FINALLY back at it.

I have been intending to get back on some sort of running schedule (and blogging again) forever.  I am determined to stick it through this time because I really enjoy this format and interacting with my fellow runners.

I debated for awhile how I wanted to go about training for a marathon.  My original plan was to follow Hal Higdon's Novice supreme which has put a 12 week program ending with a 6 mile long run at the front of his 18 week novice training program.  The main reason I had chosen this plan was to give myself a longer amount of time before mileage above 6ish miles per run started.  I had switched to a lower carb diet but was planning to incorporate more carbs into my diet closer to long runs.  Well, I ended up having some issues with the lower carbs so I decided to begin reintroducing some carbs into my diet.  Following that, my runs started getting stronger, and my mind began to change.

I decided that I had to have some sort of schedule or something to work toward.  I have said it before on here but I have a TERRIBLE time sticking with regular runs when I don't have something to follow. After speaking with The Husband and we decided to follow a 12 week half program (the same one I followed when training) and I will transition from that over into the marathon program.  I just need to decide if I am going to skip that last week that the program calls to run the half so that I am not too sore to start the first week of the marathon program.

I just finished week 2 of the half marathon program today.  I am going to go ahead and do recaps again like I did last time to keep myself accountable to you all as well.

Week	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
2 10-14 to 10-20	Stretch & Strengthen Circuit training (planks, burpees, push ups, etc)	3 mile run 3.2 miles 30:47 9:38/mi	2 mile run or Cross 2.01 mi 18:11 9:04/mi	3 mile run Rest	Rest 3.01 mi 26:27 8:48/mi	4 mile run Rest	30 min cross 3 mi walk 48:55 16:30/mi 4 mi run 35:20 8:49/mi

Monday: I did a circuit that I made up for this evening. 50 jumping jacks then 3 rounds each of 10 pushups, situps, burpees, tricep dips, oblique twists, and 20 second planks.

Tuesday: I ran with a girl I met at a local 5k a few weeks ago.  It was the first time she had run in awhile and she did awesome! It was a lot of fun but talking for the entire run will take it out of you for sure!

Wednesday: I decided to get out before The Husband had to leave for work and get 2 miles in.  I was so glad that I did! It was a nice start to the day.

Thursday: Took a rest day because Rex had a soccer game that threw our plans off.

Friday: Did Thursday's 3 miles down in my little town and was CRAZY surprised when I held sub 9 minute miles without even realizing it.  I have never managed that for multiple miles and normally it's the first mile and I started too fast causing me to peter out by mile 3.  I see signs of getting stronger!

Saturday: It poured a cold rain all day and I just could not bring myself to go out in it or get on the treadmill so I decided to double up on Sunday.

Sunday: For the last few weeks I have been meeting with my weight loss buddy on Sunday mornings to power walk.  It is a nice time to get out and chat sans kids (she is also my homeschool buddy).  We normally do 5 miles but we both had plans today so we only did 3. I knew this ahead of time so I took my running gear with me with intentions of heading straight back out.  When we got back to our cars, I stripped down a layer and took off again and had another awesome sub 9 average run!! I don't know where this is coming from but I LOVE it!

Time to start week 3.  The mileage bumps up a tad this week, but not much.  I have a couple race recaps to add later this week as well as a couple possible giveaways to do.  I'm going to leave you with my most recent progress pic.  This is the first one where I can actually see some progress =)

Left: My first 5k  March 23, 2013               Right:10k Sept 21, 2013

Making a Comeback!

For the past few weeks, maybe longer (I am not sure how long ago my last post was without looking), I have been dying to write, to catch up, and connect with other bloggers again.  This summer I have been TERRIBLE about reading blogs, writing on my own, and keeping up with my other technological fun stuff. We have had lots going on this summer.  We have season passes to the local waterpark and on the days it hasn't been unseasonably chilly, that is where we can be found.


We've hiked, biked, had birthday parties, park playdates, attended story time, gone to the zoo and a theme park, vacationed, and chilled out at home.

 We went to Old Man's Cave.  It is absolutely gorgeous there and a good place to get some family fun and exercise in.  The kids loved the new panning for gems/fossils thing they added since we were there last.

We have memberships to the zoo and even though it is over an hour away we try to go as much as possible! Also, Curly had to have 2 parties this year because her pool party got rained out so we had a small party at the house for family only and then had her pool party the following week for all the kids that were invited.

 For Curly's birthday this year we decided that we would get her a couple small things from us and then get her an experience.  Everyone always buys them so much and the house is only so big, so we decided we would take her to Kings Island for the first time.  I think she rode everything she was big enough for, the above "supergirl" ride (as she called it) at least 3 times!  Rex loved walking through their animatronic dinosaur park.  It is apparently the largest one in the world?

 We love our library's story time! For such a small town they always have great programs: Reptile guys, the zoo, life-size puppet theater, etc.  We also have gotten lucky enough to get to know another family that homeschools and our kids get along great! We have done lots of playdates in the last year.

 All in all, I am calling this a successful summer! I am not liking the turn of the weather and have my fingers crossed that we will have at least a few more warm days so we can get more use out of our waterpark passes before the cooler weather is here to stay.

The title above is not only making a comeback to blogging.  I am about to amp up my running all over again.  I have a goal in mind that I want to start working toward (more on that later) and I need to get myself back into some semblance of order when it comes to running.  The Husband has been working over quite a bit and it doesn't seem to be on a certain day so some days I have planned to run I end up needing to alter the plan.  Either way, I have big plans for the weeks to come and I intend to post about that tomorrow.. maybe tonight if I can sit down and write again.  I need to document my madness. =)

Happy running!

Lock Laces Review and Giveaway!

Hey, all! It is that time again! I have another great giveaway for my awesome and amazing readers.  I have had this in the works for awhile but for some reason I have just felt SWAMPED and not able to get my thoughts together to do this.  But, here it is!

I have heard the wonders of Lock Laces for quite some time.  Never tie, great fit every time, quick and easy to get out the door but I had yet to get any.  Then I won a pair from a giveaway on another blog.  Those were quickly snatched by my then 4 year old son for his play tennis shoes.  He loves to be able to come and go when he feels like it between the house and wherever my husband happens to be working outside without having to come find me to help him with his shoes.  Putting the Lock Laces on there has saved many unfinished chores in the house ;-).  I would show you a picture of his play shoes with the lock laces on them but if any of you know little boys they are about as clean as a pig in a wallow so.... Here's a stock photo =)

[Source]

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So, then I buy a pair and the Husband gets them! He promptly puts them on his running shoes and hasn't looked back.  They were so easy to put on and literally took just a couple of minutes before we took off for a run. (Directions taken from Lock Laces packaging.)

1. Lace the shoe up like you normally would.  You get the best fit in the end with your foot in the shoe.

2. Squeeze the lock and thread each lace through it.

3.Cut your laces 2-3 inches below the lock. ( You are welcome to use something other than children's safety scissors, of course. =) )

4. Insert laces into clip and press to close.

 

Since everyone else seems to love them I really need to get on ordering myself some.  Maybe this time I will get to keep them!  But, I have 2 pairs to give away to 2 lucky winners.  

All you have to do is enter through the Rafflecopter below.  For this giveaway I am partnering with Aph over at Aphalicious Bliss who is a fellow Sweat Pink and Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador and highlighting this giveaway on her blog as well for her big birthday extravaganza! Giveaway will run from July 2-July 8! Good Luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*I was not compensated for this review in any way.  Lock Laces provided me with 2 pairs to give away but all opinions are my own**

Why I Run

I have been thinking a lot about why I decided to run recently.  Who in their right mind, that has never been a runner in their life, decides to pick up running? And not just running but half marathons and hopefully soon to be marathons as well?

When I think about it I have actually always wanted to be a runner but I always lacked motivation for the follow through.  Looking back on my student teaching I remember mentioning to a fellow teacher that I would like to run a half marathon someday.  Even further back, in college, I remember going to the gym and just being happy I survived a mile.  Over these years I have been in different stages of weight/shape and somehow running never "clicked."

Then, last year, I decided I HAD to do something about my weight.  I had gained a lot with my first child and at that point I was already on a mission to lose weight.  6 months following my son being born I was pregnant with my daughter.  It took me probably a 9 months or so to really get on board to losing weight after she was born and I was FINALLY within about 15lbs of my first (and possibly final) goal depending on how I felt at that weight. I had started running for the first time, was up to about 3 miles, and was feeling good. Then my husband left town for work and I started gaining all of what I had lost back.  It was completely my fault because I had fallen into bad eating and exercise habits again and it took awhile to pull myself out of that hole.

Then December came and I had decided to watch my intake and then The Husband got my treadmill for me for Christmas and I was able to start running again. I have steadily upped my mileage since and ran 2-5ks and ran my first half marathon 10 days ago.  I do have to say that losing weight was one of the primary reason for me wanting to run.

However, in reality that is not my main reason for wanting to run and thus lose weight.  These guys are!

I want to be healthy and active for them.  I want to teach them a healthy lifestyle and how to have a healthy relationship with food.  I am finally on my way back down in my weight and I am glad to have running to help with that.  At this point, I don't just run to lose weight but I truly enjoy it! I love the feeling I get after a run and the feeling of my feet hitting the pavement during.  It really is a "runner's high" and I am glad that I finally actualized my dreams of becoming a runner.

These kiddos see The Husband and I eating healthy, working out, and teaching them the importance of those things.  I am glad that is something I am able to pass on to them so they, hopefully, don't struggle as I have getting to this point. They need and deserve a healthy Mama (and Daddy) and we are doing everything we can to make sure that is exactly what they get!

Flying Pig Weekend- Part 2

I am pretty tired right now but I want to get the details of the half marathon out before I start forgetting things but you will have to forgive any typos I happen to miss! Also, I don't have as many pictures for this post.  Sad. =(

Ok, so I left off last time with finishing up the kiddos' races and the day being great.  I had forgotten one very important detail of our weekend! On Friday night, around 1am, Curly woke up vomiting out of nowhere.  It was pretty bad while it lasted, thankfully only about a half hour, and then it was gone like nothing had really happened.  She didn't really want to eat anything until around 10am the next day but she seemed to feel great.  Then right after their races when we were getting ready to go back to the hotel she started showing signs of a UTI or something of the sort.  It was very obvious and she was crying quite a bit.  So that means momma and baby girl walked into the hotel just long enough to Google urgent cares before we left again.  I ended up needing to drive about 20 minutes over to Florence, Ky to find an urgent care and poor Curly was MISERABLE the entire ride.  I felt so bad for her.

We get to the urgent care and miracle of miracles it was completely empty! We were next in line and were in and out within a half hour with a prescription for an antibiotic and a pain medicine in hand.  I was so very thankful for that pain medicine because it worked almost immediately for her and we all got a good nights sleep that night. Another bonus- the trip to Walgreen's was short and sweet as well and we were back at the hotel in time for dinner!

That night we watched a bit of Twister on t.v at Rex's request and then got the lights out at around 9:30. We were all exhausted and fell right to sleep.  I, apparently, was incredibly nervous because I ended up waking up at 11:30, 1 something, and again at 2.  I couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard I tried that last time so I finally just got out of bed around 3:54.  My alarm was set for 4:10 because I wanted to get up, ready, and in the car by 4:30 to get close parking.

I got to the parking lot pretty early since our hotel wasn't far away and sat there fiddling around on my iPad and crossing my fingers that the rain would stop.  As I sat there I kept debating on what I was going to do in case of rain.  I had brought a poncho but also had my everyday Columbia rain jacket with me and was considering wearing it because it looked like it was going to rain the entire race based on weather.com. I finally decided to just do the poncho if I needed it and headed in the direction of the start line at 5:30. I didn't make it far! I got to the port-a-potties that were on the far end of the parking lot and then realized I was freezing so I headed back to the car to get my jacket and my bag check bag in case I ditched it.  Back I went and walked back to my corral.  I was in F which seemed to take forever to get to.  By the time I got there, guess what? I was burning up.  So back I went, all the way around to the busses that were checking bags.  Finally, I used the restroom again and headed back to my corral.

Once I got into my corral I chatted with a few people and then when the 2:30 pacers arrived I edged up to where they were standing.  That's where I met Alicia and Trisha! They were the pacers and they were AMAZING!  I am pretty sure the race started on time.  We were pretty far back from the actual start so we couldn't hear much.  However, we got a good omen right before the start.

 

Pretty rainbow just as we started moving

It probably took us 15 minutes or so to cross the finish line and it was insane how many people were moving in one direction.  it looked like a giant wave as you watched people go up hills.  I am not a huge fan of crowds but it was pretty amazing to watch.  After a mile I was starting to get into a good stride.  The first few miles took us over a bridge into Kentucky, along the river and then back into Ohio.

From the bridge crossing into Ohio

Both of the pacers were pacing for their very first time but each mile they had us right where we should be.  The group started out with probably 8-10 of us and we were all chatting and pointing out our favorite signs.  I started the race with both earbuds in for music, eventually dropped to one, and by the end of the race I had them both out.  We talked about the whole race except in the tougher portions.

I was feeling really good and then we started approaching the dreaded hill.

 I saw people start going up and I asked Alicia if that was IT and she told me it was.  Up until this point I had told them that my intention was to hang with them until the hill and then I would most likely end up dropping off.  I underestimated myself! I ran the entire hill.  On occasion I would drop a few people behind them but as soon as we got to one of the flat stretches I would rush to catch up with them. It really wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. Finally, the top was in sight and the view of the river and KY opened up to our right.

From the top of the hill

From this point on it was essentially downhill and I was pretty happy about that.  Up until this point my longest run had been 11 miles and I had run the first 8 of that before a short walk break and then ran the final miles so that was the next goal I set for myself.  8 miles.  8 passed, I was still feeling good, and I knew The Husband, the kiddos, my dad and my sisters were going be at mile 9 so I had to push through to there.  I was pretty anxious to see them.  Finally, Tricia told me that the street I knew they would be on was coming up so I started looking for them. 

Rushed up and gave the kids toes a wiggle and kept trucking

From this point, it was just myself and the pacers.  Some of the group had drifted ahead, some fell behind, and I was determined to stick with them the rest of the way.  I have never been a talker while I run but we talked just about the entire race and really just reveled in the sheer amount of people who were out on the streets cheering.

As we got closer to the finish the crowds got denser and somewhere between miles 12 and 13 there was a church group? football team? I am not sure but they were amazing! They were twirling towels, screaming, jumping up and down.  I couldn't stop smiling.  We made the final turn and saw the "Finish Swine." I was so happy at this point! I had run the entire way, was on track to finish in my goal time, and had met some awesome people along the way.

After crossing the finish line (2:29:52) it started raining again! My wishes that morning had come true and it held off long enough for me to cross the finish line.  Alicia, Trisha, and myself decided to get a picture together.  We spotted one of the big flying pigs that were everywhere and scooted over to get our picture taken with it.  Well, somehow I trip over my foot and end up scooting the thing about a foot.  We thought it was anchored somehow.  Nope!  Not a few seconds later Trisha (who is about 25 weeks pregnant BTW) knocks into it and tips the whole thing over! There were tons and tons of people around and I know we were pretty red!

See all the people looking at us? Yup, that's what happens when you knock a giant pig over!

In all I loved this event.  It was a record setting year on how many people were there.  The girls kept saying the whole way how they could tell there were more people on the course and we dodged and weaved a large amount of time.  I think that maybe they hadn't sufficiently been prepared for such a huge influx of people which made certain aspects of the event a scheduling nightmare I am sure. They had sufficient water/Gatorade stops and the volunteers were really nice. The family events were fun and they have the unique options: 4way (5k+10k+full) or 3way (5k+10k+half).

Cons: The starting line was kind of wonky and the corrals didn't have enough port-a-potties, in my opinion. I wish the kids races had been longer for their ages.  They really love to run.  I am not sure what the ages were for the 26th mile (a 1 mile race) but if they are old enough we will do that one next year.  In all, I believe if we don't have any other races on the agenda at this time next year I think that we will be going back.

Flying Pig Weekend- Part 1

I have to say that this weekend was AMAZING! We had such a great time and my husband is already talking about going back again next year. =)

We started our weekend on Friday afternoon. Around 12 the house/dog sitter showed up and we got on the road. Cincinnati is about 2.5 hours away and we wanted to get to the expo while the kids were still fresh and we may be able to look around without them getting crazy. Those of you with preschoolers probably know about how well that worked out for us!

We ended up getting into the expo at around 3. We picked up our race bibs and got the papers filled out to sign the kiddos up for their piglet runs on Saturday. They were so excited about racing. It was pretty cute. After I filled out their paperwork we went to sign the Boston Strong banner. The boys ended up not signing but Curly and I did. She is getting so big.

 After this we walked through the maze they had set up, looked at all the vendors, spoke with team in training, had the KT tape guy retape my foot for me, and tried lots of yummy snacks they were giving away.

These were pretty delicious.  We also tried the Cranberry Apple and Tropical fruit varieties.

The kids were pretty good through the expo minus a few mishaps because they were getting pretty tired.  We ended up finding a handheld bottle for The Husband to carry on his runs and a 13.1 magnet for my car to put on after the race.  I would have to say that we did pretty well on our goal to not go overboard at the expo.

After the expo we headed over to the hotel to check in and figure out what we were going to do for dinner. We were in bed pretty early, maybe around 9:30, since we had to be up at 6:00 to get to the 10k on time on Saturday.

The Toyota 10K:

The Husband was running the 10k Saturday Morning.  It started at 8am and we probably got there around 7am, I think.  We had a fairly close parking spot and hung out at the start with him.  They took off right on time and the kids and I headed down to watch him cross the finish line.  On the way there we had to get some pictures by the river.

if you look REALLY close the bottom right picture shows the runners across the river in Ky.

After this we looped around a block so we could get into a good position to keep an eye out for The Husband.  We got there in time to watch the first person to cross around 33 minutes.  I knew we should be watching for him around the 1:15 mark because that is about what he had been running at home.  Boy, was i wrong! He came in at the 1:07 mark!  He did awesome and is now looking for a new PR!

After we reunited with the Husband we headed over to the Family Fun area where they had some fun stuff set up for the kids and where the Piglet Runs were going to take place. We were there super early so there were no crowds at the beginning.  They had free chair massages, a greyhound adoption place, a play area, free hotdogs, Skyline Chili, and a few games at various other vendors.  We let the kids play for awhile and then, realizing we had a lot of time to kill, we decided to go down by the river for a walk.  The kids loved watching all the boats.

 

Then, with even MORE time to kill we decided to walk across the bridge but as we were heading that way we got distracted by a park.  It was really pretty and had the perfect thing to occupy my Rex.  A timeline that had descriptions and years of all kinds of prehistoric animals and plants!

Rex reading about an Apatosarus

 By the time we walked the whole timeline and back it was time to head over for their races.  Curly is 3 so she was first out of the kiddos and ran a 25yard race.

Rex is 5 and ran the 50 yard race.

They both had a blast and had huge smiles on their faces after finishing.  They have caught the bug! It was such a fun family day and I can see us going back in the future.  I know they kids are wanting to do more races as well!

6 days!

It is so hard to believe that the Flying Pig is next weekend!

I am so excited for my first half marathon (though not about the hill involved) and I am counting down the days.  It has seemed to sneak up on me but I am fairly confident in my training.  The only thing I am bummed about is this foot issue but it is already feeling a bit better.  With ice, resting, massage, stretching, and anti inflammatories and pain relievers I believe that I will make it through just fine.  I am concerned that my taper is going to end up being 2 weeks rather than 1 and has been literally NO exercise this week.  I have really been babying my foot a lot.  I am going to attempt my short runs this week to test it out as well as the KT tape I ordered and hopefully it helps.

I'm going to need all the help I can get for this hill!

This weekend should be really fun.  I have everything lined out: house sitters, hotels, directions, information. The only thing I have to do is get my packing list together.  Packing for myself and both kids is always fun.  At least The Husband always does his own packing =).

The weekend is going to be super busy: We are staying the night Friday close-ish to Cincy in order to get The Husband to his 10k the next morning without messing with the kids' schedule too badly.  After his race we will head to the Expo and explore a bit.  Following the expo we will be heading over to let Curly (my 3 year old little girl) and Rex (my 5 year old little boy) run the kids races.  We will have a picnic lunch and then we will likely have some time to kill before we can check into our other hotel for the half marathon Sunday.  This Friday night stay was a last minute decision (aka made a few minutes ago) hence the 2 different hotels.

We are also hoping to squeeze in dinner with some friends on either Friday or Saturday night.  Busy but oh-so-fun family weekend!


Happy Running!