Run Girl 13.1 and the park

I am scheduled to run the Run Girl 13.1 on Sunday morning.  This will be my third year to run this race.  I really love it and in fact I would say it is my favorite race.  It was the first time I broke 2 hours in a half.  I ran a 1:57.26 in 2010.  Last year I bettered my time and ran a 1:50.00.  Yeah, I was that close to going being in the 1:40's.  Oh, well.  That was my plan this year until I got sick last week.  Now my plan is just to have fun.  If I am feeling strong (not thinking this will be the case) I will try to run a great race.  I would love to PR, but that means running a 1:49.19 or better.  Again, not thinking this will happen.

So, in the spirit of having fun I made pack pick up an adventure.  Elena's friend Carmendy came along to have lunch and play at the park.  Samuel and Elena were all about playing at a new park.  And, because it is a long drive to the park, that meant a movie in the car.  It was a totally fun day for them!

I got all my goodies for Sunday and I must say this is quite the race bag.  I love all the stuff and just wish I could use some of it on Sunday.  Again it is going to be crazy warm so gloves and long sleeves will not be needed.  I am going to wear a tank top in December which is nuts!  I can use the awesome insulated water bottle after the race so that is good!

The our play at the park plan was to eat lunch and play for about an hour.  It was kind of chilly and Elena is still not feeling great.  I did not want to wear her out too much.  As soon as we got out of the car these two little pests came over to greet us.

Huge ducks and ugly!

Then they would not leave.  I did not have the presence of mind for us to leave so we just dealt with the pesky ducks.  All was fine until the one duck bit my pants.  Nice!  After that we ate sitting on top of the table.  Elena, Samuel, and Carmendy thought it was kind of funny, but I found it to be annoying!  After eating we tried to go to the park to play.  The kids made it just fine, but I was carrying the food bag.  That meant I was attacked by the pesky ducks again.  Serioulsy!!  That was enough and we left to find another play area.  Why I could not come up with that plan sooner is beyond me!

The kids had a blast.  There were several covered play areas with many different climbing things, slides, little toys, etc.  It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.  The best part was a totally empty park.  I guess the clouds kept people at home.

For one of the first times in my life I used Instagram to take all the pictures.  I loved being able to change the picture settings!  I am so behind the times....oh well.