Misc Updates...

I haven't been out running for almost 2 weeks. Blah. The first three days of neglect were fine because my grandson, Collin was born and he's worth missing some exercise. The other 7 days were not spent in a fun way.


Had a spinal tap gone wrong. That put me in bed for 5 days before I decided the doctor was correct in his assumption that I had a spinal leak and needed to go back to the hospital. After 15 hours in the emergency room, they patched the leak. Let's just say that wasn't a good time. Let's also just say I will never have another spinal tap fer nuthin'.


Today I left my house at 6am for 2 appointments up in Tampa (1.5 hours away) Got there, got lost IN THE HOSPITAL, cried to some unknown woman who was sweet enough to walk me to where I was supposed to be. (1.5 hours LATE). My tears must have scared the women at the desk because they got me in to see the doc anyway. It pays to be overwhelmed.


After that test I had to drive to a different area for the MRI series. Should have been 20 minutes. Took me over an hour. BUT...I made it there 20 minutes early! I hate driving in strange cities! Spent a relaxing 2 hours in the MRI machine. Ooohhh...good times. Even had headphones with music. Too bad the bangs from the machine drowned the ability to hear those songs. I think I fell asleep in there. In the end, I found my way home just fine, even if it did take 2 hours to get home. With no traffic. I found peace, solace if you will, in that car ride home. Just me 'n the tunes.

Doc says no strenuous activities until Wednesday. I might hit yoga tomorrow night. I also might try one other strenuous activity this evening...teehee! =)

Anyway...this could be MS or some other kind of central nervous system disorder. Maybe even an auto-immune disease. I vote for a vitamin deficiency! Sounds way easier to fix if you ask me. No matter what, I plan on continuing with my life just the way it is, only with drugs and alcohol if need be. Just kiddin....mebbeeee. I have a stash of stuff in my drawer for "just-in-case". Kiddin.

I was laying in bed last night thinking about "what on my body does not hurt"...I know, I know...seems like an odd thing to think about. But that's ME...looking for a positive. Guess what doesn't hurt. AT ALL. EVER. My glutes. It's true. I don't have a pain in the ass. Isn't that nice? Speaking of asses....I decided I want a heart shaped ass. Upside down heart shaped. Wouldn't that be cute? Not that you'd ever know. I'd never show anyone. Well...maybe I would if it was that cute, I dunno.

I have a 6 mile run planned for Wednesday morning with Elizabeth. I'm really excited about hooking up with her because we're the same age, same pace and we're both WOMEN! Yes...it's true! Only she has more endurance than me right now. That's a good thing as it will keep me on my competitive toes! Elizabeth has a full marathon planned for December. Her first one! I really want to run that one with her. I'd kill to finish in 4:20...LOL...what??? I can dream, can't I?????

There's A new Man In My Life....

Last November, my daughter Kirstin introduced me to a young man (very young may I add). I'll admit that I was not too impressed. I was surprised and not just a little scared. I didn't feel a huge connection. At first. But then I met him again just a few weeks later.

I felt a bit excited this time. My heart was racing and I felt it do a little jump. This young man was excited to meet me again too. I could hear his heartbeat. It was strong and loud. It sounded like a horse galloping! I looked at my daughter as we both listened to this wonderful sound and we smiled at each other. Both of us loved him at that precise moment. Instantly and unconditionally in love.

As the months went on, each time we got together, I could feel our bond deepening. I'd tell him how much I loved him. I could almost hear him answer me back.

In January I saw him for the first time...on screen. His little spine was perfect, his legs looked long and strong like a runner. He turned his head toward us and raised an arm as if to say "hello!" Kirstin and I cried with happiness to have this sneak peak at him. The image is forever in our minds. (and on youtube under kimmycu search) =)

I got to see him many times as the months came and went. What an active little guy! Every time he came by, I'd tell him I loved him.

Then last Friday morning I got a phone call from my daughter, Kirstin. She told me it was time to meet this little man in person! I woke my other daughter Kerri and we met Kirstin and Chris at the hospital. (we actually beat them there) We went to a special room and helped get Kirstin comfortable. She was so strong and brave! She breathed through some pretty intense pains until she had an epidural to give her a chance to rest.

About 9 hours later, it was time. With Chris, Kerri and I supporting Kirstin, this new life emerged right before our eyes. What a miracle! "Hello Collin Mitchell!" "I love you!!!!" He answered back with a tiny yelp and it was music to our ears! Chris was pretty overwhelmed and asked Kerri to cut the cord. She did and Collin was placed in Kirstin's arms. There was not a dry eye in the room.

Collin weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and is 18.5 in long. His hair is jet black, his eyes are dark. His feet are long and skinny! He is perfect. His cry is sweet music. His little noises are soothing. His scent would bring in millions if it could be bottled. He is wonderful. He is pure. He is my grandson.

Kirstin brought him over to my house today. As we looked at his precious little face, she asked Collin where he's been all her life. She said she feels complete. I told her now she knows how much I love HER. We cried a little, happy tears full of love. For Collin and for each other.

Daddy, Mommy and Collin

Gramma and Collin
Emily, Grampa and Collin

Firecracker 5K Race Report

I was sweating by 6:15am. It was THAT hot 'n humid today. I was on this race committee and had registration duty which is the only reason I was there so early. Cindy was there with her 3 month old daughter, Emily Grace so what I REALLY did was hold the baby until she fell asleep, then I handed out t-shirts. Ha!! Grandma practice!!!













Kim and Kayla at the Firecracker 5K!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kayla came in with her husband Josh around 7am and I could tell she was a little nervous/excited. We wore gray tops and black shorts so we could match (it's a girl thing). Deb showed up soaked and out of breath. Seems she decided to "warm up" with a 6 mile bike ride to the race. Gotta love Deb....LOL...and I do!!! Steph and Elizabeth came soon after. All of us were excited for Kayla's 1st race!

We were NOT excited about the heat and humidity. We usually run at 6:30am and yeah, it's still hot but even an hour later it gets BRUTAL. I could only hope some people had their sprinklers on to run through!


One really cool thing that happened...when the national anthem was being sung, someone from the front started singing along. One by one everyone joined in. It was such a touching moment. It gave us pause to think about our men and women over in Iraq. Hopefully they stay safe and come home to their families soon.


The horn went off and away we went. Starting off already hot and sweaty was making us feel like it might be a tough run. It was. We did the "hop-around-the-kids" dance and got through that without a fall. I love seeing the kids there but they tend to run in a zig-zag pattern...haha! We made it to the first mile in 9:15, very nice. I looked over at Kayla and she was going strong! We got to the half way turning point where our friend Ed was monitoring and he gave us the lucky high 5. We made the turn in just over 14 minutes. I was PUMPED! Kayla's goal was to come in under 30 minutes and I sooo wanted to see her make that time.

By the time we got to the 2 mile marker the sun was just beating down on us. Sweat was pouring off all of us. We slowed a bit about here. Kayla wanted to go without a walk break but with the elements being what they were I pulled a coach card and called a 20 second walk. I pointed out that the crowd wasn't really getting very far ahead of us. Everyone was slowing down.

After a quick (silent) evaluation of any health issues (like heat exhaustion) we started back up. We caught up to the crowd we were basically with when we took the shorty walk break. When we saw the 3 mile marker we kicked it up a notch. It looked like a close one to come in under 30 minutes. When we saw the finish line we booked it in to the sounds of Michelle (Kayla's sister) and Josh screaming for Kayla!!!! It was so exciting!!! We made it in in 30:02! Soaked with sweat and looking for water.

I was worried Kayla would be disappointed we missed it by 3 seconds but she was thrilled! I reminded her we actually took at least 7 seconds to get to the starting line, so in REALITY we did finish in 29:54. Josh and Steph agreed. These are the times I wish we had chips. Anyway, Kayla wanted to take off before the parade got started but I talked her into waiting for awards. What she didn't know was I have CONNECTIONS and found out she PLACED IN HER AGE GROUP and had a medal coming to her! And the really cool thing was...my friend Kimmi and I were the award announcers and I was going to be able to call her name! OMG...can I even get my feelings across in this blog???? No, I cannot.

At the women's age 25-29...2nd place in her age group...KAYLA!!! I had tears, I swear! My voice even cracked a little. I am so very HAPPY!!! After all the awards went out I ran over for big sweaty hugs!! She is so thrilled! Kayla had a surprise for me! She gave me a gift certificate for a massage!!! How sweet is that?!? I am looking forward to that, I'll tell ya!

Today was a satisfying finish to a wonderful training with Kayla. We trained hard together, running at the crack of dawn. In the rain. In the heat. Even swimming through the humidity. We had fun, we ached and sweated, we planned for this day with excitement. Our friendship built strong and quickly over such a short period of time. Kayla leaves for Japan next week and I will miss her terribly. She is sweet, fun, intelligent and so full of life! I predict many more medals coming her way. I am genuinely blessed to have her for a friend.

I Think I'm Back Now...

It's been a very busy few months here in my world. My husband had his lumbar fusion. He was home for 6 weeks and just went back to work! He's feeling great and has no pain after 25 years of back problems. Very happy about that!

My daughter, Kirstin is having a baby!! Very soon, in fact. She saw the doc last Tuesday and she's 2 centimeters! (I cried) I can't believe we're going to be grandparents!!! His name is Collin Mitchell and I love him already.

I cut down on my work hours to spend the summer with my 2 youngest kids. They usually go to day camp for the summers but I see them growing up so fast that we decided to take this summer to spend together. It's not as fun/easy as I thought it would be (LOL) but I'm still happy to be able to spend this time with them.

I am still having problems with my legs etc. I'm about to begin a gluten-free diet. I also have 2 days worth of testing up in Tampa coming up which includes the dreaded spinal tap. I hope to have some concrete answers some time in this century.

I have been running with my friend Kayla 3 times a week, legs permitting. She has been a God-send because she keeps me going. Kayla leaves for Japan with her Marine husband next week and I will miss her so much!

We've been training for Kayla's very first 5K race! How exciting is THAT?? She had a goal of completing it in under 30 minutes and guess what? We ran a test 5k at race pace and she came in at 29:25!!!! I'm sooo proud of her!!! I honestly believe she will finish in 27:30. We do long runs every Saturday and have gotten up to 5 miles. I think Kayla is going to be a distance runner. She has all the signs and symptoms of loving the distance runs....lol. Before she leaves on Friday we plan to get a 10K run in. Maybe a little farther, we'll see. Kayla hopes to find some runner friends on base. I know she will, she's a sweetie!!!

We ran an easy 4 miles yesterday. Kayla doesn't usually talk when we run but this time we chatted the entire time. We finished the 4 miles without stopping and we both felt like we could have gone on forever. Proof this girl is a distance chick! She's fired up!!!!!! Mee toooo!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is "race day"...4th Of July 5K. I can't wait to see how Kayla feels about racing. I'm betting she's gonna LOVE it!!! I am also looking forward to seeing my fellow Zoomers Running Group. http://www.zoomersrun.com/ in case you're curious! I haven't seen some of them in a while.

I will be posting a race report tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll have some pictures too!!
I miss my blogging friends! Hopefully I still have some! =)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Summer Running In Florida

I cannot believe it's been a month since I've posted! My husband had his successful lumbar fusion May 5th and we've been soooo enjoying our time together. Until now. The kids are out of school for the summer. We are not alone anymore. We have to share each other with the kidlings. Sigh. It was nice while it lasted. Bobby goes back to work a week from Saturday. We are staying on Siesta Key Beach for a few days as our last hurrah! Kids included.

Now for my running news. I am slowly getting back into it. I work with a young lady named Kayla who is a runner! YAY! She mentioned that she hadn't run in a longggg time and wanted to do the Firecracker 5K. I just so happen to be on the committee for that race and I was thrilled to hear her interest. YAHOO!! I also have been in the market for a new runner friend since Reg went back to Canada (I have a little story about him...later)

Kayla and I have worked out a schedule where we can run together 3 times a week. She told me she was slow and hadn't run in quite some time. PPPFFFFTTT!!! Our first run together showed me a little of what this chick is made of! She can run!! I can see she is a natural runner. Her breathing, rhythm and posture are very good. She has such a quiet landing I can barely hear her. I am thrilled she is not in my age group. What??? I am competitive....lol. Kayla is only in Florida until the end of July. Then she goes off to Japan with her Marine husband. I won't think about that until the time comes! =(

This Saturday I'll run my 1st 5K race since Easter. Last year we had a young mother from our town get kidnapped, raped and murdered. The story is horrendous. Her husband has completely absorbed himself in keeping her memory alive for their two young boys. This race is for her, Denise Amber Lee.

Kayla is contemplating running this 5K and I hope she does. It'll give her a PR for the 5K in July. She's a little nervous and not sure she's ready, but I know she is. I'm so excited for her!

Medically, things have been really good. The meds the doc gave me are helping immensely. If things continue this way, I'll have new goals!!

Speaking of new goals...remember my Canadian friend, Reg? He jokes that every time I ask him a question about things he's done and he says he hasn't done them, he winds up doing them.

For instance,
I asked if he'd done a half marathon. He said no. Now he has.
Ever fall while running? Never. He fell during the half marathon.
Like to race? No, not competitive. Now he's thinking about speed.
Seen a snake yet? Nope (thanked God under his breath) Found a snake in the house he was renting!

Reg told me not to ask him anymore questions. They're like little omens I guess. So last week, I sent him an email. All I said was: Have you ever run a full marathon? He answered with one sentence: No, I have not run a full marathon.

TeeHee. I just sent him a book. I can't wait for him to get it! It's called "4 Months To A 4 Hour Marathon". Haha!! I'm taking a chance writing it in here, but I can't hold it in any longer! He'll be back in November, which is 4 months to the Sarasota Grouper Marathon. Perfect huh? I think so too. I wonder what Reg will think...lol...