Gleaux Run 2018

Well, another Gleaux Run 5K benefiting the American Cancer Society is in the books!

This was our 4th Gleaux Run and although turnout was a bit less than previous years, we still had an amazing race and a great time! I love volunteering with the American Cancer Society and events like this make all the extra time and energy worth it! Check out previous year's recaps here, here and here.

For starters, it rained almost all day long on event day. We kept praying it would pass through by evening time and although it seriously looked ominous with lighting off in the distance, we had a local meteorologist out there on our team and he reassured us that all would be ok (and it was)!


Setup began around 3 p.m. and having plenty of hands out there to help made the process a breeze!

One major change we made this year was the registration table - we moved it closer to our stage to keep everything and everyone centrally located. This helped a ton with the crowd at the stage for opening ceremonies. In previous years, we've had registration a bit further off from the stage and runners missed a lot of the announcements and parts of opening ceremonies.

Another major change we made this year had to do with the mile marker signs. In the past, runners told me that the signs were not visible at all. With this being a night time race, this route can be dark and although I've used glow in the dark paint for the mile marker numbers, they still weren't seen once the sun completely set.

We've also used glow sticks inside of balloons in the past which didn't work at all either.

So, imagine my surprise when I saw a pack of balloons at Walgreens (of all places) that were MEANT to glow. Each balloon had a tab inside and once pulled, the light was activated. These balloons glowed for hours (as a matter of fact, they were still glowing the next day) and runners said the balloons were highly visible on the route! It felt great to finally have a victory with these signs after the third year of trying! I also used white lettering on top of a black background which also made a world of difference.

Our group of volunteers were amazing this year, including our local university softball team. When I say they are some of the best volunteers I've ever worked with, I mean it!!

So grateful for them!

Our children's pastor led the prayer before the race and he prayed for no rain and no potholes! Both prayers were answered! :)

When I saw these dedicated Mickey glow ears at Target this summer, I knew I had to snag a pack for the race! So fun!

We were advised that starting the race 10 minutes early would be wise because of the weather and the Marshal ok'd it. Most people had already picked up their race packets, so we made a last minute decision to be safe and kick the race off early.

Runners lined up beneath our arch with luminaria bags lining the way. Each bag was created in honor of a loved one battling cancer or in memory of a loved one who has lost their battle with cancer. It was a really neat visual to see them all lit up at the start and finish line.

My friends all completed the race together and said they had a great time out there!

Although we didn't have medals for every runner this year, we did have medals for our first, second, and third place male and female!

Cleanup this year was a breeze, thanks to all of our amazing help!

By the end, my legs were tired and even though I didn't officially "run" the race, I still had plenty of miles under my belt for the day!

Our major hiccup this year had to do with the arch. This is only the second time I've used it and wasn't responsible for it last year, so I wasn't even thinking about extension cords. This was a total face palm moment for me because...hello, Karen..duh. Thankfully, our local running store owner was out there and came to my rescue. He was so kind and let me borrow two of his extension cords which seriously saved the day!  I was so thankful for him.

...and that's a wrap for the 2018 Gleaux Run! I am ready and excited for next year's event! Bring on 2019!!

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

10K Goals

This weekend, I will run my first postpartum race - a 10K that runs through my hometown and ends on the 50 yard line of my local University. It's also the race that holds my current 10K PR.

I am excited but I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous at all. There's just something about race day that brings around so much anticipation...there's nothing quite like it! I also have a few goals I've set for myself for this race which only makes the nerves a bit worse.

This race will serve a few purposes...the main being a decent (hopefully) 10K time to post as a corral placeholder for Princess in February. I also registered for a back-up 10K that will be held the following weekend. I'm looking forward to both races, but I'm also glad to have the 2nd one as a "just in case" kind of race. I've also run both races before, which I think will help tremendously on race day.

With my IT band giving me a bit of an issue during last week's planned 12 mile run, I am going to keep up the PT routine and stretching throughout this week. Thankfully, I ran 5.5 miles on Saturday and had no issues whatsoever. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be the same for race day!

I set two goals for race day:

Ultimate goal: 54 minutes
Although my 10K PR is right around 51 minutes and change, that was a couple of years ago. I've also had a baby and taken a bit of forced time off from running since then...so I don't think that setting a PR goal here would be feasible. However, running the race with my mile splits around 9 minutes each does sound obtainable.

I'd be happy with it goal: 59 minutes
Ultimately, I would like to reach anything under the 1 hour range.

Although my husband has to work and won't be able to be at the race to give his support, my parents will be there along with Brayden to cheer me on as I cross the finish line. I can't wait! I'm crossing my fingers that the weather is nice for Saturday!

Bring on race day!!

Santa Hustle 5K Recap - Galveston, Texas

Yesterday, I participated in the Santa Hustle 5K which was located in Galveston, Texas. I traveled with a group of ladies (my sister in law and her friends) and they all took part in the Half.

The idea for this race first came to me after completing the Gulf Coast Half at 16 weeks pregnant. The Santa Hustle was only 9 weeks away - how much could change in 9 weeks? HAH. Good one. My last long run attempt was a few weekends ago and I was able to make it to 8 miles before the round ligament pain kicked in. I also knew I would be traveling a lot prior to this race and didn't want to push it - so, I made a last minute decision to stick with the 5K. I am super grateful that the logical side of my brain kicked in for this one because I woke up on Friday morning and apparently the crud bug visited me again for the third time this pregnancy. 5K, yes. Half Marathon? NO.

We left Saturday morning for Galveston and it was a gorgeous day - the weather was perfect for a race weekend at the beach! 

We also stayed at the San Luis which was one of the host resorts and it was gorgeous!!

Packet pickup was at the San Luis and it was super easy - no long lines and straight to the point!

The view from our room! Isn't it gorgeous?!

The lobby of the San Luis, all decorated for Christmas!

After settling in our rooms, we decided to go over to Moody Gardens for the Festival of Lights. I'd never been to Moody Gardens or the lights, so this was a neat experience. It's $10 per person to enter and well worth it, in my opinion! 

Basically, a walking path is set up throughout the lights and you just follow the crowd. 

There's different sections of lights, food stops along the way, even campfires for roasting smores! YUM! 

My favorite was the narrated part that told the Christmas story.

Our crew at the lights!

After dinner at McAlisers, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. 

Flat Karen! 

Kayla and I also tried out our Santa beards and hats! 

The sunrise the morning of the race was gorgeous! 

Our Santa group, ready for the race! After saying goodbye to my half marathon friends, I walked around for a few minutes while waiting on the 5K to begin. (The half began 30 minutes prior to the 5K).

Apparently I lined up WAY far back although I could have been much closer. My goal was to stick to a 3:2 as long as possible, then walk the remainder of the race and I didn't want to be in anyone's way.

Y'all. This guy was hysterical! He was drinking eggnog out of a moose cup! (Christmas Vacation, anyone??)

After 15 minutes of wave starts, I finally made it to the start line...and was kicking myself for not lining up closer to the start. Oh well, lesson learned.

Chick-fil-a cows were out to say hello!

The best part of this race included cookie and candy stations along the route! (The Half had these, too!) 

ME! I was starving, having eaten almost two hours before finally starting the race!

YEAH! 

This route led us along the downtown historical area of Galveston  and in front of some gorgeous homes!

Love this!

I was able to keep a 3:2 cycle until about 23 minutes or so, then I began exclusively walking. 

One more to go! 

Next stop...CANDY! 

Hello! This race was RIGHT up my alley!

M&M's? Yes, please! 

 Before long, the finish line was in view! I finished somewhere in the 45 minute range but can't remember the exact time.

After the race, I drove back to the hotel to shower, change, and wait on a text from Kayla.

Y'all, these medals for the half were so adorable! They sparkle and spin AND are a Christmas theme. I've already sent a text to my BRF as I definitely need a redemption race next year and she agreed! We'll see what the next year has to hold as I'm not making any concrete plans for 2016 just yet! :)

Overall this was a neat race and I really enjoyed the experience! I'll definitely be back!

Have you participated in any Christmas themed races this year? If so, which ones? 

2015 Contraband Days 5 Miler

This past weekend, I ran the Contraband Days 5 Miler which is part 2 of our area’s Triple Crown series. It’s been a few years since I’ve run this race – first my IT Band issues popped up, then I was out of town last year. I was excited to run again because this race draws a lot of our area’s “elites”. It also happens to follow one of my favorite running routes!

What’s Contraband Days, you might ask? Well, our area holds a festival each year, to celebrate the legend of the pirate Jean Lafitte. It’s rumored that him and his “crew” hid out on the waters of the nearby Contraband Bayou and buried treasure in it’s many small islands. Therefore, we hold a festival to celebrate all things pirates! Sound like fun? Yeah, well…I don’t really go to the festival, I just run this race. :)

What does one wear to a pirate themed race when the humidity is at 100%? Normal running clothes. Arrrghhhh!

Since I haven’t run this race since 2011, I was excited to do so again. I knew that the addition of a medal for the triple crown series would draw a larger crowd this year, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for said crowd.

This line was for packets and bibs pickup and I thought it would never end. I definitely didn’t think the race would start on time! I don’t know how they did it, but they got the line down super fast and the race only started about 5 minutes late!

Packet pickup wasn’t offered before this race because there was a mishap with the bibs (they didn’t arrive in time). I can’t even image how the race directors felt (I tried to put myself in their shoes)…I heard they were scrambling to make bibs happen for this race. As it was, my handmade bib was on HP photo paper! Hah!

Ah well…most of the bibs worked! I say “most” because the ones on cardstock didn’t stay at all with the heat and humidity. I’m sure it’s a lesson learned for everyone (myself included)!

Kenzie, Melissa, and I!

Ready to run this thing but first, let’s take a group selfie!

Even Madame and Mr. Jean Lafitte himself came out to kick off the race!

What’s a pirate without a cap gun? :) Off we go!

My goal was to PR in this race – my previous time from several years ago was 46 minutes. I knew I could do it, I just had to keep around a 9 minute pace. The humidity was pretty thick, but the clouds overhead kept the sun away (thank goodness)!

My one complaint about this race is the lack of water stations. With a 5 miler in May in Southwest Louisiana, you have to stay hydrated. The first and only water/gatorade stop wasn’t until mile 2.8. It wasn’t a stop we hit twice on the course, either…it was one and only one stop.

As I approached the stop, I heard a guy yelling “Gatorade”. Well, I didn’t want gatorade, I wanted water – so I kept going to the next girl who I heard yell “water”. I said “water” as I approached her and she shuffled the cups around in her hands and I just grabbed a cup from her. As took a sip and began running again, I noticed that I didn’t have water, but I had gatorade. What the heck? That’s when I realized that water was in clear cups and gatorade was in red cups. OK that makes sense to me now, but what the heck?! I also then realized that she was holding both water and gatorade in her hands. I can’t think logically like that when I’m running – my brain is mush when I’m running and I’m only focused on finishing with a certain time. Oh well…again, lesson learned for me. Always pay closer attention. Thankfully it was only a 5 mile race and water was about 2 miles away. This is where my hydration belt would have come into play, but I despise wearing that thing. Sad but true.

Also, pretty much none of the people I was running around stopped for anything at the water stop. I mean, I can do that for 5K’s but nothing longer! I was in awe!

Anyway, the race was great despite the lack of water stops and I was able to keep a decent time.

This guy juggles during the entire race EVERY year! Now that’s talent!

There I am! The KT Pro tape didn’t start to come up until right at 4.6 miles (I know cause I checked). That’s progress, y’all!!

My goal for this race was to finish in the 42 minute time range. Even though my watch says 43:18, the official time released yesterday afternoon was 42:43 (not sure how that happened). Still a PR either way, I’ll take it!

I was also #31 out of 175 to finish this race and I came in 4th in my AG! Pretty proud of myself!

My awesome BRF Heather came out to cheer me on! So excited to have her there!! :)

After the race, we grabbed breakfast at our local favorite diner which was delicious as always.

We had a great time despite the few mishaps. I know how difficult it is to put on a race and I’m thankful for a group like Lake Area Runners who puts on so many for our area!

Can’t wait for the third part of the Triple Crown series – 4 miles on the 4th of July!

How was your weekend?
Do you carry water with you during a race?