Ashten Does Life

Last night was epic. EPIC.

The roommate, Logan, Lindsay, and I ran our first 5K. The Do Life 5K. My mom ran with us for moral support. She basically yelled encouraging words the entire time. But let's not get too far ahead. Let's start at the beginning.

I was pretty nervous about running with people, which is weird since I run with the above people all the time. I think it was because I knew I would be running with other "runners." Thankfully some people walked. Therefore, it made us feel better about walking.

The little boy in the red was my running buddy in the beginning. He was FAST!!! Too fast for me. But absolutely precious.

Our group did intervals the entire race. We ran 3 minutes and walked 2 minutes the first mile and a half. Then we changed to run 2 minutes walk 3 minutes on the way back.

Lindsay and I crossed the finish line together after a short trot through the grass. Don't ask me...the race track had a part that took you through the grass. I did not make this up. Logan and the roommate crossed the finish line just a few minutes behind us.

IT WAS WONDERFUL. I've never been so happy in my life. We were all so happy and tired. And in love with the run. It was amazing. And it was our first attempt. And we did it. WE. DID. IT. I just keep saying that over and over again.

After the run, the roommate had to show off her sweet tubing bruise that has slowly slid down her arm as the days have passed. It still looks fugly.

Mom had an awesome sweat band round her middle. Sexy...

And I jumped around like an idiot yelling and screaming about how we did it.

Who knew I could jump so high? Must be my sweet shoes mixed with adrenaline and endorphins.

We were tired. We were sweaty. We were happy.

It's an awesome feeling to accomplish something you didn't know you could do. We all just started running a month ago (with the exception of my mom who has been running for 3 years and has completed numerous 5Ks and a half marathon), and it has already changed our lifes and daily routines. I look oh so forward to many more runs with these people.

It was also very cool to run my first 5K with the Do Life Movement. The Do Life Movement, a grassroots movement, was started by Ben Davis, a friend of mine from college. He wanted to change his life, and he did. Along the way, he has changed the lives of some many other people, myself included. To be able to share this experience with him is something I will forever cherish.

Keep doing life, my friend, and people will continue to have the will to change their lives. I'm so proud of you.

For more information about the Do Life Movement and the Official Unofficial Do Life 5K Tour, check out Ben Does Life. I got a t-shirt to help support Ben, his brother and his father as the tour the country running 5Ks.

After I completed my first 5K, I think I need a t-shirt to remember it. #runningnostalgia

Two Good Ones

After last week's fiasco during the running routine, I needed some redemption. Friday night, my mom, Logan and I went for a run.

My mom has been running for three years, and I have been running for three weeks. So you can see how this could get interesting.

She introduced Logan and I to chewy gumdrops and honey-flavored waffers to give us energy while we run. Since I almost passed out last week during a routine run, my mom has been pretty worried about me and running in the heat.

Our 30-minute routine took us on a two-mile loop around Stuttgart. On the last minute of running my mom gave Logan and I a challenge. She said, "It's the last minute. So y'all have to get in a line behind me and keep up."

I'm thinking ok, everything is going to be fine. We've been running at a 10-minute mile pace this whole time. How bad can it be?

My mom, the slow and steady wins the race runner, took off like lightening. I could immediately tell that this one minute was going to be extremely tough.

As we round the corner, Logan yells I'm gonna have to stop this is too much (she was thinking we were going to keep the pace for the rest of the way home.) My mom yells back at her Don't you dare quit. We have 8 seconds left and then it's over. Need I say that the woman wasn't breathing hard at all. 

We finally got to stop, and Logan and I were both cussing and breathing like we'd just ran 6 miles, instead of one minute. Mom said we ran that final minute at a 6-minute mile pace. Sa-weet.

I was suppose to run again on Sunday, but we have to take a brief break because baby girl was born. But yesterday, the running resumed on the Big Dam Bridge.

My mom had given me some Sports Beans to help keep my energy up so I don't fall out on the trails in the heat.

Sports Beans - basically energy jelly beans with Jelly Belly flavors. Yum. They tasted pretty good, and they helped me make it through a run at the Big Dam Bridge.

Logan and her sister Lindsay came along. And we ended up with a faster pace than usual. They walk faster than I do, and I run faster than they do (thanks to the uberlong legs God blessed me with). So it was the perfect combination.

We will go again Wednesday, and Friday I am going with my mom. So it is back to the running routine. And don't worry. I will do better about taking pictures so you can see sweaty faces. Ha.

This Is What I Know

1. Running is hard work. It's a mental battle. Thankfully I have won each time we've met (so far).

2. Driving with the windows down and the music turned up after a run with a view like this is the best.

3. Running with your mom is seriously fun and scary. I had such mental anxiety because she's ran a half-marathon and could run circles around me for MILES. But she just let me do my thing. Thanks Momma.

4. Being sweaty is fun. And posing for pictures after a run with your mom is even more fun.

5. First run at Two Rivers Park and leaving with this view is too good. What is it about sunsets that make you feel all gooey?

6. The roommate got new running shoes. She's now "in it to win it."

7. The roommate also likes/hates it when she's had an off-running day. Hopefully she will have a better day tomorrow. Isn't this face priceless?

8. Two miles in the blazing sun is an accomplishment. Nuff said.

9. I'm still worried that my toe nails will fall off or turn black. Is it weird that I now pray for my toe nails? Surely not.

10. Running has become one of the times where I talk to God. Not out loud, just in my head. Most of the time, I pray that I will make it through the 30 minute workout. Or that I don't pass out due to heat. Or that I don't get dehydrated. But on a good run, when I feel at my best, I pray for my family, friends, frienemies, the future. You know things like that. I think God led me to make this decision to run to grow closer to some people and, ultimately, closer to Him. Now that is TRUE LOVE. I'll take it. Thanks, Jesus. See you on the trails, if not before.

Word to Your Mother

I hope everyone's week is going smoothly thus far. I am turning in a 6-page literature review tonight. And I wish the semester was coming to a close with assigments, but UALR is still cramming them in somehow. I did get a lot accomplished this weekend, although my all-nighter didn't really happen. I made it to 1 A.M., but then called it quits because my eyes were getting sticky with sleep.

Still a lot to do in a little time period. But I will make it work.

So I've decided something. But before I tell you what, I'll give you the back story.

Five years ago, I started doing Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. And every year my mom and I say we will meet up and do it together. Little Rock's Race for the Cure is the third largest race in the nation so my mom and I go with good intentions to meet up, but we can never find each other.

Once I got into a sorority, we started going as a group. And my mom went with her close friends. That was how it was for four years. Last year things changed.

I graduated college so I didn't walk with my sorority sisters, and my mom had become an avid runner who can kick a 5K in 30ish minutes. She's actually ran in the race for two years now so this coming October will be her third year.

So basically in five years, my mom and I have never done it together. So I am going to change that.

Instead of asking her to walk with me, I am going to do my first 5K. It's three miles, which doesn't sounds too bad. But it is a pretty hilly little stint of roads. I don't want her to walk because she loves running so much. (P.S. She is currently training for her first half-marathon on April 30 in Nashville). And I want to do it together FOR REAL this time. So I will have to suck up my hatred for running and knock out three miles.

I will have all summer and early fall to prepare for it. And I can already run about 1.5 miles....so that is half way. Only 1.5 miles to go.

I feel like this is something I need to do. 1) To help me stay in shape. 2) To get over the faux pas I have of running. 3) To do Race for the Cure together.

So that is my official decision. A 5K with my momma. I will run with her, if she will slow down enough for me to keep up. Training starts May 16, the Monday after school is over. That gives me six months...Surely I can do it. I will keep you posted with my work-outs and all that good stuff.

So yeah. Anyone else what to join? You can go for a jog with me. We can do it together. It could/will be fun.

Until next time...