Thursday, May 31, 2012

Come On Sea World - Reindeer Run 5K


Well now that I am a racing pro (with 2 races under my belt), I decided to get tricky and do the Reindeer Run at Sea World in Orlando, FL while Wendy, Sophia and I were visiting Mom and Dad.

Up at the crack of dawn again, we arrived at Sea World as giddy as two kids on Christmas morning.  We sprung from our car "to see what was the matter" (reference to Up on the Rooftop there).  Armed with coffee (provided by the race event company - smart, smart, company!), we spent our "warm-up" time taking pictures and checking out the Reindeer's, Santa's, and  Elves (aka runners dressed in nutty costumes).  That's when we realized we needed to get with the program and accessorize better at future races!

After a fun race, where we saw dolphins, sting rays and no Shamu (he was still in hair and makeup), we headed to the parking lot, where the fun began.  We could not remember where we parked!  In our excitement to be at Sea World, neither of us looked at the parking sign.  Faced with 5,000 racers and their autos and people arriving to the amusement park, we started to panic slightly.  That was until we saw the Sea World employee with the golf cart!  He could drive us around and help us find our car (aka Mom's car)!  As we approached, a woman was having a very animated conversation with him regarding the traffic jam in the parking lot.  Sea World had not done a great job directing racers out the lot, and there was gridlock!  After a lot of back and forth, she screamed "COME ON SEA WORLD!!!!" and stormed away.  That's when Wendy and I fell over laughing and decided the golf cart man had bigger fish to fry then helping us find our car.

After some deductive reasoning, we parked straight, not crooked, against a chain, we found our car and we were off to Starbuck's all the while yelling "COME ON SEA WORLD!"

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Turkey Trot or Why the Hell Am I Up So Early on Thanksgiving?


The next race that we thought was a good idea was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  Why the hell did we think getting up and exercising on Thanksgiving would be fun?  We should be at home, nice and cozy, watching the parade, lazing around, preparing to stuff ourselves.

But no, here we were surrounded by 3,000 other nutters wearing turkey leg hats and pilgrim costumes, waiting to walk/run/crawl 5K as deer bounded by, causing the dogs at the race, that were not allowed, to go absolutely freakin' crazy!

And to top it off, this course was hilly!  I am not talking a gradual incline, I am talking, you need cramp-ons to make it up the hill, while down on all fours.  Fay didn't eat before the race (a common theme) and was starving about 1/3 of the way through.  As we contemplated our after race meal, being a holiday, what would be open? We joked that since Jimmy John's is so freaky fast, maybe they could deliver at kilometer marker 2 so we could finish the race!

As we huffed and puffed up the hill, out comes the smart phone, the McDonald's number researched and a call placed to ensure they would be open when we were done!  Having our priorities straight, we staggered up the final hill and finished the race.  Then, it was time for our Egg McMuffin!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Start of an Obsession - the Detroit 5K Marathon



Whatever possessed Fay and I to sign up for a 5K walk, I have no idea.  Maybe we were bored?  Did we not have enough to do between a one year old, work, Jaycees and all our other commitments?  I think it boiled down to the fact that work was going to pay for mine, so why not?  Seemed like a good idea at the time.


It was a good idea at the time, until we had to get up at 4 something to get to Detroit for the race.  Then, we had to park in some creepy Cobo parking lot and walk a mile (or so it seemed) to the race area.  From there, after asking about 5 people where to pick up our packets, we finally found the registration table and were excited that we got official looking shirts (see picture above).  That's when we knew we were in over our heads.  We did not have appropriate walking shoes, we did not have a backpack to store our shirts and we most certainly did not want to walk back to the car to dump our stuff!


Of course, during the race, it rained, we were hot, we thought we were going to die several times of exhaustion, but we made it!  And guess what, we received a medallion when we finished!  Sure, it was only a Finisher Medallion, but nonetheless, we were hooked.


Our "runner's high" last all the way until we got home and made some breakfast.  As we did this, we registered for the Ann Arbor Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.


Things were fine until we had to go off to Sophia's 1st Birthday party at Chelsea Teddy Bear Co., at 2 pm.  Then, the exhaustion took over.  We were hopped on sugar to survive 11 kids under 8 for 2 hours!


Things we learned at the race - 1) We need good shoes; 2) Don't plan a kid's birthday party in the afternoon; 3) Bring a back pack and the most important: If it seems like a good idea, sleep on it, and see if it is still a good idea!


My new obsession had begun, stay tuned!