Cruising the Creekwalk 5K – 2011

So forget all that silly stuff I said yesterday. Holding back doesn’t really fit my personality … ask my husband. Maybe I’ll try next time.

It was a chilly 30 degrees or so at the start of the Cruising the Creekwalk 5K. I never know how to dress in that weather. I’m freezing cold the first 10 minutes or so and then I get boiling hot, it happens to me every time.

The cold weather didn’t seem to keep anyone away though. There were over 400 registrants for the race which is only in its 4th year.

Can you spot me?

I ended up running hard, but unlike some other races I’ve done it felt (mostly) good. I still felt like I wasn’t going to make the last 1/4 mile, which I guess means I did my best and held nothing back.

My splits were – 7:08, 7:30 and 6:56!

As far as I know this is the first time ever that I’ve run a sub-7 minute mile! I swore that one day I would, and it happened today. Funny thing is I didn’t even see it on my Garmin when it beeped. I actually didn’t realize it until on the way home.

After the race I ran the 1 mile fun run also just to stretch out my legs a bit. They were feeling crampy after the 5K.

We all headed in to the award ceremony and filled up on food. Unfortunately I didn’t win a door prize this year. Boo! 😦
Last year I won one and Tim won one which more than covered our registration fees. I was hoping to do the same again this year.

I managed to will myself to stay away from the doughnuts and pizza and filled up on fruit instead.

I was HANGRY again by the time I got home and made a big taco salad with black beans and corn. I didn’t even pause to take a picture.

I’m scheduled to do a 9 miler tomorrow. Its been since October when I’ve run more than 6 miles so I’m a little nervous about it. I’m trying to decide if I can be ready to run another half marathon in February. Tomorrow will tell alot.

Prattville CityFest 5K

This morning was my 15th race! Its hard to believe that in 7 1/2 months I have run:

• Eight 5Ks
• One 7K
• One 8K
• Two 10Ks
• a 12K
• and Two Half Marathons

The race itself was a fairly familiar course. We’ve run parts of this same course for several of the races I’ve done. The weather was a definite issue this morning though. The temperature was only about 70 degrees but the humidity was OUT OF CONTROL! It literally felt like trying to run in a sauna.

Despite the humidity, I ran as hard as I could. I really struggled the last mile and especially the last half mile. I used to never get side stitches or cramps when I ran, but all of a sudden now I seem to be getting them every race.

The girl that always beats me was there again. And true to form .. she beat me. I thought I might have her today. She always starts off really strong and then somewhere in the middle I end up passing her, and within the last 1/4 mile she zooms past me. Today was no exception. (Hi Deidre!)

I should have gotten a picture with her, but I didn’t think about it.

I finished in 22:06, but the course was only 3.01 miles according to my Garmin.

My splits were: 7:18, 7:23, 7:19.

I did get a few pictures of Hubby finishing up …

And my friend Meagan from work …

After the 5K my cousin (actually my 2nd cousins wife, but you get it) and I ran the 1 mile fun run together, just to stretch our legs out.

Here’s some motivation … This 10 year old boy kicked my butt in the 5K and then ran the 1 mile in 6:30!

So inspiring! … or humiliating. I’m not sure which.

I hope Lincoln will be like that one day. 🙂

I managed to snag 2nd place in my age division (19-29 yrs). Seems like I’m always 2nd place either overall or in age division. Tim tells me “You’ll always be 2nd in my heart”.

After the race Tim and I took showers and headed out for lunch and a day of shopping. I had a huge salad at Jason’s Deli. It was just what I needed!

I’ve got a few more post-race activities to share, but I’ll save that for a later blog. For now I’m headed to the kitchen to finish up some Eggplant Parmesan for dinner. I’m starving!

Oasis 5K

I stupidly signed up to run a race today, which was also Lincoln’s 2nd birthday party at my house. Not a good idea to try to do both in one day. I had no clue how much time and effort goes into planning a child’s birthday party. Anyway …

The weather was absolutely perfect for the race this morning. The course was nice, and except for one major hill at mile 2 it was a pretty easy course. I pretty much knew I wouldn’t PR today since my current PR for a 5K is 22:45, which I consider quite speedy. I came darn close though! I’m not sure what my official time is yet, but I think its going to be about 22:50. Of course I forgot to stop my Garmin as usual.

These are my unofficial stats from my Garmin:

Distance – 3.15 miles

Mile 1 – 7:28
Mile 2 – 7:15
Mile 3 – 7:10

We seriously considered leaving before the awards ceremony, but in the end we decided to stay. I won 2nd Overall Female! The first place girl and I ran together the entire race, then she passed me on the killer hill and I never could quite catch up with her again. I was on her heels the whole time though. I’m pretty sure I was only 1 or 2 seconds behind her. She came up to me after the race and told me that I kept her “on her toes”.

Why do I always smile like I’m in pain?

I’m absolutely exhausted now after all the weekend’s festivities. I’m scheduled to do a 10-miler tomorrow, but I’m not sure if that is going to happen or not. I hate to miss my long run two weeks in a row, but I’m just gonna have to wait and see what happens. There is a possibility of a trail run tomorrow. Happy Easter!

Update: Official time was 22:53 (1 second behind 1st place girl).

Cruisin’ The Creekwalk 5K

I woke up this morning at 3:00 am with that weird chest pain again that I had on Christmas Eve when I almost went to the hospital. I paced back and forth around my room in the dark stretching my arms above my head for about an hour and a half. I took 3 Tums and drank some milk. I tried to lay back down and go to sleep but it hurt worse when I layed down so I paced more. Eventually the pain subsided and I was able to go back to sleep. I’m pretty sure its just Acid Reflux, but it’s really uncomfortable and scary!

When my alarm clock went off at 6:00 this morning I rolled over and asked Tim if he wanted to go run or if he wanted to just go back to sleep. I was really hoping he’d give me an out, but he just replied that it was up to me. Grrreat. After I stretched in bed for a few more minutes I decided that I’d feel better if I just went.

I checked the weather before I left the house to help decide what to wear and it said it would be 50 degrees and sunny at the time the race started. So we got dressed and headed about 30 minutes away to Prattville. The race benefitted the Autauga County Youth Leadership and was held at the Doster Community Center.

It was freezing! The weatherman definitely lied. It was more like 40 degrees and very overcast and windy!

I took the opportunity to take a couple pictures with some characters.

Tim and I were joking about me taking a picture with the Chick-fil-A cow since I’ll be eating neither chicken or cow for atleast the next 30 days. It’ll be more like …

Mmmm, veggie sub 🙂

The race got underway at about 9:00 and the course was very similar to the Spinner’s Pumpkin Run that we did back in the fall. There were a couple of hills, one was slightly brutal but short and there was alot of downhills. My only goal for today was to run the absolute fastest I could and see what happened … and thats exactly what I did.

My splits were:

Mile 1 – 7:33
Mile 2 – 7:17
Mile 3 – 7:08

My official time was 22:45. A new PR! I think this one is going to take the cake for a while though because I honestly can’t imagine myself running any faster than I did today.

After the race we headed inside for warmth and pizza. I had 2 slices of cheese.

While we waited for the Awards Ceremony they gave out some door prizes. Tim won a free oil change and tire rotation …

And I won a $15 gift certificate for Road ID.

I was actually pretty stoked because I’ve wanted one of these for a while! Tim was jealous though.

When they started the awards ceremony I was curious to see where I would place. My friend from work was there cheering on her daughter who ran and she told me that she thought I finished in the first 5 females atleast. I thought I might actually win my age group when I heard that, but I ended up finishing 3rd in my division. Still great!

I have to remind myself when I get slightly disappointed in things like not winning that this time last year I weighed over 235 pounds and couldn’t have run a block if someone was chasing me. Sometimes you just have to put things into perspective!

After the awards we headed to The Farmer’s Market for some fresh locally grown produce and goodies.

We bought a whole cardboard box full of: onions, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, zucchini, squash, eggplant and bell peppers. We also got some Homemade Salsa and Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

We intended to head home after The Farmer’s Market and pick up our little man from his Grandma’s house, but when we called to check on him he was taking a nap. Tim and I took that opportunity to go out to lunch before heading back. We went to a Laos Thai restaurant that I’ve never been to before.

I never saw any Papaya on the menu, but we did order some yummy Veggie Rolls with Peanut Sauce.

And for my main dish I got Tofu Massaman Curry.

It was really delicious! I could have easily eaten the entire plate, but I payed attention to my body and made myself stop when I was satisfied. So now I have a little leftover to take to work tomorrow night 🙂

When I got home I had a special surprise waiting in my mailbox.

My Half Marathon decal came today! Yay!

Where It All Began …

What a day! I got off work at 7 am this morning and slept until noon, then I had to get up to go to my eye doctor appointment. Thank goodness for that though, I haven’t been able to see well at all lately. Unfortunately my eye doctor loves to talk and talk and talk. I was there for 2 1/2 hours!!! Finally I got out of there, but I have to go back Monday to have my eyes dilated. He couldn’t do it today because he didn’t want me driving myself home and Tim wasn’t with me.

Tonight I watched The Biggest Loser and made tacos from leftovers from this weekend. After dinner I made my casseroles for Thanksgiving. I have to work Wednesday night so I figured if I made the casseroles ahead of time all I would have to do on Thursday is pop them in the oven. They are going to be delish! I stole a couple  way too many bites while I was cooking.

Tonight I wanted to talk about how I started running. I get alot of questions from people about how I got to the point I am now with my running, how I run as far as I do, and how I run the speed I do. So I thought I’d share with you what I did. I’ve always hated to exercise believe it or not. I was the kind of person that would rather starve herself than workout. I ran a little when I was in highschool but nothing serious or regular.

In February I started really thinking about getting serious about losing weight, but at that time I was 235 pounds. I knew that I was going to have to start exercising if I was ever going to lose any serious amount of weight. So I bought a Wii and Wii Fit. Everyday before I went to work I would do boxing, step aerobics or hoola hoop on the Wii Fit for about 30 minutes. Then I bought Dance Dance Revolution and started doing that as well. These were fun ways that I could get active without feeling like I was truly exercising.

After a couple of months I started getting bored with the Wii games, but I was happy to see that there was exercise that I could do and enjoy. It wasn’t nearly as unbearable as I remembered. I decided to join the YMCA, and I started going several times a week and using the elliptical. From there I started taking Spin classes. I was really enjoying everything! I couldn’t believe it!

Shortly after I started to get really interested in working out a few girls from work started the Couch to 5K program. I didn’t jump on the bandwagon right away, but it didn’t take long before I joined in. When I first started I would run at 4.0 miles per hour (15 min mile) and I could barely run 1/4 of a mile without stopping. I hated every minute of it at first, but I kept up with the program and I was able to (barely) complete each week. At some point during those weeks I realized that I was really starting to like the way that running made me feel and the weight started seriously dropping off.

I remember the first day I ran 2 miles without stopping. I felt like I had just done something that was AMAZING! And for me it really was amazing at the time. I started experimenting with my speed and kept running the alloted distances. I’d do intervals of 4.0 mph and 5.0 mph on the treadmill. Before long I started trying to see how long I could run at 5 mph, then intervals of 5.0 and 6.0 … and so on and so forth.

I never did try to run outside because everyone told me how hard it was compared to the treadmill and I definitely didn’t want to do anything harder than I absolutely had to. But one of my friends who was doing the program found a 5K and several of us decided to sign up. I figured that if I was going to run in an actual 5K I should probably practice running outside. The very first time I ran outside I was absolutely amazed at how different it was than the treadmill. I was IN LOVE! I found running outside much easier than the treadmill and much less boring, and I was able to run much faster outside than I ever did on the treadmill.

We did our Big Brother/Big Sister 5K and I actually had a fairly decent time. From that point on I was totally hooked. I loved the whole atmosphere of racing and being around the other people. My only goal in that first race was to run the entire thing. I almost threw up! But I did it … and I wanted to get even better. Now I am following the Beginner Half Marathon Training program.

I highly recommend anyone that is interested in starting to run to follow a program such as Couch to 5K. It will give you guidance and help you keep from injuring yourself by doing too much too fast.

Turkey Burner 5K Race Recap

Happy Birthday to me! 🙂

This morning I got up super early to get ready for the Turkey Burner 5K. I like to wake up atleast 2 hours or more before a race so that I have plenty of time to wake up, get my gear together and drive to the race site. My day was suppose to start at 5:40 am, but Tim woke me up at 5:25 because he had a freak out moment where he dreamed his alarm didn’t go off.

About 7:00 we headed to the race site. My friend Bailey met us there.

Forgive the terrible picture quality. I brought my camera, but forgot to put an SD card in it. Doh! So we had to take pictures with Tim’s cellphone.

The race got started a few minutes after 8:00. There were so many people at the starting line I couldn’t really even tell which direction we were suppose to run. I wasn’t sure if I was in the front or the back. To make matter more interesting, somehow we had a false start. I really don’t know what happened, but everyone starting jogging and I started my iPod and Garmin and then everyone stopped. So I reset everything and then we started for reals.

The course was really nice. It was mostly flat with a few small hills in a residential area. Some of the houses we ran by were enormous!

The first mile went by really quickly and everyone was still pretty crowded together. Bailey and I hung together. We were running at about a 7:30 pace. The guy directly infront of me had a prosthetic leg. I have to give him some serious props. He was kicking tail! After the first mile a few people started dropping off and the crowd thinned out quite a bit.

The second mile was pretty easy peasy just like the first. I got lost in thought and in my songs and really wasn’t paying attention to the running. Every now and then I looked down to check my pace and I was steadily staying around 7:30-7:45.

At about the 2.5 mile mark I really started to get tired and ready to be done. I was glad to see that we only had a little over a half a mile to go. I knew I could finish it out. I definitely couldn’t have kept up that pace for much longer.

My splits were:

Mile 1 – 7:26
Mile 2 – 7:32
Mile 3 – 7:39
Last .1 – 1:07

I actually remember to stop my Garmin this time, and to look at the time clock as I passed. I’m pretty sure my official time is going to be 23:45, a new PR. I also beat the goal I set for myself of 24:30, and the secret goal that I didn’t tell anyone about because I thought it was impossible of 24:00. Yays!

I thought it was really odd that my bib number was 1. I thought maybe it was a sign, but I ended up finishing 2nd in my age group. The same girl that won our age group in the Spinner’s Pumpkin Run beat me again! I jokingly told Tim I was going to have to put a hit out on her so that I can win something.

The prize for the age divisions was a nifty pair of gloves with Turkey Burner 2009 on it.

I’m headed to the grandparent’s house to have our family Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner now. Mmmm … turkey, dressing, green bean casserole. I better not eat too much though because Tim is taking me out to a really nice dinner for my birthday. I might even wear my new little black dress, if I can find an appropriate coat to go over it. Its cold outside today!

Last Day as a 27 Year Old

I remember when I was younger and I wanted to be nothing more than 15 years old, 16 years old, 18 years old, 21 years old. I wished my whole life that I was older than I was, and now I wish that time could stop. The days and months are zooming by at an alarming rate. Tomorrow I will be 28 years old. While 28 is definitely not old it will be no time before I’m 30, 40, 50. But for today I’m happy to be 27. 🙂

Lunch today was suppose to be a simple ham sammy and soup, but the ham looked kinda sketchy so I ended up throwing it away and making Turkey Burgers and soup instead.

After Tim got off work tonight we headed to Montgomery to pick up our race packets for tomorrow’s Turkey Burner 5K. I signed up for this race forever ago and I ordered a size large shirt. When I tried to trade it in tonight for a smaller size they told me no. 😦 I guess thats what I get for signing up so early.

I was super excited about the race until I found out tonight that its suppose to be cold and rainy all day tomorrow. I’ve run in the rain before, but I’ve never raced in the rain. Should be interesting. I went back and looked at my previous 5K times and my best time so far is 25:06. I’d really like to run this race in about 24:30. I think thats an attainable goal, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Tonights dinner was Boca Crumble tacos, but I inhaled them so fast I completely forgot to take a picture.

Well, I better get to work on washing my race clothes, making a playlist, laying out my gear and getting to bed early. Have a great night! See you tomorrow.

 

Official Chili Trot Results and Leg Cramps

I got my official results from the Chili Trot 5K that I ran this past Saturday. I was very surprised to find out that I finished 11th! That is out of 71 runners. My official time was 25:03. I was the 5th female to finish. Unfortunately I don’t know how I did in my age category because the race results didn’t have the ages listed.

I’ve been having strange leg cramps for a while now, and its really starting to bother me. It doesn’t happen while I am running, but it happens sometimes after I run if I ran really hard. But for the most part it is happening at night. I’ve had Charlie Horses in my legs before occasionally, but never anything like this. Its gotten to the point where its happening multiple times a night. Any time I stretch my legs out and point my toes I get a cramp. Most of the time I can feel when its about to start and I can flex my foot real fast and make it stop. Everyone I’ve talked to says that I need to, “eat more bananas”, but I feel like I have a really well rounded diet (including bananas) and I take vitamins every day. Maybe its time to see a doctor about it.

Have any other runners experienced these leg cramps in the night? If so what did you do about it?

I’m planning on starting a Half Marathon Training program today, but honestly I’m not very excited about it. I think with my strange work schedule I’m going to have a hard time sticking to the training schedule. I’m also not very excited about the runs in the first few weeks. I chose a program for intermediate runners, but the runs in the first couple of weeks are only 3-6 miles long. I’ve heard good things about the program though, so I’m going to give it a shot unless I find another program in the meantime that fits my schedule better.

Chili Trot 5K Recap

My alarm went off at 6:00 this morning, and I almost decided to blow off my race and go back to sleep. But of course I would never actually do that! So I rolled out of bed and got going. I ate a packet of Quaker Original Grits for breakfast. I figured it was about the only thing I could eat quickly that didn’t have much fiber in it.

We got to the church where the race was being hosted and it was absolutely FREEZING. Kelli and Nicole were smart enough to wear long sleeves and pants, but I hadn’t invested in any yet because the temperature hadn’t dipped below 70 degrees all year long. I wore capri length pants and a short sleeved shirt with a jacket. I seriously considered running in my jacket, but I was afraid I’d start sweating and get it all gross.

We got going just before 9:00, and for the first mile I was really afraid I might fall. I was so cold that my feet were numb and I felt unsteady on them. After the first mile I started warming up and felt alot better although my nose was running and the cold air was burning my lungs. By the third mile I felt great though .. and then of course it was over.

I’m shocked to say that I once again beat my previous time! I hit the finish line at exactly 25 minutes. My previous best time was 26:08. I guess the cold weather made me get my ass in gear and go. My splits were:

Mile 1: 8:05
Mile 2: 7:58
Mile 3: 8:02

I can’t believe I ran 3 consistent 8 minute miles. I really am getting faster and stronger!

After the race, Tim and I tasted some of the chili entries in the cook off, ate a hotdog and I may or may not have eaten a chocolate brownie that may or may not have been absolutely delicious. We didn’t get to stay for the awards ceremony because Tim had to work this afternoon.

After I dropped Tim off, I immediately went and bought a pair of long running pants and a couple long sleeved shirts. I can’t wait to wear them tomorrow morning.

Its Finally Fall!

Thats right, its finally fall in Alabama! I walked outside this evening and it was a chilly 55 degrees. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love everything about it: the cooler weather, football, sweaters, pumpkin pie, the colors. Its all wonderful! I think I’m even generally in a better mood in the fall than I am any other time of the year.

To make matters even better there are only 12 days left until our Gatlinburg vacation. I can’t wait to get up in the mountains and see the beautiful scenery, relax in the hottub with some wine, eat some good food and just have a great time. I really need it!

Tomorrow morning is the Chili Trot 5K. I’ve got my playlist all ready and all my clothes layed out. The only thing left to do is figure out exactly where I’m suppose to go.

My friends Nicole and Kelli are running with me this time, and my husband Tim of course. I’m not looking to set any personal records this time, just hoping to have some fun. After the race there is a chili cookoff. I haven’t decided yet if I will participate in the judging or not. I had a few weak moments with some Oreos at work the other night that I’m still trying to repent for.

Tomorrow night we have the Fall Festival at the YMCA. I’m not sure what all will be involved but I’m excited to dress Lincoln up in his Halloween costume! Oh … we also get to go tomorrow to pick up the proofs of our family pictures that we had made a couple weeks ago. I’m excited to see how they turn out.

Sunday we are taking my mother in law out for lunch for her birthday (which was actually today). We are going to Wintzell’s Oyster House. I’m absolutely infatuated with oysters. They are one of my most favorite things on earth. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to make an honest effort to “be good” or if I’m just gonna say F it. I really want the Oyster Sampler, but I’m sure it will set me back about 1000 calories or more.

The fair is in town this week, but we have decided instead of going to the fair and spending a bunch of money that we don’t really need to, that we will forgo it. Instead we are going to take Lincoln to Zoo Boo on Sunday night. Another Halloween costume opportunity! Yes!

So the question of the day is … should I be good at Wintzell’s or should I go all out with the Oyster Sampler? Take a look at the menu and tell me your vote for my entree.