Category Archives: races

April 9, 2012 · 1:16 pm

And done.

This morning I pulled out my credit card twice.  Once to sign up for this:

Katy Ram Challenge

62 miles with friends… let’s hope they are still friends after this is over.  I can get mighty cranky when I’m tired.

This is my final ride before the big MS 150.  So excited and slowly getting nervous. 

I checked out the route map and while I signed up for the 62 mile course it appears it’s really only 58.7 miles…  Whatever, I’m not going to be the one complaining at the end.  Now if anyone knows a marathon that is measured short…..

And the second credit card pull this morning came for this:

I did it.  I put my name in for the lottery for the full marathon. 

I know there are some other people out there that have expressed interest in this race.  Sign up!  In the words of the lovely Rachael.  DOOOOOO IT!

PS.  Finally saw The Hunger Games.  Loved it.  More later.

8 Comments

Filed under Marathon Training, mondays, MS 150, purchases, races

March 27, 2012 · 2:06 pm

Going to the Big D….

and yes, I mean Dallas.

This weekend I participated in the Rock n Roll Dallas half marathon.

We drove up on Saturday with the whole family in tow.  Hayden’s little skin surgery ended up being less than expected so he was good to go with little to no pain and just a big bandaid on his arm.

We got to Dallas and immediately headed to Ranger Stadium.  Both my boys are huge baseball fans.  We made sure to buy lots of stuff.  Girl stuff too!

Then it was expo time.

DSCN1523

This year the expo was much easier since the kids were bigger.  We were able to walk in and grab my stuff and we actually got to look a bit.  I ended up buying a “The Stick.”  Sucker works.  More on that later.

We grabbed dinner with Melissa and her little man and then headed back to the hotel to get some rest.  We stayed at the Omni which was located directly next door to the Convention Center.  It was super convenient and the hotel room was BEAUTIFUL.   The item I focused on most was the TV in the bathroom…  be still my heart.

bath

We also had a refrigerator in the room and the normal stuff, TV, coffee maker, etc.  Overall, I would not hesitate to stay at the Omni again, well worth it.

I woke up around 6:30 the morning of the race.  I did everything I was supposed to.  Ate some breakfast, drank some water, put on sunscreen….

I got to the start line around 7:30 and just hung out and people watched.  I always like to check out what everyone is wearing and possibly add things to my wish list.  I did manage to take a tiny tumble on the walk over to my corral and tweeked my ankle a little.

DSCN1531

Here we are all lined up ready to go.  See the Omni?  The hotel was that close!

Around 8:15, we were off.  I committed the biggest race mistake: going out too fast.  Way too fast.

I knew my kids would be right before the first mile marker so I was excited to see them. If you ever want to see me cry during a race just set my kids up somewhere and let me know.  I started crying before the turn.

They are on the sidewalk.  Hubs in blue shirt and kids in strollers.

DSCN1535

Mile 1: 10:15

I saw that flash on my Garmin and thought to myself “Whoa Nelly.  It’s gonna get hot real soon and there is no way you are keeping that pace.”  (especially since I haven’t run distance since my last half)

DSCN1538

I slowed it down for the next few miles.

Mile 2: 11:21
Mile 3: 11:09
Mile 4: 11:57

I started to feel the effects of the sun and non-training by mile 5.

Mile 5: 12:17
Mile 6: 12:36

Thankfully things started to get interesting to look at.

collage1

The course takes you through a lovely neighborhood with beautiful homes.

collage2

And there were tulips growing!  Tulips!  I kinda LOVE tulips.  I mighta gasped loudly when I saw them.

DSCN1553

Somewhere around the halfway point, I kinda faded fast.  It was getting very hot and the lack of my training was becoming painfully apparent.  My ankle was still bothering me a bit from the fall earlier and I decided it was time to start incorporating walk breaks.

Around this point I noticed that the Rock n Roll folks had again brought out the Runner Cooling Stations to help fight the heat.  Basically they are buses with the air conditioning blasting.  I was tempted in San Antonio to climb into one but didn’t feel the need in Dallas.  It was warm but I wasn’t miserable yet.

Mile 7: 13:40
Mile 8: 13:04
Mile 9: 13:15
Mile 10: 13:55

After mile 10, I had even more of a breakdown, if that was even possible.  I was in good spirits and I didn’t want to overdo it but I had to do a major walk after mile 10.  I think I took a 10 minute walk.

Mile 11: 14:13

After I saw the Mile 11 mark, I knew I was close.  I just wanted to be done.  I ran as much as my body allowed.

Mile 12: 13:40
Mile 13: 12:36

dallasrnr

Final time: 2:46:23 average pace of 12:34/mile

Certainly not my best showing but I can’t complain since I didn’t actually prepare.

dallasfinal

After the race I got to finally meet a fellow blogger in person: Army Amy.  Amy and I met up and chatted for a while until I felt good enough to go find my family.  Amy is super sweet in person and just as genuine as she appears on her blog. You can see her recap on the race here… she’s a way faster poster and runner than me :)

Proof:

DSCN1563

Then we loaded up the stuff and headed back home.

DSCN1564

Addison practiced her self portrait skills on the way home.  I think she has blogger potential.

DSCN1567

Today I’m still in some pain and The Stick is certainly helping massage out all the kinks.  How was your weekend?  Would you ever attempt to run a race without any training?  You think I’m crazy don’t you?  It’s okay, I got this in return.

DSCN1578

This girl loves some nice sparkle and bling.

19 Comments

Filed under races, recap

March 7, 2012 · 1:25 pm

No more excuses!

Howdy my friends!

I have been hiding out, reading your blogs but not posting my own.  I’ve finally stepped out of the omg.work.is.killing.me phase so I figured it’s time to get back to this lil ole blog of mine.  So what’s going on you ask?

Well, not much.  You see, November – February is historically very busy for me at work and it’s finally OVER.  I’m still a little busy but nothing like it was.  So basically I’m telling you, I worked… and worked some more… and a little more.

This is my roundabout way of telling you, not much running or much of anything else happened these past couple months.  I ran a few races, as evidenced by here and here but I never truly prepared for them and just ran them on a hope and a prayer.

I’m telling myself today: No more excuses. 
- Work is good
- Audit is over
- I don’t have school anymore.
No more reasons not to get my workouts done.  Quit being lazy.

I’m committing here to getting a minimum of 4 workouts done a week.  I’m going to schedule 5, but lets be real, 4 is about the most I’ll do. 

Rock N Roll Dallas

Yesterday I received my confirmation email for my upcoming Rock n Roll Dallas half marathon.  Bib number 8365.  I see my “predicted” finish time and I know that isn’t going to happen this go round.  I might be close but I don’t expect to hit my 2:15 goal yet…. yet…  It will happen!

Since I have this race that’s in, oh… 18 days, you’d think I’d be running and getting my mileage in.  But I’m not.  I truly loved the Dallas half last year and I plan to take this race as  a “fun” race.  Instead I’m focusing my training time on getting ready for the MS 150.

Biking Fun!

((You can check out my personal page here.))

So I’ve been biking!  Last night I rode my trainer for 45 minutes, it was supposed to be 90 minutes but it was late and I was tired.

This is me now, I wear bike shorts.  I’m not sure yet if I like them, they are kinda tight.  And did you know they make some with padding in the tush so you don’t hurt during your ride?  Those are hot!

And these are the super hot shoes I wear on my bike.  Don’t look at my legs too long, you might get blinded by the whiteness.  The shoes are kinda cool, they have a little wheel in the back for you to tighten them up so you can tighten them while on the bike easily.

This is what I watch while I’m riding.  Hello Veronica Mars.  Why haven’t we met before?  Isn’t Kristen Bell so adorable? 

This is where my bike lives while it’s waiting for me to ride it again… It’s like a bat, it likes to hang upside down.

Don’t judge those wood floors, they were there when we moved in… they are hidious. 

Does anyone else bike?  Got any good ideas for more TV series after I finish Veronica Mars? 

12 Comments

Filed under Bike, MS 150, races

February 10, 2012 · 3:47 pm

Race Recap: USAFit Half Marathon

The USA Fit marathon touts itself as being everyone’s race.  The course is open for 8 hours so the slower (ahem, me) runners can be sure to finish in time.  I only did the half marathon in this race.  I enjoyed the race but I doubt I will be doing it next year.

Why?  Mainly because it’s only 2 weeks after Houston and my plan is to run the full in Houston next year.  This year I ran the Houston half and then someone helped me decide to run the USAFit half. 

The race started out in the University of Houston Sugar Land parking lot.  Race parking was awesome because it was about 50 feet from the starting line.  It was cold on the morning of the race so I sat in my car until about 6:30, or 15 minutes before we needed to line up.  Walked around the hospitality area and there was coffee, some snacks, juice, water, etc.  Pretty good set up for a smallish race.

hello people i don't know, lets go for a run

I crossed the start line about 1 minute after the race started.  Definately nicer than the big races where I’m typically wait for at least 10 minutes.

We ran through some some cute neighborhoods…

..

this one girl was running with her long hair down… I could never… (see her below)

This was our main view for the what felt like the majority of the race….

….

….

…

Exciting huh?  It’s Texas… there’s lots of room.

This was my favorite part of the whole race….

Well if the sign says I need to slow down I guess I better.

….

As I mentioned before, personally the race for me was just okay.  There was a good amount of walking and a good amount of hip pain.  My final time was 2:37:20.  Which is right smack dab in the middle of my best race and my worst. 

I did pass up a girl on the final stretch… (couldn’t find a pic of her in front of me but swear she was.)

The race itself was well planned and executed.  There were plenty of water stations and lots of people on the course handing out all sorts of goodies.  Traffic was allowed on the course which I’m sure added to the headache of residents but runners seemed unfazed.  (At least in my opinion.)

The medal is pretty cute.

And we got a Finishers sweatshirt that I’ve been sporting the past couple of weekends.

After I got home, I did indulge in a nice ice bath…. in the pool.  The temperature gauge said the water was about 55 degrees.  (Your turn Melissa.)  (and, BFF Melissa, you happy now?)

Photo credit to Addison.  (and yes, I dress like that when I take an ice bath inside too… gotta keep the rest of me warm.)

Next up is Dallas, which isn’t until March.  When’s your next race?  Need me to come cheer you on? 

7 Comments

Filed under houston marathon, ice bath, races

February 1, 2012 · 11:49 am

January recap

Can you believe January 2012 is already over??? ((I think one definition of getting old is when you complain about how fast time goes by….. damn)) I’m still in shock that 2011 is over and now the first month of 2012 is over.  Has anyone even gotten used to using the proper year yet?  I know I haven’t.  (Has nothing to do with the fact that my job requires me to work one month in the past… nothing.)  Well, back when 2012 was so new and fresh I published a post about my goals.  The plan is to check in once a month and see how that’s going… 

Running:

  • Run a 5k– not yet, maybe next month?
  • Run a 10k– nope, haven’t even found one to consider
  • Run a 2:15 half marathon– I did earn a new PR on the half this month but it wasn’t a 2:15… Dallas, I’m looking at you!
  • Help organize the Operation Jack festivities this coming December– Okay, this isn’t happening til December, I have time
  • Run 6 races – 2 down, 4 more to go.  Already signed up for #3 in March.

General Fitness:

  • Be able to do a pull up– Since I hurt myself trying to do one earlier this month I haven’t actually tried again.  Maybe February is the month to try again.
  • Do 20 real pushups– just nope… didn’t try
  • Complete the MS 150 – excited for this.  I need to hop on the trainer tonight.  Only 80 days left.

Home life:  none of this happened… I was just too busy at work and struggled to keep the house reasonably clean.

  • Clean out the craft room 
  • Clean out the kids closets
  • Donate old books
  • Donate kids old clothes
  • Donate/sell kids old toys
  • Get all clothes needing alterations done
  • Put up bedroom curtains

Other:

  • Work on kids baby books– nope, still looking to locate baby book for baby boy
  • Pass 2 parts of the CPA exam– nope, but I do have all the necessary paperwork to apply to take the test…
  • Drop 12 pounds – This is the one I’m most proud of. 
    Weight as of 12.31 – 132
    Weight as of 01.31 – 129
    3 lbs lost! 
    My weight has been lower but I think I’m still dehydrated from the half last Sunday so it’s up a bit.  Still super happy!
    (Those who know me in IRL please don’t roll your eyes.)

How is everyone else’s goals going?  Anyone completely fall off the wagon? 

I need to get in super serious training/planning mode if I want to crush Dallas.  I forsee some Excel skills in the future.

I wish my goal was to eat lots of Cheetos like Addison.

 

 

11 Comments

Filed under MS 150, races, recap, resolutions