The Little Things
May 31, 2012

It’s been awhile since I’ve written- mostly due to the fact that I was on a trip quite a bit of the time. I headed out to Colorado for my brother’s graduation and had a blast out there hanging out with family and friends, as well as hiking! I thought I’d do a quick thankful thursday post today, so here are a few of the things I’m thankful for at the moment!

I’m thankful that May has been so much fun! I’ve gotten to see many people who I’m close to, and get to experience a number of big milestones in my life and the lives of my family members. I’m thankful for that!

I’m thankful that I got some really exciting news recently! This is a teaser, because I’m doing a post on it in the nearish future. Get ready:)

I’m thankful for safety! In May I did about 45 hours of “trip driving” (meaning not around town, to work, etc…) this month, and I’m thankful that it went smoothly and everyone traveling with me also stayed safe.

I’m thankful for quinoa. I made a quinoa, romaine, and watermelon salad tonight that was DELICIOUS and very summery. Quinoa is one of my favorite new foods I’ve tried in the last 12 months.

I’m thankful for spinning classes. I took my first spinning class since Christmas (i think!) today and while I can definitely feel it, it was fun to spin as part of a class once again. I’m so much more motivated in a class then when I’m on my own.

I’m thankful for treadmills with fans on them. They are seriously SO nice and it feels great to have a steady breeze to cool you off in the gym.

There’s a tiny peek into my life as of late.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? If you’ve tried it before, what’s your favorite way to eat quinoa? 

May 20, 2012

Well, this week has been pretty abnormal which has led to my workouts being pretty off as well. In fact, as I type this I am sitting in the car driving out to my brother’s college graduation. We’re on day 3 of this road trip, and I’m anxious to finally get there. Luckily we have a book on tape, so that helps my sanity a bit. That being said, here’s what my week looked like:

 

May 14, 2012

The days leading up to my first half marathon were filled with nervous excitement and anticipation. The night before the race I headed to Indianapolis for the Indy Mini Expo. After reading numerous recaps over the last year and a half of various expos across the country, I was excited to finally get the chance to check it out. Once I walked into the expo, all my nerves dropped away, and all I felt was excitement!

Full of excitement for my first race expo!

My brother and I had a great time walking around the expo for a little over an hour. I picked up my race packet and then checked out all the booths. I didn’t end up getting anything, but definitely enjoyed seeing all the running items. I wish now I had gotten a 13.1 magnet for my car, but for some reason I felt a little weird getting it before I ran the race.

After the expo we headed off to the hotel. Once there I immediately starting setting everything out for race day! I skimmed through the race info provided in the packet (always important), and looked at the location for my corral.

I wanted to check out the shirt for the race, but given that it was hot and humid, I knew I would NOT be wearing long sleeves during the race! The shirt is pretty comfortable, and will be perfect for cool fall and spring runs!

I wanted to make sure I had my race outfit ready to go, and my bib pinned on in the position I wanted the night before so I wouldn’t have to fiddle with it the morning of the race.

Ready to go!

I have to say that I was so excited the night before the race that I slept maybe 2 hours at most. I mostly tossed and turned due to excitement, and when I got the wake up call at 5 am, I jumped up ready to run my race:)

Having everything set out and ready to go the night before definitely helped decrease my stress the morning of the race, and I definitely will go into the next race prepared as well!

Other posts about the Indianapolis Mini:

Now it’s your turn to share! What do you do to prepare for a race the night before? 

May 13, 2012
Well, for 18 weeks I’ve posted a “half marathon training recap” on Sundays. For the first time in 2012, I don’t have that to post. However, i find that it’s really nice for me to be able to go back every week and see what I did, so for now I’m going to stick to doing a weekly recap. After running my first half marathon this last saturday, this week was all about rest and recovery. 
 

Yeah- pretty low mileage this week. I knew I wanted to take a few days off running after my race, and was so excited when I laced up my shoes on Thursday. Unfortunately, about a mile in my leg cramped hard core, and ended up walk/running home. NO GOOD. It was not nearly as great of a run as I was hoping it would be, but I guess what can I expect for the first run back? These next few weeks are all pretty atypical for me, so it’ll be interesting to see how my days shake out.

For now, I’m still on the racing high of being a half marathoner:)

May 11, 2012

Exhilarating. Fun. A Fight. The Time of My Life.

Only a few words to describe my first half marathon: The Indy mini! I’m so excited to sit down and write this recap, because I truly had a wonderful time. Just a warning- this is long!

I woke up at 5 am after sleeping about 2 hours (I can’t sleep when I get really excited). I immediately got ready, ate breakfast (12 ounces orange juice, 1 banana, 1 protein bar- just like I always have before a morning work out), and packed up the hotel room. I got a hotel downtown (Courtyard on Senate Avenue) so I wouldn’t have to worry about driving and finding parking the morning of the race. I only had a 5 minute walk from the hotel to the corrals, so that was nice. My brother came with me to the race, so it was really nice to have someone to share this with (and feel support from). I warmed up, found a bathroom in a mall to use, and hopped into my corral.

When I signed up for the race I wasn’t sure how fast I would be, as I had just started running, and turned in a very slow finish time. Because of that, I was support in the 24th of 26 corrals- with the walkers. Bad choice- I ended up weaving around people the ENTIRE race, which certainly wasted some energy. Oh well. Learned that lesson for next year (because I obviously will be running this race again!).

The race started and I slowly walked for 32 minutes with my corral before I hit the start line. I had a water bottle with me during that time to stay hydrated. It was in the mid 60s but the humidity was in the 90’s percent (91-95% I heard), so it was hot and sticky. I wanted to make sure that I started this race hydrated, so I sipped while walking and threw it away before i hit the start line.

The first two miles were pretty congested, and I even had to run up on a sidewalk a few times to get around walkers. If you walk during a race, please be courteous and move to the side. I spent a great deal of time weaving around people and that was annoying.

Mile 1: I was just excited to be out on the course and running an official race. We ran past the Indianapolis Zoo and a large and a baby elephant were behind a fence along the road cheering us on as we ran by. It was cute and fun to look at! Around mile 1.75 I got a wicked side cramp that HURT.

Mile 2: This was the first time I saw my brother, and I yelled as I walked by that I had the side cramp. He yelled “push into it, take deep breaths, and keep going. You’ve got this”. That gave me the boost I needed!

There’s me in the grey skirt and purple shirt!

Mile 3: I ran into someone I had talked to for the 32 minutes as we walked to the start line, and we realized that as we were going the same pace, we should just run together. It was fun! Mile 3 went by quickly, and we finally got into the water stops. It was already HOT and sunny by this point.

Mile 4: I was feeling great at this point, and my side cramp finally vanished! Right at mile 4 I ran past someone holding a side that said “Remember no one made you do this”. I had a good laugh at it, and I definitely repeated this a few times throughout the race.

Mile 5: I definitely got more excited about this mile, as I knew I was going to enter the Speedway towards the end of this mile. I grabbed one last gatorade before going in. Running down the drive into the speedway was really exciting, and I was excited as I’ve never been there before.

Entering the speedway. I thought this would be fun…

Mile 6: My excitement quickly died away. They were blasting music over the loud speakers which was nice, but the pavement was miserable. Seriously- it’s so much harder then the normal road, and within a few minutes my feet started aching- badly. The thing that kept me going was the fact that the photographer was coming up soon.

Mile 7: My feet are still aching, and by 2 miles into the speedway it felt like it would never end! I hit the photographer, so that was fun, and also ran over the Yard of Bricks, although I didn’t reach down and kiss it or anything.

Mile 8: Definitely ready to get off the speedway. I walked the last .25 of a mile of the speedway because I just couldn’t do it anymore. I longed for a softer surface to run on, and was thrilled when I finally ran off! After getting off the speedway about half way through this mile, the ground felt soft and bouncy under my foot. They had a misting station to run through (heaven!) and a gatorade station (so great after a few miles of only water).

Mile 9: There was a slight amount of shade during part of this mile, which was so fantastic. Race organizers were standing with bullhorns at most of the pit areas reminding us to slow down and to hydrate. Throughout the race I saw people being taken away on stretchers, and I even had to move off the road a few times for ambulances to drive by. The heat definitely did a number on people, and I slowed my pace quite a bit in order to stay safe. This mile felt great, and I pushed forward knowing that my brother was going to be at mile 10.

Mile 10: As I ran past my brother, I screamed “text everyone and tell them that I love this and am having a blast- I can’t wait to do this again!”. I clearly was having fun at this point. After I hit the 10 mile marker, every step I took was the farthest run I had ever done, and that was also exciting. The person I was running with had to take a long walking break, and told me to go ahead. I never reconnected with her, which I’m a little sad about. She was fun to run with! Misting stations were abundant during this mile.

SO EXCITED!

Loving my life right now!

Mile 11: This mile went by in a blur. The crowds started to pick up again, and I was hydrating like crazy. Each time I would grab a cup I would drink half and then pour the other half on my wrists to help cool myself down. It was hot, sunny, and humid, but I was having a blast!

Mile 12: Nothing really stands out from the first half of this mile either. Around mile 12.5 I passed a big flag that said “Victory Mile” and started running down the finishing chute. People started screaming “almost there” at mile 12, but as I kept running I got a little angry thinking “don’t tell me almost there- tell me how much longer!”. Funny. When I hit mile 12 I started getting emotional, realizing that I was actually going to do this! I wanted to cry, but knew I needed to conserve my energy to give a final kick at the end.

Entering Victory Mile which is, in fact, not a full mile

Almost there!

Mile 13: I could see the finish line and pushed my hardest to get there. As soon as I ran under the “.1” flag I started to cry a little and cried across the finish line with a huge smile on my face. I DID IT! I lived and breathed this race since Christmas, and I accomplished a huge goal:)

About to cross the finish line!

The race was well organized, and as soon as I crossed the finish line I was handed my medal, a bottle of water, and a plastic bag to put a banana and cookie in while I took my official pictures with the medal.

At the finish line with my medal!

I had a huge smile on my face for most of the race, and truly had a great first half marathon. Briana told me the night before the race “have fun- you only get one first half marathon” and I definitely kept this in mind while I was running. I seriously had a really fantastic half marathon, and despite the hot and humid weather and the two months I was out of running due to shin splints, I finished well under what I thought I would finish under. My total time was 2:53 which I was excited about given the conditions, my training, and the fact that a year ago I was hardly running. I can’t wait to train better this next year and kill my time next May!

May 6, 2012

Well, I guess this will be my last “half marathon training recap” for a little while (not forever! I’m definitely going to run another one as soon as I can!). Sniff. sniff. This week was taper, so I definitely kept it easier for the week. This is what it looked like:

Lesson Learned: I can accomplish more than I think I can!!! I NEVER thought I could ever run 13.1 miles, and I did (and did it with a smile on my face!). I loved it:)

Biggest Struggle: Nerves! I was so antsy all last week until I got to the expo on Friday, at which point I just got excited!

I worked so many months for you!

So where do I go from here? I’m planning on sign up for a fall half marathon, so training will start sometime in the next 2-ish months. Until then, I will be doing some physical therapy (remember when I visited the sports doctor?) and continuing to increase my cardio. And run, of course. Because I love it!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of the accomplishments you are most proud of in your life? When you aren’t training for a race, how do you schedule your workouts? 

May 5, 2012

After weeks of preparation and battling through a nasty bout of shin splints, this morning I ran my first half marathon! I was worried that, with my lack of training and the heat and humidity (at least 91%), I would struggle, but I had a great time running and finished under 3 hours. Although I didn’t have a goal time for the race, once I realized I could do it under 3 I pushed until the end and finished under the 3 hour mark!

SO HAPPY. And Sweaty. It was hot. And fun.

I’ll do a recap of the race soon, but I wanted to let you know that i finished my first half marathon! YAY:)

May 2, 2012

I just finished my last training run for the half marathon, so all I have left is the race itself. I’m a big ball of a number of different feelings, from nervous to jittery to worried to excited! I have a lot of “what ifs” in my head, but ultimately I go back to saying that my goal is just to finish.  I want to finish the race and have fun doing it. Throughout 2012 as I’ve been training, I’ve had quite a few doubts and worries along the way. A few weeks into training I found this picture, and loved it:

source

This quote deeply resonated with me, and I found myself repeating this multiple times a week. Right now, I continue to repeat this to myself every time I start to doubt myself, and I’ll probably end up repeating it a few times on Saturday.

The fact is that most of us struggle with doubts at some point. We each have this little voice inside us that tells us that we can’t do it. We have the choice if we listen to the voice and live our life accordingly, or if we choose to fight it and not let it win.

For me, the voice inside my head telling me I can’t run this race is a liar. I will run this race and I will have fun!

Now it’s your turn to share! What does that little voice in your head tell you that you can’t do? What do you do when you doubt yourself?

May 1, 2012

Happy May! April started out with a bang, and has gotten increasingly busier since that time. I feel like I get quite a bit done in the winter months, but April tends to include quite a bit of travel for me, so not many extra things get done from my “to do” list.

Here’s a glimpse of the month:

April has been the month of travel and of working out, so I haven’t had much other free time for anything else. Looking forward to may, my big goals are to finish my first half marathon (indy- the first week of may!), and to close out this school year with my clients in a strong way. Even though I’m not in school anymore, I still get a little excited (and sad too) about the end of the school year!

Now it’s your turn to share! What stands out to you when you think back through the month of April? What are you looking forward to in May? 

April 30, 2012

I mentioned that close to a month ago I went to sports medicine after shin splints/random shin pain that had been going on since February. After being asked where it hurt, they immediately jumped into action, coming back to the room with a bunch of different bands for exercises, compression sleeves, and a stack of physical therapy exercises. The verdict? Weak ankle muscles (in non-technical terms).

Because everything is connected, weak muscles in one area can cause problems in another, and that’s definitely what has been going on with me. Apparently weak ankle and foot muscles can lead to shin splints, and that’s what I need to work on in order to avoid them in the future.

The problem is that not much of what we do in life strengthens these muscles, and the physical therapist explained that most people have very weak muscles in this area. I walked away with 8 or 9 different exercises to try, and a number of different bands to use to strengthen the muscles.

I guess what I took away from the time in sports medicine was that it’s important to focus on strengthening all our muscles, because a weak link in the system can create some big problems down the road.

I’ve been doing my exercises and wearing the compression sleeves and I’ve had a pretty great month of running (finally) 😀 These exercises increase range of motion, flexion, and strength, which are all important things for people, and especially runners.

Now it’s your turn to share: What do you think is one of your weak areas when it comes to muscle strength?