Running Rodeo

The Preview

2012-01-18T13:09:00.000-06:00

I came, I ran (kind of), I survived...

Plans for the New Year

2011-12-31T16:44:00.000-06:00

It's hard to sit here on the last day of the year and not think about my goals for next year. The most obvious one is the one I've spent the last 6 months preparing for: The Chevron Houston Marathon!

The signs are up all over town and I get a little giddy every time I see one. It makes me want to drive by as many Chevron gas stations on my way to work just so I can see them! I think I might be going a little marathon crazy at this point!

After the marathon, I plan on sidelining the super long training runs and focus more on running doubles to prepare for the next Texas Independence Relay!

I captained a team last year and we had such a great time that we've already registered for this year's race. We're all gearing up for another 48 hours of travelling across southeast Texas crammed in a van with 11 other sweaty runners.

But in addition to running doubles, I'm also going to be spending a lot more time on the saddle. My new Cannondale is finally going to be put to the real test in April during the MS150.

It's a 2 day bike ride from Houston to Austin. The Hubby and I have joined up with the St Arnold's bike team (the local brewery in town) and we're excited to drink all the free beer we can manage and have a support team along the way.

Other than those 3 events, my schedule is pretty much empty. As much as I really want to fill up the calender with races and events, I think I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants and take the year as it comes. I'm excited for 2012 and all the fun it's going to bring!

Happy New Year!

Tis the Season

2011-12-29T22:38:00.000-06:00

It's been a pretty busy season. Between Christmas parties, busy work schedule and even a promotion (!!!), it's been hard to get in my training. I completed my longest training run of the schedule almost two weeks ago and it's been hard to keep the motivation up since then, especially since it requires good time management.

I found myself off work a little earlier today with nothing else to do, so why not get in a run!

Before: Playing with the new camera I got for Christmas!

The doggies want to say Merry Christmas!

I hit up Memorial park since it was such a dark night for some Veronicas. Not sure why it's called Veronicas, but it's one hell of a workout! I warmed up with a mile then stretching then got to work. 5 sets of 3 minute sprints at VO2 max followed by 3 minute jogs then a cool down back to the car. I finished with 6 miles and felt great. I really pushed it during each sprint, but managed to make the last one the fastest.

After: showing off my 6 miles and testing out the self timer.

Marathon is in 3 weeks! Can't wait!

Rock N Roll San Antonio

2011-11-24T11:58:00.000-06:00

Since the girls and I had so much fun in San Francisco last year at the Nike Women's race, we decided to do another out of town race this year. Our schedules got really busy, so we decided on a race close to home, but that would still be a nice weekend away: RnR San Antonio.

We left Houston early Saturday morning in time to arrive in SA for lunch and the Expo. Traffic was horrendous in the downtown area with all of the race people arriving and the Veteran's day parade (that was not on Veteran's Day, btw). There were roads closed everywhere and no signs for detours. We stopped to ask two cops how we could get to our hotel with no luck. We ended up on the west side of downtown at a horrible Tex-Mex restaurant, but we really were just glad to be out of the car. After lunch, we forged our way back across downtown (at least the parade was over, but they still had roads closed) to the Alamodome for the Expo. Parking was ridiculous and there were no signs to try to help you find where you could park. Then we walk a million miles across lots to get in to packet pickup. Seriously, who designed all that?

The Expo itself was actually rather fun once we got inside. We took our time browsing the booths and checking out everything. I bought a new pair of headphones (I'll try to do a review later since I really like them) and some more Nuun. We left at 5 when they were shutting everything down. There were so many people running inside after 5 trying to pick up packets. I really hope they all made it! 5pm is such an early time to close a packet pickup.

Race morning was nice and uneventful. We all got up in plenty of time to get ready. The hotel we stayed had a carb loading breakfast downstairs with plenty of bagels and peanut butter and some other stuff. We left the hotel around 6:45 and headed to the start to drop off bags and get ready. All of us were in the 7th corral and we started 10 minutes back from the gun. I like how RnR spaces out the corrals, but it seemed much more crowded than the Mardi Gras run in February. We were dodging a lot of walkers in the first few miles.

The race scenery wasn't that great. I don't feel like we ran through very much of the scenic parts of SA. Four of us stayed together for the first 5 miles, so we all got to experience the Alamo together. Three of us reached the halfway point right at the 1 hour mark, as scheduled. My goal for this race was to pace my friends, E and C into a sub2. I had just gotten my PR 3 weeks prior in Houston and the weather was too hot race morning for me to try to beat that. We'd all been training in the heat all summer, so a sub2 was doable for the 3 of us, but I didn't want to push it further than that.

Just after mile 7, C was really starting to slacck off. I told her to do everything she could to recover and keep at it. But I knew it was hot and she was feeling it. E and I kept charging ahead and I told her we'd slowly start taking seconds off our pace time. I was mindful of my Garmin and made sure to keep us on pace. I was not going to come this far and have her miss her sub2.

At mile 10, the sun came up and it started to get really hot. We were definately regretting deciding to wear black shirts at this point. E and I turned our music on and just kept going. There were lots of people starting to walk at this point. We hit mile 12 and I was really starting to hurt. I wanted this race to be over. E started pulling away from me, and I struggled to keep up with her. The last mile was pretty hilly as we ducked underneath the freeways and rounded our way to the Alamodome. I lost sight of E, but managed to keep a good pace even though I wanted to quit. I charged up the last hill, hit the 13 mile marker, turned the corner and sprinted my way to the finish line.

Final time: 1:58:18

E beat me by 30 seconds. She's a rockstar. We rested and stretched a little while we waited on the other girls to finish (C and T finished together at 2:05!).

Then we had to make the over mile trek back to the starting line and our hotel. RnR Fail. Why have the start line in downtown next to all the hotels and then not have a way for the runners to get back except walk!? Also, bag pickup was across the parking lot from the Alamodome and you had to walk down 2 flights of stairs and then back up 2 flights of stairs to get there. Why!? I'm pretty sure I will not be running this race again.

New Challenge

2011-11-21T11:29:00.001-06:00

So if you haven't noticed, I've been slacking off a little lately. It's not for lack of trying (ok, maybe it is a little), but with being busy at work and other stuff going on it just isn't happening for me right now.

Enter: Vacation
Yes! I've been waiting for this for sooooo long! I'm not even bothered that the weather says it's going to rain the whole time. I'm just glad to be getting away and taking some much needed time off work.

In addition to my slacking off with running, I've also been slacking off in others areas, like my diet. I've been eating a lot more junk and it needs to stop.

Enter: Holiday Shred
Bobbi at NHerShoes has set up a challenge where she puts together a workout 6 days a week for 23 days. Each workout is going to last roughly 20 minutes, but can be repeated if I want to do extra. She's going to mix it up so that every muscle gets worked during the intense workouts. I'm really excited for the challenge and hope I can keep it up. I'm guessing I'll be carrying my laptop around with me so I won't have any excuses.

Here's to getting back on track before the new year arrives!

Houston Half 2011

2011-11-18T11:28:00.000-06:00

October 23rd, I ran the first warmup race in the Houston marathon series - the Houston Half. I honestly didn't have any goals for this race. I just wanted to enjoy racing (it had been a while since my last race), have fun, and use it as a long run to prepare for my upcoming half marathon in San Antonio.

Turns out it was a great day for racing. I run the parks on these streets all of the time, so I knew what I was getting myself into. Before the race, I met up with one of the girls I train with in ATP and she was in it to race it. Normally, she's faster than me, but I thought we could at least start out together and keep each other company for the first half.

The first half went by so fast. We crossed the mat at 1:00:08. I remember thinking "ok, not great, but I'll at least beat the 2 hour mark". My friend had just put on her headphones and we both took a GU and just kept going. We didn't really speak much, just ran. The turn around for the race was at almost 8 miles where I finally decided to turn on my tunes. The two of us just started getting into a really good groove and we started passing people. I didn't look at my Garmin much at all - I was trying to run solely on feel.

I knew we were speeding up, but I had no idea how much. Less than half a mile from the finish line, a friend of hers jumped out of the crowd and starting running with us. He was screaming at her in Spanish and I was doing everything I could to keep up the pace and try and translate what he was saying at the same time. Later I would find out that we had sped up to almost a 7 min/mile pace. We crossed the finish line in 1:55:34! A full minute PR for me!

Half Marathon #9

Changes are a comin'

2011-09-29T17:10:00.000-05:00

This week I've been sleeping in quite a bit. I think my mind is tricked. I keep reading everyone else's posts about how it's not that hot everywhere else, so my mind seems to think that it must be the same way here. Well, it's not. It's still upper 90's here and pretty miserable to be outside midday. My mind needs to remember when it's ignoring the alarm in the morning that it may be Fall everywhere else, but it definately has not come to Houston yet.

On the bright side, I have gotten to see more of the trails just outside of downtown lately. I usually only run these in the winter when it's cool enough to run during lunch. Looks like we've got some changes coming to Eleanor Tinsely Park.

Newly paved paths, perhaps? I'm not sure how I feel about it. Right now, it sucks because I'm having to avoid the dust and workers and run around the construction. But I also think putting in new concrete will loose some of the parks personality. You could really see the wear and tear from all the years of runners, walkers, hikers, bikers and everyone else who's used these trails over the last who-knows-how-many years. It gave it its rustic charm that I love so much.

It's my new Lulu shirt again. I'm telling ya, I'm addicted!

But I'm sure I'll love the newly paved park, too. I'll miss the little quirks though.

ATP Weeks 10 & 11

2011-09-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

Here I am again, behind as usual.

Week 10 went pretty well for me:

Monday: 4 Miles (The group took it easy after our 15 miler the Saturday before)
Tuesday: 6 Miles
Wednesday: GSTs 1200s (had the fastest girl pace me for the last sprint - kinda amazing)
Thursday: ~~5 Miles~~ Off (dang work got in the way)
Friday: OFF (picked up my bike with CLIPS!)
Saturday: 10 Mile LSD
Sunday: ~~3 Miles~~ Off (practiced with my clips)

Week 11 started off really bad with tons of stress at work and no time or energy for running.

Monday: ~~SST 3~~ Storms at 5am cancelled our workout!
Tuesday: ~~4 miles~~
Wednesday: SST 3 + 14 Mile Bike
Thursday: ~~4 miles~~
Friday: ~~OFF~~ 5 Miles
Saturday: 14 Mile LSD
Sunday: ~~5 miles~~ 35 Mile Bike

Sunday's ride was really fun. It is my longest distance to date and I can definately tell my body isn't used to riding yet. Luckily, the route was mostly flat, but there were some pretty windy spots that made it very challenging.

I'm glad I got out there and did it. It was a great start to my Sunday and really makes me want to saddle up more often.

ATP Week 9

2011-09-14T16:19:00.000-05:00

So the weather was fairly cool all week. But my motivation? Right out the window. Last weeks' workouts:

Monday: ~~GST 800~~
Tuesday: ~~7 Miles~~
Wednesday: GST 800 (done by myself after work, FML)
Thursday: ~~5 Miles~~
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 15 Mile LSD
Sunday: ~~5 Miles~~

So I kind of accidentally took a rest week. I guess I needed it, not sure. Time just seemed to get away with me and I had trouble getting out there. Wednesday's workout was hard since it was a GST, but also because the smoke from the wildfires had started to invade Houston. I'm very sensitive to smoke, so the workout left me coughing all night hence my lack of running on Thursday. By Saturday, I really had no excuses for skipping my long run. And I'm glad I didn't. 15 miles was awesome! It was hilly (which hurt my not-trained-on-hills legs), but we kept a great pace and it wasn't miserably hot outside. A great run to motivate me for the week to come!

Nerves

2011-09-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

Do you ever get nervous before a training run???

I'm sitting here at work, watching the clock tick the minutes by until I can get to the park to tackle my missed run from this morning, and I've got butterflies in my stomach. Butterflies! It's only training - not racing, but how do I convince my tummy of that?

It seems if I don't do my run first thing in the morning, my stomach does this to me. It's like it's telling me I shouldn't do afternoon runs, only morning. I don't get like this before a yoga class or before a bike ride. Only running. How wierd.

Anyways, it's a beautiful 88 degrees and sunny here. I'm gonna get some fuel and head to the track (before my motivation fails). Happy running!

ATP Week 8

2011-09-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

Catching up!

I had a really good week last week when it came to my training! (Finally!) I even managed to get up super early on Tuesday and get in my 4 miles before my flight to Dallas (talk about a long day!)

Monday: GST 600

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: GST 600 + 24 Mile Bike

Thursday: ~~7 Miles~~ 5 Miles

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 9 Mile LSD

Sunday: ~~6 Miles~~

Not bad if I do say so myself. Thursday I decided I wanted to sleep in, but that left the only time to schedule my run was at 5pm - at 102 degrees. I did my best, but I had to call it quits at 5 miles. I took my shirt off I was so hot - guess there's a first time for everything! (Note to self: need to do more ab work!!!)

Saturday came and so did our holiday weekend to visit family. I got up before the sun to tackle my 9 miles solo and was surprised by 75 degree temps! I ran an awesome long run with 3 miles at marathon pace and felt like I could have kept going.

Ai, short hair!

Speedy legs!

Here's hoping this weather continues!

ATP Week 7

2011-09-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

(I know, I know, but better late than never right? Since I started documenting my training on here, I'd hate if I missed a week just because I'm lazy. So I'm going to post this a week late and then immediately catch up with the most recent week's training.)

First week of GSTs! (That exclamation point is there to show pure fear, not excitement)
Here's the low down:

Beginning of the General-Strengthening Period

Speed-Strength Circuit: Use the Special Warm-Up (SWU), and then perform the following exercises in order. Move quickly from exercise to exercise, but don't perform the exercises themselves overly quickly - in other words, don't sacrifice good form just to get them done in a hurry. The idea is to do each exercise methodically and efficiently - and then almost immediately start on the next exercise.
(1) Run 400 meters (or 1/4 mile) at what feels like 5-K race pace (on a scale from 1-10, your effort should feel like a "9" as you run)
(2) Complete 12 squat thrusts with jumps (burpees)
(3) Do 2 chin-ups
(4) Perform 30 ab crunches
(5) Do 12 push-ups
(6) Complete 24 body-weight squats (fast)
(7) Run 400 meters at 5-K intensity again
(8) Do 10 squat and dumbbell presses with 10-lb dumbbells
(9) Perform 30 low-back extensions
(10) Complete 8 feet-elevated push-ups
(11) Do 20 lunges with each leg
(12) Complete 20 bench dips
(13) Run 400 meters at 5-K intensity
(14) Repeat steps 2-13 one more time (for two circuits in all), and then cool down with 2 miles of light jogging

This workout is hella hard and completely exhausting. Each week, we'll be increasing the amount of exercises and the length of the sprints. I wanted to puke after each day's 3rd sprint.

Monday: GST 400
Tuesday: ~~4 Miles~~
Wednesday: GST 400
Thursday: ~~6 Miles~~
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 12 Mile LSD
Sunday: ~~4 Miles~~ 25 Mile Bike with group to Katy

The GSTs really took it out of me. My body was sore and tired and I needed those extra rest days. By Sunday, I was feeling great and ready for the next week's training to start.

3 Things Thursday

2011-08-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

1. Have I mentioned how hard core this ATP training is? I guess I just thought they were kidding when they named it "advanced training program"! Between the early morning workouts and the strain this is putting on my body, I'm tired all the time. I guess I just need to learn to juggle everything, but for now, all I want to do is sleep.

2. I think I've found my new favorite breakfast love. Pumpkin bagel with honey almond cream cheese. It is literally the best thing I've had in a while and I think I might have one for breakfast every day for the rest of my life. Thank you, Einstein's Bagels.

3. I got race envy last week reading everyone's running and tri recaps that I started signing up for a few of my own. I'm not quite ready to commit to a tri, but I added two races to the line up and am still debating on another one. I can't wait for this weather to get cooler and to get back to racing!

ATP Week 6

2011-08-25T10:26:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but I seem to have miscounted my ATP weeks. I'll blame it on the stress of life and my inability to count (wait, I'm an engineer?!). Anyways, last week was ATP Week 6 and the last week of our Prep routine. This week we started the hard core stuff, but I'll get to that later. Here's how last week went down:

Monday: ~~PREP + 6 miles~~ Slept in and did 4 miles on my own in the afternoon Texas heat
Tuesday: ~~4 Miles~~ 12 Mile bike (Hubby upgraded to clips so we had to get some practice in)
Wednesday: PREP + 6 miles, 22 mile bike
Thursday: ~~5 Miles~~ Too sore from Wednesday's workouts - rest
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 10 Mile long run
Sunday: ~~4 Miles~~ 8 mile bike ride to and from Crossfit

So the week didn't go exactly as planned, but there were definately some quality workouts in there. That Crossfit workout was a little more hard core than I had planned on - especially since ATP started the GSTs the next day. What are GSTs you ask? I'll get into more of it when I recap this week but stands for "general strength training" aka "workout from hell". Our coach said she wanted to see at least 3 of us puke the first day, and I was definately almost one of them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

ATP Week 4

2011-08-16T10:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been a little MIA on here. It's been a rough few weeks for me and I'm having trouble juggling it all. I promise I'll be back to my normal self eventually, just bear with me. I'd love to post more pictures, but it seems I've lost my camera. My car was broken into a week and a half ago and my gym bag was stolen. Luckily, I was working out at the time, so the thief didn't get my Garmin or favorite running shoes. But he did take off with my ipod, compression socks, awesome Lulu bag and a couple of other things that were irreplaceable. I keep telling everyone around me to please be careful what you leave in your car. Theft and break-ins are on the rise and I don't want anyone else to be a victim.

Now, on to a different note - last week's workouts:

Monday: ~~PREP + 5 miles~~
Tuesday: ~~3 miles~~
Wednesday: PREP + 5 miles, 22 mile bike
Thursday: 6 miles
Friday: OFF
Saturday: ~~10 miler~~
Sunday: ~~4 miles~~

What can I say? The week started bad, got better, then got lazy. Monday and Tuesday I was in a rut and just didn't make it out. This past weekend was Hubby's birthday and we rented a house on the beach. With all the hosting duties, I never found time to get in my runs. I'll definately have to plan better for weekends when I'm so busy like that, but thank goodness there aren't too many of those.

Here's hoping this week helps get me back on track. Happy Running!

ATP Week 3

2011-08-01T09:23:00.000-05:00

Ah, another week to cross off the list for marathon training. I didn't pull the camera out any this week (I'm getting really bad about that), but it was another HOT one. We did get a little rain on Thursday - Saturday, but it did little to cool us off. Here's how the week ended up:

Monday: 6 Miles + Prep, started with a slow 3 mile loop, then picked it up for a 9:00min/mile paced loop
Tuesday: ~~4 Miles~~ Cardio weights class, Test riding bikes
Wednesday: 6 Miles + Prep, 20 Mile Bike Ride
Thursday: 5 Miles
Friday: OFF
Saturday: 8 Miles
Sunday: ~~4 Miles~~ 2 Miles

All in all, I'm pretty happy. I managed to get most of all my runs in and still pick up some extra curricular activities. I'm still excited about the new bike and am hoping to be able to squeeze in more than one ride this week.

On a completely different note, what the heck is up with Google lately? I can't comment on anyone's blogs under my account and it sucks. It's been going on for way too long and I'm getting pretty sick of it. So, don't think I'm not reading and enjoying your blogs because I am - I just can't comment about it.

New Toy!

2011-07-30T07:46:00.002-05:00

Meet my new training buddy:

I'm thinking "Carla the Cannondale" - the name seems to ring well. What do you think?

Hubby got into road biking a few months ago and I just couldn't help but want to join him. I tried out the Specialized Dolce, Giant Avail and the Cannondale Synapse before deciding on this one. It's the Caad 10 5 and it's amazing. We picked her up Wednesday night and immediately joined a group for a 20 mile ride. My butt is a little sore, but I'm ready to ride her again. It's going to be tough fitting in rides with my marathon training, but I'll rise to the challenge. I figure I can manage to take her out 2-3 times a week.

I still need to get water cages for her and eventually I'll make the jump to clips, but there's time for all that. I think first order of business should be learning to fix a flat. I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited!

ATP - Week 2

2011-07-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

(Sorry I'm a few days late on posting this)

Ha, I'm wearing my new shirt again. I just can't help it - it's so comfortable! (Don't worry, I washed it)

Week 2 of ATP Marathon training is finished - only 15 more weeks to go! I only managed to get 4 running days in instead of the scheduled 6. My body just needed a little more rest, so I let it.

It was definately a tough week.

Monday: 5 miles + PREP

Tuesday: Speed

Wednesday 5 miles + PREP

Thursday: ~~6 miles~~

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 6 mile long run

Sunday: ~~4 mile recovery~~

An ice bath? Yes, please. My muscles hurt so good!

Terry Hershey

2011-07-19T09:58:00.000-05:00

I had to be out on the west side of town the other afternoon and had my running stuff with me, so I thought it would be a great idea to try out a new running route.

ATP marathon training started last week, which had me running 6 days a week (holy cow!). Thursdays are easy runs, but they are the second longest of the week. I had 6 miles on the schedule so I figured I'd run 3 miles out then 3 back. The trail runs along the bayou underneath all of the roads so you never have to worry about traffic. I think the trail is around 16 miles total, but obviously I didn't see all of it.

It was a beautiful day. No clouds in the sky. Just 100 degrees and 100% humidity! I didn't really want to wait around for sunset with nothing to do, so I went ahead and started my run when I got there at 6:15pm. It was HOT!

I had to walk a few times to lower my heart rate back down, but managed to still make a pretty good time. I was definately worn out when it was over.

I went on a little shopping spree the day before and picked up this outfit from Lululemon. I'm more in love with their apparel every time I buy something. I only wish I could indulge in the entire line! This tank is amazing. I love the material and how it doesn't show sweat like some of my other tops. I'm debating getting it in another color.

Like my new BIC band? It's white and sparkley and I love it.

This ATP training is pretty tough and we just started week 2. We're building strength and trying to train our legs into running when tired. So for the first 3 weeks we are doing runs from 3 to 5 miles twice a week followed by lunges, squats, burpees, etc. After that, we'll start doing those exercises before the runs and then add in hills and sprints. I'm in for a tough 17 weeks!

I'm In!

2011-06-29T11:35:00.000-05:00

Marathon #2 is officially on the books!

I couldn't wait to find out yesterday. As soon as my plane from Cozumel landed, I had my phone on and was searching through my emails before I even hit customs. I'm so excited, but mostly because I'm choosing not to run this race for me. I'm working on putting something together that will help someone important in my life. I'll let you know when I get all the details worked out. :) Right now, it's time for a run!

Checking In

2011-06-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, but I promise I'm still around sweating it all out. It's definately full swing summer here in Houston and I'm finally starting to adjust to the heat and humidity again.

I've had to start adjusting my schedule so that I don't run during the hottest times of the day. (We don't want a repeat of National Running Day now do we?) Getting up early is a challenge for me, but I've been managing it more lately.

I'm trying to work at keeping a good base so that if I get into the Chevron Houston marathon this year, I'll be ready to start adding on the miles. I think I'm really ready for marathon #2 and hope it can be here on my turf. Please let me get in!

Don't let these pictures fool you. Sweat is dripping from every inch of my body. Gotta love the summers in Houston!

SugarFree Finale

2011-06-11T07:56:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I just finished a 10-day sugar free challenge. Only natural sugar from fruits and other foods were allowed into my diet. This meant no artificial sweeteners, no alcohol, no nothing. I knew I'd had to give up coffee (since it's not worth drinking without sugar) so I weaned myself off of it before the challenge started. My only caffeine came in the form of unsweetened green tea. I started this journey to prove to myself that I didn't need these foods. I didn't do it for weight loss or for a cleanse, but just to see if I could do it.

How hard was it?
I'll be honest, when the challenge started June 1st, I'd only told one person. I think I was afraid I might fail and that's why I didn't want anyone to know. If I started cheating, who was gonna find out? The first couple of days were easy, except I did cheat once. The first day after work, I decided to run home instead of drive. I was ill prepared for the heat and started worrying about getting dehydrated, so I stopped off for a G2 gatorade. I was mad at myself for failing so early in the challenge, but I also did not want to faint. I didn't even finish half the bottle, but I thought about quitting the challenge since I'd already screwed up on the first day.

But why quit just because I made one mistake?
Instead, I started telling people around me so they could help keep me accountable. Sure, I wanted sugar and sweet stuff, but it wasn't a dire need. I managed to get through a full day birthday party with everyone drinking around me and me only consuming water. At least there wasn't birthday cake to torture me.

Was it hard?
I had to watch what I ate, but it wasn't really hard, it just required more work. I had to buy new bread, new peanut butter, etc because the brands I had contained some form of sugar. For breakfast, I ate more eggs instead of bagels or breakfast bars that are full of sugar and I found myself more full than eating the normal junk. My lunches and dinners did not change much, except I could no longer eat Subway - all of their breads contain sugar. I ate more salads (with oil and vinegar only) instead.

Did I experience withdrawls?
Yes, the headaches started Sunday night. I had a terrible one, but I didn't take anything for it. I assumed it was from the sugar (or lack of). For the next week, I still had headaches, but they would come and go, not lasting very long. When I had sugar cravings, I substituted them for other things, like pretzels or pickles (and no, my sodium intake did not increase from usual). When work stressed me out, I wanted to go home to a glass of wine but I just chose not to. Water, green tea and milk were my only liquids for the last 10 days.

What have I learned?
I learned that I can stick to a challenge. That even if something seems hard, if you really want it, it can be done. I never cheated again after that first day. Yes, I wanted cupcakes and wine and all the other things that I couldn't have, but I didn't need them. I learned that producers hide sugar in almost everything! I even found sugar in my soy sauce and in a few jars of my pickles.

How did I feel?
I noticed my energy levels rising. I was more productive at the office. I wanted to do more than just lay on the couch after work. I had more energy to work out. I stayed up later than usual. I slept sounder. I lost 3 pounds.

Am I going to keep going?
No. I know a sugar free life is attainable, but I've decided it's not for me. Yes, I want to continue to limit sugars in certain foods that don't need it. If it isn't sweet, there shouldn't be sweeteners in it. I also want to try to cut out fake sugars in general. No high fructose corn syrup or splenda or anything else. Just real sugar or maple syrup or honey, but all in moderation of course. I want to look into more natural ways to fuel my body for my workouts instead of relying on Gus or shotblocks. But I like sugar and I like sweets and there's no reason I can't indulge myself in a cupcake, cookie or frozen yogurt every once in a while.

Do I recommend you try it?
Yes. I love the way I feel right now and had no idea that it would have made such a difference. If you are interested, I would definately encourage you to try it.

So now that it's over, what am I doing on my first day off my challenge?
Going to a beer festival of course!

National Running Day

2011-06-01T22:18:00.000-05:00

I thought I had a brilliant idea today. It's National Running Day, so of course I had to get a great run in. Although I've run around work and around my house, I've never run from work to home or vice versus. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Houston and I thought today was the day to do it.

Wrong. Today was my first DNF. I've never quit a run before, but today was that day. As pretty as it was outside, it was also 97 degrees and I haven't run in anything hotter than high 80s this year. I also forgot my water bottle in the office and chose not to go back and get it. Bad decision. The route home is in full sun with very little shade. I started off with a great pace and lots of energy. That quickly faded when I got out of downtown and a mile and a half into the run. I was thirsty and my blood sugar was dropping and it was HOT. Two miles in I stopped at a convenient store for a gatorade to quench my thirst. Sugar Free Challenge Fail.

The G2 helped a little, but I was so hot and tired and drained and I felt like I was going to pass out. Luckily for me, I have a friend that lives halfway between downtown and home. So I called her. But no answer. So I talked myself into continuing to run, hoping she'd call back. I passed her apartment and headed on home. Less than 2 miles left. But guess who comes running my direction? My friend! I told her I was exhausted and she promised to drive me home if I could make it the 3 blocks back to her apartment. Yay!

I don't know if I've ever been so glad to be done with a run before. I felt bad for not finishing what I started, but I also didn't want to pass out from the heat and not have anyone nearby. I really want to try again to run from work to home, but maybe I'll wait until fall (and remember my water bottle next time!). After a short cool off period at home and refueling, I grabbed my bike and headed to downtown to pick up my car. All in all it was a great workout day, but I set my goals a little too high and need a little more practice before I try it again.

Total for the day:
Weights - 60min
Run - 4 miles
Bike - 5.5 miles

June 1st

2011-06-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

It's day one of the 10 day sugar-free challenge and I'm already worried that I won't make it! How terrible is that?! I had already weaned myself off of coffee (because honestly it's not worth drinking without sugar), so I started the day with a hot tea. But what do I eat for breakfast? My normal morning meal consists of bagels or muffins or FiberOne bars - all sugar laden and not a viable option for the next 10 days. Instead, I had two scrambled eggs. Now it's only 10:30am and I'm starving! Time to raid the kitchen to see if there's anything edible that doesn't have sugar in it to fuel me for my lunchtime workout. I've got my fingers crossed!

3 Things Thursday

2011-05-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

1. I must be crazy. I just signed up for a 10-day sugar free challenge! Oh, help my husband who will have to live with me during that time! See the side bar for more information about the challenge - and do it with me so I won't be miserable alone! Misery loves company :)

2. I didn't get my crossfit workout in yesterday. Turns out I had tons of errands to do before the weekend and it started raining. I did lift plenty of heavy boxes full of beer, so that should count as something!

3. My next half is finally on the calender - Rock N Roll San Antonio in November! It'll be an excellent girl's trip and I can't wait. (But, I definately need a few 13.1s before then!)

Building Strength and Smelly Workouts

2011-05-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a new workout regime. Well, not too new, but challenging myself to be stronger so that I can get FASTER. I took a look at all the races I've done since I started running (check out http://www.athlinks.com/ if you haven't already) and realized I haven't done a 5k in almost 2 years. Woa! Turns out, I really do like the longer distances better and have been racking up in the 10k and half marathon departments. So it's time for another 5k. The goal: Heights 5k Run, June 4th.

The plan: Back to boot camp at least 3x a week. I'm cheap and don't want to pay for a boot camp, so I'm starting my own. Monday night I went out to the park next to my house and did 30 minutes worth of circuits that we used to do in boot camp over the winter. I finished off with a one mile jog to cool down. I thought at the time that the workout was easy, but 2 days later I'm still feeling it!

Yesterday I hit up the BON running club for what I wanted to be an easy 2 loop run. At the end of the first loop though, my legs were screaming and I called it quits with 3 miles. I can't complain, but I really wanted to get in 6 miles. What I do want to complain about though? My Providence race shirt. It's a men's fit, but actually fits fairly well (not like my RnR Mardi Gras). However, it SMELLS. It smells like rotten, burning eggs. So much so that when I picked it up at the expo, I refused to try it on. I wouldn't even wear it after the race with my medal like I usually do. I came home from the trip and washed the shirt twice. I put it on yesterday after work and headed to BON and I could smell it on myself. Even my sweat after the run did not mask the stink of the shirt! I like the shirt and really want to wear it especially since I'm so proud of my performance during the race - but how do I get rid of the smell??

On today's plate: Crossfit. Oh, help me now.

Providence Half Marathon

2011-05-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

This weekend was Half Marathon #8 that almost wasn't. My poor little doggy had back surgery the week before and our trip almost had to be cancelled. Luckily everything worked out in our favor and we still got to make the trip to Providence to visit friends and for me to run my first race after turning 29. I really wanted to rock this race, but my workouts haven't been the greatest lately. I was starting to get back on track until the doggy got sick and I had to put running aside for several days to take care of him.

I decided on the trip up to Rhode Island that I would just run for the fun of it. Our friends live outside of the city in Warwick, so I hadn't seen that much of Providence before. It would be a great sightseeing race. I didn't really worry about carb loading or cutting back on drinking or anything else I would have normally done before a race. I even stayed up until midnight Saturday night!

Sunday morning, I woke before the alarm and started my routine. I even left the house earlier than planned and started the 15 minute trek to Providence. I found street parking downtown, finished my Click protein drink and ditched my sweats before walking to the start. It was cold and sunny, so I knew I'd warm up fast once the race started.

Since I just planned on running and not really racing, I lined up in the middle of the 9 minute group. For the first time in any race I've done, everyone lined up correctly! I never saw anyone walking except for on a few of the hills. It was so nice not to do any dodging! After the first mile, I looked down at my Garmin and noticed I'd completed it in 8:46 - really fast for the first mile. But I thought, I feel really good - why not run how I feel and just ignore the Garmin? So I did. I didn't look at my watch again until mile 6, which was under 55 minutes.

I felt great! I just ran on feel and nothing else. I took one GU at mile 7 and a Powerbar Gel (yuck!) at mile 11. The hills were not as challenging as I expected, just long. There were two that were really steep, but short. I never walked once during this race. I started with a water bottle in hand that I carried and sipped from until mile 8 when I threw it away. After that, I stole sips from the water stations, but refused to walk for them. I always walk through water stations, so this was new to me.

My cheerleaders (Hubby and our two friends) we right before the 12 mile mark, but weren't expecting me so early so the camera wasn't ready.

I started to get pretty fatigued after mile 11. I knew I could finish, but my legs were getting really tired. I flipped through songs on my Shuffle searching for something that would power me through. I finally gave up and settled on something Destiny's Child. I really need to work on my running playlists! Right before I turned the corner to see the finish line, "Taking Care of Business" came on - how appropriate.

The last .1 mile was uphill to the finish. I could hear the announcer telling the runners at the bottom of the hill that the clock just hit 1:56. What!? I charged up the hill and crossed the finish line - nothing but smiles on my face!

Final time: 1:56:34

Average Pace: 8:54

Me, Hubby and the Rhodies - it was their first spectating experience!

I might be a year older, but I just crushed my PR!

It almost feels like a dream, like it never happened, but then I look at the awesome medal and smile all over again!

It's gettin' hot in here...

2011-04-20T22:16:00.000-05:00

I think it was around 86 degrees when I started my run today. Luckily for me, I started an hour before sunset so it was getting cooler at least. Spring is almost over here in Houston, and it's time to start getting used to the heat again. I went out to run a few hills over the Shepard bridge and a couple of miles around the neighborhood. I still had a little left in the tank towards the end so I decided to add in a few sprints since I missed my interval training this week. I sprinted the last 3/4 of a mile home - sprint one block, jog the next. It worked really well! My last sprint was 7:30min/mile!

Gotta love this heat! I started dripping sweat right after this picture was taken!

Happy Running!

New Bridge!

2011-04-15T17:24:00.000-05:00

Today I snuck out of work in the afternoon for a run. They've finally opened the new pedestrian bridge over Buffalo Bayou and I was dying to run across it!

Isn't it pretty?

I wish I could run in the afternoon everyday!

See our silver people statues? At night they light them up and they look pretty cool!

I managed a 3.3 mile run in 33 minutes with 3 hill repeats thrown in there. Yay for Fridays!

Good luck to everyone running Boston on Monday!

Yasso 800s

2011-04-13T09:20:00.000-05:00

I've been doing pretty good over the past week at getting in my running and still getting in some other workouts. I tackled a 7 mile long run on Saturday that went fairly well. It was definitely a struggle, but I expected it and managed to finish. I even joined Hubby on a bike ride later that day. He stopped at the park to do some exercises, but I played on the monkey bars and swing set instead. (I fit in great with all the kids!)

Since my next half marathon is in less than 3 weeks, I feel like I really need to step up my running. So I'm going back to the days of marathon training and thinking of sprints and hills. Yesterday, I attempted my first set of Yasso 800s. I was at the gym with Hubby and we started with an elliptical warmup and then leg weights. He moved onto arms, but I decided to hit the treadmill.

Warmup: 800 meters x 10:00min/mile pace
1: 800m x 8:00m/m, 400m x 10:54m/m
2: 800m x 8:06m/m, 400m x 10:54m/m

3: 800m x 8:06m/m, 400m x 10:54m/m

4: 800m x 8:00m/m, 400m x 10:54m/m

5: 800m x 7:46m/m, 400m x 10:54m/m

Cool down: 800 meters x 10:00min/mile

Not bad for my first stab at it! I really impressed myself. At first, I thought I would just do as many as I could, but after the first one I realized I needed a real goal so I didn't talk myself out of quitting too early. I set my mind on 5 and just kept going until I got there. My stomach wasn't quite in it, otherwise I might have made it one more. Maybe next week, we'll see. I definitely really enjoyed it!

Yay for Running!

2011-04-07T14:18:00.000-05:00

Hi again! After my last craptastic race, I decided to take a little time off from running. Don't worry, I've been spinning, weight-lifting and yoga-ing in the place of running. As much as I love other activities, nothing really fills the void that running leaves. So last night since Hubby ditched me for our gym date, I laced up my running shoes.

They had been so unloved! It was a nice 78 degrees and sunny out, I just couldn't resist. I figured a nice stroll around my 4 mile loop would be a perfect starting point. I'll be honest - I was hoping that since I had been doing other activities, my body would just jump at the opportunity to be running and go really fast. That didn't happen. My whole body felt heavy and I had to concentrate on my form so my feet wouldn't keep kicking my ankles. Other than that, it was actually a great run. I powered through it even when I wanted to walk.

Can you tell I'm excited to have just finished 4.25 miles?

I guess I'm officially back in training for my next half marathon - Providence here I come!

By the way, all these talks in bloggyworld about fall races is really giving me an itchy finger! I want to sign up for so many!

The Gusher Half Marathon

2011-03-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was the Gusher Half Marathon in Beaumont, TX. I signed up for this race last year sometime because I really wanted the medal. I put it on the calender and kinda just forgot about it. After last weekend's insane mileage and my crazy workload at work, I hadn't even gotten in a recovery run or adequate rest time. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much out of this race. I was just going to take it easy and run it.

I had planned on getting up early race morning and driving the 1+ hour to Beaumont on my own and just drive back when it was over. But Hubby offered to go with me Friday night, so we drove over in time for packet pickup and I settled in for a good night's rest. The hotel offered a shuttle to the start, so I'd planned to be up and ready by 6 am. Umm...never trust a hotel alarm clock. The nice shuttle driver called at 6am wondering where I was and woke me up. I was actually having a dream that it was 7:30am and I had missed the start of the race!

So I threw on my clothes as fast as possible and ran out the door. I realized that I left Marvin the Garmin at home on the charger, but there was no time to fret about it now. Nor time to debate about the skirt I bought yesterday to run in. I just put it on and ran. Hubby was going to have the luxury of going back to bed.

Turns out he couldn't go back to sleep, so he ventured out to catch me at the start. It was very nice of him to come out (and even take pictures!). The race was very small, but was pretty well organized. Last year was the first year they put it on and I heard that there were no mile markers and they ran out of water. They definitely fixed those kinks this year.

The race started on time and we were off. I saw 3 guys wearing the Marathon Maniacs shirts. Kinda makes me want to join the Half Fanatics, but I'm not sure. Today I was definitely not a fanatic. In fact, I wanted to drop down to the 5k. The only thing that kept me going was my pride and the medal. My muscles were still sore from last weekend and I could tell from the beginning it wasn't going to be a good run. My lungs have been tight since last weekend and I coughed a lot during the race. We weaved around the college and then out onto the closed off highway for about a 4 mile stretch. Highway? Boring. I did that last weekend! Haha. The turn around was in downtown Beaumont and they had us weaving through the streets to pick up extra miles. Downtown was the prettiest part of the race and the sun was starting to come out. But then we hit the highway again and it was boring all over again. I couldn't wait for the finish line. Since I didn't have a watch, I was totally running on feel and I knew I was going slow.

Hubby stuck around while I ran and waited for me to finish and caught this video. I'm definitely not sprinting to the end, but I'm still giving it everything I had. There just wasn't anything in the tank. At least I'm running and not walking, right?

This picture pretty much sums up how I felt for most of the race. Actually, to be honest, this picture is worse. My lungs tightened up almost completely when I finished and it took a bit to suck in a good breath. FML

But slow and steady wins the race, right? Umm..no, but they do get an awesome medal!

Final time: 2:10:07

Good enough for 14th in my age group. Maybe I will try the race again next year - if I'd run 1:59 like I have 3x before, I'd have come in 4th!

Texas Independence Relay

2011-03-12T18:21:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned on here before, I got the wild and crazy idea last fall to put a team together to run the Texas Independence Relay. When we started organizing the team in October, we had 12 runners (the max and desired amount). Through the months until the actual race, we lost runners due to injury and other time commitments. 2 weeks before the race, we had 10 runners - still doable, but we were looking for more. By one week out, we were down to 9 and three days before, 8. 8 runners who did not train for a relay and only one of us had ever run more than a half marathon.

But we were determined. My team: Give Me Liberty or Race Me to Death! We raised money for Team Red, White and Blue - helping wounded veterans getting reintroduced into society (we are still raising money and if you feel like helping our cause click here.

This race starts in Gonzales, TX - home of the Battle of Gonzales that started the was for Texas' independence from Mexico. The fight started over a cannon that Mexico had given the people of Gonzales and now Mexico wanted it back. Gonzales refused and said "Come and Take It!"

We drove the 2 hours to Gonzales Friday night and slept on the floor of the gym at the local college. This relay gives teams the ability to have anywhere from 8 to 12 runners and their choice of legs to run. There are 40 legs total, so that meant each of us had to run 5 legs (no runner could run one more leg than another).

Saturday morning came bright and early. Start times were given to each team based on their average pace so that most of the teams would finish between 1 and 5 pm on Sunday. Our official start time was 7:08am. With the firing of the cannon, we were off.

The first 1.12 miles we ran as a team. It was a nice little warm up around Gonzales. After that, my team split off and I kept running into the first leg. The run took me out of Gonzales and onto country roads towards the next town. 4.25 miles later, my team was there to greet me at the checkpoint and off the next runner went.

The beautiful county roads of Texas. It was really exciting waiting at the checkpoints for the runners to hand off. There were about 200 teams participating and most of them had themes and costumes. My team is already thinking of ideas for next year.

C about to overtake another runner. It was pretty fun in the beginning counting all the runners you would pass, but then the faster teams started to catch up and all we did was get passed!

My van had the second leg of the night. We started running around 1:30am in Wallis, TX and got to run the tema all the way into Houston and watch the sun come up. Running at night was so cool. There were other runners arond you for the most part, but it felt like just you and the stars.

Once we made it into Houston, we had some of our friends (some of them runners that could not be on the team this year) meet us at Memorial Park at one of the hand offs.

This was supposed to be my last leg of the day. D handing off to me in Memorial Park for the "Captain's Leg". I run pieces of this route all the time since I live closeby. The leg was 5.5 miles and was taking me into downtown along the bayou. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for running, but I was a little spent from having already run 4 legs.

Off I go. You can't tell here, but the course once I got to the bayou was lined with little Texas flags marking the way. It was a sight to see and helped push me a little. I ran past a guy walking to take his jacket off and he commented on my race bib. I stopped and walked with him and explained the race. He and his friends had wanted to do it, but never got around to signing up. I told him I was hurting a little and that this was my last leg and he offered to run me into downtown. What a nice guy! Turns out he was in the middle of a 20 mile training run for Boston! I stayed with him for about 2.5 miles, but he was trying to keep a 9:30 pace and my body just couldn't do it with the hilly course so I let him pull ahead.

I finally made it into downtown with only a couple walk breaks and handed off to H. Like the baton? It's a slap bracelet!

We had some time to kill, so silly pictures were definately called for. We were about 28 hours in at this point!

We did lots of stretching and relaxing between runners. And The Stick definately came in handy - there were even fights over who would get it next.

It was a long weekend and we were all tired and exhausted, but we did our best to encourage each teammate along the way. We always stopped and offered water and cheered a lot. D got the priveledge of the last leg and C and I were there to run him in the last 150 yards.

We've finished! Actually, we are on our way to the finish line. Just like we started, we finished together. This time we walked it though. It was 0.38 miles from the checkpoint to the monument and we relished every second of it.

204 miles, 8 runners, 32 hours 42 minutes and 10 seconds. We were rock stars!

The race ended at the San Jacinto Monument on the east side of Houston. After 5 months of fighting Mexico while Davy Crockett was making his last stand at the Alamo, Sam Houston was signing the Declaration of Independence at Washington on the Brazos (where the monument sits). Texas was free from Mexico and was now it's own country.

This was the 4th running of this relay and is always held on the weekend Texas celebrates it's independence day (yes, we still celebrate even though we are part of the US now). Our medals are mini replicas of the monument (it will soon be a little statue for my desk). My team was awesome and everyone ran great times (much better than we predicted)! There were PRs all around - I even unofficially broke my 10K PR from the weekend before! We will definately be back next year - with 12 runners and awesome costumes!

My total mileage for the weekend? 26.2 miles. But that definately hurt much worse than an actual marathon!

Rodeo Run 10K

2011-03-08T21:50:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been a little mia lately - work has been so much crazier than normal and I haven't done much else. The other weekend was the Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run. I honestly signed up a few months ago and almost forgot about it. I haven't really had much time to train for it, but I went out with some friends to have a good time.

Here we are at the start. It was a nice overcast day with a nice cool wind. Great for a 9:30 start time. I've always wondered why they start this race so late and still manage to get so many participants. It's a 5k and 10k. This year they had over 14,000 runners!

The race runs through downtown along the rodeo parade course. As soon as the runners get by, the parade starts. It makes for some pretty good spectators in the first half.

Clay Walker was at the start. He was pointing out the group of "walkers" waiting to start and said "that's my group". Ha, he's so funny. Funny and cheesy - but he sings really well!

I absolutely love running downtown! There's something about the tall buildings and proximity to everything that I just love. I work down there and couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

First half is done. Now we're headed up the viaduct - the only big hills we have in Houston: man-made. This bridge is in the first mile of the marathon, but the last end of this race. We go across it, around the neighborhood, then back across to downtown.

I made it up the hill pretty well. I was feeling good and not watching my watch (it was dead anyway). I wanted this run to only be on feel. Since I didn't really train for it, I just wanted to go out and give it all I had. I had forgotten that the first incline on the way back was the steepest. I had to walk for about 20 seconds to lower my heart rate. After that, I managed to tackle the rest of the incline pretty well. Most of the runners were fading out so I had a chance to pass quite a few.

My favorite place! Baseball season is right around the corner. I was pretty exhausted by this point, but I knew the 6 mile marker was just in front of me. They changed the finish line this year, but I knew it couldn't be far. They had us run around a few corners before we could see the line, but I sprinted forward and finished with a smile on my face.

Rodeo Run 10k #3 complete. And with a new PR: 55:05!

I had previously sworn off this race because of the time of day and how hot is usually is. But my friends signed up this year and I just don't know how to say no. The race was as well organized as usual, but there was more offered at the finish line. Previously they had run out of gatorade by the 1 hour mark and there wasn't much else. This year, they had plenty of water and gatorade, plus fruit, candy, gogurt, 5 hour energy, icy hot patches, etc. N and I definately filled our bags with goodies to prep for our next adventure.

Shopping

2011-02-24T19:32:00.000-06:00

This week has been pretty busy again with work, but I've managed to find a little time to get a few workouts in. Tuesday night, I met up with 2 of my besties and we tackled the Rice loop. It was a really nice night to be running and really great to catch up with friends.

Wednesday morning I finally got my butt up early and hit up boot camp again. It had been almost a month since I'd gotten to attend a class! I can't believe how fast we loose our endurance and stamina while sitting at a desk job all day. One day after boot camp and my whole body is sore. I'm not sure if my butt muscles have ever been so sore!

I got an email from Brooks today mentioning that they were hauling out their inventory to make room for the new Spring line. You all know how much I love my Brooks!

I scored me a pair of Adrenaline GTS 10's and a pair of Infiniti shorts for less than the regular price of the shoes! I actually have a fairly new pair of Adrenaline 11's, but they aren't wearing in as well as my 10's. I figured I needed to jump and buy a pair before they are all gone! I'm really loving that blue color!

Friday Fun

2011-02-18T11:08:00.000-06:00

1. In my recent trip to NOLA for the Mardi Gras Half, I got to meet fellow blogger, Christina! If you haven't dropped by her blog yet, go now. She was such a sweet person and she ran a great race on Sunday, so be sure to congratulate her!

2. I have been following Janae for a few weeks now. That girl makes me laugh out loud! She says stuff that I think in my mind but never actually say because I can't seem to find the words (or let's face it - prolly too embarrased to say it!). Anyway, she has this obsession with sugar. I love sweet things, but I've never really been a candy girl. However as I find myself at work late at night, I have cravings for gummy bears and chocolate sprinkles and swedish fish (which I've never even had!). So my mission for the weekend? Hit up a candy store and stock up!

3. I am the captain of my relay team that is set to run the Texas Independence Relay on March 5&6. The team is put together, shirts are ordered, and race fees are paid. Nothing else has been done! I'm so friggin crazy busy with work that I get off at 9pm and go to bed only to wake up and do the same thing over. I'm so worried that we are not going to be organized or ready when the time comes! We don't even have vans lined up yet! Any advice from those of you who have participated in relays? No one on my team has ever done one, including me.

RnR Mardi Gras New Orleans

2011-02-17T11:28:00.000-06:00

We arrived in New Orleans late Friday night after a long day of work in Houston. The Hubby and I hit up a few bars for some well deserved drinks and fun. We had a pretty late night, but I managed to have not too bad of a headache the next morning. We woke up to a beautiful Saturday in NOLA and headed for some yummy beignets.

Who says fried dough covered in powdered sugar isn't good carb-loading? I love me some Cafe du Monde!

After breakfast/lunch, we headed over to the Expo to pick up my packet. That convention center must be a mile long and they had the RnR Expo all the way at the end! We walked forever! But the Expo was very well organized, although not as many booths to explore as Houston. I loved that Brooks was the sponser of the event and really wanted to hang around and shop, but Hubby was tired and ready to get back to the hotel. I picked up some Gus and we were off. I was a little surprised that we got our finishers shirts at the Expo and that they were only Men's sizes. Very disappointing.

Clothes laid out the night before! (I LOVE my marathon shirt)

I walked to the start the next morning and it was cold! 45 degrees, but I knew it would warm up. I checked my bag and left my long sleeves behind. At least there were enough people in the corrals to keep each other warm.

I started in Corral 5 next to Captain America. Pretty sure he beat me!

I loved that there were over 20 corrals to really space the runners out. Houston should really take a note from RnR here and have more than 2 corrals. The start was easy and I was never crowded by people. AND the people starting with me weren't walking into the first mile.

The course started out next to the river and it was cold! My hands and toes were freezing for the first two miles. I was really wishing I had atleast worn gloves. By mile 2 my stomach was killing me. All I could focus on was finding the next porto-cans. I've never had to stop in a race and I was really mad that I was going to have to. I was running this for a PR and I knew stopping would kill my time. Oh well, I had to do it.

The course was flat and fast. There wasn't a hill in sight - which was good because I never once even looked at the course map. The whole thing was a total surprise.

It was also mostly shaded. We ran a lot through old neighborhoods with gorgeous houses. The bands were nice, but they were a little spread out. I couldn't tell you want any of them were playing except for one on the last stretch. The male lead singer was belting out The Climb by Miley Cyrus. I laughed, but I'm not sure any one around me even noticed.

Most of the run actually sucked for me. After the bathroom break, I thought I'd be fine and able to really pick up the pace. Wrong. I had side stiches throughout the entire race. As soon as I worked one side out, the other side would start hurting. And trying to go faster only made it worse. By mile 9 I wanted to quit. I started to walk, but this guy on the street started yelling at me to keep going and just eat a Gu. So I did. I wasn't planning on taking one so early, but I used it as an excuse to keep walking.

Once I started running again we were in downtown and passing my hotel. There were only 4 miles left and I figured I had to give it all I had. I looked at my watch and knew that if I didn't, I had no chance of trying for a PR (it was already a slim chance).

At the 10 mile marker, these 2 guys started trying to pep up the other runners by telling them there was only a 5k left. I joined in with them and kicked my legs into high gear. I started picking people off and told myself I could puke when it was over.

I crossed the finish line in 1:59:02. A 13 second PR!

I had given it everything I had. My last 3 miles were 8:30s! I know if I hadn't had the bathroom break or the side stiches, I could have crushed my time. But oh well, not every race can be a good race. Although, I'd much rather prefer weather to slow me down than what I had!

Love the medal!

After a shower and a humongous poboy, we hit up Pat O'Brian's for hurricanes.

(I know, I was eating/drinking some horrible food for someone who considers themselves a serious runner!)

And then we got to watch some street performers. I got to be the assistant during the magic show. I love New Orleans and can't believe it's been 6 years since I've been there. I may or may not do the race again, but I'll definately be back for some Hurricanes and Hand Grenades! :)

Aramco Houston Half Marathon 2011

2011-02-08T11:14:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to writing my race recap for the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on January 30, 2011. (Sorry about the delay - life just gets busy)

The morning started off pretty good. I slept fairly well and woke up quickly. I had laid out my clothes the night before, but I still hadn't quite decided what to wear. Why not? Because the weathermen said it was supposed to storm. The race directors had been emailing for the last several days discussing the procedures to vacate the course if lightning was in a 10 mile radius. They also kept changing their minds about the temperature and how warm it was going to be. So before I put my clothes on, I turned on the TV to check the weather. Was anyone else aware that at 5am there is no weather on TV? Not even on the weather channel? I finally just walked outside with the dogs and decided on capris, short sleeve shirt and a hat. It was around 55 degrees and no rain had dropped yet.

I picked up V on my way to the start to meet up with everyone else. C and I headed to the start line to line up in the first wave with 20 minutes to spare. For some reason, Houston never has had good directions to get to the respective waves. We found ourselves in the middle of the black wave when we needed to be in green. So we spent those 20 minutes cramming through people to get into the green wave just in time for the gun. Talk about a hectic start.

As per usual with a race this size (22,000 people), the start was crowded. Usually though, the crowd starts to disperse around mile 3-4. No such luck this year. It was super packed all the way till the Half turn around. C and I managed to stay together until around mile 4 where I lost her behind me in the crowd.

Great pic of me at mile 8. I had to dump the hat it was so hot, but then of course it really started raining as soon as I did that. We had a group of non-running friends come out to cheer us on. Really, they just wanted an excuse to drink early in the day. I said hi real quick and then took off again. I'd see them again in a little over 2 miles.

I'm now done with 10 miles and N and D have just made it to mile 8. Perfect timing for a meetup :)

A few goofy pics and they were off! At the turn around, I spotted C and she looked beat. I decided to wait at the spectating tent for her and help her to the finish line. Her legs were cramping and she was hurting. I just kept telling her we were getting closer and it'd be over soon. She was so happy when we finally made it.

Final time: 2:15:03

Definately not a PR for either of us, but I helped a friend and had a great time and that's what matters most.

D, N and I spectating at mile 25.5. We were cheering in all the marathoners that needed that extra push.

These girls were awesome. They were jumping on the course and running with the people that were walking. It made a lot of people laugh and smile and most of them started running to the finish. My marathon trainging buddy was running the full here and we cheered her onto the finish. She rocked it in 4:27!

We finished the day with an afternoon of beer, pizza and goofy pics. This one is definately getting framed!

All together now. New shirt and new medal! Half marathon #5 done and done.

Quick Recap

2011-01-29T17:35:00.000-06:00

It's been quite a couple of weeks since my last post! Work has kept me extremely busy and I've had a pretty tough time fitting my runs in. Anyway, here's a quick recap in pictures.*

Brr....32 degree run. I never got warm! Gloves and headband stayed on during the entire run.

Breaking in my new shoes! They are totally awesome (like how they magically match my shirt? It's amazing how I managed that at 5:30am!)

Last run before Houston! I was rockin it at the Memorial track.

Houston is tomorrow! So excited to run this for the 3rd time - it will be my 5th half marathon!

*And don't worry, I had more runs than this in two weeks, I just didn't take pictures of all of them.

Here I come!

2011-01-19T10:12:00.000-06:00

Look what I got in the mail today! I'm so excited! I know it'll be my 3rd time running the race, but I'm still just as excited as the first time. I poured over the packet like I'd never seen it before even though not much has changed since last year (except maybe the finish line). This race kicks off my 2011 racing season and I am ready!

(Wow, there were a lot of exclamation marks in there! I just can't seem to help myself!)

The Weekend slipped away

2011-01-18T14:12:00.000-06:00

I had every intention of getting to bed early Friday night and waking early Saturday morning for my long run. Intentions are not always met. I ended up watching two movies and baking 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I didn't turn off the lights until after 1am. Oops. So, needless to say I decided to sleep in on Saturday. There's always Sunday for a long run, right?

Wrong. It rained on Sunday. I decided to brave it (since my gym is closed on Sundays there was no such thing as a treadmill for backup). I made it a mile from the house to Starbucks at the end of the trail. As I turned around to head back, the wind picked up tremendously and the rain got harder. By the time I hit 2 miles and was back around the house, I was cold, soaked and miserable. I decided to call it quits.

So instead of running my weekend consisted of this:

And lots of this:

But Monday came, and there was plenty of this:

(there was a whole mile before that but I forgot to send an email at work, so I ran downstairs to the office to handle it. Guess it pays to have your gym in your office building)

Hilly Tuesday?

2011-01-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

It's sitting at about 40 degrees here in Houston which means it's WAY too cold for this weeny to go outside and run. That and I didn't get up early this morning either. So what's that mean? Treadmill lunch run! Yay!

I tried to pump myself up for it all morning. Had a bagel and yogurt and plenty of water. My stomach was still turning in knots though because we just hate the treadmill. I put on my speedy South African soccer shirt and hopped on. I figured I'd test myself and actually try out a hill workout.

Wow that was hard! I took a pic of afterwards, but it only shows the cool down, not all the spikes from the jumps in incline.

That's my excited-for-finishing face. Look who forgot to take off their makeup before they started. Lovely raccoon eyes. I took a long cold shower after this, but I couldn't get the rid outta my face. Gotta love having to go back to work with a cherry red face. :)

Long Run Saturday

2011-01-09T10:27:00.000-06:00

It's been a pretty tough week for me. Work has been really busy (which I expect) and I've been trying hard to keep up with my workouts. I feel like I'm exerting myself in my bootcamp and my running that sleep should coume easily, but it's not. For 3 nights in a row I laid in bed staring at the ceiling, wanting sleep but it just wouldn't come. On Friday, I text one of my running buddies to insure she was going to be at the 6am Saturday run. She promised she'd be there and so I vowed to go - sleep or no sleep. I probably got about 5 hours of sleep that night and did not really want to make the run, but a promise is a promise. However, after I crawl my sleepy butt out of bed, my friend does not make it. Neither do the other 3 of my friends that are in the running club. I end up having to run alone since I had dropped down a pace group to run with my friends. I'm too fast for the group I'm in and the faster pace group left several minutes ago. I'm kind of stuck in between and I don't really want to slow down because I want the run to be over with. I managed to make it, but at about 9 miles my body wanted to shut down. It took all the energy I had to keep my form and put one foot in front of the other. I just kept telling myself it was good training if I ever don't sleep on race night.

12.6 miles down. I feel like I need to take revenge on this training run.

Look who finally leaned how to use the self timer on her camera! Even Lilly snuck in there. Check out the medal I'm wearing. The head coach of the running club was awarding everyone with "Winners" medals as they crossed the "finish line" today. I remember it being really cool when I trained for my first half, but this run I could have cared less. I just wanted to go home. So I did.

Don't worry. I think I took a 3 hour nap that afternoon. It was definately needed!

Starting the New Year Right

2011-01-05T13:36:00.000-06:00

Well, my new year is off to a great start! I finally banished that stomach bug just in time for the neighbors' new year's party. I had every intention of getting in my first run on January 1st, but I decided to reorganize the house (which I'm still in the process of) and go shopping. Instead, I postponed my run till Sunday night and went out right before dark.

It was amazing! The time just flew by and my feet just led me where they wanted to go. I paid no attention to my watch, just ran and enjoyed the night. I felt like I could run forever. When I finally got home, I checked my watch and I had run 7.25 miles! This is definately the kind of runner I want to be. One that runs for the fun of it and enjoys every second of it.

Last night, N came over and we were supposed to do a 10 mile long run. We set out while it was drizzling rain and lightning off in the distance. Probably not a good idea, but it was the only day she could run and we needed to do something even if it wasn't 10 miles. We made it 3 miles from the house and the lightning was still holding off and even the rain had stopped. It was a nice cool night for a run. We turned around to go closer to home though. Good thing we did because about a mile from the house the lightning started occurring very frequently and really close. I encouraged N to pick up the speed so we could get home to the safety of the house. Hubby even came driving by checking on us to make sure we weren't being dummies and hanging out in the weather. So sweet of him! We managed to get into the house just at the rain started pouring down. Our run was cut short to 6.5 miles, but it was better than nothing.

All in all, a great start to the first week of the year. I even managed some speed work yesterday! I don't think I'm going to make any new year's goals this year except for racing once a month. I want to run for the fun of it. Yes, I'm still secretly hoping to run 1,000 miles total this year. But as long as I have fun with it, I'm not going to mind if I fall short.

Happy Running!

Challenge

2010-12-30T12:15:00.000-06:00

I love challenges! It keeps me motivated and gives me something to look forward to. My next challenge you ask? Run for the Bling of It! I was already somewhat planning in my head to run as many races in 2011 as I can, but this will keep me honest. The challenge says I have to run at least one race every month and blog about it. Easy enough, right? I mean, check out my Upcoming Races section over there -----> It's getting pretty full!

I keep thinking that I need a New Year's resolution, but why? I didn't stick to last year's resolution. Although it was set pretty dang high. Maybe I should try for a total mileage for the year. According to my Garmin stats, I have run 528 miles so far this year (and that's not including my recent runs that I haven't uploaded yet), but that's only miles tracked by Marvin. There were several runs without him due to lack of battery power. I'm thinking I could definately add to that number. So is 1000 miles too much to shoot for? Maybe it is. I'll get back to you on this one.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the Christmas presents I got from my family. Lovely cooking stuff I wanted and gorgeous martini glasses! But I can't use any of it. Why? Cuz they also gave me a stomach bug. I got in a nice run Monday night, but that's been the last of it for me. I'm feeling better so far today, so I'm hoping I can get at least one more run in before the year is over. I still haven't gotten to wear the new shoes yet!

Happy last week of the year!

Christmas and other stuff

2010-12-29T18:32:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! I sure did - look what Santa (aka Hubby) brought me.

The new version of my Brooks shoes in RED! I saw this color when they came out and just begged for them. I'm so glad he took the hints :)

Before we left for the Christmas holidays and stuck the kids (aka doggies) in the car for 4 hours, I decided to take them out on a run. Well, the Lilly runs, but the Jager can only hang for about 1/2 a mile. Silly chihuahuas are not made for running!

Here's the Lilly sitting pretty waiting for me to put the leash on her. She loves going out running, but I hardly ever take her. Shame on me! I really need to get her more of a harness type collar instead of a traditional one. She can slip out of this one pretty easily. We did 4.5 miles around the neighborhood and she enjoyed every second of it. Although, her long legs looked like they were just taking a nice walk whereas I was running a steady 9:50min/mile pace. I even tried to sprint with her for a quarter mile - I think she made it to a trot! Either way, it wore her out and she slept the whole drive to my parents' house.

Tagged!

2010-12-17T11:38:00.000-06:00

I was tagged by Amanda at RuntoTheFinish for this little questionaire, so read-on if you wanna know more about moi.

1. Are you a girlie movie? Action movie? or Comedy kind of person? Definately a girlie movie kinda gal. My husband is pretty embarassed by my Netflix Queue actually. I watch my fair share of action and comedy with the husband, but there's nothing that beats coming home from that Saturday morning long run and curling up on the couch with my smoothie, ice and chick-flick before the hubby wakes up.

2. What is your favorite thing to do to “treat” yourself? I'd like to say "get a massage" but I really rarely do that. When I do, it feels like a treat, but mostly my treats consist of Anthropologie sales. There's something about that store that just makes a bad day disappear.

3. How much sleep do you need to feel your best? Normally, I'd say 8. But I just started a morning workout regime and I find myself usually getting no more that 7 and still feeling really good.

4. What vegetable could you eat every day? I'm torn! I absolutely LOVE vegetables and never feel like I eat enough of them. My favorites: broccoli and squash. I really don't think I'd ever tire of either of them. My husband thinks I'm wierd because I crave them like some people crave cupcakes (although I crave those too!).

5. Dream place to run? Central Park. Although I've never been to New York and could really care less about seeing anything else there. When/if I finally ever visit NYC, I've already promised myself that I'd run in Central Park every day I'm there.

6. Last good book you read? I've read a lot of good books this year, but I'm going to have to say Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. I couldn't put it down! Hubby even loved it and he's not a runner.

7. What was the best year of your life? Wow, really hard question here. I really think that every year of my life is better than the last, but I guess if I really have to pick one I'd say the year I got married. I was 26 and had just become a runner. I dealt with the stress of moving in with my fiance, planning a wedding, dealing with injury and trying to stay fit. It was a tough year, but all of it was totally worth it. It really showed me who I am and what I'm capable of.

I really enjoyed these questions, so now I'm going to tag 3 of you!
Jenna Renee at http://runlawyergirlrun.blogspot.com/
Linz at http://destination262.wordpress.com/
Barbie at http://barbieruns.blogspot.com/

Thanks for the survey, Amanda! Now for something even more fun. Check out E and I hustling our way through the last mile of the Jingle Bell last week!

We don't even look like we are breaking a sweat!

Jingle Bell 5 Miler

2010-12-13T21:11:00.000-06:00

Sunday was the Jingle Bell 5 Miler in downtown. A few of my running friends ran it last year as their first experience with running, so now they are trying to make it a yearly fun run. Well, I say "fun run" but let's face it - I don't know how to not try for a PR, especially for a distance I've only raced once. My previous five mile race was in February 2009 and my finishing time was 46:57. I honestly didn't have any goals for this race, but C wanted me to pace her to an under 9 min mile. I wasn't sure I was up for the task, but I told her I'd do my best.

E and I before the race.

The group getting ready. We'd already done a few yoga moves and lots of jumping up and down to stay warm. I think it was a freezing 48 degrees at the start.*

And we're off!

The first 1/2 mile or so was through the tall buildings in downtown that create an insane wind tunnel. It was work just trying to keep up a good pace.

Finally out of downtown and starting a good pace. C was still keeping up at this point, but her asthma kicked in shortly after this. She still finished in a great time, but E and I pulled ahead after making sure she'd be okay on her own.

Here comes Speedy on the other side of the course. We had just passed mile 2 at 19 minutes. He was almost to mile 4. I'll never be that fast!

E and I just kept up the pace. The turnaround came and we still felt great. It was starting to get warm outside, but the wind was keeping us cooled off. Thank goodness since I was wearing a cotton t-shirt! I tried not to look at my watch during the race, but just to run what felt good. My heels started to hurt a little around mile 2, but I didn't worry about it. It was a beautiful day for a race and we were having a great time.

Before we knew it, we were running back into downtown and picking up speed. The finish line came into view and E asked if we were going to sprint. I said "give it all you've got!"

Oh, and we did! All of us had excellent runs! Speedy came in 3rd in his age group! This is our goofy pose. Not sure why we all decided to kick our feet up like that :)

One fault of the race (or perk if you were speedy like us): The vendors were giving away all their swag in big boxes. Proof: above E and D both got 70 sample boxes of Cinammon Toast Crunch. Not sure why they weren't giving them out individually, but that kinda sucks for everyone else running the race. When we finished, vendors were already taking their tents down. Hello, the race is still going on!

Our official time: 43:26! Talk about an awesome PR!

Oh, and remember how I said my heels hurt? Yeah, my shoes rubbed the skin off the back of my heels. My shoes and socks were soaked in blood when I checked them at the finish. And this race had no medic tent. What!? Thank goodness the cute guy at the massage tent had bandaids and peroxide to clean me up!

Three Things Thursday

2010-12-09T16:16:00.000-06:00

1. Hubby has officially approved of our trip to Providence for the Shape Up Half Marathon on May 1st. It's going to be a great birthday weekend visiting friends we haven't seen in over a year and racing!

2. Running is really hard this time of year. I've been working on my ability to wake early in the mornings and get my workouts in. MWF mornings I have a boot camp class at 6:30 that I haven't skipped yet. I'm really proud of myself, but I'm trying to extend those early mornings to T-Th too so I can run before work.

3. This Sunday is the Jingle Bell 5 Miler and I'm so excited. It's been a long time since I've raced a short distance and I'm really curious to see what I can do. Stay tuned!

I love Bill White

2010-12-04T18:14:00.000-06:00

Well, not as in love love, but you know, just love. As mayor of Houston, he really stood behind making us a fitter city and providing the citizens with all the exercise opportunities he could. Bill White was an avid biker, so he supported and pushed for such things as bike donations, organized rides, bike safety and best of all: bike trails. When we bought our house 2 years ago, I was really excited to be only a quarter mile from the (at the time) almost finished bike trail. The Mayor's idea of Rails to Trails took all of the unused/abandoned railroad lines through town and replaced them with paved bike trails. From my house, I can pick up the trail going north about 2.5 miles or head south for about 4 miles before it dead ends.

After my long run this morning, it was such a pretty day that I decided it would be a great idea to bike to work. My bike trail heading south will take me under all the freeways and spit me out 2 miles from downtown where my office building is. Imagine my surprise when I reached the end of the trail today to be greeted with this:

Before, this was a grassy/gravel/untaken care of strip of land. It was very unsafe to run on since it was so uneven and even biking was a chore. I pretty much just avoided it and so did everyone else.

See the tract laid out where the concrete path will go? If you look hard enough, you can see where they've already started laying the concrete. I'm so excited! Soon I'll be able to run/walk/bike all the way to downtown and have access to the bayous, Eleanor Tinsley trails and the eastsidetrail. Bill White's plan is still in effect even now that he's no longer mayor. He wanted all of the trails to be connected throughout town and this is a big piece of that! I can't wait for this to be finished - and of course Hubby to be healed so that we can bike it together!

Three Things Thursday

2010-12-02T09:39:00.000-06:00

1. I'd like to say that I'm totally excited about it finally being December and Christmas being around the corner, but I'm not really. I don't have a tree up (nor do I see one in my future) and listening to my Christmas music just feels wrong. Hopefully it starts feeling like the season soon because I usually love this time of year!
2. I haven't been running again. :( How does everyone do it now that the time has changed? Better yet, how did I do it last year? I keep turning my alarm off in the mornings so there is no time before work and then after work I'm so depressed about it being dark that I just want to do nothing. And Hubby being laid up on the couch since his knee surgery this week isn't helping to motivate me. I need the summer back!

3. Love Clif products? Love winning free stuff? SkinnyRunner is holding a giveaway of 4 different Clif products. Head on over here to sign up!

The Thankful Healthy Blogger 5K

2010-11-26T11:55:00.000-06:00

Since I was hosting Thanksgiving this year, I didn't think it would be fair to take off the morning and go run the local 5k (there's no way my family would have joined me either). So I signed up for a virtual 5k and got up early Thanksgiving morning to hit the pavement. It was sunny and warm here in Houston (about 72 degrees at 7am). I hadn't run since my long run on Saturday, nor had I done any of the exercises the tree docs recommended for my knee. The first mile felt great (except for being hot). I even ran into a neighbor and we chatted for a few blocks of our respective runs. The last 2.1 miles were a little slower because my knee started to bother me and I was exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. I ran the best sprint I had left in me for the last .5 miles, but I was tired!

Final time: 32:00. Not my best 5k, but definately not my worst. I'll try for a redo when all the company leaves and I actually get some sleep.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I had my fair share of pecan pie. Thank goodness boot camp starts on Monday!

Return of the Saturday Long Runs

2010-11-20T09:33:00.000-06:00

It's Saturday!

I have been texting with N all week promising that I was going to get back into this thing called running. I even promised her I would show up for the group run this morning at 6:15am. Well, that was before all the spicy Mexican food and margaritas last night. And before I stayed up till midnight before hitting the sack. My husband asked me before I headed to bed last night if I was going to get up for the run. My response: "I'll set the alarm." Ha. I did. But then I immediately turned it off this morning and went back to sleep.

That is until N called. Then I figured I had to get up and at least show my face. I rushed to get clothes on and had my Click drink on the way. We showed up just in time. Turns out 2 of my other buddies were running this morning too, so it gave me a little extra pep in my step. I didn't really know what I was capable of doing since it was my first long run back and my knee has been giving me trouble this week, but I knew I could always walk.

I felt great! The weather was just perfectly cool and sunny (once the sun came up anyway) and I realized how much I missed seeing the town overrun by runners so early in the morning. I ran the whole way with my marathon training partner and we took the time to catch up on our lives since our respective marathons. We even finished with negative splits and I definately feel that we could have continued running. But, one must take it slow after a month off.

I spoke with the "tree docs" after the run (one of the perks of running with the group) about my knee. After their quick assessment, they said it was probably just too much pressure on my knee and I should stay off the roads and work on building the muscles back up in my quads and hamstrings. As long as I stick to the track or treadmill and their softer surfaces I should be fine (along with icing and stretching). So I guess it's not sympathy pains for the Hubby's knee after all, but at least it's not as bad of a diagnosis as his.

Happy Running!

Turkey Trots

2010-11-19T10:49:00.000-06:00

I have only done one Turkey Trot in my life, but it was one of the funner races I have done. I loved getting out in the cold on a holiday and watching all the families run together (and then I didn't feel so bad about eating food all day!). I am usually travelling on Thanksgiving, so it's very hard to me to sign up for a race. Well this year, Alissa at A Journey to Thin is hosting a virtual 5k for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited because I'll be able to get up before everyone else and get in a good 5k before we start preparing the midday meal. If anyone else wants to join in, click on the image below and sign up!

Finally

2010-11-13T12:12:00.000-06:00

I finally went on my first post-marathon run today. It felt really good! My feet really missed pounding on the pavement and the wind in my face was so nice. For not having run in almost a month, I was surprised to see how fast I was running - and it felt pretty easy. My lungs were the only thing that bothered me. The weather here has finally turned slightly cold and my lungs just aren't used to it yet. I'm sure after another few runs outside I'm going to feel great. Oh, and remember how I said Hubby tore his ACL? Yeah, my right knee was having a few symapthy pains for him!

Happy running!

The Running that Isn't

2010-11-10T18:59:00.000-06:00

I have a confession: I jumped way to early on my announcement to run the Route 66 Tulsa half marathon. As it always does, life got in the way. It's been almost 4 weeks since my marathon and I have still yet to lace up my running shoes. I want to get back out there, but somehow I keep telling myself I'll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow never seems to get here. Anyways, I couldn't have gone to Tulsa anyway unless I wanted to go alone. Hubby tore his ACL last week playing soccer so getting on a plane and standing around watching me run is the last things he wants to do right now. Boo on him. But, he'll be an awesome spectator during his recovery in January/February/March when I'm racing almost every weekend!

Week from H#ll

2010-10-28T15:25:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but this week has been killer. My schedule consists of sleeping, working, studying, repeat. Blah. I still haven't even been able to tackle my first post-marathon run! It's killing me, but I don't want to take the time out of cramming for my professional exam to head out for a run. So I'm excited for Sunday and my date with the pavement. Brooks just released the new Adrenaline 11s and I'm dying to try them, but I don't really need 3 pairs of running shoes. Must wear out the Asics so I can replace them!

Onto other news. All this non-running has made me think about running even more and where I want to go from here. I got the green light from the Hubby last night for my next year's worth of adventures. I figure that since it's the last remaining bits of my 20's, I want to go all out. So, for birthdays, Christmas', any random time people want to give me gifts, I'm going to be accepting race fees and Continental gift cards (United, whatever). I want to join the rest of the crazy running folks that I've "met" through the blogging world and really travel for my races.

First up? Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa, OK on November 21st.

Others that I'm already looking at for next year?

RI Half Marathon on May 1st
Lewis and Clark Half Marathon, Bozeman, MT on June 5th
Oregon Wine Country Half on September 4th

I'm really looking into fun, scenic races. If I wanted a boring race, I could stay here and run all the ones with loops down Allen Parkway and Memorial. I want to really be able to explore the city I'm visiting by way of running the race. Let me know if there are ones that I should consider for my list and if you want to run any of these with me!

I'm also in the process of getting talked into Marathon #2. I'm just not ready to commit yet.

Nike Women's Marathon

2010-10-22T11:54:00.000-05:00

This is probably my longest post yet, but bear with me, it's worth it. :)

This was one of the best weekends of my life. My three friends and I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday night. We crawled in bed at our hotel ready for the sun to come up and the fun to begin.

T, C, N and I on a cable car.

Friday morning we all woke with excitement and tons of energy. We decided a quick running tour of the city would be just what we needed to start the weekend right. We ran down Market Street to the Embarcadero and walked around taking in the sites.

Dinner in North Beach: Carbs and Wine. What else do runners need? :)

After a day of excitement at Alcatraz and Italian at North Beach, we found ourselves Saturday morning at the Expotique and Niketown.

We met up with my marathon friend from LA. This was going to be both of our first marathons.

Of course, I had to find my name on the wall! I'm not sure which marathon thought of this first, but I think it's such an excellent idea. I kinda want to do Chicago now so I can find myself on that wall too!

Race Day:

We woke up early. My mom sent me an awesome text message telling me how proud she was of me. It made me tear up a little bit. My wonderful husband had left me a note inside my running shoe that I found Friday morning before our run. I purposely did not open it till race morning. I'm so lucky to have such a thoughtful, loving husband!

The other girls were a little jealous, so we decided to write each other notes! I was getting more and more nervous as I dressed and laced up my shoes. But C told me in her note to "put on my big girl spandex" and none of the girls had any doubt that I could run 26.2 miles. Best friends ever!

Dressed and ready to run in our "I eat hills for breakfast" shirts.

Walking to the corrals. Pretty sure my stomach was turning in knots.

The race was amazing. Yes, everyone was crammed into the corrals. And no, no one was lined up where they were supposed to be. We picked a spot right behind the 4:15 pacer (even though my goal was 4:45!). It took us about 14 minutes to cross the start line, but it gave us plenty of time to take some Gus and get all our "good lucks" out of the way. I was actually pretty happy that they did not split the half from the full at the start. T, C and I ran together for as long as we could. It felt like any normal Tuesday run. At the 10k, we didn't even feel like we'd gone a mile! The temperature was perfect and we were at a good pace. Mile 6 came and we lost each other in all the walkers. Up until this point, the course had been wide so that everyone had room to run even though we were crowded. The hills were narrow and there wasn't any room to get around. We wanted to run the hills because we had trained for them and we were ready. The course faltered here. There should have been room for the runners to run and those who wanted to walk the hills should have been courteous enough to move to the side. I know people will probably argue with me on that or take offense to it, but we had every right to run just like they had every right to walk.

Once the huge hill was over, the next miles went by like a breeze until already it was mile 12 and the Half folks were splitting off. The crowd finally dispersed and we were able to set a steady pace. I was still feeling good, couldn't believe I was almost halfway there. I put my headphones on and started focusing. I knew the fun was over. The spectators were gone and I was mostly alone. The park was beautiful and I was taking in the sights. Before I knew it, it was mile 16 and the half was merging in with us again. Of course this time they are sprinting for the finish line and we are just trying to maintain our slow and steady turtle pace. They only stayed with us a few hundred yards and then we were on our own running down the Great Highway.

I'm not really sure why they call it a highway. It was a horribly paved road with a slow speed limit and red lights. I really had to watch my footing and brace myself for the cold gusts of wind coming off the Pacific ocean. It started sprinkling here and the rain was cold on my face. By the time I hit mile 18 at Lake Merced, I was starting to feel it. The lake might have been pretty, but I didn't notice. I was cold, wet and running uphill again. I started walking through the water stops and drinking both water and Gatorade. It took everything I had to start running again, but I made sure my walk breaks only lasted as far as the last trash can. I kept seeing my training friend in my mind telling me I could do this. Her image was the strength I needed to keep going. The route around the lake was boring and we were running alongside traffic the whole time. I finally made it to the Chocolate mile and the last Facebook update at 35k and I was ready to kick it back into gear. My two bites of chocolate were evidently just what I needed.

I focused on my feet and just kept moving. Each mile marker just kept appearing out of nowhere. I lost track of time. It seemed to be moving quickly. At mile 25, I was miserably cold and already back out on the Great Highway, but I took off my headphones and went for it. About mile 25.5 C appeared and started running with me. She talked to me to try to distract my mind from the pain and cold. Then N appeared, jumping up and down screaming "That's my friend!" and pointing at me. I almost cried then. She joined us and they ran with me until mile 26 when they were told to leave the course. I travelled the last .2 miles in the fastest sprint I could muster. I crossed that finish line with my hands up, proud. I was exhausted, but I couldn't believe it was over. I had just run 26.2 miles.

I started crying uncontrollably. I refused help from the medic and walked to get my Tiffany's necklace. I honestly can't tell you if the fireman was hot or not. I can't even tell you what color hair he had. I just took my blue box and started walking. Someone shoved an open bag in my hand and people just started dropping things in it. Chocolate milk, G2, pineapple juice, fruit, etc. Another volunteer bent down and took my shoe tag off and I managed to muster what size finisher's shirt I needed. I was on autopilot. After I walked out of the last tent, N was there waiting for me. I laid my head on her shoulder and cried. I just ran a Marathon.

After I contained myself, we found the rest of the girls and headed for the shuttle line. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to make it. They carried all my things and walked me up the hill. My legs were stiff and tired and I was freezing. It was so nice to get on the warm bus (after over a 35 min wait) and sit down. My energy started to return and I was feeling more myself.

Our group Finisher's picture in the warmth of the hotel.

We found the sign in the trash. I didn't run with the pace group, but I figured it was appropriate.

My final time: 4:30:08

I couldn't be more excited about that time! For a girl who was only hoping for a 4:45, I was ecstatic - still am! Now that it's a few days after and my knees are fully recovered, it almost feels like a dream. But then I look around my neck and see my Tiffany's necklace and I remember I actually did it. I am a Marathoner!

I did it!

2010-10-20T13:48:00.000-05:00

I am officially a Marathoner! That's me crossing the finish line with my hands up at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco this weekend. I still feel like it was a dream! More details to come, but it was a great weekend and I had such an awesome time!

Cool Shirts

2010-10-14T11:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday is my first marathon! And first big race where I've coerced some friends into doing it with me. Sunday will be mine and LA's first marathon and my 3 Houston friends' first half marathon. So of course, we have to do it in style! We had shirts made for the occasion, so if you see any of us on the course, be sure to say Hi!

The front:

The back:

Don't worry, we know we aren't really fast - it's to entertain the runners behind us. :)

My flight leaves this evening for San Fran. I'm so excited I can barely keep my mind thinking about the work I'm supposed to be doing before I leave!

1,635 Miles by air to Oakland

18 Miles on BART

26.2 Miles to the Finish Line!

4 Days to Go

2010-10-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. This taper couldn't have come at a better time. Work has ramped up to completely consume my life right now and I haven't had any time for running. Not even a quick 30 minute run. I finally had time on my lunch break yesterday to tackle a nice run in our "fall" weather here. I was excited to lace up my shoes and get outside. My legs have been antsy! However, once I started running - they were mad! It had been a full week since my last run and I could tell. :(

My calves were extremely sore and no amount of walking or stretching was helping. I tried to take it as a nice, slow run, but even that hurt. It was everything I had in me to do 3 miles. I made it back up to the gym in my office building and hit the foam roller. I have no time to get a massage between now and the marathon, so rolling will have to do. I feel kind of defeated. I was feeling pretty empowered after my awesome 16 miler, but this time off has really taken a toll on me. I'm hoping that the rolling and stretching will be enough to complete my marathon on Sunday.

Ready or not, San Fran here we come!

Quick Update

2010-10-04T16:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been a little MIA recently! Things over here have been extremely busy! Here's a few of bullet points to catch you up:

I was not feeling very good about my marathon training after my 20-miler. I mean, I knew I could do it, I just didn't think I'd be able to do it well. So I set off last Monday night for a 16 miler by myself. I haven't run any of the long distances alone and I really needed to do it to show myself I could. I rocked it! I kept an awesome pace the entire time and although I was hurting, I felt that I could have kept running after I finished the 16!
Last Wednesday, I attended our running group "Good Luck" party. The first group of marathoners leaves for Chicago this week, so we had a few beers to celebrate our upcoming races. People that had previously participated in the marathons we are training for got up and spoke about what to expect, do while we are there, etc. Let's just say I totally want to run Chicago, NY, and MCM now and I haven't even run my first marathon yet!
I took a long lunch break on Thursday to go grocery shopping for our weekend trip and to get in a run. I ran hills and felt great!
However, when I came back from my run, I was greeted by a garbage truck, cop car, ambulance and tow truck on our street. It was garbage day and one of the annoying cars that constantly speeds up and down our block ran smack into the back of the garbage truck while they were collecting trash. How do you not see a garbage truck!? This was the last straw from us and our neighbors and we are petitioning the city for speed bumps on our street.
Friday morning was another excellent training run. I hadn't done a tempo run in weeks and it felt great!
I spent the weekend diving, eating bbq and drinking beer. It was my last "free" weekend where I allowed myself to eat bad food and drink. No more ding dongs for breakfast!
2 more weeks till my marathon! I'm getting excited!

Taper Time!

2010-09-23T10:52:00.000-05:00

With my 21 miler behind me, the looming marathon doesn't seem so bad anymore. I've been enjoying my weekday runs and extremely enjoyed my 10k last weekend. My schedule from here on out is a little iffy since I just have a lot of stuff going on in life, but I think it will actually be fun not really being on a set schedule. Case in point, N missed her long run on Saturday to do the 10k with me, so I offered to run her long run with her on Monday night. I mapped us a course that she hadn't done before and we had a great time running together. Each of us took it really slow since we were a little sore still from all the hills on Saturday. She ended up running 9.3 miles - a distance record for her.

I took Tuesday off to rest my legs and enjoyed a day of studying outside and a much needed haircut. I wanted to run Thursday and Friday, so Wednesday I took the bike out for a spin. I didn't really have a route or distance in mind, but it was a really nice evening.

The view from one of the parks I was exploring was amazing. I tried to practice a few of the skills I learned in my mountain biking clinic, but I was still having the same problem as before. Oh well. It'll come with more practice I'm sure. I ended up riding 9 miles and made it home just before sunset.

Happy adventures everyone!

Toughest 10K

2010-09-22T10:55:00.000-05:00

I woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful day - it was slightly cool outside and overcast! I loaded up the car with my breakfast and other necessities and headed to pick up the girls for our 40 min trip down to Kemah.

Geared up and ready...after quite the speed bump...

See those sneaks? Those are NOT my shoes. What did I leave the house with you ask? I was wearing my Ryder sandals as usual. But guess who turned the lights off and walked out the door without her running shoes? Oh yes, that was me. How can I call myself a runner if I can't even remember to bring my running shoes to a race?!?!

Luckily for me, a nice lady that parked across from us at the race start heard my friend C yelling at me for forgetting my shoes and offered to help. Since the running store was 20 minutes away and not open anyway, I was grateful for her. She lived 5 minutes down the road and called her hubby to bring me her old pair of shoes. Lucky even more for me - they were only half a size too big and the same Asics that I normally run in!

C, N and I waiting for the start with our scared faces on. This 10k was going to be 2 complete passes over a mighty tall bridge!

See the bridge? Yeah, I have to make it up to the top of that 4 times.

Self portrait just after I've climbed the first pass. I'm a little winded, but feeling great! Getting ready to charge down the downhill side and make up some time.

The view looking out into the Gulf of Mexico. The sun mostly stayed behind the clouds and the temperature stayed around 80 the whole race. Heaven for those of us who live in the South!

Starting back up the bridge at some point. You can see the runners are really starting to spread out. Somehow I managed to continue passing people - on the uphill and downhill. I'm still crediting my leg strength and speed to the 21 miler.

2 trips over the bridge complete! I finished!

Mile 1: 9:20 (I was trying to hold back a little and save energy for the uphill portions)

Mile 2: 9:03
Mile 3: 9:06
Mile 4: 9:20 (Starting to tire out, but trying to keep my form intact.)
Mile 5: 9:19

Mile 6: 8:29 (Wowzah!)
Last .2: 1:17 (or 7:39 pace)

Final time: 55:58. I came in 10th in my age group! Yay me! If I could shave off a full minute, I could have been in 7th place. I'm so excited at how fast I'm getting. I mean, I just PRed a very hilly course - there's no telling what I could do if it was flat!

Toughest 10k complete! Maybe we will all be ready for the hills in San Fransisco after all. We all made excellent time!

I've been so focused on marathon training this summer, that the fun was starting to wear off. It was great to get out there and rock a 10k to put a little spring back into my step. Sometimes I forget how much fun racing is - especially with friends!

Something to Celebrate

2010-09-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

Didn't I just say how I felt stronger after that 21 miler? I think this weekend just proved it - I PR'ed my 10K! An extremely hilly (4x over a crazy tall bridge hilly!) 6.2 mile course. I'll get the full race report up as soon as Hubby reinstates the internet at home so I can use my laptop again. I got lots of pics!

New 10K PR: 55:58!

What's This?!

2010-09-15T15:22:00.000-05:00

I remember back 3 years ago to when I was first training for a half marathon. The runs were crazy long! I remember still being sore on Monday from Saturday's run and not wanting to go for my recovery. Those 9 and 10 milers really wore me out. Now here I am down the road and I've just finished a 21 miler. And I have no problem walking - not even running!

Monday night I figured I'd have a tough time getting my feet moving, so I made a running date with a friend. She needed some encouragement to do her first 8 miler, so I offered to get her started. We met at Memorial Park and took off around the 3 mile loop. It was a steady 11min/mile run, but I felt good. A little tired, but good. I even tacked on an extra mile just for the hell of it. I felt like I could have gone the whole 8 miles with her, but I didn't want to take any chances. Recovery run = success!

Tuesday, I was still feeling good! No soreness from the day before. I figured I'd try to get in a little hill training since I have a super hilly 10K coming up this weekend. I set off from work with my new shuffle motivating me along to "No son of mine" by Genesis (awesome running song IMHO). I was trying to run a light warmup mile, but when Marvin the Garmin beeped at my first mile it said 9:03! I hadn't meant to run that fast and it sure didn't feel like I was pushing myself at all! I started running up and down the bayou hills until I didn't think my legs could take any more and then started my cool down mile back to my office building. How fast was my cool down you ask? 9:49. And I felt great when I got back.

Maybe I need to get my butt kicked by a 21 miler every now and again to put soem spring back into my step. Haha, right. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm loving my runs this week!

Happy Running!

The Day I Ran 21 Miles

2010-09-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to figure out why I decided to sign up for a marathon. 26.2 miles. Was I temporarily insane at the time? And am I still insane for continuing to train for it? The jury is still out on that one.*

After a pretty decent sleep Friday night, I woke Saturday morning and got ready for my run. I did the big no-no and put on all new clothes, but I wasn't really worried about it. I managed to remember everything - even charged Marvin the Garmin. I was set to take on my 21 miler (even though I was shaking in my Brooks!). The morning was hot and stagnant, but nothing out of the ordinary for us Houstonians. Before we started, we held a nice moment of silence for those that have and still are suffering from 9/11.

The first 7 miles went by really fast. It was still really dark out, but we all managed to make all the correct turns and made it back to our starting point before sun up. I didn't even notice my watch for most of the first part. At the water stop, I refueled my handheld with water and ate half of my Margarita shot blocks. I didn't feel that I needed a GU yet, so I didn't take one. My friend E and I just kept chugging along. I felt really great until the sun really reared its ugly head and the heat got worse. Heat + already exhausted legs = no good. Our last water stop was at mile 17 and I started walking as soon as it came in my sight. I felt so tired! I ate and drank everything I saw. Peanut butter filled pretzels, pringles, shot blocks. Ugh! That was such a bad idea!

When we started on the last leg home, my stomach was sloshing. I had overdone it with the food and fluids and was even more miserable than before. Next time I'll know to stay away from all the yummy stuff until the run is completely over. It really made the last 4 miles killer. I managed to stay up with E until mile 19 or so when I slowed to a jogging crawl of sorts. I'm not really sure how I pushed through those last two miles and made it to the end, but I did. I ran 21 miles. It still feels like it was a dream, but then I stand up and feel the soreness in my hips and knees and remember that I really did run 21 miles. My ice bath afterwards actually felt amazing (and so was the glass of champagne).

Nike is in 4 weeks. Bring it.

*As much as I complain, I'm still having a great time with my training and am excited about the race. I'm just a complainer by nature. :)

Three Things Thursday

2010-09-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

I guess since everyone is doing it, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon and start doing 3TT posts too. (I just love conformity! lol)

1. I've been a bad runner lately. Today was my first run in a week and 2 days. Crazy! And it wasn't planned, I'm not injured or anything. I'm just busy and/or lazy (depends on the day). I did get in a spin class last week and a nice long bike ride last night, so I haven't been missing out completely.

2. On my bike ride with Hubby last night, we rode along the bayou on the paved trails there. On the way back, it was starting to get towards dusk and the gnats came out. I could feel them hitting my face as we rode through the swarms of them. Somehow, Hubby didn't notice them at all. This is gross, but since I was pretty sweaty from the long ride, some of them got caught by the sweat on my chest. Yes, those tiny disgusting little flies were stuck to me! So nasty!

3. And finally, in keeping up with the last post, I broke down and bought the new Apple Shuffle. I figured the Nano would get very little extra use (besides running) from me so it wasn't worth the price. Plus, I worried about the touch screen getting sweat all over it. This morning was my first run with the new shuffle and I liked it. For once, I got to run for a whole 45 minutes without the volume turning itself down or the songs randomly skipping. There was actual music playing the whole time and it was exactly the playlist I wanted to hear at the volume I wanted to hear it. Amazing!

To Apple or not to Apple

2010-09-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

That is the question. If you've been reading here for any length of time, you've probably heard me complain about my iPod shuffle (like there and here) - I hate the dang thing. Well, actually, I love it's size - I hate everything else about it. BUT, now Apple has come out with some new products that are catching my eye. Any one else see the release today? They've gone back to the original shuffle idea (with the buttons instead of the horrible remote-on-the-headphones). So of course, I'm a little giddy at the idea of replacing mine. So, do I get the new shuffle or do I get the new tiny, clippable nano? I think they are both very comparable (except for the price). The size is still easy on both, both have clips. The biggest plus to spending the money on the nano is being able to plug it into my car to hear the music.

So, what to do? What to do?

7 Weeks to Go

2010-08-31T17:01:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or is anyone else just ready to get their first marathon OVER with?! I think all the running and scheduling is starting to get to me. Don't get me wrong, I love the weekday runs. They are so relaxing and get me out of the indoors. But the long runs? I'm tired of them. I'm tired of the fact that I know say "oh, I'm only running 13 miles tomorrow - no biggie." Only 13? Since when did I say "only 13"? I need to step back here and remind myself that 13 is still a long run and still needs to be taken seriously.

Ok, off the soap box and onto fun things, I did run 13 miles this weekend. It was surprisingly slightly cool again here in Houston and it felt great. We had plenty of hills thru the course - great training for my marathon. I pushed myself a little harder than I would normally on a training run since I needed to be back at home before 8am. I think I made it home around 7:50 and jumped in the shower to wash the salt off of me. I put on new workout clothes, loaded the car with snacks and Hubby and I headed south. By 9am I was refueled and geared up on my new bike. The local mountain biking club was having a riding clinic and I was in desperate need of a beginner's course.

It was so much fun! I wish I would have gotten a few pics of me on the bike doing some of the skills, but like always, I forgot the camera. After about 2 hours of the leaders walking us through the skills and us practicing in a controlled environment, we headed out to a trail. I loved the winding through the trees and the curves and the roots we had to maneuver. All of it was great fun! I did not like, however, the many steep downhills on the second part of the course. I was exhausted by this point and walked every single downhill. Oh well. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to my next time out!

Alright, enough about mountain biking and back to running. I'm off to get in a quick 45 minute run before my class tonight. Enjoy your runs!

MCM Mama's Race Recap

2010-08-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

Remember my post a few weeks ago where I said I was going to run a virtual race? Of course you do, since you all remember everything I say! :) J/k. Well, Wednesday was MCM Mama's birthday and to celebrate and honor her, I ran a 4 mile "race" (yes, I know, I'm slow to post). Turns out that even though I had planned for this, I was still strapped for time (which helped make me speedy!). Prerun snack: 3 thin mint Girlscout cookies. It was the closest thing I had to a birthday (cup)cake!

I had an hour and a half between work and my next social event, so my only option was to run from work (my gym is in my same building so I can shower afterwards). There is a perfect loop around the bayou trail that is exactly 4 miles. Only problem is there is construction going on down there right now so I haven't been running it lately and didn't know what to expect. I changed my clothes, grabbed my iPod and warmed up on the way to the bayou. It was actually a "cool" 92 degrees with a slight breeze and full sun. For Houston, it was nice to be outside. At the right spot, I turned the Garmin on and started the race. Boy was I speedy! My first mile: 8:49! I did have to slow a few times for the tons of sand the construction guys had dumped on the trail, but other than that, my feet remembered the trail well. I had forgotten my sweat band, so by mile 2 sweat was running into my eyes and making them burn. Gah! Also by mile 2, my iPod (geez I hate that thing) had already taken it upon itself reduced the volume to mute 3 times. I tried turning it off and back on, but it refused to do anything else. I was left without tunes, so I shoved the thing in my pocket and tried to keep my pace up.

Mile 2: 9:13. I had slowed a little, but I was also playing with the iPod during that mile so I figured I could do better for the rest of the race. The hill up to the street for the turn around was torture, but I managed not to slow and even picked it up on the downhill. This trail is very hilly and really great for mountain biking, not so much for running (esp when you are racing against yourself). The second side of the loop was not as shady as the first. I kicked it into gear after a stop for water and didnt' even look at the splits on the last two miles - I just wanted to finish and have a nice cold shower. About a half mile from the end I passed a girl walking towards me with a big black dog, who at that point reached out to bite me. What!!? Lady, get your dog under control! I was pissed and my heart was racing since his fangs were inches from my butt. She didn't even apologize. But then again, I didn't give her a chance to. I wanted as far away from that dog as possible. Pretty sure it helped me sprint in that last half mile.

Mile 4 beeped on my watch: 38:40.

I forgot to take my phone, so I didn't get any race pictures, but I was a hot, sweaty mess anyway. No one really wants to see that. :) Happy Birthday!

The heat is on

2010-08-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

Another week has gone by and the temperatures seem to be here to stay. I've had more runs on the treadmill in the last few weeks than I ever want to have for the rest of my life.

Treadmill + dead iShuffle = misery

As mentioned in my previous post, I skipped out on last week's long run. But this week was a different story. This week 19 miles was on the books. 19 miles. I didn't take this run lightly - in fact, I prepared for it all week. No drinking, eating healthy and getting in all my workouts. Friday came and I met up some friends for happy hour (only water for me) then stopped by my favorite Italian restaurant for takeout. Hubby and I lounged on the couch with my feet up watching the Hangover until 9:30. I decided to make a few changes to my routine. I packed everything the night before in the car that I could, filled my water bottles with Nuun instead of Gatorade, had 3 different choices for GUs and then finally trudged upstairs to lay out my clothes. I laid down and actually went right to sleep.

At 4:08am the alarm went off. I got up, dressed, ate, and headed to the meet up. I was a good 20 minutes early which I love so that I don't have to feel rushed. As I put on my watch, I turned it on and it was dead. Dead! How, with all my preparing, could I forget to charge my watch!? Luckily, we are sponsored by a running store and they open up shop for us before the runs. So I ran inside and asked if they had a spare charger - score! So I let them plug in my watch and I ran back out to switch my flip flops for running shoes and get my fuel belt ready. When it was time, I went back in to get my watch and I was thinking such positive thoughts for the day. Turns out though that the sales person hadn't connected the charger correctly so Marvin the Garmin was still dead. Disappointed, I tossed it in the car and we started our run.

Our course was setup into 3 different loops. The first took us north for 7 miles. The coach had changed the route a few times throughout the week, so many of us made quite a few wrong turns. Somehow, we managed to pass a park where another running group meets up right at the same time that they started running. We all got jammed together taking a pedestrian overpass bridge - us running and them mostly walking. It is very poor running etiquette (and very annoying) for runners to take up the entire span of a running trail and not let others pass. I even yelled "runner back" a couple of times and they would not move. How rude!

Most of the next 5 miles I ran by myself. I didn't really plan to, it just kinda happened. I had my Double Latte Powerbar Gel at mile 10 - I loved the fact that it was very liquidy and mixed with my water well instead of the thick gooey mess of the other brands. (I picked more up while I was out shopping with the Hubby later.) I was really starting to feel tired around mile 12-13 and my motivation was very low. The group was so spread out at this point that I was only close to one other person and she was struggling too. We decided to walk, but had no motivation to start running again. The sun had come up and it was starting to get hotter. I think the only thing that made me move faster was the idea that it might be 100 degrees before I finished. I was gonna do everything I could not to let that happen.

I finally started running and made it to the water stop at mile 16 for a short break and some cold water. I finished my Margarita Cliff Shots here and E caught up to me. We ran in the last 3 miles together. It was nice powering through the end (not like my 16 miler where I wanted to kill over and die). We even managed to pick up our pace a bit (some of that might have been a little sprinting through the non-shady spots!). Finally we were rounding the corner and back at the running store. I had never been so happy to see that place in my whole life! We stretched and had popsicles while I waited my turn at a quick table massage.

I can't believe I ran 19 miles and I feel as good as I do. My knees hurt a little on Saturday, but mostly, I'm fine. I did a quick 30 min recovery run at lunch today and only my calves were a little sore. I'm thinking maybe I can finish this marathon after all.

Missed Runs

2010-08-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

I've been a very bad girl. I haven't run since last Tuesday. That's almost a full week. And I skipped out on my long run this weekend. I feel terrible, but it's so HOT here! I missed my group run on Saturday morning because Friday night was Hubby's birthday and we stayed up waaaayyyy too late. I could have easily gotten up Sunday morning to tackle the 11 miles by myself, but I just didn't. I had planned to atleast try for half of them Sunday night, but between the heat and my stomach acting up again, I didn't. I think my body really needed a little time off - I slept almost half of the weekend away. I'm really hoping this doesn't hurt me for my 19 miler this coming weekend. I'm hoping I'll just be well rested and ready to take it on.

In other news, my group was selected in the lottery for the Houston Marathon in January. I want to be excited about this, but I still think the lottery was a dumb idea (especially since I haven't heard of anyone who didn't get in yet). I definately paid a lot more for this half marathon than I have in the past which I also think is a little ridiculous. But, it is a race in my beloved town and I really don't want to miss it. So, here's to Houston Half #3 on January 30, 2011!

Another week bites the dust

2010-08-11T18:39:00.000-05:00

Another week into training and I've got another 12 miler under my belt. What did I learn this week? That having a stomach flu the two days before your long run makes for a really miserable run. I spent Thursday and Friday not eating much (ie nothing). I finally felt pretty decent Friday night, so I decided to eat a few carbs to whip me back into shape. I felt great (although I still didn't eat very much of it). Sleep came a lot later than I had planned, but I was pretty well rested from the night before. I think I managed a good 4 or 5 hours before I had to get up for my run. I had my usual breakfast and was feeling fine. I thought everything was behind me. Little did I know that at mile 6 when I would take my first GU, my stomach would proceed to turn in knots and scream at me for the remainder of the run. In the last two miles, I learned that walking was torture and running actually felt better. I hope to never have to do another training run like this one, but it did prepare me for the off chance if something like this ever happens in a race. Please don't let it happen in my marathon. I already can't imagine running 26.2 miles; I definately can't imagine running them with an upset stomach.

On another note, I've joined a little running group in the blog world: Distance Dreamers. I got lazy and didn't participate in the questionaire last week, but here's this week's:

What is your best running memory/experience?
Reaching my goal of running a sub 2-hour half marathon. When I first started training, I got this idea in my head that I could run a sub 2 hour half. I'm not really sure why that number came to my head, but I aimed for it. It took me 3 halfs to do it, but it was an amazing feeling to cross that finish line with a "1" as the first number. I was even proud that I beat the first full marathoner to the line!
What is your worst running memory/experience?
Gosh, that one I mention in the beginning of this experience really comes to mind. Let me see...I'm going to have to say my first 10K. I was right out of college and didn't train for it much at all. I had never been a runner - I had asthma growing up that still reared it's head every now and then. The night of the race, a huge storm blew in and the rain continued all day. My friend and I still ran the race in the rain, cold, in all our cotton clothing and me with a small asthma attack along the way.

Well, it's Wednesday (my rest day) and I'm sitting here watching Chariots of Fire (I've never seen it) searching ebay for a new iphone (mine was stolen yesterday). Happy Running everyone!

Got plans for August 25th?

2010-08-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

You do now! Join MCM Mama and all of her followers for a virtual race in honor of her 40th birthday! I've signed up for the 4 miler since it fits in with my training schedule. I love the idea of a virtual race, but I've never participated. There's no time like the present. :)

Mama Goes Masters Virtual Race Info

Happy Running!

Done and done!

2010-07-31T10:37:00.000-05:00

I did it! I ran 16 miles today! OMG I'm so completely sore and I totally wanted to quit - but I did it! We started at the asscrack of dawn this morning, so I made sure to go to bed early (although I was awoken several times throughout the night). I was actaully wide awake and ready to go when the alarm went off. I managed to eat all of my breakfast and drink all of my shake (which I never do). 5am came around and off we went on a race against the heat. It's supposed to hit 100 degrees here today. Thank goodness we run before the sun comes up! Of course there are pros and cons to running in the dark, but I really enjoy the fact that before about 7am the runners own the roads. It's so nice and peaceful while everyone is sleeping. It makes you forget that Houston is such a big city with so much traffic.

The run itself went very well. I had my first GU at the water stop at 6 miles. I was already starting to feel hungry so I went ahead and downed one to combat the hunger. It worked. I was tired already, but the GU gave me a little extra energy to keep up the pace. We made it all the way to the 10 mile water stop before we rested again. E took her first GU here and I had a few Cliff Margarita shot blocks (which are pretty tasty by the way). We started off again, me more tired than before and her continuously reminding me that we only have a 10K to go. We made it into Memorial park and I was really starting to hurt. At the stetching area, I convinced her to stop and stretch. My hips were tight, my calves were hurting and it was really strenuous to run. We were at mile 12 with only 4 to go. I honestly did not know how I was going to make 4 more miles. But I just took it one mile at a time and somehow we kept getting closer and closer to the finish. I can't tell you how happy I was for the run to just be over (and in less than 3 hours)! My whole body was immediately screaming at me and all I could think about was getting in an ice bath. For once, I actually craved the ice bath. So far, I'm feeling pretty good now that it's over and I'm home. I think it's nap time now. :)

Oh, and yes, I did! I think I deserve it.

Cheers to not being sore for the rest of the day! Happy Saturday!

Fear of the Uncharted Territory

2010-07-29T18:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend marks my longest distance yet - 16 miles. 16 miles!?! How in the world am I ever going to be able to run that far? I've never run longer than 2 1/2 hours at one time, but 16 miles?!? We're talking about 3 solid hours of running! I'm just not sure if I'm cut out for this. What if I can't do it? My mind is really freaking out right now and I don't know what to do to calm it down. When I woke up this morning I was so exhausted even though I got close to 9 hours of sleep (although it was interupted several during the night due to barking dogs and drunk Hubby). I thought to Saturday morning and started wondering how I'm going to be able to get out of bed at 3am to run 16 miles. How?! Do I drug myself the night before? Do I sleep only the minimum tonight so that I'm exahusted at 6pm tomorrow?

I don't think I was ever this nervous or worried about any of my miles leading up to my first half marathon. I'm freaking out over what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. How many GUs to pack with me? Do I need to carry a sandwich or something in case I get hungry while running (which of course I will because I'm always hungry after 10 miles)? I think I really just need something to take my mind off of Saturday and bring me back to the present. I mean, I'm as prepared as I can be I think. I've got an ample supply of gels, chews and granola bars. The fridge is stocked with English muffins and peanut butter (my favorite pre-run meal). I've got gatorade in the cabinet and my water bottles are all clean. My running clothes are even washed and laid out already. And it's only Thursday!

But, to get off the subject of Saturday, I do have something new to share. New kicks! I went against what has been working for me for my last 3 pairs of running shoes (Asics) and bought a pair of Brooks.

Aren't they lovely? These are the Adrenaline GTS 10 and I'm in love. Not to say anything bad about the Asics because I still love them too. Of course, I won't be running 16 miles in these this weekend, but I have been taking them out on my weekday runs. The more I run in them, the more I like them. I haven't done any more than 4 miles in them yet, but am excited to get them worn in and try out a long run in them. I'm totally becoming an all-Brooks girl. My favorite shorts and shirts to run in are all Brooks. I guess it was only a matter of time until I tried the shoes. :)

Napa-to-Sonoma

2010-07-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a little late on getting this post up, but here it is. Last Sunday I was in Napa, California for the Napa-to-Sonoma Half Marathon. My friend, Joe, and I drove up the coast from LA to Napa enjoying the sights and relaxing before the race. Saturday morning, we got up to do some wine tasting, lunch at Bouchon and the race Expo. Now, I've only been to one race Expo so I was really excited for this one. (By the way, the only one I've ever been to is Houston and it has an amazing assortment of vendors.) We picked up our bibs and race packets and I have to say I was a little disappointed. The swag-bag only had a Clif bar in it and a few fliers. Lame. The merchandise table had quite a bit of stuff but mostly cold weather gear - which I don't need since I live in Houston. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything. There were only about 6 booths setup outside for the vendors - sunglasses, sunscreen, book signing, belts, etc. We did however, find this cool sign that we took goofy pictures in front of.

"We're gonna rock this race!"

We woke up Sunday morning to a hotel lobby full of other runners getting ready for the race. I spent close to 15 minutes walking up and down hallways in my pj's to find the ice machine only to finally go to the front desk and find out that there aren't any on the first floor. But the nice man working the desk filled up my bucket from the bar so I could have my prerace shake. I don't know what I would have done without it! Finally, we were dressed and ready (shake in hand!).

We got dropped off at the starting line (or close to it) at 6:15am and headed straight for the potty line. It was pretty chilly (around 50 degrees). We lined up at the starting line at 6:45 only to be told that the course wasn't ready and we had a delayed start time of 7:15am. The sun was out already and it was starting to warm up. I know I'm from Texas and it's hot here, but I'm not used to running races in the heat. Eventually the countdown began, I swallowed my first GU and we were off.

See? It was really sunny at the start.

The first mile included a steep, 1/2 mile uphill climb. Most of the racers walked it, but I used it as an opportunity to pull ahead from the mass of people. For only 2,500 runners, we sure crammed together in the beginning. I felt great - although a little sweaty for the first 2 miles or so. The scenery was truely beautiful and I just enjoyed taking it all in.

By mile 3, a cloud cover had rolled in from the ocean and cooled us off again. I had to remove my sunglasses, but otherwise it became a comfortable temperature for a run. With the little breeze here and there, I was actually a little cold. I looked at my watch and noticed I'd been keeping up with an 8:30 pace. I felt great, but knew I should slow a little because there were still 10 miles to go.

The course was void of any spectators, but full of gorgeous views. And loaded with rolling hills. I have been doing lots of hill training with HF and boy was I glad I had. I managed to keep powering through them and even think I might have been close to my 10K PR time (based on my Garmin) but can't be sure since this race did not record any splits.

At mile 9, we went up another steep incline. At the top, I felt a pain in my right ankle. I'm pretty sure my run had just turned into a limping jog. It felt sprained and hurt to put any weight on it. But I refused to walk. I told myself that if I saw a medic, I'd stop and have them look at it. I didn't see one - I only saw one during the entire race and it had been around mile 5. About the time my mind is telling me just to walk, a lady noticed my shirt and started talking to me about Houston. We talked for a little over a mile and she encouraged me to finish strong (since she couldn't being injured). I knew I could do it for her, so I picked up my pace a little and the pain in my ankle went away. All that was left was fatigue.

By mile 11, my stomach was hurting from the last GU I'd consumed, my legs were exhausted from the hills and I was just plain done. But the sun came out and we passed more and more spots where there were spectators cheering us on.

I did everything I could to keep one foot in front of the other and keep my pace steady when all I wanted to do was collapse. Somehow, I still managed to make that last turn and sprint to the finish. When I crossed the finish line and saw the clock I was completely surprised the I was so close to my PR! I had a massage and some chocolate milk while I waited for Joe to cross the finish line behind me. She shaved 20 minutes off her previous time! After we rehydrated and snacked, we hit up all the wine tents for free tastings.

My final chip time: 1:59:52

Seven seconds slower than my PR! I can't believe with such a hilly course and for being so exhausted at the end that I did so well! It was definately a kick in the right direction to get me pumped up about my FULL marathon in October!

I'm Back!

2010-07-22T12:32:00.000-05:00

I've finally made it back from my little excursion to California. I had a great time with my bestie driving up the coast, wine tasting, eating amazing foods and running! Life does not get too much better than that - except that I didn't get to share it with the hubby. Here's a pic to sum up our trip. I'll be back later with more details and a race review!

Question to fellow runners

2010-07-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

A lot of people that are running bloggers post pictures from their runs. So for the few of you that read this blog, what do you run with (phone/camera)? And where do you carry it?

I don't really like to hold anything in my hands (although a water bottle on a short run is okay) and my fuel belt is pretty annoying. What are my options if I want to be able to take pictures?

A celebration of a run

2010-07-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my last long training run before my half marathon in 2 weeks. It's a holiday weekend and the weather has been awefully rainy and wet here, so most of the HF group did not show up to run - including my two friends. I figured I could use this to my advantage and try to see how hard I could push myself. I started at the front of the yellow group (9:00 to 10:00 min/mile pace) and was feeling pretty good with a 9:38 pace. The head coach for the yellow group, whom I'd never officially met before, was on pace with me, so we talked for a few of the first 5 miles. It made the time fly by and helped me get up the huge overpass on TC Jester. One huge overpass like that really makes me wonder how I'll survive in San Francisco for my full marathon. I mean, I can handle one, but multiple?!?

Our first water stop was at mile 5, where I also took my first (and only) GU. By the way, my friends have been talking up the GU brand, so I decided to try one - I had the Jet Blackberry that was utterly disgusting. I will not be trying that one again, but my friends rave about the chocolate, so I guess I'll still have to try that one. For the next 3 miles I ran with a guy that is training for his first race ever, which will be a full marathon. I applaud his courage from never even running a 5K to training for a marathon! At mile 8 or so, we had our second water stop and I caught up with the coach from before. She kept me going until the 3rd water stop at mile 10.5. I didn't want to stop long there because I was afraid I wouldn't want to keep going. I pulled ahead of the group and started the last trek in by myself. It was pretty tough, still laden with small hills and uneven surfaces. I finally stopped to walk at mile 12, trying to convince myself just to pick up my feet and run the last mile in. Two ladies training for the half gave me the motivation that I needed with thier sweet words. I managed to sprint it the rest of the way in. 13 miles complete!

I had planned to celebrate with a bottle of champagne that I had at the house, but I forgot about the World Cup games. Instead, I met Hubby and some friends at a bar as soon as I'd showered for a breakfast buffet and some celebratory beers. I chose a wonderful Lousiana beer to start the day:

A yummy Andygator from Abita brewery.

Happy 4th Everyone!

A preview

2010-07-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

So, just in case there was any doubt about my post yesterday and how really dreadful it is in Houston right now, here's proof:

I took this pic right after my run last night. You can't even see the tops of the buildings downtown because the clouds are so low! We'll have to deal with this for at least another week, ugh.

But, on a better note, my run last night was awesome! It was only a light rain when I got home last night with no lightning or thunder, so I decided to run outside (yay! no treadmill). I think I've only run in the rain twice in my life - once was my first 10K which was completely miserable stormy and cold and second was one of my training runs for my first half. I had a 40 minute tempo run on the books. I planned to do my fast pace at a 9:00min/mile, but I was feeling so good that I managed an 8:45min/mile for the full 20 minutes of my tempo. It was definately one of my best runs in a while.

I'm totally pumped for my 13 miler in the morning. Only 2 more weeks until my half marathon in Napa!

Happy Running!

I thought it was summer??

2010-07-01T10:48:00.000-05:00

This rain is really starting to get me down! I thought June/July was supposed to be sunny and hot and beautiful, but no, damn hurricanes and rain. It has rained everyday here for the last 2 weeks, and guess what's in the forecast for at least the next week? Rain! I usually love living less than an hour from the gulf because the small rains we get in the summer keep us cooled off a little bit. But this is getting hard to take! It rains in the morning, it rains during the day, and it rains when I get off work. I was so pumped on Monday to come home and go for a run. I laced up my shoes and took off out the door only to be faced with sprinkles. Sprinkles that turned into a thunderstorm in less than 5 min. So much for that. Tuesday morning I got pretty lucky (if you can call torture lucky) and we got to finish our last hill workout with clear skies and a gorgeous sunrise. But the evening hill training had to be cancelled because of the thunderstorms.

So here's hoping that the weatherman is wrong today and the skies will let up just long enough for me to power out a tempo run tonight. My legs are getting antsy and I'd hate to have to put them on a treadmill!

Droppin down the mileage

2010-06-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

This week's long run was set for 9 1/2 miles - a nice break from the ever-increasing mileage we've had lately. As per usual laziness with me lately, I missed my Thursday tempo run. No worries, I decided to run a quick 3-miler during lunch on Friday. And by quick, I mean 9:10 average pace. It felt great! I had a slight issue halfway through of my toes going numb, but that passed and I was back to running. I guess my legs were trying to tell me that I shouldn't skip those tempo runs!

Saturday morning came bright and early as usual. I was up, dressed and having my breakfast (espresso protein drink and 1/2 whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and strawberries) by 5:30am. I'm still missing two of the lids to my fuel belt bottles, so I loaded the only two I had with water and Gatorade. I figured that with only 9 miles and a water stop halfway, I'd have plenty of fluids to make it through. The run started off fairly well. The sun was coming up and we were enjoying our time with the city before the traffic picked up and the "normal" people started getting out of bed and on the roads. My left thigh is still extremely sore from who-knows-what, so I was really starting to look forward to the water stop and a small break around mile 4. As we made our turn into the business district where the water should be, we started really looking for it. Coach Felix had said it was nestled in between two of the buildings. Mile 6 came and we left the business district and there had been no water stop. All the runners around us missed it too. Most of us were almost out of fluids. My friend and I decided to stop to walk and take our GU/energy beans, but to ration our water as we could. It was hot, and there was not that much fluid left between the two of us but we figured if we took small sips, we could make it all the way back to base. About mile 8, I was really starting to hurt. My sore leg was giving out, my lower back hurt and my form was failing - again. I was tired and thirsty and I really didn't want the Gatorade that I had left. I wanted ice cold water and I wanted to stop. I knew at that point that it was just mind over matter and as long as I didn't give in, I could finish.

And we did. We even finished pretty strong considering. I threw back about 16 ounces of water immediately and used an ice cold towel to cool myself down. There was a lot of talk after the run about where the water stop was. No one seemed to know, even some of the coaches. Looking back at the map now, maybe one of the other runners was correct in saying that we missed a turn. I guess I'll learn from my mistake and follow the route more closely instead of just following the person in front of me.

This week starts a new first for me in my training program - 5 days of running. Previously, I have only ever run 4 days a week (if that) so this will be an obstacle that I'll have to overcome. Here's hoping that my legs are ready for this. My half marathon is in 3 weeks and I'm really excited!

Everyone loves a deal, right?

2010-06-25T12:16:00.000-05:00

So I don't know about all of you, but I have had a really hard time finding a sports bra that I like. I'm a little on the heavier-chested side, so I need a bra that is comfortable, but that doesn't make me bounce if you know what I mean. I really love the cheap ones by Champion at Target, but really, I can only wear those for activities like yoga. My running bra needs to give me support and it needs to have a good material so that it doesn't wear away my skin. I've tried many different brands and styles, but each so far has had their own problems. I finally found a blogger a couple months ago raving about the Kalyx brand. But she was a small chested girl, so obviously I don't need the same one she recommended. I liked the sound of their products though, so I contacted their customer service and asked for their help to find something for me. I ended up ordering the Embrace Marathon Runners Sports Bra and am loving it. I have completed several runs wearing it (long and short, fast and slow) and have no complaints about it whatsoever. It's comfortable, keeps the bouncing to a minimum and it doesn't chafe my skin. I actually just ordered two more. The nice customer service lady also recommended the "Uplift Max". They are running a summer special with See Mommy Run and you can get 25% off your purchase at Kalyx with the code SMR25. If you are looking for a good running bra, I'd recommend giving this brand a try.

Catching Up

2010-06-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

I feel like it's been forever since I posted. I've been rather lazy while Hubby has been away, but he comes back next week so I better get my butt in gear soon!

Last weekend I travelled back home to visit la familia and tackled an 11 miler on my own. Tyler has just extended it's running/bike path and I wasn't sure how long it was now. It's an out-and-back type trail, so I figured I'd just run until my watch told me I could stop. I started the run at sun up (my dad had little faith in me actually getting up and going - I showed him). About half a mile in a couple pulled up in a van and stopped me to ask me about the park. I told them what I knew, but that I wasn't really sure since I didn't live in town anymore. They thanked me and I went on my way. The route took me into the woods and then along Grande Road (which is laden in hills). The one way trip was 3.75 miles. It was already so humid and hot and I was getting close to exhausted. I turned around and headed back, running through water sprinklers along the way. I passed my out of town friends again and took a GU much earlier than I'd planned - at mile 6. I was wearing my fuel belt with a bottle of water and one of Gatorade and both were empty. Only the first mile and a half of the trail had water fountains on it, so I filled back up as soon as I saw one. Most of the people out on the trail were walkers and I desperately needed a runner to come up from behind me to push me harder. I put my headphones on and pushed through as hard as I could.

At mile 8, I ran into the running couple again. I took a short break to stretch with the woman and chat. Her husband happened to be training for Chicago this fall (one week before my marathon) and they live in Katy! What a small world it is sometimes. I wished them both well and hoped they enjoyed their stay in Tyler. Back on the trail, I realized it was almost 7:30 and I wanted to finish my run before 8am. I had 3 miles to go. 3 miles is usually a piece of cake, but after already running 8 in the heat, it was dreadful. I sucked down water at every fountain I passed (it was colder than what was in my belt). I had to mentally focus on my form since I was so exhausted and just wanted to quit. I started to envy all the walkers because they didn't have to run 11 miles. I refused to let myself stop until my watched beeped 11. I thought it would never happened - but it did. And I immediately walked to the car to grab a towel and my iced down Gatorade. I was too tired to even stretch. I got in the car and drove the 20 minutes back to my parents house dreaming of a nap.

Of course, by the time I arrived, I was energized again. I pulled my yoga mat out onto the back porch and stretched and did ab work. My lovely mother even had a delicious breakfast waiting on me when I finished. Runs at home are usually much more fun, but I persevered through it. I am definitely looking forward to running with the group tomorrow (and praying that the humidity here is not as horrible as it was in Tyler).

God bless Texas! :) Happy running everyone!

Destiny

2010-06-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

I've found a race medal that I have to have! Remember a couple weeks ago when I mentioned that I'd love to do a race that served crawfish at the end? Well, this is like that. It would just tie in things I love and so I don't think there's any way I can not do it. A little bit more background on me to help you out: I grew up in East Texas where several of our school trips were to the East Texas Oil Museum, practically my entire family works in the oil field, I even used to collect trinkets related to oil (one of my favorites was a tiny bottle of oil from the museum), and of course I'm a petroleum engineer. I think it's destiny that I run this marathon:

This medal is awesome! I actually feel a little left out that I didn't even know this was going on an hour from here last month. I need this! It would go so well next to my tiny bottle of oil and my derrek full of black jelly beans. Or maybe it will go well in my office at work next to my picture of the rig and the pumer jack. I'm such a dork when it comes to silly stuff like this, but I honestly think this may be one of the coolest medals I've ever seen. I will definately be running this race next year (half or full) so that I can get me one. Here's hoping they don't take the derrek off of the medal!

On another note, I've got 11 miles on the calender for tomorrow morning and I won't be able to run it with my HF buddies. I'm hoping I can still pull it out running alone!

To be or not to be...Mad?

2010-06-15T11:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've let the dust settle, but I really want to bring this up here. Last week was a very sad week in Houston running. We learned that our hometown marathon will now be incorporating a lottery system. I was too insanely mad about it last week to post, but I did sit down and write a letter to the marathon planning committee about how I felt. Here's my letter:

I have to say that I am very disappointed in this decision to create a lottery system. If Houston does not have the capability of hosting more than 22,000 runners at once (but is actually even less than that since we are no longer allowed to switch race entries with someone if injury or something else occurs) as the 4th largest city in the US, then I think other action should have been taken first. I realize that registration day is hard on the website, but I think Houston has proved itself loyal to the race and we deserved more warning. I would not be as upset if we were given a year’s notice or even if we had found out in January about this decision. Now July 27th doesn’t mean very much since we get almost 3 weeks to register in the lottery. By the time the drawing is held and we are notified, the running groups will have already started training and other marathons at the same time will have already sold out. I myself look forward to this race every year, whether to race it or be a spectator, but with this new lottery system being dropped on us and the outrageous increase in fees, I will not be applying or spectating this year. Houston is trying to encourage more and more people to become active and fit (and one of the great goals of doing that is running a marathon), but it seems the Houston Marathon is not doing anything to allow more people to run a marathon or half in their own hometown.

Previous Houston Half-Marathoner,
Kellie

And the response I got was:

Kellie,

Thank you for your email and comments.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and will take this information into consideration.

Sincerely,
Houston Marathon Committee

Well, at least they acknowledged that I wrote in. Not that it makes me feel any better, but I did what I could by writing to them. I'm still very disappointed in the way they have handled the situation, so I'm torn as to whether or not I'll be signing up. I feel like I should boycott and just go elsewhere, but there's also the part of me that loves running in Houston and wants to beat my PR here. I love travelling to races, but I always thought I'd reserve January to run Houston. What should I do? Should I be satisfied that I did what I could to show them I did not like their decision and try to race? Or should I stick with being angry and find another race around January?

Decisions, decisions.

9 Mile Saturday

2010-06-14T19:53:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday found me getting up early again for a 9 miler with HF. It was another hot, humid, sticky day here in Houston. The sun was up by the time we started, but at least there was a slight breeze. My two buddies were out this morning as well. We started off at a great pace, chating and enjoying all the beautiful houses in River Oaks. It was really a highly uneventful course and run. We ran up the hill at mile 14 of the Houston Marathon and I listened to the girls rehash how they felt at the time. All I could think of was that it was good training for SF. I felt great going up the hill, but the other side brought us the water stop and the turn around. 5 miles were complete. I took at GU here and restocked on water, then started to tredge up the hill again. The second time was much harder than the first. I really think my legs were enjoying the rest they had, but I had to push through and tell them who was in charge. The rest of the course was flat, but the sun was getting hotter and hotter. I have to say that I do kind of love running through the neighborhoods in the early morning because the sprinklers are on. A little cool water on our legs felt so great! In true tradition, with a mile left to go, I sprinted to the end. It was a great sprint - I still had quite a bit left in my legs and I'm feeling really good about my half marathon coming up in a month. We followed up the run with some pushups, stretching, and tough core work. All in all, not a bad way to start a Saturday!

This coming week brings me more hill training, my hubby going off to South Africa for 2 weeks, and an 11 miler at home by myself. It'll be a pretty hard week, but I think I'll make it through. Happy running!

Hill Training - Take One

2010-06-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

The alarm went off early this morning: 4:50am to be exact. I really thought about just turning it off and rolling over. But my concience won and I crawled out of bed, put my running clothes on, had a piece of peanut butter toast and walked out the door sipping a much needed caffiene jolt: Click.

Today was the first day of HILLS! Ha, nothing to get too excited about, but I definately need all the training I can get if I'm going to rock my first marathon in hilly San Fransisco this fall. I was perked up by the time the run started with a nice easy jog over to the hill spot. It was dark (I should have brought my flashlight) and the grass hadn't been cut in a while. There was long grass up to my knees! It was itchy and wet and once we started sweating the mosquitos came out. Talk about unprepared. I saw my bug spray as I was walking out the door this morning, but I don't guess my brain was awake enough yet to process that I might need it. We did 4 five minute repeats with a five minute rest in between. The first 3 hill repeats went really well - I felt strong and ready. But that quickly faded with the last round. My body was tired and starting to ache already. I sucked it up, pulled through and even finished with a nice jog back to the car. I dusted my legs off quickly and moved into the core workout. The various planks and bridges were easy compared to the hills I'd just done. I'll defiately be more prepared for next week - let's hope they cut the grass before then!

Edit: I was feeling pretty good around lunch, so I hit up yoga. I'm not so sure how I'll feel in the morning, but right now it's not so bad. We focused on stretching lunges and hip movements - it was pretty intense. I guess we'll see tomorrow if that was a good idea or not!

Humidity

2010-06-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

I have to say, the humidity in Houston right now is really killer. I really don't remember it being this hot and humid last year or the year before. The air is so thick at times that it seems I'll never catch my breath. The minute I walk outside, I start sweating. And cooling off? Forget it. I stay hot forever!

My first official run with HF went great this weekend. I even managed to get there early enough to catch most of the injury prevention seminar (don't worry, I've heard it all before). I met up with V and her friend from high school and we all compared notes on which fall marathons we were going to run. They are both doing Chicago and I'm a little jealous. But then again, they won't get Tiffany necklaces, so I guess it's both win-win. They get a flat course, and I get something shiny for running the SF hills. We set off on the run with the rest of the group and settled into an easy 10 min/mile pace. The sun was just starting to come up, which was good since we were running along the bayou and it is a rather uneven trail. We had to run single file for most of the run. Without anyone to pace me, I ended up pulling ahead without realizing it. I figured I'd just run on ahead and wait for them at the half way point. It felt great with the slight breeze, even though I was practically soaking wet already from sweat. The humidity made me thirsty and by the halfway point I had already finished my bottle of water (which I never do). Thankfully, HF set up a water station for us, so I refueled and stretched while I waited. Once V and her friend caught up, we took a quick walk break, then resumed our jog. I forced myself to take the last half slower and paced myself with them so that I didn't wear myself out. (I did take the last 1/2 mile at a full on sprint.) We actually had to take a few more walk breaks due to construction on the course - better safe than sorry!

We finished the run with some core exercises and stretching. I have to say, I'm feeling really good in my training so far (I hope I'm not jinxing myself with that comment!).

Catching up

2010-06-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

Long weekends always put me a little behind the next week. Motivation is hard to get back, and I just want to stay in the relaxing, lazy mood from the weekend. Point proven again this week, but at least I've been busy doing other things. (Hubby's car broke down last week, so I've been filling my time with searching for a new one.)

We spent the weekend back home with our parents and siblings. The dogs were a little anxious to get there.

I started the weekend off right with a 7 mile run (great time too for as hot as it was) around the bare roads along the in-law's house. I sometimes forget how quiet and calm it is in the country. I only got chased by a dog once (he was a wiener, so I wasn't afraid), but I was quite afraid that the rooster might chase after me. Who has a rooster running loose in their yard anyway?!

After the run, we made the trip over to Shreveport for the Mudbug festival. I love me some mudbugs, and this is the best festival hands down. The music is awesome, beer flows freely and the crawfish are always tasty.

I think that was our third plate. Either way, it's the best post-running food I can think of! I'm thinking I should email the event's organizer and suggest adding a 5 or 10k to the festival soon. How cool would that be? I mean, Taste of Chicago has a 5k that kicks off their event. (The race shirt is an awesome Nike one with spoons and forks with legs running.) I would love a running shirt with a crawfish on it. Maybe I should get on that - design and sell one! Too bad I'm not very creative.

Oh, and just in case you are interested (I know you are!), the winner of the crawfish eating contest ate 16.25lbs in 15 minutes!

By the way, in response to my post last week about headphones, I ran a 4-miler yesterday without any music and I had forgotten how freeing it could be. It was just me and my shoes (and Marvin the Garmin) out on the trail and I had a great time. I've got another run scheduled for tonight (maybe I'll go for 5 miles) and I don't think the music will go with me again either.

Have a great week and happy running!

Headphones

2010-05-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

I am the not-so-proud owner of an iPod shuffle. One of the little tiny ones that has not controls on the iPod, but has the controls on the cord of the headphones. I bought it so I could tuck it in anywhere, it doesn't take up space to travel with and it talks to me. I have to say I get the giggles everytime Ke$ha comes on and I hit the button for the iPod voice to tell me what's playing: "K-dollar sign-HA". That's exactly how she pronounces it and I can't help but laugh. Guess Ke$ha didn't think how silly that $ would sound coming out of an automated device.

Anyways, back on track - I hate my headphones. I have trouble with the Apple ones staying in my ears while I'm running, but that's not the biggest concern. The headphones short out if they get wet - ie if any sweat gets near them. Everytime they short out, I have to go to the Apple store and wait in line to see a guy so I can get a new pair of headphones. Apple does replace them for free, but it's a pain in the you-know-where to go to the mall and deal with the kaos that is the Apple store. Apple advertises this iPod as a workout accessory, but I was told by the customer service guy this weekend that I was not using the device as Apple intended it. What?! Then why do they advertise it on people that are running?! His suggestion was to buy a pair of sporty headphones made for sweating and then buy an attachment by Belkin for my controls. Wait, so let me get this straight. Belkin has a controler that will work with my sweat but Apple doesn't? Apple is at the top of the market for electronics right now, why can't they fix this? And why are they selling a product that they know is faulty? I didn't buy this iPod because I wanted to buy fancy headphones and then buy an attachment to go on them. That defeats the purpose.

I tried a pair of Sony's upgraded headphones last night. They had the controls on the cord, but they didn't fit in my ear right. The left bud kept falling out of my ear and the sound quality was horrible. I couldn't have been more disappointed with a $40 pair of headphones, so back to the store they go. And the search is still on....or maybe I should just give up working out to music...

2010 is going by way too fast

2010-05-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

Monday: ~~6 miles~~ 3.88 miles
Tuesday: ~~Yoga~~, 3 4 at BON
Wednesday: Spin x1hr, weights
Thursday: ~~Hills x4~~ Yoga
Friday: ~~3 miles~~ Rest
Saturday: ~~7 miles (with HF!)~~ 5 miles at Memorial, Yoga
Sunday: ~~Yoga, 2 mile walk~~ 6 mile bike ride

This week went a little better than last. I stuck more to my schedule (or atleast managed to get some kind of workout in). I had plans to walk on Sunday, but I borrowed my neighbor's bike and took it around the neighborhood. I forgot how much fun a real bike actually is and I really want one. Hubby is excited that I'm lusting after one and promises to get me one soon. He actually bought himself one yesterday. A friend of his happened to be selling a really nice mountain bike for a decent price, so we jumped on it. Yay for the start of a new hobby - mountain biking!

You'll notice on my schedule that I didn't make it to run with HF. Funny story. On Thursday I looked at the schedule and it said the run was 5 miles and it started at 7am. I made sure to go to bed early Friday night, set the alarm and had my clothes ready. I ran with HF three years ago during their Spring training and they always met at Memorial park, so that's where I went. When I arrived at 6:45am, there was a group taking off from the same spot. It was a rather small group, so I thought maybe it wouldn't have been HF. I parked, stretched and waited. No one showed up. I checked the website from my phone and it says that the run started at 6:30am! But I had checked it two days before! So then I started thinking that the group that took off as I arrived was HF. I was kicking myself. I didn't know the route there were on, so I was alone. I decided I'd already gotten up and dressed so I took off for the park and completed my 5 miles. My iPod went dead during the run - fail. Later that afternoon, I ran into my friend that is also in the group. She says the Fall group meets at Luke's Locker. Are you kidding me!? I didn't meet at the right place nor did I get there on time! Either way, it was a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the trend won't continue this way.

This week is pretty busy with work and social stuff, so running will be hard. Hubby's car just died so we might be having to car shop (which we didn't want to do for another couple of months). Such is life I guess. Happy Running everyone and enjoy this 3 day weekend - you know I will!

Houston Fit

2010-05-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

Considering my lack of motivation lately, I've finally admitted to myself that training for my first full marathon by myself is going to be a very difficult task. I knew my first half would be tough, so I had joined the force called Houston Fit. They taught me to run, hydrate and recover. They were even there when I developed shin splints and taught me how to bounce back from them. I'm not sure I could have done my first half without them. So I'm going back. This Saturday will be my first run in 2 years with HF and I'm kind of excited. It's a 5 mile run at 7am - so I'll be setting the alarm clock and making sure to stock the fridge with an appropriate prerun snack. 2 of my friends did their first full marathons this past January and are starting training for their second. They are my encouragement to do this. It will be one of them calling me in the wee hours of the night to get my lazy butt outta bed for the 5am runs. I'm actually pretty excited to join again.

So my schedule will change a little in the next few weeks. HF is not as far along as I am, since I'm running a half on July 18th. We'll see if I need to add any extra miles to my long runs to prepare for that. Last night could have been on of my last runs at BON for a while. HF does their hill and speed training on Tuesday nights, which I'm a little sad about. I love my weekly excursions to BON, but I'm sure I'll live. My friend and I were feeling pretty good after one lap around Rice, so we decided to tack on an extra mile yesterday. At our half mile turn around she says "wanna do sprints?" At first I said no because I remember how bad sprints beat me last week, but then I figured what the heck. She made it easy on me - sprint for 5 trees, slow down for 5 trees. 2 intervals in I was exhausted and my stomach was hungry. I wanted to quit. But there she was in front of me yelling me on. When she said "go" we took off while she counted the trees outloud. Then she said the 3rd tree didn't count cuz it was too small! I thought we were going off the spacing of the trees, so that one should have counted. I also thought that the light pole should have counted as a tree. She tricked me more than once to keep going! You gotta love her for that - I was exhausted at the end, but felt great. It was actually a lot of fun and I think I should do it more often.

The hubby doesn't want to go see the Astros game today, so instead of look for a replacement I'm going to the gym. Today's class is Trifecta Fit - 15 min kickboxing, 30 min spin, 15 min abs. It was a great workout last week - I'll let you know how tonight goes!

Happy running!

Week Recap

2010-05-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I promised if I posted my planned workouts here, that I'd be more inclined to actually do them. Let's see how I did:

Monday: ~~9 miles, 3 loops around Memorial~~ napped instead
Tuesday: ~~Yoga~~, 3 6 miles at BON
Wednesday: Spin x1hr, weights - check!
Thursday: Sprints ~~(4x800)~~ 3x800 (four was too optimistic, should have done .25 sprints instead)
Friday: ~~4 miles~~
Saturday: ~~7 miles~~
Sunday: ~~Yoga, 2 mile walk~~

So I totally slacked off again by the end of the week. The sprints on Thursday were such a kick in the booty that I was discouraged and less motivated. I had to take Friday off because my shins were hurting, but I've no excuses for Saturday and Sunday.

Let's try this again. I know I have a busy work and baseball week (since the Astros are back in town), but I'm going to try to work everything in.

Monday: 6 miles
Tuesday: Yoga, 3 at BON
Wednesday: Spin x1hr, weights
Thursday: Hills x4
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: 7 miles
Sunday: Yoga, 2 mile walk

Happy running!

Workouts of the Week

2010-05-10T12:20:00.000-05:00

I'm going to post my running schedule here this week. Obviously just having it hanging on my wall at work is not motivating enough for me. We had a beautiful, cool, overcast weekend here in Houston and I did not go running once. I'm so ashamed at myself. It was never hotter than 80 degrees. I could have run in the middle of the day, but no I didn't. I watched t.v. and read a book and went to the movies. When my electricity went out, instead of lacing up my shoes, I went out for drinks. I'm a sad excuse for a runner right now. So, to kick my butt in gear, I'm posting my schedule on the world wide web. Maybe this will bring motivation to stick to it.

Monday: (supposed to be a rest day, but I've had plenty of those lately) 9 miles, 3 loops around Memorial
Tuesday: Yoga, 3 miles at BON
Wednesday: Spin x1hr, weights
Thursday: Sprints (4x800)
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 7 miles
Sunday: Yoga, 2 mile walk

I'll let you know next Monday how I actually did. Wish me luck!

The Year of Running

2010-05-07T15:22:00.000-05:00

My Hubby has coined this year "Year of Running" and so themed my birthday presents this year. I had a few runs to try out my new gear, and I absolutely love it. With the weather being pretty much perfect lately, I've been doing more and more of my runs during the daylight hours. Hats are great, but slightly annoying, so I've been itching for a pair of sporty sunglasses to run in. I was thinking that the next expo or festival I hit up that I'd buy a cheap knock-off pair. But Hubby was a few steps ahead and surprised me with these for my bday:

I took this pic last night after my 3.5 mile run, so excuse the sweaty mess that I am. They are a pair of Ryder's and I absolutely love them. They are excellent at keeping the sun at bay and also cutting down on the amount of dust that gets in my eyes.

My second gift was exactly what I was hoping for. Before Christmas this year, my tried and true Garmin went caput on me. Garmin replaced it (several times) with refurbished models, but I didn't have very much luck with any of them. I've been drooling over a couple of the newer models (with GPS instead of my lame foot pod) and was hoping I'd get one for my birthday. Hubby didn't disappoint!

It's the 310XT model and a dream come true. This baby is so cool. I've named it Marvin the Garmin and I can't wait to learn all the features he has to offer. I love being able to track my routes automatically (I'm not a very big fan of running the same routes over and over). The heart rate monitor is actually comfortable, so I've been wearing it unlike the last watch. I'm going to have so much fun training for my marathon with this on my wrist. Watch out Nike! I'm gonna rock your marathon with a Garmin (no Nike+ for me)!

Enough is Enough

2010-05-06T17:30:00.000-05:00

...is enough. I'm getting stir crazy over here. I think I've rested my neck and shoulders and back (and legs) enough from this whole sunburn debacle. It's time to hit the streets. I have a date with Memorial Park tonight to (hopefully) catch up on some of the exercise that I've been missing. (Watching the Biggest Loser while eating a pint of ice cream last night was not one of my brightest ideas.) The plan? 4 to 5 mile run with abs and leg work afterwards. The flab around my belly is getting to be a little much. It's about time I slim it down some so I can run faster. Faster I say!

On another note, I stumbled on a blog today of a girl who had a bucket list of sorts to finish before she turned 25. She had me inspired. I'm all about setting goals for myself, but a lot of them seem to fall between the cracks. Didn't I make a new year's resolution this year to run 20 miles per week? That sure was forgotten fast. I am a member of a "book race" where we have to read 50 books this year. I'm doing pretty good so far; I've got 14 books down with a ton stored in my Kindle just waiting to be devoured. There's only 2 people ahead of me, so I still have a chance to win. I feel like since I'm on the edge of 30 (30! OMG! Only 2 more years left of my 20s!), that I need something of the sort. I am kind of working on it little by little. I mean, I am running my first FULL marathon this year (I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to un-capitalize the FULL in FULL marathon!), but I feel like as my 30s approach so goes a portion of life as I know it. Not to sound too pessimistic or anything, but I really do think of 30 as a changing point. I just can't help it. I'm a woman and 30 is pretty much a big deal. Maybe I should start thinking about the things I want to do before I turn 30...

Marathon Blues

2010-05-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

So I think this whole idea of running a full marathon is already starting to take a toll on my legs. I think they are starting to freak out. We (my legs and I) ran twice this weekend - a short easy run on Saturday and a long 8 miler on Sunday. My shins are starting to have short spasms and the bottom of my feet are really sore. I keep telling them that 8 miles is nothing and they have so much more in front of them so they should just suck it up and deal, but they aren't listening. I guess that's what I get for trying to talk to them in the first place. I want to just ignore them, but they are kind of a key point in me reaching my goals this year. I let them take yesterday off and today we are just going to get in some quality time on the bike. They'll like that.

I guess some of it is my fault though. After stretching and a short ice bath Sunday after the 8 miler, I immediately went and stood in line outside for 4 1/2 hours. My bad. I really didn't think I'd have to stand for that long. I should have sat on the ground more. I should have put on sunscreen. I should have been at home with my feet propped up on the couch. But no, I was being a good, supportive wife. I stood in line with Hubby that whole time so he could see the World Cup trophy. He knows he owes me for it. For the exhausted legs, the insane sunburn on my chest and back, and the misery from those two that has consumed me the last two days (and it's probably not over). So I guess I can't blame my legs too much.

I will rest them this week, but maybe I'll race them this weekend. Not an actual organized race or anything, but maybe a race against myself. I think they'll be up to it by then. Plus, I haven't had a chance to photograph my new gadgets that I got last week. I need to show them off!