Long time my friends.
I ran my first full marathon 10/29/11 called the Haunted Hustle. I ran it in 3:52:23, I was shooting for sub 3:45, but it is OK, it was my first after all. I was expecting to hit the wall, or fall apart after mile 21, but none of it happened. I stayed strong throughout and had a "perfect" race. roger and Amelia were there, and my brother drove up to see me and he found my on the course!
The race was very emotional for me also, I had to stop my self from crying like 4 times.
Recovery has been OK, I took a whole week off from any exercise, Monday I resumed. 4 miles then 3 yesterday along with core and some leg work. I have been having some trouble with my knees so I am trying to strengthen them before i start my training in Jan for the Madison marathon in May.
For all of you who do not know, Friday is a day that I have been looking forward to for along time! 11-11-11, wishes aplenty!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
PArty LiKe It'S 1999
Yesterday was my first half-marathon. This was the race that I have been training for, all my hard work led up to this moment!
Up at 5:30am ready with coffee and my granola, ipod charged; race number, sun glasses, watch= check.
We had all the kids and got them up and everyone out of the house by 6ish for the 7am start time. With 10 minutes before the start everyone in the corrals, stomachs turning with nervousness and excitement, they call a race delay for incoming weather. Seriously.
it was a nasty storm, and after an hour and a half we were lined up and ready to rock. It was still pouring rain and I equipped with only sunglasses as a way to keep the water from my eyes, was soo nervous. I'm in corral F with an estimated finish time of 2 hours, lets do this already!
And we're off, I feel good by mile 3, I was soaked through and my light jacket was no longer protecting me from the rain, it was just making my cold; off it went. The rain stopped and it was warming up and the miles were flying by. I was thinking to myself "wow this is going by fast"
I knew my pace was faster than I had been running and the couple people i had my sights on to beat were far behind me after the first 2 miles.
I planned to take my gel at the half way point of 6.5, and I was to 7 before I was eating it. At mile 10 the kids and Roger literally pulled up 5 seconds before i ran by and I was finally able to toss him my jacket. If he wasn't there soon I swear i was just gonna chuck it aside! I see the 10 mile clock and I was 5 minutes faster than the 10 mile race i ran 2 weeks prior!! That was a great feeling!
Between miles 11 and 12 I could feel myself pushing back against me, my legs resisting. I ate a couple chews and pushed through it, I only had like a mile to go, I can't puss out now!
Also starting about mile 11 there was a woman near me who I vowed to beat, we were neck and neck for those last couple miles and she got all excited at the 13 mile mark, clapping her hands and all. I was like see-ya, seriously sprinted to the end, even with my ipod in i could hear the kids and Roger cheering and yelling at me!
It was the best feeling, finishing strong and harder than i ever have run a race and having my family there to see me.
I get to the results tent and the two people in front of me didn't have finish times on their records and all I could think was, "please let my timing chip have worked".
It did.
net time: 1:46:29
pace: 8:09
5 mile: 40:28
pace: 8:06
rank:552
10 mile: 1:19:56
pace:8:00
rank:541
last 5k:26:44 i knew i was slowing my pr is 23:59
pace: 8:38
rank 515
division place :26
gender place: 119
overall place: 503
I am pretty sore today and i know it comes with the territory, but no resting for me, in 4 weeks I have a half trail run, and 5 weeks after that i am doing a marathon. pretty sure i have caught the running bug and I like it!
pretty sweet that my number was 1999, just sayin'
Sunday, July 31, 2011
hoochie mama
I just had my 10 mile race yesterday and I am pretty happy with the results. I held back a little because I was hesitant of the course going into it blind. I didn't want to "blow my wad" at the beginning and be dead at the end. I finished 11th out of 192 in my age group.
It's 3 more weeks till the race I've been training for, I feel ready and I am anxious to keep training until then. I am signing up for a marathon trail run 2 weeks after the half.
I feel that if a person goes through life worrying about what other people think of them, they must be so miserable. Learning to embrace yourself for who you are and not taking what others think to value is the best you can do. If all they have to do is talk about you, then hey!
To be attacked as a parent and to be told that I am no role model honestly stings a bit, but I know that you cannot reason with stupid.
It's 3 more weeks till the race I've been training for, I feel ready and I am anxious to keep training until then. I am signing up for a marathon trail run 2 weeks after the half.
I feel that if a person goes through life worrying about what other people think of them, they must be so miserable. Learning to embrace yourself for who you are and not taking what others think to value is the best you can do. If all they have to do is talk about you, then hey!
To be attacked as a parent and to be told that I am no role model honestly stings a bit, but I know that you cannot reason with stupid.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
sooo tired
Sorry about the absence, life has been all over the place.
The family and I just got back from the east coast, yes we drove. It took about 16 hours to make the trip. The kids had a great time and the day at the beach was a hit! Family road trips take on a whole new meaning when you are the parent.
My goal was to work out at each hotel we stayed at so i could stay on track with my running. I did run 2 of the days, but only a total of 6 miles; can we say less than ideal!
Yesterday we did a 25 mile bike ride and I was eager to get some exercise in and I knew it would be a nice warm up for my legs. Today was my long run day and I was planning for my 11 mile route. Roger and I relished in the fact that we could lay in bed this morning without rushing so we got up a little later than anticipated. By 8:30am it was already 90 degrees. So we both set out on our respective workouts, he to bike, me to run.
I was stocked with 2 bottles of water, 2 salt tabs, a gel, and some chews. By the 4 mile mark I was hot, I forgot that there is NO shade on the route. I ran out of water with about 2 miles to go and I started to get cold with the sweat. There was one large spot of shade that I stopped in and almost lost it. The last mile home was so slow that I probably could have walked faster.
Tomorrow we fly out to Atlanta and we are staying at this resort with lots of running trails and paths, so I am excited to go and keep up my training routine. In less than 2 weeks I have a 10 miler.
The family and I just got back from the east coast, yes we drove. It took about 16 hours to make the trip. The kids had a great time and the day at the beach was a hit! Family road trips take on a whole new meaning when you are the parent.
My goal was to work out at each hotel we stayed at so i could stay on track with my running. I did run 2 of the days, but only a total of 6 miles; can we say less than ideal!
Yesterday we did a 25 mile bike ride and I was eager to get some exercise in and I knew it would be a nice warm up for my legs. Today was my long run day and I was planning for my 11 mile route. Roger and I relished in the fact that we could lay in bed this morning without rushing so we got up a little later than anticipated. By 8:30am it was already 90 degrees. So we both set out on our respective workouts, he to bike, me to run.
I was stocked with 2 bottles of water, 2 salt tabs, a gel, and some chews. By the 4 mile mark I was hot, I forgot that there is NO shade on the route. I ran out of water with about 2 miles to go and I started to get cold with the sweat. There was one large spot of shade that I stopped in and almost lost it. The last mile home was so slow that I probably could have walked faster.
Tomorrow we fly out to Atlanta and we are staying at this resort with lots of running trails and paths, so I am excited to go and keep up my training routine. In less than 2 weeks I have a 10 miler.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
updated my playlist
Almost back on track with my training schedule, in the last 2 days I ran about 15 miles for the week 24 so that's about where i left off when I hurt my knee. I haven't been stretching like I should and I can feel it. Still doing my strength and core exercises so that's good?
Sometimes I feel like whipping yourself into shape should be just as easy for your mind. some people lose themselves while on a run or a ride, not me. my mind kinda goes blank and i focus on the words of the songs on my ipod. my mind will run a bit and thoughts will cross my mind, but i don't have these epiphany moments or anything.
pets.
they get it, they love you no matter what and they form a bond with you in such a short time. a person can feel just as strongly about a pet than they can about a human. the loss of such pet can be devastating, life changing. they do love you unconditionally.
looking forward to this week with my sister and niece and taking things as they are.
Sometimes I feel like whipping yourself into shape should be just as easy for your mind. some people lose themselves while on a run or a ride, not me. my mind kinda goes blank and i focus on the words of the songs on my ipod. my mind will run a bit and thoughts will cross my mind, but i don't have these epiphany moments or anything.
pets.
they get it, they love you no matter what and they form a bond with you in such a short time. a person can feel just as strongly about a pet than they can about a human. the loss of such pet can be devastating, life changing. they do love you unconditionally.
looking forward to this week with my sister and niece and taking things as they are.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Rain, Rain Go Away
After taking about a week off, and easing back into the running my knee is feeling better. It is not 100% yet, but I can go 5 miles without it starting to hurt. by next week i hope to back on schedule, but I am not pushing it that's for sure.
I do not have a race until the end of July which kinda sucks, but I can't really fit anything else in! We did a nice bike ride this past weekend with the kids, it was the Trek 100. We all did the 19 mile bike ride. Amelia did awesome, she was flying past us at times and she has so much strength and she has so little confidence. On the way back she was getting a little cocky and she fell in the gravel and skinned her knee, after a pretty big cry fest she was back on the bike and we made it back.
The weather is crap today, I am going to put off running till this afternoon with the hopes that the rain stops and the temp soars. (fingers crossed) I do not want to run on the treadmill that hurts my knee the most.
The kids are out of school and in summer school now till after the 4th of July. That is nice for everyone, and Amelia gets to stay here instead of going to her dads, we all like that~
I do not have a race until the end of July which kinda sucks, but I can't really fit anything else in! We did a nice bike ride this past weekend with the kids, it was the Trek 100. We all did the 19 mile bike ride. Amelia did awesome, she was flying past us at times and she has so much strength and she has so little confidence. On the way back she was getting a little cocky and she fell in the gravel and skinned her knee, after a pretty big cry fest she was back on the bike and we made it back.
The weather is crap today, I am going to put off running till this afternoon with the hopes that the rain stops and the temp soars. (fingers crossed) I do not want to run on the treadmill that hurts my knee the most.
The kids are out of school and in summer school now till after the 4th of July. That is nice for everyone, and Amelia gets to stay here instead of going to her dads, we all like that~
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Truly Accepting the Things I Cannot Change
No matter how hard we try there are things that are out of our control. Things that we have no say in, things that happen no matter what. A couple of days ago I got that piece of information that I had been waiting for. I knew it was inevitable and it was just a matter of time before it happened. There are others who were still in the "if" stage, believing that it wouldn't happen again. I knew better. Sometimes there are things that just don't get better, the person/thing is so far damaged beyond repair that the only humane option is the end. But the tricky part is when the people affected are so concentrated on the hope, that they can't see the pain and refuse to believe the end is the result.
Hope is strong, it can get you through many things and give you something to hold on to when everything else has failed. Hope is a death sentence as well, you get stuck in the illusion of what the truth is and reality becomes a blur. The truth hurts. Is hope some kind of a lie we say to ourselves to avoid the truth that bad things happen? They say that honesty is the best policy. does that apply to the ones we love, we care about? The little white lies, the half-truths and even the straight out omissions of the truth, do they come with a cost as well?
At some point in ones life there is a line drawn, not a line you can see, but it is so real that you can still trip over it. There is a time that comes that hope is no longer an option, it becomes a thing of the past, a distant memory. A tie is cut and a line put in it's place, the line of protecting yourself and letting a person you love go. Don't get me wrong that is a hard thing to do, to put yourself before others, to be selfish. but really who so we really have besides ourselves? Who is going to hold you accountable for your own actions, who is going to be there when no one else is?
I drew that line along time ago, it was not an easy decision, but I knew it was the right one. Me, Myself, and I were more important than the woman who was supposed to be my mother. Living in a world of secrecy and lies, love and hate, uncertainty and despair was over. At that moment the weight of worrying was lifted, I was no longer the caretaker and how liberating that was.
That cycle was going to break, right then.
With the events as of late, the news was the same as reading the paper, nothing new, just a different series of events leading up to the fall. The hurt happened when I had to witness the realization in my sister that she now had to draw that line. How can someone who has longed for her whole life to have a mother, now decide by her choice not to have one? It is quite possible that that line cannot be drawn until you are a mother yourself, to feel the bond, the love, and all the possibilities for your child. Not then do you understand that you will NOT be the mother you had. The unspoken vow taken at birth to protect them and give them the life you never had.
In the end it is possible to have good come out of the bad, and hope can shine once again through that promise of a better life.
Hope is strong, it can get you through many things and give you something to hold on to when everything else has failed. Hope is a death sentence as well, you get stuck in the illusion of what the truth is and reality becomes a blur. The truth hurts. Is hope some kind of a lie we say to ourselves to avoid the truth that bad things happen? They say that honesty is the best policy. does that apply to the ones we love, we care about? The little white lies, the half-truths and even the straight out omissions of the truth, do they come with a cost as well?
At some point in ones life there is a line drawn, not a line you can see, but it is so real that you can still trip over it. There is a time that comes that hope is no longer an option, it becomes a thing of the past, a distant memory. A tie is cut and a line put in it's place, the line of protecting yourself and letting a person you love go. Don't get me wrong that is a hard thing to do, to put yourself before others, to be selfish. but really who so we really have besides ourselves? Who is going to hold you accountable for your own actions, who is going to be there when no one else is?
I drew that line along time ago, it was not an easy decision, but I knew it was the right one. Me, Myself, and I were more important than the woman who was supposed to be my mother. Living in a world of secrecy and lies, love and hate, uncertainty and despair was over. At that moment the weight of worrying was lifted, I was no longer the caretaker and how liberating that was.
That cycle was going to break, right then.
With the events as of late, the news was the same as reading the paper, nothing new, just a different series of events leading up to the fall. The hurt happened when I had to witness the realization in my sister that she now had to draw that line. How can someone who has longed for her whole life to have a mother, now decide by her choice not to have one? It is quite possible that that line cannot be drawn until you are a mother yourself, to feel the bond, the love, and all the possibilities for your child. Not then do you understand that you will NOT be the mother you had. The unspoken vow taken at birth to protect them and give them the life you never had.
In the end it is possible to have good come out of the bad, and hope can shine once again through that promise of a better life.
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