Throwback Thursday…Enjoying the Journey.

Alright so I have to admit I am feeling a little bit nostalgic today. In honor of Throwback Thursday I thought I would go back in time and reminisce on some of my favorite memories from my 26.2′s. I think what I love most about this race distance is that it seems like such a long way to go but you come out on the other side a different person than when you first arrived. I enjoy the journey through those miles more than anything else.

-My first marathon back in October 2010 – the Chicago Marathon. I remember how nervous but oh so excited I was to run this race. I had trained all summer long with my running group so I knew I was ready. Boy did I not really know what I was getting myself into though. After mile 20 you start thinking…’wait, so why am I doing this‘? ‘I am never doing this again!’ Then it becomes a TEST of your will and mental fortitude. The remaining 6.2 is ALL HEART. It’s something you can’t quite explain or understand unless you have been through it. I truly crossed that finish line a different person.

With some awesome people.

I loved the city of Chicago…the sights, the diversity…oh and the Garrett’s popcorn. Now that was the highlight of my trip.

-Feb 2011- Rock N Roll New Orleans Marathon. I signed up for this race with my running buddy Lori. I was so excited to run down in the bayou. New Orleans is an amazing city with so much rich culture and amazing cuisine. It’s also so much fun to run there! The course was mostly flat and the weather is always ideal that time of year. I shaved about 30 minutes off of my previous time down in the Nola. It was an amazing feeling. I also raised $1,500 through the American Cancer Society in memory of my late aunt who lost her battle to brain cancer. She was an avid runner and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was watching over me and pushing me the entire way.

-Oct 2011- the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. I trained for this race all summer with my dear running buddies. Boy was it hot that summer! I was ready to run in some cold weather. And cold it was – a blustery 30 something degrees. Cold weather makes me want to run FAST! And run fast I did. I P.R.’d that year with a time of 3:54. I felt on top of the world and on top of my running game.

-Feb 2012- Galveston Mardi Gras Marathon. I signed up for this race on an absolute whim just so I could run on the beach by the water. Plus Galveston is just a fun place. I trained for this race solo while also volunteer coaching the spring program over at Luke’s Locker. Race day it was raining like gangbusters with near 40 mph winds. Totally unexpected but I told myself to stay strong, and keep my mental game tight. If any race tested my mental and physical strength, it would have been this one. I look back on this race with a smile on my face because I know how hard I fought for that 3:56 time. Plus having my sweetheart there cheering me on the whole way was just the icing on the cake!

-Oct 2012- Back to the Marine Corps Marathon for another go round. This was a comeback race for me following an injury I had suffered during the springtime. A pulled hip flexor is nothing to play with ya’ll! After rehabbing it for MONTHS and no running I started training and slowly ramping back up my mileage. I gradually gained my strength back in the summer after lots of slow running and decided to make a go of it. Definitely not my best time here but I loved running by the sights and monuments in D.C. I just enjoyed the ride and running it with some incredible friends. After the race I stayed in D.C. for a week and enjoyed a nice vacation. Also got to catch up with some of my bestest buds from college which was so much fun.

-Feb 2013- There is a trend here with Oct/Feb races I guess…so I ran the Cowtown Marathon, a local race here in the DFW area, a few months back. I trained solo for this race and went into it with no expectations (which in my opinion…is the best way to go into a race). I knew the race would be super hilly so I just held on for the ride. The course was beautiful and maintained a great pace and actually felt great the whole way. My heart was definitely in the game. I shaved nearly 20 minutes off of my previous time with a 4:04. Fine by me! I knew I earned that time after fighting through all of those mounds of opportunity.

What marathons or races stick out in your head the most?

Are you training for any full marathons this fall?

Color Run, Patio Weather, and What’s Next.

This morning’s workout- 55 minutes of spin cycle with my rowdy bunch at the gym. Love my Monday morning crew.

This weekend included a little running and lots of time outdoors. The weather in Dallas was warm and breezy…perfect temps for drinks on the patio.

The festivities even went on into the evening…Saturday night I enjoyed some live music at this cute little coffee bar with my good friend Natalie.

Love this girl…always an adventure and fun times catching up.

From one of our last little outings

Let’s see what else happened? Oh yeah the Color Run! A messy 5K with lots of paint and colors splattered about. This is definitely a race to check out if you haven’t done it before! It’s like a big party for 3 miles.

Every half mile or so they sprayed you with a different color. Yellows, blues, purples, pinks, oh my.

I did this race with a bunch of old friends from Luke’s Locker and the Frisco Running Club. A lot of people brought their kids too which was super fun! I definitely recommend it if you have kids or want to bring your family. Or, if you are new to running and want to run/walk your first 5K, this is definitely the race for you. It’s untimed and NO ONE cares about their finish time. It’s all about the fun.

At the end of the race they give you a packet full of color and you throw it up in the air. Like you just don’t care.

After the race I got all cleaned up and set out for another run. What’s next? I have a half coming up that I have volunteered to pace in two weeks so I want to be good and ready for that. I will be leading the 2 hour pace group. Super exciting! Anyway, clocked in over 10 miles on Saturday including the 5K. I made sure to stop and smell the flowers along the way.

Sunday I went to church and then came home and made some stuffed peppers with black beans, ground turkey, quinoa and lotsa yummy things! They turned out delicious. I will post the recipe later on in the week.

How was your weekend? Have you ever done the Color Run? 

Earned It…Dallas RnR Half Recap.

Well another week is upon us. Hope you had a good weekend! I am thankful for the past couple of days to catch up with friends, run my little heart out, and enjoy free time. Speaking of running, I ran the Dallas RnR half marathon yesterday. It was good times had by many, windy and chilly. Ideal conditions for racing, for sure!

Let’s back it up to Saturday morning. I was up and at ‘em to the Health and Fitness expo to pick up my race stuff. I shopped around a bit and of course was tempted to buy everything. Like these stickers. Want one in every color.

I even bought a new dri fit top and headband to get me all hyped up for the race. Peace, love run 13.1.

And of course I had to carb load…like a BOSS…

Sunday morning I was up early to carpool with my buddies! We made it out to Fair Park where the finish line was to park our cars and then took shuttle buses to the start in downtown Dallas. The weather was a crisp 30 something degrees, 20 mile an hour winds. Start line was filled with lots of eager runners ready to rock n roll.

This was the 4th time I’ve done this race…so I basically knew what to expect. The course was almost identical to last year with a few exceptions. We started out mostly downhill and then went up into the uptown part of Dallas.  I was whizzing along feeling good, passing by a couple of friends and chatting along. I felt like given the weather I could hold on strong to that 8 something min/mile so I kept trucking. The temps stayed around the 30s for a majority of the race! I was so happy about that. Last year it was warm and humid so this was a nice change of pace. I started fading a bit around mile 7 but I tried to keep my mental game on. Every time I wanted to slow down I would think…’well…it’s much too cold to do that…so keep running strong to stay WARM!’ So that worked. I would play with my speed a bit to gain momentum and just keep moving forward.

I honestly did not care about a PR for this race or anything like that. I had every intention to finish this race around the 1:50 mark and would just have been happy with anything under 2 hours. Since last year’s injury…I hadn’t run a half under 1:56 so my expectations were low. But I felt so strong for this race so I think going into it with no pressure really made a huge difference for me.

I kicked it into the finish with a 1:48…a number I hadn’t seen in over a year! And it felt so good. Post injury, post feeling like I would never really get back to that strong, confident runner that I once was. I finally am starting to feel like my old self again. And that…feels real good.

This one was EARNED.

Another medal on the rack. Perhaps I need a new rack, yes? This one’s about to fall over.

How was your weekend? Did anyone race? 

What’s your workout today?

Spin class, check.

Mounds of Opportunity- Cowtown Marathon Recap.

Happy Monday! I hope you all had an excellent weekend. I feel like we need to catch up, yes? Well let’s recap the festivities from the past few days.

Friday after work my girl Tammi and I went and had a little date at my favorite Uptown sushi spot. Sushi – probably my favorite way to carb load for a marathon. Good eats and girl talk were shared.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early for the Cowtown Marathon Expo! I made the 20 minute drive over to Ft. Worth to grab my race number and other materials. Saturday was the 5K/10K portion of the race and Sunday is the Half/Marathon/Ultra distances.

The expo was fairly small so I was basically in and out of there but first I had to stop off at the pickle booth. They were giving out some tasty pickles and also pickle juice which aids in muscle cramps. I tried some bloody mary pickles which were a little spicy but oh so tasty!

Saturday night was a fairly chill night. My mom spent the night at my house since she was my cheerleader for the day. I laid out my race clothes and had everything ready to go.

Race morning I was up around 4:45 am to eat my cookie dough flavored power bar and get my things together. We were out the door by 5:15 and made a quick stop off for some coffee before we headed out to Fort Worth! We parked and made it there just before 6 am. Just in time to stop off at the restrooms and find my friend Jeanette for a quick pic.

I was in corral 2 so I made my way up to the start line. To take more pics of course.

Around 7:05 am we were off! Gorgeous course mostly starting off a little bit downhill. My friend Toni came up behind me and we ran together for a little bit. She had just gotten done running the Carlsbad Marathon in California so I got to catch up with her for a bit and chat! My first mile was right at a 9 minutes, perfect conversational pace for me. We got to trucking along and entered the downtown area. First 5K down, many more miles to go.

I parted with Toni shortly after this because I was feeling great. I decided that I wanted to bank a little bit of time in the first half of this race. Since I had no real goals I decided early on that I wanted to finish the first half of the race in under 2 hours and then see what I could do in the back half. We hit 10K and entered the beautiful Ft. Worth Stockyards.

Lots of spectators here and running on the cobblestone made for a good time! I vividly remembered this part of the race from when I ran the half last year so I enjoyed it. I picked up the pace here a bit and was feeling good so I figured, what the heck. Soon I looked ahead of me around mile 9 and I saw an incredibly steep incline. Again, I remembered that this was the toughest hill from last year. I made my way up and thought of this little mantra I shared with you not long ago.

‘Mounds of opportunity’ just kept floating around in my head. I decided from that point on I would coach myself up every hill I encountered. I would say it over and over again, out loud…not really caring about who heard me. I would say it…and a little voice in my head would say…’say it again‘. ‘Believe it this time’. Crazy right? Anyway, it helped. I hit the half marathon point and was feeling pretty much like a rockstar.

At this point the half marathoners had detoured and finished their race…and the ultras and 26.2ers just kept trucking along. We hit a few more rolling hills and entered a pretty shaded neighborhood with lots of spectators outside with their kiddos and families cheering us on. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. I stopped at just about every water station and grabbed both powerade and water and took tiny sips. I also ate my energy jelly beans whenever I felt like I needed them…just munching away. Towards the later miles they were also giving out pieces of banana and some orange wedges…don’t mind if I do, thank you. I hit 20 miles feeling pretty dang awesome and holding steady.

For just a moment there, I thought in my head…I could break 4 hours today. Just knowing that in the back of my head (especially after October’s mediocre ‘for me’ finish time) kind of made me a little excited. After I hit mile 22 I started fading a bit and my pace slowed down. I never truly walked for this entire race but with the temps rising to 70 that day and the hills that just wouldn’t quit I knew I couldn’t maintain under a 9 minute mile. I tried with all my might but my legs were tired. The wind picked up a bit and I took a double espresso Clif energy gel around mile 23-24.

I had actually never tried this one before and bought it on a whim. I LOVED it! I will definitely buy more of these in the future. It tasted just like a delicious cup of coffee…which was just what I felt like I needed at the moment. I ran along the beautiful Trinity River and of course had to snap a pic.

At mile 25 we broke off with the ultra peeps and headed home. Another little incline but then straight on downhill into the finish. I picked up the pace a bit when I saw that finish line. #6 complete.

I saw my mama at the finish and the volunteers let her put my medal on me. We stopped and took some post race pics. How awesome is that sign?

4:04 finish. Pretty sweet for having no goals whatsoever for this race. I honestly didn’t know what to expect but I am so happy with that time. I know in the near future I will be breaking 4 again with a rockin’ PR and I can’t wait for the next one. I have to say that I enjoyed this race no matter the outcome. The course, the friends, spectators, volunteers made this race an incredible one and one that I will always remember. I conquered those mounds of opportunity.

 

Dallas Half Marathon Race Recap.

Well hello there! Hope you had a marvelous weekend. I woke up to chilly temps and a little bit of that white stuff (what do they call it, snow?) on my rooftop this morning. Yesterday, it was 70 degrees and humid btw. Really, Texas? It is starting to finally feel like winter time around these parts!

Let’s recap the weekend, shall we?

This weekend was the Dallas half marathon…my 4th half marathon completed this year and my 12th half overall. The 13.1 distance is my absolute favorite so I knew this one would be fun. Saturday morning after subbing a spin class for a friend I went over to the Dallas marathon expo to get all of my swag.

 

I was very fortunate to be running with the awesome Team VW this year! I wasn’t actually even going to run this race up until I found out about the opportunity and was chosen to run with them. What a privilege.

Along with my Team VW shirt they also gave us free socks, a wristlet you can put your keys in, and a headband with built in headphones! Freaking awesome.

Race morning I got ready and drove down to the Dallas Convention Center near the start line. I met up with all of my friends, some running the half and others rocking the full 26.2 distance. We took our pre race pics as usual.

 

Around 7:30 am we went over to line up in the start line corrals. The corrals were crazy packed this year! We were probably thousands of people back from the actual start. When the gun went off at 8:05 am, it literally took us 4 minutes to cross to get to the front of the line! I took that as an opportunity to take more pics of course.

 

I clicked my Garmin off at 8:09 a.m. and we were off! Confetti flying and smoke in the air. So many people at this race, more than I remember from when I did this race 2 years ago! It was packed and thick for miles but I did my best to weave through the crowds. I tried not to focus at all on my pace, just how I was feeling. Although the weather was seasonably warm with 80% percent humidity I actually felt really good! I had a spring in my step and felt like I had power in my legs. My first few miles were a little speedier than I wanted, close to 8-8:30/min miles. It felt good though so I went with it! I loved the course changes this year, and running over the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge was simply beautiful.

 

Around mile 6-7 we went into the Turtle Creek part of Dallas. It was a little hilly here so I just tried to hold onto my pace. With the humidity getting a little bit thicker I was starting to feel warm here so I had to drop my Team VW shirt – I had a black tank top on underneath. I was so glad I dropped the shirt because I felt much lighter! The course loops around close to mile 8 and goes back into downtown. This was where the full marathoners split off. I saw a lot of my buddies here so that was really motivating.

I started dipping into 9 minute miles here so I turned up my music for encouragement…I just kept telling myself “what would my homebody Meb do?” He would tell me to DIG DEEP! So that I did. I picked up the pace and kept flying. I loved the downhills and basically just flew down all of them to gain some momentum. Towards mile 11 I was feeling tired but I just went with the flow of my music I was listening to. Every time a fast part of a song came on…I did little bursts of speed. My main goal for this race definitely was to stay under 2 hours and that’s what I did! Not a PR but given the conditions I was thrilled with my finish time.

 

Next weekend I will be racing the Jog’r Egg Nog’r 5K! I did the 15K last year and had a ball out there. I can’t wait to run this one and work on my speed a bit!

How was your weekend? Did you race/run/do anything fun & active? What do you tell yourself during a race when you are struggling? 

Mission Accomplished- MCM Race Recap.

What a whirlwind these past couple of days have been! Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, and thankfully we did not lose power over here at my friend’s house. I will be in Maryland for the rest of the week, enjoying post marathon recovery and a well deserved vacation! I guess I had better get you caught up on this past weekend’s marathon festivities…

I arrived into the DC area late Friday nite after a long flight from Dallas. I was pooped but I knew I had to find some carbs fast! Some of my Luke’s friends were also running the race too so we all decided to link up for a meal. I enjoyed some delicious shrimp pasta and then we noshed on cupcakes afterwards. So tasty.

Saturday morning my friend and I hit up the expo. It took everything in me not to buy everything in sight! I got my race number and we took some photos.

Saturday nite my hotel roomie Laurie and I laid out our race clothes. I loved my race outfit this year…I did break the rule about getting new clothes and wore a brand new pink running skirt! It was so comfy and I am actually glad that I colored outside the lines a bit and made that purchase.

Race morning! Laurie and I had been discussing the weather the night before and we knew Hurricane Sandy was right off of the coast. We were prepped for the worse but thankfully we woke up to no rain! It was a breezy, yet humid 50 something degrees the morning of the race. We met up with our other Luke’s Locker buddies and made our way to Runner’s Village via the Metro. Of course we had to take some pre race photos.

I also ran into some of my buddies from Philly, Eric and Anthony! It was Anthony’s first marathon and I knew he would rock it.

From left- Anthony, me and Eric

My friends Lori, Laurence and I lined up in the 4 hour corrals along with thousands of other runners. It was a LOT more runners this year from what I remember of last year’s race! Lori and I said a little prayer for happy strong legs, the gun went off and we were on our way.

The first half of the race was mostly rolling hills, and I started off with a 9 minute pace. My goal for this race was to stay around the 9 minute pace mark for a while and then in the back half see if I could negative split. The first half of the race was thick with crowds of runners and for the most part it did not thin out. I put on my music to zone out a bit. My first 10K was a 9:02 pace. Right on target for where I wanted to be.

Towards the half marathon point I started mentally struggling. I don’t know why it happened for me so early in the game. It was humid, and the winds from Sandy started picking up a bit. Once I hit 13.1 in around the 2 hour mark I knew that it would take a lot out of me to get to a sub 4 marathon finish like earlier in the year and of course from last year’s PR finish. I started feeling here like I wanted to quit. During my pity party, as I looked up I saw signs of all of the fallen Marines that were killed in battle. One after the other. Photos of every one of them. This gave me strength somehow and really put things in perspective for me. I shuffled along and picked up the pace a bit.

Although my pace had slowed…towards the back half of the race I started feeling good, like I was capable of finishing this race. My pace had slowed by nearly a minute around the 18 mile mark. I allowed myself to take it easy here and in perspective I probably could have picked it up, but I just wanted to finish strong and healthy. I was so happy that I had written my name on my shirt this year! Spectators left and right were cheering for me, total strangers and it was awesome. Whenever I was feeling down on myself, a runner would pass by me after looking at the back of my shirt which read my favorite scripture, Phil 4:13. They would say “You can do ALL THINGS through Christ…keep going!” and it was just what I needed to hear. I have a feeling it encouraged them to persevere as well.

After conquering the bridge at mile 20, which is a LONG stretch of road with almost no spectators for 2 miles, we entered Crystal City with people all around. I stopped at each water stop for Gatorade and water here, and although my legs were starting to feel heavy, I drew strength from the people around me and from the Marines to charge to the end. I could feel my muscles and everything in my body ached but I tried to push back all of those feelings and push forward. We circled back around and I saw the Iwo Jima hill and the finish line in the distance. My eyes welled up in tears, knowing I had finally made it to the end. I knew God was with me the whole way, and I felt that my late aunt who was an avid runner was there the whole time too, coaching me to stay strong.

My finish time was not my best by far, 4:28 on the clock. It took me some time for that finish time to sink in, and actually when I spoke with several others not everyone was thrilled with their times this year. But just the fact that I finished this thing, that I overcame all of those mental struggles that plagued me so early in this race, was enough satisfaction for me. The marathon will always be there – it’s the ultimate mental test. Not all races are created equal, and I have learned that just from doing a handful of these bad boys. I will ALWAYS be challenged and forever changed by the 26.2.

I did it. Number 5 is behind me, and I am looking forward to conquering the next one.

Wounded Warrior 10K Recap.

Happiest of Mondays to you! This is always the day where we play catch up with each other…so let’s back it on up and recap the weekend, mmkay?

This weekend was a nice mix of fun, relaxation and dare I say RACING! That’s right, your girl is back in the game of racing. I decided to run the Wounded Warrior 10K on Sunday with my Luke’s Locker teammates. It was a warm and humid 80 something degrees, and I was determined to go out there and do my best. As I told you last week, I had no goals for this race other than just to do my best, and hold on to see what I was physically and mentally ready for. Of course, before the gun went off, I had to have a little photoshoot with my posse, because we are freaking good looking people and that’s what races are all about, right? RIGHT.

I loved this race because there were members of the military all along the course. It was nice having that kind of encouragement from those that fight for our country.

The race had a half marathon and a 10K option. This was the 3rd 10K I had ever run, but it had been a little over a year since I’ve done that distance.  I knew the course since I ran one similar to it last year, and this race was in my neighborhood which was awesome. It literally took me about 5 minutes to get to the race site! So I definitely knew what to expect. A few rolling hills, but mostly even elevation. I love running through the Campion Trails in Las Colinas, and try to get out there every once in a while during the week for solo runs. So it was nice to hit the trails once again.

My first mile, I definitely went WAY too fast right out of the gate. I think I was just so ballstothewall excited about racing again that the adrenaline kind of took a hold of me. Mile 1 – 7:30-ish. I tried to see if I could hold on to that on the second mile. My body temp started warming up and the heat took over. I had to slow it down. Mile 2- 8:30 something. Ah well, I said to myself. I can pick it up at the turnaround point. It was nice getting to turn around and go back the same way I came. I got to see a lot of my buddies and high five everyone. It was cool being out there with the Luke’s crew, everyone was so encouraging to one another. Every time I got tired, I looked up and saw one of my buddies, cheering me on, and I returned the favor.

On the way home, I was getting tired. The heat was really starting to hit me. I felt like stopping at about mile 5…but I just kept telling myself to keep moving. I know how my body responds to this heat, so I made sure to listen to it and run smart. Even if I had to slow down and take a blow to my ego, I was going to do what I needed to do to run smart and safe. I slowed it waay down up until I hit where I could see the finish line. I sprinted in with the guy right next to me which is always fun.

Still finished in just under an hour, 9 minute pace. Finished. Done. Finitio.

The boyfriend Eric was at the finish line cheering me on. I was so happy to see him there. When I saw him I started crying a little bit from disappointment. I so badly wanted to hold on to those 7 and 8 minute miles. He was so encouraging and supportive of me…he told me ‘This is your COMEBACK race…you did great! You finished!’ I really appreciated his words at that moment. Kind of needed hear that.

After the race I jetted on home to get ready for my brunch that I was hosting for my running buddies. I made some french toast casserole, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, lotsa fruit and some pastry bites. I had prepared a lot of the stuff the night before so it was real easy to pop it out and have it ready after the race.

My buds came over and gobbled that stuff up so fast! I was so happy to have all of them over. A bunch of them DOMINATED and took home age group awards too! Congrats guys!! 

From the left, Diane (2nd place in AG) Shirley (2nd in AG) me, and Pepsi (took 1st place! ROCKSTAR!!)

So what I learned from this race was this – I will always and forever be thankful for every opportunity I have to run. Some days are not going to be PR kind of days. It just makes you appreciate it that much more when you DO have those days. More than a PR, I  am SO thankful for the camaraderie I have with my running buddies. These people are lifelong friends that I cherish every moment with. I am going to take care of my body and do what I need to do to get back in to racing shape. I am going to be PATIENT with myself. I will get back in the groove soon. And until then, I am going to enjoy and love my life. And be thankful for the fact that God gave me this body and these legs to RUN.

 

Did you bike, run, swim, dance this weekend? Ever done a 10K before? What is your favorite post race/workout meal?

Galveston Marathon Recap.

Well I am finally getting around to writing this review. The past couple of days have been reserved for much needed R & R after a whirlwind adventure in Galveston! Thank you for your kind words and support and encouragement…all of the tweets, blog comments and Facebook notes. I appreciated them all.

Eric and I decided to road trip it out to Galveston on Saturday afternoon. We rented a car and left Dallas close to 1 pm. Traffic wasn’t too bad since it was the weekend…it’s a straight shot down 45 to Houston so time seemed to just fly by. We made it to Galveston in record time, close to 5:30 pm. As I expected, it was dark and cloudy when we got there. I took photos anyways because that’s what I do.

We went by the Fit to Run store to grab my race packet before they closed, then put our bags down at our hotel, the Beachcomber Inn. Basically it’s like the Super 8 of Galveston. All good, wasn’t complaining…can’t really beat $70 for a one night stay. The rooms were super nice and cozy.

Once we settled in I had to take pics of the race packet swag. I got a super cute Brooks technical shirt, backpack and even a hat…love when races give you lots of loot.

My dad and his girlfriend stayed at the Hotel Galvez & Spa down the street…aka the Ritz Carlton of the island. It’s pretty much amazing..the hotel has been there forever and it is beautiful. We were going to eat at the hotel but decided to go next door and have dinner at Miller’s Seawall Grill. I had grilled shrimp, mashed potatoes, green beans and 2 ginormous buttered rolls the size of my head. Carbo loading at its finest.

After dinner I set out my clothes and was out like a light by 10pm.

I woke up around 5 am to get ready and have breakfast. Of course, it was raining. I was prepared since I had been watching the forecast the past few days, but still a little disappointed. We set out and met up with my buddy Gerardo who came down from Houston to run the half marathon. We took some pre race photos and headed to the start.

I lined up and put my headphones on. I was feeling mentally there and ready to go. I had a windbreaker jacket since I had forgotten to get a poncho. By then the rain had slowed a bit but was still coming down and it was super windy. The race started right at 7:30. I started off maintaining about an 8:30 pace. I felt really good and it was nice to run on the Seawall right by the water. The course is super flat, almost no elevation at all which definitely helped with the wind. The wind was pushing against me almost a majority of the time. My favorite part of the course was the East Beach, which kind of sits away from the town. The beachfront property there was just beautiful.

The race circles back and starts over at the half marathon point. I finished the half around 1:54, pretty good considering the conditions. At the half point I caught up with the 3:50 pacer and stuck with her for a few miles. It was nice having someone to run with and talk to. She started the race at the half marathon point so she was running super strong. Around mile 18 or so, I had to let her go. The winds were picking up and it started raining a little harder. I just kept telling myself to KEEP GOING, no matter if I slowed down. I never felt like I really “hit a wall” which was rare, but the wind was so unbearable I physically didn’t feel like I could run faster. I kept going and circled back around into town. Around mile 25 I saw the 4 hour pacer pass me. My heart sunk in disappointment. I had stopped looking at my watch and figured oh well, at least I’m finishing this thing.

Then I looked ahead, and saw the finish line. The clock still had a 3 in it. I really didn’t think I was going to finish in under 4 hours but I made it. 3:56. Not a PR, but my goal was to knock out another sub 4 and I DID IT. I was ecstatic. I fought the entire way. Wind, rain. Overcame all of the obstacles.

Placed 3rd in my age group. Not bad.

After the race I took a couple of photos and went back to the hotel to shower and get in some warm clothes. The nice part is that the island is so small so basically anywhere you stay is close to the race site. After I got dressed we had brunch at the Hotel Galvez. Their brunch was amazing, fresh shrimp, crab, omelet and waffle bar…post marathon paradise.

definitely staying there next time.

We didn’t stay around long after brunch. We took some silly photos and got back on the road to catch the tail end of the Super Bowl.

So that was it in a nutshell. Overall it is a great course, super flat, great amenities and such a fun themed mardi gras race. This was their 2nd year putting on this race and it was very organized. I would definitely do it again. With great weather this would be an ideal course to set a PR. Plus, fresh seafood, beautiful places to stay in the area and running on the beach. Doesn’t get any better that that.

New Year’s Double Recap.

Happy New Year! I hope you had a long, restful holiday weekend. Mine was full of running and celebrating another year of being alive! God is so good and has blessed me with an active lifestyle and good friends and family to share it with. I am thankful for that.

I hope everyone ate their black eyed peas over the weekend! I know I sure did. My mom made a big helping of black eyed peas and cabbage, supposedly it brings good luck? I don’t know for sure. I just do what I’m told and eat them.

This past weekend was the New Year’s Double – back to back half marathons! And guess what…I am happy to say that I survived! The event was spectacular, the volunteers were awesome, and the course was great. I had a bunch of crazy friends out there doing it with me so that made it even better. If you know me, you know that the tiaras and feather boa was in full effect.

pink feather boa - for photo ops only. no feathers flying in my face while running.

So, day 1 – the race started at 8:15 a.m. which was nice because it gave us lots of time to get out there and get a good parking spot. The race was held both days at the same location – Celebration park, which is in a newer nicer part of Allen (suburb of Dallas). I arrived with a couple of my girlfriends who were all doing the half marathon and we found some of our other running buddies and took snapshots.

say cheese! yes I wore a tiara both days. not sure how but they actually stayed on.

I got in the A corral and was ready to go. Garmin on my wrist, fired up and excited. The first half of the race I maintained under an 8 minute pace and was feeling awesome. There were plenty of water/gatorade stations and I utilized them all. Some friends of mine from the Frisco Running Club had a tent/water station too which was nice seeing them out there. The first loop circled around the park and into a neighborhood. When it looped back around I got to see all of my friends and high five everyone. It was really encouraging seeing others out there and kept me going. Around the half way point the course loops back to the start and starts all over again. Mentally this was a little challenging / dull for me but I had my ipod so that kept me distracted a majority of the time. Day 1 my strategy was to basically crush it and go all out which I did. Finished 1:45, nearly a minute and a half from my previous best time which was a PR. I won 3rd place in my age group and received a champagne glass trophy. Sweet!

INTENSE.

Cheers!

After round 1 I met up with my friend Ann and my mom for a little celebration brunch at this fabulous restaurant called Bonnie Ruth’s in Allen. If you haven’t been here before and live in the area, you must go! The food is mostly French but delicious and rich. I had the omelet with fresh herbs and goat cheese and a cup of corn chowder soup. And of course a celebratory mimosa. For dessert Ann and I split the kahlua cake which was divine!

Cake? Yes please.

I went home following brunch and took a nice nap. For NYE the BF and I went over to a friend’s house and did the whole countdown and rang in the New Year right. Immediately after midnight I knew I needed to book it out of there so I did since I had yet another early race morning. It was fun though.

Tiaras - a necessary NYE prop.

The next morning, I was feeling somewhat fresh and ready to go. I met up with a girlfriend of mine and we were off on our way. Took some photos with some friends from the Frisco Running Club. One of my buddies, Hamlin ran back to back FULL marathons, day 1 with a weighted vest, day two barefoot. Yep, that’s crazy dedication right there.

Round 2 I knew would be a recovery run, and it was. It was nice knowing the course already so I knew what to expect. I got into the front of Corral B and lined up then the gun went off. I was a little sore from round 1 so I took it easy, maintaining an 8:30 min pace. The music on the ipod definitely helped me this time.

happy and high fivin'!

I finished 1:53, 6th place in my age group which was fine by me. My overall goal for both races was to finish each one in under 2 hours. I had no expectations other than that. It just so happens that I did PR which was so awesome! I loved the double medal they gave us at the end!

Reflecting back on it I am super happy that I did the New Year’s Double. It was an organized race that I would definitely do again. I also love the concept of ending and starting the year on a solid note. It was my first experience doing back to back halfs and I loved being able to challenge myself and push my limits.

This year I am looking forward to coaching another awesome half marathon program with Luke’s Locker and meeting some new faces. I love being able to encourage and inspire others to push their limits and go far beyond what they ever thought possible. It is just so rewarding to see people start out unsure about their abilities and see them grow into confident and successful runners. I only know because I was once that beginner who knew nothing about pacing, proper fueling and hydration. Having coaches that encouraged and motivated me helped me become the runner that I am today.

I am also looking forward to teaching more Danceaton classes this year at 24 Hour Fitness. I am subbing right now still and don’t have my own class but I enjoy the flexibility of being a sub. Tomorrow I will be teaching a class for a girlfriend of mine after work so that will be a good time as always. I see it as everything has its own timing and when the time is right I will have my own class but right now I am taking it all in stride.

I hope everyone has a great week and starts off this new year on a productive note!

Have a good one! 

I Did It.

So I have had a few days to recover from Sunday’s marathon. Boy, were those days needed! Tomorrow is my last day here in Washington D.C. and then I’ll be headed back to Dallas. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here and I almost don’t want to leave! I have gotten to spend some time with so many amazing long lost friends from college. Some of them I haven’t seen in years. It has been nice to reminisce with them and catch up on their lives. One of my best friends got engaged the other day, I am so happy for her!! Congrats Aditi!!!

I am guessing you want to hear a little bit about how the race went, huh? It was absolutely the best marathon experience I’ve had thus far. Yes, I am a little bit bias considering my finish time, but I loved everything about this race. It was the only marathon I’ve done so far that I can honestly say I want to do again. The Marines, awesome volunteers, beautiful mouments and sights along the course, and even down to the runners who support each other along the way really made this one memorable.

Me and my running buddy Laurie flew in Friday and headed over via the Metro to our hotel to drop off our bags, then to the expo to pick up our packets. The Marines gave us our bibs then we went and got our race shirts and did some shopping at the Brooks store. The expo had a lot of great booths, and it was hard not to want to stay in there forever but we made our way out of there.

We were real low key on Friday and ate dinner at the hotel. We stayed at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, and we got a beautiful room overlooking the capitol.

I enjoyed my stay at the hotel but in my opinion it was a little overpriced for the small amount of amenities that they offered. Anyway, I did like the low key-ness of the restaurant. We met a few people at the hotel running the marathon which was cool. Saturday night they even had an Italian buffet for a decent price for the runners. I laid out my clothes after that and got ready for the big day on Sunday.

Sunday morning, race day. I must say I was a little bit bummed because a couple of nights before I accidently dropped my ipod shuffle in the bathroom sink. Awesome, right? Perfect timing. Even after putting it in rice and doing all of those tricks to dry it out…no music. Anyway, so I decided I was going to suck it up and how many long training runs have I done sans the ipod? Like, a bunch. So I decided that music was not going to be my handicap and I had better quit crying and get over it.

Laurie and I took the metro up to the race site which proved to be the perfect way to travel there! I really like how organized the public transportation is in D.C. We got there quickly without the stress of having to drive. It was freezing that morning, temps in the 30s! So I decided against my skirt and went with my hoodie, leggings and compression socks. They worked out perfectly.

We went to line up and the gun went off. It only took us about 3 minutes to pass the start, which I was happy about. We got right near the 4 hour finish corral area which worked out great.

Pretty much the first 5 or so miles the runners were packed and it did not thin out. So I took that to my advantage and made sure to hold back a bit with my pace. I was just about at 9 minute pace at the 10K and was feeling good, and feeling like I was holding back just right. Since I didn’t have my ipod, I decided I would really take in the sights around me, and even talk to some of the runners who were at my pace. One guy I talked to was running his 20th marathon. It was amazing to hear some of the runner’s stories…something I would not have been able to do had I been wearing my ipod. Everyone was so cordial, and encouraging towards one another. Even when the wheelchair athletes went by the runners would say “on your left” or “make a hole!!” for them to get by. I thought that was so cool.

When I hit 30K, I was surprised at how amazing I was feeling. I had picked up my pace to about an 8:45 and felt like I could hold on to it. It was great that I felt like I hadn’t hit a wall or wanted to slow down. Just seeing all of the runners and how determined everyone looked was so motivating. Even at the water stops, the Marines would say “keep it up! you’re doing great!” and it would be just what you needed to hear to keep trucking.

I hit mile 20 and we were on a bridge with a little bit of an incline and a long stretch of road. I started feeling a little tired here but knew I was almost done. So I started talking to myself. Out loud. I didn’t really care who was listening. So I started repeating Phillippians 4:13 to myself and calling out the names of all of the people who I was running for. My dad who has been sick as of late, my late aunt who was an avid runner…all of the people I wanted to be strong for. And it worked…it gave me the determination I needed to keep going. Towards the end…around mile 24-25, I saw people struggling and I encouraged them and told them to keep going, and they encouraged me.

Finally, I saw the finish straight ahead. The finish had one of the biggest uphills, although it was short lived. At that point I was just running off of adrenaline. I finished strong and gave it all I had.

I can definitely say I fought the hardest during this race and felt mentally stronger than I’ve ever felt during a race. I am not sure if it was the Marines, the runners around me, or what that made me feel that way. But I felt it, the whole way. I didn’t want to stop, no matter how tired I was, I ignored all of those thoughts of being tired and kept pushing. Yeah, I definitely felt sore afterwards (and until today, had to go down the stairs backwards) but I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It just so happens that I nailed my sub 4 hour time goal with a finish time of 3:54.

Marathon number 3 is in the books.

I did it.