Run3rd 5k Race Recap

Where do I even begin with this race? What a great morning! First off let me start by saying, I had the great pleasure of running into Mindy Przeor, the race director, at a Jr. High city cross country meet, and what a sweet sweet lady! I could feel her excitement for this race while talking with her, that benefited the Mesa Public Schools after school running programs, which just made me more excited for it. If you visit www.run3rd.com you can read about how this all started! The idea/concept/movement of Run3rd is Sean Astin's.

Packet Pick Up was at Tribe Multisport in Mesa, AZ

Flat Runner!  Mikey (Sean Astin) will be at the race, surely Goonies was necessary.

This race was easy for me. It was close, I knew exactly how to get there (being directionally challenged, I was definitely excited about this), I could park at Red Mountain High School track parking lot, which had more than enough room, and walked down onto the track where the race was set to start.

Table full of medals!  Don't those look GREAT!

I walked through the small crowd searching for friends and familiar faces. I noticed a big crowd close to the start line and assumed it was the crowd around Sean, but didn't want to interrupt or push my way through. I wanted a picture with him, but I wasn't going to stress it too much. I located friends easily. First Laura, next Emily! I didn't know she was racing! On my way out to the car for a quick drop off of stuff I ran into Helly, Corine, Kristin and Jeremy! Awesome! I knew there were others coming I was hoping to meet, but I hadn't found them yet.

At the Starting Line. From left to right Emily, Helly, Corine

Emily and I stood around chatting for a bit and then I noticed that Sean was close to where we were, picking up his bib number. After just a smidgen of prodding from Emily I went over and waited for a chance to snap a picture with him. I was so excited!! It was the only opportunity I had as the day went on, so I'm super glad I took advantage of it.

Star Struck!!  I wanted to tell him all about Jaylee, but there just wasn't time!

It was time for the race to start! We all lined up.. runners, walkers, speedsters, strollers and children. This is the only part I was kinda worried about. I've seen some other kids dash runs and there are ALWAYS kids who end up tripping and falling and getting trampled at the very beginning of the race because they're right up at the front. I heard a kid or two got hurt, but it sounds like it wasn't too bad. I hope that was the case!  We heard some words from the Mayor and then from Sean, and then we were off!

Picture from Bert Jones Photography.  He donated his time and talent.  Thanks Bert!!

I had planned to go very slow. My hip had been bothering me the whole week and I had pain in my calf as well. The course started out by looping around clockwise on the track and then down along the high school and elementary school campus. About halfway through the first mile I looked down at the garmin and realized, I WAS NOT going slow!! In fact, I was going so fast! A 9:00 mile for me, right now, is very fast. But my hip didn't hurt at all, so I just decided to go with it. Just a little before mile 1 I ran into another friend, Olivia! I've been following her on instagram for a while and was excited to finally meet her in person. Her pace was matching mine so we stuck together! How stinking fun is that!

And we're off!  You can see my awesome Jailbreak socks! (Bert Jones Photography)

A little into mile 2 I was struggling to breathe so I walked for just a few seconds trying to get a couple deep breaths in and then I caught back up to Olivia. Just as we were about coming to the end of the third mile we also caught up to my friend Laura. That girl was cruisin'!! That last part was so funny. We're running and cheering for other runners and repeating Mikey's line from "Goonies" when they're down in the bottom of the well. I was laughing so hard! That does not help breathing, but it was so much fun! I finished that race with Olivia. I've never finished a race with a friend before, it was so so fun! I felt her reach for my hand as we were crossing the line, but I wasn't paying attention, hahaha! I bet those finish line pictures are gonna look so funky :P. I can't wait to see them!

It actually turned out GREAT!!  This is my favorite running picture ever! (Bert Jones Photography)

Laura!! She PR'd!  Way to go Laura! She Runs 4 Annelise

Running the race with a friend is so much more different than running it alone. Sure I had just "met" Olivia, but I felt like I knew her from social media. Our world is so plugged in these days, and there's worry about people not connecting like before, but there's so much benefit from it also, and yesterday I reaped those benefits 10 fold. We cheered each other on and urged each other to push hard, even when we were tired. We finished that race strong and together. Man am I grateful for her. We both ran a sub 30!!

Olivia!!

Official Time from 4 Peaks Racing

After the race I located all my Run Eat Tweet AZ peeps and we got a couple of group shots. Boy do I love these runners. They have become good friends and I love having people I can talk running to and they just get it instantly.

Instagram: Olivia, Corine, Jeremy, Emily, Helly, Kristin

Photos from Jeremy

Later, as everything was wrapping up I even managed to get an autograph on the ribbon of the medal!

Thank you Sean and Mindy! (Thanks Kristin for the picture!!)

The back of the medal, and Sean's autograph! Can't wait to send this to Jaylee!

This race was so well organized! Mindy and Kris did such a great job. There was a water station close to the halfway point, plenty of snacks before and after the race, the course was a touch long (according to my garmin), but I'd rather long than short anyway. The volunteers were amazing as well! Anyone who is willing to give up some early hours of their Saturday morning to come hand out water and stand at turns to direct runners and cheer for us should get some mad props!! The little kids both running and volunteering were so stinking cute! I loved seeing them out there (even though I did almost plow one over who cut right in front of me and then stopped suddenly! YIKES!!)

Lego Jaylee goes on every run with me!

I'm hoping that this race becomes an annual thing. I really had an amazing time promoting it and running it. I would run it every year if it's an option! Thank you Sean Astin for your Run3rd concept. Thank you for sharing it with all of us! Thank you Mindy for having an idea of creating a race for it and seeing it through. It always means so much to me to run for a bigger purpose. Thank you to all the sponsors! Thank you Bert Jones Photography for donating your time and talent and providing FREE pictures! Thank you volunteers for the time you donated to help before during and after the race!  It was an amazing day!

I Run3rd 4 Jaylee always.  Today I ran for her whole family and for Sandoval! (Bert Jones Photography)

Mindy, Kris, Sean (Bert Jones Photography)

When Running Becomes a Struggle

What do you do when you find yourself in a funk?  I have been running consistently for over a year now and have loved to sometimes hate every minute of it.  But now I'm finding myself kind of just slumping around the roads.  It's been kind of frustrating.  Some of it I know is the small amount of pain I still have in my IT bands.  Most of the time they don't hurt, but every once in a while (longer runs, faster runs) I feel the tightness.  I'm babying them.  I'm preparing for two more races coming up.  One being the Going the Distance half marathon on April 4th being put on by Startline Racing (use code RET to get 10% off their races--excluding their 3rd party races), and the other one is the Run3rd 5K on April 11th (use code RUNEATTWEET to get 10% off and to be entered into a giveaway for a Sean Astin autographed DVD of Lord of the Rings happening April 1st).  I have to say, after these two races, I think I need to just have a little fun with my running.  I think I've realized I'm putting too much pressure on myself.

I didn't think I'd find myself in this place.  I've always been pretty realistic about my goals, and I still don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong.  I've just realized I'm loosing some of the fun of just running and enjoying it.  My eating has been off and I haven't been strength training since Nov and I also know that's taking a toll.  I've mentioned on Instagram that I've changed gyms and have decided to start swimming again (maybe a sprint triathlon in the future?).  I was a very good swimmer as a teen/young adult, so I'd like to gain some of that back.  I'm also trying to work out a plan to find good days to get back into the gym to lift as well as using the things I have here at home to rebuild my strength (tires, battleropes, core work, HIIT training).  My neighbors are used to watching me do weird things like taking selfies and garmin pics after running, I may as well go back to pushing around my big tire so they have more to talk about!  Hubz and I are also looking into starting the 21 day fix.  Everyone I follow on Instagram who's used it has loved it.  It's worth a try to get myself back on track eating right, and it'd be nice to have my husband join me.

We have a lot on our plate right now at home and it's stressing me out.  I'm really hoping that in a couple of weeks things start to calm back down as we start getting answers to some looming decisions.  In the meantime, I will be doing my best to keep myself on track, enjoy each day, and remember what the most important things are in this life. My husband, my children, Jaylee and my health.

Also, if you live in Arizona and need something to do on March 28th Run Eat Tweet AZ has a Nuun sponsored meetup going down that morning!  There will be different run distances available for the runners who need more mileage or the runners who'd like to start with something simpler.  The longer runs start at 7:00am and the shorter runs start at 8:00am.  There will be tons of giveaways, guest speakers and then head out for BREAKFAST after!  We are after all, a social run group right!  Hope to see you there!

So What's Next For Me?

When I first started running again I wanted to do the Warrior Dash. That was my key race. Then I decided I didn't really want to do a lot of mud runs, and kind of lost interest in the whole idea. Maybe one day. I switched my focus to the Phoenix half marathon hoping I'd be able to successfully complete the race. I did better than that, I hit one of three time goals, despite being ill most of the race and the last minute kinks that happened during the end of training.

I loved racing! It was like the culmination of all the time I put into training. I still want running to be fun, so I'll pick and choose what kind of races I'll do based on how I feel, but I want to continue to race a little. Ultimately running is still a way to escape, clear my mind, dedicate miles to sweet Jaylee, and take better care of my body, but having some fun goals in between, I think, helps to shake things up a little.

On April 4th I'll be running a half marathon with Startline Racing. I was originally going to run the full, in honor/to dedicate, of my friend. After all the kinks thrown into training in January, and the discomfort I still have, a full is off the table....for now. I'll chase that down another time. But it's still a goal of mine.

The week after that race I'll be running the Run3rd 5k with some other members of my run group Run Eat Tweet AZ. I'm so excited about it! It benefits the children in the school district I work in and my children attend school in, which makes it mean so much more to me. Sean Astin will be at the race! He's the guy from Goonies, Rudy, Lord of the Rings.... I'm hoping to snag a picture with him, how neat would that be! If you want to be entered in to win a DVD of Lord of the Rings AUTOGRAPHED by Sean Astin use code "RUNEATTWEET" which also saves you 10%! The first drawing already happened on March 1st and Goonies was won! The next drawing happens on April 1st, so don't miss out and get entered now! Virtual option available.

After that, things are kind of up in the air til Oct. I'm trying to decide on a course of action for training, cross training, and eating. All things have gotten off track, and I've started doing things that aren't working for me and picked back up some bad habits. That needs to change.

Another thing I'm working on is running fuel nutrition. What I used in the half marathon did NOT work for me. It wasn't the trigger for being sick, but it didn't help. Right now I'm leaning towards Cocogo for hydration, and Pocketfuel Naturals and Sunrype for nutrition. Natural fuels, natural foods. All three products are some of my favorites and I hope to one day be an ambassador and represent their companies! If anyone else has an idea please clue me in to what works for you, because I need a lot of help in this category. Either comment here or hit up my instagram and comment there. Any advice will be completely appreciated!

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Run Eat Tweet AZ News!

So Run Eat Tweet AZ has has a few updates! We've got a lot planned over the next couple months, so let's get you all caught up.

First up is a recovery run and Yoga in the park on March 8th. If you're running the Phoenix full marathon or half marathon on Feb 28th, what a great way to recover! If you're suffering from any kind of sore/muscle tightness, this'll be a great activity to join. It'll be pretty low key so it's also a fun time to come meet some of your local runners and CROs! Check out the event details here.

Next is the Kiss Me I'm Irish Run on March 14th. This race is stroller and dog friendly! The medal is also a bottle opener. Sign up now with code "RUNEAT10" to get 10% off. I know it's filling up, so get signed up now!

March is a pretty busy month for us! Our next group meet up is on the 28th and is gonna be a great one! It's Nuun sponsored and will have *TONS* of GIVEAWAYS!! There will be guests there to talk about the importance of hydration, and with our scorching summer temps right around the corner, there's no better time to learn more! Check out the event details here!

On April 11th don't forget about the Run3rd 5k happening in Mesa to benefit Mesa Public School District children. There is a virtual option available for those who live out of town but would like to show support, or for those who are unable to attend that day. Use code "RUNEATTWEET" to get 10% off and to be entered into a GIVEAWAY for a Sean Astin (from Goonies, Lord of the Rings, Rudy...) signed DVD copy of either "Goonies" or "Lord of the Rings". The first drawing happens March 1st, so get signed up now! Did I mention that Sean Astin will be at the race! You don't wanna miss that!

Thinking ahead and want to visit or run in Arizona when it's finally cooled off a bit? Well the Tucson Marathon is held at one of the best times here! They have a handful of race options between Dec 5-6 you can sign up for. I'm doing the half marathon and can't wait! I lived there for several years and look forward to racing there again. Code "RET10" will get you 10% off. Get signed up now before prices go up!

Finally let's talk about Girls Run Fast. I'm an ambassador for them as well and they're partnered up with Run Eat Tweet AZ. They've got an assortment of really amazing jewelry for whatever athlete lies within you! Apparel and stickers available as well! I finally got a few items and just LOVE them! "RETgrf20" will save you 20% off all items in their store. Check them out. They will also be holding a race in November. Go here to check out those details. Virtual option available and some pretty amazing swag!

Stay up with me as I'll be sure to keep you posted on anything else coming our way! You can catch me on instagram or twitter! Thanks for stopping by!