Armadillo Dash Recap

Yesterday, I completed my second half marathon!

 Like any good runner in the days leading up to a race, I was checking the weather religiously.  Every time I looked, it changed.  I saw everything from temperatures in the 50's, 60's and even 70's.  There was a chance or rain, thunderstorms, high humidity, sunny skies.  I finally just gave up till the day before then made a plan as to what I should wear.

After my last half marathon, where my body just quit on me thanks to a lack of hydration, sleep and good nutrition, I was very diligent in these areas in the week leading up to race day.  I had a carb loading plan, I got lots of good sleep in the nights leading up to race day and I drank a ton of water.  I had my game face on!!

 

 (Brad, Erin and I, heading to the starting line!)

Erin and I had our race plan in place... run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute, repeat for 13.1 miles.  In our training, I had hit 10 miles and Erin hit 11 miles, 3 weeks before the race.  We were planning one more long run, then with only 2 1/2 weeks till race day, I severely jammed my toe.  It was so severe that we went to urgent care to see if I could run.  I received the great news that my toe was not fractured and that I could race, but that I needed to give it a week of rest.  So we didn't get another really good long run in before we had to taper.  I was also told that I would probably be dealing with pain when I did start running again.

I had a week and a half left till race day when I hit the roads again.  I got in several good runs, including a 6 miles run.  I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to manage any pain.

At the starting line, the humidity was 97% and the temperature was right at 70 degrees.  It was super yucky!  Even though my training hadn't gone quite as planned due to my toe injury, I was feeling very confident.  My goal had been to run the half in 2:45.  After my injury, I just wanted a sub 3 hour half.  I knew Erin would encourage me to push through and keep me on track.

Our first mile was our fastest.  The humidity and the warm temperatures started getting to me and our pace slowed, but stayed faster than we need.  Just after mile 4, we had to make a pit stop.  The next several miles were toughest for me.  I had to get out of a negative "what was I thinking?!?!" head space.  Erin and I tired to encourage on another, fuel, hydrate and focus.  The course became a little hilly, and I became aware of how much my toe was bothering me.  "Maybe it will go numb soon!" Erin encouraged me.

Right at mile 9, we ran past our friend Linanne's house.  She was outside cheering us on.  I was pretty much done with this race as this point and was contemplating stopping and having Linanne drive me to the finish line.  I knew that if I could just stay out of a negative head space and run through the pain in my toe, I would be okay once I hit 10 miles.  Hitting the double digits and knowing I only had a 5k left would be huge for me!

Right before we hit mile 10, we took another pit stop.  At that point I was receiving texts from Hayley and Curtis, encouraging me that I was almost done and could finish strong!  Erin reminded me that we were still on track to hit our goal, but that we didn't have a lot of wiggle room.  I was so ready to finish strong!  Eye of the tiger!!  Other than the pain from my toe and feeling drained from the heat and humidity, I really felt good overall.  I could tell that my training and race preperation had been effective.  Just as planned, hitting mile 10 was huge, and my head space went much more positive.

By mile 11 I was in a lot of pain.  Throughout the race we had delt with the high humidity and rain.  Though I was in a much better head space than I had been in, I was still very ready to be done. Because of the pain my toe was causing me, I was doing a super awesome power walk and running when I could for the last two miles.

As we rounded the corner, the sky opened up and the rain started coming down steadily.  "Less than a mile!!"  Erin and I encouraged each other. 

 As we neared the finish line, I frantically looked for the official race clock.  2:55!!!!!  Goal accomplished, despite crappy weather, a bum toe and two pit stops!

Couldn't have done it without my awesome friend!!!  It was also very special to get to share her first half marathon finish with her.

Despite the fact that it was pouring rain, my family was there, cheering me on at the finish line.  Right after I got my medal, the front that we'd been waiting for came through.  The rain and wind picked up and we took off for our cars. 

 The day after the half, and I'm still very pleased with how the race went.  I know that I have a faster half in me, and though I don't plan on doing any more halfs in the near future, I don't think the Armadillo Dash was my last half.  But so far, it's been my favorite half!

My First Half Marathon: RACE DAY!

Four months of training.  Hundreds of dollars. 231 miles. Dozens of early bedtimes and early wake-ups. All for this one day.  This one race.  

Those were the thoughts going through my head as I woke up and started getting ready to run my first half marathon.  All the time, energy, money and hard work that I had put into my training were culminating in this one run.  By the time Curtis and I were in the car heading to the starting line, I was in tears.  I was so ready!  I nervous about the cold, about if my training had been enough, about how little sleep I had gotten leading up to the race, about how I fueled, about every tiny detail that was totally out of my control at that point.  I was excited!!  I was excited to finish what I started four month earlier, excited to do something that I never though I would do, excited to see my husband and kids at the finish line cheering for me.  Needless to say, all these varying emotions got the best of me and I just cried.

The morning of the race was very chilly!!  I had anticipated it and was well layered.  Before we started out, I got to snap a few pictures with my friends and training buddies. 

 (one of the ladies in my running group had "space blankets" that she let us use to stay warm before the race.  It was awesome!!)

 (Kris ran his first full marathon!!  I was excited to see him before the race, wish him well, and thought our matching headbands were awesome!)

The view from the starting line was shocking.  I knew that this was a race that would be run by several thousand people, but I was astonished by what several thousand runners actually looked like.

 During the first mile, I ran with Tori and Hayley.  We didn't take any walking breaks, enjoyed the energy from the other runners as well as from the crowd.  I was able to see several other friends during the first mile.  Those moments really added to the excitement.

At mile about 3, I saw the cutest cheering section EVER!  My four kids, one of my best friends (Erin) and her two kids, all screaming and cheering for me.  It was awesome!!  I was also able ditch my gloves and my jacket.  One lesson that I learned is that when you're layering for a long, cold run, ditch the outter layer before one of the under layers gets sweaty.  My long sleeved shirt was sweaty and as soon as the cold air hit, I was cold again.  Also, never ditch your gloves.  Take them off, but keep them.  If the wind picks up, if your pace slows, you might need them again.  

 All through the route, there were people out cheering us on.  Seeing all the supporters and volunteers who were out freezing for those of us running was so encouraging!  It also broke up the race a little and provided a bit of distraction.

At about mile 6, I started experiencing a lot of pain in my upper legs/hips area. I tried stretching.  I tried taking more walking breaks.  I quickly slipped into a negative head space and ran smack into THE WALL.  For non runners, the wall is when you mentally feel like you're an idiot for running this race and that you can't take another step.  I knew exactly what it was, and was discouraged that I was facing the wall before I had even hit the half way there point.

At mile 10 (or was it 11?) I hit another wall.  It was at that moment when I realized that I probably wouldn't be able to finish in under 3 hours.  I was hurting, I was exhausted, my stomach was cramping, I was cold and I was done.  It was at this point that Hayley offered to give me a piggy back ride.  She told me that I could do this, that I HAD to do this, and that she wasn't going to let me walk the rest of this half marathon.  Hayley was awesome!!

One of the funniest moments during the race was when a man, cheering at a corner yelled, "Only .3 of a mile left!!"  I stopped, looked at him and said, "Are you 100% sure?!"  He smiled, assured me that he knew what he was talking about, and off we went, ready to finish this race!

 Finishing a half marathon (regardless of your time) = an amazing feeling.

We crossed the finish line and were immediatly congratulated by the race director, Chris.  Chris knows our family, recognized me, hugged me and said, "I saw Curtis finish.... awhile ago."  I just looked at him, and he quickly added, "I mean, he's awesome, and congrautlations on finishing!  You both rock!"  Couldn't help but laugh.

Then, I was directed to a sweet girl named Ronni, who was passing out finishers medals.  She recognized me from swim team, gave me a huge hug, hung my medal around my neck as I burst into tears.  

                                                     

I walk over to Hayley, crying and saying, "Where's Curtis, I want Curtis, where is he, I need him!"  We finally found him, and the celebration began!

The BCS Marathon throws and amazing post race celebration!  There was food or all kinds, water, chocolate milk, Gatorade, beer, margaritas, space blankets and music.  Rather than quickly heading out, we decided to wait and cheer on our friend Jessica, who was finishing her first full marathon.  As I watched more half marathoners and marathoners finish, I couldn't help but burst into tears, yet again.  I couldn't help but relate to every person running across the finish line.  I knew each of them had a story.  I could see the pride, the excitement, the pain, the disappointment on their faces.  And I when I saw Jessica run across the finish line, reaching her goal time, I really boohooed!!

My official time was 3:05.  Every runner I talked to told me not to set a huge goal time, that my goal should be to finish. In the back of my head, I was shooting for 2:45 and my goal was to run it in under 3 hours.  When I thought back to all the hard work that I had put in I was so discouraged.  I had not run hundreds of miles, lost sleep, spent money and worked so hard to run a 3+ hour half marathon!

But then I was reminded that it's not always about the end result, sometimes, it's about the journey.  Every step you take towards your goal should be celebrated.  It was then that I decided I wanted to run another half marathon.  I wanted to take the practical things I had learned from my first half and apply them to reaching my goal.

Running my first half marathon taught me many things.  But the biggest lesson that I learned is that I'm capable of so much more than I thought.

My first half marathon: Race weekend

I can't just blog about race day.  I really need to back up and recap the entire weekend.

Thanks to my amazing parents, Curtis and I were able to spend several days in Kansas City.  It was the first time we've been able to get away, just the two of us, since we became parents.  It was incredible!  We drove back to Wichita Thursday evening.  Friday morning we headed back home, knowing we were heading straight into bad weather in Oklahoma City all the way till south of Ft Worth.  However, we knew that if we didn't leave on Friday, we wouldn't be able to get home till Monday, meaning the kids would miss their Kids Marathon (a 1.2 mile run for kids put on by the same awesome people hosting the half Curtis and I ran) and we would miss our half marathon.

(Curtis and I, heading to Kansas City! Can you tell we were a little excited?!)

(Early anniversary celebration at Melting Pot)

We drove back to Wichita Thursday evening.  Friday morning we headed back home, knowing we were heading straight into bad weather in Oklahoma City all the way till south of Ft Worth.  However, we knew that if we didn't leave on Friday, we wouldn't be able to get home till Monday, meaning the kids would miss their Kids Marathon (a 1.2 mile run for kids put on by the same awesome people hosting the half Curtis and I ran) and we would miss our half marathon.

The drive was SO long! We were in the car for 18 hours.  The kids were incredibly well behaved and God was very gracious.  We narrowly avoided having to spend the night in our on I-35.  We knew we had dozens of friends and family praying for us and the protection of our Heavenly Father.  We made it home without incident at about 3am.  Curtis and I got about 3 hours of sleep before getting up to get the kids ready to run.

 Though the weather in College Station was dry, it was still VERY chilly.  We bundled up our kiddos, loaded them back into the van, and headed to the starting line!

When both Mommy and Daddy are training for a half marathon, the kids are keenly aware of it.  Long runs cut into family time. Mommy and Daddy (mostly mommy in this case!) might be tired, sore and kinda cranky some days.  The entire family schedule is different so that runs can be worked in.  And though Curtis and I tried to include the kids as much as possible, it was still taxing on the kids at times.  Having a race that all four kids could participate in was such a treat for them!  It was all about them, their accomplishments, them having fun!  What a great idea by the directors of the marathon and a great way to celebrate them when so much focus had been on our training.

I was highly impressed by the kids and how they ran!  All four of them ran the entire race with no walking breaks.  They got out there and ran hard, even though they were all quite cold.

Don't they look cute in their running gear?!  My awesome mom made the experience about the kids by taking them all to Target and letting them pick out new running clothes!  They had so much fun and it really built the excitement of race day. Also, notice their warm, blue gloves?  While stuck in traffic on our drive home, I realized that none of the kids had little inexpensive gloves they could wear.  Hayley to the rescue!  She went out and bought gloves for all the kids and put them in our mailbox so they were ready for us!

After the kids ran, they were each given a medal!

I think this race gave my kids the running bug!  Since then, we've gone on several family runs.  All three big kids have races on the calendar for this spring and are excited for their next running adventure!

After the race, we dashed to the studio for Nutcracker rehersal.  Curtis and I also went to the race expo.  I had lunch with my running group.  Then that evening, we watched Elizabeth perform at Christmas at the Creek.  

The two days leading up to my first half marathon were not even close to what I was anticipating.  It was a long, cold, exhausting couple of days.  But they were also days filled with God's goodness, protection, mercy and fun family memories were made.  

My first half marathon: training

In the four months I didn't blog, I trained for and ran my first half marathon.  Though it's old news now, and I'm actually training for my second half marathon, I still wanted to recap my experience.

The only reason I decided to run a half marathon was because I won free training with a running coach and a running group called Runaway Moms.  Coach Wendy sent out the training plan, made the routes, set out water on the long runs, taught me how to stretch, pushed me when I wouldn't push myself and reminded me that I was capable of doing this.  I can't express how much this group of women encouraged me through the whole process, cheering me on at every little victory.

The longest I had run before I started training for the half was 3.5 miles.  Slowly building up my mileage was exciting!  Seeing that I could keep going and that I could push myself to get the higher miles was so rewarding.  The weekend that I was going to tackle 7 miles was a big one for me.  I had run 6 miles twice before and completed a 10k (6.2 miles) and I was ready to make another jump in mileage.  The morning came and I was genuinely excited to hit that mileage milestone but it was pouring rain complete with thunder and lightning!  No running for me.  My motivation was gone and I wasn't sure how I would mentally make it through those 7 miles.  That's when Hayley joined me for my training.  She went on almost every long run with me from then out.  She was already registered to run the same race I was training for, and rather than train at her pace, she stuck with me though the rest of my training and the entire race.  I am so thankful for the friendship that we build and then fun times we had!

 Since Curtis had trained for and run a half marathon earlier in the year, I knew the time commitment it would take for our entire family.  And not only was I training for the half, Curtis was also training for the same race.  Throughout our training, he always put my runs first.  Never once did I feel guilty over leaving the kids and him to go run for over two hours.  After my long runs, he would be ready with ice, compression socks, chocolate milk and ibprophen. Curtis was a constant source of praise and encouragement as well as advice.  During hard runs, he would text me with words of encouragement, reminding me to finish strong.  And on one really rough run, he came to get me from the side of the road but pushed me to try that run again and get the mileage I needed.  There are so many cliched analogies I could make about training for/running a half marathon and marriage.  But instead, I'll just say that I truly could not have done what I did without my amazing hubby!

 Training for a half marathon is hard.  But it is worth it!  There were times when I was confident that I had made a terrible decision.  But I'm thankful for the awesome people who surrounded me and encouraged me to keep going, even when I didn't want to.

Only Daughter

When Curtis and I were pregnant with Elizabeth, we chose to not find out if we were having a boy or a girl.  Since I had come from a family or all girls and Curtis only had a brother, I assumed that we would have all of the same gender, or at least most of the same gender.  When Elizabeth was born I truly thought we would be a girl dominate family.

Boy was I wrong!

And while I am loving my roll as a mom to a brood of boys, learning about sports, feeding them non stop, dealing their odd smells and destructive ways, I am so incredibly thankful for my one daughter.  I love how girly she is!  She's my mini me.  We look a like, we act a like, we enjoy similar things.  Elizabeth is truly a delight!

One of my favorite things in having a daughter has been her love of dancing.  She started dance class at the tender age of two.  We've been through a multitude of recitals, dance pictures, tights, shoes of all sorts and costumes.  To my extreme delight, for the past two years, Elizabeth has danced in The Nutcracker Ballet. I love watching her perform, seeing the light in her eyes as she dances.

Despite her love of dancing, this past fall she stopped enjoying ballet.  Though I don't ever want to be the mom to force my children to do something they don't enjoy, we won't let our children quit if they've made a commitment.  She still wanted to be in the Nutcracker, which required her taking a ballet class. She just wasn't enjoying her ballet class.  So once the Nutcracker was over, we let her quit ballet.  This semester, for the first time since she was two, Elizabeth isn't dancing.

And though I'm bummed my only daughter isn't dancing, I am so excited to watch her focus on a new endeavor..... running!

In two weeks, Elizabeth and I, along with some friends, will be participating in a Graffiti Run.  That will be the first of three 5Ks that Elizabeth and I will be doing together.  She's also planning on participating in a mud run with her brothers.

God truly blessed me with my daughter.  He also blessed her with abilities in several areas.  I'm so thankful that I get to spend more time with her, watching as she continues to discover and grow in her areas of passion and joy!  What a delight Elizabeth is to Curtis and I, in whatever activities she pursues!

Run Mommy, run!

 For weeks leading up to my frist 5K of the year, my AWESOME friend, Erin, trained with me.  We ran with each other, we encouraged each other, we held each other accountable, and basically, she just helps me run fast!!

I set some very specific goals for this 5K.  I wanted to be a specific weight and I wanted to run the 5K in less than 35 minutes.

This race was a girls only 5K, and such a blast.  The route was right by Erin's house, so training was simple.  We had the opportunity to run it several times before race day, knew what to expect, and felt good about our goals.  It also helped that we had an awesome cheering section made up of our (combined) six kiddos, my awesome husband, and one very helpful friend.

 I felt like we were killing it!  I checked my phone, and it said we were on an 8 min mile pace.  WHAT?!  That messed me up mentally.  Then, at about the 2 mile mark, my foot went totally numb.  I pushed as hard as I could for the last mile, but finished the race in 36.30.  So close!  To be that close and to have missed my goal was incredibly discouraging.

And then the pain in my foot started.  We went back to Erin's house where I received my first ice bath of the weekend.

 These awesome girls came into town to party it up with me, and ran with Erin and I.

 #BEAST

The experience was GREAT!  I had so much fun training with Erin and running with friends.  Also, the race itself was well run and lots o fun.  However, it was a somewhat discouraging weekend.  I missed my goal weight by about half a pound and 5K time my a minute and a half.

In the week following the race, I was very motivated to continue running and started planning my next 5K.  However, my foot had other ideas.  I've done a little bit of running, but overall, I've had to just take lots of time to get my foot back in shape.  My current goal is a 10K in September.  Once we see how that goes, I'm contemplating

a half marathon in December.  I was to continue to push myself as a runner.  But I also want to work on completing my weight loss goals and toning.  Like everything in life, it's a balance.  Here's to more balance, and a 10K!

Run, Daddy!!!

This past Sunday, the kids and I watched as Curtis crossed the finish line in his first half marathon.  More significantly then that, we watched him work hard towards his goal, push through and injury, not give up, and obtain a goal that he'd set for himself.  

 

 The above picture was taken after we arrived to the race location, shortly after I explained the term, "crack of dawn" to the kiddos.  Curtis and I got our day started at 5am and by 6am all six of us were bundled up, heading to the starting line.

Curtis had been training with a group of people who were also racing in the Armadillo Dash.  They all wore shirts from our local running store, Brazos Running.  His shirt happened to match the Brazos running shirt I already had!  Don't we look cute in our matching shirts?!

 The kids were so excited to cheer their Daddy on!  I gather several different ideas for posters, and the day before the race, the kids and I made the signs, with help from a friend.  Making posters seems like such a simple gesture, but it really gave the kids a way to be involved and feel like an encouragement to Curtis.

 The call came for the 1/2 marathon runners to line up, and the kids and I headed to the stands to see him off.

 After we saw him start, we headed to the car to warm up, eat breakfast and kill some time.  On our way to the finish line, we had a moment to pose with an armadillo.  Who wouldn't want to take advantage of that?!

 

 At the beginning of his training, Curtis was hoping to run the 1/2 in just under 2 hours.  Just a few weeks into training, his calf started giving him some problems.  He had to back off his training, causing him to feel like he wouldn't be able to break 2 hours.  So the kids and I lined up, hoping to see him cross that finish line in less than two hours....

 AND HE DID!!!  His official time was 1 hour 55 minutes 18 seconds!!!

I'm so very proud of Curtis and this accomplishment!  I admire his diligence and hard work.

Notice my shirt change?  I had a friend help me make a shirt that said, "My husband can run 13.1, can yours?"  Curtis had seen it on line, but I convinced him we wouldn't be able to get it in time and that it was way to expensive.  I surprised him at the finish line, wearing it.  The plan is that he'll have a similar shirt when I finish my first half marathon.

Gulp.