Thanksgiving, The Plague, Turkey Trot, and More!

Well hello there 2+ week hiatus. Whoops. What can I say-- life happens. And time just keeps flying by faster and faster. I mean, how is it already DECEMBER?? Whaaaaat?? No. Freaking. Way. It was just summer like yesterday, wasn't it? I swear, fall did not exist.

Anyway-- I'm back. Or at least back-ish. Back for today. :)

Life's been crazy as usual. Bailey caught a bad stomach bug (aka the plague) the week of Thanksgiving. SO MUCH VOMIT. Like, real, grown up vomit. All of me. Over and over. And it was BRIGHT RED because she ate cherries for breakfast. FUUUUUN.

Poor bugs!! And, your welcome for sparing you from the pic of ALL THE VOMIT. Yes, I took a pic. Duh.

Fun, fun times. I swear I can still smell vomit on me. Shudder. Poor girl just did not feel good and was just all sortsa out of sorts. Tired and clingy and crabby and couldn't get comfortable and didn't wanna nap. It was SO MUCH FUN, let me tell ya.

Yes, she did lay this way for numerous minutes and Sadie just sat there and took it. Such a good doggie!

Then, of course, she gave it to me. FUN! We were both feeling OK by Wednesday so we decided to do the trek down to the St. Louis area for Thanksgiving with my fam. After a not-very fun drive where I still felt like I was gonna vomit and Bailey was still a little outta sorts (aka- cried and screamed for half the drive), we made it in 1 piece Wednesday night.

I woke up early Thursday and ran a cold and icy 5k Turkey Trot.

I wasn't wearing my Garmin... ok, I was but it didn't find satellite at all during the entire run. LAME. Anyway- I think I finished in about 31 minutes. Given the icy roads and the fact that this was my first outdoor run in months, I was pretty happy with it.

Of course, the Hubs woke up Thursday sicker than sick and puked IN THE SICK. True love is your wife cleaning your vomit out of the sink while you sleep the day away. No wonder I still swear I can smell vomit in the air. Poor guy had to miss Thanksgiving dinner. Don't worry-- we saved him lots of yummy leftovers and he woke up Friday feeling much, much better.

Friday morning we all woke up and walked in a local parade to help some family friends hand out candy. SO MUCH FUN! But, OMG! So hard to not hand ALL THE CANDY out in the first 2 seconds. Too many cute kids watching the parade BEGGING for candy.

Of course, Saturday my older sister woke up sick. Then Sunday my other sister felt crummy. WHOOPS!!!! Next time, we'll just stay home instead of spreading a tummy virus across state lines. Whoops. Sorry all!!!! At least it only seemed to last 24-ish hours.

Sunday morning after my little sister took off (and later got sick-- sorry again!), we went to breakfast with my older sister and nephew and Bailey saw Santa for the first time!!

The restaurant was having a Breakfast with Santa thing that we did NOT go to (because we already have tickets to do a b-fast with Santa this coming weekend), but Santa and Mrs. Claus just happened to walk right by our table on their way to the big breakfast and they stopped and said hello. So fun!!! Bailey was SO interested in Santa. She couldn't stop staring at him. It was SO cute! YAY for the holidays!!!!

We made it home Sunday night and are slowly getting back in the swing of things. Our fridge is emptier than empty so Bugs and I are off to re-load. Happy Tuesday!

Weekly Workout Recap: 10/12-10/18

Weekly Workout Recap: 10/12-10/18

 

Sunday, 10/12: 3 mile walk

Monday, 10/13: JM30DS

Tuesday, 10/14: JM30DS

Wednesday, 10/15: JM30DS

Thursday, 10/16: JM30DS & Stroller 5K Fun Run

Friday, 10/17: JM30DS & 1 mile walk

Saturday, 10/18: JM30DS & 2 mile walk

Who had a Stroller 5k Fun Run Race thing that at their local YMCA they forgot about til that morning WHILE they were doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred?? THIS KID!!

Whoops! It all worked out. I finished Jillian, changed into pants (it's chilly here all the sudden! Fall is HERE!), woke B up from her nap early (boo!), and hauled ass to the YMCA just in time for the start. I ran with a friend who is JUUUUST starting to run. We took 2-3 walking breaks and ran slooowly. I think we finished in about 39 minutes. It was fun to run with her and just to run, period. Turns out, just running when you feel like it with no paces or pressure in your mind is kinda nice. Oh, AND I got a shirt and got to run with B and a friend! Win, win!! :)

 

Popcorn Panic 5 Mile Race

Well, I think before this race, it was official: I had forgotten how to race. It had been SO long since I toed a start line, I forgot how to do it! Case in point? I completely forgot about the whole "Oh yeah, you get a race packet with a bib and shit" thing. Luckily, I remembered juuuust before the pick-up was over the night before. Yeah, I could have done the late pick up that morning, but I never do that. Well, at least back when I remembered how to run a race I never did that. Now, who knows.

Anyyyyyway- after remembering I was in fact running a race the next morning and trying to pull my head out of my booty and remember HOW to race, I did get my packet and all was right in the world. There's no "expo" with this race, just getting your bib and t-shirt.

Later that night, I kept trying to remember how to be a runner and laid out all my crap. Well, almost all my crap. I forgot my shoes. Ya know. Just shoes. NBD. It really wasn't a big deal, as I was home and they were simply in my closet instead of on my dresser with the rest of my race outfit. Still. How could I forget shoes? I'm a dummy.

The logistics of a race get significantly more complicated when you have a baby. Add about a gazillion complicated points when you're nursing that baby. The race started at 7:30am and Bailey usually gets up at 6:30am and nurses right away. Perfect, right? No so much, as I was petrified about the parking situation (I heard everywhere that the Popcorn Fest is a BIG DEAL and parking is like impossible) so I wanted to be out the door by 6:30am, even though the start line was literally 2 miles from my apartment door (spoiler: that was totally unnecessary). So, I woke up at 6am and got dressed and ready (aka: made coffee) and then nursed B at 6:15am, handed her off to the Hubs, and was out the door by 6:30am.

I made my way to the downtown area, again worried about parking. To my surprise (and a little irritation, though better than the alternative), there was ample parking (to be fair, a few hours later, you'd be lucky to park 2 miles away, so it did get crazy, crazy crowded). I parked, headed to the start line, did the porta potty thing, and waited. Luckily, it was a BEAUTIFUL morning. 60*'s and overcast. Beautiful.

7:30am rolled around quick and we were off, right on time. The plan was for the Hubs and Baileybug to meet me at the 3 mile mark (literally a hop, skip, and jump from our apartment), so I was looking forward to that almost right from the start.

Mile 1-2 were 100% up a slow and steady hill. Not a great way to start, but I knew we'd hit them on the way back, so that was reassuring. I was going slower than I liked, but keeping steady. I think mile 1 was about 10:40 and mile 2 about 10:30. I felt slow and sluggish and my legs felt realllllly heavy. Not ideal, but when you've barely run in months, what can you expect? Didn't help that I am still getting over this damn never-ending cold and had to hack up a lung every few minutes. Turns out breathing while running is hard when you can't stop coughing. Who knew?

Anyway-  the Hubs texted me right before mile 3 and told me he wasn't going to make it in time. B had a poopy diaper explosion and it just wasn't gonna happen. Boooooo. I felt deflated and lost a bit of energy. But, what can ya do? I also knew I was over half way there and just told myself to push through, get done, and then you can see them at the finish.

Mile 3 and 4 were mostly downhill (yaaaay!!). I seemed to catch a bit more of my rhythm there, as well. I think they clocked in at about 10:20 and 10:00. It was nice to be passing people instead of getting passed the whole race. I kept steady/speed up for some nice negative splits, which has never been my race-day-strength.

Mile 5 was uphill-- boo. My legs were getting tired and it was starting to warm up a little. I was ready to be done, but my competitive side came out and I made it my goal to beat a few people ahead of me. I really picked it up the last half mile and pushed myself out of my comfort zone with speed. I was huffing and puffing and coughing like crazy. I'm sure I looked and sounded like a lunatic. Usually I only sprint the last quarter mile or so, so this was definitely pushing it for me. I was SPENT by the end. I'm not really sure, as I forgot to hit my garmin for a few seconds, but I think the last mile was about a 9:40. Fast? Noooope. Fast for me right now? Yep.

(Ignore the pace-- that's just what I was at when I stopped the Garmin)

It was slower than I wanted and expected. I was hoping to keep a solid and steady 10:00 pace. Oh well. What can ya do? Interestingly, the next day I went out for a 4-mile run and finished in exactly 40 minutes. Legs, you're funny. Anyway, it was a good, small, local run. I'd definitely do it again, though likely only because we live right here and it's convenient to then go to the festival and already have parking and such. It wasn't exactly a fun and beautiful/scenic race, but I dug it.

It was nice to get back to a start line and I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend last night looking online for another (short) race.

Running, it may be time to start seeing each other again. We'll see. :)

Sunburst 2014 (aka that time I ran a half marathon TOTALLY untrained)

Guys. Saturday I ran a half marathon: the Sunburst.

I'll give you a minute to process that.

What's that you ask? What was my training? I mean, I MUST have just been training this whole time and not mentioned it on the blog, right? Because I would NEVER run a half marathon under un-trained, right?

Yeaaaaaah. About that. I didn't train. Like, at all. Sure, I've run here or there since having Bailey. A few 3 and 4 milers. A 5 or 6 thrown in there here or there. Yep. That's it. Before Saturday, I hadn't run more than 6 miles since I was pregnant with Bailey. Whomp, whomp.

So, I admit, it wasn't the BEST plan to just bust out this half. And, it certainly wasn't just busted out. I busted my ass to even finish. And, that was with a LOOOOT of walking. And, pain. Oh, the pain. I had forgotten just how sore you can be after a long run. I also got a huge slap in the "LOOK HOW OUT OF SHAPE YOU ARE!" face. Like, woah.

But, I got up at the ass crack of dawn to nurse Bailey and then drive the hour to the start line with this girl by my side the whole time.

 

Sadly, I WISH I had made it to this alarm. Bailey was up at 3:30am and I didn't get back to sleep. FUN.

We made our way to the start, me FREAKING out in my head that there was NO WAY I'd ever finish.

Ready, set, GO!

But, Amy and I finished.

I finished with my head held high. It was by far my slowest half.... well, ever. Didn't matter. Doesn't matter. I finished. I ran (& walked) 13.1 miles. I'm proud! Maybe even more proud than I was after my half PR (which just so happened to happen while I was pregnant too). Time/pace didn't matter. I finished. I was hurting and miserable and hot and sore, but I FINISHED.

This race holds a very, very special place in my heart. Not only was it my very first 5K and catapulted me into this crazy sport, but, more importantly, the proceeds from the race benefit the Children's department and NICU where I had Bailey and where Bailey spent 10 long days. I've run this race before. Numerous times. I had never paid attention to what cause the race supported. I just ran it for fun. My in-laws bought me this years registration for Christmas (THANK YOU!! Best in-laws evvvvver!!) and as I was reading through the paperwork, I read where the proceeds were donated to. My jaw dropped. I KNEW I would run this race, trained or not. I knew I had to. For Bailey. For myself. For the Hubs. For our family. For the other babies in the NICU. But, most of all for the doctors and nurses who treated Bailey with so much love and care and who made sure she was happy and healthy. For that, I owe them the world. I can't give them the world. But, I could run this race for them. I wanted it to be my best race ever. I wanted to win the stupid thing. Neither of those were ever going to happen. I'm not at the place in my life to PR and I'll never win a race (duh). At the end of the day, that didn't matter. I finished.

All that mattered was that I finished. Best race ever.

Weekly Workout Recap: 5/25-5/31

Lazy blogger, right here. It's pretty hard to ignore that you've slacked on the blogging front all week when you have back to back weekly recap posts. WHOOPS. I'll try to do better this week. No promises though! :)

 

Weekly Workout Recap: 5/25-5/31

Sunday, 5/25: Lots of walking while site seeing out of town 
Monday, 5/26: None

Tuesday, 5/27: 8MA8MA & 2 mile walk

Wednesday, 5/28: 8MA8MA & 5 minutes of planks & 3 mile walk
Thursday, 5/29: 6.75 mile walk
Friday, 5/30: None
Saturday, 5/31: Sunburst Half Marathon (13.1 mile run) & 1.3 mile walk

 

 

Not the greatest week, but proud that I'm managing to do SOMETHING most days. Still trying to learn and accept that I can't do something everything and that some days something little, like 8MA8MA, is just going to have to do. It's I'm a work in progress.

And, um-- I suppose a special shout out should go for that half marathon thing on Saturday. Wait-- whaaaat??? Still not sure how exactly that happened. Recap coming soon.

Weekend Highlights

Phew! Can you believe it's Tuesday?? This weekend FLEW by!

While everyone else was celebrating a crazy long 4-day weekend, I was at work Friday. Boo!

But, it wasn't all bad. Backing up a bit...

Wednesday I had to drive the Hubs to O'Hare, as he was flying out to Idaho to visit his best friend for a man-weekend (he LOVES that term).

The drive to the airport was less than stellar.

Bumper to bumper traffic took the usually 2 hour drive to almost 3 hours. We got to O'Hare with less than an hour before the Hubs flight took off. Whoops! Luckily, he made it and only had to knock one person over as he ran for his gate and was in Idaho in no time!

While he was flying to the land o' potatoes, I got to have dinner with one of my BFF's who lives in Chicago.

Me and M at our other BFF's wedding this past June.

I was STARVING by the time I made it (after getting stuck in traffic AGAIN!) and devoured an enormous steak dinner. YUM!!

After fighting a bit more traffic (thanks for that, Chicago!), I finally made it home Wednesday night to these waiting for me...

Awww! The Hubs is so sweet!! There may have also been some candy that was eaten before it knew what was coming. Sorry I'm not sorry.

Thursday morning I was up at a ridiculously early hour (think: the 5am hour), ESPECIALLY for a holiday! But, it was for a good reason... the Schoolcraft Firecracker 5 Mile Race with this kid.

Amy and I stuck together through the race, thank goodness! It was H-O-T and, like I already mentioned, my knee wasn't cooperating. We took it easy and kept the pace slow, so it was OK. Confession: I enjoyed just chatting with an amazing friend WAY more than running and it made it feel like no time at all. I could have run 5 more if I got to keep chatting with her.  

Combining running and amazing friends?? What more could you ask for!

After the race, Amy and I grabbed a super fancy McD's breakfast and then parted ways. Someone help me convince her to come live with me so we can hang out everyday?? Thanks!

The rest of the weekend (minus working Friday-- BOO!) was a blur of errands, cleaning the house, spinning, and long walks.

Luckily, I had this girl to keep me company all weekend.

 

Seriously. That face gets me every time. can we please talk about the fact that her "eyebrows" on one eye are dark and on the other white? Love. I'm obsessed with her.

 

Oh! And, I made a decision!!! With all of your help and words of "get-your-shit-together-and-just-quit" (though all of you said it MUCH nicer than that), I did it. I quit. Well, I signed my stupid 30-day notice. Seriously, why do you have to give notice to a GYM? It's not like they have to do anything for you to stop coming except stop charging my credit card every month. Anyway, I signed the cancellation form and will officially no longer be a member as of August 6. GO ME! Now... let's hope I don't regret this decision... :/

 

I headed back to Chicago (and, yes-- HIT MORE TRAFFIC!! Arrrrrgh!!) Sunday to pick the Hubs up. I made a pit stop at Ikea (was a bust... didn't really get anything) and Trader Joe's (got so much good stuff!!) before his flight landed. Luckily, after getting him we were traffic free on the way home. And, that was the weekend! We didn't get home Sunday night til almost 9pm, so after a quick snack (I've been SO HUNGRY lately-- I think this lil' bean is having a growth spurt or something) I hit the hay.

Fun, busy, and exhausting weekend! I'm definitely glad the Hubs is home!! Oh! And, he brought me a treat from his treat...

Nothing but class at our house. :)

Sunburst Half Marathon - Race Recap

Warning: This isn't going to be some crazy long, here's how I felt at each mile kinda race recap. I've done that for this exact race before.

This was my third year running the Suburst. In fact, it was my 3 year run-aversary. 3 years ago, the Sunburst was my first ever 5K. But, that story's been told. Last year, I ran the half. This year, I was registered for the half, but for some reason, kinda debating between doing the half and the 10K.

Before Saturday, I hadn't run anything over 8-miles at a time since the Kalamazoo Half, which was 3 weeks before. I wasn't, by any definition of the word, training or ready. Even worse, the weather forecast was not looking so hot.

 

Lucky for me, the 10K and Half started within 15 minutes of each other, so I went to bed Friday night with a belly full of carbs (hey-- had to prepare just in case, right?!?!) and decided I'd get up early enough to do either and decide in the morning. Either way, I was just going to RUN FOR FUN (WOAH! What a concept!), not push pace, and just ENJOY the race that made me fall in love with running. It was really quite refreshing to go to be the night before a race NOT worrying. I was 100% chill about the race. I KNEW I wasn't in PR shape, so that wasn't even in the realm of possibility. It was going to be a relaxed, FUN run, regardless of length. Talk about no pressure. I LOVED IT.

Anyway, I woke up Saturday morning and felt great. I was going to do the half! Then, I pulled up my phone's forecast and saw the above and immediately decided to do the 10K.

That's pretty much how the next 20 minutes of getting dressed and eating 1/2 an English muffin with PB went. Back and forth. Half, 10K, Half, 10K. The Hubs was gonna drop me off and pick me up, since the race was SUPER close to our house. He was less than thrilled at the idea of me running ANYTHING in thunderstorms.... but, that kinda helped me decide. I mean, if I was gonna stop mid-race no matter what, why not go big and do the half? If it rained, I'd stop either way. Then, suddenly the forecast changed to only 10% chance of light rain. Just like that. Done. Half it was.

The Hubs dropped me off and less than 10 minutes I was off.

Mile 1: 9:48 (FINALLY! A race I didn't start off too fast for!!!)
Mile 2: 9:42
Mile 3: 9:30
Mile 4: 9:52 (not sure what happened here... apparently I was REALLY enjoying the race!)
Mile 5: 9:45
Mile 6: 9:23

Just like that, the race was half over. I was literally enjoying every second. It was HOT and HUMID... but, my legs felt fresh. I wasn't dying. I was just RUNNING to run. CRAAAAAZY concept. I had a HUGE goofy grin on my face the whole time (except in the pic above where I look like I'm kinda sleeping). This whole race with no pressure thing was AMAZING. I just kept plugging away. One foot in front of the other. Nice and easy.

 

Mile 7: 9:26

Mile 8: 9:40

Mile 9: 9:30

Mile 10: 9:20

Mile 11: 9:19

Mile 12: 9:59 (HUUUUUUGE, beast of a hill)

Mile 13: 9:26

Mile .33 (according to Garmin): 3:27 (forgot to stop the stupid sucker for a while, as always)

 

 

 

Garmin Results--

Total: 13.33 miles, 2:08:XX

Average Pace: 9:37

 

Official Results--

Time: 2:06:52

Place: 589/1392

 

 

Funny story... I finished faster (only by a few seconds, but still) this year than last year, when I WAS training and WAS ready for it. Turns out, taking the pressure off kinda works.

 

I LOVED this race. I had FUN. I enjoyed myself. Sure, it was still running over 13 miles and that was tough and I was tired and everything, but it was different than any race I've done. I ran JUST TO RUN. Confession: I might be hooked. Sure, I love pushing myself to get better and to strive for my best. But, it's also BEYOND words amazing to just run with NO pressure or expectations.

 

 

 

Sadly, my body was little mad at me for the whole lets-run-13-miles-even-though-we're-not-trained thing. Whoops. My knee (the other one, of course) was NOT happy. I gave it 3 solid non-running rest days and LOOOOTS of icing and now it feels better. Not 100% yet, but better. WHOOPS. Lesson learned. Next time, maybe do a FEW longer runs before a half, even if it is a for-fun half. Got it. :)

 

So, that was that. 3 year runaverary, done. And I loved every step.

5am, 10K, Wicked and Mother's Day

Guess who got up at 5am and made it to the gym both today and yesterday?!?!? THIS KID!!! Yup, that's right! 2 morning workouts in a row! Am I getting my groove back?? Maybe. We'll see. Too early to tell.

Anyway- Monday was 6 miles on the treadmill (while watching the season finale of Revenge... Nolan!! Whaaat?!?!? Noooo!! Love it!!!) and 15 minutes on the elliptical. Today was Signature Strength and then 15 minutes on the elliptical. Yep, not only am I back on the 5am train, but I even went to Signature Strength class today. WOAH. I'm on a roll.

So, we'll see how long this "roll" lasts. This week my work-gym is closed (we're officially in summer at the college I work for so every year the gym closes for 1 week in the summer to do maintenance and such), so I kinda have that "if you don't get up you won't get a workout in" mentality, which always helps me peel my ass outta bed.

BUT-- I did manage to get a workout in Monday during my lunch hour too! The girl from work that I'm helping with the Couch25K program and I went outside and did our intervals around campus! We covered 2.3ish miles in 35 minutes. She's rocking it! I'm so proud of her!!

Anyway-- so, yeah. Workouts have actually been happening. Solid workouts, even. Feels great! Hopefully I keep this up! We'll see... :)

In other news, this weekend was a whirlwind. Friday night the Hubs and I drove up to Grand Rapids, Michigan (about 2.25 hours away). We stayed with some friends, ate some pizza, and crashed early to prep for the Fifth Third River Bank Run. So, Saturday we were up WAAAAY too early to race! I was signed up for the 25K, but as everyone else in our group ended up doing the 10K, I decided to drop down and just run for fun.

My friend, K, and I celebrating our 10K! It was her very first 10K and she CRUSHED her goal and kicked some serious butt. SO proud of you, K!!!!

I ran easy and finished in 55:41 for about 8:58 min/miles. I was 1322 out of 4190.

 

 

The race was a lot of fun, though chilly! Darn mother nature! It was like 40*. IN MAY. Not ok. Not ok at all. Anyway- the race was a blast.

 

I won't do a full recap, as I've done one before (see it here) and it was essentially the same race, just several miles shorter. I love this race and would highly suggest it to anyone! Only bummer with the 10K is you don't get a medal. BUMMER! I did get a pin, though, so I guess that's something.

 

 

Anyway- after the race we headed back to shower and such and then headed out for a quick lunch before the Hubs and I drove home (aka: the Hubs drove while I napped in the passenger seat). We had to rush back because we had tickets to see Wicked that night!

The show was amazing! Such great music and an amazing set and cast. LOVED it!

The show, while great, was a bit long. It didn't get out til past 11, which is WAAAAAY past my bedtime. I was exhausted from the race and the late night. So, I immediately crashed after we got home. 11pm and I am SPENT. I know, I'm so lame.

 

Sunday we were up early again to take Sadie for a quick walk before heading to Chicago (about 2 hours away) for a Mother's Day celebration. Great way to end the weekend: family, fun, and food! I ate my weight in delicious foods and the napped again in the car on the way back. Poor Hubs! Always stuck driving. He's OK with it... he'd rather me be asleep so he can listen to sports radio than me be awake and force him to listen to Katy Perry and flip the radio stations every 2 minutes. (Not that I would EVER do that)

 

Phew! I'm exhausted again just recapping everything. Hope you had a great weekend too! 

 

 

Yes, a weekend recap on THURSDAY. I'm awesome.

WOAH. Is it really Thursday already? This week has just FLOWN by.

I didn't even tell you about the race I ran this weekend! WHO AM I?!?!?

Cliffnote's version: My little sister and I (both University of Illinois alums) decided to do a race sponsored by U of I's I-Fund (which provides scholarships to athletes) which was being held this past weekend in Chicago.

We signed up for the 8K, but the lil sis wasn't really feeling the full 8 that morning, so we dropped down to the 5K.

I'm REALLY glad we did. It was COLD. And WINDY. And RAINY. We even LOOK cold, don't we?

And, yes-- I made my poor baby sister take her jacket off (she's holding it in the above pic) just so we could get a pic both in orange. I'm such a bad sister.

Anyway- we ran the 5K. Nothing really noteworthy. She's not a huge runner and we finished right around 30 minutes with only one small walk break. Girls a rockstar!

We got to Chicago the night before and stayed with her and her boyfriend, which was tons of fun! Sadie even came with and did SO good in the car. Her longest car ride to date!

The weekend was a blur... bib pick up, a TJ's stop, dinner at a crazy burger place (my burger had Siracha on it!! HEAVEN!), a movie (Taken 2... skip it), the race, and then a fabulous brunch. Super fun weekend. Love you, baby sis!!

So, that was this weekend. Yes, I am talking about LAST weekend 1 day away from THIS weekend. I'm way outta it this week.

Other than that, this week's been pretty normal... work, gym, work, gym. I even work my new race shirt to the gym Tuesday morning.

Yeah, this is HUGE. Why do race shirts never fit me right?!? Too bad too, because this one is CUTE and the back says "I RUN THIS TOWN". Love. Drat the fit. It'll still work for the gym, though.

Anyway-- this weekend's packed... Friday night we're doing a charity trivia night (which I have to bake for tonight!), Saturday I have to work, then we may go see a friend do comedy. Sunday I wanna try (if the rain hold off) to get a long run in. It's looking good right now...

Post-long run I have big house cleaning and laundry plans. FUN, FUN.

Wanna come clean my house for me this weekend?? We can go for a run together first! Then, I'll nap while you clean. PERFECT. Who could pass up a deal like that?!?!? :)

10K PR!

Work is RIDICULOUSLY busy right now, so this recap might be a bit brief, but here goes nothing...

This weekend I ran the LaPorte County YMCA 10K. It was my very first 10K! How is that possible? I registered for a 10K when I started running, back in 2011, but ended up not being able to do the race because I had to go to a funeral. Somehow I never signed up for another one. Whoops!

A few weeks ago I was searching for a small, local 5 and 10K race to do together with my father-in-law, who is also a runner.

FIL on our very first run together, 2012

FIL and I dancing at our wedding, October 2012. Obviously this pic has nothing to do with running, but I just love it!

 

I came across the LaPorte County YMCA 5 and 10K race by accident, but when I saw the price -- $19!!!-- I knew it was perfect. We both signed up for it right away.

Race week finally came around and I didn't really know what to do. Should I taper? How much? Do I need to carb load? How fast should I go out? AHHHHHHH!!!

By Friday, I was in full on panic mode.

I managed to calm down a bit and got a pretty decent amount of sleep Friday night.

Saturday morning the Hubs and I were out the door by 7:45am. A quick run through the Starbucks drive-thru (using another free drink coupon!! score!!) and we were on our way to LaPorte. About 45 minutes later we got there and my FIL and I were back out the door to make our way to the race.

The race was very small, so parking was a breeze. We got there with about 30 minutes til race time and had plenty of time to do all the pre-race activities.We picked up out packet without having to wait in any lines and even got to use an indoor bathroom (yay for no porta potties!!). My FIL and I even had a chance to take a pre-race pic!

 

The weather, while chilly, was beautiful and pretty much perfect. 30*ish, sunny, and not too much wind. Perfection.

The 10K race started at 9am, with the 5K starting shortly after at 9:15am.

We started right on time. My FIL told me he was 100% OK with me taking off on my own and while I would usually NEVER pass up the opportunity to run with him, since this was my first 10K I really wanted to see how I could do.

So, I was off! I tried REALLY, REALLY, REALLLLLLY hard to not start off too fast. I watched my Garmin like a hawk and tried to stick around a 8:15 pace. I told myself my "goal" was a 8:30 average and while starting at 8:15 when my goal was 8:30 wasn't exactly not starting off too fast, I knew I would have been muuuuuch faster if I wasn't focusing and aiming for that. Somehow 8:15 with a 8:30 goal didn't seem like going out "too fast" to me. An older guy actually came up right next to me and I just kinda made it my mission to stick with him as long as I could. We ran the first mile together in about 8:15ish (don't have my exact splits with me, sorry!!). I wondered how long I could hold that pace, but figured I'd just hold on as long as I could and if I crashed and burned later, I crashed and burned. So, I held on with the guy. I have no idea what his name was, had no idea who he was, but he's one of the big reasons I held on. I tried not focusing on my watch or how much time passed and just focusing on him. He held a pretty even 8:00 pace so it helped me not go any faster (which DEFINITELY would have led to a crash and burn situation). Somehow, I ended up passing the guy on a hill (oh, the course was HILLY!!!!) and didn't see him again til he came into the finish about 2 minutes after me.

After I passed him, I kinda latched onto a girl in front of me-- THE GIRL IN THE PINK. I just kinda kept telling myself to catch up to her and not let her go. I made it my goal to finish NEAR her. I didn't even need to BEAT her, just finish near her. The girl in the pink and I ran side by side from mile 3-4.5. She pushed me to stay a consistent sub 8:00 pace (whaaaaat?!?! WHO AM I?!!?!?). At mile 4.5, I told myself I was SO CLOSE and to bring it home.

I was BOOKING it. My legs were burning, I was out of breath and all I wanted to do was STOP, but I didn't. I FELT strong. My mental game was ON. Somehow, I passed the girl in the pink. I just kept telling myself to hold on and not give in. I was SO close. I realized if I kept about a 7:45/mile pace the last mile I could finish in 50:00 or less. I pushed. And pushed. Harder than I ever have, I think.

And, I kept pushing right into the finish.

Garmin: 6.28 miles, 50:00 (7:57/pace)

 

 

Official: 6.2 miles, 50:05 (8:05/pace)

 

1st in Age Group (25-29)

37/130 overall

 

Now, I know OFFICIAL time is what matters.... but, while there was chip timing, it was only FINISH line chip timed. We didn't go over a sensor at the start, so they just say everyone started right at the same time. Well, we didn't. I didn't cross the start line for about 5 seconds, hence the difference. So, while I know it's not OFFICIAL, I'm going with my Garmin. I RAN A SUB 8:00/mi 10K!! AND I WON MY AGE GROUP!!!!!!!!

I was SOOOO excited. And, BEAT. I swear, I was more tired than after the marathon! I almost collapsed when I crossed the finish line. I immediately texted the Hubs while waiting for my FIL to finish.

I really, really excited. I stayed mentally strong. I told myself I could do it and I did. I ran a SMART race. I'm proud of myself.

I even won a medal!!

 

My FIL did amazing too, despite having some injury issues... poor guy had some knee and foot pain! He still managed to finish, despite the pain even if it was with a slight limp. SOOOOO proud of him!!!!!

The guy who was with me at the start and the girl in pink both also placed in the top 3 of their age groups. We all found each other after and each said the other helped pushed us to keep the pace. LOVE that. So, to the girl in pink and the guy who started this race with me: THANK YOU AGAIN. You rock!!

I LOVED this race. I loved the small race atmoshpere. I never felt crowaded, but also never was alone. There was legit NO crowad support, but I'm 100% OK with that. They had some great volunteers and everything was super organized. The course was hilly and it was a bit windy, but I don't care. It was perfect.

I felt STRONG during this race. I KNEW I could do it. It wasn't easy. It hurt. I pushed harder than I knew I could. But, I stuck with it. I wanted to stop or slow down, but I didn't. After my 8:15 first mile, I maintained pretty darn even splits ranging from 7:45-8:02. I LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOVED this race. I loved my attitude during this race. I'm still on a runner's high and it's been days. Did I mention I loved this race??

Anyway-- after the race while we waited for some ice for my FIL's poor knees and for me to get my medal, we enjoyed the post-race refreshments...

After 6.2 miles, you better believe that was the best hot dog I've ever had. Seriously.

We spent the rest of the day lounging around, watching college basketball. Perfect day.

Now... don't tell my FIL, but I'm already looking for our next race. I've got a 5K and another 10K in mind... :)

(Mostly) Wordless Weekend Recap

I'm still suffering from too-much-turkey brain, so you'll have to settle for this (mostly) wordless weekend recap...

Tuesday:

Too much baking!! 3+ hours straight. Made 2 pumpkin pies, 3 different types of cookies, and puppy chow. SO GOOD.


Wednesday:

Nothing too exciting. Worked 8-5pm and then hit the road to Indy for Thanksgiving w/ the Hubs side. Got these 2 books from the library on the way.

 

Thursday:

Started the day off with a solo 3.1 mile run, then went with the Hubs and my FIL to the Bolt for the Heart 3.33 mile run. The Hubs ran the WHOLE thing!! So proud of him!! After the runs, there was SOOOO much cooking and eating. ALL DAY LONG. Delicious food. And wine. And beer. SO good. I didn't take a single pic. Too busy eating. And drinking. Duh.


Friday:

Slept in and then went "black Friday shopping" at about 7:30am. Does it count if you don't go at the butt crack of dawn? Either way-- lots of coffee was consumed and lots of Christmas shopping was done.

Saturday:

Started day off with coffee and left over cookies with a side of SNOW!

 Headed to gym for Spinning and some quality elliptical (aka: Gossip Girl on the iPad) time.

 

 



After the gym, the Hubs and I went to the cheap theater to see Looper followed by some more Christmas shopping and errands. Then, we stopped for Mexican for dinner using a Groupon that was about to expire. Win, win. For the record-- the movie was good. See it.


Sunday:

Day started with a half marathon. Boom.

 



Followed by an excruciating ice bath. HATE them. Love them. But, hate them more.

Followed by an EXTREMELY lazy Sunday... HOURS of Gilmore Girls on DVD, followed by a super, super easy dinner via the crock pot (Just throw a couple chicken breasts, a can of black beans, a can of fire roasted tomatoes, and a couple diced jalapenos in and let them cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken. Let cook for about 30-60 more minutes. Serve over rice or in a tortilla or over chips or whatever.). Lazy, lazy GREAT day. To be fair-- Sunday we also put the Christmas tree up. So, it wasn't THAT lazy of a day... right? 30 minutes spent putting ornaments on a tree TOTALLY negates five straight hours of Loralei and Rory. Right?!?!?