The Hottest Half:

I ran "The Hottest Half" on Sunday, August 14th.  What a day!!  Here is how it went:

First off, I have to give a shout out to my friend, Angelo (The Tan Man! *I tan at his tanning salons, which is how we met and discovered our common interest in running).  He had signed up for the Hottest Half, but due to medical reasons was not going to be able to run it.  He contacted the people in charge of the race, and had his entry transferred to me.  So I ran, in his place, but under my name.  Thank you Angelo!!! I hope I did you proud my friend! (also, thank you for checking up on your running friends, and having supplies available just in case we needed something! Good Luck on the New York Marathon!!!)

I have to start this story, on the day before...
Saturday, since we were still "kid free" (they were still on vacation with my parents), we decided to ride to Broken Bow on the motorcycle on Saturday afternoon.  Stephen's best friend rode his motorcycle also.  We had a fun trip.  But the day went by way to quickly.  It was getting dark when we finally headed home.  At one point, we saw a police car with lights on, coming from the other way.  So we pulled over toward the shoulder in case he needed to pass the car in front of him.  As we did (I was not really holding on...big mistake) we hit a huge hole!  Next thing I knew, I was TOTALLY airborne!  I was reaching out and there was nothing to grab!  I was flying up in the air!  Luckily my heel hit Stephen in the side, and he threw his arm down over my foot, right about the time the backs of my thighs grazed across the top of the sissy bar in the back.  Luckily him grabbing me like that, helped slow my momentum and I came crashing back down onto my seat.  Whew! That was close!  I could have totally been on my backside on the side of the highway!  I was sure of hold on, the rest of the trip home! 
We finally made it home around 12:30ish.  Got in bed at 12:45, and I had to get up at 4:30am for The Hottest Half.  Yikes!  How would I do this with only a few hours of sleep?! 
The alarm woke me at 4:30, and I was immediately awake, knowing I had to get up and get ready for the race.  Thank God for COFFEE!!!
We were planning to be at the race about an hour early, so we could find good parking, visit the potty, etc.  Boy were we in for a shock when we got there.  There was a TON of people, and cars were parked EVERYWHERE! All along the roads and everything.  It was total chaos!  We finally found a place to pull off and park, and went over to where we thought the start was.  We stood in line forever, for the bathrooms, and then found out we were at the "finish line" not the start.  A man on stage was giving directions to the start line, but we couldn't hear him very well.  So we attempted to ask some other people...no one knew.  Geesh!  So finally we asked a cop.  She said it was right there close to the finish line.  Then we saw some other people gathering over there, so we asked and made sure this was for the "half-marathon" and not the 10K.  Sure enough, we had finally found the correct place, with only minutes to spare. 
Once the race started and we were off, it was like a sea of runners.  Talk about a strange feeling to be that crowded, and worrying about hitting the people in front of/behind you.  As we were all running across these concrete bridges, the whole thing was bouncing up and down.  You could feel it moving with each foot-fall.  Talk about an uneasy feeling! LOL!  Finally it started thinning out some, but it took awhile.  I had moved over toward the right side to grab a water at the first aid station and slowed down some to get a gulp, as I did a guy elbowed me in the back and yelled "get the hell off of the path if you are going to do that crap!".  I was flabbergasted!  I've never met a rude runner before.  But he was one of those who wear their water strapped around their waist....I thought "then move to the left if you dont want people in front of you grabbing a drink"....I kept the back of him in view, and just hoped beyond hope that karma would catch up to him...IT DID!!! LOL.  around mile 8 or so, he was hunkered over on the side of the path, gasping for air and looking like he was about to be sick! BRAHAHAAH!!!!  I thought "serves you right!  Maybe you should have "done that crap!" :-)  I love when it comes back to bite rude people in the butt.
Anyway, back to my story.  Oh yea, it would have been nice if they would have "closed the course".  We were dealing with bicyclist along the path, and they were some of the RUDEST people I've ever seen.  They were yelling at runners (running a race mind you, while the bicyclist were just out riding), to get out of their way..one was even riding right down through the center of everyone yelling "I AINT MOVING! GET RAN OVER OR GET OUT OF MY WAY!"  Who do they think they are?! They were acting like they owned the lake and the path.  I was livid, which just made me run harder.  It's going to take a lot for the bicyclist community to earn my respect.  After seeing the way those guys were acting....  Runners form a bond, a camaraderie, they cheer for each other and inspire each other...the bicyclist just wanted to yell at everyone and be rude...they didn't care that we were running a race...we were clearly messing up their day, and they didn't like it.  They were even rude to the cars who were driving on the roads....geesh! Get a life people...maybe they should try running, it always puts me in a better mood!!! LOL!!!! 
Okay, so back to my story again...man, I keep getting sidetracked.  Around mile 6, I saw Stephen and my heart soared with pride as he handed me my "clif shot blocks".  I kept a hold of these and would eat on occasionally, when I was feeling my energy levels dip.  Between those and the gatorade/water at the 1 mile interval aide stations, I was feeling GREAT! 
Unfortunately I had forgotten my watch and my garmin at home.  So I had no way of keeping track of my time/pace.  I had downloaded the MapMyRun app onto my phone, and had hit start at the beginning of the race, but when it was updating me with my pace after the first mile, I assumed it wasn't working.  Sure enough, you apparently had to select something else after hitting start and I didn't know that.  So it never did come on and start tracking for me.  This is the first race I've ever ran without keeping track of my pace.  I was worried, but figured if I just kept an even pace that felt like my normal rhythm, then I should be close to my normal time.  I was a little disappointed though.
I finished at exactly 2hrs even, and 13 seconds (2:00:13).  I have NEVER had a 2 at the beginning of my finish time.  It's always  been anywhere from 1:56-1:59.  Oh well, I'd say that was a good time, for dodging all of the people and bicycles, and getting drinks at each mile's aid station...and having no clue what my pace was.  So I am okay with it. :-) 
Oh, and around mile 5 or so, I saw this guy run up by me then slightly in front of me. He was wearing a neon yellow shirt and thanking people for cheering for us.  I decided to keep him in my sights and try to keep up with him.  I did, until about mile 10 when I passed him.  I never knew where he was after that.. but after the finish line, I was grabbing a drink, and he walked up to me and shook my hand and said "Great Job! You were such an Inspiration!"  I told him thank you, and that I had been just trying to keep up with him.  :-)  See what I mean about runners?!  They are GREAT People!  :-) 

After the race was over, I grabbed a green apple, and a powerade zero.  I ate that, then grabbed a free Muscle Milk Light in "cafe latte". YUM!!!! It was delish!!!! 
On our way to the car, we also grabbed a small bottle of free "coconut water" in pineapple flavor. BLECK! That stuff was NaaaaSTY! 
We left, and on the way home Stephen stopped by Dicks Sporting Goods and bought me a new pair of running shoes, new running shorts, and a new sports bra!!! Yea!!!!  I love it when he spoils me. 
Then we went over to MooYah Burger for lunch.  They have the BEST Veggie Burger ever!!!  Love that place! 
Finally we went home.  I showered, and we went back to bed! LOL!!!  What a GREAT day!!!
     

Photos from THE HOTTEST HALF!

Getting ready to start the race!

Hey Hey! A handsome man is taking my picture! :-) (Thank you Stephen, for cheering me on, and taking photos! I love you!!!  Hope I made you proud.)

Giving Stephen a Thumbs Up! I was feeling great!

Still feeling Great!



Still Going Strong!

Where does the time go?!

Summer time is so fun, and extremely busy.  Sorry I've been missing for so long. 
I'm currently training for "The Hottest Half".  It will be on August 14th, and Lord knows the name of this race is fitting.  We are on our 35th day of 100+ degree temps in a row.  Geesh! 
But I have had a very successful and productive summer.  I've been at my goal weight since the end of may, and have been maintaining it! Yea!!!  I LOVE summer!  Fresh Fruits, Salads, etc.  I wish it could be summer all year long.  I'd much rather sweat than be cold....

Okay, gotta get to work.  Just thought I'd say "Howdy!"  :-)

10K race this saturday.

Wow, has it really been 2 months since my last post? Life gets busy, what can I say....
I've been running, and of course working, being a full time mom/wife, etc.  So life's rather busy in the summer time.
We have a 10K race this Saturday.  It will be the first race my husband has ever run in.  I can't wait to run it WITH him.  After the 10K, there is a 1 mile family fun run, which we will run with the boys.  They are super excited. 
Then next week, we are taking the boys to six flags.  You know, I think there is something on our calendar for every week from now until August.  Wow!  It's Summer Time!  I LOVE summer!!!!!  It's my absolute favorite time of the year....quality family time in the sun! 
Hope you are all having a great summer yourself.  Later!

Relay for Life!

I had the most amazing time at Relay for Life last night....I just wish I would have thought to take some pictures! :-o

There were 1080 participants.  58 teams.  Total dollars raised for the Fight Against Cancer: $104,554.18!
Wow!!! 

I was on a team with a group of runners.  Something about runners, you build an instant friendship and commodore.  We all ran/walked together the whole night.  I did 26.33 miles!!!!!  Wow!!!!  I now KNOW I can do a FULL marathon!  I'm still in shock.  The only thing on me that even hurts is the balls of my feet.  Other than that, I feel pretty good...just don't ask me how I feel when I get out of bed tomorrow. LOL!

The wind was a battle all night.  Around 4am, they were taking down banners and packing things away.  Most of the campsites were packing things up and moving out also.  So around 4:45ish A.M., my handsome hubby picked me up (since he was working until 7am).  I rode around with him for a little bit, and then we went back to his work. I have a new respect for his line of work now.  Wow!  After he finally got off of work after 7AM, we found out there had been an accident and the hwy we take home was being blocked off for care flight. So we went to a local cafe and drank coffee and had breakfast.  Ahhh, just being together....just the two of us, reconnecting without the kids.  Bliss!  We got home and crawled in bed at 9:30am.  I had been up for 28 1/2 hours straight.  I crashed!  I woke up wide awake at 1:30 though.  So I got up, cleaned house, and am now sitting here at the computer to get caught up on reports (what I can before the boys get back around 4 or 5pm). 

It was an AMAZING night.  I made new friends, and found out they will be running some of the same upcoming races that I am planning to run! Yea!! So hopefully, for once, I'll have people to run with! :-) 
God is GOOD, ALL the time! 

Relay for Life!

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog lately.  :-(  My oldest son is in baseball, and it has rather consumed all of our free time lately. 

This Friday I am going to be doing the Relay for Life!  Can't wait.  It's such an amazing event, and I do it in honor of my grandfather (Papaw).  We lost him to cancer about 5 years ago.  He had cancer when I was little, and won that battle.  But later in life he got a different kind of cancer and he fought it hard, but it eventually spread to his bones and then his brain and he lost the battle.  Therefore, I do this Relay in honor of him, and to help other families to hopefully WIN their battle with cancer.  It's an emotion and fun night, and I can't wait. 

I am still running.  Love it!  I'm planning to do a 10K in June, and then I'm planning to run the Hottest Half in August.  Crazy I know, but "why not".  :-) 

Hope you are all sticking with your workouts, and reaching your goals!  Bikini season is almost here!  Yea!!!

website/cute tank tops....

I had received an email from one of my running newsletters, telling me about a website with super cute shirts and tanks.  http://www.cafepress.com/+exercise+womens-tank-tops?page=1

They have super cute stuff, for around $20-$23 each. 

Here are a few of my FAVORITES:  Love these!

(these first two reminded me of myself, and my dear friend Kate)





LOVE this one too!  Soooo true!




and this one made me immediately think of my sweet friend, Jenni:  :-)

Hate to admitt it....

I hate to admit it, but I was SO FREAKIN' SORE after the half-marathon on Saturday.  I've never been really sore after a half-marathon before.  Just a little tight, but nothing bad....  Am I just not in as good of shape as I was last year?  Or was it all of the hills and battling the horrible head-on winds?  I don't really know...I vote for the later. LOL!  :-)
That afternoon, my knee was so sore I could barely walk.  Then after we finally relaxed that evening, when I got up off of the couch to go to bed, my calves were screaming in pain! What?!?!  This has never happened before!  Then of course on Sunday morning when I got out of bed, I took one step and about fell down.  My calves were on serious protest!  LOL!  After walking around awhile, I was able to work some of the soreness out, but YAOUCH!   
Monday was much better. Not as sore, but still not fully energized.  I spent the day with my sweetie pie, and it was pure bliss!!!  (I love you baby!)
Finally, today, I'm feeling normal again.  Stephen had to work, so I did my college homework and quiz this morning, and just now finished running 5 miles. That felt GREAT!  No knee pain, thank the Lord!..and got a good sweat in. 
Some work just arrived, so I'm gonna shower and get busy on that before I gotta go get the munchkins. 
Later!   

Official Time:

Saturday's Race Results: (the results were posted by a different website than last year, and they didn't report your total place in your gender, or your overall place out of everyone. boo!) So I added the total up for overall and gender myself. :-) 
Gun Time: 1:58:45
Chip Time: 1:58:22
Age Class Position: 7 (out of 23..not bad)
Overall : 98 (out of 189) *I had to count/add up
Gender Place: 27 (out of 89 women) *I had to count/add up...
Pace: 9:02/M 

This same race, Last Year:
Half Marathon F 30-34
Gun Time: 01:59:30
Chip Time: 01:59:19
Class Position: 6
Overall: 65 (out of 149 people)
Gender Place: 19 (out of 70 women)
Pace 9:06/M

I did at least improve a little on my time from the year before.  So I am more than happy with that.  :-)

Next...

My husband asked me last night, which race I'll be running next.  I told him I wasn't sure.  I wasn't real crazy about the other half I ran last year. It was a long drive to get there, and it was mostly through this wooded park setting.  Lots of pollen/flower smells that choked you along the path, and not many people along the path to keep you encouraged...due to the wooded areas.  So I told him I just wasn't sure....
Then he announced that if I do a half during the summer, he'd do it with me!!!!  WHAT?!?!  Did I just hear him right? I'd actually have a running partner?!  I'm about to burst with excitement!!!!  YES!!!!!!  So I told him I'd even be kind enough to let him choose which summer half he wants to run, and we would do it together.  I can't wait!!!!!!! 
Can you tell I'm super-dooper-shmooper excited?! :-D

Half Marathon Photos:

First off, this Half Marathon has got to be the most FUN half I have ever ran.  The course was GREAT, even with the hills.  It started out as cloudy and cold, but it wasn't to far into the run, the SUN started shining! This is the first half I have ever ran, where the sun actually shined!  It was windy, but I'd rather deal with the wind, than with the rain/lightening/hail that we had when I ran this race last year. 

My AMAZING husband and sons met me along the course TWICE! Made my day!  This is the first race that I've ever ran, where I saw them along the course.  It gave me an extra boost of inspiration and energy when I saw them cheering! 

Around mile 6 we made two quick turns in a row, between some landscaping, getting back onto the sidewalk. At this point, I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my right knee.  It felt like it was about to give out under me, but I kept pressing forward. I ran with a limp for about a minute, and then it subsided somewhat, into a dull ache (which stayed with me for the entire race. boo.)  I knew I wouldn't be setting a Personal Record during this race, due to the pain, so I just vowed to finish, running the entire thing. I refused to have to stop and walk.  So I decided to enjoy the scenery and experience of the race, and the beautiful day.

I crossed the finish line at 1:58:something.  I don't have my official chip-time yet, but will post it once they make it available.  It should be a little less than this.  Not a PR, but I'm more than happy with it.  :-)  It was a GREAT day!  

 Gotta tie my shoes and get them all ready with double-knots.

Warming up and Stretching..

Gotta get the ol' tunes strapped on and ready to go.  

waiting for the race to start...

 Bye Y'all!

Between mile 5-6 I saw my handsome husband two beautiful little boys cheering for me!  Talk about good for the soul.  Gave me such an inspirational boost!  

Since the sun had came out, they handed me my sunglasses. Yea!!!

Thanks Guys!!

 Around mile 10.  I was soooo tired and ready to stop...but then I saw my handsome hubby and boys up ahead! Yea!! Just the energy boost I needed.

(Thank you Stephen. It meant the world to me to see y'all along the race path.)

Giving my boys high-fives as I ran by!

Coming up to the finish line. YEA!!

CROSSING the Finish Line! Even Better! LOL!

I'm Done! Thank you God!

Me and the most amazing husband a woman could ever dream of.  Thank you Babe!

What a WONDERFUL Day!

Thai Chicken Pita Pizza

My amazing hubby wanted something "different" for dinner.  So he found a healthy recipe for Thai Chicken Pizza, and we decided to try it.  We made a few changes to it; we used Whole Wheat Pita Bread, because we couldn't find Whole Wheat Pizza dough..and we used olive oil to cook the chicken, because that is the only type of cooking oil we keep in the house.  It was YUMMM!!!!  We decided this is definitely a keeper. 
The original recipe said it makes 6 servings and was 350 calories per serving.  We decided it was less calories with the whole wheat pita bread (only 60 calories each), instead of pizza dough, but are not sure of the exact calorie count. 


Thai Chicken Pita Pizza
Ingredients:


whole-wheat pita bread

1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon olive oil

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place Pita Bread on a large baking sheet.

2.  Bake Pita Bread until lightly crisped, 5 to 10 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, whisk peanut butter, water, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl until well combined.

4.Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, scallions and 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce to the chicken; toss to combine.

5.Remove the pita bread from the oven; spread evenly with the remaining peanut sauce. Top with the chicken mixture, then sprinkle with cheese. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

ENJOY!

Half Marathon in 2 days!

I'm getting excited and nervous.  My next half-marathon is only 2 days away!  The weather is much warmer and nicer now, so that is a plus. The weather man is calling for a 20% chance of rain though, so say a prayer that it will hold off until Sunday.  I ran this exact race last year, in the pouring rain, lightening, and hail.  I just pray for nicer weather this time...of course the bad weather may have made me run a little faster, due to wanting to hurry up and finish so I could get warm and dry. LOL! 
I'm not expecting to set any personal records...I have been training, but with the knee pain that I had been having, it had put a damper on my running schedule there for awhile.  Now that the knee is feeling better, I'm running more, but I haven't ran all of my "long runs".  I think the furthest I have run in training is 10miles.  So hopefully I can survive, and at least make it in under 2 hours.  We'll see. 

Have you all been watching Biggest Loser?  This season is pretty good, but I am not liking the new trainers...they are going to have a very hard time replacing Jillian. 
I do like the blond girl on the pink team, I think her name is Sara?, she had the miscarriages and is there to lose weight so she can have a healthy pregnancy and start a family with her husband.  She just seems to have a big heart, and is there for the right reasons. 
I also like Courtney, the really big girl who lost over a 100pounds before even being on the show.  She just seems to always have positive outlook and upbeat attitude...she is an inspiration! 

Hope you are all getting your exercise and healthy nutrition in.  Spring/Summer (aka: shorts/bikini season) will =be here before we know it! 

Half-Marathon Prep..

My next half-marathon is only a little over 2 weeks away.  Feb 19th!  Can't wait!  Last year when I ran this race, it was my very first half-marathon.  It was drizzling rain when we started.  Then half-way through the race, it started pouring, then hailing and lightening.  I think it actually helped me run faster though, because I was so ready to be done and get warm/dry. LOL!  As long as it's not icy or snowing, I'll be happy!  Fingers crossed, and saying a prayer! 

I ran 8.65 miles last night, with NO knee pain! Yea!!!  I've been taking a supplement called "ElastiJoint" which you mix up in water and drink.  It's not very tasty but I gulp it down, simply because it seems to have cured my knee pain.  Before taking this every day, I couldn't even run a mile without my right knee throbbing in pain.  After starting to take this daily, I can run forever with no pain at all!  It's amazing! 

I'm seriously thinking of joining the new Rec Center in the city where my hubby works.  It is brand new and was supposed to open Feb 1st, which didn't happen due to everything being shut down because of all of this stinkin ice.  But once it does open, it would give me a place to go run/cross train/weight train, and they said in March or April they will start offering classes such as step aerobics, spin, zumba, kickboxing, karate, dance classes, etc.  The only bad part is they said these classes will cost extra.  What?!  Shouldn't that be included in the gym fees?!  I was flabbergasted! (and a bit annoyed to tell the truth).  But I may still join anyway.  You can do month to month pay as you go, or annual.  And it's no contracts...so that's a plus. 

Y'all stay warm, and get a good sweat in, it will make you feel better!  :-) 

GREAT READ!

http://runningwithrene.blogspot.com/

For any woman who has struggled with her weight and the number on the scale...this is a GREAT POST!

looong week.

This past week was dragging.  Levi came home from Nana and Papas with a fever, and was sick ALL last week.  I took him to the doctor and he tested positive for the Flu.  Then as he was getting over it, Seth and I both caught it.  YUK!  So I've been MIA, not due to busy, but due to fever/chills/body aches/congestion/cough/etc.  It was NO fun.  Then on Sunday it started snowing. We got 5 inches of snow...and it's still lingering.  It hasn't been warm enough to melt it all away yet.  The boys sure had fun playing in it with their Daddy. 
I am finally feeling better, but had been unable to sleep Sunday night, Monday night, or Tuesday night.  I'd get about 2 or 3 hours of sleep then would wake up and toss and turn for hours, until I'd give up and get out of bed.  But I got back to running last night, and it felt like "ahhhh, I'm ME again"...and guess what, I slept like a LOG!  :-) Happy Running!