911 Memorial 5K

September the 11th, 2011 marked the 10-year anniversary of that dreadful day in American history that changed all of our lives. When we saw that there would be an Inaugural 911 Memorial 5K locally, we thought that would be a perfect way to remember, and pay our respects to the thousands of families impacted by that day and the events that followed.

Proceeds from this race help support the nonprofit group Homes for Our Troops, which was founded in 2004 to help provide housing to injured military servicemen and women when they return stateside. Specifically, funds raised by the event will go toward building a home in the Lutz area for Army Sgt. Austin Burchard who was left a paraplegic due to severe injuries caused by a gunshot wound while manning a post in a gun turret in Wardack Province, Afghanistan on March 19, 2009.

Up at 5:30 a.m. again!

Mike met the mayor of Tarpon Springs as we were getting registered. For my British friends/family - this is what a real American mayor dresses like...

For my American friends/family - this is how the mayors in England rock 'em...

There were about 500 runners and the sun came out as we lined up during the pre-race ceremony...

The route was a sunny 'out and back' on the water in New Port Richey. Loved these girls' T-Shirts...

Several neighbors came out of the houses and waved flags and cheered us along...

The last mile was tough so it was great to have Mike to cheer me in :)

Mike came second in his age category! What now Mike!

And I beat the dog :)



We loved our medals and T-Shirts...

That's three 5Ks in three weeks so I'm spent for a while. So glad I did this one though...

2011 Puzzle Run

The Puzzle Run for autism is one of our favorite races of the year! 2011 marked their third annual 5k/10k in Speer Park, Oakland near Orlando. Aside from the fact that this race benefits a really important cause - more than one in 100 American children are now impacted by this condition - the race boasts one of the area's most scenic and varied courses, is really well organized and one of the few 5ks that still provides dri-fit shirts with the registration packets:). For me, Labor Day signifies the beginning of my favorite events of the year and the Puzzle Run is a perfect way to get back into the race season groove!

We spend Labor Day in Orlando every year and we had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to make the race in time. This year we hadn't gotten in until past 1 a.m. the night before so it was even more of a struggle than usual. It was much cooler than recently though which was a huge relief!

After a bit of a congested start, the sun came up as we started to run and there was gorgeous scenery to enjoy at every turn...

During the race I was so thrilled to see Kitzzy, one of my favorite bloggers! She did the 10k and is currently preparing for her second marathon, the Space Coast Marathon. Check out her fabulous blog here!

I pushed hard and was really pleased to come in at 31:54, a tiny bit faster than last year and 7th out the 37 ladies in my age category!! Mike was a superstar and placed 20th overall!

I loved the race bling too and and now I feel like I've earned at least one or two of those poolside cocktails that I'm going to be forced to drink over the weekend...:)