Last Two Weekends

There is no such thing as sleeping in for me, even on the weekends.  The last two weekends have been overfilled with must do activities for the kids. 

The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific 5k took place on Saturday, October 10 in Long Beach.    It was a beautiful course along the city’s shoreline with breathtaking views of the Queen Mary and lighthouse.  Runners also had the rare opportunity of running through the aquarium.  All of the kids ran the race, including my nephew Jayson.  Jayson is becoming a wonderful runner.  Though technically, Jayson is no longer related to me since my marriage to Jacob ended.  However, just because a marriage ends does not necessarily mean the bonds you establish have to end.  He is my nephew regardless. 

at the start line

Inside the Aquarium

Dylan ran with Brandon and averaged a 10-min mile.  I ran with Mia.  Mia did horrible.  It was actually the worst race she ever ran.  We were tired, and the heat in Southern California has been in the high 90s and even the low 100s for the last few unbearable weeks.  Following this 5k race, we headed to the expo to pick up our half marathon bibs.  Jayson, Dylan, and I were running the half marathon on Sunday.  Yeah, for the three of us, we were running 16.2 miles over the weekend.  After spending a brief time at the expo, I spent the rest of Saturday afternoon sitting out in the awful 99 degree heat watching Mia play softball.

Queen Mary Behind Mia

The half marathon was scheduled to commence at 730 a.m. on Sunday, October 11 but because of the heat, race officials gave runners the option of starting at 6 a.m.  We eagerly accepted that option.  The first three miles of the race were run in the dark, and by 6:30 a.m., I was HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!  I ran smart and stopped at every station to hydrate.  It was already in the mid 80s by 7 a.m.  Jayson finished in 2:15. I followed at 2:18, and Dylan’s time was even worse.   I woke up at 3:45 a.m. for this race, and on Saturday, I was up at 5 a.m. for the 5k.  Ugh. 

5k completed

at the expo

At the start line about to run in the dark

Bling!

 This past weekend was also just as busy.  Mia participated in a Halloween softball tournament.  It was her second time playing in this weekend long tournament.  She played on both Saturday and Sunday, and on both days, I had to be up between 6 a.m. – 7 a.m.  The weather had cooled down, which was a welcome blessing.   Mia’s team played three times and lost two of the three games. She played second base for all the games.  I am really impressed with her hitting abilities.  I’ve seen such dramatic improvement.  Last year, she only hit two pitches from the kids.  This year, she has been up to bat 13 times and hit 9 times. She doesn’t always make it safely to first, but that is not as important right now as her connecting with the ball.  She doesn’t have the strongest hit, but I think she is one of the most dependable hitters on the team.  The girls received goodie bags and were able to wear festive Halloween themed socks.

her treat

Mia stops a groundball

trying to stop a steal

softball cheer

Mia also hit her first homerun ever during the tournament!  She hit the ball out to leftfield which ensured a double, but then the other team overthrew the ball, and Mia was able to run home.  I am really proud of her.

Two weekends of early, early starts.  Unfortunately, this weekend is only a continuation of what is becoming habitual early morning starts on the weekend.  Brandon is scheduled to go to a Boyscout camping event.  He also has a basketball tournament.  Yes, we are trying to juggle both.  Mia has softball, and Mia, Dylan, and I have the Surf City 10k race.  

And this is why I work out.  It is so I can keep up with this schedule.