Running, it isn't just for exercise anymore!

Hey everyone, I have been bad about keeping this updated for a while, but here is where we start up again!!! Yes yes, your thundering cheers and applause are inspiring! Well, let's get right to it, here we go. As I have talked about before, we have been running 5 days a week and have recently started doing actual races. We did one in September for Wipe Out Kids' Cancer and then this past weekend we did Race for the Cure.

 
It's great, you donate money to a cause you feel passionate about, you get some good exercise, and who could pass up FREE T-SHIRTS!!!!!

 Our first official race was the Oktoberfest run in Addison. We met up with several of Richard's coworkers and made our way to the front of the pack as the start drew near. We had never done an actual race, so we weren't quite sure how it was going to go down. But once the gun sounded and everyone took off, it all seemed to just fall into place. The weirdest part for us I think is trying to get into your running groove while you are stuck in the initial crowd of people at the start line. Everyone obviously has their own pace and navigating the masses is a skill that I assume gets easier. Surprisingly enough, I think you get some sort of energy boost from the crowd of runners and our pace was better than our normal runs. This comes with a downside however as about 2/3 of the way into the run, the steam you had starts to leave and your body realizes you have been going a little faster than you should have.  The thought of slowing down and letting all the people you ran past catch up and now pass you is a little unsettling, but you gotta do what you gotta do. The crowds of people watching and cheering from the sides does a good job in motivating too. So as you approach that final stretch, you just dig deep and give it all you have. We crossed the finish line and waited for our official times to be posted. We both finished at the same time yet once the official results were posted, things got a little crazy. I was listed as #631 with a time of 30:57 but Richard was logged as #671 with a time of 31:38. Oh well, at least we know we both finished at the same time and amazingly enough, this was our best run time ever! Guess the friendly competition doesn't hurt. And the icing on the cake with this run was what we got afterwards, FREE BEER!! Gotta love Oktoberfest! (Even though it was September)





 

The next stop on our race schedule was the 2011 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. This is a very dear charity to us and to be able to run in memory of my mom was amazing!! There were over 22,000 participants this year and it was amazing to see so many people out supporting this cause. We met up with our friend Sarah who ran with us and made our way through the crowds. In hind sight we should have arrived earlier than we did, but we know better for next year. There were so many people crammed into the starting area that we weren't able to get up to the spot for the runners. So when the gun sounded, we were still stuck in a sea of walkers. We had to do quite a lot of maneuvering and speeding up and slowing down, but we managed to eventually get to a better spot where we could run a little more easily. There were so many people cheering and showing support that you could just feel the energy in the air. We decided that all the dodging people and hopping up and down curbs and the start/stop action really gives you a better workout than a normal run. We finished the race and headed straight to the water table for some hydration. They had free yogurt and bananas too, which was a great treat. After some post race stretching and a cool down period, we headed to the results tent to see what our official times were. Luckily this time, it recorded us both crossing at the same time. I was #527 with a time of 34:28 and Richard was #528 with a time of 34:29. We felt that if we had been in the runners starting place at the start, we would have probably beaten our previous race time since we wouldn't have spent so much time in a traffic jam and dodging walkers, but we felt great having run the race and now we have two under our belt.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who made donations. Thanks you all of you, we made 150% of our fundraising goal. If you would like to make a donation, you still can by following this link and then clicking the "donate" button under the picture of me and my mom. Race for the Cure Donations! Donations are still being accepted until the middle of November so donate if you can!!

Stay tuned for more updates!!!