Friday, June 25, 2010
Some June 2010 photos
Yum! Pickles for breakfast! (with yogurt & Cheerio's... what could be better?) Ella didn't want to go to bed so as I was getting her ready, she ran away from me without her pajamas on and then just ran around the house like crazy. Here she stopped in time to pose with a, "what, me?" look.
Here is our hydrangea bush this year. If you notice that half the flowers are pink & half are purple/blue, you would be noticing correctly. Most hydrangea bushes' colors are determined by the acidity of the soil. I bought this one three years ago - thinking it would be the beautiful blue it was then. Last year it bloomed pink. So we spent the fall/winter dumping ash from our grill on the ground around it try to make the soil less acidic. The result was a mixed flower bush. I think it's very beautiful!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Race for the Cure today!
Well we just got back from a crazy fun day at Race for the Cure. After my last post, I emailed the race director to ask if I could switch from the competitive race to the recreational race because I wanted to run with my daughter. She told me that I could run in the competitive race with Ella as long as I started in the back. All right - here we go!
Well, that all sounded well and good except that I never thought there would be walkers in the "competitive" race - I had to dodge hundreds of people while weaving through them and ran a 9:30 first mile because I couldn't really get going. I finished in 26:28, so eventually the crowd thinned - but not really until the last 1/2 mile! This was the BIGGEST race I'd ever been in. Apparently this is THE biggest event in North Carolina! It was crazy.
Then we rested up a little bit, took Ella around to all the tents people had set up giving away free items - Ella spotted the balloons and we had to get her one. I couldn't believe the crazy people fighting each other over a free water bottle - really, people??? A water bottle??? Give me $100 toward new running shoes and I'll fight you for it any day, but a water bottle?
Anyways, our race was at 7am. Jody's race was at 8:45am so we were supposed to meet her group at 8:30am to walk with her. We found Jody's group around 8:35 and set up our little spot (blankets, etc.) then went to get in line to start. There were so many people in this race that it took us about 30 minutes just to cross the starting line - no exaggerations! It really was great to walk the race with Jody and her family and friends and then afterwards we got together and had a little picnic and hung out. We finally got back home around 1:00pm.
I'm so proud of Jody for all her strength, courage, and determination. And I think she is very lucky to have so many friends and family that are willing to go the extra mile for her (especially her husband, Kevin). Today we celebrated Jody's Survival. Thank you to everyone who helped donate to the cause!
Well, that all sounded well and good except that I never thought there would be walkers in the "competitive" race - I had to dodge hundreds of people while weaving through them and ran a 9:30 first mile because I couldn't really get going. I finished in 26:28, so eventually the crowd thinned - but not really until the last 1/2 mile! This was the BIGGEST race I'd ever been in. Apparently this is THE biggest event in North Carolina! It was crazy.
Then we rested up a little bit, took Ella around to all the tents people had set up giving away free items - Ella spotted the balloons and we had to get her one. I couldn't believe the crazy people fighting each other over a free water bottle - really, people??? A water bottle??? Give me $100 toward new running shoes and I'll fight you for it any day, but a water bottle?
Anyways, our race was at 7am. Jody's race was at 8:45am so we were supposed to meet her group at 8:30am to walk with her. We found Jody's group around 8:35 and set up our little spot (blankets, etc.) then went to get in line to start. There were so many people in this race that it took us about 30 minutes just to cross the starting line - no exaggerations! It really was great to walk the race with Jody and her family and friends and then afterwards we got together and had a little picnic and hung out. We finally got back home around 1:00pm.
I'm so proud of Jody for all her strength, courage, and determination. And I think she is very lucky to have so many friends and family that are willing to go the extra mile for her (especially her husband, Kevin). Today we celebrated Jody's Survival. Thank you to everyone who helped donate to the cause!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Discrimination - in places you'd never expect!
So last year I ran in a Cary 10K pushing Ella in her running jogger - but I had to register as a "recreational" runner instead of a "competitve" runner due to the jogger. What did this mean? My time was not recorded, I was not allowed to receive any age group or overall awards, and I wondered when it was all done... WHY DID I PAY MONEY FOR THIS? I felt like I was running bandit - but I still paid the race fee! And I felt like my effort didn't count - when I really was doing twice the work pushing a baby the entire way. This year, for the first time since moving to NC, I decided not to run the race because of the way I felt afterwards.
I have not run in another race with Ella since, but I was planning on running in the competitive 5K this Saturday for Race for the Cure. I searched the website, read the waiver I was signing, and no mention about not allowing joggers - in fact the website went out of the way to say they were totally allowed. So I signed up for the competitive 5K with Steve, intending on just starting in the back and staying out of everyone's way but running with Ella. Tonight, 3 days before the race, I get an email stating that strollers are allowed everywhere EXCEPT the competitive 5K. I guess if you've never been in my position - a running mom who almost NEVER runs without pushing her daughter in her jogger - you may not know why this is so bothersome, but it's like flashing a sign at me: YOU AND YOUR JOGGER ARE NOT ALLOWED and I feel very discriminated against! Especially since I signed up and paid extra money to run this race and now I can't - plus I have been given very little time to try to find a babysitter for my daughter so I could run.
Now, I know that Race for the Cure is SO MUCH MORE than just a 5K. We are honoring one of the strongest women I know, Jody Garrison, in raising money and later, walking another 5K with her. But I still don't like to feel like I can no longer run any race "competively" because I run with a jogger. The race directors need to realize that if you do run with a jogger, you are going to be MUCH more aware of the people around you - who wants to crash with their child??? I say let Runners with their Joggers run competitively and let their times stand. What are they really afraid of? That we won't be last and others will feel bad about it? If that were the case, they wouldn't allow 8 year olds who outrun half the fields in!
I have not run in another race with Ella since, but I was planning on running in the competitive 5K this Saturday for Race for the Cure. I searched the website, read the waiver I was signing, and no mention about not allowing joggers - in fact the website went out of the way to say they were totally allowed. So I signed up for the competitive 5K with Steve, intending on just starting in the back and staying out of everyone's way but running with Ella. Tonight, 3 days before the race, I get an email stating that strollers are allowed everywhere EXCEPT the competitive 5K. I guess if you've never been in my position - a running mom who almost NEVER runs without pushing her daughter in her jogger - you may not know why this is so bothersome, but it's like flashing a sign at me: YOU AND YOUR JOGGER ARE NOT ALLOWED and I feel very discriminated against! Especially since I signed up and paid extra money to run this race and now I can't - plus I have been given very little time to try to find a babysitter for my daughter so I could run.
Now, I know that Race for the Cure is SO MUCH MORE than just a 5K. We are honoring one of the strongest women I know, Jody Garrison, in raising money and later, walking another 5K with her. But I still don't like to feel like I can no longer run any race "competively" because I run with a jogger. The race directors need to realize that if you do run with a jogger, you are going to be MUCH more aware of the people around you - who wants to crash with their child??? I say let Runners with their Joggers run competitively and let their times stand. What are they really afraid of? That we won't be last and others will feel bad about it? If that were the case, they wouldn't allow 8 year olds who outrun half the fields in!
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