Hotcake Hustle

        So just about 2 weeks ago I was preparing for a 5k in Dallas called the Hotcake Hustle.  I was so excited to be running in a different state but also excited because for the first time I has a spectator in the crowd.  My mom came to watch me run, normally me and MRM run the races together which is always great and I love it but to know that someone was waiting at the finish line for me made me very emotional.  I even teared up a bit.  This only means one thing, I am definitely crying when I finish my half marathon.  While in Dallas we celebrated a late Christmas with my brother, sister-in-law and kids and my parents.  It was fun to all be together even if it was 3 weeks after the actual date.  Since being home I have gotten back to work and back to trying to get the house together.  I am loving having a few more days off of work right now due to hours being cut since it isn't holiday and I need the days off to clean and get my life organized again.  Since before Thanksgiving I have not had a normal routine for anything, let alone running.  Well I was overcoming shin splints which I am still dealing with but they only hurt when I run now which is a huge deal compared to walking around work, limping.  I am loving being able to focus on training and my eating habits again and focus on saving some money.  
        The Hotcake Hustle was a great experience for me and it was hard not having a running partner, normally I have MRM or I have my furbaby running with me.  I didn't PR but it was a nice run for a 5k, the 10k would have been hard as you looped around and did the same course again and I am glad I didn't do the 10k.  What I also loved about this race is how many kids I saw running.  I love it and it gives me such hope for when I have kids that I can keep going with my running journey and share this with them.  Running is something that has brought me and MRM together and gives us a common goal to work towards together outside of the stressors of work and all the other things that we deal with as a married couple.  I have been slacking on taking pictures but I am getting better the more I am starting to feel like myself.  
        While I love having these days off when I sit at home in the evening, eating dinner and watching tv and just enjoying the quiet and comforts of our house is when I miss MRM the most. We talk a lot but it just isn't the same as sitting here cuddling and icing our joints together.  I know we are in the home stretch in the long run of things and I know time has a tendency to fly by as long as I keep busy but I miss him.