End of week running plus a field trip

I had a busy end to my week. Wednesday evening I got a short run in with Kaden.  Thursday was packing for his field trip on Friday to Animal Kingdom. With that trip we decided to make an extra day of it (we are pass-holders); so I had to make sure everyone was packed and good to go.

Starting with Wednesday-

Kaden and I went for a run. He was still a little sore from Monday's run but still went out and did almost 2 miles. He is 8 so I give him lots of credit for asking to go with me. 

I did a slow run with walking intervals. I did 2.5 miles with a pace of 11:21. Super happy with that considering I am doing walking intervals. No knee pain either! Oh happy run day!! 

Friday-

Our trip to Animal Kingdom was bright and early on the bus with lots of 2nd graders! Thank goodness for coffee! I was chatting on and off with a few parents. Then as we pulled into Animal Kingdom, of course I had to brag about running on that road and how flooded it was from Wine & Dine weekend. It's still very fresh in my memory! Sis-n-law and I tried to take pictures but our hands were so wet we couldn't get our phones to open at all! 

I had a group of boys. First thing they wanted to do was Mount Everest! Bless their brave little hearts! They rode it like champs! Our day consisted of lots of walking and for that I was thankful. When I am unable to do my running, walking will do. 

We went on the safari and I took a selfie, yes a selfie with the giraffe! 

Fun stuff! 

The kids had a great time, even though it was sooo hot! Florida has missed the memo for springtime. High 80's in March! Unreal! 

Even though it was hot, we made the best of it. Lots of smiles to go around!

As it was time for the field trip to end, we stayed and were meeting the rest of the family at Epcot. Fireman had a day with the girls checking out the Flower and Garden Festival. Lucky gals! 

Kaden and I hopped a bus to meet them there and decided to take a few fun photos. 

I love this little guy to pieces! He is so much fun! 

Saturday-

We had Magic Kingdom planned, but it was crazy busy. I know how that sounds, but we have never waited in traffic for more than a few minutes just to park.  The ticket lines were insane too. so we decided to hope a monorail back to Epcot. ( the kids were not super thrilled). We did stuff that they didn't do yesterday, just to change it up. Plus, we take things slow since we don't have to rush around. (perks of being a pass-holder). We did a few countries to let the kids learn a little. by 3 pm we were hot and over it.  It was time to go home. Boo! 

Sunday- 

We unpacked, did grocery shopping and all that fun stuff. I did lots of laundry. So fun said no mom ever! Kaden kept asking if we were going running. I told him yes, I planned on it at 6:30 and fireman was going to prep dinner. 6pm rolled around and I hadn't drank nearly as much water as I should have. I was still exhausted from the past few days. I decided to sit down and finish the book I was reading. My son was a little bummed and I was bummed for letting him down and not going, but I knew not having enough water and being so hot the past few days it would have made for a crappy run. With that I have a goal to run a few days with him this week. 

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!! 

Recovery Run

I went to the Orthopedics 2 weeks ago. X-rays came back good and based on my symptoms I have Patellofemoral pain syndrome AKA: runners knee. I was relieved! The Dr. told me I could still run, but to take it easy, ice, rest, Not to much. He put me on anti-inflammatory medicine for a month. He also gave me a list of exercises and stretches to do. He would like me to visit a Physical Therapist for some exercises as well.
I have started doing the stretches at home. While we were at the race expo at Disney I picked up KT tape. I ran with it for the Frozen 5k and made it through with a some pain.
I decided I would meet Erin for a slow run last Tuesday and had Fireman tape me up the night before. I had him do my knee and ankle.

My run started off slow, I was pushing the jogger with a 26 pound toddler. Ha! But it wasn't bad at all. I did a run 2 songs, walk half a song interval. I didn't want to start off by running to much. The pace seemed slow to me, but I reminded myself I'm pushing a jogger with extra weight and I'm slowly running again. (not to mention, it's been around 6 months since I've ran with the jogger).
It also happened to be a very hot March morning! Florida weather is all sorts of messed up. Freezing 30 degree weather one week, high 80's the next.
Anyways, my run was going pretty smooth. I was very nervous about the pain coming back, but at half a mile I didn't have pain. Then when I hit 1 mile there was still no pain. I kept waiting for it to come. (it has to be a mental thing). Mile 2 came and I was still good. I started to get a little excited! 2 miles with no pain! A little after the 2.5 mile mark I started to feel a dull pain. I walked longer, ran less. The pain was still just dull. Not bad like in the past. I am hoping, fingers crossed that this is a sign of improvement.
I did 3 miles. They felt very slow, but my time was 39 minutes. That is AWESOME time!! I'm thinking positive!!

Amber's Year In Review

I am featuring a fellow running friend. We met through my sisnlaw's consignment shop and the rest is history.
I mentioned doing WDW Wine & Dine half marathon weekend and the next thing I knew, she was signed up!
I have enjoyed following her running endeavors this year! It's so inspiring to see someone just say "hey I'm going to start running race events".  I asked her to write up a review of her year in running. And well... here it is!

I used to run just "to go for a run" and I never trained for anything. I even ran an ultra relay and got a medal, with no real regard for the whole situation. Fast forward to January 2014, I began running to train. But for what, I didn't know yet.
Then early spring I got word of the registration opening for the Wine & Dine 1/2 marathon. I asked my hubby about it and he said "sure why not?!" So, I signed up and realized I needed to train for it. I mean it was friggin' 13.1 miles!
In signing up for this race, I also began finding other ways to start participating in runs. So it began...the great race...uh, race, of 2014.
Since beginning in January, I've run too many 5Ks to count, two 10K, a quarter marathon, and a half marathon. More than 1.5 races per month!
I've pushed my body beyond its limits, cried, laughed, cringed in pain. But all the while, becoming a better wife, mother, runner, and person. My children now participate in races and my husband has begun running again as well!

You can follow her running journey over at: www.runmomgo.wordpress.com

I love this picture collage she created! I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for her! 

Wine and Dine 1/2 recap

I. Ran. A. Half. Marathon.

Say what?! I did it. I really did. In the rain, along with the wind and temperature dropping. 

Let's start with the expo.

There was so much going on! The lines however, for picking up bibs and shirts were short. I was able to walk up with no line at all. This was a first!!  I was a little sad that there were no character spots though. With PHM weekend, there were characters and we did pictures. I'm a nerd yes, but it helps set the mood for a Run Disney event. 

Pictures! (even if the baby is on his back)!

We finished up at the expo and went back to the vacation rental to relax.  After naps and carb loading on pasta, it was time to get ready. My son fell ill during this time with a fever and was complaining of neck pain. It was scary and nerve wrecking to not know what is wrong. Thankfully grandma was there though. She is the best! We got him settled and I finished getting ready. 

I was very undecided about what to wear; capri's, shorts, or pants. The weather was going to be chilly, but then rain got added into that factor, (thanks Florida weather). So I just decided on shorts. Looking back I am glad with that decision.

We went with a pirate theme for Pirates of the Caribbean. Simple not over doing it. 13.1 miles is a long way to go and I didn't want to be uncomfortable. 

We got to ESPN for warm ups and had a lot of fun dancing along to the music. 

As you can see it was nice a dry! That lasted until it was time to line up in our corrals (again, thanks Florida weather). 

As we got in line the rain started, We pulled on ponchos that grandma had told us to pack. They were super thin so it wouldn't be so hot. But just the thought of running in one was irking me. I didn't train with a poncho. HA! I also didn't train in cold, windy weather. The odds were not with me. I was a little nervous as the fireworks went off. Go time for real! 

At first, the rain wasn't bothering me so much. Sisnlaw and I just took it slow and laughed it off at first. That only lasted so long. Then came running through puddles that we couldn't see because it was dark and lighting wasn't the best everywhere. Wet shoes = wet feet, which is NEVER fun. Yes, I was wearing features, but at Animal Kingdom the puddles were really bad. We smiled and carried on. 

 The temperature started dropping and It just felt like it was getting colder by the minute. Of course that could have been because my feet were wet, who knows. By the time we hit mile 6 my hands and feet were numb. There is no mile 6 picture either, To much rain, and wet hands, clothes that we couldn't get the phones to open the camera. Dang touch screen!  I was still smiling though. I was still happy. Enjoying the race just chatting away with sisnlaw. By the way, we didn't listen to any music. 

We stretched every few miles and made sure to take water from all stops. 

The mile pictures didn't come out so good, Very bright lighting and I was not taking the time to adjust my camera settings in the rain. I got pictures, that's all that matters right?! 

By mile 10 Sisnlaw was over it. I was almost agreeing with her. Our half marathon had turned into an endurance half marathon. The saying "you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have", Yup that is exactly how I was feeling at that point. 

Just keep running Just keep running. Before I knew it we were coming into Hollywood Studios! I was so excited to see the Osborne lights! I think that might have been my favorite part. And maybe because at Hollywood Studios it stopped raining and I yanked off my poncho! 

It was beautiful. I could have cried, except I was still to numb. 

We carried on through the park and I actually felt like I was warming up. That lasted maybe 5 minutes total. Leaving the park to make our way towards Epcot the rain came back. So much for that little dry spell. My knee started to bother me at this point. I just kept telling myself a little further you only have a little further to go. Running the path to the Beach and Yacht club and Boardwalk was not fun. It was narrow and way to many people. Some were walking and they had no care to move over to the right side, I even said as we came up on them, runner to your left. Not one person moved. No one. It was a little annoying. I just wanted to get through the herd and finish. The Boardwalk was very slippery. I did do a very fast walk through most of that as I didn't want to fall or injure myself so close to the finish line. (Fireman told me later a runner slipped and hit her face. He helped her to the nearest cast member). How scary! 

Gosh I was so happy to see mile 13!!! The end was near!! 

The finish line was a blur. Fireman took photos, but they didn't come out, the guy running next to me blocked all pictures. Not his fault, it happens. I don't even remember if I cried. I was in so much pain because of my knee I just wanted ice for it. 

I will say the volunteers and spectators were amazing! They stayed in the rain for us! I thanked so many as I ran by. It's one thing to run in the rain, but to just stand there and cheer runners on or hand out water. Just an amazing feeling!! People are good!! 

The after party was still rainy and cold, We brought cothes and changed and attempted to enjoy the early morning! The food was great! 

In Mexico, Donald was waiting for us! It was nice to be dry for a few minutes!

Overall, I will say this race was an experience! Would I do another half marathon? Maybe. I'm not opposed to it, I would just want better weather conditions. HA! 

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!