A Wedding and a 5K

Happy Monday everyone!


I am tired after a fun and eventful weekend in Knoxville. My dad got married on Saturday and we were front and center for all the festivities!


However, I was extremely bummed when I got my camera out to start snapping away and realized the memory card was at home in my lap top. Typical. I was in such a rushed tizzy trying to get out of the house on Friday that I left it behind. So I will post more pictures of the wedding and stuff when the photographer gets them online.


These are all I have for now:

Winston and Louise! We call her 'Weez' most of the time. Now she is my 'wicked stepmother!'

Here are all the kids this year at Thanksgiving:Louise's son Ryan, his wife Cami holding their daughter Amaya. Louise's son Tyler, me, and Tom. The only one missing is Ryan and Cami's older daughter Pheonix who was visiting her grandparents and cousins for Thanksgiving.

Me, Amaya, and Tom. She is such a crazy cute girl! Amaya and Tom and great good friends becuase they are on the same level intellectually. She is five.

The happy couple again:

We got into town late on Friday night, and I ran my 5K on Saturday morning (more on that below). After the run I met my dad for breakfast so I could give him some advice on marriage. After all, I have been married for the past year and a half, and he has not.

It was fun to spend some one-on-one time with my daddy on his big day! Tom and I took my mom and aunt to lunch on Saturday, and then back over to my dad and Louise's new house to see the rest of the family that was in town for the wedding.

They had a very small ceremony at a chapel in Knoxville. Just the 18 family members attended the ceremony, then we all went to a restaurant in town, The Orangery for the reception. There were about 100 or so people at the reception for dinner and drinks. It was so fun to see all my dad's friends, and everyone was commenting on how happy they were for Winston and Weez!

It was cool to be at the Orangery because the last time I was there was on August 23rd, 2008 for MY wedding reception. So fun.

I am so happy for my dad and Louise as they truly make each other happy and are like giggly teenagers in love all the time. So cute. Keep them in your prayers as they are traveling to Rome and all over the Mediterrainian for the next two weeks on their honeymoon!

Saturday was my 5K on Cherokee Boulevard in Knoxville. One of my favorite parts of town, so I was really excited.

It was raining when I left the house around 7:25am but by the time the gun went off at 8am, it was sunny and lovely. All the dogwoods were in bloom and it was really a gorgeous run. I was bummed I did not see one single person I knew, though!

I finished the race in 29:09 which I was pleased with. My goal was to PR, and I beat my previous PR by 50 seconds. So no complaints there. I was hoping for somewhere in the 28:30 range, but I was happy with my time.

It was a fun race and a great way to start the day!

I am getting so nervous for the Triathlon in May. It is only 27 days away!

AHHHHHHHHH!

Only four weeks...crunch time. I am afraid of so many things.

I am afraid of the open water swim.

I am afraid of the transition areas.

I am afraid Iwon't have enough nutrition during the race.

I am afraid the bike will be hilly and it will take me too long.

I am afraid of being unprepared.

I am afraid of finishing dead last.

I am afraid of finishing dead. Ha!

Seriously, I have a lot of fears about this race but I think with trying new things comes overcoming fears and reservations. It would be easy for the deamons on my shoulder to take over the angels, but I cannot let that happen.

I cannot let the nay-saying in the back of my mind get the best of me. 50% of this race is mind over matter.

I have to keep reminding myself how far I've come. My first run during this training was 3 miles. Now I can run 10. My first bike during this training was 6 miles. Now I can go 20.

I think I need to just stick to my plan and keep a motivating mindset.

On race day, I am nothing but a triathlete. Not a swimmer or a biker or a runner, but a triathlete. I am not a wife and daughter and sister, only a triathlete today. I am not a customer service manager, only a triathlete. The only focus on this day is to finish this race for me and no one else. And when I finish the race, I have won the race.