Raleigh Marathon April 2014

First of all, SHOUT OUT to Kelly who finished her first 13.1!!!  Way to go, Kelly! I am so happy for you and proud of your determination and dedication.  You rock!  And way to go, Josh, for knocking out your second 13.1!

Tony also finished his third half marathon!  He cramped up from the heat toward the end, but he still rocked it.  So proud of my hunky hubby! 

Last weekend, I completed my second full marathon!  Another 26.2 in the books. 

Tony and I went down to Raleigh after work on Friday.  We shopped on Saturday morning, visited the expo and picked up our race packets, met Mary and Kenny for lunch, took a nap, had dinner with my Fleet Feet team, then went to a movie with Josh and Kelly before hitting the bed (too late!) around 11:00pm.  Sunday morning was race day and we were all up by 5:00-5:30am. 

It was a hot day and got into the 80s during the race.  The route was also very hilly.  Luckily, we trained hills all season and this part I felt prepared for.  I did take salt tabs to help with the heat, but I did have some trouble bearing the heat after mile 14 or so.  I hate to think what I might have felt like without the salt sticks! 

I did not meet my time goal.  HOWEVER, I felt absolutely fantastic the entire race.  I, of course, was tired near the end, but I felt so much stronger this race than the Richmond race.  I am 100% confident that I could have knocked about 10 minutes or so off of my time.  I was running with a few of my team members and I just couldn't leave them, not in the heat like it was.  At mile 23, I did finally take off on my own and finished strong at 4:54.  The only thing that really bothered me after was my back, but nothing a little ibuprofen couldn't take care of.  We had dinner with our teammates, then headed home.  Back to work on Monday!

What an amazing experience yet again!  Within 24 hours of the race, I was already planning my next one!  I'm crazy, I know. 

I think I am going to plan several half marathons for the Fall, then plan another full next Spring.  Tony has been so giving of his time to make sure I had time to train this past year.  I feel like I need to give him a slight break from it all and training for half marathons will be much less time consuming.  Our big plan is to go to Ann Arbor, Michigan in March to run the Ann Arbor Marathon.  The course runs through Michigan's campus and right by the stadium....that will be heaven for Tony.  We also talked about "renewing our vows" on the field while we are there.  Not a real ceremony, just the two of us. 

It's a good life and God deserves all the praise and glory! 

About mile 18

mile 20-ish

screenshot from a friend's phone showing the hills!  wow!

Mile 25!

Love these guys!

so hungry after!

before!

waiting for Mary to finish in the shade!

Telling Kenny that Mary is right behind me

Mentoring 2014

I have been one super busy lady since January!  I am mentoring three groups of runners - a 5k group, 8k group, and a 26.2 group.  Fun stuff!

Fleet Feet asked me (and my running partner, Mary) in the Fall if I'd want to come back and mentor a pace group for the spring marathon program.  I, of course, said yes!  It has been an awesome experience.  Basically, Mary and I just help set the pace for the group and encourage them as needed.  We mentored the 11-12 minute pace group and they were the best group of people.  We really all connected well. 

We had a difficult time at first keeping our pace between 11-12 minutes, as we are slightly (I emphasize the word slightly!) faster than that, but as time went on, our bodies got a feel for the pace and it was very enjoyable.  Sure made 20 mile runs easier!  ha!  In all honesty, this is probably the pace group we should have run with in the Fall for our training.  The rule of thumb is that you train your long runs at 1-2 minutes slower than goal race pace to get that extra time on your feet.  I can tell a big difference in training this way.  We also added a Thursday night hill workout and I mentored that as well.  Basically, we would run hills, come back down, and run back up the hill....several times.  Yeah....hill repeats.  Ouch!  But oh my, what a difference in my endurance!  My shorter runs during the week have been  much faster.  My 5k pace has improved to be about an 8:25 pace, my 10k pace is around an 8:45, my half marathon pace is about a 9:40, and hopefully my new full marathon pace is about a 10:30. 

So here are a few pictures from my marathon group this season!  Can't wait to run Raleigh with them this weekend!

So that's my marathon group!  Love them!

My 5k and 8k runners are from church.  My friend, Lindsey, and I are leading the Pew to 5k/8k MANNAthon group at our church once a week.  It has been so much fun!  I have enjoyed leading a group of people from "the pew" to now we are up to running 2 miles!  Lindsey and I have been using the devotional book, Run for God, with this group and it has been an incredible experience.  Many of them are not members of our church and it has been awesome to plug a little bit of Jesus into them along with our love for running!

Dear Braylen, 2014

I am so in love with this boy of mine! 

February 2014



Dear Braylen,

How is it possible that you are FOUR years old? 

Just last night, as I was laying bed trying to go to sleep, I received a text from a friend who finally had her baby after 30 hours of labor.  It immediately made me reminisce about the night you were born.  I vividly remember the labor pains that came on so quickly, the feeling of my water breaking and the nurse's comment with a sigh, "oooooh, aaaaaand your water broke," the fast 28 minute delivery, and then... you were here. 

I remember every detail of your precious face.....the shape of your nose, just like your daddy's, the pout of your lips, the curve of your chin.  I even remember the way you felt, all snug and warm in my arms.  I felt an immediate bond with you....truly love at first sight. 

You have grown up so much this past year.  You love your sister, your "Deedee" as you call her, more than anything, even though you get into your sibling fights.  She was your first playmate and you are each other's #1 fans now.  You feel safer when she is around. One day, those roles will probably reverse.  That's something I never had and I am so lucky to see that with both of you. 

You played and learned about soccer this year and absolutely loved it.  It made us so happy to see you smiling and having fun!  Even your "Deedee" enjoyed watching you and taking pictures from the sidelines.  You were the best listener in the group!  That made us so proud.  You are getting ready to play soccer again with Daddy and Josh and we can't wait!

When we took Deedee to dance class some this past year, you always sat quietly and watched her the whole time. Normally, you are so busy, but when she was in class, you loved to watch her.  Sometimes, you would ask for my phone so you could take pictures or video of her.  It was the sweetest thing!

We had some rough times in your three year old class at preschool this year.  There were very few problems in your two year old class.  You kept getting in trouble for having emotional outbursts.  Mommy and Daddy knew this wasn't like you and we fought for you.  We had you moved to the next class and the teachers say you are an angel every day.  You love your friends at school!  We are seeing big improvements in your academic ability now that you are in a different class.  When you turned three, you only knew about 10 letters.  Now, you know all of your letters and sounds, but you do occasionally confuse some letters. You know how to count to 20 and you recognize several numbers.  You are learning how to spell your name and as long as we spell it for you, you can write the whole thing.  We are learning about rhyming words now.  For the longest time, you were not interested in singing songs or nursery rhymes, but now you'll chime in for some songs! 

You are ALL boy.  Your favorite color is orange.  Dinosaurs are your favorite toy.  You would play outside in 0 degree weather if we would let you.  When you tell made up stories, they ALWAYS include a dragon, a sword, or a superhero.  You love to eat more than any other kid I know.  We have to tell you the kitchen is closed a hundred times a day.  You get extremely frustrated when you try something and it is difficult for you.  You want to be able to do things like big kids do.   

When you are happy and excited about something, your personality SHINES.  I could sit and listen to you talk the entire day, which sometimes I think you might actually do.  People who aren't around you a lot would't believe me if I told them how much you like to talk and ask questions about random things! 

You have always been and still are a super sleeper!  You sleep 10-12 hours every night and still take a 2 hour nap each day.  One of my favorite things in the world is when you first wake up in the morning.  We hear you open your door, then we hear the thumping sound of you coming down the steps, and the first thing you do is find mommy to hold you for a minute.  After you get your mommy fix, your first question is ALWAYS, "can I have something to eat and watch a show?"

You are my little superhero.  I love you more and more every day.  I am so proud of the little boy you are growing into.  Happy 4th Birthday!

Your first love,

Mommy

26.2 Journey: Reflection #3

Ok, so I've been way too busy to post all my reflections from my Richmond Marathon experience back in November.  I really want it documented though because, well, because it was my first ever marathon!!!  It's a long post!

This reflection is all about the race itself.

About a week before the race, I started getting sick with a horrible chest cold and cough.  I sounded like a barking seal.  I went to the dr. to try to get antibiotics, but they just said it was a chest cold and nothing I could do but rest.  REST?  I HAVE TO RUN A FREAKING MARATHON IN LESS THAN A WEEK!! 

November 15:  Tony and I left for Richmond Friday morning and met up with my running partner, Mary and her husband, Kenny.  We went to the expo, got our race packets, then we took a bus tour of the course.  I felt so giddy!  They would say, "we are coming up to mile 18, 19,...." or wherever and all I could think was, "I've got this!"  From there, we all went and got checked into our hotels before meeting up for a pasta dinner at Maggiano's at Short Pump.  I bought a new running outfit at LuluLemon, then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed rest.  I was still coughing like a barking seal at that point, but felt pretty good otherwise.  The Jones and Dowdys stopped by when they got in and it made me feel so happy and calm to be surrounded by some of my best friends.

November 16:  RACE DAY.   I woke up and prayed and thanked God for this amazing opportunity.  I ate my usual pre-run breakfast - half of a bagel with natural peanut butter and sliced bananas (packed in my bag!).  Got my new outfit on and shoes laced up, hydration belt ready, energy gels packed.  Then, I received the sweetest text ever from my dear Emily, and I teared up for the first time that weekend.  Everything I had worked so hard for was finally here.  Tony was all geared up for his first half marathon and we were both extremely excited for this day to happen!  We got in the car to drive to the race and for some reason, I just lost it....I started crying again...tears of joy and excitement.  I'm pretty sure Tony didn't know what to do with me, but he just kept driving and being sweet.  ha!  I love that I never lost sight of his faith in me to finish this thing.  Throughout the whole process, he was my biggest cheerleader and I thank God for that.  This day would not have happened without Tony by my side, I am positive of that. 

My cough was still pretty rough, but I never had any doubt that I would make it to the finish line.  Tony went off to run his half marathon before me.  I hated that I couldn't see him start and he couldn't see me start, but I knew he would be there at the end.  Around 7:30, Mary and I made our way, along with our Fleet Feet group, to the starting line. 

Once we started moving, we felt amazing.  It was a little chilly, but around mile 3, I threw my cheap jacket and gloves to the side of the road.  Our group chatted and had fun running together through about mile 13.  I was coughing quite a bit and drinking from my belt, as well as drinking at the water stations, to try to get the coughing tickle out of my throat.  We did a speed walk through the water stations, but other than that, ran the whole time. Other runners who we didn't know gave us the nickname "the blue wave" because of our blue shirts. 

At mile 13, Mary and I had to pee, so we stopped, along with our friend, Dave, at the porta potties.  The rest of the group went on without us.  I kept coughing and drinking, and taking Gu every 4-5 miles or so. 

All was well, but then around mile 16, I started feeling nauseous.  At first, I thought it was from all the drainage from my cold, but I later realized it was from drinking way too much on course.  I never drank that much during training, but I kept trying to force the "tickle" out of my throat and the result of drinking too much while running is a sloshy, nauseous tummy.  From that point on, I could not drink or eat anything else.  Mary said my face was green.  From mile 18-25, I stopped a couple of times to gag over a guardrail and Mary stopped to pee a couple of times.  My legs felt good and my mindset was good.  But my stomach was a mess!  I just kept trucking along, one foot in front of the other. 

At mile 25.5 or so, I got a burst of adrenaline, was able to push past my nausea, and finish strong!!  I just have to say that hearing my friends yell and cheer my name near the finish and seeing my husband there took my breath away.  Emily, Kelly, Chris, Josh, and Tony (of course):  You made my day at that marathon.  It meant the absolute world to me to have you there.  You will never know the depth of what I was feeling when I saw you guys as I was coming down that hill.  Thank you!

Mary and I crossed the finish line, had our moment of tear filled hugs, then headed past the finish to get our medals....our precious, hard earned medals!  The first thing I wanted to do was sit and stretch and focus on resting my sloshy stomach.  Tony and my sweet friends made it through the crowd to us and I was so happy to see them all!  Our final time was 4 hours 53 minutes....13 minutes slower than my goal, but I am thrilled with it!  We walked back to the car, headed to the hotel where I took an ice bath, then rested up for a little bit. 

Next on the agenda was an amazing COUPLE'S MASSAGE.  Can I get an amen?  Best decision ever!  I don't think I will ever run a marathon again without getting a massage after.  Between the ice bath, rest, and massage, I was feeling fabulous.  And I was finally ready to eat something!  We went to dinner at Chili's before going back to the hotel to pack up for our drive home on Sunday. 

What an amazing experience.  Even through all the nausea and sickness, I immediately knew I wanted to run another one.  I am running my second marathon this April, one month away!  Praying that I will be not be sick for this one!

After returning from Richmond and not getting any better two weeks after, I went back to the dr and they gave me a dose of antibiotics.  I didn't feel 100% better until the beginning of January! Crazy!

Mary and I at the finish! Thank God for these blankets!

before our races...Tony did awesome in his half marathon! so proud of him!

marathon finisher!

post massage pic...super relaxed faces



before the race!  Starting Line!

Disney Half Marathon 2014

Tony and I just got back from Disney World!  To say it was amazing is an understatement.  We had the best time.  We missed our kids terribly, but enjoyed the alone time too! 

We had an awesome flight there and back.  We went to the Pasta in the Park party at Epcot one evening and got to take our picture with some characters, eat a pasta dinner, and watch the light/fireworks show at Epcot. 

Tony's aunt and uncle live in Orlando and have a small guest house in their back yard.  It was perfect.  His aunt even stocked the fridge and cabinets with food/snack for us.  What a sweetheart!  We also got to visit with Tony's grandmother which was nice. 

We did some outlet shopping one day, then we had a luncheon with the charity we were running for - Lazarex Cancer Foundation. 

Saturday morning, we set our alarms for 2:30AM for the race!!  We had to be there two hours early for parking and to get in our corral and the race began at 5:30am. 

Honestly, I was so excited that I was wide awake!  Each corral got a fireworks send off and a countdown by Donald Duck.  That was pretty cool!  The race was super organized.  There were characters everywhere along the course for runners to take their picture with and we even got to run by the castle. 

Somewhere around mile 4, I lost Tony.  He always runs a few feet behind me and when I turned around at one point, he was gone.  There were 30,000 runners so it was a little crazy.  Occasionally, I stopped to take pictures and I would wait a minute or two to try to find him but never did.  I kept great pace and ended up at 2:11 even with all the picture stops.  My guess is that my finish time would have been closer to 2:05ish.  My body felt super strong the whole time which is strange since we had to wake up so early. 

It was super humid and my shirt and shorts were absolutely soaked.  Thankfully, I prepared for the heat and brought my salt sticks with me...ended up taking two of those suckers because it was so hot.  It definitely helped.  I took one Gu around mile 7 and drank Nuun on course.

After the race, we showered, napped for about an hour, then headed to Magic Kingdom for the day.  What a magical experience!  We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, then headed back in to pack our luggage before the next morning flight.

I can't wait to return for the Dopey Challenge in 1-2 years.  It's a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday.  oh yeah!!!  Who is going with me?

before the race..around 4am

Donald Duck counted us down

A fireworks send off for each corral

86 degrees!!

30,000 runners in Magic Kingdom

Pasta Party at Epcot

stretching before the race

FINISHER MEDALS!!