Gorgeous does not even begin to describe this day in Houston! Anybody who lives here knows that cloudless, cool, and humidity free days are incredibly hard to come by here and we always take advantage. Aside from the weather, this day is special to me because I was able to run with my family. We ran the LoneStar Stampede to benefit the TexasExes scholarship program, Houston Chapter.
Pre Run Smiles
I’ve mentioned before that we’ve got our fair share of health problems in my family and everyday is a swim against the current. We have to be very mindful of how we eat and our activity levels or they can begin to set in. It’s easy for some and definitely harder for others. My dad for instance has been on a quest to get back into shape. He’s been following HASfit’s fitness program to Get in Shape and has also been logging his food and calories day in and day out albeit obsessively at times. He’s dropped about 6 pounds and has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
Starting Line Selfie!
My paternal side has a history of heart disease. My dad loves seafood & honestly stays away from red meat to which he attributes his excellent heart health. While he hasn’t always been the most active these past few years he’s working his way back up. My uncle has always been a runner having done a couple of marathons and is incredibly active but enjoyed his red meat and unfortunately has had some issues. Today, my uncle ran the 10K while my dad ran the 5K. My uncle wasn’t able to attend the Kozak wedding in November due to a health emergency but I was so proud of he and my dad for getting out there today and crushing their goals! Dad shaved 4 minutes off his time from his last run in February.
Beautiful Morning
The race was a double loop for the 10Kers and I really hadn’t trained at all for this run other than a couple of 3 mile runs this week so I wasn’t too confident I’d PR. It started off cool and by the time I looped for the second go-round, the heat started to hit me.
I think that girl thought I was waving at her, lol.
While I’m not a University of Texas Grad like my cousin, I still say “Hook ‘Em”
My cousin doing her thing. She works full time, has two kids, gets up at 4:30 in the morning to workout, and runs about 4-5 marathons a year, she’s AMAZING. Not obsessive but incredibly dedicated.
While I didn’t PR and came in 8 seconds short from my last 10K pace in February, I was still happy with my performance and always enjoy a good Saturday morning run.
This girl in the yellow tried to race me….
I had to beast it out and I smoked her, I just don’t have the evidence! My cousin has those pics 🙂
I’m uber disappointed I don’t have a pic of my dad finishing his 5K as Joshua stepped away for a moment but I did get my uncle as he finished his 10K. It’s basically the same thing since they’re practically identical.
My cousin beasted it too! Super proud of him as well as he’s rounding out his 10k!
And of course I have to include a picture of my boo and me because he’s the most encouraging person I know. Whether it’s 5AM on a 25 degree morning or a 6:30 wake up call on a beautiful spring Saturday, he gets up with out complaint and cheers me on! He’s the best.
To be healthy and even successful in your quest to be more active, I believe family and even close friends play a major role in how well you do. They support you, encourage you, and sometimes have to be the ones to put it all into perspective for you. I couldn’t be more blessed to have the family and husband that I do.
Once it was all said and done, we jetted off to Torchy’s Tacos for some post race brunch. I was too ravenous and forgot to take a pic of my salmon taco however I did take a pic of my deliciously sweet gluten-free brownie because hey…I earned it! 🙂
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