Three Things Thursday: Three More Races!

I am a total addict.  I'm addicted to races.  I'm not a fast runner, but I love the rush of a race, the people, and especially the friends whom I get to run with.  A few days ago, I decided to sign up for 3 more races.


1)  Glow for Hope 10K - I'm excited about this one because it's a NIGHT race and lots of glow-in-the-dark possibilities to add to my running outfit.  I'm most excited about running this with lots of friends - my 2 running buddies from my last 10K, my Ragnar Relay teammates, and a couple of Mom's Club friends.  We're just as excited about the Beer Garden at the finish line and the craziness that can happen when you combine post-race euphoria, beer, and friends!!

2) Sunrise Stampede 5K - It's their inaugural race.  I love small town races.  Even though I almost always end up at the back of the pack, I love that it's not crowded and you can't beat the $15- registration fee too!  Running this one with the hubs.  We won't be running together - he's way too fast for me - but it's always fun to start together and to get that big hug from him at the finish line!

3)  Marine Corps Marathon 10K - On the other end of the spectrum is this huge race.  Nope, NOT the full marathon (YET).  I decided to run the MCM 10K because I NEEDED an October race that is not too close to my Ragnar Relay race.  I have no idea how long I would need to recover from Ragnar so I have this one set at the end of October.  Oh and I also like that you get a medal for running a 10K race too. Hee hee.  I'm a little nervous about this race being a week away from my 5K race and 2 weeks away from my first half marathon!  But I think I'll be ok.  I'm going to treat this one as one of my long runs and just have fun.  I haven't found a friend to do this race with me yet.  Hoping my friend Nikki does it with me.

Are you just as addicted to races as me?  How often do you have a race?  Every month, every other month?

Wordless Wednesday: I Run So I Can Eat Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Truffles

I. Am. So. Behind. On everything!  This is what happens after I run a race.  I disappear from my blog to pick up everything else around me here that I've neglected.  That is why you all didn't see anything from me all last week.  So this means lots of post-dated blog posts from me starting with my Part 3 (and final) Race Recap of Monument Av 10K from a month and a half ago (I know, very sad), new Inspiring Runners, Ragnar Relay update, my *new* training plan cocktail, Manassas Runway 10K Race Recap, running with friends, and signing up for a new "glow-in-the-dark" race!  So EXCITED!!! 

As I am crazily pulling together stuff we don't need here for our community yard sale this weekend, I wanted to share an indulgence I treated myself to yesterday - just one of the reasons why I run.  :)

Happy Wednesday!

Three Things Thursday: All I Want For Mother's Day....

The hubs and the boys already gave me an early Mother's Day gift - the gift of letting me race this Mother's Day weekend.  This Saturday, I am running the Manassas Runway 10K - it's an inaugural race on the airport runway!  How cool is that?!!  No hills, flat, AND I just found out last week they give out medals to all finishers!

I'm excited, a little nervous (because of the pressure I have deep down on myself to PR), but I couldn't ask for a better Mother's Day gift - it was a race that the hubs wanted to run too (he hasn't run a 10K race yet), but in the end let me do it since it is Mother's Day weekend after all.

So I'm all set for Mother's Day....but I was daydreaming this morning and thought, ohhhh....I wouldn't mind having THESE too....lol!

Garmin 210

1.  GARMIN 210.  I feel like I'm not worthy of one yet since I'm not really working on speed yet, just piling on the mileage, but oh what a neat gadget!  Love that with a quick glance, I know what my instantaneous pace is and how many miles I've covered so far.  LOVE!!

2.  Running Outfits:  Running Skirts and matching RunLove Compression Socks.  OK, I know that's 4 things but I couldn't decide which one I liked best.  I run in nothing else but running skirts and these skirts are just a few of my favorites...oh and I want all 4 of those socks.  :D

3.  Water-resistant Spi-belt.  For those less than 1 hour runs.  I have an arm-band but prefer putting my cell phone in a pocket or a pack and I've been wanting one of these since they're so light, not bulky, AND water-resistant.  (UPDATE: In light of Katie's comment below, ok, I wouldn't mind having a Fuel Belt too with the water bottles for those more than 1 hour runs (thanks, girl!) - I don't know which kind yet, not sure how many bottles I'd want, and I would like one with a pouch for cell, GU, etc.!)  :)

So that's my Three Things (more like  7 I guess) for Thursday.  A mom can dream, right?  Well if not for Mother's Day, birthday, Christmas....Do any of you have any of the above?  What do you think of them?

Wordless Wednesday: "...I am your father."

In honor of "May the 4th (Be with You):  Intergalactic Star Wars Day," one of the many "toy stories" my boys create and just leave around the house for me to discover/stumble into.

More Wordless Wednesday HERE

Family Run Day!

Sunday was a big day of running for me and my family! The hubs ran the Race for Hope 5K in the morning, and then the boys got to run the Kids' Fun Run afterwards.  I couldn't be any prouder of all my boys for doing their best and for enjoying their run!

Waiting for their Daddies to approach the finish line

I was on kid-duty and watched 5 kids during the race (2 of the kids belong to our friend).  The kids were amazingly well behaved during the race, and they helped me cheer the fastest runners to the finish line.  They were very excited about their race and wondered why they can't run the 5K with the adults.  "Well,.."  I explained, "if you run this (5K) race, you don't get a medal."  "Oh, I want a medal.  If I run, I want a medal," said my "I-don't-like-running-that-much" 6 y.o.  LOL!

Go, Daddy, Go!

The kids made signs for their Daddies and people got a kick out of them holding the signs up and chanting, "Go, Daddy, Go!"  They were so happy when their Daddies saw them with their signs.as they ran fast past us.  Love how kids like the littlest things!

Interesting things I saw:  One guy was running while holding the drawstring to his shorts up high! (Ow, um, wedgie, no?)  Poor guy!  It's awful when you have a wardrobe malfunction on race day.  I saw one guy completely barefoot, another guy running backwards, a bag piper, and a group of guys and girls (Army? Marines?) chanting throughout the entire course at a pretty fast pace!  Then there's this guy whom I see on lots of races - he's completely covered, head to toe in a tight/spandex fabric - at this race, he wore an American Flag theme.  What moves me is seeing all the brain tumor/brain cancer survivors running the race and a walker who carried a sign that said, "NEVER GIVE UP."

The hubs

This is the hubs!  Guess what??!!  He got a PR on this race!  I am SO PROUD of him!  His official time is:  21:45.  He's my biggest inspiration!  He had been working hard on getting his 5K PR.  YAY!!!!

After the 5K, the kids rushed to the Kids' Fun Run area.  They had an out-and-back little course and I parked myself midway to take pics.  The hubs and our friend ran with the kids.  The "I-don't-like-running-that-much" 6 y.o. announced that he was just going to walk.  Imagine my surprise and the amount of parent pride gushing out of me when I saw him running with all the kids!  I am SO PROUD of him for trying it anyway, doing his best and having fun!  The 8 y.o. loves to run, so he was in the lead pack running his heart out.  At the finish line, he complained that the course was too short!  He wanted to run some more!  LOL.  The 3 y.o. ran with the hubs.  He likes to run too, but I could tell that he was a little nervous about how crowded it was - there were a lot of kids.  The 3 y.o. tripped on his own shoes, lol!  He's such a funny little man.  Once he rounded that bend though and saw me wave, he took off with more confidence.

At the finish line!

LOVE LOVE LOVE that my kids like to run - even the "I-don't-like-running-that-much" 6 y.o. said he liked the race!  So proud of them!  This was their first Kids Fun Run and now of course they want to run more "races" so they can get medals!  LOL!

With runners' high, the boys feasted on ice pops, chips, and bagels.  You'd think they ran a marathon the way they were eating!  We had such a blast hanging out at the end.  It was weird to be at a race and not run it, but it was ok.  I had a long run planned later that day.

MY WEEKEND LONG RUN.  After digesting a huge lunch, I set out to do my long run of 6 miles later in the afternoon.  It was one of my best runs despite having to pull my running pants up every 1/2 mile which got really annoying (but YAY for getting smaller/losing weight!)!  I had a lot more gas in the tank at the end, though, but I was mindful not to up the miles too much that day.

I was inappropriately cheerful when I got home to post-race tired boys - I couldn't help myself!  So thankful for the great day!  I am pumped to run my 10K race next weekend.  A little nervous about the pressure I have on myself to PR, but I am just going to tell myself that it's another long run and to have fun.