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.

Another 3 in the books.

Today was supposed to be just an easy run in preparation for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. And it was, but I had forgotten how hard it is to push Sofia! (Marc usually pushes Sofie when we go out together.) Man, I wanted to stop and turn around after 5 minutes. Maybe go get a smoothie instead. And it was pretty muggy. I did walk up a hill at the turn around (which you can see in the little graph). But you'll also notice I hit a 9:18 min/mile right at the end! (Now if only I could maintain that for 3 miles.)

Can't wait for Beth, Jeff, and Elaina to get here tomorrow and all the weekend festivities!

More Races

If you have noticed my future races in the side bar, you will notice that I have signed up for some new races. :) I'll be in SC visiting friends and family for Easter, so I signed up for the Easter Bunny 5K in Clemson (with an Easter Egg hunt afterwards for the kiddos). I have also signed up for the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon in May.

Game on Galxichic! Time to get running!

Sofia and I are planning to hit the trail this afternoon....after her nap.