Today I ran in the Richland Creek Run. It is a 5 mile run/walk that loops through Sylvan Park and connects to the Richland Creek Greenway. There are a couple of reasons why I love this race. First of all, I live in Sylvan Park so my running warm up is to go up the street to the start line and my cool down is to walk home from the finish line. I don't have to worry about parking and maneuvering around closed streets other than I move my car a block over the night before to clear the roadway for the race. It is also a family friendly race which was perfect for me today since B was working and I didn't have a sitter lined up. Here are E and I right before the race when we met up with some of my pals from Sylvan Park Urban Runners (SPURS). This running group has literally watched E grow up from week to week and helped me become the better runner that I am since I had E. E is wearing her "Future Running Partner" onesie that a dear friend and former neighbor of mine sent to us. :)
Why am I counting this as one of my Thirty? Well, some of the proceeds go to the Nashville Greenway Project which helps keep the greenways such as Richland Creek maintained. I live about two blocks from two different trailheads of this greenway and I have literally ran hundreds of miles on it since I moved here almost three years ago. It is both B and I's favorite thing about where we live and is something that we will sorely miss when we move back to Idaho in a couple of months. Richland Creek has some low-laying sections that are affected every time there is some flooding. In the 2010 Flood, part of the protective fence from the golf course and one of the bridges had been wiped out. I don't know who, but someone worked really hard to get the greenway in running order again. I'm okay with spending some money for a run that helps maintain something I love so much.
Here is a picture of E and I post-race.
E really enjoys the post-race food. She was really mad when her banana was all gone.
If you follow my Goal: Fit 4 Life blog, Facebook page or on Twitter, you probably know that I'm training for some half marathons coming up and I'm going to combine these two blogs for a moment. I haven't really ran with the stroller for a few weeks and I had done a very intense cycling class and 5 mile hike yesterday so I didn't know what to expect for this run. I even went in thinking I would walk quite a bit of it. I was so surprised by how good I felt and how well I actually did. My results are below. I did five miles in 45 minutes and 7 seconds which translates to 9 minutes and 2 seconds per mile! That's HUGE for me while pushing a stroller!!! I finished 52nd overall, was the 41st female to cross the finish line and finished 12th in my age group!!! I am very proud of this and it was so nice to have people come up to me afterwards and say that I inspired them when I went by with the stroller. I guess my take away for you for this post is that you should enter a walk/run that supports a cause you really believe in. Not only are you helping out, but it is also motivation for some extra exercise. Also, you never know who is watching you and being inspired. Inspire someone with your actions today. :)
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