See Jane Run Half Marathon 2013!

 

 I'm officially 7 for 13 on my half marathons this year.

This was my first See Jane Run and I really enjoyed it a lot. The course was beautiful, it started and finished in Gas Works Park in Seattle. The weather again was so gorgeous, but not best for running. I'm not complaining though, we'll take the sunshine here in Seattle any day!

The expo was at the W Hotel in downtown, kind of a hassle to get to and I had to pay for parking. The setup was really small, they were selling their merchandise and a few tables with energy bar tastings and that's about it, nothing too big. The Seattle Marathon was set up with a table right outside the conference room and they had some cute giveaways that my son enjoyed, like noise makers and pom poms. In the goodie bag they had the bib and some energy drinks and tattoos. We did end up riding the monorail afterwards, I had paid for an hour parking spot, so I figured, we might as well enjoy a little time in Seattle.

 

 So the run started at 8:00 and I knew that the parking situation was going to be a nightmare at Gas Works, so I was planning on being there at least an hour before hand. I got there just as I had planned and didn't really have as hard of a time finding a parking spot as I had thought, I had to walk maybe five minutes to the starting line.

 

They were setting up for the finish line festival with food and drinks, now I don't like to eat
anything but a banana before my races, so I asked if it was okay to have one before the race and they were totally fine with that. They had tons of Honey buckets and not much of a wait for them which was super nice. I sat by the water and stared at beautiful Seattle until it was time to start. The view from Gasworks park is by far my favorite in Seattle. I could have sat there for hours and just lounged, but that's not why I was there, I had plenty of time to do that after the race.

 

Finally it was time to start, the streets were narrow and we all kind of went the same pace, they did have three start times. I started with the 9-11 minute pacers, I did not finish there though :(. The course was around Lake Union and the weather was just beautiful, so the views that we got were amazing.

 

I went into this race with the mentality of not trying to beat any of my times. I knew that both of my knees were messed up, I'm still not 100% recovered from my tendinitis and I get really bad anxiety during my races. I have anxiety on a daily bases as is, but the races really make it bad, so I was hoping that not worrying about finishing at, or beating a specific time would make it better. It really worked, I didn't take my anxiety totally away, but it was much, much easier to control my breathing and keep going.

 

Needless to say I didn't get a really good time, but I was okay with that, going into it all sorts of injured. I finished strong and thoroughly enjoyed all the champagne at the finish line. This race is also called the chocolate and champagne race. The sponsors are Sees Candy and Barefoot wines, included in the race price is also a champagne glass that you get to keep :) I got a wrist band and once I picked up my glass filled with candy, I headed into the Champagne garden. They were serving two kinds of champagne a sweet red kind and a regular dry champagne. I tried the regular one and it was amazing and it tasted especially great after a long race. I had about three glasses I think, but they did run out of the regular kind and had to go and get more, I would recommend to go there first if you don't want to wait around while they replenish.

After that I headed back to the waterfront and just sat on the lawn and enjoyed the scenery, took some pictures and after a while headed back to my car and came home.

 

Overall I would recommend this race for sure, so far it has been one of my favorites in Seattle, right after the Rock'n'Roll one I think. I would definitely run this one again next year.

Hope to see you there,

Keili

See ya later Pre-K, bring it on Kindergarten!!!

 

Its that time of year again, when all the kids are graduating. This time however our little one is graduating as well. Chase just graduated from Evergreen Academy Montessori School and is now going to summer camps there. He has made lots of new friends and kept in touch with his old friends from when he was a little baby. Next up for him is Kindergarten, I'm so excited for him to go to public school, we'll find out what that's all about. The nice things is that one of his friends from his class is going to the same school, hopefully they'll be in the same class too. I think its always nice to have a familiar face around when you are in a new environment.

The graduation ceremony was so cute, they were all wearing caps and gowns and they walked down the carpet and sang some songs for us. I'm pretty sure that Chase actually didn't sing a word, but nevertheless it was adorable. Their teacher presented them with a certificate and a rose, then they changed the tassel and threw their caps in the air! Seriously the cutest thing you've ever seen. They has some snacks for us and we got to collect all of their school projects they had been working throughout the year and that was it. The school was officially over and our baby had graduated from Pre-K.

He has grown so much in the last year and learned so many new things. I think the biggest change that I've noticed is how well he is doing in reading. He can read three letter words and can sound out a lot of longer ones. He recognizes words in sentences and when we are out and about he will recognize some words randomly in a grocery store or street signs. I'm so proud of him every single day. He never seizes to amaze me. I do believe that he has learned so much from this school, he knows more than I know in some areas, do you know what shape a quatrefoil is? Well I didn't either, but I do now! He has learned organs and bones that I didn't even know where they belong. But my four year old can worn me ahead of time when he is going to kick me in my gallbladder while he practices his karate kicks :) All you Moms to little boys know exactly what I'm talking about, right? Go figure, now I know where that is as well. Its amazing when he knows geography and about continents and planets and plants and seeds and animals and things that I never thought that they would teach a four year old. But they did and he remembered and learned so, so much.

(I just love this series of pictures so much)

 

So what we've figured out is that our son is definitely the class clown and I think he will be his whole life, I'm positive of that. He gets such joy from making others laugh and that includes us. I'm pretty sure he gets his sense of humor from his Daddy and I love that. Who doesn't love a guy who makes your laugh, right? Another thing I love about Chase is that he just loves life, he is a very happy little guy. I love that he gets joy and happiness from the little things like the beach and bath time and stories and the iPad and running barefoot, playing in the dirt, sidewalk chalk and riding his bike super fast down hill. This is just a few things, there are just too many to name.

 

As we are enjoying out beautiful summer here in Seattle, I'm slowly starting to buy school supplies. I just like to be prepared, what can I say. I was amazed how many things they are asking for a Kindergarten class. I think more than anything its a change from what we are used to, he is actually going to carry a backpack to school, how cute is that. I'm so excited for his first day of school that I'm probably going to have his bag packed like a month before school starts.

 

Wishing everybody a great summer, enjoy the sun and spend lots of time with friends and family. Make sure you check out the little video clips below of his graduation!

Keili