My husband and I went with my parents, my sister, and her fiance to California to visit my brother and his family for Thanksgiving. It was a torturous 15+ hour drive there but we had a great time hanging out with his girlfriend and her family and especially my super cute nephews.
We ate. We drank. We played Jeopardy! on the Wii. We ate some more. We drank even more. I was smart enough to take my running gear with me on the trip and had intended to go for a run on Thanksgiving morning, but I woke up with some crud in my chest and just didn't feel up for a run, so I didn't go. I drank a crap ton of water (and beer and wine...) and enjoyed the day. The good news is on Friday I did get up and despite my slight hangover headache, I got my gear together and went for a run. My plan was to go about 4 to 5 miles and do everything possible to not get lost and I very nearly succeeded. Thankfully, I didn't have any issues with getting lost. There was some road construction which made me reroute my run and shaved off about 1/2 mile, so I finished at 3.75 miles for the morning. I realized, however, that Californians are goofy people when it comes to being chilly outside. I was absolutely roasting in my t-shirt and capri-length tights - it was 50 degrees outside (perfect weather for a run!) and while I was out I saw two women walking outside in winter coats with gloves and hats and then I saw a road biker with full-length tights, a long-sleeve jersey, and a beanie. I can't imagine working out in that amount of gear when it was only 50 degrees outside...
Back to my run - I managed pretty well for not running for about 2 weeks. I felt good and I kept a decent pace (avg 11:00/mile) but also realized whyI need to make sure I work out a minimum of 3 days per week....I didn't feel THAT good. In the end, I'm glad I got out of the house and enjoyed the cool (but not cold!) weather for about 41 minutes. I ended Friday by eating everything in sight and drinking beer with the family.
The drive back started on Saturday and proved pretty crappy, even though we split it into two days. The drive from Sacramento to Reno was just plain chaotic (and I didn't even get to go to H&M along the way). People from California are crazy drivers anyway (personal opinion, obviously, but seriously...) but they were super ridiculous during the snow storm over Donner's Pass. Anyway, we rolled into Reno around 9pm and partied the night away playing blackjack and poker and stayed up until 5am - that's later than I've ever stayed up in Vegas! I'm not sure I've ever been so glad just be a passenger in a car - I slept almost the entire drive home. Unfortunately, this also means I'm not sure how well I'll be able to sleep tonight....wish me luck!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Home and back at it
I got home late Monday night and was ready to be there. I was greeted at the door by my favorite dog and made my way upstairs to find my dear husband laying in a freshly-made bed and watching poker. Ahhh, my bed felt amazing, as did the husband's embrace! My alarm clock seemed like it went off way too early, but I managed to get out of bed only to remember I had used the last of the coffee before I left for Chicago, and that was a sad realization...
Anyway, my legs ached, though not horribly, when I made my way down the stairs until Wednesday, when the pains ceased. I made the decision later that night to be sure I went for a run on Thursday, which I happened to have off from work for Veterans Day.
There's a part of me that wants to say I didn't really want to go for a run, but that's really not the truth. I was ready and excited and maybe a little bit nervous for my first post-half-marathon run. I guess I wasn't really nervous to actually run, but more nervous because I really want to work on my my pace and keeping it at about 11:00/mile rather that 12+. I kept the music and HR monitor off, and I didn't bother to check my pace; I just wanted to run however I ran rather than running for speed or distance or heart rate. So I set our for a 3 miler and when I got home, I had run 3.2 miles at an average of 10:56!
Also, I've always used the temp outside as an excuse to not run during the winter. Last Saturday's below freezing temperature was proof that I really can't use that as an excuse anymore.
Nothing too exciting going on in our household this week except that I went grocery shopping today wearing my new Indy Monumental 1/2-Marathon hat. No, I didn't take my medal with me :)
Anyway, my legs ached, though not horribly, when I made my way down the stairs until Wednesday, when the pains ceased. I made the decision later that night to be sure I went for a run on Thursday, which I happened to have off from work for Veterans Day.
There's a part of me that wants to say I didn't really want to go for a run, but that's really not the truth. I was ready and excited and maybe a little bit nervous for my first post-half-marathon run. I guess I wasn't really nervous to actually run, but more nervous because I really want to work on my my pace and keeping it at about 11:00/mile rather that 12+. I kept the music and HR monitor off, and I didn't bother to check my pace; I just wanted to run however I ran rather than running for speed or distance or heart rate. So I set our for a 3 miler and when I got home, I had run 3.2 miles at an average of 10:56!
Also, I've always used the temp outside as an excuse to not run during the winter. Last Saturday's below freezing temperature was proof that I really can't use that as an excuse anymore.
Nothing too exciting going on in our household this week except that I went grocery shopping today wearing my new Indy Monumental 1/2-Marathon hat. No, I didn't take my medal with me :)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Half Marathon - The Real Deal!
I've been trying to figure out how to write this blog entry or even where to start with it because there are so many parts. I really haven't been nervous about a whole aside from the random "holy crap, am I really going to do this?" thoughts. This morning I woke with a whole lotta nerves going on. Let's rewide for second to my dreams from last night:
1) At some point during the night I dreamed I ran the entire 1/2 marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes. My goal was 2:40, so 2:15 would be pretty huge! Waking up from that dream was awesome, unlike dream #2
2) Dreamed Jamie and I left our hotel room and kept forgetting a bunch of crap. Every time we went back to the room, it became increasingly difficult to find our room, and then increasingly difficult to find what we were looking for in the room due to it being trashed. Eventually, I couldn't find my bib, which meant I wouldn't be able to run.
Combine both of those dreams with waking in a panic several times during the night thinking I was oversleeping, it wasn't the greatest night of sleep I've ever had.
Ok, anyway, I woke up this morning feeling really anxious and nervous. I've trained and been really good about it, so I knew there wasn't a lot to be nervous about, but I was. I was nervous about losing my way on the course and being cold and being the slowest runner, etc.
That being said, I was totally fine! I did great, in fact! I decided in the end to keep my music playing, which was totally a good call. I paused it when there was some entertainment, but in the end, I was really glad to have the tunes. I also ran with my app going on my iPhone to make sure I was running at a decent pace. I took off the notices about my distance and elapsed time and just kept my pace and average pace on the announcements so I could just focus on my pace and not how much further we had to go.
I had a few key moments in the race today that absolutely made me smile. The main thing I really enjoyed was people cheering and holding up signs telling us how awesome we were (and that there was beer at the finish line - a total lie, by the way). There were a few times where they said just the right thing to make me go faster or just keep pushing through. For the life of me, I can't remember what they were, but it was awesome.
My favorite music moment was at about mile 11. I was starting to get tired and could feel my hips really starting to ache...and then Eye of the Tiger came on my iPod! I instantly felt 75% better and get myself into get for the next two miles. I had to retrain myself from yelling out to people around me that this song was playing on my iPod...
Next favorite moment came around mile 12 when I realized there was only a mile left. I was stoked. I could feel my body ready to push harder and I kicked it into high gear. I felt like I was flying, and it was awesome.
Finally, I crossed the finish line. Now, that itself is pretty kick-ass as far as I'm concerned, but I just happened to cross the finish line at the exact same time as the first female full-marathon finisher and the crowd was going crazy screaming, clapping, and hollering and I'm not going to lie - that was pretty kick ass. My favorite thing about this though was the announcer on the loud speaker nearly screaming "you've done it! you have done it! Way to go, you have done it!" I secretly said to myself, "yeah, I did!!!"
I finished in 2:39:44. I was hoping for 2:40, so that's pretty damn good in my books!
Jamie and I enjoyed long, hot showers before getting lunch and beer and then shopping (ok, and then another beer) and have been talking about how beautiful the course was for the Monumental. We have also been talking a lot about how much our hips, knees, and legs in general ache like crazy and how difficult it is to get up out of chairs. But the best thing we talk about is the fact that this morning we ran a 1/2 marathon - all of it!
1) At some point during the night I dreamed I ran the entire 1/2 marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes. My goal was 2:40, so 2:15 would be pretty huge! Waking up from that dream was awesome, unlike dream #2
2) Dreamed Jamie and I left our hotel room and kept forgetting a bunch of crap. Every time we went back to the room, it became increasingly difficult to find our room, and then increasingly difficult to find what we were looking for in the room due to it being trashed. Eventually, I couldn't find my bib, which meant I wouldn't be able to run.
Combine both of those dreams with waking in a panic several times during the night thinking I was oversleeping, it wasn't the greatest night of sleep I've ever had.
Ok, anyway, I woke up this morning feeling really anxious and nervous. I've trained and been really good about it, so I knew there wasn't a lot to be nervous about, but I was. I was nervous about losing my way on the course and being cold and being the slowest runner, etc.
That being said, I was totally fine! I did great, in fact! I decided in the end to keep my music playing, which was totally a good call. I paused it when there was some entertainment, but in the end, I was really glad to have the tunes. I also ran with my app going on my iPhone to make sure I was running at a decent pace. I took off the notices about my distance and elapsed time and just kept my pace and average pace on the announcements so I could just focus on my pace and not how much further we had to go.
I had a few key moments in the race today that absolutely made me smile. The main thing I really enjoyed was people cheering and holding up signs telling us how awesome we were (and that there was beer at the finish line - a total lie, by the way). There were a few times where they said just the right thing to make me go faster or just keep pushing through. For the life of me, I can't remember what they were, but it was awesome.
My favorite music moment was at about mile 11. I was starting to get tired and could feel my hips really starting to ache...and then Eye of the Tiger came on my iPod! I instantly felt 75% better and get myself into get for the next two miles. I had to retrain myself from yelling out to people around me that this song was playing on my iPod...
Next favorite moment came around mile 12 when I realized there was only a mile left. I was stoked. I could feel my body ready to push harder and I kicked it into high gear. I felt like I was flying, and it was awesome.
Finally, I crossed the finish line. Now, that itself is pretty kick-ass as far as I'm concerned, but I just happened to cross the finish line at the exact same time as the first female full-marathon finisher and the crowd was going crazy screaming, clapping, and hollering and I'm not going to lie - that was pretty kick ass. My favorite thing about this though was the announcer on the loud speaker nearly screaming "you've done it! you have done it! Way to go, you have done it!" I secretly said to myself, "yeah, I did!!!"
I finished in 2:39:44. I was hoping for 2:40, so that's pretty damn good in my books!
Jamie and I enjoyed long, hot showers before getting lunch and beer and then shopping (ok, and then another beer) and have been talking about how beautiful the course was for the Monumental. We have also been talking a lot about how much our hips, knees, and legs in general ache like crazy and how difficult it is to get up out of chairs. But the best thing we talk about is the fact that this morning we ran a 1/2 marathon - all of it!
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