We got to Aviator Sports around 8:45 pm and put on all of our glow gear. It was a lot of fun to get all decked out in glow sticks and it also helped us spot each other along the course when we got separated.

Around 9:15 we made our way to the start line for the Run/Walk/Dance/Cartwheel/Party Wave. While we waiting for our turn to start, there was lots of music and announcers throwing out t-shirts and other Color Run Night merchandise into the crowd.

I loved the disco ball at the start which gave everything a but of extra sparkle.

With around 5,000 participants, the course was pretty crowded. For the most part, there were lights set up so you could see where you were going, but the road at Aviator Sports Complex isn’t the straightest and we did see a few people fall down and need medical attention.

There were five color stations, a bubble station and a headlamp area. The color stations were just like the ones they have at the regular color runs with volunteers spraying you with the colored powder, but they all had black lights set up so everything and everyone was glowing.

The headlamp section was a bunch of black lights set up with different phrases stenciled onto the ground in reflective paint. A lot of people took a break there to take some fun pictures with the phrases.

The bubble station was really cool looking. They had a few bubble machines set up and the black lights made all the bubbles glow as the flew through the air.

At the finish line they handed out packets of glow dust to throw. There was also a DJ playing music and doing count downs for everyone to throw their powder into the air, which looked really cool.

Overall, we had a great time. It was Alex’s first 5k and he was already asking me this morning if we can go another Color Run next weekend. The Color Run definitely is not a competitive race where you will get your next PR, but it is a ton of fun to do with family and friends.

Have you ever done a Color Run? 

The post The Color Run Night – Brooklyn appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I picked up my packet the day before, so we arrived at the starting line just a few minutes before the start. The race was a 5k and a Half Marathon, and the two races started an hour apart. My first impression was that the race was really small – there was only 170 runners for the 5k.

The race itself was an out and back. The view was great, but on the way out the wind was in my face the whole time and made it a little hard to breathe. The way back was great because the sun was shining in my face and the run was very enjoyable.

The best part of the whole race was when I neared the finish line. Tommy and Alex were waiting for me near the finish, and Alex ran out of the crowd to cross the finish line with me. The girls who were giving out medals at the finish line gave him a finishers medal, even though I told them he didn’t run with me. He was beyond excited.

My finish time was 38:05, one of my slowest 5k times. But the way I see it, for having run only twice since the summer, I did pretty good and I can only go up from there. The post race set up was great. They had bagels with cream cheese, apples, strawberries and blueberries along with coffee, tea and water. It was so cold out that the water set out in cups had ice chunks in it. Yea, it was that cold!

I am  really excited for the weather to warm up, so I can spend more time outdoors and hopefully PR a 5k this year!

What’s the coldest race you’ve ever run?

The post Frozen Penguin 5k appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I heard about the Commitment Day 5k a few months ago, but didn’t end up registering until late December, just because I wasn’t sure where we would be for New Year’s Eve and of be able to make it into the city for the run. Luckily we stayed local and the run was on. I wanted to run this 5k because of the great message behind it. “Commitment Day is a way to get people moving and excited about starting 2013 with a renewed commitment to living a healthy and active life, instead of simply making resolutions.”There were races in 30 cities around the country being run simultaneously, and it felt good to think that I was the part of something bigger than just a 5k in NYC.

Since I’m on the east coast, the NYC Commitment Day Run started at 11am. Since we went to bed around three, the late start time was a god send. I don’t know how all the west coasters did it at 8am! It was also nice to see that despite the freezing cold temps, people still came, bundled up and ready to run. The run itself took place along the West Side Highway and was an out and back loop. The start and finish lines were right along the Intrepid, so we had a sweet view of the ship and of the shuttle on our way to the finish line.

The run itself went well. I was tired from only sleeping 5 hours, I was cold, but I quickly warmed up. I struggled a bit, I walked a bit, but once I crossed the finish line I felt great. I could have stayed in my nice warm bed, but I got up and got it done. Since the race wasn’t officially timed with chips, I’m not sure of what my exact time was, but it was somewhere around 36 minutes. Not my fastest 5k, but I have a whole year to work on getting faster.

Overall the inaugural Commitment Day 5k was a great experience. I hope this race sticks around so that I can make this a New Year’s Day tradition.

I also have to thank Tommy for being super supportive and going to the race with me and freezing his butt off to cheer me on and get some pictures. With support like that, how can I not succeed?

 Did you workout on New Year’s Day?

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I laid out my gear the night before to make sure that I didn’t wake up the whole house on a morning where everyone else got to sleep in a bit. I ran in my Swiftwick socks, Altra shoes and Free Motion gear for the first time in a race, and I was super comfy the whole way through! At least, as comfy as you can be running a hilly 5 miles.

We arrived at the race bright and early because we still had to pick up our packets. Packet pickup went very smoothly and we even got some cool neck warmers/hats which came in handy because it was a chilly morning at the start line. I also used the bag drop for the first time at a race, and that went off without a hitch, as well.

At 9AM, we were off. We all ran together for a bit and then we all fell into our own running grooves and parted ways. I felt great for the first two miles and cruised the whole way, but around mile three my left foot started bothering me a bit on the decent from the hills. It kind of made me angry because I was struggling up the hills and couldn’t get a rest going down because my foot was hurting. I need to work on the mental aspect of running races because I get caught up and focus on one little thing and it throws my groove off horribly.

The rest of the race flew by. There was only one portion where we crossed the same part of course twice, so it was nice to have a constantly changing scenery. I also loved that there was a ton of people out playing with their dogs. Happy puppies make me happy.

The finish line was packed with lots of spectators, which made finishing all the better. There is nothing like crossing a finish line with a bunch of people yelling and cheering you on, even when you’re finish with a time of 1:03:36, which isn’t exactly gold medal time. Best feeling ever. On the way out I grabbed my finisher’s medal (which is so so sweet looking) and headed up the hill to grab some post race fuel. There were tables set up with lots of volunteers handing out apples, bagels, hot chocolate and water.

Overall, the race was very well organized and a lot of fun to run. I can’t wait until next year where I will beat my time, fo sho!

Did you run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving?

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This Saturday, I finished my first real race, the Brooklyn Rock ‘n’ Roll 10k. It was an amazing experience, and I can say that I have been bit by the running bug once again!

I woke up at 5:30 on an almost freezing Saturday morning, kind of freaking out about how I was going to run in my prepared outfit of running capris and a light long sleeve shirt when it was only 39 degrees outside. I piled on some more layers and hoped for the best when the sun would rise.

We were on the road by 6AM, an hour and a half before the start time of the race, and we made it to Prospect Park within 20 minutes and found a parking spot just across the street from the park. Talk about luck! I opened up the windows in the car and started to strip away my layers because I needed to get used to the temperature. Even though it was brutal at first, we made the walk to the start line and I quickly warmed up. Since we were so early, we even had time to take some goofy pictures. You’re welcome.

Since I registered for the race way before I ever ran anything close to 10k, I had put down my finish time at 1 hour 50 minutes and was put into corral number 12. Back of the line for me! I ended up starting with the corral ahead of me because I knew I could keep up.

The first four miles of the race went pretty smoothly. I took a few walking breaks when I felt myself getting really tired, and I took a bathroom break at mile 3 because I had drank too much water before the race. Of course this stop took forever, and I ended up loosing at least 4 minutes off my time at the end because of it. Oh well!

Mile four of the course brought you back across the start line and this is where the hills began. Going across the start for the first time, I was aware that I was climbing a pretty large hill for the first mile or so, but it did not seem bad at all. Coming across this same hill at mile 4 was brutal. My quads burned the whole way going up and I ended up walking for a good part of the hill. After this first hill, the rest of the course was very hilly, basically up and down the whole way. It was hard and I walked more than I wanted too.

Once I hit mile 6, I sped up. I could see the finish line and I wanted to get there, and quick. I crossed the finish line at 1:17:26. Even though it isn’t a great or competitive time, it is something that I am proud of. A year ago, I wasn’t able to run a mile. What a difference a year makes.

Like I said before, I have been bitten by the racing bug. Lucky for me, I’ve got another race coming up really soon, but more on that a little later!

 What was the last race you ran? How did it go?

The post Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn 10k 2012 appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

On race day, I woke up around 5:30 on Saturday morning, put on my white t-shirt that I laid out the night before and headed out the door to get my Color Run on. The traffic started a few miles outside of the race site, and when I saw cars full of white shirted people, I started to get really excited. We took our before photos and made out way to the start line.

At the start line, I learned that 25,000 people were doing to do the Color Run over two days and that I was one of 12,500 who would be leaving that day covered from head to toe in colored dust. The pre-race entertainment did a good job of hyping everyone up. We did the wave a few times and danced a lot. When our wave finally made its way to the start line, I was super pumped to get running.

I’m not sure how much time elapsed between the first and second waves, but the first finisher passed us before we hit the first color zone. I wasn’t sure how the whole colorification process would work, but it was a lot of fun. The volunteers did a good job of covering us with the various colors and we ran, walked, jumped and danced through the color points.

Oh yea, and did color angels, in blue, which in hindsight was a good idea for me, since I had a baby shower to attend just two hours after the run, in a sleeveless dress.

When we got the the finish line, we took the mandatory jump pic and walked around and got some snacks and drinks from the different tents that were set up. We had just missed the first Color Explosion by just a few seconds, but we were super excited for the next one

to happen in 10 minutes.

The Color Explosion countdown began and we scurried to get near the stage for maximum color reach. The DJ started to count down and we ripped open our color packets and got ready to throw. The Color Explosion was slightly suffocating due to the incredible amount of powder in the air, but it looked amazing from both inside and out.

I left the race with a huge smile on my face, but not before getting dusted off with a leaf blower.

Overall, I think my first 5k was an awesome experience, and even though it wasn’t a real timed race, I had a blast. I’ve also already recruited some people to do it again next year. Can’t wait!

The post The Color Run appeared first on Frolic Through Life.