Champion

 (Catching up little by little)

Last spring Maya played her first season of softball. She loved it! We got lucky - her coaches were amazing! Great girls on her team and even her best friend.  Wouldn't you know it - her team went undefeated for the whole season and won the championship game! What a way to start your softball experience. She played outfield behind first base most of the time (and had a few great plays in that position) and sometimes covered 3rd base. 

She was pretty good up to bat. With young pitchers she got walked a lot, but she was pretty good at getting a hit. 

If she got on base, her coaches were really great at signaling when to steal and getting her home, which is exactly what was happening in the picture below.

Here she is with her teammates waiting for the closing ceremonies and trophies.

Congrats, Big Blue Wrecking Crew!!!

Jen's First Half

Finish line sprint!

I'll start with - I am a sprinter. I like short, quick running races. Loved racing as a kid and teenager. Never once in my life had I thought, "I want to run a half marathon. That sounds fun." I've never even run an official 5k, unless you count the sprint triathlon I did 2 years ago. I need to do one of those again soon. I loved it.

I was shocked a few months ago when Matt mentioned he was running a half marathon in Afghanistan and wrote about how he'd always wanted to run a marathon. My reaction: wait...what?? I had no idea that was something he was interested in. But running is something he fell in love with while deployed and I have to say I am so glad he caught the bug. He and I now both get antsy if we don't get a good workout in everyday. And I want his heart healthy and beating for a long time. Running is a great way to help that happen.

Went off on a little tangent there. So, I've never had any plan to ever run a race longer than a 5k. I love working out at the gym and while Matt was deployed I trained and certified to teach Body Combat; a mixed martial arts cardio exercise class. It is my favorite! I get in 4 great cardio workouts and 2 strength training workouts every week. I take Sundays off. It is a day of rest after all. 

I do enjoy going out for a run every so often. Sometimes you just need to hit the pavement and move your body, but while Matt was deployed I did not go for a jog once. That's how much I hate pushing the jogging stroller. So when he came home and was running all the time, I got the itch and had to go with him. So fun. I love running with my husband! We busted out about a 4 mile jog and it didn't even phase me. Went out again the next week with him and did a 5 mile. Still felt great. (I may not have gone jogging while he was gone, but combat is high intensity, muscle fatiguing, hour long cardio workout) So about 3 or 4 weeks ago, my friend who is a runner (she's done a dozen half marathon's and 2 full) mentioned there was a half coming up May 19th, do we want to run? I figured it was geared more toward Matt, but it made me think. A 5 mile wasn't too tough for me, could I bust out 13.1? I was already signed up to do the Tough Mudder in the fall and that is a 12 mile obstacle course (anyone want in? Let me know)

Matt started back up to work and I went on 2 more 4.5 mile runs over the next few weeks without committing to the half. Matt was supposed to work and I would have to leave the house at 5am. Not fun finding a babysitter to come at 5 am. A week ago, Matt let me know his shift got switched and he'd be home the day of the race. He was really excited about the idea of me running a half. So I texted my friend and let her know I was in. I can count on one hand how many jogs I've been on and I committed to running 13.1 miles in 1 week. I'm a little crazy. I work out every morning after dropping kids off at school, but this last week I added in a 6am 8 mile run with Kashia, then proceeded to go to Body pump and lift weights for an hour. Ouch! (but I loved it!) The 8 went fine. I was excited to try the half.

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 4:40 and got myself ready and forced myself to eat a clif bar - I hate protein bars, and met up with Kashia to head to the place where the buses would drive us to the start. This race started up at Lake Solano and we would run through the scenic California rolling hills into town and to one of the high school stadiums. The buses dropped us off in a parking lot by a lake and all us runners walked around aimlessly because we didn't see anyone official. After about 10 minutes the officials arrived and got us set up for 7 am start. 

Talk about scenic. The lake was beautiful. There was a bunch of (noisy) peacocks up in the trees and all around. A few dead snakes on the roads as we ran. And one of those happy california cows running on the hill next to us. It was a little mean that the run started right away with a big old uphill. 

The first few miles I had to overcome a stitch in my side. I kept trying to hear my high school track coach tell me to run through it, breath even, nice big breaths. Prayed hard for the cramp to leave. Every breath was painful. By about mile 4 or 5 the pain was finally all gone. But I was proud because I had pushed through and did not stop to walk once. I was so glad I had Kashia to follow. She set a great pace and encouraged me on.

I stayed with her (tried hard to keep up with her) til about mile 10. Then I decided I need to not worry about running as fast as her and run my own race. There was a mile marker snafu. They labeled mile 11 mile 10. That was disheartening and threw me off a little. Those last few miles I had to pep talk myself. A 5k. I can do a 5k. Only 3 miles. That's less than half an hour. You can endure anything for that long, just push through. 

And I did. My only goal going into this was to not stop and walk. Even if I was doing a 15 min pace, as long as I was jogging. Never in a million years did I think I would hold a 9 min mile pace the whole time. My quads and calves and soles of my feet jarred with pain every step those last 2 miles, but the competitive nature in me would not let me slow down or stop. I did it!

The best sight to see was coming into the stadium after being out in the country for so long, and then seeing Matt and my boys on the sidelines cheering me on. I almost started crying. I was so happy to see them and so grateful they were there cheering for me.

I posted these pictures below and a few others on facebook and a friend commented that I should not look that happy after 13.1 miles. I was happy and relieved to see my boys and the race was coming to an end. That would make anyone smile!

Me and Kashia checking out our medals.

Felt so good to stretch after. I put on my body combat cool down and took us through all the stretches.

My official time was 1:58:00. Out of a little over 200 half marathon racers, I finished 81st overall, 24th out of a little over 100 women, and 9th of 34 in my age group. I'm told under 2 hours is a great time, but I really don't know much about these things. I was expecting to be closer to 2 and 1/4 hours, so I'm pleased. Maybe next year I'll train a little more, cuz ouch! It still hurts to walk.

I'm hoping the sunrise website will post some pics from the run and I'll add them here.

The half marathon made me realize - never in a million years will I do a full marathon. I would like to run this race again next year with Kashia, and hopefully Matt will join us.

Big Blue Wrecking Crew - Maya's first game

Maya and her best friend Emi on picture day.
Playing their first softball season together.

Maya is in 4th grade and I've finally got her signed up for her first softball team. Most of the other girls have been playing for a few years. It frustrates Maya a little when she watches the other girls do things and she doesn't just immediately pick it up, but she is holding her own.

I do have to brag a little with this post. She played her first game this past Saturday. Her team, "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", won 11-2. Maya was up to bat twice. The whole team was up to bat at least twice. Maya was the only girl to get a hit both times! On her first hit she made it to first and got an RBI (runner batted in), meaning a girl on third ran to home plate on Maya's hit. Maya ended up stealing home herself that time around the bases. She got another hit her second time up and made it to first again. But later got tagged out at another base. It was a great first game for her. Her best friend Emi also got a hit and stole a few bases herself. I'm glad they're learning this together. I know the games probably won't all be like this, but I'm so glad she had a good time. Her coaches are fantastic with her and really doing a great job of helping her to learn. Now if I could only get my boys to stay put so I could actually watch the entire game...

Soccer Season

Luke is #10 - to the left in this picture.

It is soccer season for this family. We lucked out big time on practices being at the same time and park - otherwise I had no idea how I was going to get my kids to practices. Luke's team is bright orange and so they named themselved the Smashing Pumpkins. (It's kind of funny to cheer for them because the name is a mouthful so I usually just shout the second word. "Go pumpkins" sounds a little too sweet.) Luke is one of the bigger/older kids on his team so he gets to be the strong player. He's a natural defender and loves to stop the ball and boot it away from the goal. He'll usually turn and give me a thumbs up afterward. He's had a turn playing goalie at the last 2 games and not one shot has gotten past him. So fun to watch him play!

(Blue jersey = goalie) Here he is throwing the ball back out into the field.

His team won this game 3-0!

Maya's team is named "Fury United". Her coach is absolutely fantastic. He's got the right balance of competitive nature blanced with wanting them to do their best and praising them for it. He teaches them so much about the game and is quick to encourage and praise their efforts. Maya loves the team she's on and always has a fantastic time. She tends to be a natural defender as well, but her coach is moving her around trying her out in more offense positions as well. Here are some pics from her game yesterday. They won 7-0!

Maya is number 6

It's hard to watch games and keep 2 boys entertained. So I brought out the big guns - video games. They only get to play these on Fridays and Saturdays.