First 5k

It is FINALLY nice enough to run outside! WOOOO! I love running outside. Today The Husband and I were finally able to get outside and run for the first time in months together. AND we were able to use our Christmas gift from my Dad and Marsha and take the girls with us! We got a Schwinn double jogging stroller and it's awesome. It's been sitting waiting for us to use it for 2 months now and we were thrilled to finally get outside and test it out. We didn't get to do a long run like we wanted to because of injuries for both The Husband and I but just a mile was better than nothing!


Giggle and Bounce is a really weird name for a blog, huh? Well my inspiration came from 2 different things. I have 2 beautiful little girls with the cutest little giggles ever. J (my 2 year old) loves making H (my 10 month old) laugh. Those giggles are one of my favorite things. And then there's bounce. Well, I run. But this is where the bounce comes from...


So, how did I start running, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

Remember that not athletic person I mentioned before? Well in my head running was the worst of all sports and physical activities ever. Who would want to run for 5 miles without being required to? I don't know where it came from but I always had such a negative association to running in my head. It's terrible, it's hard, it's not fun. Even in middle school and high school I always thought running was horrific. I am ashamed to say that when we were required to run a mile in gym class in 8th grade...I cheated. I only ran 4 laps around the track instead of 5. Partially because I hated running and partially because I was embarrassed about how slow I "ran." And then in high school I didn't try out for the soccer team because I'd been told there was a mile run for the try outs. 1 mile and I didn't do it because I didn't think I could.

So in July of 2012, I had lost about 15 lbs and The Husband's company was sponsoring a 5k run in Salt Lake City. Don't ask me why but I thought it would be a great idea to sign up. So for the next 3 months The Husband and I "trained" for the 5k (3.1 miles). Which really means I was huffing and puffing on the treadmill on a daily basis trying to add distance to how far I could run and he was going out once a week and running like it was nothing. By August I had lost 25 lbs or so and it was getting A LOT easier to run. The treadmill however sucked. I started off just trying to run a mile. It's possible that I had done it before but never before this journey do I remember being able to run a mile without stopping. After the first time I ran a mile on the treadmill I was so happy. Something so little had been so difficult for me and now I could do it. And then I could run 2 miles and then 3. Suddenly, I was a runner.

This is me after running 3.1 miles for the first time.

The week before the 5k, The Husband and I began running outside. All this time I had been telling The Husband "Oh I like the treadmill. It's nice." But I had NO idea what I was missing! Running outside was so beautiful and refreshing and not terrible at all! (see above for previous opinion) Something clicked during that week and I was hooked. Running had become my exercise of choice.

The Husband and I ran the 5k together in October and finished with a 34 min time. Not too terrible for a first timer, huh? I loved the atmosphere of hundreds of people running together and the cheering and free food that came with the race. It was so much fun and I immediately wanted to sign up for another one.


So now The Husband and I are signed up for a Half Marathon on May 4th! I mentioned before that we've both had some injuries that have been keeping us from running. I've got terrible shin splints and he has a sprained ankle. So hopefully our official training will be starting up here pretty soon.

Happy Running Season Everyone!