Oops...

Between Christmas and New Year's, we went to Gatlinburg (really Pigeon Forge) and spent a few days in a cabin with Melinda's family. We had a fun time playing, hanging out, and doing Christmas. Here is where the oops comes in - I created a PhotoShow of our time there and forgot all about it! I saw where I did it and thought I'd go ahead and post it even though it's almost four months late! Enjoy...

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Five Outside!

After not walking for a couple of weeks, we finally made it out yesterday. It was a sunny day, although slightly chilly, but we decided to head to the park and walk there while the girls played. A half-mile in, Melinda started having a lot of trouble with her asthma and had to stop, but she graciously let me continue. Melinda ended up doing a couple of miles, but I had my longest walk so far at 5 miles. I was supposed to be up to 8 yesterday, but didn't want to push it after being off for so long. Here are my splits:

• 15:04.234
• 14:43.640
• 14:55.603
• 15:00.804
• 14:54.913

The best part? I felt GREAT! I think I experienced a "runner's high". I was a little winded until about mile 3.5. After that, I just kind of zoned out and didn't even realize I was walking. I looked at the frisbee players, the trees, the path, and listened to the iPod. I felt good, and the next couple of miles went by fast. The one drawback was that mile 4 was my slowest time, a by-product of the "zoning" I'm sure, but I picked it up in the end.

I am very pleased with my time, and the five miles. I am more excited now than I have been in a while about my ability to finish and finish well.

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Thomas Nelson Marathon Kick Off

We had the official Marathon kick-off meeting at Thomas Nelson yesterday. As you can see from Mike Hyatt's blog, the company reached its goal of have 25% of the work force participating in either the Dallas or Nashville races. It was a great meeting with a lot of great information for first-timers like me. I learned more about rashes, chafing, and other potential problems than I care to admit! Melinda and I both are still WAY behind on our training. When I last posted we hadn't walked in a week or so, and then the whole family (except Anna) got sick, then I was busy at the NRB convention. So, here it is Friday and we still haven't walked! I was supposed to have walked 7 miles this past Sunday, but I have only done 3.5. We plan to get back on track this weekend and hit it hard over the next month. I am still confident that we can fisnish, since our goal it still to "just finish" and not push ourselves too hard the day of the race.

All in all, we are excited about the actual race. We still need to work out someone to watch the girls for us, and hopefully bring them down to the finish line (we would love to see them at the end!). We also still need to get shoes and socks. Otherwise, we can't wait to complete this monumental undertaking and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing!

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March Snow

The weatherman was right! We watched as the snow started to fall on Friday night and woke up to 4" inches of snow. It was still snowing as we attempted to build a snowman. Hmmm. . . building a snowman was not quite as easy as I remember as a kid but with Scott and Jessica's help, we got the job done! Anna even ventured out into the cold and was excited to build her first snowman too.

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