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August Races--2 Fun and 13.1

August was eventful!  My daughter turned 6!!!  We celebrated her Golden Birthday with family and friends; and I ran in 2 fun 5Ks and the Madison Mini Half Marathon.
Blacklight Run 5K
August 9, 2014

Fun run! This was a first for me with this race.  It was like the Color Me Rad where you are splashed with color only at night and you ended up glowing in the dark under the black lights.  It was a lot of fun!  I managed to run it in approximately 29-30 minutes as I didn't wear my watch for fear that the paint would ruin it.  I have already gone through one Nike + watch and returned it to Nike, so I really didn't want to do that again.  It was a fun run!  I do enjoy the fun runs, I just think I really need to focus more on my half marathons if I am going to get better at them and eventually run a full marathon and qualify for Boston!  My kids did enjoy the run as well!!! 


Before the race!!!


 After the race!! I'm covered in paint and daddy bought the kids glow-in-the-dark face paint!!


Madison Mini Half Marathon

This was a tough race!!  I had over eaten the night before, calling it carb loading and felt gross come race morning! Not good!! I hardly ate anything for breakfast and ended up not having my usual bathroom routine before a race! TMI!! I know but this can have a big affect on how you race, believe it or not.  It sure did for mine.  I also usually hit up the porta potty before a race and today I didn't do that either.  The temperatures were cool and it was overcast until about halfway through the race.  Then it got hot and steamy.  Normally I would have worn shorts and a tank top; today I wore capris and my short-sleeve race shirt.  Not a smart choice.  I was fine until the sun came out then it started to get a lot tougher to manage my pace and the heat.  The hills on this course didn't help either.  I lined up in the last corral which was a goal time of 2:30.  I managed to stay ahead of the pacer for about the first 5 miles, then I started to slow as the temps got warmer and I was getting overheated.  I was trying my best to stay hydrated and to keep up with my routine of walking through all the Gatorade and water stations.  I tried to maintain my every 3 miles pop an energy chew as well.  I thought I was doing my best.  I really wanted a PR, but it was not meant to be as the 2:30 pacer past me and I lost sight of them completely.  I knew then that there was no chance of a PR and I really just wanted to finish the race at this point.  I wanted to go home and go to bed! I finished with an official time of 2:36: 29, which is almost 11 minutes slower than my Fort Half Marathon time.  Super disappointing, but I got my medal for finishing and for me, for this race, that was all that mattered!  

My husband got some awesome pictures of me heading to the finish line!!  He's the best photographer!!



We even saw the WeinerMobile!!!!


I'm pretty darn proud of this medal!  It's even a bottle opener!!  I did enjoy this race for the most part and have already signed up for it next year!!



Color Me Rad 5K
August 30, 2014

This was a super fun walk/run with my bestie!!  This was a good experience for me!  I am super competitive when it comes to races, so even fun ones like this I always try to beat my time from the previous year!  My bestie, God bless her, is not a runner and she humored me for awhile, before she was like, "Laura, this is not my thing, can we walk?"  I love her and would do anything for her, so we walked.  We had an amazing conversation while we were splashed with color.  I actually enjoyed myself!  I don't know if it was more than running it or just that this was a different and pleasant experience for me.  It doesn't matter, it was fun and we finished! Next year, our kids are going to join us!!  I can't wait for that!!!  We all have plans for matching tutus!!!  It's really going to be a great time and it will be another chance for me to be non-competitive!!!
My bestie, Jill and I posing before the race!!  We are Strong Mamma's!!!

Here's my adorable family before the race!  They were so cute about cheering for mom, plus they were able to hang out with Jill's daughter Alaina, who is their age!  They had a blast!

Jill and I wanted to make sure there were pictures of us actually running the race, so when we saw my mom and dad and our hubbys at the finish line, we made sure to run!  We honestly had a really great time and, of course, it was for a really great cause, Ronald McDonald House!!!


So there you have it, the month of August!  I apologize for it taking me so long to get this blog up and running.  I think talking about my awful half marathon was really hard for me.  But now I guess I see it as therapeutic.  I can learn from it and move on to the next one.  Not every race is going to be a PR or even a good race.  I also learned this month, that I don't need to compete with myself during every race.  Sometimes it's just nice to run/walk with a friend and enjoy their company!  Now to write about my awesome September!!  

 Run on my friends!!

 Laura

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