Thanks to my amazing parents, Curtis and I were able to spend several days in Kansas City. It was the first time we've been able to get away, just the two of us, since we became parents. It was incredible! We drove back to Wichita Thursday evening. Friday morning we headed back home, knowing we were heading straight into bad weather in Oklahoma City all the way till south of Ft Worth. However, we knew that if we didn't leave on Friday, we wouldn't be able to get home till Monday, meaning the kids would miss their Kids Marathon (a 1.2 mile run for kids put on by the same awesome people hosting the half Curtis and I ran) and we would miss our half marathon.
(Curtis and I, heading to Kansas City! Can you tell we were a little excited?!)
(Early anniversary celebration at Melting Pot)
The drive was SO long! We were in the car for 18 hours. The kids were incredibly well behaved and God was very gracious. We narrowly avoided having to spend the night in our on I-35. We knew we had dozens of friends and family praying for us and the protection of our Heavenly Father. We made it home without incident at about 3am. Curtis and I got about 3 hours of sleep before getting up to get the kids ready to run.
Though the weather in College Station was dry, it was still VERY chilly. We bundled up our kiddos, loaded them back into the van, and headed to the starting line!
When both Mommy and Daddy are training for a half marathon, the kids are keenly aware of it. Long runs cut into family time. Mommy and Daddy (mostly mommy in this case!) might be tired, sore and kinda cranky some days. The entire family schedule is different so that runs can be worked in. And though Curtis and I tried to include the kids as much as possible, it was still taxing on the kids at times. Having a race that all four kids could participate in was such a treat for them! It was all about them, their accomplishments, them having fun! What a great idea by the directors of the marathon and a great way to celebrate them when so much focus had been on our training.
I was highly impressed by the kids and how they ran! All four of them ran the entire race with no walking breaks. They got out there and ran hard, even though they were all quite cold.
Don't they look cute in their running gear?! My awesome mom made the experience about the kids by taking them all to Target and letting them pick out new running clothes! They had so much fun and it really built the excitement of race day. Also, notice their warm, blue gloves? While stuck in traffic on our drive home, I realized that none of the kids had little inexpensive gloves they could wear. Hayley to the rescue! She went out and bought gloves for all the kids and put them in our mailbox so they were ready for us!
After the kids ran, they were each given a medal!
I think this race gave my kids the running bug! Since then, we've gone on several family runs. All three big kids have races on the calendar for this spring and are excited for their next running adventure!
After the race, we dashed to the studio for Nutcracker rehersal. Curtis and I also went to the race expo. I had lunch with my running group. Then that evening, we watched Elizabeth perform at Christmas at the Creek.
The two days leading up to my first half marathon were not even close to what I was anticipating. It was a long, cold, exhausting couple of days. But they were also days filled with God's goodness, protection, mercy and fun family memories were made.
