ABB 5k Race Racep

My blogging is getting spottier and spottier---not because I don't have things to write about (I DO!) but because it's getting hard for me to carve out time to simply sit and write.  Between being a full-time mom, half-Ironman training, being a Girl Scout leader, being active in the school's Foundation, and the odds-and-ends that come up everyday, it's difficult to just sit and type.

But I do love to recap my races, mainly for my own nostalgic purposes, and I did one a few weeks ago that was truly memorable. I ran the ABB 5k in Houston, which was part of the Houston Marathon weekend.  I was out there with my family to visit my mother, who has ovarian cancer.  My kids had not seen her in almost a year (usually my mom comes out to visit 3-4 times a year) and it was important to us all that we go.  I saw that that weekend was the Houston Marathon and Half Marathon (a race I want to run one day) and that the weekend featured a 5k the day before.  I normally wouldn't care about it, but my 8 year old nephew, who lives in Houston, wanted to run a 5k with me. He had never run one before!  So, it ended up that it was a group of us:  me, and my 9 year old son, D; my sister and her two kids (who had all run the Oceanside Turkey Trot 5k with me in November); and my other sister and her son.

My brother-in-law picked up our packets for us the day before, so I have nothing to report on the expo.  As the race started at 8, we left the house by 6:15. I didn't know where we were going, and wanted to make sure we weren't stressed about the time.  We easily found parking in a nearby parking garage, and headed over to the starting area.  There were some fun booths set up for the kids, which some of our kids did while the rest of us waited in a LOOOOOONG port-a-potty line.

When the race began, we all started together, but soon I ran head with my son and niece.  My sisters and nephews ran/walked behind us.  The course was an out-and-back, and as it was in the streets of Houston, there was not much to look at.  No offense, Houston, but you're not the prettiest city.  Aside from one man set up with speakers blaring music, and a few random spectators, there was not much crowd support.  But what the course lacked in support and beauty was made up for by the people.  Everyone seemed to be in a good mood.  The weather was gorgeous, and while a lot of people were running this as a stand-alone race, others were also running either the half or the full the next day, and were using this as a warm-up.

Texas LOVES their state flag

As for us, we did ok. My niece started getting a few stomach cramps, so we took a few more walk breaks than we did when we ran together in November.  But we still finished in a great time, and the kids were so happy to get another medal.  We were handed the medals by service men and women, which made it extra special.

I would love to come back one day and run this again with my niece and nephews---and then run the half marathon the next day. Goals!

2013 By the Numbers

2013 By the Numbers

433--miles run  (in contrast, I ran 651 miles in 2012)
1237--miles biked (in contrast, I biked 1130 miles in 2012)
57--miles swam (in contrast, I swam 68 miles in 2012)

1852---total miles, not including walks, elliptical, etc

6--half marathons completed (New Year's Race Los Angeles, Tinker Bell, Carlsbad, San Diego, La Jolla, America's Finest City)
1--15k completed  (Mission Gorge)
1--10k completed (Peace Love Run)
7--5ks completed (Electric Run, Puppy Love, Patriot's Run, Aloha Run, Awesome 80s, Oceanside Turkey Trot, Divas)
1--stair climb (9/11 Memorial Stair Climb)
1 triathlon (Mission Bay Sprint)
1 2.4 mile swim (Tiki Swim)

4--the number of those 5k races I ran with my son by my side

2--months I didn't run or bike at all in an effort to heal my herniated disc
2--months I didn't swim at all in an effort to heal a strained rhomboid muscle

80%--percent in which, today, I'd say my sciatic nerve, caused by a herniated disc, is healed

100%- percent in which my rhomoid muscle seems to be healed

4--big fears I conquered (doing a trail race, climbing a major hill on the bike, doing a 2.4 mile Ironman-distance ocean swim, and signing up for my second half Ironman.

2-hospital stays in my family (my husband and my mother)
0--stays in the hospital by my daughter
1--cancer diagnosis (my mother)
1--stroke (my husband)
2--neck braces my daughter had while still recovering from her broken neck


gazillion--the number of prayers I've said for various family members

countless--the moments in which I remain grateful for all I have and my life