The Wannabe Athlete

Warning: Incredibly cute photos ahead!

A few days before the Suncoast Classic, I discovered that they had Kid Races!

I just couldn’t resist.

The Mini Athlete is 21 months old, so we registered him  in the 1-2 year old, 100 yard dash division.

I had no idea what to expect. The Mini Athlete is going through a bit of a clingy phase (that has lasted approximately half of his entire lifetime), so I wondered if he might just hang onto my leg the entire time he was supposed to be running.

But wouldn’t you know? This little guy got SO excited when we were putting his race bib on him. He couldn’t wait to run! He saw that finish line and just wanted to sprint toward it!

In retrospect, I should have just let him run.

Let’s just say this race didn’t handle the Kid Races in the way this momma hoped they would.

For some crazy reason, they made us all line up along the race course, but let the oldest kids run first, from their starting line at 500 yards back to the finish line, while everyone else watched them. Then the next group. Then the next group. Then the next group.

Anyone who has a toddler recognizes the problem with this.

A toddler does NOT understand why they have to wait to run.

Sigh. But no one listened to me.

So by the time the 1-2 year olds finally got to line up, most of them were cranky and out of sorts. They were over it.

But I still had high hopes for the Mini Athlete. He lined up at the starting line with Daddy behind him. And then a mom decided to run up and put her daughter right in front of him.

Please note that this child does not have a race bib – little race bandit!

Well, having that cute little girl in front of him threw the Mini Athlete off. And then when they yelled “GO!” and the whole crowd started screaming…

Combine that with the fact that I didn’t realize it probably would have been a good idea to run holding his hands like the other parents were doing…

Suddenly my child was having a meltdown, and started running the wrong way to find me (outside the finishing chute).

Oops.

We regrouped and ran as a family toward the finish line. But I’m sorry to say that the Mini Athlete finished last in his age group.

Oh well. He can only go up from here, right?

Oh and the race had also run out of medals when we crossed the finish line, but luckily someone was able to find an extra box so the Mini Athlete got his first finishers medal. I think he was pretty proud of himself.

While one of the Mini Athlete’s favorite activities around our house is running (he loves to have us yell “Ready, Set, GO!” before he runs down the hallway), we might be waiting a little while before his next organized race.

But he sure did look cute in that race bib.

Has your child ever ran in a Kids’ Race? What was your experience like?

I did it! I ran my first post-2nd-pregnancy 5k!

And I wasn’t the only one. We had a whole crew out there running this morning!

The Mini Athlete even ran his first race!

But I’ll have to save that part of the recap for another post. WAY too many cute photos to fit into one post.

My youngest sister and Little Miss spent their energy looking cute instead of running.

But let me start at the beginning…

I registered for this race months ago, while I was still pregnant in fact. It was exactly 3 months after my due date so I figured it would be a good goal. Nate and the Mini Athlete had run this race last year while I was at the Princess Half. Wow he has grown up a lot since them! My husband however, wore the exact same shirt today. Haha.

We got up (before) bright and early this morning to get everyone out of the house. Never an easy feat!

The weather looked perfect as we left town and headed toward St. Petersburg. As we were going over the Skyway, an ominous black cloud appeared in the western sky. Our beautiful blue sky was turning grey and we could see rain was in the near future.

Nate had been planning to run with the Mini Athlete but the cold, rainy conditions were less than ideal so he and his sister hung out with my little sister inside the warm Fit2Run store outside the starting line. So thankful for her!

(And thanks to Caroline for the adorable photos!)

Thankfully the rain had all but let up by the time the race started. I had left my iPod and cell phone in the diaper bag so I apologize for not having any in-race photos. Feels so weird not to have any! But it was kinda nice to just focus on running.

I absolutely loved the course – it was a little different than other St Pete 5ks I’ve run, but still in familiar territory. I felt good from the very start and didn’t take a walking break until I hit the first mile marker at about 10 and a half minutes. After that, I kept giving myself goals before I would walk again. Because it was partially an out-and-back route, I convinced myself not to walk again until I saw Nate. Sure enough, he passed me before I even hit the 2 mile mark.

He finished in 22:36 – he is so speedy!

I came across the finish line in a very respectable 33:55 – FOUR seconds faster than my last first-post-pregnancy 5k! And that was five months after giving birth, not three!

I’m pretty darn proud of that.

Before I knew it, my sister Shannon came flying toward the finish line – with Caroline‘s family right behind her!

Shannon finished in 41:50 – taking about 3 minutes off her last 5k!

I’m so proud of her. What an awesome race.

And many thanks again to our awesome spectator/babysitter.

I have a feeling this race just might have been the kickstart I needed to get my running groove back!

I almost forgot!

Anyone want to do the Rev3 Florida Triathlon with me?

Use this code for $10 off!

CCREV3FL13

Come on…you know you want to join me!!!

(The code is good for either the 70.3 or Olympic distance!)

Wait until you read this post until you answer that question.

You know how I’ve been saying I don’t have the time to workout? That I’ve been lacking the motivation?

Well, nothing gives me drive and motivation to find time to workout like signing up for a race. I have a few running races coming up, but they’re all distances I’ve accomplished before and I’m having a hard time getting excited about them.

But now I’ve done it – I’ve signed up for a BIG goal.

What goal? This one:

No, I haven’t gone completely crazy. I won’t be doing the 70.3; I’ll be doing the Olympic distance (aka the 32 miles).

What is involved in the Olympic distance?

Swim: 0.9 miles

Bike: 25 miles

Run: 6.2 miles

Totally doable…right?

I sure hope so. Because not only have I told all of you here on my blog, I’ve also committed to blogging for Rev3 about my training journey in exchange for a comped entry. Yikes.

Now it’s out there. For all the “real” triathletes to see. But hopefully I’ll encourage or inspire some other “wannabe” triathlete to accomplish their goals!

And I’m excited to have a big dream again.

What big dream are you working towards?

You guys are the best.

Seriously.

Thanks for all the support.

Thanks for reminding me to not put too much pressure on myself. Life is too short. My kids will only be this young once – I should be enjoying every moment, not beating myself up for what I’m not doing.

Stay tuned – my wannabe athlete ways are making a comeback. I have big things on the horizon.

It’s 8:30pm. I’m sitting on my couch, seriously contemplating getting up to get some ice cream.

I haven’t worked out since Saturday.

Somehow, breastfeeding and chasing a toddler (combined with some stress and long days at work) has left my clothes fitting better than they have in a while. Despite my nightly ice cream habit. And lack of exercise.

It’s funny that for so long I struggled with calling myself a runner – despite the fact that I ran 3-4 times a week, up to 13 miles at a time.

And yet now, when I run once every three weeks (or maybe once a week if I’m lucky), I somehow still think of myself as a runner.

I still dream about races. I still sign up for them on a whim.

But my motivation to train has gone out the window. Heck, my motivation to run has gone out the window.

I’ve always been a morning runner, but getting two adults and two children out the door in the morning before work makes me feel like I simply don’t have time to run.

Do I actually have time? Probably. Do I have the motivation to make it happen? No.

Just being honest here.

My first post-second-pregnancy 5k is this Saturday and my only expectation for the race is to cross the finish line. Hopefully with a smile on my face.

Maybe doing a race is just what I need to help me catch the running bug again. Maybe it will help me “wanna” be a “wannabe athlete” again.

Here’s hoping!

Have you ever found yourself in a running funk? How did you push past it?

Today I enjoyed my first day off work in…12 days? I think that’s right. It’s all blurring together. And like your typical crazy runner, I decided to wake up early on my day off to go pound the pavement. Once again, I am so thankful for our Island Running Club because without the accountability, I doubt I would have made it out there. Just look at this awesome group!

Plus three others not in the photo. Our little group is growing! I set out this morning, not really sure what to expect. I haven’t run in two weeks so I wasn’t expecting much – but I am always hoping for the best.

I somehow managed to run the first two miles without walking. That’s a huge accomplishment for me! My pace wasn’t the best – right around 11min/miles – but I’ll take it. I left my iPod at home and tried to just enjoy the run. And I really did.

The third mile was much more difficult, but not impossible. The warm weather is back here in Florida, and the humidity was in full swing! Hoping for a little cooler temperatures next Saturday for our 5k…

After our run, my sister mentioned that she had a trip to Ikea planned for the afternoon. Ikea? Hmm. I’ve never been. And I had no plans. Sounded like a fun adventure to me!

That place is CRAZY. It’s like Disney World meets Target. It was almost tough to even see everything because there were SO many people there!

I did manage to spend plenty of money (how do little things add up so quickly??) and I fell in love with these bathroom vanities. I’ve mentioned before that we are renovating our bathroom and I think these would look great!

But I’ll save that purchase for another day.

See you next time, Ikea!

Are you an Ikea shopper? What has been your favorite purchase there? 

I used to pride myself in the fact that I always managed to get more than 24 hours worth of productivity out of any day.

My family would laugh about all the things I could squeeze into a day and wonder how I did it. The phrase, “There just aren’t enough hours in a day” never escaped my lips.

Well, it’s happened now.

Somehow being the Executive Director of a small, but busy non-profit organization combined with being a mother of two kids under the age of two has finally made me hit my limit of how much I could get done in a day. Something had to give.

Unfortunately, two things quickly went on the back burner.

Running and blogging.

My two beloved hobbies. The two “phases” I have actually stuck with longer than anyone (including my husband) ever imagined I would.

Am I giving up on my hobbies? No way. I think it is so important, especially as a mom, that we find things in our lives that we enjoy. Things that bring us pure, individual satisfaction outside of work and our families.

But do I have to recognize when it’s time to put those hobbies in their rightful place, behind the more pressing responsibilities of life?

Yes.

So that’s what I’ve done. But hopefully things will be getting back to “normal” soon – whatever that is. It’s time for me to remember to take time for myself. To focus on me. To pay attention to my health.

I’m starting tomorrow. Actually, I’m starting tonight – just by blogging. And I’ll be continuing tomorrow morning with a 3 mile run with my running club. It won’t be pretty – I haven’t run in two weeks. But I do have a 5k next weekend.

And it’s time to start taking care of me again.

What is the first thing to go on the back burner when your life gets busy? How do you make sure to find time for yourself?

Yes, it’s true. I’m in the market for a minivan.

I have learned that people usually fall into one of two categories – minivan lovers and minivan haters.

My friend Katie is a minivan hater. She has always been resolute that she will never own one…but I’m not convinced. I think it’s only a matter of time.

My friend Jenn is a minivan lover. She has twins just older than the Mini Athlete and has compared her minivan to an apartment on wheels.

I have driven my beloved 2003 Toyota Corolla for the past 10 years. Literally. My family bought it new for me while I was in college and I have since put almost 160,000 miles on it. The crazy thing? I still love that little car.

But with two babies in carseats, the Corolla is just too small. Add their diaper bags, stroller, etc and there is just no room.

So it’s time to start looking for something different. And I have to say that the convenience of automatic sliding doors is luring me in.

I don’t really have strong feelings about any particular type of minivan – everything is on the table at this point. My only non-negotiable feature would be those sliding doors. But then again, I haven’t been in the market for a car in ten years.

It’s a little overwhelming to say the least. I’m constantly browsing Craigslist, AutoTrader and the classifieds, hoping to find the perfect deal. But quite frankly, I’m still not sure what it is I’m looking for…and I’m hoping you can help.

Please share your advice!

If you have a minivan, which one do you have? What do you like or not like about it?

Don’t have a minivan? What are some features in your car you just can’t live without?

I’ll keep you posted as the minivan search continues!

What an awesome weekend.

Did we do anything extraordinarily special? No.

Was the weekend full of extraordinarily special moments?

Yes.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday for our weekly run with the Island Running Club.

New people!

Many of our regulars couldn’t make it and I quickly realized that I would be the slowest in the group. Gulp.

We set out on a three mile out and back route that took us past the beach.

Alanna and I stuck together for most of the run, but after we hit the 2 mile mark, I encouraged her to go ahead. We had been doing 3:1 intervals (run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute), but I just couldn’t keep it up any longer.

I went down to 2:1 intervals and watched her pull away.

Yes, I came in dead last in my own running group.

Well, actually, Alanna turned back around about a tenth of a mile from our destination to come back and run it in with me. She said, “No mommy left behind!” Love her.

Despite coming in last, I was super proud of myself. Why?

I ran THREE miles! That is a new P2BPDR! (Post-2nd-Baby-Personal-Distance-Record).

And I ran it at a pretty good pace for me! I finished the 3 miles in just over 33 minutes. There is definitely room for improvement, but I was pretty happy with that time. Unfortunately, later in the day, my body painfully reminded me that I gave birth two months ago. My pelvic region still hasn’t totally recovered…at least not enough to run 3 miles without being sore later. But I know that will get better with time.

We came home from our run to quite a crowd at our house. Why? My parents were having a garage sale!

What did that mean?

Lots of family time!

Good times.

My husband and I went minivan shopping on Saturday afternoon…with no luck. Is a minivan still in our future? Yes. Do I know which one? Not at all.

Sigh.

Sunday brought more simple, yet wonderful moments. First, church as our little family. Then some projects around the house. After his nap, the Mini Athlete did what he could to help Daddy. I’ve started noticing lately that he wants to imitate everything Nate does. Precious.

A few errands, some blogging and the Grammy’s…

Not a bad weekend. Not bad at all.

Did you have any simple but special moments this weekend? Tell me about them!