Evening Run 3/16/15

I am loving this time change... kinda. I get to run in the evenings before it gets dark!! WOOO!

Who else is enjoying those evening runs?

Monday night me and my son who is 8 walked to our local elementary school and got a run in. I was planning on going alone, but he came out dressed and ready to go. (minus a t-shirt). He thinks he is pretty cool running without one. 

How awesome does he look while running?! That HAIR!!!  I told him to just run and not wait up for me. Since my knee injury I have been taking it pretty slow. I do run 1 song, walk half or run 2 songs walk half. Depends on my mood at this point. Plus I think I am mentally worried the pain will creep up at any moment. I hope I am not the only runner who has dealt with an injury and worrying that it will come back any minute. It consumes my brain sometimes while running and it's pretty annoying. I turn up the music to drown out the voices that make me worry. 

I ran 3.5 miles!! I made it to 3 miles with no pain. After that, it was just a dull ache. Being a runner, I can't stop at 3.33 miles. I have to make it to the halfway point. I'm sure you all agree. My pace was pretty awesome too! I didn't expect to run 10-11 minute miles. Not at all. I'll surely take it!

It felt so good to make it that far pain free! I needed that release! It was my best run so far this year. 

Kaden ran about 4 miles so I was pretty proud of him. I love that my children enjoy running.

We walked home and I iced my knees right away. The pain (or ache I should say), was barely there. Icing never hurts. So I got to relax while my fireman finished up dinner. Yes, I am a lucky gal to have a husband who does the cooking while I run! 

On another note, I love my Brooks. They look so pretty!! 

Disney's Frozen 5k

The title speaks for itself. Literally. It was beyond cold for this Florida girl. Record breaking temperatures the morning of our 5k. Not fun.

The expo wasn't to crazy, we went on Thursday due to us racing Friday morning. As always, there is never anything for 5k runners. Which stinks. Run Disney really slacks in this area. I loved seeing all the vendors and fun racing attire! 

I had to make some adjustments to our running costumes due to weather. Sadly all our race photos we were covered by jackets. Boo! It'll be another Disney race we won't forget! Wine & Dine had pouring rain and cold temps. Now a Frozen 5k. I'm starting to see a pattern... 

I was Queen Elsa, my daughter was Anna, and my son was Olaf.  We had to stick with the theme! I had a friend make our skirts and paint Lenee's shirt. They came out amazing! I think the gals should go into business!! What do you think?

We were in corral B. WOO!! However, it was a slow start for us. Buggy didn't like the cold weather at all, she was having trouble breathing in such dry air. She did a very fast walk until her body warmed up a little. I think by 1.5 miles she started to run a little. She was still freezing and miserable. Didn't want to stop for characters. I had to talk her into posing for a few photos. 

 

Her mood changed once she saw Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff. I wonder if they were as cold as us? 

(I hope so)!  Although I'm sure Elsa was loving this weather! 

I had a little knee pain, I used KT tape in hopes to be able to run pain free. Having the tape on helped some. Even though I still had pain, it was tolerable and I didn't feel that locking up feeling that always forces me to walk. 

By mile 3 Lenee was in a much better mood, only because the finish line was coming! She didn't want to take after photos. She grabbed her goodies and headed straight for the van. We had about an hour to keep warm before heading back out for Kaden's one mile race. Food and warmth. At the point I don't think anything was better than those 2. 

Trying to stay warm in the van!

As we walked over to the kids one mile starting point, my son informed us, that he didn't want us to run with him. He wanted to do it on his own. What?!? I was a little nervous about this. There were a lot of kids actually signed up for this race. I did love Run Disney's security point though. The parent's had to keep a tag that matched their child's bib number in order for them to come out of the finishing area. Fireman said let him do it, he's got this. I know, I know.. he's 8 and very smart for his age. But still! 

I finally caved and let him go to the starting line alone. My son is a perfectionist and is very competitive. ( I have no clue where he gets it from). The look in his eyes told me he wanted to win this, even though I told him that children up to the age of 13 were running and that everyone is a winner. 

Kaden certainly proved his determination. 7:44 for his mile run. He was in the top 10! Proud mom moment for sure! He finished and told me right away he wanted to run a 5k and then a 10k. I love that running has had such a positive effect on my children! 

My super cute Olaf with his prize! 

Both children have  running goals and I am going to make sure they achieve them! As soon as my knee issue is corrected we will began training! 

Speaking of knees, I went to the orthopedist yesterday. He believes I have Patellofemoral syndrome. So I will be trying some exercises and stretches to see if that helps correct the problem. My x-rays came back looking good. So that was good news. If I don't see an improvement in a month with exercises we will look into an MRI. Fingers crossed I don't have to do that. 

What a way to end a Run Disney race weekend. With Starbucks and a Dole whip! 

December Dash 5K Recap

The first annual December Dash 5K was held yesterday.   (also the cupcake's 2nd bday). Proceeds go to support my son's school so I am all for it!!

Being the first race the school put on it, I was impressed with the turn out. There is always a flaw or two with races that are put on for the first time. Being our town is small, many do not like to do the first year because of it being unorganized, or chaotic.  I went pretty smooth though. I can't complain and had a blast! 

It was held on the local high school's cross country track. I was excited for a new course, not so much all the mud and puddles. It rained the night before pretty good. The ground was pretty gross. My first thoughts were puddles, and wet feet all over again from Wine & Dine. I was not looking forward to it as we walked to the starting line. 

I ran with my 7 year old. He was anxious and ready to go! Already full of mud before the start of the race. Now let me give you a little background on him. He ran his first 5K in 2012 and walked most of it. He was not a good sport over it. I was in the hospital ( I had just given birth to cupcake). Yes, we are a committed running family! Since that 5K his running has been lazy. Bubba is very fast, but always starts to fast and to hard and by the time he hits a mile he is done. There is no telling him anything different. He's very bright and it has to be his way. With that, I was telling everyone that Bubba can find a friend and run the course, I wasn't walking or waiting on him. HA! I know mean mom.. but it was a race and I really wanted to run it and work on my time. Turns out that bit me in the rear. Read on..

We get to the starting line and he is right up to the line. Very front. I stayed back a little bit because I didn't know the course at all and didn't want to get lost. My luck, I would. I kept telling him, to not run hard at first, to pace himself. He had found some friends and could have cared less what I was saying to him. The race started and he took off! I said to myself he'll be walking within minutes.  

I started off a little faster than I wanted too. I had to slow down and get my breathing under control; all while worrying about holes and trying not to sprain anything.  I kept waiting to run past my son. I hit mile one and didn't see him. I had lost sight of him on the course. My amazing daughter, opted out of this race in order to volunteer at the water station. She is wonderful! 

Somewhere after mile 2 my outer left knee started to hurt or lock up I don't really know. (Knee issues are new to me). I walked a very fast walk because I am awesome like that and then started to run again. I was able to keep my 11 minute per mile pace still so I was happy. The pain would go away for a few minutes then come back. It was pretty annoying. I didn't know if it was because I was running on a grassy, mud course with a few hills or what. But I kept on going. Never once did I see Bubba. Where was he? 

I saw Fireman taking pictures as I was coming up to mile 3 and asked where Bubba was. He told me he finished. What?! My son, the one who gets tired to quickly and likes to walk had ran the whole thing and finished?! No way! Way! He did it in under 31 minutes!! What?! Sticking my tongue out was all I could do! 

 This is one proud mommy here!

My little man  ran hard!! I am a very happy mom to know that he gave it his all! 

So much for all that smack I talked about him walking. HA! 

My offical time was 34:38. I really think this is my average. I seem to be stuck between 32-35 minutes. I don't aim to be fast, Just to be better. My knee stopped bothering me and I enjoyed the refreshments and chatting with others. 

This was a fun race even though our shoes are now junk. That just means new shoes! 

I did have a lot of pain in my knees at night. I had to ice them. I am going to go to my local running store and have them look at my running technique. I am in zero pain today, aside from sore muscles. I am hoping it is my run and that I just need to get an insert or different style shoe. Fingers crossed.

Cowboy 5k 2014 Recap

Yesterday morning was the Cowboy 5k in our town. It helps benefit the IB program at my daughter's school. It was a chilly morning! first cold of the season, so needless to say we were a bit cold!  

My daughter has been running 8:32-9 minute miles in gym. I told her to just run and not wait for me! I am  not that fast! HA! The race started and she wasted no time leaving me! I was excited for her! For  me this race was all about her. I wanted to see what she was capable of. In the past we have always ran together, and I have always felt that I hold her back. I look back to our WDW Princess 5k and have no clue how I kept up with her. So this race I told her to just run and not look back. When she passed me on the loop back I was struggling a little, not normal for me. I was still cold and my nose was all stuffy. ( for those that know me, know I run with tissues. True story). I forgot my tissues and was miserable the entire run, but thinking of Lenee and how well she was doing was what kept me going. As we passed each other I told her to keep going! I was proud! 

As I came to the finish line I saw Fireman, Lenee and the family! But the main thing I saw was the time! For real was I finishing in under 32-35 minutes?!?! Most of my 5k runs are 35 minutes, the occasional run is 32 minutes on a good day. But I saw that time and picked up my speed, I had to finish under 32 minutes! Had to! 

My time was 31:39!!! No way!!! I couldn't believe it!! 

My fireman was amazing enough to snap this picture. You really can't see me, and I don't care. My finish time is all that matters!! I couldn't be more proud of myself for that time improvement. It might not be a lot to some. It is to me and that's all I care about. I finished 5th in my age group and 65th overall! Not bad! 

Okay enough about me, back to my amazing 11 year old.

She ran the 5k in 29:07!! With a pace of 9:24! I am so glad I didn't hold her back. Even though we only had a few minutes between us. That makes a huge difference to a runner! So yes I will be bragging until her next 5k about her time! 

After the race there were refreshments and a raffle, we almost left because it was cold. But I said let's stay and see if we win anything. Sure enough I won a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Whoop! I love food!!  A great end to a great race! I am thankful we have an awesome running community that puts on great races!