The Insane Inflatable 5K

This weekend Kayla and I joined Lucas and Joe in participating in a 5K run ... ok it was mostly a walk! We (Kayla and I) are not runners, haha!

This was my kind of 5K though since running wasn't the main part of it; having fun was. The vast majority of people seemed to be walking this 5K. Along the route were several large inflatables and that is where the fun came in: The Insane Inflatable 5K

One of Lucas' teachers was there and caught the start of the 5K - no one realized Kayla was going to get up the inflatable as fast as she did - she was in beast mode!

Even when we were walking Kayla lagged behind as her pace is not as fast; Lucas was encouraging her to walk faster with little spurts of runs.

We had fun and I'm sure we'll be doing this again next year!

Speaking of running ... Lucas ran in his third Cooper River Bridge Run 10K earlier this month. His goal was to beat his time from last year and finish under 48 minutes and he did it! He finished in 47:05! He also represented LuMind IDSC raising money for Down syndrome research. Donations are still accepted!

He "Got Over It"

Earlier this year Lucas told Joe that he wanted to run in the Cooper River Bridge Run - a 10K race that Joe ran a few years ago. So Joe registered them both and they trained when they were able.

A tag line of this run is "Get Over It" - ie getting over this bridge.

The only other race Lucas has participated in was a couple years ago when a friend organized a 3.21 Run/Walk for World Down Syndrome Day. I was surprised that day when he ran the whole thing as we anticipated he would run for a small part of it and then walk the rest of the way - but he hung with the race organizer and ran the whole distance.

I wasn't sure how his first 10K was going to go, but he was determined to do this race.

I needn't have worried.

Lucas conquered his first 10K. He finished 3rd in his age group of 82. Out of 32,623 participants, he finished 2980 overall. His time was 52:34 with a pace of 8:27/a mile.

He also finished 1:05 ahead of his dad. Bragging rights, right there!

Right after the race Lucas said he wanted to do it again next year.

He's following in Joe's running footsteps, not just by running races, but also running and fundraising as a representative for LuMind Down Syndrome Research. He raised almost $700 for LuMind. So proud of this kid!

Finding his and Joe's names at the expo

Ready to run

Finished!

Red and tired faces

The 3rd place finish medal he received

His exciting day didn't end with the race. That afternoon he scored a goal in his soccer game; which his team won and finished their season undefeated.

His day ended at the playground ... where he found $5.

A great day indeed!

Not Special Needs and His First 10K

Today is World Down Syndrome Day - March 21st because people with Down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome.

The past few years the CoorDown organization from Italy has produced some great PSAs for WDSD, and the one for this year doesn't disappoint.

It's about describing people with disabilities as having "special needs" - and although I have, and do, use that description, I haven't always felt comfortable with it. There's a nagging feeling in the back of my head when I say "special needs" ... which I blogged about 5 years ago in "That Word Special."

I was glad to see CoorDown put a video out that mirrors my thoughts: Not Special Needs, Human Needs. Kayla doesn't have special needs - she has human needs.



And another note on World Down Syndrome Day - as in years past, all donations made today to LuMind RDS will be matched 3:1. How great is that? A $25 donation will be matched with $75 turning that donation into $100.

In more news - Lucas is following in Joe's running shoes. He's running his first 10K in the Cooper River Bridge Run on April 1st. And just like Joe, Lucas is representing LuMind and raising money for Down syndrome research. If you're able to support him in reaching his goal he would really appreciate it! Any donation made today through his Crowdrise page will also be matched 3:1 as the donation goes to LuMind. Thanks for any support!

Retirement Tour Marathons

It's official.

My husband, Joe, is retiring from the Air Force after 22 years. How I feel about that is a post for another day.

This post is about his 'retirement tour' - the races he'll be running in by the end of this year.

He registered to run in his third Air Force Marathon and I half-jokingly said to him that he should do a 'retirement tour' and make it military-related since he's retiring from the military.

So he took up the challenge.

He'll also be running in the Marine Corps Marathon and the Army Ten Miler.

For each race he will also be running for Research Down Syndrome - as he's done in the past. RDS Mission is to "...fund and support scientific research directed towards the development of safe and effective drug therapies that will improve memory, learning, and communication in persons with Down syndrome and address the increased likelihood for Alzheimer's disease."

Any donations to Joe's fundraising page is much appreciated.

Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise
 

Article on Race For Research

The Summerville Journal Scene did a nice article on our family's participation in LuMind Foundation's Race For Research. The kids are getting excited for this fun fundraiser!

Family Enters Road Rally To Raise Funds

And our team page.


 

Late to the Race, But Still Contending!

Our summer just got a little more interesting!

We are now participating in The LuMind Foundation's (previously known as Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation) inaugural Race for Research - Accelerating Down Syndrome Cognition Research.

What exactly is the Race for Research? It is a 3 day road rally raising funds for Down syndrome research. Teams of 2 (a driver: Joe; and a navigator: moi) will be on a scavenger hunt starting at the Richard Petty Museum and finishing at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

Wondering what the NASCAR connection is? David Ragan, a 3rd generation NASCAR driver, has a brother who has Down syndrome. David and his wife are the honorary co-chairs for this event.

(Side note - We will be getting our fill of NASCAR themed events this summer as Victory Junction was built in honor of Richard Petty's grandson Adam. We just spent a family weekend at VJ and my kids will each spend some time there this summer.)

Kayla and Lucas, but Kayla in particular, enjoy staying at hotels (Kayla is frequently heard saying, "I want to go back to the hotel! I want to go to hotel pool!" so I think they are both going to enjoy this whirlwind trip through NASCAR history and meeting some drivers.

I was aware of the Race For Research a few months ago, but finally just registered us as a team. We debated whether or not to participate because of the other busy things we have going on this summer (which includes driving to and from VJ which is in Randleman, NC two times (4 hrs each way!), and driving to IN for the NDSC Convention). But this scavenger hunt will have 'pit stops' along the way engaging the local communities and raising awareness; and it's in the state next to us, so we finally figured - why not? Let's go for it!

So we are late to the (fundraising) race, but still participating and looking forward to a fun time! If you would like to contribute to Team Blueberry Eyes it is much appreciated!

Research Down Syndrome Runners in the Making

Last Friday, for World Down Syndrome Day, we participated in a virtual run/walk event sponsored by Research Down Syndrome Runners. The virtual run/walk happened anywhere and you could make your own variation of 3-2-1. The mom who organized our event set it up as a 3.21 mile run/walk.

Lucas heard me talking about the event we were doing and that you could run for 3 min and 21 sec, you could walk around your block 3.21 times, you could run 3.21 miles etc. He said he wanted to run for 3 min and 21 sec.

So Joe and Lucas started out running with the other runners. Joe set his stop watch. When 3 minutes and 21 seconds were up he told Lucas they could stop running and finish it out by walking. He said Lucas just looked up at him with a big smile on his face ... and kept running. And kept running. Joe was wearing jeans, so he stopped running. Lucas hung in there with the race organizer and ran the whole 3.21 miles in about 30 minutes.

We had no idea that he was going to do that, much less that he could do it. He basically ran a 5K out of the blue. So proud of my little guy!

Later he asked "Is that run only on Down Syndrome Day?"

I told him that particular one was, but there are a lot of runs that happen all the time. He said he wanted to do another run.

I told him he was going to be like his dad running races for Research Down Syndrome. I pointed out the logo on all of our shirts and how people run for RDS to raise money; then the money goes to scientists and researchers who are studying Down syndrome and how to help people with Down syndrome. I asked him if he wanted to run like that - to run for RDS and raise money for them.

He was excited and said "Yes!" I turned to Kayla and said, "Kayla isn't that nice of Lucas? He wants to run for Down syndrome and raise money that will help people with Down syndrome."

Lucas chimed in, "Kayla I'm going to help you. I'm going to run for you!"

I love his heart. And I know there is an organization called I Run 4, where you can sign up and be matched to run for someone - but you can't request who you want to run for and you can't chose your own family member.

Maybe when he's older Lucas can get involved in something like that and run for someone else, but I love that right now ... he wants to run for his sister.

Joe is planning on running the Air Force marathon for the 3rd time and he also won the lottery for a bib number for the Marine Corps Marathon ... maybe one day Lucas will be running marathons with Joe. 

In the meantime I'm signing him up for his first event: The Cooper River Bridge Kids Run.

But it won't be just Lucas; I'm signing Kayla up too. She signed up for the Running Club at school because 2 of her friends go and she wanted to go too. She just went to her first meeting and seemed to enjoy it. They practice running a mile and improving on their time each week. Kayla is active, but she's not quite a runner (she's just like me). She runs, but in spurts. And her running gait isn't very fluid. But this kids run is a mile, not a 5K. I think she can handle running/walking a mile; and I will be there to help encourage her.

Lucas was excited at the prospect of raising money, but he also wanted to know, "But do I have to send them ALL my money?" When I said yes, he sighed, "Ah man." Then I told him it's not actually his money, but money people donate to RDS in his name - for running a race. They support him with a donation and he supports RDS by running. So for their first event they'll both be running for RDS, but Kayla will also be running for herself. Self-advocacy has to start somewhere!


I've set them up with a Crowdrise page if anyone would like to donate a little something to their efforts. Thank you!

Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise