Freaky 5K - Beekeeper edition

(c) 2013 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

As you probably know, I've been doing this 5K running thing for a few years now - 4 to be precise.  I ran in one my first year, 2 my second, 3 my third, and now I've completed 4 in my 4th year as a runner!  The only one I've done every year is our town's invariable HOT one in July, but I've now completed the Y's Freaky 5K for three different years!

One of my favorite parts about this race is that it's a costume-friendly one.  And I LOVE costumes.  (But I think people who enter the costume contest in outfits they didn't run in are totally cheating.)  

Anyway, presenting my 2013 Freaky 5K costume...

Beekeeper Being Chased by Bees!

I'd been toying with this idea in my head for a while, but last night I decided I really did want to do it, so after the girls went to bed,  I made the bees with some scrap fabric, a really big Sharpie marker, some rubber rings (for their heads/to hold open them in a windsock fashion), and milk carton side wings.  And thread.  A lot of thread.  Fishing line to attach them to my hat/veil combo.

I was worried that the wings would make them top-heavy, so I ended up sewing a largish bead inside each one at the bottom of the last stripe.  I think it helped.  Not that I ran fast enough that they really flew, but still...

The hat was a little more annoying than I thought it would be in that the front kept wanting to slide down lower than I liked, and my earbud cord was pulled on some by the elastic of the veil, so it kept falling out, but overall, not an awful one to run in, for a costume race anyway!  Lots of compliments and smiles, so that was nice.   I figure I'll just detach the bees' string from my hat and throw 'em in my costume tote 'cuz you just never know when this sort of thing will come in handy!  :)

Color Run 5K

(c) 2013 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I did my first 5K of this year this morning, and it was a color run!  As in, while you're running along the course, occasionally you run a gauntlet of people throwing colored paint powder on you!  

It was fun for something different, and a fun way to get my first 5K of the year done.  It's been raining lots lately, and the course was SOAKED.  A couple of times the water was deep and sucky enough that I almost lost a shoe.  There were a couple of small hills, and the trail on them was slippery, slippery clay, so I walked for safety on the last uber-slick one.  I was just glad that it wasn't actively raining while we were running, and the temperature was lovely.

Here's how I looked when I got home afterward....

  

After a LONG and scrubby shower, I'm pretty much back to normal, with the exception of my blue hand.  Apparently that blue's a little more persistent than the rest of the colors, and has taken up residence on all my knuckles and between my fingers.  Oh well. :)  We'll see how the color sets on the shirt - it's already more blendy than I'd've wanted, but it's definitely not white anymore!

 

Three 5Ks in 2012 = accomplished!!!

(c) 2012 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

WAY back when in January, I set some goals for myself.  One was to run in three 5K races in 2012. Well, I'm thrilled to say that as of last Saturday, I've accomplished that goal!  

In July, I ran in the 5K race that's part of the annual town celebration.  It was the first 5K I ever ran back in 2010, and I was nervous about it this year, thanks to the heart oddities I'd been having, but even in the heat I managed to keep my time under 30, so I was very pleased.

Then in August, when I didn't feel like running on my usual Friday evening schedule, I thought, "Hey, let's see if there's any 5Ks in the area tomorrow!"  Lo and behold, my across-the-street neighbor was in charge of one right in downtown Appleton!  So, of course I ran... and even placed for my age group  - did I mention it was a VERY small race?!  Still, I happily accepted the medal!

Finally on Saturday I ran in the area YMCA's fun costume-friendly annual 5K.  I'd done it in 2010, and figured if I wanted to make my goal before it got any colder, that I'd better hurry up and do so.  That meant I got all dolled up on a lovely middle-to-high-30sF morning and got my final 5K of the year done!  My 2010 costume was more flattering, I think, but here's how I looked this year:

 

You don't usually see too many mermaids competing in a running race, I think! :)

NaBloPoMo #10 - What to Watch while Running Recommendations?

(c) 2011 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

So, I've been running for almost two years now (not counting my years of high school track, that is). I've run in four 5K races (two each year) and I'm happy with my times. I'm thankful for the Couch-to-5K program for breaking it into little pieces and proud of myself for following through!

I tend to do most of my running inside on the treadmill.  In large part, that's due to WI weather and the timing of my exercise.  I'd love to get outside more, but since I usually almost ALWAYS run in the late evenings after the girls have been put to bed, it gets dark pretty early much of the year.  Not to mention COLD for quite a few months.

(Yes, I have considered running in the mornings.  But then my alarm goes off and I laugh.  Well, if you can call it a laugh since it happens in the 0.5 seconds between when my alarm goes off and when I've hit the snooze.  Evenings work better for me, and as long as I start my run before 8:30, I have no problem falling asleep that night.)

But running on the treadmill can be boring. Sure, sometimes I watch the telly we have downstairs, but often there's nothing on the over-the-air tv that I want to watch.  A couple of years ago we managed to snag (on sale at Amazon on a deal of the day thingie, I think, which is unusual because we never watch that kind of thing closely), the complete set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  An "hour" of tv with commercial breaks turns out to be about 45 minutes, so it's perfect.  Each episode is complete in and of itself, but the characters/storyline continue.  It's ideal.

Except that I'm now in season 5...

...of 7.

...Which means that I'm starting to think about running out, and what comes next!

Since we're approaching the holidays, and the "what's on your Xmas list" season, I thought if I came up with a good idea, I could put it on my list and maybe Santa would bring it!  So, I'm asking y'all for some help - any recommendations on a good "hour"-long tv series, available on DVD, (preferrably complete, but that's not a deal-breaker),  that I should consider once I run out of Buffy?  Any/all suggestions appreciated!  Thanks!!!

NaBloPoMo #8 - Maybe I AM becoming a runner...

(c) 2011 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I had a dream last night. A dream of running.
A dream of running, and it felt good.

It felt free.

In my dream, my husband and the girls and I were about to run a 5K. He was going to stick with them and I was going to Run.

Run far and fast and free.

Run with purpose and speed and lungs filled with air.

Air-filled lungs and winged feet.

In my dream, running felt good and right and powerful. I welcomed it - the challenge, the distance, the pace, the speed.

It just felt good.

Maybe, just maybe, I am becoming a Runner.

NaBloPoMo #4 - In which I run a 5K, again.

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

WAY back in January, I resolved to run a 5K this year. Several of my friends & some family members have run 5Ks and/or 10Ks and/or half-marathons and/or marathons (scary impressive, those ones!). I figured, "hey, exercise for exercise's sake can get boring, so maybe if I've got a goal - a published goal, at that - AND a deadlines (my town's annual festival's 5K), well, then I'll do it!"

And so I did. See! Many thanks to the insight & support & encouragement from y'all, btw with that! Also, yay for the Couch-to-5K program!

Then, as I kind of expected I would, I started slacking off. I was running usually twice a week still, but not three times like I had been. Sure, with dance class (oh yeah, remind me to tell you about my extra class!) I was still getting in three good sessions of exercise a week, but I had been doing more.

Solution? Another 5K. I wasn't willing to preregister way in advance though - I'd done my 2010-resolved 5K already, so I wanted to see what the weather would hold before I committed.

But that bright, sunny, chilly Saturday morning, October 30th, found me up early and on the starting line (ok, back in the middle of the pack that is) for the local Y's annual 5K.

Looking like this... except with more people & pavement and fewer leaves.


Yes, there is a jingly coin scarf under that racing number. Also, leggings! A big shout out to Nectarine for the headband - I HATE having my hair in my face when I ran, so her stretchy sparkly headband worked GREAT for functionality & prettiness. :)

Hey, I figured anything I could do to make it more fun was good. Sure, I didn't win (the race OR the costume contest - somebody came as a box of popcorn, with white bath puffs as the giant popcorns attached to her painted cardboard box costume... but I dunno if she actually ran in hers) but I had fun...

...and I beat my old time by more than a minute! Go, me!

WW - My First 5K!

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I did it! aka My First 5K Race

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Hot weather, "where do I go," first time jitters and all... I did it!

I've now run my first 5K race! And I did run the whole thing... except for when I grabbed some water 'cuz I'm not coordinated enough to run and grab an open glass & drink it all without falling down (probably).

I even turned in a EXCELLENT time for myself - my official time was 28:25, which is faster than I think I usually run, which explains why the last mile was so hard.

But I did it! Yay, me! And thanks to all of your for your support!!! Pix sometime later, 'cuz Mr Kluges & the girls came to cheer me on.

A case of the nerves

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

I'm supposed to run in my first 5K tonight. I'm totally nervous. What if it's too hot? (I'm used to running in the basement or after 8:30 pm.) What if I can't find where to sign up? What if they fill up? What if I'm late to get there? What if I'm early & spend the time waiting feeling like I'm going to puke 'cuz I'm nervous? ARGH!!!!!!!!!