Best run ever!

Since my best friend is back at this running business we have been trying to get a run in together every other week or so. The weather in Wisconsin has been very cooperative with us runners this year so it's been nice. (and by nice I mean above 0 and no snow which is a super huge deal around here.) We have started getting back into our routine of doing an official run every month. It keeps both of us in check and on track, we have big goals people, we don't mess around!

A few weeks ago we planned a run but the weather didn't want to cooperate and it was raining. Like seriously, raining, in Wisconsin, in December......so odd I can't even tell you..... so we met at the fitness center where I live to run indoors on the treadmills. We couldn't find a run to do in December because the one we wanted to do together was the day that I graduated so that timing was just not going to work. So we signed up for a virtual run because it had the cutest medal and came with cute gloves too. Even though we were running indoors and not part of a big group, we put on the bibs they sent us with our numbers on and we met at the fitness center. We hopped on treadmills and off we went. This was nice because Ashley is a much faster runner than I am so I didn't slow her down and we still got to run together the whole 5k! I set my speed and was like oh I'll just see how long I can go. I always run intervals so I figured run a few minutes then walk and figure out my timing from there. But as we were chatting and running I looked down and saw that I had run a half a mile. I didn't really say anything, and tried not to get nuts, but I have never run that far ever. I always start out too fast and end up having to walk after a bit. I am horrible at pacing myself. I felt great so I just kept going and then the numbers were creeping up to 1 mile. I was like, I can do the whole mile, I'll walk after that. But I kept going and just pushed myself a quarter mile at a time. People, I ran the entire 5k! This has never happened in all the history of my time running! I have finished half marathons, but I have never run an entire 5k, not even once! It was a huge day, and I felt great! My side did start to hurt a bit at the end but I did up my speed because I got antsy. Told you, horrible at pacing myself! And my bestie was there the whole time and we chatted and it was awesome! And then the guy working the front desk told us we had an awesome workout and I was thinking, you have no idea! All the people at the fitness center are so nice it's really great.

 See, aren't those medals so cute? It's totally all about the bling, can't even try and deny that.

 Love me some themed knee high socks for my runs!

There it is, 3.10 miles of straight up running! Not my fastest time, but I don't even care. It's not always about speed I have learned that.

Parker gave me a high five, he gets it.

Today Ashley and I had another running date, this time outside. It was cold, but still above freezing...according to Facebook and my memories, a few years ago on this same day it was -15 so like I said, this weather is huge! We met at the start of this trail that goes from one town to the next. Ashley said she has been wanting to run it a long time, and I always see people on it and want to be awesome like them. It goes right along the highway which isn't my favorite, but I didn't even notice that while we were running. We went 2 miles to the next town then turned and headed back for a total of 4.2 miles. We ran intervals, which is fine with me, she tells me what we are doing and I do it. It's a good system and it works for us so I go with it. I felt great, my legs felt awesome, except I think my shoes are nearing their end...total sad face... except, we were mere minutes away from me having my first ever running bathroom emergency. I am so thankful that I literally live a mile away from where we were parked! I was honestly contemplating the thought of hiding in the ditch and going potty, I hear stories of runners having to do it all the time, but I was ok. It was all good and the run was great! I love that my bestie and I have running dates and I love that she slows down for me, she is so nice!

 Of course no run is complete without the runfie!

Or the run stats, courtesy of Ashley because my GPS didn't start tracking until the last 2 miles....stupid phone....I've had a garmin in my Amazon wish list for months now and just can't pull the trigger and buy it for myself. Someday...soon, we have big goals you know, I need to know my stats!

Fancy piece of paper

The hugest thing ever has happened, I am officially graduated from college! I officially have an Associates of Applied Sciences degree in Management Development! I have been working on this fancy piece of paper for so long now that it doesn't even seem real to me. And in 6 to 8 weeks I will actually have the fancy piece of paper with my name on it!

 Here's me and my little man and my husband. My son says the sweetest things sometimes and he told me how proud he was of me and it made me cry. In reality it's all for him anyway so I'm glad that he gets it. My husband is very thrilled about taking pictures, but I made him do it anyway.

This is me and my big sister and little brother. It really meant the world to me that they took the time out of their days to come and see me get my diploma. Or more so the holder that my diploma will go in once I actually get it in the mail. I know it's only an associates degree, but it's a huge deal to me. I really honestly never thought this day would come. After high school I went to my dream college, and I totally hated it. It left me in a tail spin, I didn't have a back up plan and I had no idea what to do next. So it was 7 years before I went back to school. By that time I had been married and divorced and had Parker and had been with my current husband a few years. I worked full time and had a mortgage and being the traditional college student was no longer an option for me.

College was hard people. No joke, trying to balance it along with everything else was really a struggle and there were so many times I wanted to quit and just give up. I am so thankful for the people that helped me along the way, I never could have done it without them.

I actually graduated 3 weeks before my last classes were actually finished. Talk about pressure, hey you already walked, but there are still 3 weeks to fuck it up. Geez! There were a few things I was worried about, one being the final portfolio that is like a huge thing. It's a graduation requirement, and there is only 1 grade for the thing. No chance to make up for a bad grade, it's one and done kind of thing. But I totally nailed it, got a perfect score on it so I was super excited about that.

The other huge thing I was super stressed about in the last few weeks was my application to business school. When I got approved to graduate in December I applied to UW Whitewater's College of Business and Economics. They are super highly accredited for their business program, like in the top 5% of the country, so the pressure was on. Even though I met all the requirements to transfer, I had this huge fear that I wasn't going to get in. Once again, I didn't have a back up plan. I had only applied to the one school so if I didn't get in then I would have to take a semester off again, and I was super terrified that it would turn into 7 years off again.

Other people really felt my stress lately, my husband took the brunt of it and I have apologized more in the last month for being cranky than I have in the 7 years we have been together. My best friend has listened to me stress about it endlessly, and I am so lucky that she is totally amazing and just kept telling me that it would all be fine and she had no doubts that I would get in.

I have turned to fitness more and more lately to get rid of my stress. I have joined an awesome studio that has a super program and the support network is so incredible it's unbelievable! Working out has become my relaxation time, it's my time for just me and no one else. I do what I have to do and it's all about me and I don't feel bad about it one bit! But that's a different story, I'll get to that later.

So this past Tuesday was the official end of my semester, I had my final group presentation and then I was officially done with all classes. Still no word from Whitewater. I checked the mail every single day and was disappointed every single day when nothing showed up. But I was also relieved that nothing showed up because it meant that I was safe for one more day from being rejected. But Tuesday night I immediately felt completely lost. I had no homework that I had to be working on. I had no class to go to, and no project that was coming due. It has been so freaking long since this has happened that I seriously started to panic. What will I do with myself, I am so used to having all these pressing matters that need to be taken care of for school and now I was just done.

Wednesday I was on break at work and I got an email.... from Whitewater, congratulating me on my acceptance. Wait, I got in? I got in! Total spoiler alert, I didn't even get the letter in the mail saying that I was accepted, and I get an email telling me how to register for classes. I almost cried in the break room. No kidding, and I don't even care. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I didn't even realize how much stress I was under waiting for this letter, but apparently it was a lot. So, I have a few weeks of no homework and no pressure and then it's right back to the grind. Now that it's a reality I'm like crap, I can't fuck this up, this is a really good school and I want a fancy piece of paper with their name on it for my bachelor's degree. So here is to a few more years of school in my future!

Now, in 6 to 8 weeks I can really be excited when I get my diploma in the mail and can be all like yay my fancy piece of paper! Guess I can lay off stalking the mail box for a few weeks now though and take it easy!