4 Miler on the 4th of July & Other Festivities

Hello blog world! Long time no see! It's been insanely busy around here, but I realize that's not a good excuse because everyone is busy. It seems like every time I think I have a chance to sit down and put together a post, something else happens and it just doesn't come together. I am making an effort to be better, though! I love blogging and it seems to be a part of who I am...so even if the posts are random and scattered, they will still be there!

On to this past weekend's festivities - I RAN A RACE!! In person! 

Although the details and logistics of running said race didn't come together until the night before, the stars aligned and I was able to make it happen. I knew I couldn't miss out on our areas 4 miler on the 4th of July, so my dad agreed to stay with Brayden and off I went!

Had to pull out the traditional skirt! Love it!

It wasn't "hot" by any means (because we were graced with a cloud cover) - but it was humid...so so very humid!

The sight of a bib on my shirt and other runner's feet around me made me so very happy!

I also LOVED the addition of a "fireworks" start! This runDisney fan approves! :) 

Overall, this race was a really good one for me. Nothing hurt, nothing felt off, I didn't breathe funny and my heart didn't act crazy. I also knew ahead of time that I wouldn't PR this race and I was ok with that. I'm nowhere near the speed/pace I was a couple of years ago and that's ok. Hopefully once our Orangetheory opens back up, things will improve even more. (Not corona related but Hurricane related.)

I managed to keep pace during the race with a runner ahead of me and it was pretty smooth sailing to the end. I pushed myself to an extent I was happy with - without overdoing it - and was incredibly happy with the end result!

My official time was 35:14 was with a pace of 8:51/mi. I was 5th in my age group and 17th woman overall. 

It felt SO nice to be back, I just sat near the finish line and watched/cheered on runners and listened to the music while attempting to cool down.

After the race, I showered then met up with my parents and Brayden for breakfast at Waffle House. Seriously, their waffle with peanut butter chips is my all time favorite. So good!

Brayden is growing so big, so fast and will be starting kindergarten this fall. I made it my mission to make this summer the most magical one yet and I think we've done a pretty good job with that! (More to come later with our summer shindigs.)

That evening, Jason joined us after work for a 4th of July celebration at the park. I was sad it rained literally the entire time, but we still had fun!

The fireworks were great, too!

On Sunday, our church had a BBQ potluck dinner, complete with waterslides for the kids. 

It was fantastic and Brayden had a blast! I loved matching him for church that morning, too!

The weather on Sunday was 100% different from Saturday's which I was grateful for! It gave me a little time to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

On Sunday evening, we drove downtown to the lake to watch the fireworks there.

They had food trucks set up as well as a commission of people handing out small American flags.

This time, we met up with some of our friends and we had a blast!

My friend Jane and I were pregnant at the same time, so these two are only 6 weeks apart. It's been so much fun to watch them play together over the years!

We stayed long after the fireworks were over, just talking and catching up. It really was great to see our friends!

As a last minute addition on Monday, we had my parents over for hamburgers! None of us were working, so it all came together perfectly!

It was yet another beautiful day, so enjoyed dinner outside on the patio. I just love days like this! 

This past weekend was a great one and definitely one I'll remember forever!

How did you celebrate the 4th? Run any races? Watch any fireworks? Spend time with friends/family?

4 on the 4th and Festivities!

Over the years, a "staple" race for me has been our hometown 4th of July race. I've missed a year or two here and there due to injury or being out of town but for the most part, I've run this race every year. Despite my new hamstring injury this year, I still decided to do this race with a plan of "taking it slow". Besides, I had a Triple Crown medal at stake here and after having run the Athletes Corner 3 miler back in March and the Contraband Days 5 miler in May, I knew I HAD to do it, even if that meant walking the entire thing.

Somehow, a race recap from the Contraband Days 5 miler (from May) never made its way here, but during that race, I ran/walked the entire thing with a few friends due to our Relay for Life event the night before. Going into the 4 miler, I knew if I could just get to mile 3 by run/walking with my friends again, I would make it...and make it I did!

 

It was a hot one (as always) for the race, but the sun was hiding behind a cloud most of the time which made it bearable.

My dad was so generous to come out and watch Brayden while we ran. He used to come out to cheer me on by himself but now, he has a buddy to visit with!

Jason was working nights, so he sadly missed the entire day. Whomp whomp. 

This course took us down the lake, out and back. They also had PLENTY of water stops and gatorade, too!

The miles seemed to fly by for me as we chatted and before I knew it, we were almost finished. About .2 miles from the finish line, we passed Brayden and my dad. Brayden started crying because he wanted me, so we ran the remainder of the race together. He LOVES going for a run with mom! Sweet boy!

(Side note, I wouldn't have minded running this race with him but I'm super glad I didn't. After taking his stroller, I could really feel my hamstring pulling for just those last 0.2 miles.)

Triple Crown!

They've offered this option for the past several years and I've only done the full set twice so far. I'm glad they change the medal from year to year, too!

Kona Ice was out there for a frozen treat after the race. I wasn't going to get one, but when I saw "Lavender Lemonade" on the list, I knew I had to try it! The flavor of this one was amazing and reminded me of a Violet Lemonade from the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT. I love having little tastes of Disney at home!

After breakfast and showers, we headed over to my friend Kim's house for a lunch time BBQ! All of the food was delicious!

That evening, my community hosted its first ever "Red, White, & Boom" event, complete with fireworks. We had SO much fun! My parents came with us to enjoy the evening and we had a great time!

There were food trucks from vendors in our community which was fun as well as jump houses for the kids.

Side note, when I saw these matching shirts at Kohls in the spring, I knew I had to have them!

Brayden LOVED "driving" the firetruck and playing on the slide. He also really enjoyed the fireworks!

At last count, I heard over 4400 people were in attendance which is huge for my small-ish community. We usually go to the larger event located in the nearby town for the 4th, but wanted to support our community on its first year and I'm so glad we did! We were also home by 9:30 since we didn't have near as much traffic to fight. Score!

My friend Kim was there too and we had fun hanging out with them! In all, it was a great day!! Happy birthday, America!

What did you do for the 4th?

4 on the 4th 2018

Another 4 miler on the 4th of July has come and gone and yes, this was another one to remember for sure! For starters, rain was in the forecast all week for the 4th of July and I wasn't sure if this race would actually take place.

After I picked up my race packet on Tuesday afternoon, they told me that if the race was called due to rain, it would be a last minute decision. 

When we woke up on Wednesday morning, the skies were overcast but it wasn't raining at that moment which was a good sign. (Although it had been raining off and on all night)

We arrived at the race start location and met up with my dad who came out to cheer me on.

After a quick port-a-pottie stop, I made it to the start line with literally moments to spare!

Literally as soon as the national anthem ended, the rain started. It felt cool although the humidity level was through the roof. I also figured that this race could go one of two ways - either a lot of people would come out since it wasn't a sweltering 100 degrees at 7 a.m. or no one would come out due to the rain. Well, the first one won out - there were so many people at the race this year!

We began running and I felt amazing. Y'all, there's seriously something to this Orangetheory thing! I was keeping a steady 8:20 pace and knew I could PR this race once again.

There were two downfalls to this race for me and neither issue was the race's fault itself. For one, certain parts of the course were incredibly slick, so I was constantly having to watch my footing so I didn't fall. Thankfully that wasn't the case for the entire course. Second, if y'all remember from WAY back with the little heart issue I have? Occasionally my heart will jump into PSVT, and it doesn't happen often (probably not in the last year), but I felt it coming on with just about .25 miles to the finish line. Although I tried to will it away, I couldn't. At the same time, something that's never happened to me occurred as well - I felt as if a giant rubber band was around my lungs and I couldn't fully inhale or catch my breath. When my heart does its crazy thing, I usually have to squat for a second and hold my breath to get it to stop. Well, I couldn't do either because I couldn't inhale. Then, just as quickly as they came on, both issues passed. The whole thing seriously lasted about 45 seconds. As I began walking again, I passed an officer who asked if I was ok. My response? "I'm fine...I have a heart thing...and I'm a nurse...we're good..." hah!

At that point, I felt ok to run again so I did...and I crossed the finish line while running without any problems. After stopping my watch, I realized that I STILL managed a PR! Even though it was just about a three second PR, I'll take it anyway!

I'm going to mention the lung thing to my doctor at my next appointment. I've already been checked for asthma but not exercise induced. I wonder if that could be the case? We shall see what he has to say.

While cheering runners on at the finish line, I realized that I recognized someone - she was pushing a chair for an "Ainsley's Angels" athlete - it was Jennie Finch! If you follow sports at all, she's a local star around here - she was a part of the USA Olympic softball team who won a Gold and Silver at the games. She was also more recently on the Dancing With the Stars Athlete edition! How neat it was to be running the same race as her! I kinda geeked out a little I'm not going to lie. :)

My cheerleaders!

A local business was out there with gourmet popsicles after the race...mine was watermelon mint and it was delicious!

I screen shot this after we finished. The weather was perfect the entire race, although the 93% humidity made it a little difficult.

Oh yes, and compared to last year where I placed 5th in my AG, (just to show you the crowd levels this year), I placed 14th in my AG this year.  I'm glad they had such a great turnout, though!

After a 2 and a half hour nap (for both of us), we had a late lunch at my parent's house. My mom cooked one of my favorites - roast with rice and gravy and it was delicious!

After playing at my parent's house a while, we went to my friend Kim's house to swim in their pool, then we ended the evening while watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks via live stream!

It was beautiful as always!

In all, the day was perfect and more than I could have asked or hoped for! I loved spending time with friends and family and just simply relaxing and enjoying the day!

Thanks to Lake Area Runners for another great race and thanks to my friends and dad for coming out and supporting me while I ran!

4th of July Race Fun

When you think of a memorable race experience, what do you think of? For me, I think of our local 4 miler on the 4th of July. It's always hot, always has a good turnout, always hot (did I mention that already), and it usually brings around a good story or two to share.

I've run this race six times so far (this year will make seven) and each experience has been incredibly different from the previous.

I ran this race in 2009 with my sister in law and oddly enough, I formed this blog just a couple of weeks later! Happy 9th blogiversary to my little corner of the world!

The race that year was my third to date and her first ever! I had just began running in January of that year and she followed suit not long after. Every time I think about this race I giggle. It was freaking hot, we walked a lot, and were some of the last ones to cross the finish line. The course even "re opened" while we were on it and we were asked to push to the sidewalks by the officers. My oh my how far we've come!

In 2010, I had a broken foot and missed out on the race, but I was back in 2011 and so was Kayla! This race turned out to be much better than the last and I ran it with a few of my "super hero" friends! We had a blast!
 

 

After coming back from my initial IT Band injury in 2012, I attempted to beast mode this race and literally threw up after crossing the finish line. Thankfully, a trash can was nearby. Never beast mode when it's 100 degrees outside, people. Learn from me.  

In 2014, I way overslept and a text from my dad woke me up..."hey, are you here?" I've never jumped out of bed and gotten ready for anything so fast in my life. Ever wonder what it's like to be inside the mind of a runner? Well, check out this race recap and wonder no more! 

For 2015's race, several friends of mine and I decided to complete our area's "Triple Crown" - a series of races that falls between March and July. We also received a special medal for doing so! Participating in all three races with them was so much fun!!

 

 In 2017, I ran this race and knew I was going to majorly bomb it. Well, as a HUGE surprise to myself, I actually ran very well and somehow achieved a 30 second PR! I was incredibly shocked to say the least!

What does 2018's race have in store? Well, here's a new one for this year - there's RAIN in the forecast! We shall see what new and exciting experiences Wednesday has to bring! 

Are you running a 4th of July race? How far is your distance if so? Have fun and have a Happy 4th!

It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty.