Crescent City Classic 10k

I ran my first 10k race today.  That is 6.2 miles, in case you didn't know.  Dan is a rock star and drove out to see me at the end and take pictures.  I really really wanted to carry my little camera on the run, but I could not for the life of me find it!  I know I put it somewhere safe, but I cannot remember where that might be.  So I was camera-less.  No photos of my 11 best running friends at the start.

I love my running group!  I run with the Stroller Warriors, a running group for military wives.  They are wonderful and have become friends to me.  We had a van of 6 of us, and several other cars going out to the race at 6am this morning.  It was fun to be with a group of friends and nearly all of us wore our Stroller Warrior Shirts.

The race started at 8.  I was a little grumpy, because I tend to run at 6am, and all this week, it has been 43 degrees at 6am when I run.  Today, it was 65 by 8am and the sun was bright and warm. It was a sunny 70 by the end.   So, not my best conditions for a run.  Running in the heat and sun gives me migraines. But I'd hydrated well the last few days and this morning, and I'd come prepared with salt tablets.   I thought I was prepared with my Garmin gps watch, but the darn thing said it had no battery charge.  AAARRGH!!  I was so cross about that. But I'm a punk, I can take it.  I used my stopwatch to guestimate where I was and how fast I was.  Definitely not as good, but better than nothing.

Our group was separated by our seeded times, and there were only 4 of us in the red "E" group.  I knew one of them was a lot faster than me, and the other 2 I was pretty sure were slower. I'm not sure I mentioned how huge this race is.  There were tons of people.  Tons!  They sent us off in waves by corral every 3 minutes.  We did a lot of walking before we hit the start, and it was slow and clogged for the first mile.  It never did clear out, but you had less and less dodging to do as you went on.  They had shut down the streets in the French Quarter and runners ran on both sides of the street, and needed the room.  

I so wish I had been able to find my camera!  We ran right through downtown New Orleans.  The race actually started at the Super Dome.   We passed the vomity smelling Bourbon street and splashed through the waterlogged gutters, due to the nightly hosing down of the streets to clear out the alcohol and vomit.  I avoided the gutters at all costs.  My running friends were excited about the free beer on course.  And it was there!  There several spots where folks were handing out cups of beer to the runners.

We started slow, which I like.  I like a slow start and a faster second half.  We couldn't go faster the first mile, but as things cleared up a bit, my friends got faster too.  I finally had to let my speedy friend go and I dropped back with the slower 2.  They, however, wanted to do miles 2-3 faster than I normally would have.  My shins were angry about it. I think we were hitting 9 minute miles because at mile 3 we were at 31 minutes.  

I was ready to step it up at mile 5, but my one of my 2 friends was running out of gas.  I decided I'd rather stick together, especially since the sun was hot and I was feeling it. I thought I'd rather be slow and feel okay at the end, then to push it and keel over.  We got progressively slower, but I was getting progressively hotter and I could feel my internal warning system telling me I was in trouble later if I pushed it.  But muscles and breathing for miles 5-6 were great.

So we slogged out the last mile and it was okay that we didn't sprint the end, because there was nowhere to go.  The second you stepped over the finish line, it came to a standstill.  My only complaint is that finish.  5000 people in front of you walking along at the end of a race is bad.  We spent 10 minutes working our way through the chute at the end.  It was frustrating.  We finally got our water and our medals, and could relax in the enormous crowd.  It took 2 phone calls to meet up with Dan.

I could have gone to the after party.  It was suppose to be fantastic- all the free food and beer you want. But I was tired and worried about a migraine, so Dan and I just headed home.  It was a decent race, and I was happy enough.  My time based on my stopwatch was 1:05:01.  Hopefully the official results will be up soon so I can see how I compared.

Dan brought Rylee to meet me.  And Dan is the one who took all the pictures for me! 

Check out this girl!  BAREFOOT! 

There were a lot of tutus.

I can't imagine a full bunny suit would be fun to run in, but this guy did. 

Yep, another tutu. 

Yikes, not sure why one would run in a mask. 

 And I'm really not sure what this is all about!

Man in a turkey costume?  Why not?  This is New Orleans!  And the costumes are my favorite part of the races here. 

 Another tutu.... wait, thats me!  Yep, my friend Blair made me a tutu and I wore it for my race, and I rocked it.  Well, I liked it better before I saw pictures.  In my head, I'm totally 25 pounds lighter and way more svelte.  But I had a good time, so its all good!

Me and my buddies at the end!  

Super awesome medals, too.  The little runner.... it spins!

Look what I found!  A Pre race photo from one of my group.  I'm the one in the tutu!

(And yes, we are standing in front of THE Super Dome. Or, as my kids call it, "The Mega Pie".)

And the results are posted.  I apparently can't tell how fast I am running for anything.  I so need my GPS watch!

There were 17,546 runners total.  I came in #6,051.  There were 9, 365 women and I was # 2070.  My official time was 1:04:57, and the pace was fairly consistent with times ranging between 10:13 (mile 3) and 10:30 (mile 1). So, we ran about the same pace, but it just felt better and worse at different times!  Bah.

Stuff that Happened

Marian received some super-awesome paints and brushes for her birthday.  She was really excited to try them out and painted this awesome chicken!

These paints are especially nice as they dry quickly and can be painted over.  A detail Marian was quite pleased about.  Why a chicken?  I don't know.  She googled pictures and settled on the rooster.  And I think she did a marvelous job!  (Thanks Grandma White!!)

For school, Callie had to do a "Living Museum".  She was suppose to choose a job , or what she wanted to be when she grew up.  She was suppose to research this job and write up a 2 minute shpiel on it.  On Thursday, parents were invited to go see the kids present it.  The children each had a sticker on their shoulder for you to "push".  Pushing their button made them give their prepared speech about the job. 

Some kids got way into it.  Callie did not want to stop playing outside and come in to work on it.  Her reporting was sparse and not as well done as it could have been.  Some kids had poster boards and awesome dress ups.  Callie brought her little dog and used it as a prop, and had some details that were not necessarily based on fact or research.  She did a dang good job for the amount of work and preparation that went into it! I went, I poked her and heard her shpiel (for the 10th time!!) and saw some of the other kids before Rylee and her antics necessitated leaving.  Callie said she enjoyed it and it was fun.

This is just an awesome cake I wanted to remember.  One of my running friends made this for another. It is a Pinata Cake!  She said she cooked 2 cakes in 2 bowls that were the same size and shape, to get 2 half circle cakes.  (Or, and Delaney corrected me.... "spheres".)  Then she scooped out the middle of the 2 cakes and filled them with easter candy.  Yep, all kinds, from jelly beans to rolos to peanutbutter cups.  She then covered the hole filled with candy with parchment paper, flipped one half onto the other and slid the parchment paper out.  Then she frosted it and amazed us at a get together!

This?  Well, this is just a picture of a cute kid I know!  She had her very first field trip this week.  It was so exciting she actually woke up an hour early to be ready.  It was kind of nice to not be hurrying her up to get ready for once!   She had a marvelous time and was so excited that she finally got to ride on a bus.  And the Children's Museum was great.  She had a really good time.

This is Levi.  I went to the park with some friends on Friday morning.  Since it was a 1/2 mile walk, I took the dog.  Sadly, he was not very well behaved while we hung out at the park.  I may need to reassess the value of him getting a walk vs the value of my peace and quiet. 

Rylee had a marvelous time at the park!  She had a good time running around.  It was a glorious day.  After a week of chilly temperatures, it got up to 75 and Rylee ended up with pink cheeks.

There's a WHAT in my back yard?!

I may have mentioned that we live in an alligator infested swamp.  Oddly enough, all my friends and neighbors see them all the time, but in the 19 months that we have lived here, I have only seen one other alligator, outside of the zoo.  Today was my lucky day!

Yep, we saw this little guy in the canal that runs in front of our house.  Granted, he was a lot further down the canal and nowhere near the front of my house, but I finally saw an alligator!. 

 The little pipe there is his home.  My friend said he's there all the time on either side of the pipe.  That pipe goes under the road and exits in the other canal right by the playground. Yippee.  There's an alligator living right by the playground!

He really is just a little guy.  Maybe 4 feet long.  I let Levi go up to check him out.  I know, one of those things that in hindsight is really bad when things go south.  The alligator waited till the dog was a foot away and then made a spectacular splash and disappeared into his hidey hole. 

I can't wait to see him again!

She takes after me

I think we all know that Delaney is a character.  A very fun one at that. She also has a very vivid imagination.  A friend once said that her mind must be like an amusement park.  I expect it is.  I don't know where her unique personality comes from.  Probably not me!  She is so interesting and creative.  Recently, my favorite thing is the names she gives her favorite stuffed animals.  Most notably, her panda bear.  His name is "Mr. Miggins".  Who comes up with stuff like that?!  Certainly not me.

My family has a history of dull names for our pets that lack imagination. Rylee takes after me.  She has a favorite stuffed poodle, and its name is "Poody the Poodle".  Her other favorite is a little black beanie baby dog and his name..... "Black."

Levi's Haircut

Levi is a hair hairy dog.  The amount of dog hair on my floor is astonishing.  It has to be swept daily, and even then, I find hairballs that managed to sneak away from the broom and band together.  Not only is it everywhere, it is long hair.  Long enough to french braid or put into ponytails. 

I asked Callie to take some "before" photos for me, to document what Levi looks like with all his hair.  I thought this would be perfect because Callie loves to take hundreds of pictures and there are usually a few good ones among the lot.  Sadly, this time, she took 5 pictures and this was the best.  All the pictures she took were of his hairy hindquarters.

This is the best picture I could find of Levi.  The dog is always in motion and it is incredibly difficult to get a cute picture that's not blurry.  Since the girls tied him up with the jump rope, he stayed put for this picture.

Again, note the length of hair.  And it is soft hair! 

Here is the "After" picture!  Look at how little he looks!! And he looks like a woolly lamb.

Isn't he cute.  Look how short his hair is.  It is actually an inch long.  We'd planned it to be a little longer and chatted with the groomer about what we'd like.  When I went to pick him up, she said that the trim we'd wanted looked awful on him, so she'd done the default trim down to an inch.  We're happy with it.  It is getting hot and muggy and Levi hasn't enjoyed our runs as much because he's been hot.  Check out the awesome stool Levi is on.  My Father-in-Law made it!  And this is Levi's new trick.

If the video refuses to play, it is of Levi doing his trick.  Yeah, we think he's awesome.

Someone would really like to go for a walk! 

And now look at his bum!  You can actually see his nubby little tail!  The kids have been fascinated by it.  You never saw his tail before because it blended with the hair, so they are excited that it is true, he DOES have a tail!

Who? Me?!

Nothing makes a Sunday morning more exciting than arriving at church and noticing that your son's name is on the program to give the first talk.

Nothing warms a mother's heart more than said son writing a talk and delivering an awesome one 15 minutes later.

How to Eat a Cupcake

Spring!!

The official first day of spring has arrived!  And with it, the 10th birthday of a special girl I know.  Yep, Marian had a birthday.  She was so cute.  She did not want pictures or attention.  But she sure was excited about cake and presents! She requested a lemon cake with lemon frosting.  It was tasty, even for  us chocolate lovers,

 Opening the cards.

 She didn't ask for much in the way of gifts.  She said she wanted a pocket knife and a musical instrument to play. Hence, a violin.

When asked, Marian told her grandmother that she wanted Paints, but not the kind you have to add water to.  And donuts.  I love my in laws.  They sent a fantastic paint set with paper and brushes. Marian has had a blast trying them out.  What really warmed my heart though, was the $5 bill with the note that said it was for donuts!  (We went out for donuts for breakfast today!)

And because it is that time of year, Rylee's preschool had it's annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Here is my cutie in her super-cute shirt they made.  I love the hand print bunny!

Hunting for eggs. 

So excited over the patterns and colors on some of the eggs. 

Counting her eggs.  The kids were only suppose to pick up 15, so Rylee was diligent about counting her eggs after each new addition to the basket. 

Not sure if she can put this one in.  She had a great time and loved finding eggs.  She liked the eating of the contents even more.

That'll Leave a Mark!

 Ever since I let Joshua tackle the destruction of my old stroller for parts, I've had a lot of young men hanging around in my back yard.  This is what they were doing the other day.....

 Gleefully trying to demolish the stroller.  Because they haven't got the right tools, the stroller is putting up a good fight and is still looking like a stroller. Joshua has been having a marvelous time with it and I love that it keeps him outside and working his brain. Fortunately, he has not wacked himself in the head with the hammer again.

As for me, I finally did what I've known is coming for a while.  I fell.

I get up early some mornings to run before the kids get up for school, and with Daylight Saving Time last week, it is now really dark at 5:45am when I hit the road in my go-fasters.  The last .75 miles of my running path before the turn around point is in total darkness- no light but the oncoming traffic, which blinds you.  So I am surprised I have not stumbled badly before today.

Here is my poor bloody knee.  I am quite disgusted that I fell a mile into the run.  It is all Levi's fault.  He had to poop while we were still in civilization, so I had to pick it up.  I could not find a trash can though, so I was running with a bag-o-poo for a bit.  I finally spotted a dumpster in a parking lot and detoured to toss my baggie in it.  Then I headed back to the road.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't notice the 1/2 inch curb at the bridge that connected the parking lot to the road, and down I went.  Ouch!

I'm a punk, I can take it.  So I got up, walked a minute and then finished my 5 mile run.   Yeah, I'm tough.  Sort of.  It was really starting to hurt by the time I got home, honestly. And the blood flow wasn't really that bad.  It was a muggy 68 degrees out there, so it was vastly enhanced by sweat.

And... And, what kills me is that I put on my headlamp to run with this morning!  I knew it would be dark, so I had my reflective arm band, with my amber light on it, and I put on the headlight.  I did not have the headlight on in the parking lot because I was still where the street lights are!  Ug.  I sure look cool though, don't I?!  Ha.  I know, I am an ugly runner and I'm okay with it.  I ran 5 miles.  I can be an ugly runner if I can go 5 miles!

 This is my knee, all cleaned up.  No skin left on it.  Now to keep it moist enough till the new skin realizes it is on an appendage that needs to bend.

Milestones

Rylee is on the brink of 2 exciting milestones right now.  First off, she is sleeping through the night all by herself.... most nights.  She use to wake up at least once nearly every night and I'd have to go in and pop the binkey back in and retuck all her "nungies" over her.  She seems to be doing that by herself now.  I only had to go in once last week, and that was because she'd fallen out of bed, so she gets a little more leeway on that one!

Rylee is also on the verge of going napless.  She is at that horrid time where if she takes a nap, she's still all giggles and play at 10pm, with no desire to close her little peepers.  Usually I just go to bed and she eventually falls asleep fine. If she has no nap, it works out great about half the time.  I can put her to bed at 7:30/8pm and she's out for the night and life is good.  Other days.... like this evening..... she will put herself to bed and I won't realize it, until I go looking for her and see her passed out on her bed, all tucked in with her blankets.  Occasionally she will fall asleep on the couch or chair, and I'm left with the dilemma of whether to try to wake her up or see if she'll stay asleep for the rest of the evening and night.  We're working it out.  I hope!

I also have hit an exciting milestone!  I'm going to run the Crescent City Classic 10k race on March 30. I have never run a 10k race before, and about a month ago, I ran 6 miles for the first time.  I am currently hitting 6 miles once a week, and I've upped my regular weekly mileage from 3 miles 3 times a week, to running between 3 and 5 miles three times a week, with a longer run on Saturdays.  I guess that makes it 4 days a week I try to run!  So I'm feeling proud of myself.  At least, I am until you factor in that I'm running a 10 minute mile.  I'm pretty slow, but I figure, I'm still moving forward!

Life

 I go to get allergy shots every week.  Yeah, I know, ME.  I voluntarily drive 30 minutes so I can spend 45 minutes waiting and I let them poke me 3 times with stuff that stings and makes my arm burn and itch.  Fun stuff, I tell you, fun stuff.  Why this insanity, you ask?  Well, I live in hope that it will help.  Every year my allergies get worse.  Spending 3 months of the year sneezing, clawing itchy eyes, and being in a fog of snot induced headaches is not a lot of fun.  And no, meds do not provide much relief.  

So I thought I'd give the allergy shots a try.  I've been doing this for nearly 8 months now.  In a coupe weeks, I'll finally get to the "maintenance" dose and I won't have to go every week.  And hopefully, in a couple years, I won't suffer so miserably each spring. I got to go visit the allergist a week or so ago and he said since I am allergic to so many things, I probably will not see a vast improvement this year.  Sigh.  

You wonder what this picture has to do with my ramblings, don't you?  This is Rylee, at one of my appointments.  I try to go on days she is in preschool, but that's not always possible.  Thank heavens for the Kindle Fire!  She plays quietly on it during the eternal wait and is usually really good.  Isn't she cute?!

Joshua's 6th grade class had a "Poetry Slam" where each student got up and recited a poem they had memorized.  They were suppose to do a dramatic acting out of it, and it was fairly entertaining.  Parents were invited and I went and enjoyed myself.  Joshua did a good job.  And then there was a party.

Why I hate jump ropes.  Levi has a love hate relationship with them.  He likes to gnaw on them, but he's less enthusiastic when the girls do this to him!

Somebody was given permission to dismantle an old stroller to make a new go cart.  Someone was a bit overzealous with a hammer and managed to knock himself in the head with it.  Fortunately, it was not a bad injury and all is well.  The bruise will probably last longer and hurt more than this cut.