My first marathon

I know I know... Took me a whole week to post about it. Sorry :)

Step 1 was to cram a bagel and banana in my mouth... Way more than I normally eat but I knew I needed it. 

So we drove to Sioux Falls, with me alternating water and Pumpkin Spice coffee on the way. No major jam music which is unusual for me but I didn't want to get too much in the zone too early.

We got there and geared up. Yes, I was very strategic with my pocket loading and yes I was very jealous of Kendra's running belt. We hit the bathrooms (twice- I did not want to take a potty break) and walked around a little bit.  I decided to force another protein bar in my stomach because I was feeling shaky and couldn't differentiate between hunger and nerves.

And then we lined up! 

I wasn't sure where to go since they didn't organize us. I saw the 10:30 pacer and was going there but Kendra recommended staying away from the big pacing groups. Since 2:15 was my secret goal, we put ourselves in front of that over. I figured if he didn't pass me, I was good!

The one bummer was that we couldn't hear the pre- race announcements at all. So we had a bit of a false start which resulted in me resetting my Map My Run app twice. 

And then we were off... Fast. I know everyone says not to start fast but it was feeling good. By Mile 2, I ditched my long sleeve shirt. Perfect running weather- I didn't sweat at all! There were a few big hills right away so I started searching my pockets for my motivation.

Thanks Mom & Mike :) 

I quickly realized that my GPS was not matching the course. It started about 2-3 minutes off and got progressively worse as we went on... 

More motivation kicked in when I got passed by one of Mike's good friends... This ensued some taunting about Iowa vs. Minnesota and motivation to pass him... On a hill no less. For the record, I beat him by 10 minutes.

I felt great until about mile 12 when I started to go all out way too soon.... My bad :) I didn't realize we still had a long ways left to go, not just a short dash to the finish line I could see. 

I spotted Mike and Lucas and briefly

Had an ugly cry moment which made it hard to breathe but Kendra told me to take off my headphones and listen for my name and sure enough they said it and I flew across that finish line.

2:08:30 

Walking like bosses still....

And then the collapse! Ok it's called stretching!

Lucas kept handing me my Gatorade. He knows how important hydration is. 

Lesson learned from watching Kendra- when running through water line, grab cups near END so you don't have to run down entire line with a full cup splashing all over yourself. Took me a few trials to learn that one! 

In the end, I am incredibly proud that I did this. I know Lucas won't remember this day, but I want him to know that his mom was healthy and active and was able to keep up with him!

I'm not sure what the future holds for my racing. I felt really good during this race but also recognize it was very time consuming to train for and I would be hitting the treadmill a lot if I continue. I've got a 5K next weekend with my sister in law and that might be my race for awhile. 

On the other hand, this guy does look lonely....

We will see. I hurt really badly on Monday and swore I'd never run again and was recovered by Wedneaday and thinking about my next race... I took this entire week off and need to come up with a plan for this week.

All things will happen as they should.... Just going to give myself some time to think :) 

Pre- marathon

I know what everyone is thinking…. So did she do the half-marathon or is her blog quiet because she completely bailed or failed miserably.  Well… YES, I did it and I rocked it.  

But that is for another day.  This post is focused on the days leading up to the half marathon.

There was a LOT of anxiety last week that I was not ready for.  I knew I would be nervous but I didn’t realize that all of my focus had been on the running part of the half marathon and I knew nothing about what to eat… when to pick up my packet… how the race was organized.  I probably should have been doing some research on those things in addition to running.  I asked my friend Kendra a lot of questions and I ate a LOT of carbs…. All week.  Lucas and I took it to a new level.  My pants no longer fit.  Gaining weight during a half marathon training is a real thing, but let’s be honest- I just ate too much.

Friday night, Lucas did not want to sleep by himself.  At all.  The poor little guy is getting some more teeth and has a cold so he just wanted to cuddle.  I lost it on my poor husband around 3:30 a.m. and he finally got Lucas to fall asleep on him from 4-7….

My mom came on Saturday to go to the Race Expo with me in case Lucas was a wild man (he ended up being really good) so I was able to get a 45 minute nap that day at least. WHEW!  I got my packet and shirt and checked out a few exhibits.  After seeing pictures of the Expo from big marathons, I was disappointed but I did find a cute “Run” necklace that I bought myself.

And my shirt looks ridiculous: 

I will never wash it… which means I will probably never wear it.  At least it won’t fade right?

We went out to Pizza Ranch buffet for supper Saturday night and I ate my weight in pizza…. Yum!  After supper, my mom took Lucas to the park so that I could get everything packed.

Not pictured are my sunglasses, headphones, and Kleenex, all of which I remembered at a different time.  Yes, those are clean white socks… they are so disgusting looking but they’re my favorite socks and I figured no one would see them.

Saturday night I went to bed after Lucas did…. He pushed his bedtime back to 9:00this week which makes evenings a little more hectic for me but at least he is sleeping until 6:00 or so again instead of 5:30.

I had to get up once with him Saturday nightbut he quickly went back to sleep and so did I.  Mike got home at 4:55 and since my alarm was going off at 5:15 I just laid in bed until it went off… I got dressed, made coffee and ate a bagel and banana.  I met Kendra in my car and off we went… and the rest is for another day! 

My last long run before the BIG one

Let's be honest- I did not want to run yesterday. Lucas decided 3 a.m. was a good time to party and since we were at the cabin which has a total of 5 rooms (I mean cabin when I say cabin, not real house built by a lake), I couldn't exactly leave him in his pack and play and let him cry. So when he woke up for the day at 6:30, I really just wanted to crawl back in bed. By the time we got breakfast ate and I let it digest (note to self: do not eat eggs on race day!), it was 8:45 and 80 degrees. 80! I gave Lucas a hug, told him Mommy only had to do this one more time and set off. You can go two ways from the cabin without having to run on a busier road- one way is 2.4 and one is 3.1. No matter what my in laws think, it's 2.4 not 2.8. Trust me- I ran it twice yesterday, plus the 3.1, plus another 2 miles. And no matter what way you go it is hilly and not much shade. I stashed water by the mailbox and drank at 2.4, 5.4ish, and 8. I also ditched my shirt at 2.4 ha! I took cliff blocks before and At 3 and 7 respectively. 

Other than the heat and being mentally tough with myself between miles 5-8, the run felt better than it deserves to considering my crappy training this week! I feel good about my water and energy intake and the outfit I plan to wear. I think if I can do 10 in that heat being that tired, I can do 13.1 in a cooler environment with some sleep! All of my miles were between 10:10-10:30 except for one was 11 and I think that's when I took an extra long water break and told Mike's mom I was dying. 

This little guy came out to cheer me on:

I bet crossing the road to him feels like running a marathon!

I am looking forward to cutting back this week.  Yoga on the board for today, 4 miles tomorrow, cross train on Wednesdya and 2 miles on Thursday and then two days of rest! I'm getting pretty nervous about the logistics of the race (where to line up, how early to leave, what if I get lost) since I'm going alone but hopefully that goes away when I get my race packet this week!

Mike's grandma turns102 this week so I started carb loading early to help her celebrate.

So much fun to watch them interact! 

Lucas woke up at 5:20 today so was ready for a nap by 9 (or was that me.... It all blurs together) so we loaded up and headed home early. We have his 18 month (!!!) pictures today so hopefully he's not too tired again by then. 

Happy Labor Day everyone! 

7

It is (almost) complete… Remember my book list… I sort of saved the best for last.  Sadly, I had to return Zero Waste Home mid-read because I couldn’t finish it.  Man, would this last book have been a good one to end on.

7

By:  Jen Hatmaker

Let me just preface by saying I plan to read the rest of her books to.  Not only did this message really hit home (you remember my cleaning phase from yesterday), but she is FUNNY.  In the kind of funny that I like.  Sarcastic, witty humor.  Not appreciated by all but WHOLLY appreciated by me. 

So the concept of the book.  For one month, Jen tackles each of her seven vices (let’s be honest… they are the vices of us all)!

1.       Clothes

2.       Shopping

3.       Waste

4.       Food

5.       Possessions

6.       Media

7.       Stress

Within each month, she has a subset of “rules” she is going to abide by.  She has a Council that helps her if she feels the need to break a rule-they vote yes/no.  Let’s be honest, if I had a Council I’d be telling them to “Beep off” by the first week.  Ask my husband.

Month One:  Food

Live on seven foods for a month.  A month!  SEVEN FOODS.  WHAT?!?  So what are these magical foods you ask?

Chicken, eggs, whole-wheat bread, sweet potatoes, spinach, avocados and apples

Salt, pepper, and olive oil deemed acceptable

Could I do it?  I think I could.  I’d do good for a week…. A month.  Yeesh.

Month Two:  Clothes

Where seven items of clothing for a month.  Seven.  Only seven.  Still can’t wrap my head around it.   

Her choices:  one pair of jeans, one long sleeve black shirt, one short sleeve black “Haiti relief” t-shirt, one short sleeve gray “Mellow Johnny’s bike shop” t-shirt, one pair of drawstring knit Capri pants, one long silk dark brown dress shirt and shoes (boots and tennis shoes only).

What seven items would I pick…. Black dress pants, white/black dress shirt, blue jeans, running shorts, black Under Armour t-shirt, pink Nike running long sleeve shirt (I fool myself into thinking this could be dressed up), and shoes (black dress shoes and running shoes… gun to my head, I have to pick to make it a real “7”, running shoes- ha!” 

Just so ya’ll know, I would stink.

Month Three: Possessions

My favorite chapter, and probably the one my husband enjoyed me reading the most too since we are finally getting rid of crap.  For one month, she gives away 7 items she owns every day.  I decided to take this a step further and pick one AREA to clean up- I aim for 7 items but let’s be honest—some areas I get more, some less (there wasn’t a single item in my pot and pan drawer to give up… we use them all).  I meant to break up my kitchen across two weeks but I actually ended up doing it all in one day…. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.  Plus we are gone for the weekend and I figured I’d forget a few days, so there you go.

Here is my progress:

Sorting To do

Mikes closet

Hall closet 

Bathroom cupboard

Bathroom drawers

Bathroom mirror 

Kayla closet

Sheds- red and plastic

Garage

Basement entertainment center

Laundry room 

Attic

Office 

Put Lucas' baby stuff in one box 

Done

Fridge/freezer 

Kitchen cupboards

Shoe cupboard

Nightstand drawer 

Bedroom closet

Lucas' room 

I’ve been meaning to do this since this summer when I cleaned out my closet/attic of the following objects

The sad thing is, I have more that I want to clean out not even two months later with my new attitude.

We have TOO MUCH CRAP.  And I will buy MORE crap.  But hopefully with a better frame of mind (especially since last month’s budget meeting).

Month Four:  Media

No TV, Gaming, Facebook/Twitter, iPhone apps, Radio, Texting/Internet (unless it was work related)

I say I’d die but let’s be honest, it’d probably be the best thing that ever happened to me.  I have attempted to limit myself to only checking Facebook/Instagram twice a day. 

Month Five: Waste

Gardening, composting, conserving energy and water, recycling, driving only one car, shopping thrift and second-hand, buying only local… these are the goals of the month.

I look forward to putting in a garden next summer when Lucas can help.  I’m not composting-sorry Planet.  I already try to conserve energy, water and recycle.  One car isn’t feasible as I can’t drive Mike’s police car- ha!  Shopping thrift/second hand.. I’m getting there slowly with Lucas’ clothes/toys.  And buying only local…does Sioux Falls count?

Month Six: Spending

Ha, should have read this book in July!  She picks 7 stores she is spending her money on.  And to be honest, I don’t think that would be hard for me because I think we already spend it at less places- Target, Hy-Vee, Kohl’s, Amazon, Glen’s Gas, Casey’s…. those are the main offenders.  The occasional outing to another store throughout the month, but I could do it. 

Month Seven: Stress

That sounds nice… decrease stress… I had a co-worker ask me if I spent the night at work because I worked late, got here early.  Nope.  Just already in the throes of my job.

Jen tackles this by celebrating the Sabbath as an actual day of rest (something to think about) and praying 7 times a day.  I like it.  I might take that challenge (although one prayer time was midnight…no thank you). 

This was just one of those books that SPOKE to me and her writing style made it even more enjoyable to read- highly recommend it, especially if you are in that place in your life where you just want to downsize all the extras!

Happy Labor Day weekend!

Motivation

I am more motivated to clean my house than to run.... How sad is that? No amount of telling myself there is only a week and a half of training left is not helping. I am TIRED. I do not want to run, I do not want to bike, I want to sleep! Maybe this weekend?

I took Monday off because we got back late and I needed to get laundry done and things put away. Tuesday I made it a sad 3 miles in the rain- my legs were SO sore. Yesterday I vowed I would do 5 miles but I have been reading the book "7" (review soon) and I just wanted to clean. crap. out! So by the time we got the kitchen cleaned out, it was 8:45. I got a solid 40 minutes in on the treadmill and then threw in the towel. Tonight I am cross training and hoping to tackle another 5 miles tomorrow. I am mixing it up this week because we are going to the cabin this weekend. Yoga on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday. I am vowing to stick to my training plannext week... The last week of training- eek!

I am worried I am coming down with a cold which will SUCK but I am trying to stay positive. 

We did our September budget and that also SUCKED.... We are now two months behind where I want us to be. How did that happen? I am vowing to be strict this month. Hence, this purchase:

Bleh! 

I am having an internal debate on donating everything we are cleaning out and having a huge garage sale this spring... We will see how much I can save his month :)

That's all I have. Remember to change your toothbrush and contacts since its early September!