Pat’s Run

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Arizona State University, Family, Pat Tillman, Race, Running, Sun Devil Stadium, Veterans Day November 11, 2013

Happy Veteran’s Day!

A few years ago, pre-kids and post-wedding, I ran in a new race (for me) called Pat’s Run in honor of Pat Tillman, war-veteran and former NFL player. It’s a 4.2 mile race, a distance to commemorate his 42 jersey that he wore when he played for Arizona State University, and the finish line leads you to the 42 yard line in Sun Devil Stadium. The race always takes place in April and a day in the twenties–this year, 4/26.

When I first heard of this race, I jumped at the chance to participate. As an ASU alumnus, and with friends and family who have fought in a war, this was a perfect opportunity for me to run for them. The spirit of this race is indescribable. It’s almost always a sell-out and you’re always running with someone next to you. You can see people in camouflage, in uniform, with t-shirts bearing names of a veterans, with a Pat Tillman jersey. It’s truly inspirational.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the race. I wasn’t able to run in 2011 or 2012 because of pregnancies, but I’m excited that I’m available for this very important year.

Today was the first day of registration, fittingly on Veteran’s Day. You bet I woke up this morning and sprinted to my computer. I signed both my husband and I up and then saw they had a .42 race for children.

I couldn’t not sign my daughter up!

This will be her first race and it’s the best first one for her. I’d love to borrow a jogging stroller so I can take my son along for the ride and make it a family event. Wouldn’t that be awesome? : )

How are you spending Veteran’s Day?

Do you have a favorite race?

This felt good…

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Marathon Training, Recovering, Running, World Run Day November 11, 2013

Happy World Run Day!

I promised myself I’d ease into it and I was very pleasantly surprised to see my time at the end. I felt good the entire way–my shins felt a little sore but eased off as I ran and I didn’t feel I was pushing myself too hard.

This was such a mood lifter. Usually when I do “easy” runs I’m frustratingly hanging around the 10:00 minute mark but to see 9s the entire way made me feel that despite taking a running break, my hard work was still paying off–just what I needed to start marathon training : )

I’m a winner!

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with Running, Sunday Runday, Virtual Race, Winning, World Run Day November 9, 2013

So in my Healthy Moms Group I’ve mentioned before, some of the girls participated in virtual racing. I had never heard of this but it’s basically a website that hosts “races”. You register just like you would a “normal” race and you have to run a said mileage by a certain date. You can run any way you’d like, outside or treadmill and when you’re done, you post a pic of your time/route/mileage on the website’s Facebook page (this isn’t mandatory I believe). And if you’re wondering whether you get a medal, yup! It’s sent to your home.

I joined the Facebook group but hadn’t pushed the button to register for a race–even though some of the medals looked pretty cool.

A couple of days ago, the creator of the website, fit4liferaceseries.com by the way, announced he’d be holding a giveaway of free races and free memberships (a membership includes a discounted first race and discounted races for the year). The catch was that you had to be a new runner to the group, as in never have run a virtual race.

I’ve never participated in online giveaways, prizes, contests, etc. because one, I never think I’ll win; and second, I never believe they’re actually legit. Nevertheless, I did what the instructions said and made a comment on the post, “Giving it a shot!” Easy enough. No harm, no foul.

Four hours later, I received a Facebook notification that I’d won a one year membership! I never win anything and to win something running related makes this first time that much cooler!

I immediately went to the website to check out the races they had going on. One is for tomorrow, Sunday, World Run Day. I’m thinking pefect!! Not only do I get the race comped (my discounted first race) but I get this really cool t-shirt (no medal this time though). There is no specific mileage for this “race” since it’s World Run Day; any amount is acceptable. This is ideal considering I should be taking it slow, but I just can’t resist. Plus, I think it’ll do me some good to get out there for a little while : )