Update on Team Barnes

Well, it has been quite a while since our last blog, so I have a lot of catching up to do. We successfully completed our first marathon in December. It hurt so good would be the only way I can explain how we felt. Tears welled up in my eyes quite often as I passed encouraging strangers cheering me on. They didn't know me from anyone, but their kind words were a huge support for me. I knew I had to complete what I started for Sydney. Blake did great. He finished the marathon and was there at the finish line with a huge hug! Thank you to everyone who prayed, encouraged, and financially supported our endeavor. We raised almost $2,000 and crossed the marathon finish line as St. Jude Heroes. We could not have done it without you!

After the St. Jude Marathon in December, we ran in the Jackson Blues marathon relay in January. Blake was on a male team and I was on a female team made up of our friends and family. Blake and the other guys dominated and came in 7th overall against all of the relay teams. The girls team didn't do to shabby either. We all had a great time.

March rolled around and we ran the Rock 'N' Roll New Orleans half marathon. Blake did an incredible job and beat his previous PR with a 1:44 half marathon. Let me be the first to tell you, Blake is the most dedicated runner I know. He went out to break his previous PR of 1:56 and destroyed it! I am on proud wife :) I ran this half marathon with my friend Courtney. It was her first half marathon and she was so encouraging. She faced a few complications, but ran with a smile and finished strong. She makes the third person we have encouraged to start running and complete a half marathon with! Watch out friends, we are on a roll, you might be next!
I am going to include so pictures of all of the above events! 

St. Jude Marathon

Jackson Blues (sorry it will not let me turn the picture)

Rock 'N' Roll (sorry, again I can't turn the picture)

Now, are next endeavors prove to be a bit more difficult. Blake and I are going to compete in the Ironman 70.3! Blake will be participating in the upcoming April 22nd Ocshner Ironman 70.3 in New Orleans. He has such drive, determination, and will power. Whatever he puts his mind to, he succeeds in. Blake and I together will be participating in the Augusta, GA 70.3 series. I am excited to do this with Blake for a few reasons. One, I will be able to benefit from his experience and advice after his race in April, but two, training together is incredible for our relationship :)
 
Please continue to pray for Team Barnes and our endeavors. We are ambitious and are crossing off those bucket list items left and right! Continue to also encourage us along the way. We couldn't do it without our fan club filled with our family and friends!

Marathon Training Weeks 11-13

So for the last 3 weeks we have been very bad at blogging. We have had very long runs, with the longest being 20 for Blake and 18 for me due to some injury setbacks, and we are just physically and mentally exhausted. This is no excuse though and we do apologize to those of you who care enough to check up on our status and continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. 

The race is officially less than one month away! We are so ready and so not ready all at the same time, but the light at the end of the tunnel is near. Our fundraising efforts are going very well too. We have received a lot of donations from friends and family and are very appreciative. Any donation helps the children of St. Jude, no matter how big or small so please keep them coming!

As we are getting closer please pray for our endurance both mentally and physically. Running for countless hours wears at our bodies. Aches and pains are just normal things for us now. Also it is mentally trying to go out and run for hours every weekend. We knew running a marathon would be difficult, but when we started we said it was not for us it was for Sydney.

We have a 20 mile run this weekend and then we will begin to taper in preparation of 26.2!

Thankful for all of the love and support,

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 9 and Week 10

We know it has been only two weeks since we last blogged, but so much has  happened, we can’t wait to fill you in. 

Meet Sydney

First we have attached a picture of us with Sydney. This is the sweet girl we are running in celebration of.  She was diagnosed with a low grade brain tumor and, praise God, is currently in remission. She still must go back to St. Jude every three months for check-ups, but as of her last check-up, all is good still.  This picture was taken at our Sweet CeCe’s Fundraising night. We would like to thank all of our friends and family for coming out and supporting the great cause.

Blake and I with our Medal's!

Blake and I with his mom for her 1st half marathon

Next is a picture of us in Disney World with Blake’s mom. We ran in the Wine and Dine Half Marathon on October 1^st. It was his mom’s first race and she did great. We had encouraged her to start running about a year ago and now she has her first half under her belt. The next picture is Blake and I with our finisher medals. We enjoyed the race a whole lot and even set personal records! We are very excited.

Blake and I with Drew (on the far left) for his 1st Half Marathon

Finally the last picture is us this past weekend, October 9^th.  We encouraged another friend, Drew, to run his first half as well. This race was in Mandeville, LA and we could not have asked for better weather. Drew did a great job and even though he didn’t get addicted to running as Blake and I did, he is glad he did it. 

Blake and I are now full speed ahead for our full marathon training. The full is about 7 weeks away and we are excited! We are having another fundraiser coming up on October 18^th. If you are interested in making a donation, please follow the link on the top right of this page or come to the jewelry party fundraiser!

Thankful for family and friends to run with,

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 8

   So this weekend we ran 11 miles. We are back on track! It was hard, but we did it, aches and all. Since it is now officially fall, the weather was great. We have a scenic 11 mile loop by our house. The scenery is great and I have included a picture of the view over a 2 mile bridge we run. After not getting in any good long runs in a few weeks, it felt never ending, but we jammed out to Pandora Radio and stopping was not an option. This coming weekend is our half marathon is Disney and marks our half way point to the full marathon! Thank you for your constant support and encouragement.

   Tonight, Tuesday September 27^th, we are having our first fundraiser. If you are in the Flowood area, feel free to come out and support!

   On a side note, as I mentioned earlier, we are raising money as St. Jude Hero’s and the little girl we are running in celebration of has not been feeling well, so please keep her in your prayers.

Sorry this blog post was sporadic; my mind is already on vacation :)

Thankful to have the aches and pains back!

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 7

After pretty much taking a week off from injuries and being sick, getting back into it this Saturday was difficult. We tried to run, but our bodies where physically drained from lack of sleep and not really being ourselves all week. We were sure to get a lot of sleep this weekend and are hitting it hard this week. Please pray for our quick healing and recovery!


Thankful for prayer and healing,
Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 6

So this past weekend was a difficult one. Blake and I were both feeling down and neither of us really needed to run. Blake ran anyway, hoping it would make him feel a little better, and I biked instead. I have been having really bad right foot pain and trying to stay off of it and let it heal. Needless to say, we did not meet our target, but are not letting it get us down. We have taken it slow this week trying to recharge our bodies. My foot finally is beginning not to hurt with every step and Blake is on the fast track to being healthy again. Please continue to pray for us as our bodies are taking such constant stress.

Thankful for the power of prayer,

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 5

      So this week was a twelve mile run. We are in Hattiesburg, MS for labor day weekend and the start to Southern Miss Football. We faced the storm (literally) and ran through a tropical storm early this morning. A change of scenery was a relief being that we have run the same route for months now. The run itself was long, but it was not nearly as hot as it has been in South Mississippi in August, and the light rain was quite refreshing. However, the last mile the rain got harder, our legs throbbed more, and our feet were aching, but thankfully the mind is stronger than the body, and we pushed through. It's times like this that we stay focused on our reason for running. All in all a good run, and now it's time to watch the Eagles stomp the La Tech Bulldogs! SMTTT!

Thankful for mother nature... and our Golden Eagles!

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 4

So this past weekend was the end of week 4 training and for Blake it was very eventful. He competed in the first annual Gator Bait Olympic Distance Triathlon (and his first of that distance as well). You can see above that he crossed the finish line and did a fabulous job! I was so proud of him. I on the other hand sat in a chair and watched the whole thing. I did not compete in the Triathlon, although we do normally do them together. I kept great time and snapped plenty of pictures, but as for any real physical work, not so much. My long run was pushed off until Monday. After work I ran on the treadmill for six grueling miles. Running outside through scenic areas is one thing, on a treadmill is a different story. Anyway, I do like the fact I can set my pace and make myself run faster than normal on a treadmill, but that is about the only positive I can find. The heat just makes it difficult to run outside in the afternoon.

As for our training we are right on pace. Coming up this weekend is a twelve mile run. I know we are blogging late for this past week, but today marks two things, Blake's 25th Birthday and 29 days until we are on our way to Disney World for the wine and dine half marathon. At that point we will be half way to the St. Jude full. Continue to pray for our health and staying injury free, but more importantly, pray for the children of St. Jude. Again, feel free to help us raise money by clicking on the links attached to the page! Be a hero by helping us be Hero's!

Thankful for being able to run,

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 3

So training week three was a little different. Blake is training for an Olympic Distance Triathlon (Gator Bait) on August 28th so instead of having a long run Saturday, he did a brick workout. Blake biked 20 miles and then ran 6 miles. Since I will be loyally cheering him on like a good wife, I changed my running schedule since a long run next weekend will be very difficult. Instead of doing 6 miles this week and 11 next, I did nine this weekend (since 9 to eleven is a big jump) and will do 6 miles next weekend. We woke up at 6:15am and were running by 7:15. I think God has created the most beautiful world and I love watching the sun rise and set. This is a picture of the sunrise while we are headed to start our run, nothing like watching the world wake up every weekend. Anyway, Blake had a great brick. He passed me on the run when I needed some encouragement. Even though we ran early, the humidity in the south is draining. I barely finished because I was having some heat exhaustion issues, but Blake is on track for his coming Trithlon. Even though we didn't have the easiest weekend, we continue to give God the glory for our talents. We look forward to our half coming up in a couple of weeks and the full about 100 days away!

Please support our efforts in becoming St. Jude heroes and donate if you are able. The link is on the right side of the page and any bit helps!

Thankful for our aches and pains,

Team Barnes

Marathon Training Week 2

Today marks the end of our Week 2 marathon training.  With our mid week runs thrown off a bit with the schedules of everyday life, we were a little concerned heading into this morning's 9 miler.  However, we were pleasantly surprised.  After dragging ourselves out of bed at a time that I consider way too early for a Saturday (6:30), we began our run and quickly realized it was worth the early start to beat the August heat.  While Kristen enjoyed watching the world come to life this morning, I was thankful to clear my head from work in preparation for the weekend .  This run reminded us how much we love the hurt of a long run.... I know it sounds crazy, but it really is addicting.  And I can't help but think about the people I work with everyday that would gladly go through the pain of a long run, just for the opportunity to walk again.  Of course, pushing through the pain for a greater cause like St. Jude certainly is worth it, and these aching feet will serve as a reminder of those we're running for.

So we will keep living life to the fullest as God intended and giving Him the glory along the way!

Thankful for our bleeding toes,

Blake and Kristen Barnes