A Fabulous 4th

What an amazing weekend! Was yours awesome too? I sure hope so.

I always like when a holiday falls on a Friday so you can dovetail it into the weekend seamlessly. A three day weekend will do wonders for the soul. Let's dive in, shall we?

Thursday night, John picked up our race packets on his way home. We walked Sadie and then headed over to a local park to hear the community orchestra play a selection of American and patriotic tunes. We've gone to this concert many times. It's free and well-attended but parking is plentiful and it's not far from our house.

They played some questionable songs that were only loosely America-related. Luckily, they ended with the 1812 overture and Stars and Strips Forever which is all we really wanted to hear anyway. We stopped for froyo on the way home. It is dangerous that they opened an Orange Leaf about a mile from our house.

Early to bed because Friday was early to rise.

We signed up to run the Americana 5K in Centerville knowing that we probably wouldn't have great races. Yes, we had just achieved PR's (personal records) in our last 5K but that course was flat and fast (even if it had been raining). We last ran this race 5 years ago. What a different time that was.

So, we got up before the alarm (Thank you, Sadie), ate our peanut butter toast and laced up.

I'm sporting my new Brooks shirt which I L-O-V-E love and want to buy in many colors. We got there in plenty of time and because the race starts and ends at the high school stadium, you get to use actual toilets instead of portapotties. Modern plumbing FTW! We lined up and were off. Well, once we weaved around all the people who lined up towards the front and were walking with no intention of actually running any bit of these 3.1 miles. Please. If you're going to walk, start in the back. The course is a simple out and back with a gradual but long hill right in the middle, which means you have to run it twice. There was one water stop manned by some very enthusiastic boy scouts.

I went out way too fast, as usual. About a half mile in I realized I was holding an 8:25 pace. Whoops! Better dial that back before I bonk completely. Before I knew it, I saw John at the turn around looking very strong. He was watching for me but didn't see me despite my arms waving like a fool. The long slog back began but my splits were looking good and I didn't want to give up. I started realizing that my pace was steady and faster than I expected. With about a half mile to go, I realized another PR was possible if I really went for it. So I did.

I entered the stadium and sprinted the final lap finishing in 27:18. A full minute faster than my last race! A full 4 minutes faster than my very first 5K. How about that! John also PR'ed with an amazing 23:23. We could not have been prouder of our races. It was good enough for a 22nd finish in my age group, 491st overall (out of more than 1,100). Average pace was 8:48 which is something I never hold outside. John finished 20/55 for his age group and 221 overall. We surprised ourselves. The weather was on our side. A cool start around 60 degrees, if that.

What a great way to start the day and get your workout finished early. Home to shower and cook. Lunch, a little downtime and then back to the Americana Festival. We walked by all the booths but didn't buy anything. A root beer float was shared and then we headed home to eat again.

At night, we pulled out the fire pit and enjoyed some s'mores. Our neighbors set off some small fireworks. It was lovely. Sadie didn't appreciate said fireworks though. She never does.

On Saturday, I made it to hot yoga for the first time in about a month. It was glorious. I wish I could go every day. In the afternoon, John and I drove about 45 minutes to Hanover Winery. They make good wines. They also make good wine slushies. We did a tasting and then shared a bottle with some snacks I had packed. The weather could not have been more cooperative. Sitting outside on a picnic table with a light breeze and some sun was perfection.

We stopped at the outlets on the way home but came home with just a new pair of running shorts for me and new shoes for boxing for John.

That brings us to Sunday. We were supposed to do yard work but that sounded wholly unappealing. Instead, we had a lazy morning with the New York Times and I'm writing to you fine people. Weekends like this make the toiling weekdays tolerable, yes?

Lift Your Leg 5K Race Report

Well, my second ever 5k is in the books. Unfortunately, it wasn't my best showing. In fact, I ran faster 3 years ago. I'm not sure how this happened but let's review. I told you about the race benefiting a local animal shelter in this post. The dogs were out in full force at the race! The DJ, of course, blared Who Let The Dogs Out? The only time that song is appropriate.

Puppy Pow-wow

John and I had registered past the deadline so we got there early to ensure we'd get a shirt and we did. The medium I selected is gigantic but that's okay. Then, we had an hour to kill before the race started. There were lots of pet-related vendors and many dogs there to adopt. We found a Sadie twin named Bopper but did not come home with him. Eventually after making the rounds, we sat on a curb and watched all the dogs come in with their owners.

Bevy of Bostons - moving too quickly for a better shot

Dogs of all sizes and breed! It was really fun. This guy is my favorite! His name is Sebastian and he is the fattest French Bulldog I've ever seen in my life. He was hot though, trying to catch some shade under a table. And I certainly didn't see him running.

Sebastian did not want his picture taken

I was hoping to not have to use the porta-potty but I decided I'd better go so I wouldn't be uncomfortable during the race. This next sentence is probably one you've never heard. I was pleasantly surprised by the porta-potty. Maybe it was because it hadn't gotten much use yet but it didn't smell and it wasn't the foul experience it normally is. Yea!

Almost time!

John and I lined up and tried to pump ourselves up. At 9:30 am the gun went off and so did the runners. I was able to stick with John for about 30 seconds. One minute in and I could no longer see him. That's okay. I expected that. What I didn't expect were the hills and the heat. The course was around a park and residential area, a variable I had not taken into account. I got passed. A lot. But I hung in there and had fun seeing the dogs running. One poor Airedale I passed gave up and his owner was carrying him. I did see them running again later on. Because the race didn't start until 9:30, the day had a chance to warm up and the sun was shining. Pretty weather but not ideal for racing. Oh well.

I tried to keep track of my splits but after the first mile, I knew there was no way I would make my sub-27:00 goal. Talk about a defeatist attitude. My first mile was 9:30ish. At that point, I was already tired and just prayed for a sub-30:00 finish. Well, SPOILER ALERT, that didn't happen either. :( I walked a lot more than I meant to, which was not at all. My walk breaks were typically less than 30 seconds but they were plentiful. Each half mile was marked with good signage. I don't know if it was good or bad that I knew just how much longer I needed to struggle. I kicked it into high gear at the end but it wasn't enough. I finished in 32:09. Really disappointing.

Things working against me this race:

1) Heat - definitely wish it had started earlier in the morning
2) Unknown course - not knowing when the miles were coming up was a tough mental game
3) HILLS
4) Slightly dehydrated - my kidneys were hurting. I definitely needed more water pre-race
5) Outside - Duh, right? Unfortunately, I do 90% of my running on a treadmill which is VERY different than running outside. See Nos. 1-5.

So, next time will be better, right? There's always room for improvement. By the way, John killed it! He finished in 24:46 and took third in his age group and 20th overall. I was 91st overall and 13th in my age group. There were 268 runners. Unfortunately, I've really been letting that finishing time get me down. It totally psyched my out of a good run on Tuesday. I need to grow some shake-it-off attitude.

This is me pre-race. That's why I'm smiling and unsweaty.

Excited and Unsuspecting

Now that I've had a rough race, it's time to run a good one. There are many coming up the summer that look good so I guess I just need to go for it.

P.S. Are you a single lady looking for love? You need to find an event like this near you as soon as possible! If you are not a runner, there's a good chance there will be a walk or something benefiting animals you cold attend. You have no idea the amount of single, sporty, dog-loving guys were running with their pups. I, of course, am taken so I wasn't looking for me. Just sayin'......ripe for the picking!