Little Rock Marathon Epic 2014 (March 2)

~~The Gayla Pink Apple~~

NOTE:  The 2014 Little Rock Marathon was several weeks ago and I'm just now blogging about the day...sorry for the delay, etc.



My daughter, Blair, flew in from NYC to run our hometown marathon 10K with me. I had been training for months - but, she had not.   I talked her into coming anyway and just running my pace with me - which is probably a rest run for her. : -)  She agreed and was able to stay a full week.  That means we had valuable time together in addition to running the 10K.

Our matching outfits!

A lot of people wear costumes, matching t-shirts, etc. in the LRMarathon events. I am not really into costumes but, I wanted us to match in some way - let's face it - 24 year olds are not that keen on wearing matching attire with their Mother - and I knew that!  However, at the last minute, she agreed.   I had already bought my pants with the pink insert on the legs. All I needed to do was get her a pair; then we found these cute white shrugs!  I added a skirt to my outfit - you know, kind of hide a few flaws from "behind." 

Yelp, that's me - finish line!

There's the moment - my feet about to hit the blue mat and... "I did it."  Whew!  This is one of those photos - the ones that no one wants to see.  But, if you're in my shoes right at this moment - I don't care what I look like!!!  I don't care that my skirt and running belt with my iphone and keys are bunched up around me.  All I want to do is take one more step and hit that dang blue mat!  YAY! YAY! YAY!

Snapshot pic after run!  Freezing cold!

The weather was cold and it was raining - we ended up running in garbage bags - managed to rip them off to cross the finish line and for photos. It was a very tough day.  I had many training runs in very cold temperatures and many training runs which were less than desirable days.  So, the rain and cold temperatures on event day wasn't stopping me.  In spite of the difficult weather, I had a great day!  My run was good.  I felt good and was running with my young adult daughter.  How could it NOT be a great day for this mother.

Blair and me - "official" photo - LRM 10K

It's always nice to have official photos taken at these events. Let's face it, snapshots of people running are usually terrible - and I mean terrible - photos. I know some of you say that's the beauty of the photo, but when you pass the age of 40ish, no one needs such photos. 

Blair's official photo!

My turn!

Last, but not least...Camille shows off the 10K medal for us!

I am very proud of the Little Rock Marathon.  It is professionally organized  and has a great leadership team.  The LRMarathon is known throughout the country as a great event.  Well known elite runners and many out of state runners participate in the weekend activities.  

There's also a very big local and statewide participation.   Let's face it, the city wouldn't make nearly as much money if it weren't for us local and statewide people, with a passion and love for both running and our city, supporting the event. 

There's a fantastic atmosphere - hard to describe  for those that are not runners or have not been downtown on marathon day and weekend.  Many of us support the city by participating in some form. The 5K run and "Little Rockers Marathon" for kids events are held on Saturday with the actual Marathon / Half / 10K on Sunday. 

Packet pick up at the expo

The weekend also includes the expo and parties, etc. - free to participants and available by ticket to the public.  The expo has numerous booths, etc. for seeing the latest in gear, attire, etc.   If you've never been downtown LR during the marathon weekend --- you should go -  It's a big deal!   
    

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Camille's progress...

~~The Gayla Pink Apple~~

You probably know by now, Camille is training to run with me.

 

Here are a few photos...

Her tail is up! 

Camille looks at me - I look at Camille!  Love that!  

Yes, I know, I should not be running in uggs - but, this is Camille's run not mine. 

Is that a smile on her face, too?

"Run with me"  "Good Girl"

We run her schedule of 1 to 2 minutes of running with 5 minutes of walking for a total of 30 minutes. 

"Come on, run with me"

She slows down and looks at the camera! :-)

"Come on, catch up"

She looks likes she is having a good time!

She even runs pretty, too! 

Don't you think?

 

 

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Do You Want to Dance!

~~The Gayla Pink Apple~~

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Do you, do you, do you, do you want to dance?

Do you, do you, do you want to dance?

Do you, do you, do you, do you want to dance with me?

 

Yes, I'm a little gaga over this new girl in my world.  Camille has been with me almost three weeks and is such a sweetheart.  She is now eating, loves her walks/runs with me, and has not, yet, had an accident in the house.  She was already doggie door trained and house trained.  I was expecting an accident or two because she was mostly doggie door trained.  I do not have a doggie door.  As you can imagine, an accident by a 55 lb. standard poodle is a tad bigger than an accident by a 8 lb. shih tzu! 

 

She is definitely MY dog.  She prefers me and it is obvious I'm her human.  This is a big step in building our relationship.  My daughter, Blair,  is here visiting.  I left to go to a funeral and Camille sat in my (our) room the entire time I was gone - instead of sitting in the TV room/study with my daughter.  So, Blair just sat with Camille in my room, too! 

 

 

Blair and I took Camille to the park.  I decided to run a short distance with her - I then asked Blair to take the leash and run with her.  I wanted to see Camille's body language, etc. as she runs.  Camille wouldn't go without me.  She would turn her head and look to see if I was coming; then stop and wait for me to catch up. 

 

I think she is loving her new life and home - and yes, she wants to dance with me, I think!  Don't you agree!

 

Gayla