Week in Review (well, part of it any way!)

What a busy week it's been! First of all my computer AC adapter/charger thing died and I had to wait to get a new one from Dell, I felt so out of touch with everything without my computer! Then for work we had 2 photo shoots back to back, but thankfully they went really well, just left me completely exhausted!
I was able to get a short run in on Wednesday morning, just about 3 miles, but I was glad to fit it in. Then on Thursday night I decided to go out! Let me explain - I rarely go out! That is also one of the new things that I'm working on changing, I have to get out there more!!! So, on Thursday night I GOT OUT THERE, and paid for it ALL DAY Friday! The good thing is that I had a great time out, the bad thing is my head was killing me until 4pm on Friday!
Then on Friday night I went with my Mom to a "Zumba Master Class". My Mom is an amazing dancer and certified Zumba instructor, smokin hot too! This class kicked my booty! I have taken Zumba a bunch of times, but the whole "master class" thing was awesome! It ended up being 2 hours long! Very fun, totally awesome workout!
Then on Saturday morning I went for my long run with my Team in Training group. We ran at North Park which was awesome, it was my first time there. One lap around the big lake is 5 miles, it has some nice rolling hills, but nothing too crazy. Part way through the first lap I noticed that I could sort of "feel everything" a little more. It was really humid, and my hip flexors will killing me from all the dancing! At the end of mile 5 I re-fueled with a gu and water and a swig of G2, then headed back out in the opposite direction for the next 5. One of the TNT head mentors, Rob, paired up with me for this part. I'm so glad that he did because I was struggling by mile 7. Thankfully he kept my mind off of it with lots of good conversation! As we got to mile 9 the rain started and I was so glad we were almost done! We ran in strong for the final mile and then joined up with our group for some HOMEMADE Blueberry Coffee Cake that was made by my mentor, Audrey! It was SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!
Once I was done with my coffee cake (and grabbed a 2nd piece to go....come on, according to my Garmin I burned 1,056 calories!!!!) I headed home. Shortly after I got in the car I noticed I felt "different" than I did from 10 miles last weekend! I could really feel it in my feet and ankles and of course my hips! I'm just hoping that this was from all the dancing on Friday night!
I woke up pretty stiff this morning, I still feel like my ankles are sort of "jammed". Not sure why, but just hoping that it will pass!
I feel like there's so much more to write, with my computer being down most of the week I'm totally behind! This will be it for now......Hope everyone had a great weekend and is ready for a great SHORT week!

Wooo Hooo! I TOTALLY DID IT!

First of all, thanks to everyone for the supportive and encouraging words! Sorry I didn't get to update sooner, no internet access until now!

Sooooo, it was AWESOME! I am still on cloud 9! My goal was "to just be under 2 hours" (funny, when I signed up about 3-4 weeks ago, my goal was "just to finish"), well, I did it in 1:46:22!!!!! That includes 2 stops at the port-o-john! I was amazed at how much I did NOT have to walk! I stuck with my plan of walking about 10 feet before each water station and then walking through it while I drank, then picking up my run again after that. I did have to walk a few extra times between the 8 mile marker up to about 9.25, but overall, WAY less walking than I would have ever thought!

I did notice that around mile 4 I started to feel really comfortable, that feeling stayed around until about mile 8, then it was a little more difficult, but it was never out of control. Every step I took beyond Mile 8 I kept thinking "this is the farthest I have ever run" (until this weekend my longest run ever was last week - 8 miles). It was an amazing feeling!

Crossing the finish line was awesome! My friend Charlene was there taking pictures and my friend Greg was waiting just past the finish line, it was so cool to have them both there!

Tomorrow will be my Longest Run!

The Baltimore 10 Miler is almost here! In about 24 hours I will have started the longest run that I have ever done, I am super excited and a little nervous! 

I got to Maryland on Wednesday night and have been having a great time hanging out with my friends. On Thursday morning I enjoyed a nice 4 mile jog around the Baltimore Harbor, totally beautiful! Then on Thursday afternoon I hung out at the pool with my friend Lisa, and she introduced me to her friend Shannon who also happens to be doing the 10 miler! So I will at least know 1 person there (not like we'll actually see each other...LOL)! 

Well, it's time to head off with my friend Amy and her 2 boys, lots to do today! 

Sunday's 10K

The 10K on Sunday was great,I finished it in 1:04 (and that included a stop at the Port-O-Potty)! I can't even stress how much I LOVE my Garmin!!! Best thing ever!
Not only was the 10K great, but the rest of Father's Day was awesome too! My parents came to watch the race, it was so fun to see them there when I was crossing the finish line, I felt like a little kid again! After the race we made our way over to the Cheesecake Factory where my brother and niece met us for brunch, YUMMY! I had THE BEST eggs benedict and french toast, soooooooo good! Then we stopped over to REI and I picked up some new GU flavors to try out.

As if that wasn't enough of a great day, when I came home I checked my mail (from Saturday...always behind on that stuff...LOL) and there was a random package in there. So I opened it up, and there was a medal in it from the 5K from the week before. Immediately I start thinking "oh crap, they sent the medal to the wrong person, I didn't get a medal" until I read the letter with it! I finished 3rd in my age group! Woooo hooo! I got a medal!!! Now I REALLY feel like a kid!!!

I have to say, this whole running thing is turning out to be one of the best things I have ever done! Yeah for running!!!!!!!!!

Saturday's Long Run

Woooo hoooo, I did 8 miles today, that's the longest I've ever run IN MY LIFE! I am super excited, this was a major "mental" thing, I feel like I've broken a little "barrier"!
Also today was my first time running with the Garmin, that thing is the best invention ever! It helped so much to keep me on pace, now I can see that before what I was doing was running too fast and then losing steam.
Right now I'd like to take a nap, but I've got a bunch of work to do...so, off to work for now!

My New Tattoo!

I'm so excited, I finally got my wrist tattoo last night! I've been wanting this for quite some time now.....love it! I always find myself saying "Focus, focus, focus", so here it is.......

Need Input on Garmin Forerunner

Who's got a Garmin? Which model do you have? If $$ was no issue which one would you get (I've got a couple gift cards!!)?
I'm not sure which model to get so I'm looking for any and all input!
Thanks!!!

Weekday Morning Workouts

So, on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays I meet up with a group for a morning "workout" (should really be called a morning "a$$ kicking"!!). It's like a bootcamp/football camp/track meet/spinning class all rolled into one! I started this back in the middle of March and I still love it! For the most part we meet at the local High School track and do everything (laps, sprints, stadium steps, jumps, hops, side shuffles up and down the field, a drill we call "run stop drop and roll" - start at the goal line go down to your stomach and roll over, then jump up sprint to the 10 yard line and repeat, keep doing this all the way down to the 50, turn around and come back)we do all of this for about 45 minutes then finish up with 15 minutes of abs, planks and push ups. KILLER!
Thankfully after all of my running this weekend we were inside at the gym using the Spin bikes. It was a great workout even though my legs were pretty tired!

Sunday's Training Run

After yesterday's 5K, I was worried about today's "long run" (which was supposed to be 6 miles for me). I met with my Team in Training group at the North Shore Trail in Pittsburgh at 7:30 and headed out from there. This was my first time on the NST, it was a beautiful trail, lots of shade, and there was even a nice breeze.
I had 1/2 a Gu on my way to the run, I figured that would help get me going! It seemed to work pretty good. Since I had to work today I only had an hour to run, fortunately that worked perfectly for 5 miles. I made it to the turn around at the 2.5 mile marker and took a 3 minute break for Gatorade. Up to that point I had to walk a few times, but I was amazed how good I felt after the 2 cups of Gatorade! Heading back was a million times easier! If I wasn't under the time constraint I definitely could have gotten in the 6th mile.
As soon as I was done I started in on a jug of Gatorade, the rest of my day was great! Nothing like yesterday!!! Yeah!! I was so worried after that happened!
Only bad thing - I ran in my new Sauconys - totally rubbed on the inside of my foot and big toe. I'm hoping it was really my socks, but I'm not sure. I'll try running in them again in a couple days and see what happens.

Saturday's 5K

Two words - Soooooooooo HOT!!!! The temperature was around 83 for the race with major humidity, I definitely should have been drinking more fluids over the past couple days. I was hoping to do it under 30 minutes, but ended up at 30:05. Not bad considering the heat!
The crazy thing is that throughout the rest of the day my body was so weak, and that was just after a 5K! I knew it had nothing to do with the distance, it was total shock from the heat. That was a big lesson for me! The whole day consisted of sleeping, drinking, sleeping, sleeping,drinking! Finally by 5pm I was getting back to "normal"!
All in all, I'm so glad I did it! It was a great learning experience for sure!
Oh, also I ran it in my new Asics, I LOVE them!

The First Post

I haven't been sure how to start this, I feel like I need to get every detail in, but the only thing that does is make me not start! So, I'll go for a quick summary.
I'm 32, have never been a "runner", however I have always been active and worked out. I've done several 5k's over the past 2 years (always around 30min).
I've always adimired runners. I've always adimired people that can do things that most people can't or won't. I've always looked at a marathon and thought NEVER....until this year.
I'll spare you the details (for now), but I went through a situation with a friend of mine right around my 32nd birthday, and it wore me out....completely. It was stressful, painful, scarey, and exhausting. The thing is, it wasn't "about me", I was merely helping this person out when they were in a very bad place in their life. Eventually it took a toll on me and left me questioning everything about myself, somehow it rocked my confidence and left me low, to pick up the pieces on my own.
Sometimes to find yourself or "get yourself back" you need to push outside of your comfort zone. Show yourself how strong you are and exactly what you can do, prove that you are not broken. Well, at least this is the way my brain works. So, that is exactly what I did.

In May I signed up with Team in Training to do the Marine Corps Marathon on October 26 in Washington, DC. I've got a lot of training ahead of me, and a lot of miles to run, but I'm feeling good about it all.
Right now my "long runs" are working their way up week by week, mile by mile. This past Sunday was 5 miles, I did that in 52 minutes. Just to be clear on this, I rarely run the WHOLE time, I throw in some short walk breaks along the way and I'm sure that will continue all the way up through my training.

I hope that you'll check back for updates on this journey! Feel free to leave words of encouragement along the way!