Missing in Action

I wanted to let you all know what I have been doing the past couple of months.  Of course, I have been running.  My last race post was back in mid-Dec and since then, I have run a few races.

The Pensacola Runners Association "Pensacola Beach Run" was on Jan 14th.  This year they had the half as a separate event.  In years past this was a 'pick your distance' race.  I ran the half and was fortunate enough to set a half PR.  Yay me.

I also ran the PRA Bay to Breakfast 8K Challenge trail race.  This is a great local event.  I highly recommend it to anyone in the local area.  This year's race got a bit out of control as many people, including myself, ran a bit further then we were suppose to.  In fact, when it was all over, we decided to call this the "Run Your Own Distance" Trail Challenge.  No matter, it was a great event and great fun with friends.

My next run was the "We Believe in Children" run.  This is a great annual event which benefits the Escambia County Schools Foundation.  It was also the first time that my son Andrew and I ran a race together.  He is 18 and preparing to leave for the Air Force in the coming months.  He did great and we both finished in 26 minutes.

I followed that race up with the popular Double Bridge Run.  The DBR is one of the most popular races in the SE.  It attracts runners from all over the world.  This year's race had 4000 runners.  I was nursing a sore knee, actually had been for a few weeks, and it decided to give me problems during the DBR.  No biggie, I still finished.  You can't PR every time right?

The last race to report is the "Sweetheart Run" in Gulf Shores, Al.  This was the first time I have run this race.  I've wanted to in the past, just haven't ever done it.  Glad I did.  I ran the 10K and enjoyed a nice chilly run on the beautiful Gulf Coast.

Well, there you have it.  That is where I been since I fell off the 'blog' world.

Run for the Cookies Recap

Today's race was all about the kids!  If the race title doesn't give you a hint, then you're out of the loop big time.  This was all about the Girl Scouts!  More specifically, the Girl Scouts of NW Florida.  The weather wasn't great, but the event was, so there was a pretty good turnout this morning.

They were holding the race at the University of West Floridas Cross Country field house.  It was gonna be a 5K trail run, but apparently the kids had a pretty tough time last year, so they they only did one mile on the trail and the rest on the road.  The road in this case is pretty hilly!  So no easy run any way you look at it.    The fun part is that you get to run through a small creek right at the beginning of the run!  Nothing better!  HAHA

They did the Fun Run before the 5K this time and I used that as my warm up.  I have to share this story with ya.  These little kids just love to run and are so excited about getting the chance to run in a 'race'.  There were kids as young as 3 years old running.  The fun run also has some trail running.  Probably about 1/3 of the course was trails.  Since this was my warm up run, I was taking it pretty easy.

About 100 yards from the finish, I noticed this little kid in front of me that was struggling a bit.  He couldn't have been more then 6 or 7 years old.  Little dude with classes.  He was holding his stomach and pushing hard.  I came up along side of him and encouraged him to push on.   You could hear his parents cheering him on at the finish line.  I stayed right with him all the way to the end.  He did great.  We both crossed the finish line at 8:26.  Great job by the little man.

I also ran into one of my former students.  He was at the race with his little boy Matthew who is 5.  Andrew graduated in 2007 and I don't think I've seen him since.  He looked great.  To top it off, little Matthew took 1st in his age group.

The 5K got off right at 9:30.  The weather had cleared up a bit by start time and the rain pretty much had stopped.  Of course there were a number of kids running the 5K, and they took off like bullets when the race started.  I wasn't looking to PR this race.  I really just wanted to go out and have some fun.  I keep it nice and easy on the trail part.  Passed a few runners here and there.  I probably was at around a 8:20 pace.  My Garmin didn't start when when we took off, so I'm not sure the exact pace.  Like I said, we exited the trail after the first mile and were on the road.  I'm not lying when I say that UWF has some hills.  WOW!  It's been awhile since I ran out there and those hills were kicking my butt.   I approached this race the same way I have the last couple of races.  I stopped when I needed and keep the pace as high as I could when I ran.  It worked out pretty good overall.  I ended up finishing with a time of 25:57.  I'll take that!

I enjoyed good times with my running friends and finished up with so yummy cookies!!

As always my friends, remember: 'Real athletes run, all others just play games!'.

Missing

I'm sorry I have been missing the last 2 months or so.  Between the holidays and work and family, I just haven't taken the time to keep this blog up.

I promise to get back into it.  I'll post a recap of the races I have run since my last recap and whatever else might be going on.