Fast and Furious

Today, I had no agenda for my run.  I was "free running" if you will.  3 or 4 miles, no pressure, no biggie, easy day.  Nevermind the impending Hurricane, right?

The Hubs said he wanted to join me on my run today and so off we went.  About 5 seconds after we walked out the front door the sky got super creepy and looked like it was about to dump rain on us. We stopped for a sec to regroup and decided that the best decision would be to do the 1.5 mile loop around our neighborhood rather than risk getting stuck in a downpour.  I should add that I have no desire to ever in my life run in the rain.  Now, if I were in the middle of a race and it started to rain, then that would be okay, I would be forced to survive, but I will never subject myself to a rainy run for the fun of it....yuck.  Not to mention the fact that I love, LOVE, LUUUURVE, my running shoes so much that I would never want to risk them getting funky by a rainstorm.  I'm serious peeps, I don't even like running through dirt or puddles with them....How ridiculous is that?

wish I could keep them shiny and bright forever...*tear*...this pic is from a while back, so they aren't as bright and beautimous anymore

More on today's quick 1.5 miler.....

I was able to knock it out in 11:40!  That's a 7:45 pace....say whaaaaat?  Told you I really do NOT want to ever get rained on.  I was bound and determined to run my half off....like for reals.  The Hubs held his own too, especially since he hasn't been running at all since his injury.  I mean I beat him, but I swear I'm not gloating or rubbing it in.  So what if your wife can run a little bit faster than you during a short race, it happens. MUAHAHAHAHA!!  Love you, Hubs!

Hurricane force winds....okay, not quite yet, but he couldn't resist.

 

Like Father, like Daughter.

Me and my Missy Muffin post-run

Missy Muffin wasn't amused with having her picture taken.  She was very busy trying to track her position on her GPS.

Due to Hurricane Irene's presence on the east coast this weekend, I doubt I'll be running anywhere tomorrow, so we shall see what Monday brings.  I plan on taking it easy the next week in preparation for my half marathon on the 10th (EEECK!!!).

Runner Girl...

Who me?  Yes, please!

I ran 10.8 miles yesterday. BOOM.

I have decided that I am officially a "runner".  I have been training my half off since May and after 3 roller coaster months of training, I finally feel worthy of the title.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to decide that I was officially a runner, but it did. and so now I am. YEE HAW!

Hello, my name is Lori and I'm a runner. (squeal)

Yesterday, I set out on an 11 mile run, my absolute longest run to date.  I really wasn't feelin' going for a run and tried to talk myself out of it quite a bit, but thankfully I got out of my funk and headed out the door.  The first 3 miles weren't so great.  My legs felt tired and I was already kinda bored...uh-oh, this was not a good way to embark on a 2 hr run (2 HOURS PEOPLE!).  Thankfully, I was able to fall into my groove and find my stride.  Towards the end of my run I was bit worried that I may have miscalculated my running route and that I might not hit exactly 11 miles, but I finished strong and honest to goodness felt that I could have easily checked off another 2 miles....HOORAY for me!  I guess all my training is paying off?  Weird.  Practice makes progress....I get it now.  As it turns out, I must have been half asleep when I mapped my route this morning because I was off......by just a smidge...a teeny tiny little bitty SMIDGE...FRUSTRATING!!!!  Seriously, I am so proud of running 10.8, but that was not the goal people!!!! GGGRRRRR!! The goal was 11 and so I was obviously disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, I still had a great run that I'm proud of, but it wasn't the full 11....bust.  10.8 miles aside, I did decide that I am ready to attempt my first ever half marathon in just 2 short weeks.....EEEEECK!  Am I really ready for this?  Is it possible for little ole' me to actually run 13.1 miles without dropping dead?  I could pee my pants I'm so nervous!

Nerves aside,  I told myself that if I was able to accomplish yesterday's run that I would be obligated to sign up for the half on Sept. 10th.   Looks like I'll be running 13.1 very, very soon.  My heart is seriously swelling with pride.  

Overflow.

Seriously, my brain is so full of a million things that I want to write about that I have no clue where to even begin.  Bear with me people because I have a feeling tonight's blog is gonna be a bit coo coo bird. 

I'll start at the beginning.......

After my 8 mile treadmill run on Friday, I knew that my Sunday run was gonna have to be outdoors.  It's cool, I've come to terms with the fact no matter how far I can run on a treadmill, it will never end with a bumper sticker or free t-shirt..  Actually, here's a thought.....If you run 13.1 on a treadmill at the gym with no one watching, does it still count as running a half marathon?  Probably not, right?  Moving on....

I set out on today's run with a 4 to 5 mile course mapped, pending on how I felt.  FYI, I use mapmyrun.com since I don't have a fancy pants GPS watch (helloooooo, Hubs....Christmas is soon upon us...hint, hint).  Anywho, as I'm walking out the door my dear Hubs yells to me "hey, if you're feeling good then just keep running"....and so I think to myself, "Thank you Hubs for that last minute boost of confidence, but I RARELY decide to run farther than planned" and head out the door.  As I'm literally stepping out the door I remember that one of my bestest friends from San Diego, Tara,  is running her half off today, so I shoot her a quick "good luck" text and so begins the #1 motivating factor for todays run. 

Tara and I have been friends from the moment we met. A couple months back Tara began her journey to run her 1st half with her college besties (who are awesome sauce by the way) and raise money for a wonderful charity Glimmer of Hope.  This was my first glimpse into the world of half marathon domination....HA, okay so maybe it was just what started the wheels turning in my mind.  Regardless, if one of my closest friends who was the same age as me, married, had 2 kids...etc, etc, etc could run a half, then why couldn't I?  If I had still lived in SD at the time then I probably would have joined her on her journey anyway.  At least I like to think I would have joined her.  

So, while I was running today I really took time to reflect on all the people in my life that helped to inspire and motivate me, whether they knew it or not.  It's so super cheesy, but I pushed myself to run 8 miles today because I was thinking about Tara who was running 13.1.  She wasn't gonna quit, so I wasn't going to either. 

The first couple miles are always the worst for me, but once I got past mile 3 it was smooth sailing.  I was able to clear my mind of all the "quitter" thoughts and focus on all the inspiring people/situations in my life....such a sap tonight, right?  I'm not too familiar with the mythical "runner's high", but if I had to guess then I would say that I had one today.  My mind was racing a mile a minute with positive, motivating thoughts and running just came naturally.  Weird!

I really hope that I'm able to channel all these positive thoughts for my next run, but I won't hold my breathe......

Hello Again!

Whoa, it's been awhile since this Mama posted a blog and I apologize since I can only assume that my loyal followers (all 33 of you) have been on pins and needles waiting for my next post.

So, where to begin???  Since I last blogged, the Hubs has gone back on the injured list after a 4 mile run that aggravated an old back injury.  Did I ever mention that my wonderful Hubs once fell through a roof during a deployment that led to an early return back to the States...surgery...and a metal rod sticking out of his foot that would inevitably lead to him having random "issues" with his back and foot FOR. EV. ER.  Poor Hubs, he really wants to hit the ground running soon, so fingers crossed.  I miss my running partner in crime....especially since I could probably spank him in a long distance run...muahahaha!

Even though I haven't been the best at keeping up with my posts, I have been consistently running and keeping my eye on the prize.  Although I really, REALLY need to find a new running partner, especially for my long runs.  I'm such a quitter when I run by myself.  No, really, I am. Unless of course I'm running on the treadmill, which I shouldn't be because it's cheating......but it's just sooo easy to run long distances on the 'mill....I struggle daily.

I ran 8 miles today.  on the treadmill.  

In my defense, I had no one to watch my kiddos and so it was either kickass suffer through a treadmill run or do nothing.  I chose to take one for the team and run at the gym.  I've been doing 99% of my runs outside, but hey...I'm only human and every now and again a treadmill run will slip into the mix....sue me.

Last week I was in Minnesota for a super fun wedding and I actually managed to squeeze in a run.  Can you believe it?  I was hundreds of miles away from my Hubs and my wee babes and could have slept in and done nothing "active" for a solid 3 days, but NOOOO, I chose to RUN...BAM!  Put that in your pipe and smoke it!  I just so happened to be with the Big Sis and LFBIL, so of course I had him walk run with me.  We ran a little over 4 miles and it was so fun running in the city.  Although I should note that drinking excessive moderate amounts of wine the night before you run is a no no.  You knew that already, right?  We ended up running just over 4 miles and I was kinda, sorta, maybe on the struggle bus.  Apparently LFBIL really LOVES city running, so after we got back to our hotel he pieced out to run another mile or 2.....show off.  I should mention that the last teeny tiny leg of our run I decided to throw in a little "hey, let's sprint to the hotel"...and so we did.  Guess what folks?  I lost. shocker...however, I should add that I totally held my own for a short bit and even LFBIL said he was surprised at how fast my "sprint" was...boom...like lightening.  And of course I have some super not so awesome pics from my time in the Twin cities....

LFBIL at "The Nook"...cheese STUFFED hamburger...yes, please!

Me and Big Sis at the rehearsal dinner....lots of wine. 

LFBIL, Me and Big Sis on the Trolley tour during the rehearsal dinner.  It was the most awesome rehearsal dinner to date.

more WINE!  Have I mentioned my love for wine?  I LOVE me some wine!

Lots of wine at the wedding.

end of the night.  LFBIL had a few drinks ;)

I do have a few pics of me and LFBIL on our run through the twin cities, but of course I accidently
deleted them....whoops!  I will post them once the LFBIL and Big Sis get back form their all around awesome sauce trip to Greece.  It's okay to hate on them for a hot second....I do.

Welcome Back Hubs!!

Oh, sweet, sweet outdoor running....Why do you make me want to poke my eyeballs out?  Seriously, why does running have to be so hard?  Don't get me wrong, I am still 100% committed to my goal, but it has been a rough couple of weeks trying to "run my half off" and I'm wondering when I'm gonna get my groove back....UGH!

Since I've broken up with the treadmill, I'm back to early morning runs that are scheduled around who can watch my wee ones.  Yet another wonder of the gym is the free childcare that comes with it...sniff sniff...I miss you mill...  I decided to beg ask the Hubs to come off the injured list to help me through my run this morning.  After my last outdoor run I knew better than to try and go it alone today.  I had originally asked LFBIL to join me on my run, but since he was unavailable I had no choice but to guilt the Hubs into helping me.  How could he resist this face, right?  He couldn't, so he ran with me...sucka!

And so we embarked on a nice little 4 mile run.  My goal wasn't speed, but to finish...pretty pretty please just let me finish...I swear there is nothing more humbling than going for a long run, thinking you're conditioned for it and failing miserably. That being said, I honestly wasn't sure how the Hubs was gonna do on our run since it had been so long since he had pounded the pavement.  I mean 4 miles is a legit distance when you're recovering from a stress fracture and haven't run in weeks.  In the end he did awesome and even though I wouldn't call it an easy run for either of us, we FINISHED and that's all that counts!!  I was so excited to complete 4 miles without quitting (even if at some points I really, REALLY, REALLY wanted too) and I owe it all to the Hubs!  Just having a running partner made me accountable so that I couldn't quit and I am so thankful.  I GUARANTEE if I had been alone I would have walked a bit, or alot....who knows.  Point is, I'm a better runner when I have a partner.

So....after 4 not so awesome but we totally finished it miles......Here we are...

I think I may have been in a better place than the Hubs after our run.....our little Dude was the one who wanted to flex his muscle...the Hubs was just tryin' to breathe :)

We shall see how this weeks outdoor runs go, but I'm thinking I can only go up from here.....right?

It's Over.

I'm breaking up with the treadmill.

It was fun while it lasted, but after my 2 week fling with the ole' mill, I'm moving on.  I ran fast and furious over the last 12 days, but as it turns out.....the treadmill is just one big disappointment once you attempt to take your running to the "real world".  Let me explain.....

I decided this morning that I would have an "outdoor" run.  It had been a solid 2 weeks since I last "hit the pavement", but I had been so successful with the treadmill that I had a false sense of security. BUST.  I'm sorry, but why did I think I had become an overnight "bomb.dot.com" success in my running abilities that I would be able to pick up and knock out 10 miles on a random Thursday morning without any real "outdoor" preparations?  suckage...big time...like WHOA.  I hate running.  

I set out to run 9 miles (buahahahahaha!! silly little me....) but puttered out after mile 2....so, so, so very sad... I ended up with a nasty cramp in my side and was just not used to running with a fuel belt on,  rolling hills and gnarly humidity.  I was able to compose myself and knock out another mile, but that was it.  3 miles and I was dunzo. GRRRR!  I spent the next few miles doing a run/walk combo and cursing myself, my fuel belt, my hubs foot injury causing me to run solo, the glass of wine I had the night before, the lack of food I ate pre-run, the lack of hydration I had pre-run...and so on, and so on, and so on....bleh.  And so at that dark moment in my life, I decided to end my 2 week affair with the ole' mill.  It just ain't healthy.  Mama needs a shock to her system in order to be prepared for a half marathon.  I refuse to fail and have come WAY to far in my training to let a treadmill come between me and that damn bumper sticker....I WILL have that bumper sticker on my loser cruiser (aka, minivan) come Fall. Period. The End.

Her Royal Schweatyness...

overly schweaty for such a lame-o run....

redonk.  

I have big plans for getting back on the "outdoor running" track, so stay tuned.  I promise I'll try to be a more consistent blogger. pinky swears.....