running again.

Well I have done it again. That is I have signed myself up for another half marathon. I really enjoyed running the last one and was super proud at the dedication I put forth into training and proud of myself for accomplishing running 13 miles at one time.

Now you might be saying to yourself, Oh this will be easy for her since it was only two months ago she was in great shape and ran 13 miles. Ha! Wouldn't that be nice. I have been kicking myself for the fact that in the past two months I worked out maybe 10 times and ran maybe 5 times. UGH what was I thinking. I registered last week for this race that is towards the end of Sept and hit the pavement again last weekend. My first run was 2 miles and I had to run 5 min and walk 2 min. The next day the same, and then the next day I ran the 2 without walking. Today was 3 and I didn't walk, so that was good. I'm back in the training game and enjoy it. I seem to work out a lot more regular when I have a workout schedule on my calendar and a goal in sight!

So if you live in my area and want to get in on this fun you better register soon because they are only taking 1,000 participants since it is the innagural race!

13.1 miles with an update ...

I DID IT! 13.1 miles today. I have been training since January and today was THE day! It was early this morning and Becca and I got down to Centential Park about 6:45 am for a 7 am race start. We were in the 13th corral and so it took us about 20 minutes to get to the start line.

The race was great and my goal was to finish under 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was set to pace myself for about 9:30 to 10:00 minute miles. The first mile Becca and I ran was 8:30!!! Way too fast for our first mile! :)

We had fun and my parents flew up yesterday to help with the boys and to cheer me on. Here are some pics to prove my acheivement!


I saw the family during the race around mile five and was able to give the BIg Boy a kiss. He was kinda of caught off guard and didn't know what to think when I ran up to him!





It was fun and I can see myself doing this again someday. Right now my WHOLE body hurts and I want to just lay in bed all day! My knees hurt my calves hurt, my toes hurt, my back hurts .... wow I hurt!

I finished at 2:06.46 so I was very proud of myself!

UPDATE!
***I found my "official" time today in the paper - I finished 5,727th with a time of 2:07:06. The last place in the paper was 19,416 so I think I did pretty well! The first place in my age group (25-29) was 1:24:40! WOW that is grooving! BUT get this ... the first place in age group 12-14 was 1:42:26. What the heck? That girl is amazing! Today my body doesn't hurt too bad, just my knee caps. I know it is random but they do hurt!

TEN MILES

I must brag on myself for one moment. I just arrived home from a ten mile run! Did you read that TEN MILES of non-stop running! I stopped twice for water and twice to adjust my ipod and finished in one hour and thirty-eight minutes (I know for some of you that is slow, but hey for me I was very proud!). I was very tired and now just want to lay on the couch and sleep but of course there is laundry to be done and a bathroom to be cleaned!

Next Saturday I'll be running 13 miles! WOW I think I might cry at the end! My parents are coming up to cheer me on since Aaron will miss it. :(

Marthon update!

Remember I am set to run 13.2 miles in about 12 days! Also remember that until today I had not run in many, many days due to sickness and vacation. Today I hit the treadmill again and it was fun and sad all in one. I was so happy to be back at running, but so sad that I didn't get to run too far and I was a little more winded than I would have been a few weeks ago!

Oh well, let's not look at the negative let's look at the positive side - I'M BACK! Tomorrow I will get back outside and run because I HATE the treadmill!

Check out this story .... this is what I call dedication!

It's official!

It is official I have registered for the 1/2 marathon at the end of April! It feels good to know that I'm commited to something and it makes my goal even more important to me! I went today and bought new shoes. I went to a running store and they measured my feet and recommended the perfect shoe! It was cool to buy a shoe that actually fits your foot. I found out I have flat feet and when I run my feet turn in and that could be effecting my knees. So, the shoes will help correct that and hopefully help my body not hurt so badly.

My knee was acting up again tonight on my lousy 2 mile run! I am taking advil and icing my knee and will probably run/walk my 6 miles tomorrow. The lady there recommended me running 5 minutes and then walking 30 seconds to a minute. I told her I would feel like a weanie if I did that. BUT if my knee is still hurting I think I'll be doing some walking!

Oh and did I mention that I'm getting sick. UGH is all I can say to that. Our family has been very blessed this year and we haven't had much sickness in our home. I'm thinking I may have a cold. My throat hurts, head was pounding this morning and now my voice sounds all scratchy. TYLENOL COLD NIGHT TIME will be my friend tonight!!!

Accomplishments

Today as I was running I didn't have my ipod so my brain was free to roam and quickly jump from one thought to the next. I was running a new route which was a jump for me. I usually stick to the Y or my neighborhood. Today I went to the local greenway and hit the pavement. It was a good experience for me. I have seen way too many Law & Order SVU shows and just knew that someone was going to jump out of the bushes and attack me and leave to die at any moment. I tell you my mind works in crazy ways.

So, to combat these fears, I started thinking about good things. I tried to pray about things going on in my life (and for the man that I knew was in the bushes waiting for me) and think about good things. My mind started thinking that if I do run this 1/2 marathon it will be a great accomplishment for me. You see, I have not registered yet and seem to be putting it off. I need to register to have one more way to be accountable to the workout. I have my workout schedule, it is on my ical, I have new shoe, but I have not registered. I will though. I will.

What are the BIG accomplishments in my life? I immediately thought of college. I was the first in my immediate family to graduate college and so that would be a big accomplishment for me. Our family adopted domestically and that seemed big to me. My marriage seems to be an accomplishment. WHEN I run this 1/2 marathon that will be a HUGE accomplishment for me.

I notice that all these have one thing in common. They took work on my part. To graduate college took me 6 years, and I only have a bachelor's! I wanted to quit so many times, but yet I stuck it out and finished. Adoption was the most emotionally draining thing I've ever been a part of in my life. My marriage takes work. We schedule time for each other, I have someone else's feelings to think about, and I can't be my selfish self all the time. Training this marathon is taking time out of my life. It is hard work. Most days I don't want to run, but I do anyways because I know the end is 10.5 weeks away and will be worth every mile I ran.

What are your big accomplishments in life? What obstacles have you overcome?

Philippians 4:13 "For I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me hte strength and power." (TLB)

I'm just tired.

Have you ever just been tired? I am just tired. In fact I just slept for almost an hour on the boys floor while they played around me. You know that kind of sleep - the kind where, yes you are asleep, but no you aren't. You can sit up at any moment and see why someone is crying or tell someone to stop pushing and then go right back to your "sleep zone". That was me! I had planned on napping while the kids did, but that might be able to get me through the day!

I think I got even more tired today after looking at the workout schedule I need to be keeping. Here is my deal - I LOVE to workout - BUT I hate to workout. Anyone else feel that way? Yesterday I had about 25 min before I had to be somewhere so I went to the Y and ran 2 miles in about 18 min and felt great. Then this morning Laura and I hit the spin class for 45 min and then did a few arm weights. For some reason I was dead aftewards. Here is the deal though - this Saturday is 12 weeks out from the 1/2 marathon that I really want to do. That means no more playing around - I HAVE to work out and really need to love it too! There is also a 5K in two weeks that I think I can handle. Maybe that will give me the boost of confidence that I need!

I just added up the amount of miles that I have ran in January and it is not good. From Jan 2 to Jan 31, I ran a grand total of 23.8 miles and did spin class two times. This is where I get tired. I just added up how many miles I'm "supposed" to run in the next 12 weeks before the marathon - 200! Did you see that - 200! That is roughly 16 miles a week, which is roughly four times what I ran each week in January. BUT good thing is that it is a progressive training and you don't run 16 miles the first week. You work up to it!

So I really want to do this, but I am so scared to commit for fear of failure. What if I don't get in my 16 miles a week, what if my back starts hurting bad again, what if I have a bad week that turns into two bad weeks and I get way off the training schedule. UGH!

Well, speaking of tired .... I am off to take a bath while the kids are napping and read my SHAPE magazine! It says on there that you can have sexy arms in two weeks and loose 8 lbs in one week!