Color Run!!

While Chris was sick this winter he told me about this race he'd heard of called The Color Run. On a particularly trying night during his recovery, we decided to register for the race (then a couple months away) in faith that Chris would be well enough to run it. And he was! Praise God :-)

Pre-race. We look so clean!

Love the slogan "the happiest 5k on the planet!"

This was post race-there was an awesome "after party" and they did a bunch of these color blasts where everyone popped their bags of color powder at the same moment. It was awesome to be in the middle of it...surreal!

The race itself was tough for me-I was not quite ready for a 5k though I'd been trying to run more in preparation. Chris was content to run/walk with me and there were thousands of people who  walked the whole thing. There were 13,000 people in our race and it was the second of the day! A total of 25,000 people! Craziness :-)

Dave & Julie brought the kids to the race so they could watch the spectacle and cheer us on and
we got to hang out with them after the race. The kids had mixed reactions...

Our stroller was definitely a casualty.

Sadie was not a fan of the color powder-as I predicted, she cried as soon as powder touched her. Then she fell asleep :-)

Ella, on the other hand, loved it and wants to run it with us next year! It was a really fun, happy day!

Baltimore Women's Classic 5k!

 Even though this was my third 5k, this one was on purpose (the first one I just meant to walk and the second I meant to do the 2 mile fun run and never saw the turn around) and it was the one my 3 sisters-in-law and I had agreed to train for and run months ago. We all trained separately for the most part but were all ready and able to finish the race! And, at the last minute, Chris' mom joined us too!!  She did awesome!  We had an awesome, BIG cheering section which was really nice-all the husbands, my Father-in-law, all 6 cousins, and my SIL's parents!  I think my favorite thing about this race was the random guitar player/singers who serenaded us t different parts of the course.  Oh, and the cold towels at the end.  That was fabulous.  Chris might have to hand me one of those when I get home from running in the mornings from now on :-)

I'm definitely proud of this accomplishment but I'm wavering between signing up for another race (10k? trying to do a 5k faster?) and being done with running.  Here are the pros and cons (no promises to how shallow or silly they may be, keepin' it real):

Pros: Feels good afterwards and occasionally during
Good for weight loss efforts and overall health
 I've invested in the clothes :-)
 It's very convenient (right outside my front door, no equipment)

Cons: I'd have to figure out some other form of exercise which might require paying for something or leaving kids with strangers
I can't wear my hair straight (I have to wash it every time I run and it takes WAY too long to straighten it every day or even 3 times a week)
It hurts
I get bored and think of all the things I could be doing if I was at home


I don't think I'll quit but this race being over has definitely decreased my motivation. But, Chris reminds me that if I went from not running to 3.1 miles in a couple months, I can certainly continue to increase my distance and speed if I keep going.  And it would be exciting to do a 10K....we'll see :-)  For now, the pics.
 

And we're off!  about 3000 women ran

See that little dot of pink up in the top corner?  That's Uncle David holding Ella.  Quite the good view of the race!

Almost done!

That's Chris' mom finishing and Uncle Matthew and the kids cheering her on on the sidelines

Nancy, Ping, me, Amy, Julie (post race) We did it!!

Shades of Peanut Butter

If I haven't mentioned it before, we go to a very diverse church. 17 years ago our pastor felt called to plant a multi-cultural church and was told by "experts" all over the country that it was impossible. Well he pursued it, believing God desires racial reconcilation, not division, and God has done it! Our church has over 2000 people and is definitely a mixture of colors and cultures. Not only are many races/ethnic groups represented but there are a lot of mixed-race couples like us. Our pastor is African-American and his wife is Korean so their kids represent one of the many "shades of peanut butter" you see a lot around our church :-) It's awesome to have to look hard to find Ella in her Sunday school class because she's not the only brown kid. In my own experience being biracial, you're always a minority, wherever you go. So to have a place where you can see other kids "like" you is a rarity. There's something about being with people like you that frees you up to not have to try to be something you're not. I'm excited to have a place to give that gift to Ella.

Ironically, the same place that helps give Ella a feeling of being "like" other kids is where she gets to learn all kinds of things about what makes cultures different! She's learned all kinds of fun (sometimes funny) cultural lessons. That said, we've been developing deeper friendships with friends from church and our playgroup is really starting to gel as a group and hang out more and more! So, of course, here are some recent pics :-)


make-up time with Hanna

A few of the girls hanging out on a hammock after swimming

Chik-fil-a!

A bunch of the group!