"Thank you for registering"

I did it. I pulled the trigger on the Omaha half marathon to be run in less than 5 weeks. It made me nervous that the boys cried and interrupted my attempt to register at least a dozen times. Was it a sign I shouldn't do it? Then I remembered they interrupt trying to eat, drink, sleep, shower, pee, and just about everything else I try to do. They don't appear to be choosey.

Saturday was hot and windy, and I made it out for 7 hard miles to deem a half marathon "doable". It won't be easy, and I have a ways to go to be ready, but it'll be a great way to celebrate the last day of maternity leave. Seems an appropriate bookend to my very pregnant 5k race.

So I have my work cut out for me:
10k in less than 4 weeks
Half marathon in less than 5.
Bring it on!

And what's a post without baby pics?

Among the many cheese-tastic games we play, I call one "big!". It involves a very annoying baby voice by me asking who wants to be big over and over. Good thing I'm home alone. Anyway, they practice sitting up and standing. Got to start building those runner legs early!

And while one is sitting/standing, the other sits right here:

Because HEAVEN FORBID someone not be held for .0005 seconds all day. My arms are getting ripped. Thanks, boys!

She runs! (oh, and some baby pics too)

I admit that I've been a terrible blogger and an even worse blog commenter. Apologies. Turns out, newborn twins are needy. We'll see if I even get this posted before they wake up again. I've tried 4 times over 3 days.

In running news- I'M BACK, BABY! Well, officially back. (Truth be told, I've been running for several weeks. Thankfully none of my guts fell out.) Last week was 6 weeks post c-section, and I finally let go of the reigns and didn't hold back. It's not easy, but I love every step of pushing myself again.

My furthest run so far was 5 miles at a 9:21 pace. My fastest run so far was 4 miles at 9:02 pace this weekend. It's been 3000 degrees, so I'm fairly pleased with my progress so far. The first race is a 10K in 4 weeks, so the countdown is on. I'd like to come in with a respectable time since it's a Corporate Cup and our work sends a fairly large team. I've got a rep to protect!

I'm also toying with the idea of a half marathon in 5 weeks, but we shall see on that...

Aside from my boring running update, it's time for the real highlight of my life. Our ninos!

My friend Jess (Jaybee Images) is insanely talented and did a fantastic job. Sigh, I love my life.

Make your own challenge

Today marks 4 weeks post-babies, and things continue to go wonderful. Some things are much harder than expected and others are much easier. We'll get it all figured out eventually. I positively love being a mother though. L O V E it.

On the running front, I'm still no-go for another couple weeks. I'm (mostly) complying. In the mean time, I walk. At exactly 2 weeks, we went on our first family walk.

We crawled over every bump and crack trying to be extremely careful. I think we went 1 mile in almost an hour.

After a few trips together, I got more confident with getting everyone out the door. Now, the boys and I go walking every morning. We still take our casual family walks in the evening, but the morning walk is time to work. I get fully ready like it's a run. Complete with Garmie, dryfit clothes, sunglasses, iPod, and we hit the hills.

Pushing a stroller, 2 car seats, and 2 growing babies (with slowly recovering abs) up hill is no joke. The final massive one before turning home is what I call Gage Hill. It's the hill I use to gage my daily improvement. On the first morning, it just about did me in. I was sweating, sucking air, and dramatically looking forward to it getting easier.

And today, 2 weeks later, it's noticeably easier. It's still not "easy", but it's easier. The countdown until Run Day is definitely on, but conquering new and different fitness challenges in the mean time has been kind of fun.

Thankfully, these cuties love our walks together. Watching them watch me is the best motivation in the world.

Luke:

Sam: