Summer 2012 5Ks

(This post has been a long time coming.  I meant to post it in June after the first race, but then it took forever to get pictures, and then I was going to post about the two in July, but then it was only a couple of weeks until the August race, so I thought I would consolidate.  Anyway, I don't want to weigh you down with too much exposition, so...)

Running!  We like to do running.  It's fun in the spring and fall and I even like it in the winter, but the summertime always has some fun running events.  We had one each month this year!  Here they are:

23 June:

The American Fork Canyon (Half Marathon and) 5K!  We did this for its inaugural race last year, and we all enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again.  The course changed a little to accommodate for some construction, but it worked out all right (there's a hill either way, so it's pretty much a given).  I placed 1st in my division and 5th overall, which came as a surprise to me -- I couldn't quite see the people ahead of me, so I wasn't even sure I was in the top 10!  But I was.  (21:10, 6:49/mile, so a little faster than last year.)  Julie opted out of this one last year, but was ready to go this year, and she did great!  Top ten in her age group (7th) and just about at her goal time.

They have poster stuff!  I made one for Julie while I waited a couple minutes for her to finish.

Yay for us.  Everyone who placed came in first!  The others didn't place came in first in our hearts.

Just standing around forever waiting for stuff to happen.  There were some logistical issues this year.

21 July:

Then on July we had the sometimes-traditional Pioneer Day Classic in Provo, one of our favorites.  We usually get a few out to this one, though it's a tad expensive.  In researching times for this, I have discovered that the same guy who beat me in the AF race also came in a few places ahead of me in this one.  We even have the same first name, though not quite the same pace, HA.  It was a pretty rough race for me for whatever reason, but I still did pretty well, a little faster than the June race (21:00 even [gun-time of 21:04], 6:46/mile, 11th overall [so close to top 10!], 4th in my division).  Julie had a slightly faster time than her June race, and also placed 6th in her division!  She's a top-10 runner!  Way to go, love o' mine.  This race usually has good shirts and treats, though they took their sweet time with the awards (I guess most do).

Woot.

I don't know.

11 August:

And then just last Saturday we all met up for the annual Alpine Days 5K.  It's always a low-key (and inexpensive) event, and we always enjoy it, and this year the weather was wonderful and cool.  The course and the crowd are pretty fun, though there seemed to be a LOT more runners this year.  The more the merrier, I guess!  There were so many runners that I was quite surprised to learn that I came in 2nd in my division (21:45 [though it should be noted the race was .10 over 5K length], 6:50/mile, 2nd in my division, maybe top 10 overall. *shrug*), after Jonny of course, ha.  Perhaps the most notable thing to mention regarding this race is that in preparation of this race Julie and I filled out the names on everyone's bibs and we wrote Melody and Jonny's last name phonetically so that the race peeps would have no trouble pronouncing them when they undoubtedly would have to in order to call them up for their awards (and the guy was still so proud of himself for "getting it right this year," ha ha...  little did he know!).  They even gave out medals in gold, silver and bronze for each of the places.  It was all very Olympicsish.

Wait wait wait, I take back what I said before, the most notable thing about this race is that Julie had a GREAT time, and a new PR!  It was amazing!  I was just running back after I was finished to do the last bit with her like I sometimes do, and she surprised me by being much closer than I expected.  She was well under her goal at 28:28 (and don't forget it was about 3.2 miles), about 7:53/mile.  She placed 5th in her division, which meant she unfortunately didn't get a medal, but she may as well have, I was ever so proud.  Way to go again, love o' mine!

The kids ran their own little Toddler Trot too and had a great time, especially when they were handed suckers at the end.

Cami, Melody and Mom doing their Olympics thing.  Don't worry, Cami, bronze is still a winner!

Yeah, again, I don't know.  we just want to do different things in these pictures nowadays.

Running!  We have a few races planned for the fall, but we've sort of fallen out of our one-5K-a-month habit.  We figure we can do our own 5K with our morning run and save the cash for when an exciting run comes up instead of just finding random ones just for the sake of doing them.  I can almost feel fall in the air when we have our morning runs now!  XD

American Fork Canyon 5K 2011

Time for a race report!  Several weeks ago Melody let us know about this first annual race in American Fork and although I procrastinated past the date of getting two discounts, I signed up anyway.  So, last Saturday a bunch of us were up bright and early to run a fun race for a great cause.  Julie wasn't feeling quite up to it this time, so she didn't join in, and others of our usual family running mates were out of town or otherwise occupied, but those who were present really enjoyed it.

The course was varied and interesting, starting at the high school, then with a great uphill toward the Mt. Timpanogos temple at about the first mile mark, followed by a nice downhill slope, and then down a nice shaded path that ran along a little river, leading out into the final stretch back to the high school.  Besides me, Jonny ran with the kids, and Cami and Jake ran (Jake's first, and with a great time for his first 5K), and Melody, the hardcorest of us all, was up at around 4 am to board the bus that took her and the other half-marathon runners up the canyon for their earlier start and much longer race (which you can read about here).  It sounds like such a nice course that, although the longest race I've ever done so far is a 10K, it makes me wish I had taken her up on her offer to join her for it.  I might have died though, so it's probably for the best that I held off for now.

So we had a great time, and I came in at about 21:19 (though by my count it was closer to 21 even), about 6:52/mile, which seems to be about my usual pace for the last year or so of races.  I kept a pretty good pace and didn't quite feel like I would die to keep it up, and I even managed to pass up Jonny toward the first half (because he was pushing two kids in the stroller, let it be clearly known--the only times I can outrun him, ha ha), and it seemed to me that I was pretty close to the front of the pack, though I lost track of the head of the team as soon as the half marathon runners merged with us for the last mile or so.  There were a lot of runners, so I wasn't looking to place or anything, so imagine my surprise when I checked the results sheet and learned that I was 6th place overall, and 1st in my division!  That was a pleasant discovery.  (For the record, Jonny was less than a minute behind me, kids in tow and all).  There were some discrepancies with timing on the website's posted times (19:52??  I'll take it!  New PR!), but it seems to be all sorted out now.

We all placed first in our division!  It's so nice that for now Jonny and I are a year apart so we can both win for a while.

Melody liked Cami's face better in this one so we kept it.  I think I look a little more, um, something in it too.  Jonny looks classic.

They had markers and posterboard to make motivational signage for your favorite runners, so we made one for Melody as we watched her triumphant finish to a race more than four times as long as the one we had just finished, and then for fun made one for Jonny and the little ones as they had gone back and ran alongside Melody for her final stretch.  Julia was thrilled about the posters.

It's an inside joke!  And a long-running one too.

Even though it was a new race, it was very well-attended, and it was really nicely organized.  The breakfast/treats supplied were really great, the cause was good, the atmosphere was fun, the shirts were great quality and the weather was perfect.  Maybe we'll make a tradition of this race.  It seems a little better than what Strawberry Days has become (though rumor is that race has taken a slight turn for the better since last year's disappointment).  Though, if we do run it next year, we'll surely sign up a little earlier and take advantage of all the early-registration discounts and perks, and hopefully those who were absent and missed will join in the fun next time.  Thanks for the heads-up, Melody!  Also, much thanks to Melody for the pictures.  We forgot our camera this time.

Afterward, I took some breakfast to The Wife (just a little jealous that she was able to have a little bit of a lie-in), and we celebrated the morning's victory by going to the early bird matinee of Kung Fu Panda 2 and sharing a delicious lunch at Zupas, after which we met my new goshdaughter, Keira.  That's a good morning.