Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, etc....

I know, radio silence.

I joined 2 weight loss challenges (diet bet-style) in January. My goal was to lose 4% of my body weight. I faltered around the first few weeks of January, but got my act together the very last week and started really researching macros again. On January 31, my weigh out POINT THREE POUNDS from my 4% goal. I can't explain how irritated I was at myself for letting that happen! BUT between Jan 25 and the 30, I dropped over 2lbs. JUST following my macro numbers TO A TEE.


I saw so much success in just those few days with macros ("IIFYM") that I have been following this religiously for the last several weeks. My weight continues to go down and - maybe more importantly - I don't feel restricted or "bad" or wrong if I eat something "off plan" - because there is NO OFF PLAN!

Whole30 is amazing - I think everyone should try it - but it's just not a way of life for me. If I had discovered a sensitivity or allergy to a food or food group, maybe it would be easier to tolerate. But I have a problem where if you tell me I can't have something, I want NOTHING ELSE but that one thing and when I do have it, I have ALL of it.

The other thing about IIFYM is that I think I'm finally giving my body enough calories of the right quality. I'm meeting a protein goal of 144g/day (my objective is to hit +/- 5g of my goal), my carb rate is 206g and my fat is 73g.

I actually quite enjoy playing "Macro Tetris" at night to see what will fit with my leftover macros. I need to get better about spreading them out throughout the day for sure - One day last week I had a 227g of Greek yogurt with 1 1/2 servings of almond flake cereal haha!  So my goal is to start averaging out my macros and hitting specific numbers at each meal.

I'll get putting my progress pictures up. I will say, January wasn't a total bust. I lost 7.5 lbs total and 10" over my body in general! Now that the baby is sleeping (WOOHOO) I have been excited to get to the gym more and work out! I am re-starting Jamie Eason's LiveFit training - day one was last week. However due to schedule issues, I will be stretching it out a LOT more than I did last time. I was generally on point with Phase 1, but I know as the workouts get longer, I will need to make adjustments to how many times a week I go. Plus - I am DYING to get out and run! We moved to a new area last June and there is an amazing people trail that I CANNOT wait to get on with the jogging stroller!

So the next few weeks, months will be balance - balancing my family with my health, balancing my macros, balancing my time.

Slow....

Slow progress. Slower results. More backsliding. 

I was on a good clip in November... hit my lowest weight since I had Miss M, but fell right back into bad habits and lost it. 

I printed out the first week of Jamie Eason's Post Pregnancy training tonight. It's all stuff I can do at home, while M naps or plays in her jumperoo. It's been hard to get to the gym regularly, trying to balance the schedules for both the big kids in school, plus sports. I have a hard time shutting down and going to bed early. I have a wicked sweet tooth. All of these are just excuses, I know. I keep waiting for that moment when we fall into a routine, but it just isn't happening.  There's always something "extra" going on that messes with our schedules, if even just holidays and special events. 

I've been doing a decent job on water (have really focused on getting 100+ oz a day) and trying to get good food in my system. I have a hard time in the 3-5pm time period. Goal is to keep chugging water at that time instead of stuffing my face. M is sleeping better now, so I feel like I'm coming OUT of the "survival mode" time and it feels like the right time to ramp up my focus and training.  But even if I can only make it to the gym 1-2 times a week, I am hoping that I can get my food choices (primarily the sweets!) under control. 

So... this is just a brain dump. It's been awhile since I posted here so maybe keeping accountable here will help too.    Tomorrow I plan to take my measurements, but I likely won't start the Jamie Eason plan until Wednesday as I have (yet another) project that will take up my "free time" tomorrow. 

I'm baaaaccckkkk *almost*

It's been a minute, hasn't it?!

40wks, 4days pregnant

While I haven't posted in quite awhile, I kept working out throughout my pregnancy. I think I went to my cardio class for the last time around 38 weeks. I felt amazing. I gained around 30lbs total (far cry from the 45-50 I gained with the other two!)

On July 20 (5 days late!!), Miss M was born. Perfection in a tiny bundle <3 Even though my OB had me convinced she was going to be a GIANT at 10+ lbs (based on A's weight and being my third baby, then the fact that she was so overdue!), she turned out to be a tiny peanut at only 7lb, 9oz.


Now here we are, six weeks later! I'm about to get my go ahead to start working out again (WOOHOO) and I'm in the midst of researching how to work out safely without jeopardizing my milk supply, which is obviously my first priority.

I am going to start easy - a few "runs" (not sure how this will go!) and some at home workouts. I want to start using the awesome resistance band set we have to build my strength. I am hoping to do these while M sleeps and A goes to school.

I plan to renew my gym membership this week, but will have to find some alternate times to go since I am hesitant to put Miss M in childcare at such a young age - especially with big kids just going back to school and alllllll the germs floating around in childcare environments right now!

I'm going to take my measurements tomorrow (sometime after I can find my tape measure!! Moving messed me ALL up!) but my starting weight is 186lbs.  Goal? No idea. To feel comfortable in my own skin. To fit into the majority of my clothing. To be a happy woman and the best mom I can be.

And for goodness sake, to PR my next half marathon ;-)   That race, however, is still TBD. :-) 

Day 5 and Done.

 Day 5

M1: Cherry pie Lara Bar

M2: 2 hot dogs, 1/2 avocado, pineapple

M3: BBQ cobb salad with no cheese or dressing. Confident that there was sugar in the bacon and the rub on the chicken. 

By M3, I had realized I was probably done with Whole30. I had barely eaten that day and forced myself to eat. I promised myself I would quit if I hit two conditions - skipping meals or the loss of 5lbs. 

Well, yesterday I hit the "no appetite, would skip meals" place. Then this morning, when I stepped on the scale, I had hit the 5lb loss. 5lbs in 5 days ORDINARILY would be amazing.  No appetite and no cravings ORDINARILY would be awesome. But right now in my pregnancy, those aren't things I am looking for.   I am done with Whole30-ing until after the baby comes. I am not worried about my weight gain so there's no reason to do it for that. I am hoping to keep my sugar cravings under control so that I don't get to the binging place that I was at before I started this. 

So, on to the next thing. I am continuing to move, not FAST but I'm moving!  I honestly can't WAIT to get back to hard runs, Jamie Eason's LiveFit training and a real Whole30 once things settle down around here! 

Whole7ish Days 3-4

Today. Was. Hard.

I started hitting the dreaded wall today. I was able to force myself to eat so I will go on another day with my Whole7ish. I don't know how much longer I will make it, but I am going to try my hardest to make it to at least 7 days!! I think I can, I think I can! 

Day 3

M1: Eggs, bacon, avocado.
M2: Spaghetti squash, meatballs, broccoli with Tessamae's balsamic.
M3: Salsa chicken on salad with avocado, sauteed potatoes. 

**Snacks: Apple pie Lara Bar & a microwaved apple with cinnamon and coconut oil. 

Day 4

M1: Leftover sauteed potatoes with bacon and 2 fried eggs. Fresh pineapple.
M2: Applegate hot dog, grapes, broccoli with Tessamae's.
M3: Apple cider vinegar pork chops, sauteed apples with cinnamon and coconut oil, curried cauliflower.

**Snacks: Paleo "cereal" (walnuts, pecans, dried bing cherries, raisins, unsweetened coconut shreds with about 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk) & a banana. 

**When I did my first Whole30, I followed the "no snacking" rule very closely, but being pregnant, I have been using snacks to make sure I am getting enough calories to support growing a person :-) 

Whole7ish Days 1-2

So far, so good.  The wonderful thing about Whole30 is that it's kind of like riding a bike.  Even though it's been a year since I've completed a full 30 days, we've done 3 "refresher" rounds, so Whole30-minded eating has never been far from my mind.  This time is no different. I am back to my "typical" meals and I am ok with that! I don't mind having the same food day in and day out, so it works for me to be doing leftovers and extras.

Day 1: 

M1: 3 scrambled eggs, 3 slices of Wellshire paleo bacon, 1/2 avocado, power greens. 
M2: Trader Joe's grassfed burger (from the frozen section!) with mustard and pickles, carrots, TJ's green olives and purple grapes. 
M3: Baked chicken, boiled green beans, large sweet potato with cinnamon only.
Snacks (I wouldn't be snacking if I weren't pregnant!): Apple with almond butter, 2 bananas.
Workout: 1 hour, 13 minutes of cardio (treadmill walking and elliptical)

Day 2:

M1: 3 scrambled eggs, 3 slices of Wellshire paleo bacon, power greens. 

M2: TJ's grassfed burger, boiled green beans, sweet potato with cinnamon, olives. 

M3: Spaghetti Squash with Well Fed meatballs (marinara sauce from Aldi! Compliant!), broccoli/cauliflower mix. 

Snacks: Key lime pie Lara bar, banana, almonds.

Workout: 75 minutes of Yoga.

Trying to keep reminding myself that this is only 1-2 weeks. I am already sleeping better (and waking up without as much hassle, which is always my favorite part of a Whole30!). I've been having some hip pain in relation to my pregnancy and I am HOPING that if I can stick with Whole30 long enough, that will go away (fingers crossed!) 

Updates & What's Up Next

Well it's been awhile. Sorry about that! Things have been CRAZY around this house between trying to find a new house and getting ready for the baby (as much as possible knowing we are moving before she comes!)

Yes, if you caught that, it is a SHE!  I am 25 weeks this week. I can hardly believe it because time is moving so.fast!







I don't have any perfect way to remember, but if memory serves me, by this time in my pregnancy with my first two, I had already gained 25 lbs. So far this time, I have only gained approximately 15! I have tried to keep moving, although running just feels downright awful now. I can sprint (I should say "sprint" for me now means max of 5.5 on the treadmill!) for a few minutes, but then my hips start to feel all out of whack and I have to slow way back down.  I'm trying to keep lifting a little, DEFINITELY doing squats (they are supposed to be super beneficial for childbirth!)

Haha excuse the face. 

My food choices have been.... less than stellar. I find afternoons are the hardest and I have fallen back into a frenzied "eat all the things" place if I have any one little treat in that time. I am doing a "Whole7" with a few friends. That is usually enough time for me to reset my cravings, get my eating right and feel better (maybe my sleep will be better too!) Seven days should be enough of a reset but not enough for my body to get the the scary weight loss/stop eating place that I've gotten to the last few rounds I've attempted.

I stocked up today on veggies, almond butter, eggs and greens. Hoping to get to Whole Foods to get bacon (yay!) and some other protein sources.

So that's the update for now! Nothing amazing going on for sure.  I will try to update how this Whole7 goes, though., once we get started. :-)

You know what silence means....

I might as well just reference this post again, because I wound up in the EXACT same place...

After 10 days of being on Whole30, I had lost 5 pounds, was struggling to get enough calories and had completely lost my appetite. Ordinarily, these would all be awesome results to get from this.  However, I am pregnant and I was warned by my OB that I was clear to do a Whole30 as long as I was getting enough calories.  Around day 10, I got to the same mental place where I preferred to NOT eat instead of eating compliant food. I had NO cravings and no appetite. I was barely scraping by with 1000 calories a day, where my calorie requirements are closer to 2,000!

I am a HUGE Whole30 supporter. I believed (and STILL believe) everyone should at least TRY to complete one. It's hard, I would never tell you it's easy. But it's worth it. I miss feeling awesome. I miss SLEEPING - my pregnancy-induced insomnia was gone and I would bound out of bed in the morning ready to face the day.  But I have to do what's best for me and the baby at this point. 

My husband has continued his Whole30 through today, which he planned to stop (so a Whole24). I have been keeping our family dinners compliant for his benefit. I have added in sprouted grain bread and (let's be honest here) treats!  Oh how I missed peanut butter!!

I am still 1lb below where I was on Jan 1 when I started this Whole30. My goal for this pregnancy is not to gain 40lbs, but honestly? My doctor has always ALWAYS told me how much you gain DURING pregnancy does.not.matter. It's how much you take off when you're done, in what amount of time. I am thankful for his opinion because I do tend to gain weight. But I also plan to stay more active this time than the last two times.

While I am enjoying being able to have a treat or fulfill a craving, I do miss how GOOD I felt being wholly compliant.  I am trying to make sure I am eating enough veggies (my biggest issue when not on Whole30) and to cut back on the refined sugars!

Whole30 Round 2, days 3-7

Just meal plans for a bit! I am thrilled to be getting back to working out soon!

Day 3: 

Breakfast: turkey sausage, sweet potato, egg bake. Coffee w/coconut milk. Blackberries. 

Mid am: random fruit at a bday party. 

Lunch: 2 hb eggs. Carrots. olives. Banana. 

Dinner: hamburger party. Side salad. Side of fruit.

Day 4: 

Breakfast: Sausage, sweet potato & egg bake. Apple. Avocado.

Lunch: HUGE salad - romaine, chicken breast, olives, cucumbers, carrots. 1/3 baked potato with salsa. 

Dinner: Steak, curried cauliflower, baked potato, sauteed mushrooms, salad with Tessamae's balsamic dressing.

Day 5: 

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 1/3 avocado, greens, banana. 

PWO: egg white

Lunch: steak, 1/2 avocado, carrots, sweet potato (about 1/2). 

PM snack: banana, handful almonds

Dinner: spaghetti squash & meatballs. Salad.

Day 6:

Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon, 1/2 an avocado, 3 scrambled eggs, banana. Coffee with coconut cream.

Lunch: most of a chicken breast with Frank's, romaine with a splash of tessamae's balsamic, carrots, 1/2 of a pear, 3 meatballs. 

Dinner: Almond crusted chicken strips, pineapple, sweet potato "fries" (they were really mushy!) and roasted broccoli.

Day 7: 

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled, 2 slices of bacon, 1/4 avocado, banana. 

Lunch: 4 meatballs, spaghetti squash (not much, probably 1/4-1/2 cup), 6 olives, apple.

Midafternoon: banana

Dinner: 1 1/2 buffalo chicken stuffed peppers and a side salad.

Whole30, #2, Days 1-2

Oh the headache on day 1!!

I skipped my coffee because the baby just DOESN'T like it some mornings. BIG mistake. I had a headache so bad I could barely hold my head up most of the day. :(

Add to that my husband's superstition about eating chicken/eggs on NYD.... it was interesting finding food yesterday!

We hadn't made it to Whole Foods for bacon yet, so he threw together a hot dog/potato/red pepper scramble. It wasn't the worst concoction we've ever had but I don't think we'll be rushing to try it again. ;-)  I also had 1/4 of an avocado and half of a grapefruit.

Lunch: 4 baby cucumbers, handful of olives, hot dogs and whole grain mustard. 

Dinner: Crispy carnitas, roasted broccoli, baked potato with compliant salsa. 

Friday was better. I was able to get down about a half a cup of coffee with coconut cream - so far, no headache!

Breakfast: 3 over medium eggs, 1/2 avocado, one cup of blackberries.

Lunch: Baked chicken breast, 1/4 avocado, 2 clementines, about a cup of baby carrots.

Afternoon: 1oz almonds

Dinner: Cracklin' chicken, roasted carrots, roasted potatoes.  This was pretty big as I normally CANNOT STAND cooked carrots. These? They'll be made in my house 1-2 times a week going forward. Delicious!! 

I need to modify just slightly. I am only coming in around 1,000 calories and I JUST don't feel like that's enough while pregnant. Yes, I know the rules, but I am being overly cautious because of my pregnancy.  So I will watch my protein intake (keep it less than 20% of my total daily macros), calories and calcium. So I will be adding a fourth meal and possibly a snack after dinner just to make sure I'm hitting 1500+ calories. 

Whole30 #2 Prep

I realize this is really Whole30 #1.3 at this point, since I've tried 2 additional times and have only completed a few weeks at a time. But we're calling this Whole30 #2 because I know I will be successful this time. I am not the only one counting on it! (Growing a person is hard work!) 

I started making some general meal plans and realized that most of these foods we have been eating ever since our FIRST Whole30 - they have become some of the most requested and favorite meals. This is encouraging that it won't be such a hard transition for my family (mostly the kids*). 

This week's menu will loosely look like this: 

• Plantain nachos
• Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps 
• Balsamic chicken thighs, zucchini & sweet potatoes
• Grilled chicken, roasted red potatoes & roasted garlic broccoli
• Stir fry over cauli-rice

I am going to sit down tomorrow and make a grocery list, pulling from some of our favorites. After almost two solid weeks of eating in restaurants and fast food, my body is DYING to have some real nutrition!!  Nothing will taste better than a huge chicken salad with veggies and olives! 

Also can't wait? To get back to the gym!!  Now that my morning sickness has ended, I am excited to get back to running (goal: Run a 5K this fall and another half marathon Spring 2016). 

While I didn't "succeed" with my goals for this year, I am so happy with the way this year has gone. I have changed my health, my body chemistry and I am a better person moving forward. Thankful for all of the people who have helped me along the way and excited to see what the coming year holds for us!

*As a sidenote, since my kids have done the full Whole30 successfully and we established that they didn't have any severe food allergies, I will not keep them strictly on it this time. We haven't ever really transitioned back to cow milk for them to drink but I will not restrict them from cheese and grains, primarily at lunch time. Dinners will be compliant with no additions. 

Big Life Changes

Well, I said in an earlier post that there were some big changes coming down the road for my family and boy did I mean it! 

My husband's job is taking us on an adventure! We will be moving to the Washington DC area in approximately the next six months!  We have been scouting areas and are trying to find the perfect school district and town for our family. 

The only pickle? 

Which isn't exactly a "pickle," just a minor blip in the moving timeline :-) 

But want to hear the awesome amazing part???  

We tried for 16 months to have our first child. I was diagnosed with PCOS and required extensive fertility testing and Clomid to finally get pregnant.  We started trying sooner rather than later for my son and it took 6 months, a miscarriage and Clomid to get pregnant with him.  In the beginning of 2014, we were unsure if our family was meant to have another person or not. So we decided that if God wants another kiddo in our family, He would do it without our help. 

I'll be honest - I was pretty convinced it wouldn't happen and we would be moving on with our lives as a family of four.  I wasn't even really paying attention to my cycles anymore. 

HOWEVER - because of the PCOS, prior to my first Whole30 in March, my cycles were 45-60 days long. My ob has assured me that when your cycle is THAT long, you are not ovulating.   Once I finished that Whole30 in March, my cycles changed to 28 days on the dot. But that was back in March/April and months went by and nothing happened. I figured that, while Whole30 was amazing to me in a lot of ways, fertility was not to be one of them.  I was ok with that. Like I said, I wasn't sure if our family was meant to be bigger or not. 

I did approximately 3 weeks of Whole30 in September, just before my races. Apparently, that second round really kicked something into gear in my body because I got pregnant naturally, with no fertility interventions, in October.  For the first time in my life, I was SURPRISED by a pregnancy, something I never thought I would experience. 

Of course, I found out about the baby midweek that we were deciding about this move.  Sure, why not move halfway across the country either while pregnant or with a newborn? Makes life exciting, right?? :-) 

So here I am, 11.5 weeks pregnant and finally feeling good. I was sick for the first month I knew but I have been feeling good for the last few weeks.  I am looking forward to getting back to the gym ASAP (with the rest of the world, I know!). Goal for this pregnancy is to NOT gain 40 pounds like I did with both of my other kids.  

Of course, I am already registered for a half marathon in April, which my doctor has already advised I not participate. I have already sold my registration and it will be ok, because I plan to be back in running condition in time to do this race at Christmas Time next year!

In light of not being able to drink alcohol (my BIGGEST temptation during Whole30) and the fact that we've been out of town for so long (eating at restaurants and lots of Christmas goodies!), I am going to start a Whole30 on January 1. I would start sooner but I need a little time to get organized.  I'm doing it with a group this time and my husband is feeling just as bad as I am, so he's going to do it again too.  I'm thankful for the teamwork and ready to take on this challenge.

My goals for this Whole30: 

1) Cure pregnancy-induced insomnia - I haven't been able to sleep without the help of citrus and lavender essential oils since I got pregnant.  Looking forward to unaided sleep. 

2) Curb my pregnancy cravings. ALL I WANT IS PEANUT BUTTER! Not the healthy "ground peanuts" stuff, but the JIF that I have been buying in bulk. 

3) Clear up my skin - pregnancy breakouts have me looking like a teenager!

4) Attempt to keep my pregnancy weight gain under control.  Obviously if I am putting only whole foods in my body, it's the healthiest thing for me and the baby. I am going to talk to my doctor about several nutrients that I am concerned about getting enough of during Whole30, primarily calcium. 

So here comes another Whole30, a big big move and a lot of growing!   2015 promises to be an amazing year for my family. <3 

....

Still here. Big things in the works for our family, so my working out has gotten pushed to the back burner. I'll be posting about them next week, along with my plans for my next Whole30.  

Bring on the holiday season :-) 

November - Already?

Well look at that. The 11th month is already here.  I had high hopes for this year, including making it back to 150. 

However, over the course of a year, I have done some pretty amazing things.  I have run my 5th half marathon, my 4th 10K, completed a 12 week lifting program and done 1 full (and 2 half) Whole30s.  I have tested some new things to see what I can do to make myself better and healthier. I have dragged my family through most of it (they are great sports!)

So I am not where I want to be with my weight. And I honestly haven't had my body fat tested lately, although it's on my list of "Things to Do" next time I go to the gym.  But I feel like I have a greater understanding of my body, what makes it tick and what makes it sloth... 

I am in a fitness group that will start reading It Starts with Food as a group this week.  The plan is to do a GROUP Whole30 starting January 1, after reading the entire book.  I haven't committed to it yet, I just haven't decided if I am in the right place mentally. But the more I talk to people, the more I find myself saying "Oh, that wasn't a problem for me during my Whole30!" or "Whole30 fixed that in me!" and wonder why I wouldn't do another one?  It will have been 4 months since my last attempt and will probably be a great time to go for it.  I know Paleo is NOT for me as a lifestyle, but a good kick-start never hurt anyone. 

My weigh in on November 1 was a wakeup call (166). I'd been drowning myself in candy for a good week. I knew my October weight out was going to be HORRIBLE. Things can only go down from here.  So I recalled my first goal of the year - to fit into that Believe shirt. I still have time - my goal is to wear that shirt as much as possible starting the day after Thanksgiving. What does that mean? That means I have to clean up my food for the rest of November. I have to be spot-on with my working out and my water intake (I STINK at drinking water!! Coffee until it's time for wine, people!) 

I am definitely reevaluating the weight goal of 150 that I originally had for myself. I no longer think there is a magical scale number that will make me suddenly "healthy." Instead I am going for fitting in certain clothes and a body fat percentage as close to 22% as I can get.  I think I've mentioned this before, but the lowest I've ever gotten my BF% was during the clean eating phase we did last year. We still eat pretty closely to that, although I have never found a whole wheat or rice pasta that tasted worth eating so we still eat white pasta.  But I have homemade spices and sauces now for a long time and will continue to do so.  

So sorry for the rambling post. Nothing earth shattering today, just trying to get all of my thoughts out on what the last 10 months has brought me - almost right back to where I was at the start of the year...    

Addicted

Coming off of two excellent race weekends has me all messed up - like, it's making me think I actually enjoy running! ;-)

I registered for the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon in April!

Now my challenge will be not losing all of the fitness I have gained in the last several months. I have yet to sit down and make a plan, but I know I want to keep some long runs (several a month) in my schedule.  Who knows, maybe I'll do a half marathon training run and run the full 13. 

I've done this race before. It wasn't my most shining moment. But I'm coming to realize it wasn't about the course or the race - it was about my training and my mental place. It was about the way I fueled myself and the way my mind worked during races back then.  I am in a different place now (and they've apparently changed the route now, phew!) I have decided to give it another try. 

If anyone wants to join me, you are welcome! ;-) I always love to have people to run with during races!

I can smile - AND RUN!

This was posted by Go! St Louis today.  Finally! Proof that I am a HAPPY runner!!! 

GO! St Louis Halloween 10K, 2014 Edition

This morning was the Halloween 10K, one of my favorite races of the year!  We were out late last night, I had a few minor tweaks to make to costumes then went to bed by about 11:30. My kiddo has her seasonal allergy cough right now, so that woke me up around 1am. Alarm went off at 5:35am. Needless to say, I was TIRED!

It was raining on the drive downtown. Sprinkling, pouring.... we had it all. It cleared up when we pulled into our parking spot, but started again on our walk to the starting line. As you can see, I was soaked before I even started!

I love having the Arch in the background!

I told myself before the race - I just wanted to be better than last year. Last year's results were 1:01:44, so my goal for myself was simply a sub-1 hour 10K. That would require my pace to be even faster than last week, but since I had such an awesome time last weekend at MO Cowbell, I figured I could push myself. This is my last race of the "season" so I knew I could leave everything on the road today.

Crossed the start line and hit the button on my Garmin and started RunKeeper (yes, I use both. I'm ridiculous.)  I kept checking my pacing - I couldn't remember the EXACT number I needed to get to PR the race, but I knew it was faster than last year's 9:57 average... Until about a half mile in when I realized that my pace was there, but my mileage wasn't! I never actually hit START!! I just hit the button that wakes up my Garmin. UGH! So I started that up and hoped that RunKeeper was having an "on" day.

The weather wasn't awesome like last week (Cowbell weather was PERFECTION) but it wasn't awful either. The rain had stopped before we started running and if I recall correctly, it didn't start up again.

One minor annoyance was that they didn't take down the signage from the 5K, so when we were around 2 miles (who knows, my Garmin was wrong! *weeps*) we ran past the sign for 1 mile for the 5K!!  I think they planned the route so that the water station at 1.5m in the 5k was the 2mi water station for the 10K/half marathon. But between that and the Garmin error, I spent the first four miles having NO idea where I was. I just tried my hardest to keep my pacing below 9:40. Obviously, I did ok.

I started rationalizing with myself around mile 5 - I can slow down and still PR... I think. I did the math quickly, I was at 48 minutes at approximately 5.2 miles and got nervous - a 10 minute mile would get me there JUST under the wire - and that's if Runkeeper was still on target (which it rarely is!) Instead of easing up, I gave it all.

Finishing the race with the clock time under an hour was awesome. Finding out my official time was 58:04 - spectacular!!  Such an awesome feeling. FURTHER awesome? Look at the stats - 40th in my age group, 369 overall? That's top 30% of the racers! I've never considered myself fast (and I'm still not ever going to "win" a race) but I know that I can keep improving.

2011

2012

I love comparing how far I've come.  This one - this one is making me a happy camper tonight. 

2013

2014

Costumes all came together. I think my costume only made sense when I was standing with my family :-)  but my little people looked like ADORABLE little Lego characters. The fun run was great (once my daughter stopped crying that her costume broke in the first 100 feet...) I usually run "fast" with my daughter while my husband stays with my son. This year, since hubby was actually a registered runner, I let him take the fast one and I held back. My little guy (3 1/2) did an awesome job. I'm thankful for the mom with the stroller behind us who encouraged him - "You have the piece of resistance!! Run fast, Emmett!!"  My son was thrilled, gave me a high five and ran his heart out. It didn't last long, but it was so much fun <3 We walked a lot of the mile and found my speedy family members waiting just shy of the finish line so that we could all finish together.  I am so proud of my little runners. They are troopers for going out in this weather! And I'm so thankful to my husband that he supports this crazy hobby I've picked up in the last few years.

Half Marathon #5 - Check!

So as I mentioned, I wanted to PR from last year. Last year's time was 2:21:40 and this year I just wanted to get 2:20. It's all I wanted, all I expected from myself. 

And I KILLED it. 

I knew going into this that I was going to have to have a 10:40 average to make my PR. I started off and my first few miles according to my Garmin were looking good, low 10's. I purposefully tried to slow myself down so that I didn't wear myself out too early. And I found it hard to slow down to a 10:40 pace!!  I kept reminding myself if I started to ache that I CAN slow down - I was under no pressure to keep going 10:15, 10:20 miles. But every time I tried to slow down to 10:40, I found myself moving right along with the crowd!

Everyone was so nice on the course! I ran into some familiar faces and made some new friends along the way. I normally don't remember much of my runs, but I was trying so hard to ENJOY this one!! I know that my tendency is to speed out of the gate, so around mile 3 I warned myself I needed to slow down a little bit. But mile 4.5-5 was the "High Five zone" at a farm where they invite spectators to high five as the runners go through! As soon as I knew the farm was coming up, I sped up a little (hence the 10:11 mile at 4) to see my family!!  And it was worth the sprint because I got two of the sweetest little hugs ever. 

The next few miles is through a community. I tried to keep my headphones out and take in all the sights of fall (the weather today - PERFECT. Mild temps, no glaring beating sun...), appreciating all the people who came out to cheer for runners.  Once you come out of the community, it's almost mile 8. That starts a SLIGHT uphill. Mile 10 - the ONLY true uphill run in this race! Sort of mean that they put it so close to the end, but it is what it is!

Once I hit 10 miles, I had my favorite thought - "Now it's just a Tuesday run. A 5k!" And when I looked down and realized I had a 5k left and was only at 1:42??  The writing was on the wall that I would PR, by how much was the question. 

I kept going, tried to keep myself from sprinting at that very moment. My Garmin was off by about .2/mile and I kept having to remind myself - MORE than a mile left, MORE than a half mile, etc.  As I rounded the corner to the street I knew the finish line was on, I knew it was TIME to sprint! I saw my family again right at mile 13. I didn't ALL OUT sprint like I usually do, but I was at a good clip into the finish line. I paused my Garmin, got my medal and tried not to explode. The clock as I passed said 2:17!!! Could I have possibly broken not only 2:20, but 2:15?!!!

Once I finally found my family, my first question for my husband was "Did you get the text? What was my official time??" 

2:15:27. 

ZOMG, I shaved SIX MINUTES off my time from last year!!!!!! 

 

I have a 10K next weekend. then no more races on the books for awhile. I may try to sneak a few 5ks in before next spring race season, but I'm definitely going to keep going and training! I never in a MILLION years thought I could hit 2:15. Now it makes me wonder what else I am capable of doing!! 

Race Day EVE!!!!

Tomorrow is the MO'Cowbell 

Half Marathon!!!!!! 

When they said yellow, they meant YELLOW!

I started having pre-race nightmares on Monday and have had race-related dreams almost every night since! Ran 6 miles on Tuesday. Thursday I ran TWO SLOOOW treadmill miles and went to Yogalates. 

Packet Pick up, complete.  Charging my devices today. Laying out my clothes (once I figure out what to wear, the weather is going to be everywhere from 50-70 tomorrow morning!) 

Next time I check in, I will be a five time half marathon finisher!!! 

One week - Eek!!

OK. It's Monday. The half is Sunday!! I am already having half-related nightmares - yay....

I seriously dreamt I was running through some kind of Chinese import-export business and got lost! Then I tried to check in at the first station (you had to sign in!) and they were testing some new technology so I had to stand there and wait before I could sign in!!  When I finally got past that, I ran into a marching band (walking a half marathon with instruments). I was all set to be almost done and when I finally found someone actually running the race and asked how far we'd gone - they said 1.5 miles. *sigh*

So if my week continues like this, I will have some good stories come Sunday!

For now, I am just trying to make it through the week. Tomorrow I will do a SUPER slow 6 mile run. I need to mentally convince myself I have no where to be, nothing is stopping me from going slow and that SLOW will not injure my leg like sprinting seems to do!

Thursday I will hit yogalates at the gym and stretch myself all out. I am definitely planning to skip some of my more intense cardio classes this week. That pesky IT band doesn't need any encouragement this week! I was feeling pretty good after my run this weekend and I don't want to ruin anything!

I skipped a LONG run on Sunday because we were camping. The WHOLE campsite, all the way around both sections, was 1 mile. There was a hill on the site that climbing to get to the restroom from our campsite (which was about halfway down the hill) counted as FOUR flights of stairs on my FitBit. By the end of my run, I was at 34 flights climbed!! I only wound up running a 5k (32 minutes) but it was a definite challenge. Instead of pushing myself (potentially hurting myself!) I decided to shorten my run and do my longer run at home where the hills aren't quite as bad. :-)

So, less than a week to my fifth half marathon.  I am nervous, anxious and excited!