Going to school to prove I'm no fool!

Oh school...why do you ruin my life?

Today I had a huge breakdown about school. It feels so...never ending. I'm taking 13 credits. Does anyone have time management tips? ... Actually, I just need to be disciplined. But I like Facebook and Instagram and Zite and TV way more than I like school...

Ok, Sara, get it together! Forget this is my 3rd...no 4th...no...I don't know anymore....time in school. THIS is the time I will finish. I'm putting it on the blog. It will happen! 

The running is going well. Still aches on my broken foot a little, but I have overcome my fear of not being able to run long distances. I'm learning to do a run/walk interval and it's working great!! 

I know this is what Mary was doing, and I'm not just getting on board! If you're skeptical of running, setting intervals is awesome. Don't be afraid of it. 

I was worried people would look at me crazy. Because I run silly, or I'm slow, or I'm walking more than half the time. Well...you know the only one who cares is yourself?! We care more about what others think while they are over there worried about what we think...and guess what know one really cares what the other person is doing. 

When I finally let that go...I started doing better and stopped battling with myself. I actually miss running on the days I am unable to! I never imagined myself as a runner. I feel like I'm moving up in the world! 

Disney here we come!!!

RAGBRAI, broken foot, and the BEST week of my life!

Hello!

I'm sorry blog world. My travels kept me away from you.

I am caught up on school work and heading to bed, but wanted to share a quick update.

First-Let's talk about my RAGBRAI trip.
Day 1-I rode the first half, like 30 miles. It was great. Iowa is beautiful. The fields remind me of my home state of Idaho. We grew up across the street from a potato field so it was really nostalgic to be there.

First day of riding

Okoboji! First over night town

Lake Okoboji! Beautiful view!

Day 2-I rode in the car. I wasn't prepared...and it was super windy. this day we camped at a casino, which was awesome! Yay gambling...but  not really. Losing money is bad.
Day 3-This day for sure I did not ride. It was a 100 mile day and that just was not happening with my out of shape body.
Day 4-This was an easy day. Only 35+ miles. It was a great ride! We even got passed my Lance Armstrong. I don't care what you think about the guy, he has spread awareness for cancer research and donated millions of dollars for research. And this day I also broke my foot. Yeah that was a great feeling.

No good story, sorry. I literally stood up. And my foot broke. That's it. I stood up out of a chair and I heard cracking and fell to the floor. So that was a fun trip to the ER in small town Iowa. P.S. they don't do anything for a broken foot so don't waste your copay money.

So...that left days 5-7 that I drove the car. My foot was so swollen it didn't even fit in my flip flop. And the purple bruising was awesome too. We also stopped at Field of Dreams and threw a baseball and hit a few balls around. Yes, I did it even on my broken foot! So cool playing baseball in a corn field!!!

Dipping the front tires in the Mississippi River.

Yes! Field of Dreams batting!

 Anyway...we got back. I laid on the couch resting the foot.

Then we took off to Camp Periwinkle. Disney World says they are the happiest place on earth? Well, they're lying. Nothing, I mean NOTHING beats the happiness at Camp. Seriously, cancer kids and their siblings get a week off from being "that family". Guess what?! Everyone is that family.

One girl finished chemo while we were there. It was such a beautiful and inspiring moment. Three years of maintenance chemo and she finished. We had a party for her and I had tears in my eyes the entire time. Along with dances and of course, the cute 11 year old boy that made himself and me matching bracelets. It was darling. He also took my to the dance. Seriously, these kids are adorable and beyond inspiring! I can't describe the joy and feeling of Periwinkle. There were literally 6 new counselors. 6. That's it. Counselors come from all over the US to participate in this camp, THAT is how special it is.

My AMAZING co-counselors!

My corsage and matching bracelet!

Cabin Decor. Our theme was "lemme take a selfie"

80s dance! "The Love Boat"

And now we are home.

I started running a week ago. Which, I probably shouldn't have, considering my foot is broken and only healed 4 weeks. Oh well, I gotta train!

I officially signed up for a 10k so I can send Disney a time so they can corral me appropriately. I'm registered to run The Brent Event in Houston. It's my Best Friend's foundation. They started after her husband passed from Ewing's Sarcoma, a pediatric bone cancer. Their mission is to alleviate financial stresses cancer and hospital stays have on families. I am so excited to be a participant. I sit on their planning committee so it'll be fun to be on the other side.

Click the logo to see how YOU can help!

If I could give "Most Inspiring Family Award" it would go to the Weaver's. I love them soooo much.

I haven't ran into the issues Mary is having with shin splints and toe nail blisters. But I am ridiculously out of running shape! Running has NEVER been my thing...so during my run/walk routine,sometimes I walk through the jog part, or stop jogging early. I have not ended a workout early though!

For not being a runner, I have enjoyed getting out there. And Abbey puppy loves the jogs too!

XOXO,
Sara

Heat, Toe Nails, and Negative Splits!

It's been a few weeks since I've posted but really, not a whole lot has been going on. I'm still training, in fact I just finished week 10! Only about 11 weeks left until the half marathon! That really doesn't seem that far away now that I think about it. Since my last post I've had two weekend runs of 5 miles both of which I ended up doing on the treadmill because it was so stinking hot. Today the heat index is about 105*F... Don't mind me, I'm turning my house into a nudist colony!

If you're familiar with running then you'll understand what I'm about to describe but if not then I'll enlighten you. Toe nails... I'm like most other girls and love to paint my toes and have them be all pretty. Well since I started running this doesn't happen anymore. It's important to keep toe nails clipped short to prevent them from banging into the toe box of the shoe and becoming bruised and fall off. Even though I've kept them short I finally got my first bruised nail. After that long 8 mile run I had noticed that my second toe on my left foot was really sore, very sensitive to touch but didn't have a visible bruise underneath it. My big toe on the same nail did have a bit of bruising but wasn't sore at all. Anyways, after a couple of days I finally decided that I'd try clipping it and see if it would help at all, come to find out there was actually a blister underneath the nail. Yeah, found that out when I popped the stupid thing. After some more investigation it was clear the entire nail had lifted from the bed. While it was gross (yet cool at the same time, I mean come on, I work with blood, poop, and other bodily fluids for a living) my toe felt so much better. Now I've just had to refrain from pulling the rest of the nail off, from what I've read and heard from other runners the best thing is to leave it along, a new nail will grow in and push the old one off. So much for getting any more pedicures... And because I'm going to print this blog out after I've run the Disney races I have to include pictures for posterity. So quickly scroll if you need to! Here's a picture of my poor toe, but after talking and looking and some people's toes, this is nothing...

Quickly here's a run down of my training runs for the last few weeks.

*Week 8--The week after my first 8 mile run I started increasing my running interval. My Saturday run was four miles plus a magic mile. I did the MM around my neighborhood and then did the rest on the treadmill. It was hot and I got started late. I did 2.5 miles of the 4 with run intervals and then walked the last 1.5. I've found this normally happens when I do the MMs because I exhaust myself trying to run that mile faster. Total mileage for week 8 was 12.23 miles.

*Week 9--This week I discovered that I started my training plan a few weeks ahead of schedule so I decided I'd repeat some of the longer training runs in the middle. Monday and Wednesday I did a hill/endurance workout on my treadmill. Tuesday I ran 4 miles (52:20) using a :40/1:00 interval, on Thursday I did 4.25 miles (58.05) using the same intervals. For my long run on Saturday I did 8 miles again since last time it was extremely difficult and I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with that distance before I moved up. It went really well, I did it in 1:52:47, faster than last time and I also PR'd my 1 mile and 5K times. I noticed that I started slowing down about mile 4/5 which showed in my times. My intervals were 0:35/1:00. Total mileage for week 9 was 21.95 miles. Here's some pictures from my run. I saw a beautiful heron but my phone doesn't zoom so great... and then I saw my friend Mr. Turtle. By this time I was getting tired and I felt like he could probably beat me home!

*Week 10--This last week has been a struggle. The kids started school for the year and getting up at 5:30 has really kicked my butt! I've taken advantage of an empty house and gone back to bed, probably more then I should have, I'm just not a morning person! The perk about them being back in school is that I can now move my weekly training runs outside. Tuesday I ran 3.14 miles (47:36), I tried doing a 0:40/1:00 interval but that didn't last long. I forgot that I needed to readjust my intervals from my treadmill times. I ended up walking a lot. Thursday, I ran 3.81 miles (55:37) and felt a lot better about my run. I ran 0:30/1:00 intervals. On my outside route the last mile is uphill so that one is always a struggle but I ran all of my intervals and it wasn't that bad! Today was another magic mile plus 4 miles. It's over a 100 degrees here to I ran inside on the treadmill. I ran the mile in intervals but then walked the 4 miles, even in my garage with a fan blowing on my it was brutal. But I finished. Totals this week: 11.95 miles.

One thing that I have to boast about is that on Thursday for the first time I got negative splits! What are negative splits you ask? Negative splits occur when you run the second half of your distance in a faster time then you did the first half, or you can look at each individual mile. My last mile was 6 seconds faster then my first, not much but I'll take it. I'm pretty sure it would have been much more but like I said before, the last mile home is up hill and I had to dart off the road quite a bit for oncoming traffic. The perks of running on a country road with no sidewalk/shoulder!  I read this quote on Thursday morning before I left for my run and it is exactly what I needed to see.

What's in store for next week? Nine and a half miles for my long run! I'm going to start hydrating now!

8 Miles and Some Tears

Last Saturday I increased my long run to 8 miles, woot woot! Most of the time I get nervous the night before a long run because I'm worried about not finishing or something like that. Friday night was totally different. I wasn't concerned and I was confident, in fact I was so sure that I'd PR all of my times, from my one mile to my 10K. My 6.5 mile run was great so adding another mile and a half shouldn't be so bad, or so I thought. So if I was so sure of myself, how did it go you ask? Horrible actually. The first mile I was feeling good, my timing was good and I had a good rhythm going. By mile 3 I was tired, at mile 4 I was so ready to be done. About mile 6 is when I started walking more then what my intervals called for. I'd skip a run here and there or just walk through it. Mile 8 I pretty much walked the whole thing. I was so, so tired, my legs were sore, it was hot, even my arms hurt! I still can't figure that one out... Anyways, I made it home in 1:54:09 (and I did PR my 5k time by 23 seconds), well under my 2 hour time goal so I was happy about that but as soon as I walked into my garage and peeled off my hydration pack and other gear, I started crying. That run was hard and it pushed me, I mean it really pushed me. I think that if I had to go any farther I would have walked the rest of it.

Once I got home and changed and had turned into my zombie self that accompanies a long run, I talked with a good friend who is a veteran marathoner. He gave me some good advice and lots of encouragement, just what I needed. I shifted my focus from how tired I was and how bad I thought the whole run was to the fact that I finished and then moved on to try and figure out if there was anything that I could have done differently to make this run better next time. Maybe not eat that chocolate cake the night before (My rationale? I'm carb loading for my run tomorrow!) Maybe I didn't get enough sleep the night before, or it could have been something as "small" that I increased my run interval by 5 seconds and decreased my walk by 5 seconds. Who knows? But I do know that while those 8 miles were hard, I'm going to keep on going. I'm not going to let one bad run rule the rest of my training. I know I'll continue to have bad runs every once in a while but I also know that I'm going to have a whole lot more good runs!

Happy Running!

Hanging in there...

This last week of training has been just that, a week of training. Nothing huge has happened, no major PRs or anything else exciting. I've been trying to increase the days that I cross train but I'm having a hard time finding a good schedule. Hopefully once the kids get back into school I can figure something out. I used to go to a CrossFit class, and I loved it, but scheduling was a nightmare and then there's the fact that I was super intimidated by everyone else there. I've been going to a bootcamp type of class, the instructor used to actually teach CrossFit so we do a lot of the same workouts, just not the olympic lifting. Anyways, I try to get to her class whenever I can but schedules, kids, and summer time is not my friend right now.

This last week Sara has been completing her Ragbrai race. She's filled me in on the way and I don't want to steal her thunder so I'll let her post about it, sounds like they had fun though!

Last week was my 6th week of training. At this point I'll be increasing my mileage every other week. The week in between I'll be what Jeff Galloway calls 4 miles and the "Magic Mile". The MM is where you time your first mile and you basically run as fast as you can, then there's an equation that you use to figure out what your finish time would be for a 10K, half marathon, etc based on what your MM was. This week was my first MM and I finished it in 13:00. Not as good as I'd hoped but I know that time will just improve. I continued on to finish my other four miles and finished with a 14:15 min/mile pace. This is definitely slower then I normally run but I think the MM took a lot of my juice in the beginning. It also states that you should run the MM on a flat surface, well I didn't want to run around the high school track so I run on my hilly country road.

I have decided to change up my running intervals... again. I'm trying to run for longer times so I'll bump my intervals up to 0:45/0:45 this next week and then hopefully increase my running length by 15 seconds every week. It will be interesting to see how it goes.

I think one reason this last week hasn't been so awesome was because my mentality was lacking. It's not the I'm doubting myself but I've been tired and trying to finish up the last couple of weeks of my school semester. When I saw this quote it really spoke to me. Sometimes you just have to tell yourself to shut up and get with the program.

An Epiphany and Believing in Yourself

This week starts my 6th week of training for the half marathon in November. At times I think I'm not progressing but when I look back I can see that I've made huge improvements. The end of my first week I was had an average pace of 14:55 per mile, now I'm running about 13:47 per mile! My goal for running the half marathon is between a 12:00 and 12:30 pace, I'm pretty confident I can keep that pace. My treadmill runs are a bit faster than that but I'm much faster on the treadmill. I actually have two different PR times, one for treadmill and one for my outside runs. If only I could run as fast outside!! Oh well, I'll get there!

This last weekend I ran my first 10K distance, actually I did 6.5 miles. The coolest part was that I ran in the rain, and not just a sprinkle but full blown downpour. I had considered just running on the treadmill but I had good friend point out that running in the rain was good for the soul, he was so right! It was probably the most enjoyable run I've done so far. I PR'd my fastest outside mile as well as my 5K. While I was out I had an epiphany, I was turning into a hardcore runner! Whenever I passed runners in the rain I would think, "Man, they're dedicated and hardcore." It didn't occur to me that I had turned into one. I recently read an article about 10 things that runners needed to quit. One of them was to stop thinking negatively and stop minimizing your running efforts. Just because I do run/walk intervals doesn't mean I'm not a runner. I can keep up with those that run the whole time but I can almost guarantee that I'm feeling better at the end of my run! (That's one of the biggest reasons I went with the Jeff Galloway training method.) I also had the first opportunity to use a Gu gel. It's basically a little pack of heaven that replenishes the electrolytes lost due to sweating. I was a bit nervous to try them, I had heard mixed reviews. I'm a huge chocoholic so that's the first flavor I tried, it was like manna from heaven half way through my run. I'm sure the boost from it was just as mentally invigorating as it was physically, it was tasty!

This morning I completed my training run and I have to admit, it was rough. I did 30 intervals at alternating speeds of 5.7 and 6.0 mph, I guess you could say that I was speed training. Anyways, the first half was okay but the second half I really had to push myself. The whole time I kept telling myself that I could keep going and that I was going to PR my treadmill mile and my 5k time. When it was all said and done, I didn't do either of those. In fact, I didn't go nearly as far as I thought I had. At first I was really disappointed in myself. But when I actually thought about it and looked at my times, I was spot on for the average pace I want to run in the half marathon. I just need to keep working and doing my speed training so that I can improve my street running times.

What did I learn today? Progress is progress! Don't diminish the the work I've done because it may not have been as much as I'd hoped. I got out there and I finished my training run!!

On that note, I saw this cute cartoon and couldn't resist posting it. Disney World recently released that the kids runs and the 5K will be "Frozen" themed. I think that announcement made every little kid want to run in the kids race!

How many calories do you burn riding 500 miles?

Well, we head out tomorrow. I seriously hope my 100 miles of "training" is enough to cut it for this 500+ mile ride. 

Things I'm excited for:

Nature

Real camping

-not texas camping in a cabin...roughing it camping in tents and everything! Wahoo!! This is what I grew up on and I'm thrilled to be outdoors camping for a week.

Burning thousands of calories!

Getting this over so I can start training for my princess half!!!!

It's Official!

Well ladies and gents, it's official, Sara and I are signed up to run the Disney Princess Glass Slipper Challenge AND the 5K races! First off I just have to say how stressful it was to register! I knew that the servers were going to be packed and that I was going to have to wait but man oh man. I was on the computer at 10:30, a full half an hour before registration opened because I had heard that sometimes registration will open early. So there I was, refreshing my browser every few minutes. As soon as 11:00 came up BAM! I can't even begin to remember how many times I got an error code from my browser or that I had completed the registration, click continue to pay, and then have my shopping cart say it was empty. I had my laptop and my iPad going at the same time since I was registering Sara and I, then my mom for the 5K, and my three girls for the kids races. Finally, after 80 minutes I had everyone registered. I was so ready for a xanax. And just so you can get an idea of how crazy registration is, the Glass Slipper Challenge was sold out in under three hours. As of tonight, only 9 hours after registration opened, the Challenge, half, and 10K are all sold out. Insane.

 

I'm so excited though!!! If you now me, you'll know that I'm a Disney freak, I love going there, I love the happiness and magic that occurs there, and I LOVE seeing my family's faces while we're there. Fabulous, just fabulous!!!

On top of that, I think Sara and I are going to try and go to Disneyland in May to run the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon and get the snazzy Coast to Coast medal! I'm just going to start feeding my family ramen noodles or sell my children to Disney to pay for it all...

Training to eat

Growing up I was always RIDICULOUSLY skinny. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. And I went through phases of anorexia and all the psychological issues behind that.

When my depression was diagnosed in 2011, I gained insight to why I was the way I was. Eating has always been a struggle but at least I felt validated for not eating. Anyway, I still have a hard time feeling good about food. 

Training is so hard because of my unhealthy relationship with food. I'll have energy and want to go ride or run...but halfway through my body gives up from lack of energy in my body. So then I chug one of those food packets for a burst and barely make it home.

And then I crash on the couch or wherever I find acceptable. 

I keep hearing that exercising will give you more energy...and I keep waiting for that to happen. 

So what's a girl to do? I guess I'm going to end up making a meal plan. The challenge will be sticking to it..

Wish me luck. Any suggestions?

-Sara

Discouragement...

This week has been rough, I'm not going to lie. I don't know how many times I've thought to myself that I was crazy for thinking that I can run a half marathon. Then to think that last week I told Derek I wanted to run the Disney World marathon on 2016, yeah, not good thoughts on my part. So let me tell you about my past week's training...

Tuesday I did my warm up and then had programmed 15 intervals of 0:45/1:00. I did it the week before, it's been my regular interval range for the last few runs. Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to die. My training schedule calls for 30 minute runs on Tuesday/Thursday then the longer one on Saturday. Normally I don't count my 10 minutes of warming up & cooling down as a part of those 30 minutes but I did on Tuesday. I was so tired the entire run, I kept looking at my watch to see how much longer there was left on the interval and almost crying when it said I still have 15 seconds to go! How is that possible?!  I feel like I just ran a whole mile and it's only been 30 seconds!!! It's okay, it's okay I told myself, I'm sure my muscles were still just sore from my 5 miles on Saturday. I've found this is my excuse every time my legs hurt is that it's from long run. I survived but didn't love how I felt afterwards and just told myself I'd do better on Thursday.

Then there was yesterday, what was supposed to be a rest day. But I'm beginning to enjoy running and find that I have much more energy and patience on the days I run so I thought I'd take a quick jog on the good ole treadmill. Yup, I made it a mile before I called it quits. Honestly though, I think part of the problem was that I was starving before I even started. The other problem was my stupid mentality, I just couldn't get over how tired I was and that it was technically my rest day and that I didn't want to overstress my legs, blah, blah, blah. Yup, just kept piling it on.

Now, onto today. I told myself that I was going to make up for my crappy runs on Tuesday & Wednesday and do 20 intervals not including warm up and cool down. Oh my holy Hannah, that for sure didn't happen. I was doing good, I hit my usual mental block about a mile in but I just couldn't get over it. I was sluggish, my speed was slower then I normally do and I ended up skipping my last 5 running intervals, even before I skipped those I had increased my walking time to two minutes for the previous 3 intervals. Needless to say I was so, so discouraged after my run today.

But I do have a theory; this last week I've been logging my food and trying to watch what I eat. Since I started running I've gained about 9 pounds which I think was due to the fact that I was over compensating for the calories I was burning while running. You know, the "Oh sure, I can have a HUGE bowl of ice cream because I ran this morning!" Haha, joke is on me. I actually think that maybe I didn't get enough to eat yesterday or enough carbs last night at dinner. I'm going to try eating a banana or something before I run to see if that helps. I'm not one to eat breakfast before running so I'll have to see how this goes.

I was scrolling through Facebook earlier today and saw that a friend had posted this quote and it was exactly what I needed to hear today. I may have had a crappy week of training but I'm going to keep going and I KNOW that I'm only going to improve. Happy Running!

Shin Splints, Ice Baths, and a 5 Miler

After my post last week when I said I enjoyed running I should have known it was going to come back and bite me in the butt! I had horrible shin splints this last week. I'm sure it was due to my long run last week. In order to help alleviate the pain I've incorporated more stretching, some calf compression sleeves, KT tape, and even ice baths. Yes, I said ice baths. The first time was frigid and I only lasted about 5 minutes on each leg. Then I did some research and discovered I should be putting my legs in the water and then adding the ice. Once I did it this way it was much more pleasant, well as pleasant as an ice bath can be I guess.

This last week was my third week of training and it went really well despite the shin splints. Tuesday I ran just over 3 miles and on Thursday I did 4.25 miles! I was actually surprised I'd gone this far, I just plugged along with my intervals and alternated my running speed between 5.5 and 6.0 MPH on my treadmill. I knew that there was a difference between running on a treadmill and road running but I'm really beginning to see just how big of a difference. My average pace while road running is anywhere from 1:30 to 2:00 minutes longer then my treadmill pace. Granted, I slow things down when I run outside because I'm more concerned about getting the distance in but still.

This past Saturday was my longest run to date, 5 miles. It was actually about 5.5 after you throw in my warm up and cool down but on my longer runs I only time the actual distance. All in all, the run was really good. The weather has been very uncharacteristic for the summer in Florida. Normally the humidity is ridiculous even at 5:00 AM but these last few Saturdays have been perfect for outdoor running, the running gods must be smiling at me! I was about a mile and a half in when I hit a mental wall. I kept thinking that my legs were too sore and that I should really stop so I didn't hurt myself and while maybe some of that is true, I basically told my self to shove it and suck it up. After those few minutes I was good to go! My goal was to finish in under an hour and fifteen minutes and I clocked in at 1:12, I was ecstatic! Week 4's long run is actually a short run of 3 miles and then the week after I jump up to 6.5 miles. I'm already mapping my route!

One other thing I've been struggling with is that I've gained about 7 pounds since I started running! While I know that many do gain weight, usually muscle when they're training, I just don't think that is the case for me. One part of me is really disappointed because I had recently hit a 35 pound weight loss and only had 15 pounds to my goal weight and now it's back up again. My plan? Start logging what I eat and make sure I get some weight training in on my off running days. I used to do CrossFit and I really enjoyed it, then all my favorite instructors left. One started her own bootcamp class that I really like but between my hubby and I both doing our masters degrees, he's working, and my kids at home, it's hard to get there. I'm just going to have to make it more of a priority! I'm looking forward to August when my ALL of my kids are in school so then I can do my running outside more often and I don't have to worry about other workout class times.

Sara's big bike race is coming up and I know the humidity in Houston is just killing her training! Keep your fingers crossed for her!

Do I dare say it?

Today I ran the farthest I have ever had to go, FOUR miles. From this week on my long runs will continue to go up one mile at a time and I'm actually not dreading it as much as I thought I would. Do I dare say that I'm actually beginning to enjoy running?! Shhhh... don't tell. Seriously though, on my rest days when I'm not running I've noticed that I'm more tired and crankier, I'm sure my kids could tell you what days I run and which ones I don't. I was just telling Derek that I'm going to have to start doing a short run on my "off" days because my body has started craving the activity. Who knew?!

Back to today's run though. I parked at the local library and then ran along a frontage road that just happened to be two miles one way, perfect, right?! There was even about half a block for warm up and cool down. As I left my car and started heading out I almost backed out and went over to the high school because I let myself get self conscious. Thankfully I got over it and away I went. I shortened my running interval and lengthened my walking because I didn't want to over do it and I was more focused on finishing the distance than my pace (that's what my week day runs are for). I had a goal to finish in 55 minutes or less but clocked in at 56:17, which I'm actually very happy with. Like I said, it's the longest I've ever gone. I averaged a 14:04 min/mile pace which is good for me right now. I had brought along a small 50 ounce CamelBak for hydration and I think that helped immensely. It also didn't hurt that this morning was fairly cool (it is Florida after all) and had a slight breeze, now that I reflect back, it was actually really good running conditions! My husband works with a guy that has his PhD in chemistry and has run multiple marathons, triathlons, you name it, he's probably done it. Anyways, when he found out I was training he offered to mix me up a drink powder that would help sustain me during my long runs, I guess it's sort of a like a customized Gatorade type of drink. That's what I had in my CamelBak and while it's not the best thing I've ever tasted, I was still walking upright at the end and felt good! 

Last time I posted I mentioned that my kids were going to do the kids one mile race so this last week I've been taking them out and "training" them. I love it that they're so excited to exercise! At the elementary school they go to they have to run a mile once a week so they're not totally unfamiliar with the distance but I'd still like them to be prepared. That and we're planning a secret Disney trip in September so we want them to be prepped for all the walking! We took them last September and they were all complaining about their feet after about an hour.

This week I feel I've made a lot of progress in my running, my speed has increased on my week day runs and I'm really happy with my long run today. I really like the run/walk/run interval training that I'm doing. I don't feel exhausted at the end of my runs and I'm not hurting. Every other time I've tried to start running, my plantar fasciitis flares up again and I end up stopping.

So my goals for this coming week? Decrease my rest interval on my week day runs to 1:00 and complete my 5 miles on Saturday in an hour and fifteen minutes or less.

Happy training!

Happy Thoughts!

I was trying to work on some homework but after spending over an hour trying to figure out some stupid computer program I gave up and decided to move onto something happier, like running!

Last Saturday was my first "long" run of my half-marathon training, a whole 3 miles. But hey, we all gotta start somewhere. I once again made my way over to the high school track and plugged along. I actually ended up doing 3.2 miles (5K) because I wanted to see what my time difference was compared to my 5K I did on the treadmill a few weeks ago. BUT then I hadn't programed enough intervals and I ended up walking the last half mile, I'll try again later. In the end I got in 3.2 miles in 47:40, with my 5 min warm up and about 8 min cool down (stupid intervals) I had an average pace of 14:55 per mile. My running interval was 00:45/1:30. On the treadmill this had felt too long of a rest but running outdoors it seemed just about right. This week's long run is 4 miles and I've already got my route mapped out so I'm not running around the track like a hamster...

Onto to week 2 of training started this morning. Due to the weather, BTW, I swear Sara and I have the same weather even though we're 8 hours apart, anyways, I ran on my treadmill. I did shave down my rest intervals and ended up with 00:45/1:15 and it was perfect! My speed is usually around a 5.3 or so but I've found that my calves/shins don't hurt as much when I bump it up to 5.5. I did two intervals at that speed, 10 intervals at 5.7, and my last 2 intervals at 6.0! I was pretty proud of myself. Without counting warm up and cool down, I did 2 miles. I did my first mile in 13:15 and my second one was 14:04. I think my walking pace was a little bit slower in the second. But my numbers could be totally off because I was trying to scribble them down while I was walking and yelling, I mean, nicely telling my kids to leave me alone.

After this morning's run I decided to add a food pod to my collection of running paraphernalia. I have the Garmin 220 GPS/Heart Rate monitor watch that I'm absolutely in love with. It's super accurate and I can program my intervals into it, something that other Garmin watches didn't offer. With this particular model it says you don't necessarily need the foot pod because the watch has a built in accelerometer that measures your cadence when on a treadmill, the downside to this is that it doesn't actually measure the distance you've gone and I can't modify my run to add the distance. Do I really need it, probably not, but I want to make sure that I'm getting an accurate timing/mileage on my treadmill.

Oh, and one more thing. A few weeks ago I bought my hubby and I the Jawbone 24 athletic wrist bands. We're those techie nerds that like seeing how many steps we've taken, how our sleep is, etc. Well mine has just kind of crapped out on my the last few days so I'm sending mine back. I'm trying to decided if I want to replace it or try out the FitBit, it's biggest competitor. If you have one, which do you like and why? 

And for your viewing pleasure here's a couple of pictures. The first two are my training schedules, the first for the Glass Slipper Challenge and the second is the Pensacola race, I have them hanging next to my treadmill. Ironically, the timing working out that just as I finish my Pensacola race, I start training for the next one. Perfect timing!

 AND THIS is me after my long run on Saturday, don't I just look awesome?!

P.S. I almost forgot the best part! The hubs and I decided that him and our three girls are going to come to the race in Orlando, too! The girls are going to run in the kid races and I'm still trying to work on Derek to run the 5K with me. So excited!!!! I don't know if the girls are more excited to go to Disney World or see their Aunt Sara!

And then it poured

I woke up, ready to go. I grabbed my riding shorts, pulled out my cute, new jersey, grabbed my bike...CCLLLAAAAPPPP. The sound of thunder. I looked outside to see a downpour and the tv started blaring flash flood.

Ugh....

Soooooo annoying. I was completely set to go. My mind was in the right place, breakfast in my belly. 

That's just my luck I guess. 

I need motivation

Because riding 500 miles in 6 days is clearly not enough to make me train. 

To be anywhere ready I should be riding 100+ miles weekly...and I'm averaging 40. I just get bored. 

Houston isn't the most biker friendly area so I'm stuck riding the same trails over and over. Its repetitive. 

Any suggestions? What has helped you stay motivated and push you along on long runs or bike rides?

Note to Self

Never skip more then 2 days of running again! Last week was crazy busy with me being gone at girls camp, then I got home and had a bunch of homework to catch up on. Homework is a constant thing at our house since Derek and I are both working on our master's degree.

I finally got a run in today. I went with my awesome friend/neighbor, no really, she is fabulous. She pushes me, encourages me, tells me when I'm being lazy, and tells me when I'm doing great. Love her! Anyways, we met at the local high school track and got to work. I did slow down my intervals to 1:00/1:00 but after about 7 intervals I was tired and I was going to shorten the run yet again but then the kids started acting up so we finished up with a 5 minute walk. Total today was 2 miles, my fastest mile yet at 12:41 though! Average pace was 14:28. I've still got some tweaking to do to figure out the magical ratio for my intervals.

Registration for the Disney Princess marathon weekend is less then a month away. I'm stressing over it because Disney races sell out in a matter of hours, HOURS people. I'm so, so excited though. I booked our hotel room last week and we'll be staying in a Little Mermaid themed room. That was my favorite movie as a kid!

Oh and this week starts my "official" half marathon training schedule for my race in November. I will be running on Tues/Thurs and a longer run on Saturday. I'll probably do some cross training in between as well. Only 19 weeks to go for the Pensacola Half!!

I wonder how Sara is doing on her cycle training?!

Will you discuss Flag Day with your kids?

I don't think most people even take the time to remember what today is. 

My family is extremely patriotic. We come from a long line of veterans, Mary is married to a hero. 

On days like today, I try to keep the spirit of the day alive. 

Today we celebrate the most recognized symbol in our country. The Flag is viewed as a symbol of heroism, strength, hope, prosperity, and many more. 

If you haven't, take the time to talk about the flag and what it means to you, your family and this country. 

In the midst of BBQ season, hanging out by the pool, and reunions, take a moment to remember this way of life was fought for and offer that respect and teach the generations to respect it also. 

Running is expensive!

Hey Ya'll! I'm so glad that Sara and I started this blog. Even if no one reads it at least it's a place that we can write out our accomplishments and frustrations. So real quick, Sara already mentioned that we'll be signing up for the Disney Princess Glass Slipper Challenge but she failed to mention that I will also be running a half marathon in November over Veteran's Day weekend. This will be my first half marathon and it will also provide a qualifying time for the Disney race so that I'm not placed in the last corral of the race. We are so stinking excited to go on our girls trip!!

A few weeks ago I bought a used treadmill off of Craig's List to help me train. I live in Florida and it gets really hot and humid really early. I guess I could get up and go run at 5:00 am but if you know me, you know I AM NOT a morning person. Anyways, I've been running using the Couch to 5K program and was going about 2.5 miles. I recently switched the the Jeff Galloway method of training using a smaller run/walk interval method and I've noticed that I'm definitely not as tired at the end of my run and I'm going just as far.

The last two days I've been away at my church's girls camp and didn't get any running in. I've been running 3 days a week and then a longer 4th run on Saturday. Well after two days of running I had to get back into it. I decided to take an actual road run and try out my new Garmin 220 GPS watch and heart rate monitor. The watch is pretty snazzy, the run... not so much. I was doing 1:30 of running and 1:00 of walking but decided my run interval was too long for the road so I'll be cutting that back and going to try 1:00/1:00 intervals. I ran 1.17 miles this morning with an average of a 13:24 minute mile.

When I first had the idea of getting into running I had no idea how pricey it gets! Not only is there the prices of the race registration but I invested in a good GPS watch, running sunglass (because I do live in the sunshine state), awesome sports bras, moisture wicking capris and socks, and of course a good pair of shoes. My poor husband has threatened to take away my credit cards if I buy any more stuff!

I am so lucky though to have such a supporting husband and family that encourage me and keep me going. In the last few months, Derek (the hubby) and I have tried harder to be healthier and encourage our kids as well. The girls love to get on the treadmill as well and get their workouts in!

I'm off to do some homework, Sara also didn't mention that while I juggle jobs of wife and mom, I'm also a full time student working on my Master's degree. The following quote not only relates to running but also many other aspects of my life!

Hello? Is this thing on?!

Sound check.

Testing...1...2...3...

Mary and I got this crazy idea to start running. Neither of us really grew up being runners...so this is a new feat for us both.

One day I was on Pinterest and found Disney's Princess Half Marathon. After glancing around, I shot the idea at Mary that we should register. Not only for the half, but for the "Glass Slipper Challenge", which includes a 10k the night before the actual half.

I really thought this would just be a "good idea" and now we have a hotel reservation, new running shoes, and costumes ideas.

We (mostly me, forcing Mary to comply) created this space for us to talk about our issues with running and whatever else comes to mind as we increase our mileage, learn about pacing, chaffing, and what shoes we wear.

Right now, I'm preoccupied training for a 500 mile bike ride across Iowa. As soon as that is finished, I'm jumping on the running track.