It Wasn't A Fluke

I'm a half marathoner again! Yesterday was the Prairie Fire Spring Half Marathon. Race time was 730a, but I wanted to get a good parking spot, so I left my house at 6am. I parked easily at the Gander Mountain parking structure and texted Kim to tell her there was still plenty of room. She got there and I walked over to her truck. It was cold and windy and drizzling outside, which was not making me happy. We sat in her truck until about 7am and we got out and walked a half mile or so to the starting line. I had debated on whether or not to leave my jacket, and decided to take it because it was really cold.

We got in line to start. They had some announcements, the national anthem, and then a moment of silence for Boston. Then we were off.

Right away, the drizzling was annoying. I had to keep wiping off my glasses. Our original plan was to take 60 second walking breaks every mile, but we passed mile 1 and felt good so we kept going. There was a water stop about every 2 miles, so we decided to try to go water stop to water stop.

We got to mile 2 water stop and Kim had to pee, so we jumped over to the port-a-potty, but none were open, so we kept going. Shortly after mile 2 there was a volunteer cheering and she said "You're almost there!" and I looked at her and said "Don't say that!!!!" I was only half way joking! Lol! She said "I meant, you're almost to the next corner!" It was kind of funny. In the second mile, I was so mad that I was wearing my jacket! I was miserable, so I ran over and tied my jacket to a pole, then was much better after that.

We got to mile 3 and I was relieved to be over the first hump. The first 3 miles are always really hard for me, but I can set in after that.

At about 3.5 miles in, we were running next to the 5k for a bit, which was cool. A couple girls from work were running the 5k and we looked for them, but didn't see them.

Mile 4 went along the river, a route I have done in a couple of races before. It reminded me of the 5k I did last May with Paul and how miserable it was!

At about mile 5, I heard Paul call my name and he was running over carrying Elliott in a huge blanket! I waved over to them and then threw my glasses on the ground and called to him to come get them. It was STILL drizzling and now my glasses were fogging too! I was glad to have them gone! We ran to a little over 5 miles before we ever took a walk break and we only did because I got this weird pain in my left ankle. We walked and then I tried to stretch out a little, and we continued on.

We got to 10k and were still on target for a 2:45 finish.

We had a little motivation at mile 8 and ran a long stretch from about mile  to mile 10. Those miles were not that great because they went through a path in a park and there were almost no spectators. There were also a lot of cracks and bumps on the path too.

At mile 10, my ankle was hurting again AND my knee (It had started to hurt after my 4 mile run last Tuesday. It hurt Wednesday and Thursday, but was fine Friday and Saturday.) started acting up too. I was in a lot of pain, and the fatigue was starting to set in as well. And we got onto a path that Kim and I run a lot, which I didn't really care for. I like the mystery of not really knowing where I'm going next.

We saw our friend Bekki at mile 11! It is always great to see someone out there for you! It helps so much more than anyone will know!

The last 2 miles were SO DAMN HARD! We got next to the river and were closing in on the finish line and we started talking with a couple of women. They were mother and daughter which I thought was soooo cool! It was the mom's first half and her daughter was running it with her! Her daughter had run the OKC Memorial Marathon the weekend before! That is just amazing!

At mile 13, I saw Paul and Elliott and Elliott was cheering "Go Mama Go!" and it made me cry! I was so happy to be almost done, and so happy that my husband and daughter were there for me! Happy to be setting a great example for her! Happy to have my best friend by  my side!

Kim and I held hands and crossed the finish line together for a second time!

We had 4 goals:
A) 2:45
B) Sub 3
C) PR (Sub 3:06:50)
D) Finish

We finished in 2:53:36, which is a PR of over 13 minutes 14 seconds! I was pleased! I REALLY wanted a finish time that started with a 2! Now, for photos!

About 4 miles in.

Finished! Frozen to the bone!

I was so excited and proud to finish! Now I know that the first time wasn't just a fluke. I really am a runner. A half marathoner!

Overcoming

I ran in a 4 mile St. Patrick's Day race yesterday. I woke up with dread about the race for a few reasons. My runs had been lacking for the week. I had been feeling discouraged about running for days. Elliott's birthday was the day before and I was stressed from that. I had a nightmare about the race. I saw on Katie's blog the other day that she had 4 (A B C D) goals for her race and I decided I would do the same.
A) 44:44- I thought it would be cool to finish a 4 mile race in 44:44, but I wasn't holding out hope because that would be an 11:11 min/mile average and that is pretty fast for me.
B) 46:00- An 11:30 min/mile average. Tough, but doable.
C) <47:17- PR
D) Finish

My friend Kim had said that she wanted to run the whole thing without walking, so I made that a goal as well.

Before I get into the race report, I'll talk about the feelings of discouragement I have been feeling this last week. A girl that Kim and I work with started running in January. She has been doing a couch to 5k program. Kim went to run with her the other day, and Kim said she was surprised that she was able to keep up with her. It made me feel completely discouraged, because I can barely keep up with Kim, and I've been running for over a year. Kim was talking about it with another woman we work with and she said that the girl has a "runners body" and is a "natural." This kind of offended me. The way I took it was this: I'm not a "natural." I don't have a "runners body" so why do I even bother. I felt really badly about this for days and even thought about quitting running.

I talked to Paul about it and he said that, yes, some people are just more athletically inclined than others. Then I started crying. I've worked SO hard for this! I want this SO bad! I spent the first 28 years of my life believing that I was not athletic, when I obviously am because I am a runner! And the message I was taking from all of this is that I wasn't athletic after all.  Then Paul said this "Carrie, there are some people who are going to start out better than you, but you can be just as good or better than those people, you are just going to have to work harder for it."

Then every where I looked, instead of seeing reasons to quit, I saw reasons to keep going.

The start of the race. #197

Now onto the race. The race started at 10am. Kim texted me and said that she was planning on getting there at 930a and I said that I was too. I ended up running a little late. Paul had to work that day, so I had to take Elliott over to my brothers fiance, Mary's, house so she could watch her for me. I got there at about 945a and Kim had got my packet for me. We went and lined up at the starting line. We wished each other good luck and we were off. The first quarter mile was very crowded and I had to dodge a lot of people. I vowed not to be a slave to the Garmin and just ran. I also had my run keeper going and set to alert me at each mile. I heard the RunKeeper come on at mile one and it said I had run the first mile in 10:25! I was shocked! My fastest mile ever is a 10:20 and that was going all out!
Just after the first mile there was a little hill and going up I told myself 'You don't get better at running hills by walking them!' and got up it. I saw Kim ahead of me and I was thinking 'She is flying! I bet she did that first mile in under 10!'
On the way down the hill, I saw this guy with fake tattoo sleeves with shamrocks on them. I made it my mission to pass him. I did and kept going. Then he passed me. Then I passed him again for the last time. Then I came up to the water stop and grabbed a cup, poured most of it out, took a little drink, and poured out the rest, all while still running. Then I passes mile 2 and my RunKeeper told me I'd ran the 2 miles in 21 minutes! My fastest previous 2 mile was 24! I felt great and was making great time, so I kept going!
At 2.5 mile or so, I saw Kim ahead of me. It looked like she was kind of leap frogging this lady in a hat, but then she eventually passed her. Then I passed the hat lady.

At almost mile 3 I was really close to catching up with Kim and made it my mission to get up to her. I finally got up to her just over 3 miles and said "Finish this!" We chatted for a bit and then I went ahead, she was right behind me the whole rest of the way, but I was just in awe that I even caught up to her! At the 5k point it was about 33 minutes and I was blown away by that. My current 5k PR is from November and its 38:01! When we got to the finish line, the clock said 42! I had a huge smile! I couldn't believe it!

Finish Line! Both me and Kim

My official finish time was 42:27! I crushed ALL of my goals! And I PR'd by 3:40 from the 4 mile I did the beginning of February! I couldn't believe it! I CAN do it! I am a RUNNER! Even if I'm not a "natural!"

When I went to pick up Elliott, I saw my reflection in Mary's glass door and I couldn't believe how small I looked! That blew me away too!

Checking In!

Hi everyone! I'm checking in again!

I have finally broken through my weight loss plateau! I couldn't be happier! A couple of weeks ago, I spent the weekend researching how to break through a plateau and the only thing that I could come up with that I wasn't already doing is calorie cycling. So I checked out a calorie cycling calculator and made out a three week plan to try.

Well, it just so happens that on the Monday I was to start my calorie cycling, I woke up in the middle of the night coughing, fever, and body aches. Ugh! I went to the doctor tested positive for Influenza A. (Side note: the way they test for that is by sticking a cotton swab up your nose. Like WAY WAY WAY up your nose! It was awful! I may have been upset if I hadn't tested positive for the flu and they stuck that thing way up my nose for no reason!) So, I was out of commission for a few days, but still went ahead with the calorie cycling (CC) anyway. The first week, I lost 3.2lbs. That is HUGE for me! I wasn't sure if it was from the CC or from the flu, but I was happy to have reached a new low weight!

I continued the CC for the next week, seeing what would happen. I was sure that the weight loss was just a FLUke (haha! Get it? Flu-ke! Like, the flu! Okay, I'm done!) But I weighed in this morning at 181.4 which gave me a 2.8lb loss for the second week of CC! I'm so stoked!

I have 3 different cycles I'm using. After this week, I'll go back to the first one again. I hope I continue to lose!

There is a 60lb difference in these two!

Holidays

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great Xmas! This was the first year that Elliott knew what was going on and she had a blast! She even loved visiting Santa this year! Here are a few photos from our holiday.

Elliott with Santa

Grinch Cookies that I made for Xmas Eve

Elliott opening her Xmas Eve gift from us. PJs, Twas The Night Before Christmas book, and The Grinch DVD

Xmas Morning! Ready to open gifts!

Paul handing her gifts

Paul was Santa and I was the Elf. Elliott had a silly hat too, but refused to wear it!

We had a great Xmas! Elliott got way more toys than she needed. Paul got a new engine for his airplane. I got a new hand held water bottle, a yoga mat strap, and 5 other water bottles.

From Paul's parents, we got tickets to see Cirque Du Soleil: Quidam! We went this past Sunday and it was soooo cool!

On NYE, I ran the Resolution Run 5k. It was a beer run! You had a beer at the reception when you got there, and then there were 3 beer stops on the course, and then another beer at the reception at the end. I thought it was going to be fun, but it ended up being miserable! I had signed up because Kim did and I kind of thought that we would be running it together. Well, her boyfriends SIL went too. They are much faster than me and I couldn't keep up. I actually caught up to them at the first beer stop and was trying to chug my beer as fast as possible. It seemed like Kim was trying to wait for me, when Brandi started shouting "Come on! We have to go!" and they left without me. Not to mention that it was snowing wet cold snow the whole time. Running a beer run with friends= fun. Running alone in the cold, wet, dark, slippery snow without music even= miserable. I got to the 2nd beer stop and they were out of beer, so I continued on. The third beer stop had beer and I chugged one down and kept going. When I crossed the finish line, I guess it was a apparent that I was miserable. Everyone kept asking if I was okay, which I said I was. I was basically just having a pity party about having to run alone.

At the reception before hand- we carried those mugs while we ran

Before the race started- out in the snow

New Year's Day, I had a training run on my schedule, 3 miles. Since the Thanksgiving run, where my goal was 36:52, I've been trying to get that every time I have 3 miles on the schedule. Well, New Year's Day, I finally met that goal with time to spare! I finished 5k in 36:23! I was so stoked! Not only was it redemption from the 5k the night before (45:xx), but it was a great way to start the new year!

Tomorrow is my 29th birthday! I'm going to run 2.9 miles to celebrate! My mom has been on her own weight loss journey, and is doing awesome! She's lost about 15lbs already! She has been walking almost every day! I told her that she should walk 2.9 miles in honor of my birthday as well! She said she will!

Last night I went to yoga at the YMCA. It was crazy! There were over 50 people in class! I was the last person in and there was barely room for me! A lot of people talk badly of all the people in the gym at the beginning of the year, but I think its great! Nobody should have to feel badly about wanting to get healthier!

I signed up for another round of bootcamp again this month too! I really like it! I'm already planning to sign up again next month as well! I got an email from the Y this morning with a coupon in it for bootcamp that said it can be used next month! I feel like yoga and bootcamp are helping me become a better runner as well!

Well, that's all I have for now!

Hello?

So, I'm still around. Still working towards my goals! I'm down 71.8lbs now and still running! So, what have I been up to since I last wrote?

I completed my first 15k and (then) longest run in September. 

Kim and I before the race

Coming in to to the finish line at about 2:05

The race was pretty good, except the last 3/4 mile was really tough! I felt like I was going to vomit, but I didn't and I finished it!

I also started coaching Girls on the Run in September!


In October I ran my (then) longest run and first ever double digit run when Kim and I ran 10 miles on October 6, the week before the Prairie Fire Half Marathon. The run was fantastic! The last mile was HARD! We finished in 2:23. We had great conversations about the upcoming half marathon, our goals for the future, and how far we've come!

10 MILES!

October 14th was the Prairie Fire Half Marathon! I got there early and it was dark and chilly. I just missed seeing the early start for the marathon. I found the GoRun tent and waited for Kim. She got there and we got to the starting line. The first 3 miles went as expected. My brothers fiance, Mary came out to cheer me on and she was in the first mile. There was a guy in the first mile that had a sign that said "Only 13 miles left!" It was funny!

Miles 4-10 were AWESOME, though Kim was struggling and she had to make a port-a-potty stop at about mile 8. Mary met up with Paul and Elliott and they were at miles 4 and 7 cheering us on!

Miles 10-13.1 were SO SO SO tough! So much tougher than I had imagined! Kims' boyfriend Kevin, was there to cheer us on at mile 11. Paul, Elle, and Mary were at mile 12. And then Stephanie came out to cheer us on at about mile 13. Kevins' SIL Brandi ran the half too and finish before us and saw us at mile 13ish. She came out and ran with us and I was so upset about it! I said "NO! NO! She is tooooo fast! I cannot keep up with her, especially not right now!" Those last miles, I couldn't tell if it hurt more to walk or to run! We crossed the finish line at 3:06:50. I was so happy to be finish! I was so happy to get my medal! I'd never been more proud of myself!

Kim and I pre race

Just after starting!

About the first mile, still smiling!

Paul and Elliott! My wonderful cheering squad!

At about mile 4

Mile 7, notice the girl in front running the marathon and passing us :)

About Mile 11, almost done!

Just before the finish line!

And we are done!

Half Marathoners!

So proud!

A gift from Kim. She has one too!

Also in October I hit my 1 year weight loss anniversary! 70lbs down my first year. I had it expected it to be more, but I'm happy with the 70lbs!

Down 70lbs!

Elliott was Cinderella for Halloween!

After the half, I didn't run for almost an entire month! The next time I ran was November 11 for the Girls on the Run 5k. As coaches, we didn't have to run, but I wanted to. Kim was a running buddy for one of my girls and I ran, mostly with them. It was awesome to see my girls on the course!

On Thanksgiving I had my anniversary race! The Say Grace Thanksgiving Day race. The one that I walked last year! I finished last year in 56:52 and my goal was to finish in 36:52 to take a full 20 minutes off my time. I fell short of my goal and finished in 38:01, but got a PR! And I even got hit by a bicycle on the course! Yes a bicycle! People had their kids riding bikes! That is obviously dangerous, seeing as I got hit. I didn't get hurt, but the kid crashed into the other kid on the bike after he hit me and I went to make sure they weren't hurt.

I am training for another half marathon in May and my goal after that is the Route 66 Marathon next November!

I've been doing lots of yoga lately, and have really found a love for it! And I think its helping my running as well! I'm also doing a bootcamp at the YMCA right now with Mary, my brothers fiance. We are in our 3rd week right now. It's pretty tough, but I like it!

I had the best run of my life on Sunday! It was awesome! I was totally in the zone! I was able to think about things and enjoy my music and not just count and want it to be over the whole time! And I ran the full 3 miles with no walking at all, which I haven't done in a really long time!

I'm very optimistic for the future! I'm going to finish my weight loss in 2013. And hopefully I'm back to regular blogging as well!

New PR!

So, I have 3 long runs left before I start to taper before Prairie Fire Half Marathon. I am feeling really undertrained right now.

I was sick all last week, so I didn't do any training runs. I had signed up for a 5k on Saturday and I had planned on going to the group run before hand to get all my miles in. When my alarm went off at 6am Saturday, I knew that there was no way I was going to do both. At about 630am, I texted Kim and asked her what time she was planning on going down the the race and she said around 715am. It started at 8am, and we still had to pick up our packets. I asked her if she wanted to ride together and she said yes. So I met her at her apartment and we went over to the race. She asked me why I hadn't gone to the group run and I told her that I still wasn't feeling 100% and she said I didn't even sound like I was 50%! I still planned on running the 5k hard and trying to PR. My goal was 40:59 or less.

We got there and got our packets and pinned on our numbers and went back to her truck and chatted for a little bit. Then we got out and went to the starting line. There were way less people than I thought there was going to be! We started off and I immediately felt my lungs burning. I knew that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with Kim, so I just fell into my own groove. I run the whole first mile and my time was 11:00 which is the fastest mile I've ever run! After the first mile I got into a walk/jog and was keeping a pretty good pace despite the fact that my lungs were burning like crazy, I was having a hard time breathing, and that I felt like I was going to vomit.

Kim and I post race! A PR for both of us!

I made it back close to the finish line and Kim had finished and come back for me. I had put in my headphones, but pulled one ear bud out when I saw her. She asked me if I needed water and I told her no, and then she asked if I wanted her to take my headphones and I said "No, I'm listening to The Final Countdown right now!" and a couple people near us giggled at that :)! I was getting close and a guy who had finished already started cheering me and told me I was almost there! I got to the straightaway and saw 38:xx on the clock and gunned it to the finish. I finished 39:11! I'm so happy to finally have a sub 40 min 5k! I know that is still very slow, but I've taken about 4-5 minutes off my time since March! I got through the finish chute and got my water and a piece of watermelon and then Kim and I chatted and watched the awards. The two overall winners were both over 50 years old! That inspires me! If I keep this up, when I have 20 years practice, maybe I'll be able to get an award someday too!

My Girls On The Run coaching starts tomorrow. I ended up getting to work with the younger girls. We had our parent meeting last Wednesday and we had only one girl signed up for our site for the 6-8th grade, so I got reassigned. I'm excited and nervous!

I don't have much to report on the weight loss front. I really need to get my act together. I've lost less than 10lbs this summer! I thought it would be easier to lose weight over the summer... To be honest, I haven't really been focusing on that. That stops now!

Labor Day was uneventful. Saturday was the 5k, Sunday Paul and I took Elliott to the zoo and then we had lunch with my brother and his fiance, Monday we did nothing except go for frozen yogurt. I'm on vacation from work for the rest of this week.

I'm running the Tiger Trot 15k this coming Sunday and I am SUPER nervous! I was looking at the course map, and it is so long!

I'm going to try to get back into regular posting as well! So I hope you all hear from me again later this week!

It's Official!

I'm registered for the Prairie Fire Half Marathon on October 14, 2012! There is no turning back now!

So the resumed Half training is going well! I ran 2 miles on the treadmill last Tuesday, early morning. Then Wednesday Kim and I did 4 miles at SCP. We did the 4 miles with intentional walking intervals. One of us would pick a landmark to run to, then we would walk for 60 seconds, and the other one of us would pick the next landmark, followed by 60 seconds of walking and so on and so forth. We had never done timed walking breaks before and it ended up working out really well! It was a VERY consistent run! Our first two miles were the exact same pace!

After my 7 miles!

I'd had 7 miles scheduled for my long run on Saturday. Kim had 10 miles and we were planning on running them together at SCP, and then I was going to bike the last 3 with her. She ended up going to Great Bend with her boyfriend on Friday night, so I was going to be doing it alone. Eek! I was very sad and felt like I wasn't going to be able to do it. I decided to go to the group run out East for my 7 miles. I started out with the 60 second walking intervals. I would run for 2 minutes and walk for 1 minute. I did this for probably the first 2 miles. Then I was able to go for much longer between walking breaks. GoRun had mapped out 6.5 miles, and I was just going to do that. They had water set out at 3 miles, so I stopped and filled up my water bottle and had a Gu (I also had one before I started. This was my first experience with Gu, and I think it helped... Hard to tell...) Then I decided that instead of doing the 6.5 mile loop, I was going to run another half mile, and then turn around for an out and back of 7 miles. The second half of the run was so much better than the first. When I passed the water again, I topped off my water bottle and continued on.

At about 5 miles in, I saw a bunch of kids running and two guys on bikes. One of the guys on the bike was in the middle of the path and I was thinking "Why is this dude biking in the middle" and was kind of annoyed. Then he saw me and did a fist pump in the air and started riding toward me with his hand out to give me a high five. When I gave him the high five, I realized that it was Randy, one of the co-owners of GoRun and one of our coaches! It made me feel really good that he acknowledged me and I felt so inspired and glad that I didn't quit my training!  I finished strong and was happy with my longest run yet!

I think these longer runs are good! I've gotten to the point where I can lose a couple of miles by just thinking about stuff, and I was never able to do that before!

 I also signed up for a 15k on September 9th. My long runs are supposed to be 5 miles next week, followed by 7 miles, and 8 miles, but I think I'm going to do 6 next week, followed by 8 and then the 15k... We will see how this goes!

Right now I'm on a workout streak! It started with the Glow Run last Saturday. It's looked like this:
Aug 11: Glow Run 5k
Aug 12: 35 minutes on the Precor Elliptical and Muscle Pump class
Aug 13: 4 mile run
Aug 14: Hip Hop Hustle
Aug 15: 2 mile run and 2 mile bike ride
Aug 16: 2 mile bike ride and 4 mile run
Aug 17: 5.5 mile bike ride
Aug 18: 7 mile run
Aug 19: 6 mile bike ride

Biking this morning with Elliott

I've been riding my bike a lot since I got it back and fixed! I got a baby seat for it last week and Elliott has loved going on the bike with me! Paul even rode with us a few times!

This week I have scheduled:
Mon: 2 mile run and Zumba?
Tue: 2 mile run and Hip Hop Hustle
Wed: 3 mile run
Thur: Biking
Fri: Biking
Sat: 5-6 mile run
Sun: Muscle Pump and Turbokick

I'll probably do some more biking in there as well, because I'm really enjoying it! I think it is helping with my running also!

Today is Paul's little brothers birthday. He is turning 24! I've known him since he was about 12! We went to eat with other family and a bunch of his friends to a Mexican restaurant that he works at. I had some chips and salsa. I ordered the fish tacos and ate half of it, plus my rice and pinto beans. Afterward, we went with Paul's other younger brother, Mark, and his wife (my BSILF (best sister in law forever)) Jennifer and their daughter Sarah to Orange Leaf. It's a frozen yogurt place. I got a little portion of peanut butter, brownie batter, and banana topped with blueberries and kiwi. I also tasted the watermelon and pineapple! They were all very good!

I also got my Foodie Penpal package in the mail yesterday from Alexandra and can't wait to write about it!!!

I'm Glowing!

Jen, Me and Sarah Pre Race

I'm still here.

I did a 5k on Saturday. The Glow Run. I was dreading it, because since I had decided that I wasn't going to do the Half, I pretty much quit running all together. So I figured the 5k was going to be awful! Stephanie, my SIL, Jennifer and my niece Sarah were doing it, so I was just going to stick with them and walk when they needed to.

When I went to pick up my packet Friday night, I saw Kevin, one of the S2F coaches, and I immediately felt guilty. Earlier in the day, I saw Lori, from S2F and also felt guilty when I saw her. Jennifer told her friend, who is training for the Prairie Fire Half, that I was training for it also, and I felt guilty. I was feeling guilty and ashamed...

Me, Sarah, and Jen Post Race

But back to the Glow Run....We started out, and I was surprised right away! Running wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be! I actually felt awesome! I stuck with Sarah and Jennifer as planned and walked when they needed to, but I could have run a whole lot more! I finished in 43:35, which is not my best, and also not my worst. I think the temperature had a LOT to do with it! The run was really fun! It was at night and everyone had glow necklaces, bracelets, glow sticks. There were 2 black light zones on the course with a DJ! It was a really fun race! And we even got medals!

Me and Stephanie Pre Race

Elliott watching Mama Race!

Elliott said "Yay Mommy! You run fast!" It made my night!

Me and Stephanie Post Race

On the way home, I told Paul that I thought I could have PR'd that race if I'd ran the whole thing! Then that night I started thinking about the Half and I decided that I am going to resume my Half training!

So yesterday morning, Kim and I met at SCP to do 4 miles at 5am! I maintained a 11:30 min/mile pace for the first 10 minutes which is super fast for me! We ended up walking a lot after the first mile, because she had been in Rhode Island for 2 weeks and we had a lot to catch up on, but it felt great to be back out there! We ran into about 3 animals, skunks and raccoons, we think, and they picked up our pace for awhile there! I also saw a shooting star! It was a nice morning run! I think that the heat wave is over and that my training will be much smoother from here on out!

I have a 7 mile long run this Saturday, which I'm nervous for. I've never run 7 miles before, but I'm going to do my best and finish it out.

I had to take my dog to the vet (my work place) this morning because she was limping. She had gotten a sticker in her pad and it was really irritating her. She has a little bandage on her foot now! Elliott said that she had on a sock!

Marley and her sock!

October 2011 vs Aug 2012

After that, I met up with a guy to buy a couple of child bike seats. Paul patched up my tires last night and we bought a helmet for Elliott. I'm hoping to take her out on the bike today, but it has been raining all morning so far.

I'm going to run 2 miles at some point today and I have Hip Hop Hustle tonight. I'm kind of thinking I want to try the Ultimate Strength and Cardio class that is before Hip Hop... we'll see.

Although I haven't been running, I'm still losing weight. Slowly, but surely. I'm down to 191.6. I want to be down to the 180's by September 1st.

First Race November 2011 vs Most Recent Race August 2012

I start my Girls on the Run coaching the first week of September. I just found out today that I am going to be working with 6-8th grade girls, which I'm not thrilled about. I was really wanting to work with the 3rd-5th grades. I don't think that the older girls will like me. I hate that I'm so self conscious! I just know that the older girls are going to be much more aware that I'm the fat one! :/

Well, I hope everyone is doing well!

Change of Plans

I'm still here! I've had some time to think and I've come to a hard decision. I have decided to postpone my half marathon. This decision was both hard and easy. Here is how and why I came to this decision.

I got to a point where I was dreading my runs. Last Monday I had a 3 mile run and I was dreading it bad. I texted Kim and asked if she wanted to run, but she didn't respond, so I headed to the park by myself. I set out and turned around fairly quickly. I ended up doing .82 miles and was feeling really crappy when I got a text from Kim that said that she was on her way. So she got up there and we did 3 miles. It is SO much better for me to run with Kim. It makes it enjoyable! When we finished the run, it was almost 10pm! The next run, I was dreading, and ran it on the treadmill. The next run I was dreading and didn't do.

So, my excuses reasons are, basically that it is too hot to train! Where I'm at, it is over 100 degrees every day and I either have to get up and run in the morning, or wait until 8pm or later. My runs are going to get longer, so I'll either have to get up super early or be running until 10pm at night. I don't want to do either. So I decided to do the Prairie Fire 5k and then I will train for the Wichita Half Marathon that is held in April, so I'll be able to do my training in the winter/early spring. I don't feel proud of this decision, but I think it is best for me. Just running in general is a challenge for me, much less running in super hot temps.

So, my focus for the rest of the summer is going to be on weight loss. Since I started running, my focus has been on running and my weight loss has slowed. So running is going to be an aid to my weight loss for now.

Weekly Recap!

Last Monday after the car fiasco happened, I didn't have time to go run before Paul needed to leave for work. I said I was going to run after he got home, but when he got home, I ate dinner and had pretty much given up on running for the day. During dinner, Kim texted me about something at work and I randomly asked her if she had 3 miles to do today, and if she had done them yet. She said that she did have 3 mile and that she had not run them yet. So we decided to meet up at SCP at 730p to run together. We hadn't run together since we'd "broken up"! It was a great run! We chatted and it was really nice outside (for summer)! That day, I really felt like just giving up! But after the run and talk therapy session with Kim, it was better. I felt good and didn't want to give up anymore! There is nothing better than a good run with a great friend! It makes everything right in the world!

I was supposed to run on Tuesday, but I did not. I went to Hip Hop Hustle Tuesday night and there were lots of new people! I was one  of the ones who actually, kind of knew what they were doing and that make me feel good!

Wednesday I almost didn't run, but did at around 8pm. I went to a new park. Linwood Park. It has a 4.9 mile path next to the canal route. I did 2.5 miles and it was hard! I rested on Thursday and did my 2 miles from Tuesday on Friday and they were hard too!

S2F Group source

Saturday morning was the S2F group run. I had 4 miles. When we were breaking off into groups (5k, marathon, and half marathon), Randy, one of the coaches from last session, came up to me and said "I'm glad to see that you are doing the Half! That's awesome!" It made me feel really good! I had a great 4 miles! I was above my target pace of 13:30 min/mile the whole run! I had an average of 12:41 min/mile pace! They took a group photo that I missed because I was running a smidgen late! But it was a cool photo! So many people out to run together on a Saturday at 630am!

Kim Finishing! Source

Saturday, Kim was running the Titan 10k and it had started at 7am. I got done at about 745am, so after the run, I drove over to where they were having the race and started walking the course backwards to find her. I got there at about 8am, and I didn't think she would've finished yet. I was wondering what she was wearing, if she was wearing the race shirt or something else and wondered if I'd be able to spot her. I was at about 5.5ish miles when I saw her round the corner and spotted her right away! I asked how she was doing and she said she was dying! I ran along side her on the sidewalk (I didn't want to be a bandit!) for a while, then headed over to see her cross the finish line. It ended on the high school track and the announcer announced your name as you crossed the finish line, which I thought was pretty cool!

After that I had to go to work. I don't really mind working on Saturday, because it is only for 3 hours. And then at 330pm we went to the wedding of my hairstylist! She is also a friend! She has done my hair for about 6 years! She did my hair for my wedding, for my friend Lindsay's wedding, for Stephanie's wedding... She sang at my wedding and helped decorate! It was awesome to see her on her big day! She looked beautiful!

If you didn't see, I'm hosting a Bondi Band Armband Giveaway right now! Go enter!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Creep!

Friday night I ran my fastest mile ever! I went to the YMCA and intended to do 2.5 miles. I got on a treadmill and only lasted 0.6 because the treadmill was acting funky. I got off and got onto another one and decided that I was just going to run a mile as fast as I could. I did it in 11:54!

Saturdays long "run" was horrible. I did 3.5 miles and had to walk a LOT. At first I was stopping my Garmin when I would walk, but eventually stopped that. When I ran, it was much faster than usual. I did my 3.5 in 51 minutes... Not impressive...

I woke up this morning and intended to go for my 3 mile run. It took me an hour to talk myself into going. I looked at the forecast and the temp was 72, but the humidity was 90%! I finally decided to get my butt out of bed to go. I was going to drive the new, old Toyota that I just bought from my brothers girlfriend, but my new Bondi Band arm band that I won in Karen's giveaway was in my Saturn, so I went to grab it out. I couldn't find it, then I realized that things looked awry and I realized that someone had "broken" (the doors weren't locked) into my car. They took my Zune, my daughters diaper bag, my daughters travel DVD player, her Nickelodeon DVDs, and my brand new Bondi Band arm holder with my ear buds in it that I hadn't even been able to take on a test run yet! I was SO mad! By the time I finished looking through to see if I could figure out anything else that was taken, it was too late to go run, because Paul needed to go to work. It makes me so mad! Why didn't I lock my doors? And why the HELL did they take that arm band! That is no value to anyone! They left the two other crappy chaffing arm bands that were in there! Why did they take my brand new one! The arm band is what made me the most mad, that and the diaper bag. What are you going to do with my arm band and my 2 year old daughters books and toys. You can sell the Zune, the DVD player and DVDs, but the other stuff... WTH? Stupid creeps!

I decided that I wasn't going to let that ruin my day. When Elliott got up, I asked her if she wanted to go to the park or the zoo, and she said that she wanted to go see the animals. So we went to the zoo. We didn't stay very long. It was so freaking humid! I wore jeans that are too big and I was sweating a lot and my thighs were chaffing on the seams of the jeans.

Caution: the next paragraph may be considered TMI...We were in the chimpanzee exhibit and they have a baby (2 year old) chimp that we have seen many times. He's very cute and getting big. At one point, we were watching him and he grabbed his penis and started... you know... pleasuring himself! Do chimps do that?! Right when that happened, me and the rest of the parents standing there were like "Okay, time to go!" It was really weird! I think the zoo is going to be a source of some very awkward conversations as my daughter gets older.

We got home and Elliott starting acting like a crazy child! I feel so frustrated for her sometimes, because she will be trying to tell me something, but I just do not understand her! She fell asleep shortly after her meltdown and is soundly sleeping still, on the couch! Maybe we will go check out the park later...

I got a new old car this weekend. From March until June we just had my Saturn because Paul's old car had finally quit. In June he bought a truck from one of his buddies. Before that happened, my brothers girlfriend was telling us that she was going to Massachusetts (where she is from) in July to buy a car from her parents. I asked her what she was doing with her old car. She said she wasn't sure, but then messaged me on facebook saying that I could check it out if I wanted to. So we finally bought it from her this weekend. We don't need it right now, but in the last two years, we have had to go with one car for an extended period of time, 3 times, so it will be nice to have a back up. It's a 1998 Toyota Avalon, so nothing fancy, though she took good care of it. I'm going to drive it and check out how the gas mileage is compared to my Saturn...

A Long, Colorful Post

I am on vacation from work until July 11 and I couldn't be happier! My mom and one of my little brothers, Leon, are coming up from Oklahoma today! I can't wait to see them!

I got up early this morning and went to the Y to get my 2 miles in. I got there and decided that I was going to do my mobilefit strength workout. I was on my last work out, which is a machine for your back, on my last set and I did something to tweak my back. I had felt like the weight (75lbs) was a little much the previous set, but still continued. Stupid move. I didn't finish that set, and went over to the treadmill. I had to think twice about whether or not I could run, but decided to try anyway. The run actually went pretty well considering the sore back.

I got home and iced my back and had Paul rub it a little bit. Then I took an 800 Ibuprofen. I feel much better now.

We had S2F group run on Saturday at 630am. I was really dreading it. I didn't want to get out of bed, but I did. Then I was driving there and I really wanted to turn around and go home, but I didn't. I got there and the run was awesome! The best run I've ever had! It's so weird how you never know how a run is going to go until you get out there! I think there is something magical about Saturday morning group runs! I suffer through my runs all week, then Saturday is awesome!

Saturday was the first time Kim and I didn't run together in a group run. She ran with Brandi, her boyfriends' SIL. They are MUCH faster than I am! I ran at a good pace for myself, listening to some good music, and had a super good run! When I was done, I sat and had some water, talked to a couple of people new to the program, then went back for Kim and Brandi. They did 5 miles, I did three. Kim was dying on the way back. I ran back with them, then we saw Parrish and talked to her a bit.

Tony Clark, the local guy doing the Badwater is trying to get some media coverage and Parrish is a reporter for one of the news stations, so I told her about it. Here is a video of Tony, you should check it out and donate to Gallant Few if you can! It's a great cause!

After Saturday's run, Elliott had pictures and they turned out super cute! I'll share the sneak peeks I got!

After pictures, Kim, Stephanie and I left for Kansas City for the Color Run on Sunday! When we got to KC, we checked into our hotel, then went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. I had a Mexican salad from their Skinnylicious menu and a piece of cheesecake that probably had 1000 calories! I was going to look it up, but Kim and Stephanie wouldn't let me! lol!

Before

After

Sunday morning was the day of the run. We got to Arrowhead Stadium at 6am for packet pick up. I'm glad we got there early, because there was a ton of people! They said it was the biggest Color Run yet and there were 15,000 people on our day. Since we got there early, we got in the first wave. Thank goodness, because it would've been torture waiting any longer than we had to! It was pretty fun, but it should've been set up differently. We walked 90% of it because it was almost impossible to run. There were a TON of walkers, which is fine, but they were walking 7 people across and between getting around the big groups, plus dodging the other people trying to get around them, made for not a fun run. So we walked it. It was supposed to be a color at each kilometer, but it wasn't measured out accurately. I decided before hand that I was going to run it for fun since it was untimed anyway. I almost wore my Garmin, but I'm glad I didn't. The first color was yellow, then orange, so it looked like everyone had rolled in Cheeto dust, lol! Then it was blue, then pink. The finish line was the best part. They have color throws every 5 minutes and it was really cool and fun. It was horrible after it was over though. We couldn't find the station that you are supposed to get blown off at. We were SO colorful! We sat on towels to get back to the hotel, then showered and went home.