Oh, Right, I Ran A Race

I keep starting and deleting this post.  As excited as I was about my kids' race, I was less than thrilled about my race, and now that it's behind me I kind of just want to move on.

Other than crippling shin pain and some adorable karaoke singers, there was nothing remarkable about this race.  But. I did promise a report, and really, what else are you doing right now?  You have five minutes to spare, right?  Right.  So, here we go....

After my kids finished their race and we hugged and high-fived and found a donut for my daughter, I said my goodbyes and headed to line up for the 5K.  This 5K was billed as being for runners and walkers, so when I lined up in the back of the pack, I assumed I'd be with all the slower runners and the handful of walkers.

Ever heard that saying about assuming?  Yup.  I'm an ass.

"Ready! Set! Go!"  . . . and we're off.  Down the school drive, turn left, turn right, and we're running down the only real hill in the neighborhood.  (Thank you to the race directors who realized that going DOWN this hill was preferable to running UP it)  While I'm running at what seems like a relatively fast pace (but can't be, after all, I'm with all the back of the packers, right?), I'm hearing this guy giving non-stop instruction to his young son.

How to hold his head, how to place his feet, how to run tangents, how to breathe.  It was rather excruciating for me to listen to, I can't imagine how it was for his son.  After a few minutes, I realized my shins were hurting.  Why are my shins hurting?  *glance at my watch*  Ooooh...  10:xx pace.  THAT's why my shins are hurting.  That's my "I feel great!" 5K PR pace. I was supposed to be running this thing at 12:xx.   Back of the pack pace, people.  What the heck?

So I slowed down considerably, but still hit the 1st mile  marker at 11:3x.   Whoopsie.  The rest of the race was a fairly agonizing run/walk, with my shins hating me, me wishing I was not in my own neighborhood having a rather crappy race, all the while smiling and waving to neighbors that were sitting outside of their house cheering us on.

I knew going into this race that it would not be anywhere CLOSE to a PR, but I was kind of hoping that I could at least run it feeling ok.  It wasn't to be.  Fortunately, even going slowly, 5Ks are super short and over fairly quickly.   As I neared about the 2.5 mile mark, I came upon a pair of girls with a karaoke machine, with the soundtrack from Frozen blaring.

I love Frozen.  (Yes, I'm 35 and I like kids' movies.  I'm ok with that.)  Hearing the music (I swear to you, I'm going senile, because even though it was YESTERDAY, I cannot remember what song was playing), I started to feel better about the day - though my shins still really freaking hurt.  Plus, the girls were really cute (though the one holding the microphone wasn't singing at all, just kind of staring off into space).

Rounded yet another corner, walked some more, then started running when I hit the school again and headed towards the finish line.

Anyone else turn magenta when they run?

Since I wasn't really paying attention to my pace after my disastrous first mile, I was surprised to see 37:xx on the clock as I finished.  My PR time is 35-something, so considering the huge amount of walking I'd done, I was expecting to be a lot slower.

Results haven't been posted yet (and I probably won't bother to search for them anyway), but my Garmin said 3.08 in 37:36.  12:13/mile.   Not my worst, not my best - I'm just happy my shins stopped hurting after awhile.

The funniest thing about this whole day was that my husband and I were walking around looking at all the booths that were set up at the school and we passed a sign that had my name on it.  Turns out I'd won a raffle that I didn't know about.  5 names of volunteers were randomly drawn and I was one of the winners.   So for my 4 minutes of service, I got a $15 restaurant gift card!

All in all it was a fun day for the community and my kids had a great time, but it was certainly not a real "race" day for me.  Even if my shins hadn't acted up, I'm not sure I would have put my all into this race.  My heart was certainly not in it.

On to the next.   St. Michael's half marathon in 2 weeks.  Hoping my shins cooperate for that one!

They're My Kids And I'll Brag If I Want To

Oh. My. Goodness.  I never realized before that there are so many fast kids in my neighborhood.  Holy moly.  I also never realized that some kids, like some adults, will push themselves so hard that they'll actually puke at the finish line.  But let's skip over that part of the day....

This morning, my family and I headed to the local elementary school for their annual 5K and 1 mile run.  I was signed up for the 5K, my kids were signed up for the 1 mile, and my husband had the task of photographing the day.  The weather was gorgeous and everyone was excited.

20 minutes before the race, ready and rarin' to go! 

A few minutes before the 1 mile race was set to start, I said good-bye and good luck and headed to my volunteer spot in the woods.  I heard the "Ready, set, GO!" and peered through the trees to see the kids coming down the road.  They took the turn into the woods and I started clapping and cheering and "Stay on the path, please!"  Then I saw my munchkins and gave high fives and hugs and they were off again.  About  minute a later the bike volunteer rode by and said "That's it, thanks!" and I got to take my flag and head back to the finish line.  Shortest volunteer stint EVER! 

I found my husband and we watched as the kids came in.  First finisher crossed the line in 6:32.  Darn impressive for an elementary school kid!  (No racers over 5th grade allowed in the 1 mile run) Then more kids came in, and we kept cheering....  As the clock ticked forward, I started to worry a little.  I knew my kids would be on the slower side, since they've never run before, but since most of the course was through a wooded area with lots of ups and downs, I began to wonder if  maybe my daughter would fall.  I don't know why I wasn't worried about my son, maybe because he's older an has longer legs? I don't know.  Anyway, I started to wonder what if.... So I walked a bit down the road to see if I could spot them coming out of the woods.  When I saw them I ran back to my husband and told him to get the camera ready.  

When they came towards the finish line, I started cheering like an idiot a happy mom.  My son got a little ahead of his sister and turned around and went back for her, encouraging her, and they both sped up.  (I swear to you, my heart will break into a million pieces the day that they are no longer best friends.) 

Nearing the finish line! 

They ended up finishing the race in 14:09, together, happy as can be.  So proud of themselves and of each other.  I have a feeling this race will be a family tradition for years to come! 

Next post, I'll tell you about the 5K.  Spoiler alert - there was karaoke involved. 

Have you ever watched a Kids Fun Run?  If you haven't, you should! =) 

Baby Steps

When I started running, I was half thrilled, half terrified to find out that the elementary school in our new neighborhood puts on a 5K and 1 mile kids fun run every year. Last year, when someone asked if I was going to run, I was able to casually say, "Nah, I've got a half marathon that day."

Somehow, running my very first half marathon was actually less daunting than  the idea of running a 5K in my own backyard. 

I was not relishing the idea of being sweaty faced and sloppy in front of all the moms at my son's new school. Where I got the idea that any of them would even notice me, I don't know.  Insecurities plague me, though, and I decided that I needed to be in "better" shape to run this particular 5K.

Fast forward a year and not only am I not in better shape than I was last year, I'm actually heavier and more OUT of shape than I have been in awhile.  And, oh, look, it's the weekend of the Tech Trot and I haven't been running much this week because I strained a calf muscle last week following my new handy dandy "run an ultra" training plan that I pulled out of my ass.

So here I am feeling sorry for myself and not wanting to run this race and blah blah blah.  Then, after picking my son up from school yesterday afternoon, we head to packet pickup and I realized that for the first time ever, I'm not just picking up my bib.  I'm picking up bibs for my son and daughter, as well. The 1 mile fun run held just before the 5K will be their very first race.

Not quite the baby bibs I'm used to! 

Suddenly, I'm not even thinking about me.  It's all about the kids.  My daughter, who is not yet in elementary school, is excited to be doing something with the bigger kids.  My son, who is in first grade, is excited that he'll get a "No Homework" pass for completing the race.  Walking home, they started to "practice" their running.   My daughter announced that her brother was going to win the race this weekend.  (Never has she ever made that proclamation about me, btw)  Excitement was definitely in the air.

Will my two  "babies" end up with a love of running?  Will they continue to race?  Time will tell.  Either way, I'm excited to share something that I love with them, and I am looking forward to seeing their smiling faces cross the finish line!