Race Four...

                                Me, Myself and I
The great Escape From Folsom!  I read an article in the magazine Runner's World, "This Is The Year I Will..."  and it discusses various goals to set for yourself and how to keep them.  One of the tips was to Win A Medal.  The author talked about how nice finisher t-shirts are but to keep yourself motivated, you need to win a medal!  He recommend that you enter smaller races (that aren't well publicized) with smaller age divisions to increase your odds of winning.  I really didn't pay much attention to this advise, cause remember my first blog, how I talked about me "winning" a race...no way no how, well, that was my mentality at the beginning of the race.

However, this race was a new race this year and very few people were entered to run, AND even fewer runners were at the start line for the 5K, hmmm looking pretty good odds to me.  The count down begins, and we are off on our little race (I even went as far as to kinda start towards the front of the pack, I was really feeling bold).  I was cruising along enjoying my run, once again, it was at Folsom Lake, great view, running through the trees, on the trail, up and down little hills, over the rocks, a very cool crisp morning.  I started thinking to myself, "self, I really did not see any women that looked to be over 50 but younger than 59," hmmmm.  I must be at mile one by now, and my little grey cells are starting to kick in, "hey, what if I actually have a chance of placing in this race?"  A little smile starts to form, "wow, how exciting would that be if I placed, even Third Place would be cool."  Wait a minute, "why stop at Third Place, why not First Place!"  I'm really warming up to the idea that I could come in First Place!  By mile two I have now convinced myself that I am the only runner over 50 and will take this race!

I now start to write my blog in my head.  That smile is now getting bigger and bigger.  I start to giggle to myself, (thank goodness I am slow and no one was around me, just the trees) can this really happen?  "Just think, I'll tell everyone how I came in First Place, have someone take my picture up on the platform."  I feel like I'm running on air at this point, mile 3 coming up, I can hear the loud speaker at the finish line.  First Place, I don't need to tell everyone that I was the only runner in my age group, nah, that's just the fine print, the messy details, no one wants to hear those boring stats, right!?!  There it is, the finish line, I can now see it through the trees, up one more small hill and round the corner, I now "sprint" (another one of those loose terms) across the finish line.  Yeah!!!  Boy that felt great!  Now the moment of truth, did I place?  I don't want to be obvious or anything, so I stretch a little, get a drink, walk around a bit.  I can't handle the suspense anymore, as I make my way to the table with the official times, I see a volunteer posting the new times.  Yes, I can really feel it now, I casually glance down at my age bracket....WHAT THE...FIFTH PLACE!  OMG, I was laughing so hard I had to walk back to my car and compose myself.  I had so much fun imaging winning first place, that it got me through my run.  I debated on the drive home if I should share my silliness but it does make for a pretty funny story, so I hope this makes you laugh!

In all honesty, Fifth is still good (ok, fine print, there were only eight of us in the old lady group).  Again, any run at Folsom Lake is really nice, I will give this race 4 out of 5 shoes.  Next up is the Getty Owl Race on Sunday.  I will be racing with Victor, Stephanie and their adorable daughter Quinn.  See you on the trail.

Race Three...

                      Cheryl, Allyson, Me, Jennifer, Lindie

WOW, here, let me say that again, WOW!!!  Why, you might be thinking, wellllll, lemme tell ya.  I ran the Mermaid Race and I shaved off 5, yes, FIVE, cinque, cinco, cinq, vijf (it does not matter what language you say it in, it is still FIVE) minutes from my race a week ago!!!!  For me that is huge, of course when you are running a 15 minute mile, there is a lot of room for improvement.  To say the least, I was very happy camper with my run this week.  I guess I can chalk it up to the support of all my friends that ran with me, or the fact that I was attempting to keep up with Lindie and Karen who both had their PB (personal best) runs, yeah!

The Mermaid run was a really fun race.  It was in San Diego, how can you go wrong there, I was surrounded by friends, and only 960 racers so it was a small event.  We started out in a park with Allison Sweeney, host of The Biggest Loser, setting the pace.  We ran along Mission Bay and out to Fiesta Island and back.  It was a little cold but once the race got going, we quickly warmed up.  At the finish line we received a cute necklace, "Mermaid Athlete".  Thank you Allyson, Cheryl, Jennifer, Lindie and Karen for joining me, and thank you to KP, Phillip, Bruce and Genaro for your support at the finish line, you guys are our number one cheerleaders!

We are planning on making this race an annual event, which means we have to go to San Diego every year, oh darn!  This race was a 5 out of 5 shoes, so fun.  Next up is the Escape from Folsom 5K, until then, happy running.

Race Two...

Genaro, Me and Kirk

So many things were running through my mind as I was "running" The Davis Stampede last Sunday.  First and foremost was the song from the movie "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", where Kris is teaching the Abominable Snowman how to walk, "Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking out the door..."  This was my mantra while running, put one foot in front of the other, soon I'll be crossing that finish line....  I'm not kidding, sad as it sounds, it is true.  I actually "ran" the entire race, yes ALL 3.1 miles!  I actually shaved two minutes off my time from Saturday's race, so I was pretty darn happy.

The second thing I was thinking while running, was the number of participants in the race, over 3,000, it was very crowded in Davis.  But, what really kept me thinking was the people watching I was doing while running.  There are all the cool t-shirts from various races, of course I was making mental notes on the ones that sound like they could be fun to run.  Next, I noticed the large amount of family members that were out on that very cold day, running together...pretty amazing, well right up until those 5, 8, and 10 year old's went zooming past me, they never looked back, they were kicking it into high gear right to the finish line!  Meanwhile, back at mile one, I was finally passing a few people myself, yes, I flew past that mom and stroller...yippee, the wind in my face, I had to do a little Rocky Balboa victory dance (yes, it is those small accomplishments that keep me going)!

These races bring families, friends, and strangers together.  We are all out there with the common goal of crossing that finish line, getting a little exercise, and yes, that coveted finishers metal!  Runners really aren't strangers, for that one race you become a family, encouraging each other to keep going, you're doing great, you're almost there, just around the corner...I found myself within the last half mile of the finish, encouraging a five year old girl, she had tears in her eyes, the look of defeat on her face (I know because I have been there).  I turned to her and told her what a great job she was doing, she was almost there, she must be the youngest racer, what a great accomplishment!  I'm not sure if it perked her up or not, but I kid you not, the last block to the finish line, out of nowhere, here she came with her father, mother, and brother...passing me and beating me to the finish line!  She was one happy runner.

Thank you Genaro and Kirk for getting out there and running with me, I enjoyed the company for the first block!  The Davis Stampede was very crowded, but a great place to people watch while running, I give it 3 out of 5 shoes.  Next Saturday I will be in San Diego running in the Mermaid 5K with Karen, Allyson, Lindie, Jennifer and Cheryl while our husbands sit on the beach sipping Mimosas!

Race One...

 

Third Place                     Lindie, Me, Genaro

  

Whew, I got the first one out of the way!  The Gumby Run was soooo much fun.  It is a smaller race, maybe 300 participants, which is perfect.  The weather was awesome, sun shinning, green grass everywhere, and we even saw a jack rabbit.  The sandy trail winds through oak trees all the while you have a nice view of Folsom Lake.  Being a smaller race, you have the opportunity of placing in your age group.  My husband, Genaro, had a fantastic run which placed him in the winner's circle on platform number 3 (aka Third Place in the 50-59 year old males).  Not to mention he was only 11 seconds from First Place, woo-hoo! 

Lindie and I both crossed the finish line at the same time (neither one of us wanted to come in last and get the Pokey award).  I came in 10th in my age bracket (of course there were only like fourteen 50-59 year old women but that is neither here nor there).  If you have the opportunity to participate in the Gumby Run, I recommend this race and I give it 4 out of 5 shoes.  Next stop, The Davis Stampede.

Checking It Twice

Well, it is the eve of my 50th birthday and my first race.  I'll admit, I have a few butterflies in my stomach.  I'm one of those people who makes lists, then another list, and one more list just to make sure I have it all.  Running shoes, check; shorts, check; sports bra, check; special socks, check; ID, check; directions, check; set the alarm, check; fuel in the car, check; and so on and blah blah blah.  I'm sure you know a "list-er" in your life.  One of the cool things on my list is my new FitBit.  It was an early present from some good friends-to help me along in my quest.  It is quite the handy gadget, it measures the number of steps I take, miles gone, stairs climbed, and calories burned (another list-my kind of gadget).  Every morning when I wake up, I have already  burned about 415 calories, and the longer I stay in bed, the more calories I seem to burn.  I LOVE my FitBit!  During today's workout, I checked it against the treadmill and hey, what do you know, the info was the same on the treadmill as on my FitBit; accuracy, check!  Thank you gang for my cool lil gadget; Thank you note, check.