Hoosier Half Marathon...a run around campus

Hills, hills, and more hills. They were relentless. 13.1 miles of brutality. When the description of the race said "rolling hills" they weren't kidding. Last year we did the 5K, and we thought how bad could the half be? Well, we found out before we got to the first mile. The race started out across from the famed Assembly Hall and immediately headed downhill before turning onto a long stretch of uphill lasting for about half a mile.  

It was freezing cold! Temperature was barely
 30 degrees at the start. 

Our traditional pre-race shoe picture. We dressed in red and white to sport the school's colors. Go Hoosiers!

Blurry picture of the start, but you can see the hill ahead. Yikes!

The Sample Gates. This is the point where we could have split off and opted for the 5K, but we persevered and chose the race we came to run. Once through the Sample Gates, we continued our run through the beautiful IU campus.

There is a lot of green space, trails, and open areas throughout the campus. IU is known for its limestone buildings using the limestone native to this area.
 Contrast this to the brick buildings found on
 its rival school, Purdue University.

We ran by mansions like this one as well as sororities and fraternities on Greek Row.

Kevin tackling one of the multitude of hills on the course. You can see how steep this hill is by looking at the steps on the left leading up to the house. The man in the green shirt halfway up the hill was from California and was using this as a practice run for a 50 mile trail run in the mountains of Colorado he has in a few weeks.

A street named after me!

Official time on my Garmin. Wanted to finish in 3 hours but the hills did us in. We were happy with this since we walked more than we had planned. 

Glad to be done! Now it's time to eat!

Our shirt and medal

Assembly Hall; back were we started a
 little over 3 hours ago!

This is a race that we will NOT be repeating in 2015!

St. Patrick's Day 5K Kilt Race

Saturday morning was my second race of the year, creeping toward my 14 races for 2014 goal.  The weather was COLD! Temperatures were in the low 30's but the sun was shinning which was deceiving. I woke up 2 hours earlier than the start of the race, because I ALWAYS get nervous even if it's just a 5K. This is the third year I have participated in this race and love the festive atmosphere it brings. In honor of the occasion, I made a plaid kilt to wear over my tights. It's been a while since I've used my sewing machine, so I had to search YouTube for directions on how to make a simple kilt. It took me just a little over an hour from start to finish, with the finished product turning out better than expected. 

Pinned and ready to pleat

My finished kilt! 

My middle daughter and her boyfriend are dressed festive as well! It was SO cold waiting for the race to start.

Traditional pre-race shoe photo

A "real life" leprechaun

Starting line 

Downtown Courthouse

A downtown dining legend 

The Kilt Run was sponsored by the fire department

View of the city skyline from the course

Crossing the bridge to the finish line

Finished in 39 minutes; walked the first 5 minutes
then used a 1:1 run/walk interval for the rest of the race (I had so many layers of clothes on that I look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy)

The 5K Kilt run was only a portion of the Get Green Fest that was held on Saturday. Felt great after the run probably because I hydrated well the week leading up to the race. Thanks to watermelon NUUN for helping me recover so quickly! Then it was on to McDonalds for a post-race breakfast of pancakes and chocolate milk.  

Beauty and Brains... All in One Package

When Kym graduated from Ball State University with her Bachelor Degree in Business, it was one of the proudest days in our lives as parents.  To see her walk down the aisle in her cap and gown stealing a glance and smile our way, brought tears to our eyes.  We were two of the proudest parents in the audience. There's something about seeing your first-born child transition into adulthood that makes a parent swell with pride. 

Next year, we get to repeat that feeling once again when Kym will receive her Master in Business Administration (MBA).  She is currently on track to graduate with a 4.0 GPA and number 1 in her class! 

Kym's beautiful wedding picture just proves that a girl can be beautiful and have the brains as well. She's got it all.