Monster Dash 5k

Tonight we were in Toronto for the Monster Dash.  It was our first time running the race and we are so glad we decided to do it!  It was an awesome race!

Yesterday we finished James' costume.  He is going as a Cyberman for Halloween and wanted to run the race in the costume.  It turned out pretty good.

I went as a butterfly fairy.

He was so excited to run this race.  His costume turned out better than I thought it would.  He did find out that Cybermen don't really sit.

Before the race we had to check out the finish line and get the last minute goofiness out.

We got to run the race in the dark so we brought our headlamps.  They really helped since part of the race was through the woods.  I thought he would have walked more since his costume was really cumbersome, but he was a trooper and ran almost the entire time!  He did walk to drink some water at the halfway point, but other than that he ran the whole time!  He was so excited when he finished the race.

After the race it was time to party!  Mike and I got to enjoy a really good vanilla porter from Mill Street Brewery.  It was a nice winter beer.  James enjoyed pizza, fruit, and juice.

Then it was time to dance.  And what dance does a Cyberman do?  The Robot of course!

 

 

 

 

He had a great time dancing!  And to top the night off, he won Best Costume for 17 and under!  He got a nice little prize pack that had 2 books, some ear buds, and 2 tickets to the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great night and we hope to be able to do this race again next year!



Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon-Half Marathon

Well, I did it!!!!!!!!  I ran my first half marathon in 2:44.30!  30 seconds under my goal time.  I had a good time with this race!

I was really nervous before the race.  James, Mike, mom and dad were great at trying to calm me down.  Here is James and before the race.

The size of the race was amazing!  The energy was amazing!  It was just a great race!

I started out too fast.  I felt really good and just let my legs run, but it was too fast.  I was 1:10 at the 10k mark.  Just off my best 10k time.  Not so hot for a half marathon.  I followed my plan and at the 10k mark I walked so I could eat my stingers and drink some Gatorade.  I still felt pretty good until about the 16k mark.  Then I could feel my muscles start to get tired.  I walked again to get the rest of my stingers and some more Gatorade.  At the 19k mark, my muscles were dead.  I had to walk a few minutes to get my legs under me for the rest of the race.

When I crossed the finish line I felt so good at having finished the race!  My legs were dead the rest of the day, but I did it!  I enjoyed running this distance.  It's just a good distance and a doable distance training wise. 

Here I am after the race.

I liked this distance so much, that I entered another half marathon on June 1st.  It will be the Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon.  I'm excited and ready to do the training.

As of right now, my next goal race is the Robbie Burns 8k in January.  I'm going to be training for that starting next week.  This week I'm using to recover and do short runs to get my legs back.  Today I went for a short 2 mile run with River.  My legs are still pretty tired, but the run felt good.  It is getting cold out though.  I had to pull out my running tights and long sleeve shirts.  Brrrrr....I don't know that I'm ready for the cold weather yet.  Tomorrow I'm going to the gym to do the bike and Friday I'm taking another short run.  Sunday we have a 5k race that we are doing.  It's the Monster Dash in Toronto.  James and I are dressing up.  It should be a fun Halloween themed race.

I just have to get my legs rested and then I can get back on a training schedule and back in the gym for weights.  This race really got me motivated to keep running and to try the longer distances.

Race Blog Catch Up: 6 Days Left!!!!!!!

I have been so busy with things at home that I haven't been logging my miles or keeping up with my blog.  As Sunday gets closer, I'm starting to get nervous.  I have 2 more short runs before the big day!  I'm excited, but I know I will start getting snippy the closer it gets.

Last weekend we ran the CIBC Run For the Cure.  I got to run with River.  This was her very first race and she ran like a champ!  She loved running the race.  She didn't even want to stop at the half way point for water.  She looked at me and kept running.  James loved all the pre-race stuff and loved our t-shirts.  He likes doing this race.  Once River and I finished she kept watching for James.  When she didn't see him she made me run back to find him.  It was so cute.  They both got to run across the finish line together.

Here are a few pictures from the race.

Today I ran the KW Oktoberfest 5K Fun Run.  This is my 4th year running this race.  It leads off the Thanksgiving parade and follows the route.  It's hilly, but a lot of fun.  I ran in my chicken hat this year. 

James liked that it was easy to find me.  I ran a pretty good time and felt strong the whole way.  At some point my hat got turned around though.

Because of my chicken hat, I won the Spirit Award!  I got a bag of all sorts of Oktoberfest swag.  Here I am displaying it all.

It was a fun day.  I have to think of how to top my chicken hat next year.

Only 6 more days until I run my first half marathon.  AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!