Half Marathon #2

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

Final chip time: 2:06:46

MUSE/U2

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

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

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

Away for a while

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

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

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

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

Oh, and what time is it?

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

9 Miles

I decided it would be a fine idea if I went out for dinner and wine last night, then met some friends up for drinks (water for me) until midnight. I couldn't have been more wrong. I got home tired, but excited about the run, so I slept like crap. It didn't help that DH came stumbling into the bedroom drunk and yelling at the dogs (of course they barked back) at 4am. All I could do was grumble and think that my alarm goes off in an hour. At 5am, I was so tempted to just lie there and go back to sleep, but I forced myself up headache and all. The temperature outside was nice and cool and slightly overcast. I forced down some cereal and gatorade and headed out the door. The majority of the group was planning an 8 mile run to downtown around the Astros stadium, then picking up any additional miles needed by running Heights Blvd. I aimed for doing 10. We set off along Dallas and right after I hit the first mile marker, my left toes started to go numb. I was doing what I knew I shouldn't and running a long run in my brand new shoes (which I've only run in 3 times). I was too lazy this morning to move my foot pod back over to my old shoes - bad idea. I managed to make it to the first water stop and sat down to remove my shoe. It took a good 4 minutes to return feeling to the toes. I watched as everyone drank water, took Gu and went on their way. I didn't think I could make the full route and finally put my shoe back on and headed off in the direction of my car. Then I noticed the girl I ran with last week across the street, and managed to talk myself into finishing (hey, my shoes had to be worn in somehow). So I crossed the street and joined her. I made it all the way down to the stadium and around it (man, I love that place). My feet were really starting to feel better by the time we made it to the bayou (the last 2 miles in to base). I think my shoes were finally starting to wear in and I quit loosing feeling and pulled my pace ahead a little. I felt great, tackled a few hills (my butt was screaming) and made it back to base in under 2 hours. Following the sidewalks along the bayou (instead of the street), I had added a mile to the course. All I needed was an extra mile around the base and I'd hit my 10. My garmin was yelling that my memory was full and refused to count any more miles. I should have just ran for another 10 minutes, but I was tired and it didn't occur to me. I stopped and joined the group stretching. 9 miles was good with me. I felt pretty dang accomplished figuring I had so little sleep (I even almost fell asleep driving home after the run - it's only a 5 mile drive).

By the way, I picked up a Carb-BOOM energy gel a few weeks ago during my Tuesday group runs. I'd been saving it for a long run to try it. Today was the day. I consumed it with water at mile 6. I've had a few different gels before and never been really turned on to any of them, but this one was actually good. I had the raspberry flavor - it was creamy, like a raspberry ice cream flavor (without being cold of course). I managed to gulp it down in 3 shots and even liked the aftertaste. My hunger pains subsided and my energy level increased (I even picked up the pace a little). I will definately be picking up a few of these next time I hit the running store. I'll have to try a few of the other flavors, although I can already tell the raspberry might be my favorite (the chocolate cherry is calling my name!).

Fun Friday

Ah, it's finally Friday! This has actually been a really good week - things are getting back to routine. I managed to run 2x this week, even with all the last minute after-work obligations that came up. I did a nice 3-mile tempo run on Tuesday, followed by another 3-miler on Wednesday where my legs proceeded to tell me "Screw you - we ran yesterday! We don't feel like working today, let's go back to being lazy." So, I had to stop and tell them who was in charge a couple of times. Needless to say, Thursday I decided to give them a break and not make them run. I went to DrillMax class instead. Big mistake. This class was uber-hard even when I was in tip-top shape! I mentioned to the instructor why I'd been missing the past two weeks, silently thinking that maybe she'd take it easy on me. Riiiiiggghhhtt. I think she just enjoyed watching me grunt. I loved how she kept telling me "30 more seconds" in her cute little French accent. Yeah, 30 more seconds is a long time if you've just collapsed trying to do yet another jumping pushup (you know, where you have to clap your hands between each one?) during your one minute interval. I was really kicking myself for having poptarts for breakfast (but they were S'Mores and so yummy!) instead of something healthy like yogurt and granola to prepare me for my butt kicking. But don't worry, I made up for it after class with a bowl of spicy ramen and a cherry Coke. Another bad idea. I followed that up with a spin class since I didn't think my legs worked as hard as my arms and abs did at lunch. I had a healthy dinner...consisting of probably 3 helpings of fried okra. Ooops.

But now it's Friday, and my lazy day so that I can prepare for my long run with Kenyan Way in the morning. I'm not looking forward to the 5am wake-up call, but I am ready to kick it up a notch. I think we're running to downtown and back which I've never done, so I'm kind of excited about it. (And don't worry, the eating habits are getting back on track - I haven't had anything horrible today...yet.)

8 Miles!

Well, almost. So I was good Friday night. I went out with friends for Korean BBQ and only had 2 beers. I wanted more, but I knew I had to be good if I was going to try to put in a decent run the next morning. Hubby and I went home completely stuffed and after 2 glasses of water, I went to bed around 11. It was later than I wanted, but I figured I'd survive. I tossed and turned all night - I kept dreaming about waking up late, the storms outside, and everything else that had me all worked up. I hardly slept. The alarm went off at 5am and my mind tried to find ways to talk myself into staying in bed. What is wrong with me? I haven't run in two weeks and all I want to do is sleep in! I managed to slide out from under the covers, get dressed and have a bowl of cereal while watching the weather on TV - storms. It wasn't currently raining and the news promised that it would hold off till 8. I put my shoes on, crossed my fingers and walked out the door.

I got to Jackson Hill in plenty of time to find parking and sign up. There were runners everywhere! It was like I had morphed into a different world. The mileage posted for today's run was 7.5, but there were other routes on the board in case you wanted to do more or less. The runner's I had seen while parking had gotten up earlier than me and were running extra miles before the official club run started. I figured I'd start with the group and turn around if I felt I couldn't do all of it since it was just an out and back route. I stuck myself in the 10:30-10:45 min/mile pace group so that I wouldn't push myself too hard in the beginning. I felt great, the weather was cool, yet muggy, but no rain. I made it to mile 5.5 before the cramps came and I stopped to walk. My sides were screaming. A very nice runner came up behind me and asked if I was ok - it gave me the motivation I needed to start running again. I kept her pace and we talked the last couple of miles back to the start. The group had a yoga instructor there that was conducting 15 min stretching sessions, so I joined in.

All in all, I finished 7.75 miles in 1 hour 24 minutes. Not bad for my first day back. I really enjoyed running with Kenyan Way and will definately be joining them again this Saturday.

Lazy Again

Ok, so I've already started slacking off about this blog thing. I've been trying to keep myself fairly busy so that I won't notice that I'm not working out. I guess it's worked, cuz now it's 14 days post-surgery and I'm ready to hit the roads. I know how hard it's going to be to start up again, so I've made a date for tomorrow morning at 5:45am (gasp!) with Kenyan Way. I met a guy at my Tuesday running club meetings that ran with them last week and he really enjoyed it. So, I emailed the group, told them I was interested so they'll be expecting me. I can't let them down, alas I must get up early. I really want to do well in this half marathon and I only have 5 weeks left of training. The countdown is officially on.

On another note, I've been testing my eyesight lately. I managed to sit at the back of the room at my dive meeting last night and see every tiny little fish displayed on the projector without squinting or any bluriness. I'm loving being able to see when I get out of bed in the morning and not dealing with the hassle of glasses or contacts. I've already thrown out my last pair of contacts, but I still have my glasses. They are sitting on my dining room table just staring at me...like the mops on those Swiffer commercials. I almost hear the music playing and them begging me to wear them. Ha! I showed them!

What should I do with my glasses? I mean, I've had them for over 10 years, don't they deserve some kind of party or memorial or smashing???