Monthly Archives: May 2024

May30

Rita’s Run 5km

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Rita’s Run 5km

Saturday, May 25th, marked the Rita’s Run 5km and 10km to benefit mental health. This race is put on by Kinetic Cycle & Fitness-this is where I go for my cross-training workouts! It is a fantastic spin, row and weight studio and I highly recommend going here for a great workout.

The day was BEAUTIFUL and couldn’t have asked for better weather! Blue skies, no wind, gorgeous colours all around in the river bottom. The race was located down at the Elks Compound in Indian Battle Park and the start and finish would be in the same vicinity. The 10km started at 9:00 am and the 5km at 9:15 am. I am grateful that Dan drove Andy and I down and dropped us off near the starting area, as we just had a short walk to the start. The parking in the river bottom area is very scattered and limited, and it was very packed with this event. We had more than enough time to get to start area and Dan meet us there before the 5km began.

Andy was excited for this race becuase it was a ‘real race,’ meaning he had a race bib and timing. We have always been stressing to Andy that when we do 5km events he just has to try his best and he can’t always expect a personal best time each race. With the temperature outside that morning along with his spirit, I knew a personal best time was possible.

When we run 5km races together, I am his pace bunny. He knows he shouldn’t go faster than mom because he may get too tired. He did a great job doing this that day! What he didn’t do, however, was stop talking! The amount of energy Andy uses trying to ask me questions during a race is so funny. But I know he was having fun.

Another fun thing about the race was that since it was local, there were lots of people running and spectating the race that we knew. Andy likes it when people cheer him on and recognize him. He also saw some classmates from school doing the race too. Whenever we have a race that has an out-and-back component it is really motivating for him becuase a lot of runners will cheer him on as he is heading back. Seeing a 6-year-old’s legs move as quick as his is shocking, so I think he throws a lot of people off when they see him.

Pure joy !
Racing with mom

His miles splits were so consistent: 9:54, 9:58 and 10:05. I did tell Andy when we hit every kilometre along with every mile….he sort of understands the difference (miles are where Grandma lives, kilometres are here). So if anything he now knows that 5km is 3.11 miles! Anyhow, telling him where we are at and how much is left to go really keeps this kid moving. As we came into the finish, dad was there with some friends cheering us on. He got a really good video of us coming in and finishing, along with some commentary encouraging that Andy “takes me” at the finish. And what did we have, but another personal best. Time of 30:37, placing 3/17 in the 10 & under male and 78/355 overall! We are so proud of Andy and fully expect him to crack 30 minutes sometime this year, whether it be at Park Run or a registered 5km race. Time to get this kid some new running shoes!

May29

Red Deer Half Marathon

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Red Deer Half Marathon

Oh Red Deer. Every May Long, this race comes up and most years, we sign up. Dan’s family lives in Red Deer so it is a relatively “easy” event, in that we can head up on a holiday long weekend and have someplace to stay. I have only ever ran in the half marathon at Red Deer, but they do offer a 10km and full marathon distance (Dan did the full for his first full marathon!) They also have the kids run, which is approximately 1 kilometer. I have had some good results and poor results from this race in the past. My goal this year was to do better than last year, and I figured that could be somewhat easily attainable due to lots of changes. But you never know what to expect race day. And what happened on race day this year, I did not expect.

Last year, they had to cancel the full marathon distance due to forest fire smoke. This year, weather played in our favour. It was cool at the start, overcast, and no wind. The race starts and finishes near Lindsay Thurber High School and follows some great trails in the Red Deer trail system. You head to Kerry Wood Nature Centre, along the river, Heritage Ranch, Bower Ponds….sure, these mean nothing to someone who doesn’t know Red Deer. But really it’s a good highlight real of the nature and surrounding area.

Race start was at 8:15 am (10KM started at 8:00 am). My plan for this race was simple-go out harder than was smart and just try to hold on as long as possible. No, seriously. It was. Would I recommend this to everyone? No. Would I do this all the time? No. But, with the training and progress I have been making along with it being so long since feeling somewhat confident in going into a race, I figured I shouldn’t hold back or approach it gently.

Starting out, the main thing to note at this race is I started strong, with my first mile clocking in at 7:22. Now, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on to that pace the whole way, but I settled in and felt comfortable and confident. At mile 2, there is a turnaround near the nature centre. At this point, I could clearly see which female runners were ahead of me. There were 3. And they all had marathon bibs.

Ok—I was in first place for the half. This won’t last longer than 6 km into the race….for sure…..

Well. Spoiler. It lasted past 6km. And past 10 km. Past 15km. Somehow, I held on. My slowest miles were at mile 6 (which was definitely the uphill from the river trail to then head towards Heritage Ranch) and then mile 10 (which had another small climb and that is just a tough spot for me at any half).

So yeah, this is the shortest race recap ever because nothing with my positioning in the race changed amongst the other female runners during the whole race. I stayed in the same position I was since the start and managed to win the Red Deer Half Marathon. As I was coming into the finish, I started crying under my sunglasses. This was insane and unexpected. I have ran faster Red Deer Half Marathons before in the past and never even placed top 3. Everything aligned in regards to who wasn’t there….but more importantly, who did show up: ME. My final time was 1:44.37. Welcome back Lammers, welcome back!

Dan finished his half and then we were able to watch and cheer Andy on during his kids race. Andy did really well! It was a shorter race than he was used to, and immediately he wanted to know his time (my next blog post will touch a bit more on his times!) but this was not a chip-timed event for kids. He was happy to receive his finisher medal and some snacks from the tent. We headed back to nana and gramps’ house to shower and clean up. Then, Dan and I had to make it back for the awards ceremony.

There was some live music in the school gym before the ceremony and actually a decent number of people turned up for awards. They demolished the pronunciation of my name, but that is always funny to say the least. I was surprised to get not only a medal for overall winner, but for my age group. Usually they don’t double dip. Along with an additional medal, I received not one, but TWO gorgeous tiles form a local artisan (one for overall and one for my age group) and a $300 cheque! This is the largest cheque I’ve ever received at a race! Again, my mind always keeps looking at this in disbelief because I have ran faster in the past. But, every race is different. This was unexpected but icing on the cake.

That $300 immediately was deposited and put towards my London Marathon down payment I have already made with the tour provider. After awards, we had a great family dinner and an easy-going night. My body also didn’t feel too awful in the days that followed. While I don’t have any upcoming road races this year, it is not going to be trail season. My plan is to keep building on my mileage into this summer and fall so that when that London Marathon training plan starts, I have an excellent base….and a lot of motivation to see what else I can push my body to do!