Happy New Year & a New Race!

Happy Holidays from Team G Shock! We have just returned from a great trip home to VA for Christmas, followed by another great trip to Orlando with lots of family! We had a great time with family friends but are excited to be back in Nashville with our pup!

We are having a pretty low-key New Years Eve tonight with a couple of friends (Mickey and Minnie wore us OUT!), but plan on starting 2014 out right! We will be running in the Commitment Day 5k here in Nashville with a few friends! The race will benefit the Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, whch is an incredible place. It will be a fun, no pressure (no official timing!) race! We're excited to start the year out with a 5k and excited to see what other races come our way in 2014!

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Event #44 - Breathe Deep Stache & Lash 5k

A few weeks ago we ran the Breathe Deep Stache & Lash 5k as part of Team MLG. We were so excited to be able to support our friend Ryan and a cause that is so close to his heart. We even adjusted our Team G Shock shirts the night before to make sure everyone knew who we were running with and for!

It was a chilly morning, but the race was at Shelby Park, which is one of our favorite courses to run. They set the course up in the opposite direction that we normally run which was a nice change. We ran for Ryan's team, Team MLG, and our friend Jonathan ran with us as well. Ryan was one of the organizers of the race, so it was nice to hear him share some of his story before the start. The name of the race included 'Stache' and 'Lash' and lots of people were sporting fake mustaches and giant eye lashes during the race. Nate and Jonathan took it a step further and shaved their beards into real 'staches the night before the race. :) 

Johnny and Nate before

Nate and I were excited to run again so soon after the Army Ten Miler. We were hoping that our training for that race would pay off for this one, and it turns out it did! We both set PR's, which at least I haven't done in looooong time. Nate almost took a minute off of his, and I took a little over a minute off mine! And, something else happened that has NEVER happened (for me)... I got 3rd place overall for females! It's such a rare occurrence that we didn't even stay for the awards! :) Luckily Ryan was able to get my prize for me! 

Here are our official Team MLG results:

13th place - Nate Towne - 25:09

16th place - Sara Towne - 26:38 (3rd place overall females!)

26th place - Ryan Gardenhire - 28:15

27th place - Jonathan Insogna - 28:32

And as always, here are some photos! 

Nate, his 'Stache and I before

...almost time...

Here come Johnny & Ryan! 

Team MLG with our 'staches after the race

Proud to be on Team MLG!

Nate & I after

Happy 'staches

Serious 'staches

We were really excited to be able to support Ryan, and his cause, and are looking forward to our next Team G Shock race (coming soon!). 

Team MLG for a Day!

Tomorrow, Nate & I will be joining our friends Ryan and Jonathan as part of Team MLG at the Breathe Deep Stache & Lash 5k at one of our favorite courses. Ryan is running the race to honor his mother, who he lost to lung cancer over 3 years ago after a long and hard fought battle. Read more about his story and how you can help here.

We're excited to support our friend and this great cause, especially with all of the support we have received over the years for Team G Shock! Check back next week for updates on how the race went!

Ryan's mother, and Team MLG's motivation.

Event #43 - Army Ten Miler

I can't believe that it has almost been 2 weeks since Dad, Nate and I ran the 29th Army Ten Miler. It was an amazing day and a great race for all of us. This was a special race for Dad as it was the 20th time he has run it. We were so excited to be able to run it with him and the rest of the 35,000 runners.

The Army Ten Miler has always been one of my favorite races for so many reasons. For one, I have always run it with my Dad, which is awesome. Then, you get to run through the streets of DC getting cheered on all along the way by thousands of spectators. And the best part is that everyone running has some connection to the Army, which has held such a special place in my heart. Every single runner is either a soldier, a veteran, a wounded warrior, a family member of a soldier or a supporter of the military. 

Nate & I at the airport in Baltimore. Excited for Race Weekend!

The weekend started with a trip into DC for the race expo to pick up our bib numbers. The expo was busy with runners and we all got our bibs and shirts before checking out some of the booths.

Nate & I at the expo

The Fisher House mascot - Team G Shock LOVES mascots! 

On Sunday, we woke up bright and early to get to the race and parked in what has become our usual spot. There happens to be a fairly large staircase that takes you down towards the Pentagon, which is fine on the way to the race but not the best thing after a 10 mile run. :) 

Downtown DC

Team G Shock's numbers..ready for race day!

We got to the starting area in plenty of time, which was nice even though it was a chilly morning. It was set up differently than the last time we ran the race, with everyone in separate corrals in different areas, but the race was well organized and the start moved along quickly. 

Once we started we all stayed together for the first few miles which was nice, and then Nate and I went out a little bit ahead of Dad. We saw some friends along the course which was fun (they even recognized our Team G Shock shirts!), and the spectators were awesome. There were some really funny signs (my favorites were "worst parade ever" and "you run better than the government") and lots of runners cheering each other on too. A runner even ran by me and asked "so, what race is this?" thanks to our "40 races and counting.." on the back of our new shirts. 

All of the training we did definitely paid off and we all cut some time off of the last time we ran the race 3 years ago. Here are our official results:

18,081st place - Sara Towne - 1:46:24

18,087th place - Nate Towne - 1:46:24

23,813rd place - Joe Ross - 2:07:10

Eaaaaaaarly morning before the race! 

After the race (and the giant staircase!). 

The race capped off a great weekend at home with friends and family, and was another amazing experience for Team G Shock! We're looking forward to more long race experiences, and even some upcoming short ones (more on that, tomorrow!). Keeping checking back for more updates! 

Annnnd We're Off!

It is officially Army Ten Miler weekend and we are so excited for the race and everything that goes along with it! We will head to the expo tomorrow, and then the big race is on Sunday and we can't wait. I'll try to update throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back here.

Also, be sure to check out our honor roll page! I've added some new donors and we're getting so close to our $10,000 goal!

GOOOOOOOO G SHOCK!! 

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1 Week To Race Day!

We are officially 1 week out from race day, and I can't believe how quickly it has come up! We officially started training in August, and are feeling really good about all of the work we have put in! We have a few more runs to get in this week (short, finally!), and we're looking forward to seeing it all pay off next Sunday on the course. The race officials have assured everyone that the race will go on, whether or not the government is back up and running. Whew!

We'll try to keep up with updates from the weekend, and would appreciate any good vibes (and wishes for good weather) sent our way.

And as always, if you're able to donate, we appreciate it more than you know!

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New Race on the Calendar!

In all the training and preparing for the Army Ten Miler, we have also been on the lookout for other races to run once that race is over! Our good friend, Ryan, is running a race in November here in Nashville called the Breathe Deep Stache & Lash 5k. The race raises money to fund lung cancer studies and provide new and improved treatments and means of detection. Ryan has been personally affected by lung cancer and you can read more about his story and motivation here.

We have been so humbled by the support that our friends and family have given us and Team G Shock over the years, and we are so excited to be able to share that with a friend of ours! Nate & I will be running the race with Ryan on November 2nd, and if you have a chance to check out why Ryan is racing, and can help in any way, please do.

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T-Minus 3 Weeks!

The Army Ten Miler is officially 3 weeks away and we are well into our training! Most of my family was in Nashville last weekend for a visit, and we got to sneak in a run with Dad (8 miles to be exact, so it wasn't exactly sneaky), which was a nice preview of what is to come on race day.

And this morning, to continue with our training, Nate and I ran 9 miles!! Only 1 mile to go until we are fully ready for the race, and we're feeling really good. It's been nice, and convenient, to be able to train right in our neighborhood and nearby - we literally start and finish in our own driveway.

We also got our bib numbers for the race recently, which is exciting. Apparently the good people at the ATM have a lot of faith in Nate & I since our numbers are much lower than they have been before. But we're excited to pick them up, put them on, and run through the streets of DC with Dad wearing them proudly.

As we get closer and closer to the big race, we're also closer and closer to our goal of $10,000 for the PCF! Any donations help, so if you are able to, we appreciate it!

GOOOO G SHOCK! 10 miles here we come!

ATM Update!

We are officially 7 weeks away from the Army Ten Miler! We had another long run today, and are now past the halfway point. We ran 6 miles this morning, and felt pretty good! The next few weeks will get us up to 10 miles, and a little past that before we start tapering off before the race. We're excited about how our training has been going so far, and are really looking forward to the race.

Until the race, we may run another race, but as of now we don't have one planned before the Army Ten Miler. That will make the race our 43rd race since we started Team G Shock! And in that time, we have raised almost $8500 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. And that leaves us only a bit over $1500 to go until we reach our goal of $10,000! We have only gotten this far because of the support of our friends and family (and some of our friends families), and we are so appreciative of that!

7 weeks to go..10 miles to run! GOOOO G Shock!

Here We Are!

Whew! That last race update took FOR-EV-ER to get up! Between the new house, getting settled in at my new job, and just all around being busy, it fell to the wayside. But, Team G Shock did not! In the beginning of August, we officially started training for the Army Ten Miler. We're excited for the race, and want to make sure we are ready!

We running 3-4 times per week, and building up our long runs on Sundays. Its been a lot, but we're feeling good, and excited to keep adding more miles to the bank! We just ran our long run for this week, and we're up to 5 miles - halfway there!

In the meantime we're looking for some races in our new neighborhood, so we'll see what we can find!

Thanks for sticking around!

Event #42 - Bethany Beach Firecracker 5k

Wow, it has been FAR too long since we posted. And this is a very overdue race recap from our 42nd race! We ran the Bethany Beach Firecracker 5k at the end of June (again, this is very overdue!). We were up at the beach for a whole week over the 4th of July with my family, and were excited to get to run with my Dad and my brother, Drew! It was also nice to have some cheerleaders (and photographers) along with us!

This is the 3rd time we've run this race, and it gets better every year! Here are our results:

151st place - Nate Towne - 27:20
208th place - Sara Towne - 29:47
275th place - Joe Ross - 32:51
367th place - Drew Ross - 36:40

We had a great week at the beach with my family, and the race was an added bonus! Here are some pictures we got along the way...

Nate & me pre-race

Dad, me, Nate & Drew before the race!

Nate & me

Here comes Dad!

Nice, Drew.

Some photo finishes! First up, Nate..

...then me...

...here comes Dad..

..and Drew!

After, we did it!

Our Cheerleaders! That pink shirt 

was so easy to spot in the crowd!

My happy place..Bethany Beach.

Although we've been absent from the blog, we've still been hard at work prepping for some upcoming Team G Shock adventures! Stay tuned for those!

42

We have run a total of 42 races so far for Team G Shock (I promise that update is coming soon), but today is another very special celebration of the number 42. Today is Mom & Dad's 42nd Anniversary! They have been an amazing example of the fun and love that a marriage can bring, and have given me and Nate something to strive for. They still laugh with each other (all the time), they take walks in the morning, and they love spending time together at the beach and everywhere else.

We can only hope to make it to 42 years as happy and in love as you both have! We love you!

2 years ago for us...42 years for them :)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is a very special day, as it is my Dad's birthday! And not just any birthday (hope he doesn't mind me saying this)...but his 65th birthday!

We got to spend all last week with him, and the rest of the family up at the beach, and it was great to be able to do a little early birthday celebrating with him! We even got to run another race with him - updates on that coming soon!

Hope you have the happiest of birthdays, Dad! We love you!

Dad & Mom at Assateague with the ponies! 

Sand, surf & races!

We are headed to spend some much needed vacation time with my family, and will of course sneak in a race while we are there. We're always excited to have family and friends join us for races, and this will be no exception! On Sunday we will run the Bethany Beach Firecracker 5k for the third time. This race has always been special to us, since it was our very first race, so we're excited to give it another go.

In other news...last week, I had a sad morning when my blue prostate cancer bracelet broke. I have worn that bracelet every day since we started Team G Shock. It was bound to happen sometime, but I wasn't expecting it. I posted a picture of it online, and within hours, I had an email from my contact at the Prostate Cancer Foundation, to verify my address. Two days later, we got 2 huge bags of wristbands in the mail! Customer Service at its best! Thanks PCF for the support!

Sad time...4 years of runs and life were just too much.

Thanks PCF & Athletes for a Cure!

Event #41 - ZERO Prostate Cancer Run

Better late than never, right? :) It's been a couple of weeks since our 41st race, and I have been meaning to post this recap for over a week.

As mentioned before, this was the first race that we weren't running together. It was a little weird to be out there by myself, but I was glad I did it! Of course I would have loved to have Nate out there with me, but I was glad Team G Shock was represented at the only race in town that supports Prostate Cancer.

It had been really hot the week of the race, but thankfully it cooled down some for the race day. There were a good amount of people out for the race, and the race organizers had a festival set up for everyone to enjoy before and after the race.

This was by no means my fastest race, but it is one of the hilliest courses we've ever run, so I was happy to be able to keep up the same pace throughout the race (even if it was a slow pace). I did manage to place 4th in my age group out of 29 ladies, so I was pretty happy with that!

Here are my results:
63rd place - Sara Towne - 30:16

And since Nate was a spectator that day, we got a few more pictures than normal!

Before

Pretty obvious who we race for :)

Team G Shock

My cheerleader for the day

This was my "I'm tired of posing for pictures, 

lets get this party started" photo :)

And we're off..

...almost done!

After!

The race also had photographers at the race - one of my favorite race photos ever! 

We've got race #42 to get ready for this weekend, so we're excited for that, and to run with my family! See you all out on the course! 

Race Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow will officially be our 41st race, and we can't wait! I will be running the ZERO Prostate Cancer Run, and Nate will be there cheering me on! He had a procedure done for his herniated disc yesterday afternoon, so he's on strict rest for a little bit (but he will be back at it for race #42 at the beach!). I'm a little nervous to run by myself, although if we're being honest, I can barely keep up with Nate so it won't be too different than when we run "together". :)

If you're up bright and early tomorrow morning, send good thoughts my way! I'll need the help getting up those hills! I'll post an update and pictures next week!

Filling Up Our Dance Card

So its been a little while since we ran a race, and after registering for the Army Ten Miler, we knew we wanted to run some races before that. As we mentioned before, we'll be doing the race at the beach at the end of June with my family. In addition, the ZERO Prostate Cancer Challenge is coming up on Father's Day Weekend here in Nashville. We've run this race every year, since it is a cause near and dear to our hearts. It started as the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge, then it was the Dash For Dad, and now its the ZERO Prostate Cancer Challenge. Whatever it is, we're happy to be a part of it (even though 'it' involves lots of hills). 

As some of you may or may not know, Nate has been dealing with some back issues for a while now. He's been gritting his teeth to get through it during our other races (and still setting PR's along the way), but he is taking a little break until the beach race at the end of the month. All that being said, it means this will be the first race that we don't run together. He will be there to cheer me on, and I'll probably need it without him by my side (or more realistically, way up ahead of me, but where I can still see him). I'm excited to go out there and see what I can do compared to last year. So send lots of good thoughts my way next weekend, and maybe we'll see you out there! 

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Another Race!

To prepare for the big race in October, we're going to have to keep on running (duh). So, we've signed up for another race, happening much sooner.

For the 3rd time, we're going to run the Bethany Beach Firecracker 5k while we're at the beach with my family. As usual, my Dad will be running with us, and I think we've even talked Drew into doing it again! This was the first race we ever ran for Team G Shock, and its a favorite. Its flat, my family is there (some running with us), and we get to go to the beach after we run. What's not to like???

We're looking forward to running the course again, and for the sand & sun we get to enjoy after!

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We're Baaaaack..and in a BIG way!

I know its been a long while since we posted on here, and even longer since we ran in a race. We put a lot of effort into our 40th race, and about 2 weeks after that we closed on our new home. Since then we've been moving, and moving more stuff, and then unpacking all of that stuff. Oh, and in the middle of all of that, I thought it would be smart to start a new job. In fact, it was smart (b/c I love it!), but some things, including this blog, have taken a back seat.

But, we are officially back, and with a big announcement! For a while now, Nate & I have talked about running a big race. We ran the Army Ten Miler way back in 2010 for our 20th race, and while it had its challenges, we really enjoyed the experience. We ran that race with my Dad, and he has run the Army Ten Miler a number of times over the years. In fact, this year will be his 20th time taking to the course. To celebrate that accomplishment with him, Nate & I have officially signed up! And its a good thing we did! The registration opened late last night, and all 35,000 entries were SOLD OUT by this morning.

So come October, we will be back in DC for another turn at the Army Ten Miler. We're so excited to join my Dad for this race, and are really looking forward to it. We will be running a few races between now & then, so keep an eye out for those!

After the race in 2010! HOOAH!