Heart & Sole 5K 2010

Today was the Heart & Sole 5K Run in Longview, WA. I had planned on running the 10K but since Makenna decided to run the 5K I ran with her instead. I'm not going to miss a chance to run with my girl :) Makinley also decided to run the "Mini K" so both girls were pretty excited this morning.

On the way there :)

The weather was beautiful. The wind was a bit chilly but after all the rain yesterday and last night I was thankful.
Makinley's run was supposed to start after the 5K but since people were still registering they started them first. I was so happy. I didn't want to miss her first official run. Jason stayed with her until the start. This first picture cracks me up. Jason's expression is priceless. Now he's going to have 3 girls who want to run all the time living with him :)




She was so cute. The course was about 1/4 of a mile that looped around. I was impressed with how well she did. I'm so glad I didn't miss it. Watching her was priceless.



Headed for the finish.

Makenna and I before the start of our race.

The course loops around Lake Sacajewea. Very pretty. At this point Makenna was starting to cramp a little and she said her legs were hurting. She kept working through it though. It made the run that much harder on both of us but we just kept focusing on the finish. She was excited that Grandma & Grandpa were waiting at the end. I was so proud of her and how she stuck with it. I just kept telling her that having fun was the most important thing. If being fast and winning was why I did it then I surely wouldn't be doing it :) We were happy to see the finish and have so many family there. A lot of the runs it's just me so today was pretty special to run with my girls and have Jason, Mom, and Dad there too.


Makinley got a ribbon and several little prizes. Makenna got a 2nd place ribbon in the 19 and under division. Both girls won t-shirts and a few other things in the drawing afterwards. Makenna also ended up being 2nd out of everyone 29 and under. Pretty cool. Of course my age division had speedy girls so I ended up with 8th. Out of over 70 people I was 24th and Makenna 25th :) It was a lot of fun. We topped it all off with Papa Pete's Pizza on the way home.



The girls with their t-shirts and ribbons.

Heart & Sole Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the Heart & Sole 5K/10K down in Longview. Last year was the first year I ran it. We had family friends that walked the 10K and pushed Makinley in their jog stroller. Pretty rough for her. Makenna wanted to run last year so even though I wanted to do the 10K I decided to run the 5K with her. The course loops around a lake. One loop is a 5K and you just repeat to get the 10K distance. Some of it is paved but a lot is trail/gravel material. I enjoy these type of runs to give my knee a break from running on the pavement all the time. Last year Makenna did great. She had her moments of slowing down and then speeding up to where she would just fly. This is hard on the Mom who needs to try and maintain her pace. When she could see the finish for the 5K she ran through it. I told her she was done but she insisted on wanting to try and do the 10K. I knew it would be interesting. She struggled more on the second loop but was so excited to see the finish again. Of course she turned on the nitrous and beat me at the end :) The event staff were so impressed that she had finished and done so well. She won a cool prize. I was very proud of her.
I know that tomorrow will be interesting. I really don't want her running a 10K again until she's a little bigger. She'll either do the 5K or they have a mini K which Makinley will be doing. This will be Makinley's first official event so I'm really excited. Jason will be there this year so he can help whoever chooses to do the smaller event. If Makenna wants to do the 5K I will run it with her. The only sad thing about tomorrow is the mini K starts after the longer events so I'll miss it. Hopefully Jason can get some good pics. I'm really excited to spend tomorrow with my family and get to run with my girls.

Race Report

Post for our Matchmaker 5K below :)

Marathon For The Cure

Melanie (Tall Mom) is currently raising money for Susan G. Komen to support breast cancer research. After I ran my first 5K in April 2006 I signed up for the Portland Marathon that October. For 3 years in a row I ran Portland as a charity runner. It is very rewarding no matter your charity or organization. Please help Melanie reach her fundraising goals!!!!

Link to Tall Mom's Blog With More Fundraising Info & Race Details
http://www.tallmomontherun.com/2010/02/winner-and-tall-mom-race-for-cure.html

Tall Mom's Fundraising Page
http://www.active.com/donate/komenrnrseattle10/tallmom

Running Essentials Giveaway

Tall Mom (Melanie) has done it again. Another amazing giveaway. Check out her blog and giveaway at http://www.tallmomontherun.com/2010/02/running-essentials-giveaway.html

Makenna Run

The weather here has suddenly turned beautiful. Most of the time I get stuck running on the treadmill so a day like today is wonderful. Makinley was with my parents so I was home alone until Makenna got off the bus. I asked her if she wanted to go on a run and she immediately changed into her running stuff. She was so excited. She has ran several 5K's and even a 10K last year. She has done a few track camps and loves soccer so I'm hoping it's something she will continue to enjoy.

I got my Garmin started, took a few pics, and away we went. It was so nice to feel the sun and to spend some time with her. She did great even though she slowed down and walked a few times. Her speed is amazing when she turns it on. When it all comes together she will be someone to watch out for :) She ended up running over 2 miles when Jason drove up next to us on his way home. I let her hop in and I continued along behind them. It was a lot of fun. I'm hoping we can take advantage of the weather together again this week.

Matchmaker 5K 2010

I was able to convince my poor husband to run the Matchmaker 5K again with me this year. Running isn't exactly his favorite thing to do but he humors me from time to time to make me happy. The weather was drizzly but not bad. We all gathered at Borst Park in Centralia. I was excited for the run and even happier when I realized several friends were also participating. They had a 9:30 start for the "slower" runners and a 10:00 start for the super fast runners. Obviously, we planned to start in the earlier group so we wouldn't hold up awards and giveaways at the end. I wanted to run with Doug, Clarissa, Steven, & Payton but they ended up in the fast group. Jason and I started out in the first group. We were about half way through when one runner passed us. This was the first time since the start. We caught up with another runner with about less than a mile to go. Not a huge feat for most but exciting for us slow folk :) My official time was 31:11 and Jason's was 31:12. My iPod time was under 31 minutes. We grabbed some water and then waited for everyone to finish. I caught several good shots of the Gifford Team as they headed to the finish. They did great. It was Payton's first 5K. Congrats!!!!

Zero Power

I've given blood before. I actually try to give every time the American Red Cross comes to town. It's something I enjoy doing. A challenge. It's almost been 2 weeks and I'm still recovering. I never give blood if it's within a month of a race/run I've signed up for. It just takes too long to recover. It seems like I'm tired all the time, I have no energy, and no endurance. It's not like I was an ultra supreme athlete to begin with so it's hard on my poor self esteem when I want to try so hard to meet my goals. I'm trying to eat well and drink lots of water. Obviously, I need to work on my patience as well :)

The Recovery Sock Giveaway

Another amazing giveaway courtesy of Melanie @ tallmomontherun.com Check it out!!! We all need a pair or two of these. I'm loving these.



http://www.tallmomontherun.com/2010/02/recovery-sock-giveaway.html

Runner's World

Nothing makes me happier than going to my mailbox and finding the new Runner's World. When I first started my running journey back in 2006 it was one of the first things I did to get myself motivated. I had no idea running was so popular. Who knew? It has been one of the things I have had as a constant guide and motivator since my first step on my treadmill. The March issue looks great. Kara Goucher is one of my role models. I can't wait to read it cover to cover.