Weekend Race Review

This is will be my first ever race review on my blog! The best part? It was also my first double race weekend! 

On a last minute, impulse decision I signed up with Brazed Races Summer Breeze 5k. I've run with them before and I was truly impressed with how they treat their runners and their volunteers. The people who run these races are truly nice and wonderful folks. Their runs are mostly on trails on the East and South Bay Area. Each run has a 1/2 mile, 10k and 5k option. And they even offer a "hikers half", they usually walk the half marathon and are given an early start. If you sign up for the race early you even get your name printed on your bib! 

The Summer Breeze run was done at the San Leandro Marina which was a very scenic park on the East Bay Area. The beginning of August was quite foggy and therefore it was a bit chilly this morning (thus this run has also been called the Summer Freeze). The route was along the bay and was mostly flat. It was pretty cool to watch the fog slowly lift as I was running. I so wanted to slow down and take pictures, but was to overcome with my need to get a PR. I was bummed coz I forgot to wear my Garmin. Although, I had on Runkeeper, I didn't really feel like taking it out of my utility belt every time I wanted to keep pace and I really don't wear headphones when I am running with a group of people. 

The Brazen Start Arch

                                            As I was running, there were a few thoughts running through my head:  First, I was thinking that although I wanted to PR, I also did not want to get injured. I had the Giant Race the next day and I am also training for my first half marathon. Second, I have never wanted to finish a race at a great time so bad, that I did not get any sleep the night before. I literally had two hours of sleep and I had to be at the location at 6am since the boys were volunteers (my race did not start till 8:30). I also kept thinking about how bad I was as a mom since I didn't stop to take pictures with my kids at the aid station!

Anyway, I reached the finished line in 32:06 minutes! I ended up number 14 in my age group (40-45). And contrary to what my husband said, there were more than 14 in my age group (there were actually 49)!

Brazen treats their runners like royalty with a massive feast at the finish line: bagels, snacks, candy, and yes this: 

The bling and the prize!

I came home ready to run the Giant's Race the next day!

The Giant's race was something that I have waited for for sometime now. I signed up for this race back in May. I even signed up for the San Jose Giant's race so I can get the take two award. I am a San Francisco Giants fan so the idea of a finish line on the baseball field was beyond awesome. I also get to run along the San Francisco Bay another plus. There were 20,000 plus runners from all the different distances. The energy around the ballpark was incredible. The sea of black and orange gearing up for this road race was pretty amazing. I was pumped. My wave started at 7 and seeing the Bay Bridge still shrouded in fog was cool. Once again, I did not stop to take many pictures since I was gunning for a PR. In hindsight, since this was my first Giants race, I probably should have taken the time to enjoy my surroundings. I ran a steady 11:10 pace the first 4 miles (this time, I wore my Garmin but the GPS did not connect till after mile and a half). I was only able to check my pace after the race on Runkeeper. I only walked a few minutes during each mile. The fifth mile was getting tougher, but I was determined to run on the field. So I kept running. I swear my face lit up when I saw the Park! I was so happy to see my husband cheering me on near the finish. 

Lit up in a good way!

Running into AT&T Park felt electric. The scoreboard was showing all the runners as we were crossing the finish line. I felt as if I was standing on hallowed ground, the world series Giants played their best games here.  I was to stretch were Buster Posey had stretched! I was on an unbelievable high! The medal was pretty awesome too. It was modeled after the 2012 World Series ring. I was too excited after the race, that it was too late when I realized that I didn't take many pictures at the finish either. I am still really bummed about that. I guess I am just going to have to wait until after I run the half marathon next year.

 I never thought that I would ever run for a PR. When I started running, I just wanted to do it for my health, happy that I am able to finish without fainting. It feel great to be able to run beyond what I thought my limits were. I still have those nagging doubts in the back of my head which tells me that this is all just a passing hobby. Something that I would never continue and it is a daily struggle to over come those doubts. 

Do you like taking pictures during your races? Do run for time or for the experience? Do share your thoughts!

The medals from the San Jose Giants race and the Giants race with the turn two award.

Running With My Child/The Sharks Fitness Challenge

It was a 5k run that I signed up for at the last minute. I had originally just signed up my 11 year old for the kids fun run, but he begged and begged me to run the 5k with him (ok he didn't really have to beg that hard).  So sign up I did.

Seven tutus for seven runners

Since my cousins were also signed up, we came up with a crazy idea to make teal tutus in honor of the San Jose Sharks. So Friday before the race, on a blistering day when my A/C chose to break down, we made seven tutus.

That Sunday, June 30th was the middle of a very unusual heatwave that hit our fair Bay Area. (Yes, I will admit that we are spoiled crybabies who will complain if the temperature gauge flactuates beyond 75 degrees.) It was predicted to go up to 99 degrees that day, so I made a deal with my son to try and finish the 5k in forty minutes. Not too much to ask for, right? And we are off!
We were off to a running start, well at least for the first thirty seconds before my Bubba decided to slow down to warm up first. But the warm up walk kinda lasted almost the entire race. (To be fair, he did tell me he wasn't able to sleep all night because it was too hot.) I tried to encourage him to keep going and to try to at least jog. I found myself getting frustrated because it was a race after all. I literally had to stop take a breath and come to a realization that he has not trained for this. He is trying is best and I had to forget about my time and worry about him just getting to the finish.
I run for many reasons. One of them is so that I could inspire my children to try their best and to also to as healthy as they could be. In light of that, I need to keep in mind that signing them up for one race without really helping them train for is not a way to help me reach my goal.
Thank you for reading my first blog. I hope to share with you more of my journey and I hope that you could join me.

How do you encourage your children to excercise?
Have you run races with your children?