Stamp N Stuff: The Dreaded V-Day Is Only 11 Days Away!!!

Well it's not what you all may be thinking when I call Valentine's Day the "dreaded" day. It all started just before Christmas when Jamie somehow managed to convince me to register for this year's Hypothermic Half Marathon. Now for those of you that know me know that I am absolutely NOT a runner!! I did a 5km run when Jamie and I first met and I managed to finish 3rd last out of everyone that was running (old and young!!). I think he convinced me when he said, "Well if you get tired halfway, just go home!" and then I thought to myself why the heck not? It's the only race that goes right past my house!
So I've tried to start a training schedule but 2 months to go from a non-runner to a 1/2 marathon runner requires some intense dedication, dedication that I don't have!!

Let me share with you some of my intensive running history. I've always been able to do those short dashes that everyone needs to do in school like the 100m dash etc. Then when my ex and I broke up, I tried to pick up running to keep myself busy. It was then that I figured out that my right foot tends to get numb at about the 13-15 minute mark. It was the same thing everyday so I gave it up. Then I met Jamie and he was a big runner so in my attempts to woo him, we went on a few jogging "dates". Now lets flash forward to last summer. Jamie needed a new pair of runners so we headed over to the Running Room (pricey but he's quite picky about the shoes he wears). I decided to get fitted for a new pair of shoes to see if that was what was causing me numbness. Now I don't know about you but I definitely don't shave if I don't plan on wearing shorts or having anyone see my legs. Jamie and I have gotten to that level in our relationship where my legs can be as hairy as his and he doesn't care (or so he says!). Now with the fitting, this young man asked me to roll my pants up to my knees. My jaw dropped and I almost died from embarrassment! I told him I didn't shave and I tried to roll it low enough but still be high enough. Good thing he didn't have to closely inspect my foot and only needed to see me run....haha that's probably not very good either!

So flash forward again to now. We managed to run 2 km the very first day out. Boy was I exhausted and we did that 2 km in like 40 minutes!!! It was very discouraging. Jamie kept reassuring me that it was because we were running in some newly fallen snow. Sure enough, the next time we went out, we managed to run to Penny's house (3.6km there and back) in 40 minutes. Then on Saturday it was the first time we hit 8 km and it took us 1hr and 20min. Today we did just over 8km and it only took us 1hr and 10min! My foot still gets numb but I've been google-ing some info and tried a few different things. I laced my shoes up from top to bottom, left my laces super loose and put orthotic insoles in. So far all I've managed to do is lengthen the time between feeling the numbness and the intensity of the numbness. I describe it to Jamie as "my foot is getting dull". Anyways I know this post has been uber long but I was so excited that we almost ran 10km today!! The furthest I've ever ran (with some walk breaks of course)!!

I want to end off with a card that we made last weekend. This quilting card is super easy to make! Just punch out 12 squares with a 1 1/4" square punch and glue it on a 3 3/4" x 5" cardstock. The faux stitching on this quilt was hand drawn in. Easy peasy! I'll keep everyone posted with my hypothermic progress!!