Casey at the Blog: We Just Keep Running

We have learned to love running over here. Tim and I have done several races of various lengths over the past five years or so. I still can't believe I can type that! I never liked running and even the very short amount we had to run for high school cheerleading was torture. But, once I started a few years back, I have grown to love it and really enjoy my 2-3 runs I can get in each week.

In the past, I needed a "big" run to be on the calendar to keep me motivated, but this fall I've done really well with keeping up with a weekly routine. Something that helped me tremendously was having one of my best gals running "alongside me" -- meaning at the same time and day but at our own houses. Emily started running when school started and she also isn't looking back. We capped off her first several weeks of running with her very first 5K. It was so fun to run with her during the race. I am so proud of her and love that we can encourage each other as we run.

The next weekend, Tim and I took a mini vacation to the Chicago area to cheer on one of our dearest friends, Sarah, run the Chicago Marathon. Yes, a MARATHON! She decided this winter/spring that she was going to check this off her bucket list and raise money for childhood cancer research at the same time. Tim and I headed up Friday for dinner with Sarah and her awesome family, then went to spend the night/next day with the Gorsch's. Sunday morning, we took off for a day in the city to hang out with Luke and watch Sarah. We had an awesome time! We explored a ton of the city while getting to support her throughout the race. What an accomplishment for her. We are so proud to call her our friend!

We finished our race month by doing the St. Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon Relay with our friends, the Stamps. Each leg is about 6.5 miles. The girls were on one team, and the guys on the other. This made it really fun because the couples were able to run together. I know Tim could have run much faster than me, but I was so glad to be running with him. Here we are, bright and early, before heading to our separate starting spots. I'm so thankful for my local running friends!