RMLE

Hubby and I were supposed to run the Garmin Oz Half Marathon last April. Because it was on A’s 17th birthday, she also wanted to complete it. So we signed four of the girls up for the 10K, and we signed up for the half.

Then, they postponed it to a day two of the girls would not be able to go. In response, we cancelled our half marathon (we don’t like running virtuals much), and switched the girls over to the virtual 10K.

After six months of back-and-forth emails, we FINALLY got ALL of the girls’ packets. We often take the girls on walks and hikes that are 10K distance, but I decided yesterday that I would have them fulfill the 10K and then give them the medals we finally received.

It was a little chilly when we started, but it warmed up. We decided to walk to Kneaders, have soup and bread, and walk back. Most of the walk is to– and through–a state park, so it’s a beautiful walk. When we got to Kneaders, the dining room was closed (thank goodness they have an app for ordering and we had already ordered ahead). We sat in the sunshine and ate, then walked back. They earned their medals to put on the wall. We don’t really do many virtual races, but felt this was a good way to support the race but still get something out of it for the girls.

We took a small detour to a park on the way home (the youngest had been dying to go to a park for a week). We ended up logging 6.65 miles.

Next year, we plan to take the girls on several hikes; we completed a bunch in 2020 when everything was closed. Unfortunately this year, my husband has been INCREDIBLY short-staffed through summer and fall, and has had to work 8-20 hours of overtime the entire time. Days off were few, so we didn’t get a chance to hike like normal. Instead, I bribe the girls with food and we walk 5-7 miles once a week, plus some shorter walks, to keep fit in my offseason of running.

Happy fitness to you all!