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!

A Binge-y Weekend

I had a really crappy training week last week, that ended up as ending with a bad food week as well.

I raced really hard last Sunday and did really well. I took Monday as a rest day, as usual. I went to bootcamp on Tuesday and my shins were KILLING me! I've never had issues with shin splints before and I kind of thought that I never would. I made it through bootcamp without doing any running, jumping jacks, side box jumps, or burpees. I took Wednesday off. I went for a run on Thursday. I completely underestimated the wind and cold! It was a miserable run. 2.3 miles. Friday seemed REALLY nice, so I decided to run. I, again, underestimated the cold and wind. Ran 2.5 miles. I was running on a new path. It has absolutely no wind cover. I don't think I'll be running there again. Then it was raining and super cold on Saturday, so no run. Sunday it snowed, so no run.

I was happy to have gotten in the few miles that I did, but with the 1/2 marathon 6 weeks away, I really need to get in gear. What it really comes down to is excuses. I was using the weather and shin splints as excuses. I could've gone to the gym and ran on the treadmill.

Then it manifested into my eating this weekend! I ate McDonalds for breakfast on Saturday. An Egg McMuffin, hash brown, and diet Dr. Pepper. Could've been worse, but still, McDonalds! Then Paul and I went to the movies (Oz, which was really good!) and we got popcorn and another diet soda! I counted that as my lunch. Then for dinner we went to Chipotle. I know that the bowl I get there is about 900 calories! Geez!

Sunday was basically a free for all binge day. I made these green chocolate chip pancakes that I meant to make on St. Patricks Day and eggs. After Paul went to work and Elliott was playing in her room, I started eating bagged cookie mix! Freaking cookie mix! Elliott came in and started asking me for some, which made me stop. I put dish soap in it and threw it away. For lunch I had 2 servings of Taco Soup (which is a Clean Eating recipe, so it could've been worse) and for dinner I had 2 hot dogs. I also had some Fun Dip and 3 Reese's Eggs.

I think part of the issue was that I hadn't been grocery shopping and we didn't have a lot of good choices in the house. Today is a new day, and so far I have done fine.

I think another thing that triggered me is a conversation I had last week. A lady I work with told me that she had gained 6 pounds after her husband came home from being out of state for awhile. I told her that I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of spiraling out of control and gaining all the weight back. And I do feel that way. I feel the same way about running. Like if I miss even one run, that I have to start from scratch again.

Today I'm going to work on a diet plan for my brother. He wants to lose weight and is having a hard time getting started. He and I are a lot alike, especially with the all or nothing mentality. That's why I never succeeded in losing weight before. I would start out gung ho and then burn out almost instantly. It was lots of small changes that lead to what I have achieved.

So, here's to a better week ahead.

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!

Training, Party Planning, and Racing!

Hi all! I'm still half marathon training. I did a 5 mile run yesterday with Kim. It was awful. Last week I missed my Wednesday run and Thursday bootcamp because we got 14.2" of snow! We haven't had that much snow ever in my life! It was the 2nd most snow on record and the most snow since 1951! It was doing great at melting away, but we are in a blizzard warning right now, so I hope it doesn't interfere anymore with my training!

February 9, I participated in my first relay race! It was a 5 mile relay that Kim did with me. I was going to do the 5 miles alone, but convinced Kim to do the relay. We each did 2.5 miles. I went first and Kim finished! It was really fun and I did really well! My 2.5 split was 28:11. The course had to have been long though. I forgot to turn on my Garmin and when we started, it was still searching for satellites. I started it about .25 or so in and when I got to the exchange it read 2.47 miles. It was a cold and super windy day, but it was so much fun! It was called the Cupid's Combo and the baton was a fake rose!

Me and Kim! We wore matching outfits!

Action shot of me running! Next to our empty river!

I'm registered for quite a few races right now. Next up is St. Patricks Day 4 mile on March 17th. I'm not registered yet, but will be doing a 10k March 30. I thinking about doing a 5k March 24. I'm registered for my spring half May 5, a 10k June 1, and another half September 14!

Training is going well,  minus the snow we've had. I got a new pair of shoes last week. The new Mizuno Inspire 9s. I ran in them on one 3.5 mile treadmill run. My toes went numb, but I'm not giving up on them yet. I love my Inspire 8s.

I'm SO looking forward to the time change in a couple of weeks! I want to do more evening runs!

I've been planning Elliott's 3rd birthday party the last couple of weeks! She's going to have a cowgirl party! We are renting a building at a park here in town and they have pony rides and train rides! I think she will have a lot of fun! I can't believe she is going to be 3! Crazy!

I'm still losing weight also! Yay!

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!