Why We Started Team G Shock

A lot of really great things have come out of Team G Shock. We've raised a TON of money (thank you thank you thank you), we've gotten in much better shape, and Nate & I have gotten a lot closer (that will happen when you're running up a hill together on Mile 4 of a race..trust me). But, the whole reason we started this team was for my Dad. He is my hero and one of the greatest men you will ever meet. And when something bad happened to him, we had to do SOMETHING.

This Saturday (May 1st) will mark exactly 1 year since my Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He's been through a lot and has come out of it all stronger, if that's even possible. And while he's not done with this journey quite yet, its not as scary as it was when we first heard the news. So, on Saturday, while Nate runs (and I either cheer, walk, or hobble along-side of him), that will be the only thing on our mind. There is a reason we've done all that we've done. And a reason we're going to keep doing it. For my Dad. And your Dad. And all of the other dads, step-dads, grandpas, uncles, brothers, cousins and other men out there.

sidenote: While I am sitting here writing this, my favorite song of all time ("Soulshine") is on. It helped me a lot when I first found out about my Dad. Do yourself a favor and take a listen if you can.

Another Race on the Calendar!

Well, we've signed up for another race! We will be running the Memorial Day Dash 5k here in Nashville on (who knew?) Memorial Day! This will be race #14 - yikes!

In other news..we've had a bit of an "incident" as my Mom & Dad would call it. While playing softball with Nate's company's team, I pulled a muscle in my leg. No good. It feels better today than it did last night (whew) but still pretty sore & tender. So I'm spending the rest of my week working on that and seeing how it goes for our race on Saturday (the Girls On The Run 5k). I'm hoping to still be able to do it, but also don't want to overdo it since we have so many other races coming up! So keep your fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

Until next time...

Races on the Horizon!

Although the excitement of getting engaged has taken up a lot of our time and thoughts, we are still working to reach our goals for Team G Shock. With the weather getting warmer, more and more races are popping up and we've started to try to plan out our race calendar for the upcoming Spring & Summer seasons.

So far we've only signed up for one, but we're excited to get back to it and see how much we can improve. Team G Shock's next race (#13, can you believe it?!) will be the Girls On The Run 5k. The race will be run in Shelby Bottoms park where we've run two other races so that will be nice. And the money goes to help Girls On The Run, which is a great organization that helps young girls lead healthy and happy lives.

Hopefully in the next few weeks we'll be signing up for a few other races, so keep an eye out for that! And as always...GOOOOO G SHOCK!

Event #12 - Richland Creek Run/Walk...and NEWS!!

This race was our first race over a 5k and we are so proud to say that WE DID IT! The Richland Creek Run/Walk was this past Saturday and covered a 5-mile course! It rained during the night before and for a good portion of the morning, but held off mostly during the race which was nice.

The run started in the Sylvan Park neighborhood and then ran onto the greenway. Once you got to about the 2 1/2 mile point there was a turn around and then back up the greenway and through the neighborhood. The course was filled with tons of hills, but luckily we run on the greenway a lot so we were pretty familiar with them. The course even ended on a hill, but like I said before WE DID IT! This was the farthest we have run yet and a nice preview of things to come since we signed up for the Army Ten Miler in October.

Here are our results from our FIRST 5-miler:

194th place - Nate Towne - 52:45

195th place - Sara Ross - 52:45

We are so excited with our results and had such a good time running the race. We took a few pictures of the race too, so enjoy!

us before the race!

After! We did it!

Oh..and I know that I said there was news as well as results. As of Friday night (before the race), Nate & I are ENGAGED!! He popped the question and I was completely surprised. Needless to say we had a LOT to celebrate this weekend! Here are a few pictures of that as well...

see...we're engaged!!

YAY G SHOCK! :)

Today is the day...

...that registration opened for the 2010 Army Ten Miler. This October will mark the 26th running of the race and I am very excited to say that myself, Nate, and my Dad are all officially registered!!! Dad has run this race for years and I was lucky enough to join him for 2 of those years (although I wasn't as prepared as I KNOW we will be this year). We are so excited to be a part of this historic race. I've been trying to tell Nate about how amazing an experience it is since this will be his first time running it but he will just have to see for himself. There are 30,000 runners, many of whom are soldiers or family members of soldiers. The course takes you through D.C., by many of the monuments, and it is a really cool way to see the city. So now the training for that begins, while we keep running other races for Team G Shock.

And speaking of other races, Team G Shock race #12 is this Saturday! We'll be running the Richland Creek Run/Walk (a 5-mile race) which is the longest race we've run yet! We've been training hard, and can't wait to see how it pays off. So send good thoughts our way if you're up early on Saturday and I'll post race photos & results next week! :)

Oh, and one other note..we've continued to receive donations to Team G Shock since My Birthday Wish wrapped up and the support continues to amaze us! Here's to many more successful races in 2010 and to raising more money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation! GOOOOO G SHOCK!!