That's A Wrap...Last Stroller Group of the Year!

That's a wrap for 2013.  What an awesome year of running and walking the group has had!  We test ran shoes, had a baby gender reveal, shared lot's of parenting advice, and even managed to get a few races in, and some of the kiddo's raced as well.  I can't wait to see what 2014 brings the group!

From Last Week's adidas Glide Boost Run!

I know one thing 2014 is bringing...more babies!!!  We are currently waiting for twins to arrive (safely though...they need to stay in the oven as long as possible!), and after that there is another little one due in March.  There are going to be so many double strollers in the next few months!!!

Another last of the year for me...last nights Tuesday night run.  Between Holiday travel and an unexpected post-Holiday trip I'll have a 3 week running group break.  I'm kinda sad about that, but it means I'll get lots of solo running in!  I have to get the solo runs in too, otherwise it's going to feel really horrible when I come back and try to keep up with the speedsters Tuesday night! 

Honestly I think I need the break.  My legs feel tired, especially after the 5K last weekend.  It felt amazing to go for and get a PR, but man my legs are still tired!  And, I think my knee needs a little TLC.  The next few days my focus will be stretching and foam rolling, along with a few Sky paced runs.  I really think she is going to be a trail runner...she loves it!  Or maybe it's the play breaks after the run?     

I really need to get a second foam roller because I'm tired of fighting with Sky over who gets to use the one we have.  No joke, she is a pro foam roller and stretcher!  Starting the good habits early!

Cute Sky pic of the day...

I've been replaced.

Watching cartoons with Pooh Bear while I got dressed and ready to run!  She kept checking that I was taking her with me though.  She didn't want to get left behind yet again while Mommy ran.  Love my little runner girl so much!  

Anyone doing any New Years Ever racing?  How about a first race of the year on the first?  Tell me about it!

   

  

Trail Running at the Park

Even though my plan was to keep Sky home and chill all day yesterday she kept asking to go to the park. So we bundled up and hit the trails for a little trail running, and leaf inspecting.  Thankfully it has warmed up around here and it actually didn't feel too chilly.    

Sky really loves it when we visit the park without the jogging stroller.  She knows it means she gets to pick every trail we take and she is in charge.  On my non-running day's I try to get her out there and let it be about what she wants to do.  We run, we inspect leaves, we toss rocks in the lake, watch the ducks, meet new dog's, and run some more.  

She got about a mile of running in before she started getting tired, and slowed down to walk and be goofy. 

It turned out that running a little bit at Sky pace seemed to work out the pain in my knee.  I spent time trigger pointing and foam rolling at home, and hit the hot spot that knocked the rest of the pain out.   

I let her puddle stomp all she wants at the park, but she wasn't having it yesterday.  She flat our refused to get her feet wet.  

I asked her to show me her new gloves...she loves them.  Every time she fell and got them dirty we had to brush them off and pull them all the way back on before she would calm down.

    

I was so excited to find this surprise Christmas Tree on the trail.  Sky was a little confused and kept asking me to turn the lights on.  Such a simple little thing for someone to do, but fun to find when your not expecting it.  

 

Nap time has been challenging since the move to the toddler bed.  Even though she is tired, and still needs a nap, the freedom is proving to be too much for her.  She is constantly getting up and hiding in the closet to play with toys etc.  I really thought she would conk out yesterday because the park wore her out.  She even asked to go night, night.  But, she was up playing, reading her books, and yelling "Get me out of here".  I let it go for a while in the hopes she would fall asleep...being sick I knew the rest would do her good.  Sure enough she fell asleep, but not in her bed!  I wanted to check on her since it was so quiet all of a sudden, but the door wouldn't open.  I got down on the floor to see what was blocking the door and found out it was her face. She slept that was for a a little over an hour.  

So looking forward to the group run tonight!  I'm trying to get some good quality runs in before the Holiday's and all the good food (ok all the wine...the wine it what makes getting up and running in the morning next to impossible!).  I'm taking my running stuff with me, but when it comes to visiting family I'm pretty terrible about finding time to get any runs in.  Especially in the painfully cold weather on the other side of the state.   

Anyone else traveling for the Holidays?     

I'm just thankful our travel is just a 4 hour drive and no flying involved!  

Snuggles, Sniffles, and Not Much Sleep

This is what last night looked like.  She is so plugged up and "Mommy, nose hurts" that she couldn't sleep.  I would hold her until she fell asleep, but every time I put her back in her bed she would wake up crying.
Thankfully I was able to sleep on and off while she slept, so I'm tired today, but not overtired.

I finally realized that in addition to not being able to breath while laying down, she is scared of the humidifier, so I turned it off.  It's a catch 22 because she is scared of it, but it helps her feel better.  Not sure how to get around that issue.  I also wised up sometime early this morning and put her in her bed, laid on the floor next to her and held her hand until she fell asleep.  That way I didn't wake her up transferring her, and I was able to sleep for a few hours in my own bed.

Needless to say all of today's plans are cancelled.  I'm totally ok with that.  We are both tired, she is obviously really sick, and it's raining.

I was going to stick her in the stroller and get 3 to 4 easy, slow miles in, but my knee has really been hurting, like has me worried hurting, since the race Saturday.  Another day of stretching, foam rolling, and not running is probably a good idea.  Especially since I'm probably too tired to pay attention to form today.  Instead I plan on lining up her favorite movies, and setting up a little playground under the covered entry.  Even though she's sick, she gets sick of sitting around, and has energy to burn.

A few pictures from our play break between football games yesterday.      

    

I can't really get her to eat much (she really is sick because this kid eats everything we give her!) so I'm relying on some of her favorites: string cheese, crackers (low sodium), and black olives.  Just trying to keep her hydrated and get some food in her tummy.  She didn't even eat the chocolate chip pancakes I made yesterday, what kid passes those up?!   

Thankfully it's a quiet week for the most part.  We are able to lay low and focus on getting better so we can get out of quarantine in time for Christmas!  

Anyone else a fantasy football player?  

I have a 17 point lead, but my opponent has Smith going tonight.  If I can just hold on I'll be in the championship game!!!  The Steelers not only got it done on the field, they got it done for me in fantasy football.  Bell, Brown, and Big Ben did what I needed them to, ok Ben could have got a few more points, but the other two did great!  

Last Race of the Year and a New PR!!!

Santa Runs Tacoma was a success!!!  New 5K PR people.  It was totally the antlers and the socks that did it!  ;-)

adidas Energy Boost getting it done for me!

Old PR - 27.56, new PR - 25:56!  A 5K time in the 25's has been my goal for two years and I finally did it! I know for some that isn't very fast, but maintaining a 8:30'ish and below pace for a whole race (even a short one like a 5K) is really hard for me, and I'm super proud of myself for doing it!  

Mostly I was excited about how good I felt.  Don't get me wrong, it was hard, and I had to stay super focused to do it, but I felt strong, confident in my ability, and nothing hurt at all.  I knew I had it.  I kept thinking to myself "I'm doing it, I'm really doing it"!  I'm not going to lie though...I was really happy to see the finish line!     

Grace and Michelle finished as well, super proud of Grace getting her first 5K under her belt!  After we all crossed the finish line it was time for the Kids 1K!  

  I really wish I knew what Kiera was saying to crack Sky up like that!

Sky started out pretty happy, but it didn't last long.  To be fare Sky is sick again.  Worse this time around actually.  After waking up with a face crusted in snot we probably should have pulled the plug on this one. But, she kept saying she wanted to run, and even when she's sick there is all that toddler energy that needs burning off, so we gave it a go.  

Don't my antlers look cute on Mark!

Kiera did great.  She took off, and the one time I tried to sprint ahead of her and get a picture she kept up with me!  Sky's race was a bit rougher.  She took a nasty spill and skidded on her face.  Her smile turned to this...

We carried her for a bit and when Bob and Kiera passed us on their way back to the start/finish we turned around and tried to finish with them.  We thought Kiera would spur Sky on, but she was falling down, veering off course and just not into it.  We took our time, but finally made it back to the finish.

That's the last race of the year for Sky and I.  I'm ready to rest and relax and enjoy lot's of fun with friends and family.  I'll still get some "training" runs in, but they will purely be relaxing, fun runs.  The next training cycle starts in Feb and I'm looking forward to agenda free running for a few weeks!

Did anyone else run in a Holiday themed race this weekend?

1,000 Posts Later....

...and I'm still here.  Yep, that's right today is my 1,000 post on the blog!  If I were a real blogger there would be glitter, confetti and fireworks, and I would have a totally awesome giveaway lined up for you.  But, I don't.  The only thing I have is more cute Sky pics and my usual ramblings about life and running.

(The very first post right HERE...wow, sad little post.  My how things have changed)!

Speaking of running, tomorrow is my last race of the year!  It's kind of funny to me that my last race of the year always seems to be a 5K, and I kind of despise 5K's.  Just not my favorite distance to run at all.  But, it's the Santa run and it's always a lot of fun.  The best part is this year I have Sky's 1K to look forward to after I finish.

I have gone back and forth on how I'm going to run tomorrow.  My original plan to run with my cousin has fallen through due to an injury, so now I'm running solo.  Since that doesn't happen often for me, at this distance, I think I'm going to go for a PR.  I'm just shy of 5K PR pace when I run with Sky, without even trying really...just running at a pace that feels good, so it makes me think I have a PR in me running solo. Given that I haven't put any true effort into speed work I could be totally wrong about my ability, but I'm going for it.

Even though my 2014 running goal is to PR all my distances I would be perfectly happy getting the 5K done early, and focusing on the longer distances in 2014.  Shout out to Michelle and Grace as they are running Graces first 5K.  And, a shout out to Kiera as it will be her first 1K!  Love the little runners we are raising!

Yesterday Sky spent her time running around the children's museum.  Until she found the nursery and then all she wanted to do was hold her baby and feed it.  The sad tears she had when I told her she needed to let the other kiddo's have a turn just about broke my heart.  It must of broke hers to because she was done playing after that.  All she wanted was to go home.

She loves pretending to drive that old truck, it's the first thing she runs to every time we visit the museum.  The Lego wall and train table are close seconds.  I'm wondering though if the nursery is going to become the new favorite.  She looks so serious!

What's your favorite distance to run?  

Mine is the 1/2 for sure.  Just long enough to be challenging but not so long that I want to give up (unless it's See Jane, I still have bad dreams about that race!).

Had To Share...

Our internet is back!!!  Just in time to share what was going on while I did the dishes tonight.

My babe and baby reading books and giggling under my favorite quilt.  I can't tell you how happy moments like this make my heart!

Love those two so much!