As the Belle Sherman running club coach, I made sure to turn out for the 5k this morning and cheer on my students (while logging another effort for the challenge!) It was such a fun and festive atmosphere filled with many FLRC regulars like @adamengst (timing) @lynsayayer (fellow coach), @amandaking (cheering on her kids), and many more! Highlights were definitely seeing the principal dressed head to toe as the mascot (a falcon) and all the volunteers who put together a fabulous event.
I got to run the 5k with my older kid, and the fun run with my youngest.
While my effort felt pretty hard (it was hot and the hill up Honness is no joke), I certainly wasn’t the fastest. Unofficially, though, I was the first mom
It was a beautiful morning to participate in the Women’s Distance Festival 5K out at Dryden Lake. There was a field of over 100 runners: moms, daughters, grandmas, mothers of fur babies, besties… Since it’s Mother’s Day, my son came home to visit from Buffalo so here we are in a post-race photo moment, enjoying the lake view.
@adamengst had volunteered to time another 5K race this morning, this one race-directed by FLRC Winter Chill RD @Sarah.Drumheller as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Interlaken Library. Adam and I coupled that with an overnight trip to Geneva where I test drove and ordered a new bicycle, an errand that was first delayed because of COVID and then because of my back injury. The 5K was at Sampson State Park on Seneca Lake—most of the racers were walking, so I had the unexpected situation of coming in second! Afterwards, we had brunch at one of our favorite spots, Stonecat Café. We arrived in time to get a table, but outside, which was nice for enjoying the sunshine and westward view, but a little chilly.
Ran the Mother’s Day 5k at Dryden lake this morning. Beautiful and sunny with a little chill to start. Felt good and it was great to see some flrc members and little kiddos running with their moms.
A blustery wind today. I again warmed up for the Lakefront course by first running down to the end of the trail. There’s some big construction equipment down there, I wonder if they’re going to put in sidewalk along five mile drive, that would be a really good idea
For our 5K, today Erin and I ran the Womens Distance Festival 5K (Abby sat it out due to plantar fascia issues). Erin was determined to get to the turnaround without any walk breaks…then to the 2-mile mark…then I told her to dig deep because I knew she could run the whole thing.
She got second in her AG and a faster time than the winner of the next AG… I’m excited for her to see this kind of progress so she can start seeing herself accomplishing these things. All this evening she kept saying to me, “I can’t believe people can run that distance nonstop!” I reminded her that she literally just did.
I drove out to Dryden this morning for the Women’s Distance Festival 5K. The race website was the first place I had learned about the women’s 5000m not being in the Olympics until 1996. That is wild…I was alive in 1996! (To be precise I was four.)
It was a beautiful day but a touch windy off the lake. I ran decently especially since I also raced a 5K last weekend at CHES, but was not quite happy with my time - I ran 45 seconds slower than CHES despite an extra rest day and a much flatter course. The disadvantage of a women’s only field was that I ran alone and with no one in view for nearly the entire race after the first mile. The advantage was that the walkers were all very excited to see the lead several women coming back after the turnaround! I loved the cowbells in the home stretch too
I enjoyed an easy and breezy Lakefront Loop 5K during my lunch break today. My broken down Dad Bod™ is slowly coming back around to old form, evidenced by holding a decent-for-me pace for the 5K without feeling like I was working too hard.
PSA: We got functioning water fountains on this course now. One next to the Challenge sign, and another by the Allan Treman bathrooms and park office building (inside the little alleyway thing with a roof over it).
To answer @ruth-sproul’s question about the construction work on 13A. They’re not building a sidewalk. Even better, they’ve start construction on a pedestrian bridge over the inlet at that spot. The trail will then go down the inlet’s east side all the way to Buttermilk Falls as an expansion of the Black Diamond Trail. When finished, the BDT be about 10 miles and connect upper Taughannock with lower Buttermilk.
I didn’t know when or where I would fit in a run today. My legs are adjusting to/recovering from a lot of elevation gain this past week. A short, flat course seemed like a smart choice, and the Lakefront Loops fit the bill.
My brain did a lot of churning on this run. My legs are tired, I have a sore foot, I’m just not feeling it, I’ve gained too much weight, I am slow, how do I prep for my upcoming races, what should I do when the races are done, I’m afraid to back off of running, I like the mental benefits it provides me, what other activities do I enjoy, etc, etc, etc ….
So it seems I have a hip injury that may prevent me from running the challenge routes this year, so I’m going to walk/hike them all instead (I hope!). Today I had some wonderful company for the lakefront loop course - say hello to Aoife (tan dog), Holly (black dog), and Vivi (human on the right). Holly got a perfectly timed kiss in for the photo
After a several year hiatus the May Day 5K is back in Trumansburg (in June!). This is a special race for me with many fond memories of my family participating.
Not much has changed, right?? Fingers crossed that my husband’s back is okay!
I had no idea how this race would go for me. I haven’t been running due to an injury. I told myself I would see how I felt and walk if necessary. My foot hurt, but it felt okay, especially when I took it easy. I allowed myself to push it the last couple of tenths for a 3rd place finish in my age group!
We had quite the family event this morning down at the Peter DeMott Peace Trot at Cass Park. Jamie and I ran the 5K along with my sister who was pushing her son Oliver. Shannon and Mariah ran the 1 mile fun run with their 11 year old cousin, Neela. Our nephew Finn also ran the 1 mile fun run, winning for that distance! My brother Sean and my brother-in-law Shami flanked my 94 year old mother as she walked the 1 mile fun run. My mother won the prize for fastest in her age group clocking in at just under 30 minutes. Also super fun to run with @JesseKoennecke and @KimJ. Jesse and I ran together for a while and Kim and I were twins wearing our Challenge shirts.
I ran this one pushing my kids (age 3) in their Bob double jogging stroller. It was only second stroller run of the year and I’m definitely out of practice with it. Not to mention each kid now weighs around 40 pounds and I had to keep stopping to meet their demands for snack time. (The 2021 Challenge was so much easier — they only weighed around 20 pounds and didn’t need as much attention while running!) Afterward we had a good time at the Cass playground and both boys showed me they can hang on monkey bars without help.
This one was sitting on my watch for a while…oops! I remember it being a nice evening, warm but not too hot, though quite buggy by the water. I had planned on running negative splits each mile and then finishing strong, but a 7:36 third mile took it out of me and I had to fall back real hard for the last 200m. I think this was actually right before the wildfire smoke was really bad, so in hindsight I wonder if that’s why my lungs were burning afterwards…I just assumed it was my out-of-shape-ness, like usual!
For today’s run I raced the last mile against Zeus’s thunderbolts and won by a hair, albeit soaking wet. If my legs weren’t tired from big mileage over the weekend I might have finished without looking like I swam across the inlet. By the time I got out of the shower the storm had already passed.
Bonus pic of part of the course as sent from the office where I work.
clocking in at just under 30 minutes. Also super fun to run with 
