How's it going? Time keeps on running!

How's it going?

Has it seriously been since Thanksgiving that I have written anything about running?!

After our Turkey Trot adventures, I've been running my heart out with The Hot Buttered Run 5k a couple days after Thanksgiving.  That was a ton of fun as i dressed the kids up as gingerbread cookies and ran dressed as a baker.  Somehow, we won the costume contest and I took home a new foam roller!

Next, I completed a half marathon in torrential downpour in Eugene a couple days before Christmas.  The race started with pouring rain on an out and back on sidewalks near a stream.  A friend who finished in the top ten for the race overall said that the water was starting to creep past the banks of the stream and start to touch the sidewalk.  By the time I came to the underpasses we were required to run under... I was wading through rapid water.  My Rynaud's disease left my wet feet and cold hands completely numb.  I collapsed into the arms of the volunteer who put the finisher's medal around my neck and she helped me inside to a friend who had to help undress me and get me into dry clothes.  I think despite the wasp stings from my first half, the numbing wind and rain made that one the worst race ever.  I'll have to think about it some more.

A week and a half later, I dressed up in an evening dress over my warmer running clothes and ran a 5K at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.  That has to be the most unique way I have "ran(g) in the new year".

 After that, I hosted a virtual 5K for my Moms RUN This Town group in January and did a "Snowflake 5K" in January.

This last weekend I completed a half marathon (the first for 2015) the day after Valentines Day and should get a recap up of that shortly.

...I see a theme here.  Looks like I do a race whenever there is a holiday?

Race Recap: The Volcano Race PDX

On Sept. 28th, the family and I headed out to Mt. Tabor, a dormant volcano, in the city of Portland to play at the park and run a race.

This race was so much fun!  It is a smaller event, with under 150 running the 5K and less than 100 running the 10K options.  The Volcano Race PDX also had a kids dash after the other races were well over (allowing for kids to run or be pushed in a stroller by their parents in the earlier races or ensuring that family had crossed the finish before the kids dash started).  

When I picked up our goodies the day before at packet pickup, I was surprised by all the goodies!  The swag included lots of vegan goodies (score for me!  I'm a vegetarian...), coupons for the Children's Museum, vouchers for free entrees at Veggie Grill and jamba juice and other coupons and flyers.  The kids got a cotton race shirt and I received my tech shirt for this event.  If all that swag wasn't awesome enough... the race beneficiary is a really neat project to help inspire young people and encourage and expand their learning through the arts.  Go check out Young Audiences some time.  

Mariah who guest blogs on this site for me at the finish with me

Near the start and finish was a large volcano with a fog machine to mystify (see what I did there?) the kids and provide a great photo op (if the lush and picturesque park wasn't enough).  

Before the races started, two free yoga classes were offered for participants.  I'm not well acquainted with yoga, but enjoyed the soft music and practicing being aware of my breath.  The 10K and 5K were staggered by about 20 minutes.  

As I queued up for my 5K, I watched as Timber Joey held up the course map and directions were explained to us.  Give me a simple loopty-loop and I'm easily confused and doubting my sense of direction... but this course was very well marked and volunteers were out to help direct runners where to turn and which direction to go.  Thank you volunteers!  

Me off on the 5K and Bugaboo and Squeakers on their Kids Dash

The course is, of course, hilly since it is on a mountain... but the challenge is a lot of fun and very beautiful.  I enjoyed seeing the cityscape of Portland over the reservoir.  When I neared the finish with 1 mile to go, I ran past Mariah running the other direction nearing her finish line for the 10K.  The end of her race  had stairs... and while I didn't hear her complain about it, I'm sure it served as a nice challenge.  Maybe I'll be better trained for the 10K (or better rested) next year? 

When I crossed the finish line, my family wasn't there to greet me.  This is the first time that they were at a race with me but weren't there to cheer me in.  This wasn't a surprise since there was a playground next to the start/finish gate.  I finished my cooldown run and was happy to seem them busy and engaged with the volunteers at the "Art Zone".  

Afterwards, the kids dash was off and the kids had a blast running 1K through a flat part of the park.  At their finish, Timber Joey greeted them with cheers and a high five.  Parents had the option of purchasing a finisher's medal to commemorate the kiddos' race and proceeds going to Young Audiences, so we went ahead and purchased that for them and my husband rewarded them with their medals.  Of course they were over the moon to get one.  

They made masks, painted their faces, played with bubbles and listened to live performances from several different musicians and singers.  I enjoyed my complimentary beers in the beer garden and we all enjoyed the plethora of snacks offered.  

I highly recommend this event and look forward to seeing how it grows and expands over the years.  This event went off very smoothly with no issues and very well organized.  It's also nice to run a smaller event race too now and then.  I really really enjoyed the family festivities this one had to offer.  

Race recap: The Color Run (and how it compared to my "Color Me Rad" race last summer)

Do one color race, and you've done them all.... right?  It might seem that way, but some of the bells and whistles one race venue offers might not match up to what they can deliver and one race company certainly may do things differently than another.

Back in June 2013, I ran Color Me Rad.  It was my first gimmick race with a fun theme and untimed.  It was also the first time I convinced my husband to run a race with me (or run at all) and we took the kids with us through the fun.  My kids have been hooked on running events, training runs and races ever since.... just as long as i push them in the stroller.  

Anyway, I couldn't help but think of that first experience when I ran The Color Run on Sept. 6th.  I thought both events were fun, but there are definitely some differences worth noting, depending on what you have in mind.

Color Me Rad Cons:

• Located in Vancouver, Wa. with congested traffic into event venue. 
• The waves through the start were pushy and hard to get into the start.
• There were so many bandits, it really frustrated me that I paid over $50 per bib and people walking down the street (smoking cigarettes) were jumping into our race and joining for free.

Lots of color!

Color Me Rad Pros:

• The after party was a LOT of fun!  The DJ was good at making it a party atmosphere.
• There were costume contests with swag for prizes.
• Lots and lots of swag being thrown at the crowds.
• Everywhere you went, there were free packets of color for the finish party to throw in the air.
• The lines for the photo booths were small.  There were several booths the opportunity to have your photos taken.
• There were at least 5 color stations within the race and color was generously applied to participants.
• Color stations were more than dry corn starch.  Some color was applied by green bubbles through a large bubble machine and color cornstarch water from large spray bottles.  

Believe it or not, these people have gone through 4 color stations...

The Color Run Cons:

• There were only 4 color stations and all were cornstarch in dry form being squirted through a pull top water bottle.
• Volunteers were very stingy with color.  I got completely through the first color station when I asked "Do I get color too?" when someone sprinkled a little on me.  Blue did not stay with me until the finish line.
• Most of the race is on gravel.
• The race only hands out one or two color packets and most participants threw that at each other shortly after leaving the finish chute.
• The after party at the stage was small.  The DJ tried to encourage people to throw powder in the air but not many had any packets remaining.  They need to give more out.
• The lines for the two photo booths were too long to deal with.  More photo booths needed.
• If you were going to get any free swag thrown at you at the start line, you had to be right below the DJ.  If you caught it, you had to carry it through the race.  Save the swag for the after party/stage and throw more color packets at the beginning of the race.

The Color Run Pros:

• Traffic seemed well negotiated and parking plentiful.... however we took public transit.
• Crowds were a lot larger, but waves were very well organized.
• Someone was in a unicorn costume!  Awesome dude!
• There was some pre race zumba to dance to
• Post race you could stand in line to have someone blast you with a leaf blower to get color off.
• A sponsor brought a 360 degree camera booth.  That was super cool (but the line too long for this mama with young kids).

You can see how much color I had on when I left Color Me Rad vs. how much color was on me at The Color Run.  I think it's fair to see which race venue I would choose if I do another one of these... 

Have you done a color themed run?  Were you disappointed or did you enjoy it?  

Race Recap: The Joe Dudman 5K

Race Recap:  The Joe Dudman 5k on June 21, 2014 

June 21st fell on a beautiful, sunny Saturday this year and also marked the first day of summer.  As the longest day of the year, several races were going on in my area during the morning and into the evening.  

So many choices.... where should someone kick off the celebration of summer and go run?

Well, the answer was simple for me.

I spent my morning at The Joe Dudman 5K.  This was a small community event (just under 70 participants) and a once in a lifetime race.  After all, how many times do we get together in the racing community to throw a 5.0K race in honor of someone's 50th birthday?   I haven't spent time with Joe outside of saying "Hey, good job." at local races, but it was important to me to be there for such a milestone for such a great guy.  You can catch up on some of his adventures on the Run Oregon blog.

That morning, I hung out at the packet pickup table and helped runners check in before they went out to warm up for the race.  There were athletes of all levels represented in the audience from those who hadn't run much (or at all, like my dear husband) and some who were new to the idea and this was their first race.  However, the great majority were strong athletes vying for the prizes for the top three finishers in the Overall division and the Masters division.  (Don't believe me?  52 of the 67 athletes finished the race in under 30 minutes.  Don't worry.  I wasn't one of them.)  One participant was a 6 year old and I hope that my kiddos will want to run with me (instead of ride in the double wide behemoth stroller).

We started the race by singing "Happy Birthday" to Joe and then counting down until the race began.  And everyone was off on a strong start!

Joe with his prize for a great race, (upper right corner) me with my mug and cupcake and (below) my husband securing the behemoth stroller to the roof of the car.... because my stroller is the size of my car.

The course was laid out in a pretty and quiet business complex in the Beaverton area and then over to the Fanno Creek Trail and back again, starting and ending near the ADAPT Training building.  The course was fairly flat and I enjoyed the foot bridges and trees in the paved trail part.  My kids shouted "YIPPEE!"  everytime we crossed a bridge.  

Before the race, an Adapt trainer lead the group in some dynamic warm up stretches and after the race, participants were invited to checkout the 9am class for free.

Funds from the race were donated to the American Cancer Society, and about $500 was donated.
Participants were given a pretty blue mug donated by Run Oregon blog and I happily filled mine up with half hot chocolate and half black coffee, donated from starbucks.  The race had lots of fantastic donations and raffled off some free race entries to some local races, socks, "Thera pearl" recovery hot and cold packs, tech shirts and much more.

 There was a cupcake bar that participants could pick out a chocolate, vanilla or red velvet cupcake and coat it with chocolate, vanilla or cream cheese frosting and then top with various candy choices.  How cool is that?  If anyone wonders what to get me for my birthday?  Throw me a race party with a cupcake bar.  ;-)

Race Review: Slime Run (How I survived my first Obstacle Fun Run)

Race Review:  Sat. May 17th, 2014

The Slime Run (almost a 5K)

I have accomplished my first obstacle race!  The Slime Run's webpage shows pictures of people being showered in thick green goo, and it isn't exactly like that.  It's more of a watered down, slick, colorful goo?  Here I am at the start of the race and my "after" pic at the finish.  Not as epic as I was hoping for with the mess factor.  

I had a morning wave time, but the race is pretty low-key on organization and you could probably show up for any wave time that you wanted to.  

There is NO bag check, so you want to lock your change of clothes and such in your car.  

Parking?  $10.

Ten dollars is way too much to pay to park, especially when the race is within a couple blocks of the transit center ($5 for an all day pass).   I had some other errands to do after the race (packet pickup for my Half Marathon the next day!  Woo Hoo!) so, pay or figure a way around it?  

My errands that required me to be sorta clean and use my change of clothes.  

Did I mention there is no bag check?  

No problem!  

If you have anything you need to take with you on a sticky/slimy/muddy or just wet course... ziplock bags are your friend.

I put a change of clothes, phone, lightweight flip flops and anything else I thought I couldn't live without in a gallon zip lock bag and put that in a nylon cinch up bag/backpack.... with another one inside the ziploc bag so that I could contain the slimy stuff in that ziploc bag and have a clean bag to carry around on my other errands before my trip home.  

Now that you know how to prepare for your Slime Run, this is what you should know about the course:  

For whatever location you sign up to do this race, this will be your course map.  ;-)  

After the start was announced for my wave, some cannons at the start line spray participants with green slime.  (Though I did the very first wave and only one cannon went off.  Perhaps that was fixed before the end of the day?) 

After that, I came upon rows of tires were were supposed to run through.  I don't know how those football camp films make it look so easy, but I was pretty sure I was going to trip and kill myself or someone was going to trip and knock me over, and kill me.

We ran on pretty much the same route as the Cosmic Run that I had volunteered at in April.  I could still see the colorful cornstarch on the ground where the concert had been and where the color stations had been.  After getting sprayed by teenagers who delighted it spraying me in the face with their slime guns, I passed a stretch of pink earth.  That was where I had tried so hard not to hit people in the face with my pink glow-in-the-dark corn starch a few weeks ago.

About that time, and about 1 mile into the course, we had an inflatable slide down to a pool of cold, sticky water.  Not quite slime, but slimy looking.

Brrrr.  Did I mention you should bring an old pair of shoes on their last leg of life?  They will get completely, utterly soaked and there is no going back.

So on this chilly May morning in the Pacific Northwest, I crawled out of the inflatable pool of cold liquid and ran on.  Fun, but COLD!

The next obstacle was concrete barriers like the ones often seen on highways to keep cars on their side of the divider.  

Teenagers hollered at us to jump over them.  

Everyone walked around them.  

The runners were sprayed some more by volunteers (in the face) and then we had a section of bungee cord type cables to crawl though, climb over and get untangled from.

At this point we circle back  on the course and run past later waves just starting the course.

I highly recommend starting early. 

The "run" was at a stand still and the line to go down the slime slide was at least half a mile long.

The final major obstacle is an inflatable staircase that we all struggled to clamber up.  The smooth vinyl stairs were muddy from the wet shoes of previous racers who had already gone before me and there was nothing to hold on to in order to stay on your bouncy step on the staircase.  I watched the couple in front of me struggle to help their son up each step without  falling themselves.  Then some older kids jumped on and instantly everyone's balance was shaken.  I slid to the bottom.

 

 While they thought it was funny to knock everyone down, I said "screw this" as I rubbed my back and thought about my impeccable timing to want to do every race in the world... and the half marathon I had planned the following day.  The second one in 8 days.

I walked around the obstacle and congratulated myself for giving it a try and playing it safe.  No need to seriously hurt myself.  At least that's what I told myself so I could justify taking home one of the medals.

This has to be the first fun run that I've seen that offered bling at the end.  They had merchandise for sale (towel anyone?) and a couple small handouts for registered participants, but the quickest way to my heart (besides a really cool race shirt) is the bling.

So, after climbing through the final inflatable tunnel, I claimed my prize and sat back and watched the finishers climb into their cars to warm up and the new faces start to queue up for their start.  (Not exactly a huge, festive party... but fun nonetheless).

My app on my phone clocked the race at 2.88 miles, just about the same distance as the race I had been at earlier here.

It was quite the experience, and hoping that the next two obstacle races I have already committed myself to will be fun, but I'm thinking I should probably stick to colored corn starch and no major races right before one of these events.

As I type this, I should also point out that I'm scheduled to do Kiss Me Dirty the day before my "Beat The Blerch" half marathon.  I might also be signed up to do the Oregon Marathon HALF with Uberthons 7 days before all of that.

Do you do obstacle/slime/mud/color runs?  Enjoy them?

Do you put too much on your race schedule?  (Tell me about it so I know I'm not the only insane person out there).  

~Robin

Race recaps from a volunteer perspective: Crazy cornstarch raves and hiking up a hill in 80's costumes.

April 26th and 27th I volunteered at two local races. 

Two completely different races.... supporting one cause.

A friend posted on facebook about a new race that needed volunteers, so I thought "What the heck?  Why not?  I'm not racing so why not go help out?"  (And it's a cause that is important to me.) So I emailed The Portland chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and signed myself up to volunteer for their Sunday Morning race "The Rad 80's Run".  The email also stated that if I could volunteer the night before at "The Cosmic Run" that race would donate $80 to the CCFA.

Okay, sure.  A chance to be at a race that I couldn't really afford to run and help make it fun for others.  That sounds good to me.

This is an account of my adventures.

Sat. April 26th, Cosmic Run.  Check-in time, 7pm.  Weather, rainy and cold.

My first clue that this wasn't the typical type of "fun run" that I was used to was a great majority of the volunteers were smoking.  

Eww.  Not my thing.  

After politely moving myself upwind from the smoke, we broke up into groups and I was assigned the "pink station".

After looking at our watches and determining that we had an hour to kill before we were needed, some went to their cars to keep warm and dry from the cold drizzle and others huddled under the staff tent.

One of the volunteers in my group asked if anyone wanted to go for a run to try to keep warm?  Certainly not keep dry, but keep the blood flowing.

"Sure, why not?"  I replied... just as two other volunteers asked "Why?"
"...um, to keep warm.  To see the race course?"

That was my second clue that this wasn't a typical type of "fun run".

While out on the course, we were stopped by staff working the event... not once... not twice... but FOUR times "What are you doing?"

"Running the course."

"Why?"
"To kill time and stay warm."

"Why?  Running?"

The fourth time they made room for us on their golf cart and asked if we needed a ride.  

"You just ran 3 miles?"

I couldn't help but smile, I had ran 6 miles earlier that morning too.  I really wish I could convey the amusement there.  It was just so funny to be asked by the people hosting the event, a race no less, why we were running.

I believe the event's focus must have been the concert at the end.

There are 4 color stations in roughly 3 miles of gravel path.  Each station is under black light lamps and the course ended at a concert complete with a light show and a DJ to entertain participants.

my shoes under the lights at my color station.

I wish I had planned accordingly and wore some crazy colors or something that would glow.  The race is most probably not my "thing", though I am looking forward to doing "The Color Run" and have done "Color Me Rad" in the past.

This race is different in that it is after sunset, not many children or as much of a "family focused" event and the general atmosphere just seemed different.  Perhaps the mission is the dame and people will do something like this and get excited about running?

It was fun though, since I was kid-free that night.

Photo credit:  Miguel Mendoza

And when it's raining.... cornstarch and water make a Newtonian liquid.  That is always fun!

After the party was over and volunteering was done, I hurried off home to get some rest before the event the next morning...

Sunday, April 27th, The Rad 80's Run.  Check in at 8am.

This was held at the beautiful Mt. Tabor park.  I had never actually been there before, so I showed up early to run a couple miles to stay both warm and check out the area.  Luckily the rain held off until the event was over!

Participants in 80's gear and wigs 

The event the night before had over 1,000 participants while the 80's Rad run had roughly 100 participants.

VooDoo Doughnut provided some treats for participants (and volunteers) to enjoy.

As a volunteer, I wish there were sandwich boards on the road that said "runner on road" as it seemed that there was some difficulty with cars stopping and waiting for runners to pass on the fork of road that I was standing on to direct runners. 

I also wish that I had a safety vest or orange flag to wear or wave as one car tried to go around me a little too closely and another was not going to stop as I was flagging him to do so.  When I explained to both drivers that the road I was standing in the middle of was closed for a race, both were angry with me for not having a sign to explain that.

Hopefully something this organization will invest in if they continue to do fun events like this.

All in all, it was very pretty and I hope that the participants had as much fun doing the race as I did watching them conquer the hill of a road I was standing on.  I think the race was practically all up hill until they got to the finish stretch. 

As the last runner went past I followed up the hill and quickly got lost.  I think someone moved one of the mall signs made to direct runners.

Go that way...

After calling the race director and having her husband come back up the hill to retrieve me and take me down the hill, I was able to find the finish!

I think it's a cute little race that has a lot of potential and perhaps I'll try it again as a participant instead of a volunteer.

If bling is your thing, they have a cute concept as a finisher's medal.  They have converted a cassette tape with a label with the event information and a ribbon to wear it.

There is a bit of a difference however with what is advertised on the facebook page (on the left) and what participants were given (on the right).

The cassette tape also had the correct date on one side (pictured) and the opposite side had the 28th printed.  Ooops.  The ribbon is also a cheap ribbon used to wrap gifts with a knot tied on the ends, while the one on the left has a visible seam from being the type of ribbon that is sewn.

Just a small detail to point out.  If I had done this race for the bling (as I have done in the past with some races) I would have been disappointed.  Luckily this was for a cause that I feel needs more exposure and more research done for a cure.



Have you volunteered for a race? If not, do you make a point to thank the volunteers you pass on the course?  ;-)

Have you ran a race solely for the finisher's medal? Or for the cause they supported?  Tell me about your experience!

Race Review: Run Like A Mother 5k

 May 11, 2014 was Mother's Day, and what better way to celebrate it than to push my sweet "babies" across the finish line in a 5k?

The kids and I participated in the "Run Like A Mother" race.  According to their website, there are a few races in various cities around the US.  Maybe there is one near you?

I think it is a fun race and worth making a mother's day tradition.

Not all events around the US are "stroller friendly", which is a shame, since it is a race celebrating moms and on Mother's day.  I am lucky enough that my race was considered "stroller friendly"... but let me tell you a little bit about that....

The race starts on a local high school track and exits out onto the street, but to get that street entailed pushing my behemoth stroller through a patch of grass, some uneven terrain of a pit/hole/ old mud puddle and then lower the stupid thing over a curb. (Maybe I wouldn't have been so picky about the minor obstacle course if I hadn't just ran a half marathon the day before... and pushed myself hard in that race.)

I'd also like to take this moment to brag about my BAMR (Bad Ass Mother Runner) status and explain that the combined weight of the kids in that stroller was over 65 lbs.  We also had snack cups, water bottles, diaper bag, coats for everyone and toys.  

My goal was just to finish, since I was still pretty sore.

We started in the back with the other mamas pushing strollers and wove our way in a slow trot weaving around the course and the moms of all ages walking or running with their kids of all ages.  

The course had some pretty good inclines and one really nasty hill.  I'm not just a sore, over ran mother complaining either.  :)  I heard all about that hill from some of my Moms RUN This Town running mates who also signed up for this event.  Once you get past those inclines and steep hill, the course winds back and forth on itself, giving a stroller pushing mama 13 corners to navigate in 3.1 miles.  I was grateful at mile 2.5 to pass a dear friend working at the aid station and she gave me some much needed cheers to get me through that final leg of the race.

Since me and the kiddos were out on the course, the husband was a race volunteer and handed out finisher's medals and pretty tulips to each finisher.

Having him at the finish line like this was a unique opportunity for him to greet each finisher and see a race in a new way.  he had never volunteered before.

When I got through the finish gate, he handed me my flower and medal, gave me a "good job hun, you're flying!  Go rest." and later he told me that I was the third stroller pushing mama to cross the finish line and the first double stroller!!!  (The announcer gave credit to another mama for crossing as the first double stroller, but the announcer was also so busy reading our names off the timing ship system, that he forgot to notice my HUGE double stroller when I came in 10 minutes earlier.)  ;-)   I didn't feel like I was "flying" but I was certainly feeling my right quad and IT band.

The medals are beautiful and between the two races I had the joy of running on Mother's day weekend, the 5k was my favorite.... even though the half marathon was such an awesome PR.

When I got home though, and looked at the results from the race.... the 5k was also a PR!!  I had cut about 2 minutes off my last 5k race time.  Not bad for having a bulky double stroller and being sore from 13.1 miles the day before!   

"Team Robin"

The charity for our event was "My Little Waiting Room" which is a drop-in daycare for a local hospital so that families can visit patients.  

Festivities at the event had plenty of booths to look through and try some samples... kids could get their face painted and make cheering signs.  A local physical therapist had some foam rollers out on the turf in the stadium for participants to use.

It may have been a little bit more festive to have a local band playing?  But here certainly was a fun post-race environment and a race I'd like to do over again.

I'm pretty sure that anyone who knew me one year ago would think I was crazy for wanting to wake up early and run while hauling the kids in the stroller as a way to celebrate Mother's Day.

Have you gone out for a run or did a race as a form of "celebration"?

Race Recap: Ugly Holiday Sweater Run and Walk

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Logo by: Andrea Schwoebel  (http://andreaschwoebel.com)

A friend from Moms RUN This Town posted on Facebook about a free 5k, and before she could say anything else about it.... she had me at "free".

Cost:
The race is free, but asking for donations for the Ladybug CDH Foundation.  Participants could bring 100% cotton receiving blankets, socks or hats.  If it was easier, cutting a check for the foundation was acceptable (and appreciated) too!

The race was a small and intimate affair, but so much fun and highly recommended!!  I am bad at estimates, but I think there may have been about 50 people participating today.

Beneficiary:
As noted above, the Ladybug CDH Foundation was receiving the donations made by participants. Click on their name to go see their webpage what they are all about!  They hope to raise awareness about a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and raise money for research and treatment.
 
$110 was raised in cash/checks and the charity received 83 pairs of socks, 42 hats and 64 receiving blankets!  I don't know how that compares to last year, but I hope the race is growing and will continue to grow in participants.

Location:
The 5k (or one mile option) was an untimed fun run that was held at Summerlake Park.  The park was very beautiful with the light fog, frozen lakes and streams and water fowl in the area.  There is also a dog park with in the park and a very dog-friendly race for friendly dogs.

The course is pretty flat, with a mild incline at the end of the first mile (or just after starting your second loop of the park).

Atmosphere:
The events started with a costume contest before the actually running or walking... What would an "Ugly Holiday Sweater" theme race be without costumes?

As you can see below, I went all out in my "Ugly Sweater".  I didn't just put on a sweater I found and decorated... I dressed up as a sweater!  

Once again, I forgot to ask people for permission to post their pics on my blog, so you'll have to trust me that there were some really fantastic, fun and festive holiday sweaters there.  One of the participants wore a "top hat" that was a brick design  with black boots on the top like Santa's feet on his way down the chimney.  Then the sweater was green and done up like a tree.

Eggnog was donated by Alpenrose, coffee from Starbucks, bagels from Einstein Bagels and some pastries and holiday cookies that I believe were from a local grocery store.

There was also plenty of door prizes too.  And to get a door prize?  All you had to do was show up, receive your drawing ticket and hold on to half of it while the other half was placed into the basket for the drawing.

While runners and walkers made their journey to finish one loop or three, the race organizers taped the winning ticket to the items and you could check to see if you had a match.

A fresh cut holiday wreath was available, 13 gift certificates to Veggie grill, gift cards to local running stores (Foot Traffic and Pace Setter Athletic), and a free race entry to a local race (The Bald Peak Half).

(Pretty awesome!  My family scored two $10 veggie grill cards and my running partner/sole sister got $20 to the local "candy store"... okay, running store.)

 

In the top right picture, you can see the "bones' of the costume.  My husband constructed a large pvc pipe "hanger to hold the XL sweater coat and with some foam, a belt and suspenders, the contraption somehow stayed on and relatively pain-free.

The next two photos on the right column are me in the first test run.

The bottom, middle picture is my Squeakers and Bugaboo after the race, and heading home.  Squeakers is wearing wool pants made out of a shrunken, felted (and ugly) sweater.

The bottom left picture is my "bling" for my creative masterpiece.  :)  A trophy that has to be more than 3 ft tall.... though I haven't broken out the tape measure for it.


Bibs were also available for fun at the race, as well as a link provided before hand to print out.  I just love the logo of the runner in the detailed sweater she has on.   

Race bib by:  Andrea Schwoebel   (http://andreaschwoebel.com)

So, I hope I've convinced you to give this one a try next year.  If anything, it's untimed, so grab a group of your friends and wrap yourselves up in yarn and Christmas lights ( you could call your team "hot mess") and have some fun while helping out some babies.

You can't go wrong and will be glad you went.  

(Don't expect me to outdo myself on this year's costume.  I'll probably be wearing it until it starts to unravel.  And now I have Weezer "Undone" stuck in my head.)

Uberthons Halloweenathon all day event recap

Race Recap for Uberthons "Halloweenathon" on October 26th, 2013

It's October and this is my third race (in costume) in as many weeks.  I must be either crazy, or crazy for Halloween... or both?  This time, I went for a mermaid theme.  (I'll spare my poor husband of posting any photos of him in his mermaid costume on the world wide web. Last week I did the Labyrinth theme for 13.1 miles and a "sugar skull" the week before that for a zombie 5k.)

This race is the first time I volunteered with a race organization ever (joining in the fun at packet pickup and then in the kids' dash and 2pm race.), first time I ran a 15K race (9.3 miles) and first time I've ran at all since my half marathon last weekend.  

The race event had 4 main events throughout the day, a kids' dash and then an evening BBQ after the final event.  The events were meant to reach all fitness levels with an option to register as a walker or runner and to do a 5k distance, 10k or 15k.  

Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to do the 15k.  I was able to join some members from my Moms RUN This Town club.  

5K lap done... 2 more laps to go!

The course is a pretty little golf course outside of Portland, Or.  The 5k runners and walkers did one loop from start to finish, the 10k two laps and 15k three laps around the course.

Though I really have to admit that golf is not my thing, nor do I find a lot of beauty in short manicured grass, trees off to the edges of the greenway and one lake within view of the course.  Don't get me wrong!  It's a fun race... I just got bored after the first lap.  A friend who also ran the 15k (and took first in her age group!) had a great perspective on the looping race course.  The first lap helped her see how she was pacing herself, the second loop was her signal that she could "up the throttle" on her speed and the third loop was where she could cut loose and let it all go for the finish.   I think I'd have enjoyed it a little more if I had brought music to get lost in, but I really wanted to be able to hear if any runners behind me were trying to pass me on the narrow golf cart sidewalk.  

Besides a few bumbles with runners tripping over each other at the beginning, the 9am race seemed to go without a hitch!  The course was described as flat, but rolling hills is more accurate.  The course also involves some hairpin turns in 3 different "golf cart cul de sacs" and some paths that turn around and run parallel to other parts of the course.  This was a lot of fun to me, because friends whose pace was beyond me would holler and cheer as they saw me passing on the path further behind them.  One friend was doing her first 5k race ever and I was able to give her a high five as I passed her end of the path.  Once the runners behind her saw I was giving out high-fives, I was then cheering them on and others too.  I love that.  A race is a perfect opportunity to make new friends or at least help encourage each other.    

I ran in the 9am race, "Run for your Bones", with about 311 participants.  The next race started at 11am.  This was "The Zombie Shuffle" that was a fitness walkers' race.  Only about 7 participants signed up for that, so the family went home to have some lunch, layer up since we were freezing and then go back out for my volunteer shift and the Kids' Dash at 1pm.

The sun started to peek out behind the clouds, but it was still a chilly (and beautiful) day. 

My Bugaboo was very upset that she didn't get to run with me during my morning 15k, so she very happily joined the "5 yrs and under" kids' race.  This was a very short jaunt through the grass, where the participants would run to one of the race directors dressed as a skeleton and then circle back to me and some of my Moms RUN This Town friends for a ribbon of participation and a goodie bag full of halloween candy. 

Kids' Dash

After that, the older kids did a 1k run on the sidewalk.  Bugaboo watched the kids go past and asked if she could go too.  So, she got in two races in one day.  I think we both might need a lesson in injury prevention and the importance of not over doing it?  ;-) She did great. I'm so glad she had fun and love that this new activity to me is also something that is important to her.  

It is amazing what an impact my choice to exercise can have on my little girls.

Bugaboo finishing up the 1k race and claiming her ribbon.

After the Kids' Dash, the next race "Trick Or Treatathon" was scheduled to start at 2pm.

This race had about 96 participants. Some of them I recognized from past races and then putting their face together with a profile pic on a local race blog.  That's always exciting to make the match up.  But... you know how race day is a good day to make new friends?  I'm so shy I just let it go.  I cheered them on as they passed, and I hoped they raced well... but I didn't chat them up post race.  I did see the Candy Corn Witch from last week's race and she gave me a hug before she dashed off.  :)

After handing out water, directing finishers to get their awesome finisher's medal and dancing to the music at the finish for awhile, my volunteer shift was done.  We enjoyed some nachos at the free nacho bar inside the party tent and then went home to regroup, get a nap in for Squeakers and then enjoy one last race that evening with Uberthons!

Did I mention that besides a free nacho bar, the tent also had three massage beds where professionals could work out our kinks and knots and give us tips for stretches and home care?  

FANTASTIC!  A fast way to my heart, besides sweet race bling, is a massage.  Seriously.

The 6pm race was the "Monster Moon Run" that required a headlamp or flashlight. Glow sticks were available inside the party tent and costumes abounded with the participants in this event.  I love how creative people are!  About 130 participants joined in the final race, which was a 5k distance for runners and walkers.

Monster Moon Run

After this race, (which was MC'd by Miss Oregon,) participants could enjoy the free nacho bar or pay for a BBQ dinner by Famous Dave's.  We all enjoyed some warmth in the party tent and showed off our fantastic new bling.

I wore mine for the entire day.

Finishers are given a large medal casket that opens to reveal a skeleton inside holding a scroll listing the race distances.  The medal has 4 magnets to hold that casket shut, and it takes a little work to open it.  Once you are about to shut it, make sure your fingers are out of the way!  I pinched myself.  I may be a little accident prone...

This medal was fantastic, and as a total bling-chaser... it was the sole reason why I wanted to do this race.  But watching the different races throughout the day and seeing the different environments each race provided, I think it would be something fun worth doing again.  The 9am race seemed to be the biggest to me, with more chances to interact with other costumed runners, a festive environment with giving and getting cheers from each other... but the night run sounds like a lot of fun to me too.  That one has a lot of potential with volunteers on the course with glow sticks or something like that.

Do you join a race for the bling?  Tell me about your cool races, finisher's bling or halloween type runs! I'm a nut for halloween! 

Living The Crazy Life... (Running, zombies and birthday parties, oh my!)

I guess I should start this post out as a race recap.  So much has been going on, I could write about my crazy life and how it has been a whirl wind of events lately... along with grating nerves.  I'm tapering for my half marathon this weekend and stressing out about the costume I'm intending to run 13.1 miles in...

Then it was my Squeaker's first birthday this last weekend.  The same weekend that I was given a race entry to be chased by zombies by a fellow injured runner.  I probably should have said, "No.  I can't do it... I'm so busy as it is..."  But it was a free race!  The transfer was okay'd by the race officials and I'd be running for me, under my name and getting the pee scared out of me by zombies chasing after my two plastic lifelines hanging around my waist.  

How could I resist?

Saturday evening, left me and the family traveling over to Dayton, Oregon for the Zombie Apocalypse Run.  

You can see the fun from the year past here:

So after getting the house set up for Squeaker's party the next morning....

Squeakers enjoying her first Birthday Cake

...the family boogied out the door to check out the party going on pre race that evening.

This event is very much about a family environment, being held on a local pumpkin patch-farm.  The farm's market was open for local goods, a petting zoo was on site with a small hay maze, jack-o-lantern jumping house, large slide for the kiddies to play on and all sorts of amusements.  The local fire department had a fire engine they were giving kids a lift on to circle the property (adding to the atmosphere that the area needed to be contained from zombies...) and there was a vintage tank in the distance along with the local national guard with their trucks and troops ready to help out.  If that isn't enough to get you in the mood to run for your life, a helicopter is on site too.  (You can pay $20 to ride in it post race.)

I really wish I had my camera available to snap some photos of the amazing costumes I saw on the run...

Here's me before the race:

my DIY attempt at being a "Sugar Skull"

I queued up with a woman in a 50's house coat, hair in curlers and a fake cigarette hanging out of her mouth.  Some chose to wear camouflage and one person had a back pack on full of water balloons that his family would grab and throw at any passing zombies.

The zombies were forced to wait a whole two minutes while the runners were given their head start.  The vintage tank fired a shot in the distance and that was our cue to start running.  It was pretty difficult to get past the hoards of survivors.  It didn't take long for there to be lots of walkers jamming some of the narrow trails and it was difficult to get past them.

There were just over 800 participants, though I can't tell you how many of them started out as survivors or were held back 2 minutes as zombies.

After our two minute head start was over, the sirens exploded in the distance to let us know that the zombies had been released.  When those sirens started going crazy in the distance, my mouth went dry and my heart froze.  I was scared.   I hauled myself as fast as I could go, and I knew I was burning myself out fast.  There was no pacing myself out... I had to get out of there!  My first mile was done in 10:13 minutes, which is completely phenomenal for me with my average being 12:30.  As my garmin beeped that I was at a mile and going crazy with excitement for setting a new record, I hit a very clogged piece of trail and could not edge around the groups of walkers.  As i tried to politely nudge my way through, a hand brushed my waist.  Damn it!  First flag was gone and the zombie with it.

It was not long at all and the second flag was gone too by the time I was half way through the course.

Beyond not having a chance to survive, the race is a lot of fun.  A helicopter (the very one you can pay to take a joy ride in) circled above us and shouted directions and warnings as we ran from the zombies.

The course takes you on dirt trails, open fields (with uneven footing on long grass) and through dark woods with fake fog and zombies behind a chain link fence leering and grabbing at you.

I saw a devil in a suit and tie standing in the distance just staring at us, and I was pretty terrified.  His eyes were white and just little black dots for his pupils.  Some zombie volunteers were in the path and pretending to make a grab for the runners who whipped by.  My favorite zombie I passed was a zombie Mario playing the 8-bit dungeon music from Super Mario Brothers.  That made me laugh out loud... Until he leered at me.  Then I passed a runner dressed in a silver wig in a bun, little wire frame glasses and running with a wooden, bloody, rolling pin in her hands.

Nearing the end of the course, the path lead us through a road with fields of pumpkins on either side of us and then though a field of tall corn.  I was certain I'd hear zombie moans or have one jump out at me... but neither happened.  An opportunity lost, perhaps, but the anticipation of it was just as scary.  After that, I rounded a bend and saw a barn with terrible laughter noises inside, machinery and screams of agony and horror to fill your imagination for the home stretch.

With that, I picked up the pace again and finished strong.  The course ended up being 3.4 miles, but I still PR'd for a 3.1 race... :)

I guess all I needed was some zombies to scare me?  Now to gear up for my half on Sunday, and baby my tight hamstrings for way overdoing it on those trail inclines at top speed.

Have you been chased by zombies?  Or looking forward to any Halloween type races coming up (or do you avoid them)?

It takes a (running) community to get me on my feet



Who doesn't have a crazy life? It might be pretty peaceful and full of great people, fond memories and every other warm and fuzzy thought... but it can get crazy. How the heck to balance it all?

A general recap of last week would include hubby's birthday, a killer long run and planning a course for my local chapter's Moms RUN This Town virtual race. I'll leave out the recap on laundry and tough stains.  

 

The Mario and Princess figurines were not made of fondant, but that cute 1up mushroom is!

 

Starting out with something sweet, Bug-a-boo helped me whip up a cake for the guy who does it all.  With out hubby's unwavering support,  I can tell you I would have quit running by now.   So for his birthday, we whipped up a toasted butter pecan cake with cream cheese frosting and then covered with marshmallow fondant.  For my first cake with fondant, I was pretty happy with it... and it didn't taste icky (like typical fondant does).  [Recipes linked in the text above.]   

This week has had me reflecting a lot on my running and how I got here.  There's that proverb that "it takes a village" to raise a child, but it takes a village to make me a runner! 

Last Sunday, I left the house in the cool of the morning to get in a long run of 6 miles.  I hate out-and-back running and wore out looping the neighborhood, so it seemed like a good idea to leave squeakers (the baby) with hubby and hit the course with Bug-a-boo in the jogging stroller and meet up with them at the end of the 6 miles... have a little picnic, rehydrate and get a ride back home to the air conditioning.  Well... some plans are better in thought than in action. 

I left the house way later than I had hoped (around 9am) and the heat had already set in.  On top of that misery, I was just completely unprepared.  I had no idea hubby had packed snacks for me and Bug-a-boo in the bottom of the stroller and I had completely forgot to put sunblock on myself.  After 2 1/2 miles, I realized I planned my course to go by a friend's house.  I called her to "borrow" some sun block, a sweat towel and a refill on water...  stopping long enough to fuel up, it became apparent that I had better just call it quits.  I had the shakes, chills and was not thinking clearly.  I got three miles in and felt like I was cooking.  My back looks like it too! 

Stay hydrated people! 

Without a friend willing to help me out that day, I get nervous speculating if I could have gotten heat exhaustion or really compromised myself and my daughter out there. 

Lesson learned and I am so grateful for good friends... and that they live so close!

I picked up the remaining three miles that evening and then June left and July started!  With July, it had been my goal to run 13.1 miles in the month.  The WHOLE month to get that distance down.  That was my goal in April when I first learned of Moms RUN This Town and signed up for the virtual race.  After some encouragement from friends and a pretty good response to others wanting to do the virtual race with me, I started a local chapter.  Now it's time to start racing and logging miles for the virtual.   

I had some serious doubts in April about my stamina and if I could accomplish the 13.1 miles in time.  I wasn't sure I could handle more than a 5k once a week!  After reviewing training guides, I latched onto Hal Higdon and went for it.  So that I couldn't back out of the commitment, I signed up for a half this October ("Run Like Hell").  It will be the 10th anniversary of this race and it's the 2 year anniversary of my first race ever. (Which happens to be the 5k "Run Like Hell" in 2011.)  I'm pretty jazzed about it.  I try not to interject that "I'm running a half this October." into every conversation, blog post and facebook status update. 

Anyway....  I've been working on a course loop for my gals who signed up to do this with me, and with training in general... I completed my miles in 7 days!  This morning I finished up the final mile and hubs was there with the medal to reward my hard work.  Seriously, this guy needs a medal for being super dad and most supportive cheerleader. 

This morning a friend sent me an email saying simply "I need to know how you started running."  Already I've been wandering down nostalgia lane with my running shoes in tow, so it turned into a long email that I won't bore you with too.  Suffice it to say, I wouldn't be here without cheerleaders, awesome friends backing me up and running partners willing to slow their pace but challenge me to pick up mine.  It has been an emotional couple of weeks... discouragement from the heat, relief in friends and running mates, leaning on my wonderful husband and completely bewildered at how far I've come these last few months and my accomplishments with training. 

Thank you everyone.  I hope you all know who you are and that you have helped me tremendously. 

     Who or what is your running community?  What helps keep you going when things get tough?