It's Foam! It's Mud! It's a 5K! It's Fun!!

I have only four days left before I head out and take part in the 5k Foam Fest!  I am nervous and excited.  Mostly excited but I am so afraid of failing at most of the obstacles.  I know I will have fun and I know I will laugh a lot but this is new to me. 

These are a few of the things I will have to do:

I am doing this race with a friend and her friend so I am sure we are going to have a blast.  I know a few people that have done this race and they said it was so much fun.  One thing that I am having a hard time with is figuring out how I'm going to take pictures during/after this event.  I want to have pictures to post afterward but I have no idea how I am going to do that.  I need to figure out a way to protect my phone/camera and carry it in a way that it won't get broken. 

If you live in the Pittsburgh area, you should sign up to participate in this fun event.  It's not everyday that we, as adults, can play in mud, foam and water.  There are inflatables! Don't you always get a bit jealous when you watch your kids having all that fun in those bounce houses and slides?! ;)

I want, I want

It's so easy to make a list of the things we want.  I can think of several things within seconds of someone asking me what I want. Some are small things and some are big things, some are expensive, others are not.

I just talked to Chuck's cousin today about a reunion that his cousin is hosting....in North Carolina....at the end of July.  I would love to go and in my mind today I was trying to configure just how we could make it work.  I really don't think we could but I sure would love to go.  I need to get away for a bit and a long weekend in North Carolina seems like a perfectly good solution to that problem. 

However, the end of July is not a really good time for us to be taking a long weekend.  We have my brother's wedding two weeks before that and we have rent due the first of August.  We also have Lincoln's birthday the Sunday of the weekend of the reunion.  I was planning on having a nice, big birthday party for Lincoln on his actual birthday.  It's not that I can't change that plan because I could. 

The timing just isn't right.  Aside from all those reasons, taking a 9 hour car ride for a three day trip seems like a long way to go for such a short amount of time.  Chuck always does all the driving and that is a lot to ask of him within 3 days. 

I am not totally ruling out the trip just yet because Chuck hasn't said too much but I am assuming we will have to skip out on this fun event.  It is a reunion for him and all his cousins because they haven't all been together in a very long time.  We are all adults now and we need to start making plans to see each other more often.  I would love it if it became a yearly reunion but again, I'm not sure if that will happen. 

A long weekend away is still on my list of things I want.......

Summer Fun

School's out for summer!  We are officially on summer break here in our house and so far, we are off to a great start!  We spent our day yesterday in the city doing our 5k walk for the March of Dimes and it was a great day for it.  Starting out, we had cloudy conditions but by halfway through the walk, the sun was out and it was getting hot!  We enjoyed our walk through the city and for that reason, this is one of my most favorite 5k courses around.  We walked along the river, over two bridges and we even got to walk on the warning track of PNC Park!

After the walk, we enjoyed more of the festivities outside of PNC Park, with music, inflatable fun stuff for Lincoln, food, balloon swords and sunshine. 

We got ready to head in to PNC Park for our first ever, family trip to a Pittsburgh Pirates game!!  I am not a fan of baseball, I never was but I am always up for going to a fun, sporting event with family.  We had a great time and Lincoln loved his first baseball game.  The rest of us have been to games but just never all together!

We left the game in the 7th inning and we were down by 2......after we left, the Pirates came back and won the game!  Sort of sad we missed it but we left to go out to dinner just the five of us and we had fun there. 

We got home and since the kids had ice cream after their dinner and Chuck and I didn't, we left and got ice cream, just the two of us. 

It was a busy day and I am exhausted but I loved every second of it.  Chuck and I are trying to create memories with the kids and doing things that the kids will enjoy.  It's not always what other people would do but we are having a blast.  I'm hoping to keep going with some fun summer outings with the kids.  We are still trying to decide what to do when Chuck takes some vacation days later in the summer.  We were hoping to go away for a long weekend but we're honestly not sure if that is going to happen.  Small day trips seem to be more likely for us and that's okay, as long as we are together is all that matters. 

Some things on my mind for this summer:

Summer Reading Program at our local library, of course.  Lincoln needs practice and Jada has some required reading this summer so why not join in on the fun and earn prizes in the process?! 

Swim Lessons. Lincoln has never had swim lessons but he loves the water so one of the local pools is offering FREE swim lessons during the month of July!  You can't beat that, I am hoping to get him to join in the fun and learn that it's okay to put your head under the water!

Camping. We are definitely going on a camping trip at the end of this month but we are hoping to go a few more times than that.  We love camping, the outdoors and roasting marshmallows so hopefully we can do just that.

Hiking.  We went on a hiking trip weeks ago and we all agreed that we are keeping that on our list of family fun trips so we would like to go to different local locations and hike different parks.  It's free, fun and healthy! Win, win!!

Making memories isn't all about spending a ton of money for the most exciting vacations.  There are tons of things that can be done close to home that will allow for your family to walk away smiling and full of memories to last a lifetime.  I want my kids to take away that lesson and one day say "remember when we...........that was so fun!" 

I Am A Sweat Pink Ambassador

As I make my way around the internet and find different groups of fitness-minded people, I am intrigued, inspired and motivated to just keep going.  I enjoy being a part of several groups where everyone is at different levels of fitness, running and life.  Some are true rookies, finding out how to take the first step and some are true mentors, having several dozen marathons or fitness competitions under their belt. 

I've learned that it doesn't matter which category you are in.  There are going to be people to cheer you on, give you advice, keep you motivated and to be there to support you when you need it for whatever reason. 

One of the groups that really caught my attention was the Sweat Pink community.  There are so many wonderful ladies in this community that are raising awareness, doing great things in the fitness community.  I wanted to be a part of this movement to help motivate and get people moving.  I applied to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador awhile ago because I feel like I have something to offer others.  I am not an expert, I'm not perfect and my mind, body and spirit are a work in progress but I wanted to help. 

I was accepted as a Sweat Pink Ambassador!  I got the email to let me know and I almost started screaming at work!  I was so excited and honored to be a part of this. 

This means that I am going to help as much as I can when someone says that they want to get healthy.  I have already encouraged two people to run their first 5k.  One friend did her first one two weeks ago and she was so proud of herself.  She cried as she crossed that finish line because she pushed herself and beat her goal time by 5 minutes!  The other friend is training for her first one and we will be doing that one together in two weeks.  I cannot wait to run across that finish line together with her. 

I was so happy to receive my official Sweat Pink tank top and pink laces.  As I find those special ladies who have pushed themselves and complete things that they didn't think they could do, I will be giving them those pink laces to let them know that I am proud of them, that they did it....all on their own. 

I finished my last 5k in my Sweat Pink tank and here's the pic:

I don't know if I can change the world but fitness and running has changed my life and I hope to help others find what makes them happy and fit and encourage them to change their lives. 

MAMAVATION MONDAY: 5k Recap, Moving Forward and Goals

I haven't done a Mamavation Monday post for awhile and it wasn't for any specific reason, I just haven't.  There's no time like the present to remedy that.  So here we go........

5K Recap

This past Saturday, my family did a local 5k for our high school band's annual fundraiser.  My husband, son and I did it last year and it wasn't an easy course.  There are several hills and there is a large hill toward the end that really makes you dig deep. 

This year, we had all five of us running!  This is the first time that all five of us have participated in a running event together.  I was so excited and proud to help promote family fitness.  I feel like we are trying to do more physical activities as a family and our kids are going to benefit from them. 

I have been working out and training more lately so I felt better going into this race this year and I figured that I would struggle less with the course.  I had no idea that my recent training and workouts have helped so much that I would find this course much easier this year!  I didn't really struggle at all with the course itself.  Yes, the hills were still large and they are a challenge but I have found a great technique that helped so much.  I used to look to the top of the hills and see how much farther I had to go.  I now look down and watch myself taking each step and telling myself in my head that I can do this and that I am doing it.  Mind over matter, right?!

The only challenge that came to me toward the end of the run was that it was starting to get warmer out and the sun was out.  However, before I knew it, we were in the home stretch and I saw the flag that marked the 3 mile mark...and also saw my son who was cheering my husband and I on.  He does this at every 5k, he finishes and then comes back to find us on the course and cheer us to the finish. 

My husband and I were running together as usual, our older son was way ahead of us as he was on a mission to beat his PR with a new time.  Our daughter was walking/jogging with her friend and our little guy was with my in-laws waiting to do his 1k race. 

As for our times....my son was hoping for a time around 24 minutes since his personal record was 25 minutes.  He CRUSHED it with a time of 22 minutes!!!  I am so very proud of him and his efforts and drive to be the best he can be.  I am amazed by him.  Last year, my time was 39:40 and this year my time was 33:25!!  I shaved over 6 minutes off my previous time....training paid off big time!  Chuck had a time of 36 minutes last year and this year got 33:05.  We ran the entire race together then he started sprinting for the last .10 of the 5k where I decided to keep a steady pace so I didn't burn out before the finish line! Jada did more walking than jogging and had a time of 44 minutes.  Not too terrible for her first 5k...we are happy she decided to join us!  Lincoln did his 1k and we all lined up to run it with him and when the guy yelled to start the fun run, he took off.  He weaved in, out and around dozens of the other kids and just zoomed away from us.  We put Chuckie in charge of keeping up with him since he is the fastest.  He did so well.  He is still wearing his medal he got and proclaims that "it was the best day of my life when I got my medal!" haha.

Moving Forward

I am enjoying doing 5k's and they are a great accomplishment of mine.  I enjoy seeing the race bibs and medals on my dresser and I plan on making something to display those someday.  I've decided that I will always do 5k's unless I give myself a goal of moving that up to a 10k.  Of course, I love the 5k's and will continue to do them but I want to mix in a longer distance. 

A local 10k fundraiser for our local lake is the perfect opportunity for me to do my first 10k.  It is on all the roads around our house and even starts out a half mile from our house.  The course goes past our house and ends up at the local lake that we are fundraising for.  I have begun the training and so far, I am enjoying it. I got my run in this morning and by the end of the week, I will have logged at least 8 miles.  I think this is a perfect goal for me.  I will feel accomplished and I can't wait to feel the pride when I run across that finish line. 

My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon.  I plan on continuing my training after the 10k run to start training for a half marathon.  There is a half that is happening in mid October that I would love to do.  I said that I wouldn't miss my son's football games for anything that would be strictly to benefit myself but this half is during football season.  It is a mostly downhill course that would be the perfect race for my first half.  I am struggling with the decision.  I am hoping that the football schedule comes out soon so that I know for sure if I can do this or not.  They cap it at 1250 runners so I don't want to miss out on registering if our schedule allows it.

I could say, no, I am doing this for me because I am worth it, I have been working for this, etc.  However, if he has a football game and I do this, then no one would be at the finish line to see me finish it.  I want my family there to cheer me on and see my accomplishment.  Does that sound terrible?!

Goals

A lot of my goals remain the same as they have been for quite some time. 

Toning: I need to tone my body in several places and keep them trim.  I want to be able to fit nicely into my clothes and not feel stuffed into them.

Endurance: I am trying to build up my endurance in both running and working out. I have been working on breathing and mental exercises to help me in this department.

Happiness: Not all of my goals are fitness related.  Shocker, I know!  I want to make sure that I am here and present for all the moments that are so easily skimmed over.  I want to sit and listen when my son is telling me a story because even when it seems like a silly little story, it's his story and I want to hear it.

Time: I am trying to manage my time a bit better.  I am constantly on the go and I need to prioritize, reorganize and finalize a schedule that works for all of us.  As summer is nearing, I will be changing my work schedule to be home earlier and working more hours.  I know there will be times that the kids will want to do things and so I'm hoping I can acccomodate them and still work better hours.  This is definitely a work in progress!

Run For Your Lives 5K

Do you watch those movies where there are zombies following and trying to eat people?  Do those movies freak you out, scare you or gross you out?  Yeah, me too. 

There is an event coming to my area in August called the "Run For Your Lives 5K" and guess what? I'm doing it!  It is a fun, kind of scary, challenging and did I mention fun? race that I am doing.

Check out some of the pictures from their website:







I cannot believe that I am going to do this race but I'm sure it will be fun.  I'm also sure that I will be running a bit faster and screaming a bit more than usual!  I mean, I've never been chased by zombies before but I am betting that it will be a little more than exciting! 

Each runner wears a belt with three flags on it and the "zombies" are trying to take your flags from you. 

From their website:

Obstacles  

If being chased by zombies isn’t enough, we will have a series of man-made and natural obstacles waiting for you throughout the course. Jump, slide, and climb your way through our blood pit, smokehouse, and maze (amongst others), all while zombies are hot on your tail. Test your strength, speed, and wit as you battle your way to our shocking finish. Make it through this last obstacle, and you are finally in the Safe Zone.

There is also an Apocolypse party after the race so we will get to unwind a little after the running, obstacle doing and screaming, er, fun.

I encourage you all to go visit their site and see if this event is coming to your area and sign up.....it's not everyday that you can say you ran from and escaped from zombies!!

If you have any questions about the race, you can check out their FAQ's page to get all the information you need.

Sweat, Mud and Foam!!

In a month, I am going to be participating in the 5K FOAM FEST!  I am so excited and nervous.  It is going to be so much fun and I have a few friends doing the event with me.  I have a few friends that already did this event in Georgia and they said it is so fun. 

I am a bit nervous about some of the obstacles like maybe this one:

I am afraid of heights so I already said that someone may need to push me down this 3-story tall slide!!

Here is another obstacle that will be at my event that I am nervous about, it looks a bit tough to do:

You have to run across the foam pads, on the water!!

However, when you see pictures like this next one, you just want to join in the fun:

I am really looking forward to this event.  It will be the first obstacle race I do.  I am in training for a fitness challenge and running a 10k so I am hoping that I am well-prepared in a month to do all the fun obstacles.  I have no doubts that I will be laughing and having a blast in the foam and mud!