Cupcake Run

Goal = cupcake pick up for Gmommy's (grandmother) birthday celebration! Since I like to multi-task, I turned it into not only a cupcake pick up but also a few minutes of exercise!

So Friday evening, September 23 found us at the "cake lady's" house which was on a busy road with fast cars but we checked out a couple of side streets. The change of scenery was nice to me...

"I don't like running in another neighborhood, mommy."

"Oh really, why is that?"

"I don't know, I just like ours and the cars here are too fast."

"Well, we won't run here again because they are fast but we do have to get the cupcakes."

Since our photographer didn't come with us, we have solo pictures and appropriate for Evan whose 10th (holy cow!) birthday is Tuesday, September 27:

And the Princess in her Virginia Woolf shirt:

So our conversation centered around the different look of the houses in the area - brick versus vinyl, contemporary decor versus "older," and the fact that one house had a long pond as its backyard.

Since the road was busy, dusk was upon us and the "cake lady" had some place else to be, we ran less than 20 minutes and came back with these stats:

Time: 17:43
Distance: 0.733
Steps: 1792
Calories: 45.8
Pace: 2.5

Happy Running!

The After-Kevin Run

Apparently Mommy had a tough act to follow on Monday, Sept. 19 after Evan's run with Kevin on Sunday.

But since Evan loves his Mommy, he hung in there with me, i.e. slowed WAY down, for our brief run on this cloudy and again breezy evening. And, Evan was paying attention to Kevin, as you can see with our stretching pre-run:

And again...
"Mommy, you need to keep your arms low."

"Oh, really, why is that, Evan?"

"Well, you need to keep them about here (lowering to around the waistline) to get more oxygen."

"Hmm, that's interesting. I need all the oxygen I can get so I'm lowering. Did Kevin tell you that?"

"Well, yeah, mom."

Thankfully, I still have my ears at this point :) but Evan keeps talking and talking!

He shared details about the pioneers that settled in North Carolina - his social studies lesson - also included everything I ever wanted to know and more about Daniel Boone. He talked about the story he is writing in a new software program on his computer. It's one he started on his own since he likes writing. Not sure where he gets that trait? :)

Since rain was threatening, we headed home with Evan's pedometer showing:
Distance: 1.33
Steps: 2830

Happy Running!

It's Evan and Kevin!

As promised, the Princess has found the Turtle a "part-time" running partner! And, he is fast!

Evan and Kevin take a moment for the camera after their first run on Sunday, Sept. 18 around 4pm in the afternoon. Kevin, who is a ninth-grader, is on the cross country team at his high school so he showed Evan some stretches before and after. Ironically, the stretches were pretty similar to the ones I encourage him to do but Kevin is way cooler than Mommy, of course!

 He also introduced Evan to the path/track that he practices on at his high school. They "jogged," as Kevin described, two laps. It was a perfect day to be there - cloudy, mid-70s and even a light breeze.

I walked two laps with Kevin's mom, Lorraine. We chatted mostly about Evan and Kevin (those names sound like they were meant to be together)! Like Evan, Kevin loves the running - having improved his 5K races with every cross country meet. I think he has finished in as little as 23 minutes while Evan's last one was 30 minutes.

A couple of evenings after the run while at my Bible study group with Lorraine, she mentioned that once the boys were out of our sight - Evan talked and talked! He shared the many things he liked and talked about the races he has done! I told Lorraine I wasn't surprised since he talks my ears off too when running!

And six days after their run, Evan continues to ask me when he gets to run again with Kevin.

Meanwhile, I did keep mine and Lorraine's stats (the Turtle and his friend were too fast for me):
Time: 29:45
Distance: 1.245
Steps: 3046
Calories: 72.6
Pace: 2.5

Happy Running!

Fifteen Seconds of Fame

Actually it is a bit of a follow up to Three Kings and a Queen but I really consider it my 15 seconds of fame:

The queen really did make it through this part of the obstacle course and yes, the tiara remained on my head! The "oldest" king, well, you can see that his crown is missing in action and he eventually made it through this part so perhaps this should be his ten seconds of fame! :)

And to see more professionally-photographed cool photos, see here! Look for the two younger kings in their crowns with tie-dye shirts.

Happy Walking and Eating Healthy as a Family!

Three Kings and a Queen

Evan and I are in our ninth month of running together and have several races "under our feet," so the curiosity of his little brother continues to build...

which brings us to Saturday, Sept. 10 at 9am in Old Salem for ...

Eric's first race!!

It was the first annual Brenner FIT 1.5-mile walk. Our team name: Three Kings and a Queen:

We started off with a Zumba warm-up assisted by Bolt (the Dash Baseball Team's mascot); WXII Meteorogolist Austin Caviness and WXII Girl-Talk Host Mary Beth Brown:

Then we headed through Old Salem and the surrounding streets - passing through stations teaching us about eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle.

My favorite was the family sitting together and talking at the dinner table while Eric's favorite was the dancing/cheerleading stations (there were real cheerleaders out there). Evan wanted to run but liked the obstacle course and I think Daddy was just happy to finish in one piece, although he seemed to enjoy the tall sunflowers in Old Salem's garden:

After the walk, there were booths set up in Salem Square with food and more exercising opportunities, such as Salem Gymnastics and Sports Center:

and the Y's sack races:

Happy Walking and Eating Healthy as a Family!

Way Too Dark

Since Evan was up before the chickens on Wednesday, September 7, we hit the road!

It was 5:15 a.m. (Daddy leaves around 6 for work) and way too dark for a photo. It was misty, rather chilly, lots of shadows and dark!

I did manage to find my phone to record our stats at:
Time: 16:45
Distance: 0.645
Steps: 1596
Calories: 41.6
Pace: 2.3

Even after that run, I worked in a few minutes of my usual morning routine of Wii Fit Plus but exhaustion hit earlier than usual later in the day! Evan hung tough though, but he is nine years old!

Happy Running!

Indiana Jones

So lots of running in the Indiana Jones movies:

Just like on Saturday, Sept. 3 with a mom and her son:

To keep things interesting, we decided to run out of our comfort zone (i.e. neighborhood) and ventured again to the "big" two-lane road! Evan wanted to run to Friedberg Moravian Church up the road but on the same side as our neighborhood (not as dangerous as IJ but it was a close second).

Evan: Yeah, mommy, look at me, I'm Indiana Jones!

Me: OK, Mr. Jones, just watch for cars and look where you are going!

Since we had to run single-file for a majority of the run there wasn't a lot of conversation but the weather at 9:30 on Saturday morning was nice in the mid-70s. We shared the road well with passing cars and one cyclist.

And this time we used Evan's pedometer which came back with:
Distance: 1.53
Steps: 3253

Happy Running!

Bike + Jog/Run

Bike + Jog/Run = Daddy's much-needed few minutes alone!

Evan and his little brother rode their bikes and Mommy mainly jogged with a bit of walking on Wednesday evening, August 31.

Once again, Evan left us in the dust. Eric kept talking, pedaling, stopping, talking, pedaling, stopping ... so Mommy kept walking, jogging, walking, jogging ...

We did manage to hit a few of the cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood and we attempted to visit the horses at the end of our neighborhood but they weren't home.

The long hill after the horses at the end of our neighborhood is a different story though ... Now, Evan is used to riding up and down but Eric - well, he likes putting on his brakes since he recently discovered how to do it and here is what happened, but he survived:

a scrape on his forehead, one on the back side of each arm and a bruise or two on his legs. His immediate words were:

"I want Daddy."

Then:

"I'm not ever going to ride my bike down the hill again, mommy."

Well, here we are at the bottom of this hill that he thinks made him wreck his Spiderman hand-me-down bike and we do have to get home.

Hmmm...

Mommy pulls the bike up the hill holding Eric's hand, reassuring him all the way up that he is fine, brave and everything will be OK. Meanwhile, Evan rides up then back to us until we get close to our house and he heads on in by himself.

Evan was so fast that I didn't get a picture of him on this day, but I did round one up of the Spiderman bike when Evan got it on his fourth birthday in September 2005:

Surprisingly, the pedometer kept recording during all that drama so here are my stats:
Time: 32:43
Distance: 0.903
Steps: 2212
Calories: 67.1
Pace: 1.7

(His Great-Grandma Humphrey and Grandma Sylvia, both paternal, are sitting behind the bike).

Happy (safe) Running!

Colorful and Conversational

Well, we have on our yellow and green with black and gray shorts and while that might be colorful - Evan was even more colorful on our Sunday evening, August 28 run through the neighborhood.

Evan enjoys watching HGTV - specifically the house/room makeovers and pretty much anything that has to do with redesigning - the budding architect continues to learn!

"Mom, have you ever seen that show Color Splash?"

"Yes, it's pretty good and the host is cute."

"Oh, well maybe but I think our living room needs some color."

"Really, what do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. We should move those marble tables because I don't like them. I'm not sure that new brown couch fits either. Oh, maybe we can paint it lavender."

"Whoa, first - where would you put those tables because they are from Daddy's grandmother so we have to keep them? And that second couch is practical because it allows all four of us to sit in the living room. I do like the lavender idea but I don't think Daddy will."

"I don't know. I just think it needs to be painted or something."

"Well, you think about it and come up with a plan and we will see."

"Ok, but I want to change my room too. I don't like the bed and the paint is too dark. Don't you think, Mommy?"

"Hmmm - again, a plan is helpful and we will see but you will probably have to wait until you are older for a room makeover."

After all that, I had to start walking since I haven't figured out the run/breathe thing yet, let alone an engaged conversation about interior designing! Since I was walking (fast) and Evan started doing his silly walk/slow jog thing, I decided to tell him about the sport of cross country.

Evan: What is cross country? I mean, do you really run across a country?

Me: No, not technically. Instead of running around a marked track, you are running through the natural terrain/land. Typically there is a "running path" but with hills, grass, concrete, rocks, etc. It is kind of like the Mission 5K downtown with the different terrains - gravel, concrete, asphalt, etc. but not as well-marked.

Evan: Oh, but could you run across a country?

Me: Well, yes, but that would mean lots and lots of training. For now, I'm going to try to find someone to run with you. Someone who can keep up with you so you can keep doing this. You do want to keep doing this, right?

Evan: Oh yeah, can I run a 10K?

Me: Yes, that's why I need to find someone to train with you on a regular basis. I think you could do a 10K now but I want you to train some more. I think I have someone - a ninth-grader on the cross country team at North Davidson - the high school you will be going to someday. His mom told me that he ran his last 5K around 23 minutes which isn't that much faster than your 30 minutes. If you keep this up, Evan, by the time you get to high school - you will be really good.

Evan: Ok, yeah, I want to keep running but I want to do a 10K.

Me: You will, Evan, I promise. It is just a lot of training and learning so you don't hurt yourself.

Evan: OK.

During all this, we did record our stats at:
Time: 28:41
Distance: 1.126
Calories: 66.7
Steps: 2767
Pace: 1.4

UPDATE:
Since this very colorful and conversational run, Evan did come up with the beginnings of a plan:

He labeled it "Living Room" and discussed colors with us and even drew the two couches with the marble table in the middle (the part with an X over it). We shall see ...

And, the ninth-grader has agreed to run with him some and offer "trainer" tips. Meanwhile, I am researching running outlets for Evan and I am going to create a Facebook page for northern Davidson County kids who want to run. Details to come soon!

Happy Running!