Fit and Fab: My first 5K

Well, I completed my first 5K race.  Craig asked if it was easier than I thought it would be.  My answer?  NO!!!  It was just like running any other time, except with a bunch of people.  I definitely wasn't running to try get in 1st place, but I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

For my 30th bday, I had an awesome 80's party.  For my 32nd bday, I got my first tattoo.  So for my 34th bday, that is coming up, I wanted to do something memorable as well.  When I saw the Hot Hatch Chile Run was not far from my house, I wanted to do it.  And also they served a breakfast loaded with green chiles afterwards.  :)

Before the race, in front of the Hatch Chile Fest sign. 

Craig and the kids were waiting at the Finish Line and took this pic.

 Finished!!!  I didn't even notice they had made signs and were holding them up for me.  So thoughtful!!!

I came in 14th place out of 35 for my age group.  I had a personal record (PR) of 34:43.  It was hot, the hills were tough, and I had to force myself to finish.  I did have to walk a few times, but I didn't care.  I needed to catch my breath! Ha!!!

I only told a few friends and family about this and know they were cheering me on and praying I would get through this.  My awesome trainer and friend ran with me and was so encouraging the whole way.  I really appreciated it!!!

A 5K is now checked off my bucket list.  Next up:  Couch Potato to 10K

Gulf Shores, Alabama

We recently spent a week in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  And it was wonderful!!!!  We rented a condo that was right on the beach.  It was just enough space for us and we loved having the ocean as our daily view.  Click here to see pics of the condo we rented.

We spent most of the time hanging out by the water.  We played in the sand,

played in the water,

played horseshoes,

paddle ball,

threw the football, the frisbee...pretty much your typical beach activities.

At night, you would see lots of lights on the beach.  Families would take their flashlights and walk along the shore to try to find some little crabs.  We did that a couple nights and it was actually a lot of fun.

Hard to see the crab but it's at the top of the sand, between the blue and orange. You can see the legs!

We had a tent and beach blanket set a little further away from the shore in a designated spot.  Closer to the shore we set up our beach chairs, umbrella, and toys.  The best part was that we left everything where it was all week!  Everybody left their stuff out overnight and never had any theft issues.  Much better than lugging everything back and forth each day.

We ate a majority of our meals from the condo...on the balcony...listening to the waves.  Craig and I made some simple meals like omelets, baked chicken wraps, etc.  We did go to a couple local restaurants that were fun, family friendly, and great food.

The Hangout is just an all around cool place located on the beach.  There are stages, seating areas, games, foam machine, and a gift shop located around the outside of the building.  When we went for lunch, there was actually a trick dog show on one of the stages.  And the food was great!!

Lulu's was AWESOME!!!!  It's located on the marina and it's full of activities.  They have a stage, outdoor bar, sand volleyball, huge gift shop, free popcorn and water, and a ropes course.  Craig and Preston couldn't wait to get on the ropes course.  They had a lot of fun on it.  And our food was soooo good!  I definitely recommend the jalapeno hushpuppies.

We spent part of one afternoon touring the USS Alabama battleship located in Mobile about 45 minutes away.  We also checked out a submarine.  The kids really enjoy learning about history and were amazed to see what our fearless military had to endure.  We even came across some soldiers working on some drills on the ship.

We did some souvenir shopping at a couple of cool places.

But, of course, everyone's favorite part was the ocean.  We saw boats, people parasailing, and dolphins every day.  We saw sunrises and sunsets.  We saw a storm roll across the ocean.  I spent one morning running on the beach with such beautiful scenery.  Plus, we left the balcony door to our bedroom open every  night and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.  Much better to hear the real thing instead of my white noise machine I use.

Sunrise 

Sunset 

View on my morning run 

Thunderstorm across the ocean 

Gorgeous

It was a great vacation and were so sad to leave such a beautiful place.  As usual, wonderful memories were made.

#100HappyDays-Completed!

May 1, 2014 was the beginning of my #100happydays challenge.  I was determined to complete this challenge to prove to myself that it could be done.

And it can.

Does this mean I was absolutely happy every single day?  No way!!!  Some days were full of happy moments and it was hard to choose just one.  Other days had a significant happy moment that I was more than eager to share.  Of course, there were some days where I really had to dig deep and see what made me happy that day.  It wasn't always easy.

I posted all of my pics on Instagram and am so grateful to those that followed along.  There were some of you that double-tapped every #100happydays pic, sending nothing but love and encouragement my way.  That was very inspiring.

My first pic was for my daughter having a part in her school choir.

Some pics showed support for my son and his passion for baseball.

I was happy about coffee (many pics of that!).

I shared pics of yummy food.

I encouraged myself, and hopefully others, with God's Word.

My last picture was all of the beach goodies that were waiting to be used on vacation.

But through all 100 of these days, there was one common theme.  I went back and looked through all of the pictures and the same thing kept popping up.

My family.  The Suburban Kelley's.  Our awesome and amazing family of 4.  Pictures of my favorite people were used for 25% of the #100happydays.

They are what make me happy.