March for Meals

This morning was a *landmark* moment because we did our very first event together as a family :) :). We supported Meals for Wheels at their 11th Annual March for Meals walk by beautiful Lake Monroe in Sanford...

 

They had a great network of volunteers, sponsors and participants that all showed up despite the overnight rain to support their mission to feed homebound seniors in the local community...

 



 

Since I got my Fitbit for Christmas, I've discovered just how sedentary my lifestyle is:(. It's been a big wake up call actually - I've learned that when I am not running or working out, I am basically sitting which is something I need to change by incorporating walking into my daily routine.

 

 

And I'm also learning that I really like walking:). You can explore a new place in a different way, see new things and have some great conversations too! We also have a walking group now at work to stretch our legs during the workday:).

 



 

We saw a ton of ospreys :)

 

 

Too cute :)

 

 

After we were done I ate my first Meals on Wheels breakfast (which was really good) and one of their volunteers played guitar. He was amazing and only 11!!

Mike loved his shirt!

 

And I won one of the drawings! A Target gift card - yes please!!

 

 

Great cause, beautiful scenery and my little family all together - feeling so grateful this morning :)

 

 To find a local Meals on Wheels program, here's the link:) http://www.mowaa.org/findameal

CROW!

Canoe Races of the World, also known as C.R.O.W., is a beloved annual Disney Cast Member event that dates back to 1963. Scores of Cast Members arrive at the Magic Kingdom before sunrise each July to participate. About 80 teams (each has 10 people on board) compete on the Rivers of America in the Magic Kingdom before the parks open in canoes that were part of the original Davy Crockett’s Explorer Canoes attraction. Teams that row around Tom Sawyer’s Island with the best times, averaging around five minutes, advance to the finals and get a chance to race against the clock in a championship round.

I signed up for this active and totally not running event this year and had a total blast! I loved my team - they were so much fun - even at 6am...:)

Magic Kingdom is so pretty at sunrise...

We wore 'Brave' shirts for the final qualifying day...

And our time was just over 7 minutes for a mile - about 3 minutes off our initial qualifying time!!

But nowhere near the top 4 who went through to the finals unfortunately....maybe next year :)

video here!

Hiking out west

Despite the fact that I didn't see the inside of a gym or put on my running shorts for a week, we did manage to stay pretty active on our vacation out west. We got up early, went to bed early and hiked almost every day. Hiking is much more challenging than I thought at high elevations with that thin mountain air. The Navajo trail at Bryce Canyon was probably the most difficult - Maddy loved the trip down but was miserable on the way back up :(. After about a half an hour, she admitted that she was glad she'd done it though:)

I also managed to take 'that damn bike' out a couple of times before the trip and felt a bit better about the whole thing:). My goal for the month is to get to the point where I can do 10 miles on the new bike relatively comfortably.

Hiking in the Woods

I used to avoid family activities that involved a lot of walking and thought that hiking in particular was awful. Going to Paris on vacation and walking all day to see the sights was so much more fun now that my legs are so much stronger. We went hiking today and ended up getting lost in the woods for about 2-3 hrs. I was fed up by the end of it but only because we were lost - my legs and feet were just fine!

Christmas Day 2009

It's getting so much better now. I am sticking to the treadmill most of the time since I'm afraid of getting bad legs again. I did run the block though which feel like a warm up now:) I can't believe when I started this I couldn't run further than the bottom of the street! I can run a 5K now fairly comfortably without stopping to walk and have been running 4 miles most of the time. I have even run continuously for 5 miles a few times and actually ran for 10K twice without stopping in 1 hr and 5 mins. 5K feels like such a short run so I braved the outdoors again, measured the distance and it was fine. No major shin splints really. On Christmas Day, Mike, Gail and I all ran 5K and had a really healthy lunch. It felt so great - what a perfect end to such an amazing year!