We had the best weekend, which was made complete with a little getaway to Little Rock for the Little Rock Half Marathon. We left Saturday afternoon, so we only had one night in Little Rock, but we had the best time! Rewinding to Friday, someone has discovered how fun toilet paper is…I heard him playing with it while I was making our bed Friday morning. I walked in to almost the entire roll on the floor. HA! He was very pleased with himself. So, if you come to our house and see this, don’t worry…there’s another roll that hasn’t been on the floor for you to use. I’ll save this for us.
Coop is still loving his sunnies. He wants me to put them on him, then he immediately pulls them off and giggles. We do this over and over again.
I had a last-minute Zoom meeting Friday afternoon, so we sat in Coop’s room while I listened.
I got both Coop and I packed on Friday when I finished up with work for the day. We had dinner, then Coop went to bed. Before Jake and I called it a night, we watched an episode of Outer Banks. I don’t love this new season, but we’ll see how it ends. I froze the leftover cookies from Coop’s birthday party, so I had one while we watched tv. They’re so delicious.
Breakfast Saturday morning consisted of waffles with peanut butter and banana, and some cheesy eggs.
Coop LOVES waffles with peanut butter.
Jake knocked out a four hour run on Saturday, then we loaded the car and hit the road for Little Rock. We rolled into town about 4:30ish and went straight to the expo to get my race packet. They had the coolest balloon art all over the place. Coop was in Heaven. He loves balloons.
I was super excited for this race. I didn’t have a set plan – it was more of a training/just for fun race. I hadn’t finished a half since November, so I was definitely hoping for an improved time. I really wanted to go sub two (finish in under two hours), but I was just going to see how I felt once we started.
After the expo, we went to Lost Forty for dinner. This goofball has a mouth full of puffs here.
I’m a sucker for a good beer flight. I love being able to try small portions of different beers when we go somewhere new.
We got lots of Coop snuggles while we waited on our burgers. The food was amazing. I forgot to snap a picture because I was so hungry, but we’ll definitely be back!
We stayed at the cutest Airbnb Saturday night. We walked in to this adorable sign. We have a lot of Es in our names, so she had to resort to using threes in my name. It made me smile.
Breakfast and race ready! This was our first night out of town while working on sleep training. Coop did amazing. He slept from 7pm until almost 4am. It was tricky because we were in the same room as him, so when he got up at 4, he could see us. He did not want to go back to sleep, so Jake got up with him and they played while I snoozed for another two hours.
Once I got up, we got dressed, chowed down on breakfast, and headed to the race start!
Cooper was having so much fun. He kept waving at everyone, clapping, and dancing to the music. He is definitely a race, baby!
I was excited to see how I’d perform. I felt really good and was well-rested (thank you, Taking Cara Babies). I’ve been trying to wear my pack on any run over 90 minutes so I can get used to it – sometimes it bothers my shoulders a little bit. With a trail marathon and 50k coming up, I’m going to have this pack on for a long time, so I need to get used to it!
I snapped this toward the beginning of the race. We ran over this beautiful bridge in Little Rock. I know it’s a famous bridge, I just can’t remember the name.
One of my favorite feelings is crossing a finish line. It has got to be one of the best feelings in the world!
Jake and Coop ran all around the course, so I got to see them multiple times, which I loved.
I realized about mile 3 that I forgot to nurse Coop right before I started running. WHOOPS. I was very ready to see him when I finished.
The balloons were a hit with Coop. He wanted to touch them all.
This first picture is my race from November. I finished in two hours and 11 minutes. I was proud of this race – it was my first postpartum half marathon. The second picture is my race from Sunday. I wanted sub two hours and I got it! Barely. Ha! I finished in 1:59:03. I was so excited. There were four months of hard work between these two races. I am so thankful for my coach, Patty’s, guidance and training plans this past year. I think she’s the only reason I’m able to run like I am after having Coop.
Here are my splits. The top picture is from November and the second is yesterday. My first mile yesterday isn’t accurate. My watch shut down during the first mile. No clue why! I’m just glad it powered back on and started back up.
Jake rocked dad life all morning. So thankful for our teamwork making our training and racing dreams come true.
After the race, we headed back to our Airbnb to shower and pack up. One last picture with this cute sign. I just loved seeing all three of our names together.
Before heading for home, we grabbed something to eat. This burger and Bloody hit the spot!
I love brunch with my dudes!
After brunch, we touched some trees. This kid loves any and all things outside.
Coop did great in the car. He either napped, read books, or had snacks. He was tired of being in the car the last 30 minutes on the way home, but who isn’t?
I love seeing the different positions he falls asleep in. It feels good to be back home!
I am sore today, but feeling pretty good. My abs and shoulders are the most sore…I need to stretch and do some foam rolling for sure.
Happy Monday, friends!