Race Recap- 3 months later!

I can't believe that it has been almost 3 months since the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon! Even worse was that my last blog date was March 21st, 4 months ago! Anyway my first half marathon was a huge success and I was thrilled to cross the finish line. We had a perfect day for race day with a cool sunny morning that later turned into a hot day in the south. After researching the course and hearing reviews I knew that we were in for some hills but holy cow I didn't realize the entire 13.1 would be up and down and back up again! The first mile we had a nice stretch of flat to get ourselves into a steady pace and then we tackled our first, long uphill battle. I will say that I felt fantastic the first 7 miles. We had our game plan of walking through the fuel stations etc... Miles 8-12 were pretty intense, between the hills and the heat the exhaustion was starting to kick in but by mile 12 it suddenly hit me that HOLY CRAP only 1.1 more miles left! The last .5 miles was an amazing downhill effort with a slight turn to the right and BAM the finish line! Nashville was an absolutely amazing city and the fans cheering was extremely motivating. Although I'd prefer to not ever run hills like that again I'm really glad this was my experience for my first half marathon. BEst feeling was crossing the finish line and thinking to myself....YES I would do this again!

There was a bit of an interesting hitch thrown into my whole half marathon weekend plans and Dale and my life is about to change in a huge way! 4 days before the marathon I found out I was expecting! It was definitely an unexpected twist but a ridiculously exciting surprise. After getting in touch with my Dr. she gave me the all clear to go ahead with the run. She did tell me to take more frequent walk breaks and really watch my hydration levels. This gave me a longer time in the end but of course it didn't matter at all because it was even more exhilirating to cross that finish line 5 weeks pregnant! It is a good thing that the race happened when it did though because a week later I was hit with the crazy first trimester exhaustion and morning sickness.

Right now I'm 17 weeks and 5 days along and everything is going great. My energy levels have finally returned and I'm back to doing some light workouts. Unfortunately due to some issues the Dr. has told me no more running through this pregnancy but I'm eager to lace up my sneaks and sign up for another half sometime in 2012!

Hopefully no one will mind that this blog will now be a baby blog and life blog about adventures in parenting!

It's Go Time.

No more messing around. It's time to get serious and focused about this 1/2 Marathon. I'm less than six weeks out, 40 more days until 13.1. It is now time to put up or shut up. I have to put the last few miserable weeks behind me and realize that I am strong enough to do this. Do my shins hurt and does my side constantly ache? Yes. But can I let that stop me now? No! Okay so here goes...Here is what this week looks like

Mon-5 miles
Tues-3 miles
Wed-5 miles
Thurs- XTrain
Friday-Off
Saturday- 8 Miles
Total: 21 miles....piece of cake :/

Who knew...

shoes could be the latest attacker on my morale. You may remember a few weeks ago I posted about how excited I was about my new Brooks Ghost 3's. I was really looking forward to running in them and couldn't wait to lace them up. Then I was hit with Bronchitis and sidelined for a bit. During my bout with bronchitis I did a couple very slow, controlled, treadmill runs and thought that my new shoes were great. After a few days off I took it out on the road and oh holy hell shin splints like no other. After about .5 mile I was in excrutiating pain to the point that I limped home crying to my husband. I thought it may have just been that I needed to break in the shoes so I took them out for a couple more painful runs. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I went back to the running store that fitted me in those shoes. They were awesome and told me to try another version of Brooks with a little more support. After 45 minutes of awesomeness I walked out the door with my brand new shoes excited about using them on my 8 mile run Saturday. Disaster strikes again. As I'm out with my sister in law (who is running the 1/2 with me) she notices how flat footed I am running. (actually I sounded more like a fat out of shape horse "clomp, clomp, clomp") and I literally couldn't bend my foot upward. There was no "heel to toe" running motion coming from me. I told her to run ahead so she could get her mileage in for the day and I slowly somehow think I managed to get through 10K instead of the 14K we were supposed to run. After that I run I knew it had to be something with the Brooks line that just didn't work for my feet. Off to the running store I go again. This time however I find out that the new Brooks shoes I had been buying were less of a shoe than what I was used to running in (that would have been nice to know before!). So I here I am with a new pair of Nike Lunar Glides hoping that this is the end of my shin pain.

Unfortunately I'm now in a very bad place with running. The 1/2 is just over 6 weeks away and the longest mileage I've put up is 7 miles. I'm in no means trying to run a fast race at all but I just want to finish it and after the last few weeks of on again off again running I feel completely overwhelmed and under prepared.

Hills...

are the devil. Last night I had a nice short 2 mile run, except I decided to torture myself and run hills. We have this nice steep hill behind our house so I did a slow paced warm up jog and then did "pyramids" on the hill:

Up easy, Down easy
Up easy, Down Hard
Up Hard, Down Easy
Up Hard, Down Hard
Up Hard, Down Easy
Up Easy, Down Hard
Up Easy, Down Easy

It absolutely kicked my butt. I did at least have some comedy relief watching my dog get a kick out of running the hills with me. I took him off of his leash and he was perfect, running right next to me and patiently meeting me at the top and bottom of the hill each time.

6 miles in for the week and 12 more to go!

No Pain No Gain

7 miles down 6.1 to go! After missing two long runs thanks to bronchitis I dusted off the new running shoes (how sad is it that they already collected dust) and went out for a long run yesterday. Old Man Winter gave us a break yesterday and we had a great day for outside running. It was about 50 degrees, partly sunny, with a little bit of a sprinkle here and there. I had only planned on doing 5 but once I started running I knew I wanted to push myself and get back on track to where I should be right now. I was also excited because this longer run gave me the opportunity to start to test out some energy gels/chews. Those things really do work to give you a bit of an extra boost. I think I may need to take them every mile though ;) 6.2 mi to 7 miles was definitely tough and by the end I didn't think my legs could move anymore but I did it. I took a few very short (30 sec or less) walking breaks about 5 or 6 times and that definitely helped get me to the end. It feels great to sort of "jump" right back in after missing a couple of weeks. I'm really in need of a short run today though to loosen up these legs!

Happy Weekend!

Enough....

of you Old Man Winter! I'm done with you. I am sick and tired of cold, windy, snowy, sleety, nasty, rainy weather. I am ready for Spring. I've had enough of running with a cold wind blowing snow and ice chunks in my face. I'm ready to run in 50+ weather and not see snow again until next December.

I guess I should feel a little "lucky" today is going to be almost 50 degrees out but of course it's pouring down rain. Don't get me wrong I LOVE running in the rain....when it's 75 degrees out that is. Because of weekend plans I took 2 days of rest this week to hopefully run my LD of the week tonight. I need to put 6+miles in and I really don't want to do it in the chilly rain.

Okay, sorry for my rant.

Oh what a week

Last week was definitely a blur and it's hard to believe that March is right around the corner. After my awesome visit to urgent care to find out I had bronchitis and was benched from running I hopped on a plane and headed to San Francisco and Tucson, AZ for work for a week. Originally I was pumped for this trip and the personal benefit of being able to run outside in the warmer air and sunshinier skies. I was definitely worn down and was just hoping and praying that the antibiotics would kick in and I'd suddenly feel great. Eventhough that didn't happen I pushed myself to get in a couple of workouts. 2.5 treadmill runs ( I say .5 because I had to stop early on one of my runs). I ran super slow and only went about 2 miles each time. After every run I was so out of breath and coughing up a storm. As the week went on I was feeling stronger everyday and when Thursday rolled around the gorgeous blue skies in Tucson were calling my name. I jumped at the thought of getting a good run in before my plane ride home. As I started the 3.5 mile run I immediately knew it was not a good idea and parked the run idea and went for a nice walk at a pretty decent pace.

I'm pretty bummed and getting nervous because I missed two long runs for training. I'm not sure how it will all work out with my training for the half but i'm definitely more nervous now than ever. I did manage to get a run in last night. It was a quick 2 miles but I'm hoping the shorter runs and the longer walk I had to do while sick will be enough to keep the muscle memory going in my legs.

I'm feeling a lot better now, still not 100% but much better and am really crossing my fingers that I will be able to jump back in to training.

T: 3.5 miles
W: 2 miles (hills) and belly dancing class!
T: 3.5 miles/strength
Sat: 6 miles (maybe 7 if I can push myself there!)
Sun: x train

Sidelined

And not happy about it. Just when we get a warm spell in the middle of February I can't get out and run. I run through sleet, wind, snowstorms, and freezing temperatures and when it finally hits the high 40's low 50's I can't lace up and go! I gave in and went to the Dr. yesterday and he was so nice in telling me that I have bronchitis and need to stop running until I'm all better. Doesn't he realize that I have a half-marathon to train for? Doesn't he realize that I just bought brand new shoes that I'm dying to break in? Oh yea, I'm kind of giddy over these shoes...

Hopefully this mini break doesn't hurt my training too much. Sigh.

Personal Bests

One thing I realized that is really unique about training for your first time marathon is the huge amount of opportunities there are to have personal bests. It seems like at least once a week you are able to accomplish something that chances are you have never accomplished before. Because every long run is an increase of the one before you area always running longer than you have ever run before, and because training is only making you stronger there are always the chances for a mid week personal best by running a short run faster.





This Saturday I had another personal best, 6.2 miles! I woke up and did the usual hemming and hawing about going to run. It was too windy, I couldn't find my headphones and God knows I can't run without my head phones, etc. etc. After a nice swift kick in the butt from my husband (and him generously finding me a new pair of head phones) the pup and I were off and running. We finally went through a warm up this weekend and it was really a gorgeous day to go for a run. Although it was windy I soon found out that I needed the wind to cool me off. It was definitely a bit of a struggle at times because I was running on three different kinds of terrain (packed snow, wet asphalt, and the dreaded slush) I took 3 very short (30 sec max) walk breaks and before I knew it I had my new personal best. 6.2 miles in 1:05:37





I was also treated to this pretty photo op when I took off my shoes and socks....

Lesson learned, always cut your toe nails before you go on a run. Somehow having a bloody foot made me feel even more like a real runner!

Now that I've been so kind as to gross you out I hope everyone enjoys their Valentines Day Chocolates!

New Music Friday

I'm ready to tackle 6 miles tomorrow and these are the new songs added to my playlist to get me through the run.

F**k You- Cee Lo Green
More-Usher
F**kin' Perfect-Pink
What the Hell-Avril Lavinge

Happy Friday!

G.I. Jane

I by no means am comparing myself to G.I. Jane in this post; although I wish I was as much of a bad ass as Demi Moore was in this movie. This movie was my saviour during today's hill workout. I recently have read on a few posts about the Nashville 1/2 that it can get quite hilly. This threw me for quite the loop as I hadn't planned on running a hilly marathon for my first. Instead of letting myself get scared and nervous about the hills I may hit in 12 weeks I decided I better start preparing for it. I'm thinking (and hoping) that doing one hill workout a week will be enough.

I hate hills but I also hate treadmill running and I've been stuck on the treadmill for every run this week thanks to the negative temperatures outside. I went on a search today to find a good treadmill hill workout in hopes that it might spice up my workout as well. This is what I ended up using:

5 min warm up run
2 min @2%
1min @0%
2min @ 4%
1 min @ 0%
2 min @ 6%
1 min @ 0%

I continued this set up until I reached my 3.5 miles for the day (Nike + read 3.74) and I was shocked at how quickly the time seemed to go. I'm actually pretty excited about doing a hill workout once a week on a treadmill after the success I had today.

It's been a good week on the running scene for me getting every workout in this week. I think I'll have to reward myself with a couple of new songs for the play list for this Saturday's 6 miler.

Gluttony

Gluttony, derived from the Latin gluttire meaning to gulp down or swallow, means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or intoxicants to the point of waste. In some Christian denominations, it is considered one of the seven deadly sins—a misplaced desire of food or its withholding from the needy

Gluttony is my middle name today. Super Bowl Sunday was a big day at our house and I now have a big stomach to show for it. We are huge Packers fans and I feel that our menu of cheese and beer helped get the Lombardi Trophy back home. My doctor may have other thoughts on that when I go for a visit later today! Here is a photo of us pre-game...I know I know, our poor dog!

All in all it was a fantastic Super Bowl Sunday and I'm going to try really hard to not beat myself up for over indulging last night. It's not every day that my favorite NFL team wins the Super Bowl!

In other news today starts the official training for the Nashville Half Marathon. 12 weeks and counting! No more slacking off; it's time to get myself motivated and make sure I check off every scheduled workout that I have. I'm thinking of starting a "reward" system for myself. Something along the lines of every week that I do all of my workouts and I can buy some new music from itunes; 4 weeks of workouts and manicure time, 8 weeks of workouts and pedicure time, 12 weeks of workouts and momma gets a new pair of jeans to wear out in Nashville after the half! Something along those lines at least. Here is what this week's workouts look like:

Mon: Stretch and Strength

Tues: 3.25 mi

Wed: Cross Train

Thurs: 3.5 mi/strength

Fri: Off

Sat: 6 miles

For any other runners out there, what motivates you to keep going?

The Perfect Winter Day

Today was a good day, a great day actually. It was one of those very rare beautiful, sunny, Michigan winter days. It's one of those days that makes you want to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D even though it's still chilly out. After running around most of the afternoon getting geared up for the Super Bowl I came home and layered up for a run. I was planning on running 3 miles and then finishing up the last 2 miles with a 5:1 run/walk ratio. From the second the run started I knew it was going to be "one of those runs." One of those perfect runs to be exact. The temperature felt right, the sun was shining and making little diamonds reflect off the snow. My play list was rocking and everything just felt right. Before I knew it I had hit the 4 mile mark and knew I couldn't stop now.

For only the second time in my life I ran 5 miles straight. It was one of those days that made me think, " I actually can run a half-marathon."

Cheers to finally having the "perfect" run!

5 miles 10:04/mile

Lazy Bones

Is what I feel like today. I have no motivation, and it's not just a lack of motivation to run, it's a lack of motivation to do just about anything. I'm feeling pretty guilty for not running 3 miles last night like I was supposed too. I had every excuse in the book not to run and I let all of those excuses win. Next week starts the official 12 weeks before the half marathon and hopefully the end of my slacking off. I am planning on tackling a 5 mile run tomorrow (more than likely inside on the track) and hoping that 2 days off will make it a great run. I'm considering starting to implement the 5:1 run/walk ratio after I hit 3 miles.

In other news it's a very exciting weekend around our house since we are huge Green Bay Packers fans. We are hoping that the Lombardi Trophy finally comes home this weekend. Our Super Bowl Menu consists of:

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chips and Dip
Wisconsin Beer Brats
Cheese Curds
Spotted Cow Beer (only found in Wisconsin)

hmmmm maybe that 5 mile run should turn into a 6 mile run...

Why yes I did...

just go for a run the day after a Blizzard! True to the shirt my mom bought be "Run in the Rain, Snow, Sleet, Just Run!" And yes that is a huge pile of snow behind me! It wasn't a long run by any means but it was the 2 mile training run that I was supposed to get in today.

2 miles at 9:59/mile.

This could get interesting.

It's official, the massive storm that was predicted arrived last night. After getting off work early and running to the grocery store for a few essentials in case the power went out off to the gym I went to get a few miles in on the track. When I walked in to the gym it was a typical gray Michigan winter day but when I came out it was a completely different story. The winds were howling, snow flakes were flying, and visibilities were extremely low. It was an awful long 1 mile drive home.

We wake up today with an additional 13" of snow on the ground and snow drifts so high we couldn't even open our garage doors. It doesn't look like a run is in store for me this Ground hog's Day. Even if we could get the cars out to go to they gym, the gym is closed! Looks like a day of "cross training" a.k.a. shoveling the sh*t out of the snow.

2/1/11- 3 miles, 10:55/mile

It's about time...

to get motivated again. The last couple of weeks have definitely been a struggle with training. About 3 weeks ago I had a fantastic week of running. I honestly never felt better about what I was doing, how I was running, and what I was working towards. I did every scheduled run I had plus strength training sessions and felt great. My Saturday long run was looming and I was looking forward to tackling 4 miles. My husband and I were headed to a college basketball game late morning so I knew I had to get myself up and put in 4 miles before we left because there was no way I was doing it when we got home.

My alarm went off at 8:00 that Saturday morning and I looked out to see the beginnings of a typical Michigan winter day, dreary, snowy and cold! I suited up and the dog and I took off. It was a tough run with the snow accumulation from the night before and the ice that the plows left behind when they went by us ( I learned quickly that my dog hates snow plows, and I mean HATES them!). I felt so empowered at the end of the run; the time was a little slow but I chalked it up to the conditions I was running in and went from there. I felt great about myself and had a new confidence for this whole half marathon training; then I woke up on Sunday. I knew it was the beginnings of a nasty chest cold, one that took hold for days and didn't let up.

I laid low most of the week having more and more guilt building up for not running. I put in 2 torturous miles Thursday of that week and knew I wasn't even close to being over that cold. I laid low the rest of the weekend and when the following Monday rolled around I was ready to go again. I was really looking forward to having an awesome run; the sun was out, the snow was melting, and it was a balmy 30 degree's. I soon found out that the road conditions were nothing but slush and 3 miles later my knee's were screaming at me. 2 days later they were still screaming but I attempted to push out another run; it was disastrous. I haven't felt so beaten down by running (or lack thereof in this case) in a long time. I literally cried my way through 2 miles with nothing but self doubt running through my head. I came home and told my husband that there is no way I can run a half marathon. He just looked at me and said " Suck it up, I know you can do it."

Enough said, it's time to suck it up and do it. Last Saturday my husband and I went to check out a new gym with a track and when he was done with his workout he joined me on the track and pushed me through the final mile of my 4 mile run. He helped instill confidence in me that I actually can do this, and I will.

I may be running slower than I usually do but I can build myself back up to where I was. I may not have the best time when I cross the finish line in April but I will have the knowledge that I pushed myself to reach a goal I never thought I could do....of course with some "gently nudging" from my awesome husband!

It's official

Well it is most definitely official. I'm a registered runner for the 2011 Nashville 1/2 marathon on April 30th. Not only am I registered but the hotel and flights are booked and we are ready to rock n roll. Now for 16 long weeks of training. I've got a lot of different emotions going on right now with this run. I'm really excited that i've commited to it but i'm also scared to death. There are parts of me that thinks I just can't do this but then I talk myself into the fact that I can do anything with training. I have to get in to the right mind set in order to make this the enjoyable experience that I am hoping for. I keep telling myself over and over again that all I want to do is finish within the 4 hour time frame and while there is a lot of truth to that I know mysel well enough to know that if I don't finish it running across the finish line I'll be disappointed.

A few good things that I know will help me get through this is the fact that 2 of my best friends are also running this marathon with me. I'm so happy and grateful to have both Laura and Treena to run with, to help motivate, and to hold me accountable. At the end of the day I don't want to let myself or either of them down.

3 miles in the snowly blowy cold tonight....

Welcome to 2011

It's hard to believe that we are already ringing in another New Year. I think back on 2010 and all the changes, good and bad, that I went through. All in all it was a pretty good year but I'm hoping to make 2011 a great one. I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions, my thought is that they are usually a good way to set yourself up for failure. However I am a big fan of setting new and attainable goals every year. This year I just want to live a happier and healthier life. 2010 was hectic and busy so one life change for 2011 is don't overcommit!

So with that being said my big goal for 2011 is to run a 1/2 marathon! I'm officially all signed up and let the training begin for Nashville, April 30th. The course gives you a 4 hour time limit to complete the 13.1 miles and that's my goal. Obviously I'm hoping to finish a lot sooner than that but I'm going to take it in stride and see what happens. I know that training will be grueling and at times I'll want to give up but hopefully I'll be able to push myself through and get across that finish line. Another 2011 goal is (as with every year) to be more financially stable and sound....this 1/2 marathon will not be cheap so I can't just let that money go to waste! I look forward to keeping my training updates posted on here. We'll see what happens.

Happy Monday Everyone.