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Running. Kids. Earth Day 5K and Kid’s Fun Run for Clean Air

They may be smart, but most don’t understand the heart of nature.
They only invent things that, in the end, make people unhappy.

Yet they’re so proud of their inventions.
What’s worse, most people are, too.
They view them as if they were miracles. They worship them.

They don’t know it, but they’re losing nature.
They don’t see that they’re going to perish.

The most important things for human beings are clean air and clean water.

-Akira Kurosawa, Yume

I love to get my run run on, most days.

I like it quite a bit better when my kids are with me, or when buoyed by the enthusiasm of a group run. We’ve done a couple of 5ks in Philly (the Color Run and Merrill Down & Dirty Mud Run), and it’s a great city for a race!

In a few weeks an event is taking place in Philly that I’m sad to miss, as it combines fun running as a community with support for clean air.

Fellow Philly blogger Sarah Mazzone is here to tell you all about it.

Celebrate Earth Day with the Family at the Kid’s Fun Run

Earth Day is the prefect time to teach our children about the importance of protecting our environment. As parents, our children serve as a great motivator to join the fight to ensure a clean air and healthy environment for generations to come. Taking our kids out to enjoy nature in a fun environment inspires awareness and action for protecting our natural resources. This Earth Day, consider participating in the 5K Run for Clean Air as a family and joining others in our community coming together to celebrate environmental health, clean air and sustainability.

The 5K Run for Clean Air, now in its 32nd year, is the largest Earth Day Festival in Philadelphia. Moms Clean Air Force, a non-profit over 120,000 concerned parents strong, is sponsoring a Kid’s Fun Run at the 5K on April 20th. This new event will include a 250 yard dash for kids under 5 and a half-mile fun run for ages 6-12. The event will take place on the steps of the Art Museum with a course following Martin Luther King Drive. Family entertainment will include eco-friendly activities like rain stick making and Frisbee spin art and programming and giveaways from Radio Disney’s Green Team.

Moms Clean Air Force is a nation-wide non profit organization committed to protecting our children’s health from toxic air pollution. The Southeastern PA chapter is actively working for strong mercury and carbon standards to protect our most vulnerable citizens, including children with asthma, pregnant women and babies. We are active in the community raising awareness and support, while also connecting with our elected representatives to remind them to keep children’s health a top priority in legislative decision making. If you are interested in getting involved with Moms Clean Air Force, be sure to sign-up for action alerts and for updates on local events.

I hope to see you and your family at the 5k Run and Kid’s Fun Run on Saturday, April 20th, 2013! On-line pre-registration is open until April 15th and you can save 15% off the registration fee by using the promotion code IRUN4KIDS.

Event Details:

5K Run for Clean Air, 3K Walk, and Kids’ Fun Run
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Register at www.5krunforcleanair.org
Race Day Registration Opens – 7:30 a.m.
Festivities Begin – 8:00 a.m.
Run and Walk Kick off – 9:00 a.m.
Kids’ Fun Run 9:45 – a.m.
Earth Day Celebration and Awards – 10:00 a.m.

Sarah Mazzone is the community field organizer for the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of Moms Clean Air Force. Moms Clean Air Force is a national non-profit committed to fighting for clean air to protect our children’s health. To get involved or stay updated on other local events, please sign-up to join the force today!

April 2, 2013
Two Walks in the Woods

Into the woods, each time you go,
There’s more to learn of what you know.

-Stephen Sondheim, Into the Woods

We live on the border of a nature preserve— we have trails starting right off our property that connect with state park bike trails and foot paths that sprawl all over Delaware and Pennsylvania.

We’re extremely lucky, but we really haven’t ever taken full advantage of these resources that are literally right in our backyard. So, the first weekend of March we ponied up for a Delaware parks license (good for all the DE state parks) and hit the trail.

Indulging in my favorite— tossing pebbles in the creek.

This was Karma’s first walk in the woods and I’m pretty sure she loved it. Everyone we passed was taken by the sight of a Saint Bernard trotting along the trail.

There’s all sorts of cool things to see in White Clay Creek State Park; here we were looking at the remains of an old bridge. Jimmy seemed upset that he couldn’t see what we were looking at (Karma, of course, is just as tall as the kids when she’s up on her hind legs), so Jake gave him a lift.

I love stuff like this— flowers growing from cracks in sidewalk, birds nesting in the crooks and crannies of building facades— visions of nature reclaiming its territory.

The next weekend we hiked out to the Arc Corner Monument, where Delaware meets Pennsylvania at the end of the curve; an area called the Wedge. (Picture shows either side of the monument. I didn’t take a photo of the top as it was covered with bird poop.) It is, I think, one of the boundaries of the Mason-Dixon line.

This video goes into how the Mason-Dixon wasn’t a line so much as 3 line segments or a curve, and attempts to illustrate where the Mason-Dixon hits in this area. I say attempts because I watched it twice and I’m still not sure I’ve completely got it.

Interesting fact from the video that I didn’t know even though I grew up in Delaware: since DE never seceded from the Union and was considered a “Northern” state, the slaves held there weren’t freed when Lincoln emancipated the South. When I read a bit more about it, I found that DE seemed progressive on the slavery issue— it was early to ban slave imports and slaves sold out-of-state were automatically freed— but that was more to keep in-state slave trade profitable. Delaware had the largest (proportionally speaking) free black population of any state, but also had really horrid attitudes and codes of conduct towards them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, not something they really emphasized in history class.

Anywho, our next hike will be to the Tri-Corner, where Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland all meet. When I explain where I live, I like to say “within hiking distance of the DE-PA-MD tricorner;” even locally, this is a geographically confusing idea to a lot of people. Anyway, you can probably throw a rock or a carefully-banked paper airplane into DE from our backyard.

Fun with maps!

Unlike the week before, which was pretty windy and bitter, this second hike was warm and filled with sunshine; I stripped down to my tank top and was still sweaty. It’s funny how 50 degrees in March can feel like heaven, but 65 during the summer means long sleeves and sweatpants.

Nature-made clubhouse?

Rock formations = nature’s junge gyms

“I bet there’s good eatin’ on that fresh grass,” Jeff said. “Yeah?!” I replied, thinking of ramps and garlic scapes and a possible delicious, albeit illegal, bounty.

“For, like, deer,” he finished. Oh. Right.

The first greens of spring are amazing, they don’t even seem real. So bright and electric and full of vibrant life.

We set out into the woods for a bit of exercise, a bit of history. But for me the best part was seeing the signs of spring, keeping me going through those last few wet, cold and dreary days of winter.

“Into the woods, each time you go
There’s more to learn of what you know.”

It’s true. It doesn’t matter how many times you go into the wood, you always take something new away.

Even if it’s just a renewed hope that you can get through this— whatever “this” means to you right now.

It’s the first day of spring, one of the most joyous days of the year for me.

I can’t wait to get outside.

March 20, 2013
Puppy Photobomb and Fitness Perception
For me, the camera is a sketch book,
an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.

― Henri Cartier-Bresson

I was planning to run the ShamRock & Roll 5k in Newark yesterday, but it didn’t happen. Jeff apparently nudged me awake at 8:30 but I don’t remember that at all; he tried again at 9:20. I cursed a blue streak, got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, started to shove some toast down, and then faced facts: there was no way on earth I was going to get to Main Street (a 20min drive if zero traffic), find parking (presumably the entire surrounding area would be blocked off), register, and be at the start line in time.

I was bummed. I knew it wouldn’t be my best effort ever, since I’ve only recently started running again regularly and I was still feeling my Thursday kickboxing class/3mile treadmill double workout, but I wanted that objective time as a baseline. So instead, Jeff came with me for a leisurely 5mile walk/run.

I realize this all speaks more closely to my poor sleep habits than anything else, but that’s a post for another day.

Anyway, I didn’t want my shamrock ProCompression socks to miss their moment in the sunshine, so I wore them with a sweater dress and boots while out with Jake shopping for pants (the mall with a teenager? NOT my favorite pastime). I got a bunch of compliments on them, and they made my legs feel way better. Compression socks and furry boots are where it’s at.

By the by, Pro Compression Marathon socks & sleeves are 40% off with free shipping with code MARCH. AND when you buy you’re entered into their current sweepstakes. Prizes: Marathon Socks (2 pair), Marathon Calf Sleeves (2 pair), iPod Nano (1 item), iPad Mini (1 item, 16G Wi-Fi model). Looks like it runs until midnight 3/20, so hop on that! I think I’m going to buy a pair of sleeves so my feet can breathe once warmer weather comes, but I’m still on the fence about what color. I think I’ve narrowed it down to black or purple. But then the pink argyle socks keep calling my name…

I asked Cass to take a photo and Karma totally photobombed me, sneaking a kiss in for attention. What a diva.

Other stuff from this weekend:
- The pump blew on our HE washer, but Jeff fixed it. PSA: if your HE washer is making new and interesting sounds, it’s probably about to break and will require a part costing $87 or so. Seems like a good deal if it’s the first time and you paid a pretty penny for your washer… gets a little more murky if the washer keeps dying on you and you paid a fraction of retail at the scratch-and-dent store.
- Jake and I tried Goodwill & Salvation Army before the mall. They had nothing good by either of our standards. Are people donating less or was it picked over? Has the Thrift Shop song caused a surge in secondhand shopping?
- I freaking love the Thrift Shop song. As I noted on FB, I really feel no song lyric really SPEAKS to me like “I wear your grandad’s clothes. I look incredible.”
- If you watch Doctor Who: we watched the episode about “the flesh” tonight and it’s killing me to walk away, but I try to limit watching to the weekends. Otherwise I would have gone through every episode available on Netflix in a week.
- While Jeff and I were at the park, he went back to the car during my last lap. I was asked by a group of people playing flag football if I wanted to join their game (this was after I overheard a hissed “here she comes!”)— they were short a person and there was only one girl playing, so it would be even. I declined- I was already on my way back to the car- but it was like grade school all over again. I wasn’t sure if they were serious or making fun of me, and it didn’t really matter anyway, since I couldn’t stay and hang out. I know I’m not a hardcore runner and I’m not fast by any means, but it was the first time in a while that I was really shaken by the idea that my level of athleticism is probably laughable to other people. Along with my hot pink compression socks and brand-spanking new kicks. (And then I shook it off because, well, what difference does it make? No point in dwelling on it.)
- Today is a palindrome. 3.17.13. So is tomorrow, and Tuesday. If you’re going to do something awesome, now is a good time.
- Wednesday is the first day of spring. Tomorrow, we get snow and icy rain and a predicted messy PM commute. Somewhere, a groundhog is laughing.
Ever become aware of strangers watching you run?

Shopped secondhand lately? Have you noticed the quality of the selection going down the tubes?
March 17, 2013