Days with the Dorans

Ali started running again and I suggested she do Bayshore and she was all in! She's been running pretty much daily and I knew a 10K would be easy for her. To be honest, I think she could have done the half but she hasn't raced since high school and since she hasn't been running again all that long, she felt most comfortable doing 6.2 miles. The weather was overcast but PERFECT for running- except then it started to rain. It was a spitty rain but steady. Jeff, Sean and I were able to go near a hill and were able to spy her. It was clear some people didn't know how this works because there were people walking near the front which is a no-no. When we spied Ali (and other runners) they were trying to get around them. Because of this Ali's first mile was WAY slower than her 7:45 min/mile goal. It was like over 10 minutes. She had this app though that I was able to get so I could track her and send her encouraging words. Here second mile was 7:42 so I knew she had gotten ...

 This year it was just Papa, Joey, and I who ran the Turkey Trot and so we did just the 10k. The nice thing about that is we get to sleep in a bit which is something this mama likes. A friend asked if I was running so I had my dad take this picture of me so she could see what I looked like (same outfit as last year). Some of Joey's cross friends were running it too so it was fun to be able to meet up with them. I think Joey was relieved to find them since there were a few people downtown... (so much fun to see so many people). The parents had to get a picture too! David (the guy in the blue) and I ran together once at one of the XC meets and it was fun. I have a feeling we'll be doing that more next season. It's more fun to run with others. I have no idea how I did it, but I actually ran into Joe and his friends before we got to our normal meeting place. Joey started in the first heat and my dad and I started in the second. I actually wish I had started ...

 It was time for Outrun Hunger again but this year it was only dad and me. I have not been feeling the best and coughing up a lung but it was for a good cause and let's face it... I'd be running at home anyway. The actual race was not my best. Part of it was on trails which I'm not a fan of~ I felt a few times like I was going to turn an ankle or something. I worried about my dad but was glad when I passed him and gave him a high five on our way back! I also had fun running (how's that for a pun) into two of my former first graders! I actually ran with Carly for a little bit which was fun but then kept going. It was perfect weather for a run but sticking around after it was cold. We had to stick around though because Dad won his age group!  Mom was proud of him and I snapped this pic of a kiss they shared (I love it so had to put it in the blog). When I got home, I went out and ran a couple miles more since it's a weekend and I wanted to get to ...

Last year I ran the Bayshore half marathon and I wasn't about to sign up for another half but a 10K is my distance and I talked Joe into running it too so we all piled in the car and headed north to the Elk (since the race is in Traverse City). Joey drove for more than an hour of our drive so that was good too! The morning of the race was rainy! When I mean rainy, I mean it was a steady downpour and when we woke, the tires of the car were underwater so Jeff had to roll up his pants, take off his shoes and pull the car around so Joe and I didn't get soaked. Oddly enough the second we stepped out of the car, the rain stopped! TOTALLY! We had a great race with no rain at all despite the predictions! I have to say that a 10K was MUCH easier than a half- I didn't puke and I wasn't at all worried about it. Joey and I were treating this as a "Fun Run" I guess. I did ask him if he wanted to run with me (I decided to go with the 9 minutes wave people- abou...