Where Have I Been?

Well folks I'll be completely honest: I have NOT been running since my half! I've drank a lot of Dr Pepper, eaten a lot of holiday cookies, and, let's be honest here, I've loved every minute of it. Don't get me wrong, I love to run, I really do. But after several months of doing it out of obligation it has been nice to sit back and only run whenever I felt like it (which has been twice in the last month, FYI).

I really do need to get back into it though. It's always that first initial run after a long dry streak that is the hardest. Partly because I dread how much it's going to suck, and partly because I forget how much I actually enjoy it. I'll admit, it's really hard to get into the groove this time of year! It's cold outside and ridiculously dark by the time I get home every day. And with the recent events here in my hometown I don't really feel comfortable (or safe) going by myself to the park for a run anymore. :(

BUT... Christmas break starts in TWO DAYS! The upside to that is I'll have two full weeks without any work! The downside is that I still won't get much time for running because I'll have the kids all day. Again though, with the recent shooting in Connecticut I'd rather spend every second with my kids anyway.

I guess over the next few weeks I'll just be wingin' it, running-wise.

Gains and Losses

I thought it might be fun to reflect on all the things I've gained, and lost, throughout the past 9 weeks.

I gained:

-a greater confidence in my abilities as a runner.
-more respect for those committed to improving their health. It's not easy. And sometimes it tastes gross.
-7 lbs (last I checked, anyway!). I read somewhere that this is pretty common when you start training for longer distances but I thought it was a myth. It's not. So to all of you out there who keep telling me, "Stop running so much, you're getting too thin..." I've gained 7 lbs.
-knowledge of how my body functions. It needs at least 8 hours of sleep the night before a long run. It needs less sugar and a LOT more water. It needs more fruits and veggies and fewer cheeseburgers.
-a thirst for further distances! My next goal is a full marathon! I'm not sure how long it will be before I'm ready to start training for that, but I am convinced I can do it.
-a better relationship with Christ. I've tried to make running about Him and for Him. Running is a way to clear my mind and is a great time for prayer.
-a love for athletic gear. When I go shopping now I always want to buy new running shorts, shirts, tights... You can never have too many!!
-a fear of wild animals! Skunks don't look so scary when you're in your car and you drive by them fast and the smell doesn't last forever... but when you're on foot and you see a live skunk up ahead, you turn around and take a different route. No other options.
-an appreciation for wide roads and friendly drivers. I can't tell you how many times I had to jump in the ditch because the road was too narrow for a car to get over much or the driver was rude and/or not paying attention.
-the ability to breathe correctly. Who knew I'd been doing it wrong all these years!? I used to get side stitches ALL the time, even in short distances. But, after I learned the correct breathing technique, I could get rid of a side stitch in the middle of a run. YES!


I lost:

-3 toenails, two of which came from the same toe =(
-my good pair of gloves. Technically they weren't even mine to begin with. I borrowed them from my sister and had to buy her a new pair because of the first time I lost them. Hopefully they'll turn up again!!
-my fear of hills. I still dread them but I don't intentionally avoid them anymore.
-the belief that I can't do something due to lack of time. I have a full time job. I go to school full time. I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister... and I can still be all of those things and be a runner too.
-money. Okay, so maybe I didn't lose it... but I can't be certain where it went. Maybe it was used for registration fees? Maybe some new running shoes? Maybe someone spent it on a new Nike running shirt? The world may never know.

So, as you can see, I gained quite a bit more than I lost!

Route 66 Half Marathon

I DID IT, Y'ALL! I REALLY DID IT!

I had several panic attacks the week before but I managed to push through. My husband and I left our house Saturday afternoon and headed to Tulsa. We are not city folk. We do not like traffic. We do not like one way streets or road blocks. We drove around the Expo center for about half an hour before we found a place to park and decided not to pay the meter since we couldn't find it... I told you we're not city folk!!!

After picking up my registration packet we drove around for about an hour looking for a movie theater that was playing Flight. It was a very intense movie! I ate too much popcorn.

Through Him alone!

Dinner was at Olive Garden where I loaded up on spaghetti. And I ate too many bread sticks.

On our way! SO SCARED!

We then headed to my cousin's house where we would be staying for the night. I threw back a couple of Benadryl before bed just to help me sleep. I was SO nervous, it's a miracle I was able to doze off at all. And then I realized I FORGOT MY EAR BUDS AT HOME. I can't run without them!! Luckily my super awesome cousin had a pair and let me borrow them. SHE SAVED MY LIFE! We went to bed and I hastily dozed off...

Shakin' in my  boots. 

My alarm went off at 6:00 and I shot out of bed with a racing heart as nervous as I could possibly be! I brushed my teeth. I put on my clothes. I woke up my husband. I ate a muffin, drank some water, and the we headed off to the race. EEEEK!!!!

Say my prayers!!!!!! 

We parked and paid the metal box that told us we owed it $5. My awesome husband told me he was so proud of me (and that I looked good in my tights..) and we walked to the starting line. People people everywhere!! And everywhere I looked I saw runners who looked 100% more legit than myself. They had these neat belts with water bottles and power bars and gel packs and I was like whaaaaaaat is all this? I don't have a neat waist pack, what am I gonna do?! I can't call myself a runner without a fancy running belt!!

SO COLD. 

And we're off!!! 

Intimidated by all the professional runners and wishing I had brought a pair of gloves, I joined the herd and headed to the start. My husband stayed with me until the very last minute so I could toss him my jacket. I love that man!! Had it not been for him I probably would've had a meltdown.

By the time the race started my fingers were already numb. I wish I would have taken a picture of them--they were solid white.Why didn't I wear gloves!?

The first 3 miles went by pretty fast. I spent most of that time with my hands up my shirt trying to warm them up! There were so many gloves lying on the ground from people tossing them after they got warmed up and I really considered picking a pair up and putting them on... but I didn't. Around mile 3 the feeling had returned in my hands and I finally stopped picturing my fingers falling off from frostbite.

I hit a wall around mile 6. That's a bad feeling considering I wasn't even halfway done! But the spectators cheering everyone on was an ENORMOUS encouragement! I LOVED IT! People were holding signs all over the place. Some were hilarious, like, "Worst. Parade. Ever." and "Kick some asphalt!" I was amazed at how many runners there were, too. The crowd never thinned out at all. There were several water/Gatorade stations throughout the course, and someone was handing out some gel energy packs around mile 8 which was much needed! I hit another wall around mile 10. I knew at that point though that I couldn't stop, not even to walk. My legs were getting stiff already.

When I started this journey I committed myself to giving God all the glory. I promised to trust Him to give me the strength to endure. I even bought a shirt with Philippians 4:13 on it to run in. With a little less than one mile to go I had forgotten all of that. But then, right when I thought I couldn't go any further, a spectator made eye contact with me and shouted, "You can do this! Way to run for the Lord!" I almost started crying right then. He was SO right! I was doing it for Christ and through Him I can do anything! I finished that last mile strong and full of energy. I even sprinted to the finish line :) My time was 2 hours, 16 minutes, 16 seconds. Not bad for a newby who doesn't own a running belt!

I received my medal beaming with pride.

Several hours later, we left Tulsa (after driving around lost for a LONG time... whole other story!) and the only thing I could think about was COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE! My husband took me to IHOP where I ate ALL of my food and drank almost the entire pot of coffee!

By the time we got home every part of my body ached. My poor feet took a beating--I ended up with 6 blisters and a bloody toe. :( My husband informed me, upon seeing my ugly feet, that I was in desperate need of a pedicure! HA! When we got home the heating pad became my best friend.

So there you have it. My half-marathon experience, from start to finish! And to think that when I first started running after my son was born, less than two years ago, I couldn't even go half a mile without stopping.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

142.5 Miles Later...

I started training for my half marathon on September 17, 2012. Since then, I have ran 142.5 miles and burned approximately 13,520 calories! That's equal to 45 slices of pepperoni pizza! Also: 61.5 blueberry muffins.270 cups of sliced strawberries. 451 servings of baby carrots. Or, my favorite, 78 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds!

I have not stuck to the schedule 100%, but I've come really close. I ran 10 miles this past Tuesday, the first time I have ever gone double digits in my whole life. It did not feel amazing during the 9th mile, but it did feel amazing after the 10th and I was staring into the sinking sun thinking, "Wow, I can not believe I just did that." Run while you can folks. Someday, when you're old and can't hardly get out of bed, you're going to wish you'd taken better care of your body!

During my 10 mile run I took a little detour from the route I usually run, just to add those last few miles onto my run. I tried to take some pictures... 

I took this one on accident, hehe

As much as I've enjoyed this journey, I am glad to be at the end of training. Next week I'll taper, only going a couple of miles each day and then the big 13.1! Over the past few weeks I feel like I've barely seen my family at all. I go to work, run, go to bed, repeat. My husband has been absolutely amazing through all of this and I'm sure he's ready for training to end, too!

Even my son knows what it means when Mommy puts on her running shoes. He starts crying as soon as I get them on because he knows I'm about to leave. Two hours later I get home and it's time to put him to bed. It has been tough on everyone! 

What am I going to do after my half? I have no intentions of giving up running, that's for sure. But I think I'm going to take it easy for a while--no more than 6 miles for a few months. My husband gets his cast taken off his arm today and I know he's going to want to have some basketball dates with his friends over the next few weeks. Perfect timing! 

One more thing before I go: I could not have done any of this without Christ. During some of my most difficult runs all I had to do was pray for strength and endurance, and it was always there. I really can do all things through Him who gives me strength!!

I Made Something Yummy

I found a recipe on Pinterest and it turned out to be pretty delish.

1 refrigerated pie crust.
Nutella.
Butter.
Cinnamon sugar (made by mixing cinnamon into some sugar until you think it looks pretty).

I rolled out my pie crust, glopped some Nutella down on it and spread it out evenly. Then I cut my pie crust into 16 slices, pizza style. Rolled 'em up (like you would a crescent roll). Melted some butter (How much? IDK! Like... 2 tablespoons??) and brushed it on top of my little rolls. Sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top. Plopped the pan in the oven (preheated to 425) and cooked those bad boys for about 8 or 9 minutes.

This was the original picture:

http://www.plainchicken.com/2009/11/nutella-pie-crust-crescents.html

I won't lie. I honestly went into this pessimistically and assumed my little Nutella mini pies would look NOTHING like this but they turned out kinda similar. Here's my version:

Photo credit goes to my iPhone that's had better days.

Not too shabby right? I mean no, they're really not as pretty as the original... mine look a little deflated and I didn't use as much cinnamon. They still turned out pretty yummy! I took them to work for our potluck lunch so that I wouldn't eat all 32 by myself (I made two batches... genius). They're a little over 100 calories each (what kind of health nut would I be if I didn't calculate calories!?). 

Good thing I run tonight considering I ate at least 4 of these things PLUS all the other homemade goodies that my coworkers brought to the potluck. Chilli, chips, enchiladas, guacamole, pie, chocolate chip cookie dough balls (dipped in chocolate, of course, what else!?!?)... I ate SO MUCH FOOD that, 3 hours later, I still feel stuffed. 

P.S. I TURN 25 IN TWO DAYS. My new birthday present came in yesterday... RUNNING SHOES! I haven't run in them yet--trying to break them in first. I know this shouldn't really be an important aspect of a good pair of running shoes, but they are soooooo pretty! 

I've now put over 330 miles on my other pair of running shoes and, I'm not going to lie, part of me is a little sad to retire them. They're the first pair of actual running shoes I've ever owned. :( Maybe I'll have a little ceremony or something... 

Colton's Run 5K

I ran my first 5K in months this past weekend! I wanted to do the 10K but since I was supposed to go 8 miles on Sunday I figured that might be overkill...

My goal for this race was to run it in under 25 minutes which I did NOT do. Waaahh! (That was me crying like a baby, FYI). I didn't do too bad though! I can't figure out why my last mile is ALWAYS my fastest... every. single. time.

My final time was 25:39, argh

Look, I even won a medal! First place in my age division... it's the last time I'll ever be in the 20-24 division. I'm turning 25 this week! YIKES. 

This year's time was slower than last year's time, I was so disappointed! Oh well... there's always next year! I have another 5K this upcoming weekend, maybe I'll be my PR then... we'll see.

The Devil Got the Best of Me...

I wasn't quite as strong today as I was yesterday.

Well at least I was a lady about it and used a fork. 

The Devil's Real Name is "Hostess"

Yesterday: I forgot to bring my lunch to work so what else was I to do but raid the vending machine? You know what looked healthy? The jumbo sized Hostess honey bun. So I put in my 3 quarters and then watched as my lunch got jammed in the machine. WHY does this always happen to me!? It was hanging on for dear life by a thread. I tried wiggling the machine. I tried kicking it. I tried talking to the honey bun to let loose. It didn't. I couldn't just leave it there, right? What other options were there? I dug around for 3 more quarters and repeated the process. My precious honey bun finally let go! And then the other one I'd just paid for got stuck. What is it with these honey buns!?!?

The second honey bun didn't latch on quite like the first and I was able to wiggle the machine enough to make it let go. HA, you're mine now!! TWO HONEY BUNS ALL TO MYSELF.

I went back to my office and ate one of my jumbo honey buns for lunch. Afterwards I decided to dig the wrapper out of the trash to see how many calories I'd devoured. 550, ouch. I'm not going to lie, I really wanted to eat the other one too. But I didn't; I stuck it in my desk drawer for later.

TODAY IS LATER. That stupid jumbo honey bun has been taunting me alllllll day long. I honestly have no idea how I resisted but I did. It was pure torture. I even took it out and stared at it for a few minutes and then decided to have a coffee to try and curb my craving. Luckily it worked pretty well. 

I'll just have to go through all the taunting again tomorrow. THIS is why I try not to bring quarters to work.

Stop licking your computer screen.

Reality Check (I'm NOT 18 Anymore!)

A couple of weeks ago a friend from High School messaged me and asked me to play in a basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct 13th. I haven't played basketball since my last HS game over 6 years ago. Am I really that old? But to be honest I was a little excited--I text my husband and asked if it was okay with him. His exact words were, "This seems backward." Poor guy... he'd just broke his arm and here I was rubbing it in asking him if I could play his sport!

I agreed to play and then went back to my normal routine which, if you haven't noticed, has absolutely nothing to do with basketball. I'm still in training for my half marathon, remember!? I had to up my mileage quite a bit this past week and incorporate more (is that even possible?) speed training in. The tournament neared.

On Friday (the day before the tourney) I wanted to throw up. I have no idea why but I was so nervous! And I just knew I was going to roll my ankle. We won our first game by default because the other team didn't show up. Woohoo! We lost our second game to a team who obviously cross-trains or takes steroids or something. We saw them eating bananas in between games--they had to have been laced with something! 

http://rense.com/general85/bananas.htm

And I rolled my ankle, of course.

We won our third game and I don't know how any of us made it without passing out. We. were. exhausted. And then we had to play another. Our game plan was to just forfeit but the oldest player on our team, who turned out to be in WAY better shape than any of the rest of us, put her foot down and made us play! I don't think we could have made it without her, she was our coach, referee, and cheerleader (without the pom poms).

We lost our last game and won 2nd place in the tourney. We were quite satisfied with that! This all happened on Saturday. That night my hubby, son, and I stayed at my parents' house. My son is very particular to his own crib and therefore wouldn't sleep AT ALL. I got up 4 different times to get him milk (yes, 4). At one point I dug through all of my mom's medicine cabinets looking for children's Benadryl; I was desperate for anything to make him sleep, don't judge me! I didn't find any: DRATS.

Come Sunday morning we were so so so tired. And on top of that I felt like someone had run me through a meat grinder. I really truly thought all the training I'd been doing for my half meant I was in pretty good shape. WRONG. My legs hurt. My back hurt. My arms, feets, neck, butt, shoulders, abs, lungs... everything... HURT. I also have multiple bruises in the strangest places like my fingers. It looks like I got into a knitting war (and lost).

http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/13-foods-that-fight-pain/

I decided to postpone my 8 mile run to Monday. Well, it's Monday and guess what? Everything. still. hurts! I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't hang with my 18 year-old-self anymore! Maybe I should start doing squats? Or just eat more bananas?

Confessions of a Runner

So I feel like I don't really have a lot to talk about lately. I'm still training for my half marathon, everything's on schedule, but there's nothing really new to say. So... I'll just spill some confessions. Sounds fun.

1. When I run by a street drain I glance into expecting to see a clown staring up at me.

Is that not the scariest thing you've ever seen!?!? Picture credit here. 

2. I don't really have a warm up routine. I just kinda... stretch whatever feels tight. And most people recommend that you do like a 5 minute jog or something first, too, but yeah right. From the time I walk out my front door to when I start my actual run, probably less than 2 minutes passes. I just wanna get it all over with!!

3. I always run faster when a car passes by me. I don't want them to know how slow I really am.

Picture credit here. 

4. If I run in just a sports bra I always "suck it in" if I think someone is looking!

Picture Credit here. 

5. I sweat like no woman you've ever seen. My face, my legs, my arms, my neck... it's unnatural.

Picture credit here. 

6. I like to look at my own shadow when I run to see if I look like a "real" runner or not. Usually I think, "Do I really slump that much?"

7. When it's really hot outside I listen to Christmas music.

Picture credit here. 

8. I don't drink enough water and I drink way too much coffee. BTW I was exactly 4 weeks off Dr Pepper when I caved and had one at a restaurant this past weekend. *ashamed* I haven't had another one since, though!

9. I'm too competitive. What's the point of signing up for a 5K (or any race for that matter!) if  you don't plan on winning a medal!?

Picture credit here.