running in the rain

For the most part, I would say I am a fair weather runner.  In the fall I probably would have told you that I wouldn't run outside if it was less than 50 degrees, I wouldn't run outside if it was raining, and I definitely wouldn't run outside if it was snowing.  Well I can happily saw I've conquered my fear of the first two.  I actually now prefer running when it is between 35-55 degrees.  And yesterday I ran a four mile race in the rain.

I was a little hesitant to sign up for the Trolley Run for a few reasons:  1.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel after running the half the previous weekend.  And I tend to be in the camp, if I'm going to spend money on a race, I'm going all out.  Unless there is a good reason for me to slow it down a bit (running with a friend or a group or something).  2.  It was my birthday, and I wasn't sure how I felt about getting up at the crack of dawn to go kill myself for 30 minutes.  When really I could just be lazy and get pampered at home :o).  3.  There was a 40% chance of rain.

Well by Thursday my legs were feeling pretty good, and I thought I could definitely 'race' the four miles.  I might be a little slower since I had pretty much worked to my max the weekend before, but not too bad.  Jill and her husband were running the race, and I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go with her.  And it isn't like I wouldn't want to get a workout in that day anyway, so I might as well get it out of the way first thing.  And Chris assured me it wouldn't be raining, it has never actually rained on a morning I've signed up for a race.  It would be fine.  I finally caved and signed up Saturday afternoon.

So wouldn't you know when I woke up Sunday morning, all I could hear was rain pouring down on our roof.  I checked the radar map, and there was pretty much no chance that it wouldn't be raining while we were running.  I was beyond bitter as I got myself ready.  I had no desire to run in the rain or be wet.  I really just wanted to crawl back into bed.  But I didn't want to be the wuss who backed out, (and since I waited so long to sign up the race cost $40!), so I got myself ready, grabbed a giant trash bag and headed out the door.  In all honesty I was freaking out about the rain a bit.  I was a little worried I'd wipe out, and that I'd be freezing.  It was only 54, which isn't too cold, except with no sun, short sleeves, and the rain...

Since it was raining I didn't take my phone out of the car.  Which meant I had no music, and nothing to take pictures with.  Slightly unfortunate, since I looked awesome  running around in a trash bag, I really wish there was some photographic evidence of it.  But honestly the trash bag kept me nice and dry and relatively warm.  Anyway, we had to wait in line by the finish to ride buses to the start line.  I was skeptical about how that would go, but the long line moved relatively quickly.  We got in line around 7 I think, and made it to the start by 7:30, for the 7:45 start.  Jill's husband was giving us running tips on the way over, and also informed us that women tend to have the edge in extreme distance races, such as 100 miles, because men aren't built for that kind of endurance...  Pretty sure I'll still pass on running 100 miles even though it might give me a shot to beat some of the guys.

Because it was a pretty large race you had to sign up for waves based on predicted finish time.  The speedsters were in the red wave, who were expecting to finish in under 30 minutes.  You have to qualify for that wave by finishing the race in that time in a previous year.  Jill and I were signed up in the blue wave, for those planning to finish in 30-36 minutes.  Jill was aiming to be done in under 32 (eek, four 8 minute miles!!).  My ultimate goal was to keep up with her, next I wanted to finish in under 34 minutes, and if nothing else I wanted to maintain a 9 minute mile so that it wouldn't look like I'd signed up in the wrong wave :o).

It wasn't too long before our wave was just about to take off.  I waited as long as possible to take off my trash bag, fearing the rain.  But the lady said go, I tossed it, and we were running!  There was definitely a lot of traffic (the race had 5,929 finishers!) and it was a little tough to get going comfortably.  I stayed with Jill for a bit, but I got cut off, and then I just couldn't catch back up.  She was going so fast!  By the first mile I was already feeling the burn in my legs, my right calf and shin were on fire.  I was humming Kanye West's Power (great running song!) in my head over and over again to try and get my mind to wander, but honestly shortly after I finished the second mile I almost wanted to puke.  It was around then that I caught sight of Jill up ahead of me, still too far to catch, but close enough that I didn't want to slow down.  So I pushed through.

For the rest of the race there was a father and son running pretty close to me.  The boy looked maybe 8 or 9.  I was definitely impressed.  And it was a nice distraction listening to the Dad coach him through it, he was very sweet.  The little man ended up smoking me at the finish.  They sprinted probably the last .2, and I just had NOTHING left in me.  But enough to make it to the finish line, I wanted to be done and I wanted some chocolate milk!

We got our timing chips clipped, grabbed a bottle of water and headed over to the race results tent.  It was pretty sweet, only minutes after we finished and they could hand me a print out of my race results.  My official time?

31:16

HOLY COW.  My pace was 7:49.  I never ever EVER in my life dreamed I'd be able to finish a race with a pace under 8:00 minute miles.  Craziness I tell you, craziness.  I finished 44/586 in the F25-29 category, 181/3358 of all females, and 884th overall.  The girl that won the female division?  Finished in 21 minutes flat.  Insane.  I really wonder what it feels like to run that fast.  I'm not sure I actually want to find out though :o). 

This course was another nice one, relatively flat, without any extreme uphills or downhills.  Definitely a fast course.  And the rain never really bothered me, I wasn't cold at all until we were done.  I'd also recommend my Under Armor shirt.  I went out to breakfast with Chris and Ryann after the race and it didn't feel damp at all.  It also never rides up while I'm running, which is a big bonus for me.  I have a hard time finding fitted tops that don't ride up.  Not to mention I look like a traffic cone, I doubt it is difficult to spot me. HA.

Overall, I am VERY happy that I got my butt out of bed and participated in that race.  But really, how often do you regret a run?  It may suck while you're doing it, you may be happy that it is over, but are you ever sad that you did it?  Probably not.  Get your bums out of bed people, get moving!

A quick recap of my weekly goals...  I'm not sure if I gained any weight or not.  We went out for Mexican last night, I had two margaritas and plenty of chips, so I wouldn't be surprised if I did gain a bit, but I also know I'm carrying a lot of water weight, so I didn't get on the scale this morning.  My mileage for the week added up to 17, 11 running and 6 walking.  Friday I did a three exercise circuit that included pull-ups, so I got those in there as well.  Again, 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

My goals this week...

limit the sweets

drink 72+ oz of water each day

do a yoga or stretching session

In regards to number three up there, I know there are some online stretching or yoga videos.  Can you all recommend some?  Kristine?  :o)  My legs are getting WAY too tight, and I need to be better about taking care of them.

And two things that have been popping up a lot lately... I usually run in these headphones (but I didn't pay $42 for them, and you can buy a similar pair at WalMart for maybe $6).  I can't say they are the best, and look a bit ridiculous, but I have yet to find a pair of ear buds that work for me.

And many of you have noticed my compression sleeves popping up on instagram.  I got them before the half, because I knew I'd be sitting in the car for a while shortly after the race, and figured that wouldn't feel the greatest.  To tell you the truth I'm not sure how they work, or what exactly they do (well they are supposed to aid in muscle recovery), but I can say that after the half and after yesterday, it just feels so good to have that compression on there.  When I took them off last night I could immediately feel my right calf start to cramp up.  It was weird.

If anyone was curious, I have the small/medium size.  You measure the widest part of your calf to find your size, I know the small/medium was for 11.5-14.5 inches, I'm pretty sure anyway.  So the xs/s would be smaller than that, the m/l would be bigger :o).  And I chose sleeves over socks, because if I wanted to actually run in them, I'd rather wear the running socks I know I love.  And I can wear the sleeves around with flip flops if I need to.

Wow.  That post got long, sorry!

 

Congrats to all of you who were also racing this past weekend.  Write about it!  Link up!  I'd love to read about it :o).

week in iphone pics

Happy Sunday to all of you, and Happy Birthday to me!  Yep, today is my birthday.  Although birthdays don't really seem all that exciting right now.  Yahoo, I'm 26.  Go me.  But people are making me feel special all the same so I'll take it :o).

Anyway, a recap of last week via my iphone...

sunday

Sunday Chris and I drove to my parents to pick up the wee one.  I'm happy to report that everyone survived Ryann's first night away from me.  I think she missed us, and Grammy and Papa were exhausted, but we survived :o).  We were going to let Ryann nap there, and then drive home, but she just wasn't falling asleep.  So we hopped in the car thinking she would crash.  No dice.  She was a spaz in the back for the majority of the trip.  I tried to blog anyway while we drove.  Of course shortly before we made it to town it got rather quiet in the backseat.  I turned around to see some mean looking sleepy eyes.  Sure enough, she passed out about 15 minutes from our house.  We decided to go with it, and ran a couple errands to let her nap a bit.

monday

Started the day and week off right with a barbell strength class (I believe also known as body pump and many other gyms).  Always a good workout!  For some reason Ryann was a mess the rest of the morning, incredibly clingy and whiny.  "Just hold me mama."  So I obliged.  She took a three hour nap (I woke her at 4, I don't care if you aren't supposed to wake a sleeping kid, I just don't let her nap past 4).  It must have been a good nap, check out that bed head!  Later the hubs and Ry were being goobers while he was outside grilling. 

tuesday

After the gym we met up with some friends at the children's farm in town.  Ryann was enjoying watching the geese run around.  However all she talked about for the rest of the day was how we saw a peacock but it didn't open its feathers.  I think she was pissed about that :o).  Apparently all the walking around the farm wore her out, because I had to wake her from another 3 hour nap.  We spent the afternoon coloring away.  Her crossed little footies and cute ponytail were making my heart swell.

wednesday

The sass monster was in full force during breakfast.  Grammy came to play with us, and we decided to go on a long walk.  It was wonderful, and Ryann did great with some shade and her mini magnadoodle.  Chris got to come home at a decent hour so he played outside with Ryann while I did some baking (veggie muffins and coconut krispie chocolate chunk cookies).  Seriously, how cute are the two of them sitting together?  Swoon.

thursday

Apparently the last two weeks at MDO Ryann hasn't napped.  Instead she has sang for nearly the entire 90+ minutes the kiddos are in their cribs.  The teachers say it is cute, but I find it hard to believe my kid singing for over an hour while you're trying to get 9 other children to sleep is cute.  I worked in childcare.  That totally wouldn't fly in my room.  It was a gorgeous afternoon, but Ryann pleaded with me when we got home to please please please get out the ball pit.  So I did.  Later she made a disaster with all her toys.  Typical.  Also typical is being crazy in the bath. 

friday

Friday we went to visit my friend Emily and her two month old baby, Brooks.  But let me back up a bit, we were bringing lunch for all of us, as well as dinner (brought overnight meatball casserole, Em said it was good!  Perfect easy dish to take to new mamas).  For lunch I was planning on bringing cashew chicken wraps, so Chris had grabbed a rotisserie chicken from the store the evening before.  Well I went to shred the thing around 10:15am (we were supposed to be at Emily's at 11:15), and IT WASN'T cooked.  Like incredibly pink on the inside.  I was so surprised/ticked/at a loss.  I turned on my oven and tried to cook it, but it too almost an hour.  Ridiculous.

Anyway, eventually we made it to Emily's with lots of delicious food.  Ryann agreed to hold Brooks, but quickly freaked out :o).  That afternoon she took over my coloring book, as usual.  Then I impressed myself by making a complete train track, with only one piece left!  Ryann told me I couldn't touch her sharp knife.  Kid, if it is a sharp knife I would suggest not using your leg as a cutting board...  

saturday

We met up with my parents out at The Legends.  They were taking us out to lunch for my birthday.  We did a bit of shopping, and I think I need to go back.  It has been a while since I'd been and there are some good outlet stores out there!

Linking up with Amy!

that's what she said

Ryann:  "Hey I know where we can get some can-dee."
Me:  "Oh really?  Where?"
Ryann:  "At the neigh-BORE's house.  Yet's go."

Ryann:  "What am I gonna be for Halloween this next year time?"
Me:  "Oh, um, I don't know.  What do you want to be?"
Ryann:  "Oh uh, a peacock!"
Me:  "A peacock?  That sounds fun."
Ryann:  "What's mama gonna be?"
Me:  "I don't know, what do you think I should be?"
Ryann:  "An owl?"
Me:  "Well I was an owl last year.  Should I be something else?"
Ryann:  "Oh yes.  A peacock."
Me:  "So we would both be peacocks?"
Ryann:  "Yes.  And daddy will be a crocodile.  Or an alligator."

Seriously, I just love our ridiculous little conversations.  I have a feeling there will be a lot more I want to post from here on out.  The things she says are just too funny.

 

a day in the life - jessie

Good morning!  First things first, today is my bestie's birthday!!  If you feel like spreading some love you should pop over to her blog and wish her a good one :).  Happy Birthday Meg!!  Love you lots!

Now as for 'a day in the life', today you get a little peek in Jessie's world.  Her day is definitely a busy one in my opinion!  Strong work mama :).

***

Hello! I'm Jessie and I blog over at Our Adventures in Parenthood. The blog has become my main source of memory keeping and keeping family up to date. Mainly what you'll find is recaps of our weekends (I live for the weekends these days), lots of pictures, some milestones, some recipes and some random thoughts from me. I'm a full-time working mom of 2 little ones, Brody is 4 and Madelyn is 2. I'm married to my high school sweetheart, Heath. We've been together for over 11 years and married for almost 7! Here is a peek into our day!

5:10- My alarm goes off and I roll out of bed, brush my teeth, brush my hair and get dressed for Jazzercise. I love getting my workout in early, mainly because it's my only option! If I don't get up and go, I will not get a workout in for the day. I love Jazzercise because I get my cardio and strength all done in one hour. And as a former dancer, getting up before the sun to shake it is perfect!
5:20- I quietly head downstairs for a half cup of coffee and to check facebook and email before I head out the door.

5:40- Jazzercise begins! While I'm at Jazzercise, Heath gets up and gets himself ready before the kids get up (ideally). If they do wake up, he gives them the iPad, Disney on TV and some apple juice and they are usually ok for him.

6:40- On my home to shower and get myself and the kids ready to get out the door. There is a 50/50 chance that the kids will be up when I get home. If they are not up, I make sure to go wake Brody before I jump in the shower. He's our slow waker. Madelyn is a light sleeper, so it doesn't take her long to follow on her own.

6:55- Get the kids clothes on, or at least motivate them to get their clothes on. We just started having Brody dress himself after the preschool teacher let us know that he should be doing it himself...oops! Madelyn now also gets herself 90% dressed on her own, too. I'll take it.

7:00- I start to blow dry my hair so that it doesn't dry funny and do my make up

7:15- Go downstairs to make protein shakes for me and the hubby, and usually either leftovers of ours or some type of smoothie for the kids. It depends on how smoothly the morning goes for everyone.

7:20- Brush the kids' teeth, put on shoes and jackets and get their vitamins.

7:25- Heath and the kids are out the door. He takes them to daycare because it is on his way to work. Our daycare is about half way between my office and his which makes it really convenient if he needs to go in early and I need to take drop off duty for the day. We've been with our daycare provider since Brody was born. We left for a short while but were back because we realized she was the best! I think having Heath drop the kids off and leaving me at home every morning really helps my attitude towards working. If I was leaving them every morning (especially when he was a newborn) I think that I would have a harder time working. It's all mental, but it works for me.
7:30- I get dressed and finish my hair while watching GMA in the background. I usually also have the iPad propped up on the bathroom sink to catch up on blogs while I dry my hair.
7:45- I finish packing my lunch. I have the best husband. He started making my lunch when I was breastfeeding Brody and it has stuck. Usually he just makes me a sandwich and I pack up all of my extra snacks for the day after he leaves.
7:50- I grab my protein shake, coffee, water, lunch, purse, iPad and Brody's backpack and I am on my way.
8:00- I arrive at my office. I am the marketing coordinator for a large commercial landscaping company. I get my computer booted up, check my emails and figure out what I need to get done for the day. My job is great because I do something different everyday. I handle all of the photography, so one day I'll be out taking photos or editing them, and another day I'll be researching leads, or writing for our blog or newsletter. I can kind of work on whatever I'm in the mood for at that time, as long as I get everything done. Which is really nice when you are working in a creative environment. My creative brain is not always on! I'm currently working on improving our SEO for our website, so I'm dedicating the first hour of my day to working on that.
9:30- I usually start to get hungry for a snack. Usually I eat some string cheese and clementines or whatever fruit we might have at home.
11:30- I start to get hungry again, so if I'm doing something that I can eat and work on, I'll eat my sandwich.
11:55- Head out to pick Brody up and take him to school. Our daycare is about 5 minutes from my work one way, and the school is 5 minutes the other way. I'm right in between, so it makes it nice that we can have him participate in the program that the school district offers. He's a peer in a Peer Model program and he's doing great. His teacher and the classroom culture there are a perfect fit for him.
12:25- Brody gets out of the car and waves to me until I drive away. I always leave there with a big smile because he's such a great kid. Some days I will run home and switch over a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher or get something ready for dinner and some days I will just go back to the office. I even sometimes use this time to run an errand to the grocery store, Walmart or Target. On this particular day, I run to the grocery store to pick up a prescription.
1:00- Back at my desk and realize I really need some caffeine, so I head to the vending machine and get a Diet Coke.
3:00- It's snack time again! Cottage cheese and an apple.
3:20- Brody gets picked up by my sister. She works at the high school a mile away from Brody's school, so it works out perfectly. She takes him home with her and he watches TV or plays outside while she gets her dinner ready.
5:00- Quittin' time! I head straight for my sister's house to get Brody and Heath goes to the daycare to pick up Madelyn!
5:05- I get to Julie's house and chat with her and get Brody ready to go.
5:20/5:30- We all get home and I start to get dinner going. We're Dave Ramsey people, so I am pretty strategic with our meal plans for the week. Or at least as good as I can be with the time that I have. I usually try to pick meals that are easy, quick, healthy and affordable without being too processed. I make 99% of our meals from scratch, but there are times that I take shortcuts to save time or money when necessary. Tonight we are having Cajun Pork Chops that I had in the freezer and some Not So Dirty Rice (without the sausage). I'm a big believer in having everyone eat together at the table. When we were first married I would always cook, but we usually ate in the living room. After Brody came along and could sit in a high chair, we moved dinner to the table. We always talk about our days. One time at dinner, Brody asked us "what was your favorite part of the trip" from Dora, and it has stuck, so we will ask him "what was your favorite part of the day" and he asks both of us the same. Sometimes he'll initiate it if we've taken too long!
7:00- Dinner is done and Heath does the dishes for me. Another chore he started doing when I was breastfeeding that stuck. I love that he does this because he spends some time with the kids to keep them out of my hair while I'm fixing dinner and I play with them while he does the dishes. The weather is nice so me and the kids head out to the back yard while daddy finishes up the dishes. Sometimes if we finish dinner early, we will go for a walk around the neighborhood, but since dinner took a little longer to cook, we stay at home.

7:30- It's a bath night! Really, it's not because we had baths last night, but we are going to do them anyways because I am going out to dinner with some friends tomorrow night. We do baths every other night unless they are particularly dirty from playing outside. Baths are a mommy thing. Heath has never enjoyed giving baths, so it's just something that I do. If I have to be gone for a night I will usually give them a quick bath before I leave or I will make sure to do it the night before.
7:45- Get the kids' jammies on, brush teeth and read 2 books. 2 books is our standard, so that gives me some room if the kids aren't behaving during their bath or getting dressed, I take one book away. I hate to take the books away all together, because they really love their book time, and I value it as a way to connect with them during the short hours that I do have with them each day. And I also will let them have an extra book if they've been extra cooperative during the bedtime routine.
8:00- Kids are down. Sometimes Brody will come out and tell us, "I have to tell you something..." "ok, what?" "Ummmm...." and then he'll make some random observance. "Ok, buddy, back to bed." Madelyn will cry some nights when we first put her down, but it doesn't take her long to fall asleep either. We've been blessed with good sleepers! Heath has conference calls for work on Monday and Tuesday nights. He works for an international technology manufacturer, so he has coworkers and customers in Asia that he has to talk to.
8:30- Heath gets off his call and I'm downstairs on the couch on the iPad. We use this time to get caught up on DVR'd shows or just watch whatever is on. We very rarely watch anything live!
9:30- I head upstairs to get my workout clothes and clothes for the next day laid out. It saves so much time if I take a minute and do it at night so that I don't have an "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR" moment in the morning!
10:00- Local news is on for a few minutes, then when we find we're dozing, I switch it to King of Queens and set the sleep timer for 30 minutes. We're lucky that we're good sleepers, too! It doesn't take us long to fall asleep at all!

1. What is the most surprising thing about being a mom? I think that the thing that surprised me the most is how natural it all comes. I used to be a pretty hyper person, but I've really become more laid back since I've had kids. I've learned to trust my instincts and go with the flow, which is totally not my personality. I think I've channeled that energy differently since I've had kids, which is a good thing!

2. What advice would you give new or soon-to-be moms? I would say do what is right for you and your family. It is easy to compare and there is so much out there to read, but if you surround yourself with a good team of family, friends and resources, you'll be set. We've been lucky to have a great pediatrician, parents as teachers parent educator and daycare provider that have helped us to overcome any obstacles and help us to make decisions that are best for us. Also, they grow so fast, so make sure you enjoy the time you do get to spend with them and BLOG ABOUT IT! I started my blog when I was pregnant with Brody, but I didn't really get into it until Madelyn was almost 1! I regret that I missed all of those months of Brody's life. I always tell my friends that you won't regret doing it, you'll regret not doing it.

3. What are your top three baby products? After going through 2 babies, these are some of the things that I will definitely be using for our next baby:

1. Halo sleep sacks- loved the comfort of knowing that they were warm, but not at the risk of suffocating.
2. Madela double electric pump- I have worked full time since Brody was born, so being able to breastfeed both of the kids was awesome for me. Time will only tell if I will be working full time when our next baby is born, but I will still have a pump so that I can freeze all of my extra to be able to feed the baby when I have to be away for whatever reason. I sold my pump because after using it for a total of 12 months, 3+ times a day, I felt like the motor was going out a little. This is definitely on my "list of things we need for the next baby"!
3. It's hard to choose just one more thing...We loved Dr. Brown's bottles...a baby monitor is a must (we still have one in Brody's room)...we loved our fisher-price swing, bouncer and jumperoo...bumbo seat...Oh, and those dishwasher baskets to hold all of the bottle parts! Our dishwasher has a sanitize cycle, so most of the time I washed our bottles in the dishwasher. I'm sure I'm forgetting something...it's been a while since I've dealt with 'baby' products!

***

Thank you for sharing your day with us, Jessie!

project 366 (week 16)

my legs are dead.

Well.  I finished half marathon #2.  And I finished in under two hours.  So Saturday was definitely a success!  I wasn't so sure it was going to end up like that though.

Friday night we attended the rehearsal dinner for our good friends.  Christopher was in the wedding.  I, being the idiot that I am, ate too much food.  And we stayed up a little later than we should have.  And I was definitely feeling the effects of both choices Saturday morning.  My stomach felt gross and I was so tired.  I definitely had to force myself to each a piece of peanut butter toast in the morning.

My dad picked me up at 6:15am for the 7am race start.  One of the nice things about this race is that it wasn't too big, and wasn't downtown, so getting to it was MUCH easier than previous races I had done in town.  But I still didn't give myself enough time to comfortably stand in the porta-potty line.  I was just hoping and praying and I wouldn't need to go during the race.

I decided to line up between the 1:55 and 2:00 pacers.  I had seen the pacing guides that both were going to follow, the 2:00 pacer was supposed to start out with a 9:40 and a 9:30 mile, and even though I didn't want to start out too fast, I also knew I didn't want to start out that slow either.  The course wasn't supposed to be too hilly, but I knew the end was hillier than the start and I personally wanted to 'bank' some time.

My friend Dani, who also had signed up for the race somewhat on a whim, found me at the start line.  She had a previous PR of around 1:57 I believe, but also hadn't completely trained for this race, so she wasn't going in with any time goals.  We chatted a bit, I popped a couple of honey stingers, a couple minutes later the national anthem was played, and suddenly it was go time!  In the first mile I ended up passing the 1:55 pacer.  It was so congested in that area (not surprising), I just had to get out.  The first mile flew by, but honestly I think they had the course marked incorrectly for a bit.  I knew my GPS was a little off, and we hit the 1 mile marker before it did.  The rest of the race my GPS hit the mile markers first.

Honestly this course was quite possibly the least exciting scenery for a run.  We went through some commercial areas, a few neighborhoods, nothing awesome.  But the good part?  It was RIDICULOUSLY flat.  The hills that were there were nothing to be scared of, and honestly we didn't really do a hill at all until maybe mile 7.  It was great.  I most certainly wouldn't have finished as fast as I had if it weren't for the flat course.  Hills are NOT my friend.  The weather was also amazing.  About 42 at the start I think, but it didn't feel chilly at all as soon as we started running.

Dani and I hadn't planned to run together, but ended up staying side by side the entire race.  Even though we didn't say a word to each other (well I did say sorry when I practically swiped a cup of water out of her hands, whoops :o), it was so nice to just know she was there.  Sometimes I wanted to slow down, but I didn't want to lose her, so I just kept on trucking along.

I was feeling really good through the first six miles.  My stomach had evened out, we were holding a good pace, really it was shaping up to be a good run.  The all of a sudden the 1:55 pacer flew by us.  It definitely surprised me a bit, not because I felt like I would be able to stay ahead of her, but for the longest time she was a good distance back.  I knew if I wanted to stay under two hours I couldn't really slow down.  Shortly after that was when we started in on the hills.  Again, nothing major, but enough to make the pace a little tougher to hold.

Shortly after the nine mile mark my family was waiting for me.  It is amazing what a brief moment of cheering from them can do for my morale.  With a high five and only four miles to go, I felt like I had it in the bag.  Except I didn't.  I hit a wall right around the 10 mile mark.  Not surprising at all, my longest training run was 10 miles, and my mid week runs were much shorter than they should have been.  Again, it was having Dani by my side that kept me going.  I mean, I couldn't let her beat me by too much, could I?  :o)  The next two miles went by really slowly.  I felt like every step was a struggle.  But I couldn't give up.

Not long after the 12 mile mark I just couldn't hang.  I was so tired, I could feel the exhaustion all over my body.  I just wanted to stop.  Just for a minute.  So I did.  Dani turned around and gave me a definite 'what the hell are you doing?' face.  We were so close to the end.  But thankfully she turned around and just kept going.  A guy behind me yelled out, "Don't stop!  You're almost there!"  I mumbled an "I know…", and then as he passed me I couldn't help but laugh.  He was dressed up in an all out Dorthy costume (we were running the Wickedly Fast Half Marathon, part of the Oz Marathon).  I'm so happy he ran by me.  It put a smile on my face and a little pep in my step.  I started running again and caught up to Dani.

that would make you smile too, no?

The last half mile was still hard.  I could see the finish line but I just couldn't get there.  Finally we passed the 13 mile marker, and I decided it was now or never.  I just wanted to be done.  So I did my best to sprint.  HA.  I don't think I was going all that fast, but man it felt like work.  Dani picked up her speed too and we crossed the finish line at the same time.  I thought our time was somewhere just over the 1:56 mark. 

I'm not sure I'd ever been so happy to be done running.  I know I looked like a hot mess as I crossed the finish line (there is photographic evidence, but I'm choosing not to share :o).  I tried to stop and let a volunteer cut the timing chip off my shoe, and started more or less falling over.  I was drained.  It was a bit embarrassing :o).  As soon as I stopped running all he muscles in my lower back and down the back of my legs started screaming in pain.  It sucked, but it also felt kind of good to know I had pushed myself to the max.  I didn't have anything left.

My first stop was the bathrooms.  By that point I had to pee like crazy.  Then I chatted with Dani and my family for a bit, grabbed a bagel piece and a banana, and hopped in the car to go home.  Even though I knew I needed it, I couldn't choke down the food.  I took a bite of the bagel and wanted to spit it out.  Nothing sounded good.  When we got home I managed to eat a chocolate chip muffin.  Apparently chocolate always sounds good :o).  Then I got on the computer to look up my official time.

1:55:05

My first reaction was "$#%^&*!!  I missed going sub 1:55 by six seconds!  Are you kidding me?  Why am I always so flipping close?"  Chris of course rolled his eyes, "Nothing is ever good enough, is it?"  Well no.  Because I know I could have done better.  I could have been more careful with my diet on Friday so I felt better before the start.  And surely I could have made up six seconds somewhere right?  In the long run I know I gave it everything I had that morning.  My body will definitely attest to that.  But six seconds?  JUST SIX.

Oy.  The good news?  I accomplished my goal.  My PR is a sub 2 hour half marathon.  That is indeed quite awesome.  And yes I am most certainly proud.  Just a little irritated too :o).  I finished 17/103 in 25-29 females, 82/556 out of all the females, and 264th overall.  Not too shabby.

So lets review my mini goals for the week…  run a half marathon in less than two hours, check.  Do 20 push-ups for days out of the week, check.  Lose a pound, well, not even close.  We ate out a lot Friday-Sunday, and I enjoyed some (ok several) adult beverages for the first time in a long time Saturday night, and it is definitely showing on the scale this morning.  But I guess two out of three ain't bad right?

My goals for next week…

don't gain any weight (being realistic, it's my birthday week :o)

run/walk 12+ miles

do 25 assisted pull-ups

 

Did anyone else race this past weekend?  Have a race coming up? 

week in iphone pics

Friends, this week was a good one.  Lots of fun was had.

sunday

Ryann and Christopher had a little daddy/daughter breakfast date while I tackled a ten mile long run with Jill.  I think breakfast would have been a little more fun, but I survived the run :o).  I was craving some sun dried tomato basil hummus, so a trip to Trader Joe's was in order.  And Sunday evening I satisfied another craving (thanks to Amy instagramming a million fro yo pics) with a fro yo trip with friends.  I may have gone a little crazy with the candy, but tried to justify it with the fact that I'd run 10 miles that morning.

monday

After the gym Ryann and I headed to Jenn and JT's house for a little playdate.  JT was too cute, and had to pull his chair right up next to Ryann while they were coloring.  Do you see that face pinching in the picture of Ryann and I?  Yeah, love hurts.  She was in a crazy mood that afternoon and was running laps around the family room.  And just a clean happy little girl.

tuesday

Just a little morning cheese.  Tuesday morning Ryann and I ventured over to a larger local park, played on the playground, and went for our own version of a hike.  That afternoon she surprised me by playing independently for a quite a while.  The only downside to that is that the family room is usually a disaster zone when she is done.  During bathtime Ry organized her little minions.  And we had a mirror photo shoot.  Whats new.

wednesday

Ryann was trying to drag that laundry basket around the house, telling me she was goign to go switch the laundry.  I hope her enthusiasm for that continues when she is actually big enough to help!  She also decided mommy and Ryann needed to wear headbands.  Chris snapped that picture before he left for work.  Yes, the first two both happened before 7am...  We went out to lunch with grammy where Ryann concentrated really hard on her coloring.  The weather was great after nap so we had snack on the porch and colored with sidewalk chalk.  Ryann had a lot of fun playing a little alphabet game we made.  I wrote the letters all over the driveway and had her find different letters, find them in order, etc.  Cheap, easy, educational fun.

thursday

I pulled on a button up Thursday morning, and even though it isn't something I'd usually wear, Chris told me it was cute.  Aaand Ryann asked me why I was wearing a boy shirt.  Meh.  While Ryann was at MDO I cleaned out the pantry.  Fun stuff.  She has an awesome cheese face and apparently thinks Jimmy John's stickers are mustaches. 

friday

I took another rest day hoping for fresh legs before the half marathon on Saturday, so we hung out around the house and played for a while in the morning.  Eventually we ran some errands, went out to lunch and picked up my race packet.  Apparently all of that wore Ryann out because she struggled to stay awake on the ride home.  Friday evening Chris and I kicked off a whirlwind weekend, driving out of town for our friends' rehearsal dinner.  Nothing like the middle of nowhere Kansas for a scenic drive...  :o)

saturday

Saturday was a busy busy day.  I kicked off my morning at 7am with a half marathon.  No big deal.  I finished in under two hours, WOOT WOOT!  More on that tomorrow.  After a quick shower and shipping Ryann off with the grandparents we were in the car again heading to a wedding.  I jump started my recovery with some chocolate milk and compression sleeves.  Today I am really wishing I would have had some compression shorts as well, my hips are hurting!  That afternoon we got to watch two of our close friends, Hanna and Joey, say their vows.  It was a beautiful wedding of course.  And that night was pretty epic, Chris and I made it to the after party, and stayed out until 1am.  For us, that is crazy talk :o).

Linking up with Amy!

this and that

::  Man.  The new blogger format is totally messing with me.  Of course right now I hate it.  I always hate change.  Maybe I'll get used to it?  We will see...

::  I am starting to FREAK OUT about the half marathon tomorrow.  I'm not sure why.  I've finished a half before.  I know I can do it.  Most likely, the worst that will happen is that my finish time will be over two hours.  That isn't the end of the world, right?  Oy.  Seriously, I've got a ball of nerves in the pit of my stomach.  I know once I start running tomorrow I'll relax, but I'm terrible about anticipating stuff.

::  So, um, a while back I signed up to do another round of the Elevated Envelope.  And promptly forgot about it.  And then we got a reminder e-mail when there was about 18 days or so until they needed to be post marked.  And now I have about 10 days to finish my batch of envelopes so they are post marked by May 1st.  Why oh WHY am I such a procrastinator?  I know I work best under pressure, but sometimes I really wish I didn't.

::  Does anyone use an armband while running with their iphone?  Do you just slide your iphone into a pocket on the band?  Can you have a case on while using the armband?  I really really want to get a cute case for my phone, but I have to use a specific case with the armband I run with.  And the hard case that I had was incredibly difficult to get on and off.  I'd like to be able to leave a decorative case on while I go running.  OR I need to find a fun case that is easy to remove.  Thoughts?

::  This video is kind of long, and probably only Chris and I really find it funny, but well, I hope it makes you smile.  She is singing 'Here Comes Peter Cottontail'.

Happy Friday!

she said what?!?!?

The other day I was in the kitchen doing dishes while Christopher was giving Ryann a bath.  He peeked his head around the corner...

"Your daughter just said fucky."

Say what?  What possessed her to whip that one out?

"Ha ha.  She was just playing the 'name game' with ducky."

You see, Ryann absolutely loves what I call the 'name game.'  I'm not sure that is what it is really called, but you know, ryann ryann bo byann, banana fanana fo fyann, me my mo myann, ryann.  That?  Sometimes we will be in the car and she plays with everything she sees, trees, sky, car, bus, etc.  Surprisingly she hasn't done it with truck yet, or duck for that matter, just ducky.

On Monday she started up with buckle... :o)

project 366 (week 15)

logging some miles

This is my training page over on daily mile.  Do you see that little part I've made big and circled?  Do you?  The one where it says I covered 31 miles last week?  Yeah.  I covered 31 miles last week.

Really that only happened because technically my long runs both ended up in the same week on the site.  The site adds the week Monday-Sunday, where as I tend to view the week Sunday-Saturday.  If that were the case then my mileage wouldn't have been so high, but seeing that 31 up in the corner?  I feel pretty good about that.

Monday I ran nine miles while we were at my parents' house.  Usually I run around their area, weaving in and out of neighborhoods, but I just couldn't stomach the thought of all that weaving.  So I opted to run on the busier streets.  I think I preferred it, but it sure as heck took quite a while to get through all the intersections.  I also took a walk break shortly after the 8th mile.  Ended up finishing with a 9:16 pace.

Yesterday I met up with Jill to tackle a ten mile run.  I was nearly scared off by the weather, with a chance of some storms and lots of wind, but thankfully we manned up and went for it.  There was enough tree coverage that the wind was barely noticeable for most of the run.  Unfortunately there was about a mile of absurd steep hills (up & down) in the middle that really killed me.  I seriously wanted to quit after the 6th mile, and after we finished the 8th I really thought I might not make it.  We took a little walk break and set off to finish.  Only I just couldn't hack it.  I think we walked another .2 miles shortly after finishing the ninth.  I kept telling Jill to just go, but she just wouldn't listen.  I didn't pass out and we survived the 10 (well 10.16 to be exact) in 1:35:17, a 9:22 pace.

Not too shabby, except wouldn't you know, I've decided to go all out and run a half marathon next weekend.  Originally I just didn't think we could make it work.  Chris is in a wedding out of town (about an hour and a half from our house) and with Ryann and such, it just didn't seem feasible to throw a half marathon in the mix.  But I was starting to be bitter about not finding a race to run this spring.  So even though it is going to be a lot of back and forth and a bit of a rush here and there, we are going to make it happen.  I am running half marathon #2 in less than a week.

I'm definitely not fully prepared.  Well, not fully prepared to go sub 2 hours, which is what a I want to do.  Part of me thought, well, if I can't go sub 2 there is no point in running it, not considering the circumstances.  But there is a slight chance I can hit that goal.  If everything goes perfectly of course.  :o)  I'm praying for 55-60 degree temps at the 7am start time.  I think that will help greatly.  When the temperature gets about 65 and there is some humidity, I just don't do as well.

Pray for me next weekend.  I'll have to average a 9:08 mile pace to sneak under that two hour mark.  Oy.  I'm scared.

Now to check in on my mini goals from last week:

lose a pound

drink 72+ ounces of water each day

run an 8 minute mile

run/walk a total of 20 miles

I managed to lose two pounds last week.  I definitely drank at least 72 ounces of water a day.  On Wednesday I ran a mile on the treadmill in 7 minutes 58 seconds.  And I'm pretty sure 31 miles in a week kicks my 20 mile goal in the butt.  BOOM.  I am seriously liking this mini goal thing, it is very motivating!

My goals for this week:

lose one pound

do 20+ push-ups four days out of the week

finish a half marathon in under two hours

Yeah, that last one might not happen.  But I'm going all out.

 

Link up your health and fitness related posts below!

week in iphone pics

How is it already Sunday?  This week just flew by...

sunday

We had a nice Easter, and really just soaked in more of our four day weekend with Daddy.  Four days in a row without him going to the hospital?  That is just plain awesome.

monday

Ryann was still asleep when I left the house at 7am for a nine mile run, and when I came back I found a sad sick looking little girl.  My mom said she was pretty sure Ryann's tummy wasn't feeling good and she wouldn't really touch her breakfast.  Well Grammy tends to be spot on with that kind of stuff, and sure enough it wasn't long before the little bit of breakfast came back up.  So a bath and lots of snuggling and movie watching happened.  After over a three hour nap Ryann woke up feeling a bit better.

tuesday

By Tuesday morning Ryann was thankfully back to her chipper little self.  Since she had been loving the few alphabet crayons we had, we decided to make another set.  And I thought I was going to be all top chef or something and grill a pork tenderloin myself.  Yeah, apparently I had the heat up too high and quickly seared the outside, leaving the inside raw.  Thankfully Hubby came home and rescued the dinner.  Sometimes I hate that he is a much better cook than me.  But I'm glad at least one of us can cook :o).

wednesday

Want to know how to keep a group of toddlers happy?  Put some beans in a box with some cups.  Toddler heaven right there.  Ryann and I spent a good portion of the afternoon being silly and wrestling in our bed.

thursday

Apparently someone woke up on the wrong side of the crib.  She gave me that look on and off all through breakfast for no good reason.  While Ryann was at MDO my mom and I hit up the mall for some retail therapy.  Those sandals?  Super comfy.  I got the tan and coral ones, but I think I'm going to exchange them for the animal print.  Animal print is just so much more practical, you know?  :o)  Ryann and I made a batch of peanut butter m&m bars to take to my old work.  Then she made me read a million nursery rhymes.  For the record, nursery rhymes are weird.  And for some reason I decided to clean my craft/office closet at 9pm.  You wouldn't know I cleaned it now, but I swear it is better than it was.

friday

After the gym we took treats to the preschool I used to work at.  Ryann was Kenzie's big helper, and rocked some activities like a pro.  I think she would definitely thrive in a Montessori environment, she loves that stuff.  After nap we busted out the water colors.  And while Chris was at a bachelor party Ryann and I had ourselves a girls night.

saturday

Saturday morning Ryann requested to go to the pet store, so we did.  A cheap indoor zoo is always a good plan.  On the way home she was being a goober in the car.  When she woke up from nap she said to me, "Mama, I don't want snack.  I just want to paint."  Well alrighty then.  Later that evening we went to Target for new pillows, and Ryann sprinted through the aisles like a crazy person.  You would think we keep her caged up or something, she was nuts.

Linking up with Amy!