What I've noticed so far

Yesterday, while walking and doing my 5K training, I noticed that the songs I had loaded on my iPod at the beginning of my 5K training were now too slow.  Really?  When I started, I could barely walk to the beat of Queen's "Under Pressure" and now I find myself thinking it is too slow? The songs I loaded just because I wanted to give myself a spurt of quick minutes are now the songs I walk to most of the time!  Isn't that cool? I guess I need to find more songs like that, but not until I can manage to walk to the quicker beat for more than just 5 minutes at a time. I will do that next week.

I also noticed that walking the distances that used to feel so far, are now too short.  Last night my husband and I wanted to take a "leisurely stroll" around the neighborhood because he wanted to work out the kinks from his 5K on Sunday, and I had already walked earlier in the day. The route we used to walk for our longer jaunts seemed so short!  Let me add too that our leisurely stroll turned into a mini training session because neither one of us could walk slowly, especially when I had taken all of my slow music off the iPod and I was in the lead.  What can I say?  I need to walk to the beat of the music!

I am continuously amazed at the things that went un-noticed by me for so many years. For example, just watching squirrels and birds in my back yard has been both therapeutic and fun, as long as they are not digging up my plants or frolicking in my attic. I probably have more pictures of squirrels in my files than I do of my family at this point. I am finding that we have many different birds around here too that I didn't know we had. I was too busy to notice.

I also never took the time to garden and now I really appreciate the way different plants need tender nurturing.  Sure, you can throw a squash plant in the garden and it multiplies with whatever is in its path ~ but plants like beans and peas and strawberries need gentle care.  I found this out when I just threw them in there and watered ~ possibly too much. I lost one little strawberry and felt bad, so I decided to pay better attention.

While admiring my roses the other day, I noticed they really were not that healthy so I decided to learn more about roses.  I found the University of Illinois Extensions website and the roses section is very helpful! It is also very pretty so I spend a lot of time on there now.

Spending time with family and friends has become more important to me too.  I announced last night that I wanted to have a 4th of July party and my husband suggested we have everyone just come to a local festival we have gone to for the past 2 years, that happens to be a few days later.  I thought, OK ~ lets do that TOO! So we will have two parties in one week. 

I will close this post with a quote of John Lennon's that I really like ~ Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.

Huntley Youth Sports Organization 5K

On Sunday my husband and son participated in a 5K to benefit the Huntley Youth Sports Organization.  The organization is important to us because our boys played sports in Huntley, Dave coached youth football, and I was on the board of directors of the Huntley Youth Football league for many years.  In fact, Dave and I were part of an 11 member team who brought youth football to Huntley and worked tirelessly to build the organization from scratch. I can't tell you how much candy we've eaten along the way to benefit the various programs!

As our community grew, the sports programs grew as well. Now, instead of everyone being responsible for raising money for their own sport, the Huntley Youth Sports Organization was formed to help raise money for Huntley Youth sports programs.  According to their website, they have donated more than $120,000 to youth sorts since forming in 1999.

David ready to walk, iPod and all

My husband Dave has walked in about 4 or 5 races now and each time he continues to amaze me with his times.  He is a big guy, yet he finishes better than the time before. Dave walked 3.1 miles in 52 minutes! He has inspired me to walk in my first 5K in Green Bay, as I might have mentioned before.  Of course we had a minor problem at the very beginning ~ he forgot his iPod at home so I had to make a mad "dash" (no pun intended) back home to retrieve the much needed iPod.

Nathan finished in 22.5 minutes

 
Nathan finished his run in 22.5 minutes which was not his personal best, but I think that is pretty darn awesome! He has run many 5K's now and continues to motivate me through his message and actions.  He is looking healthier than he has in a very long time.  He is a very motivating spirit too and I keep telling him he really needs to become a certified personal trainer.  Maybe someday.

They had a child's 1 mile run at Sunday's race as well, even though some children ran the 5K.  They even had a 100 meter dash for the little kids (toddlers!) which I am sure was cute but we didn't stay to watch this year.  Avery should participate next year so we will watch it then.

I would have been ready to walk in Sunday's race, but I know how quickly I went from not having problems with my knees to needing knee surgery and embarking on a year of pain and rehab. I want my first race to be in Lambeau territory and I want to be healthy enough to enjoy it! I was waiting at the finish line though, camera in hand, doing my knee stretches and feeling "itchy" to move.

I am proud of my guys and I am happy they were able to participate in a 5K that raised money for a good cause.