First of all, a shout out to my Running 101 class. These are some brave souls who first came to class with fear in their eyes, telling me that they *hated* to run (GASP!). Most of these women just wanted to find the fun in running. In only 3 classes, I have seen these ladies improve tremendously. Yesterday, they ran 1.75 miles! And, as I was running up and down the roads of Lake Geneva with them like a crazy person, they all had smiles on their faces. I am thinking they were having fun (or laughing at me)...and not grimacing in pain. At any rate, I am so proud.
Another shout out to my running Diva group. We certainly have been logging the miles, haven't we ladies? We tackled the big 16 miler and quickened the pace on our 13 miler last week. All of our hard work and miles will finally pay off as we wind down and get ready for the 25K race next Friday (!!!). We are SO ready, and I am so proud.
At the beginning of the month, Peg, Lisa, Sara, Dave (Sara's husband) and Zach ran in the Dan Langdon Memorial 5K. This race was in honor of a local runner who collapsed at the Detroit 1/2 marathon (which Zach ran as well). His untimely death at 35 left behind a wife and children. Zach needed to do a long training run that day so he ran 15 miles to the race and then completed the 5K, with his Detroit 1/2 marathon shirt on. It was a very hilly and challenging course but the Divas (and their men) managed to run strong. Can you believe after running 15 miles Zach managed to run the 5K in 29 minutes and placed 13th in his age group?? The rest of the group placed in the top 10 of their age groups: Dave and Lisa both took 6th in very competitive age groups. Peg got hardware for earning 1st place in her age group. Sara set a Personal Record (PR) with a 24:10 finish time and also came in 1st in her age group. Sara, I'd say you blasted your 7:59:59 pace goal! I am SO proud!
This past weekend, Kara (an unofficial Diva...she'll be running with us this summer if we can keep up...) ran a half-marathon. No. Kara SMOKED the 13.1 miles. And let me make mention that this MUTHA RUNNA has 5 (YES FIVE) children and also teaches at the local college. It's been her first race in a while...you know, she's been just a LITTLE bit busy at home in the past 6 years. She ran in 1 hour 41 minutes and came in 3rd place in her age group. Kara, you sure ran that with a Happy Heart and I am so proud!
Last but not least, this past Sunday we ran our annual Race for the Cure 5K. We do this race every year with Zach's Kelly Services friends/colleagues. This year we had a new runner...TYLER! My 6 year old "little" boy ran the WHOLE 3.1 miles in 36 minutes 34 seconds!! It was amazing to see him cross the finish line with his dad (who ran 20 miles the day before...holy cow!). And more exciting for me to hear him ask, "Mom, when can I run another 5K?". I am SO very proud.
As for me, Race for the Cure is a complete dichotomy. On one hand, I love what the race stands for. I love the cause and have been running this race for years...even when I lived in Maryland. But I hate the run. I hate the course because I always have the worst time here. This year, I didn't think it would be any different to be quite honest. It was a cold, windy threatening rain kind of day. My legs were heavy from my Friday long run. I lined up like I do every year and just ran. I didn't wear a watch and I barely looked at the split times along the way. When I crossed the finish I saw Sheen, who works with Zach and is a total running Goddess in my eyes (My goal is to finish the 5K with her!). I knew I had to have done OK because she usually is coming back into the race to push me through the finish. Could she have just finished too? When she saw me she asked, "WOW! Did you PR?". I had no idea. I glanced at the finish clock but didn't really focus on the time...I just knew that I beat my past times on this course and that was good enough for me.
Turns out, I did PR. 23:04. Better still, I got a medal for placing 2nd in my age group that I was able to give Tyler for completing his 1st 5K.
Great update. Love the family pic right above especially. What an awesome experience for you, Zach, and the boys. Sam will be runnin' it next year, I'm sure!
ReplyDeletep.s. Thanks too for the shout out! How nice it feels to be told that someone is proud of you ~ especially by a great coach and even better friend. :)