Brookgreen Gardens 5K/1 Mile Race

I love Brookgreen Gardens. It's a beautiful place. My favorite area is Oak Alee and the flower gardens. So when I heard they were hosting a 5k race here, I was all in. Of course, this photo was taken a couple of years ago during the spring, when the azaleas were in full bloom. The yellow one in the background is called 'Admiral Semmes', I believe. Is it not gorgeous?

Not only was there a 5k at Brookgreen last Sunday but, a one-mile fun run, too. Perfect opportunity to get Lidia and Sawyer into running. So, Cliff signed them up and I went shopping for some grandbaby running shoes. 

Sunday afternoon, we arrived to Brookgreen and checked in. I was running the 5k and Cliff was going to run the one-mile with the kids. The weather couldn't have been much better......low humidity and upper 70's with a slight breeze blowing. Near perfect.

We pinned Lidia and Sawyer's race number on their shirts and they were starting to look like pros. No biggy, no nerves....just ready to run. I gave them each a GU Chomps chew for energy.

Turns out they didn't need it; kids have plenty. I, however, ate 4 or 5 or maybe it was 6.  Probably should have eaten the whole pack. Ha! Oh wait, I didn't tell you the best part. The nerves never showed up! Hallelujah, it's a breakthrough. Or not, depending on how you look at it.

Time for the 5k'ers to line up. We had lots of friends running today and as we gathered together, discussed pace. My goal was a 12 min. mile. And as it turns out the majority of our friends were planning to run about the same pace. Meloney's daughter, Sarah Ruth, was running so Meloney and Kelly was pacing her. Cammie is so sweet.....she hung back with us just to have some girlfriend time I'm sure, because this chick can RUN. And then, we were off. As adrenaline would have it, I went out too fast. At one point, I was running an 11:14 and 10:17 mile. But exhaustion and sore thigh muscles started setting in. (Remember, I've been riding my bike lately. Cycling works my thigh muscles like nobody's business.) I took a couple 15-20 second walk breaks and began to slow down. I hate when that happens. I'll be glad when the day comes that I can finish the race as strong as I start. Finally, I crossed the finish line with some high fives from friends.

I immediately headed over to Cliff and the grandkids to see how their race went.
 

Cliff said, "I've got a funny story for you"! He was running along with Lidia....(Sawyer left them sitting still. Ha!) Anyway, Lidia told Cliff she had to go to the bathroom. Both Lidia and Sawyer had drank a lot of water prior to the race. So, Cliff told her that they were almost to the finish line and asked if she thought she could make it. Lidia said, "Yes, but first I have to go to the bathroom".

Ha! It just doesn't matter if you're almost to the finish line, when a girl has to go, she has to go.  

Lidia, headed to the finish line with Papi (Cliff) in tow.

Lidia crossing the finish line.

Sawyer....perfect form for a speed demon.

And, Sawyer crossing the finish line.

Sawyer, on the other hand, was a speed demon. His first ever race and he took off acting like he knew where to go and what to do. The child never looked back!  He was 5th to cross the finish line. 6 years old and his first race......I think he has a career ahead of him.

End of the race, hot and sweaty and a little tired, we did all the post race things you do. Re-hydrated, snacked, talked smack about our race with friends and stuck around for the awards. There were no awards for us, but the way my heart sang and the way the pride rose up in this LaLa was good enough for me. We were all so proud of our little munchkins. And I can't wait to do it again.

Race Results:

My 5K finish time: 38:13 (yuck, dang it)
Pace: 12:20
Sawyer's 1-mile finish time: 16:20 (awesome)
Lidia's 1-mile finish time: Undetermined (potty break slowed her down)

Bless it, we thought it was a cute little story, but it embarrassed her. So,  don't say anything.......ok. ;)

Thank you for stopping by.

Come back soon,

Laurie
　
　
　

Capers Island Eco 10K Run

I know, you've been waiting all week on this one. What can I say, I've been as busy as a beaver. Between my yearly doctor check-ups, mama's doctor appointments, Sawyer's Kindergarten graduation, Lidia's awards program, overnight guests, work being done on our place at the beach and all the exercise I've been doing lately, I've hardly had time to breathe.  Today has been the first day in a week that I've had time to sit down at the computer to write.

Speaking of.....I have been getting lots of SPAM comments. So many in fact that I've had to turn on "words verification". I'm so sorry to do that to those of you who comment regularly, but I can't have crazy spammers commenting on my blogs either. If it just bothers you too much to go through the words verification step, I'll understand. If you truly want to comment, I know you will. Otherwise, I'm happy knowing that you enjoyed reading it.

Now on to today's post.

Warning: It will be picture heavy. I had a hard time editing them. You'll see what I mean.

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Capers Island Eco 10K Run

The best photograph of the day showing the sun's rays beating down on the surf and sand.....compliments of Cliff, himself.

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Sunday, Cliff and I ran the Capers Island 10K. It was raining when we left home so I was a little worried about getting wet. It's the hair thing. I look awful in a hat, so I wear a visor. The top is out and the hair is exposed. What was I to do? Cliff's motto, of course, is screw it, just do it. So we did. We never minded the rain and journeyed on.

This is how our day started. Rain. But, look...do you see the rainbow? And just to it's left, there is another one. I took that as a double promise of good weather to come.

We arrived to the Isle of Palms Marina to ominous dark skies. The race coordinator said that the forecast looked promising...the rain would move out before the race started. Sounded good. We gathered our things and boarded the boat that would ferry us to Capers Island. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. On the way, we saw the lovely SC coast and some coastal birds, but the highlight was when a dolphin surfaced along side us. We arrived to the island, pulled the boat on shore (there was no dock, just sand) and disembarked. We were told to feel free to explore the island as they went back for more runners. The following pictures are just a few of what we saw.

Capers is an uninhabited barrier island just north of the Isle of Palms with about 3 miles of beach front. What makes it so interesting is that since the island's existence,  storms and tides have wreaked havoc on the shoreline. Cliff's description was so wonderful. He said, "The whole deal is the place; the island, the wide flat beach at low tide or the high tide that flows right up into the forest of Palmettos, small oaks and pines. And as the ocean has been taking 15 feet of beachfront annually since time started, the trees have been uprooted, bleached by the sun and sea, and rearranged by nature’s order. The result is an awe-inspiring primitive appearance as if you’d gone back in time ... an incredible place!"

The Bone Yard

Trees arranged by the tides.

Cliff

Me

After what seemed like an hour of being on the island, everyone had finally arrived and it was time to begin the run.

Capers was the neatest, hardest run I've ever done. Donations and proceeds went to help the hungry. There was a start line, a bell rang and you ran. No need for numbers or chips. You kept your own time. No awards or prizes. It was just for a good cause.

Half-way!

Water was at the 10K turn around and at the finish.

We ran through the bone yard as it is called because of the many trees down along the beach.

I saw sand dollars, jellyfish.....

 and horseshoe crabs (she was alive and making her way back to the sea).

Conch shells washed ashore.

As picturesque as it was, running on sand is HARD! I'm convinced that running a 10K in sand is the equivalent of running twice that far on pavement. That's just my novice judgement, of course. But close, I feel sure.

This was the view at the half-way point as I turned and headed back to the finish line. It was a  l.o.n.g. way back!

If you're from the south or know anything of our weather, then you know that in the summer after a rain, the temperature is sweltering. And that's just what happened today. It was hot and humid! I felt like I became dehydrated. I didn't carry any water with me, just depended on what the race provided.

This was me at mile 5. It was taking everything I had to keep going. Right about now I bet you're wondering if I have any other running outfits. Well, yes, I do. But, I like these shorts. They're comfortable and on a day like this, comfort is key.

Nearing the finish line. See the orange stob. That's it!

OMG! Never so happy to see a  finish line in my life!

Our coaches told us that running in the hot weather will be difficult and not to worry about our pace; we will slow down because of the heat. I did not run my best pace....I finished it, though, and I'm proud of that. I finished in 1:21.

Here I am on the boat back to the Isle of Palms.

This was taken right before I got sick. I felt a little nauseated at the finish line. I drank several cups of water and walked around a bit to cool down. The nausea lifted for awhile but, about 15 minutes into the ride back to the marina, I got really nauseated again. This time it made me break out into a cold sweat. I was doubled over holding my head in my hands hoping we would get back before I spewed all over everybody....especially the dude sitting across from us who could do nothing but stare. I guess he didn't want to miss a good puking event. Anyway, we made it back to the marina just in time. I headed straight to the bath room, wet some paper towels and cooled myself down some more. 

Lord!

Haven't felt that bad since I broke my arm in a bike riding accident and spent a little time in the E.R. They pumped me so full of medicines, half of which I'm probably allergic to. Anyway, that resulted in a hurling event  that quickly cleared the lobby in the hospital entryway.

Feeling slightly better, Cliff and I thought lunch would be a good idea. The restaurant at the marina looked like as good a place as any. We got our menus and nothing, NOTHING looked good to me. Cliff ordered a hamburger and fries with coleslaw. I didn't feel like eating anything really but, saw french toast and decided to give it a try. It came with fruit....good thing! Because on my YUCK, that french toast was nasty!  I ate the fruit and some of Cliff's coleslaw and drank 3 glasses of water.  After leaving the restaurant, I told Cliff that I felt like I needed something salty. He said that I was probably dehydrated and that he would stop somewhere so that I could get some peanuts or something. Just a few miles down the road, we stopped at a convenience store and as soon as I walked in my eyes landed on BIG PAPA! Just what I wanted and needed. Cliff was like, "OMG! Yucky french toast, coleslaw and a Dill Pickle? You might as well drink some of my chocolate milk and go ahead and puke". Ha Ha!

 Big Papa hit the spot!

The end to a long but, good day. The run was absolutely beautiful, hot and HARD. I was wiped out for the rest of the day but, it was well worth it. A run to help the hungry, on a beautiful barrier island with my husband.....it's a good thing.

Happy Running!

Laurie

The Right Place at the Right Time

Brookgreen Gardens' Flora

Two weeks from tomorrow, I am running a 5K in Brookgreen Gardens and I can't wait. The folks there do a spectacular job in the gardens. It is sure to be the prettiest 5K I've ever done.

Not much happening on the home front this week. I've been exercising like crazy, went catfishing with Cliff and saved a toddler's life today and his mama doesn't even know it. Well, maybe she does now. I hope her friend reamed her out about it. I should have. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! Tell you the whole story in a sec.

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Exercise:

Next Sunday, Cliff and I are running this 10K on Caper's Island. It's a barrier island near Charleston and we have to take a ferry to get there. We'll run through the bone yard. That's what the stretch of downed trees is called. Doesn't that sound like fun? Yeah, I thought so too. But get this, I ran 2 miles on the beach this week to train for it and y'all, it is harder than I thought. I'm convinced that running 2 miles on the beach is the equivalent of running 4 miles on pavement. I may be in trouble. For real!

The week in review:

Sunday - Ran 7 miles (was planning on half of that being run on the beach, but the tide was way too high)

Monday - Much needed rest and recovery day

Tuesday - Biked 5.05 miles

Wednesday - Ran 2 miles on the beach (OMG!) and ran 2 more on the road...total 4 miles

Thursday - Biked 15 miles (can we say 'sore sit bones')

Friday - Ran 3.05 miles, hydrated and then biked 11.88 miles (this was a 2-hour exercise day, in case you were wondering)

Saturday - Rest day (because I have another long run planned for Mother's Day)

Fishing:

I nearly forgot.....I went fishing with Cliff. I don't do this often, like almost never. I find it extremely boring. However, he's been wanting me to go, so I caved. We put the boat in the river and rode down to a favorite little riverside restaurant for dinner. We couldn't start fishing until sunset. I don't know what you call it, but it's the kind of fishing where you tie strings on a branch hanging over the water with a hook and bait.  It might be called putting out trot lines.?.?. Ever heard of that? Cliff uses strings that glow in the dark when a light hits it. He uses his flashlight to locate them after dark. So here we go, slowly working our way down a creek off the main river, tying the strings onto branches. It was a lovely night. We saw osprey in their nests and a couple of hawks flying by. After dark, you could see the stars so clearly. They were absolutely gorgeous. This may be Cliff's idea of a romantic evening. Ha! It was, kind of. But then I remembered.....I was missing American Idol! Lawd, I nearly panicked. I let out a squeal and he thought something had me. It's a good thing I had my iPhone with me. I remembered that I could watch TV on it and heck; I even had ear phones in my bag so Cliff didn't have to listen. He's just not crazy about American Idol. And for that reason, I think he has a screw loose. Anyway, watching American Idol on my iPhone worked perfectly. I didn't have to miss a thing...not Idol and certainly not my romantic night catfishing with Cliff.

The Toddler:

I took Lidia and Sawyer to the indoor pool today. They are pretty good swimmers for their age and I don't have to constantly watch them. I am able to read a book, while still being vigilant, too. But, I would never leave them alone or even leave their care up to a life guard. I sit right beside the pool in the area where they are playing.  I noticed the life guard had stepped out of the building and thought that odd because there were children in the pool. I'm sure the kid's parents were there as well, but still...no life guard is not a good thing. All I can say is thank the Lord I was there. A family arrived with several small children and the two smallest ones came in and proceeded to walk down the steps into the pool. I saw a woman come in and then turn around and walk back out again. Apparently, she was rinsing her feet off and I guess she thought they would be okay for the few seconds it took to do this. Then I noticed the youngest child had drifted off the steps. At first, he was keeping his head above water, but then it became clear he was in over his head. In a split second, I saw him go under and struggle to get back up while at the same time looking and reaching for the other child, who was still on the step. The woman, whom I assumed was his mother, was back inside, but had her back turned to them. I looked at her to see if she was at all alarmed and still she had her back turned. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I yelled, "He needs help". I kicked off my flip flops and ran down into the pool. He saw me coming and reached his little hand out to me and I grabbed him up. I stayed with him holding his hand until I could get the woman's attention. I said, "He just went under and couldn't get back up". A man that had seen it, also, said, "He just paid the bottom of the pool a visit".  She just looked at us and smiled. I was like, woman!...your child just nearly drowned and you are acting so nonchalant about it. I was dumbfounded. I went back to my chair and in just a minute she came over and thanked me. She then told me that her friend, the child's mother, just let him go in without her. And then she walked away. I should have gone to talk to the mother myself, but really I thought I had. Now that the whole thing is over, I can think of many things I should have done and wished I had. But in the moment, I was completely dumbfounded. I hope the friend scared the c-word out of that child's mother. She doesn't know how lucky she is this Mother's Day!

To be in the right place at the right time is certainly humbling. Thank the Lord, He was able to use me today.

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Happy Mother's Day!

Laurie

Field Trip With Sawyer

A couple of weeks ago, Sawyer's class went on a field trip to the Waccatee Zoo. I was invited along and since it was only 5 or 6 miles from us here at the beach, Sawyer just spent the night with us and we met his class there the next morning. Well, once the children starting getting off the school bus, I saw that they all had on green t-shirts. The teacher wanted them to all have matching identifiable colors.

I didn't get that memo.

And if you know me, then you know that I needed to get that memo! I was nearly like OMG, all the school children match but Sawyer! I felt heat begin to rise....and for a split second I thought, NOT now - NOT the hot flashes, NOT the mood!

 But not to fear, Sawyer's teacher ran back to the bus and came back with Sawyer's identifiable green t-shirt. So now, we just had to disrobe him right there in the parking lot. The shirts must have been one size fits all, because his was so big that it hung down below his jacket. Oh well, at least it gave him another layer of warmth. And at least now he matched the other children.

I had to tell you the back story because heaven forbid you thought I dressed him like that on purpose. I mean, especially after the near OMG incident of him not matching his classmates.

Alright, I've calmed back down.

Sawyer informed me that the entrance of the zoo is through the gift shop. So I said, "OK, that's fine. We can take a peak at the goodies before we go see the animals." Sawyer said, "but LaLa, there are snakes in there. Real ones."  OMG!  My sweet baby grandboy knows how deathly afraid of snakes his LaLa is. And, bless it, he was trying to warn me ahead of time.

But for the sake of a class full of 6-year-olds, I decided it wasn't the time to squeal like a girl and start chanting...I am not going in there, I AM NOT going in there! No....I sucked it up and walked through as fast as I could, pulling Sawyer behind me. Thank God, that part's over.

I just shuttered thinking about it. 

The rest of the day was pretty benign. Thankfully, the exit was at a different place than the entrance or I might've had to crawl the fence. Anyway, the rest of the story......

The Waccatee Zoo is small, but it has a passel of Peacocks.

This one was trying to blend in with the weeds.

Sawyer was enamored with them. 

He tried to get as close as possible.

We saw this one standing on a stump.

So, Sawyer had to stand on a stump, too!

Sawyer discovered that sheep like peanuts.

And so do goats.

The ostrich wasn't interested in the peanuts. Looks like he was ready to disrobe Sawyer right there in the zoo. Probably thought that long green thing hanging from under his jacket was some kind of foliage. Or he may have thought Sawyer was a giant grasshopper. We'll never know.  Moving on....

There was a camel. And he was trying to stick his lips between the fence.

See his pursed lips? Ha! Sawyer wouldn't get any closer because he thought it was a llama and was afraid it would spit on him.  I secretly wished I had a water gun.  ;)

There were monkeys.

And lemurs.

Even this gorgeous tiger.

And this thing? Sawyer thought it was a Jack Rabbit. I have no clue!

We saw a Blue Heron.

And this big boy......Oh, Gator Boys!

But the highlight of my day....this lizard posing and smiling for the camera. He needs a pedicure or manicure....who can tell?

After visiting the animals, the class had a picnic lunch of sandwiches and chips. The field trip was over, but Sawyer and I were not finished with our day. We headed back to our place at the beach. I needed to plant geraniums and Sawyer wanted to ride his bike.

He wants to be a cyclist like his Papi one day.

And I would say that he is well on his way.

In addition to riding on the road, he likes to ride in the dirt and grass because he says it gives him more room to ride. After riding back and forth, round and round and feeling all confident and proud of himself,  he pulled up to me and declared, "LaLa, all I need now is a ramp or a bridge." Ha! So the bridge it was. He was out to conquer something!

What a day full, for a 6-year-old. We finally had to leave the beach and head back home. Bless it! He was tuckered out and fast asleep by the time we reached the first red light.

Look at those beautiful lashes. Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever saw? I love him! and I wouldn't have missed the field trip with Sawyer, for anything in the world.

~LaLa~



True Confessions

This is my Gerber Daisy from last summer. It was a potted plant that surprised the heck out of me. It bloomed it's little head off. As it happens every summer.....the heat gets the best of me and I tend to neglect my outdoor plants. (True confessions). I let this little beauty die a slow death.....I thought. But Lo and Behold, she has come back to life. She survived living on the porch at the beach, in a pot, under an overhang, with little to no water all winter. And now, she is putting out green leaves. The surprises continue.

But alas, this post is not about my Gerber Daisy! I just thought she was pretty and wanted to share her with you. (True Confessions). No, this post is about "what the heck am I doing?". Do you ever just sit back and wonder, sometimes?

I am a new blogger. I started blogging to capture the memories of my family from day to day or week to week, to tell the story that I live daily and to preserve the memories for my grandchildren and future generations. I never dreamed that blogging would open up my world, literally. I stumbled across a post one day that was an invitation to join a blog party. I thought, "what the heck, why not?" So, I did and was absolutely astonished at the rate my blog grew, overnight. Now, just five months since the blog party and I have readers all over the world. I will be forever grateful to Vicki. You can read more of the original story here.

True Confessions

I wouldn't doubt it, if everyone is totally confused as to what kind of blogger I am. Well, it's not a specific type for sure. Like I said, I do this to capture memories for me and my family.

So it's no surprise that you will find a conglomeration of topics here. Be patient. If you don't like today's post, you may like one next week.

I find myself now blogging with you in mind, even though this blog was and still is meant to capture life memories for my future generations. Why? Well, I've given that a lot of thought. A few reasons are:

1) I have meet so many new friends through out this process. I cherish each one of you!
2) For whatever reason, my new friends are interested in what I write. Holler!
3) Because travel for some may not be an option, why not share where we live and breathe with those who will never see this place. Ahhhhh!
4) If you get a chuckle once in a while from my posts, then I've done my job. Laughing is internal jogging. Good for you....it does a body good! Pass it on!
5) And I hope to be an inspiration to you on the matter of your health. It's an ongoing process. It's hard in the throes of menopause to lose weight. But, BUT, If I find the fountain of youth or just a little tip that can help you.....I'm all up for sharing.

These are only a few of the reasons I blog. I hope I haven't confused you even further.

Disclaimer: By the way, I read your blogs. I just don't comment on all because I would be here all day. Sorry, but Cliff would nearly die, if I spent any more time reading and writing than I do now. (True Confessions). I am a read-aholic. Reading is like crack for me. I could spend all day doing it. In order to have a life, I have to draw the line somewhere. Also, I used to try to reply to all your comments and that has become time consuming as well. I am so sorry. I feel guilty not replying. But, we have to have boundaries, right? I love you all, I read your blogs and I am crazy excited to get comments and I most certainly read them all. I will from time to time reply. And, I'm sure I will continue to evolve. Please be patient with me. It's a virtue.....Mama said so!

Question: Do any of you have the same problem as in my disclaimer? It is true confession time. Confess it, sisters and brothers. Confessions are cathartic.  I will not judge! Can I get a witness?

OK, that's it. Confession time is over. Get off the computer, go outside and do something physical. You can tell me all about it tomorrow.

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In closing, in case you were wondering:

Total miles run in April: 29.4 (That's a little disappointing, oh..but wait, I started biking. Duh!)
Total miles on the bike in April: 41.58
Since the Divas 5K post, I've run: 13.36 miles (Includes my 7-mile run Sunday...started training for the half marathon a little early. Don't worry, I'll be careful.)
Since the Divas post, I've biked: 24.49 miles (Heading out in just a few, for more.)

Please come back from time to time. I love your comments. And I will definitely be following you!

Happy Tuesday!

Laurie