Love Rox 10k Race Recap- Richmond, VA

My FEBRUARY 2015 Race is DONE! This past Sunday I participated in the Love Rox 10k. There was a 5k and 1/2 marathon option too, but the 10k is what I needed for my training books and I just really like doing a 10k distance. It's not too short or too long!

~Our drive over, we got slammed with snow the day before!~

Saturday was packet pickup and we were snowed in and couldn't get out to Richmond to pick up our "packet". So I sent them a couple of email request for us to pick it up early Sunday morning, which was an option to do but they had said only with permission was it allowed. I received my confirmation emails at about 8pm, 5 hours after the expo closed.

We left our house at 6:15am on Sunday morning and made our way slowly to Richmond. Everything was still pretty icy so we were taking it nice and easy. We arrived at 8am and I ran inside the building to get my packet while Matt and the boys stayed in the van. I was so glad that we didn't drive all the way to Richmond the day before anyways to get our packet because it was just the bib and a shirt and that was it. They had a couple of vendors there but not much so if I did this race next year, I would automatically ask for Sunday pickup. It's an hour and a half to get there.

~Collin all bundled up for the cold! Cute little wave!~

Now it was just time to wait for my race to start which wasn't until 10. The 5k began at 9am. I ran back out and had Matt and the boys come in the convention center where it was nice and warm and there was a HUGE lobby where Mason was asking daddy to "race" him. Super cute. (Next time I do a Disney race, Mason will be doing the kids races!)

~Pre race fun~

When it was time for me to go out, I realized I forgot my earbuds in the van. Matt ran back really fast and got them for me, MY HERO!

The race started a good 10 minutes late. But what was really neat, I looked to my right and Mason and my boys were waving at me through one of the windows. It was super cute when Mason realized that I was outside and he kept pointing to Matt saying, "Mommy's outside!"

I was in the 3rd wave to begin. And then I was off. I was told by another person that the first mile was downhill. I was excited about that and I know better than to just go, but I am not going to lie, that downhill was pretty fun and I did a 12 min mile for the first mile. BAD BECKY! However, that first fast mile was probably my saving grace for the pace for the rest of the race. As we go to the low point of the course, along the James River things got icy and slick pretty quick. This is where I did a lot of walking. Being pregnant I did not want to risk slipping and falling. NOPE. So safety is the key. I actually really enjoyed taking in the sites of the old buildings and of the frozen James River. It was so pretty.

As we crossed our first bridge I started to run a little and walk a little. I tried to time myself with the lamp posts, and this became my pattern for the rest of the run. I chatted with another redhead on the way she has longer legs than me and her stride for walking was bigger so she passed me around mile 3, and I actually ended up tailing her until the very end where I finally passed her.

Next came the slow assent back up to the next bridge, where we had to stop traffic to run around a HUGE puddle. Again I was running 2 lamp posts and walking 1 at this point. And then the assent from the bridge back up to the downtown area.

The end of the race, my body was done. I was tired but could still go. I finally caught up to the red head and then passed her. Looked down at my watch and we had just passed the 6.2 mile mark and the finish line was NO WHERE TO BE SEEN! They had told us that the 10k people would have to run an a few extra yards to the finish, but my Garmin clocked the finish at 6.5 miles. UGH! So my official finish time was slower than I wanted and I can't use my time for the next Disney race. BUMMER! I was aiming for 1 hour 30 min finish time. I did the 10k in 1:32:32 but finished the race in 1:36:25. Mile 3 and beyond I was able to have positive splits so I am actually surprised and happy with that! Oh and per my Garmin I did the fastest 5k to date: 45:24!

My splits: 
Mile 1: 12:52
Mile 2: 14:53
Mile 3: 15:55
Mile 4: 15:28
Mile 5: 15:18
Mile 6: 14:45
Mile 6.5: 14:53

Avg. pace: 14:51 - 9 weeks pregnant

Life Is Never Boring

Wow! Life in the Allen home certainly is never, ever boring. We are dealing with our first attack of pink eye. Poor Mason has it and hoping that Collin and I don't get it either. No idea where he got it. But yesterday I had to tell all my students that he has it and everyone he has been in contact with, and all the other students I teach. And also deal with Mason and his goopey pink eye and grumpy sickness personality. Poor kid. So that is our happenings right now. I will have a race recap up at the end of the week.

Yoga Poses and Their Benefits

I love yoga and it took me a long time to actually try my first class or workout and really enjoy it! It is great for centering your body and mind but also is a great workout that can be quite challenging. My fave though about yoga is that there are moves specifically to help certain areas of your body or even the insides work better. Like have tummy troubles and can't go? Do some twist movements. Stretch out your hamstrings to help you run better! Check out these yoga poses and give them a try to help you stretch, elongate and help your body feel even better.

Also check out Yoga Journal to where you can search for specific yoga poses for alleviate what ails you. Want poses to help with mensuration? Yep they have a section for that. There is anxiety, back pain, energy, digestion and more!

Be sure to follow me on FACEBOOK to get daily motivation and tips! See ya over there!

They Grow Up Too Fast!

Talk about surreal! This past Monday, I toured a local preschool for Mason to attend this coming Fall. It was so weird knowing that a) he is going to be in preschool and b) looking at some of the kids in the classrooms that he was going to be in there. Learning. Playing. Crafting. Having fun. It has made me realize just how quickly these 3 years have gone and how precious they really are. I can't get them back. Ever. And even though Mason and I are butting heads like crazy right now, hence him needing to go to preschool, I still love him to death and love seeing how much he is learning.

Here are things that I am doing now to help prep him for his entrance into preschool:

(Mason at 5 days old) 

~I am reading to him every single day now. Multiple times a day. We were reading once a day on average but now we pull out the books many times a day. And they almost all happen to be dinosaur related. I am including daily reading of the Bible into our days too.

~ I just ordered this calendar set for him, which I will get laminated at Staple's and hang it near the kitchen table for him to use and learn from. We have been talking about the days of the week and the order they come in. He knows that Sunday is church day. And he thinks that Saturday is ice cream day. (not sure where he got that because we don't usually get ice cream on a Saturday.)

(Mason 1 year old) 

~Sing ABC's and make sure to count everyday. Mason loves to count how many eggs we have left every morning after I make breakfast. It takes a lot of patience from me to let and trust him to handle the eggs without breaking them, but I am working on that. He doesn't really like to sing and it is usually only at bed time at night that he lets me sing. So I try to throw in the ABC's before he goes to bed at night.

(Mason 2 years old) 

~Work on his alphabet puzzle more and have him` tell me the sound each letter makes and ask him to find various letters. Make it a search for the letter kind of game. Oh and when he wants into my tablet or phone he needs to enter in the correct number passcode. I tell him the number and he has to find it!

I will say I know I can be better at teaching him things. I don't really know how to teach a 3 year old though. Give me a 6-12 year old and I am fine. I know how to talk to them. So this is a huge learning process for me too. But together we are learning and I know he is super smart and a great listener, when he wants to be. If you have any advice for this fledging preschool mommy please let me know what else I can do to help this kiddo out!

(Mason 3 years old)

(Do you want to Build a Snowman melody) 

Do you want to go to preschool?

Do you want to make new friends? 

Learn to count to 10, 

sing and play

you will think it's great! 

You will learn to read and write

Yes, I know you will

You're such a smart little guy! 

Do you want to go to preschool? 

Wow! You are in preschool! 

Time flies by! 

Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon Tips For New Runners: 1/2 Marathon Race

It's race morning and you area all ready to go. You have survived the 2 mile walk to get to the start line and the MC's are counting you down to your corral starting the race. Biggest thing to keep in mind, regardless of corral, is to STAY IN FRONT OF THE BALLOON LADIES!

~Quick picture opportunity on the bridge~

~One of the coolest things about the Disney races is that there is great entertainment on the course. Lots of picture opportunities. You can decide how often you want to take pictures, whether it is at ever mile marker or at ever character, or every other character, or just a couple. But the biggest thing to keep in mind is that there is a running clock. I was in corral M and at about mile 8 I started passing people that had corral C on their bibs. These people have been stopping for lots of pictures along the way, which is pretty cool that they can. But there is still a time limit to end the race and the balloon ladies are that time limit. As long as you stay in front of them you are golden!

~Know that if you are in a back corral, like j-n, and if you had been training at keeping a 15 min mile pace, you might not be able to take as many photo opportunities as you want. The lines, like the port-a-poties get pretty long. So line up at your own risk. I didn't have time to wait for one line for a photo with any characters. I knew after my first potty stop that I was going to be pushing the time limit because the lines for the bathrooms were 8 minutes, at LEAST! This is something that people who are in the faster corrals don't really have to experience. Also, there will be bottleneck areas where you are going to be walking to get through the narrow areas. Like waiting to "run" through the castle, nope I walked. Oh and "running down Main street" nope had to walk that one too. Actually K and I ran up on the sidewalk to bypass everyone walking down main street. There was just so many people. I got really bummed about that but I was thankful for the rest.

~Picture opportunity but also tons of people WALKING!~

~Secret bathroom that might not be that busy: Every one knows about the Tomorrowland bathroom that is the first "real" bathroom that you get to use. And the mens bathroom gets taken over by female too by the way, but there is another, actually a few more. But they are off the course just a little bit and you might not be allowed, or they might not be open. But if you need to go and can't wait in the line, you can try these other places. I have read from other bloggers that they did use the bathrooms by It's A Small World and there was NO LINE AT ALL! I circled them on the map below. One of the circles, the farthest off to the left is over a green space. That is just under Rapunzel's tower and there are bathrooms over there. Again, some of these restrooms might not be open. So go at your own risk! (pun intended!)

~One thing to know that if you are in the back of the pack. Still look around you. Enjoy the view, the experience and just have fun. And more than anything, JUST KEEP GOING! I knew that if I stopped I might not be able to keep going and that scared me. I wanted to finish. I had to finish no matter what. I earned my medal with every ounce of my being. I tried and did pretty well, for a pregnant lady. But you can do this! Just remember to have fun! Talk to other races around you. Encourage them. Help give them more motivation to finish that race!

~Know that there are 3 hills just before you enter Epcot. They are on/off ramps around mile 10. You will be tired but just keep moving. Eat some candy to give you more energy at this point so you can keep going. See my motto here, just keep going.

~Standing room only to get through the castle. No running for us!~

~Once inside Epcot you are in the clear of the Balloon ladies. So your goal is to get to Epcot and just keep moving! That is all you have to do. You are almost done and you are golden! Sad thing is after the Magic Kingdom, at mile 6 you have a long stretch of just road in front of you. This is the hard stretch but just make it to Epcot! That is your goal. AND Keep going! only 1.1 miles left to go!

~Just .1 miles to go!~

~Look around you as you cross that finish line. Give Mickey or whatever character is on the side a HUGE HIGH FIVE just before you cross. Thank the voleenter for your medal and make sure to get doused in glitter before you leave! Also take a picture of you and your medal. You earned it. Smile in the picture. Cry if you have to but get that picture. (I totally regret not getting my picture. I just wanted my husband and I forgot.) But this is all about my tips for you, and when I do this race again you better believe I will be getting a picture of my medal all pink faced and huge smile! There is a background that has Princess 1/2 marathon written all over it too if you want to do it in front of that for further proof you finished.

~There is an engraver tent that you can have your name, time and date engraved on the back of your medal. Pack some money in your fuel belt or hide it in your checked bag if you have to, or have someone meet you there with money but you have that option to get your medal engraved!

~Finish Line!~