Hip Hop 5K Erie

     I'm excited to say that I've been away for a variety of exciting reasons; planning a 5K, prepping for my little sister's wedding, buying our first home and planning vacation.
     You read that right! The Hip Hop 5K is coming to Erie, PA! It's this coming weekend but it's not too late to donate or sign up to participate! Any donation helps and just think, if 50 people were to donate their $5 coffee for just one day that would be $250! If they rounded their donations up to $10 that would be $500! You get the point, small amounts add up quickly!
     Do me a favor and if you aren't able to participate, consider donating. The proceeds all go to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute so that more cases of hip dysplasia can be caught and treated. Together we can, together we will!
     Find the link to the website here, there are options to register yourself or a team as well as to make a donation. Hip Hop 5K Erie registration Website.

Personal Best

     43:13.9 minutes is what the clock said when we crossed the finish; with a chip time of 42:38.2 we finished our first 5K of the year with our best time yet! The kids stayed with my mom while Hubby and I drove up to the Peninsula to meet our friends and run the 5K portion of the Saint Patrick's Day Distance Festival. 

     Can't wait to see how Hubby and I improve over the course of the year - we're hoping to achieve our goal of running 12 races this year.

Hubby fueling up on coffee before the race

ready to run

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Let the 5K begin

We made it! 

Survived the run

Shoes decked out with my timing chip

October 5K Day

     Today was our 5K for the month of October. We headed out to Hermitage House to participate in their "Heart to Home" Festival. This is the 5th year they have done a 5K and even though I've been working with their art club for the last few years I have had a variety of reasons not to do the 5K. As part of my decision to do at least one 5K a month I knew that I would do this 5K this year.
     We came away with one of our best times (even though it wasn't the fastest overall). We finished in about 46 minutes AND Big Brother ran approximately half of it. This is the first time we've let him run more than a few hundred feet since our first 5K in July which took us over an hour to complete. We bought him brand new running shoes yesterday so he was REALLY ready to run this morning!
     It was nice to see a lot of people we haven't seen for awhile and I'm really proud that Big Brother likes to run. After the 5K there was live music, a chinese auction, hay rides, pony rides, games, food, and a lot more. We tried our luck at the chinese auction and Big Brother got to ride a horse for the second time in a month all while Froggie slept! She woke up briefly but did spend the majority of our morning asleep in the stroller.
     I must say that I have a new found appreciation for the people I see running along the side of the road! Today's 5K was ran primarily on dirt roads and the side of the road. It's A LOT harder to run in the dirt and over rocks and dips than it is to run on the pavement. Hubby thinks he bruised his foot because he's still getting accustomed to his Vibrams.
     We did a lot of running around this afternoon and the kids were exhausted this evening. I'm finding that the more time we spend out and about the harder it is for me to stay awake in the evenings and I've been falling asleep holding Froggie quite a bit.
     Right now she's keeping me company snuggled up on the couch cushion beside me. I suppose at some point she will have to sleep in her crib but I love snuggling her so much and it's nice not to have to worry that when she wakes up to eat that she'll wake up Big Brother too.

Before the race

Our view while we ran

Running with a 2 year old can be fun

Hubby and the stroller

After the race

Showing off his shirt and shoes w/a mouth full of banana 

Waiting to ride the horse

Going for a ride

He did a great job!

Hip Hop 5K Erie

     I have been talking with the race director of the first Hip Hop 5K in Massachusetts and she has taken on the task of spreading the Hip Hop 5K nationwide!
     If everything pans out the way I hope for it to I will be the race director for the Hip Hop 5K in Erie, PA! I've submitted the first of the paper work and and waiting for my director packet. I've been scoping out 5K sites with all of the 5K's we've been doing and have run into only one issue.
     Cost.
     While I would love to through myself and everything I can into making this 5K happen it simply is not possible. This is where all of you come in. I need ideas on how to fundraise to fundraise. There are some upfront costs to doing a 5K (renting the timer, race bibs, shirts, water, etc.) that I will need to fundraise for. I'm starting early because I have a tendency to procrastinate and the 5K will be sometime next summer.
     So if you have any ideas (or have been on a 5K committee before) let me know. I'll take whatever suggestions or advice I can get!

Steelers Gatorade 5K (AKA Pittsburgh Day Trip #2)

Race Day

     Saturday we got up before the sun to get ready for our drive to Pittsburgh. We were out the door before 5am to meet Froggie's God parents and head south. The drive was pretty uneventful, Froggie slept the whole way there and Big Brother slept intermittently until we got into the city.
     We arrived at the beginning of the registration window and got our packets before heading into the stadium. It was pretty amazing to be able to hang out in the stadium without being a sardine. We behaved like your typical tourist and took a bunch of pictures.

First time in the stadium as a family

Big Brother in the stadium

Froggie woke up to enjoy the stadium

The kids and I in the stadium

Froggie and her God Father

Froggie and her God Mother

     I took Big Brother in to go potty and ran into my cousin and aunt so then we spent some time talking to the rest of my family members who were there and noticed Steely McBeam (the Steelers' mascot) so my cousin took a picture of Big Brother and I with him (after my family got their pictures taken with him first).

Steely McBeam, Big Brother and I

     When I was getting ready to head back out into the stadium I noticed my friend Chrissy so we chatted briefly and took pictures. You should check out her Facebook page and Blog, Fitness Sprinkles.

Post race picture with Chris and Chrissy

     We spent a little more time in the stadium before we headed out to the car to get the stroller set up, Froggie fed and everyone's bibs on. After we were all prepped to go we walked around the stadium and lined up to start the 5K. There were nearly 3,800 people there! We were registered as walker so we were in the last section but since we had a stroller we'd have gone in the last wave regardless.

Big Brother in the trunk for a pre race snack

Froggie, ready to run

The kids ready to go

Family waiting to start

The kids and I

     Once we got going it was pretty fun, we had a hard time getting around people if we were jogging so we bounced back and forth between jogging and walking quickly and moved at a pretty quick pace for most of the race. When we looped back around close to the stadium we let Big Brother out of the stroller to run into the stadium. It was awesome to be able to run through the tunnel and down to the finish line! Since Big Brother was running with Hubby, Froggie and I ran ahead to take a picture of the two of them running across the finish!

Hubby and Big Brother running into the stadium

Hubby and Big Brother crossing the finish

     Due to our delayed start being in the last of 5 waves and our inability to move as quickly as we'd of liked we made it back just in time for the kids run. Big Brother got his own bib and race bag (including a shirt!) for signing up for the kids run across the end zone. Hubby got to run with him and Big Brother did a great job running across the field to meet Froggie and I. He even got a ribbon for finishing!

Hubby and Big Brother on the field for the kids race

A proud Big Brother with his ribbon

     There was a lot going on after the 5K and it wasn't like any other race we've done. They took the name portion from everyone's bib and drew them as a raffle for a ton of awesome prizes while giving out the awards for the fastest runners in a variety of categories.

Big Brother pretending to be Big Ben

Froggie and I

Hubby and Froggie

     After the awards and raffle we changed and loaded everyone back into the car to meet up with my mom, sister and sister's friend for lunch and to look as some wedding dresses. After a few stores though we ended up at the mall. As soon as both kids ended up in the stroller and sat still for a minute they were passed out! We walked around for a little bit to make sure they got some sleep and did a little shopping. I even found a dress for the Navy Ball in October!

Big Brother with his PB&J

Dress shopping

     When the rest of my family decided they were going to head to another bridal store we opted to pack up the kids and start heading home so that they could finish sleeping off their morning. We made a stop at the outlet mall about half-way home and walked around a little. Big Brother got a new football and we picked up a new NFL approved clear bag so that we wouldn't have to stress about it in the future. After browsing a little more we decided to get some dinner and took advantage of the closeness of Primanti Brothers.

Baby wearing dad alert!

Mmmm dinner

     It was a great first day to our long weekend!

Sunday Run-day

     We were up bright and early with the kids this morning and headed out to do our August 5K. We checked in and hung out a bit before starting our jog/walk. Both kids were in the jogging stroller despite Big Brother's protest and telling us that he was going to "race with his feet". Our overall time improved and this was not a flat course; we started in grass, went through a park with winding paths and ended by coming back down into the park on a gravel trail and up through the grass with a fairly steep hill. The course definitely put our jogging stroller to the test but we made it in 49 minutes. We improved our time by approximately 21 minutes!

Pre-race snack for Froggie

The kids and I ready to go

Hubby and the kids at about the halfway point

Some of the goodies from our race bags

     After our 5K we packed up and headed to the peninsula so that Hubby and I could change and the kids could enjoy the sun, playground and beach before our next stop. After we exhausted our options at the playground we decided to head across the street to the beach thinking that we would all just put our feet in for a few minutes and then pack back up and head up the road. Big brother had other plans and ended up jumping in and swimming in his clothes and pull up. He seemed to have a lot of fun until it was time to splash in the water to get all the sand off.

All wet!

Why not jump on in?

     Once we got Big Brother cleaned up and in a new set of dry clothes we headed up the road to our local amusement park where we had our church service in the pavilion followed by a picnic. Froggie got to try her first "solid" (read as non-pureed) food - honeydew melon. There was a ton of good food and a chinese auction but we didn't venture into the park because we though Big Brother would want to go on all of the rides, most of which he's just not big enough for yet. So we packed up and headed home for nap time.

Big Brother picking out chinese auction baskets.

Initial reaction to melon

Then... She didn't want anyone to take it away.

     While the kids took a nap/rested under the supervision of my mom, Hubby and I went shopping. It's nice to be able to go get groceries and not have to wander around or listen to Big Brother scream because he wants to walk instead of sit in the cart. Overall it was a good day, I had big plans to make Rice Krispie Treats this evening but I think I'll save that project for tomorrow.