13 weeks till IRONMAN - Cardston Kids Marathon AND Spinderella

I had 2 big events this week -

Cardston Kids Marathon AND Spinderella

Cardston Kids Marathon was GREAT AGAIN!

In spite of the naysayers, publicly telling us that we were irresponsible for NOT cancelling!

OIY!

I believe CKM 2014 was one of the best years yet BECAUSE we did it in spite of the weather, and the naysayers!  We do not melt in the rain, we CAN do hard things - in fact we NEED to do hard things to teach ourselves and our children

RESILIENCE

THAT is why we did not cancel or postpone!

Check out the party that happened!

2104 Medal - AWESOME!

It was SOME party in the Ice Arena!  I don't know if there has
ever been that many people in there at one time before!

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed 2014 Cardston Kids Marathon!

15 weeks till IRONMAN - Ladiesfest

Only 15 weeks left to train. . . .

We can do ANYTHING for 15 weeks - right??!?

A race that I LOVE doing every year is this one - Ladiesfest in Lethbridge.

Amy comes from Edmonton, and brings her girls - they run with my girls, and we all have our very own experience this day in the coulees, as we are surrounded by 750 other women.

Sometimes I feel an overwhelming feeling of the power of women as I run down the hill into the coulees with 750 other women - all running for their own reasons - all with their story....

This year, we were a little late on the start, but it was ok - we finally got our race numbers and our chips on our ankles and we were off -

It was a beautiful day for a run - the sun was shining and I felt like I had a great race.  I realized that I really love the 8k distance.  And next year - I am going to 'train for it'.  I had a great run, my pace was good - I felt good - till THE HILL......  the hill kicked my mental butt!  I told myself - run one lamppost and then walk one lamppost. . .so I ran one lamppost, then I walked one lamppost, and then my legs told my head that it was too hard - and I listened, and I walked the rest of the hill..... when I got to the top, I was really ticked at myself!

I learned a valuable lesson today - the mental training is crucial!

Next year - I am training on hills, and I am going to be ready to take on the Ladiesfest hill!  I will not cave at the first sign of 'this is too hard!'

Still a great run - I love doing this with my mom, my sister in law, my daughters, and my nieces - it's wonderful!

It was Kate's first time doing ladiesfest this year - and she loved going with Grandma -

And of course our group shots!

Our team name this year was "Appleton Girls on the Run"

We didn't win the 'largest' team this year - but we did win a few other prizes.
Kate wind the hat she is wearing by playing "heads or tails"
Clara won a candle ( the jar in her hand) as a draw prize
And Amy won a gift certificate to a store she likes to shop at - Lucky!

Kate (7), Mary (10), Mady (11), Clara (almost 13), Emma (17), Anna (14)