Foto Friday

As I mentioned yesterday, we attended the Creepside Festival last night.  Our little guy dressed in his Halloween costume - a crab or a lobster.  Whatever.  He was cute.  Expect more Halloween costume pictures next week.

Thursday Thoughts

Last night we went to the Creepside Festival at Creekside in Gahanna.  (Pictures tomorrow for Foto Friday.)  Basically, it was a community-wide trick-or-treat and Halloween festival.  It was nuts.  There were people everywhere!  We waited in line for trick-or-treating for a good hour for just a few pieces of candy.  And my boy doesn't even eat candy!  I noticed that most vendors were giving out Tootsie Rolls.  Not bad, but not a great candy either.  My favorite Halloween candy is probably Reece's Cups.

So, what's your favorite Halloween candy to steal from your kids?

Pictures from the Half Marathon

Dave was unable to get any pictures of me as he had the baby and didn't know where the new course went to be able to get in any position to get any action shots.  So, I "borrowed" a few from the official photographer.

Does this face say, "I'm squeezing my buns so I don't poop on myself"?  You can read about that here.

I'm going to be completely honest here.  It's my blog and I can.  I hate this picture.  This picture makes me mad.  This picture screams, "I'm 10 pounds overweight; I'm not even trying to lose the baby weight; I am never going to be the runner I once was or should be."  It's just gross.  It makes me sick.  I want to try harder.  I've got to try harder.

I wish I had more pictures from this race.  I wish I had more flattering pictures.  I wish I felt better during this race and then maybe I would have looked a little better.  :)

Columbus Half Marathon 2014

**WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING**

Well, that was a real shit show.

Literally.

I'm starting to think the Columbus Half Marathon hates my guts (pun intended).  Last year we had problems sitting in traffic and this year was a whole other mess.

We left the house with about an hour and a half before the race start and made it downtown in plenty of time.  With forty minutes left until the start of the race I got into a port-a-john line.  The line was long but having done this and other major races, I knew these lines moved fast.  Except it didn't.  I noticed that our line was merging with another line.  Crap.  Literally.  So, with 15 minutes left until race start I jumped out of line, gave Dave all of my warm clothes, and got into another line.  Hey, I was wearing a chip.  I'd be okay.  I HAD to go.  And with three people in front of me in line, the gun went off for my wave.  I was in corral A, hoping to run a fast half marathon, and I had missed the start.  I got my business done and took a "warm up" run to the corrals.  Luckily, they had a gap open for the front waves, and I was escorted into the correct corral. 

Except now I was in the back of where I wanted to be and no one was running my pace.  Sure, I like to start slow and work into my pace, but this was ridiculous.  Columbus Marathon and Half have gotten huge and there was nowhere for me to get around anybody.  Short of me pushing people (and I did some), I wasn't moving up. 

Mile 1 - 8:26
Mile 2 - 8:07
Mile 3 - 7:57

Now I was starting to get things going and I was feeling great.  I was passing people all over the place.  The average pace was dropping and I had a good feeling about this race.

Mile 4 - 8:01
Mile 5 - 7:46
Mile 6 - 7:38

Then something happened.  My stomach wasn't bothering me.  I mean, I wasn't crampy, I wasn't feeling sick, my stomach wasn't doing flip flops, but I needed to find a port-a-john and quickly.  The buns were locked and loaded.  Luckily I found one and was able to do my business quickly.

Mile 7 - 8:38

And then I was back and moving again.

Mile 8 - 7:53

It was short lived, though.  My fire buns were not cooperating and I was running squeezing it in.  I had to stop again.

Mile 9 - 8:38

I pride myself on being the fastest pooper in the midwest (self professed) and it was at least doing me good in this race.

Mile 10 - 7:38

One pit stop during a race is okay if necessary, two is ridiculous and yet, I needed a third one.  Good grief.  Unfortunately, as I swung by my third port-a-john of this race, some dude jumped in right in front of me.  He took a long time too (or what seemed like a long time).  I literally yelled from outside the bathroom "HURRY UP!"

Mile 11 - 9:20

At this point I didn't care what was going on back there.  There were only two miles left and I was going to book it to the end with no more stops.  I ran some of my fastest miles of the race in those last two miles.

Mile 12 - 7:43
Mile 13 - 7:24
Last 0.1 - 7:17 pace

Overall time: 1:46:49

Then to finish this whole mess off, there were no medals at the finish line.  I was disappointed until I read the reason behind it.  I have now requested my medal be sent to me.

If you look at my time, for most runners, this is a great time.  And honestly, it's a little humorous that I ran that time with all that happened.  But I am a little disappointed.  Between the bathroom stops and starting in the back, I probably wasted 4-5 minutes during this race.  I have been running for years.  I love the half marathon.  I'm so tired of running in the 1:40s.  I'm better than that.  This race was supposed to be a great race. 

So, what the heck was going on with my stomach?  Well, it could have been the chili I had for dinner the night before.  Sure, not an ideal pre-race meal, but we were hanging out with friends at their house and they already had it in the Crock Pot when we got there.  I couldn't say no.  It could have been the fact that I had been sick all week.  I had been fighting a pretty bad cold (Ebola?) since Tuesday and my body was full of snot and cold medicine.  Lastly, maybe it was stress.  My paternal grandmother passed away last Wednesday and we were leaving immediately after the race for a 5 hour trip down to Kentucky for her showing later that evening and funeral Monday morning.  It could have been any of these reasons.  It could have been all of these.  It could have been none.  All I know is I had a "crappy" race and I'm hoping in three weeks to have a much better marathon.

Foto Friday

Y'all, I have been waiting so impatiently to show some of these pictures!!!

When we were in Montana I hired Bethanne from Marianne Wiest Photography to take our family pictures.  It wasn't the easy session with a baby.  He wanted to play in the rocks and splash in the water and because we were in a public place, there were dogs and people who were distracting.  But Bethanne did an amazing job and the pictures were beautiful.  Here's a few of my favorites.

Please do not steal these images.  They don't belong to you.

#wcw

I love fast chicks!  Last weekend was such a great weekend of stalking fast women runners and triathletes.  (Nope, I personally do not know any of these ladies, but I do follow/stalk them on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, blogs.)  Let's review:

Rachel ran a 3:00 marathon in Chicago!  I got to see her run at the 2009 Nike Women's Marathon.  She is so tall!  And so fast!!!

Angela came oh so close to her Olympic Trial qualifying time in Chicago.  These chicks are FAST!!!

Sonja finished second (freakin' SECOND!!!) in her age group at the Ironman World Championships.

Katie ran an Olympic Qualifying 2:41 and finished second at the Hartford Marathon.

Danielle got her Boston Qualifying time at the Chicago Marathon.

And finally, a special shout-out to my girl Amanda who FREAKIN' WON the Ironman 70.3 World Championship (SHE'S A WORLD CHAMPION!!!) a few weeks ago.

Congratulations all!  You inspire me!

Worth The Money

In addition to car shopping this past weekend, we were also mattress shopping.  Our mattress is older than our marriage.  I bought it when I moved into my first solo apartment, about 14 years ago.  It has gone through its eight years of life and then some.  It is soooo uncomfortable.  I think I would sleep better on the floor.  I have been asking for a new mattress for ages but they're so darn expensive, so we never really shopped.  Recently though, I've been complaining, begging.  I sleep horribly.  Maybe it's because I nap during the day; maybe I nap during the day because I can't sleep at night.  I don't know, but I knew it was time to start shopping. 

Dave, of course, started his shopping online.  Shopping with Dave is a very tedious process, for which I have zero patience.  He had found a place called Bed in a Box which had great reviews and inexpensive mattresses.  So, we headed to two local stores to try out different types of beds to determine which type we should order.  At the first store we tried out 5 or 6 different mattresses, from coils to posturpedic.  There was one we both laid down on and were like "woah!"  "This is the most comfortable mattress I've ever laid on."  Then we went across the street to another mattress shop and tried out three more mattresses.  It was a little like Goldilocks: one was too hard, one was too soft, and the other was just okay.  We went back across the street and tried out a few more mattresses and then made a quick decision.  We got a good deal on a king, yes a GIANT KING, bed and bought it straight away.  Then we had to buy a new mattress pad, new, very soft sheets, and a new bed frame as ours did not expand to a king. 

You spend a third of your day in bed.  For me, it may be a little more than a third; I love to sleep.  It's worth it to spend the money to get exactly what you want when it comes to bedding.  Our mattress gets delivered on Friday and I CANNOT WAIT to sleep on it.

Week in Review

It was sorta a crap week.  Truth be told, I've been battling some bad shin splints/tendonitis.  It's been so bad that there are nights where it hurts to sleep.  So, I took a step back this week and rested.  I iced, I stretched, I strengthened, and hopefully I will be going into the last big week of the training cycle feeling a little better.

I only did four workouts this week:

Swim - 1800 yards
Bike - 5.62 miles
Run - 11.25 miles

I did one 6.25 mile run on the treadmill which included the middle 27-1/2 minutes at a steady state of 8:30 pace.  The other run was a 5 miler outside that hurt so badly. 

It's been frustrating that the last two years have been plagued with shin splits/tendonitis.  I know my body shape and weight are not the same as pre-baby.  It's been frustrating for me, but it is what it is.  But, it affects my running.  I'm not as stable as I was and I don't have muscles where I once did.  I have always struggled with higher mileage (40+ miles) and this training cycle has been no different.  There's so many miles (and they're even tougher to do with a little one to work around) that often the strength routines go by the wayside.  Life balance is difficult, and I'm trying, and each day gets a little easier.  This has felt like a really long training cycle.  As with all marathon training, I'm ready for it to be over.  I'm ready for a break and I'm ready to work on new goals.  Hold on Meredith!  Only a few weeks to go.

Test Drive From Hell

I was able to do it.  I was able to talk the husband into at least looking at and test driving new cars.  Earlier this week we checked out the Honda CR-V (loved) and the Subaru Forester and Outback (loved).  Then earlier today we did a test drive of a Audi Q3 (beautiful, can't really afford).  All of these experiences were great.  We did not receive a sales pitch, the sales person let us test drive the cars by ourselves, we received great information, and overall had a great first impression.

Then this afternoon we went to a local Hyundai dealership.  We should have walked away right from the start.

As we took a collective deep breath and mustered the courage to get out of our car, we were met by a sales person barely outside of our car.  We were hoping to look around, get our bearings, and then ask for help, but instead we were ushered directly into his cubicle where he wanted to know why we were shopping, what we were looking for, what we wanted for our trade in (we didn't even bring the car with us), and what price we were looking to spend.  Woah, woah, woah!  We are just getting started.  We just wanted to look at and test drive the car.  Then we were escorted out to the two cars we were interested in: the Tuscon and the Santa Fe.  He showed us every minute detail of each car and then went on our test drive with us.  We only got to drive maybe two miles of city traffic (I would have liked to take it on the freeway and felt the pick-up of it) and he demonstrated their "On-Star" feature, which was dumb.  Something we would (a) never pay for and (b) never use.  Then once we returned from our short test drive he asked us no less than three times what he could do to drive away in one of the cars today.  Well, right from the start we told you we were just starting to look.  And, MAKE US AN OFFER!  We're in a position of power.  We have a perfectly working, low mileage vehicle that we do not have to get rid of.  Make us an offer we can't refuse.

The sad part is, we really liked the car.  We hated the dealership and the sales person, though, which makes us have to walk away for now.  There is another Hyundai dealership in town but I had such a HORRIBLE experience with them with one of my previous cars that I absolutely REFUSE to work with them again.  There's another location for this same dealership further away from us that I guess we can check out.  I don't know.  I just rubbed me the wrong way.

Do sales people actually believe this high pressure sales stuff actually works?
What's the worst sales experience you've ever had?

Foto Friday

Today I received our beautiful pictures we had professional taken while we were vacationing in Montana, but I'm going to keep you all in suspense for another week for those.  Today, I'm showing you pictures from Anderson's gymnastics class.  Yes Anderson takes gymnastics.  I think I swore to myself that no child of mine would take gymnastics, but well, whatever.  He loves it too!  And what does a 1 year do at gymnastics?  It's really all about motor skills.  He "jumps" on the trampoline, learns to grip things like a bar or a rope, walks across the balance beam, climbs under and over obstacles, and learns moves like forward rolls and cartwheels. 

 

"Jumping" on the trampoline.  He's too small yet to jump but he does know how to go up and down on his toes and jump-like.

Climbing in and out of the foam block pit.  Each weeks he gets a little braver with this one.  And it develops great core muscles.

Anderson always uses the wedge mats like slides.  At the end of this mat was also a rope he was playing with.

Climbing through the tunnel.  The kids loves tunnels.  He does this at storytime at the library too.

October Stitch Fix

Unfortunately, this is going to be my last Stitch Fix for a while.  It's a little on the pricey side, especially for a stay-at-home mom.  I've got enough clothes to last me a lifetime (thank you sample sales).  And I certainly have enough good pieces to mix and match a good wardrobe.

Here's what I received this month:

Black purse: This sucker was HUGE!  My gym bag and my diaper bag are smaller than this.  Don't get me wrong, I love purses, but really I only carry my cell phone with me.  If I'm carrying a purse it is tiny and is cross body so I don't even know I'm carrying it.  Obviously, I sent this back.

Blue polka-dot dress:  Yes, they already sent me a blue polka-dot dress, but this one was too gorgeous to send back.  It's a thick wool and fits beautifully.  I have no idea if I'll wear it on a regular basis, but I love it!

Blue sweater: Um no.  To me, this is just ugly.  It fit ugly.  Looks like something my mom or grandmother would wear.  I sent this back.

Black skinny jeans: These were a tad-bit short (or maybe that's where skinny jeans are supposed to hit), but they fit otherwise like a glove.  They're going to look awesome with my black boots this winter.

Burgundy blouse: Cute.  Fits well.  It's a keeper.

I want a new car

I know you all are reading this blog.  I've seen the stats.  Now I need your help and comments.

I want a new car.

The problem is, the husband is not exactly on board.  At all. 

We currently own a 2004 Honda Element in only 80,000 miles on it.  And it is paid off.  This car has been a great utility vehicle for us.  We used it to haul the photo booth around for five years.  We have used it for all our triathlon gear including throwing the bikes in the back of it.  And we have used it as a way to carry all kinds of stuff from home improvement stores for projects at our previous and new house.  Now that we have a baby, however, it is proving to be a difficult family car.  First of all, it has those stupid suicide doors (the back door hinges at the back) which are impossible to open in any parking lot.  We still have the baby sitting backwards in his car seat so to get him in his car seat we have to literally climb into the car with him.  Even if we turned the car seat around, I still think we'd have to climb in with him as the seats are so high that there is no way either of us could just reach into the car to buckle him in.  Because the height of the seats, it could be a very long time before Anderson could climb into his own car seat.  The Element is quite large which makes it great for using it as a truck, however, it only sits four people.  This means even simple trips to the ice cream shoppe with my parents cannot be done in this car and our little car (Toyota Prius) is a tight squeeze for five people.  Taking two cars to any short trip to the ice cream shoppe or wherever is just ridiculous.  Finally, the Element has ZERO luxury to it.  It's like driving a tank.  And frankly, I'm over it.

I've started floating the idea of a small SUV like a Honda CR-V or a Hyundai Tuscon to the husband.  It would be a much better family car with a little bit of luxury that would feel like driving a car and would get better gas mileage.  The husband is not really excited at this idea.  Why would he?  We have a perfectly good working car that has very little mileage on it and no car payment.  Our other car is also ten years old with 120,000 miles on it and no car payment.  We haven't had a car payment for years.  Why would we start now?  I get it.  I really do.  But, how long do we plan on keeping these cars, especially for a car that doesn't really work for us anymore?  We drive probably 5 miles a day (literally).  At this rate our cars will never wear out.  We may have these cars forever.  He may be okay with that.  I am not.  I want a new car.

I feel like the only option I have is to find a way to come up with all the funds and pay for this car with cash.  I would say, right now, I have about half the expense.  Coming up with the rest of it is going to be quite difficult considering I don't work.  Plus, we have very little expenses as it is.  We don't have a water bill, we don't have a gas bill, we don't have a sewer bill, we don't have car payments.  Basically we pay for our mortgage, contribute to our IRAs, have cable, cell phones, and trash collection.  And occasionally we have someone fertilize the lawn.  My latest ideas to save a few bucks are to cancel our Netflix subscription which we NEVER use.  And I mean never!  I also am going to cancel my Stitch Fix delivery as $200 a month on clothes is ridiculous for a stay-at-home mom.  I am also an avid coupon clipper (although not one of those freaks filling up carts of junk they'll never use even though they're getting it for free - yes I'm talking to you weirdo behind me in line last night at the grocery store).

So here's where you come in.

What's a good way to save and/or make money?
What small SUVs should I be looking into?
Help me!  Help me!

September Totals

Yeah, yeah.  I'm a little behind in posting my September totals.  Some weeks just get away from me.

I raced every weekend in September - I walked a 10K with my mom and sister, I ran a 5K for fun-ish, I ran a marathon I wasn't supposed to, and I won a 10K.  I also did some training in between those races.  Here's what was going on in September:

Swim - 2300 yards
Bike - 13.95 miles
Run - 120.62 miles
Strength - 0.5 hours
Trips to the YMCA - 15
Cost per Visit - $5.69

I really thought my miles would be more, but I basically took the week off after the marathon and the first week of the month was quite a dud too.  I do just fine on a low mileage plan, but sometimes I wonder how much better a high mileage plan might be.  It's too late to find out for this training cycle.  For now, it's on to October!

Second 20 Miler

My first 20 miler in this training cycle was the Air Force Marathon.  You can read the race recap here.

This past Saturday night my parents graciously watched the baby overnight so Dave and I could have a date night and then Dave could join me on my second 20 miler (riding his bike/providing support).  The plan was a 10 mile warm up (yes you read that right - TEN MILES!!), a couple miles of building, some miles at race pace, a few miles faster than marathon race pace, and then a cool down. 

I started off pretty well with the first 10 miles at an 8:45 average pace.  It was windy and cold, which is perfect weather for me, but I was struggling to get my pace down to what I thought it should be.  My build miles were at 8:31.  My race pace miles were an 8:24 pace.  I believe I need an 8:23 pace to get that elusive 3:40 Boston qualifying time.  Note, I wore a Garmin but did all of this pacing by feel.  Being able to "feel" an 8:24 is pretty darn close to race pace.  The faster miles were at an 8:02 pace.  I felt great during those miles, although, I'm not sure I could have managed that pace for a long, extended period of time - i.e. 20 freakin' miles!  Finally, my cool down miles were at an 8:45 pace. 

Overall, this 20 miler went great, albeit, not as fast as I would have liked.  One more and then it's time to fly!

Week in Review

Monday
Planned: 30-60 minute spin and a short 15 minute jog
Actual: 2.16 mile run before the sun even came up and a 30 minute trainer spin right before Anderson went to bed.  Plus I did 3 rounds of 21 reps cleans at 20 pounds and 7 dips off the weight bench.  I love Mondays!!!

Tuesday
Planned: 50 minute easy run; 30 minute strength
Actual: Easy treadmill run - 5.3 miles

Wednesday
Planned: 45 minutes of cross training
Actual: 2500 yard continuous swim.  The gentleman in the lane beside me even said I had a great rhythm and pace.  Nice!

Thursday
Planned: 1 hour hill run with long 8 minute incline intervals done at race pace; 20 minute run later in the day
Actual: One of the hardest workouts I have ever done.  I was even sweating from my legs!  I was only able to muster about 8:30 paces at 3-4% incline for the uphills.  7 miles total.  Second 20 minute run later in the day of 2.15 miles.

Friday
Rest day!!!

Saturday
Planned: 45-60 minute easy run; 30 minutes of core
Actual: I had breakfast with my friends.

Sunday
Planned: 20 mile run with last 6 miles at race pace and faster
Actual: Nailed it!!!  I will blog about it tomorrow.

Totals
Swim - 2500 yards
Bike - 5.56 miles
Run - 36.61 miles
Strength - 0.25 hours

Week in Review

There's not much to report this week.  I was recovering from my marathon last Saturday and for me that basically meant doing nothing.  Here's a small rundown of the week.

Tuesday - 2.52 mile treadmill run before Anderson's swim lessons.  My left leg felt a little wonky but otherwise feeling okay.

Thursday - 2 mile walk on the treadmill sandwiched around some weight training - 3 rounds of 21 reps of deadlifts at 50 pounds and 7 burpees.

Friday - 2.22 mile walk pushing the stroller around the neighborhood.

Saturday - Busy Babes 10K.  You can read the race report here. 

Totals:

Run/Walk - 12.94 miles
Strength - 0.25 hours

Busy Babes 10K

My 13th race of the year, my fourth race of the month, and needless to say, I wasn't very excited about lining up to race.  To be honest, I've done pretty much nothing since last Saturday's marathon.  I did two 2 mile walks and a 2-1/2 mile run.  That's it.  And that's all I wanted to do.  That's what my body told me to do.  But my coach and I have been working on my 10K speed for a while now and I needed to do this race.  There aren't many 10Ks around and this one was cheap.

My mom, Anderson, Dave and I got to the race site early.  Too early.  I guess there was confusion about what time the race actually started as one email said 8:00 and another said 8:30, so the race was delayed until 8:30.  I was at the race site at 7:05.  I got in a good warm up.  My mom and the husband took lots of pictures.  It was my niece's first 5K.  The Richardson girls were representing.

 Could we look more alike?

Finally we got to the start line and no one, and I mean NO ONE, lined up in front except me.  This was going to be a lonely race.  From the start I went fast, and I was alone.  I hit the first mile in 7:38.  I have a hard time slowing down after I get started at a certain pace, so I just went with it.  Luckily, I was able to hold on and even pick it up a little.

 Leading right from the line.

Mile 2 - 7:32
Mile 3 - 7:24
Mile 4 - 7:39 (which included the turnaround and a water stop)

At the turnaround I was able to see what was going on behind me.  I was ahead by maybe a quarter mile.  I really wanted to slow down.  I REALLY WANTED TO SLOW DOWN!!!  But I also really wanted to be done.

Mile 5 - 7:31


This course is entirely on a former railroad track that is now a recreational trail.  It is flat and straight as an arrow.  I could see the finish arch for what seemed like forever.

You can see how straight and flat (and beautiful) it is here.  My youngest niece, two nephews, and my son doing their own race.

When do you start picking it up for the final sprint?  How far exactly is the finish?  (Yes I was wearing a GPS.  No I don't trust it.)  I ran hard to the finish and ran my fastest mile of the day.


Mile 6 - 7:16
Last 0.2 - 7:09 pace

 

All by myself!!!!

I won the race in a time of 46:10 (7:27 pace).  It's not a PR, but is only 30 seconds off it.  Not bad considering I had no one to chase and never felt like I was being chased either.  The second place woman was 4-1/2 minutes behind me. 

I did this race last year as a half marathon and this year as a 10K.  This was the fifth anniversary of the race and I'm not sure the race is going to make it.  There were only 22 women in the 10K and 30-something women in the 5K.  It's a great race, though, with a nice, flat, shaded course and a great price.  I'll continue to put this race on my calendar if it continues.

A few more things....

My niece finished fourth overall and first in her age group in the 5K.

She better watch out or she's gonna wind up on the track and cross country teams.  She is a 7th grader.

Amy, my sister, finished sixth overall and first in her age group in the 5K.

 

More a picture of my son, but Amy's in the background with her oldest son.

And, finally, my son is super cute.

Foto Friday

Have I posted this one yet?  This is from our trip to Montana about a month ago.  I know I said I would post pictures and I haven't.  Fail.  Anyway, this is one from our last day of the trip when Dave, Anderson, and I went kayaking on the lake behind our house.  It was a little scary to stick the little one in the kayak but he did fine.

Thursday Thoughts

T....choo choo!!!

(This is my son's language for TRAIN!!!)

My son is obsessed with trains!  When he woke up yesterday he spent the first 45 minutes saying "choo choo!"  I couldn't even get him to a take a nap today because I got him a new train and all he wanted to do was play.  It's cute.  It's annoying.  I love him. 

This got me thinking....

What was your favorite toy as a kid that you couldn't live without?  Do you still have that toy?  What are your kids favorite toys?

September Stitch Fix

My September Stitch Fix, which I think was my 4th fix, was awesome!  I kept almost all of it.  Here we go!

Yes, my sneakers are going to be in a lot of these pictures.

First up, a red sleeveless blouse.  Super cute!  And very similar to a previous shirt they had sent me.  I loved the fit, however, the bottom seam rolled weirdly and I didn't like that.  I'm spending good money on these; I want them to be perfect.

This is a black blouse with a see-through detail at the top.  It is so cute!  I wore it immediately!

Black and white pencil skirt.  Again, super cute!  And fits amazingly.  I haven't worn it yet and not sure that it will get a whole lot of wear in my wardrobe, but I'm thinking of wearing it this weekend to my husband's high school reunion.

Grey and black infinity scarf.  I love it!  I can't wait for fall weather (seriously, it's still 80 degrees!) to wear this.

Black three-quarter length blazer.  I loved this and it was beautiful, but I already have a black blazer so I sent it back.

If you're interested in Stitch Fix, check out this link.

Official Pictures from the Marathon

I saw a lot of photographers out on the marathon course yet somehow I only got pictures from mile 9 and the finish line.  Maybe it was because we all looked like zombies later in the race? 

 

This is mile 9ish.  I'm looking great here.  I'm feeling great here.  I look like I could run forever.  And look at me kicking the boys' buns!!!

I thought I was going to be so cool at the finish.  I took off my iPod, I took off my sunglasses, and then I *tried* to throw up my hands at the finish line.  Instead all of my finish line pictures look like I'm dancing.  I'm so cool.

What's your most awesome (most awesomely bad) race photo?

Air Force Marathon 2014

Um, so, yeah...I ran a marathon this past weekend.  And I broke a lot of rules to do so.  I had a 20 mile run on the schedule so I thought why not do a supported run and just tack on another few miles.  The problem was, though, that Air Force was the only "local" marathon that weekend and it was sold out.  So I posted on Facebook if anyone knew how I might be able to get a bib for the race.  Lo and behold a friend's husband was signed up and not doing it, so I bought it from him.  And, I, um, didn't tell coach about any of this.  (I knew she wouldn't approve and well, she didn't.)

We barely got out to Dayton in time to pick up my packet and what a cluster.  The pick up is at the Nutter Center - Wright State's basketball arena.  They make you walk around the entire concourse to check out the gear (which was being torn down by the time we got there).  Then they make you walk down a billion steps to the basketball court to pick up your stuff, then back up the stairs, only to discover you were right next to the door you walked in.  Not like I'm running a marathon or anything tomorrow!!!  We didn't get to our hotel until nearly 9:00, none of us had eaten, and it was already past the baby's bedtime.  We ordered pizza and ate it in the room.  Not ideal, but this was just a training run right?

I struggled to sleep that night.  I was nervous.  Why?  I don't know.  The weather wasn't looking great.  I wasn't really trained for this.  I haven't run a road marathon in five years.  I felt like the expectations were high.  Whatever.  I slept fitfully and slept through the first five minutes of my alarm but felt at least somewhat rested and ready to go.  Because I was nervous I had a hard time eating anything before the race.  I ate a Larabar.  Not ideal and certainly not enough calories but it was something.

The logistics for this race kind of suck.  They suggest you get to the race site and hour and a half before your race.  Holy cow!  That's a long time and it's not like it's huge like New York or Chicago.  Now I know why.  There are only two exits to get on the air force base and they are on separate highways.  Then they snake you around and around in the dark, on a runway to a designated parking spot.  Finally you have to walk probably about a mile just to get to the start line.  NOT LIKE I'M RUNNING A MARATHON OR ANYTHING???!!!!  We left the hotel room at 5:30am and I finally got to my coral right around 7:00.  Our hotel was only 20 minutes away.  Understand?

It was chilly race morning but humid, sunny, and windy - the perfect storm of non-perfect race conditions.  I had no idea what to expect but told Dave I would probably be somewhere between 3-1/2 and 4 hours.  I started off conservatively, comfortable, if not a little fast.  The first couple miles were hilly and then super flat.  The majority of the race was on the air force base with absolutely NO spectators and no protection from the sun and wind.  For a while I was cruising...

Mile 1 - 8:52
Mile 2 - 8:58
Mile 3 - 8:11 (downhill)
Mile 4 - 8:29
Mile 5 - 8:23
Mile 6 - 8:21
Mile 7 - 8:15
Mile 8 - 8:19
Mile 9 - 8:21
Mile 10 - 8:18
Mile 11 - 8:18
Mile 12 - 8:21
Mile 13 - 8:27
Mile 14 - 8:23
Mile 15 - 8:23

For a while I thought maybe I was going to run a Boston qualifying time.  Cool, but I was running with someone else's bib and it wouldn't have even counted.  Seriously, I would have been mad if I had qualified and not even been able to use the qualification.  But then the wheels started to fall off.  My stomach started to bother me and I thought I was going to toss my cookies.  The wind and heat were starting to bother me too.  Everyone was suffering.  I saw people starting to walk being at the half way point.

Mile 16 - 8:41
Mile 17 - 8:45
Mile 18 - 8:54
Mile 19 - 9:16
Mile 20 - 9:13

Because this was supposed to be a 20 mile training run I made sure to run as close to 20 miles as possible before I started doing any walking.  I made it to 19 miles before I needed a little break.  Then I walked the water stops all the way to the end and threw in a few more short (10 seconds or less) walking breaks too.  I was definitely not having fun anymore.

Mile 21 - 9:48
Mile 22 - 10:23
Mile 23 - 10:40
Mile 24 - 10:38

Somewhere in the late miles the half marathon joins back up with the marathon.  The half starts an hour after the marathon so those who were still on the course were basically just walkers.  And they were all over the road.  I did a lot of weaving during this time.  That's too much energy to spend that late in a race.  Get out of my freakin' way!!!

Around mile 24 I seemed to have an upswing of energy.  At mile 25 the 3:55 pace group passed me and I was a little pissed about it.  I hung on with them and picked up my pace all the way to the finish line.

Mile 25 - 10:07
Mile 26 - 9:34

Overall time - 3:54:38

  

Here's a funny story about the race.  Yes, I wore an iPod and thank goodness I did as this was an extremely lonely and boring race.  But, I am also very good at slopping water all over myself when I drink it.  And because it was hot I was pouring water on myself too.  Around mile 16 my iPod started freaking out.  It kept saying, "Playlist 1, Playlist 2, Playlist 3, all songs..."  And it would keep flipping through songs.  I didn't even know I had playlists!  At some point it must have dried out and settled on what it calls Playlist 4, which happened to be 5 songs I just downloaded this week.  For 10 miles I heard the same 5 songs over and over and over again.  Before the marathon I really liked Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off".  Now I never want to hear it again!  

I was training for this marathon before I got pregnant.  It can be a PR course if you are okay with the desolate and pushing yourself.  But it is extremely boring with nothing to look at.  There are no spectators except for miles 10 and 11 which go through Fairborn (my favorite miles on the course).  There is no protection from the elements - no trees, no buildings and not enough participants to block any of the wind either.  But, the course was well staffed, well marked, right on target with my GPS (my watch read 26.26 miles at the finish), and the water stops were spaced well and had good supplies.  Will I run it again?  No.  But I'm glad I did it, even if only as a training run.  I've gotten the nerves out and I know where I am with my training for the goal marathon in a few weeks.

Happy Anniversary

Happy anniversary to my partner-in-crime for the last 12 years.  Time has flown by!  I'm so lucky to have him in my life.  He's a great friend, husband, and dad.  I lucked out when he picked me.

And congratulations to our son who was finally baptized today.  Since we waited until he was nearly 18 months old to get him baptized, he no longer fit into his baptismal gown my grandmother made.  But it didn't really matter because no one took a picture.  Anyway....#parentsoftheyear.

Week in Review

I had a GREAT week of running last week!!!!

Monday
Planned: 45 minutes of spinning or swimming
Actual: Bike, trainer, basement, podcast. 8.39 miles

Tuesday
Planned: 55 minute negative split run, 30 minutes of strength training
Actual: Treadmill. 27-1/2 minutes building pace. 22-1/2 minutes holding pace between an 8:00 and 8:30 pace. 5 minute cool down. 6.25 miles.

Wednesday
Planned: Easy 20 minute run.
Actual: Feeling great so went for over 30 minutes on the treadmill. 3.25 miles.

Thursday
Planned: Track workout with sprint ladder starting at 400, up to 1600, back down to 400.  20 minute jog late in the day.
Actual: Did these workouts in reverse.  Two miles on the treadmill in the morning and a VERY long workout on the track late in the day.  Finished after the sun went down.  Sprints went well.  8.75 miles. 10.75 miles for the day.

Friday
Planned: Rest Day
Actual: A&F Challenge 5K

Saturday
Planned: 40 minute run with some 10K effort. 15 minute core workout.
Actual: Rest Day.  See Friday's actual workout.  :)

Sunday
Planned: 18 mile run with last 6 miles at marathon pace effort.
Actual: Rocked this run!  The overall average was exactly what I need for a Boston qualifying marathon and those 6 miles I did at an 8:04 average.  Boom!

Totals
Bike - 8.39 miles
Run - 41.35 miles

A&F Challenge 5K 2014

All the neighborhood kids including Anderson pre-race.

This year's A&F Challenge was a bit of a cluster for Dave and I.  We signed us and my sister up by the deadline for employees.  That same day, after we signed up, we received an invitation in the mail for free entries since our neighborhood is so close that they don't want to inconvenience us.  So we asked some friends if they wanted to run and use our free entries.  Sounds great so far, right?

The day of the race, Friday evening, everyone was supposed to congregate at our house at 4:45.  My sister showed up around 5:00 and we waited and waited for our other friends to show up.  Our neighbors were taking Anderson and it became time to get over there or we were going to miss the race at 5:45.  We took our friends' numbers and entry wristbands and I texted them furiously.  Finally, we lined up at the start line with probably about 3 minutes to go.

Thanks Amy for airbrushing me and making me look so young.

Just as we were about to start I received a text back from our friends.  They had to work late and would not make the race.  I let them know the party continued after the race and to come on out.  Unfortunately, they never made it.

I was lined up way at the back of the pack as that's the closest I could get since we got there so late.  Amy told me to go ahead so I did.  I had had a pretty big week of running thusfar and didn't think it would be prudent to "race".  So, I kinda made this a tempo run.  Mile 1 involved a lot of bobbing and weaving to get through the pack - 7:33.  Then I was able to get moving and continuing picking up the pace.  

Mile 2 - 7:24

Mile 3 - 7:13

Usually I dread the 5K but with all the training I've been doing this race seemed really short and I was happy with my effort even if I didn't "race" it.  

Time - 22:36

Dave ran about a minute faster and Amy came in just over 30 minutes.  We then met back up with our neighbors, let Anderson play in the bouncy house, and ate and drank lots of good food.  

Next year we'll wait for our free entries.  :)

New Albany Walking Classic 10K 2014

Walking?  Well, walking is weird.  It's slow.  And once you're done walking you have to keep walking.  I thought I was done with walking as a form of exercise after I was done with pregnancy, but my mom and my sister asked me to do the New Albany Walking Classic with them this year and I agreed.  I didn't train a single step, but I figure if you're running 30+ miles a week, that's good enough.

 My mom, sister, and I pre-race.  We look like a freakin' Easter egg in those colors.

I didn't start my GPS so I have no idea how fast or how slow we were walking.  We just followed the masses.  My sister knew pretty much everyone along the course so she would stop and hug and say hello and we would fall further and further behind.  Soon I could see we were close to the end and I pushed to get us going a little faster.  I was NOT finishing last.

My dad, Dave, and Anderson followed along us on the course.  My dad was on his bike and Dave had the jogging stroller.  Anderson was the hit among the walkers as he cheered for all of them.

Anderson even joined me for a bit.

I found the walk enjoyable.  Amy and I talked throughout most of it.  My mom struggled a bit as the distance was far and pretty much stopped talking to us around mile 4.

Finally we reached the end - 2 hours and 10 minutes later.  Holy moly!

I think I'll stick with running.  :)

Week in Review

Ugh!  I just didn't have the week I was hoping for.  The weather was terribly hot and my motivation was in the toilet.  We'll just call it a recovery week and move on to next week.

Monday
Planned: 2300 swim with lots of butterfly.
Actual: I'll excuse coach because she obviously had pregnancy brain when she wrote this workout.  I can't do butterfly and I certainly can't do a lot of it.  So, I hopped in the outside pool for the last time for the summer and did 2300 yards straight.

Tuesday
Planned: 40 minute run
Actual: It was crazy hot so I did this on the treadmill. 4.19 miles

Wednesday
Planned: 55 minute run with 10K pace intervals; 30 minute strength routine
Actual: Ran at the local hilly metropark and was hoping to do a longer run.  Only make it one loop and felt terrible.  5.6 miles, 51:26.

Thursday
Rest Day

Friday
Planned: 1 hour speed workout; back strength training
Actual: Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I suck.

Saturday
Planned: 45 minute easy run
Actual: So damn hot outside!!!  5.15 miles

Sunday
Planned: 10K walking "race"
Actual: New Albany 10K Walking Classic.  Race report coming tomorrow.

Totals:
Swimming - 2300 yards
Running (walking) - 21.14 miles

Foto Friday

This was my favorite picture I took while on vacation...

Touch a Truck #2

Our flight for Montana left late in the day which gave us the opportunity to attend yet another Touch-a-Truck event.  This time Dave got to come with us.  We got there late and had to leave within an hour to eat lunch, finish packing, and head to the airport, but we got to see some awesome trucks. 

 

August Totals

I basically took two weeks off from training in August (life happens) and still managed to get over 100 miles running.  There's this nagging feeling inside me that I'm not doing enough running, but I also know it's coach's plan.  It's worked before and it will work again.  Trust it!  September and October will be big months.  Buckle up!

No swimming or biking in August.  Not that it wasn't assigned.  I just never got to it.

Running - 104.51 miles
Strength - 0.5 hours
YMCA visits - 12
Cost per visit - $7.11