Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Amazing GRace {Race Recap}

Several months ago I caught my husband in a good mood. You ladies know the mood I am talking about. It's the one where you bring up doing something, going somewhere or a project and he quickly agrees. I said "hey I am going to sign you up to do a 5K with me in April" and he said "Sure." You all know that I immediately signed him up before he realized what had happened and was able to change his mind.

A pair of running shoes, 3 months and 3 training runs later we were there. 


Look at us. We are "that" couple. I have observed "that" couple running down the road a few times and I have always been curious what "that" would be like.

He had good company too.


This picture brings a huge smile to my face. These are some great men.

 They all committed to and followed through with doing something their wives love to do with them.


It wouldn't be a race with out a pre-race selfie with my girls.

Now I want to take a minute to brag on my guy. In his words "I take the term couch to 5K literally." Before Saturday Russ had never ran an official 5K and before his 3, yes only 3, training runs he had never ran for 3 miles before.

Look at that smile. He is truly a natural runner. 


It was so much fun to run the race together. At times I felt like I was holding him back a bit. We made it to the end and sprinted to the finish line. Neither of us seemed to out run the other... or so I thought

He finished in 28:08

I finished in 28:09

He beat me by a second. I love that even as he was sprinting to the end he still had a smile on his face.


Here is how I stacked up. Out of 247 female runners I came in 8th! That is a number that I feel really good about. 


And my time was good enough to get me this 3rd place in my division. For two years in a row now I have placed 3rd in a 5K on Easter weekend. Crazy. 


The best news of all is he doesn't seem to have the "one and done" mentality. He is already eyeballing a few races this summer that he would like to do and talking about training to get faster. That obviously means we won't always be running together, but I'm okay with that.

I guess my theory that running is addictive proves to be true for some.

Have you ever ran a race with your better half?
What activities do you enjoy doing together?


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32 comments:

  1. Awesome job!! How much fun :) We are in a season of life right now that makes is harder for these types of activities. However, when we get outside with the girls and are playing soccer/running around/etc., we find ourselves falling back into competition like our college days, and we stir up a few races/kick-offs. SO much fun :)

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  2. How fun! Congratulations on placing 8th! I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can get outside for a jog. I don't kid myself, I don't "run" ;).

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  3. Wow! Good job! I have never been a runner, so I am stunned!

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  4. So fun! Scott and I did a few 5ks but they were a few years ago. Definitely fun to do with your hubby though! And great job on placing 3rd!

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  5. That's awesome! I am not, and have never been, a runner...but I love that you were able to share that with him!

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  6. Looks like a fun day and congrats on the time! :)

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  7. That is so so so awesome! I would LOVE for Jake to run with me someday but he can't - silly asthema getting in the way. We used to play tennis together a LOT pre kids. Our gym has lots of tennis courts and I'm hoping maybe as we settle into a routine of going to the gym on Saturdays we'll pick up tennis together! :) Anyway love how great he did and how awesome you did! Woo hoo for medals!!!

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  8. Congratulations! 8th is awesome! How awesome of your hubby to do that with you & know you've hooked him on running! What a special bonding time for your relationship, too!

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  9. Thank you so much! I was really pleased to rank so well, especially seeing that is definitely not my fastest time. I hope we are able to run more together soon. It is a lot of fun to enjoy so many of the same hobbies.

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  10. Thank you so much! We had a blast.

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  11. My husband and I met on the cross-country team in college. So we ran CC and track together back then. We didn't date in college, but met up for a run a few years after college...and now we are married. We ran so many miles together when dating and married (pre-kiddo), even training for a marathon (somewhat together as we had one kiddo at that time, so we ran separate a lot). I miss the days that we would run together!


    That is super fun that he ran it with you. :)

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  12. Ah yes. My running buddy Anna has some how managed to run even with asthma but she is a rare/lucky one. It mostly bugs her when it is really humid outside.... so now, lol. It would be so awesome if you guys could pick up an old hobby again. I can't wait to hear about that. Thank you so much Jenny!

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  13. Haha! That is exactly how I used to feel. Something about getting ready to turn 30 also turned me into a runner... so you never know dear ;). Thanks friend.

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  14. Aaaahhh that is awesome. Thank you so much. We had such a great time.

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  15. Neither had I until almost 2 years ago. I started running and haven't quit yet :). It was a great day. I am so happy he agreed and joined me.

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  16. Thank you so much. I was really pleased seeing that definitely was not my fastest time ever. If your moving and not walking you can totally claim the runner title. After all what is the difference between jogging and running?! I can see the difference between those and sprinting but run/jog totally interchangeable in my books :).

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  17. Thank you so much! I am oh so familiar with that season. It is hard, probably why he didn't do more training runs with me.... well that and I wake up at 4:30 to go to the gym haha ha! Speaking of early you were up early reading this! Are you an early bird too?! So great that you find ways to still have some fun/competition and you get your girls involved, I LOVE it!

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  18. Aaahhh that is so awesome! I have friends that are married who have the same story! He is actually the Cross country coach at the H.S. now too! That is SO awesome. It was so fun to run together. Definitely not my best time but it was great. How many marathons have you done? I am so intrigued but so hesitant too. I am doing half #3 & #4 really soon then I think I am cutting back my miles for a while to shift my training focus a bit.

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  19. I have only done one marathon. It was awesome, but time-consuming! We had a one year old at the time and my husband has a busy working schedule, so we had to have weekly "meetings" to schedule out the training runs. I will probably do another some day, but will wait until we are done having kiddos and they are a little older.


    Go for it! There are many great training plans out there that make it slightly less time-consuming so you don't have to run every single day. It's the 20 milers that take a lot of time. They take over your day...as you want to sit around the rest of the day. :)


    I have run quite a few 10-milers and love that distance. I am intrigued by the half-marathon, as it's fairly close to the 10-miler. Good luck on yours!

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  20. Oh how so sweet! Love that he is wanting to run some more and that he "beat" you across the finish line. ;) My husband and I use to run together before I became pregnant with Lily. Those are some really fun memories that I hope to recreate...in retirement probably. ha!

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  21. Lol, I feel the same way. I have toyed with the idea of running a full but… man that is a lot of time. I am already sleep deprived training for a half too. Sadly though I think that I am over half way there with being able to leave M home alone while Russ and I run a quick errand or whatever. The stinker is almost 7!!! How is this possible ☹.

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  22. Time has been the real kicker for me to. I LOVE the half. You can do something “big” and still have lots of family time. Especially seeing I usually only train to 11 miles. I just haven't wanted to commit to the time it would take to run a full. A couple of my running gals and I were joking around about running one when we’re 40. Maybe that isn't such a terrible idea really 😊.
    Thank you, I am EXCITED!

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  23. That is oh so sweet that he ran with you and not only you and him but all the gals and their husbands! How fun. I use fun loosely because running never sounds fun to me, but clearly you loved it =)

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  24. This looks so fun! I can't wait until Sean and I can run together again. We used to run some in the evenings. Well, I'd chase him rather. ;)

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  25. It was really awesome. I am super proud of them doing something for a great cause and with their wives. I never in my life would have thought it possible for me to ever love and enjoy running.... surprise!!!!

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  26. Haha so true. I have a feeling that if Russ keeps at it that will soon be our story too :).

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  27. I so admire your guys' willingness and drive to get out there and be healthy. I know that there is time in my days and weeks to be able to exercise but I am just too darn lazy to do it. I miss the college days where I was in the gym for at least 3 hours every day....maybe someday I will figure my life out enough to make a change (lord knows my body and muscles will appreciate it!)

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  28. Aaahhh thanks Ashley. I love that you are owning it. You aren't saying the dreaded "I don't have time" excuse. You'll figure it out girl. Certain times and seasons of life just make it trickier than others. My 4:30 wake up isn't ideal but it is the only thing that works right now. Someday that will be easier I am sure.

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  29. I love this!!! Your husband is a good man. Oh, and I'm glad you brought up the point... he only trained THREE times before he ran the 5K??? He must be a rock star or something because I think I would need 5,000 training sessions before I could do that. So happy you guys got to run together!

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  30. I was so proud. I am pretty sure that he is a robot or apparently a born runner. He did in 2 runs what I trained for MONTHS to do. I hate him a little for it ;).

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  31. Desiree @ Macke MonologuesApril 13, 2015 at 11:27 PM

    YES!! This is so awesome! You two did so great, and YAY for placing so well!!
    I yearn to be *that* couple running down the road together. However, Scott is all about sprinting and I'm more about distance. However, we have done a few obstacle and mud runs together, and they are always so much fun!

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  32. Thanks friend. It felt really funny to place that well with that time. Definitely not my best or very impressive, but I'll take it! I can see Russ and I be the same way if he keeps running. It is just nice to do something together, no matter what that something is.

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