Happy Summer!!! My kids are out of school now which leaves me with less time to just hang out on my laptop and write blog posts, but I’ve got so much to write about in my brain that I’m going to just do it when I can. I had a great start to our summer so far and my daughter made it even better when she agreed to join me for an early morning group run this week! Well, “early” for her, “standard time” for me 🙂
Dave’s Running started a new women’s only running group called the Daybreak Divas. Women’s only because we love motivating others, but because there is a also a concern about running alone in the early morning. I mean, we don’t live in a high crime area or anything like that, but still, it’s much more safe to buddy up anywhere, particularly women. Either way, it’s great idea!
We met at the mall at 6am. Sydney was a tad concerned when I told her we needed to get up at 5:40am, but with my technique of having all running gear waiting for her, she was able to get out the door on time.
They started the run with a couple of giveaways – a shirt, a Stick roller, and a gift certificate to Dave’s! Sadly, we did not win… but we will keep showing up until we do win. haha!! I had to laugh at the pictures of us because 1) I stand around with my hands on my hips *way* too much and 2) we aren’t even following along with the warm up. Just doing our own thing!
We ran 3.1 miles at a comfortable pace. Everyone had a friend to run with, no matter what the pace was. After the run we stayed for some arm work (ugh, I can’t do pushups!!) and core work. I liked that a lot!! (need to go on the wet grass next time & bring towel… sore elbows)
(blurry shot taken from the Dave’s crew, but that’s us up front)
As promised, after the run I took Sydney to Starbucks for a treat (hey, maybe that’s the real reason she agreed to go!). The closest Starbucks location was at the Kroger store. Imagine my shock when they told me they hadn’t received their shipment yet and were OUT OF CHOCOLATE CHIPS! We immediately aborted our drink purchase there and headed to the actual Starbucks store right down the road. Phew, there were chocolate chips a plenty there and the Java Chip drinks were obtained (hers without coffee).
I even made it back home, showered, lunch made, and to work EARLY! I call this an epic win morning for sure. Sydney told me she wanted to go back, and also wanted to run 3 days a week this summer. That made me even happier.
Throwback Thursday… I also have to share one more happy picture. I finally decided to buy the race photo from the Erie Marathon where I BQ’d the first time in 2014. I know, what’s taken me so long to buy it?! I did order a printed copy of the shot, but that’s really not the same. I bought it because it really captures a super happy running moment for me. I told my family when I bought it – I might never run that fast again. Was I sad about it? No. Goal achieved, and I’d like to remember it.
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How about you?……
Q: Are you doing any group runs this summer?
Q: Do you have a favorite Starbucks item?
Q: Do you order race pictures?
Q: Do you own a Stick roller?
We do, but I like my grid roller much better!
My running club does speed work on Tuesdays, an easy 5-8 miler on Thursdays, and a long run on Sundays. We have a marathon training program that starts next week. I prefer to do my long runs on Saturday with a just a couple of friends, so I usually skip the Sunday run. The fact that they start at 6:30AM figures heavily into that decision. Th only race photo I have ever bought was my one and only Boston finish in 2015. Bought it and never got around to printing it out. Need to put that on the To Do List. I have The Stick but I use the foam roller more. I have never had anything at Starbucks other than just coffee.
That’s a lot of scheduled runs for your group! Sounds great! Is the marathon training a paid program, or does everyone just use a similar program and run together?
It is included with our annual dues. Originally we were part of the Chicago Area Runners Association which sponsors training for the Chicago Marathon at various sites in the city and suburbs, but, a few years ago, we just started our own club. We run based on a program targeting the Chicago Marathon in October, but people just run as far as they need based on what race they are doing. We have pace groups from 7:00 to 11:00 minutes.
My running club meets Wednesday nights at 6:30. I actually kind of hate how late it is because it is a usually an hour long run, then time to shower, then, finally, time for dinner. I don’t think I sat down to eat until 8:30 last night. But the company is good, so I’ll make do.
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Evening runs are a bit hard. It does make for a long night! I’m surprised I got acclimated to ours for the 5K training program so well. It will be interesting to see how the summer 5K training program is in the evenings because it will be so hot compared to the weather we had for the spring group.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a race picture where I looked even remotely decent!
Ours looks good 🙂 but that’s because you weren’t even running hard!
I love the idea of group runs only for women! I love seeing women supporting and looking out for each other.
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The guys in town were pouting a bit, but too bad! Ha! It’s actually on the bike trails I normally run on, but always fun to have different people to run with.