Race Eight ...

                                  The Donut Dash Gang

Ah, my kind of race. The Donut Dash! Don't you just love a race with that kind of name, how could you not? It's like donuts, EVERYONE loves DONUTS! This was one of those small, family and friends oriented race, everyone is welcomed, strollers and dogs too. The idea is you run two miles to Marie's Donuts and eat either four donuts or six donut holes. I opted for the donut holes. There were so many participants that towards the end they ran out of donuts and had to give out vouchers. Thank goodness I was "fast" (wink wink) enough to get there early for my donut holes. I noticed most people were taking their donuts back to the finish with them and not eating them there on the spot. Me, my thinking was, "When in Rome..." So I ate all six donut holes and ran the two miles back to the finish! This was a kick in the pants. I did not even get sick and I ran my best time! Hmmm, maybe that is the key, more donut holes as pre-race carb loading!

The second cool thing about this race, I was at the finish line second in our large group. What a totally different experience to stand at the finish line and cheer your family and friends on as they cross that finish line. I was ALL smiles! Kevin had a great run and was first across the finish in our group, nice job Kevin. Thanks to all for joining me in this silly but fun run. Patty and her daughter Ryan; Kevin and his parents, Bruce and Karen; Genaro; Lindie; Lisa; and Allyson. This race was developed to raise funds for the Child Life Program at Sutter Children Center in Sacramento, proceeds go towards programs and activities to help children and their families cope with their medical expenses. This race deserves a 5 out of 5 shoes, I had one sweet time! See you on the trail.

Race Seven ...

                             The Shamrock'N Half Marathon

Ugh.  Well, that one word says it all, UGH!  I guess I really should not complain, at least I completed the half marathon, right!?!  The only problem was my time, a very sad time indeed.  But this whole experience is about honesty, working towards a crazy goal and well, having fun.  I'm just having a hard time writing about the time, but I need to just say it, like ripping off a band-aid, just go for it...3:48:31 (three hours, forty-eight minutes and 31 seconds).  There, it's out there, I said it, I feel OH so much better!  LOL 

Seriously, it was another fun experience.  Amazing bands along the course, the ever helpful volunteers and the cheering crowds.  Genaro ran the whole race and had an awesome time of 1:45 (yes that is one hour and 45 minutes, way to go Big G)!  My friend Lindie and I started out "running" and then after the first porta-potty stop decided to walk.  Lindie is a very fast walker and I had to work to keep up with her.  Believe it or not but walking is very different than running and I think I would have been better off running.  My leg muscles were very tired and sore but when I came around the corner and saw that Tower Bridge at the end of the race, I could have cried!  But something incredible happens that last quarter mile, strangers are cheering you on and you suddenly become energized and you pick up your pace and smile a little more and next thing you know you are crossing that finish line and holding your finishers medal!


If you have not completed a half or full marathon, I encourage all of you to give it a go.  You will be amazed what you can accomplish.  It is like anything else we do in our lives, a little training, time and determination; and you will have it in the bag, and oh what a feeling you will have, like nothing else, no matter how long it will take you to finish.  The Shanrock'N gets a 4 out of 5 shoes.  Till next time, see you on trails.

Race Six...

                          Homer Simpson Bloomers

It started out as a joke but became a real "racy" run!  I'm talking about the Undy 5000, of course.  Everyone runs in their undies, well, boxers or whatever you are most comfortable wearing.  For the very fit guy who wore a black unitard with a hot pink thong on the outside, very nice!  Me, I felt best in a pair of bloomers!  Yes, I made a pair of fancy bloomers out of my son's old lounge pants that had Homer Simpson in his underwear!  The sign on my back read, "Check out me bloomin' arse and say it's fine!"  I'm sure I looked goofy but it was all in the name of supporting The Colon Cancer Alliance and we raised over $30,000 in Sacramento alone.  Most races you receive a T-shirt to commemorate the event, but this time all participants received a pair of boxers!  This was a very fun race and one I plan on running next year, I give the Undy 5000, 5 out of 5 shoes.

Race Five...

Ok, yeah, I know, I'm a "little" behind on my blogs, but life has been throwing me a few curve balls.  I might be behind on my writings but I'm still on track with my runs.  Not quite true, I missed one week due to the fact I did a six day trip to Baja to visit my mother's place in Posada Conception.  A trip that was filled with heartache and joy.

The Getty Owl race was pretty cool.  I met up with a friend from work, along with his wife, daughter, and a very large group of moms and friends of theirs.  There were over 800 participants that raised over $20,000 that will go to research and families with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  SMA is an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.  SMA is the #1 genetic killer of young children and, unfortunately, there is no cure or treatment for SMA. 

When I started this quest of 50 races, I went about picking any race that would fit my schedule.  However, after participating in the Getty Owl race and watching the way families and friends come together to support an important cause, my race selection process started to change.  When you run for a good cause, something seems to happen to your stride, your pace becomes quicker, and your head is held a little higher.  I found myself thinking of all the things I am thankful for, my health, my happiness, my job, my family and my friends.  Each step I took, I realized was a step I took for granted, without any thought.  I decided to run for a cause, any cause, it does not matter which as there are so many out there and they can all use my support. So everybody grab your running shoes, a friend or two, and get out there and run for a good cause.  Let me know which one you are running as I would like to join you too! The Getty Owl is a 5 out of 5 shoes.

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!