Loose Caboose, Cruisin' the Corridor, and Leaves

It is now the third year in a row that I have been a part of the Ignite/Solstice Outdoors 10K/half-marathon training group. All three years I've been in the 10K group, this year I convinced my friend Petra to train with me. It was nice to have a friend so my introvert self didn't have to make new friends along with the awkwardness of running (finding someone with a similar pace, who can push you, etc). And I was determined to beat my time from last year and I really wanted to blow it out of the water because training went super well. We even ran some of our short two mile runs at a sub 9:00 pace for each mile.

First, the Loose Caboose Kids race was Friday night. Lilly did not want to do the race Friday morning. She was almost in tears about getting tripped but solved her problem by deciding she was going to run in the grass. She also wanted me to run along with her, which I was fine with.

I ended up picking up Greta early on Friday, she spiked a fever (more than likely because of her shots on Thursday). When I got there at 3:30, Lilly was still in her sleeping bag, had actually napped, and didn't want to get up. She was in near tears about her ear hurting. So I thought, okay, no Loose Caboose for her.

I gave both girls Tylenol when we got home, let Lilly veg in front of the iPad for a bit and she was totally back to normal. The two of us were going to run to pick up my registration materials and while running around like crazy on the driveway, I asked if she wanted to do the race and she did. So, we picked up my registration materials and then Lilly's shirt and she did the race. And had fun and ran the entire loop.

All the four and unders, getting ready to run

Lilly and Natalie, a colleague's daughter

I love her running outfit!!

Lilly's friend Alma

The finisher, with her train whistle

She was happy she ran and saw lots of her friends, so it worked out well. She did not fall right to sleep that night like we were hoping a good solid run would do for her, but she didn't take too terribly long.

Then Saturday morning - my race. I woke up at 6:15, earlier than I do during the week, to get myself out the door and to Petra and Brandon's house to pick them up. We parked and hopped on the bus to the 10K start (the race is a point to point). We got to the start around 7:15 and had 45 minutes to kill until the actual race start. So we chatted, waited in line to use the port-a-potties and hemmed and hawed about whether or not we were going to wear our long sleeves (it was cloudy and in the 60s). We also said hi and chatted with a few friends of ours. Last minute we decided to ditch our long sleeves, which was the right decision. It was cloudy and in the 60s, so our tanks and capris were the perfect outfits.

The race started and we were off, rocking the first three miles at an average of a 9:30 pace. Then I started to get a little dizzy and couldn't keep up, so let Petra run off without me (as we had promised one another we'd do on race day), and tried to keep the same pace and failed miserably! But I only stopped to dry heave once shortly after the four mile mark and never walked. There were a few times when my mind started to be mean and be disappointed but I kept reminding myself I was still going faster than previous years, I started out too strong, so things were fine. And they were.

Also helping me stay focused and running was knowing Lilly, Greta, and Nick were going to be by the Purple Park waiting to cheer me on. I turned the corner and there they were! Lilly gave me a high five and I was energized for the last chunk to the finish.

My friend Petra killed it, running the race in 57:17. My time was 1:03:37. So 3:37 slower than my realistic goal (my dream was to average 9:45, which I wasn't close to but that's why it was a dream!).

Finished! And still smiling!

Lilly and Alma

My friends Linsey and Sunny, who ran together

Greta was upset I took her away from Nick

I oscillated all day between being happy with how it went and disappointed. Overall, I am probably a little disappointed but when I looked at my first 10K time (granted, I was pregnant) and saw it was 1:21:something, I thought, 18 minutes off in three years, progress. I am not a fan of 1. getting up in the morning, 2. getting up early in the morning, and 3. getting up early in the morning on the weekend. I've also learned I'm more of an evening runner, my better times happening in the evenings. My allergies seem more at bay in the evening as well. At the end of this month I am doing the "Glowdocker" 5K, which will be at night on a trail lit by jack-o-lanterns, so I am looking forward to see how that one goes.

My conversation with Lilly as I left her room tonight:

Me: Lilly, thank you for cheering me on. You really helped me run faster at the end.
Lilly: Lots of people finished after you, Mom.

The rest of the day was pretty good. The girls were in decent spirits and we spent quite a bit of time outside. Nick had to plan and lead a session for some potential Northland students, so he ducked out when Greta went down for her nap and got home around 5:40.

While he was working, we went to the grocery store, carved a pumpkin that was rotting, made dinner, and played. After Nick came home, we had dinner and played more in the backyard. The sunset was beautiful. We also finished the jack-o-lantern project - turning a jack-o-lantern into a bird feeder.