Warrior Wedding

Once upon a time....

My sister got MARRIED!

She had the most unique and FUN wedding I've ever been to. Don't get me wrong, traditional weddings are great. But don't you ever dread going? You wonder how long it will last and how long your kids will sit still before causing a scene... My two year old doesn't usually last more than 5 seconds and then it's an embarrassing dash for the door.

This wedding, however, was awesome. Meet Tonya and David, my sister and her (now!) husband.

They decided to get married at the finish line of the Warrior Dash! The bride and groom, including everyone in the wedding party (sisters, husbands, dad...) all signed up for the Dash so we could run together and then cheer them on as they said their muddy vows! 

Two days before the wedding my sister got really sick. She went to the doctor and found out she had a sinus infection. She rested and medicated and rested... but even with all that, she wasn't able to run the race with the rest of us. She did, however, meet David at the finish line (where she received a BIG muddy hug and kiss!) and there, in an open field right next to the mud pit, they said "I do" and got married. Do I have pictures? OF COURSE I DO! Are they great pictures? We can't be picky, okay.

Bridesmaids' shirts

Cute daughter

Cute son (like the bow tie??)

My husband during the drive up there. 8 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM. 

It really wasn't that long of a drive, but once we got there, traffic was nuts. We pulled in where the signs pointed thinking the line of cars would end just around the corner. And then after that corner we thought maybe the line of cars would end after the next corner. Nope. 

Cars as far as the eye can see...

When we finally made it, we (I mean my hubs) had to push our son in the stroller over grass, bumps, roots, etc. for what seemed like forever. My daughter complained about the grass but she never asked us to carry her, thank goodness! Let's see some more pictures of my cute kids, shall we?

My sister photo bombing in the background.

Grrr... my little clean warriors both refused to get muddy. They're so much like their dad!! Walking onto the campground we saw my poor sister sitting in a lawnchair looking so miserable :( She was so sick (but still looked super adorable). She was too weak to run the race but insisted that everyone else go ahead and do it. We put on our adorable tutus (the boys wore white shirts and ties, how fun!), got her all ready with her wedding gear, took a thousand pictures, and then headed to the starting line. We literally stood in line for half an hour before we actually started because there were so many people!

Mi madre y padre... 

We all agreed to stay together but Dad and David said they really just wanted to walk it and that we should run it without them. This is my 3rd Warrior Dash and by FAR the most fun I've had at any of them! I laughed so much with my sisters, and at every obstacle we couldn't help but mention how sad we felt that Tonya wasn't able to do it, too. 

I jumped over the fire holding my husband's hand, how romantic! ;) Then we crawled through the mud and crossed the finish line together. Awwwwwwwwww!

When David crossed the finish line Tonya met him (wearing her WHITE tutu and WHITE top) and hugged him! 

The back of her outfit... It got a little muddy!

And then they got married, and even though it wasn't traditional, I still cried. It was still so special to hear my sister say her vows and commit her life to the man of her dreams.

Dad giving away the bride.

Bride and Groom

"Let's do this! I'm ready to get married!!"

Husband and wife, kisses and muddy hugs <3

My heart feels all warm and fuzzy for them, I am just SO happy they found each other!

After Warrior Dash Oklahoma, 2013? 

They live 

                  Happily

                                Ever

                                             After. 

Why Do I Run?

When I was younger, I thought running was stupid.

I thought people who run do it out of vanity.

To look good.

For bragging rights.

To be able to say, "I am a runner, hear me roar."

I even joined them a few times.

Run a mile here, run a mile there.

Call myself a "runner" because one mile seemed like a long way.

One mile?

But even then, I thought it was stupid.

It hurt. It made me sweat. It made me tired. 

And I always ended up in the same place I started.

It seemed a little unproductive.

But then I had a baby.

And my body changed.

And it jiggled. 

And I wept.

And I decided running was suppose to help.

And so I ran.

It hurt. It made me sweat. It made me tired.

The first day I jogged 5 minutes before breaking down.

I cried in the middle of the street.

I couldn't believe how hard it was.

Not even a mile. One mile.

But I kept doing it, day after day.

It wasn't fun.

For a long time I dreaded it. 

But it helped!

My body changed, this time for the better.

It no longer jiggled.

I no longer wept.

"So why keep going?" I thought.

So I stopped.

But then my newborn baby cried.

He cried a lot.

He had colic.

And ear problems.

I was stressed beyond belief.

Sometimes I cried, too.

It was so hard.

He cried and cried and I cried and cried.

Sometimes I felt like I was at the end of my rope.

Sometimes I needed a break.

And so I ran.

I ran because it cleared my head.

I ran to expel my frustration.

I ran to sweat. To breath.

To relieve stress.

It still hurt, but I appreciated the ability to feel pain.

With every drop of sweat, I felt relief. 

One day I realized I'd changed. 

I felt giddy anticipation before each run.

I didn't dread it.

One mile. Two miles. Three miles.

Four. Five. Six. Seven...

I haven't stopped since. 

I don't want to. 

Why do I run? 

I run to look good. I run so I can eat more!

I run to experience the utter exhaustion at the end. 

I run to feel my heart pumping vigorously,

pumping blood throughout my body.

Pumping life throughout my body.

I run to relieve stress. Anger. 

I run because someday I'll be old

and I'll look back and wish I had taken advantage

of these legs, these muscles. My health. Youth.

The world looks different when you run. 

It looks bigger. Brighter. Majestic.

I run to experience the beauty in it all.

I run for my mind.

My soul.

Why do I run?

For Me.

Quitter Quitter, Pumpkin Fritter

What else rhymes with "quitter"??

Well you can call me a BIG FAT QUITTER because that's exactly what I've done! I stopped doing P90X, again. I blame the pictures. You know the ones... "before," "during," and "after." Well technically I've never, in my whole life, gotten to take an "after" picture because I always give up shortly after taking the "during" picture. Maybe next time I should just not take that one? Or at just not look at it!

So I QUIT the program and I've been avoiding blogging about it for a whole month because I'm too ashamed. Not that anyone would ever judge me for being such a loser, but I judge myself. Harshly.

I had decided I was NOT going to share the pictures, but really... what can it hurt? Besides my pride, I mean. So here they are: Before and during pictures. The first was taken after one of my first workouts (because I forgot to take it in the very beginning, oops), and the second was taken 6 weeks later.

And yes, I know my stomach is "crooked."

I can blame my quitting on these pictures all I want, but the real fact is I got lazy and bored with it. It seems to always happen that way--I get tired of working out by myself, tired of having to take breaks in between workouts to tend to my toddler, tired of looking in the mirror and not seeing a difference. Running is just so much easier to enjoy doing, day after day. I mean sure, sometimes I get tired of running all the time and I take a week off, but I never quit. At least have that much going for me!

However, softball season has officially started up again and I'm weaker now than I was before I started P90X in the first place. We had our pre-season tournament last weekend and I couldn't even hit the ball out of the infield; embarrassing! So now I'm torn: do I start working out again (knowing I'll just QUIT in a few weeks because I'm a big fat QUITTER!) or just be a weakling for the rest of my life?