beach trip high and low points

We just got back from our 1 week beach vacation to Gulf Shores. We had a really full week with lots of ups and downs. Relaxing walks on the beach, treasure hunts, sand castles, crashing waves, beautiful sunsets and whiny car rides, salt-watery eyes, sunburns and sandy beds. So eventful, I thought I'd focus on the best and the worst of the trip.

BEST

Two nights of the week, the boys went to the wharf to fetch fresh shrimp and crab for our very own shrimp boil. The boys did ALL of the cooking and we had a feast. Seafood, potatoes, pasta, corn on the cob, bread and watermelon. The food was better than any evening we spent at a restaurant and half the price. That's what I'm talking about....

WORST

On about day 4 of our trip, Peyton woke up saying that her feet hurt. I examined them only to find them red and a little swollen. I chalked it up to discomfort from walking on the sand for a couple of days (mine were a little sore too). Throughout the day she started walking on her tip-toes from the pain. By the evening she had developed large welts (bites) on the bottoms of her feet. We called the pharmacy and urgent care to get their advice and both said to treat with benedryl and cortisone cream on the bites throughout the day. Over the next 24 hours Peyton had given up walking, so she had to be taxied around from room-to-room, house to house and to the beach. Her feet looked awful. I really struggled with whether to take her up to the urgent care to be seen, but was afraid to spend the $170 for the visit to get the instruction to do just what I was doing. After searching the Internet, I had come to the conclusion that what she had was probably sand flea bites and the treatment advised was just what I had done. Finally, she had awoken feeling better and looking better. I had made the right decision! Today she is back to her normal running, dancing jumping self. On the car ride home, I took a picture of her healing feet (I wish I had remembered to take a photo when they were at their worst -- but photography was the farthest thing from my mind.) Glad that's over with!

challenging myself...

I made a decision to do something that has been on my "want to do" list for quite sometime. I decided I wanted to run a 5K. For me this is huge...I've have never been a good runner. One day I was on the Internet and decided to look up one of those "couch to 5K" plans. I was taking it very slow and didn't really have a particular 5K in mind. I was going to give myself plenty of time. Then I found out that my friend Jenna had also just started training for her 1st 5K and was about a week or so ahead of me. She was preparing for a 5K at the zoo for Children's Hospital. She gave me her training schedule and I decided to see if I could catch up to where she was so I could join her.

I began with the gym on the treadmill and followed her schedule of 6 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking X 3. I actually held up very well -- and enjoyed it (if you can believe it). Just to prove to myself that I wasn't fooling around, I decided to do one more set of 6 & 2.Since that day, I would think about running all the time and was anxious to get out there and do it again. (Crazy, I know)

Shortly after, I started doing my training sessions outside in my neighborhood where the temperature and inclines proved to be much more challenging. The longer periods of running were tough and the pounding on the pavement brought on a hip pain issue. I'd hoped it wouldn't bring me down.

My race was Sunday and it was an amazing experience. I was pretty nervous and I figured I get passed up by many. I thought the race would take me at least 40 minutes -- especially if I stopped to walk at any point. The only small stop I made was about thirty seconds to catch my breath and take a drink of the water waiting at the half-way mark. There were other times I wanted to rest, but I kept telling myself that doing a 5k RUN -- not walk-- was my goal here.

As I neared the finish line, I was feeling the pain (in my hip and my breathing), but I had a real sense of accomplishment for doing something that I been really wanting to do.

As I crossed the line I saw my two girls cheering for me and to my surprise my mother-in-law, nephew and two nieces were there to see me finish. That extra support almost brought tears to my eyes. My husband greeted me at the end with pride and had timed my race for me (my actual "official" time was 33:54). I was so happy!