Singing in the rain

Well, actually, running in the rain. I love to run in the rain and it was finally warm enough to do it for the first time this spring/summer. I thought it was going to be a bit chilly (at 55 degrees) but it wasn't raining too hard, so it was perfect! I actually got kinda hot and had to take my jacket off. I took my iPod with me so that my Nike+ would track, but I ran the whole time without music. It was such an enjoyable 4 miles! And, it looks like I was hitting about a 10:30-11 minute mile pace, except for the 2 minutes I walked up a really big hill. So, while I had an average 12 minute per mile pace for the entire 4 miles, I'm very pleased that I kept the pace up the rest of the time.

Post-run picture....see, not raining too hard. I can't wait for it to be warm enough to run when its really raining hard.

Onwards

Onwards from AKQA on Vimeo<

Earth Day 5K Pictures

They finally posted pictures from the Earth Day 5K. There are some much better ones of Bernie (the Biggest Loser contestant) and there are some of me running and there are some that I liked just because (photography is something that has always intrigued me).

All pictures are courtesy of the Silver Spring Earth Day 5K and Mr. Brian W. Knight.

A pre-race shot - we are in the top right corner by the light post. You can see my teal top and Sofia's hot pink fleece



I'm the one with the teal top, black skort, sunglasses on top of my head




Finishing


A few better ones of Bernie




These are the ones that I liked just because...

Stretch!

You know, those nice people that said I looked graceful while I was trying not to fall...well, they also said to be sure to stretch because I would be sore from my 10 feet of bumble, stumble, and not falling. I thanked them, but silently I was thinking "Sure buddy, that almost fall is going to make me sore....nah, the next 3 miles are going to make me sore." Sure enough, my left hammy and my left buttocks are tight and sore.

Note for next time....stretch real good after you almost make a fool of yourself running by the library.

Oh well

So much for running this morning. Marc is running the GWP 10 Miler and the jogger is still in his trunk from when he picked us up at Home Depot Friday afternoon and his trunk is in Old Town Alexandria. Ok, so we'll take the other stroller and just go for a nice walk, let's take the dog since I'm not sure if Marc took him out before he left this morning and he could use the exercise too. Wrong! Jack freaks out when we go beyond our parking lot. It doesn't help that the bus comes to the grocery store across the street (he doesn't like loud buses, delivery trucks, anything diesel). We got maybe one or two tenths of a mile away and he was begging to go home. And I can't very well leave Sofia in her stroller in the parking lot while I run the dog back upstairs. It's just one of those days. Is the coffee ready yet?

A not so fun run

I went for a run yesterday morning. I knew it needed to be a longer run, but I didn't have a route planned out. I was just going to run around the city based on how I felt. Big mistake! I should have a planned route (and I should have worn my camelbak!). My total route was 4.9 miles, but my Nike+ says I did 4.5 miles (probably not calibrated accurately for all the walking I did). After 1.75 miles, I was over by the library and hospital and I was finally finding a groove, it still wasn't a great run, but I'd found a stride and I thought I could stick it out. Then....I tripped. One of the sidewalk squares was raised up from the others and I tripped. I didn't fall, but I stumbled, threw my arms out....I almost fell. It was bad, but some other runners were nice enough to tell me that I looked graceful while I almost fell. There was no coming back. My knee felt like I'd just run 10 miles, not 2. My stomach felt a little off. And I was thirsty. I re-routed myself to the town center so that I could go by a water fountain. Then I picked up the W&OD trail and headed home. It was still another 2 miles home from here....facing directly into the sun. Thank God there is a 7-11 right near the trail. I stopped and bought a bottle of water, then ran/walked the remaining 1.5 miles home.

I definitely think we are nearing the times when I'll need to start running early (6 or 7am) to beat the heat (at least for those longer runs).

I think Sofia and I are going to head out for a short walk before it reaches 90 today. We might run a little, we'll see how we are feeling.

Walking instead of running

Sofia and I were butting heads today, which is odd, since she was such a sweat-heart this morning (giving lots and lots of kisses without being prompted). And to top it all off, she just wouldn't take a nap today (which is probably why we were butting heads). We decided to go for a walk. We ended up at the playground, ran around, had fun. Then, I got it in my head that we should keep walking and go to Home Depot and get some herbs to plant. We ended up walking just over 2 miles from the house to the playground to Home Depot. Marc got off work just in time to pick us up at Home Depot.

I always seem to dread running and pushing the stroller at the same time, so I put it off and don't do it. I think I still have it in my head that I'm still building back up my strength and I'm not where I was a few years ago. Well, after my recent fastest 5K since Sofia was born and how great I felt after the 10 Miler, I am a much closer to being back and I am a runner again. I just need to get my mind to catch up with my body. This is why we tend to go for walks instead of runs, I need to suck it up and just do it.

And on the diet-weight loss front, I'm really thinking about giving "Core" a try. For those of you non-weight watchers, this is a method where you don't count points but you eat clean foods. I know I need to get my protein up and I even though I stay within my points, it's not always good choices and my weight is stagnant. Next week's goal (after we go grocery shopping) is to eat clean/core-like/filling foods.

3 Miles Down

Glad I got my run in around lunch time. We've been having some good thunder storms around here tonight. The Nats/Braves game has been rain delayed and the animals have decided to stick close to me (you know, in case those claps of thunder should shake the house into pieces, I should be able to save them).

Just did one of my 3 miles loops. I had to stop at the red light and wait for traffic both on the way out and the way back in. And I got stopped to ask for directions. All in all, not too shabby. Not as fast as the 5K Sunday, but if you factor the stops and the legs that felt like lead (thank you Body Pump), I'm happy with my run.

Sore

I'm sore today! A good kind of sore, too. I finally gave my Bender Ball a try last night. (Don't order it from the website. I've heard stories of them sending you all kinds of crap you don't need or want. Beth picked it up for me at Wal-Mart. But we also saw the same thing, different name at Marshalls. ) Whew, I can feel it in my lower abs. And I can feel my large muscles in my legs and my shoulders and pectorals from Body Pump. Oh, and when I dropped the lil' one off at daycare her teachers were asking me if I had lost weight. Whoo hoo! Just more motivation to keep at it. (I think I should wear this outfit everyday.)

It's supposed to rain tonight, so I'm going to try and get a run in at lunchtime.

In non-running related news...

I made it to Body Pump today over lunch. I figure there are other muscles in my body that don't get worked from running. Imagine that! I'm going to try and fit Body Pump in at least once a week, if not twice.

Earth Day 5K

This morning we got up early and drove to Silver Spring, MD (just around the Beltway from us) so I could run the Earth Day 5K. And guess who was there? Bernie Salazar from season 5 of the Biggest Loser. He was the at-home winner that season.




It started and ended at a local running store and was an out and back course. The only problem with this was the first mile was all down hill. You all know what that means....the last mile is all up hill! At least the second mile was fairly flat through a park. Each mile came and went fairly fast. I came across the finish line and the clock said 32:00! And I just checked the results....official time of 31:50 (that's a 10:20 mile!!!) This is my fastest 5K since before Sofia was born!

Mommy and Sofie pre-race


We didn't hang around after the race because we had to get back to our side of the Beltway for Marc's baseball game.

Easter Bunny 5K

This morning, we got up at 0-dark to drive to Clemson to run a 5K with Beth, her cousin Jill, Jenny, and her daughter Mattie.

We got to Clemson with plenty of time to spare. We checked in, got our stuff, and we waited for everyone to get there. Beth called, she was having car trouble and we thought we were going to have to go and get her. She was able to get there about the same time as Jenny. I went to find a restroom and Beth and Jill come running up to tell me something. We've had a celebrity siting! Check out that report here.

The race was really small and the roads weren't closed. We had to run in the bike lane and on the sidewalks. I thought this was going to be an issue, but it wasn't! It was great. There was little to no traffic and the weather was perfect. Just slightly chilly, but bright and sunny!

The first mile came and went super fast! Then I took Mattie's stroller from Jenny so she could have a rest. Beth and I switched, and she took the stroller after about a quarter to half a mile of tons of hills. Okay, I know there is supposed to be water at a mile and a half....where is the water?? Ah finally water...must have been farther than 1.5 miles to the water stop because it was a quick turn, down hill, and there was the finish!

Whoo hoo! A great race with great weather and great friends. Come to find out, Marc won his age group, even while he was pushing a stroller. Way to go Marc!

A few post race photos...
Beth and Jill


Jenny (in the shirt that races)


Our girls

Whoo hoo

I'm so proud of myself.....I went out and got a 3 mile run in when I thought I wouldn't get one in at all that day.

Cherry Blossom 2009

Bear with me folks, this is a long one, and picture heavy. But I actually took pictures all weekend! I normally forget when Beth is here to take them until the last minute when she is packing up to go.

Beth, Jeff, and Elaina got her Friday afternoon. Sofia and I did some last minute cleaning/tiddying on Friday....well, I did the cleaning, she found another pair of shoes to keep her busy.




Saturday morning we got up and went to the Cherry Blossom parade.




The girls were not interested. Both preferred to sit in their strollers and ignore the festivities.

(My child is not possessed....I caught her mid blink)

The wind was so bad the tents at the festival were coming off the ground. We decided to skip the festival and head straight to packet pick up for the race.
Sofia got a new headband.


Then we had lunch at Gordon Biersch...yum, garlic fries!





(our attempt at a self-family portrait)

Lunch went straight through naptime....the good news is we only had one meltdown


This morning had us with a super early wake up call and out the door by 5:45am.











(Beth in the Shirt that Races, check out Beth's blog...I'm sure she'll update on the Shirt that Races soon, if not go bug her to do it sooner.)

Here are some mid-race pics with my $9 camera. Not too bad for running and taking pictures at the same time with a crappy camera.




We did it! And Beth did it for the very first time!

Official chip time:
Lauren - 1 hr 59 min 08 sec
Beth - 1 hr 59 min 09 sec
Michelle - 2 hr 04 min 58 sec

Other than a sore ankle and really tired and sore feet (debating about whether or not new shoes are in my near future), I felt great! My legs still had plenty of energy and my lungs weren't burning. I also feel like I could maybe start working on bringing my per mile time down. If I keep up what I've been doing, I'll be in great shape for my upcoming half marathons (which is great incentive to keep getting out there and training, it's not so daunting once you know you can do it). With that being said, I'm thinking of adding 1 day a week of interval type training to help me speed up a little. I'd love to get back to my pre-Sofia pace of 10 minute miles (and I thought I was so slow then! I'd love to be that fast again).







On our walk back to the metro, we took the long way so Beth and Jeff could see some of the monuments and get some pictures. (And by long way, I mean almost 2 miles out of our way....I checked! My sore ankle knew it was more than half a mile or so.)




And what started it all.....the Cherry Blossom


Marc had his first baseball game of the season today (sorry, no pictures). Sofia and I went to watch the second half after Beth, Jeff, and Elaina got on the road. Sofia was so worn out, she fell asleep on the way home. Notice the half eaten nugget in her hand. So tired, she couldn't even finish her dinner!

You can run

I saw this on Facebook....and apparently it is from Runner's World Mag. I really liked this quote.

"If you can walk from the couch to the refrigerator, you are not too fat or too old or too slow to run."

And here are some pictures I tried to take on our run yesterday.

These are on the $9 camera I got to run with on Sunday. I figured for $9, I didn't care if it got lost or broken. I was giving it a test run....but it definitely looks like $9 photos.



Trying to do a self portrait.


And these are the ones on the good point and shoot.
Pre-run photo op. Sofie, "Mom, let's get this show on the road already."

On the trail, between the Y and the Town Center.