Think of us tomorrow!!!

[Jennifer in MI]

UPDATED!!!! My three boys - 13, 11, and 9 - are running their first 5K. I will run with them (well, with the youngest anyway - the older two will be WAY ahead of me!), and will do the 5K twice as I complete my first 10K!!!

 

We're all VERY excited!!!!

Edited September 19, 2009 by Jennifer in MI

[Chelle in MO]

That is so cool! I hope you have great weather!

 

Chelle

[eternalknot]

That's awesome ~ enjoy the race, the lot of you!

 

My 8 year old hasn't done a 5K yet, but wants to. The 3K kicked my behind, so I'm out LOL. I think you're a cool mom for joining the boys :)

[Jennifer in MI]

Thanks guys!! We're home. Weather was absolutely PERFECT!!! The course was right along the lake - so it was gorgeous! My 13 and 9 yo finished (ran the whole thing!) in 27:15. The 11 yo finished in 28 minutes. I ran the 10K in 1:01:02. I was REALLY hoping to finish in under an hour. The time was from the time the gun went off and not when we crossed the start line though. So, my time was a little better than that, but I doubt a whole minute. Oh well. I was happy to have finished!!

[~Tara~]

Awesome!! Good for you! Now if you could just kick me a little harder so that I would get back into running and maybe, one day, eventually, work up to even a 5K ;)

[Paz]

Great job to all of you! Glad you had a good day.

[Chelle in MO]

Thanks guys!! We're home. Weather was absolutely PERFECT!!! The course was right along the lake - so it was gorgeous! My 13 and 9 yo finished (ran the whole thing!) in 27:15. The 11 yo finished in 28 minutes. I ran the 10K in 1:01:02. I was REALLY hoping to finish in under an hour. The time was from the time the gun went off and not when we crossed the start line though. So, my time was a little better than that, but I doubt a whole minute. Oh well. I was happy to have finished!!

Wonderful! So glad it went well for everyone! Your times were great!

 

Chelle

[sparrow]

Good for you! It sounds like fun :)

[Blessedwithboys]

That's awesome! I'm you and your kids have a great time. :001_smile:

 

I have a ds 11, who just completed his first kids triathlon last weekend. He loved it.

[novagirl]

Cool! That's wonderful! Good to see families doing stuff together, especially healthy stuff like that!

[Heather in Neverland]

I am super impressed. CONGRATS!!!!!!!

[Niffercoo]

Thanks guys!! We're home. Weather was absolutely PERFECT!!! The course was right along the lake - so it was gorgeous! My 13 and 9 yo finished (ran the whole thing!) in 27:15. The 11 yo finished in 28 minutes. I ran the 10K in 1:01:02. I was REALLY hoping to finish in under an hour. The time was from the time the gun went off and not when we crossed the start line though. So, my time was a little better than that, but I doubt a whole minute. Oh well. I was happy to have finished!!

 

 

Jennifer that's so fantastic!! Congratulations! How was racing a 10K compared to a 5K? Anything I need to know? I'm getting ready to sign up for my first 10K in late October (thought it was in late November so I'm a bit nervous).

 

The kids completed Week 1 of C25K this week, and it was pretty good. It's going to be an interesting process between the 2 kids on the autism spectrum and the middle child who thinks she doesn't need to listen to my advice - the first day she took off at a sprint and by half way through was crying that she was tired/hot/sore, etc. But my son told his Nana that he wants to sign up for races with me, and that's the neatest things! He wants to do the race for autism in December that I did as my first 5K last year! :)

 

Do your kids want to do more races now that they've done their first one?

[Jennifer in MI]

Jennifer that's so fantastic!! Congratulations! How was racing a 10K compared to a 5K? Anything I need to know? I'm getting ready to sign up for my first 10K in late October (thought it was in late November so I'm a bit nervous).

 

The kids completed Week 1 of C25K this week, and it was pretty good. It's going to be an interesting process between the 2 kids on the autism spectrum and the middle child who thinks she doesn't need to listen to my advice - the first day she took off at a sprint and by half way through was crying that she was tired/hot/sore, etc. But my son told his Nana that he wants to sign up for races with me, and that's the neatest things! He wants to do the race for autism in December that I did as my first 5K last year! :)

 

Do your kids want to do more races now that they've done their first one?

 

Racing the 10 K compared with the 5K was longer!! LOL Actually, I'm finding that I prefer to run longer distances. The 5K is just so short and I'm not able to go very fast. My split times are the same for the 5K and the 10K. I just can't get faster on my 5K! So, I'm going to stick with 10Ks from now on. The hard part for me on this race was that the 10K was just another loop of the same 5K. As I watched the others finishing, I had a really hard time going on. I kept playing mind games with myself and my fourth mile was my slowest. But, my sixth mile was my fastest!!

 

Advice? Don't start too fast! But, you knew that! I did that today and paid for it with a slow 4th and 5th mile.

 

My kids did the same thing when we first started training. They really hated it, but didn't fight too much. I have one child I call a squirrel - he would sprint, then slow down, then sprint, slow down - for our training runs. I kept trying to get him to pace himself. He finally did in the last week or so. He's my 9 yo and he did fine in the race! Oh - they LOVED the food at the end of the race!!!

 

Mine are all VERY excited about our next race. Of course, our next race is Disney!! :lol:

 

Did I ever tell you that our 13 yo is on the autism spectrum too? He's Asperger's.

[Jennifer in MI]

Awesome!! Good for you! Now if you could just kick me a little harder so that I would get back into running and maybe, one day, eventually, work up to even a 5K ;)

 

*hard kick!!!* When I first started running last year, I never thought I'd get up to a 5K. Just running one block was nearly impossible!! So, you can do it too!!!

 

Great job to all of you! Glad you had a good day.

 

Wonderful! So glad it went well for everyone! Your times were great!

 

Chelle

 

Good for you! It sounds like fun :)

 

Thanks everyone!!

 

That's awesome! I'm you and your kids have a great time. :001_smile:

 

I have a ds 11, who just completed his first kids triathlon last weekend. He loved it.

 

Awesome!!! What were the distances? I think my 13 yo would love that too.

 

Cool! That's wonderful! Good to see families doing stuff together, especially healthy stuff like that!

 

We had a great time!!!

 

I am super impressed. CONGRATS!!!!!!!

 

Thanks!! It was so much fun!!

[Niffercoo]

Racing the 10 K compared with the 5K was longer!! LOL Actually, I'm finding that I prefer to run longer distances. The 5K is just so short and I'm not able to go very fast. My split times are the same for the 5K and the 10K. I just can't get faster on my 5K! So, I'm going to stick with 10Ks from now on. The hard part for me on this race was that the 10K was just another loop of the same 5K. As I watched the others finishing, I had a really hard time going on. I kept playing mind games with myself and my fourth mile was my slowest. But, my sixth mile was my fastest!!

 

Advice? Don't start too fast! But, you knew that! I did that today and paid for it with a slow 4th and 5th mile.

 

My kids did the same thing when we first started training. They really hated it, but didn't fight too much. I have one child I call a squirrel - he would sprint, then slow down, then sprint, slow down - for our training runs. I kept trying to get him to pace himself. He finally did in the last week or so. He's my 9 yo and he did fine in the race! Oh - they LOVED the food at the end of the race!!!

 

Mine are all VERY excited about our next race. Of course, our next race is Disney!! :lol:

 

Did I ever tell you that our 13 yo is on the autism spectrum too? He's Asperger's.

 

I think mind games are what I'm struggling with the most right now, especially because it's still so hot and humid down here. And last week on my long run, I did exactly what you described: started off WAY too fast, a full 2 minutes per mile faster than even my best pace. I'm not sure what got into me, except it had been a couple of days since my last good run and I was having a bad week anyway. ;) I felt like I wasn't going to make those last couple of miles at all. I did, of course, but my brain was telling me I wasn't going to. My brain likes to tell me that every time I run at all, around 1.5-2 miles in! LOL

 

And now that you mention it, I do think I remember that one of your children is on the spectrum, but I'm not sure that I knew it was your teen! Now I really wish we lived closer to each other! We could all run together, and our Aspie teens would have each other to hang out with.

 

I can't wait to hear about your Disney running experience! If I don't get to do the Princess Half in 2010, I'm going to do everything in my power to get there in 2011!

 

Did you do anything special to keep motivation going during the training? I told mine that all they have to do is finish the training and then they can do with it what they want - run the 5K with me in December, or give up (which I really hope they don't). I was thinking about a special treat after every 3 weeks of training, just to boost morale!

 

I started reading Marathoning for Mortals today! I think I'm going to like it. I should finish the C25K with the kids in time to start the half-marathon training (assuming I do the Princess Half). The cross-training days seem to go against my instincts for building up my endurance. I feel like I need to be running, running, running! LOL

 

So glad your day went well, and I hope someone got a pic of you with your kiddos!

[Niffercoo]

Awesome!! Good for you! Now if you could just kick me a little harder so that I would get back into running and maybe, one day, eventually, work up to even a 5K ;)

 

 

I'll give you a kick, too! I started last fall, in October, and the first day out there I was supposed to run 60 seconds and walk 90 seconds. I remember looking at my stopwatch at 30 seconds in going, "There's no way I can do this!!" And now I've built up to running my long run at close to 7 miles!

 

So, if I can do it, you can!! You can TOTALLY do it! :)

[MamaT]

Way to go Jennifer! Good for your kiddos too. I'm very impressed. I love to hike and am pretty active, but I have never been able to discipline myself to run. What a great example you are setting for your kids.

[Jennifer in MI]

I think mind games are what I'm struggling with the most right now, especially because it's still so hot and humid down here. And last week on my long run, I did exactly what you described: started off WAY too fast, a full 2 minutes per mile faster than even my best pace. I'm not sure what got into me, except it had been a couple of days since my last good run and I was having a bad week anyway. ;) I felt like I wasn't going to make those last couple of miles at all. I did, of course, but my brain was telling me I wasn't going to. My brain likes to tell me that every time I run at all, around 1.5-2 miles in! LOL

 

And now that you mention it, I do think I remember that one of your children is on the spectrum, but I'm not sure that I knew it was your teen! Now I really wish we lived closer to each other! We could all run together, and our Aspie teens would have each other to hang out with.

 

I can't wait to hear about your Disney running experience! If I don't get to do the Princess Half in 2010, I'm going to do everything in my power to get there in 2011!

 

Did you do anything special to keep motivation going during the training? I told mine that all they have to do is finish the training and then they can do with it what they want - run the 5K with me in December, or give up (which I really hope they don't). I was thinking about a special treat after every 3 weeks of training, just to boost morale!

 

I started reading Marathoning for Mortals today! I think I'm going to like it. I should finish the C25K with the kids in time to start the half-marathon training (assuming I do the Princess Half). The cross-training days seem to go against my instincts for building up my endurance. I feel like I need to be running, running, running! LOL

 

So glad your day went well, and I hope someone got a pic of you with your kiddos!

 

Mind games are SOOOOOO difficult to deal with. I have the same issue during the second mile. After that on daily runs, I'm usually fine. The race was hard throughout for me. But, I think part of that is my past experience with running. I ran in high school and gave in to the mental part of the sport. I KNEW I could beat this one girl on our team, but I talked myself into the fact that I couldn't. I really never tried because, well, what if I really couldn't beat her? What if I truly tried my hardest and just couldn't do it? I struggle with that line of thinking EVERY race.

 

BTW - TWO minutes/mile faster!? Holy COW!!!! That's a LOT faster!!! Way to go!!! Seriously.

 

Hey - I'll join you for the Princess Half in 2011!!! I hope to have run a full by then too. Wanna' join me???? Maybe the Disney full in 2011??? (Followed by a Disney cruise, of course!!)

 

I didn't do anything special with the kids to boost morale. I kind of figured that my kids wouldn't take the entire time to work up to 3 miles. They're kids after all!! LOL So, really, it was only a month. I only made them run/walk 3 days/week. I told them that they could quit after the race if they wanted. But, I wanted them to give me one race. I'm SOOOOO happy that they want to continue running!!! I really think that the bug has bitten them. But it took the race to do it. If I thought that it would take extra motivation for the kids to get to the race point, I'd have done anything!!!!

 

I haven't heard of Marathoning for Mortals! I'll have to look it up! Oh - and I HATE cross training!!!! HATE it! All I want to do is get out there and run! What cross training are you doing? I could probably use more.

 

Yes, we did get pictures. But, I don't know how to post them here. I feel like a posting moron!!! Let me ask my teenager. He'll know!

 

What's your Aspie teen's obsession? Sam's is rocketry. He wants to work for NASA one day. Wanna' move to MI???? We have very few hot, humid days!!! (But when we do, we all go inside and turn on the AC!! LOL) We have a couple houses on our block for sale! I'd love to run with you!!

 

I'll give you a kick, too! I started last fall, in October, and the first day out there I was supposed to run 60 seconds and walk 90 seconds. I remember looking at my stopwatch at 30 seconds in going, "There's no way I can do this!!" And now I've built up to running my long run at close to 7 miles!

 

So, if I can do it, you can!! You can TOTALLY do it! :)

 

See???????? I told you so! Running is totally addictive!!!

 

Actually, I remember when you started!!! I'm SO glad you've stuck with it!!!

[Niffercoo]

Mind games are SOOOOOO difficult to deal with. I have the same issue during the second mile. After that on daily runs, I'm usually fine. The race was hard throughout for me. But, I think part of that is my past experience with running. I ran in high school and gave in to the mental part of the sport. I KNEW I could beat this one girl on our team, but I talked myself into the fact that I couldn't. I really never tried because, well, what if I really couldn't beat her? What if I truly tried my hardest and just couldn't do it? I struggle with that line of thinking EVERY race.

 

BTW - TWO minutes/mile faster!? Holy COW!!!! That's a LOT faster!!! Way to go!!! Seriously.

 

Hey - I'll join you for the Princess Half in 2011!!! I hope to have run a full by then too. Wanna' join me???? Maybe the Disney full in 2011??? (Followed by a Disney cruise, of course!!)

 

I didn't do anything special with the kids to boost morale. I kind of figured that my kids wouldn't take the entire time to work up to 3 miles. They're kids after all!! LOL So, really, it was only a month. I only made them run/walk 3 days/week. I told them that they could quit after the race if they wanted. But, I wanted them to give me one race. I'm SOOOOO happy that they want to continue running!!! I really think that the bug has bitten them. But it took the race to do it. If I thought that it would take extra motivation for the kids to get to the race point, I'd have done anything!!!!

 

I haven't heard of Marathoning for Mortals! I'll have to look it up! Oh - and I HATE cross training!!!! HATE it! All I want to do is get out there and run! What cross training are you doing? I could probably use more.

 

Yes, we did get pictures. But, I don't know how to post them here. I feel like a posting moron!!! Let me ask my teenager. He'll know!

 

What's your Aspie teen's obsession? Sam's is rocketry. He wants to work for NASA one day. Wanna' move to MI???? We have very few hot, humid days!!! (But when we do, we all go inside and turn on the AC!! LOL) We have a couple houses on our block for sale! I'd love to run with you!!

 

 

 

See???????? I told you so! Running is totally addictive!!!

 

Actually, I remember when you started!!! I'm SO glad you've stuck with it!!!

 

 

Keep in mind that my normal pace is 11:00-11:30 miles, so I was only going 9:30 miles. Still slower than your children, but super fast for me... and leading to super fast exhaustion! LOL

 

I think I am going to have to use some rewards to keep the girls at it. Austin will do it with me just because that's his personality. For Reece and Austin, there also seems to be a little bit of a coordination issue as well. I've seen it in Austin's running, too, and that's one reason I wanted to do this. He's moved up to 60 ft. base paths in baseball and his previous strategy was just to hit the ball as far as he could so they wouldn't have time to get it back in. LOL He runs like a gazelle, more of a hopping, if that makes sense. And he shuffles his feet something awful. I spend the whole time saying, "Heel to toe, heel to toe" while we're doing our running segments, and "Pick up your feet" during our walking! ;) Did you experience any of that with your Aspie?

 

Let's plan on the Princess Half for 2011! My friend for 2010 really wants to do it, but she's having trouble with her knees right now in her runs so she's nervous about committing to it. And I'll have to think about the full marathon in 2011, it seems overwhelming! I heard of this "My First Triathalon" not too far from me and I think I'd like to give that a shot. I'm hoping for my cross-training to do swimming and biking, which would lend itself well to the "My First Triathalon". Of course, I haven't swum laps ever in my life, and I haven't been on a bike in 20+ years! But I bought goggles last week, and we have an annual pass to the public pools (which we have several indoor ones). I figure if I can learn to run, I can learn to swim laps and bike as well! LOL

 

Austin has a couple of obsessions: weather has been one since he was little bitty. He used to know all the hurricane names forever, but I'm not sure if he still does. Currently his big ones are baseball, guns, and engines. His aspirations are to be a tornado chasing, professional baseball playing, air force pilot who races in the Nascar circuit in his spare time! ;)

 

I'm not too sure about living in Michigan, though one of my good friends lives there and is actually running her first 5K this very morning!! I just don't think I can handle the winters, which seem to last most of the year! I don't even go outside when it goes below 50 degrees (well, I did last year for the first time. Why? To RUN! LOL My husband thought I'd lost my mind!). But maybe it's better than our nasty hot summers which start in May and can last until October! I promised myself while I was running in 95 degree temps with 85% humidity that I would never complain about running in the winter again! ;)

 

I hope you can figure out how to get your pics up, I'd love to see! I am going to be starting a scrapbook of my running, so I'm making sure to take plenty of pics. I took a pic of the kids' first day of running and it's on my blog which should be linked in my signature (the Black Pearl Academy one). I know it sounds kind of silly, but it's a huge accomplishment for me to run like I'm doing. I was never active as a child or teen. Never did any sports, or dance classes, or anything! I have always been naturally thin, but I'm the poster child for "a thin person can be unhealthy". And I put on some pounds following the kids' diagnoses (coming up on 4 years ago for Reece, 3.5 years for Austin). So since I've started running, I've lost that weight, and have found that I have these things called muscles! ;) And it's been great for my self-esteem and my depression-like symptoms! And truly if it hadn't been for you and the other runners back in the fall/winter with the exercise threads, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it. I was very, very intimidated especially when it came time to do 5 or 10 minute runs at a time!! Not sure if you remember that! :) So I owe everyone here much thanks, and I try to pay the encouragement forward!

 

Well, I'd better get ready for church! If you want, send me a PM or something and we can exchange email addresses so we don't clog up the messsage boards! :)

[Jennifer in MI]

 

Hey look!! I did it!!! These are my kids and me. Andrew (11), William (9), Sam (13), and me (not telling!)

 

I'll write more later, but I'm currently in the middle of cleaning house and if I get caught on the computer by my kids, they'll give me an extra chore!!!

[Jennifer in MI]

 

Here's a picture of the baby girl just because she wanted me to post one of her too!! This was taken at the park right before the race.

[Chelle in MO]

Oh, my gosh, Jennifer! You guys are all so cute! What a fun weekend for you!

 

Chelle

[Niffercoo]

Love that picture! I think if I were you, I'd have it printed 5x7 and framed!

 

And your little girl is adorable, too! I bet she'll be out there running as soon as she's a little bigger!