Game on! Little Rock Marathon.

Today was the day, the Little Rock Marathon. We had perfect weather projected and I was anxious to get going. 

The race kicked off at 7 and we were off. We saw a lot of great sites on the run that I had to stop and get a picture. 

We ran by the Governor's mansion, Little Rock Central High school and the Capitol! 

I got really nervous today because around mile 5.5 my knee started tweaking and hurting. I knew 21 more miles was going to be pushing it. It continued to hurt on and off and we forged on. Then around 12.25, Sarah, our running partner, her calf seized up and began causing tremendous pain. We ended up splitting apart from around mile 14 on and David and I kept pushing through. That was a hard decision David and I had to make to leave our training partner behind but on race day the unspoken rule came into play. We had to run our best and unfortunately we couldn't all stay together. 

Finally, we got to the last 6.2 and those had to be the hardest miles of my life. My legs were screaming at me to quit and I wanted to MANY times. I had tears in my eyes many times thinking I can't finish this but then I would get a small burst of energy and run for as long as my knee could handle it. Thankfully, my partner was cool with my walk/run plan to finish the race. We were going to walk most of the last mile when we hear "5.30 pace group coming up behind you." Neither David or I wanted them to beat us so we mustered some energy and pulled ahead of them. We walked again and then once we it 26.2 we ran into the finish.  We made it in 5.26! Crossing that finish line was emotional and I teared up again because of the pain and the fact I had completed 26 miles!  I'm so glad I did it but it was the hardest thing for sure. One more thing checked off the bucket list. 😊

Two weeks!

These legs....they will carry me through a marathon in two weeks. Today we tapered our run down and ran 13.5 miles. The weather was beautiful for going to the park but not running! 60 degrees sounds great but it drains your energy super fast. 

I've been having IT band issues since we ran 20 miles and this next week I'm going to go see Patty Pain. I'm extremely nervous about what's going to happen. I will most likely cry through my session but hopefully that means I can get through the marathon with minimal pain. 

On our way...

A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed a new pair of running shoes to get to LR. I went to Fleet Feet and they didn't have my style so I ordered them. The only problem was they were going to take two weeks. I grudgingly said ok and ran 16 and 12 miles in my old shoes. Each time being in more pain because my shoes were done. I learned of zappos free overnight shipping from my friend and fellow runner, Sarah, and decided to just bite the bullet and order another pair. We were getting close to our 18 mile run and I needed to break in a new pair before the run. They arrived on Tuesday and I quickly started working them in with small runs and walking. The only problem is on Friday my instep started really hurting from my short run that morning. I began foam rolling and decided to rest and use body glide during my run. I was increasingly nervous about 18 today because of my instep. I can run through pain but not 18 miles worth. I prepared as best I could and made sure to body glide both feet. My instep was painful as soon as I put on my shoes this morning but I forged on. As soon as we started our run the pain subsided and I was able to complete all the miles! 

Thankfully, my running crew is great! We all run the same pace, have great conversation and don't mind moments of silence either. Without them today I would've walked a lot sooner and probably not finished as great! Sarah and I are definitely going to miss David as he leaves for Cincinnati. 😢 

Again, another milestone. 18 miles today! I still can't believe that I can and do run this long. Here is to many more miles!

So, I'm a runner...

One of my favorite stories of my childhood was when I was visiting my grandparents at their home in the country my grandpa and I decided to have a race the width of the house. You read that correctly, the width not the length. He bet me $1 if I won. My grandma yelled go and I took off as fast as my little chubby legs could go and I won! Turns out the reason I won was because my grandpa got such a kick out of all of my "motion" that he couldn't run from laughter. I think that was my first time I realized I was not a runner nor was I going to be fast. Many more times throughout my youth would continually remind me of this and I decided to just be strong and not fast. 

Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I had a minor procedure done to repair some damage from childbirth and I felt like running. I started with small distances of 5k's and thought that's where I should stay. I soon ran a half marathon and am now hooked on distance running. 

This past Saturday my running group and I completed 16 miles. I mean, dang, 16. miles. I was also given a compliment that I was the most steady runner of us all, me, a steady runner. I'm really excited to see what the future of my running career holds! Here is my group after the 16 miles where the entire time it felt below 10 degrees! Brrr, but we did it! #lrmarathon

New Year!

Today marked the start of my 11th year of teaching! Jack started 2nd grade at Leverett and Nolan started a new daycare. It was a great day overall!

Nolan loves his new school which in turn makes me love his new school. He struggled with his school last school and cried every day I dropped him off. Every. Day. Spider monkey and all...it was terrible. After two days at his new school he was walking in on his own and waving good-bye! Huge progress!

He is in the 2-3 year old room. Nolan loves Spider-Man, Superman, and Ninja Turtles right now. He is a funny boy who loves to make people laugh and make silly faces. He is a little bit of a Jekyll and Hyde because when I'm not around he is an angel child and listens without crying or whining and the moment I come in the tears flow. No one can figure it out. 

Jack is so excited about 2nd grade and told his teacher during open house that his favorite subject is math. He definitely didn't get that from me. He is an inquisitive boy and his new favorite show is 20/20 because he loves to hear other people's stories. That he does take after me!! He is smart, funny and a nice kid and I hope he has a great year!

Nolan

So, I'm terrible with keeping this post up and I've decided that I'm going to use it as a reminder of all the funny things my crazy kids do or say. First up...Nolan Hinkson. He is a crazy 2 1/2 year old and is totally giving me hell this summer! 

When I have to do lawn work and it's just Nolan and I then I usually have him watch Turtles to keep him still. He has never been the type of kid to dig out food/paint/, etc. and make giant messes. Well, I spoke too soon...I was out mowing and Nolan said he wanted to come outside. He goes inside to grab his shoes and takes longer than anticipated so I go inside. He comes out with white powder like material all over him. Back story here...we had french toast that morning and he LOVED the powdered sugar. So, low and behold he decided he needed more on what little he had left on his plate. He got the powdered sugar off the counter and dumped some more on his plate and then continued dumping more on the floor, the dog food bowl, and all over the floor when he couldn't get the bag back on the counter. 

I came in upset with the giant mess and started to get on to him and asking him what happened and all he could say was "I don't know." I brought him over to the bag and pointed at it and said Look, what did you do? His response "Oh no! What happened?!" After I cleaned up the mess I had to laugh it off because he was so shocked at the mess and had no clue what had happened. Crazy kid. 

New beginnings...

We started this new adventure with a party at our vice principals house! He and his wife put on a party for his and her school and it was an awesome time! They had so much stuff for the kids so the adults could hang out. It was great getting to talk to my coworkers outside of the classroom. 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

This year marked my 10th year of teaching and Jack going to 1st grade. He was so excited to get back to his friends and to keep learning. He still loves school and we'll enjoy that as long as we can. 

School is going great for me. I'm working harder than I have ever before but I have amazing coworkers that make my job better. We all work as a team and are supportive of each other. I think this is going to be a great first year!

On the road and posting about it!

The Hinksons are on our last family vacation for the summer. 😥 We are heading to Dallas for 5 days and then our friends Kristin and Dan and their two kids are visiting from Nebraska. I'm so excited to see them! 

This is how the kiddos handle the trip and us too. We are down to one DVD player so it gets touchy sometimes! 

I will post more later now that I can update from my phone! So excited!

Let the wait begin...

As some of you may know I have been trying to get a job in NWA for the past few years so that I can be closer to home. I decided around January to add an elementary education license to my music Ed. license to open up more opportunities. I was supposed to complete an Arkansas History course and take a Praxis exam to add the additional license. I called the state dept. last Thurs. to ask when the deadline for test scores was and they informed me that my life will be put on hold.  The state dept. is in flux right now and is changing the certification to a k-6 instead of p-4. They haven't decided the Praxis exam they want to count for that license and they will decide around August or Sept.  That means I will not be licensed by the fall and most likely will not get a job again. The demand for a job in NWA is high and they are not going to jump through all the education hoops to have me as a teacher.

In other news, Jack is learning so much with his new baseball team. He is realizing that he is not the best at something and that he has to work hard.

Nolan is being Nolan and we are trying to learn what his grunts and  screams mean. He does not like the inability to communicate with us and frankly neither do we. He is almost running now and has learned how to take small steps on a staircase on his own. At 16 mo. he can say the following: mama, dada, Jack, awesome, bye-bye, uh-oh, whoa, and he can roar like a bear.  He is a ladies man and a southern gentlemen. He has to say bye to everyone at the daycare when we leave and he blows kisses to certain people. He has a young southern lady who watches him in the afternoon and he has picked up on her accent. He has the most drawn out byes. I'll try to video it and post it.

Now or never....

Well, I'm back for those who follow....crickets.  Yes.  Anyway, I really want to keep a journal of some type to document how our life is going and our feelings and all that and this seems to be the only way.  I see the last time I was on here was when I went back to maternity leave so I'll catch up quickly.

Nolan is now 15 months old and was the perfect baby for the first year..haha!  I swear there is colic for older babies because he has it.  I think a little bit can be attributed to the fact that he got almost all of his teeth over Christmas break and that we probably have a little bit of a communication issue going on.  He is one stubborn and hard headed child...I know, I don't know who he could have gotten that from.  Anyway, we are plugging along with him and trying to teach him how to talk really fast.

He did have his first bang up job the other day.  I have always said that the fact that this kid does not listen when I say "no" that he is going to get himself in trouble.  Well, I was right in the bad way... We were outside and I was doing yard work and the boys were playing in the back of JR's truck.  Jack had gotten out and Nolan stayed in and was just exploring the cab.  All the sudden I look up and he is climbing on the tire cover and as I'm yelling "no" and "stop" he, of course, doesn't listen and continues to head dive over the side.  He landed on his head on the concrete driveway and I about flipped out!  Luckily, I am pretty calm in those kind of situations and I got him and put ice packs in the appropriate places and gave him ice water because he had bitten his tongue as well, twice.  I watched for symptoms of a head injury and he was sleepy but only took a short nap.  The next day he woke up with a bounce in his step like nothing happened.

Jack is doing fantastic.  He turned 6 on March 5th and I still can't get it in my head that he is a 6 year old!  We just finished up his first season of basketball and are going to begin baseball next week! JR and I both like baseball the best and can't wait to see how he does with coach pitched baseball.  He is picking up on JR and I's sarcastic humor and has become quite the little smarty pants.  We are teaching him when it is appropriate and not to be a smart mouth. 

That is enough catch-up for now.  I will post pics and such later!