Saturday, March 31, 2012

Marathon Eve

As my husband headed out the door to run this morning I slept in. Of course even sleeping in still meant I would be awake at 7:30am and out of bed not even two minutes later. I enjoyed a few minutes of quiet and drank my coffee while the kids watched tv. Within an hour or so my husband was home and we were feasting on homemade waffles and bacon. Yummm! After breakfast we headed to the marathon expo to pick up my race packet.

We took the camera but didn't snap any pictures. Oh well. The process to get my bib, have the timing chip checked and then on to get my bag and shirt went fast and smooth! There were several vendors set up so we walked around a little while. I purchased a 26.2 magnet for my car from Lift Your Sole! I can't wait to finish my race and pop that baby on the back of my little car! I have a couple of necklaces from LYS and can't wait to add to my collection. I eyeballed a few new pieces at their expo booth today. Such fab stuff and sweet people!

The only other item I knew I would be buying today was a SpiBelt. I had been running my long runs with an Amphipod fuel belt but wanted something smaller since I was going to carry a little less and only one bottle. Scored a cute polka dot number that will match any race outfit.

After the expo we drove the last part of the course. I just wanted a general idea of the areas I would be running in tomorrow. Should be fun! Our little drive ended back at home where I had a hair appointment. Since he didn't take any pics at the expo I joked with him about taking pics at the salon. And so he did....
[caption id="attachment_1200" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Getting my hair did!"][/caption]
And of course I have to show you the after...


The evening was pretty uneventful once we arrived home. I got all of my race gear and my post race outfit ready/laid out.
[caption id="attachment_1202" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="representing Team Tough Chik!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1203" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My plan for the post race party!!"][/caption]

Dinner tonight was delicious! Mad props to my husband, the grill master, for the best grilled chicken I've had!
[caption id="attachment_1204" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yum! chicken and baked potato to fill my marathon belly!"][/caption]

And then I sat the rest of the night! I'd love to say my day was super exciting but it was actually very relaxing. I'm tired. As far as how I am feeling tonight about tomorrow, I'm calm but excited. Many thanks to everyone who has supported, inspired, motivated and encouraged me!

Friday, March 30, 2012

And she rests.



I worked today at my big girl job (8:30-5) which was rather uneventful. Then I had an appointment after work before coming home to spend a couple hours cleaning before out of town guests came to visit. I was very happy to sit and rest my legs tonight. I did a good bit of carb loading today eating up on bagels, pizza and such. Tomorrow is a pretty relaxed day. I'm headed to the expo early (there will be pics and post!) and then a hair appointment. I appreciate all the texts, emails, and comments offering support and good luck wishes!! Thank you so much for motivating me and offering so much encouragement!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Three Things Thursday

1. I now have 3 sleeps until race day. I've been really trying to make sure I get my rest this week too. This means going to bed earlier. I'm usually so bad about going to bed at a decent hour. Typically I am in bed by 11, watch the news and then read or play games on the Kindle until after Leno goes off, which around these parts is 12:30 or so. Not good. Especially not good on mornings when I get up around 5:15 to make it to the gym. Haha That hasn't happened this week though. However, I have been in bed by at least 9:30-10 pm each night. That's a record for me. So far only one night has been spent up after the news. My goal for the next 3 nights is to be in bed by 9:30. I want to be as well rested for race day as I possibly can.

2. Today I ran my last run before the race on Sunday. After talking to Terri earlier this week and getting some advice from her I (we) decided that it would be a good idea for me to do 4-3-2 for my last runs this week. We had a great 3 mile run yesterday and did well with maintaining as close to marathon pace as possible. Tonight my plan was an easy 2. I took the opposite route as we ran yesterday. I just wanted to run at a comfortable pace. It rained earlier today so it was kind of cool when I began. This felt good! I finished 2.19 miles in 21:27. A bit faster than I should have gone but like I said it was about running at a pace that felt good. The next two days are rest days. Yay!

3. My feelings about race day keep changing. I only mean that I go back and forth between excitement and nervousness. I was excited yesterday and most of today. After my run tonight, even though it was great, I got nervous. However, I am excited again and cannot wait for this experience. Training has been a lot of fun. My journey with running over the last year has been great and I'm just ready to enjoy the experience. I'm sure the emotions over the next few days will be up, down and back around again!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012



Terri and I met for an easy 3 miles tonight. Goal was "marathon pace," which hopefully will be around 10:30 min/mile. We met at my house and ran a regular route I frequent. It's still a bit warm out and this evening it was windy. The breeze was pretty great but did make it tough a few times when it was pushing against us on the front side. We only had one little pup encounter that I had not had any other time running this route. Here are the splits..

Mile 1: 10:12
Mile 2: 10:24
Mile 3: 10:14

Overall I am happy with this run. I do wish I had done more "marathon" pace type runs before now. I know I did this during the long run and those are the runs that count in the end. I had a great moment going into mile 3 as we headed back to my house. There's one portion of road that is at a decent incline/hill. This portion has always taunted me and been tough. I've purposely gone the other direction OR added extra distance on the highway to avoid running this hill. Tonight I ran it. When we got to the top I said, "Secret. That's the first time I ran that whole hill." Little victories.

I'm still ready. More tomorrow though... bed time!!!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Taper Madness - a jumbled mess of thoughts!

I touched on this earlier in the week but I have been going crazy with the taper. It's tough. The mental game is on big time. There has been doubt just as much as there has been excitement. Sunday I calmed my nerves a little by going on a solo run of 6 miles which will be my last long pre-marathon run since we are closing in on race day so quickly. Monday night the plan was to go to my BodyPump class and then hop on the elliptical but due to a meeting I was late to the gym and missed class. So, my awesome husband pulled a CrossFit workout for us to do and that was loads of fun. haha Thankfully I don't feel too dead from that today. I also did my regular Monday elliptical work.

Today Terri and I planned to meet after work for a quick/short run. We met at my gym and agreed on 4 miles but rather than taking the right turn on our regular route we decided to go left for a change of scenery. I'm glad we chose that route because with the sun and temps we've had lately the shade from the left path was nice! We finished 4 miles at a 9:32 pace which I was pleased with.

As usual we discussed the marathon strategy. I haven't really discussed my pace plan or my goals for finishing. If I said I didn't have a time goal in mind I'd be a big fat liar. I DO have a time goal. I DO have a pace plan. And I will get around to talking about that before the marathon.

I'm getting off track with my topic! Taper madness is crazy stuff. Taper brain... it's like running mush all mashed up inside my head. Makes total sense I know. Those of you who have ran a marathon will get it or at least those of you that I have talked to that have ran a marathon will get it! It's no joke. I go back and forth between excited and nervous and it totally depends on the time of day I'm being asked as to how I feel about Sunday. This morning I was down thinking, "The fact that I am running a marathon in a few days is crazy. What was I thinking?" I logged onto the marathon sight when I got the email about final instructions. Click here, it read, to confirm your registration.

Yep. There it was in black and white (or blue actually because the background was blue)... my name, age, and location then the word marathon. It's real. For real.

When I first registered I told my husband and running friends that if training didn't go like I hoped or something came up I could always change to the half marathon at the expo when I get my packet or even on race day. Guess what though!? That is not going to happen. On Saturday I will be picking up my race packet complete with my MARATHON race bib! I'm doing this.

See, earlier this week I had a head full of doubt but you know what? I dreamed that one day I would run a marathon and now I am proving to myself (and that negative/hating little voice inside my head) that because I believed in my dream I can do it. I will.

So take that taper madness. Take those little miles that felt hard last week, take the 21 mile hilly run I did 3 weeks ago, take the weather, take the good thoughts, bad thoughts and every thing in between whisk it all up together and what you have now is someone who is confident that no matter how crazy I have been the last week (plus) with the fact that I am tapering I am going to cross the finish line and be able to call myself a marathoner.

Tonight the excitement is alive and the doubt has been settled.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Motivational Monday


I will become a marathoner.
What will you imagine?
What will you dream?
GO!
Achieve. Become.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

one week

I can hardly believe that it is only one week until my marathon. Next week at this time I will be (probably) zonked out in bed or still high on life! haha

This past week was so difficult. I ran, but it was hard. It felt hard every time my feet hit the pavement. I did all of my runs this past week outside rather than doing any on the treadmill. We have some heat and humidity going on right now so I thought the best thing to do was to get out and run in. My body from my feet to my head was not thrilled. Legs felt heavy, breathing was tough and my mind was not the most positive it's been. But I ran.

I took the day off from working out or running on Saturday because I had signed us (J and I) up to volunteer stuffing goody bags at the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon from 10am -2pm. Just a few hours of walking around in circles stuffing stuff in the marathon (kids run, 5k and half too) swag bags. I will say that I love to volunteer for races. It's such a great experience to see things from "the other side" of things. A lot of work goes into planning a race and as a runner being able to volunteer it makes it such a rewarding experience. Plus you get to meet other runners AND get a preview of the goody bag.

Speaking of, I was less than thrilled with the bag this year. Toothpaste, suckers and lots of Biofreeze....and a crapload of paper! Don't get me wrong, I am always appreciative of the many sponsors of such events however when I recall the bags from last year and the contents then compare that to this years... huge difference. The kids bag is the one with the real swag! Water bottles and slap bracelets!! Those kids will be thrilled!

Anyway, here I am volunteering!
[caption id="attachment_1184" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="You mean I don't look thrilled?!"][/caption]
I may or may not have had a bit too much fun celebrating my 10 year anniversary the night before. OR I may have just been a bit wiped out from 3.5 hours of walking around in a circle helping stuff 7300 bags! Either way, VOLUNTEERS ROCK! And we got a lovely bright hi-liter yellow volunteer tee and food! Score!

I did not sign up to volunteer on race weekend. Last year my husband and I both did but I decided that with running the full marathon this year I just didn't have it in me (mentally mostly) to occupy myself with that this year. I want to enjoy the expo and try to relax/rest as much as possible the day before the big race.

Today is one week out. To say I am not nervous would be a total understatement. Sure I have put in the training but my mind keeps going back to things I cannot control. The weather. It's been so warm and humid here lately. Race time is 7:30am so we should still have a bit of coolness in the air which will be nice for the start but I know I will be out there running for over 4 hours and by that time the days around here are really warming up. Has my time outside the last couple weeks been enough to get me use to that? I sure hope so. Will it rain? There's a 60% chance according to the forecast today but we all know that can change. I've not had any rainy runs. I haven't ran with soggy shoes and gear. But regardless of the race day forecast this girl plans to have fun and run!

Several people have asked me what my time goal is. A few new girls I met this weekend while volunteering asked my goal for the marathon as well. I have a few times in mind but what I always go back to is this, "I'm going to run, have fun and cross the finish line standing.. or maybe even crawling but whatever happens that day I will finish within the allotted time and collect my medal. The ultimate goal is to FINISH!"

7 days and counting. Let's do it!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

10 years

March 23, 2002 I married my best friend. 10 years ago this is the couple we were...
[caption id="attachment_1178" align="aligncenter" width="182" caption="March 23, 2002
Our wedding day"][/caption]

Yesterday we spent the entire day together celebrating our 10 years of marriage. We started our morning at the gym. I took bootcamp and spent some time on the elliptical afterwards. He ran and did some weights. We then went to breakfast together and spent the rest of the day shopping and hanging out, enjoying each others company. We shared pizza for lunch. For dinner we went to a bar-b-que place neither of us had eaten at before. I have photographic proof of the yummy goodness we shared there.

[caption id="attachment_1179" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Mmm wings! No shame here! :) "][/caption]

Originally we had planned something a little more exciting to celebrate our 10 year anniversary but truth is, we both are very low key and just being together for the day was reason enough to celebrate. I was happy to have the day off together where we could just enjoy being ourselves. We aren't into fancy meals or spectacular getaways. Working out and sharing some good food together made us both happy. I probably wouldn't change a single thing about yesterday. We ended it with smiles.

[caption id="attachment_1180" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Happy 10 year anniversary!
I am looking forward to the next 60!"][/caption]

Oh and let me not forget...
[caption id="attachment_1181" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Cinnamon bun! "][/caption]
You didn't think I'd celebrate my 10 year anniversary without a cupcake, did you!?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

[caption id="attachment_1173" align="aligncenter" width="159" caption="Team Tough Chik"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1174" align="aligncenter" width="154" caption="This is what tough looks like!"][/caption]

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Tuesday Tidbits

~I missed Motivational Monday due to a lovely combo of an ear ache and migraine last night. So, I took some migraine meds and went to bed by 9:30. Lights out, no noise. I'm pretty sure I was asleep in like 8 minutes. lol I got almost 9 hours of sleep and feel as though I rested well. The migraine was gone but the ear pain, not so much. So instead of getting up for the gym this morning I slept in. The pain was consistent throughout the day so I scheduled a dr's appointment. But as the day went on I finally was convinced to not wait until tomorrow. I was fearful the dumb ear would get as bad as it did last time (Jan/Feb) and be so infected it would rupture. THAT was not fun and I don't want to relive it. So, I went to the walk-in clinic after work rather than meeting my husband for a 4 mile run. I am now armed with some meds and ready to shake this crud.

~I've been over analyzing this whole marathon plan thing. From my outfit to my pace and my fuel/water plan...it's all been on my mind like crazy the last few days. I've made lists and used about a dozen or more post it notes with songs to add to my iPod and different pacing strategies. Obsessive much!? It is all going to work out and I am going to have a blast running!

~If I haven't said it before let me say it again... I have awesome running friends! Terri is off the next two days (yay Spring Break) and has agreed to meet me bright (dark, haha) and early in the morning at MY gym to work. Now if that isn't a true friend and running buddy I don't know what is! I am one lucky girl.

~This weekend my husband and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. We had planned a few weeks ago to run 10 miles together in celebration but have sense decided not to do so. This is just me being smart and taking advice I was given in regards to this. I've trained for my race. I've done the long runs, the hill work and the speed work and nothing I do running wise from here until race day will make a huge impact on my performance on race day. I'm happy with everything I have done up to this point and will continue to move my body between now and race day.

~It has been hot here and humid! It's so wild having to get acclimated to this weather so early. The highs for the last few days has been above 80 degrees. Today the high was 84! Craziness for the first day of spring!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Sunday Run and the Countdown Starts

I had planned for Sunday to be a rest day but when Terri commented on my Daily Mile post from yesterday asking if I wanted to run today there was no question that I did! I'm always up for a run even if it's just a few easy miles. So, we agreed to meet at 7:15 am at our trusty location close to where we both live. I told her that I was up for about 4 miles. We talked last week about my taper week and agreed that 20-25 miles for the week would be good enough. So by getting in a 4 miler today I would be at 24 miles total for the week.

I laid all my running gear out last night and was in bed at a decent hour. I had not been feeling great yesterday as my left ear has started to bug me again so sleep was a little off last night. I took an ibuprofen before bed and that helped with the pain. I was sleeping well until around 4am when the thunderstorms began. It was then that I began dreaming of my run I guess because I kept thinking (or dreaming) that I had text Terri that I was happy to run with her anytime except when lightning and heavy rains were involved. Now, don't get me wrong. I know I cannot control race day weather but if I have the choice on a training run or social/fun run to avoid heavy rain then believe me, I am going to make the choice to skip that run. That might make me a wimp but I'm ok with that.

Anyway, I honestly thought that I had actually text Terri telling her about not running. Turns out I must really have been dreaming it because when my alarm went off I didn't hear any rain on the roof nor did I have a reply text back that she agreed with me on not running and dodging lightning. It had poured rain and there were storms. However, I did NOT text Terri at 4am saying I wouldn't be running. Just a dream. Although, I was not really in the mood to run when my alarm went off at 6:30am. Snooze. 6:35. Snooze. 6:40. Snooze. 6:45. Oh geez, I so want to lay here and sleep. And then my awesome hubby says, "You'll feel better once you're done."

And so I got up, dressed and was out the door on time to meet Terri at 7:15am to run 4 miles. We didn't talk about pace. All I said was, "Are you ok with just 4 with me today?" And she said yep but that depending on how she felt she may go out for more after she ran with me. The weather was great but I was overdressed. If I remember correctly my car read that it was 63 out at 7:15 this morning. I wore capri running tights and a long sleeve tech tee. Dumb move on my part to wear the long sleeves. I actually had on short sleeves but went back in the house and changed after walking out the door and feeling the little breeze. Turns out the breeze wasn't so bad.

We ran and talked mostly about Terri's trail run yesterday. I knew as long as we were having a decent conversation that my pace was comfortable. Turns out we were talking AND pushing the pace quite a bit.

Mile 1 - 9:13
Mile 2 - 8:51

So, apparently we were pushing pretty hard that second mile. We agreed to a little break after the second mile to catch our breath. It always amazes me when I see sub 9s because I still feel like (for me) anything under 10 min miles is fast. We agreed to take the last couple of miles comfortably and just chat and run. So we did.

Mile 3 - 9:31
Mile 4 - 9:05

4 miles ran 36:46 for an average pace of 9:10. Pretty happy with that and definitely glad I dragged my butt out of bed to go. Especially glad that Terri agreed to meet me and run a few miles. The push was great and we both rewarded our efforts with some post run chocolate milk!

And now the countdown until marathon day is on! Today marks 2 weeks!!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Taper Time!

The hardest part of distance running for me I think is the taper! After my 21 miler last weekend I was pretty excited that this week would be an easy week. My original plan was to do a fairly long run this weekend by meeting with the training group and doing 13 or so but took the advice of my smart runner friends and decided this week and my long run would be much easier than that.

My runs this week have been short.

Monday - BodyPump plus elliptical
Tuesday - 3.25 run
Wednesday - rest (family hike)
Thursday - 4 miles w/Terri
Friday - 3.57 post work run
Saturday--

Oh long run Saturday, how I miss you!? That was my thought at bedtime last night. I was actually going to miss my super long runs. Training for this marathon has been fun and definitely a great experience. I've loved all the distance PR's over the last several weeks, seriously! Last night before bed my husband and I agreed on 8-10 miles for our long run today. I was leaning very much towards 10 because I know the next 2 weeks will be much more easy than this week.

Last night my husband went to his second sleep study. This meant a promise to the kids to sleepover with me, like in my bed. It also meant I would be sandwiched between two hot bodies. Woot, FUN!! haha It makes for awesome sleep let me tell ya. Anyway, it was about 7am when Daddy-O got home, the kids were stirring and so was I. Upon waking up I noticed that my ear (the infamous left ear, might I add) was throbbing a little. It may also explain some of the dizziness I have felt the last few days. It was also a bit rumbly and rainy outside which was less than exciting for the runner in me. Bummer.

Rather than getting up and being all excited about going for a long run (the last one before my marathon) with my awesome husband I sent the kids in the living room to watch "kid shows" while my husband and I slept a little longer. Mom of the year? You betcha! ;) After a good little snooze we finally got out of bed around 9:45, had a little breakfast and by 11:30 were finally headed to the gym. The rain had stopped but with all the rain we assumed the greenway would be somewhat flooded and I was not in the mood to puddle jump. We decided on a treadmill run. I was still hoping for 8 miles but knew at this point I was pinched for time since it was close to noon and we only had until 1pm to leave the kids at the gym's childcare. We plan like rockstars!

I hopped on a treadmill and started my run. 1 mile in and I was headed to the bathroom. Dumb.
2 more miles down and I was bored. After a 5k I was ready to stop running. I have been so use to at least 3 treadmill runs each week but for the last several runs (with our awesome weather!) I have been outside running. I was basically bored to tears and needed to cover at least another 3 or so miles. I whined to my husband for a few seconds about how the treadmill sucks then sucked it up and kept on running. I tried to make it exciting my changing up my music and running different paces to the beat of the song playing. I played with the incline on the treadmill. I watched the clock and tried to play games with it. It wasn't working much to entertain me. Finally at 6.50 miles I was done.

Saturday - 6.5 miles of boring treadmill running 63:40.

The best part of the "long" run was having it done and having burned several hundred calories. The next best thing is the feeling of having finally moved past my love for treadmill running. Get me outside!!!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Vaca day fun and a Friday run

Wednesday I used a vacation day at work and stayed home to hang out with my family. They're all on spring break so they've been at home while I've been working. Fun..for them, not me! Wednesday's weather was perfect so we loaded the car and headed up to the mountains. I had already decided the night before that I wouldn't beat myself up for not running (it is a taper week) or making it to my BodyFlow class (I did miss it though) since we were going to be doing a little walking. Plus, I was going to be hanging out with my family and that's priceless compared to a workout/run.

Here are a few pictures from our day...

[caption id="attachment_1158" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cades Cove"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1159" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="oh, hi! "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1160" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Me and my girl"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1161" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="He has no fear."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1162" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="My little buddy and me."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1163" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The boys were being boys!"][/caption]

We had a really great day! We did a little hiking, went in a couple of cabins, played in the water and grilled our dinner out. We are really blessed to live so close to such a lovely area and can visit it so many times each year. I'm so happy to have taken a day off midweek to enjoy away from home, away from the gym and enjoying quality time with my family.

I talked about Thursday in my TTT post so we will just skip directly from Wednesday to Friday. I had planned to get up and make it to the gym early to run a few miles before going to a Core Challenge class. My body had a different plan this morning when the alarm went off. It was NOT moving out of bed. I like to sometimes listen to my body and give it more sleep when it begs. Today was one of those days. :) I enjoyed the extra hour or so of sleep I got. I did pack my gym bag and was debating a midday/lunch run but have serious issues with going back to work gross and sweaty. Just doesn't sound like fun.

So, I decided I would hit the pavement after work and just run what felt good. I set out just after 5pm directly from my office. It's only about a half mile from the local greenway and I liked the fact that it was a different route than my regular plus it wasn't the treadmill! I'm kinda proud to say that all my runs this week have been outside!

Anyway, about a mile in I noticed the sky was getting really dark. I hadn't heard thunder yet and of course didn't check the weather before I left. I text my husband and asked if there were storms. It took a while for him to reply that yes it was starting to rumble over our house. We live about 8 or so miles from where I was running so I wasn't too concerned. I kept on with my run thinking that since tomorrow is St. Pat's day I would run 3.17 miles. Ha! Well, turns out I had gone out a bit further and once I saw 3.10 on my watch I kept going. At 3.17 I wasn't quite back to my car and just couldn't bring myself to hit stop on Garmin and walk the rest of the way back, so I kept running. I ended my run at 3.57 miles in 34:08. It was just in time before this rolled in..

[caption id="attachment_1164" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hello spring storm!"][/caption]

I seriously got in my car just as the thunder boomed and the rain drops started! Perfect timing!

Since it is taper week and only 2 weeks (where did the time go??) before my marathon tomorrow's long run is only going to be 10 miles max. I sound like a crazy person saying only 10 miles! I can't believe the time is almost here. I'm off to get some rest and will have a last long run before the marathon report for you tomorrow. Have a great weekend!!

Three Things Thursday

1. I feel like I am still recovering from my 21 miler on Saturday. I took Sunday off to rest. Monday I went to my regular BodyPump class even though I considered skipping it. Then I did a fast 3 miles on the elliptical. Once I was finished I felt great and was glad I didn't take a second rest day. Tuesday I ran after I got home. I took a route I usually run from the house. It involves hills which probably wasn't the wisest choice following such a long run. It felt tough. It was hot out plus my legs still felt tight. I really pushed the pace and ended up with 3.25 miles (30:17). Wednesday day was a rest day, sort of (more on that later). Tonight I met my friend, Terri, for 4 miles. Again, it was super hot and I feel like my legs still don't want to push me to go very far. I had planned to do 5-6 miles but Terri asked if 4 was ok and I was really glad she wanted to go shorter. It meant I could push a little harder. BUT since it was warm out short was good and the push was tough. We ended right at 4 miles (39 mins flat). Overall I am pleased with this week especially coming off such a long run, which Terri reminded me I hadn't done before and my body isn't use to. She's so smart. I mean I KNOW I did what she said but sometimes hearing it from someone else and knowing how I feel helps to make it feel like it is more normal. lol

2. I didn't participate in WIAW this week. Slacker. Truth is that Wednesday I took a vacation day from work and headed to the mountains with my family. I woke up to homemade blueberry pancakes and blueberry syrup (homemade too!) with a side of bacon. Yummy yummy goodness! And then we stopped on the road for lunch, Subway! While Subway is healthier than most fast food choices we had an Italian and that my friends is about 570 calories of deliciousness that didn't exactly fall into the clean eating challenge of WIAW this month. And while I am at it, let me tell you about my snacks and dinner... Girl Scout cookies (I held myself to 2) and dinner was a big juicy burger (grilled by my husband) and a side of chips! But wait it doesn't stop there! We stopped for ice cream on the way  home.  I won't call it a horrible eating day since I was only within a few calories going over BUT it lacked veggies (except those on my sandwich) and fruit (the blueberries do count since they were fresh).  I started back fresh yesterday with a fantastic eating day and of course carried over today too. I had planned to take pictures on Weds to share even though it was a heavy eating day but the truth is I was too busy having fun with my family that I forgot!

3.  Let's talk boobs for 3 seconds. Guys, move along if you wish. When I started this whole weight loss/running thing 3 years ago I had some big ol' girls. 38DD (and probably could've gone a bit bigger in the band width if I had to guess. I'm sad to report that I've dropped to a 34C and probably could even drop the band width to a 32 in some bras. Where have my boobs gone???  I stood there last night holding my new bras in my hand thinking.. this thing is tiny and then whipped out an old one and was in denial that my boobs were ever that huge. Why I saved old "fat" bras and not pants or tops is beyond me. I sure would like to have my old pants/shirts for a comparison!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Party like a runner

My lovely and speedy runner friend, Michaela (Mom and Running it ) organized a little post run fun in the Cades Cove picnic area. She taunted us early in the day with posting on FB about some sinful Cadbury egg cupcakes. And you KNOW this girl (ahem, me!) is gonna run for a cupcake! The thought of yummy baked goodness was enough to keep me motivated for 21 miles (well that and all of Terri's awesome encouragement). I may have snagged a few pics from M and the gang of all the post run fun.

My husband was waiting on us when we got back to the picnic area. Well the whole gang really was. Once they all came into view, I threw my arms in the air and boogied my booty like a crazy person yelling for the whole park to hear, "21 freakin' miles, baby!!!!!" And Michaela met me with a big ol' sweaty runner hug. You know those are the best kind! It felt so good to know that everyone there waiting was as excited about my new distance as I was.

The first thing I did when I got back was take off my shoes and went straight for one of the yummy burgers my hubby had made. I wish I had gotten a picture of it.. big, juicy beef burger topped with cheese! I threw that bad boy on a bun and a huge dollop of guacamole Michaela had made. It was so so good. Then it was time for my favorite post run treat...

[caption id="attachment_1143" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Will Run for Cupcakes!"][/caption]
Best cupcake ever, seriously! I don't really like Cadbury eggs. It has something to do with the whole yolk thing but when M told me she was making Caramel Cadbury egg cupcakes too I was stoked. Luckily the cupcake I picked was exactly that. Heaven.

We sat around and talked running a while. I borrowed Angela's stick and rolled that bad boy over my legs for about as long as I could stand which ended up being less than 3 minutes. haha
I wish I had been awesome enough like the rest of the gang and stuck even my big toe in the water but honestly I was just took hungry and stoked that I ran 21 miles to hobble down into the water. But take a look at them all being awesome...



And because I am a slow runner I missed out on all the planking fun with these girls. Look at them kickin' some plank butt after their long run!!!


The only thing awesome I did post run besides eat was sit on my tired rear end covered with a blanket because I was freezing. My friends were so kind to document it via photographic evidence for me. I was thankful for my husband allowing me the use of his strong legs for back support.
[caption id="attachment_1147" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chillin' post run"][/caption]

And while I enjoyed my rocky seat, Lindsay showed us her rad hooping moves.


After a little more chatting we all decided it was time to start packing up and heading home. We got one last group shot of all the ladies.
[caption id="attachment_1149" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Terri, Angela, Michaela, Lindsay, Brooke and me (only one sitting..haha)"][/caption]

I am SO thankful for such a great group of running friends.I only met some of these girls recently while I have known Terri over a year now but I am truly blessed to know them all and to be part of the great running community. These girls don't judge me for my slow pace, instead they push me to become a better runner and I love that! I'm so glad they let me run with them and hang out! We had such a great time hanging out together after our run. I cannot wait to do it again!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Monday Motivation

No matter the goal remind yourself that one day..... YOU WILL!!!



Setbacks, speed bumps and even excuses... they happen but stay strong and prove to yourself (or others) that you can. Believe and YOU WILL, one day!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Around the bend and back again.

My long run this week was to either be 18 or 22 miles. I decided to go for 22 since I had done 18.5 as my last really long training run and this week would be my longest before the marathon on April 1st. The KTC Marathon Training group was meeting at 8am at the beautiful Cades Cove so I decided to join them. Terri met my husband and I at our house at 7:10am and we were on our way to the Cove. It was a pretty chilly morning (36 with windchill at 33) but would be warming up to 54 by the time we would be done running. Dressing for this run was slightly difficult but I managed to do ok. I decided on a UA Tech tee with a UA cold gear mock neck over it but also packed extra dry clothes.

Once we were at the Cove we went for a quick potty break and met up with the group and us lovely ladies posed or a pre-run photo....

[caption id="attachment_1128" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lovely group of running buddies!"][/caption]

After a picture we were on our way. Terri and I were running together. Our goal for the run was to take the regular loop out (with traffic) through the Cove and to take things slow, not push our pace. Slow for the run being 10:30ish pace. The first mile of the run is almost at a complete downhill grade and what wasn't downhill was relatively flat, which cannot really be said for much of Cades Cove loop! Less than a mile in the run we came into a slight obstacle. Part of the roadway was covered in water. This is both good and bad. Good because the creeks were up since we had a lot of rain which hopefully means we won't suffer much with drought in the coming warmer months. Bad because we were at the beginning of our run and what runner wants soggy shoes at less than a mile in when you have SO many miles ahead of you yet??

[caption id="attachment_1129" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Can't swim it? No problemo! We'll jump it!"][/caption]
Someone smart in the group decided that it would be best to just jump the creek and make our way through the woods. This would bring us out on the other side of the road crossing and we could avoid soggy shoes, but only IF we all successfully landed our jumps. All I can say is thank goodness for all the squats and jumping (and of course running) to build strong legs!! We all successfully landed perfect 10s, of course.

We were back on track and running along, enjoying the sights. Cades Cove is really the most beautiful place in all of East TN to run. Michaela and the other lovely girls were behind us but I'm really not sure why because those ladies carry some serious speed. They did eventually pass us by but not before Michaela let me know she snapped a picture of us Bad A$$ Mother Runners!!
[caption id="attachment_1130" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="BAMRs"][/caption]
Can I just say that I don't mind having pictures of my back side taken anymore?? After Michaela said she got a picture of my back side I'm pretty sure I played the role of huge dork and smacked my buns for her! haha Gotta have a little fun on the run.

My husband was also running with Terri and myself but was only planning to do one loop or roughly 11 miles. We lost him somewhere around just after the first mile because he ducked into the woods. He had already told me before the run not to worry about staying with him. He was just planning to run and enjoy it. He and I are mostly at different paces right now. He also is not running the marathon, but I love any chance to include him in my training.

Terri and I kept on and decided to take a short snack/water break at mile 4. I think our goal was to make sure we were fueled properly so that we were able to keep it going over all the hills and make the distance. I had mentioned to her that I wasn't even going to post my splits BUT you all know I can't not include my splits from a long run. We didn't always remember to stop our Garmins so some of the splits are a little longer but mostly it doesn't matter since we were running to finish the miles, not racing! So, here are the splits for miles 1-4...

Mile 1 9:45
Mile 2 10:02
Mile 3 10:25
Mile 4 10:33

We only took a short break at mile 4. I took 2 Honey Stinger chews and some water. So far so good and I was happy to have ran every hill to this point with no issues. I forget what point it was but there was one lovely hill that Terri and I were just running along when we hear someone yelling curse words. We just kind of looked at each other and noticed a lady up ahead of us going up the hill. She told us not to mind her. We could hear her cursing and saying how, "This is CRAZY. Just crazy." Terri and I both encouraged her to push through. Not sure if our encouragement helped or not but hopefully it did. I felt bad or her really. I could remember my first time attempting that hill and I know it's bad.

The next stop for us would be at the bathrooms at about the midway point of the run. We hit it just before 6 miles.
Splits for miles 5 and 6 are..

Mile 5 10:24
Mile 6 10:24

We met the lovely, Gretchen from Pink Runner Girl at our 6 mile potty, snack stop and not long after my husband showed up. I was glad he wasn't too far behind us. I had him snap a quick picture of us and warned Gretchen that any and all pics from the day were subject to being blog material! Luckily, she said she didn't mind. So here we are...
[caption id="attachment_1131" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Gretchen, me and Terri looking lovely after 6 miles"][/caption]

It had already warmed up quite a bit so I took off my long sleeve, cold gear top. I took another 2 Honey Stinger chews and refilled my water in the fountain and we were on our way again. Another runner in the parking lot said someone told her the next half of the run was the easy part. I mumbled what I thought was under my breath that I thought it was hard. haha She heard me and was like oh no! Terri and I told her it wasn't bad just a bit hilly going up compared to the first half but it's a great training run for hills. I knew for myself that in my past 3 times running there that I had not been as strong on the hills. I surprised myself this time by running them all on this first 10+ mile loop.We played tag with a couple of other ladies on the rest of the run. We joked and said we were drafting! It's fun to play little games like that and makes the time seem to pass by before you even have a chance to think about it! If I remember correctly we stopped again for another snack between mile 8-9. The splits from mile 7-10 are...

Mile 7 10:52
Mile 8 10:38
Mile 9 10:31
Mile 10 10:43

We reached our starting point (the parking lot) just beyond mile 10. My husband wasn't back yet so were unable to get into the car. He had the key and even though he told me to take the extra fob I didn't listen. We had planned to maybe change shirts again and refill with fresh bottled water but since he wasn't back and I had no key we decided to just take a potty break and head back on our way. When we broke for the potty I took time to stretch and have a small piece of a Honey Stinger waffle (mmm strawberry!). We decided to do the second loop in the opposite direction and I knew the hills were going to be tough. In fact, around mile 8-9 on the nice downhill we were running I told Terri, "Boy, this is going to be loads of fun on the way back out for our second loop!" And as great as she always is she reminded me that hill training is good and this would only make me more prepared for the marathon.

Around mile 12 we met up with a friend of Terri's. He was going in the opposite direction but joined us for a little while. I'm not sure what it was at this point but it almost became mentally hard for me. I don't really recall my train of thinking. I do remember Terri saying, "Meet my friend Kim, she's lost nearly 90 lbs by running." It makes me feel good to know that Terri is so proud of me and happy to share my story with others. She's always saying what an inspiration I am to her and others but she (SHE) is such an inspiration to me. She was out there running my longest run ever with me after having ran a 50 miler just a couple of weeks ago AND on an achy hip! How is THAT for inspiring?! It felt great when her friend said he loved hearing stories like that. And I really DO love sharing it and love for others to share it. I am still amazed sometimes when I think about where I was just last year. I never never ever imagined that I would be on my way to running over 20 miles.

I think the mental issue (thanks to Terri's insight) was that I knew those killer hills were coming and I was letting them get to me before I even began running them. I'm happy to report that I mostly ran those hills. I DID walk briefly up one of the really hard ones but it wasn't because my quads were screaming. It had more to do with my heart feeling like it was going to burst out of my chest. That hadn't happened in a while but I knew I just needed a quick walk to get my breathing under control and settle my heart rate back into the rhythm I needed it to be in.

Terri was great about asking how I was doing and feeling. Besides the one hill the only other issue I had was the downhills. After so many miles the beating just kind of hurt my knees. It wasn't so unbearable that I couldn't keep running but mostly the pounding on the pavement down so much was just achy. It eased up when I was forced off the road into the shoulder (or lack of) and onto softer ground. I say forced because some drivers were not so nice. One lady even yelled, "GET OVER!," to us. Terri and I were not so happy about that and we might have had a few nice words for her too but I will refrain from sharing what I said. haha Just know that I wish drivers would respect what we are out there trying to achieve!

Our next stop would be back at the bathrooms. I can't really recall the exact mileage point. I want to say it was between 15-16 miles. So here are the splits from mile 11-15.

Mile 11 10:55
Mile 12 10:40
Mile 13 10:45
Mile 14 10:34
Mile 15 10:41

On our way into the parking lot at the bathrooms we ran into Michaela, Angela and Lindsay. We were excited to see them! I threw my arms up in true Rocky fashion and yelled, "I'm still winning!!!!" Michaela will get that one. :) Such fun. We chatted about how we all were doing and feeling and knew we'd see each other again at the campsite for some yummy food! If food can't motivate me to keep going nothing will. haha

After a potty break, snack (2 more Honey Stinger chews!) and stretching we were ready to start back and tackle the last half of the second loop. I told Terri that once we hit 18.5 miles I would like to take a minute at each 2 mile spot to kind of regroup and get my mental game on. 18.5 miles had been my longest run to date and it was a tough run (you can read about it here) with some mental setbacks so the last thing I wanted on this run was to feel mentally defeated. Terri agreed and even suggested we do a run/walk for the last part. I agreed because I knew her hip was aching and didn't want to push it anyway. I knew our pace was all over the place and this run really was just about covering the distance while enjoying the beauty of our surroundings. We agreed on a 10-2 run/walk.

Justin had only ran 11 miles and had agreed to meet us on the 2nd loop with the car which included dry shirts and fresh water. We had waited and waited to see him. Finally just after mile 17 I spotted him in a pull off. He was already out doing his paparazzi photographing us as we came towards the pull off where he parked the car. It was great to see him and to know we would have dry shirts!
He snapped these pictures for us..


[caption id="attachment_1133" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Happy runners even after 17 hilly miles!"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1134" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Dry shirts!! Oh and a LOVELY view! "][/caption]

I can't tell you how good it felt to have a non-sweaty shirt. A little funny... I have never changed my shirt out in the wide open like that before. My husband was off to the side talking to a car full of past high school students and all I could think (and said to Terri) was here I am this chubby girl out here stripping out of her shirt in the wide open. No don't look fatty's taking her shirt off Terri, of course, corrected me right away and all negative talk was stopped.

We refilled with fresh water, grabbed some fuel (2 more Honey Stinger chews for me) and stretched again before we thanked Justin and told him to hurry and get those avocados back to the campsite because Michaela wanted to make some guacamole. Mmmmm guacamole. YES, I could run 4 more miles just save me some green stuff!! And a burger, a REALLY BIG burger. (It is totally what I said to Justin as I thanked him for meeting us and said goodbye.)

We agreed to continue on our run/walk way until we reached the end of the run. I was excited because we had talked about doing the 2nd loop backwards so that we could wade through the creek that was covering the roadway (the one we jumped at the beginning of the run). I was looking forward to taking off my shoes and socks and putting my feet in that icy water even if was just for a minute. I don't remember the last little bit of the run being super difficult. I recall that when I looked at my Garmin and it showed 18.51 miles I told Terri "distance PR 18.51." But it wasn't until 19 miles that we really got excited over my distance PR.

I think it was at mile 19.5 when we were able to take our shoes off to wade across the water. I cannot tell you how great that felt. I screamed and cheered and told all the passing cars how they should put their feet in that refreshing water. haha I was having too much fun really. After we got across the water though I sat in the little pull of parking lot and laid down before finally putting back on my shoes and socks. That little break was nice! We finally decided we couldn't sit too much longer and knew there was food at the end to be eaten. So we laced up and started back. I groaned and I grunted. That little break was nice but going again hurt! Terri says, "I know baby but we got this. We are almost there!" She was right!

While I had really hoped to make it a 22 mile run for the day I told Terri I was fine to stop at 21 miles. She agreed. I mostly was happy with that because I knew that we were going to be short anyway because the loop was not an exact 11 miler. I have issues with stopping my Garmin on an odd run anyway and just wanted things to be even. I also wanted to be able to have a good cool down and knew the walk back would be less mental if I just stopped and called it done at 21 miles.

The splits for miles 16-21 are crazy off. I didn't stop my Garmin when we were taking off our shoes and such. I forgot to hit the lap button at mile 18. But here they are...

Mile 16 12:20
Mile 17 10:29
Mile 18-19 22:27 (11:13 average)
Mile 20 11:25
Mile 21 13:27

3 hours and 48 minutes later I had ran 21 miles. I RAN twenty one miles of hills in Cades Cove. I conquered my longest run to date and I didn't even cry! I didn't want to quit. I didn't feel defeated. I was proud. I had been around the bend and back again.

And since this post was so long I will do a 2 part post on the post run party!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Three Things Thursday

1. I had a little time alone tonight. My husband is away for his football coaching gig and my kids went on spring break a day early. I dropped the two little people off with my inlaws this evening and did a little shopping since I was clothes to the outlet malls. Let me say this... shopping should be fun after a lot of weight loss and usually it is BUT at the same time it is super frustrating! I am very happy with my current size. I love being able to walk in stores like The Gap and just pick up the size M (or 10) and know it's going to fit. What I don't like it what weight loss leaves behind that a lot of people can't see. Skin, lots of it. And tonight I noticed I have it on the back/sides of my thighs. Oh fun! or not. I did score some great things.

2. Today was going pretty well in the food department then I got into the bag of gummi bears. I usually have a method to my Haribo Gummy bear madness. Just 5 bears, one of each color. I eat the one I like least first and move to my fave. Today I had more than I should have (about 20 bears). I logged them though. I don't love how too much sugar sits so hard my stomach. Lesson learned. Sorry, cute little Haribo bears but we are taking a break.

3. I ended up taking today as a rest day from exercise. This weekend's long run is 22 miles in beautiful Cades Cove. I go back and forth on being nervous and excited. It's a training run so I'm just dumb for being nervous. I'm very excited because I get to run in Cades Cove WITH some freaking amazing running friends AND then food, lots of post run food. I joked that I was going to take cup cakes and beer. At least one part of that is the norm, post really long run, for me so it wouldn't be a huge shock if I showed up with a few dozen cupcakes! haha But I'm pretty sure most runner don't get hydrated after 22 miles with beer. However, I am always willing to try everything at least once. lol

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

WIAW - Going Green

I'm linking up again this week with Jenn at Peas and Crayons for more What I Ate Wednesday. Looks like the gang is going green in March. I'm sure all you smart folks know what that means! I did my best today (with the exception of a couple things...oops!) with my "Green" food. I did at least get it right in the veggie department.



I went to the gym early this morning to get my run on. 6 miles on tap for today. Finished those in 58:04 and felt happy. I was a bit late in the locker room due to chit chatting with the women. And I was prepared for the day with all of my food except breakfast. It's hard for me to pre-plan that sometimes on my early morning gym days. This meant I would either have to grab something, eat a bar or stop by the store. I wanted to stop at the store on the way in anyway because I am addicted to La Croix sparkling water and had hoped to get some grapefruit flavored water for today. So, I decided to just pick up something at the store for breakfast.

[caption id="attachment_1118" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Smart Ones (crap food, I know!) french toast and turkey sausage with green grapes"][/caption]

We had some yummy tacos (salad for me) last night for dinner and I was excited there was leftovers for my lunch today. A big pile of romaine topped with taco meat, refried beans, some chick peas, salsa and my fave guacamole!
[caption id="attachment_1119" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Taco Salad, La Croix grapefruit flavored and a green apple"][/caption]

After work I met my husband at the gym. He joined me again for my BodyFlow class. I've said a million times how much I love this class. The last part of class, relaxation, is my favorite part. Tonight someone in class had a coughing fit, not very relaxing. Someone also opened the door and started to come in the room. That totally broke my focus on relaxing but as we are taught I just focused back on my breathing and all was nice and relaxed again. I was excited to go home for dinner because we were having one of my favorite meals.

[caption id="attachment_1120" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Baked potato with shredded bbq chicken and a side of sugar snap peas."][/caption]
I did use a little sour cream on my potato and I had a Laughing Cow swiss with my sugar snap peas. I love this dinner so much.. simple but tasty and very filling.

And for snacks...
[caption id="attachment_1121" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chobani 0% Peach and a nectarine"][/caption]

I am really loving Chobani right now. The peach I had today was so good. I cut up some of my nectarine too and added that to it. I didn't snap pictures of my afternoon snack because I got so busy but I had a decent sized portion of raw baby carrots and sugar snap peas and a handful (about 7 really) almonds.

I feel like it was overall a good eating day! If you want to get in on the fun be sure to click the link above!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tuesday Randoms

After Sunday's long run I decided to not take Monday off and go "easy" cross training. So, I decided I would take my regular Monday night BodyPump class. Since I arrived at the gym a little before class I hopped on the elliptical for about 10 minutes to get good and warmed up before class. Class was great as usual. They're in the process of mixing things up before the next release. The instructors went "old school" during last night's class and did some of the earlier releases. Love that! Today my biceps and triceps were still talking!

Today was suppose to be a low mile easy run. It's been beautiful outside so mid afternoon I text my husband and told him I wish I had packed my Garmin in my gym bag. "Want me to bring it to you?" Aww, yes please and a long sleeve tech tee. We made a running date for after work. I love that. We didn't talk about pace but I always say, "easy." Ha! After the first mile I told him we should slow down because I thought my shins were achy. Mile 1 was done in 9:32. Slow? I thought after that that we were slowing down then I looked at my Garmin thinking it must be broken because I saw it was in the 8s. Um, not slow. Here is what the last 3 miles looked like...

Mile 2- 8:56
Mile 3- 9:03
Mile 4- 8:52

Nice. I like knowing there's some speed in my legs/body! I wanted to party like a rock star in my gym's parking lot after this run but high fives with my husband was good enough for today!

Wednesdays have become my double workout days. I start the morning with my run and then end my evening with BodyFlow. I am really loving these days. It feels good to get on a great early morning calorie burn plus adding to my weekly mileage then ending the day burning calories while doing a relaxing workout.

I received a package in the mail today from Barnes and Noble. Yay for books. But when my husband got home and called to tell me about the package I could not for the life of me remember what book I had bought. I had a slight hint who it might be from and had him open the package. I was right. My best friend (since 7th grade!) is so very generous and thoughtful. She sent me a book for my birthday and I am very excited to read it and share my thoughts with you (and her, she got it on her Nook). It's called, "Because I can...Doing what I can, With What I have, Where I am." The back says in part, One woman's story of facing tremendous obstacles of pain, limitations and depression after injuries proved to be almost more than she could handle. Learning to walk again was only the beginning...She must now learn to live... Sounds very inspirational and motivating to me!

That's it for now. I have to finish packing my gym bag for in the morning. Good night!!!

Monday, March 5, 2012

March Goals

I'm only a few days late getting my March goals posted. Better a little late than never, right!?

So let's look back at my February goals.
~ to lose 3-4 lbs or make it to 154 lbs.
~ participate in the What I Ate Wednesday posts
~ complete and possibly PR half marathon #4
~ update progress pics

How did I do in February??
~ I weighed in this week at 153.8!!
~ I did participate in the remaining WIAW posts which I think was helpful in keeping me honest with myself about my food choices, for the most part.
~ Not only did I finish half marathon #4 but I set a 9+ minute PR!!!
~ I didn't take many updated pics but my husband snapped this one of me this weekend and I just love it. It's hard for me to see my progress daily in the mirror and while my clothes fit looser and I know my body is still changing having pictures makes all the difference for me.



I feel as though February was a successful month for me. I made many distance PRs on my training runs and even PRd my half marathon time with each training run. My mileage for February increased from any month I've been running. I started taking a new class (bodyflow) and fell in love with it. My eating (for the most part) is right on track and thankfully birthdays are over for a while so no more cake until Marathon Day! I finally cleaned out all of my fatty girl clothes and will be getting them out of the house soon. Overall I feel like February was pretty much perfect.

So, what should I strive for in March? What can I do to make it just as great??

~ As far as weight loss goes, I would like to lose 1-2 lbs. This is low again because as I get closer to the marathon I want to stress less over my weight and focus more on the goal of crossing the finish line.
~ Continue posting WIAWs. I like the accountability and honesty of posting what I have been eating!
~ Continue with my no Diet Coke streak. I quit drinking my afternoon DC last week. I actually replaced it with La Croix sparkling water and don't miss it.
~ Keep going to BodyFlow, BodyPump and follow my marathon training plan.

I think that sums it up for my goals for March. What are YOUR goals for March?

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Weekend Review and Long Run Fun

Friday night we had tons of storms and I was up late waiting out those nasty storms and tornado warnings. So, I mentioned this to T and we agreed to postpone our long run to Sunday instead of running on Saturday morning. This worked out well for me because it was my son's 6th birthday (time flies and kids grow up way to fast!!). Rather than skipping the calorie burn altogether I decided a quick walk and BodyFlow was great for a busy Saturday. I even talked my husband into going to BodyFlow with me after his long run!

Saturday was super busy! After the gym I was home to rush around getting us all ready and out the door for a birthday party. This was the easy part. Wrangling 7 kindergarten boys at a bowling alley was a whole other workout that I was not entirely prepared for. Fun but wild! Our Saturday did not end there. We had another birthday party to do go that evening...at a jumpy house! I was a great mom and played on a few of the slides and blow ups with the kiddos. It's funny because I mentioned that going through that obstacle course with my son got my heart racing as much as a tough run would have. lol

And speaking of running....This week is a step back week so my training plan called for 15 miles. I say 15 miles because I was following the training plan for our local track club's marathon training group and 15 was on schedule for the "advance." I only started following the advance schedule because the long run for it before the marathon is 22 miles rather than 20 miles. Anyway, the other option (novice) was 12 miles this week but I really wanted to go for 15.

So 15 miles was the goal. T and I had planned to meet at 7am this morning. When my alarm clock went off I very much did not want to get up. I didn't sleep well, which I believe is because I had a crazy dream (about running even!) and finally after the 3rd alarm my husband said GO. So, I did. As I was washing my face T text me that she needed to go run later in the day and was sorry. NO way. Don't be sorry, this means I can go back to bed for a couple hours. YAY. So we met at 10am for our run.

We had planned to go in 3.75 miles and back to the car another 3.75 miles then stop for snacks and potty break. However, T was having some calf discomfort and asked if we could cut short at 3.5 as she felt she could only go 7. She's been breaking in some VFFs and I really admire her for that! I was thankful to have her there with me today even for those 7 miles. She's such a trooper as she said later the pain brought tears to her eyes. :( She toughed out those 7 miles with me though. She rocks, in case you don't get that already!

Splits for miles 1-7 (according to my Garmin)
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:49
Mile 3: 9:58
Mile 4: 10:26
Mile 5: 9:57
Mile 6: 9:45
Mile 7: 9:38

Today was a windy day. When I was getting ready the forecast was sunny and 38 degrees with the wind making it 33 degrees. It was sunny though and I was optimistic about how warm it would be in the sun. So I went out in just a long sleeve technical tee and capri tights. I went back in for my jacket and ear warmers. Boy was I glad to have those!

After T and I ran our 7 I went back home to grab my music, have a snack and put on a dry/warm shirt. Because my jacket was also wet/sweaty I threw it in the dryer while I used the bathroom and snacked. haha I was glad I thought to do that because it seemed to be even windier when I went back out. I decided to take a route close to home that wasn't totally on the highway. The only problem with this was the fact that I had to deal with cars on curvy, hilly backroads AND unleashed dogs. I really wish people would fence their dogs or keep them inside. I am not a fan of being chased and my mile 10 time proves that. Rather than run faster I pretty much come to a dead stop and then walk while screaming obscenities at those dumb dogs! And the wind... did I mention that I am not a fan of fighting the wind?? I had my fill of it for sure and decided that even though the plan I was following called for 15 I could scale back to 12 and be good.

Here are the splits for the next 5 miles:
Mile 8: 9:47
Mile 9: 9:45
Mile 10: 11:26 Dumb unleashed dogs!
Mile 11: 9:24
Mile 12: 10:04
last .06: 9:11

Overall this was a great run even though I complained about the wind. I just had more of it than I wanted after 12 miles of it mostly in my face and trying to run hard against it was harder...if that even makes sense. I still felt strong and probably had more run in me if I felt the need to go for it. I was beating myself up at first about only doing 12 miles but seriously 12 miles is still nothing to balk at! 12 miles is TOUGH and I am tough.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

It's Official!

If you have followed me this far at anotherrunningmom.wordpress.com go ahead and change it to anotherrunningmom.com in your reader! More changes to come.

I'm off to celebrate my baby boy's birthday. He's the big 6 today and we have a full day ahead!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Changes

This post is going to be about some changes on the blog! Yay. Changes in me recently and now changes in the blog. Why? Because change is good.

I just wanted to let those of you that read regularly and follow me know that the blog will be turning into a .COM rather than a wordpress.com. Exciting!? We shall see.

I am also working on the background and header. I've been blogging here for almost a year (at Wordpress) and love it but what's not to love about being a .com? Embrace the changes!! I hope you will still follow along and be patient as I work through the changes.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Three Things Thursday

1. It's a new month. A new month means new goals! I am still working on my new goals. I have been thinking all day about some things I want to accomplish in March but my mind just keeps going back to April 1st. Life is crazy busy or at least feels that way. I just want to get to April 1, cross the finish line and then slow down a little while. But that's not to say I will not make any March goals. I will. I just need one more day to think about what exactly I want to work towards this month!

2. I met my friend, Terri, this morning to run. I had a scheduled 5 miler and she wanted a little recovery run. SHE just ran a 50 mile beach run. Rock star! We met at my gym and planned to run the trail/greenway that connects however we had some crazy storms last night that dumped tons of rain on our county. Our greenways all have water.. small ponds, streams, etc.. So, we met at 6am and were on our way. I knew when we started that the trail on the left was covered with water. So we went right. We got about a half mile down the trail and had to turn back. Water over that bridge too. Bummer. We decided to try another route but I wasn't holding onto much hope that we would be successful that direction either because I knew there was water on that path as well. And I was right. We managed a mile outside together then we talked in the parking lot of my gym a while. It was nice to catch up with my buddy! I got inside the gym late so my 5 miles was cut short. I decided to just run what I could so that I could be in the locker room by 7:15. I knew I'd have to be pretty fast. I ended up running 2.65 miles on the TM in 23:11. So add that to my first mile in 10 with Terri and I completed 3.65 miles in 33:11. Holy fast legs Batman! The best part - I FELT great. I still say this has to do with Wednesday night BodyFlow.

3. I have to say this again and will probably repeat it a million times... my family has been so supportive though all this training. My husband and kids have been so patient with me. I've been tired, cranky and I've been super happy and silly. No matter my mood they are patient with me. My husband is 100% (and then some) supportive and encouraging. He tells me daily how proud he is of me and on those mornings I hit the snooze button he says to me, "You will feel better if you go." It would be so easy some mornings to just say no or to give up because I am tired or feel guilty but having the support and encouragement from my husband, my kids and friends means so much and makes me want to get up and work hard. I cannot say thank you enough! I couldn't do any of this without the support and encouragement from those I love (and I do love my bloggy friends, too!). So, to my husband, my kids, my friends and all of you.. THANK YOU!!!!!