1) Steelers 5K. this was a running-centric month, between my 5K and 10K bookending the month and Greta dipping her toes in the water of cross country! I've run most of the bigger 5Ks in the Pittsburgh area but this was my first year trying the Steelers 5K. the race is held on Labor Day morning and starts outside the football stadium (technically Acrisure Stadium now, but it will always and forever be Heinz Field in our hearts). the course runs in a loop around Pittsburgh's North Shore and culminates in an epic downhill run through the tunnel back into the stadium to emerge onto the turf, just like the athletes do.
we were up late the night before at our friends' Labor Day pool party, so I wasn't sure how my legs and stomach would hold up for the race. turns out the 10 pm smashburger was great pre-race fuel! my goal was a sub-11:30 min/mile pace (a definite step up from my 13:07 min/mile at the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K in May). and lo and behold, I crossed the finish line at 35:17 for an average pace of 11:21!
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| before the race. |
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| the jumbotron showed the finish line chute. before... |
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| ...and after!! |
2) Idlewild. that same day, after I got home and showered, we headed out to spend the rest of the day at Idlewild with friends. the weather was absolutely beautiful!
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| Nick with his daughter and goddaughter |
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| Susan is braver than me, going on the teacups at 8 months pregnant!! this was also just before I got reprimanded by the ride attendant to put my phone away, oops! |
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| this ride cracks me up. lock several small children in a tiny bus and see what happens? |
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| BFFs |
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| we concluded our day with dinner at Eat'n'Park which was a bit of a disaster with overstimulated, tired, cranky kids and a long wait for a table that could accommodate all of us, but... we survived and there were smiley cookies at the end |
3) back to school. 6th grade for Greta and 3rd grade for Cecilia! this was a banner year for Cece because for the first time since school started, she is in the same homeroom as her best friend (and several other of her good friends too). Greta, on the other hand, was in a different homeroom from most of her buddies but so far it's proven to be a good year with the opportunity to grow friendships with some of the other girls -- and she still gets to see her BFFs at lunch and recess.
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| showing off her fancy lunchbox with a spinning compartment. she paid $30 of her saved allowance money for this, which seemed crazy to me, but in her mind was well worth it!! |
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| slow down, time! |
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| signs of a good first day... |
4) cross country. the girls JV cross country team had just four girls signed up at the start of the season, and teams need at least five runners to qualify for team placements at meets, so the coach (our neighbor) kept asking Greta to join and to my very immense surprise, she said yes! she had participated in just one cross country practice in first grade and scowled the entire way home: "I didn't know we were going to be running the whole time!!" this time around, she said it still wasn't her favourite but those long legs definitely work in her favor.
since she joined the team late, she only had a few practices under her belt before the first meet on a wooded trail loop. the developmental runners went around the loop once, while JV and varsity ran it twice. I had no idea what to expect from her pacing and was stunned to see her come around the first loop just behind our fastest runner. my immediate thought was, "this is either very good, or very bad." turns out it was very bad -- she came stumbling off the course and told me she felt like she was going to pass out. I tried to encourage her to continue, and the coach came over too and said even if she walks it, that's totally fine, but she continued to feel lightheaded and just scratched it. after the fact she felt so bad for letting down her team, but they were all so kind and didn't give her a hard time.
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| Ellie and Vickie are like minor celebrities at these events |
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| going out fast |
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| coming up the hill finishing the first lap. she was definitely in the bonk phase here. |
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| so fun to see one of her friends at almost every meet this season! |
of course that DNF was in her mind for the next race, which was a longer course but only one time around (which I think is mentally far less challenging). I told her I didn't care if she was the last JV girl to finish, I just wanted to see her get across that finish line. and she did!!
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| dumping water over her head after crossing the finish line! |
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| and still with energy left to push the stroller back to the car |
throughout the rest of the season she continued to improve with paces dropping to the 8:30/9:00 min/mile range -- faster than I will probably ever be. the team won a few trophies and she won an individual medal during one meet where they handed them out to the top 25 finishers!
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| it was amazing watching her form improve over the course of the season! |
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| this meet sponsored by our local Catholic high school was so much fun. they handed out branded swag like cow bells and LED light displays, and the Smiley Cookie was there handing out cookies! |
5) Great Race 10K. finally, the culmination of my 10K training plan! after beating my previous time goal for the 5K at the beginning of the month, I had high hopes for this race. however, the wheels fell off for me around mile 4 and I had to take more walking breaks than I anticipated. I blame this partially on the fact that I wasn't able to start with the 11:30 pace group due to delays with the shuttles to the start line, and my Garmin watch doesn't give me accurate readings in the city so I had a hard time regulating my own pace. it's still my favourite race in the city because of its mostly downhill course and the fabulous crowd support! plus, I ran into my friend and amazing doula Amy!
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| pretty view from the roof of the parking garage |
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| starting off strong! I kept an 11 minute mile pace for the first two miles and then just couldn't hang on to it. |
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| glad that's over! haha |
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| okay, still faster than my overall pace for the 5K in May so I can't be too sad about this. |
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| love her!! |
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| walking back to the parking garage, I passed this whole street that was shut down for a watch party for the Steelers game in Ireland! |
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| lots of terrible towels! |
bonus round.
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| first Broadway show of the season! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. |
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| babies dressed up for picture day at daycare |
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| Nick traveled to Augusta, Georgia for a weekend to play an organ recital, and came back with little gifts for all of us |
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| a jade facial massager for Greta and a silk pillowcase for Cece! |
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| a sweet celebration for the 90th birthday of Father Aron's grandmother. many people shared stories of her dedication to her family and friends, her faith, and her work ethic. I was so glad we could be there especially so the girls could hear these tributes to her character. |
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