Here I come! The Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon is on SUNDAY!
When I started training back in January, it seemed so far away... I honestly can't believe that I just completed my last training run! Technically, I'm supposed to run 2 miles tomorrow, but I ran 2 extra miles tonight so that I could have an extra rest day. My left shin has been a little touchy the past couple of times I've run, so I want to ice and rest it to have it in tip-top shape! :)
I started tracking mileage on February 7, when my official Half Marathon training plan kicked in. (I had been running for several weeks before that to build up a little running base.) In 12 weeks, I have logged 189 MILES! All to run 13.1 miles on Sunday. Crazy, no?
I KNOW that I've prepared well for this race (okay... I could have done more strength training/cross training) but I've run nearly every single day that my plan called for. I don't think I've stuck with anything so consistently in my life - and it feels great!
Here's to hoping the rain holds out (despite the current forecast...) and it's not TOO cold on Sunday! Be thinking about me at 6:40am when the gun goes off on Sunday morning! :)
I'M READY!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Like a peach
Always knew I bruised like a peach, but this is BAD!
Clearly crawling through a long, dark tunnel at Warrior Dash did NOT agree with my legs...
Clearly crawling through a long, dark tunnel at Warrior Dash did NOT agree with my legs...
Sunday, April 17, 2011
I'm a WARRIOR!
What a WONDERFUL weekend it's been so far - and I still have all day today to go!
Had a lazy Friday night, per usual, and was perfectly content with an early bedtime after a looong week. After a very restful 10 hours of sleep, I nearly bounded out of bed on Saturday morning. It was WARRIOR DASH day!!
I picked up my sister, who volunteered to come cheer us on/take pictures, and headed to meet up with Rachel and Matt. We made it to the "battle grounds" ;) with some time to spare, so we looked around a little bit and eventually headed toward the corrals.
We found ourselves at the front of the line (which didn't last too long once the race started!) and waited for our wave time to arrive. Soon enough, the fire shot and we were off!
I could not believe how much harder trail running is than road running.... nevermind the crazy amounts of slippery slimy mud! You literally have to watch every step you take! The obstacles were FUN and challenging (this girl has no upper body strength!)... you can check them out here.
3 miles later we found ourselves jumping over fire....
And splashing into a gigantic pit of mud! SO MUCH FUN!
We made it - and thanks to my sister, we have wonderful pictures to show for it! You better believe this girl will be there again next year, if at all possible!
Despite a hose-down with a fire hose, I was still caked with mud when I got home.
I jumped in the shower fully clothed! Let me tell you... it took a LOOOONG time for that water to run clear! ;) When I say there was mud everywhere, I mean there was mud everywhere.
Danielle and I spent the evening hanging out, eating on the patio at Chuy's and enjoying some much-needed sister time. It was an early bed time for me, though, because I had 9 miles planned for this morning.
Rachel and I tried out the Chisholm Trail in Plano (p.s. I HIGHLY recommend this trail!) this morning to mix things up a little. We ended up having an excellent run! I felt extremely strong the WHOLE way and could have kept going if we hadn't made it back to the car. Turns out the 9 mile run we planned became a 10.5 mile run! Didn't even realize it until I mapped it when I got home. Definitely redeemed myself from last weekend's rough 9 miles, and definitely got me pumped up for the half... which is just TWO WEEKS AWAY!
Who knows what the rest of my Sunday holds.... Hope you've had a great weekend so far!
Had a lazy Friday night, per usual, and was perfectly content with an early bedtime after a looong week. After a very restful 10 hours of sleep, I nearly bounded out of bed on Saturday morning. It was WARRIOR DASH day!!
I picked up my sister, who volunteered to come cheer us on/take pictures, and headed to meet up with Rachel and Matt. We made it to the "battle grounds" ;) with some time to spare, so we looked around a little bit and eventually headed toward the corrals.
 |
| Love you, sis!! Thanks for coming!! |
I could not believe how much harder trail running is than road running.... nevermind the crazy amounts of slippery slimy mud! You literally have to watch every step you take! The obstacles were FUN and challenging (this girl has no upper body strength!)... you can check them out here.
3 miles later we found ourselves jumping over fire....
And splashing into a gigantic pit of mud! SO MUCH FUN!
We made it - and thanks to my sister, we have wonderful pictures to show for it! You better believe this girl will be there again next year, if at all possible!
 |
| She didn't want to come anywhere close to me at this point... |
I jumped in the shower fully clothed! Let me tell you... it took a LOOOONG time for that water to run clear! ;) When I say there was mud everywhere, I mean there was mud everywhere.
Rachel and I tried out the Chisholm Trail in Plano (p.s. I HIGHLY recommend this trail!) this morning to mix things up a little. We ended up having an excellent run! I felt extremely strong the WHOLE way and could have kept going if we hadn't made it back to the car. Turns out the 9 mile run we planned became a 10.5 mile run! Didn't even realize it until I mapped it when I got home. Definitely redeemed myself from last weekend's rough 9 miles, and definitely got me pumped up for the half... which is just TWO WEEKS AWAY!
Who knows what the rest of my Sunday holds.... Hope you've had a great weekend so far!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
I finished...
This morning started off great... after an early bedtime last night (thanks, cold medicine!), my natural body clock woke me up at 6:45am. EARLY, I know. However, it's SO much easier to wake up at 6:45am naturally than with an alarm clock. I went with it and got up for the day.
Went through the typical pre-run routine... breakfast (english muffin with PB and banana), small cup of coffee, and small cup of water. Caught up on some DVR, did the dishes, and a few hours later, Rachel was on her way to meet me for our first 9-mile run.
I got to the lake feeling really good. Despite the cold I've been fighting the past couple of days, I was amped up to tackle 9 miles. Rachel even brought us some Gu to try out mid-run. (note: EW! I have a major sensory aversion to Gu!)
We took off... and for the first 3 miles I felt GOOD. Really good. But then the nausea set in. And despite multiple water stops, dehydration set in. And despite a relatively slow pace, my lungs were burning. (At about mile 3.5 I told Rachel to go ahead. She was looking good and I didn't want to hold her back.) And then after too much water, I started getting a stitch in my side... AND my right calf was hurting. EVERYTHING that never happens to me on a run was happening today. Without someone running with me, to push me through the pain, I started feeling completely defeated. I was on the verge of tears at one point. How could 8 miles last weekend have felt SO good and today feel SOOO bad?!
I stuck with it, though... using the run/walk method and eventually made it to my car at mile 9.1. Rachel had finished several minutes before me (way to go, Rach!) and I couldn't have been happier to see my car. My time and pace were horrendous BUT I finished.
I know that tackling 9 miles is something to be proud of, but I'm so freaking competitive with myself sometimes that I'm really upset about the quality of the run. My head was so FULL of negative self-talk today. Made me think back to Lauren's post about how not every run is a good run and that's okay. In the long run, this sub-par run will not ruin all of the hard work that I've put in up to this point.
Next weekend is the Warrior Dash on Saturday and another 9-miler on Sunday. Then 10 the following weekend. And then the Half. I KNOW I can pull myself back together for this...
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
If nothing else, at least I have some pretty sweet shoe tan lines from today... :)
Went through the typical pre-run routine... breakfast (english muffin with PB and banana), small cup of coffee, and small cup of water. Caught up on some DVR, did the dishes, and a few hours later, Rachel was on her way to meet me for our first 9-mile run.
I got to the lake feeling really good. Despite the cold I've been fighting the past couple of days, I was amped up to tackle 9 miles. Rachel even brought us some Gu to try out mid-run. (note: EW! I have a major sensory aversion to Gu!)
We took off... and for the first 3 miles I felt GOOD. Really good. But then the nausea set in. And despite multiple water stops, dehydration set in. And despite a relatively slow pace, my lungs were burning. (At about mile 3.5 I told Rachel to go ahead. She was looking good and I didn't want to hold her back.) And then after too much water, I started getting a stitch in my side... AND my right calf was hurting. EVERYTHING that never happens to me on a run was happening today. Without someone running with me, to push me through the pain, I started feeling completely defeated. I was on the verge of tears at one point. How could 8 miles last weekend have felt SO good and today feel SOOO bad?!
I stuck with it, though... using the run/walk method and eventually made it to my car at mile 9.1. Rachel had finished several minutes before me (way to go, Rach!) and I couldn't have been happier to see my car. My time and pace were horrendous BUT I finished.
I know that tackling 9 miles is something to be proud of, but I'm so freaking competitive with myself sometimes that I'm really upset about the quality of the run. My head was so FULL of negative self-talk today. Made me think back to Lauren's post about how not every run is a good run and that's okay. In the long run, this sub-par run will not ruin all of the hard work that I've put in up to this point.
Next weekend is the Warrior Dash on Saturday and another 9-miler on Sunday. Then 10 the following weekend. And then the Half. I KNOW I can pull myself back together for this...
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
If nothing else, at least I have some pretty sweet shoe tan lines from today... :)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Hallelujah!
It's FRIDAY! Hallelujah! And I only worked a half day today....
After getting home from dinner with some amazing friends last night, I realized that I really wasn't feeling so great. My throat was scratchy, I was starting to feel congested, and my lungs felt heavy. I popped some meds and hoped for the best overnight. Unfortunately, this morning didn't bring a miraculous recovery. I was still feeling about the same this morning, so I downed some Sudafed and Mucinex and headed to work. A few minutes after getting there, I decided I was going to leave at lunch for the day. My body needs rest and I want to be better to run my 9 miler this weekend. I honestly didn't ever think I'd see the day that RUNNING was my biggest motivation to stay healthy... but I love that it is!
My plans for this afternoon include laying low... and maybe I'll do a little bit of work if I get bored.
In other news, I'm proud to report that my letter to the apartment complex, complaining about our refrigerator fiasco last weekend, was fruitful! We will be reimbursed the $150 I requested for the groceries that we lost due to maintenance handling to problem inappropriately. I wish I had demanded more money, because in all honesty we probably threw away much more than $150 worth, but I'll take what I can get. I'm impressed with the way management responded to my complaint. :) Yay for speaking up!
My schedule for the weekend is wide open as of right now. Supposed to run with Rachel tomorrow... so let's hope I feel better!
What's on your agenda for the weekend? I'm also looking to try a new recipe this weekend - any suggestions? I'm thinking about trying sloppy lentils!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ketchup?
Yes, another catch-up post. Don't worry, I'm still kickin'... I've just been pretty busy lately with work, friends, and training that I've fallen a bit behind on blogging. I've also REALLY fallen behind on posting recipes! I've been so tired in the evenings lately that I've felt rather uninspired in the kitchen and have fallen back on the boring old staples. I'll work on something new soon - hold me to that!
In the mean time, here's a brief recap of what's been going on in my life the past few days:
Gosh, I sound so lame. I promise I'll post something more exciting soon... but until then: try peanut butter and jelly oatmeal! (It's exactly what it sounds like.) It totally made my morning today...yummmmm!
Oh, and... I've logged 127 miles so far in training for this half marathon. Can you believe that?! I think by the time the half rolls around, I'll have accumulated enough miles to cover the distance between Dallas and Austin. Holy frijoles!
In the mean time, here's a brief recap of what's been going on in my life the past few days:
- Ran 5 miles at the lake on Friday night and experienced the beautiful sunset... then came home and drank a beer and watched a movie. Perfection.
- Our refrigerator broke on Saturday... resulting in immense frustration/anger with the incompetent maintenance staff and the loss of hundreds of dollars worth of groceries. Don't even get me started. I've written a letter to the apartment complex management requesting compensation... and am still awaiting a response. I'll keep you posted.
- Babysat my friends Rachel and Matt's precious baby Taylor on Saturday night... I love babies! :)
- Rachel and I ran EIGHT miles on Sunday (my personal distance record!) despite strong winds and tough hills. It felt GREAT.
- Enjoyed a beautiful lunch on the patio at Gloria's post-run with some refreshing sangria
- And work has been pretty busy... so my days lately have looked like this: get to work early, work too late, work out, eat, sleep, repeat... hopefully I'll get myself caught up so I can spend more time with my friends!!
Gosh, I sound so lame. I promise I'll post something more exciting soon... but until then: try peanut butter and jelly oatmeal! (It's exactly what it sounds like.) It totally made my morning today...yummmmm!
Oh, and... I've logged 127 miles so far in training for this half marathon. Can you believe that?! I think by the time the half rolls around, I'll have accumulated enough miles to cover the distance between Dallas and Austin. Holy frijoles!
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