So I guess it's girl and boy on the go. After a very stressful week of riots and overtime for my husband we are thrilled to be leaving on Monday for Toronto! We made this trip 3 years ago when I was 7 months pregnant with Kylie and my morning sickness kicked in the morning after we arrived. I still managed to have a wonderful time in a wonderful city in between the episodes of nausea. So I am thrilled to be going back and to not be pregnant!
Once again, we will be staying at the Fairmont Royal York with a view of Lake Ontario. The Fairmont is walking distance of everything and there is so much to explore in Toronto. Tuesday night we have tickets to see Rush at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. Last time we saw them at the Air Canada Centre, so we're excited about seeing them in a different venue in their hometown.
Leaving the girls, especially to travel so far is going to be really difficult, but I know we need this time together!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July!
Dad got home around 6am and I woke the girls up around 7am to get ready for their big run. Sydney is an old pro at this, but today would be Kylie's first run. The Moraga 4th of July Run benefits Campolindo High School's track team and the the high school kids lead the little kids around the the course, so it's a lot of fun.
Stretching before the start of the race
warming up
lined up at the start line
Kylie is only 2, but I thought she might be a little sad that Sydney would get a medal and she wouldn't and she loved cheering Sydney on at her last race, so I asked her if she wanted to run as well, and she said yes! It is quite a challenge to run with a 2 year old and still try to get photos of your 5 year old running. So Kylie and I cut the course short to get ahead of Sydney and snap her photo.
Sydney looking strong!
After Sydney went by Kylie and I picked up with the rest of the kids and Kylie ran all the way to the finish line to get her medal!
I am super proud of both of my girls. I decided not to run today because I would have needed our double stroller which does not fit in my car, it was a little sad for me but watching both of my girls do something that I love to do myself was such a great feeling. Sydney wanted to do the 2 mile run, "Mom, we'll run with you!" I had visions of being about 1/4 mile in and having to carry both kids... we opted for breakfast instead.
I've been debating about bringing Sydney to the Jail Break Run this year because I would like to run it without pushing a stroller and the kids run is a 1/2 mile long and poor Syd was beet red after it last year! But she loves running so much, how can I deprive her.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Walk like MADD
This was a first for me, instead of attending an event as a participant, I actually organized the entire event! After walking in MADD's Sacramento walk in October I decided to form a team for the Bay Area Walk. Shortly after I formed my team I was approached to serve as a volunteer on the committee for the walk. Sure, why not I thought. I knew this was the Bay Area's first walk and I thought there would be no better way to assure it went off successfully than to volunteer my time. At some point along the way, MADD lost their Bay Area Executive Director. I of course had concerns about a lack of leadership and the walk going off successfully, but I was committed to the walk and was not going to abandon it. 7 weeks prior to the walk MADD hired me as a temporary employee to ensure the walk went off without a hitch. I;m not sure I really knew what I was getting into. Almost nothing had been done for the walk other than securing the location and the permit for the walk. I had to obtain corporate sponsorship, food donations, recruit teams and plan the logistics for the entire event in 7 weeks. Everyone knows I love a challenge, but wow!
Saturday we walked. And while there were a few behind the scene issues, like our rental company delivering our tables, chairs and tents 45 minutes late, for the most walk, it went off without a hitch. we raised $24,199 and we will continue to collect money until June 30th.
What a learning experience, I have participated in many 5k events over the past 2 years, so thankfully I had those experiences to help guide me. I have received some great feedback from teams and walkers who are excited to walk again next year, so I think that is a good sign.
Some photos from the event.
Team CHP & CHP Wives
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
CPOA Memorial Run
This is the first time I have ever done two 5k's back to back. I passed up this run last year because it's a trail run and at the time I had never done a trail run. Thanks to a few races with Brazen I felt confident. And since Scott was on vacation and the run benefits the California Peace Officers Association, it was a must for us.
It started out with some confusion over start times. CPOA was advertising a 9am start for both the 5k and 10k but On Your Mark was advertising 9am for the 10k and 9:45am for the 5k. Much to my disappointment the 5k started at 9:45am. I am not accustomed to starting a race that late in the morning, so at about 9:30am my stomach was grumbling and it was getting warm at Shadow Cliffs. Although it was fun to get to see the first 10k runners coming in before our start. Before we knew it we were off. Two minutes into the run you face the largest hill on the course, um, way to wear me out before I even get started. I sucked it up and ran up the entire hill. The course was a series of rolling hills with some flat stretches. I was able to run up about half of the hills and was sure to take advantage of the downhill portions by running all of those. There were about 3 other woman that I played cat and mouse with through out the course. The course looped around quite a bit, so it was difficult for me to get an idea of how much further I had. As we approached what I was guessing was the last hill, one of the women I had been playing cat and mouse with was at my side, she looked like she was going to run up the entire hill (which was about the equivalent of the first hill), I said to myself if she runs up it, so am I! And we did, we even managed a conversation as we ran up the hill (that was a first for me!) I felt a huge sigh of relief as we reached the top and then saw the finish line and the large downhill. Once again, I took advantage of the downhill and left my buddy behind. All of a sudden I hit pavement, my body has never been so relieved to hit pavement. As we came around the bathrooms a husband dropped into the run his wife in, this was another woman I had been back and forth with. Damn, they passed me. As we reached the grass, I knew it was now or never, I sprinted like I have never sprinted before, I passed her and her husband and crossed the finish line strong. This is evidenced in the photo that On Your Mark captured of me crossing the finish line, I obviously did not care about what I looked like as I crossed, so I will spare myself the humiliation, you'll just have to take my word for it.
28/74 in my age group. Scott came in 4th in his AG, so close to the podium! I'm going with my time of 36:17 as OYM doesn't chip time, and I don't think their time is accurate :)
We finished up the race with BBQ from Outback, which tasted so good! And it was a great day of networking for my own upcoming event.
It started out with some confusion over start times. CPOA was advertising a 9am start for both the 5k and 10k but On Your Mark was advertising 9am for the 10k and 9:45am for the 5k. Much to my disappointment the 5k started at 9:45am. I am not accustomed to starting a race that late in the morning, so at about 9:30am my stomach was grumbling and it was getting warm at Shadow Cliffs. Although it was fun to get to see the first 10k runners coming in before our start. Before we knew it we were off. Two minutes into the run you face the largest hill on the course, um, way to wear me out before I even get started. I sucked it up and ran up the entire hill. The course was a series of rolling hills with some flat stretches. I was able to run up about half of the hills and was sure to take advantage of the downhill portions by running all of those. There were about 3 other woman that I played cat and mouse with through out the course. The course looped around quite a bit, so it was difficult for me to get an idea of how much further I had. As we approached what I was guessing was the last hill, one of the women I had been playing cat and mouse with was at my side, she looked like she was going to run up the entire hill (which was about the equivalent of the first hill), I said to myself if she runs up it, so am I! And we did, we even managed a conversation as we ran up the hill (that was a first for me!) I felt a huge sigh of relief as we reached the top and then saw the finish line and the large downhill. Once again, I took advantage of the downhill and left my buddy behind. All of a sudden I hit pavement, my body has never been so relieved to hit pavement. As we came around the bathrooms a husband dropped into the run his wife in, this was another woman I had been back and forth with. Damn, they passed me. As we reached the grass, I knew it was now or never, I sprinted like I have never sprinted before, I passed her and her husband and crossed the finish line strong. This is evidenced in the photo that On Your Mark captured of me crossing the finish line, I obviously did not care about what I looked like as I crossed, so I will spare myself the humiliation, you'll just have to take my word for it.
28/74 in my age group. Scott came in 4th in his AG, so close to the podium! I'm going with my time of 36:17 as OYM doesn't chip time, and I don't think their time is accurate :)
We finished up the race with BBQ from Outback, which tasted so good! And it was a great day of networking for my own upcoming event.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Devil Mountain Run 5k
Running a 5k the morning after your daughter's 2nd Birthday Party seems a bit ambitious and that's exactly how I was feeling this morning. Luckily, they mailed us our race bibs and timing chips so we were able to roll in about 30 minutes prior to the start and we were fine.
What we love about the Devil Mountain Run is that it is family oriented, well run, supports Children's Hospital and oh yeah, it's FAST and FLAT! This is our third year running the race and I'll admit it, I love it because it was my very first ever 5k.
With over 700 runners and the 5k and 10k starting together, the start line is a little crazy and most people don't pay attention to the sign markers guiding you where to start based on your speed. Scott had the disadvantage of the double stroller, while I was able to to maneuver through the crowd, I crossed the start line 30 seconds after the gun went off and Scott a full minute after the gun went off. We run for about a block before we hit the split, the 5k runners make a left, as we made this turn I look over to my right and see Scott running at a ridiculous speed pushing the stroller trying to get past all of us slow folks. The looks on the face of the two Search and Rescue guys was priceless. I'm sure they thought they would peeling him off the pavement about a mile down the road.
I found a nice pace and was able to keep my heart rate at a nice easy level. I knew I would be running slower than in past years, but I had to just get over the fact my life as a working Mom these days was not allowing the running time I would really like to be able to get in. As we hit the turn-around point, I felt good and was happy with the pace I had found. I took a cup of water at the aid station and walked briefly to drink it, I'm just not skilled at running and drinking, even at a walk I managed to spill water all over my watch. No time to waste since I was running a slow pace, I ditched my cup ( I feel so guilty every time I throw a cup on the ground at race) and started running again. At this point we are running on the Iron Horse Trail and I see the 2 mile marker, that's good news! I work on just maintaining my pace and hope that I have something left for the finish line. Before I know it we cross an intersection and I can hear the finish line. By this point lots of people have filled the sides of the chute as we come in. there really is no one behind me or in front of me to help give me that final inspiration at the finish line, but I suck it up and sprint across the finish line anyway!
What we love about the Devil Mountain Run is that it is family oriented, well run, supports Children's Hospital and oh yeah, it's FAST and FLAT! This is our third year running the race and I'll admit it, I love it because it was my very first ever 5k.
With over 700 runners and the 5k and 10k starting together, the start line is a little crazy and most people don't pay attention to the sign markers guiding you where to start based on your speed. Scott had the disadvantage of the double stroller, while I was able to to maneuver through the crowd, I crossed the start line 30 seconds after the gun went off and Scott a full minute after the gun went off. We run for about a block before we hit the split, the 5k runners make a left, as we made this turn I look over to my right and see Scott running at a ridiculous speed pushing the stroller trying to get past all of us slow folks. The looks on the face of the two Search and Rescue guys was priceless. I'm sure they thought they would peeling him off the pavement about a mile down the road.
I found a nice pace and was able to keep my heart rate at a nice easy level. I knew I would be running slower than in past years, but I had to just get over the fact my life as a working Mom these days was not allowing the running time I would really like to be able to get in. As we hit the turn-around point, I felt good and was happy with the pace I had found. I took a cup of water at the aid station and walked briefly to drink it, I'm just not skilled at running and drinking, even at a walk I managed to spill water all over my watch. No time to waste since I was running a slow pace, I ditched my cup ( I feel so guilty every time I throw a cup on the ground at race) and started running again. At this point we are running on the Iron Horse Trail and I see the 2 mile marker, that's good news! I work on just maintaining my pace and hope that I have something left for the finish line. Before I know it we cross an intersection and I can hear the finish line. By this point lots of people have filled the sides of the chute as we come in. there really is no one behind me or in front of me to help give me that final inspiration at the finish line, but I suck it up and sprint across the finish line anyway!
Crossing the finish line
41/87 in my age group, top half of the group
Mom and Sydney waiting for the kids run to start
Dad and his girls.
I am so proud of Scott who finished 5th in his AG while doing the Kid Haul, a PR from last years kids haul!
We very much encourage the every child is a winner attitude, but um yeah... Sydney came in first in her heat!
very pleased with herself.
Next up, CPOA Memorial Run next Saturday!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Mermaid Run
I got up at 6am yesterday morning to get ready for the Mermaid Run in Mountain View. Last year was my first time participating in this race. What I like about it is that it's an all woman's race and the Mermaid folks promote women and young girls to get out and be active. Oh and they give out good loot too!
It was evident that there were more runners this year by the long line of cars to get into the parking lot. Of course, maybe it had something to do with it not being rainy and cold and windy this year. At any rate, I found Mary Sue and Molly McNamara and family. Molly's Mom and Sister were racing and Molly came to watch before participating in Vineman Showdown.
After a long wait in line for the bathrooms (that's what happens when you have 1200 women racing) it was time for the 5k start, and we were off. My goal was to not push and monitor my heart rate closely. My allergies have been causing some funky stuff to take place during my workouts and I needed to be careful after an incident earlier this week at the gym. The 5k course was crowded and there were lots of mini-mermaids running. I love seeing the young girls out running but the only bummer about that is they don't really know race etiquette. And if you know anything about how kids run, they give it everything they have and then just stop and then as you go to pass them, give it everything they have again. So you just have to be a little more alert on the course for obstacles. I told my self there would be no walking until the turn-around. When I reached the turn-around I still felt good, I decided to keep going. At this point I realized that if I stopped running, my walk pace would be about the same as my run pace, so I might as well just keep running at my very slow pace. I knew the final stretch would be hard, because there is a small uphill and then you can see the finish line, but it is still pretty far away. As I approached, I worked on keeping my pace and maintaining my hear rate. I was excited to see that Melissa was there as well. It's always way cool to have people cheering you on, and the smofitters never you let down. I crossed the finish line with a huge sense of relief. Even though it was not a great time for me, this was the first race of the year where I ran the entire race with no walking.
33/74 in my age group and 167/411 overall. I still have my work cut out for me as all of my race times this year have been slower than last year. Hopefully my body will start to cooperate with me.
Next up, my favorite race - The Devil Mountain Run benefiting Children's Hospital.
It was evident that there were more runners this year by the long line of cars to get into the parking lot. Of course, maybe it had something to do with it not being rainy and cold and windy this year. At any rate, I found Mary Sue and Molly McNamara and family. Molly's Mom and Sister were racing and Molly came to watch before participating in Vineman Showdown.
After a long wait in line for the bathrooms (that's what happens when you have 1200 women racing) it was time for the 5k start, and we were off. My goal was to not push and monitor my heart rate closely. My allergies have been causing some funky stuff to take place during my workouts and I needed to be careful after an incident earlier this week at the gym. The 5k course was crowded and there were lots of mini-mermaids running. I love seeing the young girls out running but the only bummer about that is they don't really know race etiquette. And if you know anything about how kids run, they give it everything they have and then just stop and then as you go to pass them, give it everything they have again. So you just have to be a little more alert on the course for obstacles. I told my self there would be no walking until the turn-around. When I reached the turn-around I still felt good, I decided to keep going. At this point I realized that if I stopped running, my walk pace would be about the same as my run pace, so I might as well just keep running at my very slow pace. I knew the final stretch would be hard, because there is a small uphill and then you can see the finish line, but it is still pretty far away. As I approached, I worked on keeping my pace and maintaining my hear rate. I was excited to see that Melissa was there as well. It's always way cool to have people cheering you on, and the smofitters never you let down. I crossed the finish line with a huge sense of relief. Even though it was not a great time for me, this was the first race of the year where I ran the entire race with no walking.
33/74 in my age group and 167/411 overall. I still have my work cut out for me as all of my race times this year have been slower than last year. Hopefully my body will start to cooperate with me.
Next up, my favorite race - The Devil Mountain Run benefiting Children's Hospital.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Walk like MADD
As most of you know, I am walking in June to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving. I am at 75% of my goal, I'm so close and hope I can reach 100% this year! Please check out my fundraising page, a $10 donation will go a long way!
Maybe you have June 5th free and you are interested in joining us. We will be walking Lake Merritt in Oakland, not only will it be a beautiful day with lots of fun activities but you will be supporting a great cause. Sign up today!
Maybe you have June 5th free and you are interested in joining us. We will be walking Lake Merritt in Oakland, not only will it be a beautiful day with lots of fun activities but you will be supporting a great cause. Sign up today!
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