WIAW: trying something new

In an effort to take some control over my eating (and hopefully my waistline), I started making some changes yesterday.

Breakfast was an egg scrambled with Canadian bacon, shitake mushrooms & green peppers, plus fruit & coffee with CoffeeMate French Vanilla. I will not be giving up my creamer but I did buy the sugar free version to try.

Lunch was leftover shrimp stirfry and a few almonds (not shown).

Dinner was amazing & tastes much better than pictured. Homemade guacamole, cilantro lime chicken & kale chips.

I did not eat these lemon blueberry muffins. The family requested them last week & again last night. I made them & couldn't even try them. I went to bed hungry & feeling deprived. This is why I always fail.

Training Tuesday: The Ultimate Goal

Everything I do for the next 24 1/2 weeks needs to be done in consideration of this goal.

I need to stop hurting, run faster and run farther.

Maybe in a couple weeks, I'll be ready to push that little button that says "register".

Motivation Monday: a serious question

I spent a good chunk of my weekend trying to figure this thing out.  I'm all about the spreadsheet and needing to have a plan.  If I don't have an end result on the schedule, it's hard for me to feel like I'm working towards anything.  I plugged in some races (currently the RBR relay, Fitbloggin 10k and RnR Chicago are the only ones I'm registered to run).

You'll see a triathlon on that schedule.  A friend who knows me very well asked whether I felt obligated to do a triathlon or if I really wanted to be a triathlete.  It's a great question.  Answering honestly, I'd say it's more obligation.  I spent a shit-ton of money on a bike (but in the grand scheme of tri-bikes, not really that much money).  It forces me to cross train.  But the fact is, I don't love it.  Triathlons stress me the f*ck out.  I'm a crappy swimmer, afraid to bike in traffic, and a mediocre runner.  Yes, I can complete all 3 events, but if I don't enjoy it, why am I doing it?

I think because of injuries, I'm questioning my status as a "runner".  I also know that without a ton of very specific training, I will not be a "swimmer" or a "cyclist".  I don't have the skills and frankly, there's too much fear there.

Thoughts?

Friday Funny Frozen Lipsync

So, you guys might have seen this floating around already but I'm a bit slow on the uptake.  The week hasn't been the greatest but it's turning around (I hope). I had a great run last night, not too much pain this morning, and then this....

Super hot baseball players lip syncing to Frozen's Love is and Open Door.  The dude singing the girl part? I died. And then watched it a couple more times.



Any fun plans for the weekend?

Three Things Thursday: randoms that made me smile

Three things this week that have helped make a rough week better.

Sometimes after a rough day, you just need beer and pizza.
Sucks that 2 pieces = +2 pounds on the scale, but it is what it is.

So proud of my girl. After a rough season last year, she's jumping again.
In her first meet back, she jumped 14'4" and beat her next closest teammate by a foot.

I went back to yoga yesterday.  It was a much needed 75 minutes.
This studio is amazing.  If you live near me, you must go.

What's made you smile this week?

Race Photos and Running Form

Just when I thought I was still maintaining a nice, mid-foot strike even with all my foot injury BS, the Gazelle Girl photos came out.

I wasn't planning to show them to anyone because OMG the fat, but here are 3 that show I've clearly gone back to heel striking and I have zero bend in my front leg.  This will most definitely be discussed with the podiatrist later today, but in the meantime, I'd love some suggestions from all of you.

Early in the race so I'm still fresh. I was running a 10:30 pace here.
Note the front heel. GRRR

Through Riverside Park - around mile 9.
Pace around 10:40.

At the finish, heel striking at an 8:51 pace.
I know how to put the horse in the barn, but not
how to do it right.

So, friends and runners...what do I do about this?  Accept that heel striking (and the knee pain I have because of it) is now my fate?  Go back to trying to run mid-foot in shoes/orthotics that aren't designed for that?  Try going back to my old Newtons that taught me mid-foot running?  

Help!

Training Tuesday: Not Sure What Happened

From the picture there, you'd think last week was a pretty good week.  In some ways it was.  In other ways, it just sucked.  I'm sitting here writing this post after yet another frustrating conversation with my podiatrist's office so forgive me if I don't elaborate on anything. I'm so fed up and wondering if I'm really supposed to be a runner or if that part of my identity is going away.

Monday 4-14-14 (I like the palindromes this month) - Plan 30 min BIKE and 30 min LIFT / Actual BIKE 10.4 miles in 30 min (those gym spin bikes WAY over estimate my speed) and LIFT 35 min of arms and abs.

Tuesday 4-15-14 - Plan REST / Actual STRETCH - did lots of stretching and rolling throughout the day.

Wednesday 4-16-14 - Plan RUN 4 miles / Actual RUN 4 miles in 40:xx (10:01 pace).  Had a weird, emotional meltdown at the 2 mile mark.  I must've needed it.

Thursday 4-17-14 - Plan SWIM 30 and LIFT 30 / Actual I got invited to a girl's night out event so I just did a 10 min walk and then LIFT 30.  Didn't burn nearly enough calories but the GNO was fun so it was worth it.

Friday 4-18-14 - Plan RUN 4 miles / Actual RUN 8 miles in 1:28:xx (10:58 pace).  My daughter had a track meet scheduled for Saturday so I moved my long run to Sunday.  Dummy me forgot it was Easter, so I flipped my Friday and Sunday runs.  This run was painful and full of suck. I tried out some different run/walk intervals to see if they would help but mostly my legs were just shit.

Saturday 4-19-14 - Plan REST or BIKE / Actual REST plus walking around my daughter's track meet.

Sunday 4-20-14 - Plan RUN 8 / Actual BIKE 12 miles in 45 min (15.9 mph).  My knee was still bothering me from Friday's run so I played it safe and did an easy ride on the trainer.

So, it wasn't a horrible week of training but mentally (and physically) I'm really struggling. I feel like I'm getting worse instead of better.  I want the magic pill that will make everything all better.  Pretty sure there isn't one.

Race Recap: Greenway Challenge 10k

This recap is a bit late in coming, but better late than never, right?  I figure, it's only fair to take as long to write a recap as it takes to run the race.  In this case...a VERY long time.

Anyhoo....Back on Saturday, April 5th, while visiting Jaime and her family at the start of our spring break, Mike and I (along with Jaime) traveled about 30 minutes from her house to run the Black Mountain Greenway Challenge 10k.  The race started and ended at Pisgah Brewing which was a brewery we hadn't had the chance to visit when we were last in the Asheville area.

The weather was absolutely GLORIOUS for running.  Sunny and around 50 degrees.  Apparently, when you live in an area that's had snow on the ground since OCTOBER, 50 feels very warm.  Most of the runners were dressed more like Jaime (in her defense, she did lose the jacket before the race).  I had so many people stop and ask me if I was freezing.  Um...not even a little bit.

We did have chip timing but there were no timing mats at the start.  Everyone just sort of milled around.  This couple with the beer on a fishing pole kind of cracked me up. The race director told the crowd that the 5k folks needed to turn left at the top of the hill (um...HILL???) and the 10k runners would head to the right.  The crowd counted down and we were off.

The race started on the tiniest of uphills but about 3/4 of a mile in, the hill really started to climb.  This flatlander knew she was in serious trouble.  The 10k runners made their turn around mile 1 and the hill kept going.  I had started the race without my music but I put the earbuds in within that first mile.  Jaime and I stuck together for the first 2 miles but at the downhill there, she felt the desire to take off and I felt the desire to walk.  My injuries/PF were not liking the hills and the much warmer temps than I was used to were doing a number on my breathing.

 The race made a loop around a very pretty lake somewhere around the mile 3 or 4 mark.  I stopped and took some pictures since I knew very early on that this was NOT my race.

We headed back toward the starting line and I was really counting down the time until I would be done and get my beer.  While the weather and scenery were beautiful, the hills were kicking my ass.  I wasn't liking what they were doing to my head, much less my legs.

We got to come back down a hill around mile 5 but then shot back up one in mile 6.  Oy the hills just didn't want to quit!  I guess running on a "mountain" I should have expected that much.  When I got to the finish line, Jaime commented that a good number of the racers came in from a different direction.  My watch had me pretty much right on at 6.2 so I'm certain I came in the correct way (and so did Jaime).  Mike went the other direction so I don't know if his course was long or short.

Pisgah Brewing had a food truck selling all sorts of sausages.  Mike ordered an alligator sausage and based on the time it took to get our food, they had to go wrestle the gator.  It was really delicious though and tasted nothing like chicken - more like a bratwurst.  I also enjoyed a couple of beers after the finish that were quite tasty.

 Overall, this was a pretty good race.  For $30, you got chip timing of the race plus a pint glass and your first beer.  If runners wanted a shirt, that was an extra charge. All the confusion about the course might have been an issue for people who were actually racing this.  Since this was my worst 10k EVER, I didn't really care.  Considering I'm injured and I ran on all those hills, I'm at peace with my crappy finish. Plus it was really fun to hang out with Jaime, run a beautiful course, and check out a new brewery.

I finished DFL in my age group (5/5) but I wasn't last overall, so that's cool.  I actually beat a bunch of people in the last mile and you gotta love that super fast sub-9 pace for the last .2 miles!  Official time was 1:11:29 (11:30 pace).  Obviously, I need to run more hills.

Race Recap: 2014 Gazelle Girl Half Marathon

Let's preface this post by stating this was a race I was not planning to run.  That being said, I've never been one to back down when motivated my amazing women and uber awesome bling is at stake.  Some may even say this is my downfall, but that's the topic for another post :)  This is going to be a long post, so you might want to grab a beverage and get comfy.

My race actually started at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon Expotique.  I was given the honor by Another Mother Runner to represent them at Gazelle Girl as an AMR Ambassador.  My friend Tami and I, along with my daughter, staffed the AMR booth, selling their super-cute shirts, hats, visors and copies of their 2 books.

Our AMR Booth!

I had an amazing time networking with women from all over Michigan.  So many had a running story they wanted to share and talking to a bunch of first-timers had me really itching to run.  I even got to meet up with Heather from Michigan Runner Girl.  She writes for AMR and we've been chatting since she profiled me on her blog awhile back.  It was like meeting up with an old friend.  That's one of the things I truly love about social media, just falling into conversation with someone like you've known them forever.  Another highlight from the expo was meeting long-time blog reader, Lisa from A Happy Little Family!  We had a great time chatting as well, but bad bloggers - didn't get a picture.

Thanks for the pic, Heather!

Back to the race, I'd said "no" several times in the weeks leading up to the race when asked if I was running.  I had just come back from vacation (where I ran almost 20 miles!) and I knew I'd be on my feet all day at the expo.  Well, as luck would have it, I was blessed with the opportunity to run the race thanks to Another Mother Runner.  I registered at the expo and then tried to fuel and hydrate as well as I could beginning at 3 pm the afternoon before a race.  I got home from the expo kind of freaking out about what I was doing.  My longest run since the Jax Bank Half at the end of December was 7 miles.  My training schedule called for 7 or 8 miles on Sunday but I'd just decided I was going to attempt to run 13.1 with basically no training.  I texted with a good friend about possible race/running plans and we decided my best bet was to run/walk the race.  I was in no condition (thanks to undertraining and injury) to even attempt to run the entire thing.  I was given a couple options: 1. Run/walk intervals by mile (run a mile/walk a mile) to get 7.1 miles of running and 6 miles of walking, or 2. Run 7 miles and then run/walk what I could to the finish.

Race Day

I woke up race morning to the sounds of thunder and lightening.  I had set out Flat Bari the night before, so I just got dressed, ate my usual pre-race breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal and cup of coffee, and headed downtown to meet friends at S-bux.  I decided to pay to park in the ramp right at the start so I wouldn't have a huge walk after the race if I wasn't feeling it. This was probably the best $15 I ever spent. My fueling plan was water in my fuel belt and 1 packet of Honey Stinger chews.  I took 2 or 3 chews every 3 or 4 miles.  This has worked well in previous halfs so I figured it would be fine today.  (In hindsight, I didn't drink nearly as much water for as humid as it was outside.)

Could we be any cuter?

Jenn and I made our way to the start around 7:45.  Her BF, Glenn, had bought out CVS in rain ponchos for all of us and even thought it wasn't raining, it was nice to throw over my clothes at the start because I was a little chilly.  I told Jenn that my plan was to run/walk by miles and that when she was ready to take off to just go.  There was quite a bit of excitement in the crowd.  We lined up (as a group - many of my Fred Relay and Wine Trail Half friends were running) with the 10:30 pacers.  I figured this was a good pace to aim for on my first walk segment, hoping to get faster on the runs as the race went on.  Temps were in the 50s but it was strangely humid thanks to the threat of storms.  It seemed like it was going to rain, but the rain never came.  I was happy with my clothing choice (Jax Bank race t-shirt, Athleta skirt, AMR "Run Like a Mother" hat and Fellow Flower "Believe" flower) but later in the race was really wishing I'd gone with a tank top.

The course itself highlights many Grand Rapids landmarks:  Rosa Parks Circle, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, 6th Street Bridge, Riverside Park, Ah-Nab-Awen Park, and the Gerald R Ford Presidential Museum.  Throughout the race, runners cross the Grand River 4 times.  Take a peek here if you'd like to see a map of the course and descriptions of all the sights.  Because my computer is currently being an a-hole, I can't get data off of my Garmin other than splits, so no elevation charts or anything. No worries though, this course is pretty darn flat except for that silly hill at the end of mile 12. Whose idea was THAT?

Miles 1-6:  Jenn and I started running together and as we'd discussed, my plan was to walk at the first mile marker so she picked up her pace there.  Mile 1 came and I felt like I was just getting my groove, so I made a game-day decision to keep running.  I did some math in my head (yes, you can laugh) and figured if I ran intervals of 2 miles running and 1 mile walking, I'd hit 9.1 miles running for the day.  I felt pretty good at the end of 2 miles, where I saw my friends Glenn and Tim working the aide station, but slowed to a walk.  A bunch of my friends who I had passed in the first 2 miles were now passing me and everyone was asking if I was OK.  The mile long walk seemed like an ETERNITY!  But, I was being a good little BAMR and sticking to my revised plan.  My watch beeped at the end of mile 3 and off I went running again.  The 4th mile takes runners on a little out and back and I was able to see some of my faster friends.  I felt a little bad that I was leap frogging with slower runners because this is one thing that has really gotten in my head before.  I'd hoped I wasn't causing frustration for anyone.  Another aide station came at the end of mile 5 and this one was staffed by friends Molly and Susan J!  I also saw my friend Megan there.  She had been gunning for a huge goal and sadly, Sunday was not her day.  I stopped and talked to her for a few minutes and even stood in a port-a-potty line for awhile because I'd had to pee for miles, but the line wasn't moving and I wanted to get going.  Splits: 10:32, 10:28, 13:55 (walk), 10:30, 10:42, 17:58 (walk and talking to my friends at the aid station).

Still smiling around mile 5.5.

Miles 7-13.1:  After I decided the bathroom was not going to happen at mile 5, I REALLY had to go.  You know how that can complete consume you?  Yah, that. Miles 7 and 8 were running miles and they passed a bunch of warehouses and whatnot.  I kept trying to figure out if I could get behind any of them to pee without being seen.  At mile 8 we head south back towards downtown and I got another walk break.  At this point, I'm sad to say, I was starting to need them.  I hate that I was looking at my watch 1.5 miles into a 2 mile run and thinking, "thank God, I can walk in about 5 minutes".  The run/walk plan was keeping me alive, but it was also screwing with my head and my identity as a "runner".  The walk segments were still feeling too long though and I was trying to at least keep a decent pace while walking. Remember when I said I was hoping my run paces would get faster? When making that run/walk plan, my friend and I were talking about me running at a 10mm down to 9:30mm pace and walking about a 17mm pace.  This would get me to finish in under 3 hours, which was my goal for a completely untrained race.  I knew my run segments weren't anywhere close to 10s, much less mid-9s, so I needed to make up time in the walks.  In the middle of my mile 8 run was another aide station. I HAD to stop.  There was a relatively short line and I chatted with one girl and held up another woman who was having some bad leg cramping. I got in, peed as fast as I could, and then took off running again, but the damage was done, I'd screwed up one of my run miles.  I contemplated skipping the next walk segment, but I took it anyway.  This walk took me through most of Riverside Park so I had a chance to take some more pictures.

Inside Riverside Park

Downtown Grand Rapids and the 6th Street Bridge in the distance.

I ran until mile 11 and then started walking again.  I texted one of my friends and said I was getting tired but my plan was to walk mile 12 and then run it in to the end.  I got a pep talk and was told to make the race my bitch :)  Coming off the 6th Street Bridge I saw Glenn and Tim again, plus my friend Susan L was there.  Three friendly faces I really needed at that moment.  I got a trifecta of hugs and I told Tim I was really tired.  I was starting to get a little weepy and he told me "Just keep moving forward."  That became my mantra for the rest of the race. I made it to the top of the hill at the end of mile 12 and I took off.  Just keep moving forward.  I actually saw some 9s on my watch for a few minutes!  This last 1.1 miles is tough.  There are lots of turns and street crossings.  Running past the Ford Museum is always really cool and I kept trying to keep my pace, but as I made the turn into town and across the Blue Bridge, I felt like I couldn't hold the pace.  At least I thought I couldn't until I saw the kick I had left to finish the last .1 miles up a little hill of cobblestone!  Splits: 10:37, 14:39 (emergency bathroom break), 14:59 (walk), 10:38, 10:41, 15:38 (walk), 10:31, :56 (8:51 pace for last .1!)

Happy little bling whore :)

I crossed the finish line tired but with a smile.  I grabbed a banana, orange slices, a bagel and my bling. I talked with Tami and a few of my other runner friends, then found Jenn and Glenn and we watched a more women finishing. One woman literally sashayed her way across the finish line at about the 3 hour mark.  I was so proud of these women - many of whom were first time half marathoners and ones I'd met at the expo the night before. 

Takeaways?  My legs were sore but I think the run/walk plan I stuck to was probably the only reason I actually finished.  Should I think about some sort of run/walk plan for my fall marathon?  At this point, it's too early to say, but definitely something to think about.  The walk breaks gave me a chance to shake my legs out and catch my breath, but I'd need to run the running segments so much faster to meet my marathon goal.  Also, the walking seemed to aggravate my heel since walking is inherently heel striking and I run more mid-foot. I averaged about a 10:35 pace on the 8.1 all-run segments on Sunday and around a 15:30 pace for the 5 miles of walking/bathroom stops.  Using a run/walk plan is definitely a possibility but 2 miles run/1 mile walked probably won't be the interval.  Also, this was my first women only race and I have to say, it was pretty cool.  I loved the course and I think it has potential for a fast finish with some training.  Gazelle Girl will be on my race radar for 2015.

My finishing time? Not my worst half marathon and I crushed my 3 hour goal, but it's still hard to see what my average pace was.  I've worked so hard to become a faster runner but that wasn't the point of Sunday's race.  The point was to have fun, run with a couple thousand amazing women, clock at least 7 running miles and get some pretty bling, all while not ending up any more injured than I already was.  Mission accomplished.

2:42:40 (12:25 pace)  

1301/1774 women 

182/219 in my age group

Considering I spent all day Saturday on my feet and hadn't run a long run of more than 7 miles in over 3 months, I think it's ok.  I was extremely tired the rest of Sunday and even felt pretty fuzzy driving home.  I think I was extremely dehydrated since my 2 water bottles were both almost still full at the end of the race.  However, adding that little Mitten State charm to my necklace Monday morning after walking down the stairs without too much pain was worth it.

WIAW: aka Why I gained 6 pounds on vacation

Yes, it's Wednesday, and that means it's weigh-in day.  Rather than bog everyone down with the numbers (it was 6.4 pounds up on Saturday but I'm down 4 since then), let's take a look at the reasons WHY....

A stop to tour the city a bit and eat at West Sixth Brewing Co.

10k race at Pisgah Brewing and breakfast at Early Girl.

Amazing fish tacos at Rita's, Lagunitas on the beach at
my hotel, and breakfast at Lost Dog Cafe.

She Crab Soup at Noisy Oyster (I died and went to Heaven), bottomless
mimosas the size of my head at Toast, and dinner at
Southend Brewery and Smokehouse.

Late dinner after many hours of driving at Bluegrass Brewing Co.

So, I should probably be glad that the damage was only 6 pounds and the fact I've already lost 4 of it means most of it was bloat, but still.  Wow.  If I hadn't run almost 20 miles on vacation (not counting Sunday's half marathon), I'm sure it would've been much worse.

Have you ever had She Crab Soup?  Do you even know what it is?  If I lived anywhere near fresh seafood, I'd be trying to learn how to make it.

Training Tuesday: the vacation edition

This past week was spring break for me and my kids, so we loaded up the van and traveled south in search of warmer weather.  We found it and if you read last week's training post on doing what scares you, you saw a bit of what I did on vacation.  Since I have 2 weeks to recap, I'll try to be brief.

Monday 3-31-13: Plan LIFT 30 min / Actual LIFT 60 min and then my arms fell off.

Tuesday 4-1-14: Plan BIKE 30 and LIFT 30 / Actual BIKE 8 miles in 30 min and LIFT probably around 15 min of abs. Zero desire to workout so I logged this as a win on Daily Mile.

Wednesday 4-2-14: Plan RUN 4 miles / Actual RUN 4 miles at 9:55 pace (just under 40 min).  This was a beautiful spring day and one of those runs that made me think I might still be a runner. Only strength work was a 60 sec plank for Lent.

Thursday 4-3-14: Plan REST (driving day for vacation) / Actual 15 min LIFT (abs) for Lent.

Friday 4-4-14:  Plan REST (more driving and visiting with friends) / Actual 15 min LIFT (squats, lunges and abs in the hotel room) for Lent.

Saturday 4-5-14: Plan RUN Black Mountain 10k / Actual RUN Black Mountain 10k in 1:12:xx (11:35 pace and my worst 10k EVER).  This was crazy hilly and hard through the mountains near Asheville, NC.  Since my Garmin is not currently able to talk to my computer, I have no proof of the hills, so maybe it was really flat and I was just being a pussy.  Unless I get a new computer, we'll never know.  I'll write a race report eventually because I took some really pretty pictures.  I also managed a plank for Lent.

Sunday 4-6-14: Plan REST (more driving) / Actual 2 mile recovery walk in 30 min before we hit the road for South Carolina's beaches. 

Monday 4-7-14: Plan REST / Actual RUN x 2!  The weather in Charleston was looking much better for running the Cooper River Bridge on Monday instead of Tuesday and I'm so glad I swapped the days.  First run was a 2 mile, pre-dawn run on the beach (23 min at 11:42 pace).  You'll notice my vacation paces SUCKED but that was me enjoying the surroundings and probably all the shit I ate and drank combined with warmer temps and humidity.  Goal wasn't pace though, but having fun.  Next run about an hour later was the Cooper River Bridge.  5 miles round trip in 54 minutes (10:50 pace).  There are pictures in my what scares you post that I linked above. Then for Lent I embarrassed my kids by doing pushups and tricep dips outside of the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier at Patriots Point :)

Tuesday 4-8-14: Plan RUN / Actual REST plus Lent workout in the hotel room (fitness center was packed because it was pouring).  I also took a very short walk on the beach in the rain. Twas lovely.

Wednesday 4-9-14: Plan ??? / Actual RUN 6.15 miles (68 minutes or so and 11:01 pace) with Sarah and Dimity from Another Mother Runner!  This was beyond fun and really a highlight of my trip.  Sarah and I meandered around the historic districts of Charleston and along the Battery while Dimity did some speedwork.  We talked running, kids, beer, you name it! The hour+ flew by and I wish we'd had time to run even longer. The rest of the day was another 3-4 miles of walking around Charleston with the family and then my Lent workout consisted of an ice bath in the Atlantic and some stretching and planks. My feet were DONE.

Thursday 4-10-14: Plan REST before our long drive / Actual WALK 20 min in the ocean at sunrise and then pushups and planks in the hotel room.  I really want to move to the ocean.

Friday 4-11-14: Plan REST for more driving / Actual BIKE 10 miles in 38 min on the scariest of hotel uprights and then 15 min of 2 circuits squats, lunges, planks, bird dogs in the hotel gym for Lent.

Saturday 4-13-14: Worked the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon expo for Another Mother Runner.  So, unless you count moving boxes, being on your feet for most of the day, and connecting with women as a workout, then I rested :)  This was actually incredibly fun and even though I was exhausted by the end of the night, I can't wait to do it again.  Being an Ambassador for Another Mother Runner is truly an honor.

Sunday 4-14-14: Plan RUN 7 or 8 miles / Actual RUN 13.1 miles in 2:42:40 (12:25 pace) at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon. Yep, I signed up at the expo and ran a half marathon completely untrained.  I managed to run 8.1 miles, run another mile with a potty break, and walk the other 4 miles by running 2 miles and walking 1 mile.  Race report is coming.  I really hate seeing that 12:25 pace, but it is what it is.  If you take out the walk breaks and potty stop mile, I did the 8.1 at about a 10:25 pace so I didn't suck completely :)

Any fun spring break workouts you'd like to share?  16 oz pint curls totally count.

Motivation Monday: why I ran 13.1 without training

This weekend I was able to represent Another Mother Runner at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon Expotique in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My girlfriend, Tami, and I connected with runners ranging from women running their first 5k or half marathon to seasoned marathoners.

All of them had a story to share.

picture credit: Women's Lifestyle Magazine

I spent a good portion of the day trying to decide whether I wanted to run the race or not.  I'd said for weeks that I was not going to run.  I wasn't trained, I'm injured, I was coming off of 18 hours in the car.  You know, lots of excuses.

But these amazing women motivated me to run.  If they could do it, so could I.  I was supposed to run 7 or 8 miles on Sunday anyway, so why not add 5 more? A very good friend helped me come up with a plan to run the 13.1 as safely as possible. (I'll discuss the plan when I write my race report.)

In the end, I was able to crush my 3 hour time goal (I figured without training it would take that long) and finished in 2 hours 42 minutes.  I talked to women on the course, took pictures, and just had fun running outside with people.  Friends working the aid stations were there to chat with at 5 miles (Hi Susan J and Molly!) and provided very welcome hugs near the end when I was completely wiped out. (Thank you Glenn, Tim, and Susan L!!)

The finisher bling and completing my 11th half marathon on a whim were 100% worth it. 

What has inspired you?

Fitness Friday: make a plan

I've seen this come across a few Instagrams and felt it was steal-worthy.


Applies to more than just fitness.

What do you want?

Wordless Wednesday: social media rocks

Training Tuesday: do what scares you

Taking a vacation break from my usual training recaps to tell you to get out of your freaking comfort zone!

I checked a monster bridge crossing run off my bucket list this week by running the Arthur Ravenal Jr Cooper River Bridge (not the race, just the bridge) in Charleston, SC. 2 1/2 miles each way & 574 feet tall.

Every time we drive by or across it now I think "I ran that SOB!"




The beginning.


Somewhere near the highest point. Yes, I looked down on the way back!


At the turnaround to head back.


Almost back over.


Done!!

What's a running bucket list item of yours?