Halloween 5k

Yesterday I ran my first race in costume :)

Since it was a Halloween race and costumes were encouraged, I figured, why not?

It snowed Friday night so before we went to bed we dug out our snow gear so we'd be nice and toasty. I woke up Saturday morning and it was raining (and all the snow was melted). I knew the race was going to be cold and miserable and I almost rolled over and went back to sleep.

Instead, I got up and got dressed (and woke up Mr M and LMS too) and we headed out.

I'm glad we did, since it was a fast race- the fastest 5k I've run in years!

1st mile was just under 10 minutes (fastest mile I've done in quite awhile)

2nd mile was about 10 and a half minutes

3rd mile was just under 12 minutes (I had to stop and walk twice-my endurance isn't quite what it should be yet and my lungs were not liking the cold)

I think my finish time was 32:28, which I'm very happy about :)

Warning: some crappy pictures ahead

Me running to the finish line. It wasn't really that dark- Mr M was having problems with the camera settings. 

But it's the only pic of my costume in action :)

 LMS escorting me through the finish chute.

Me, wet and cold, but happy to be finished.

It was a nice course through a gated community with some good hills that I didn't have too many problems with since I've been pushing LMS up and down the hills in our area in the jogger. It rained the whole race, so I got soaking wet (which the cotton shirt and skirt just sucked up) and my glasses were covered with raindrops which did make it a bit difficult for me to see where I was going. There weren't a lot of runners- only about a hundred- and it was nice to not have to jostle with lots of people. I even started pretty close to the starting line! Despite the cold and rain, it was a fun race :)

My Costume

When I decided to wear a costume in the race, I decided it needed to be simple so I could run in it, but still fun and unique.

I remembered the awesome tree costume my mom made when I was in 3rd or 4th grade- out of paperbags. We'd seen the idea in a magazine, and she copied it and it looked great, though it was hard to sit down in :)

 I realized I could make something similar, but since I would use fabric, it would be a lot easier to move in.

I bought a lightweight, long sleeve cheap-o brown shirt at wallyworld, and another brown shirt in as large a size as I could find.

I looked through the silhouette library, thinking I'd use a simple oval leaf shape. Then I found oak leaves and acorns. I knew I had to go that direction, even though it would be more work :)

I used the Silhouette to cut out three different leaves and an acorn out of cardstock. I used them to trace designs on the felt I'd bought at Joanns (on sale for half off!), then started cutting- about 50 or 60 leaves and a couple dozen acorns. 

 Little Miss Sunshine helped cut out a couple of leaves.

I cut the green leaves, LMS cut out the yellow one :)
(the leaves are on the farmhouse table I built- the top had to be stripped, but I hadn't sanded it yet- but that's a story for another post)

I used variegated green/gray cotton yarn to sew the leaves to the sleeve hems and neckline and add a little bit of detail to the leaves (LMS insisted that they needed lines, and they do look better with them).

I also cut out an owl shape from cardstock with the silhouette and traced it onto felt. I was going to sew the pieces together, but I ran out of time so I used an owl I cut from a piece of fleece.

I cut off the top part (from the armpits) of the large brown shirt, then made a simple casing and added elastic, giving me a simple brown skirt. I like running in skirts, so I went with a skirt instead of pants. I ended up wearing it over my skirt/capri set from Athleta (love it) so I didn't have to worry about what the brown skirt did or didn't do.

I used the sleeves to make ankle cuffs that I sewed 'fallen leaves' to (another thing LMS insisted was necessary, also a good idea).

I used some of the cut-off shirt to make a headband and I sewed leaves and acorns to it.

I was looking online for costume ideas and saw something similar for kids, though they had brown sweat pants and a stuffed squirrel in a pocket (and they used boring oval green leaves).

The Results

Overall the costume worked well- I was able to run in it without any technical difficulties, though there are a few things I'll change for next year (I'm not going to make another running costume, though I might use the costume I wear at the Disney half in January).

** shorter leaves around the ankles- they dragged a bit on the ground

** different brown Tshirt for the top- I thought the lightweight fabric would be ideal for running in, but I didn't like the low neckline and it stretched out weird after just one wearing (getting wet didn't help, either)- I'll use a regular crew neck t for the top when I re-do it.

** I may not put the owl back on- the fleece owl worked, but I'm not sure I like the overall effect. Maybe the felt owl will look better, or maybe I'll do a squirrel. It's hard to get a 3D applique on a t shirt, though, so I may just leave it off.

Do you have any ideas for running costumes?

My Half Marathon Training Plan

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30 am, planning on going for a run. Planning to, until I heard the rain and looked outside and saw it was still dark out. There are some very quiet neighborhoods nearby that I can run in, but I have to run on a narrow road with no shoulders to get there, and visibility isn't that great, so I'm kind of worried about cars seeing me, especially if it's still dark and it's raining.

So instead of going for a run, I put in an exercise dvd and did a 20 minute workout.

Last night I rethought my half marathon training plan. I had planned on running in the mornings before Mr M heads off to work, but since it's only September and the mornings are already getting darker, I don't think that's going to be a good solution for a fall/winter training plan. Summer, yes. Winter, no.

There's 14 1/2 weeks till the half and I found a 9 week half marathon training plan on RunnersWorld.com, so I have 5 1/2 weeks to build my mileage base before starting the training plan. While my original early morning training plan is out, I think my new one should work.

Monday through Thursday mornings we do schoolwork, with extra activities Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons (we leave right after lunch each day). No activities Wednesday afternoons and Friday is reserved for fieldtrips and other fun stuff.

The training plan calls for 4 days of running with 3 days of rest each week. After looking over the schedule, I figured out a schedule that should (hopefully) work.

Monday

get up early and run on the treadmill (looking on craigslist now) before Mr M leaves for the day

do schoolwork as planned before lunch

Tuesday

get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day

do schoolwork as planned before lunch

run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening

Wednesday

first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller

come back and do schoolwork, continuing after lunch if needed

Thursday

get up early and do an exercise dvd before Mr M leaves for the day

do schoolwork as planned before lunch

run around with the kids at soccer practice in the evening

Friday

first thing in the morning after Mr M leaves go for a run with LMS in the stroller

then do fieldtrip activities

Saturday

first thing in the morning go for a run without LMS

come back and run around with the kids at soccer

Sunday

rest day

If I'm having an off week, I can skip the dvd workouts and get a little more sleep, and my training plan won't be disrupted. Soccer ends the middle of October, just before the 9 week training plan starts, which will lighten the training load a little. In the meantime, the soccer really is a great workout- playing keepaway with the kids gives some good sprinting opportunities.

It does change the school schedule a little (specifically on Wednesdays), which I had hoped to avoid, but I couldn't figure out any other way to fit the training in.

And here's another reason to change the schedule:
Mr M was leaving for Scouts this evening when he saw a bear (the same one as before?) walking through the trees in our yard. If that bear has decided to hang around the area I'd rather not make his/her acquaitance while on my own.

I especially have no desire to have a run-in with a bear in the early hours of the morning. I carry pepper spray, but I don't carry bear spray. Maybe I should....

Women's Four Mile Race

Sprinting past Mr M and LMS on the way to the finish line

This year I ran the race in 43:55, which is about a minute and a half slower than when I ran it last year. Not bad since I didn't train enough and I walked a  lot more this time. I haven't run more than 2 miles since Thanksgiving, so I really didn't train properly this year.

I got a good start running the whole month of June, but taking 5 weeks off for our road trip, plus missing last week due to an allergic reaction (even a few fumes of paint give me massive sinus pain and congestion) that had me feeling less than wonderful did a good job of derailing my training schedule. Despite that, I felt pretty good during the race. I did have to walk because my endurance is fairly non-existent right now, but my shins didn't give me problems and my asthma didn't give me issues like it did last year. Though that's probably due to the ratio of walking:running, which kept my lungs from spazzing out.

This race was a good reality check for the half marathon I'm running in January. I must run more often and buy a treadmill so I can run when the weather is crappy since let's face it, I wuss out when the weather gets crummy. I need to work on building my mileage and strengthening my lungs and building my mileage. Definitely have to make sure I get my longer runs in :)

Walking past Mr M and LMS to the starting line.

I've signed up for my next half marathon

It's been 3 years since my last one, and it's time to get back on the wagon. I started running again consistently in June and while I didn't do much running in July, I did quite a bit of hiking, so the month wasn't a total wash. Now that we're home I'm running again- even getting up early to do it first thing in the morning before Mr M goes to work, so it's the first time in 5 years that I can go running without also pushing LMS in the jogger :) This is good since I can now venture out on our narrow no-shoulder street on the way to surrounding neighborhoods, which isn't something I would do with LMS in the jogger.

The Saturday before Labor Day I'm running a 4 mile race (the same one I ran last year) and I'll do the 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. I need to find one or two more races to do before the half, which is the first weekend in January.

I had a lot of fun running the Disneyland half marathon, so I've been looking for another Disney race to run and I finally found one. I'm doing the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, which is actually on a Saturday. Do you know how hard it is to find a Disney race that's not on a Sunday? This is the only one. Five years ago when I did the Disneyland half it was on Labor Day- a Monday. Every year since, it's been on Sunday. Why??

The only reason this half is on Saturday is because the full marathon is on Sunday and they give people the option to run both races, so they have to be on different days.

I'm just happy to have finally found another race (I'm not crazy enough to do a half and a full back-to-back). And hopefully Florida in January won't be too stinking hot, unlike Anaheim in early September, which was miserably hot and muggy.

Winter running

ice on one of the ponds in our neighborhood

Despite weather in the mid-20s this week, I've actually gone on walks 4 times! Why didn't I manage this in previous winters? I blame it on the frigid arctic wind blowing across the open fields and right through me. All the trees around here block most of the wind, so while it's still cold, I'm not being blown all over and I don't have to deal with the wind chill factor.

Monday: 1.5 miles
Wednesday: 2 miles
Friday: 2.5 miles
Saturday: 3 miles

No running yet- I haven't run since the race on Thanksgiving, but the walks feel good.

How does LMS stay warm? I bundle her up, wrap a warm fleece blanket around her, then put the water proof rain/snow cover on the stroller which blocks any stray wind and keeps her body heat in. She stays nice and toasty :)

Turkey Trot

When I was in high school, various members of my family would run a 5 mile Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. We also had a Friday morning Turkey Carcass run that we participated in. I actually missed the first Turkey Trot I signed up for because I got hit by a van while doing a quick run the evening before. No broken bones, but I certainly wasn't in any position to run a 5 mile race the next morning.

In any case, I graduated and moved half way across the country to go to college, and with one thing or another I haven't run a Turkey Trot since my senior year in high school. A few weeks ago I googled local races and found a 5k that's just 10 minutes away. Even better, they allow jogging strollers!

It was on the cold side Thanksgiving morning, but the race was fun. It was the first time I ran a race pushing a jogger, but I didn't do too badly. The first half of the race was nice mixture of flat and downhill. The second half was a lot of uphills, so I had to do some walking then, but I still managed to finish the race in 35:05. Not the best time I've ever run, but really good for pushing a 4 year old in a jogger up a bunch of hills.

LMS had fun, but kept asking to get out and run. She's been riding in that jogger since she was 3 or 4 months old. I think we're approaching the end of its usefulness. Next year she'll be old enough to participate in the half mile kids' fun run that's before the 5k.

Do you run a race on Thanksgiving?

Women's 4 Mile Race

This morning I ran my first race in more than a year and a half- the last time was New Year's Day 2009. I was a little concerned about the course because the course description kept talking about hills, but ultimately the slight inclines couldn't hold a candle to the hills I've been running while pushing a four year old in a jogging stroller.

And can I say how much easier it is to run when not pushing said four year old in a jogger? Holy cow! What a difference! It's been at least 6 months since I ran without her, so I'd forgotten what it's like. In training, I only managed to run two or two and a half miles during my four and four and a half mile walks. I knew I could finish a four mile race, I just wasn't sure that I could run an entire four mile race.

Other than a short distance (a hundred yards, maybe) between the mile 3 marker and the water table, I ran the entire race! Yay me! And I only walked that section because I couldn't catch my breath- I still don't have my inhalers worked out properly, so they helped, but not quite enough.

Because I was able to run almost the entire race, I also finished a lot faster than I thought I would. I wasn't really sure how long it would take since I didn't have any real benchmark to go from, but I definitely wasn't expecting to finish in 42:32 (that's a 10.6 minutes/mile pace).

Making the whole experience even better, my shins didn't bother me! This is HUGE- being able to run a race without my shins killing me is something I've been looking forward to for a loooong time.

Several of my friends also ran the race, and LMS was able to stay with their husbands and kids while I ran, which really made the whole thing possible. I left my camera with LMS, and she tried to get a picture of me, but my camera is a piece of crap and way too slow. So instead of me, here's a picture of the people behind me:

and a picture of me while we walked to the starting line, waving to LMS:

Apparently one of the husbands got some good video of me waving to LMS as I ran passed them to the finish line (they were a couple hundred yards from it), but I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet.

I enjoyed the course and I'd like to do this race again next year :)