Healthy Kids Running Series: Race #2 Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Family, Running and tagged with Healthy Kids Running Series, Mom Life, Mom on the Go, Running, Toddlers March 30, 2015

Progress!!!

Before I recap, I have to show you this pic from race #1–(race pics are free!! a def plus to this race)

That face. ❤

So last time, if you recall, my daughter was all about it, talking and announcing how she was going to run fast like mommy only to get stage fright when it was go time. (recap here)

Afterward, she said she wanted a do over and I talked to her about how there was only one chance, that she’d have to wait for next Sunday to go again. I took the opportunity to show her pics from that day’s race and explain how the kids in the pictures were running by themselves, without their mommies. She seemed to understand how a race was meant to be run alone. I asked her, “Do you think you can run by yourself?” and she was very certain that she could.

Throughout the week she would say to my husband and I, “I run by myself!” and we’d say, “Yeah, you can do it!”

We practiced too. I’d stand on one end of the hallway and my husband at the other. We’d ask, “Do you think you can run by yourself to daddy?”

“Yeah!!”

On Sunday, we picked out the running outfit. It was all about the purple and she was very adamant about wanting big bow. She also wanted to wear shorts like mommy so she wore the same pink shorts as last time.

We arrived at the race right before the start time. The 3 p.m. start was a hot one so we didn’t want to get there early and stand around in 93 degree weather.

My husband and I walked our daughter to the finish line to show her where she was running to. We practiced running through the line and she loved it. Then it was time to gather around the start. Daddy kissed her good luck and told her he’d be waiting.

The 2-3 year old boys went first and I pointed out again how they were running without their mommies. She nodded, “I run by myself!”

Then it was her turn. The race director said the instructions to the runners and at Go! the runners took off. My daughter started running but then looked back to see where I was and yelled, “Mommy, run!” so I started running behind her. She kept turning back to make sure I was there but yup, she was doing it. Running all by herself. 😀

flying.

my little runner

This race was most definitely a success. Considering last time she wouldn’t even think about standing let alone running, to now going the entire way and crossing the finish line–we are very happy with how the race went 😀

And I can tell she likes it too; she laughed and had a huge smile the entire way–that alone makes me the happiest mom in the world. ❤

My daughter takes a break from racing next weekend so you’ll have to anxiously wait two weeks for her next race update 🙂 She turns three on Thursday and is having her big bash on Saturday!

–Do you train for all races or just particular races?

–Besides following a training plan, how else do you prepare for a race?

–Do you smile while you run? : )

Healthy Kids Running Series: Race #1 Recap

Posted by hellyontherun in Family, Running and tagged with Family, Healthy Kids Running Series, Mom Life, Mom on the Go, Running, Toddlers March 24, 2015

Sorry I’ve been MIA–It seems I needed a week off from my week off. Two weeks ago was my Spring Break and I enjoyed it so much I needed a recovery week lol!

Anyway, I’m alive 😀

Before I recount any running I’ve been doing, I first want to tell you about someone else who has been running.

MY DAUGHTER ❤

Yep, I signed her up for a local Healthy Kids Running Series that consist of 5 races in the span of 6 weeks (we get Easter weekend off). It’s a 50 yard dasher that’s organized by age groups so my daughter is in the 2-3 year olds (seriously though, how cute is that?). The race is also separated by gender.

I wasn’t sure what approach to take: to hype the race and get her excited or downplay it like it was no big deal. I decided on the former as I didn’t want her to feel pressured or like this was a huge deal and get her nervous.

On Saturday night, I asked her if she wanted to run the next day and she squealed with delight! So of course we went straight to the closet to choose an outfit.

Pink everything ❤

I didn’t mentioned anything about an actual race though. Just kinda kept it low key.

I ran on Sunday morning with my husband (I want to tell you all about this soon!) and when I came home, my daughter asked me her usual, “Mommy all done run?” and I said, “Yep, now it’s your turn!”

Her eyes opened wide as she remembered and she squealed, “YES!!! I run like mommy!!”

My heart soared.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect from her as she always gets excited about mommy running but she was seriously spazzing about her doing the running. I wanted to share and join in on the excitement but was nervous about making it into too big of a deal. In retrospect, I think I should have prepared her a little more.

pumped.

We arrived at the race location just in time (3 p.m. which is my only major complaint about this series. It’s Phoenix. It’s hot. It was already 90 degrees at 3). Anyway, there were a lot more people/kids than I expected and then after a few minutes of waiting, organizers began grouping kids by age group.

My daughter’s group went first. She was still super pumped at this point as we walked towards the start line. She kept repeating, “I run fast! I run fast!” I knelt down next to her to point her in dad’s direction–who was at the finish line.

Giving her the pep talk—looking fierce. (I love this picture so much.)

After our chat, I started to say my good byes but as soon as she realized that mommy wasn’t running with her, my daughter was not having any of it. Not. At. All.

I tried telling her mommy would run next to her on the sidelines but after the boys had gone and she saw they were solo, she refused to move an inch.

The whistle blew for the girls to go and they were off. Except my daughter. Two girls stumbled over each other and fell and when my daughter saw that, it was over for real.

In tears, she threw herself in my arms and said she wasn’t going. She didn’t want to.

I consoled her and told her it was okay, that we were going to do it together this time. So we did.

We crossed the finish line hearing dad and grandparents cheering loudly and it was then that she lifted her head up and smiled.

She turned to me and said, “Mommy, I ready!”

All I could do was laugh and tell her, “You’ll do it again next time!”

Of course I would’ve liked for her to have run it by herself, but for her first time, her first race, I felt it was a success. She experienced the race atmosphere, which is definitely daunting at any age, and I know that as she acclimates, it’ll become a more familiar environment.

I was so proud of her. I was so proud that at the end she wanted to go back for a do over. Just like mommy and the Phoenix Marathon, we’ll get it next time! We sure will! 🙂

–Were you involved in any athletics when you were young? What was your first sport experience?

–Do you get pre-race jitters?

Mid-Week Musings II

Posted by hellyontherun in Fitness, Running and tagged with Churro Dog, Marathon, Mid-Week Musings, Pregnancy Abs, Running, Triple 7 Quest March 11, 2015

I’m currently on my spring break and it’s been nice to relax and have time to myself–Especially convenient as I try to recover from my marathon debacle and sickness. (I’m starting to feel better, finally!)

I’ve been doing some reading and there’s a few things that have caught my eye. Things I’m interested to hear what you think:

Pregnancy Abs

I posted this link on my Facebook about this girl who is super, duper fit and even at 8 months pregnant, you can see the outlining of abs. Yes, she’s pregnant with abs.

She’s a model so it’s in her job description to be fit and from other news sources I read, she continued (continues?) to work out during her pregnancy (which I did as well but alas, did not have pregnancy abs). For some reason though, this girl didn’t turn me off like Super Abs mom did. This model wasn’t throwing it in our face how it’s perfectly possible to be pregnant with abs (she posted pics of her hot bod even before pregnancy lol) or telling us how we have “no excuse” not to have abs–pregnant or not. The model claims to enjoy working out and eating clean but still occasionally chowing down a burger. For that reason alone, I give her two thumbs up!

The Churro Dog

Leave it to Arizona to come up with a 1,200 calorie creation.

So the Arizona Diamondbacks debuted a new treat that consists of a churro inside a chocolate glazed donut and topped with frozen yogurt and whipped cream. Your choice of caramel or chocolate syrup (or both).

Source

Yeeeaahhh……

Apparently, this dessert pairs well with the menu item introduced last year: an 18 inch bacon and cheese stuffed corn dog.

REALLY???

I like churros, and I like corn dogs, but no way could I do with all of the other stuff added to it. I’d have to run, I don’t know, like a thousand miles to burn off those calories lol!

Several people responded to my Facebook link saying they’d totally eat it but share the churro dog with friends. Yeah, if you’re gonna order it, I’d say def share it!

I guess the baseball days of popcorn, sunflower seeds, and regular ‘ol hot dogs are a thing of the past?

7 Marathons in 7 Days in 7 Continents

Remember in the first edition of Mid-Week Musings I wrote about this? It’s so funny because not a month later, a woman from our run club returned to tell us she’d done it! How I didn’t know she was even attempting it was beyond me! It’s def not something I’d forget!

Source (PHX Marathon ended up being 101)

Anyway, Ila runs with our group every now and then (she runs more with another local run club) and she was nice enough to speak at one of our meet ups to tell us about her adventure.

She indeed ran 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 continents! She talked a lot about the things mentioned in the article I shared last time about how lack of sleep was a runner’s biggest obstacle. And she said that camping in Antarctica was definitely a memorable experience.

Could you imagine running a marathon in Antarctica?

Of course I took a pic with her. I’m not sure that what she did is something I’d ever want to do (actually, no, it’s not lol!) but I think it’s super cool she did it and think it’s very inspiring.

Ila and her Triple 7 Quest medal (and me :) )

Ila and her Triple 7 Quest jacket and medal (and me 🙂 )

So, tell me what your thoughts are.

Think Pregnancy Abs are the new thing? Even possible? Is this woman a freak of nature?

Would you eat the Churro Dog? What’s the highest caloric meal you’ve eaten?

Does running a 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 continents interest you?