34th Annual FUN - FOWL - RUN Today

Could we have asked for a more beautiful fall morning to head out for the 2012 FUN FOWL 5K/10K RUN? We don't think it really could have been any better!

We woke up to a lovely 32 degrees, frost on the windows and blue skies. By the time the gun went off, it had warmed up to a balmy 38 degrees.

Tess ran with us and that is always fun. The first time we ran together was back in August when we all ran the Race the Reserve 5K. However, we are pretty sure Tess will even be more excited about runs once her husband gets back home and joins us.

The other young man in the picture is Ed-Paul. After being somewhat coerced into running with us, he conceded and said he would. We were really glad to have him come out and participate with us today, even if we are old.

Below is the fleece hat we got when we registered for the race. Steve doesn't wear hats, and neither does Sherri, but hey, she figured a nice warm fleece hat could come in handy, especially during the cooler months.

Although it was a little tougher to mentally get ready for this race, we both enjoyed it. The best part of running is doing it together!

Here are the official run times:

Ed-Paul Placed 2nd in his age group with a time of 37:24 [12:02/m]
Steve Placed 5th in his age group with a time of 37:24 [12:02/m]

Tess Placed 9th in her age group with a time of 30:41 [9:52/m]
Sherri Placed 8th in her age group with a time of 30:39 [9:51/m]

34th Annual Fowl Fun Run

You may be asking yourself, what's this turkey all about? Well, we just signed up for the 34th Annual Fowl Fun Run in Skagit county coming up this November 10th.

This will be Sherri's second 5K run. We contemplated running the 10K, but decided we would work on time, instead of distance. Since 2012 is almost over, we will be setting our sights on some more 5Ks come this spring and then, hopefully, a 10K.

If you are in the area or want some more information go to: http://www.skagitrunners.org/fowlfunrun.shtml to get more details.

RACE Day - 29 minutes, 33 seconds

RACE Day!

Oh what a day! We woke up this morning under a heavy marine layer and it was a bit on the chilly side. The race didn’t officially start until 9am, but we (Steve, Sherri and Tess) wanted to get there early enough to find a parking place. 7:30am might have been a bit overzealous, at least by a half an hour.

After we parked, we headed over to the registration tables where we picked up our racing numbers. We must say, we weren’t expecting the little “goodie” bags provided by Whidbey Island Bank. That was a nice touch. We also got a cool looking “Race the Reserve” T-Shirt. Sherri was thinking it might be red, but noooo, they were lime green with a cool logo design!

After wandering around for an hour, we finally stretched and waited for the “go”! So, off we went. Tess took the lead, Sherri was in the middle, and Steve (bless his soul) pulled up the rear – doctor’s orders. This was Steve’s first ever 5k “walk” and Sherri’s first official 5k “run”.

After the run the organization that sponsored “Race the Reserve” provided water, bagels, fruit and peanut butter to help replenish the body.

On the back of our racing number there was a disposable bar code that registered our start and finish times. This is a really great tool as it tells you where you placed in the race and of course, your run time. As you might guess by the title of this post, Sherri is beside herself - she broke her goal of 30 minutes. Not only that, she placed 24th out of 114 5K runners, she was the 8th woman to come in overall, and took 2nd in her age bracket. Just an amazing day!!!

Tess, by the way, placed 26th with a time of 29:54. We are so proud of her. As a matter of fact, Sherri and Tess pretty much ran together up to the end. Sherri believes Tess was the catapult that caused her to keep the pace she did! Thanks Tess!!

Steve placed 73rd, which is not too terribly bad since he walked the course. He almost power walks faster than Sherri can run. He came in at 43:04 which is a 13:54/M. Sherri was so excited to see him round the corner. In Sherri's eyes, Steve did great because he LISTENED to his doctor and his body. Way to go!!

This truly was a great day. A day full of many accomplishments!

Now, what is next? :)

P90X Completed! What's Next?

Today marks the 90th day of P90X. Overall, we enjoyed the routine and plan to do it again soon. Since many of the routines are nearly an hour long, we are thinking about cutting the routines in half; especially, during the summer when there is so much more to do outside!

So far, Steve has continued to loss weight and his mid-section is toning up. Sherri is maintaining, but would like to see more results and thinks her eating habits are slowing her down.

The last two week of the program was hard to get through. Working out everyday is not easy as it takes a lot of commitment and quite frankly, we just didn't bring it! But, there have been other hurdles we were jumping too: life seemed busier and the body became just plum weary.

If this happens to you please do not get discouraged! If you miss a workout day (or two) - start again, just keep pushing along and don't quit!

The best thing that has happened to us is that we feel better and we can do more! We don't huff and puff walking up stairs nor, when we go for brisk walks. Remember the goal here is to make a life style change for the better. A healthier you, a healthier us!

So, what's next? We are going to focus in on training for the 5k "Race the Reserve" in August. Our plan is to 1) do cardio two or three times a week, 2) attempt to run three miles a day five times a week, and 3) throw in one or two rest days to give the body a break.

Looking forward to seeing what we will accomplish over the next several weeks.