I did it! First 5K race

I've gone from literally being on the couch to running my first 5K race. When I first started, my 5K time was just over 50 min. Last week, I hoped to finish in 43 min. When I got to the race itself, however, I found that it's true that the energy of the crowd pumps you up and seeing the finish line gets you motivated to give an extra push. I saw that my time when I crossed the finish line was 41:30, which was a thrill. Then, I realized that it had taken time for me to cross the start line, because of the huge crowd, and I figured out how to check my electronic "chip time". When I did, I got a shock - my official time was 38:18! I realize that for some, this is incredibly slow (my husband, for example, once did 10K in 42 min.), but it's by far my personal best, and I was on a high from reaching my goal.

Life Begins at 40!

I turned 40 this weekend - and it was fantastic. My husband threw me a surprise party. It was just overwhelming to see everyone there. The best part was my kids' speech. Not only are they gorgeous and funny, but they really put effort into it and made it personal. I kept thinking about how lucky I was to have my family, and how I'm right where I want to be. At 20, we were in a bad recession and I had no idea how I'd find work after I finished law school, and my future husband was doing a crazy amount of studying trying to get into med school. At 30, I was dealing with multiple miscarriages and wondering if my daughter would ever have siblings, plus my husband was STILL doing his training so we were in a cramped 1 bedroom apartment. Today, I don't really feel older (I actually have more energy and fewer back aches since the kids are older) - but I do notice that somewhere along the line, I somehow gained some confidence, got settled and built a great family. We also had some awesome, great-to-be-alive weather. I love this time of year. It's still warm, but the air is fresh and not humid, and the sky was a brilliant cloudless blue. We did some apple-picking just 20 min. away, and the drive was just gorgeous with rolling hills and fall colors. Somehow, we also survived a birthday party at home with a house full of 9-year-olds!