are blooming! I'm pretty happy that summer is here!

Matt walking through the various parts of the trail. This is my typical view on most hikes.

At the summit. Views of the city on the front side of the mountain, and snowy peaks on the back.

On the summit.

The flora and fauna seen on our hike.

Cool rocks.

The hike was a little strenuous, but we handled it much better than we normally would have at the beginning of the hiking season. My running and our skiing has certainly put us in better shape this spring than we have been in years past. So now we're ready for all the other summit hikes and fourteeners we'll be doing this summer!

They Grow Up So Fast...

First, a story:

Nearly 18 years ago, on a hot summer afternoon, I sat down with my sister to play a board game. This was a rare occasion, as my sister was ten years older than me and generally thought I was only there to be picked on. But, while she still spent a lot of time telling me I was adopted and randomly singing White Christmas to make me cry, Salem seemed a little more willing to tolerate my presence since she had become pregnant. Maybe she wanted some practice before she had a little kid of her own following her around and bugging her, or maybe she was just growing up. Regardless, there we were: playing Guess Who, the awesomest of two-person kid's games (after Connect Four, of course).

Unfortunately, our game was interrupted when Salem started acting weird. After a couple of trips to the bathroom, she went into the back bedroom to call my mom. I was initially pretty annoyed that she was letting pee breaks and phone calls get in the way of our oh-so-important game, but it didn't take long for me to realize that something was going on. A short time later, my mom came home (in the middle of the afternoon!) and whisked Salem away to the hospital. Apparently, Salem was in labor. And we hadn't finished our game!

Hours later, after all of the hubbub died down, I stood on our back porch with my dad. We looked at the stars and breathed the cool, summer air, while he talked to me about the important role I would have in my new niece's life.

"Someday," he said, "When she's your age, you can tell her all about the day she was born. Tell her that it was overcast and a little chilly. And you can tell her what you were doing and what you were thinking when you found out that today was going to be the day you would become an aunt."

My little mind started going crazy with thoughts of the future. I was determined to be a cool aunt. I would help her learn how to put on makeup, and give her advice about boys, and watch as she reached the important milestones of life. It didn't matter that I didn't know how to put on makeup, or that I still thought boys were gross. I would grow up, and then I would help her grow up.

Well, I don't know how much help I really was over the years. It turns out, my sister is a fantastic mom, and my niece didn't need me to teach her about makeup, boys, homework, or any of those other things. She didn't need a "cool aunt" because she had a really cool mom. But I was fortunate enough to get to watch her grow up. It was so much fun to be around as she went through all of the awkward phases of childhood and the teenage years, and to see her come out the beautiful woman she is now. And I was thrilled to be there, a couple of weeks ago, to see her reach the first of many milestones of her adult life.

Belle graduated from high school!

It was a very emotional event (especially for Salem), but it was certainly a joyous occasion! So we will move away from all the sappiness above, and present the happy events in my more typical blog format! Enjoy:


The whole family gathered to watch her walk with her class and receive her diploma.

Graduation! Belle trying to keep her hat from blowing away before she walks across stage, the kids throwing their hats!

It was very exciting!

After the ceremony, we gathered for food, cake, and presents!

The festivities! I made potato salad and baked beans to go with the spread. And I made Belle a little robot purse and tucked a little graduation happiness inside.

I'm so proud of the woman Belle has become, and Matt and I are excited to be around for the next milestones! Love you, Belle, and good luck at CSU! Go Rams!

Aunts: we're important!