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
　
　
　

Run Like A Diva

The Divas 5K

April 28, 2013

Warning: There will be some talk of nerves.

Disclaimer: Cliff is not the best picture taker, but he is a great husband! 

Nuff said!

I have never run with so many people in my life! It was a sea of Divas lined up as far as the eye could see. Normally, this big of a crowd would scare me off from running, but this was the Diva's run. I had to! Even though as soon as my feet hit the floor Sunday morning, the dang nerves showed up. I'll not talk too much about the nerves today, other than to say 3 times.....really?

Cliff was such a big help. He rolled me out of bed and headed me in the right direction towards the shower. He even fixed breakfast for me. Toast and P-Nut Butter. I could only choke down one piece. I had no time for coffee, just a couple of sips of water. But never fear, Cliff had a bottle of his special triathlon-ironman concoction for me to drink. He said, "It even has some caffeine in it". Oh Yay!

I could have easily talked my way out of this one, but I pushed through and I am so glad I did. This Diva's race was jam up. There were over 5000 runners between the half-marathon and 5K. As you can imagine, parking would be tricky. Parking is the only thing that makes Cliff nervous. Lawd, to be so lucky. So, his way of dealing with his nerves is to get up before the crack of dawn in order to arrive early enough that we can get good parking. And we did....right beside a very nice bathroom in McLean Park. Yes! Because I definitely needed it! Third time's the charm, so they say.

That's me in the center below the big screen.

After reigning in the nerves, with a half-hour to spare, we made our way to the start line. As we rounded the corner, we could see shades of pink and black everywhere. They were the Diva's signature colors. There was a huge video screen at the start. As you passed by, you could see yourself on the big screen....so cool! Over 3000 half-marathoners were lined up and ready to go. Oh the anticipation! I could hardly take it all in. So much to see. Oh look, there are the porta potties. Must have been a dozen and lines for them were backed up 20 or more deep. I better get in line, just in case. I'm so sorry y'all have to endure this, but a million years from now I want my grandchildren to know everything I experienced, if you don't mind. Anyway, made it out in time to see the half-marathoners take off.

Me in the sea of Divas.

And then it was our time. The 5K'ers. There were 1112 of us to be exact. The nerves now gone, I was ready! Cliff was going to ghost run with me. I was happy about that for 2 reasons....1)moral support and 2)he could pace me. He runs so much faster than me, this was going to be a piece of cake for him. The horn blared and we were off....walking....what? There were so many people that it took us nearly a minute to make it to the start line and then another couple of minutes before the sea of Divas spread out enough that I could actually start running.

Now running, I was in the zone. I had concentration written all over my face. Weaving in and out of runners, I was passing some of them. Now, don't get me wrong, I was getting passed by some, too. But oh, what a feeling! I was definitely pumped! My adrenaline was in overdrive. We made it to the one-mile mark, before I knew it. Cliff was giving me updates on my pace. He was encouraging me to keep it up. Shortly, we merged for just a little while with the half-marathoners. I was keeping pace with some of them. It got me to thinking about next year. "I will be back next year for the Diva's half-marathon", I said to myself.

I knew a water station was coming up at the two mile mark so I pulled out my little bite-sized Snicker that I had concealed in the tiny little pocket of my running shorts. I was hoping the thing had not melted....that would have been a mess. How could I explain that the stain was a Snickers Bar? Hallelujah, it had not melted.....Snicker's stain explanation averted! Anyway, I ate the Snicker Bar slowly (so as not to choke) to Cliff's question of, "You're eating"? LOL!! He never knows what to expect with me. I ignored his comment! I saw the water station and got in line. Wow, I needed that!

The Loot!

Cliff looked at me after the tiny Snickers and water break and said, "Your time has improved"! Great! That made me run even faster. I don't know how far, but down the road a little further was another water station. Some lady bust right up in front of me.....nearly made me spill my Gatoraid. I thanked her and then it was back to business.  Just before the finish, the Divas organization had a table set up on the route for you to grab a pink feather boa and a tiara. They know how to spoil a Diva.

Oh Lord, that's a cheesy grin!

At the finish line. See the shirtless fireman behind me?

Rounding the final corner, I looked up and there I was on the big screen. I waved to myself. Ha!  I kicked it up a gear and crossed the finish line. What an awesome race! Making my way through the corral they had set up, I saw half naked men giving out our medals. I totally ignored Cliff and got in the cutest guys line. My first medal ever and it was placed around my neck by a half naked fireman! Now, don't you want to go out and sign up for next year's race? Go ahead, you know you do. Next in line, we received a rose and then a glass of champagne. I have never! I am a full-fledged Diva now. And I have pictures to prove it!

Before getting to the race, I told Cliff that no matter what I said, do not let me go out and sign up for another race. My nerves just can't handle it.

 Girl, please!

I no longer crossed the finish line and received all my goodies than did my inner voice start asking, "OK, where's the next race"? Some Divas never learn!

If you are interested in running a Diva's race near you and I highly recommend it, check out their website (here).

And in case you were wondering, my stats for the Run Like A Diva 5K are:

Miles: 3.1
Time: 35:32 (Goal was to finish in 36 minutes or less)
Mph: 5.23
Pace: 11:28 (Goal was to run an 11:30 pace or better)
Finished: 347th out of 1112 overall
Finished: 24th out of 84 in my age group

Score!

Laurie

Born To Run

Well....the promise of that title remains to be seen. If you've been reading this blog, then you know I've had a slight knee injury that has kept me from running much over the last couple of weeks. Aggravation!

Said knee.....the one on the left that is.  I have my daddy's feet....don't look too close.

After researching and talking with long-time runner friends, I believe the "aggravation" is iliotibial band syndrome. Basically, there is a thick tendon that runs down the side of your leg and for several reasons can get irritated and inflamed. I believe the source of my pain was due to increasing mileage to quickly and possibly from changing shoes to a more minimalist shoe and not giving myself the proper time to adjust to running in this type shoe.

So....for any new runners out there......read, research, ask fellow runners and above all, do what the experts say. I could have avoided this injury...I knew better. I knew not to increase mileage any more than 10% a week. I knew that I should have only ran a mile or two in the new shoes instead of five. High notions! Lesson learned!

 

The Iliotibial Band

(totally wished my bum looked like that)

What have I been doing to treat ITB Syndrome? I was told to purchase a foam roller made for just this purpose....to treat ITB Syndrome and to follow the instructions. I immediately followed this advice. I've been using it for a week now and I can honestly say that from the first time I used the roller, my knee has felt so much better. Other advice, from an expert and avid bike rider, was to make sure I stretched well. And I do. Yoga will also be in my arsenal of staying fit and flexible, very soon.

Now on to the good part......my stats since the injury. Oh wait, you thought I just sat around and nursed a sore knee. What?!? No way....I've come a long way since last June. I can't sit by and lose all that fitness and endurance.  That would be a crying shame and I would be the one crying. Since my last 4-mile run on the Dec. 27th (ran in pain), I've been going to the gym.

Date:        Activity:                                                 
Jan 2   -   3 miles on the elliptical/stair climber          
Jan 4   -   5 miles on the elliptical                             
Jan 5   -   3.12 mile slow run, outdoors                   
Jan 5   -   Swam for 30 min                                     
Jan 6   -   3 miles on the elliptical                            
                  1 mile on the stair climber                       
Jan 8   -   5 miles on the elliptical                            

As of today, my knee feels so much better that I'm considering running a 5K on Jan. 19th. I'll see how the rest of the week goes before committing.

And finally, I'm pleased to announce that I have registered for my first 10K on March 9, 2013. Got to get this knee completely well. I've got some running to do.

Meeting my goals one day at a time, one run at a time. 

Born to run?

Hmmmm, only time will tell.


Until then,
Laurie