100 Push-Up Challenge!

I decided to take the 100 Push-Up Challenge! I took the initial test and fell into Rank 2 with 6 push-ups. Oh my goodness, that is so sad. I could have done more, I think, but I don't think I would have been doing them with the right form. So, this'll give me a challenge for the next 6 weeks! I'm thinking the 200 Sit-Up Challenge will be next!

Race Report!

Well, I made it! I finished in 2:06:11. I was SO happy with that time. My goal, as I said before, was 2:20. I found out I was 18 out of 41 women in my age group, and 400 out of 682 overall. Not too shabby! At about mile 11, I looked at the time on my phone, and, thinking we had started at 8:00, I thought, "Yay, I'm right on for my 2:20 time." It wasn't until right before the finish that I realized that we hadn't started until 8:10, so I was exceeding my goal! I was so stoked.

The first 9 miles or so weren't too bad. The scenery the first few miles was definitely nothing to get excited about. We were along some railroad tracks and on the outskirts of Davis, and there was literally nothing to look at except for the tracks and some industrial buildings. It was pretty cold, but I was so happy it wasn't raining. I'll take the cold over the rain...at least California cold. I didn't use my MP3 at all...I kind of enjoyed the quietness and watching all the runners. I also had my little notes that everyone had written me, and I figured it would be hard to pray for each person if I was listening to music at the same time.

Chris and Caleb and Joshy met me at miles 6 and 8, which was nice. Around mile 4, I came upon a dad (I think) with his son that didn't look more than 8 years old. The dad kept pushing him saying, "hurry up! We've got to keep under a 9-minute mile! Keep it moving!" I felt really bad for the poor boy. His little legs were jamming, though! The dad at one point told the boy he was going to stop for a minute, and that the boy needed to keep going at the same pace. The dad then stepped off onto the side of the path, and proceeded to take a whiz right there! Yuck. I guess that's the convenience of being a male. I lost them around mile 11 when they took off and I was left in their dust. =)

Once I hit mile 10, I seriously thought I might keel over. My knees were burning and mentally I was struggling. I read through the last 4 notes because I wasn't sure if I would be able to focus at the beginning of each of the last few miles. I just prayed off and on for the rest of the time, not necessarily for the whole mile. I wanted someone to chat with so bad. There was an older guy, who said he was 50 (although he did look quite a bit older) who kept trying to strike up conversations with me, but he kind of annoyed me. He wasn't my dear Amber. I wanted her there!

I don't think I have ever been so happy as I was yesterday to see the numbers 11, 12 and 13. When I saw the 13-mile marker, I actually yelled, "YES!" outloud. I was sooo happy to be nearing the end.

When I came down the road to the finish, I saw Chris and the boys and my aunt and uncle and cousins waiting, and it was awesome! I could barely walk for a few minutes, but after stretching I felt a bit better. Yesterday my knees were pretty tight, but today, I'm just completely sore in my legs. It's wonderful!!! No joint pain, just muscle pain. I can't believe it. I am so happy my body held up, and that I haven't done any permanent damage. =)

I am so happy I did this. I remember back in August when I started training, and I could barely run 3 miles, and I thought that 13.1 miles seemed like an impossible feat. I just can't believe I made it! So now I have the 1/2 marathon on May 2nd to look forward to with Amber, and then after that, I think it's 10k's for me. I'm gonna try to improve my time on those. Maybe one day when the kids are older I'll want to go further with my running, but for now, this is good. =)

Here are some pics...after the professional ones are posted, I'll post them here.

Here's mom and I before the race started.


...And Dick and I...





Here I am at mile 6...still feeling good!


Mile 8...see that guy with no shirt on behind me? That's the 50-year-old that annoyed me. =)


Ok, is that guy behind me eating his lunch?




About to cross the finish line...SO happy!


All done!!

Less than 48 hours!

I can't believe race time is almost here! I am so nervous. Especially since I have so much family coming to cheer me on at the finish line. Yikes. I hope I make it there alive. I feel confident that I can complete it...I'm just hoping I don't have to walk a lot of it. I think it's going to seem incredibly long since I have no one to run it with. Hopefully all the music my brother-in-law downloaded to my MP3 player will keep me moving. And, at least I have a note for the beginning of each mile to read. That'll give me something to look forward to. The race is all flat, so there won't be any torturous hills to deal with. I don't wanna stop to go potty...hopefully my bladder doesn't overreact to all the running. =)

Well, I won't write again until I give my race report. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post, too. I'm still trying to figure out if I should pin my bib to my outer shirt or under shirt...I hear they don't post your pictures if you don't have a bib on...don't know if that's true or not.

Tapering...

Well, only 9 days until my race! We ran about 7.5 last Saturday, and just did 4 miles Tuesday and today. Saturday we're doing 5...then I'm doing one more 4-miler on Tuesday, and then taking it easy until race day! This morning's run felt great. I'm totally excited for the race...hoping for great weather. And wondering who in my family will actually write me notes for the beginning of each mile. (They each have one mile dedicated to them--except for Chris, he gets all the evens--and I will pray for them during their mile.) I asked that they each write a *short* note to me to read at the beginning of each mile. I will have them pinned to my shirt, and will just pull it off as I go. We'll see who actually does it. So far, just my sister and mom have sent me theirs. Amber is taking the first mile, and I know she won't flake on me. =)

Sooo...that's about it for now. I see a glimmer of hope at the end of our weekday runs...there is starting to be sunlight on the horizon by the time we're done!!

Holy Batman! We ran 12.3 miles!

I found out yesterday that my 1/2 marathon's date was changed from Feb. 1st to Feb. 8th. I guess that's good since it gives me one more week to prepare...and now my in-laws will be able to watch a few of the kids so Chris can come cheer me on at the finish line!

Today we ran a 12.3-mile route around Loomis and Granite Bay. I wasn't feeling as chipper this week, but did pretty good until about mile 9 or 10. My groin muscle was really aggravated, but my knees actually did pretty well. I seriously felt like the last 2 miles were *torture*! If Amber wouldn't have been there, I probably would have wimped out and walked the rest of the way. I'm glad she was there, though.

My groin muscle still hurts, but definitely not near as badly as before. My knees actually feel it a bit more now. Weird.

In other news, I canceled my gym membership last week. It's just not as convenient for me to go anymore with 5 kids to cart around. I guess the plus side is that I won't have to smell Mr. Putrid anymore...
I bought a Pilates video and Jillian's (from Biggest Loser) 30-day shred video, but haven't gotten in the mail yet. Hopefully I'll start those after my race.

I still can't believe I actually ran TWELVE point THREE miles today! How the heck did this non-athletic girl get to this point??? Did I mention yet that my resting heart rate has gone from 79 (in September) to 56 in 4 months?! How crazy is that? Who would have known how hard my little heart was working all that time! I'm just so thankful that my body has held up with my running so far...even with the aches and pains and occasional thoughts of keeling over, it has been well worth it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed I can make it a few more weeks and complete my race. I'm tapering for the next 2 weeks, so I'm not anticipating any craziness, but you just never know!

11.3!!

Well, it's been about a month since we did a "long" run. Our last long one was 10.6...since then I haven't done more than 7. It's only 3 weeks until the race, so I wanted to do 11 today, 12 next week, and then taper for 2 weeks until the race on Feb. 1st. I was worried about how the run would go today. It would either go really well since my knees have had a nice break, or be really tough since it's been so long since our last long run. I decided that I really wanted to take 1-minute walk breaks every 4-5 miles and see if that helped my knees.

I felt *awesome* for the first 6 miles or so...I think it's because I ate a great breakfast before I left...a banana, a handful of blueberries and a spoonful of peanut butter. I was seriously feeling *good*! After that, my knees started to hurt a bit, and that darned groin muscle started to bother me. We took 1-minute walk breaks at miles 5, 8 and 10. The last mile was killing me, but as soon as I got home, I stretched really good, took an Ibuprofen and massaged some Bengay on my knees. After a bowl of Frosted Shredded Wheat, a cup of coffee and a shower, I seriously felt incredible. I don't know if I've ever felt that good after a long run. I mean, I don't want to go out and run another 10 miles or anything, but I feel great! I feel so encouraged...I'm hoping that I can plunk out a 12-miler next week with such success. I still don't know if my positive outcome was due to the fact that I hadn't been pushing my knees too much this past month, or if it was from taking walk breaks. Probably a combination of both. Either way, I'm definitely going to try that method again next week.

I'm nervous about the race, but after today, at least I feel like I can do it!

Spontaneous run...

Today I had to take my car in to get its oil changed. I decided since it would take about an hour, I would wear my running clothes and get a 3-4 mile run in while I waited. It was raining today, and when I got there, I found out my tires needed to be replaced. So, it would be 2 hours instead of 1. Chris mapped out a 6-mile route for me, and off I went. It was only a light drizzle when I left, but it *poured* after about the first mile or so. The rain was coming in sideways! I was freezing, but it felt good...I think the mileage ended up being around 5.5, but it was more than I had originally planned for! I love when I get an extra run in when I'm not expecting it. =)