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Little changes making a big difference.


Work It Out 4/9-4/15

· by ·

For a while there, every run was new and exciting and every day I would write about it. Well, now that pretty much every work out I do (except my new favorite speed ones!!) are things I’ve do often or at least have done before, I’ve decided that, unless something is super exciting, to write about workin’ it out for the week as a whole and share my thoughts at the end of the training week. So without further adieu, this is how I worked it out last week

  • Monday: 3 miles with Jason
    I love Monday mornings these days! Jason is just really getting into running, so I meet him for some easy paced miles and it gives us time to chat just the two of us. Not that I don’t love the men in our lives, but it is so nice to have the one on one time to just talk. Every week Jason gets faster and better, and I’m so proud of him!
  • Tuesday: Quick upper body strength training & Linda’s Spin
    Got to the gym early to do a short, but tough upper body work out. Bis, tris, shoulders, and chest. Then went into spin for happy sweat drippy time. Linda’s been working on building us all up to a higher flat road. Mine has been 10 for a few months and the thought of going up to 11 is a little intimidating, but the more we test it out, the more I realize that I’ll be able to hang.
  • Wednesday: Tempo Run & Core/leg strength at PT
    5 miles including 1 mile warm up and cool down. The goal for the tempo miles was 9:09, and I did them in 9:06, 9:06, 8:46. I was so exhausted by the end of the third one that I had to walk the first few seconds of my cool down, but then brought it back to a jog to finish it out. This run was tough, but luckily I ran with my speedy friend Ashley who kept me going when I wanted to die. After our run, I did my exercised at PT which I always forget to count, but they make me sweat and sometimes even get me out of breath, so I guess they should count 😉
  • Thursday: Easy bike ride
    Rode to coffee and back with Steve. 9.15 miles @ 14.6 (I think?? Around there) pace. It was nice and I love getting some morning time with Steve before we both get too busy.
  • Friday: Long Run
    This was without a doubt my favorite run this week! I had 10 miles scheduled, and I was not feeling like doing it solo. Luckily Stacey agreed to run with me for 8.5 of it, so I got to our meeting spot a little early, ran a 1.5 mile loop and then met up with her. She wrote this really awesome post about it that you should read! I love it because she says really nice things about me 😉 But seriously, she was an awesome running partner! It felt like our pace was perfect (I hope I didn’t slow you down, girl!!), we chatted the entire time, and then at the end I pushed her to finish up 9 miles which is now her PDR!! So I ended with 10.5 for the day, felt great almost the entire time and ended up with an average pace of 10:26.
  • Saturday: Firefly Run 5K
    Race recap coming soon! But long story short, this race was super fun, and I ran it with my two best friends. It was Bethany’s first race and she rocked it! I’m super proud of her!
  • Sunday: ZZzzzzzz
    I had actually been planning on spin class, then woke up and asked Steve to go for a bike ride instead, then by the time I did some blogging, I knew I’d be pressed for time before rehearsal, and decided I deserved a day of rest, so I took full advantage of it.

And that my friends, is how I worked it out last week. Fascinating, right?

How did you work it out? Any super awesome training runs? Races? Headstands?

Spin & Speed (the legal running kind)

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It’s Wednesday, which means tomorrow is Thursday and then Friday Friday gotta get down on Friday! Oh Rebecka Black. I wish you’d come out with an other song for me to make fun of. I so enjoyed the first one. Now that you’re super impressed by my knowledge of the days of the week, let’s talk about something slightly more exciting. Like how yesterday was the BEST SPIN CLASS EVER!!!! Why?? Well, they accidentally over filled the class and so Linda chose not to ride so someone could have her bike. This meant she had the entire hour to walk around checking our gears and our pace. Some people may not prefer this, but in case you didn’t notice, I have teacher’s pet syndrome. I want nothing more than the approval from my teacher and since usually I am the teacher, I have to get this in my work out classes. And also I make Steve constantly give me praise. Seriously, even in college I hung my papers up on the refrigerator. Remember that Heather? Our fridge was covered in theatre history exams.

Anyway, Linda came over to me a few times and didn’t tell me to pedal faster and didn’t adjust my gear like she did to some people which I took as a sign that I was at the right place. Then we were on the biggest hill of the class and I was dripping sweat and pedaling along at gear 20 when she came over, looked at my display and told me “GOOD JOB!!!!!” Actually I believe her exact words were “Good girl” kind of like I’m a dog, but I’m totally fine with that. In fact my ballet teacher used to say that all the time, and I always found it cute and not patronizing like she found me to be a puppy. This dubbed Tuesday April 3rd 2012 as best spin class ever.

You know what’s weird? Writing about my training these days. I felt like when I was training for PF Chang’s everything was so new and every long run was worthy of a recap and I had so many thoughts and so much to say. Now that I’ve run 2 half marathons, talking about how I ran 10 miles doesn’t seem all that exciting. You know what I am super pumped about though? Speed work!!

This will be me by the time RnR Seattle rolls around!

Without a doubt, my favorite part of this new training plan. Maybe I’m not breaking any PDRs right now, but speed training is super new to me and I am absolutely loving following a real training plan. I mean I know that Smart Coach doesn’t actually care if I do his/her/it’s work outs, but it makes me feel accountable, and I am really appreciating having the speed goals set out for me ahead of time. The question I kept asking all my smart runner friends (or smart runners that I think are really cool and want them to be my friend) is

“But how fast do I goooo????”

I honestly had no idea. Well Smart Coach is…smart. He knows. Actually, I think she’s a woman. Because she’s so smart. She knows 😉 Today she told me to run 5 miles including 1 mile warm up, 3 miles @ 9:13, and a 1 mile cool down. I woke up, avoided going outside because I was not excited about going for this run, and sure I was going to suck. Way to stay positive, Ari. Then I started and felt AWESOME. My warm up felt light and I was really enjoying being outside and running. I started my first tempo mile, looked down at my garmin to see an 8:37 pace flash up. COOL! But definitely not sustainable, so I chilled out a little and backed off and my tempo miles ended up looking like this

9:11

9:01

8:47!!

So I’m so serious about this no cheating/pausing business that I even ran around a parking lot during my first tempo mile so I wouldn’t have to stop. But then I got pissed in the last one because I had to stop and use the bathroom, and I know that little breather made my last mile faster, so while I was super excited about it, I don’t feel like that last one is completely legit, and I’m annoyed because I didn’t want to stop. Whatev, I still killed my tempo goal and ended on total runners high!

It’s different to feel that kind of excitement and not have it be after a long run. It’s weird to say “I had the most awesome 5 mile run today!!!” But with the slow and steady approach to long runs (that I probably should have followed more closely all along), I find then nice, but less exciting and fulfilling if that makes sense. I mean, I know they need to get done, but running faster? Now that is something that makes me excited! Meeting and exceeding goals? Sign me up!

I seriously can’t wait to run an other race and see what I can do! Pat’s Run is coming up which is 4.2 miles. I *think* if I really push and run with Speedy Gonzales, I can run with a sub 9 min/mi average. That’s the goal.

Ohhh, and lastly, last night I had dinner with some fabulous AZ Blogger ladies, and somehow ended the night with only a lame picture of my salad. Sad. It was really nice to see Emily and Estela again, and to finally meet Ali! As usual, I carpooled with Nicole, and made her late. I suck. After dinner, Nicole and I grabbed fro yo (Umm, I think if neither of us felt embarrassed about it, we would end up meeting for fro yo about twice a day) and sat and chatted for a while (naturally). Man you get the two of us Chatty Kathys together and we could probably talk for a week straight! By the waaaayyyy, Monday is Nicole’s birthday in case you wanted to head over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday, or by her a BMW.

I’m off to work. Have a fabulous day everyone!!

What motivates you when it comes to work outs/training plans?? What part makes you the most excited?

 

Big News!!

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Hi friends! I have big exciting news. Well, perhaps it is only big and exciting in my world, but I’m going to share it with you, and I hope you think it’s exciting too!

But first, I want to talk about my awesome speed sesh with Ashley this morning! I am trying to be a legit runner, and stick to my training plan, which means today was my first official training speed session. I mean, I definitely made up some of my own in the past with no idea what I was doing or why I was choosing certain distances, just in the hopes of getting faster. They were killer and I think they worked pretty well, but there is something about seeing it on the plan and the determination to reach that goal that really excites me!

All 3 of my previous speed work outs (maybe there were only 2? who knows…) were done at 800 meter intervals. This training plan uses exclusively 1600s (1 mile). I have a small confession. In the past, if I didn’t feel like I could make it, I wouldn’t just slow down like an honest non cheating runner, I would stop, pause my garmin, catch my breath for a second (or 10), then be on my merry way. It was easy to let myself give up, and I felt like I was cheating…and honestly, I kinda was. I am determined for no more cheating!

Today the plan called for 4 miles including a 1 mile warm up, 2x1600s @ 8:45 with an 800 recovery jog in between, and a cool down. The first interval was challenging, but I knew the entire time that I could do it. I never felt like I was going to die or anything, which I take as a good sign. I finished the first 1600 in 8:42. Not bad, self. Not bad at all. Towards the end of our recovery jog, Ashley asked if I needed to stop before the next interval and I proudly denied the possibility of stopping and said my 800 of jogging should be plenty of rest, and if I have to slow down, and I don’t meet my goal, that is my problem, but I’m not allowed to stop. See friends, I have turned over a new leaf!

The second interval was challenging, but I never felt like I needed to stop. It just felt hard, but running is supposed to be hard, and that’s why I like it! I finished the second interval in 8:37, and after the cool down, I completed 4 miles in 38:24. Not too shabby. The whole run felt challenging, but great! Tomorrow is a rest day, and then Friday it says 8 miles at a snail’s pace. Or at least, it might as well. 😉 After the run, I got lots of twitchy needling done. Today was a little rough. The more your muscles twitch and grab onto the needle, the more painful it is, and today Gabe got all excited talking about how I was “getting so many good twitches” while I was fighting the urge to yell obscenities because the pain was a little ridiculous. But you know what? If it works as well as it did last week, NEEDLE AWAY GABE!!!!! For real.

Okay, so that news….

Drum roll please………..


source


source


source

Excuse me, but I don’t believe you actually made a drum roll sound, can you please play along?

I’m sorry, I’m 5.

This is me when I was actually a child. Now I just act like one.

 

*** I SIGNED UP FOR A FULL MARATHON!! ***

That’s it? We had to drum roll for that? I’m never reading this blog again!

It’s okay friends, I’m not very observant, so even if you only pretend to be excited, I will never know the difference 😉

But wait…there’s more! It’s not just any marathon. Let me explain. While Kara and I were training for PF Chang’s, I started musing about the day I would complete a full marathon. I remember saying to her that when we did our first full, we should go somewhere special, and make a big celebratory vacation out of it! Well I was training for my first half, while lots of awesome running bloggers were training for and running the New York City Marathon. I remember thinking “How amazing!!! I want to do that!!” I declared to Kara that this would be our marathon. Well, remember that I am a new runner, and I didn’t know about the lottery system or anything like that. Once I discovered that not just anyone could sign up, I cried because my dreams were crushed, I moved on to other options. I had all, but decided on San Diego, when I heard terrible things about the race, and resigned myself to the fact that PF Chang’s in Phoenix next January would be my race. Which, don’t get me wrong, would still be awesome, but I remember so clearly dreaming about New York.

Well, Monday I went to get my hurrrr did (yes, that is how I say it), and Allison mentioned that Chances for Children had spots open for NYC. I couldn’t even believe it.

“Chances for Children is committed to improving quality of life by supporting programs that provide access to sports, physical education, and character education for youth. We provide fitness training, nutritional programs and educational services to students at schools throughout Arizona. Chances for Children was founded on the belief that in life everyone deserves the chance for opportunity. Research shows that diet and exercise promote a balanced well-being, resulting in positive life achievements.”
source

The opportunity to raise money for a foundation that provides health and fitness opportunities for kids?!?! And the opportunity to run the NYC Marathon?!?!?! It kind of seemed like fate. Within 24 hours, I filled out a form and secured my spot. Lots more to come about the foundation, my plans for how to raise the money (it’s a $5,000 commitment that I hope to not just meet, but exceed), and my training.

Being a part of this program, I get a personalized training plan as well as coaching which is absolutely amazing. I also am thrilled about the idea of working with a team, being a part of something bigger, and running for more than myself. I get to run to help all of those kids struggling with health and self esteem like I did when I was their age. I have the opportunity to open doors for these kids, and possibly help them from struggling with weight, health and self esteem until their mid 20’s like I did. I could help someone like me, and make their life better. And isn’t that what it’s all about? As someone who works with kids every day, and knows all too well the challenges of being an overweight child, I cannot think of a more relevant organization to accomplish this life long dream with. I haven’t been this excited about something in a very long time, and I can’t wait to share this journey with all of you!

South Mountain Classic 5K Race Recap

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All in all, I still feel pretty torn about feeling good and blech about this race. Jason and Nacho got to South Mountain early and had plenty of time to kill waiting for the race to begin. As it got closer to the start time, I did a quick and easy jog around the area to try to get my legs warmed up. This race was super small with no bells and whistles. When it was time to begin, some man just yelled at us to come up to the start, then the horn went off and we began. The very beginning started with a slight down hill, so I took off pretty quick at first, but almost right away my legs were not feeling super fresh. Hey, who would have thought basically taking a month off from long runs and speed training, then running 10 miles and doing a race the next morning would leave you with heavy legs? The human body really is shocking.

My goal was to run the first mile at around a 9 min pace, mile #2 around 8:45 and mile #3 with whatever I had left. Well, that slight downhill was really short lived and before I knew it, we were heading uphill up until the turn around. I will say this, that it was kind of like what I imagine Whiskey Row will be like, so I feel like it was good from a training standpoint.

Mile 1– 9:07
Mile 2– 9:01

Not what I was hoping for, but I hoped I could make up for it with the last mile being mostly downhill. I got to mile 3 and felt like I still might have a chance at a PR. I had kicked it into gear, and although I wanted to stop about a trillion times, I didn’t walk (with the exception of like 2 seconds to not choke on my water). No way in hell after making it through an entire half marathon with no walking breaks, I was taking one at a 5K. Even though my lungs were burning and I kind of wanted to die.

Mile 3– 8:37

I was doing the math in my head and I knew if I kept it up, it wouldn’t be a huge PR, but it would still be a PR. Well then I got to 3.1 and I still could barely even see the finish line. I almost completely just gave up and walked. I was exhausted, it was already feeling hot out (the high yesterday was 91!!!!), my legs felt tired, and I felt super lame knowing I wasn’t going to beat my time. I struggled through and finished in 28:05.

Okay, so here’s what’s annoying….My 5K PR is 27:56 which is an average pace of 8:59. Well, according to my garmin, my average pace for this race was 8:52. I know I should just be excited that my pace was faster and not focus on the difference in course length and it not officially being a pr and blah blah blah, but the thing is, I’ve really been enjoying my “I just started running 6 months ago and I PR in every race I do!!” that’s been going on. There are not a ton of fun things about being a new runner. Everything is hard. You feel like a turtle compared to others. You have to spend money on running clothes, and you don’t understand any of the terms that the fancy runners use! But lots of PRs is the fun part, in addition to the new challenges you get to face on almost every run.

So, yes, I am a tad disappointed. However, I’m not a total moron, and I get the fact that I ran faster than before, and I think that’s awesome. This was also the first time that other runners have come up to me after a race and mention that they thought I did well!! A couple of people that I was near on the course, came up to me after and said that they had seen me and I was doing awesome! YAY!!! I also got some extra push from Nacho who was back and forth with me during most of the first half. Unfortunately, he tried to speed up to pass me near the end, and hurt his knee 🙁 After I saw Nacho finish, I jogged back to find Jason and run with him to the finish line. I knew with the hills and the heat, he might need some motivation towards the end. I found him pretty quickly and ran with him until just before the finish line. He finished with an average pace of 10:53 which is amazing!!! I’m ridiculously proud of him!

After the race we went to The Farm at South Mountain for some breakfast.

In the middle of one of the biggest cities in the US, we have this beautiful green and rural farm with lots of restaurants and beautiful outside dining.

I discovered the editing options on iphoto--fun!!!

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast outside, then walked around. It was almost like a farmers’ market with several independent local businesses set up with stands, and tons of interesting items for sale!

There was a man and this was in his green house. It was humid inside there and he had lots of cacti for sale. It was cool, but I liked the bread man better. Obviously.

Look Nicole!!! Baby saguaro???

And we got to see real chickens!!!

Hello chickens. I hope the eggs I ate came from you. That would be sweet. Sorry, I know that's like I ate your children, or something. I hope you don't mind...

Rooster!!!

I absolutely loved eating and walking around at The Farm. In  addition to their breakfast restaurant, there is also a bakery, and a super romantic looking dinner restaurant that I would love to try as well.

The New Plan

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Today is a wonderful day in running land!

Tape, body glide, compression socks, stick, water, ready to go! Oh and rain boots that have been sitting under the coffee table since the last time it rained. Yes, I do live in Phoenix.

I returned to long running with Kara.

Pre run breakfast. Toast, pb, banana, iced coffee. You know, the same thing you see on every other running blog.

We had a fabulous 10 mile run. We also discovered that it’s apparently summer already here in P-H-X and we’re going to have to start running earlier. You know, by May our runs will start at 3am. We finished in 1:45:51 for an average pace of 10:35.

Long run times are tricky. I’m trying to get used to the whole easy pace thing, but my paces were all over the place. I used to just run as hard as I could keep up for the amount of miles I had scheduled, but now I have to actually figure out what different paces feel like in my body. It’s also hard to look at a 10:35 pace and think “Great job! Right on target.” But, I actually hooked myself up with a real legit training plan from Smart Coach. I put in my Lost Dutchman time, and the date of RnR Seattle (Laaaauuuuurrreeellll…it’s calling to us!!!) in the hopes that it will work out and I’ll be able to run it, chose the hardest plan (naturally) and got a really manageable looking plan with an end race of *gulp* 1:56. I’m modifying it a little bit. It has 4 running days per week, and I’m changing it to 3 because my body likes that better, and I’m gonna switch some of the days around, but otherwise, I’m really gonna try to stick to it.

Smart Coach - Intelligent Training Plans, Just For You

Here’s your individualized training program:

Current race time: 2:05:00 for a Half Marathon.
Distance training goal: Half Marathon
Initial weekly distance: 16 – 21 Miles
Training intensity level: Very Hard
Long run day: Friday
Plan start date: Monday, 3/19/2012
Race date: Saturday, 6/23/2012
Training plan length: 14 weeks

Print Adjust my plan

For more explanation of a workout, click the title of the workout.
Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1
MAR 19
MAR 20
MAR 21
MAR 22
MAR 23
MAR 24
MAR 25
12 Mi

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:54

Dist: 8 Mi
@10:54

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:54
2
MAR 26
MAR 27
MAR 28
MAR 29
MAR 30
MAR 31
APR 1
16 Mi

Dist: 4 Mi, inc
Warm; 2×1600 in 8:45
w/800 jogs; Cool

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:53

Dist: 8 Mi
@10:53

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:53
3
APR 2
APR 3
APR 4
APR 5
APR 6
APR 7
APR 8
18 Mi

Dist: 5 Mi, inc
Warm; 3 Mi @ 9:13; Cool

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:49

Dist: 9 Mi
@10:49

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:49
4
APR 9
APR 10
APR 11
APR 12
APR 13
APR 14
APR 15
20 Mi

Dist: 5 Mi, inc
Warm; 3 Mi @ 9:09; Cool

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:45

Dist: 10 Mi
@10:45

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:45
5
APR 16
APR 17
APR 18
APR 19
APR 20
APR 21
APR 22
17 Mi

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:41

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:41

Dist: 5 Mi
@10:41

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:41
6
APR 23
APR 24
APR 25
APR 26
APR 27
APR 28
APR 29
22 Mi

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 3×1600 in 8:35
w/800 jogs; Cool

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:41

Dist: 11 Mi
@10:41

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:41
7
APR 30
MAY 1
MAY 2
MAY 3
MAY 4
MAY 5
MAY 6
23 Mi

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 4 Mi @ 9:07; Cool

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:37

Dist: 11 Mi
@10:37

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:37
8
MAY 7
MAY 8
MAY 9
MAY 10
MAY 11
MAY 12
MAY 13
25 Mi

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:33

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 4 Mi @ 9:03; Cool

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:33

Dist: 12 Mi
@10:33

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:33
9
MAY 14
MAY 15
MAY 16
MAY 17
MAY 18
MAY 19
MAY 20
27 Mi

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:30

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 3×1600 in 8:25
w/800 jogs; Cool

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:30

Dist: 13 Mi
@10:30

Dist: 2 Mi
@10:30
10
MAY 21
MAY 22
MAY 23
MAY 24
MAY 25
MAY 26
MAY 27
22 Mi

Dist: 5 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 5 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:26
11
MAY 28
MAY 29
MAY 30
MAY 31
JUN 1
JUN 2
JUN 3
29 Mi

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 4 Mi @ 8:56; Cool

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 13 Mi
@10:26

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:26
12
JUN 4
JUN 5
JUN 6
JUN 7
JUN 8
JUN 9
JUN 10
31 Mi

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:22

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 4 Mi @ 8:53; Cool

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:22

Dist: 13 Mi
@10:22

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:22
13
JUN 11
JUN 12
JUN 13
JUN 14
JUN 15
JUN 16
JUN 17
33 Mi

Dist: 5 Mi
@10:19

Dist: 6 Mi, inc
Warm; 3×1600 in 8:15
w/800 jogs; Cool

Dist: 5 Mi
@10:19

Dist: 13 Mi
@10:19

Dist: 4 Mi
@10:19
14
JUN 18
JUN 19
JUN 20
JUN 21
JUN 22
JUN 23
JUN 24
23 Mi

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:16

Dist: 3 Mi
@10:16

Dist: 4 Mi, inc
Warm; 2×1600 in 8:12
w/800 jogs; Cool

13.1 Mi @8:51
Time: 1:55:58

Well, obviously I already failed at sticking to it this week, but I didn’t make it until the middle of the week…excuses, excuses. I ran too far and not at the correct pace today. Sorry Smart Coach. Just wait for next week when I amaze you with perfectly on target 1600s!

Easy run day will be Mondays with Jason, speed work/tempos will be Wednesdays, and spin will be Tues/Sunday. The rest will be whatever Saturdays will be whatever I want, and maybe sometimes I will strength train like I should 😉

I’m ridiculously excited about having a real live plan to follow with specific speedwork, pace goals, and accountability. In fact, I feel like it’s a little ridiculous that up until now I thought I was smart enough to create my own. To be fair, I didn’t really know about Smart Coach, and it is magical. All you have to do is go to Runner’s World, create an account, go to the Smart Coach and put in your info! Super easy and free. You all know I like free things 😉

Has anyone else used Smart Coach? Like training plans? Like to create your own?

Needles & Goiters

· by ·

And the award for best post title ever goes to….!

Not ME?!?!

You must be joking. Everyone wants to read a post about goiters. And since that is clearly the most exciting part of this post, let’s save that for last and start with needles. Yesterday, I returned to physical therapy for some more Trigger Point Dry Needling. As I mentioned on Tuesday, I have not been feeling great lately. I was beginning to lose hope about these super painful treatments, but I figured I started it and should stick it out. Yesterday was super fun because on my right calf, then hit a blood vessel.

See that bruise? Okay, so it's not as big and scary as I was expecting. I don't bruise very easily, but yesterday it was bleeding and that was kind of scary. Who knew needles could produce blood?

And on my left calf, hit some nerve that sent a tingling sensation in my foot and a burning sensation down my leg. Don’t be scared mom! I asked lots of questions and even though they’ve never done this before they said it’s totally normal 😉 I spent most of the afternoon walking like a freak with super tight calves which is always the case immediately after. But then I went to rehearsal, and for the first time in over a month I COULD DANCE WITH MY STUDENTS!!!! I don’t know if you realize how ridiculously difficult it is to teach choreography when you are having trouble with just walking around, but it is hard and painful and not fun. I didn’t even realize just how limited I have been until all of the sudden, I was able to actually move and it wasn’t hurting, and I felt happier and better physically than I have in over a month.

Then, this morning I got up and walked to the bathroom without stumbling!!! I’m always tentative and nervous to start moving in the morning because that’s when the pain is the worst, but this morning, I felt only slight stiffness AND I RAN YESTERDAY! And not just la la la look at the ducks and my snail pace run. I did a tempo run at my new half marathon goal pace (9 min/mi). The run was nothing too spectacular speed wise. I met my goal, and that was cool, but lately every single time I run, and often even if I don’t, the next day I feel absolutely awful. Yesterday I ran and danced and loved life and today I love life even more because I can walk, skip, jump and pick flowers while gazing at rays of sunshine 😀

Okay, now let’s talk about weird things like goiters. About 2 weeks ago, I went through a little bit of the crazies. I was dealing with crappy insurance changes, mistakes that were minor in the long run, but felt major at the time, and a stupid endocrinologist who I’ve always hated, but due to lack of communication, almost changed my prescription TWICE without having seen me in 3 months. If you have thyroid issues, you know just how crappy it feels when your dosage is wrong, so this obviously caused a ton of anxiety, and a few days of feeling like an emo teenager because I handle changes and lack of control about as well as those people on The Biggest Loser who spend hours crying in the gym because they have to train with a different trainer for the week.

Enough was enough, and I sought out a new specialist, and had an appointment within 2 weeks! I waited to get into Dr Brard’s office when I was diagnosed for 6 months. Ummm, listen Dr B, you suck and I wish I would have known that when I signed up for your stupid 6 month waiting list. So today I had my first appointment with a new endo that came pretty highly recommended. There aren’t very many of them in Phoenix and almost all of them come with super negative reviews. People are picky about their thyroids, and I don’t blame them.

I feel like this office was love at first site. The guy behind the desk was nice and friendly and didn’t mess anything up! Then the nurse laughed at my stupid jokes and didn’t seem annoyed by the fact that I refused to shut up or let her get a word in edge wise. Then the nice little assistant endo man asked a LOT more questions than I had ever been asked before, and noticed things that are associated with thyroid and still bothering me even with medication. Like the fact that my hands and feet are always freezing. Like as I type this, I wish I had mittens on. Then he asked if I had any stretch marks and I said “only from when I was fat” which prompted several more questions about my weight loss. He was nice. I liked him.

While I waited for the main doctor to come in, I started looking around the office, and they have all of these funny pictures.

Agreed.

He has a sense of humor! This place is just racking up the points in my book! Then the doctor came in and before he said anything, congratulated me on my weight loss. I guess his friend filled him in. It’s been so long now that I’ve been around the same weight, that I sometimes forget that I did something kind of cool, and lots of people would like to lose 75 lbs and never do. He seemed so impressed that I “get it” and mentioned that he sees people all the time that just never do. Thanks doc!

Then he felt around in my neck–let me tell you, this is the least fun thing (well that and all the blood drawing) about going to the thyroid doctor! I do not appreciate people touching my neck, and it always feels like I’m choking, but I mean that’s where the thyroid is, so whatev. Then he tells me “Yes, you have a goiter. It’s small, but firm.” To which I responded “LIKE THAT OLD WOMAN ON SEINFELD?!?!!??!

I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get the actual video on this post so you should click on this and watch it!

He knew what I was talking about which scored him more points, but I guess it’s very common with thyroid disease.

“Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a more common cause of goiter formation in the US. This is a autoimmune condition in which there is destruction of the thyroid gland by one’s own immune system. As the gland becomes more damaged, it is less able to make adequate supplies of thyroid hormone. The pituitary gland senses a low thyroid hormone level and secretes more TSH to stimulate the thyroid. This stimulation causes the thyroid to grow, which may produce a goiter.”
Source

Anyway, I guess the goiter is no big deal, and my meds should keep it from getting any bigger. They better, because my so sensitive best friend Jason made sure to let me know that if it got like the woman on Sein, that he wouldn’t be able to be seen with me anymore. Thanks Jas. So glad our friendship is based on such meaningful deep qualities 😉 I guess if it keeps growing I’ll just have to call Elaine, and ask her to do some volunteer work hanging out with me…

That’s all for now. Got new blood work today, and have to get more on Monday, but really I’m just thankful to have a doctor who seems like he gets it and is not a jerk face!

I Think I May Have a Problem

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Hi, my name is Ari and I have a running problem. That’s step 1, right?

Okay, let me tell you a little bit about how today went down. I woke up, got out of bed and was immediately in pain. Stumbling, struggling to walk across the room kind of pain. It was super fun, let me tell you. Both of my achilles were on fire, and the outside of my right knee that had been hurting, then gone mostly away, was back with a vengeance. I started to really think about at what point running was still worth it, and at what point it started being harmful to my body rather than helpful. I seriously contemplated taking a break. A real one. Not like that time I didn’t run for a week and called it a break.

Then I went to the gym for spin class, missed the last sign up spot by one minute, said some 4 letter words, and set out on a 15 mile bike ride outside. It was lovely. The only thing that would have made it better is if Linda and the woman that always yells during class had come with me. I love that woman that yells. She cracks me up. By the end of my ride, I was feeling a little better. First thing in the morning is always the worst. Once I get moving and stretched out a little, the pain is still there, but manageable.

I started to think about what constitutes an injury. I can run. It hurts, and it’s not easy right now, but I am not in enough pain that I can’t do it. And to be honest, it’s always hurt. It just used to hurt slightly less, and while my knee pain is fairly new, it’s not like it’s bad enough to make anything impossible. This may be ridiculously bad logic, but it’s my logic, so instead of taking a break, I decided to say F you to my injuries and sign up for 4 races.

You can judge me. You can think I’m crazy, or stupid, but I refuse to let some pain tell me I can’t do what I want to be doing. Have you ever tried to tell me I can’t do something? It’s the fastest way to get me to do it. In fact, if Steve were to tell me he didn’t think I could clean the house, he would all the sudden find himself living with an obsessive neat freak. Please don’t try that. I really hate cleaning!

Anyway, here is my calendar for the next couple of months

March 24: South Mountain Classic 5K
    Impulse decision when I realized I hadn’t run a March race, and I’d really like a shiny new 5K PR. But I haven’t been running fast at all lately, so we’ll see how that goes.

April 14: Firefly Run 5K
I’d been planning on registering for this, but just hadn’t yet. You wear pretty lights! How fun! Plus I will be running this with my best friend! It will be her first 5K and I plan on running the whole thing by her side.

April 21: Pat’s Run
Again, I’d been planning on this one, and even though I am super annoyed by their registration process (Ummm, listen Pat Tillman Foundation, I am NOT a jogger), all my real life running friends and blog running friends are doing it, and I give in to peer pressure 😉

May 5: Whiskey Row Half Marathon
Let’s talk about Whiskey Row. Specifically the elevation.

Yeah, that’s over a 1,500 ft difference in elevation, and the entire first half goes straight up. I honestly am not 100% sure I can even finish this course, but I feel like I am ready for a challenge. I am ready to be training for something again. The last month has been pretty lack luster in the training department, and I miss feeling awesome and strong after long runs, and excited after speed sessions. This is what I’m doing, and my body is just going to have to keep up. Got it body? Okay, good.

And last, but not least, I have my eye on a half marathon PR race.

That would be RnR Seattle. I’ll be in the north west at that time anyhow, and if I can make it happen, I would absolutely love to do this race! I have my heart set on a sub 2:00 half in 2012, and I am pretty sure it’s not going to happen at Whiskey Row…let’s be honest. I know I could find a goal race in the fall, but I also don’t want to wait until then. This isn’t a flat course (and it has an awful looking uphill finish–I mean seriously?!?!), but I actually don’t mind a little rolling hill variety, and I really love Seattle. Fingers crossed that life works out, and I’m able to do it!

What’s on your race calendar?

Mac Visits: Day 1

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I don’t know about you, but I have had the most fantastic week! Work has been fairly light due to Spring break, and Tuesday night I got a visitor! My amazing friend Mac came all the way out from NYC to watch tons of episodes of Seinfeld hang out with me 🙂

Wednesday morning we tried to hit up the gym, but the very unhappy and rude front desk lady told Mac if he wanted to use a guest pass, he would have to pay $15 per day. Seriously??? Don’t most gyms offer buddy passed? She was so rude too. So instead, we drove down to the lake with the duckies and did a 3 mi run/walk. It was beautiful out, so I think we both ended up being pretty happy about taking our workout out doors.

After our run, we grabbed coffee, had some breakfast, did a little shopping and before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We went to Pita Jungle–one of my favs! Mac got the chipotle black bean burger.

Yummmm. I've had this before, and I love it!

And I had the broiled chicken salad.

Obviously I was a big fan.

Then we took some down time at my house before I had to head to work. Mac and Clemmie became BFFs.

“Love me.”

When I came home we had some Chicken “Pad” Thai.

Spaghetti squash in place of noodles is one of my favorite swaps ever.

Yummmm

Then we proceeded to watch Seinfeld until bedtime. We’re so crazy!

Weekend Recap

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Happy Monday, friends! I’m flying high on about 4 hours of sleep. WHEEEEEEEE!!!!! To be honest, I haven’t gotten a decent night’s sleep since Steve left for LA and I am simultaneously slap happy, grouchy, bitchy, and delirious. I also have a week filled with long days, and my extra grouchy time may or may not be quickly approaching (you’re welcome), so Jason and I basically decided this morning, that I should do the world a favor and just hide out in a cave for a while to avoid offending the masses. Unfortunately, that is entirely impossible, so I’m going to try to focus on the moments of slap happy ridiculousness, because those are the best part of exhaustion!

To be honest, aside from feeling like I want to take a week long nap, the past few days have been pretty fantastic. Saturday I had a super full work day, then Deann came over and we worked on some stuff for her wedding. I am pretty much the least crafty person on earth, but when it’s not super complicated, and I know exactly what to do, I actually find simple craft activities strangely therapeutic. I made us a delicious dinner of cornbread crusted chicken tenders with a creamy maple mustard dipping sauce and kale chips. You better believe that when the fancy camera is back, I will be recreating this because it was AMAZING and I can’t wait to share the recipe! I also made some more donuts for dessert. Let’s just say it’s a good thing Deann took most of the rest home because I probably would have eaten them all that night! Yum!!

Here is a crappy picture from my android. And now I want to eat more donuts.

Yesterday, I met Christina and Diana for my fav spin class! Linda kicked my butt, like usual, but I was especially excited to drip pools of sweat yesterday for some reason. Must be the week off from running ( 🙁 )!

It was so awesome to finally meet Diana too! She is just as hilarious and awesome in person as on her blog, and it totally felt like working out with an old friend! I seriously can’t get over the awesome friendships I have made through blogging!

After spin, Christina came over for brunch. I made my own southwest version of Caitlin’s Spinach and Goat Cheese Cornbread Quiche.

I miss the fancy camera. Waaaahhhh.

It was probably the most delicious non dessert item I have made in a long time. Again, can’t wait to get some actually good pictures of it so I can post the recipe for my version!

This morning, even though I was super exhausted, when my alarm went off at 6 to go run, I was still pretty excited. I have been in quite a bit of pain lately–enough that I actually took KT’s advice to take a week off from running, so I was very anxious to get out there this morning! I got there early and did just under 2 miles on my own at a 9:20 average pace, then Jason arrived and mentioned that he was ready to move up to longer intervals! We had started using the Galloway method, running 3 min, walking 1 min. We were up to a 5:1 ratio, but today he wanted to move up to 1 mile intervals! You don’t have to ask me twice!!

Not only did Jason totally bump up his running time, but his overall pace improved and this was the first run where he had all negative splits!!! I am so proud!!! I never imagined I would be helping anyone with their running! I remember feeling shocked when people started to ask me for food and weight loss advice, but I just never in a million years expected to be pushing others to run and helping them train. I mean I’ve always been one to drag someone to a group fitness class, or suggest a gym date, but I just really can’t believe how much has changed in such a short amount of time!

There is honesty no better feeling than helping someone else achieve their goals. I mean, that’s the entire reason I blog in the first place, because I want to inspire others, and I hope that someday something I write makes a difference in even one person’s life, and that they are better because of me. That would honestly be the greatest gift. Sorry for being so cheesy! I’d like to say it’s temporary, but I was absolutely born this way and intend to stay cheesy and sentimental forever and ever. 😉

 

Weekly Workouts

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Hello friends! Life seems like it has been crazy busy lately. It’s all been good stuff, but it’s nice to take some time to breathe and have some much needed me time today.

Considering how exhausted I was from The Lost Dutchman, I had a surprisingly productive work week of work outs. I took two full, amazing total rest days, then got out for a slow 3.7 mile run, a couple easy-ish bike rides, followed by a super awesome 25 mile ride on Saturday and spin class yesterday. I can’t even tell you how in love I am with my bike! I am not the fastest on it by any means, but I love having a second, less hard on the body form of cardio that I can do outside! And you know what’s awesome? I have ended every ride so far feeling like I could just keep going for miles and miles if I had the time/desire. Plus, I’ve been using it to get to work when I can. I love feeling like I am multi tasking by commuting and exercising at the same time. Yes folks, that is the highlight of my life. Jealous?

A few days ago, I read a post on Sarah OUaL’s blog that got me super excited! Did you know the garmin has interval workouts, so you can do your own speed drills without a track? Check out her post for awesome pictures and step by step instructions! Ever since I read it, I was super excited to try it. I’d been feeling a little bit like the running motivation bandwagon dropped me off for a little pit stop then bolted and was suddenly no where in site, and since I currently don’t have a big race on the calendar (hey self, let’s fix that ASAP!), I needed something new to pump me up.

This morning I planned to run 3 miles with Jason, and I decided to get there early and give this speed interval thing a shot. You know, try to be a real, legit runner or something. I thought I would HATE that I couldn’t see my pace, only the remaining distance and laps, but actually I think it was a blessing in disguise. I set it up for 4 x 0.5 mi intervals with 2 minutes of rest in between. So I just ran as fast as I could for each segment and hoped for the best. Turns out 1/2 a mile is a little longer than one would imagine. I started off booking it, then was like “I must be done by now, right?” Only to look down and discover I’d gone about .15 miles. Basically each rest period, I kind of thought I was going to die if I had to go out again, but I finished and I’m actually pretty proud of myself for how I did!

My goal was to keep each interval at an 8:15 pace and in the back of my mind I was like “Hah–yeah, that’s a nice goal. We’ll see if that happens.” Well I finished the 2 miles (active time, not including rests) in 16:11 which is about an 8:05 average pace! Boo ya stupid negative brain! Look at me! I’ll be doing this sub 8 in no time, bitch. Sorry. I cursed. It happens sometimes.

Okay, so can some smart person pretty please teach me how to upload my splits onto my computer?? I opened the garmin training center and all I see is some graph I don’t understand, and I want to see how I did on each section.  Ugghh, technology and I do not get along very well.

So to help keep myself motivated, I scheduled in all of my work outs for the week, and here’s what it looks like:

Monday: 4x800s + 3 easy miles
Tuesday: Spin + strength (omg strength training! ew)
Wednesday: 5 mi tempo (or whatever crazy speeds Ashley decides we will run)
Thursday: Active rest–easy bike ride
Friday: Long run…alllllll alone. Wahhh. I’ll prob end up doing 10 miles, but I’m hoping to push myself for a few more.
Saturday: 20 mile bike ride
Sunday: Spin!!

Anyone want to run with me Friday??? It will be so fun, I promise.

Change of Plan

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Can I just say that I didn’t ever, for one single minute, consider that the idea of finishing my second half marathon 9 minutes faster than my first, only a month later, even possible! The thought never crossed my mind. I knew in the month I had in between that I wanted to get faster. I read a lot of speedy peoples’ blogs, I got some help from the amazing Margot of The Faster Bunny, and I ran with some speedy friends, but pretty much I made up my own plan, just like I had the first time.

Apparently, something worked? I am, of course, no expert on speed, or running at all for that matter, but I figured I would at least share some of what I did that seemed to work out pretty well, and maybe it will help other turtles out there like me! 🙂

Here is what a typical week looked like:

Mon: 3 mi with sprint intervals
I kept my intervals really short–like the distance between driveways. I didn’t go for any specific times, I just set out points of distance in my neighborhood and kept my jogging and my sprinting distances about even. I kept my jogging pace around a 10 min/mi and just went as fast as humanly possible on the sprints. I don’t know is this is good, bad, or if there is even a technical term, but I did it, and I felt like it kicked my butt and was really helpful.

Tues: Spin
I love spin, and I really think it helps with my running. My favorite teacher Linda is a racing machine and she also believes this. The woman is 50, does several races a year (including tris), and teaches like 20 gym classes per week. If she told me standing on my head would help, you better believe I’d be posting upside down right now.

Wed: 5-6 mi tempo run
Most of these did not end up being tempos because I ran with speedy gonzales AKA Ashley who runs at a 7:30 pace. We would warm up for a mile around a 10 min pace, run the first “tempo” mile around where I thought I should be–like 9:10ish–and then negative split from there, then end up with a cool down mile. These runs killed me, but this girl got me to run a 7:33 mile!!!! Granted I made her stop 3 times because my lungs felt like they were on fire and my whole body was going to burn down with them, but even so, it was the fastest I have ever run. Running with fast people is pretty much the secret to running fast yourself. In my expert opinion.

Thurs: Rest or bike ride
Rest is nice. Bike rides are fun.

Fri: Long run
I only really did 2 long runs, but they were good ones. 15 and 12. I think going beyond the race distance gave me more confidence. I knew that I could, in fact, run longer than 13 miles, so I could actually push it a little during those 13 and not spend all my time worrying about the distance. The last 2 miles of my 15 mi run were ridiculously hard, but it may be my favorite long run I’ve done, and even though I don’t plan on training for a full for a while, I can’t wait to complete some new PDRs just because I want to!

Sat: Rest or bike ride
See Thurs.

Sun: Spin
Even with perfect weather and a bike of my own, I am still inspired to spin twice a week. That’s how good Linda is!

So, how is this different from my first training plan? You know, the other one that I just decided I was smart enough to create on my own even though I had never run before. Well, that one was totally focused on distance for me. I ran 3x a week, with two 3-4 mi runs and one long run. I tried to get faster on the short ones, and worked on having negative splits, but did absolutely no legit speed training. I thought you just got faster by running more, and I did because it was so new to me, but this time around, speed was my main focus. I feel like in my first plan, the miles mid week were more like junk miles because they had no plan, and no real purpose. My very favorite running blog taught me that every run should have a purpose.

So there you have it. I still don’t know if any of this is good, or right, or whatever, but I know that I shocked myself on Sunday, and that I am beyond excited for what I can accomplish in the future. Which brings me to the question….

Now what???

Well, there is a very small tri that I’m planning on doing with Nicole at the end of March. I am planning on the Firefly Run, and Pat’s Run in April, and I am this close to registering for the Disneyland 1/2 in September. But I want something more than that, and I want it sooner. It is kind of killing me that there is no full marathon I can sign up for right now, and I really want to do one more half before the weather turns to burn. I feel like I need a big goal to work towards that will happen soon. Any suggestions? I’m already antsy! This running thing is like crack.

 

 

Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon Race Recap

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Best.Race.Ever.

I could honestly leave it at that. But I won’t. Don’t worry, I will give you a long 2000 word post with all the deets.

You didn’t click the little x yet? Awesome. Thanks for that 😉

Lisa arrived into Phoenix Saturday afternoon and we headed over to the race expo. We received these emails about the “record crowds” they were expecting.

"Where are they?"

The expo was pretty small, so we picked up our bibs, looked around a little bit and I bought a headband.

Definitely different from the Rock N Roll one, but honestly, I don’t know that I need all the bells and whistles. After the expo, we went home for some carb-o loading goodness! I made Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese (YIKES! I need to update that recipe with better pictures. It’s from a long time ago!) and roasted broccoli. Yummmm. Healthy, carb-full, and deliciousness.

After dinner, Lisa and I proceeded to give our husbands a concert of our favorite show tunes every song we both new with really simple chords that we could actually play. We ended with Do You Hear the People Sing, I sang my best loudest high C, and Steve and Sam simultaneously asked us for divorces we went out to get some Gelato before heading to bed early for our 4:40am wake up call.

This morning, we woke up, had some coffee and toast with sunflower butter and banana, and some iced coffee and we were out the door by 5:30. It was still pitch black outside and collllddddd (for Phoenix). We arrived at Prospector Park where race volunteers literally escorted us into the proper parking space and immediately found our way onto a bus to the starting line. This race was incredibly well organized and all of the volunteers were super friendly and helpful! I was impressed!

We hung out for a bit with the boys while we waited for the start, then did a bit of a warm up jog and made our way over to the starting line. I felt pumped and super excited. I was running a race with one of my long time best friends–her first race, and my wedding gift to her. I just felt so happy for the entire experience.

I was also super nervous though. I signed up for this after Diana highly recommended it, without even looking at the elevation. Then, I heard from other runners that it was super tough and HILLY.

Oyyy!!! Then, I read the reviews which claimed it was “A great course for serious runners”. But I’m a comedic runner. Not serious at all. Nope. Not one bit. I was sure that I was going to run this slower than PF Chang’s. In fact, I even added more music to my playlist so I wouldn’t run out! I intentionally did not talk about pace goals on the blog because I was sure I would end up embarrassing myself. But I did have one, and it seemed totally out of reach, but it was there, burning a hole in the back of my mind. 2:09:XX. I figured there was no way I’d make it just a month after finishing in 2:13:58 on a more challenging course, so I only told Lisa and Steve–and only when Lisa asked.

Anyway–back to the race. We got to the starting line and I was surprised because at 7:15 on the dot, there was no announcement, no Star Spangled Banner, just a sudden gun shot and the race had begun! Well, okay, if you say so! About 1/2 a mile in, we saw Steve and Sam and kept it totally cool.

Soon after we turned the corner and were running right towards the sunrise in the mountains. Holy crap, it was gorgeous. I felt so honored to be running into something so beautiful and I realized for a second how awesome my life is. I can run into the sunrise. That is something I never thought I would appreciate, but my views and ideas of happiness have change…a lot.

I had told Lisa we needed to start slowly so we wouldn’t burn out. At PF Chang’s, I got tired at mile 8 and had to walk/run until the end. In fact, in every single race I’ve done, I’ve gotten tired from going beyond my pace and had to take walking breaks. Even all of my 5Ks. So when we ran the first mile in 9:33, I was getting ready to yell at Lisa for not starting out in the 10s like we had discussed. I had all of this fear about not being able to keep it up, and how I would burn out, but then I realized I felt great. The pace felt dare I say easy. And I thought to myself… What if I can keep this up for the whole race?

I made a little goal with myself right there–if I ran every mile below 10 minutes, I really could meet my goal of finishing sub 2:10, so I was going to not be a little bitch and tell my friend her pace was not maintainable. I was going to suck it up, keep running and really go for a PR.

For the next 4.5 miles until the turn around, it was pretty much rolling hills the entire way. Nothing super steep, but pretty much just a lot of running and nature. The crowds were sparse to say the least–it was all about me running because I love to run. For the first few miles I was definitely pushing to keep up with Lisa, which was good–it kept me going. We reached the turn around at mile 6.55, I took my Gu, and I realized I still felt really good. I had already maintained this pace for half the race and I really felt like I could keep it up. A PR began to feel really doable and I felt so motivated and excited!

It was an out and back, so the rolling hills continued, but mile after mile ticked by and I kept feeling good. Lisa and I stayed together, but didn’t really socialize. We were both just focused on the task at hand and enjoying being focused on the same thing together. It was perfect because I felt like I had support, but it wasn’t a lets-chat-about-life type of thing.

Before I knew it, we were at mile 8, which is where I crashed and burned at PF Chang’s. But this time, it felt totally different. I felt like I had the energy to push through until the end. I started to get really excited. And even better–we were still completely on track! Every single mile had been below a 10 min pace! We kept trucking along, and then at mile 9.5, we reached the toughest hill of the race, and it lasted for a good mile! I was tired, and I felt like I was slowing down, but we still kept our pace, and finished our toughest mile in 9:58.

By mile 11, I was tired. Seriously, tired. But Lisa was still going and I hadn’t walked yet (excluding for a couple seconds to take water at stations), so I kept pushing. This is the time I would usually think “Oh, if I’m gonna finish strong, I’d better take a walking break”, but I didn’t, and you know what? It didn’t kill me.

At mile 12.5, we saw Sam waiting on the side lines. He came out and ran with Lisa and I started to get a little teary. This was my first time meeting him, and I realized one of my best friends found a husband that will come out and push her to the end of this race–he gets her, and she is so happy, and we are running fast, and I have this awesome life-long friend who has pushed me to the end of this thing.

I started to think that maybe, just *maybe*, I could even finish in a new goal: sub 2:05. I would really have to push it til the end, and I was beyond tired at this point. I could tell Lisa was feeling slightly better than me, and I encouraged her to go up ahead, and I tried to keep her in sight. I wanted to stop about a million times between mile 12.75 and the finish line. Right about mile 13, I saw Steve and tried to look happy in the pictures.

 

 

 

 

This one's my favorite 🙂

After this point, I looked down at my watch and gave it absolutely everything I had left. I stopped my Garmin just after the finish line, check it and it said 2:05:02. Not quite my late race goal, but honestly, I was ecstatic!!!!!!! I shaved 9 freaking minutes off my time in ONE MONTH!!!! I ran at a pace that i thought was completely out of my abilities. I set a record in a race I didn’t think it was possible. I could not believe that I had done all of these things. It seemed unreal, and almost more exciting than my first half marathon.

2:05???? That’s almost like the times I read about on other blogs!! That’s a 9:32 average pace!!! 9:32!!!!!!! Single digits!!!! Are you freaking kidding me? And this course was not easy! Holy crap,

Lisa had finished just seconds before me, so I quickly caught up to her, hugged her, and told her how incredible she is–or at least I hope I conveyed that! This girl decided to train for this race a month ago! It was her very first race and she practically carried me to the finish line! She forced me to see that I am better than I give myself credit for. That’s what the friends do. They help you to discover that you are better, faster, stronger, and more capable than you knew. I have so many things to say about what I discovered today, that I am going to save my post race thoughts for an other post.

After we finished, we sat in the grass to stretch for a few minutes before getting back on the shuttle.

Sam & Lisa--aren't they the cutest couple?!

"Look!!!! We have medals!!!!"

"2:05!!! What? That says 5:02? Oh...."

We never claimed to be smart...

"Take more than 1 picture so we're smart twice as often as not smart!"

"Let's lunge to each other"

You wanna know the icing on the cake?

I checked my official chip time. You wanna know what it was?

2:04:59

And now, I’m crying again.

I just can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe the pride I feel in myself since I took up this little “hobby”. I can’t believe how much my life has changed.

Hey Lisa! Thanks for being my inspiration today. I am beyond grateful to you.

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading and making me feel like I have a place to share about my accomplishments. I am a happy girl today. 🙂

 

 

 

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