Goffstown Gallop Part 2

Goffstown Gallop Video Part 1

The Goffstown Gallop and hydration systems

The family that runs together .... gallops together!

So Friday night we decided it was time to check out hydration systems after running on the only warm day we've had all month holding water bottle by hand. Josh didn't mind but I didn't like it at all. I had run earlier in the day so Josh ran over to City Sports and I met him there with the boys. Sports stores are SO much fun that before we knew it, it was nine o'clock and Michael and Liam had rearranged the entire shoe department :) Not only was this past THEIR bedtime, but also pretty late for those of us running the Goffstown Gallop the next morning! Not the most well planned evening, but hey, spontaneity is the spice of life!

The Goffstown Gallop:

We started the day at 5:30. Giddy up! Got up the boys up (Hannah was at the cape with Grammy and Grampy) and hit the road. Along the way we picked up my niece who watched Michael at the playground while we ran. We arrived close the the end of registration - we were running 30 min behind schedule - so I dropped Josh off to get us signed in while I parked. Despite our late arrival we still had time to meet up with Team AllEars teammates, Mike and Michelle and husband Andy. 

Right away we knew this was a fast field as we were instantly pulling up the rear, police car right behind us. I thought, "hmmm, I don't feel like we are going slow" and sure enough at the mile mark we were at 10:40! Along with Mike we were the last three! Sure am I glad I resisted the urge to try and keep up with the pack or I wouldn't have lasted the whole 5.2 miles!

Here is my favorite quote from DisBoards Wish Team at Expedition everest challenge:

DLS: Dead last finish

 is better than

DNF: Did not finish

 is better than

DNS: did not start

Great huh?

So we continued on our merry way. Liam did great, smiling for the first half, sleeping for the second half. The course was hilly but shady. We ran some with Mike and some with Michelle. We had fun being silly taking photos and video and finished with smiles on our faces - our #1 goal! 

Mike and Michelle are the co-captains of Team AllEars - a group of disney fans that are running either the WDW Half or Full Marathon 2010 and raising money for breast cancer research. Being part of this team has been a wonderful way to maintain our enthusiasm. We both give and receive tips, advice, encouragement and laughs! Please see links below and on the side to make a donation! 

Hydration systems:

This will be an ongoing topic as we each try different systems.  

The GG wasn't so long, especially with the water stops, to require a hydration system but we were pumped to try them out so we went ahead and gave them a try.

I used the womans Camelbak Dream. This is not a running specific design, we just happened to get it on clearance last year for other uses but thought we'd give it a try. I had no problem with swinging or sloshing and really enjoyed the ease of drinking. It was very comfortable, only a bit hot and sticky underneath it on my back. Josh tried the Nathan multi bottle belt. He found the bottles both easy to remove and put back - a problem we discovered with some other brands/style. It was comfortable but he has some concern about chafing if worn for long distances. This of course we will be able to test outs lowly as we increase our milage to 26.2 over the next 6 months! The big bonus with the multi bottle is you can put electrolytes in 2 bottles and water in the other 2. The camelbak you need to make one choice and go with it.

More to come as we trade systems over the course of the week!

To steal a favorite quote of Pop Pop and Grams...

MAKE it a great day!!!

Mulling over my summer exercise options

Now that summer has arrived things have changed. 

Some things have been unexpected: we've been designing an Ark instead of sandcastles and have been stoking the fire instead of applying sunscreen!

But other changes are as we anticipated: school is over, gymnastics is over, and the kids and I have relocated to my parents house in Monument Beach for the majority of the summer. Josh comes down Tuesday nights and weekends. 

How do we fit in exercise?

I had it all planned out on my end. I had envisioned loading up the kids in the car after the baby's morning nap and heading to the canal bike path.  Birds would be chirping, boats cruising by, 70 degrees, not humid, with a light pleasant breeze ... aaaah! The boys could happily ride in the jogger admiring the scenery and my little lady would cruise along on her bike. 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! 

This is when the alarm clock wakes me up from my pleasant dreams!!!! My darling daughter will NOT ride a bike. She has NO interest. We've been to REI, bike shops, Target, Walmart and she can get on, she can make it go, even has a little fun and smiles ... for maybe 10 seconds and that is it! Off she goes. "No thanks, I don't want a bike." 

UGH! Now what?

Pushing three kids is NOT an option.

1) we would need yet ANOTHER stroller which surely would cause Josh to sign me up for strollerholics anonymous. 

2) we'd be talking a total of over 100lbs of kids, never mind the weight of the stroller. I'd be outweighed! A good jogger rolls REAL nice but can it compensate for that much weight?

3) although it is pretty flat here on the cape (jogging strollers and hills don't mix) there is almost always a breeze. Jogging strollers are not aerodynamic.

4) it is just TOO daunting a task. I MUST find another option.

Options:

1) find a gym with babysitting. At home we have the Y which is about 20 min away, but here the closest Y is 35 min WITHOUT the summer traffic. The closer options do not have babysitting.

2) find a babysitter - this has been much harder in my experience then it sounds but I will try!

3) rely on the help of my parents - again. I am so blessed that they live downstairs from us in the winter and let us camp out with them for the summer on the cape. They are SO incredibly helpful without me ever even asking, so I try not to ask for help whenever possible. If I have to ask, I always try and minimize the impact. Here are my options:

a) Best scenario: wake up at 5:30 am and head out keeping fingers crossed that the baby will sleep until 7 (10% chance) and that the older two will sleep until then as well (75% chance). Teach the older two how to turn on the TV to kids shows, have sippy cups with milk ready to go in the fridge they can grab so IF they wake while I am out they don't have to wake up Grammy and Grampy. If the baby wakes up this scenario will be short lived :)

b) Wake up at 6 and just get the baby up if he happens to still be sleeping (90% chance at 6, 20% chance by 6:15 - this is his wake up time) and take him with me still in his jammies, milk ready to go. Same scenario above for the older two although they are more likely to wake up before I get back because I'll be leaving later.

c) Wait until the two boys have afternoon naps together and that leaves only my darling daughter in need of entertainment. This works great when it isn't hot but they nap 1:30-3:30  a real bummer as the summer heats up. Grammy also likes an afternoon nap so this means Grampy needs to be available or else ... TV which I hate to do on a nice sunny afternoon.

Bottom line is it will be up to the Grandparents. Until I can find a local babysitter.

This is not every day. I will aim for 2-3 weekdays and then I will get out both weekend days when Josh is here. 

I also have a happy dream for Josh: Mon/Wed/Thur he finishes work and no one his home. So although he is sad that the adoring faces of his three children and loving wife will not be there to greet him when he walks in the door, he also will face no distractions. He will quickly change into his running gear and hit the pavement. If it is hot, he goes to the gym. Comes home, quiet dinner, phone call to say good night to the kids. Nice relaxing evening to unwind. Tues and Fri he will be on the road to Cape Cod so these will be his rest days. Saturday and Sunday, training runs and swims with his partner, wife, teammate and best friend :)

Aaaaaaah! Birds are chirping. Sounds good right? But the grass is always greener. I look forward to hearing his perspective! 

This is what I've been pondering over the last few days. This and hydration systems but I'll save that for another post!

Take care and happy Monday!

Busy Week!

HIGHLIGHTS

Sunday we ran the Bunker Hill Day Road Race 8k. We finished in 52 min and change which was great for us. However, it was a fast race so we were definitely in the "back of the back" of the pack.

Monday we went for a run at the Y followed by a 1/2 mile swim. Whew! I didn't think I was going to be able to do it but my training buddy and hubby cheered me on and sure enough I was able to do it! My arms and triceps still are sore but it was a GREAT workout and I hope to incorporate more swimming into my weekly routine.

Wednesday night we met up with AllEars Teammate, Amanda, for the Rossetti 5k in Beverly, MA. for her very first race! It was SO much fun to meet Amanda and her family. What fun and we can't wait to get together for more runs or races between now and 1/9/10. Way to go Amanda!!!

THE GALLOWAY

Saturday we went for our longer run - 6.2 miles. We have decided to do the Galloway Method for the marathon and therefore all our training runs over 5 miles will be done this way. Today was our first try giving it a shot. Our impressions were pretty much unanimous: it is GREAT!

I had some reservations about stopping and starting and never being able to get into my "groove". Josh was worried it would just be too slow. I had my new Garmin 405 which I had set up for a warmup (we always start with a 1/2 mile fast walk) then the 4 min run/1 min walk intervals which made it very easy to stay on track. The Garmin gives you a 5 beep countdown and then one longer beep so you know when to switch walk to run and vice versa. 

I found I was able to get into a nice groove, just a "different" one. I felt warmed up at the same time although it wasn't as painful as the first mile and a half usually is. The 4 min always gave you something to look forward to, so it was many small goals instead of one big, long, seemingly endless run. When I developed a side stitch it was easier to push through knowing a walk break was near and not feeling let down that I had to walk which I would have if I didn't have the walks already planned for. At the end we both felt good, legs not too sore, and finished with a final mile "semisprint" average pace of 9:20. Woohoo!

Josh had the concern of the Galloway being or feeling too slow. It didn't feel too slow because we ran faster then normal when we ran and we tried to keep a decent walking pace as well. Our overall time was slower, but how much of this was my side stitch which slowed me (and therefore us - thanks buddy!) for a good 10 min or the fact that we chose to run during the hottest time of the day. We had aimed for an average of an 11 min/mi and ended up with 11:18. I think as we get used to the method we can easily make up the 18 sec difference. Looking at the Garmin splits it looks like our walk interval got slower and slower so we will need to just keep up the pace there and should be all set. 

In summary: 

Our overall time was slower but this could have been due to heat, side stitch or growing pains of trying a new method.

We had a lot more kick at the end! Instead of dreading the last mile - will we make it? - we were able to kick it up a notch! 9:20 mile! Hurrah!

We felt so much better at the end and since this is our method to get us to FINISH 26.2 miles, we are sticking with it!!! I definitely feel like our goal is more attainable having tried this method. 26.2 miles is VERY intimidating but having tried the Galloway we feel WE CAN DO IT!

Thanks for reading and happy week ahead!

Cailin Gidlewski

Welcome

Welcome to The Family That Runs Together blog.

Josh and I are the parents of a 4, 2 and 1 year old. We decided it was time to make a positive change in our lives. To help motivate us in our goal to lead a healthier lifestyle we have registered for the 2010 Walt Disney World Marathon. This blog is intended to record this amazing journey we have embarked upon!

One of the first things we did when we made this decision was to join Team All Ears. All Ears is a website of all information pertaining to Walt Disney World that was started by Deb Wills, a breast cancer survivor. Our team of first time athletes to experienced runners have teamed up together to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer which Deb has been involved in. Not only will we be raising money for a great cause, but we also have created a wonderful support group for one another.

Please take the time to visit www.allears.net. You will find answers to all things Disney and information about our team. While there consider clicking on Deb's charity link to make a donation for breast cancer research. Please add that this donation was made through Team All Ears - Gidlewski and send us an email at cailinvet@mac.com so we can keep track of our fundraising efforts. You may also mail a check to the address below.

Deb's Link:

http://www.avonwalk.org/goto/debwills2010

Made out to: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Comment: Team AllEars - Gidlewski
Send To: Deb Wills
3520 Sugarloaf Parkway SUITE F03-105

Frederick, MD 21704

Thanks for checking out our blog!

Cailin Gidlewski