Half Marathon #2

After what seemed like training for an eternity, I've finally completed my second half marathon. I actually got quite a bit of sleep the night before (surprisingly since my nerves were a wreck and the bed was so uncomfortable). I woke Saturday morning with a nervous stomach to a cold morning (48 degrees!) and clear skies. I hated the thought of having my first cold run be my half marathon, but there was nothing I could do. I just had to suck it up and praise myself for actually bringing enough clothes. The hubby got me to the race start and hung out with me while I stretched and jumped up and down to keep myself warm. The start was a little hectic since they had to change the begining of the route last second to account for construction that was happening on campus. The gun finally went off at 8:11 and we all raced forward. The first 2 miles were a bunch of u-turns and a lot of confusion. I'm really surprised no one ran into each other (or maybe they did and I just missed it). By mile 3 we were leaving the UT campus and the weather was warming up (or at least I was cuz that's when the jacket came off). We ran past a few construction trucks and their horrible exhaust about mile 4.5 and then at mile 6 ran up the biggest hill I'd ever seen. I'll be honest, I was prepared for this hill. What I wasn't prepared for was the fact that the rest of the race was pretty much a steady incline. I kicked up the pace a little (or everyone else started to slow down) around mile 8. I was feeling great and still full of energy and heard the cheers of my hubby and family 3 times already. By the time I saw my entourage again at mile 10, I was starting to really feel it. My butt cheeks were screaming and my legs were not wanting to move anymore. And we were still going uphill. By the time I hit mile 12, we were back in the UT campus and I was starting to doubt myself. I got rid of the ipod and did my best to make it up the last final hill because I knew the last .4 miles was flat. I wanted to sprint the last mile (that was my plan), but all the hills had me worn out. At the top of that last hill, I caught my breath and gave it everything I had to the finish. All of my family, including my 5 year old neice were there cheering me on. It was the best finish I could ask for, even if after crossing the finish line I couldn't breath anymore. I gasped for breathe and hugged my husband and couldn't quit smiling. I had beat my previous time by almost 8 minutes, even on an uphill course!

Final chip time: 2:06:46

MUSE/U2

My poor hubby has been working more than 12 hours a day trying to get his company caught up on all the stuff they've been selling lately. And, he's such a good hubby that when offered tickets to the Muse/U2 concert last night, he immediately offered them to me and a friend since he had to work. Now, I wasn't a huge fan of either bands, but it seemed like everyone I knew was going so I figured it was a show I shouldn't pass it up. Plus, I read an article about the stage that U2 was bringing and I really wanted to see it up close.

The thing is massive. It supposedly takes 4 days to set up and another almost 3 days to take it down. It was definately worth seeing. The black think in the middle is actually a bunch of TV screens and they could move the TV structure up and down and even spread it out so that it spread from the top all the way almost to the stage. The acoustics were designed for an outdoor stadium, so they opened the roof at Reliant and let in the nice muggy night air (it's rainy season in Houston).

There's a crappy picture of Bono on the TV and U2 on stage. They really did put on a great show. I'm now a fan of Muse (I just hadn't heard much of their stuff before the show) and I can respect U2 a little more. I still may not understand why everyone thinks they're so awesome (they do have a few good songs), but I had a great time and am glad that I went.

Away for a while

I'm finally back to the blogging world. I really have no excuse for not being here more often, esp since I sit at a desk at least 8 hours a day and haven't been busy at work for the last two weeks. Things have been extremely busy in my personal life though since my last post. After my 9 mile run, I tackled my last long run before the taper. I had to do it on a Thursday night after work because I was starting vacation on Saturday morning and couldn't meet up with the group. I took off work at 4:30 and headed to Memorial. I ran two loops by myself (6 miles) and I felt great. Old Running Partner met me then (which was good timing since my iPod stopped working then). I stopped for some water and a Razz GU (which sucked - the Carb Boom is so much tastier, without any nasty aftertaste), and then off we went for another lap. I squeezed 4 miles out of her which is the most she's run in quite a while. She high fived me as she left and off I went for two more miles. I felt so great. The weather was cool and the sun was just setting. My legs weren't hurting at all. I finished that 12th mile and figured I still had enough in me to make it one more. So, I finished my last lap - 13 miles in 2:15. That almost exactly matched my first half marathon race time. I was high on life. I finally felt good about my upcoming race and knew I had nothing to worry about.

I even felt great the next day. I did plenty of stretching and walking around working my legs out just in case though. My biggest worry was getting on the airplane the next day for 3 hours and my legs cramping. Surprisingly, I had no problems! The flight to Roatan was nice and smooth and the weather was perfect when we landed. The hubby and I had an awesome one year anniversary trip full of diving, hanging out by the pool, eating and drinking. I logged 22 dives and hit my 50th dive while we were there. Roatan has some of the best diving (at least that I've done), the water was gorgeous, the fish were colorful and numerous, and none of it was very far from our little hut on the beach. We even did our first wreck dives - which was a little spooky after watching all these movies about ghosts from sunken ships. We took naps every day in the hammocks on our porch on the water - it was really a hard week. :)

But now I'm back in the real world, no hammocks to nap in here. I'm back to work and back to stressing about my upcoming race - which is SATURDAY. I can't believe it's finally here. Now I'm totally thinking that I'm not ready and that maybe I've been to lazy lately. Of course, all this rainy weather doesn't help ease things, it only makes me lazier. I managed 6 miles last night around the muddy Rice trail, but now my knee hurts. I hope it's just my mind playing tricks on me. I guess only time will tell, but this definately means that today I'm not working out at all. Either way, whether excited, nervous, or scared, I'm still counting down till Saturday. The weather is supposed to be cool and sunny. I'm even going shopping for new running capris after work! I love shopping.

On a side note, I finally bought a tube of the NUUN tablets to add to my water after runs. I went with the safe familiar flavor of Tri-Berry and it's really tasty. I've added it to my water this morning (since I forgot it last night) and for not having any sugar, it's really good. I'm trying to rehyrdate myself after the 2 beers I had last night. Running has turned me into such a lightweight. I remember when I could have a 6-pack and be fine the next morning, but not any more. 2 beers makes me feel like I had 12 the night before. Ugh! Anyways, I really like the taste of the NUUN and can't wait to try it after or during a run. Maybe I'll drop a tablet in my water after my race this weekend (since I'm definately not going to try it during).

Oh, and what time is it?

10:42am and OU still sucks! Hehe, I can't wait to prop my feet up on the couch and watch the game this weekend. Go Horns!