The Chestertown Running Festival...Yeah, we did it!

I think it was about May, when I mentioned to my dear sister in law that I have a goal --'one day, sometime in my future, I want  to run a 5K'.  I forgot that this dear sister in law LOVES to run.  She's run 5K's, 10K's, 1/2 marathons, and full marathons....what was I thinking?  In all honesty, I'm glad I did, as I doubt I would have made this running wish come forth from the deep recesses of my mind and make it really happen.    The day after my confession, she called to tell me that she has found the perfect race....in Chestertown MD.  It had a 5K and 1/2 marathon all in one.

So from there, I started training with the "Couch to 5K" running plan....and a few months later I did it!!! I ran

my first ever 5K race.  Connor joined me too.  In June sometime, he began working towards his fitness merit badge. We became running partners helping get each other out of bed for early morning training.  I cherish the time we had jogging together, and talking about all sorts of things.  I loved our time together on our trip and can't wait for another race to run....as I'm not going to stop!  Our next event will be the "Raleigh Rock" race in March.  I think we may even have another addition to our running team....we'll just have to wait and see if it works out!

Here's Connor on the last 2 tenths of the race.

 
.....so close to the finish line!    and one of me to prove I really was running.

 

Whew, what a fun finish!  Here with Nicole (Risa's friend) and Risa!  They completed  13.1 miles.  Connor has that as a goal for next year....I'm still running, I'm just not sure if it will be 13.1 miles by next year or not....we'll see!

The race was held in a beautiful town along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.  I loved all the cute historic homes and ambiance of the area.  The whole weekend was great.  We traveled with Brian and Risa...and the ever so cute little boys, Logan and Brennan.  We stayed in a nice hotel in Dover Delaware, enjoyed the pool and hot tub- relaxing and getting ready for the big race.  Dinner was at a super yummy pizza place.  I loved the thick crunchy crust. On the way home we replenished at Cracker Barrel, mmmmmm, potato casserole for me, and southern fried chicken for Connor!  Yep, this was a great weekend.  For Connor and I, it was our "Christmas Coupon' activity.  Originally I gave him a ticket for a bike ride along the New River Trail and a hot dog or ice cream lunch.  I think this substitution will suffice.

I even got him to take a photo with me!

Hello everyone. As you will probably figure out soon enough, it's Connor speaking. To start with, Mom doesn't know if she's going to be running a half marathon in 1 year, but I do. She will. I'm going to drag her along whether she likes it or not. Anyway, in 6 months, I plan on running a 10-k. As hard as that will be, I intend to do it. By the time I go on my mission I hope to have run at least one marathon. A full one. I have little to say about the trip itself. I went, and  I ran 3.1 miles.