Canton Road Race was great - but that incline was nuts!

So, this morning, Emily and I ran the Canton Road Race with our friend (and giveaway winner!) Ally. It was a little chilly this morning (45 degrees when we arrived) and we were SO glad that we went on Friday afternoon to pick up our race bibs.

The Canton Road Race, in its 12th year, starts and finishes at the Reebok World Headquarters which is a pretty neat place. I had the pleasure of checking out the campus on Friday afternoon when I picked up our race bibs from the friendly volunteers. It couldn't have been easier!

The 5k started at 9 am and we arrived around 8 am to get ready. I had a banana as my pre-race meal and Emily had toast with PB and cheese. Just enough fuel to get going. I was wearing new running pants along with KTTape underneath to support my knees and leg sleeves to support my calves. Crazy what you have to do to take care of your body...

We warmed up and chatted with our friends before getting in the back of the pack for the start. Once the race started we casually drifted back since we knew that we were just in it to finish it. I cannot believe how strong and dedicated my wife Emily is for training for and completing a 5k just 6 weeks after giving birth to our second child.

The race was a beautiful 3.1 mile run through Canton and nearby Milton on 138 and we were able to go at our own pace. There was a 10k that started 5 minutes after our race and soon the 10k runners had caught up with us and passed us. We just enjoyed going at our own speed. We found the first few inclines to be fine but then were met with quite the steep incline through the Blue Hills area and had to walk quite a ways.

Over the past few months as you know if you've read this blog, I'll admit, I've gotten lazy when it comes to food choices, exercise and taking care of myself so I've put on quite a few points. Now I am energized to start losing weight and hopefully keeping it off. I've found it is increasingly difficult as a parent since you're taking care of the kid/s. But it is certainly important to care for yourself first so you can model good behavior and practice.

As the race finished, we were greeting to the sounds of cheering and the race DJ even announced my name on the speaker as I finished which was pretty cool. I was wearing a GoPro camera to be able to make a video and also capturing it on my iPhone in case the video didn't come out and wouldn't you know it - the DJ saw this and even joked about it. We laughed!

After the race, we went to visit the many sponsors. Some of the highlights were some fresh fruits from Wegmans, Jerky from KRAVEJerky (who even gave you a sample pack if you tweeted a hashtag for them) and TreeTop adventures which is a local obstacle course located in Canton. We hope to be able to try that soon! There were some physical therapy places, norwood hospital and a bank along with Reebok. The coolest part of the event was that you could shop in the Reebok Corporate Store after the race and you would get 50% off the listed price. You can't normally get in there unless you work for the company, so that was pretty cool.

Overall, we had an amazing time and hope to come back next year and get a better time!

I made a quick video of the run... Hope you enjoy it!

Here are some pictures from the day:

NOTE: We were provided with complimentary bibs to run the 5k and gave one additional bib away through a giveaway Congrats to the winner, Ally. No other compensation was provided. We had an amazing time and as always, all opinions are our own.

Finish at the 50 and save $5 before 6/3.

I'm going to be participating in the Finish at the 50 again this year and am really looking forward to it! This annual 5 and 10k race and kids fun run is held at Gillette Stadium at Patriot Place in Foxboro, MA on July 3rd in the afternoon/evening with fireworks to follow. The keystone of the race is that you get to finish at the 50 yard line of Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution.

If you're interested in running, the great folks at Patriot Place have given us a code PARENTALRUNNER that you can use for $5 off an adult entry to either the 5k or 10k race. Act quick because this code expires on Friday 6/3.

NOTE: I was provided with a comp bib for the race in exchange for the pre-publicity as well as a post-race followup post. All opinions are my own.

Foxboro 5k recap

On October 4, Emily and I participated in the Foxboro 5k which benefitted the Hockomock YMCA in Foxboro. This was a great run that was preceded by a kids Fun Run in the morning. Preregistration was a breeze as it was all handled online. We got a really nice tech-dry-fit shirt that was included with registration (the kids got a kids t-shirt). We received email notifications telling us the details and the folks at the Y were great to deal with! They had an inspiration station where you could decorate signs to hold up as your friends were running by.

The kids race was at 9 am and Lily had a great time. The 1 mile course was around the grounds of the Y and in the parking lot so we didn’t need to be concerned that the kids were running in the street. Additionally, Foxboro Police were stationed at the main crossroads at Mechanic Street and had closed off traffic so we didn’t need to worry about any cars zipping by.

The adult 5k started at 10 am and Emily and I actually ran for the entire first mile of the 5k. This was a personal record for us. Then we kept walking/running for the rest of the it and there were really nice volunteers at Y staff that directed us at each turn. This was SUPER helpful because for all of the other 5k’s that we have done this year, while there have been people directing runners, there have certainly been times when we have been wondering whether or not we were going in the right direction. With the Foxboro 5k these guys had thought of everything and we knew that we were going the right way. Also at each mile, they had someone with a stop watch who was telling us exactly what our time was. I thought that was also super helpful and encouraging!

When we finished we got Finishers Medals which was nice so that we could add them to our collection! The kids also got a finisher medal which Lily really enjoyed…

After the race, there were some snacks that we got and the nice people at Peapod/Stop and Shop had tons of water to give out so we stocked up! We also got a massage from the great people at Tiger Lilly spa in Foxboro. There were some bouncy houses for the kids and huge bubbles so they could play around with them. I also got some stretching technique hints from the people at Baystate Physical Therapy which was cool because I didn’t know the proper way to stretch before/after a run. They also gave some t-shirts and towels as cool swag.

Overall, the race was a huge success and we look forward to running next year!

NOTE: We were provided bibs to run the 5k and kids fun run. There was no promise made of a positive review. All opinions are our own.

Free Car Seat Check and Healthy Kids Day this weekend!

There is a great event happening this weekend at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The Hockomock YMCA along with Patriot Place is hosting a Healthy Kids Day from 10 am - 2 pm on Saturday May 3. We went last year and there was lots to see and participate in. Everything from bouncy houses to fun activities and games were to be hand. One of the key things that we liked the most was a free Car Seat Check sponsored by Safety1st and Dorel Juvenile Group. 

The great people at Dorel (also based in Foxborough) were on hand along with local police officers and firemen from surrounding towns who inspected any car seats to ensure they met proper installation standards as well as were properly secured. They made sure that we were well educated in how to install and remove a car seat as well as how to place our child in it properly and ensure that the restraint system was properly configured.

I cannot stress enough how much this part of the event helped me to feel better and calmer about how our child was riding in the car properly.