Ready to Run

I am crazy and decided and I want to do a marathon in the spring, which means I have a lot of training ahead of me. If I do not do a marathon, I at least want to run a half marathon. I have my sights set on doing the Great Wall Marathon, but we will see. Trying to balance our life and add in things like running that take a lot of time and energy might not be do able. I am just saying that in case I fail and do not even make it to a half marathon, but failure is part of life and trying is important. 

I have been trying to run a few times a week. I am not doing well.... If I do go run I usually have to do it with the kids. So the boys are in the stroller and Cosette is on her scooter and we make our way to the splash pad or play ground. which is about 1.5-2 miles from our place depending on what route I take. So I get in 3-4 maybe more miles in when I run with the kids. I always run Wednesday night while Cosette is at piano. I have an hour to run, so I give Henry the kindle and he gets to watch Paw Patrol. Raphael has a toy and snacks and off we go. I am the crazy Western woman who almost runs everyone over with her giant stroller when I go run. People give me a lot of looks. 

In preparation for this crazy goal I have am going to try and do one race every month. I kicked it off by doing the Color Run in Singapore. It looked fun and no pressure which I thought was a good way to start my running journey. It was on Sentosa, which is a small island just off Singapore (it's part of Singapore). That is where all the good beaches are, Universal Studios, and Resort World. It is the place to go is you want to have some fun. Lyndon and the kids came along to cheer me on. They ended up going to the beach that was right next to the course. It was so hot. The race did not start till 4pm which is the hottest part of the day. That was the only down side. I was already soaked with sweat before I even started running. I went out too hard, but that is me. I kept telling myself it is okay, I am learning how I need to pace myself for future races. I killed the few hills that were on the course. I learned in my high school cross country days that hills are our friend and when I am done I need to pretend to pat it on the head and say "that's a good dog". That is an exact quote from my CC Coach, haha. It has stuck in my head all these years. I am happy to say that I did not die. I kept thinking of all the Olympians and how they had to push themselves to get to the Olympics and I can push myself too. I counted only two women in front of me, which means I was the third woman over all in my race to finish. I finished really strong which I was proud of myself for doing. I was neck and neck with this guy at the very end, but I pull ahead and beat him! Times were not taken, which bummed me out because I wanted to see how I did compared to all the runners overall. There were several races. Two on Saturday and on Sunday. And it is nothing to brag about saying that I was the third woman to finish in my race when most people were walking, but I will take it. I did not get as colorful as I thought I would. I am fine with that. I am just happy that none of the chalk got in my mouth as I was running. 




Artistic selfie.
 I met Lyndon and the kids at the beach afterwards where we hung out for a while. I saw two Hornbills fly over my head while we were there. That is a highlight of my life, to see those birds in the wild. I love Singapore! The beach was gorgeous! I felt like we were back in Bintan because it looked like paradise. There was a shark net up so I did not feel so nervous. I wished I had brought my swim suit and Lyndon's, but we brought the kids and is the most important. The kids were in heaven. Henry was lying in the water being so funny. Raphael loves playing in the sand just like his brother and loves to eat it too (no!!!!). There was a playground and a splash pad next to the beach, so it was kid heaven. I want to go back so bad!



Paradise!


These next photos of Raphael are the cutest! I could not only post one. He is our little dumpling.


Baby yoga.


Those are the details of my first of many races (hopefully). I am hoping to do a 10k next, but I should probably not get to ahead of myself. I have not signed up for a race in September yet, but I am going to start looking. I have a lot of friends who are really inspiring when it comes to running as well as my mother. Hoping to stay motivated and reach this goal. 

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