Volunteering at the Girls on the Run 5K

This weekend was the Girls on the Run 5K for our local chapter.   My 10 yr old dd ran the event with a friend (first 5K for her friend, first time for my dd to run without me!!) while I volunteered at the event.   For this event, I was a Sparkle Runner, which basically means I ran the race at a pre-determined pace with the girls to offer encouragement, support and help keep the girls on task and safe.

Having never volunteered for a race before, I was unsure what to expect.    Criminal background check was definitely not what I was expecting,  but as a parent letting her 10 yr old run it alone, I felt safer knowing that the volunteers weren't going to run off with her.  

The morning of the race dawned cold and rainy....REALLY cold and rainy!  It had been 80 degrees earlier in the week, and that morning it was about 42 degrees.   The girls were not happy with the rain at all.   My job of encouraging the runners started before we even left the house, as I had to make sure they were both properly clothed and had hats and gloves.   Lovely running attire for mid-May!!

Checking in at the volunteer booth,  I was given the best accessory I could have ever asked for.....A CAPE!!!   Forget Sparkle Runner, I was a SUPER RUNNER!!   It was seriously awesome....so bummed I had to give it back after the event!

As the rain fell on us, we headed over to the Fun Booth's to get hair color and face paintings!      This really helped keep all the girls spirits up, as no one likes cold rain, but colored hair spray makes everything all better!!    I even got in on the fun and had green and pink spray added to my hair!  I'm all about the fun!

 Extra cheers for all the great volunteers that were able to do face painting in the rain!!  That little green glitter runner on her face lasted through the showers!

There was an awesome DJ playing some music and lots of little girls in tutu's and tiara's dancing around in the wet grass.   The adult runner/mom in me was like "Ack!  you'll slip and twist an ankle!!"  while the volunteer fun advocate in my was dancing around like a crazy fool too!  

 (photo courtesy of South Bend Tribune....but really, could they have used a worse picture!?!?   It was cold and rainy, and I had on like 50 layers resulting in the extremely oddly shaped stomach.)

Embarrassing my daughter is what I do best!!

As we got closer to the 9am starting time,  the rain stopped and the sun came out!!   Looks like it would end up being a beautiful run after all!  Quick, everyone ditch the sweatshirts, hats and gloves!

Beach Balls came out, we danced to Hokey Pokey, Chicken Dance, YMCA and of course, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!! 

The race started with a lap around the track, then up the road through the parking lot of our great little zoo.    Local companies had "spirit tables" set up around the course with balloons, noise makers, bubbles and great support cheering on the girls.   I was running with the 30-40 minute girls, while my daughter and her friend were up way head of us.   Each team/school of girls had their coaches running with them, plus I saw a LOT of parents, both moms and dads, that were running right along side their girls.   It was so great to see the support everyone was giving!  With so many parents and coaches on the course with the girls, it was hard to find one that needed some extra encouragement.   Mostly I just ran with a group for a while, then held back and ran with another group,  then held back and walked with some more.   As I got farther and farther back in the pack, I encountered more walkers than runners, so I did my best to encourage these girls to run just a little bit if they could.   I would sign to them to try and get them to run....that actually worked better than I thought it would.  Guess I really can't sing. LOL   As we rounded the corner and saw the finish line, I joined a group of walkers who decided to run across the finish line!  They were so excited and proud of themselves, it was such a great feeling to be a part of them!!

The girls had a great time, loved the race and the fun and the chance to show what girls can do!!  Looking forward to next years event!

A new chapter in my running......Going the Distance with Team Fisher House

Have you ever done something that is just completely out of your comfort zone?   Totally NOT your thing?  Like spoken in front of a group?  Or made a big elaborate meal when normally your cooking skills are limited to Ramen noodles and grilled cheese?     I've taken that step....and it's a big one!!

I started running 3 years ago.   Not as a need to get healthy or lose weight.  I did it because I wanted to go back to Disney World.  LOL   yes I know, a great reason to begin running.   I wanted to go down to Disney in October 2011 for Food and Wine Festival and my husband wasn't on board with the idea.  (He tolerates my obsession with Disney but would prefer once in a while to go someplace else.  I have considered professional help for this disturbing way of thinking for him)  So when a friend mentioned they were going down and planning on running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, I jumped at the chance to go along!   Signed up for the race, booked the trip, then told my husband what I was doing.   That was my very first step out of my comfort zone.   I have NEVER been an athlete.  NEVER.  Sports aren't my thing, I have a very over-active sense of self preservation that prevents me from doing anything that could result in an injury to myself.  And I am the biggest girly girl there ever was........I don't like to do anything that will get me sweaty or dirty.  Seriously.....ladies don't sweat, they glisten.  And running makes you sweat.  A lot.   This didn't sound like something that I would enjoy doing.

But I do enjoy Disney and I really wanted to go to Food and Wine, so this was my only option.   I knew that I was going to have to work really hard at this and figure out how to overcome my "issues" and succeed at my running.   Injury was my first concern.   I work full time,  teach Cake Decorating 2 nights a week,  run my daughters very busy girl scout troop,  and shuttle my 2 small children around to Baseball, Softball, Track, Swimming, Cross Country, Girl Scouts, school and Dr appointments.   A debilitating leg injury that prevented me from walking and keeping up with this crazy busy life was simply not an option.   How to go from Zero to Half Marathon in 6 months with little to no risk of injury?   Enter the Galloway Training Program by Olympian and RunDisney Trainer Jeff Galloway.   His method of walk/run/walk is proven to get you running safely and minimize the chance of injury.   Just what I needed.....plus I could walk!!  Walking I like.  Running, not so much.

Fast forward 3 years and I have now completed 5 half marathons, 1 ten miler, 4 10Ks and countless 5K's.  I am only 1 half marathon away from qualifying for Half Fanatics (I'll run this last half next weekend!!!)  I have 4 more half marathons scheduled in the next 3 months.    I've definitely caught the "running bug" and am a willing convert!  My collection of running clothes now takes up it's own dresser in my room and the number of running decals on my car is just as big as the number of Disney decals!  I can nor proudly say "Yes I am a Runner.....and Proud of my accomplishments!"

But I never wanted to go any further than 13.1 miles.   My times range from 2:30 - 2:45 for my races (Disney races don't count as I tend to stop for lots of pictures).   A Full Marathon of 26.2 miles would take me 5-1/2 hours!!  I don't want to do anything for 5-1/2 hours other than sleep and visit Disney parks!!  5-1/2 hours of running?!?!?!   I can barely find the time to fit in a 2 hour run every other weekend!  How am I going to find the time needed to train for a full marathon??   The time and distance greatly increase my chance of injury (yeah, haven't completely gotten over that fear.  Plus I did end up with a leg injury last fall that took me out of running for 6 weeks.   I'm not impervious to injury.)  My kids are getting older and even more busy than when I started this.   And i'm OLDER!   I started running before I was 35......now I am older....than that age.   Do I really want to start this?    YES I DO!!!  Last fall I read a recap on a blog of a runners first full marathon.   She ran the Marine Corp Marathon and wrote in great detail of the emotions and sense of accomplishment she felt after crossing the finish line.   I had read recaps and reports of Marathons before,  especially the Disney Marathon.  After reading them, I'd think "sure that looks like fun" for all of about 30 seconds before I remembered "I'm not a REAL runner".    Well last fall after reading Christine's recap......I didn't have that 2nd thought about not being a runner.   I said to myself " I can do this!!"  And I will.   I will train hard........I have set this goal for myself that is so far out of my comfort zone, it will take me about 5-1/2 hours to reach it :) but I WILL do it!

I won't be alone on this journey.   The Marine Corp Marathon pulls a lot of first timers!   Already their facebook page is full of support and encouragement from other runners.    And I'll have a great support system from my new charity partner,  Fisher House.    As a member of Team Fisher House, I've pledged to raise $600 to support Military Families during medical crisis.   Fisher House is a lot like Ronald McDonald House, my previous charity partner, in that is provides housing to families while a loved one is in the hospital.   Fisher House provides housing to families of our service men and women hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.  Our Military give so much of themselves and their family to serve our country........raising money for them is the least I can do to show my gratitude and support for them.

http://www.teamfisherhouse.org/goto/jenniferbutler

Here we go again......RunDisney weekend #2 & 2/3 of the way to Half Fanatic!!

I can't believe it's almost time for Princess Half Marathon Weekend!! August 2012......that is when I began planning to run this event. A YEAR AND A HALF IN THE WORKS!! Oh man....to say I'm excited for this weekend is an understatement!! First....it's Disney! I mean COME ON!! If you're going to run a half marathon, why not run through a castle! Second....it's a women focused event. I love to be around strong, confident, empowered women! I love it and get such a great feeling from all these happy wonderful women! I can't wait to go back to my own little tween girl and my troop of Girl Scouts and show them how wonderful women can be and share the positive experience that can be had at these events! Third.....got to focus on my short term goal of achieving Half Fanatic Status!! This is the 2nd of 3 Half Marathons in 90 days that I need to qualify! I live in a mid-size city, but we don't get a lot of half marathon action around here! Without Tink and Princess, I'm pretty sure it would be near impossible for me to achieve this status. And saving the best for last.....I'm most excited about meeting my IR4 Buddy!!! My buddy Naomi and her mom are driving down from Georgia to cheer me on at the race as I run 19.3 miles for her! I'm over the moon excited to meet her and SO HONORED to be running for Naomi! In the short 2 months since we got matched together by WhoIrun4.com she has become such an important part of my life! http://www.whoirun4.com/

The Final Push!!!!

We have just over 1 week until we leave for the next big event........Tinkerbell 10K and Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland!! To say I'm excited is an understatement!! This is our first trip to Disneyland (if you don't count the fact that I went as a child of about 6 or 7 yrs old....which I don't.) The kids are excited about seeing Cars Land, husband is excited about going to someplace other than Orlando. And I'm excited to run!! But also nervous. The leg injury is healing quite nicely. No pain at all during the day and normal activity. I have some "mild discomfort" when I run. I wouldn't say it hurts....just that it is noticeable to me. The farthest I've run since Thanksgiving is just 6.2 miles. I had planned to try and get 10 miles in this weekend, but it wasn't a good weekend for us. From my last Half Marathon in September until this event, the farthest I've been able to run is the 9.3 I ran on Thanksgiving that gave me the shin injury in the first place. I can run 6.2 miles and still be able to walk that day. So the 10K with Jackie isn't going to be an issue. We'll take it real easy and get lots of pictures and just have fun. Sunday.......I have no idea how I'll feel. Will I be sore running again after running on Saturday? Will the pain go from "mild discomfort" to "it hurts a lot" at mile 10? Am i going to have to crawl across the finish line because my leg seized up? That's a worst case scenerio, I know. But it's a possibility too. And after the race then we have a full day of park touring too!! I don't want to ruin our trip because I'm limping from ride to ride. I hate the "wait and see" approach, but really there isn't anything else I can do. I've got 8 days left now until we leave. This coming up weekend is going to be CRAZY busy as Girl Scout Cookie sales begin. Our troop has an all weekend event going on. Trying to find time to run any considerable length is going to be near impossible. I could get some short 3 mile runs in, try and do back to back, just to build up some strength and let my leg see what it's going to be like. Training wise, I've got to hope that almost 3 years of running and 3 prior half marathons are enough to pull me through this upcoming 19.3 miles!!