Team 5K in 50 States

Team 5K in 50 States: Hannah and Auntie Jennie

Running Buddies: Auntie Shauna, Owen (brother), Dad (Justin), and Uncle Greg.

Cheerleaders: Mom (Nicole), Grandma, Grandpa, Ava (AKA Suzy-Q, cousin), Baby Kaelyn (cousin), Grammy Farr, and Grandpa Tom.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Susan G Komen 5K - Wichita Falls, Texas

At the Anchorage airport ready to head to Texas

We arrived in Texas on Friday afternoon...First stop American Girl Store!  We power shopped through the Galleria and hit American Girl Store and Bath & Body Works.  Next up, dinner at the American Girl Bistro thanks to Grandma's birthday gift to Hannah.  Did I mention that she is now 8 years old....I can't believe how fast time has gone  :)  Hannah's American Girl dolls got to join us at the table in their own special high chairs.  The food was excellent and so was the service!


We got on the road to head to Wichita Falls about 5pm.  After figuring out the GPS was on pedestrian mode instead of driving mode, we got on the right track.  We crashed into bed at the hotel about 9pm.  We were up at 6am, had breakfast, and headed to the race.  Sue, the race director for this race, had already alerted the registration table to our arrival.  We were sure shown some Texan hospitality for this race!  The race started at 8:45am and we were off.  It was a hot muggy morning and felt just like our run in Florida.  Hannah chit-chatted with a couple of ladies during the race.  We also had a couple of ladies recognize us from checking out our blog :) 
Pre-Racewarm ups are always so much fun!

 
Hannah finished the race in 28:36, and was about 30 seconds in front of me.  She didn't place in this race because the youth age group was 18 and under, but I don't think there were too many little ones in front of her.  We will have to check out the official results for a count.

After the race, many people wanted to take our picture, and two little girls asked to have a picture taken with Hannah.  It was sooooo sweet!  We were also interviewed by the local newspaper and thanked by the Mayor for selecting their race for our Texas race.  The best part was the stage introduction and the banner that Hannah received it said....DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS! 

We are so happy we chose this race to do as everyone there was so friendly and kind to us.  Hannah and I both left the race feelings so welcomed and thankful that we chose such a supportive and amazing race to participate in.  We left the race right before a storm hit and are now at our next hotel to go to the Taylor Swift concert at the Cowboy's Stadium.  Should be so much fun! 

Hannah at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium heading into the Taylor Swift concert

Thank you Wichita Falls for putting on such a great race supporting breast cancer research.  We love participating in races that raise money for great causes.  5K in 50 States will never forget the hospitality of Texas  :)

Big Wild Life 5K - Anchorage, Alaska

Big Wild Life is another one of mine and Hannah's favorite races...its FLAT!! :)  But flat also equals fast.  Hannah and I were hoping for a new personal record from this race.  The weather forecast was looking pretty gloomy, but when we arrived in Anchorage, it was pretty and the skies were clear. 

Another nice thing about this race is the 5K starts at 9:30am.  It was quite the ordeal trying to make a potty stop a the port-a-potties before the race began as people were lined up across the start line.  Many marathon and half-marathoners didn't get to potty before their race began.  After they were off, Hannah and I got to line up.  It's been kinda cool to get to move closer and closer to the front as we get faster.  We lined up at the 8 minute mile sign for this race.

Uncle Greg, Justin, Auntie Shauna, and Owen joined us for the 5K this year!  The gun went off, and off we went.  Hannah and I passed her dad before mile 1 and he couldn't believe it!  The first mile went really fast, but again, my GPS watch died within 3 minutes of starting the race.  Hannah caught up to one of her friends they camp with in Willow and she kept pace with him for most of the race.  After mile 2, I started to get pretty tired (I am pregnant with my second kiddo due in early April) and Hannah was in front of me for the rest of the race.  Hannah kept looking back to check on me, which was pretty funny.

Hannah rounded the final corner to the finish and that was the last I saw of her till I crossed the finish line.  She couldn't believe that she beat me and her dad.  Hannah finished with her fastest time of 27:15, which put her in 3rd place for the 12 and under age group!  First and second were 11 and 12 years old.  Uncle Greg got 2nd place overall and Auntie Shauna and Owen finished in 38 minutes. 

Auntie Shauna and Owen coming into the finish line in-step with each other

Everyone has gotten faster over the past year!   Hannah has inspired all of us to get out there and run  :) We are excited to start the Bonny Sosa race series and look forward to catching up with racers from last year.

5k Wildlife Rescue Run - Seward, Alaska



Hannah, Owen and Justin goofing around

This race was the 1 year anniversary of Hannah's and my first 5K together, and what a long way we have come :)  Hannah and I were ready for this race and pumped up to go.  Uncle Greg, Justin, Auntie Shauna, and Owen joined us for this race too.

Grandma and Ava

We were lucky to have a rain free race as it poured down rain most of the time we were in Seward.  The race started at 12:00pm, so we also got to sleep in which was super nice!  There were several kids running this race, but overall, the race crowd seemed smaller than last year. 

About 3 minutes after we started the race, my watch died, so I had no idea how we were doing on time.  Hannah and I were excited to get to the turn around point and head back for the finish.  There was an older girl that we kept catching up to about the last half mile, but every time we caught up, she took off running again.  We were shocked at how well we did when we saw our time at the finish.



27:35 earned Hannah 3rd place in her age group, and matched our personal record time from the Heart Run in April.  Uncle Greg got 3rd place over all, and Owen finished in 34 minutes, which was 5 minutes faster than Hannah's time last year.  We might have 2 future distant runners!


Next up, Big Wild Life 5k in Anchorage...see you there!