St. Paddy's day 5k, oh wait.....

During pregnancy, I really had no idea what life would look like with an infant, let alone what it would do to my body and if a running schedule would be possible at some point. I set one goal, to run the St. Paddy's Day 5k in town, the race I was registered for last year but did not run because it was the weekend after I found out it was pregnant and puking way more than a human should. 

For the last couple of weeks my running buddy and I have been practicing the route and were just wanting to finish in 40 minutes or less (my previous goal was under 30 minutes).  We were feeling fairly confident and excited about both of our first post pregnancy races. 

Woke up this morning, what a cold morning for March in Florida, which really put a damper on my festive attire.  Get downtown, get our numbers, and we are ready to go. The pace programming set on my Garmin to make sure we were able to complete the 5k in our goal time. 

Pre-race picture before to celebrate our 1st 5k post babies. 

Started out great, my Garmin was telling us we were going too fast, so we took it easy, knowing we had hills coming ahead and giggling a little when folks complained about the first little bitty hill. We'd ran the posted route a few times. We "knew" what was ahead. Things were going great. 

Then we go to cross one of the streets and the officer tells us to turn. What???  This is not the route we practiced. Ok, maybe we are running in reverse??  Oh look, we just passed the road we would have turned down to do that. Hmmm. 

After running 2 miles away from the start/finish area and not seeing mile markers, no water station at the halfway like they normally do.........Houston, we have a problem. The next cross street, others started to show concern and started turning and so did we. At this point we knew we were going to be running at least 4 miles. 

We hit 3.1 miles as we approached the original 2 mile marker. I'm so thankful we have been doing at least one 4 mile run a week for the last few weeks.  I felt bad for those we knew that were shooting for a PR, for those who hadn't ran a 5k before and now they are doing over 4 miles, for those little kiddos running with mom and dad and those running with their dogs. 

We crossed the finish line at 4.26 miles. Some runners even went further and had 4.6 miles. On a good note, this was the longest run we have done post pregnancy. We were pacing in line to well surpass our original goal. My girlie got my Starbucks order for me right away. 

So, first race done!  I did well and enjoyed a great run with my running buddy. I feel bad for the race organizers, I can't imagine the complaints they got. 

Now to look at half marathon training and speed work for the Turkey Trot in the fall. Hoping to break my 30 minute goal, that route won't get messed up!!

Learning....again

Funny, I've been running for over a year and yet I'm learning and relearning so many things with each week.

I've been back for a week from China, I climbed to the top of the section we were at, probably almost as hard as a half marathon.  (I still think my Garmin is whacked because it says I only burned 153 calories, but I'm not buying it!)  We walked most places and I was on my feet for several hours a day teaching conversational English for 8 days, and I lost 4 pounds while we were gone.  I packed my running stuff (hoping I'd be able to fit in some running) but other than the Garmin and my retiring short distance shoes, the rest of it stayed in the suitcase.

I did two short runs during the week, oh they were not pretty.  I had to get in a long run today because I'm 11 weeks from The Rock N Roll Marathon, Savannah, my first full marathon.  With the help of some friends I've got my training plan hammered out, adding in additional mileage during the week.  I did my 12 miles today, slowly but surely. 

So, get to the point Steph, what are you learning...getting there.  My running buddies are dropping like flies.  I've learned that having a running group that is large, even if I don't know everyone super well, is invaluable!  The running group I started running with in January has several runners that are training for various marathons and half marathons, so they are running and they are running similar distances to me.   

Pace buddies, especially on a day like today when this is my first long run in a month, are a big deal.  If you don't have someone you pace with, you are running in the dark, and it's extremely early in the morning, it's a bit awkward at times.  Thankfully I grabbed my ipod and headphones this morning before heading out because I've noticed that some of the runners that I would likely end up running near typically wear headphones.  The issue is I'm at an in between pace today, not as quick as several runners and yet faster than the next group, I'm stuck in the middle.  As long as I had someone near me, I was fine.  

Music playlists should be updated regularly, even when you aren't using them.  Thankful I had my music, I haven't ran with music in months, but I started playing it towards the end of the run, when I was already tired and most of my music is really fast paced, note to self-mix in some more medium paced songs for training.  I did get a kick out of some of the songs that I haven't listened to in months.

My ears are small, not just a little, they are really small.  Most earbuds pop right out and I have a hard time finding headphones that are comfortable running in.  I found some a long time ago, that I can only order online now, that work and aren't expensive, but I'm either having an ear problem on my left side (totally possible) or the left side is going out on this pair too.  I'm debating, break down and buy really good headphones or stick with the cheapies and replace them as needed.  Or since starting this post, make sure you had them on right.  Problem solved. 

I also learned today that with the increased heat, there is a need for Body Glide.  The last time I was running distances like this it was cold.  Sweat wasn't as much of an issue, but so not true after today's run. 

The last 2.75 miles I ran by myself as I didn't need the full distance some of the group was running.  It wasn't bad, I had to push myself to keep running, but I finished it.  It felt good to be at 12 miles.  In the next couple of weeks I'll be surpassing my half marathon max distance, which is strange, yet really exciting as I work towards that 26.2 number. 

I wonder what else I'll learn on this journey.....





   

Half Mania...now what?

I'm not the best at blogging regularly, I guess it's that feeling that I just don't have that much to say (worth writing down that is.)

I'm a verbal processor, but I do enjoy actually putting things down into words, I think I find it freeing.

The Disney Princess Half Marathon was a week ago.  I cannot express just how much fun it was to run in the middle of Cinderella's Castle and around Walt Disney World.  I absolutely enjoyed it, but there is something I enjoyed even more than just the sheer running....

These lovely ladies made the entire experience so marvelous! (I'm missing a few ladies in this picture that were absolutely marvelous cheering squad!)  Diverse group of ladies, varying abilities (Betty=FAST!), yet so much fun and just made the entire adventure sheer joy!

I must say I enjoyed being called Princess Stephanie

Race morning we met up and headed to Epcot at 3:30 in the morning (crazy I do believe).  Disney had everything so well organized.  I don't think I've ever seen so many Port-A-Potties in one 13.1 mile range before in my life!  They had volunteers to tell you to look out for speed bumps, they had volunteers to hand you your medal, they had volunteers handing out everything!  They even had volunteers lining Main Street to take your picture with your camera in front of the Castle!  I don't have that pic with me or it would so be here!

I was fortunate to have Jenny to run with for 10 miles.  She absolutely exceeded her expectations and made the 10 miles fun for me, as I'm a bit of a talker (I know, you are shocked!)

Here I am after I think Mile 5, my hubby and girlie actually found me, made my day!

After mile 10 I put my headphones in.  My shuffle had been going the entire time, but I was talking.  So, once I put the headphones in and got moving, I was elated to cross the last causeway leading into Epcot with one of my favorite, most uplifting songs playing in my ears (Son of Man by Tye Tribbett).  I was doing intervals and I stopped to walk as I was getting ready for the last couple of miles and this sweet lady came along side me and encouraged me to keep going, she thought I was frustrated.  I thanked her and explained I was doing intervals and I wanted to finish strong.  She cheered me on and kept on going.  I love doing things with encouraging folks.

As we left Epcot park and headed for the finish, there was a choir and my shuffle was playing Victory in Jesus (Travis Cottrell version) which just made me want to run harder!

We were all able to find each other and get reunited before the rain set in and we all headed in different directions.  We had a great cheering squad of friends and family that set up just after we received our medals, this allowed us to find everyone as we got the texts that they were finishing.

Overall, sooooo fun!  I'm now trying to decide what is next.  I have a 5k in a couple of weeks and then I'm just not sure.  I'm trying not to go overboard!  (Let's see how well that works for me.)

Miraculously, we all found each other after the race, we heard a proposal happen.

A New Distance for Me....

As the temperatures dropped this week, my miles went up!  This morning, I normally would have started my day with the girls running our training run, but today was a continuation of a 24 year tradition.  My mom and I have attended a fall festival in a local little town since I was a kid, I've only missed twice for a funeral and a dear friend's wedding.  We started taking my little one a few years ago and today we continued that tradition.  One thing was missing, my Nanny who hasn't been able to go with us for the last couple of years.  We were there when the sun came up and joined with the die hard attendees in looking for what was new, it was a great morning, I'm certain we would have made Nanny proud.

Back to running, my 5 mile run was scheduled today.  I left something out about this morning, it was soooooo cold here!  This flip flop wearing Florida girl is not a big fan of cold weather, so when it came down to it, my five mile run happened this afternoon when it was closer to 70 and not close to 46 (as it was this morning.)  I was honestly happy about that.

The first couple of miles were interesting, as my left foot continued to slap the ground a bit, but by mile 4, things were moving along nicely!  I really found a great groove and felt fantastic that last mile.  My hubby took great care of me by bringing water out to the mailbox for me, which I was glad to swing by and pick up before the halfway point.

Some things I now appreciate about running in the morning: less traffic, no people watching me, cars have headlights turned on so I don't almost cross the road in front of them, I'm not as concerned about pets being out and about ready to chase me down.  My morning runs really give me that peaceful solitude.

It surprises me sometimes in those wee hours of the morning what great conversations I get to have with my heavenly Father.  There are times I'm asking for His help to make it around the next mile, other times I'm praying for friends that I know are out and about doing the same thing, and most times I'm asking Him to direct my path for the day ahead.  Then I get to the cool down part, when I'm grateful, oh so grateful, that I have the little bit of ability I do have to get up and run.  I get to appreciate the stars that are still out, over the summer it was the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise that would end my runs.  And amazingly my running mix shuffles to just the right songs just when I need them or can appreciate them the best.  I just love it!

I lucked out today, found some long running pants (on clearance) that should work for those cooler temps in the morning and found these reflecter slap bands that I'm going to try in the mornings.  This will save some batteries in my little flashlight that I feel the need to turn on every time a car comes within a mile of me.  Safety first! 

I hope everyone is enjoying this fantastic fall weather!