My First Half Marathon: RACE DAY!

Four months of training.  Hundreds of dollars. 231 miles. Dozens of early bedtimes and early wake-ups. All for this one day.  This one race.  

Those were the thoughts going through my head as I woke up and started getting ready to run my first half marathon.  All the time, energy, money and hard work that I had put into my training were culminating in this one run.  By the time Curtis and I were in the car heading to the starting line, I was in tears.  I was so ready!  I nervous about the cold, about if my training had been enough, about how little sleep I had gotten leading up to the race, about how I fueled, about every tiny detail that was totally out of my control at that point.  I was excited!!  I was excited to finish what I started four month earlier, excited to do something that I never though I would do, excited to see my husband and kids at the finish line cheering for me.  Needless to say, all these varying emotions got the best of me and I just cried.

The morning of the race was very chilly!!  I had anticipated it and was well layered.  Before we started out, I got to snap a few pictures with my friends and training buddies. 

 (one of the ladies in my running group had "space blankets" that she let us use to stay warm before the race.  It was awesome!!)

 (Kris ran his first full marathon!!  I was excited to see him before the race, wish him well, and thought our matching headbands were awesome!)

The view from the starting line was shocking.  I knew that this was a race that would be run by several thousand people, but I was astonished by what several thousand runners actually looked like.

 During the first mile, I ran with Tori and Hayley.  We didn't take any walking breaks, enjoyed the energy from the other runners as well as from the crowd.  I was able to see several other friends during the first mile.  Those moments really added to the excitement.

At mile about 3, I saw the cutest cheering section EVER!  My four kids, one of my best friends (Erin) and her two kids, all screaming and cheering for me.  It was awesome!!  I was also able ditch my gloves and my jacket.  One lesson that I learned is that when you're layering for a long, cold run, ditch the outter layer before one of the under layers gets sweaty.  My long sleeved shirt was sweaty and as soon as the cold air hit, I was cold again.  Also, never ditch your gloves.  Take them off, but keep them.  If the wind picks up, if your pace slows, you might need them again.  

 All through the route, there were people out cheering us on.  Seeing all the supporters and volunteers who were out freezing for those of us running was so encouraging!  It also broke up the race a little and provided a bit of distraction.

At about mile 6, I started experiencing a lot of pain in my upper legs/hips area. I tried stretching.  I tried taking more walking breaks.  I quickly slipped into a negative head space and ran smack into THE WALL.  For non runners, the wall is when you mentally feel like you're an idiot for running this race and that you can't take another step.  I knew exactly what it was, and was discouraged that I was facing the wall before I had even hit the half way there point.

At mile 10 (or was it 11?) I hit another wall.  It was at that moment when I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to finish in under 3 hours.  I was hurting, I was exhausted, my stomach was cramping, I was cold and I was done.  It was at this point that Hayley offered to give me a piggy back ride.  She told me that I could do this, that I HAD to do this, and that she wasn't going to let me walk the rest of this half marathon.  Hayley was awesome!!

One of the funniest moments during the race was when a man, cheering at a corner yelled, "Only .3 of a mile left!!"  I stopped, looked at him and said, "Are you 100% sure?!"  He smiled, assured me that he knew what he was talking about, and off we went, ready to finish this race!

 Finishing a half marathon (regardless of your time) = an amazing feeling.

We crossed the finish line and were immediatly congratulated by the race director, Chris.  Chris knows our family, recognized me, hugged me and said, "I saw Curtis finish.... awhile ago."  I just looked at him, and he quickly added, "I mean, he's awesome, and congrautlations on finishing!  You both rock!"  Couldn't help but laugh.

Then, I was directed to a sweet girl named Ronni, who was passing out finishers medals.  She recognized me from swim team, gave me a huge hug, hung my medal around my neck as I burst into tears.  

                                                     

I walk over to Hayley, crying and saying, "Where's Curtis, I want Curtis, where is he, I need him!"  We finally found him, and the celebration began!

The BCS Marathon throws and amazing post race celebration!  There was food or all kinds, water, chocolate milk, Gatorade, beer, margaritas, space blankets and music.  Rather than quickly heading out, we decided to wait and cheer on our friend Jessica, who was finishing her first full marathon.  As I watched more half marathoners and marathoners finish, I couldn't help but burst into tears, yet again.  I couldn't help but relate to every person running across the finish line.  I knew each of them had a story.  I could see the pride, the excitement, the pain, the disappointment on their faces.  And I when I saw Jessica run across the finish line, reaching her goal time, I really boohooed!!

My official time was 3:05.  Every runner I talked to told me not to set a huge goal time, that my goal should be to finish. In the back of my head, I was shooting for 2:45 and my goal was to run it in under 3 hours.  When I thought back to all the hard work that I had put in I was so discouraged.  I had not run hundreds of miles, lost sleep, spent money and worked so hard to run a 3+ hour half marathon!

But then I was reminded that it's not always about the end result, sometimes, it's about the journey.  Every step you take towards your goal should be celebrated.  It was then that I decided I wanted to run another half marathon.  I wanted to take the practical things I had learned from my first half and apply them to reaching my goal.

Running my first half marathon taught me many things.  But the biggest lesson that I learned is that I'm capable of so much more than I thought.

A couple Questions

I believe this to be totally true!!  

In the past minute, Timothy has asked me.....

"Why don't you buy softer toilet paper?" "Why do you press so hard when you wipe me?" "Did you hear that noise?" "Why do my feet make that noise?" "Did you hear my feet make that tingly noise?" "Is there something wrong with my feet?" "Can you measure me on the scale?" "Have I grown?" "Is that why my legs hurt?"

My first half marathon: Race weekend

I can't just blog about race day.  I really need to back up and recap the entire weekend.

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)

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.

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.  

Happy birthday, Timothy!

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My first half marathon: training

In the four months I didn't blog, I trained for and ran my first half marathon.  Though it's old news now, and I'm actually training for my second half marathon, I still wanted to recap my experience.

The only reason I decided to run a half marathon was because I won free training with a running coach and a running group called Runaway Moms.  Coach Wendy sent out the training plan, made the routes, set out water on the long runs, taught me how to stretch, pushed me when I wouldn't push myself and reminded me that I was capable of doing this.  I can't express how much this group of women encouraged me through the whole process, cheering me on at every little victory.

The longest I had run before I started training for the half was 3.5 miles.  Slowly building up my mileage was exciting!  Seeing that I could keep going and that I could push myself to get the higher miles was so rewarding.  The weekend that I was going to tackle 7 miles was a big one for me.  I had run 6 miles twice before and completed a 10k (6.2 miles) and I was ready to make another jump in mileage.  The morning came and I was genuinely excited to hit that mileage milestone but it was pouring rain complete with thunder and lightning!  No running for me.  My motivation was gone and I wasn't sure how I would mentally make it through those 7 miles.  That's when Hayley joined me for my training.  She went on almost every long run with me from then out.  She was already registered to run the same race I was training for, and rather than train at her pace, she stuck with me though the rest of my training and the entire race.  I am so thankful for the friendship that we build and then fun times we had!

 Since Curtis had trained for and run a half marathon earlier in the year, I knew the time commitment it would take for our entire family.  And not only was I training for the half, Curtis was also training for the same race.  Throughout our training, he always put my runs first.  Never once did I feel guilty over leaving the kids and him to go run for over two hours.  After my long runs, he would be ready with ice, compression socks, chocolate milk and ibprophen. Curtis was a constant source of praise and encouragement as well as advice.  During hard runs, he would text me with words of encouragement, reminding me to finish strong.  And on one really rough run, he came to get me from the side of the road but pushed me to try that run again and get the mileage I needed.  There are so many cliched analogies I could make about training for/running a half marathon and marriage.  But instead, I'll just say that I truly could not have done what I did without my amazing hubby!

 Training for a half marathon is hard.  But it is worth it!  There were times when I was confident that I had made a terrible decision.  But I'm thankful for the awesome people who surrounded me and encouraged me to keep going, even when I didn't want to.

Only Daughter

When Curtis and I were pregnant with Elizabeth, we chose to not find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  Since I had come from a family or all girls and Curtis only had a brother, I assumed that we would have all of the same gender, or at least most of the same gender.  When Elizabeth was born I truly thought we would be a girl dominate family.

Boy was I wrong!

And while I am loving my roll as a mom to a brood of boys, learning about sports, feeding them non stop, dealing their odd smells and destructive ways, I am so incredibly thankful for my one daughter.  I love how girly she is!  She's my mini me.  We look a like, we act a like, we enjoy similar things.  Elizabeth is truly a delight!

One of my favorite things in having a daughter has been her love of dancing.  She started dance class at the tender age of two.  We've been through a multitude of recitals, dance pictures, tights, shoes of all sorts and costumes.  To my extreme delight, for the past two years, Elizabeth has danced in The Nutcracker Ballet. I love watching her perform, seeing the light in her eyes as she dances.

Despite her love of dancing, this past fall she stopped enjoying ballet.  Though I don't ever want to be the mom to force my children to do something they don't enjoy, we won't let our children quit if they've made a commitment.  She still wanted to be in the Nutcracker, which required her taking a ballet class. She just wasn't enjoying her ballet class.  So once the Nutcracker was over, we let her quit ballet.  This semester, for the first time since she was two, Elizabeth isn't dancing.

And though I'm bummed my only daughter isn't dancing, I am so excited to watch her focus on a new endeavor..... running!

In two weeks, Elizabeth and I, along with some friends, will be participating in a Graffiti Run.  That will be the first of three 5Ks that Elizabeth and I will be doing together.  She's also planning on participating in a mud run with her brothers.

God truly blessed me with my daughter.  He also blessed her with abilities in several areas.  I'm so thankful that I get to spend more time with her, watching as she continues to discover and grow in her areas of passion and joy!  What a delight Elizabeth is to Curtis and I, in whatever activities she pursues!

Not as cool as I thought.

In the precious post, I as going to brag about how I figured out how to blog from my phone without the help of Curtis. Then I lost the post and posted without knowing it. Clearly, I'm not as cool as I thought.

Recently, I've tried my hand at pancake making. Every time has ended in frustration and gooey pancakes. My friend convinced me I should give it one more shot and shared her recipe with me. Yesterday Curtis had a delayed start to his work day due to some winter weather, so it was the perfect day to try my hand at pancakes before permanently making our family a waffle family. They were incredible!

Here's the reipe for the incredible, fool proof buttermilk pancakes.
3cps flour
3 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
4 cps buttermilk
4 eggs
3/4 cp melted butter

So maybe, armed with my new pancake recipe, I am as cool as I think!

Look what I can do!

New Year

It's been over four months since my last post.

And for those of you who know us, you know it's not for lack of activity!

It's also not for lack of amusing stories, silly things my kids have said, beautiful pictures or special occasions.

But my life is just too rich, too fun, too full to not share!!  I cherish the memories, moments, special occasions and pictures that have previously been posted and feel sad and disappointed that there is a four year gap in those memories.

Be ready!  I'm back and ready to blog!

Words of Encouragement

As we've started our 6th year of homeschooling, I've been surprised at what a struggle it's been.  We are into our fourth week of school, and I am still facing whining, complaining, resistance and in general, bad attitudes.  It's very hard for me to not become discouraged when facing the task of educating four little people who seem to think they should fight me every step of the way.

Rather than throw my hands up and wave the white flag, I've been surrounding myself with scripture.  And since I know the struggles and battles that I face aren't unique to me or to homeschooling but are common to all godly moms, here are the words of encouragement that have helped me.

"By wisdom a house is built,
and through understating it is established;
through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasure."
Proverbs 24:3-4

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue"
Proverbs 31:26

"Start your children off in the way the should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it"
Proverbs 22:6

"Discipline your children and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire."
Proverbs 29:17

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sounds doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will father around them a great number of teacher to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. "
2 Timothy 4:2-3

"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Colossians 2:2-3

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9

Co-op

This week we started our 5th year at Brazos Classical Academy, our homeschool co op.  There are many reasons I love our co op, and there are many reasons I sometimes hate our co op.  Despite the ups and downs, the extra work, the busyness it adds to our week, I think all the Krajcas feel ready to tackle another year of co op!!

 

For some reason, I don't have a picture of our very first day at BCA.  The year we started, 2009, I was pregnant with Timothy.  He's out little co op baby, and was even born on a Tuesday morning when we should have all been at co op!

 

 Year 2, 2010

 

 Year 3, 2011

 Year 4, 2012

 

Year 5, 2013

 

"My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. "

Colossians 2:2-3

First day of 4th Grade

Name: Elizabeth
Age: 9
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: cinnamon roll cake
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Spaghetti Os
Favorite thing to eat for dinner: pizza
Favorite thing to eat for dessert: everything sugary
Favorite movie: Scary movies
Favorite TV show: Dog with a Blog, Shake it Up, Good Luck Charlie
Favorite place to go: Six Flags and Chuck E Cheese and bowling
Favorite book: Little House books
Favorite thing to wear: dresses
Favorite sport: swimming
Favorite shoes: high heels

Things that make me.....
happy: my family
sad: getting hurt
laugh: telling jokes, being tickled and playing pranks
cry: when people in my family die
excited: presents, going to Grandma and Grand Daddy's, surprises.

First Day of Preschool

Name: Timothy
Age: 3
Favorite Color: blue
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: cookies
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: piece of cherry pie
Favorite thing to eat for dinner: cinnamon roll cake
Favorite thing to eat for dessert: pudding pie
Favorite movie: Shark Boy and Lava Girl
Favorite TV show: Jake and Batman
Favorite place to go: Grandma and Grand Daddy's house
Favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Favorite thing to wear: a coat
Favorite sport: basketball
Favorite shoes: tennis shoes

Things that make me.....
happy: presents
sad: when people throw me on the floor
laugh: getting tickled
cry: when I get scraped by thorns
excited: when I do school!

First Day of 2nd Grade

Name: Micah
Age: 7
Favorite Color: maroon
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: cinnamon roll cake
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: spaghetti
Favorite thing to eat for dinner: hot dogs
Favorite thing to eat for dessert: pudding pie
Favorite movie: Chimpanzee
Favorite TV show: Batman
Favorite place to go: Six Flags
Favorite book: Pirate books
Favorite thing to wear: my sleeveless shirt
Favorite sport: flag football
Favorite shoes: cleats

Things that make me.....
happy: going to Six Flags with my friends, going to Grandma and Grand Daddy's house, shark necklace
sad: when I trip and scrape my knee and when Elizabeth is mean.
laugh: listening to Adventures in Odyssey and tickling.
cry: if I got my head cut open
excited: having a new brother or sister.

First Day of 1st Grade

Name: Benjamin
Age: 6
Favorite Color: green
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast: cinnamon roll cake
Favorite thing to eat for lunch: Spaghetti Os with meatballs
Favorite thing to eat for dinner: salad
Favorite thing to eat for dessert: pudding pie
Favorite movie: Max Steele
Favorite TV show: Ben 10
Favorite place to go: the arcade and Six Flags
Favorite book: dinosaur books
Favorite thing to wear: wedding outfits
Favorite sport: machine pitch baseball
Favorite shoes: sneakers

Things that make me.....
happy: family, my birthday, and camping
sad: when we ask our friend to come over and they can't.
laugh: getting tickled
cry: getting hurt
excited: going to my grandparents' house.

When he grows up

Just recently, I had a conversation with my Dad about what I imagined each of my children doing when they because adults.  Obviously, I hope they love the Lord with a passion and strive every day to follow Him.  I hope they marry, finding a partner to work with, love, and follow Christ with.  I hope the know the rich blessing of children.  But more specifically, at this stage in life, what do I imagine my children doing when they grow up?

I think Elizabeth will be in front of people!  Maybe dancing, singing or swimming.  Or maybe, in front of the classroom.  Her personality is big and contagious!  She had the ability to have a group of people wrapped around her finger.  I can see her entertaining or training people with these talents.

For awhile now, Micah has been talking about being a police man.  With his tender heart and caring spirit, I can see him in a profession that allows him to care for and shepherd people.  Policeman, Fireman, Pastor, Counselor, Vet, Nurse.  Whatever he chooses, I know Micah will do it with the gentle passion he has shown us already.  He's also very athletic, and though I don't see him making that his profession, I can see him being involved in athletics for his hobby.

Benjamin, with his smile that lights of a room!  I always imagined he would be our outspoken politician, or comedian, or TV personality.  But even stronger than his personality is his mind.  He is so bright, so intelligent!  I imagine he will be an engineer, architect, or surgeon.  He has a sharp mind, the ability to pick things up quickly and incredible find motor skills. 

And then there's Timothy.  At the time, I wasn't sure what I thought Timothy would be.  However, in the past few weeks his imagination has grown!  Curtis and I are always being asked to help defeat the bad guys, pretend that the piece of race track is a sword, or die on the spot because we've been killed.  In Timothy's world, nothing is as it seems.  I think Timothy will be our writer, our inventor, our creator or maybe even a teacher.  He'll be the one to bring life and joy into other people's worlds.

What an adventure parenting is!  And what a delight to see my children grown and change and become amazing individulas, right before my eyes.

Swim, little fish.

This summer, Elizabeth, Micah and Benjamin joined swim team.  From the end of April till the end of June, the kids had practice every day (sometimes twice a day!) and meets on the weekends.  Though at first the schedule was overwhelming, since we were still doing baseball, I am so thankful that we had this experience! 

 

While we've always known our children are athletic, it was fun to watch them excel at another spot.  Elizabeth in particular was a natural!!  She raked in ribbons and medals through the season!  She even medaled at invitationals, a meet swimmers must qualify for based on their times!

 

Benjamin also had a great season, brought home many ribbons and a medal.  He qualified for invitationals and placed in his two events.  We were also very impressed by his competitive, yet encouraging spirit.

 

Micah had a good season, though not as great as his siblings.  Curtis and I had several conversations, worried that Micah would become discouraged by the lack of ribbons.  He didn't qualify for invitiationals, but went and cheered on his brother and sister with a kind and gentle spirit.  It was hard for me as a parent to see him try so hard, yet not get the prizes that his siblings were bringing home.  More than anything, we wanted Micah to know that we wanted him to do his best!  Not only did we see that he was doing his best, but so did his coaches!  At the end of the year, he received the award for Most Improved Barracuda!!!  It lifted his spirits and encouraged my mommy heart.

Timothy, not one to miss out on the action, took swim lessons for two weeks.  He now tells people when he grows up, he wants to be a Barracuda!

 

I'm very proud of every one of my little fish!!  We're already looking forward to next summer when we join the Bryan Barracudas again!

 

Happy Birthday, Sweet girl!

Nine Years Old!!!

Every year, Elizabeth, when you turn a year older, your Daddy and I are simply amazed.  Amazed that we've all made it another year.  Amazed at how much you change in a year.  Amazed at your beauty. Amazed at your sweet, strong spirit.  Amazed that we've been blessed with you as our daughter!

Happy birthday, sweet girl!  We love you very much!  We couldn't be any prouder of the young lady that you're becoming.  We know that God has big things in store for your life, and we're thankful and humbled to be your parents.