Here, There, and Everywhere

Even though it's the weekend and I should be relaxed, my mind is going in a million different directions this morning. I had to get out of bed earlier than I wanted because I was dreaming about my students and strategies to bring up their EOG scores. (Is that not the lamest, saddest thing you've ever heard?)

A few other things that are bouncing around my head this morning...

• My love for the google brand grows daily. I, like many people, suffer from forgot-to-attach-the-email-attachment-itis. Yesterday I typed up an email and when I hit "send," this message popped up:
  

Gmail's got my back. Isn't that a great feature?

• I'm running my fifth half marathon TOMORROW! (I had said earlier this would be my fourth, but after some phone conferencing and past race reflecting with my mom, we have determined it is indeed number five.) Y'all, I haven't trained right for this thing. Life's been crazy, but I'm really sick of using that as an excuse. I have run up to 10 miles though and still felt great, with no soreness, so hopefully I won't embarrass myself. It's definitely not going to be the PR I dreamed of when I signed up for this race though.
  

• I am very excited about earning the next feather in my runner's cap, though: going solo to a big race! My husband and I are driving out there today to get the race packet, but he wasn't that jazzed up and going back Sunday morning for 6:30 race start. So, I've decided to go solo! My inspiration: On her 50th birthday, my mom got up, drove an hour, ran her first 1/2 marathon, and drove back all my herself. Obviously, my mom is hardcore and obviously, I want to be in the club.
• Weight loss for this race= FAIL
  
• We're getting down to the short rows in school now....only 8 days with the kids until spring break and I'm desperate for some teacher workdays! I have a wonderful class this year; they are not perfect and they definitely have their quirks and challenges, but I just love this group of babies. It's not really the kids that I need a break from, I just need a chance to catch up.
• I think I fixed our dryer! It hasn't been drying all the way, so I unplugged it and removed the exhausted tube and vacuumed the tube and instead the lint trap. After removing copious amounts of lint, it seems to be working again!
  
• It's time to go round up more sponsors for my 5K that I'm planning and I hate asking people for money. This is something I really believe in though, so maybe it won't be so bad.

Okay, at y'all's expense, I feel a little bit better after dumping my brain on blogspot. I think I need to get out into this gorgeous weather now! Have a great weekend! I'll update you about my race tomorrow.

We're going to run!

My let's-start-running-because-we're-the-least-healthy-county-in-the-state plan is coming together! I'm so excited!

If you know me in real life, find the link to the website on my facebook!

5K Planning Update

Things are really coming together in my 5K planning! Lack of fitness-related events might be a weakness for this town, but getting support is not. The advantages of small town life really shine when you have to gather contacts and help.

My main partner in this race is the local Farmers Market. The race will be held on May 8th, on the market's opening day. They are really excited about this event and it really ties in with their message of healthful living. I've already got a few sponsors and have a few others I'll be contacting this week.

I've been working on the race website (using Weebly.com, by the way, which turns out to be a really easy way to make a professional looking website) and I may or may not be totally obsessed. There's basic information; registrations forms for participants, volunteers, and sponsors; training plans; first time racer tips; and race day information.

(Since the motivation for this event was the announcement of our county's poor health ranking, this race is really geared at beginners and I'm trying very hard to make it as appealing as possible to new runners and walkers. We've left "5K" out of the title, opting for "Fun Run and Walk" instead. It's kind of a cop-out, but I really don't want to scare people away with terminology that might be intimidating. You have to remember, they don't even have cross-country teams here. This is all very new.)

I've also pulled together a committee with a representative from the city, the health department, and a few other organizations. We're meeting on Monday to make final decisions before we really go public and start advertising and promoting. I'll also start hitting up local businesses for prize donations next week.

There's a lot to get done NOW rather than later, since the race is less than 11 weeks away. Depending upon interest, I might try to get together a few training runs for beginners leading up to the race, so I really want to get the word out soon.

In this planning process so far, I have done a lot of web research. There are many good planning resources out there, but the best I have found, by far, is a resource posted by Adin Lykken at www.woofinhoofin.org called "Organizing a 5K Race: an insider's guide." It is a very comprehensive guide to planning, advertising, staffing, timing, and every-thing-else-ing a 5K and has been immensely helpful to me. The guide is available at www.woofinhoofin.org under the tab, "Organizing a 5K Race."



Thanks for y'all's suggestions and advice and please keep them coming!

Help me Plan a 5K

Okay, I need y'all's help. (And not just the normal motivation to get my lazy self in my running shoes and out the door.)

This week, my county was ranked the least healthy county in the state. Out of 100 counties. This was not exactly a shocker to me. (Have you ever heard me whine about being desperate for a YMCA, indoor pool, road races, or long distance running partners?) The official ranking, however, is initiative enough though to jolt me into action.

Running is not a big sport here. There is one 5K and 8K in the fall, but there were only about 20 participants. I won the 8K, for crying out loud! Obviously, there are not that many people running here. (We did have a larger, informal running, biking, and swimming event over Labor Day weekend, but the scale of Take the Lake doesn't really appeal to beginner fitness participants. And it wasn't timed.)

So, I am going to organize a 5K. I'd love for it to be an certified, age-group awarded, online registration event, but even more so than that I just want a lot of local participants. And I think that will mean a no registration fee, no t-shirt (although I REALLY want to have a t-shirt), fairly casual run/walk event. (It WILL be timed though and I want to have some awards.)

I've talked to a local organization about pairing it with an event in May, but it will about a week before I hear back from them. If it doesn't work out with that organization, I'm just "going rogue" and going to plan it myself. We spoke about a short (half mile or so) kids run too.

I know I'll need (in no particiular order)...

• volunteers
  
• sponsors (because pretty much everything that follows on this list depends on their support, especially without a registration fee)
• advertising (including a web presence, even if it's just a facebook event)
• a permit for a possible lane closure on one road without a sidewalk
• a water station at the halfway point (maybe another...we'll need all the help we can get)
• registrations forms (I need to have a waiver on there, right?)
• race bibs and safety pins
• water and snacks at the finish line
• timers and recorders (I've seen this done many different ways at small races, suggestions on best method, anyone?)
• registration table
• signs and volunteers along the route
• some kind of loud speaker for the race start
• prizes for top 3 male and female finishers in the 5K (just overall, not age-group) and some kind of little award for all the kids participating

That's just off the top of my head and definitely not an all-inclusive list, but what other things can you think of and what advice do you have to offer? I need your expertise! : )