My First Half Marathon

In October of 2011, my friend Sarah and I decided we would do a training program to prepare us for a 5K race they hold in Bentonville every spring called the Bentonville Running Festival. We ran our first race in 33 minutes which wasn't too bad for our first 5K. That was also the race where I really got hooked on running. I know for all of you skeptics out there, you're saying, "Yeah right!! No one REALLY enjoys running!" Don't judge until you try. There is nothing quite like it!

This year, Sarah and I got even more ambitious and trained for the half marathon for the same running festival that was held on April 6.

The Saturday morning of the race, I woke up at 5:15 a.m. I put on my orange running festival shirt, safety-pinned my number to the front, put on my favorite Junk headband, my $100 running shoes (which we had put 11 miles on two weeks before our race), and waited by the door for Sarah to come pick me up.

On our way to the race, a giant squirrel flew into Sarah's windshield and I spilled my coffee down the front of my pants. It was pretty uncomfortable, but since I've been pregnant, I've been used to peeing on myself so it was nothing too out of the ordinary to have a wet crotch. We arrived at the square around 6:30 and the race was supposed to start at 7:00. We stretched and found our spots near the starting point.

When the gun went off for the race to begin, I felt the suddent urge to pee. I literally ran into the Casey's general store on the corner of Central and "J" street and went on my merry way. If you've never run a race before, it is the coolest environment because there are all of these supporters who cheer you along on your way. They are complete strangers, but they yell and clap for you, and hold up signs. One of the yards we passed had a band playing in the front yard and a girl who was holding a live chicken. Another one of the yards was decorated with an "Alice in Wonderland" theme.

There are also folks who stand along the race route holding signs. One of my favorites was around mile 9 and said, "You think you're tired. My arms are sore from holding this sign." When we had about 3 miles to go, there was this sweet lady that was yelling for us. As we passed, she said, "You only have a 5K to go!!" I was pretty exhausted at this point and simply responded with, "Easy for you to say!!" I didn't say it in a rude way, but in a "we already ran 10 miles lady. I think 3 more might kill me." There is also this BEAST of a hill -the Crystal Bridges hill- at the end of the route that even the most experienced runners walk up. It also happened to be positioned within the last mile of the race. Right before the hill, there was a sign that said, "What hill?" It was so cool though because when we got to it, SEVERAL of my current students were standing there giving us high fives and cheering us on. They were yelling, "Good job Mrs. Wicker!" and "You've got this Mrs. Wicker!" It was the extra boost that I needed to get me through the rest of the race.

Within our last mile, once we'd made it to the top of the hill and we were almost done, there was a lady in front of us wearing a sign on her back that said she was running the race in honor of her dad. I started to think about the countless hours of training, foot blisters, leg and foot cramps, long Saturday and Sunday runs, and I got really emotional and started crying. We had made it to the end. We ran the 13.1 mile route and crossed the finish line. We made it in 2 hours and 39 minutes. Our goal was to finish in under 3 hours. There was another pregnant woman who ran the race and ended up crossing the line about five minutes after us. I told Sarah that I was happy I beat the other preggo. She was just happy we finished the race period. It was an incredible experience and I can't wait to do it again!

 

Shannon and Sarah post race.

 

 

All About Baby

On Tuesday, April 2, we found out if we were having a boy or a girl. It was an incredibly LONG day!!! Brian and I decided to take Kayla with us to the appointment so that she could see her sibling for the first time and be a part of the "big reveal."

After much anticipation, we found out...IT'S A GIRL!!!

 

I cried a single tear when we found out. I was (am) so happy! Kayla and Brian are both ecstatic as well. We LOVE little girls, and are so happy Kayla will have a little sister and best friend for life.

Baby Wicker looks pretty flexible in there. Her feet are up by her head.

 



 

This foot will get many kisses in about 15 weeks...

 

We had our 25 week appointment yesterday. Dr. Sarver said I'm looking healthy and my measurements are right where they should be, despite the fact I weighed in at 162.5 pounds which was slightly devastating for me. Dr. Sarver also said that it would be best for my recovery and for the baby if we have a c-section this time around. I'm actually excited about knowing when our baby will be born. We're looking at Friday, August 23 which will fall during our first week of school and will give me enough time to meet all of my students before I go on maternity leave. 

All About Kayla

There's been so much focus on the baby lately, I wanted to take some time to talk about Kayla and what she's been up to...

Kayla Grace is officially 3 years, 8 months, and 3 days old today. Here are some of her current FAVORITES:

RESTAURANT: Olive Garden (she doesn't really eat the food, just the Andes mints)
FOODS: Lucky Charms (the red cereal is what she calls them), Mac 'n Cheese, Sour cream enchiladas, avocado, purple grapes, sliced tomato (with salt on it)
SONG: Jingle Bell Rock and "Aunt Rhy's Rhy's song" - AKA You Are
BOOK: Cinderella
MOVIES: "Cinderella," "Rise of the Guardians," "Wreck it Ralph," and "How to Train Your Dragon"
BOARD GAMES: Mousetrap, Candyland, Memory
TOYS: Princess barbies, miniature princesses from Candyland, her princess yo-yo, and generally speaking anything else having to do with Disney Princesses

Here are some more Kayla facts...
1. She lines up her toys in single file lines on the floor, in the bathtub, and anywhere else she is playing at the time.
2. She operates the iPad better than I do...which may not be saying much since I'm not the most tech-savvy person. :)
3. She doesn't like to wear PJ's anymore.
4. She prays with mommy every night.
5. She wants to wear her hair down every day so it will "blow in the wind".
6. She picks her boogers and eats them.
7. She can spell her first name.
8. She recognizes the first letter of her friends' names. For example, she'll see an "M" in a book or on a sign and she'll say, "Mommy, that's an "M" for Miles" or "Mommy, that's an "A" for Alexys".
9. She loves getting toys out of the treasure box at school. The kids at her school get stars for good behavior at school. If they collect 10 stars, they get to pick something out of the treasure box. Her favorite thing to get are these sticker dolls that she can dress with different stickers.
10. She LOVES to chew gum.
11. She wants to eat either candy or puppy chow after dinner every night.
12. She loves to throw rocks at any random body of water.

13. She enjoys taking walks after dinner.
14. She loves to blow bubbles.
15. She loves to get her nails painted, but hates having them clipped.
16. She asks on a regular basis, "When do we get to go to NeNe's house?"



17. She thinks a good name for her baby sister would be Maximus.

18. She kisses my belly - her baby sister - every night before she goes to bed.

19. She wants Brian to stay in her room every night until she goes to sleep.

20. She likes to pick flowers for Brian, me, and her friends at school.

 

 

The pictures in this post are all courtesy of Kate Burris. She's a great friend and graciously agreed to take some pictures of us a few weeks ago at Tanyard Creek in Bella Vista.