Weekend Recap: 3 Sisters 3 Races 1 May Day

Photo by Jennifer Lofton

All three of us were running yesterday, so I'm going to recap them all, & give you a preview of next weekend too:

In WNC, Laura & Mark ran the Cradle to Grave 30K Trail Run, a run from the Cradle of Forestry to Graveyard Fields and back, using mostly trails and US Forest Service roads.  A beautiful run through gorgeous scenery, to be sure, but a very tough run as well.

Laura's goal was to finish in under 4 hours.  The morning started off really cold, which turned out to be a good thing.  Laura had a bad headache & was feeling sick, but she drank caffeine and a sports drink, and that combined with running in the cold air helped it clear right up.  She held back at the beginning more than she needed to, thinking the middle would be harder than it was, but was able to finish strong and came in at 3 hours 52 minutes - 8 minutes under her goal - and 5th in her age group!  She's thrilled with that finish, as she should be, and I am super proud of her!

In Indianapolis, I ran the Brookside Bash Color Dash, an untimed color run to benefit the Paramount School of Excellence.  The run was supposed to be about 5K, but not an official course.  My training program transitioning from the Mini to the Indianapolis Women's Half had me scheduled to run 7 miles on Saturday, so Lindsey suggested I run a 2 mile warm up, do the color run, then run a 2 mile cool down.  

Since the color run was mostly through a city park, I wasn't exactly sure where I would run to warm up & cool down, so I decided on a different plan.  The color run started at 10:45, so I just went out in my neighborhood for a 4.25 mile run at 8:00.  After that, I changed clothes (no way I'm wearing my good running gear in a color run) and went to the school to check in.

The color run was a lot of fun.  This was the 2nd year I've done this run.  The kids are so enthusiastic, and the volunteers are very nice.  My GPS watch showed the run was only 2.15 miles, so I still needed another mile.  I decided just to go run a quick mile around the neighborhood after I got home.  I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts - I was still in my color splattered clothes & even still had my race bib on, but I got in 7.4 miles for the day.

I ended up making it a biathlon day - I rode my bike the 4.2 miles to a friend's house for a jewelry party, and then rode back home for a total of 8.4 miles cycling.  

Photo by Denise Marshall

Photo by Jessica Bunn

In Raleigh, Cindy took part in the Relay for Life.  She ran a lap in the Relay on Friday night after work, and then on Saturday she ran in the Marga-Relay-Ville 5K with a group of friends.  She ran her Friday night track lap barefoot, which made me very proud.  

Next weekend, Cindy is continuing her training for the Yellowstone Half Marathon on June 14.  It will be her first half, & I can't wait to hear how she does.  I bet it won't be her last!

Laura is running the White Squirrel Festival 10K in Brevard.  I'm a bit jealous she's running in Brevard, and I may have to put this race on my list in a future year.

I am carrying a flag in the 500 Festival Parade next Saturday!  I'm in the opening number, and I'm super excited about it.  It's going to be like the old marching band days.  If you are in Indy, you can come out & see the parade - it's always awesome - or watch it live on WISH-TV starting at noon.  If you are not in Indy, the parade will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 5pm.