The Climb

If you have a really good memory and have been reading this blog for 3+ years, then you know I actually admitted to liking The Climb by Mylie Cyrus at one point.

For the record, I still like that song.  It applies to my life both mentally and physically all the time it seems.

This weekend, it was physically.  

The Cooper River Bridge Run has been on my "to run" list for a few years now.  

On Saturday, I stood in my corral along with my sister-in-law while we endured a 1 hour delay for the start of the race.

It was a little nerve wracking but not too bad.  At the end of the day, I still really enjoyed the race.

 

I'd been told by many that this was a fun race and not a PR race, so I did my best to stick with that thought process.

Around 9:15am (maybe even later), our corral finally crossed the timing mat for the start of the race.  I never even turned my Runkeeper app on to see how I was doing but decided to run by how I felt based on the advice I'd received.

I felt great!  

Mile one took us up and over the tiny (in comparison) Shem Creek bridge and then down hill all the way to the bottom of this monster.

 

Mile 2 is at the bottom of this bridge and mile 3 is at the top.  A 1 mile climb.  It wasn't bad at all.  Long but not steep and I just kept on running until I reached the top.  It was literally all downhill to the finish from there.

Mile 4.5 is at the bottom of the bridge and from there you run through downtown to the finish.

The crowd support was amazing!  I still felt great all the way through the finish which takes me to the Tarheel 10 miler in a good place mentally.

My only complaint was that due to the late start, it did start getting too warm for my preference when it comes to running but being a short(er) race it really didn't play a factor.

Chip time: 1:11:43.  I truly arrived at the finish still thinking maybe I had a PR but it wasn't even close.  Apparently, cruising past a bunch of walkers makes you feel like you are running fast but nope it was my typical 11:30 minute/mile.  Yuck.

On to the next race!

Beer Run

My running buddy and I goofing off before it was time to line up for the race.  

*Please excuse the cheesetastic smile on my face.*

Overall, this was a really fun race that I plan on doing again next year.

It was a little warmer than anyone imagined it would be for a 5.2 mile race in March.  The high temp reached 78 degrees with a humidity of 78%.  It was warm, humid, and sunny which all combine for a beautiful day as long as you have not planned to run hills at 3pm.

About those hills.  According to Runkeeper, the total elevation gain was 293.  Lots of hills.  Rolling hills, long hills, and every so often a downhill.

And we were off.....

The plan was to run together as long as possible. 

My paces were mess.  The only mile I was really happy with was the first one.  Mile 2 wasn't bad.  Miles 3-4 were when the wheels starting falling off. As the number of hills grew larger and the temperatures climbed so did my paces.

12+ minutes miles.  Where did that come from?!?

Final time was 59:28 for 5.2 miles.  An overall pace of 11:31.  Incidently, this is about 2 seconds per mile slower than my pace at RNR Savannah back in November.  It is also slower than I've been running as of late so I'm blaming this one on the heat and the hills.

All of that aside, I felt like I ran a solid race but it was tough.

Next up...Cooper River!

	Pace (min/mi)
	10:26
	11:16
	12:07
	12:13
	11:40
	12:09

16 Months

This post must be completed before Lauren turns 17 months in a few days.  Or does she actually turn 17 months this month since there are only 29 days and she was born on the 30th?  Hmmmmm.  These are thoughts I ponder while running on the dreadmill as I just did while she napped.

Maybe I can also get this post up before she wakes up?   

This is her 16 month picture.  Yep.  Fancy.  It just so happens to be the only picture of her I haven't posted from the trip so there you go.  I took about 7,000 pictures of scenery and wildlife and maybe 10 of people.  

What is she doing now?  A lot.  This kid is busy!

Her two favorite forms of entertainment lately are throwing the ball for Tonka and relocating all of the spices from the spice cabinet.  Both of these activities = hilarious laughter.

Throwing the ball for Tonka is self explanatory.  Relocating the spices?  Not so much. 

Our spice cabinet is within her reach and contains nothing of harm, so we continue to allow her to use it as entertainment while we cook each evening.

She opens it up and proceeds to carry each spice container one by one into the living room and sits them on the table before returning for the next one.  Rinse, wash, repeat times about 30.  For whatever reason, she LOVES this game so we let her do it. 

I can't wait to tell her about this when she is older because it is so random.

Her vocabulary continues to grow.  In the last week or so she had added "Huh?" and "Stop It!" to her collection.

It seems like each time I speak to her lately she looks at me and goes" huh?"  Awesome.  I now feel like I'm speaking to a mini version of her father.

"Stop it!" is very new.  Not sure how I feel about this one since it has been added to" all through" when I'm changing her diaper.  "All through mommy stop it!"  Yea....no kid it doesn't work that way.

Other than that she has about 16 teeth and is still only about 2 feet tall.  Actually, I think she is 27 inches and 18 or so lbs. 

I've been going through her closet pulling out things to sell at the daycare consignment sale.  It amazes me the sizes she can still wear at almost 17 months old.  6-9 months clothes still very much fit along with a few pieces that are in even smaller sizes.  She is just such a peanut!

Hopefully, in the next little bit I'll pull my camera back out again.  Since I packed it up to come home from vacation it hasn't really been used because I feel like we are still catching up.  No, I do not need a reminder that Thursday is March 1st and that vacation was a month ago.  Denial.  I'm there.

Speaking of which it is time for me to go get some stuff done around this house!  Until next month......

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Speaking of Dr. Seuss....

What are my goals for 2012 you ask?

Many of last year's goals will remain, with the addition of a few new ones.

The goals carrying over from 2011 are:

• 
  
  To continue to learn Photoshop Elements.

Ideally, I think it would be best if I enrolled in a physical class because I learn by doing. If you are local to me and know of one, I'd love to hear about it.

• 
  
  Continue to learn my camera by starting and finishing the Two Peas course.

• 
  
  Run 2 half marathons. They can't be destination races this year, so I need to start looking semi-locally.

• 
  
  500 in 2011.

Started this morning. 3.5 miles done. 496.5 to go!

• 
  
  Not to get pregnant nor to have an additional child.

Yes, again.

• 
  
  Continue decorating the walls in my house as well as the actual house itself.

• 
  
  Read 4 books this year. Ideally, this is one per quarter. I'm taking suggestions if anyone has them.

Now for the new items:

• 
  
  Blog at least one time per week.
  


• 
  
  Take more photos of Tonka, as well as photos of Tonka and Lauren.
  


• 
  
  Travel

3 weeks of vacations planned hence the need for local races.

• 
  
  Enroll Lauren in an extracurricular activity such as swim lessons or gymnastics.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land in the stars right?

These are not lofty goals but there are a lot of them. I'm not going to achieve all of them however, having them written out allows me to feel like I am making forward progress all year long.

Here's to 2012 being another great year!

Let's Tally It Up, Shall we?

As I reflect on closing out 2011, I think it is fair to summarize where I've been and where I'd like to go in 2012.

No resolutions on this train. Goals are the most efficient way for me to measure my progress throughout the year.

January 1, 2011 is when I finally threw out the resolutions and started down the path of goals.

On a high level, I think it was productive. It gave me the breathing room to pull back some if needed, in order to direct my focus elsewhere.

For example, when I was at the peak of my running this year, there truly was not room to squeeze much else into my schedule between training and my daily life. During these times the other goals often sat idle until I could direct more attention to them.

How did I do in regards to my 2011 goals?

• 
  
  To learn Photoshop Elements.

Progress = 2% maybe? There is still a lot to learn here although I have learned how to adjust lighting, download/use actions, and of course crop. I've barely scratched the surface on this one so it will remain for 2012.

• 
  
  Continue to learn my camera.

Progress = 75% I took some amazing "for me" pictures this year. This one will remain on my 2012 list because there is still room for improvement specifically metering.

• 
  
  Run this half marathon.

Done with a bonus disaster for good measure just one week later.

• 
  
  500 in 2011.

Finishing the year with 350 miles.

• 
  
  Finally get my red Kitchen Aid mixer.
  

Done. Isn't she pretty?

• 
  
  
  


• 
  
  Decorate the walls in my house.

Lots of progress. The hallway is almost 100% complete. My office is also well underway. We have also added 2 new prints to the living room.

• 
  
  Not least to not be pregnant nor to have an additional child :)

Done. Whew!

• 
  
  Start reading again.

This is definitely the one item where I can say I 100% failed this year. I am alone in saying I didn't read not even 1 book for the 1+ crowd? Unless you count Dr. Seuss I did not make any progress on this goal. Must regroup for 2012.

All in all, I'm really proud of 2011. At times, I felt like I was on balancing on a tight rope with no net below but in the end I can really see the progress I have made. It was hard yet fun and rewarding.

On to 2012......

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Just 7 short days after coming away from Savannah with a shiny new PR, I decided it would be wise to run another 1/2 marathon locally with my brother-in-law.

The results were posted just a little bit ago and it is official.

A new PR! Or maybe we should call it a PW?

Either way, by 53 seconds I was able to take my worst 1/2 time and beat it. How is that even possible?

My worst time ever had been held by my 1st 1/2 ever back in 2007. It was 2:49:05. My time on Saturday was 2:49:58.

It was as painful as it sounds.

This was on a course where I had trained EXCEPT I had not trained on the hilly portion in the middle. My ego was slightly inflated so I figure why not right? Bad idea.

The race started off pretty swell but things went downhill (or shall we say uphill) pretty quickly as soon as I hit mile 6.

As soon as I reached the first hill I literally stopped and laughed. This was not going to be good.

It wasn't. 3 miles of hills. I'm not sure what the actual ascent was but my brother-in-law said it was about 400ft. Those my friends were not hills. They were mountains.

Actually, we were running on the mountain bike trails part of which was gravel. Fun times!

Either way, I finished. It took every fiber of my being not to get on the golf cart I saw at the bottom of the hill at mile 9.

Are there any positives? Sure.

• 
  
  I finished.


• 
  
  It was a beautiful run. The entire course was on the greenway which runs along the river and then up through the hills before returning to the greenway to finish. I'd do the race again just because it was so pretty.


• 
  
  By finishing, I can see that I am stronger than I was 4 years ago. My time was worse but I can tell you right now that back then there would not have been a PR race the week before nor would I have been able to finish this race at all. Progress.

As for the rest of the year? I'll run some on my own to try and complete 500 in 2011 but no more races for me.

My goal for the rest of the year is to start integrating some swimming and other cross training to come away with some new PRs next year :)

Training for Savannah. Mission Complete.

With 323.7 miles behind me for the year, I am definitely stronger than I was when I wrote this post. On January 2nd, I did expect to meet those goals, however I have been pleasantly surprised to see what else I have learned along the way.

My last long run before Savannah was yesterday. As I ran, I had many thoughts meandering through my head. After all, I had over 2 hours to think about what I had learned during my time spent training for this race.

The main thing I have learned is that, not only am I stronger now that I was in January, I am also much stronger than I was in 2007 when I ran my first and only 1/2 to date.

I merely survived training and racing that time. This time that has not been the case at all. My runs have been more productive because I understand how my body is going to react most of the time.

Last time, I also trained with a group and truth be told pretty much just did what everyone else did in regards to mileage and fuel.

This time, I trained alone and listened to my body. I took days off or even weeks to let my body recover when needed.

Yesterday, as I pushed through 12 hilly miles I did everything exactly as I plan on doing it in Savannah. I'd examined the course map so I ran with the knowledge that there would be a water station here, a Gu station here, and finally the finish line there.

Mentally and physically I am ready.

Bring on RNR Savannah 2011!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 5 and a PR!

A couple of weeks off appears to be just what the doctor ordered for my knee. This past week went very well in terms of running.

Early in the week, I decided to go out for a 4 mile run around the neighborhood to test the waters. Some friends and family and I were registered for Miles for Matthew so I needed to see how things felt.

It was a smashing success!

On Saturday, the entire team of 10 of us met up at the race. It was cool and overcast with the threat of rain. Incidentally, I had run this race on a different course just 12 weeks after I had MG. Last year I skipped it due to the fact I was 37 weeks pregnant with L.

Tell me again why I was running a 10k just 12 short weeks post c/s? Crazy. Either way, my time in that race was 1:10 with rumors that the course may have been a tad short so my goal was to beat that time.

And I did! 1:06:05 which is also a PR for me! Coming down the last stretch and seeing that I was going to beat it was the best feeling.

My hard work is paying off!

The focus now truly turns to Savannah. There are a few loooong runs ahead of me that need to go well so I feel confident when morning dawns on November 5th.

Here we go!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 4

With my knee still feeling unstable last week, I decided to take another week off. It was hard! The cool, crisp temperatures were perfect for running and I felt great but my knee did not.

On Saturday, I spent some time in the pool at our niece's birthday party hoping that would help however, the ache was still present.

The good news is that I have been running all year. My training schedule also has some 11 and 12 mile long runs built in so if I have to cut those it is not a huge loss. The last time I trained we maxed out at 10. On race day you just figure out those last 3.1 miles with the adrenaline of race day.

Once I get back on track, I plan on adding some strength training. Lack of strength in my large muscles seems to be the root of the problem right now. Hopefully, if I can strengthen my super awesome thigh muscles then my knee will feel better!

On to week 5!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 3 = FAIL

Bum knee :(

Ever since my 7 mile run a couple of weeks ago something has been off. My knee just does not feel stable although it also does not hurt. The run went well so I have no idea how or why this is happening.

I'm giving it some additional time to rest in addition to having an appointment with an ortho soon if I am not seeing any progress.

The good news is I still feel like I'll be more than prepared for Savannah. The bad news is I'm ready to be back out there running. It is making me crazy!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 2

Week 2 is in the books!

It actually went fairly well, except for that fact that I am still having difficulty getting my cross training workouts in each week.

This was how my week was supposed to look plus how it actually looked:

Monday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Rest.

Tuesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles. Reality: 2.1 miles on the dread mill.

Wednesday ~ Calendar: 3 miles Reality: 3 miles through my neighborhood.

Thursday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Rest.

Friday ~ Calendar: Rest Reality: Rest.

Saturday~ Calendar: 5 miles Reality: 7 miles. Yay!

Sunday~ 1-2 miles or Rest. Reality: Rest.

Week 2 = Success!

My goal for Week 3 is to do my cross training.

Miles for Matthew

Next month, I will be running for Matthew. This month, I'm twisting the arms of all my friends and family to get them to join me and run/walk for him as well.

You can read all about him and his family here.

His mom and I are both members of JLG but that is not how his story entered my life. It all goes back to when I was about 16 weeks pregnant with MG on Valentine's Day.

The husband and I attended a benefit dinner to raise money for PPMD, which is the same organization for which the race raises money each year.

We did not know at that dinner that we would go on to lose our first child. His story entered my life again, when I decided to run the 1st Annual Imagine How 10k just 12 weeks after she was born.

Ever since then, I have watched his mom far afar raise money in every way possible that all goes to fund research for her son's condition. It has been amazingly inspiring to watch!

This year my goal is to get as many people as I can to participate with our team so that we can contribute to the cause as well!

So if you are local, then join our team!

1/2 Marathon Training Week 1

Last time I ran a 1/2 this blog did not exist. Also, at the time I just kind of said I'm going to run this race and did it.

My training was all done in a group setting so I pretty much just did what the other ladies in the group did to train. It worked well but I think while I may have been physically prepared, mentally I had no idea what to expect.

Over 4 years later, I am more educated on running etc. although I'm far from an expert. I'll leave that to everyone else.

Since I do not plan on this being my last half, I am going to document my training here so I can look back at it next time. Hopefully next time is less than 4 years from now!

My first week of training officially started this past week while I was on vacation. Good timing huh?

I ran with it and got all of my workouts in (sort of). My runs got completed but cross training was a termed I used loosely since we were on vacation.

This was how my week was supposed to look plus how it actually looked:

Monday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Walking through the water of the sound and attempting to dig for clams.

I told you the cross training was a term I used loosely this week :)

Tuesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles. Reality: 2.8 miles. Good job!

Wednesday ~ Calendar: 2 miles Reality: A busy day of being tourist plus a 50 minute massage. That has to count for something!

Thursday ~ Calendar: 30-45 minute cross train. Reality: Spent the day at the beach. Did spend quite a bit of time in the water jumping waves. Climbed the tallest lighthouse in North America.

Friday ~ Calendar: Rest Reality: 3 miles. Good job!

Saturday: Calendar: 6 miles Reality: 9 hours in the car. Fail.

Sunday: 1-2 miles or Rest. Reality: 5 miles in hot sun at 2pm. My body felt great the entire run but the sun started baking me at mile 5 so I headed home. I'm actually really proud of my run though because it was the middle of the day and I never run during the day.

All in all a pretty good week! The plan was not followed exactly but I felt like I moved my body quite a bit each day as well as completing my runs. Week 1 = Success!

I'm Doing It

What am I doing you ask?

500 In 2011

This seems like a good way for me to kick start myself back into a regular exercise routine after taking basically 2 years off.

Yep. 2 years of not regularly exercising. I feel like a sloth.

So there you have it. It is out there for the world to see. My plan is to update here once a week when I turn in my miles to the blogger in charge of the group to keep myself accountable.

Last year at least one of my friends did it. Congrats Susan on racking up over 800 miles at this point (and completing 5 half marathons plus the Susan G Komen 3 day walk). You are amazing!

Anyone can join in so just post a comment here on the 500 in 2011 post to signup if you wish to join in on the challenge.

Happy exercising!

Back At It

Tonight I set out on one of my first runs since the 10k race I ran back in October. I'd run a few times since then but it just seemed like the wheels fell off after that race.

I had intended to take it a little easier after the race because I had really pushed it to get ready for it being that Megan Grace was born at the end of June. The race was about 3 months later if my memory serves me correctly. Then my grandfather passed away in November and the holidays followed soon after.

It is now January. Wow. So back to the grind I go. I'm pretty sure I ran a whole mile tonight and it was HARD. It will get better with time and persistance but right now I just feel out.of.shape.

This too shall pass.....

A Few of My Favorite Ornaments

As a follow up to my ornament exchange post I thought I'd share some of my favorite ornaments from past years as well as this year.

This ornament and another one below are from a collection of three that a very dear friend gave me this year. I'm so in love with them. Christmas just isn't going to be the same this year without my dear grandfather. Papa we miss you!

The reason I like to do ornament exchanges is because each year when I put up my tree each ornament reminds me of different times of my life.


or significant others such as Tonka :)


and Megan Grace.


Or Steve.
Our wedding in St. Thomas


The year we MADE ornaments. I'm not sure I'll ever do that again but I do have a few cute ones to show for my hard work.

And this is my prize from this years party!

This one I'm pretty sure is from my first party.
This ornament and the one below are from a collection of three that a very dear friend gave me this year. I'm so in love with them.

Another ornament to remember Megan Grace.


Jackson Hole. One of our favorite places.

Self explanatory but it still makes me think of the person who gave it to me.

I had this one made for myself. The other side has my name and Class of 2004 painted on it.


Another homemade ornament.


And another.


This one has my name on it and I think it is an old one from when I was a child.

A very cute ornament from a couple of past coworkers.


An ornament to comemorate my first (And only so far) half marathon.

Rockin' It!

The title of this post was derived from the words of a very wise friend of mine in response to me completing this race on Saturday. While most people would not have viewed my time of 1:16 as stellar I happen to be very proud of myself.

It has been over a year since I have run more than 3 miles at any given time. In addition to that, Megan Grace was born just 13 weeks ago today so the fact that I even completed the race puts a smile on my face.

So yea, maybe I did cry due to frustration somewhere around mile 3 or 4 when I was pretty sure I was LAST since my goal was specifically to not finish LAST. Good news. I did not finish LAST.

That would have been horrible.

On another positive note. I'm wearing a pair of PRE PREGNANCY pants today! This totally makes all the hard work worth it although I still have quite a bit of hard work ahead of me.

Thank you to all the wonderful ladies (and gentlemen) who cheered me on during the race Saturday. Each one of you helped keep me going at one time or another and for that I am grateful.

C25K Week 1 Days 2 and 3

Day 2:

35 Minutes~320 Calories~2.3 Miles

Day 3:

33 Minutes~315 Calories~2.1 Miles

The first week is behind me now and I'm pretty confident with my results so far. It has been hard work but I challenge myself while I'm doing it. Sometimes I would run 4 minutes straight instead of the 1 minute required. Also, I would run at a higher speed or incline at times to make it more difficult.

On to Week 2 starting tomorrow!

Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 1

As the saying goes you have to start somewhere so this is the beginning for me. My first few attempts at getting back into running without any sort of plan left much to be desired so I decided to start at square one and work my way back up.

My main reason for this is in addition to the 8k I posted about training to run earlier I've now added two more races to the list of possibilities. One of them is being run to raise money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. One of our JL members has a son that has been diagnosed with this fatal genetic disorder and they are trying to raise money to find a cure in hopes that no other children ever have to suffer. The other I'm going to run with a friend.

I'm also going to order this book so that Steve and I can improve our diets to support our fitness goals.

All in all, I'm very optimistic and excited about getting back in shape and losing this weight. My first night of C25K was difficult at first but it ended up being very rewarding.

Stats:

Calories Burned: 301
Total Time: 35 Minutes
Distance: 2 Miles

I'm looking forward to Day 2!

I'm Committed (I think?)

Or maybe I should be committed?

Since having Megan Grace I have been deliberating on how to get this weight off and looking for another race to run. Not because it will make me lose weight because it won't. Been there and tried that and guess what? I gained weight. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

At least, with a better diet this time around maybe just maybe I will lose weight this time. If not, I'll feel better about myself.

When I checked my mail on Saturday, I had a postcard telling me about this race. It is far enough out I can train for it starting now and it is on a weekend when it will not interfere with ECU football. Yay!

I want to do it and I know I can do it. My problem is I am not able to train for it 100% by myself. For some reason the long runs (say over 6 miles) I just do not like doing by myself.

Sooo, if you are reading this and are local I'd love to tag along on your long runs over the next few weeks and months. Just leave me a comment, drop me an email, or shoot me a message on Facebook :)