Recap: August 2012 5k – Georgia (yes, again)

So, not only did I run in Georgia again, I ran the same exact course in Kennesaw as the Swift Cantrell 5k back in May. Good thing I liked the course, or it could’ve been a boring run.

This race, the Run for Wounded Warriors, benefited the Wounded Warrior Project, a cause I was more than happy to support. Since Chris was still out of town, I asked my friend Hamed if he wanted to run with me. He had just picked up running again so it was a great opportunity for him to get back on his feet. I ran into my friend Kathryn at the start line before the race, but like last time I ran with her, she smoked me.

Thanks to a really great website for procrastinating running bloggers like me, I was able to find out what my finishing time was. Athlinks is a lifesaver. After you create your (free) account, it searches the Internet to find race results linked to your name/age. It hasn’t found all of my races, but a good number of ’em! So, thank you, Athlinks, for helping me write this blog post about a 5k I race 2 1/2 years ago.

So, apparently I finished the race in just over 37 minutes at 37:04. Not too bad for the sweltering Georgia heat. But still two minutes more than my best time (May 2012 – Fishstock 5k, Florida).

This ended up being my last 5k as a Georgia resident. In just three short weeks, we officially made the move back to Florida. I packed up the entire apartment (at the last minute, duh) and Chris came up to help load the truck and make the move. It was really difficult to leave Atlanta – I loved it there! But I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Now that I am back in Florida (has it been 2 1/2 years already!?) I am so glad to be back. Whether we’ll stay here long term, I don’t know. But this is home for now.

Recap: July 2012 5k – Massachusetts, ehh, I mean Connecticut

I’m working on getting caught up on this blog, I swear! Maybe I’ll get caught up before my daughter’s first birthday. Oh you didn’t know I had a kid? Yeah, that’s how far behind I am on this thing. But enough about my major procrastination skills. Let’s move on and talk about our July 2012 race. I’m sure you can’t wait to hear about it… 26 months later.

For our annual vacation, Chris and I decided to head up to New England to visit my homeland, Connecticut. Although it had been 16 years since I’ve officially called Connecticut home (from the time of the actual trip, not my two-year-late blog post), there’s not really many other places I’d rather be in July. There is just something about New England in mid-summer that I love so much. But really, I just love New England in general. Even in the winter. For real.

We had been planning this trip for a few months, so when Chris’ mom got sick and he left to go back to Florida, we had to get creative. He was really close to cancelling the trip but after some thought (and some serious persuasion from yours truly), we decided that it was great to get away. Delta was awesome and changed his flight for free so he could fly out of Daytona instead of the originally-scheduled flight from Atlanta. I had arrived in CT a few days earlier so I could attend my family’s annual golf tournament. Every year since my grandpa passed, my family has hosted a golf tournament to raise money for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. I was so happy to be able to attend the tournament that year and spend time with my awesome family. And of course, race money for pediatric cancer research. Click on the link to make a donation to CT Children’s and support this amazing cause!

Chris flew in to Boston a few days later. We were scheduled to run the Jim Kane Sugar Bowl 5k in Boston, marking Massachusetts as our sixth state on our quest to complete a 5k in all 50 states. If you’ve ever been to Boston, you probably know how incredibly expensive it is to stay there. So to save some money, we opted to stay approximately 15 miles north of the city in Peabody, Mass. Since we were staying a bit outside the city and the 5k was during the week ( 6 p.m. on a Thursday, cool!) we wanted to make sure to beat the traffic so we left about 90 minutes before the race started. But again, if you’ve ever been to Boston, you’ll know the traffic is crazy ridiculous. We finally got to the starting line just as they were packing up to head home. We completely missed the race. Thankfully we were already dressed in our running gear so we both decided to run to blow of some steam. Sitting in traffic in an unfamiliar town can be stressful, so the run was just what we needed. Chris apparently needed to blow off more steam because he ended up running six miles instead. Of course, finishing around the same time it took me to run three. Of course.

But since we didn’t officially participate in the race, we didn’t count our “fun” run as part of our bucket list. But we also didn’t travel that far to not run an official 5k for our bucket list, so I hopped on the Internet and did a search for a 5k in Connecticut since we were heading there the next day.

Thankfully, I was able to find a 5k not too far from where we were staying in Falls Village, Conn. We woke up early Saturday morning to drive up to Meriden for the Dog Walk and 5k Road Race. As we were lined up at the starting line before the race started, the race director got on the mic and asked who the couple from Georgia was. Since we traveled so far, they wanted to recognize us for our participation. It was pretty cool!

Speaking of pretty cool, this course was beautiful! Although the hills were a bit challenging, the view was amazing. The course ran along a reservoir in the woods. The temperature was great, which made running up those hills much more tolerable. After the race, the director hunted us down for a photo op. Apparently, we were featured in the Meriden Rotary Club newsletter! Check out page three. We’re famous!

We didn’t travel to New England just for a race. We went to visit my family and spend time enjoying being outside in the summer for more than 30 seconds. In the south, it’s almost impossible to do that, so it was refreshing to actually be outside during the day. I showed Chris around my hometown, North Canaan, and the surrounding areas. It was such an amazing trip, I didn’t want it to end. Partly because I love that place, but also because I knew when we got on the plane, we’d have different final destinations. I was still in Atlanta and Chris was heading back to Daytona. And this time, we didn’t have any trips planned to see each other again until we moved out of our apartment a month later.

Here are some pictures from our trip. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend making a trip up to the Northwest Corner of Connecticut. You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

Recap: May 2012 5k Number 3 – Florida

Alert the media! I’m writing a blog post with less than six months in between. I know, I can’t believe it either. And since I know you are dying to know what happened on our third 5k of May 2012, let’s get started, shall we?

Our May 5k took us back on the road to the Sunshine State. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, we jumped at the opportunity to head to the beach and visit our families back in Daytona Beach. And of course, this served as another opportunity to cross off another state on our 5k in 50 states bucket list (Florida marked state number five!) It’s not a terrible drive from Atlanta to Daytona so we decided to pack up the car and head down after work on Friday. But before we left, I went up to the Volkswagen dealership for an oil change. Good thing I did because they found something wrong with my car (don’t ask me what because I don’t know). The amazing people in the service department hooked me up with a loaner and told me to hit the road and head down to Florida. So not only was my car getting fixed for free (yay for extended warranties!), I got to test drive a brand new VW CC – basically, the sports car version of my Passat. And of course, I didn’t have to put 1,000 miles on my car. Win-win-win! And let me tell you, it was a fun car to drive.

We got stuck in traffic leaving the city. Apparently everyone else wanted to head south to Florida for Memorial Day. Who would’ve thought!? While blasting the new (at the time) Incubus album, I noticed the absolute coolest license plate. I switched lanes and sat in even more traffic on purpose just so I could get a picture of it. LOVE. Mad props to this girl, for sure.

The next day, we spent lounging by the pool and just enjoying Florida. It was perfect. Later that night, we took our nephew with us for a fun trip down to New Smyrna Beach to pick up our race packets for our 5k the next morning. Afterward, we stopped for some frozen yogurt. I mean, that’s what aunts and uncles are for, right?

Sunday morning came and race day was here. We went on down to New Smyrna Beach, probably one of the coolest little beach towns in Florida, for our next 5k. It was a small race from what we were used to running in Atlanta (I think close to 500 people) but we loved it! The course ran partially along the Intercoastal River and underneath some beautiful tree canopies. As usual, I ran with my iPhone so I could track my progress and of course, listen to music. I’m not at that point where I can just run. I need music to help motivate. I don’t think I could ever get rid of my headphones, now that I think about it. I don’t know if it was the renewed energy from being in the Florida sun or my killer running playlist, but I ran my fastest 5k this time, despite my mom calling me twice during the race! Although not even close to where I’d like to be, I finished in 35:06, just a few seconds off from my goal time of sub 35. Chris, as usual, had a great run and finished at 25:36. One of his best races yet! And of course, I can’t find any pictures from this race.

After the race, I got a free adjustment from some sports chiropractic students from the local chiropractic school. Definitely what I needed. Chris and I then went to my mom’s house for breakfast. It was nice to just hang out and relax with my mom and Chris after the race. And the breakfast wasn’t too bad either 🙂

It wouldn’t be a Lesshafft vacation/road trip without some type of hiccup. Memorial Day Weekend didn’t just bring us to Florida – it brought the first named storm of the season,Tropical Storm Beryl. Living in Florida as long as we had, we were certainly used to driving in torrential rain. I’m just glad it wasn’t much worse!

As I’m writing this blog post just a few days away from Memorial Day 2014, I have to say, thinking back to this time two years ago, I really enjoyed that visit back to Florida, Tropical Storm and all. Made me appreciate the beautiful place where I got to spend half of my life. Daytona Beach isn’t all that bad.

Recap: May 2012 5k Number 2: Georgia (again!)

I know, I know. I promised I would update the blog more. Whoops! Blame life (and some laziness) on getting in the way of that. Enough excuses, let’s get to business recapping the other two 5ks I did in May of 2012.

Holy cow. It’s been almost two years and I’m just now updating this. Let’s hope my memory of these races is better than my memory to blog. Yikes. Sorry!

The second 5k I ran in May was just a week after the LLS race. My employer at the time sponsored a 5k and as part of the sponsorship packet, we got a few free entries to the race. Score! The Swift Cantrell Classic benefited Swift Cantrell park in Kennesaw, Georgia.

The race began in historic downtown Kennesaw on a pretty gloomy day. The course was a bit challenging (had some little hills) but overall, was a really great course. I think what I liked the most, besides the nice downhill finish, was that we ran through the park. As usual, Chris ran at his own pace (he finished in 25:01!) and I ran the first half with my friend and colleague Kathryn. Eventually, I had to stop to tie my shoe so I gave her the okay to go on without me. Although I like running with a partner, I really do enjoy running at my own pace, listening to my music and just focusing on the course ahead. But of course, running with a partner has its benefits. It’s nice to have encouragement along the way and to have someone pushing you to keep going. I usually end up finding someone ahead of me and race myself to that person and keep doing that. Hey, I embrace my competitive nature and use it to my advantage 🙂

By the time I crossed the finish line (35:29 – my personal best at the time), it was raining. Chris was cheering for me at the finish and gave me a bottle of water. We then made our way to the post-race party where we enjoyed some pancakes and fruit. Thankfully, some of the student interns from the chiropractic program at LIFE (where I was working at the time) were there to adjust runners after the race. Thanks to my intern Kacey, I left that race subluxation-free 🙂

Before the race

Recap: May 2012 5k Number 1 – Georgia

I promised myself when I started this blog that I would stay on top of it and post updates at least once a month. I’ve obviously broken that promise. Whoops! Since my last blog post, it’s been a YEAR, I’ve run 11 5ks and moved to Florida. Let’s get down to business and recap the first of THREE races I did in May.

Chris and I have been actively involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) since September 2008 when our nephew, Chase, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia when he was only 18 months old. Since his diagnosis, we’ve tried to get involved in fundraising and awareness campaigns for the LLS. When we found out that one of Atlanta’s biggest 5ks, The 7th Annual Big Peach 5k , was going to benefit the LLS, we signed up immediately!

After moving to Atlanta, we got involved with the local LLS chapter – I was asked to be a part of the media and PR committee for Team in Training, an endurance sports training program to benefit the LLS. I was tasked with writing a feature about someone connected to the LLS who lived in the Brookhaven area of Atlanta and was running the Big Peach 5k to benefit the LLS. I was asked to write about myself! Here is the blog I wrote for Team in Training website.

By the time race day came, I had raised $335 for the LLS. Every dollar counts! Thank you all for your support!

It was incredibly hot that day. And that course… man, there were a lot of hills. Steep ones. My legs are still sore! More than 1,600 runners came out that day. Chris, as usual, finished before me and was waiting for me at the finish. We didn’t see eachother at the finish line and I went searching for him. I always sprint the last leg of the race and he’s always there waiting for me with a cold bottle of water. I didn’t see him anywhere! I walked past the medic tent, searched the water line. Nothing. Finally, after about 10 minutes, I spotted his UNF t-shirt, snuck up on him and threw an ice cold bottle of water on him. Ha!

It was pretty hot and the course was pretty hilly but I still did ok considering. I finished in 37:38. Definitely not a PR but I’m ok with that. It’s all for a good cause. Plus, I have more opportunity to do better next time.

About a month after this race, we found out that Chris’ mom was diagnosed with leukemia. So now we have even more motivation to kick leukemia’s butt! I’m happy to report that she is in remission and doing well! Woohoo!

These are the official photos from the race photographers. Search photo numbers 140, 142, 1189, 1190, 2227. And here are some of my photos from race day:

Recap: April 5k – Coastal Carolina Run/Walk for Autism

Boy, do I have to play catch up! We’ve been so busy (we’ve done three races since my last post) that I just haven’t had time to sit down and write.

Chris surprised me with a trip to Wilmington, N.C. for my birthday where one of my favorite tv shows, One Tree Hill, was filmed. I had been dying to go there to see Tree Hill and all of its hot spots in person. The night of the series finale, Chris gave me an early birthday card to help cheer me up. Attached, was hotel and race confirmation paperwork for a mini vacay in Wilmington! I was ecstatic! A few weeks later, we hit the road for the seven hour drive (yuck!) to Tree Hill, err, I mean Wilmington.

I must say, I’m very proud of Chris. Not only did he surprise me with a trip to a place I’ve been wanting to visit, he booked the hotel using Priceline’s Name Your Own Price feature 🙂 We got to the hotel well after midnight. The race was bright and early the next morning so we hit the sack.

The race, benefitting Autism support and awareness, was at a new shopping center. It ran through the parking lot and surrounding streets. A nice, flat course. It was pretty hot already and I wasn’t prepared for the heat. Let’s just say I didn’t have my best finishing time at this race. 🙂

Before the race

After the race, we went back to the hotel to nap and clean up before heading back out to explore. We had lunch at a great spot downtown right on Cape Fear. I found a cool local website that listed addresses for all of the key filming locations for OTH so we hit the road went to find them.

We went back out to downtown for dinner. We went to a great restaurant downtown called Circa 1922. Not only was it delicious and affordable, it donated a percentage of every check to the charity of your choice! What a cool concept! We chose, of course, the Leukemia &Lymphoma Society 🙂

Before leaving the next morning, we stopped for coffee at Port City Java. Sooo good! This is like the Starbucks of Wilmington – there is one on every corner. The location we went to actually served as Tree Hill Cafe on OTH. I have to admit, that even though it was just a tv show, I did feel a little guilty going there. Sorry, B Davis! 🙂

We had a great time in Wilmington. I am such a lucky girl to have such a thoughtful, caring husband who is willing to drive 14-plus hours in a weekend to take me to a place simply because my favorite show took place there. What did I do to be so lucky?!

Check out my photo gallery from our trip!

Before the race

Tree Hill Cafe

Clothes Over Bros/Karen’s Cafe

The River Court RIP

Beautiful view of downtown Wilmington from the River Court

Lucas and Karen Scott’s house

Dan and Deb Scott’s house

Brooke (and eventually Julian’s) house

Recap: March 5k – St. Patty’s Day 5k

Before the race

Greenville, S.C. is probably one of my new favorite places. Seriously! We really enjoyed this cute, Southern town. We got into town pretty late on Friday night, so we just stayed at our hotel and didn’t venture out. As usual, we Priceline’d our hotel and found a room at the Hilton just a few miles from downtown. Although the hotel lobby was under construction, the room itself was pretty nice, especially considering the price.

The next morning, we made our way down to Fleur Field, the local minor league baseball stadium, for the St. Patty’s Day 5k. This race benefited the Make a Wish Foundation, so we were excited to be able to participate and give back to a great organization. The race organizer expected 1,000 people at the race but ended up having more than 1,500 people! Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to have a little fun and dress for the occasion. Lots of other people had the same idea. It was pretty neat to see all of the different costumes!

The course was pretty nice, too. Not TOO hilly, although there were a few spots that proved challenging. Either way, I really enjoyed this course. The finish line was home plate of the baseball field. Pretty cool! I had my best finish, too! Not too impressive with 37 minutes, but still, better than my previous two so I can’t complain. 🙂

After the race

We grabbed some brunch after the race at a cute little cafe not too far from downtown. Apparently it was the place to be after the race, as most of the tables were filled with race participants. On our way back to the hotel, we drove through downtown. Sooo cute! We knew we’d be going back there for dinner and St. Patty’s festivities.

We had dinner at a great sushi restaurant downtown… at 4:30 p.m. Call me grandma, but I was hungry! A girl has to eat, right?! Since we were done with dinner before 5:30 on a Saturday night, we mosied around downtown Greenville.

We found a cute dog boutique and bakery and had to stop and buy a souvenir for Canaan and his BFF Ollie, who was kind enough to let him have a sleep over that weekend. (Thanks, Lauren & Chris!) I was even lucky enough to find an “I ❤ my Schnoodle” magnet. And yes, I have it proudly displayed on my car.

We grabbed some drinks at a local brewery and then made our way down to Reedy River Park. Soo cool! If you ever have the chance to make it out to Greenville, you’ve gotta check out this park. Waterfalls, flowers, trees… It’s hard to believe you’re in downtown!

A few years ago, I took this quiz on FindYourSpot.com. This site asks a bunch of different questions to help find the best places for you to live. Guess what my number one was… That’s right. Greenville! I had Chris take the test and one of his places was Greenville! So who knows, maybe we’ll end up in the Palmetto state one day!

Here are some photos of downtown Greenville and Reedy River Park.

Recap: February 5k – Marietta Mardi Gras

I thought it couldn’t get any colder than that race in Nashville in January. Boy was I wrong! The Marietta Mardi Gras 5k had a start time of 8 a.m. And of course, a cold front decided to work its way into North Georgia that weekend. Temperature at starting time – a brisk 37 degrees. Awesome.

Before the race!

To prepare for the frigid weather (hey! I’ve been living in the South for 15 years!) I went to the North Face store in Buckhead and bought a headband. The guys at the store were super nice and helped me pick out a great headband. I opted for the Winter Running Headband and I was not disappointed. It really did a great job keeping the wind out of my ears and keeping me warm. It’s not fleece so it’s very breathable. Good choice! If you’re in the market for a running headband, this one is highly recommended.

The race was a bit hilly. Ok, let me take that back. It was very hilly. I will admit that I had to stop and walk a lot sooner than I had originally intended. But of course, as soon as I started running, a fire fighter in full uniform passed me running up the hill, followed by a man pushing a stroller. Needless to say, I started booking it again.

I didn’t finish in the time I wanted, but I did have my best finish to date, so I can’t be mad at that. Chris, on the other hand, had his best 5k time AND finished third in his age group! We left before they announced the awards but I saw it online. He even got a medal 🙂 We drove up to Big Peach Running in Kennesaw to pick it up. I’m so proud 🙂

After the race

When we went to Big Peach to pick up his medal, I of course opted to be fitted for some new running shoes. Come to find out, the shoes I’ve been wearing are a size too small for running standards. Whoops! I am the proud new owner of a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire. Very sharp.

I’m looking forward to our next big race in South Carolina this weekend! Greenville, here we come!

Next up – Georgia!

Saturday marks month two of our 12-month 5k goal. It’ll also be our second state in our 5k in 50 states pursuit. We’ll be running the 3rd Annual Marietta Mardi Gras 5k benefiting the Junior League of Cobb County. The JL is expecting more than 1,200 runners! I’m excited for this one! We’re going to go shopping Friday night after work to pick up some Mardi Gras gear to wear while we run. The race starts and finishes in the Historic Marietta Square. I’m not too sure about the route – I’m hoping it’s not too hilly. I don’t think my calves are ready for that yet.

It’s probably going to be pretty chilly on Saturday morning.  The high will only be 50 that day so I can only imagine how cold it’ll be in the morning. I shouldn’t complain though – it could be waaay worse! And come July (let’s face it, probably more like May) I’ll be complaining that it’s too hot outside to run.

I ran my best 5k on the treadmill Sunday night (34:50). It seems to be getting easier every time. I never thought I’d be able to run long distance again. In high school, I wouldn’t have even thought twice about it. I could run (far and fast). But of course, as I got older (blah) and my scoliosis got worse (it’s now 52 degrees), I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had trouble walking around the mall without my back and shoulder hurting. At 26 years old, that is just bad.

Since I started working at Life University, I’ve been under regular chiropractic care. I slowly started noticing that my back and shoulder pain was weakening and that I could walk around the mall longer without having to stop and stretch because my back hurt. Now, about a year and a half later, I am running 5ks without (barely) any pain! Woohoo!

I’m so excited that I can finally run again! Chris loves to run so I’m really looking forward to running with him more. Now I just need to grow about 12 more inches so my short little legs can keep up with him!