Tiny feet, huge feat

One day Tina was walking down the street with her 4 year old daughter, Amy and husband. They all couldn't have been happier. Doctor had confirmed Tina's second pregnancy couple hours ago. Together they had gone to little Amy's favorite bakery and celebrated with cup cakes. When Tina told Amy about the baby to come, she was ecstatic. Amy's eyes were twinkling, there was surprise in her voice and her face was gleaming with the happy-proud glow. Proud to be the elder sister, she hugged her mumma's belly. Next she had many questions, all of which had to be answered to her satisfaction. Would it be a baby brother or sister, why cant she decide who should it be, why wait for many months to meet the baby, would mumma's belly grow too big, and others. Sweet tugging and tickling and playing followed. They all enjoyed their cup cakes and headed home.

So, now all three were walking back home from the bakery. Amy was happily swaying hands, playing with every plant, every flower on the way. Tina and her husband were enjoying her reaction. Just then, Tina noticed an uneven section of pavement, so asked her husband to hold Amy's hand to ensure she doesn't trip and fall. Guess what did Amy do next... She stopped her playful jig, nicely went to hold Tina's hand and with as much care and affection, told Tina, "Mumma, please hold my hand and be careful to walk around the uneven pavement so that you don't hurt the baby."
From that minute, Tina realized, all her typical 4-year old tantrums took a back seat. She was anxious to take care of her younger brother/ sister.

My Half Marathon Medal :-)

A half marathoner with pride...

I admit I didnt practice as much but I could finish the race of 13.1 miles (21.08 km) in 3 hour 25 mins!!! Yay!

Mission accomplished indeed!

Half Marathon training begins

Week 1, Day 1

I did it!! :-) Ran/walked for 2 miles.
My learning curve:
1. Warm up was missing. I was so anxious to get started before I change my mind that I skipped warm up. I felt the difference in running my last half mile. My legs were giving away and sprints became interspersed with longer walks.
2. My breathing felt shallow though the good part was I breathed from my nose and not my mouth. Sometimes I would gasp and want to open my mouth to get more air. Instead, I formed a natural rhythm of a deep inhale and 2 exhale from my nose.
3. My footwear. Although I am comfortable in my shoes, I will have to get it checked once because they may not be running shoes.

My celebration:
I completed my day 1 run! Nature blessed me with the best running weather (50 f and 11 Celsius) possible in between January, one of the coldest winter months. Awesome... Awesome... Awesome :-) I felt so proud of myself. It was celebration time! After some relaxation, I looked forward to my delightful Indian lunch - "shaak, rotli, kachumbar" (Indian stir-fry veggies with an Indian bread and salad) and for my last bites "god rotli" :-) Was a trip back to childhood memories, and even pictured my nieces and nephew. After kids eat the complete meal, mummy gives jaggery to celebrate! How I wished mummy was here in Cleveland.

Anyways, let's see how I run tomorrow... 2.5 miles with warm up. Wish me luck!