Mother, Run, Hike

So, I went a little crazy... I seem to lose my head when I think about doing races. On Wednesday I had been thinking of doing the SMT Turkey Trot, I had done it the year before and had really enjoyed it, even with all the slush and mud around from the snow storm the night before. The day was to be a sunny cool morning, perfect for a 3.1 mile run. I went and registered for the run, because registration is only offered up until the night before. The fire hall was full of people! Volunteers, runners picking up their bibs and shirts, runners registering for the run, this year I even saw the table for Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg! This year they were offering a free 1/2 mile kids run, which I registered my son for. I had told Roger that I wanted to do the race, but that I would need his help keeping an eye on my son, to which he didn't seem very excited about. Now... that is what made me lose most interest on doing this race. Last year I did this race because my son was with his dad, ...

Race: Girls on The Run 5K - High 5 Weather - 42, windy, sunny. Cost : $25, I registered the Friday prior to the race Goodies: a ticket to Hershey Park. Shirt- a nice cotton blue shirt. Race Website: http://capareagirlsontherun.org/ Last year I had mixed feelings about the Girls on The Run 5K. There were many things going into it, the weather was dreadful, the event felt more like a party I wasn't invited to, but crashed, and there was a lot of stopping at the beginning of the race, mostly because girls didn't tie their shoes. But I went back to do the Fall 5K this year for two reasons, One- I told my cheesesteak guy that I would do it, he said his daughter was doing the run, and I didn't want to risk losing out on Cheesesteaks! and two, I really believe on what the organization is doing! I wish that my school would have had a group to motivate me to run when I was younger. I was excited that this year the run will be in Hershey Stadium, thinking that if it rain...

"When are we going Hiking again?" Asks Roger as I lay in the couch crying over Katniss volunteering for her sister, even thought I've watched this movie 6 or 7 times, and read the books 3 times, this scene still gets me. "I don't know," I answer wiping my tears away. We haven't gone hiking since we went to see Turkey Point with my sister, back in October. We have had a super busy month. Between moving, going to Florida and visiting my family; every weekend has been taken up by an activity or other. This last weekend we met up with my siblings to go see Mockinjay part 2, a date that has been scheduled since early August. and Sunday I had a 5K and a long run after. So we decided to make our long run on Sunday a trail run. Pick a park, find a trail and run it... and walk if we have to. Therefore exploring the park and nature, as we also run our miles for the week. We picked Memorial Lake State Park , and decided to cut our run to 5 miles, since the p...

Christmas Wish list I just finished putting together the Christmas list for my family. We have grown up a lot in the last 5 years and have made our list about things that we can / will use; which prevents wasting money for all of us and hoarding for others. Last year somebody even asked for a bottle of Ketchup, it was a joke but it ended up being used. In other years I have asked for things that I don’t use. For some reason that I don’t understand now, I asked for a deep fryer and a food processor one year. I lost the fryer on my divorce, but I’m glad to not have the fryer anymore. Other years I asked for work out leggings and I got an awesome pair of bright pink capris leggings. A color I would have never bought for myself, but that I love. Last year I didn’t ask for many things, I asked for a DVD/CD combo of my favorite Artist, Enrique Bunbury and a few movies. I was fortunate to get a pair of super awesome Adidas Hiking sneakers, an iPad mini and socks. Those sneakers wer...

This past weekend I went with Roger to the Florida Aikikai Winter Seminar. He has been attending for many years, but skipped it last year. So this year he was very excited about going, I was more excited for some rest, food and warmer running weather… I got only one of the things I wanted, but not much of it. Roger told me that the weather in Florida was calling for rain and 80°-85° temperatures for the days that we were there. I packed pants and short-sleeve shirts, thinking that if it was raining it would feel a little breezy. I also packed my favorite Adidas running shorts and my Wal-Mart light running shorts, overall my favorite running outfit, light and breezy. We arrived on Thursday night at 10:45, and as we waited for the shuttle for the car rental, it was warm and humid. I was surprised that it felt so humid so late in the day, but that’s Florida. Getting the car rental proved to be a new test of patience and sanity… it took a long time to finally get a car, which w...

Date of the Race: November 1, 2015 at 9:30 am Location: Started in front of the Harrisburg Mall. Weather conditions: Cloudy, but warm. Around 55 degrees, light wind. Price: $15, I registered in May. Shirt- Awesome blue Captain America tech shirt. Bathrooms- Race started and finished at Harrisburg Mall, we used the bathrooms in the mall. Post race food: Awesome selection! Bananas, bagels, coffee, cupcakes, granola bars, water. Others: Because it was a Hero run, there were some cosplayers present. Also, I saw the Oscar Mayer’s hotdog car, and the Ghostbusters car. I did the Hero Run in 2014, it was cold and windy, but had so much fun that I knew I would be back this year. I looked for the registration since April, and was way too excited when registration opened in May. I knew I would go as Selena, my personal Hero. My son and Roget both had something to say about my costume. My son said “Selena is not a hero, she doesn’t have any super powers”, to which I answ...

** this is not my Hero Run 5K Review, only the mistakes I made leading up to the race** I have known I was doing the Hero Run 5K since May, I had my costume picked out and done since July, except for the pants, and those were done last week. I have known I was moving since September. But I was completely unprepared for both events. I had the Half Marathon on October 18 th , and mentally blocked anything that would require too much thinking or energy prior to that. So I had to move out of my apartment in 3 days. Roger helped me out, but I moved about 85% of things on my own. I went up and down steps almost nonstop for two and a half days, and most of those times I was carrying a box or something heavy. Here are some of the things I regret doing in preparation for the Hero Run 5K. Ate a ton of junk food- Because I was “Super busy” packing and moving things, I mostly picked up food for many days before the 5K. And with a family emergency, I ended up eating McDonalds for dinner v...