Four Efficient Feet

The Princess finally made it to the shoe store where the sales associate told me I have "efficient feet!"

That means, like Evan's feet, I hold my arch well; my gait is pretty even; and for now I do not need inserts for extra support. And like Evan, I purchased "Ghost" shoes which is a good description since it hardly feels like I have shoes on when I'm running!

So our four efficient feet made their way to the neighborhood across the "big" road on Sunday evening, May 29. It was a tad hot at 80-something degrees but we started out slow, walked a little more than usual and drank lots of liquid after returning home.

Before putting on our Ghost shoes, we also donned our new non-sweating socks (yes, we put both shoes on for the run). Evan also chose to wear his Soccer bandana all the way from Mexico.

Perhaps it was the heat or all the swimming, but Evan was actually slower than me! He even had to stop one time for a stomach cramp. My shoes wanted to keep running - they were awesome and no wiggling around with those socks! (Thank you, Mom!)

So during our walking time, we talked, well mainly Evan talked:

How many days until my next race?

Me: About 12. It's June 11 and you get out of school June 10.

Evan: Oh, so I have 11 more days of school?

Me: Well, yes if you count the weekend but really nine more school days.

Evan: So you have done two races, mommy.

Me: Yes.

Evan: And if I do this one, then I will have two. Then we will be even.

Me: Yes.

Evan: Look, there is a blue jay. See, right there?

Me: Shoot, I missed it.

I'm going to insert a comment here: Evan is going to do another race but I'm not going to share which one it is just yet. He says he is "training" for this next one and "needs to concentrate." Sometimes I think he is enjoying the running more than me which is awesome!

We continued walking now mainly because Evan needed to fertilize our earth :) and since he couldn't find an appropriate, i.e. "secluded" place, to do that, he started observing nature - thanks to his grandmother, I'm sure!

He counted two cardinals which he already knew it was our state bird; five bunnies; one blue jay; numerous squirrels; and even commented on real, live flowers!! See on all those walks, he WAS paying attention, Gmommy!

We made it home with no accidents and Evan sprinting from the neighbor's house while I finished recording our stats, coming in at:

Time: 32:48
Distance: 1.996 miles (or 2.0, as Evan reminded me it rounds to 2)
Calories: 138
Steps: 4214 
Pace: 3.7

Happy Running!

Running Together ... NOT

We did it ... finally!

Evan and I finished our first 5K running ... NOT together! Let's just say that the Princess needs help!

It was the Heal the Burn run on Saturday morning, May 21. Weather was beautiful even though Evan was shivering during our pre-race photo:

perhaps he was shivering because he hadn't eaten his breakfast of champions:

So, I gave Evan plenty of time to get ready, to mentally prepare:

Evan: Uh, mommy, are we going to stay together?

Me: Yes, sure. Why wouldn't we?

And lots of time to eat including bringing half the bagel in the car which he didn't eat. Meanwhile, I am getting ready, mentally preparing and eating, basically do all the "correct" things, right?

So, we arrived at the lovely Reynolda campus of Wake Forest University around 8:30 am and got our numbers:

And our chips that keep track of the time and pace. Yes, I had to ask what they do:

The race started promptly at 9am with circling the curved drive at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library and then going down past Wait Chapel. Shortly after that, Mommy was left in the dust...

Evan kept running. Mommy stopped ... but to walk. Evan kept running. Mommy started running. Evan kept running. Mommy started walking. Evan kept running. Mommy started running...

Until Mommy really was left in the dust, literally, construction dust and chalk messages (from the organizers) on the ground dust like Good Job!

That is until ... Evan stopped to wait and wait and wait until finally he sees    Mommy!

We meet again in the "forest-like" path and jog/walk through the very damp football practice field back through the path. We have made it halfway now!

We stop for water, politely throwing the cups in the trash can and ...

Evan runs. Mommy walks. Evan runs. Mommy runs. Evan runs. Mommy walks. Evan runs...

all the way to the finish line where...

Evan the Turtle places 67th out of 77 runners and then there is Mommy the Princess who places 69th.

So, what is going on here?

First off, the toes on my right foot were in some serious pain. And I knew in the first two minutes that I had not mentally prepared myself properly. Basically the only thing I did correctly was eat a decent breakfast! After some discussion with more experienced runners, I need help in the following ways:

1. new shoes
2. earlier bedtime
3. a quiet/meditation moment before the race
4. more frequent/regular running with Evan

Back to the race, Evan would have run the ENTIRE race had it not been the Princess slowing down the Turtle. Poor thing! He did awesome and really liked it:

Evan: I want to come back to the second annual one, mommy.

Me: We sure will, Evan.

Evan: When is the next one?

Me: Well we will have to find another one to do. I would like to do another one with you but I need to run more often with you after I get some new shoes.

And of course now Evan is hungry, eating cake:

He also enjoyed a turkey sandwich on a bun. We met a few Physician Assistant students who explained what a PA does which is basically 80 percent of what a doctor does like prescribe medicines, perform surgical procedures, etc. Along the route, there were facts about PAs, like it is the third fastest growing profession in the United States. And then there was this:

In the end, we both did finish the race and the world didn't end, as predicted by some people. 

Here are our chip stats:

Evan came in at 40 minutes, 11 seconds with a pace of 12:56. Dianne was 43 minutes, 51 seconds at a pace of 14:07. Evan seriously left Dianne the dust!

But we both made it home, smiling, sort of, and pain-free:

Happy Running!

Moon Run

After church and 2 1/2 hours of yard work, the Princess barely managed to run with the Turtle on Sunday, May 15. It was a great evening to run: breezy, dusk but with little sun, no traffic.

In our pre-run photo...

I am tickling Evan trying to get him happy to run and it is keeping me energized/motivated. It sort of worked :).

Running only a block: I am already tired, Evan, so I'm walking.

Evan, skipping and jumping: Ok, but you haven't worn me out yet.

Me: Uh, that will be a long time coming even though you ran around and played outside most of the afternoon.

Once again, he discussed the end of grade test which in North Carolina starts in third grade. He finished the test on Friday, May 13 and was anticipating his grade on Monday, May 16.

Evan: I think I made a high "three" [four being the highest] on math and probably a four on reading.

Me: I'm sure you made a high three or four on both. I know you passed it because I wouldn't have gotten you that transformer guy this weekend. You are an excellent student, Evan.

Evan: I know. Did you have EOGs, mommy?

Me: I took end of grade testing after third and eighth grade and then exams in high school. I'm not sure when EOGs started for every grade in North Carolina.

Evan: Mrs. Kitts [his teacher] said it started several years ago. Did you know that daddy didn't even have any EOGs?

Me: No, but that doesn't surprise me since he is way older than me!

Evan, laughing: Oh, yeah, right.

EOG update: Evan now knows his grade...

Evan: I made a four in math. I am disappointed with my reading. A three but probably a high three, mommy.

Me [on phone with him]: Excellent, Evan. You passed and I am so proud of you because you did your best!

So on to the post title...

I often find myself looking downward or straight out while running but this evening, for some reason, I looked up and saw gorgeous, puffy clouds. Even Evan thought they were pretty. Perhaps it was the sun setting on a semi-cloudy evening around 7:30 or perhaps it was quiet in the neighborhood with nothing to catch our attention. We also saw this:

and this:

That tiny, faint circle, is the moon! It was prettier in person!

Well, not sure if the tickling helped or the EOG discussion or even the pretty clouds, but we both made it at:

Time: 26:33
Distance: 1.332 miles
Calories: 80.6
Steps: 3263 
Pace: 2.2

Happy Running!

DEAC Dashing We Go

Well, we are going to try again - that is.... another 5K!

Since Evan's Dad is a nurse who does burn and trauma surgery, we are supporting the Wake Forest Baptist Health Burn Center and the Wake Forest School of Medicine Physicians Assistant students on May 21 at Heal the Burn. So no tornadoes, no rain, no snow, please!!!

The reasons we chose this particular 5K, not in any order:
1. It fits our schedule better.
2. It does support the Wake Forest University Burn Center Firefighter Burn Fund (i.e. Tim's job)
3. It does support the PA students of which I have helped occasionally over the last couple of years during their education.
4. And, I just LOVE the name: Heal the Burn, get it? It's the little things in life that make it interesting.

More about number three: I sent an email to the students letting them know we are going to do this race. Three of them have responded and one of them addressed me as "Ma'am." Ugh!

While that is extremely polite and respectful, jeez, do I feel OLD! And feeling OLD while running with a nine-year-old in only my second 5K is just not right! :)

But ... no worries, now it just makes me want to finish the race with a decent time - well, for an OLD person, that is! :)

Meanwhile, Evan remains cautiously optimistic, as the doctor would say, about the weather on race day but he is excited to do it. He also identifies with this particular race more since we have been to a few Burn Survivor/Burn Center events.

Happy Running!

Spheres, Hexagons, Octagons - Oh My!

With our energizing gum, clothes and armband, the Princess and Turtle set out for a Friday evening run on May 6.

Of course Evan the Turtle (not slow by any means!) had to have a sphere - his ball with many octagons and hexagons in it! After explaining to me the similarity between the math end of grade test and the reading one, we decided to focus on geometry since that is one of the areas he thinks he needs to study more.

With a couple of new homes being built in the neighborhood, we saw lots of shapes - trapezoids, parallelograms, pentagons, and the usual squares, triangles, circles, etc. So, readers, do you know your shapes?

The other area he thinks he needs to focus on is measurements. Since I had trouble remembering the basic ones WHILE running, I told him I would make flash cards so he could study them anywhere. I then had to explain what flash cards are and the purpose of them.

We didn't talk a whole lot, perhaps because Evan was bouncing the ball behind me and I figured he was tired having soccer three times this week plus school.

Oh, speaking of school: first one is a hexagon (6 sides) and then there is the octagon (8 sides). What's a rhombus, for heaven's sake?

Have a geometrical day!

Time: 25:59
Distance: 1.320 miles
Calories: 81.9
Steps: 3209 
Pace: 1.2

Happy Running!

What a View

The Turtle had quite the view on Friday, April 29 during our late evening run!

He has glasses for the first time:

These are his sports glasses with transition (or transmission, as he first called it :)) lenses and the little thingy that hooks in the back to stay on his head. Our 7:30 pm run was the first time he really used them.

Evan was reading everything:

"Mommy, they are getting hardwood floors in that house."

"Really, Evan, I don't even see where it says that on that white truck."

We pass it.

"Oh, well you were right, it does say hardwood floors."

He read license plates, street signs - it was like he had never seen our neighborhood before! I guess he really hadn't seen it so this made for a really fun run! He is near-sighted so he can't read things far away; hopefully I remembered that correctly (Mommy and Eric still have perfect eyes :)).

"Wow, mommy, your feet look so clear with these glasses."

"That is great, Evan."

He was so excited about seeing everything that he was "jump" running or jumping/skipping periodically as we headed through the neighborhood.

Friday was the perfect night to run too. A slight breeze, sun going down, and upper 70s. We saw several other people running; a family moving out; and lots of people walking or working in their yards.

In between his jumping and sheer excitement, I told him what his soccer coach said  when I mentioned that Evan was going to have glasses. His coach said it would make him run even faster, having something to do with aerodynamics and being able to see "all around him." It seemed to make sense, although I am not sure he completely understood it.

Our stats aren't as exciting, but here they are:

Time: 22:55 
Distance: 1.102 miles
Calories: 66.7
Steps: 2656 
Pace: 2.9


Happy Running!

Energizing Gum

Unlike the rest of the family on Monday, April 25, I had to go to work. When I got home, Evan was mad about something so I suggested we take a run!

Of course that didn't go over well but after some talking, showing off new gum and telling him about new music, he finally decided he was tired of me bugging him. We hit the neighborhood again in 82-degree but breezy weather.

So we did have special "running" gum - Stride Spark Kinetic gum with vitamins B12 and B6, supposedly giving us energy to run. It's not as good as doughnut energy but the fruit flavor was pretty good AND it was orange, my favorite color! Evan seemed to enjoy it. I'm still reviewing it so I will see after another run if it works.

I was able to blow bubbles, as seen here, with still a tired or unhappy Evan:

We were both pretty quiet on this run probably because we were chewing, running and listening - in this case, to my new Glee album - The Warblers. Evan enjoyed Soul Sister and wants it on his iPod.

The run did seem to help release Evan's stress which I never did find out why he was  upset, although I think it was because his dad didn't play with him right when he wanted him to. With that being said, after a steak dinner (fixed by our resident photographer), Evan and dad did play catch and I chased both boys down the road while they rode their bikes.

So by the time bedtime came, I was tired - having done my usual Wii Fit routine early that morning, walking with a coworker at lunch, running with Evan and running after boys on their bikes!

Here are our stats before I fall asleep:
Time: 22:59 
Distance: 1.137 miles
Calories: 69.2
Steps: 2769 
Pace: 3.0


Happy Running!