This weekend was the break I needed - it was AWESOME! Besides falling asleep at the dinner table Friday night (and everyone left me there to sleep)...it was a nice, relaxing weekend!
We had a couple reasons to go out to NJ:
1. Celebrate my Dad's 70th birthday
2. Spend some time with my adorable nephews (and family!)
3. Support my sister running a 5k
Celebrating my Dad's birthday was a blast! Some family came over Saturday night for some great food. We had given my dad an iPad which he was so excited about all weekend - it was so cute hearing him tell us the new things he was figuring out!
I'm not quite sure I would have the energy chasing these guys around, but my two nephews crack me up. When Susan picked up our packets for the Shamrock Shuffle, she was given pineapple hats and sunglasses. So in order for the guys to get their Easter stuff from "Chicago" we made them be pineapples:
Saturday morning, SusieQ and I headed out Johnson Park to support and join Lisa running a 5k. It was her 2nd 5k and she's been following a training plan so it was a blast to run along with her.
We tried to get Lisa to wear a super hero t-shirt with us, but she said she "forgot" so we called her the NIKE-Just-Do-It-Hero. Most of the 5k's in Chicago start really early because streets are closed, but since this one was small and on the park road, it started at 10am. It was nice because my parents were able to head up with my nephews to watch.
It was Lisa's 2nd 5k and she ran the whole time! I'm so proud of her! There's a fitness group on Facebook with some of her friends and several are in the process of training for their first 5k or for other distances for the first time. It's so motivating to hear people setting goals and going after them - I just love it.
As Lisa was leaving the house Saturday morning, her 5 year old asked her "So can you tell me why you are in the running?". My parents are retired now and they are in a routine and go to the gym several days a week and look forward to it. I think it's awesome my nephews get to see you can still have fun playing as an adult. Well, at least that's the way I look at my workout/training time. It's my time to play and have fun!
Now back in Chicago, I'm rested, feeling healthy, and ready to get back to the routine and get training 100% back on track! Kansas 70.3 kicks off my triathlon season in 8 weeks. I'm going to be ready to rock in Lawrence!
Congrats Lisa on your 5k! Happy Birthday Dad!
