Road Runner "Fun Run"

I have never belonged to a running "club" of any kind, and as most of you know, I've never really followed a training program until I started the RLRF in August. The shoe store that put on that free 5K last week does a "fun run" the first Saturday of every month. It's free AND they give you free breakfast. I'm in. And so is A. I had her at "pancakes."

She has never run wearing the fuel belt. And I kept trying to tell her that it goes in the back. She argued, so nevermind. We get to the store around 8:00, about a dozen total people there. Everyone can do their own distance, then return back for breakfast.

We "ran" about a mile, then walked most of the way back. A said the belt was annoying and made her skirt slide down (told ya so). Hung out and had coffee, juice, and pancakes. I met a lot of REALLY nice people. And surprisingly, as compared to other running crowds I talk to, I was one of the most "experienced" runners.

I think I'll be back. I like the group atmosphere. (shocked)

Buffalo Wild Wings 5k (Race Recap)

Westminster, CO
Wednesday, September 21
Weather - Overcast, WINDY, RAIN

My last run before the 50 miler this weekend was a scheduled 3 miles at marathon pace (which according to my RLRF program is 10:42). Then over the weekend when I was exchanging shoes (yet again), I saw a poster advertising this FREE 5k at the running store. Well. Who can pass up FREE? I haven't run a 5k without A since probably January, and I was hoping to find out if RLRF was making a difference or not. So. After working out all the logistics, we (me, L and R) decided to run.

I had to leave in the middle of A's dance class in order to get there on time. No worries, I didn't abandon her, my mom showed up to watch the rest of the class and take her to their house for dinner. Have I mentioned that my parents are pretty awesome?

I got there about 5:45, with the race scheduled to start at 6. I had stopped by earlier for minor details, and found out that all we had to do was sign a waiver. So I wasn't expected anything complicated. L and R were running late and the sky was getting angry. I signed the waiver, and got my bib. The most important aspects of this race? The shoe store sponsoring the race was giving away a pair of shoes to the person that could guess their finishing time and come closest to running it. So that meant no watch. Ok... no big deal. And no phone... ok... so no pictures. No big deal, I've run the Big Dry Creek trail probably a hundred times. Then I was told that also meant NO iPods... not even a shuffle. WTH? Damn. I didn't find out the specifics until after I guessed my time (28:44).

L and R finally showed up like 2 minutes to 6. Apparently punctuality not such a big deal for this race as we did a group picture out front and probably headed out around 6:10. Not sure on that, you know, with no time-keeping device. Bleh. There weren't that many of us, so I figured the odds of ONE of us winning shoes (or one of the promised raffle prizes) was going to be pretty good.

We line up at a chalk start line, a few quick instructions so people didn't get lost, and off we go. L and R BOLTED. I figured I'd just... I dunno, run? Well. I have run without a watch or treadmill or phone? Never. Not once. I have always had something that could tell me how fast I am going and how far I've gone. This was NEW territory and I didn't like it. I also didn't like the no music. I've run without music... like twice. Apparently when I try to race fast, without music or a watch, I start out too fast, burn out, and breathe really hard.

Yeah. So the weather. It started raining right when we started, on and off, it wasn't that bad. But the wind... pretty severe. So I make it what I estimate maybe a mile and I'm freakin exhausted. I take the first of... 7? 8? walk breaks. Disaster. L is barely within sight. I see R headed toward me, looking strong. I am chasing a run/walker. At the turnaround I realize there are only 4-5 people behind me. Not good. Man, I am so tired. Have no clue what I'm doing. This sucks.

So then I realize that I'm not that far from the end and I force myself to run the rest. I cross the chalk line and time is given as 30:27. Well. Disappointing, but honestly I figured with all the walking that it would be much worse. And it is NOT my slowest time, so there's that. L had already left to go pick up the kids, since we were already behind schedule.

We wait for rhe last people to finish. Wind picks up and it starts POURING. It is like WINTER. I am freezing in my tank and skirt. R's teeth are chattering. It's about a 1/4 mile walk back to the store, and we are just standing around waiting for the results. Raffle of four prizes... none of us win. Shoe prize? Nope, we were all WAY off. The winner? Only 3 seconds off! Crazy!

Me - 30:27
L - 26:28 (If I could have stuck with her, it would have been 30 second PR for me)
R - 21:54 (WTH?? He guessed 26:00... even HE was shocked at his pace. Awesome!)

New plan. Find a "real" 5k and actually race.

And why was it called Buffalo Wild Wings 5k? They were offering free appetizers after the race (which, sadly, I skipped)

Panerathon 5k (Race Recap)

Westminster, CO

Sunday, September 18
A's 3rd 5k
Weather - Warm, Sunny

This was a spur of the moment decision to run this race. I knew A was going to be upset that I was going to be gone for the weekend (we haven't traveled sans kids since mid July), so I asked her if she wanted to run the Panerathon 5k with me, and of course she said yes. I had never run the 5k course, but I had run the 10k in 2008 and 2009.

Emergency was that A wanted to matchy matchy, BUT she wanted to wear a sparkle skirt... Luckily the gals at Team Sparkle got me my turquoise skirt in just a couple of days. A picked out our shirts and socks. What a fashionista!

The race is SUPER close to home, and is super accessible and family/dog friendly. Not the best course if you are looking to PR, but an overall good time. We got there just in time to see the kid's race, which H was doing (A had done that in 2009 and 2010). For one of the first times, there was no falling. Yay!

H is sparkly too!

A's VERY FIRST timing chip!

We didn't have long before the race started, but we were parked really close to the starting area, so getting our shirts and running back to the car to drop stuff off and leave our sweatshirts was no big deal. It was 47 degrees on our drive in, but already warming up. (It was actually WARMER temperature-wise in North Dakota... just goes to show you the difference wind and humidity can make).

The 10k was starting at 8:00, and we were starting at 8:05. We were getting in line for the bathrooms when we saw my mom (walking the 5k), and I had her take this picture of us:

We pretty much walked right from the bathroom to the starting line. Even though we were "running," that pace is pretty much a walking pace for a lot of adults, so we started in the back and figured we would work our way up closer as we were running. I just love getting pictures of A in action!

Rocking her Razzy Roo headband and Team Sparkle skirt

We got TONS of compliments on our outfits. The race is mostly women and they just thought it was so cute that we were dressed alike (matchy, matchy), and the sparkles are ALWAYS a big hit.

It was starting to warm up already, and I knew that A had started out a bit too fast. She took a lot more walk breaks than she usually does, but I have to take into consideration the circumstances. It was warmer, she has never raced at elevation, the course was more hilly, and, let's face it, this race NEVER stood a chance as being as fun as a Disney race... But, she still kept a smile on her face! And she was already asking me, "Mom, when can I run a 10k with you?" I told her to ask me again after she turns 6...

The only aid station on the course was about 1.2 miles in, and we stopped and took some water. As we headed back out, we saw the leaders in the 5k already heading back. SPEEDY! That's when the course really got congested. As you can see, the trail is not that wide and we were finally having it be a "two lane road" - and just imagine the strollers and dogs mixed in! Not to mention the people running side by side (GUILTY). The turnaround was in a tunnel (strange), and it's a good thing that I was running with A because there was no volunteer there telling people to turn around, just a sign, and I'm not sure if she would have known what to do. The course isn't QUITE an out and back, so the turnaround was around 1.75 miles in. I know the course REALLY well, since it's the trail  L and I did all our long runs on last summer. I was able to keep A pumped by letting her know where we were. We saw my mom right at this mile marker! A gave her a hug and "bumps" and we headed out.

She was getting tired and walking more, but she was still really energized. We stopped at the water station, and for the way back, it was only about .75  until the finish line. A kept HERSELF pumped by chanting things like "Victory!" with her arms in a V or saying "I'm a champion" or "I'm a winner." Hilarious. When she started to get REALLY tired, she kept grabbing my hand for "energy."

Here she is with less than a half mile to go!

I could tell when we had less than a quarter mile to go, and even though she was definitely exhausted, she really wanted to sprint to the finish line. A woman came out of nowhere and tried to get around us at the beginning of the final stretch. A saw her out of the corner of her eye, turned her head and snarled at her. Probably not nice, but it was hilarious. L got a video of us sprinting toward the finish!

Super pleased with A's performance. Even with all her extra walk breaks, she still got a new personal best! And my watch even measured the course long. Here are her stats (I let her cross JUST before me, so all mine are one place off, and her time is 1 second faster):

Official Time - 43:07
Official Pace - 13:55
Overall Place - 262/380 (WOW!!!)
Gender Place - 163/257
Division Place - 14/20 (12 and under)
Garmin Time - 43:10
Garmin Distance - 3.22 miles
Garmin Pace - 13:24
Mile 1 - 12:07
Mile 2&3 - 29:10 (oops)
Mile 3.1ish - 10:49

Disney spoiled her, and one of the first things she asked was, "Where is my medal?" I told her the satisfaction of being able to run a 5k was her reward. She was ok with that. The best part of this race? The food. Since Panera Bread is the main sponsor, the food ROCKS. Three types of sandwiches, 4 types of pastries, cookies, bagels, apples (you know, if you want to pretend to be healthy). SO GOOD.

After we got done eating, A went for a ride around the parking lot in an old fire truck (no good picture, sorry), and got her face painted (she says it's a puppy):

We hung around the area a bit, Road Runner was having a special sale for race day... 25% off for VIPs. The Pearl Izumi's I had tried seemed SO heavy and bulky that I decided to exchange. Next up (after this weekends race), Nike.

Random picture, thought it was cute

Overall, it was an awesome race, and a pretty much awesome day. We spent the afternoon at an amusement park, enjoying a late summer day of mid 70s.