Jun 6, 2014

This Summer I Will... - Friday Five


It's that time of the week, Friday Five linkup. This week's Friday Five was one of the more open ended topics. It covered a list of things you'll do. I thought of making it all goals, but that wasn't as much fun. I decided to include some things that are going to happen, some of which are very exciting and some of which are things I will be working around living through (see #3). This week's topic is

This Summer I Will ...

This Summer I Will...

1... see my daughter earn her first "ornament"

This summer, thanks to the lovely folks at Potomac River Running, my 2 1/2 year old daughter will get to run her first race. Not only that, during this children's fun run, all the kids get a bib and medal, which my daughter lovingly refers to as "daddy's ornaments". I'm excited because many times she says "I have to run in da race like dad". Now she'll get her first chance.

2... have a 4th member added to our family

This July, we'll be having our second child. I say "we" but let's be honest, my wife is doing the bulk of the work on the "having". I can't wait to see who they'll be. My daughter has been obsessed with babies for a while (trust me, her daycare teachers say so too), so I'll think she'll be good with the role of big sister.

3... run on much less sleep 

See #2. This will be both figurative (operating coherently) and literally (I must keep up my training, which includes running).

4... buy a jogger stroller

As mentioned in #1, my daughter asks to come run with me some days. To help include her, we've been looking into investing in a jogger stroller. We've been watching the requisite Craigslist and eBay for one of the higher end brands (such as Bob) at a more affordable price level. None have really been in our price range, so we'll go with more mid range and a better price. When #2 occurs, it will also help keep #3 on track while giving mom some time with just the little one. Keeping #3 on track will help with #5...

5... lose 20 pounds

This is my initial goal for the end of the summer. I actually don't know summer's actually "end" date without looking it up, so it might not be exactly the summer. However recently I've started making good progress in my weight loss. I want to keep this up and keep going strong. I will stay strong. I will put my WeightWatchers point counting and run walk training to good use as a power tag team. My long term goal is more than this, but this would be a huge accomplishment, getting me back to where I was last time I lost weight which was leading into my wedding. Of course, that's not the end goal, but the first check mark.

A Note on Kids Running in Northern Virgina

Mighty Miles
Are you in the NoVa area? Do you have a young'n who wants to run? Maybe they have the bling fever too? Well, it's not too late. First, I would like to direct you to Potomac River Running's Mighty Mile. This is a kids race series, with a mile run (in several age waves) for kids 6 - 14, a half mile for 4-5 and even a tot trot for those younger. There are 2 more dates coming: 6/29 in Fairfax and 9/7 in Leesburg. It's all about the kids. They even get swag in the form of a t-shirt and finisher's medal.

In addition, you can check out the PR Races page for their full schedule of races they're involved in. They are a part of a lot of really good ones. Many have a kids fun run associated with them. Some, like the Firecracker 5K that I'll be at (per #1), has a fun run where the kids run "a couple hundred yards", get a bib and finisher medal AND there's even an inflatable obstacle course to play on and face painting afterwards. Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Jealous of the inflatables too? I thought so. Plus, this race will have me.

Linking Up

Check here for some links out to others sharing, staring with our three lovely hosts: CourtneyCynthia and Mar. Check their posts (Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run to see the full set of links). I will add some others, usually randomly, as I read them to share the love. Go visit and keep reading!

Our hosts:

Mar on the Run

Eat Pray Run, DC

You Signed Up for What?!

Some other good reads, pulled from the link up

Run Jenny Run

Running Muffin

Grab Your Kicks

Got2Run4Me


Image Credit: Mighty Miles - Potomac River Running

44 comments:

  1. That's so great that your daughter caught the running bug. How exciting for her first race! Congrats on the new member of the family coming! Good luck reaching your fitness goal by the end of the summer. ~L

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    1. Thanks. She caught it early, which helps me feel good that I'm setting a good example.

      Cant wait for the new one. It will be crazy for a little while, but a good crazy as always.

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  2. My youngest (Eli is 3) has run in two of the Disney kids races and he loves wearing his medals! It is so wonderful to get them excited about running early. Congratulations on your new addition! I don't know if you have a Just Between Friends franchise in your area, but it's how I got most of our baby stuff with this one (we have an 11 year age gap between our kids). It's like a massive yard sale held a couple of times a year. Best wishes!!

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    1. I can't wait for her to also runDIsney. She loves Mickey, so that will be great for her.

      I'll have to look into that. I haven't heard of it, but doesn't mean it's not here.

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  3. Wow you have such exciting things happening this summer. Your daughter's first race will be so much fun. Take plenty of photos to commemorate the special event. Bet she will be super proud of her "ornament"! Also, good luck with the upcoming delivery and new addition to your family. Fantastic!

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    1. Thanks. There definitely will be plenty of photos of it, all around.

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  4. Congrats on ALL the big news, goings on, and goals! I'm a runner, blogger, AND post partum nurse in the NoVA area... maybe you'll be my patients next month :)

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  5. #1 makes my heart melt... that's so awesome!!

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    1. I think I may be more excited for it then her right now.

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  6. New baby? You win for the most exciting summer event :)
    I was just wondering today about Weight Watchers & how it works. I need to check it out.

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    1. It's definitely exciting.

      It works well for me, when I do it all the time. The biggest issue I've had is not always actually tracking EVERY day and EVERY point. Right now I'm not doing every day but doing well enough. I was on it for a while and then stopped because I just wasn't tracking even once a week. Now I'm back in the saddle, and have a friend also on it, helping keep each other accountable.

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  7. So fun about your daughter, I think it is great when parents get their kids into fun runs. Love those races that give all the kids a finishing medal. My nieces and nephews get them and each time you'd think they won:)

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    1. Yeah. Well I love that it's she wants to do it all on her own. Not even me asking if she'd like to do it, she's telling us she wants to do it.

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  8. That is just too adorable that your daughter wants to get daddy's ornaments too. And congratulations on the growing family. Stay blessed.

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    1. Thanks. She's adorable a majority of the time. Then, she's 2 some of the time.

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  9. I recently bought a BOB stroller because I wanted to be able to take my almost one-year old daughter out with me on some runs. Love the stroller! I highly recommend it if you can find a discounted one (for us, we happened to just stumble across a sale that was for online purchases only at Toys 'R Us). It's really light which is good because pushing an additional 40ish pounds will slow you down a bit. I found it very comfortable to use the first time I took her out.

    Good luck with your stroller and the rest of your summer!!

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    1. Thanks. That's the brand I most often hear as being one of the best. Definitely keeping my eyes pealed on them.

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  10. Congrats on the bundle of joy on the way! Summer babies are the best! :)

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  11. You've got an exciting summer coming up! How exciting that your daughter gets to run her own race and receive a medal. That's great that she's so interested in running and being like her dad. Congrats on your soon to be new addition, and good luck with your weight loss goals!

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    1. That's something I'm glad she's picking up from me. All the more motivation to keep going.

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  12. Wow congrats on the new baby! And so great that you already have your daughter running races. You are off to a great start. So much for the extra sleep this summer. I may have to call you up to accompany me on a nighttime Ragnar training run-I mean you will be up anyway and I live in NOVA LOL

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    1. No extra summer time sleep, though my daughter now already makes sure of that anyway.

      Absolutely. I'll be up so it will be good use of the time and a cool experience. Plus, I plan to eventually do Ragnar myself, so it'll be an early glimpse for me. My daughter had reflux, so learned to make use of that time when she was up often.

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  13. Congrats on the addition to your family! And it's awesome that your daughter has caught the running bug so early :)

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    1. Thanks. She's already on board, then together we'll pull my wife into it.

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  14. wow - lots of exciting things happening for you! congrats on the new addition -- enjoy your sleep while it lasts! :)

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    1. Thanks. I know the value of all the chunks of sleep I get, big or small, and appreciate them.

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  15. Sounds like a busy, fun summer. Is your wife on any of the local mom's listservs? That seems to be a good place to get reasonably priced used strollers.

    One of these days I'll run a PR race. They have one really near me, but I never seem to be able to run it...

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    1. I'm not sure if she is. I know she has a couple of groups and such that she's a part of so I'll have to check with her.

      They had an 8K right outside my house, which was the first race I ever did last year. And then this year they moved it to Fairfax and made it a 5K. I was so sad.

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  16. Oh, so exciting! Love that your daughter is into running - I hope she enjoys her bling! Thanks for linking up my post.

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  17. John - thanks for the mention! Congrats to you and your family on your newest addition. I love that your daughter is running her first race, I think it is adorable that she calls them ornaments. Have a great weekend!

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    1. You're welcome. I enjoyed it so I shared it. Looking to spread the love where I can.

      Thanks. Running tomorrow morning to start the weekend off right. Have a good one too.

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  18. Congrats on becoming a dad again soon. So exciting !

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  19. I'm in MD and there are some kids' races - my daughter is eager to try one. How old is your daughter? I love running with the stroller!

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    1. She's 2 1/5, so still some time to get in running with her. We were watching her uncle play old man flag football yesterday and she started running around the track. Short bursts and much distractions, but made a full loop around eventually

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  20. Wow, congratulations on your upcoming new addition! Great list. My son got his first running medal a few months ago and it was a very proud moment for the both of us! I just got rid of one of my jogging strollers and actually cried. Lots of fun memories will be made when you run with your kids!

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    1. Thanks. I have a feeling she'll need her own medal rack in her room because she'll want to display it.

      Can't wait to take her out running. The biggest issue will be how long it holds her interest sitting in the stroller, haha.

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  21. It sounds like you have an incredible summer coming up! I would suggest looking into local FB tagsale websites to see if anyone is selling a BOB. I had one and I can't recommend it enough, if the price is right for you! Best of luck!

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    1. Thanks. I look into that too. I've only heard rave reviews of them before.

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  22. I didn't know that there were such things called jogger strollers. I am going to keep it in mind, if I become a father. Sounds like an awesome device to spend some time with my kid and remain healthy at the same time.

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    1. Yeah. They look really great. We didn't get one with out first kid because I was like "I don't run, so don't need that type of stroller" but things have changed. I think it will provide some quality time together AND help with my health.

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