Buckley 5miler

us (with Jill) after the run......showing off the cowbell to the kids and Chris's parents

Claire -- sleeping in style on the way to Chris's parents house

me -- getting my awesome cowbell prize!

my calves....nowhere near as muddy as they felt

Chris's muddy calves

This was a weird race. and everything leading up to it was weird.

If you know me, you know I am pretty OCD and very into my daily schedule, I need thing A to happen before thing B, and so on and so on.....I think this is one reason why having had 4 kids in 5 years just seems to fit me fine...I keep a pretty tight schedule........

This was another race that I had our new sitter lined up for, and, she bailed on me on Wednesday night -- which was pretty last minute for us, because it is hard enough to find a sitter for 4 kids, let alone someone who will watch them at 6:00 on a Saturday morning.......as luck would have it, Chris's parents volunteered to watch them, as the race was only 5-7 minutes from their house! OK, check -- one thing done.

Next thing -- figuring out just where to go....this was a very well un-organized race....some races are completely unorganized and its pathetic, this was unorganized, but in a friendly way -- if that makes any sense....The website was little help as to where to go, sure we knew where Buckley County Homestead Park was, but WHERE do we go?????

Race day morning -- we wake up at 6am to rain. UGH. I have to come to hate running in the rain -- I'm ok if it's sprinkling, or if it is an all out down pour, but I hate running in just plain old rain (weird, i know) We were supposed to leave the house at 6:15, at the latest, to get the kids to Mom and Dad H's by 6:45, registration by 7am......It was 6:25 before we left the house, then we had to stop for gas....then it started POURING, so we had to drive at about....oh......20 mph!!! It was just after 7 when we dropped the kids off!! We pretty much threw them at C's parents and ran out the door......we found where we were supposed to park, and there was a small building in that parking lot, so we just knew we'd barely get there in time, but we'd make it.......FAIL.

That building was merely the Welcome Center, we had to go down the road and around the corner to the barn to get our packets......so, away we ran. Got our packets and shirts (mind you, this race was $23.50 for BOTH of us to run, and we got tech-tees here!!!!!), and THEN we discover there is no gear check, at all. So, Chris went to use the porta-potty, while I ran the .25 miles back to the van to put stuff away, just to meet him another .1 miles from the barn for the start line!!!! As we near the start line, we realize they aren't kidding about the 7:30am (sharp) start.....We lined up, and pretty much started the race right after. The race did start with a school bell ring, the old 1880's school bell, so cool :-)

Miles 1-3 were an out and back on the street, nothing super cool, or horrific, just a regular ole street run. Chris's heel has been bothering him for several weeks now, so he decided to see the "slow" point of view and run this one with me..... At mile 3, we head into the woods for the "cross-country" portion of the race. This was super muddy!!!!!!! We ran through puddles that easily as deep as my entire foot, and mud as thick as that.....and it was slippery!!!! Somewhere around the 3.5 mile mark, I feel something I've never felt before.....I felt everything just drain out of me. You know that cold feeling you get when you get scared, really scared??? It was like that, but not so cold......(after talking to Chris, he assumes it was my blood sugar dropping)......and at that point, I realize.......I FORGOT BREAKFAST!!! I don't do anything in the morning until I eat my MultiGrain Cheerios.....and, here I am trying to run 5 miles on nothing! After the 4 mile mark, I could see Chris chomping at the bit, trying to go, but feeling bad, so I told him to just go......after several times, he finally realized I was serious and he went ahead. It was somewhere around here that I began to doubt my ability to finish this thing.....and as much as I wanted to walk, I knew that would be the end if I walked at all, so I kept pushing, knowing the end just had to be soon!!!! I was getting passed by quite a few people, but I was really just focusing on getting one foot in front of the other. At about the 4.8, I got dizzy......like, the whole world was spinning dizzy. yikes. Then, just then, I hear this tiny crowd of volunteers cheering us on, and I decided that I had to just focus and finish this thing. I thanked the lady who told me there was 100 yards left, and I tried my best to just stay upright and running.

Chris was (of course) already at the finish line by the time I crossed, and he knew I wasn't quite right......instead of asking me how I was or seeing how it went, he simply said "water's over here", then we headed to the barn for the post-race food.....of which I devoured 2 doughnuts, an orange and some watermelon slices before feeling human again :-)

After a mini-feast, we decide to check the results before leaving to hop in the van. I was freezing (something about an hour of wet running, then standing still makes you cold to the core) and I was ready for the heat in the van!!!! Chris checks his time, and on a whim checks mine......then re-checks mine...it appears I placed 3rd in my age group!!!!! After confirming this (as best we can with 8-10 people crowded around this tiny paper) we call his parents to be sure we can stay the additional 20-30 minutes to get my award.......we had seen earlier that the award table was full of cow-bells!!!!

Chris's parents are thrilled for me, and state that the kids are all doing great, stay and enjoy!!!!

As they slowly get to my age group, I begin to wonder if I really did place -- seems so unlikely, this was NOT a good time, and I felt like crap......He gets to Females, age 30-34, 3rd place....not me. I nearly cried. We had waited all this time, and I had kinda gotten excited about having my very own cowbell. 2nd place, Julie Hasara......????WHAT?????? turns out, the #1 female 30-34, had advanced to top 3 females, so I bumped up a place in my group!!!! And, went home with a cowbell.

Now that I am showered and warm at home, this is a definite for the 2011 bucket list, and, we actually put it on the list while we were walking back to the van. There were no big drama problems, those poor volunteers never once made me feel like they were giving up their warm dry beds to stand out here in the freezing rain to help us, and it was nice to run with Chris.....I just hope I can sucker my lil sis into running it with us next year too :-)

Official results:

Chris

47:19

9:28 mile

5 out of 6 ~~ male 30-34 years old

78 out of 172 total runners

Julie

48:33

9:43 mile

2 out of 6 ~~ female 30-34 years old

86 out of 172 total runners

Washington Park Zoo Run, July 10, 2010

At home -- after the run...... (I have no idea how to make these post in the right order, or how to switch them)

yeah buuuuuudddddyyyyyy...... beer, at 7am.

hmmmm, mystery missing bark -- we need to find a suspect (or a cause)

looks like some disease.

the beach was beautiful, before the run :-)

hmmm...... a bit deceiving is all I'm gonna say right off the bat.......

This was titled as the "Running Wild for the Zoo" 5K Run/Walk...... so, without reading every word in the entry form pamphlet, we assumed we were gonna run through the zoo and make the zoo some $$$..... simple enough, right?!?!?!

This was an uuber cheap race ($12 with T-shirt/$6 without tee!!!) and advertised to have a beer/water table at the 2.5 mile mark, **aaaaaaaAnd** it's main sponsor is Miller Lite....... yup, this one is gonna be fun!!!!

Chris had to go pick up our babysitter at 6:30am, she was still sleeping, so he had to wait for the poor thing to wake up and get ready!!!! As soon as he got home with her, we were out the door -- we were rushing to leave BEFORE Jill woke up, I was afraid she would give our sitter a real hard time if she saw me leave, it's much easier when she wakes up to find mommy gone!!!!!

We arrived with MORE than enough time (yay!!!) After a highly unorganized packet pick-up, we went potty and went for a walk along the beach. Then, we got bored (big surprise, eh??) so we decided to be arborist apprentices and we spent a good 25 minutes inspecting all the trees in the park and trying to figure out why bark was coming off select ones, then we got bored with that so we decided to take lots of really dumb pics!!!! (i love my husband, he truly lets me be Julie whenever I can be!!!)

Finally, we decided to get serious and get ready for this race!!! After a last ditch potty stop, I got Garmined up, he got re-laced and we headed over to the start. Another one of these dumb bull-horn things that no one can hear, AND they forgot to block traffic at the start, so there were just 400+ runner/walkers blobbed up in the road to "block" traffic... great, just great.

Then, fairly suddenly, there is a loud noise to signify the start. I hit start on my newly borrowed Garmin, and we're off.

At the whopping .27, there is a HUGE, steep hill to climb up!!! This thing was intense!!!! But, once we were up that, things evened out a bit for a while. We were running down streets in a beach town, which means the streets are rather narrow and un-even, which is loads of fun for running!!! I hit the 1 mile at 8:43, and I felt great!!! It was becoming kinda hot, but there was lots of shade, and lots of people to look at!!! I had been debating over whether or not I was actually gonna get any beer at the 2.5, and based on how well things were going, I decided yes, a beer while running would be just fine, and funny as well :-)

The 2nd mile flew by, and according to my Garmin, I was averaging a 9:02 mile!!!!! I hit the 2 at 17:12 (according to my Garmin) and I was really LOVING this run........

until things changed, a lot.

we went down a sand path, to the beach. once we hit the lake, it was a left turn for the next MILE. 5,280 feet of running on the sand. and we were COMPLETELY unprepared for this!!!!! Once I hit the lake, I decided to take my shoes off to run faster.....a little side note here. I always tie my van key onto my left shoe. I do this for training runs as well as races. We leave everything in the van and I have a key, the only key we have to get back to our 'everything' we've left in the van, our phones, his wallet and his keys, the rest of my keys.... you know, everything.

Weeeeeeeellllll, when i went to take my shoe off, the key went flying, and landed in the sand. The dry sand. IN, in, IN the sand...... it took me 3:16 to fins this stupid key!!!! Runners were pissed at me, b/c I was right in there path (naturally, the key couldn't have landed anywhere BUT the path, right?!?!?!) so, after spending that long hunched over to find my key, I was pissed, frustrated, and had 2 crampy legs to run with. Lovely, just freakin lovely!!!! I managed to hit a whopping 9:26 pace for that last mile, but it was rough!!!! And, for the last 25-30 yards, I had to run barefoot through a VERY hot parking lot.... it was fun.

And, the worst part (aside from the key frustration) -- there was NO beer table!!!! There was no table at the 2.5, and the 2 mile table was just water!!!!

We did get some warm (and I mean warm) beer after the run, and Chris got a bratwurst and some picnic type sides to go with his beer, so I guess it was all OK on his end, he got beer and food!! Though, neither one of us could finish our beers, they were that warm!!!!

Chris finished in the top 200 and got a "Running Wild for the Zoo Top 200" finishers patch, so way to go Chris-Chris :-)

This race was definitely hard, and a bit deceiving, no beer and a 1 mile sand run...... ugh!

I say no way to doing this again next year, Chris still wants to....

(I'm betting he'll win and I'll give it to do it again next year anyways!!!)

Chris:

27:14~~~ finish

8:47~~~ mile

7th out of 11~~~ 30-34 year old male

143 out of 420~~~ overall finish

Julie

(ugh, it pains me to type/admit this!!!!!0

31:09 ~~~ finish

10:03 ~~~ mile

8th out of 18 ~~~ 30-34 year old female

235 out of 420~~~ overall finish

June 26, 2010, Firecracker 5K, Chesterton, IN

Jackie, expertly avoiding the camera.....and Chris, always ready for the camera!!!!

After the run......yup, he get's the #1 and I get #2..... I'm gonna beat him someday, I will......

So, yeah -- another cheesy pic of us after the run!

This was one of those races that makes you wonder why you started to run in the first place......everything about it was......almost right.

This was the first time my kids have EVER had a 'real' babysitter (meaning she is NOT related to us, and we have to pay her!!!) Our sitter was supposed to be her at 6:00 am....... and was 'almost' on time, arriving at 6:15. We gave her hushed, quick directions and were out the door!

It had been storming for a few hours, pretty bad thunderstorms, but it was clear skies by the time we left, yay!!!!

On our way there, Jackie (my sis) calls to say she is 'almost' there, but her map quest directions have her (and several people who were following her to the race) parked in front of some mans house, and he's outside....less than happy about the traffic situation in his front yard.

The perk of this race, because all races have a 'good thing' is that we get indoor plumbing and sinks with soap for the mandatory 17 bathroom breaks before a race. But, in true Firecracker 5K, the first time I used the bathroom, my stall was out of t.p., AND they were out of soap.......'almost' the perfect bathroom stop.....

We didn't have too much time to spare at this race, we walked around for a brief while, and made fun of the people there....... (1216) then they made some announcement on a bull horn that we could 'almost' hear, i think they forgot to turn it on though, so it was more frustrating than anything!!!!!

Soon there was a whistle (or something minor) to officially start us. Chris took off like a rocket, I took off at my usual whopping (:-/) 9:30 pace, and Jackie was jogging somewhere behind me. We traversed a very busy road, but they did have police blocking one lane, so at least we didn't have to fend off cars there...... but the next road was all us, and there were a couple glitches with drivers not knowing how to drive past 277 organized runner/walkers, and THAT was 'almost' a disaster.....

Shortly after road #2 we wound our way through some subdivisions, nothing spectacular to see, it was kind of nice to just run with no real agenda for this part of the race. I got to the 1 mile station at 8:58....... 'almost' believable. I have NEVER run a sub 9 minute mile, and I highly doubt I ever will. I HAVE to think this was more like the .9 mile mark.

Mile 2 was also uneventful, although, the turnaround was perfect!!! They had us run down to a cul-de-sac and circle it for the turn around, I love these, it makes things 500 times easier than the dumb "run around this pole" turn arounds......Oh yeah -- at the 2 mile mark, I got a 17:56.... again, 'almost' believable.

Mile 3 did have some weird ground, they are apparently re-grading one of the roads we were running on, so the surface was fairly pot-hole-y (is that even a word... oh well, it is now :-))It was also 'scratchy' and uneven, but it was only about .15 miles long, so it wasn't that big of a deal....about 3/4 mile from the finish, we get a little (and I DO mean a little) crowd support, and I realize that even though I skipped my usual pre-race bowl of multi-grain cheerio's, and I also skipped my usually mandatory 20oz bottle of water, I am feeling hyped!!!! And then it occurs to me, I am still passing people! I start picking out ladies who appear to be in my age range, I am gonna try to place this race!!!! I get a nice steady clip going, and I am passing women every minute or so, most of whom appear to be around my age. Suddenly, I see the man in the red shirt at the 3 mile mark, and he yells 26:14 (my watch says 25:43), well OK, it's a one minute sprint to the finish, and I see 2 ladies who just might steal my place in my division......So, I haul some serious a$$, and come in at..........28:23?????? WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!?

I am thinking their time was off somehow, because I haven't gotten a time like that in a long time, plus my watch said 27:51 when I crossed the mat...... 'almost' right.

As I am standing there downing my water with Chris (who, by the way, grew wings and flew this race) we see Jackie coming down the road. She looks GREAT, and still has about a 1/2 mile to go. So, I hopped out there and ran with her.... yes, she was still running!!!!!! She had taken several walk breaks, but still had enough in the tank to run/walk the race, the whole race!!! And, the little booger pi$$ed me off, b/c as we were running, I realize that, when she runs, she runs FASTER than me!!!!!! Her legs are so short, how can that be??????? She has a goal of 38:00, but will settle for 40:00. As we pass Mr. Red Shirt at the 3, he mumbles something about 38:blah-blah-blah.......so we are really running/walking fast!!!! A little while later she sees the finish line and takes off!!! She finished just over 40:00 ('almost' goal time)and was pretty bummed about her time, but I am so very proud of her for setting goals, and sticking with them. She truly is an inspiration to me, anyone who can continually get out there and conquer something so darn personally challenging is just amazing to me!!!

I am certain that this is not one of those races that I absolutely will NOT do again, but I think if we forget it next year, or try a new race over this one, that would be just fine with me..... I 'almost' don't want do it again, and I 'almost' do want to run it again.....

Oh, and btw -- I 'almost' placed in my group, I came in 4th!!!!

Chris:

finished in 25:51

8:20 mile

6th out of 11 30-34 male

78 out of 277 finishers

Julie:

finished in 28:23

9:09 mile

4th out of 14 30-34 female

106 out of 277 finishers

Jackie:

finished in 40:24

13:02 mile

13 out of 15 25-29 female

213 out of 277 finishers