On Pace

I ran my second 5k in as many weeks yesterday - the Red Shoe Shuffle, for which participants raised over $250,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore.  Well over three times the original goal of the race!  I am so proud that our family took part in such a great cause.

Yes, we ran the race as a family.  Sort of.  Nate walk/jogged holding Gavin.  I ran pushing Laura.  Laura chatted and kicked her feet up, after telling us for weeks how excited she was to run in the race.  I'm not at all surprised she didn't actually run at all - and having her run wasn't the point.  The point was we were running for sick children in the hospital.  And when she kept asking when we would get to the hospital to help the sick children, I knew she wanted to help.  She didn't run, but her heart was 100% in it.



As for me, I ran a 5k pushing a stroller for the very first time in 33:40!  I was hoping for under 35 minutes, giving me a 5 minute grace period from my solo 5k last week.  I knew pushing a stroller would be harder.  And it was!  What a different experience!

First, I had to remember that I usually run swinging my arms.  Once I realized that the BOB I borrowed was so, so easy to push one-handed, I just switched which arm pushed and which arm swung, and that helped.  But perhaps even harder was that I don't usually talk when I run... and Laura could not have been chattier!  I was so exhausted just from talking to her, and leaning down to hear her over the noise of wind, other runners, some very loud cheering, and bits of traffic!

I did have to walk a tiny section - the middle portion of the very last "hill" was just too much.  But when the firefighters started clapping for me, saying "Great job, mom!" I knew I had to start running again and make it to the top! 

As far as racing tactics went, I had a little trouble getting started.  There were a TON of walkers blocking me from running at all, and I had to get used to navigating the stroller through those crowds.  I was a little irritated, as there was a start section for runners (I was in it), and a start section for walkers - people clearly just didn't care. 

Aside from that, my pacing was much more even this race!  I probably went out a little too fast the first half, since that last hill slowed me to a walk, but I also wasn't sprinting like a crazy person at the end, with too much left in my legs.  So I'm really happy with that.

I don't have any more races on the horizon, but I'd definitely sign up for another 5k if one came my way! 

 

Why I Blog

I freaked.out. the other day.  Completely, 100% lost my everything.  Over birthday party invitations.  And just when I thought I was going to ruin the birthday party and mess everything up and have the worst, uninspiring invitations ever, I dragged myself back to reality.

I read through my blog.  I pulled up the posts on the three birthday parties I've thrown so far, and read them.  I smiled as I remembered Laura's first, second and third birthdays.  I lovingly revisited her parties - and laughed when I remembered how difficult it has been for me to find invitations for her birthdays, too!

I read through my blog, and found some perspective.

But I also found a little inspiration.  Reading those blog posts reminded me of some websites I hadn't checked yet for this round of planning.  Websites like Paperless Post.  How could I have forgotten Paperless Post?!  Hysteria does weird things to a person.

At any rate, if you haven't clicked over to Paperless Post, go check it out.  I have always been so, very pleased with all of their beautiful invitations.  I feel such a connection - knowing that I'm not the only person out there trying to throw a polar bear party, or a Preakness (betting included) first birthday party.

Perfect, right?  Absolutely, freaking perfect.  Exactly what I wanted - and was unable to find anywhere else on the web.  Etsy, Tiny Prints, Minted, Shutterfly, Snapfish... I was getting desperate, and no one had what I wanted.  Paperless Post did - and in paper form, too!

By spending a few minutes to read through my life in blog form, I found focus - and ultimately found invitations.  Panic has subsided.  It's going to be a great birthday party.  And Gavin won't even care!

Panic Mode! Again.

It's that time again!  That wonderful time in which I panic over ALL THINGS PARTY!  

After planning our annual Christmas party in December, Gavin's baptism, Laura's family birthday party, and Laura's friend birthday party in January, and my mom's 60th/going away party in March, I thought I was going to relish a few weeks off from party planning.  Well, I did for a minute or two.  And then I realized that Gavin's 1st birthday is really, really soon.

Crap.  So now I'm floundering in party planning panic mode.  And I just have to say - this panic is just not well timed. 

I'm still struggling a little bit here to pull myself out of the winter doldrums.  Everything sucks.  Everything is the worst.  I want to eat all the food all the time.  I just am feeling really negative.

And now - the horror! - I can't find invitations for Gavin's birthday party that remotely fit the bill (or are in my cheap-o price range).  Quelle disaster! 

First world problems, I'm sure.

Woah there, Caitlin.  It's a first birthday party.  There will be other parties.  Who cares if the invitations aren't perfect with typography and horseshoes and little Gavin on his rocking giraffe.  Gavin certainly won't care.  No one else will, either.

I really need a reality check, where I realize that the world isn't ending over birthday party invitations.  That my life is pretty damn awesome.  I am sincerely fortunate - and I need to appreciate that fact.  The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and my family is the best. 

I just think maybe I need a little more ice cream first.

Cherry Blossom 5k

Ok, so I was originally supposed to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile.  My head and lack of training got in the way and talked me down to the 5k.  And I'm honestly glad for that.  At 7:00 yesterday morning, as I watched the waves of runners go by, I was so, so glad I was waiting for the 5k to start.

A 5k - 3.1 miles.  A whole 5k worth of confidence.

I weighed my options between both races very seriously.  Did I want to just finish a 10 mile run, and possibly not be able to, and very possibly quit running after the race?  Or did I want to try for a time in the 5k, feel great about it, keep running, but maybe deal with a twinge of guilt for not trying the 10 mile.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225"] Pre-race[/caption]

So I went with 5k, understanding that I wanted a sub-30 time, also understanding that I have no idea how to pace myself without a treadmill.  Ahem.

I lined up, near the start, and nudged myself and my friend (whose goal was to run the first mile) closer and closer to the front.  Might as well start at the front of the pack!  We were probably the first 100 over the line.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300"] 5k start[/caption]

And then we were off.  A jog really for me, but I was enjoying my friend's company and I was afraid of going out too fast.  I stayed with my friend at a really easy jog till the first "hill" (on a very flat course).  My feet were itching to go faster, and I just hate jogging up hills.  So I bid farewell to my friend, and really started running.  I got to the first mile at 11:20.

And my heart and brain shouted "CRAP!"  So I picked up my pace.  I got to the 2nd mile at 21:56 - the ten minute mile that is so comfortable for me.  But a third ten-plus minute mile wasn't getting me that sub-thirty time!  So I picked up my pace.  And picked it up again, and kept increasing my speed and passing people and passing more people... which felt great, but also felt stupid - I should have just been faster all along!

I got to the 3 mile mark - just one tenth of a mile to go, and really tried to pick up my pace just a little bit more, but my legs were all "hey crazy lady, how much faster do you think we can move? c'mon!"  So I just kept up as fast as I could.

And then I saw it.  The clock on the finish.  The clock that was reading 29:43.  And I knew somewhere in me that it took me a little to get over the start, and that I was getting my sub-30, but I just needed in my heart for the CLOCK to be under 30 minutes when I crossed that finish line.

So I gave every single last drop I had in me.  And I crossed at 29:55.  An adjusted time of 29:40.  And I am so, so, very proud of my time.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225"] Post-race[/caption]

However, I really couldn't done a worse job pacing myself!  A sub-8 minute mile for the last mile?  STUPID!  I could have run 3.1 9-minute miles and gotten an even better time!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="225"] Cherry Blossoms[/caption]

Or.  I could have run ten 10-minute miles.  Because I obviously have more run in me than I knew.

I am not disappointed in myself in the least.  I am really proud of myself for running at all, the past few months.  I am really proud of myself for getting that sub-30 time, come hell or high water.  I am really proud of myself that now I know I can run a 10 mile race.  And I am really, really proud to say I know I'll run it next year.

And who knows - maybe next year, the cherry blossoms will actually be open!