Five things Friday, Mother's Day ed.

1.  We have been spending the week with hubby, and it's been so nice to have him with us every night!!  The apartment is small, but full of love right now.  We also have a free week of the gym he belongs to, so while he's working, the kids and I are taking advantage of it.  On Tuesday, I went to a nice little yoga class.  It was mostly beginners, but I was able to push some moves farther and really feel like I fixed my body up a bit after the race.  I started running again on Wednesday, when I was (almost) back to normal.  I PR'd my treadmill 5k by about a minute!  Yesterday was a nice 5-miler at still a pretty decent upped tempo.  Today my legs feel a bit fatigued (I don't think I gave myself enough down time), but I want to do at least a few miles.  Most because...

2.  I got new running shoes yesterday, happy Mother's Day to me!  After quite a while of pestering the nice guy at the local running store, all while both kids were in tow, I was able to decide on what I think will be an awesome change.  I bought the brand new Saucony Kinvara 3's, and I'm really stoked to give them a go.  They're super light so far, feel good on my feet, and don't feel like I'm wearing boats.  I'm hoping for love at first run, but if not I can always take them back.  I'm totally not interested in full-on barefoot road running with Vibrams or Merrells, but these seem like an interesting medium.  Fingers crossed!

3.  I have a free entry to the Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach on the 19th!  I won it through Active Advantage (I'm really good at this winning thing!), but now I don't think I'll be able to make it.  It would require a hotel stay and a babysitter, because I don't think hubby will be home that weekend.  So that's not really very "free", huh?  Any ideas for me?  It sounds like such a blast!

4.  I'm seriously hurting for another marathon.  I plan on doing the 7 Bridges Marathon in October, but I kinda want something even sooner too.  I don't know if my body wants that, and maybe I should just stick to my plan of speedwork on my half mary's for the summer.  But I really want another full.  Really.

5.  I have pictures from last weekend now!  I'm so appreciative that my mom was able to be there and photograph me, but now I'm sad that I didn't get a pic with her.  I don't know if I've shared her story on here yet, but I will now since Mother's Day is upon us!  It's a long number five, but totally worth the read:

When I was in college, I asked my mom to go to a women's health expo with me.  I think there was a race associated with it, but we weren't interested in such things back then.  We got to the expo, and as we were looking around we found a booth about home breast exams.  The booth had two sample "breasts", one with cancer and one without, so women could know what type of lumps to really feel for.  When she felt the cancerous one, she got upset and said that it was what her breast felt like.  A few doctor's visits later, she was told she had cancer.  She went through surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, and came out healthy.  During her chemo, she felt horribly exhausted and decided to start walking to gain energy and strength.  Her walking became running, and her running became distance running.  After chemo, she decided to do a marathon!  People told her that she couldn't, but it just fueled her more.  She told them to shove it, and instead she did two!!!!  Unfortunately, she had an ankle injury that put her out of running after that, but she's remained incredibly active and is now one of the coolest cavers I know.  The woman will spend 18 hours climbing through caves and come out smiling.  She's even been on the cover of the National Spelunking Society magazine.  I am so honored that I was able to help her discover her illness and incredibly amazed that she handled it like a true badass.  I invited her to my first half marathon and women's expo, and it was amazing.  Even more amazing was having her at my finish line last weekend.  She is my biggest inspiration, and I strive to be as tough as her every day.

Are you tearing up a bit?  I am.

Happy Friday, peeps!  And Happy Mother's Day to all you tough mamas out there.  Find something or someone inspirational, and then go out and do something that pushes your body this weekend.  Your body will thank you for it, and soon you'll be someone else's fitness inspiration!