I saw my shadow...

At this year's Groundhog Run!

I think that's a good sign, right?! Although with the Second Coming of the Snowpocalypse, who really knows?!

Sunday was the Groundhog Run in the caves at the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis.

This is one of my all-time favorite events. If you can handle the rotten-egg fart smell at some points on the course, you'd love it to. Its your only chance to run in 70 degrees in the middle of winter in Kansas City.

My race buddy had something come up and wasn't able to race with me, so I was a bit bummed. Luckily with a plea on facebook, I found a buddy to take her bib and join me in the caves!

Pre-race, I ran into my Girls on the Run pal Jackie and got to catch up while we waited for the 5K to end.

Here's my race buddy Mike, me, Jackie and Mike's friend String Bean Dean - pre-race. You can see the cave looking stuff that proves where we were running in the background!

So, the race story. Well, first off, if you've been reading for a while - you know I've been a huge winter slacker and have been doing pretty much Jack for a while now. Needless to say 6.2 miles was going to feel damn near like a marathon!

We started at the back of the pack, just after the gun due to the portapotty line. This is my favorite place to start a race, because then I get to be the passer instead of the passed. I actually felt pretty decent for the first lap, and I knew we were keeping a decent clip. Probably right around 11:00s. I was hoping to negative split, like I usually try to do (though I don't always succeed). We walked the aid stations and in the second lap took a couple other walk breaks. With Mike's encouragement, I kept pushing long after I wanted to.

Keep in mind that Mr. Encouragement is the same guy who on Saturday did the Polar Plunge in a Speedo and a Superman cape. He did raise about $1000 for Special Olympics though. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Anyway, Superman kept me running and pushing and huffing and puffing around every bend in the caves. Once we hit the 6 mile mark and I could see an end in sight, I picked it up as best I could and tried to out sprint him to the finish line. Maybe that's why my knee hurts a bit today...

Anyway, here's us afterwards, all sweaty, with Gus the Groundhog in the background. I give this race a big thumbs up!

My official time:

95th in my AG

1:06:42 total time
10:44 average pace.

Not too shabby.

Afterwards, I took a rest on the back of the ambulance waiting for the rest of Superman's firefighter crew to pack up and head to the Ameristar for brunch. Here's us with a big Gus on the way out....

So far, a wonderful morning. My favorite way to spend the weekend. That is, until we got to the smoke infested casino and I got sick! I completely cleaned out my system in the casino bathroom and told Mike we needed to hit the road pronto. As we found the on-ramp to the highway, I made him stop so I could continue to puke in the snow. Ugh. Seriously, not a fun way to enjoy your post-race high!

But I got home, showered and cuddled with my puppies for the rest of the day and woke up Monday feeling great! Phew!

Our Winter FUNdraising Efforts!

Its the middle of winter and we're all bundled up, trying to make it through these brutally cold nights and dreary days. So what do BDR and I do? We give back.

Ok, in all fairness, we ask you to give back! We do the work, you reap the reward aka laughing at us when we look rediculous!

I've written before about my fundraising efforts. I'm training for the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon on April 2 and raising money for my local Girls on the Run Chapter. I need to raise a minimum of $262 by that date. I would be so grateful, if you would visit this site, and make a donation. Any amount is wonderful, appreciated and will be put to good use!

Here's the more entertaining portion of this blog.

BDR is growing a moustache.

Need I really say more?!

I'm hoping that he starts to look like Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck or George Harrison. But who knows how it will turn out. It could end up being a bit more "Rollie Fingers".

His police department has challenged its officers to grow a moustache for the month of February and raise money for its favorite cause, Special Olympics. They do other regular fundraisers including the Torch Run and the Summer Games. But this one is definitely the most fun!

If you are willing to sponsor BDR in his quest to grow the most righteous stache, please contact him at reedy.us (at) gmail. Any amount counts. And really, if I have to see that flavor savor every day for a month, I hope he can really raise some good money for it! Come on, Its for the Kids!!

Here's your sponsor agreement:

"I agree to Sponsor BDR's Stache in the name of charity for the Special Olympics. I understand that my pledge is only due upon successful completion of the event by said Stache growing participant until February 28^th, 2011. Should the participant shave said Stache, I am released from all Sponsoring liability and will mercilessly ridicule them for bailing out on their fellow participants, not to mention the pledge they just lost for Special Olympics."

I hope you feel you can undertake these responsibilities and help me get through the next whiskery 28 days. I promise to document the growth throughout the month, so you can enjoy it too!

And just for reference, here's the starting point after Day 1.



Trish on the Run

As many of my faithful readers now, I have a warm place in my heart for an organization called Girls on the Run. I'm on the board for our local council, and give a lot of my time to helping the movement grow in KC.

GOTR is a non-profit after school program for girls in grades 3-8. It teaches self-esteem, nutrition, how to deal with bullies, how to be a good friend.... all those intangible and invaluable lessons that young girls today really need. Here's the cool part - GOTR teaches all these things through RUNNING! Each activity involves getting active and getting out of the "girl box" - being yourself and being proud of who you are!

So, really, its pretty much the coolest program ever.

When I did Ironman Wisconsin in 2009, I was part of the Janus Charity Challenge and raised almost $10,000 for GOTR locally. Its time for me to do some more fundraising.... this time through the GOTR Solemates program while running Rock the Parkway Half Marathon on April 2. Last year at this race, it was freezing rain and just awful weather. But I'm not scared, because I'm out there running so other girls can have their opportunity to get out of the girl box themselves. Running did that for me, and I know it can help them!

Here's your opportunites to help these girls too...

1. Donate to the cause! Visit this website and make a donation to Girls on the Run. I've committed to a minimum of $500 by April 2nd, and I need all the help I can get.

2. Become a Solemate yourself! If you want to run Rock the Parkway with me, and raise money for our council -- I promise you won't regret it. Just leave a comment and I'll get you the info on how to get set up!

3. Volunteer to coach the program. The Johnson County Council has doubled in size this spring, so we are in desperate need of more coaches! Its after school two days a week for head coaches, one day a week for assistant coaches, at sites all across the county. I guarantee this will be one of the most meaningful experiences you'll ever have!

Girls on the Run 5K

The season-finale Girls on the Run 5K fun run was last Saturday on the campus of Garmin International in Olathe. What a great day we had!

Forget the frigid temperatures and the serious need for hot coffee (Thanks Jackie at Starbucks!) - things seriously heated up when we saw the look of pride on all of the finishers' faces.

The girls have been going through the GOTR curriculum for 10 weeks, learning all sorts of things about themselves, and how to be the best me they can be. They learn about self-esteem, how to deal with bullies, nutrition and how to stay out of the "girl box."

And then the culmination of the program - they run a 5K race, proving to themselves and to others that they are smart, they are strong - they can run all day long! This fall, we had about hundreds of runners out celebrating with our girls. From coaches and running buddies to proud parents and regular community members, there was a true spirit of fun and accomplishment in the air.

You can't tell from the photo how cold it truly was in the wind tunnel at Garmin. The sun came out right when the race started and we had a gorgeous race.

Here it becomes a bit more evident. The wind is blowing and the seriously pink cheeks show the girls' effort as well as the brisk air. But really how cute are these runners?! Beautiful girls, inside and out!

And this one. She was so proud of her medal. Being the only girl in a family of four boys and a boy dog, she showed them that girl power we all knew she had inside her!

And what blog post would be complete without a photo of my "Dog on the Run"!? Peter and I were the sweepers for the race, making sure no one got lost or left behind. We had a great walk, and Peter even got a finisher's medal. He too was so proud of it that he wore it for 3 days straight!

Taking care of all those girls was sure a lot of hard work though. Between making sure there was coffee for the volunteers and hanging signs and setting up the sound system, Peter was on good mood patrol - ensuring all the runners and spectators had a smile on their face the entire morning. Because, really, that's what Girls on the Run is all about.

Hospital Hill 10K race recap

10K in downtown KC, over some of the most brutal hills the midwest has seen!

Total time: 1:09
Pace: 11:03

Overall feeling: This was fun! I'm definitely not in great shape, and this was by no means a PR, but it felt great to be a part of KC's biggest road race and hit the pavement with 7500 other runners!

Here's a map of the course...


Race highlight: My first costumed race! I joined in with Girls on the Run's "Last Rodeo" theme for the last aid station on the course - and got my giddy-up on! (Yes, that is a cowboy hat, bandana and pink hula skirt, and Yes, it was about 90 degress during the race!)

Race lowlight: Forgetting my awesome stick unicorn to run with - it woulda been way cooler than the stick pony I almost got. But of course, it slept in the closet and I walked out without my lil buddy!

Sure makes me miss the "real" training and goal setting that comes with racing!

GOTR 5k Recap

The Girls on the Run of Johnson County season-ending 5K fun run was this weekend at the Garmin campus. GOTR Founder Molly Barker visited from Charlotte, NC for the event. She visited sites, motivated the girls, encouraged coaches. She even had an appearance on Fox News! After the race, Garmin announced their new national sponsorship of the SoleMates program. This is so huge - and so cool for our council to be partly responsible for the partnership!

Packet pickup at the New Balance store on Friday evening was hectic but fun. GOTR program manager Jackie did a great job with check-in, and she had some wonderful volunteers to help!

With thanks to New Balance, we sold pink and green shoestrings to raise some funds for our program. Look how great they match these girls' NB shoes!!

Race day starts early, with coffee duty. Many thanks to our friends at Starbucks at 135th and Black Bob for the morning boost! We prepped the course by placing signage, checked in and registered runners, encouraged the runners and even did their hair! Mad props to Anna for heading that up. The girls had so much fun!

There were 160 girls that ran the race after completing the 10-week session of GOTR, all with family and running buddies. We had over 500 runners! For our first big race, that is so awesome! We on the board were totally not expecting that. Many thanks to our race directors and committee heads. One of our sponsors, Fry Orthodontics, even sent the tooth fairy to run!

Another cool occurence: a teacher from Osawatomie in Miami County was so inspired by GOTR that she worked with more than 30 girls from her school, training for the race. She picked up all their packets and drove a bus up to Olathe for the race. They had matching shirts and obviously had a blast!!

Watching the girls finish the 5k is so inspiring. You can really tell how much they have grown, how high their self-esteem is, and how proud they are. Some sprint, some walk, some do a combo of the two. But no matter how they got there - they finished!

Molly and several board members and coaches were at the finish line, ensuring that every girl received the medal she so rightly earned. I remember the medals and trophies from when I was little, and how important they were to me - and looking back they weren't nearly as significant as one of these lil' guys would have been to me!

One of the other exciting things that happened at the race: we said farewell to our council's founder as she retires to spend time with her family and her own business. Kristine has done so much for the girls and women in Johnson County. We also welcomed the new council director, Kathy Stone, to the GOTR family. We are so excited for what our future holds, and grateful for the strong foundation that Kristine has laid for us.

So to all my friends and fellow board members, thanks for a great week with Camp GOTR. Can't wait to see where we run to next!

GOTR Rocks.

Its for reasons like this that I love Girls on the Run: http://mollyontherun.blogspot.com/2010/05/childs-hand-in-yourswhat-tenderness-it.html . Seriously, when a "mancoach" is man enough to run in pink and be cheesey for the sake of the girls - that's what its all about. He got out of his "boy box" and if he can do it, so can all us girls!!!

This is a crazy busy week, as our council has Founder Molly Barker arriving tomorrow to visit our sites and support our season-ending 5k. Combine that with the hectic-ness of learning a new job, one of my best friends leaving for Tanzania for 9 weeks, training for the upcoming WIN triathlon and enjoying my dog and my man - life is busy!

But busy is good. Life is good. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

GOTR needs you to run!

Girls on the Run of Johnson County needs 25 men and women to join our team of charity runners for Hospital Hill on June 5. Can we count on you?

http://www.hospitalhillrun.com/

Girls on the Run is a featured charity at Hospital Hill, one of the most popular road races in Kansas City. If you sign up to be a fundraiser for Girls on the Run of Johnson County, we'll pay your race registration! You must hurry though! They will cap the race at 7500 runners and expect to have all slots filled by mid-May. Contact us so we can get you signed up as a SoleMate and pay your race entry.

Benefits:

Sign up to run or walk any distance: 5k, 10k or half marathon
Money raised will help us grow Girls on the Run program
Low fundraising minimum - $262
Custom online fundraising page
Technical running shirt with SoleMates logo
Discounts on New Balance gear
Special perks at our booth on race day, including bag check, food & drink and post-race foot massage!

You can also be a SoleMate fundraiser for other races, including the Girls on the Run 5k on May 22 at Garmin. Watch for exciting details soon!

For more info on SoleMates or to join our team of fundraisers, contact our SoleMates chairman Sarah Swenson: solemates@girlsontherunkc.com or visit our website.