Feel the Burn!

I really didn't think I was going to get a post in tonight due to the internet being down all day. When I called AT&T, they said, "your area is experiencing difficulties. The estimated time for repair is 11:20am on June 1, 2012." Are you freakin kidding me?? Noon tomorrow??? I was mad!! The good thing that came from it was that I didn't have the internet as a distraction before my run and instead of checking FB while I iced and rested, I read a few more chapters of A Discovery of Witches. I am still thoroughly enjoying it. It really is a lot like Twilight without all of the tension and teen angst.

Tonight was my third training workout in a row. Yep, 9 miles in 3 days. My hamstrings still seem to be holding up. My left calf/shin are giving me some grief, but tonight, I was really feeling it in my thighs! While I am currently hobbling around the house, even after icing them, I am pleased because that means I am finally working those muscles and toning my upper legs. Yay!! (happy dance). I'll be taking tomorrow off to rest and then 5 miles on Saturday. That will make 14 miles in a week!

Sorry this isn't longer and that I don't have a picture to share, but I am tired and going to soak in the tub, read for a bit and then fall into bed and sleep. Goodnight!!

Confucius Say...

I don't have much to say today. I spent the day at home allowing my children to drive me slowly insane. We did leave the house to pick up my new glasses. (I'll post a pic when I don't look a hot mess!) For most of the day, I let Evelyn run around in just her nightgown. We've begun the summer before school potty training bootcamp for little girls. So, between yesterday and today, she has peed on the bathroom floor twice (at least it was the correct room), once on her bedroom floor and she pooped in the bathtub (she actually NEVER did that as a baby). But, never once did she go in the potty. Extremely frustrating!! I dislike hate potty training children!!! Why can't they just pop out knowing how to go potty? Cats are practically born knowing how to use the litter box!!

OK, enough of that. Shane brought home Chinese food tonight for he and I for dinner. He also brought home fortune cookies. One of them was strangely packaged and caught my attention.

There are 2 fortune cookies in 1 package. Must have slipped past QC!

Double fortune in one package!!! Naturally, I claimed these cookies for myself. After dinner, I opened them up. The first fortune said that a trip south would make me unexpectedly happy (I could really use a vacation) and the second said that I would reach my goal if I continued on the path. I took that as a sign for the half in August. It feels like every time I do a training session, I spend half of it wondering if I will be able to finish a) at all or b) in the allotted 3.5 hours. I spend the other half of it telling myself that I am committed and I have to do it or I'll never respect myself again.

Ran on the treadmill tonight. The training schedule said 3 miles "pace" which means the pace in which I intend on running the race. I would like to maintain a 12 minute mile, but I just don't think that will happen. However, that was the pace I ran on the treadmill. I ran 0.9 and walked 0.1 of each mile. The good thing is that I maintained the 5mph pace on each 9/10th of a mile without stopping (though I felt like doing it a few times, especially at the end). Also, my hamstring seemed to hold up. I have ice on it right now as a precaution and I will soak in a warm Epsom salt bath after this, but it seems to be ok. Much better than the last time I ran inside. My left shin hurt a good deal, but I'm generally used to that. I think I could probably (already) use some new shoes and I really need to go to Big Peach and have my feet evaluated for the best fit, but that's just not in the budget right now. 

So, another treadmill run tomorrow and a 5 mile "long" run on Saturday. Stay tuned, folks!! Oh, the book is still going well. I read a few chapters last night. I'm still intrigued!

City of Lost Souls and A Discovery of Witches

I finished City of Lost Souls the night before last. I really started getting into it about halfway through and I read at a pretty steady pace up until the end. In fact, it was one of those nights that I went to bed at 2am even though I shouldn't have, just because I wanted to see how it ended. Well, I can tell you that it ended in a very YA fiction fashion. Frustratingly. I realize that YA novels can't really be full of the hot and heavy, but come on!!! These YA authors are like giant teases!! Now, I have to wait another year or so before I can get the ending!!

So, without further delay, I moved right on to my next read. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It has managed to peak my curiosity and hold my attention right from the start. That's a definite plus. I just now found out (and I mean literally, just now when I was pulling up the synopsis and image to post here) that it is, in fact, a trilogy. Here is the description, compliments of Shelfari:

"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unknowingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism."


It's over 500 pages long, so it will take a little while for me to finish up and then, I guess, I'll have to read the sequels. That kinda bums me out a little since I was reading this to fill in the gap until Rapture by Lauren Kate comes out on June 12th. I suppose I should shut up about it and just be grateful that there are so many things I want to read lined up. I used to have such a hard time finding books I wanted to read. 


I should have run 3 miles on the treadmill tonight, but I ended up staying late at work and not getting home until 10pm, so I will have to run tomorrow and Thursday before the long run on Saturday. I have also decided to sign up for another 5K before the half. It will be at the end of June and (hopefully) it will be easier than the last one. 

Why Am I Having Such A Hard Time With This??

Went for a run today. Not too early in the morning, around 10:30am. It was warm, not too hot yet. I started out feeling pretty good. I had a decent pace going. There were a LOT of bikers cyclists out today. I find them both annoying and comforting at the same time. I know that if there are lots of them out, I feel safe that there is a constant traffic flow around me as I run, but that traffic flow is really annoying at the same time. What is super annoying is that cyclists, like bikers, ride in packs. Is it really necessary to get together with 6 or 7 of your buddies and ride down a 2-lane trail like a pack of wolves? Really??

I've been considering finding a track to run near my house, but I really think that would be boring, not to mention, completely flat.

However, I digress. I don't know what it is lately that is affecting my pace. I can't tell if it's because I'm worrying about being overly aware of my surroundings, my sore legs or the weather heating up, but I can't seem to keep a steady pace. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be treadmill runs, but Saturday is a 5 miler. Does anyone have any advice on how to keep a steady pace outside? I've read up on it until I'm cross-eyed. The thing is, when I start out, it's like nothing can stop me. Then, about a mile in, I start feeling doubtful and by the end of my run, I start doubting whether I will be able to finish 13.1 miles in the allotted 3.5 hours, if even at all! I'm a pretty determined person, but if my legs go kersplatso on me, what happens then?

There is a 5K race in Hiram on June 23rd. I'm thinking of running it. It's not like it's any farther than I've already been running. I'll have to see how it fits into my training schedule. There are a couple of weeks that suggest a 5K and a 10K race. In the meantime, I'm going to focus on stretching and pushing myself to finish this training and, inevitably, the half.

Can You Feel The Heat?

Today was my first "long run" for the half training. A 4 mile run. Can't be too bad, right? Wrong! The high today was 92 degrees, occurring at 3:45pm. Would you like to know what time I ran today?? Oh, around 3:30pm. No, I have not lost my mind, (well, you know...) I have a couple of reasons why I ran so late. First off, I generally try to get my runs in early in the morning. The earlier, the better. However, Shane and I got to talking last night about the trail and his concerns for my safety and I kinda decided that I didn't want to run at 7am. It is rather lonely and deserted on the trail. I could have run later, but Shane had an interview today at 9:30am and that kinda trumps my run. So, I could have run at 10:15 when he came back, but today was registration at the dance studio and they closed at 11am. Therefore, you see my problem. 

So, while we were already out, I decided that if I am going to have to start having accurate mileage no matter where I run, I needed to break down and buy a GPS watch. It's nothing fancy, it doesn't even have a HRM or anything, but it does the job. Well, it will do the job a little better when I can operate it with complete ease.

It's a Soleus GPS 1.0--I would have gotten the pink one, but Shane protested

We also went grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks. This put us home at around 2:30pm and Shane had to be at work at 5pm. So, after a long lecture on dehydration from Shane, I set out to run my 4 miles and get it over with. I really don't want to do any of the long runs on the treadmill if I can help it. The half isn't going to be on a treadmill and I need to stay conditioned to the outside.

Thank God there wasn't much humidity today or I probably would have keeled over! It was hot as HELL!!!!! I stretched and loaded up my belt and got ready. I had the GPS and the HRM on my wrist (yes, I looked like a douche). I hit the start button on them both and took off. Ok, a few minutes in and I realized that the GPS watch was giving no distance readings. Crap!! Then, I realized that there are 2 different start buttons to hit. I was unwilling at that point to go back and start my mileage over, so I'm actually not too sure of just how far I ran today. I'm pretty sure it wasn't completely 4 miles. From the point I started it to the turn around and stop, it read 3.51miles. It was probably closer to 3.7 and that was fine by me!! I think I would have passed out if I had gone the full 4. I know that the next thing I need to add to my running gear is a water transport system. I won't lie and say that I ran a lot of those 3.7 miles, it was probably closer to a mile or mile and a half run and I walked the rest. Even my fingers were sweating! I was a little concerned because toward the end, my fingers started swelling and turning red. I have no idea what caused it, but I definitely did not like it. I was super happy to get home and into the shower, not to mention down a Gatorade. 

I hope I don't have to run in the heat like that again and I really miss my running buddy. I never thought about how much safer I feel with someone else there.

Busy Day!

Last night, before bed, I read some more of City of Lost Souls. It is getting better. I actually tore through several chapters before falling asleep. I'm about halfway finished, so maybe it's taken a turn for the better.

Today was the busiest day EVER!!! We started the day by dropping Gabriel off for his last day of Pre-K. Then, we had to head over to Evelyn's check-up at the pediatrician. The paperwork for that seemed to take forever!! She had a really good check-up, though. She can answer 4 year old questions and is in the 50th percentile in both weight and height. Now, if we could just get her potty trained!!

After the Dr, we stopped for biscuits and then headed home. We really only had about 20 minutes of time at home before we had to leave again to pick Gabriel up from school. We let the kids play on the playground for quite a while until we had to leave, yet again, for my optometrist appointment. I've never had my eyes dilated before, but they were today. I can tell you that it was not a fun experience. I really didn't like not being able to read and the light sensitivity (especially the sunshine) was awful. My eyesight has only changed slightly and I was happy to get new frames. You know, the kind that don't pinch my nose!! I should have them sometime next week. Shane's appointment was right after mine and so we left the optometrist two slightly-blinded people with two children in tow.

The balloon release

The last scheduled event of the day was Gabriel's graduation from pre-k. It was a carnival themed event. The kids sang some songs and got diplomas. Gabriel got an award for "most energetic" which translates to me as, "least likely to sit still." They released balloons and there was a small reception afterward with cupcakes. We stayed around long enough to be social with the other parents and the teachers.

Don't you just love pictures where everyone is looking all over the place?!

My best friend, Missy, came to the graduation with us, so after the party, we went out to eat at Chili's. It was nice to catch up since we don't get to see each other much. We had a great dinner and then we went home.

I had a free RedBox code texted to me earlier in the day, so we stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home to rent a movie. As much as I love getting free rentals, I do hate that everyone gets them on the same day and so you can never have a great selection unless you go right when you get the code. Either way, I rented The Woman In Black with Daniel Radcliff. Shane seems to think I have a fondness for psychological thrillers, but in reality, there wasn't much of a selection to choose from. So far, it's not too bad of a movie.

Turns out that I'm watching it alone because Shane's eyes are still dilated and he came home and went straight to bed like the kids!! I didn't get a chance to fit in my second training run for this week, so I guess I'll be trying my luck at 4 miles on Saturday morning with only one run this week under my belt. I think it will be OK, though. At this point, I'm pretty used to 3 miles...what's one more?

Tinkerbell Birthday and Annoyance

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. We had a busy weekend! Evelyn's birthday was on Sunday and Gabriel's last soccer was also that day. We started out with soccer. I think he did pretty well. After they are finished, they usually stamp the kid's hands. Gabriel gets very excited about having stamps on his hands (it's the little things, right?). This Sunday, they also got a little, plastic medal.

Here he is getting his medal

We asked Evelyn what she wanted for lunch, but she kept asking for Menchie's and we kept telling her that she couldn't have yogurt for lunch, so we went to Krystal's. Then we went to Menchie's. We all enjoyed a cup of froyo. Mmmmm! I won't go on and on about the rest of the day. After dinner, it was time for cake. I baked a cake for the occasion the night before and frosted it. Here is a picture:

It's not perfect, but it was tasty

Now, I am not a drawer and I have never free-hand drawn anything on a cake with frosting, so I don't think it's tooo bad. It did taste good, though! When it was all over, I think it was a pretty good day for everyone!

On to today...

My first training run for the half marathon was today. I stretched my legs and took off. I was going ok for a while. I ran across that bridge and through the tunnel. I just kinda felt off, though. I couldn't seem to keep a steady pace and it really messes with my breathing. Also, despite the stretching, I still seem to have pain in my hamstring/glute area when I get around a mile and a half out. I'm sure that in the next 12 weeks, you will have to hear me bitch about my muscle pains a lot! I apologize in advance! I'm really trying to get a handle on it before I have to start doing the longer runs. I think I can handle the 4-miler on Saturday, but everything after that makes me a little nervous.

I still haven't read any more of City of Lost Souls. I really haven't had time. I should be reading some more of it tomorrow when I haven't worked until 9pm. As for right now, it's almost midnight and I have to get up early, so goodnight!!

Walking On With A Possessed MP3 player

Today, I woke up and went on a 5 mile walk. Shane actually had a good idea for me when I was trying to decide how far to walk today. You see, my first "long mile" in training is 4 miles, not 5. Shane mentioned to me that I should scope out the distance so that I know where to go to when I run it. Brilliant idea!!! (No one tell him that!) So, that's just what I did. I was a little frustrated on the trail today because there were a few lot ton of bikers cyclists on the trail today. (Shane laughs at me when I call them bikers). It's not that they're in my way or anything, they just irritate me. When Jenni and I were running together, we had decided that they were super pretentious. Always wearing their spandex and pointy hats, leaned over, calling, "on your left!!" every time they pass. I truly don't mean to offend any cyclists out there, I just don't like sharing the trail with them. I'm sure they feel the same way about us walkers/joggers/runners. Just a different way of going the distance. Anyway, despite the multitude of cyclists, I did (finally) see 3 or 4 runners out. I never, ever see any runners.

It was really hard for me not to run at least part of my distance. I stretched my hamstrings before starting and after finishing and convinced myself that walking was for the best until I run again on Tuesday. What was really hard was walking across that bridge. I can't begin to tell you how intimidating it was to walk across it 2 times today without hyperventilating, especially when a couple of bikers cyclists passed me on it. I think that one of my main issues with the people on bikes is that they are coming up from behind me and I can't see them. I would hate to get plowed down my a bike going 20 mph (or however fast they go). There are a couple of tunnels that I have to go through and they aren't very lit sometimes. Today, I envisioned being run over each time I went through them!!

Ok, enough about bridges and bikers cyclists! The rest of my day has involved shopping with my mom and Evelyn for E's birthday (tomorrow). She got a tricycle-ish type fold up bike and a helmet to match (from my mom). I'll talk about the gifts we got her tomorrow.

I really need to go through my MP3 files and try to organize them. I also need to see if I can set up a "workout profile" on it. No matter what day it is, my MP3 player ALWAYS plays Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. It wouldn't be on my player if I didn't like it, but it's not exactly pumped-up music  I want to move to! It also almost always plays Piano Man by Billy Joel. I don't mind it as much because it's almost always on my way to the car. Anyway, I need to get it organized for my long runs so I can stay pumped and focused.

Very cute movie! Almost made me cry!

I couldn't bring myself to read any of the book last night. Shane brought home a RedBox movie and we stayed up late watching it. It was Mars Needs Moms and it was super cute in a feel good, funny kind of way. Shane told me today that it didn't do well at the box office, which is a shame because I really liked it. It was extremely predictable, but at my age and the number of movies I've seen, that is to be expected. I still found it to be enjoyable. I'm not sure if I'll read any tonight since we're planning to watch the season finale of Grimm (I love me some Monroe)!!

Next Up...

Last night after I published my post, I downloaded City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare to my Nook and started reading it. Not sure if you recall, but I wasn't thrilled with the way the previous book, City of Fallen Angels, ended. I am, however, hopeful that this book will put me back on track to happyville. I'm about 7 chapters in and, so far, still unhappy with the way the story is going. I understand that this is a young adult novel and that teenagers thrive on drama, (I'm not so old that I don't remember being one) but, come on!!! I actually didn't have a problem putting it down to fall asleep last night, which is the opposite of what happened when I read the first four books. I will keep you posted as to my thoughts for however long it takes me to finish it. It's roughly 350 pages and I'm a little over a hundred.

We went to the pizza restaurant for lunch today. I read in an article recently that I should avoid pizza until after the race, but it didn't say why. So, after I look up the reasoning, I may try to stay away from pizza for the next 12 weeks. I can't think of a single reason why that would be, though.

Since I had to write endlessly about my knees hurting while training for the 5k, I fear that I shall do the same with my hamstring pain. It still hurts!!! I'm hoping that with some stretching tonight and tomorrow and then a soak in some Epsom salts later, it will be ok during my walk tomorrow morning. It has to be ready for Tuesday's run. It's a 3 miler and it's nothing I'm not used to doing.

Hamstrung

I'm going to start this post with the story I didn't tell yesterday. It was National Kite Day and every year Gabriel's school celebrates by going to the park across the street and flying kites. It's always a fun event. Almost all of the parents take off and we bring a picnic lunch and blankets to sit on. It is a nice, relaxing time to socialize and let the kids play. Gabriel didn't start out by flying his kite. In fact, he played on the playground until almost everyone had left for the day and then he decided to fly his kite. It was actually great timing because he could keep it up for a pretty good stretch (Wednesday was not so windy).

See? It's up in the sky. I was so impressed!!

Since we had such a good day yesterday, we decided to take the kids to the local froyo shop. I ate more than I usually do, but it was super yummy and a lot less calories than DQ.

This morning, as planned, I had a parent-teacher conference at the school. We actually arrived at the school before any of the teachers did, so we waited around a bit. It's nice to hear how your child is doing academically because you never really get to see that side of your child. Aside from some attention issues and a recent string of behavioral issues, he is doing great super FANTASTIC in his school work. He seems to be very math-minded. That should make things interesting for me, because I am more language arts-minded (not that I have a hard time with math, it's just not my favorite thing). He is more than ready for Kindergarten and perhaps even first grade.

That being said, let's move on to the rest of my day. I stand 99.99% of the day at work. That is no fun when you've hurt your hamstring. I mostly hobbled about today. I'm going to read up on some stretches that might make it better. I iced the muscle yesterday after the treadmill and then, later, I took a hot bath, but it still hurts a lot. I really, really need this to feel better by next Tuesday when I start running again. I am aiming for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday runs with Saturday being both outside and the "long" run for the week. This Saturday, I am going for a walk. I don't know how long it will be, but I hope it's a nice one.

Oh, one last thing. We had some cameras on sale at work today in the clearance bin, so I bought a mini digital keychain camera. I am hoping that I can take more pictures to throw up here on the blog. I figure it will be easier if I always have a camera with me. I'm not guaranteeing that they will be high-quality pictures, but it beats none at all and it means that I don't have to run with my nice camera and risk it getting lost or broken. 

Tomorrow is the last pizza lunch for Gabriel's school, so at least I will have pizza eating out of my system until August, which is perfect for the half training!!

Finding My Motivation

Before tonight (just a little while ago), I have not run since Saturday. I also have not stopped eating like a starving person. 

I figured out that the half marathon is in 13 weeks. I am planning to do Hal Higdon's 12 week training program, so I really have to kick it into gear by next week! I thought I would start tonight by doing 3 miles on the treadmill. Things started out really great! I actually ran 1.75 miles without stopping to walk a single time and my breathing was perfectly normal. Let me start by saying that I only made it to 2 miles total. Around 1.75 miles, my knee started hurting a little and I was really sweating, so I decided to slow down and walk 1/10th of a mile and then start running again for the remainder of the distance. Bad idea! As soon as I turned the speed down, my legs felt like they were made of jello and that same muscle in my right leg that runs up the back of your thigh up into the glut area started feeling like it was cramping up (almost like a charlie horse in your upper thigh). I decided then that I could only make it to 2 miles and even that was pushing it. I am not completely bummed, however, because I did, at least, work out and burn some calories tonight. We won't mention the bowl of frozen yogurt I had earlier today.

I have been doing some research for my training and I know that I am supposed to eat a diet consisting of 65% complex carbs for the duration of my training. The fun part will be finding recipes and incorporating that into my eating habits. I don't know what I have eaten recently that has caused these sugar cravings, but I have really been snacking on the sweets lately.

This is going to end up being a short blog post because I have a crazy amount of laundry to fold and then take another shower and go to bed early. I have to be at Gabriel's school half an hour early for the year end parent-teacher conference and I have a hard time making it on time on a regular day!! At least tomorrow  is pizza lunch day so I don't have to make his lunch. I will post something longer tomorrow!

The Georgia Symphony Orchestra Noteworthy 5K aka My First Race

No post yesterday. I spent the early part of the day mowing the lawn (just in time for it to rain). The kids played outside and it was a good time. I had a sandwich and some cheesy crackers for lunch. I didn't want to eat anything too heavy for fear of it affecting my running.

The race started at 7:30pm and I live an hour away, so I started getting ready at 5pm. I spent a little more time with the kids and Shane before leaving the house at 5:30. I wanted time to get lost, park and pick up my packet. I only had a little trouble finding the location. Thankfully I am very familiar with the area due to my "girl's lunches/dinners" at Sweet Tomatoes. The race was on the roads behind the restaurant. I waited in the car for a while before going to pick up my packet. I had to build up the nerve to walk over to get it since I didn't see many people dressed up like I was! Finally, my friend Jenni arrived to pick up her packet and we went about getting me ready. She was supposed to run with me but had to drop out due to personal reasons. I was really grateful that despite the fact that she couldn't run with me, she was still there to cheer me on. I also kinda dumped my camera and car keys on her to lug around. Here is a picture of me before the race:

I know, really cute with the dress, the pants and the shoes!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but formal attire to run in was encouraged. There were only about 4 women, including me, wearing anything remotely dressy. Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but the woman by the yellow cones is wearing a purple dress. There was another woman there wearing a skirt, tights and a feather boa! I ran behind her the entire time and that boa was flapping in the breeze!!

We walked around for a bit until the announcer told everyone to line up at the top of the hill.

I'm waaaayyyy in the back

The start of the race was straight down hill. In fact, they specifically told us to try to go slow down the hill to avoid injuries and/or falls. I was kinda nervous, but when they said, "go!" and I woke up from the brief daze I was in, I trotted down the hill:

Here I am starting down the hill

After the hill, we went around the parking lot and out into the street. Jenni got a couple of shots of me rounding out of the main area.

wooohooo....running and running

A lot of the run at this point was down hill. It got curvy at some spots and we turned a few times. I ran out of breath pretty quickly, which was surprising to me. We ran and ran and walked and ran. I thought that surely we had to be halfway. That's when I saw the 1 mile marker. I.about.died! My calves were already on fire and I was tired! I still kept going on. There was never a marker to let us know that we had gone halfway, but at one point, I was going down a hill on a divided road and I saw a police car in front of a very purple-faced man running up hill on the opposite side of the road.  I realized that he must be the leader. At that point, I was feeling pretty good. Then, I started passing a bunch of people trucking up that hill behind him and my feel good moment ended. I wasn't as far ahead as I thought. I checked my watch, though and I was right on time schedule for my usual halfway point (17ish minutes).

We rounded around at an intersection and started going back. I figured that was halfway, but then I saw the 2 mile marker and a water station. I drank a cup of water and kept on going. I look ahead and silently curse to myself because what goes down must then go up...straight up! It was like looking upon a mountain from where I was. I knew that there was no way I could run up that hill and I also knew that the hill was going to increase kill my time! I decided to err on the side of not (as) sore legs and I power walked the hill. All of the people around me were walking it, too! Walking it, however, didn't mean that it wasn't painful every step of the way and at some point, my left leg started hurting where it connects to my hip, but I made it all the way up.

Here I am right past the 3 mile mark

I jogged a good portion of the way down and I was excited to see the backs of some of the buildings we started behind. Now, remember that most of the way out was downhill, so there was one more hill to go. I jogged/walked up some of it until I saw the last turn-in at mile 3. There was even a man standing there to tell us, "congratulations!" I knew at that point that I just couldn't walk it anymore. I would have to push it the rest of the way and run. I knew I wouldn't be happy with myself if I didn't finish by running. Jenni was standing by to take pictures of my final 1/10th of a mile.

When I finally reached the yellow cones at the end of the race, there were a lot of nice people telling us good job and cheering us on. I was so happy to finally reach the finish line! I crossed at 40 minutes and 17 seconds. Not my personal best, but not too bad for a first race with a hill of death!

There was a nice reception with food and drinks and vendor tents set up. We mingled and ate and waited around for the raffles and awards. Jenni was certain that I would win Best Dressed. The awards seemed to take FOREVER. All of the different age group winners seemed to go on forever. I was honestly only half listening just to know when it was over when all of the sudden I heard my name being called and 2nd place. I was in complete shock! I won 2nd place for my age group!! I went up to accept my medal and the sweet lady that put it around my neck told me to stick around because they might have something else for me. I watched the rest of the age groups in amazement at how many really good looking senior citizens ran this race. There was a lady in the 60 to 65 group that didn't look a day over 45! That was when Jenni and I decided that we would have to keep running forever if it means looking that good. When they finally got to best dressed, they said that after careful consideration, number 38 was the best dressed female. Yay! That was my number!! I went forward again to accept my award, which ended up being a Barbie wearing a dress and tiara. 

I'm wearing the medal and that's Barbie!

After that, we decided to leave. I was kind of hungry, so we went to Chili's where I had the biggest, yummiest burger ever!

There was a point during the race that I felt really down. I've already registered for the half in August. I kept thinking, "if this race is kicking my ass, how will I ever make it 13 miles?" The only thing I can think of now is that I have time to train and I know I have to. When the night comes, I'll do my best. I don't have to win it, I just have to finish it.

The medal, my number, the Barbie and the snazzy shirt.

The inscription on the back of the medal

Calorie Control (Or Lack Thereof)

I know one of my earlier posts was about eating and eating and eating. I was blaming it on hormones and I'm pretty sure that was the case. However, I am going through some time right now where I am just eating WAY over my calories and very, very poorly. Not to be excuse girl, but I think I know why. Eating is comfort for me. I won't really say that it makes me feel better necessarily, but it is certainly something I do when I am stressed.

We are finally wrapping things up with the insurance company with the car. Hopefully that will all be done by next week. In the meantime, the POS Corolla has cost us a crap ton of money. First, it was getting it to pass emissions only to have the light turn on the next day again (thank God it passed before that). Then, it was a broken axle. We just got it out of the shop for that today and now it needs new tires because of the wear from the axle. I really, really, REALLY hate putting money into this car because I know we aren't going to get that out of it if we can ever sell it. At the same time, we can't not have 2 cars and the insurance money will not cover a different car in much better condition than this one. So, that is stress number 1.

I would be lying to say that I'm not nervous about the 5K tomorrow. I don't know why. It's the same thing I've been doing, just with a LOT more people!! I'll actually be glad to get it over with. I think my caloric intake will be more controlled when I can work out again without worrying about it affecting my legs. I know that with proper conditioning, I will be able to not worry about them at all, but if a couple of Zumba exercises can put me in a bad way, I think I'll stick to just running until after the half marathon in August.

Last stress is August (and I don't mean the half, but I'm sure when the time comes I will be stressed about it, too!). Both of the kids will be in school and it is going to cost us a small fortune. Basically, if the hubby doesn't get a better paying different job by then, we will exhaust our savings trying to keep up with everything, and I know even it won't sustain us for long.

I think maybe I'm liking the running right now because when I run, I focus so hard on getting to the distance I need in the time I'd like, that I just don't think about anything else. I know that my problems are small compared to a LOT of people, but it's hard not feel like they are just as big or bigger.

Sorry to be a Debby Downer tonight, but those are the thoughts floating around in my head and I need to get them out. I will post ASAP about the race tomorrow (hopefully with pictures)!

Muffins With Moms

Yesterday was Muffins With Moms at my son's school. As I said yesterday, I wore my running clothes under my regular clothes because I knew I was running after I left.

When we arrived, there was a table of muffins and mini cinnamon rolls and pitchers with OJ and milk and also a pot of coffee. His teacher told him to ask me what I wanted for breakfast and I told him a muffin and OJ. He prepared the plate and carried it to the table for me before heading back for his own food (he had the same thing). When we reached his seat, he had a paper questionnaire that he had filled out about me and a craft project that I (kinda) knew about. See, he had been telling me all the week before that he made me a teacup. (Kid can't keep a secret) So, here it is:

It came with 2 packets of real tea!!

While I can't actually use the cup, it's terribly cute and very creative! I can, however, use the tea bags that came in the cup!

Back to that questionnaire. So, here are the questions and answers:

Q: What does my mommy look like? A: She has long hair, circle face, arms & hands, a tummy, legs & feet, and a bottom.

Q: How old is your mommy? A: 40  (40??? What!!!! 40 indeed!)

Q: What is her favorite food? A: carrots (couldn't be farther from the truth)

Q: What is her favorite color? A: red (well, that's actually his favorite color. Mine is orange...close)

Q: My mommy looks pretty when she... A: is happy (awww)

Q: What does your mommy do best? A: Helps Dad fix the car (wow)

Q: Where is your favorite place to go with your mommy? A: to our home (we've gotta get out more)

Q: How do you help your mommy at home? A: clean (he's actually quite helpful)

Q: If you had all the money in the world, what would you buy for your mommy? A: Pizza (kid's got priorities)

I was ok with everything but the age. Lucky him, I didn't see that question until I got home with it! Lastly, after my son consumed 2 muffins and a cinnamon roll and wanted yet ANOTHER muffin (I said, "no") we went outside to look at the last thing he made me:

It's a stepping stone with his handprint in it! I really like it!! It is currently residing in my garden because I really don't want to put it where people can actually step on it! So, these are the things I left with that day. All in all, a pretty good Mother's Day from Pre-K!

Today, when I dropped Gabriel off, I dropped off a dozen cupcakes. They actually weren't quite Death By Oreo, they were more like cookies n cream. I ended up using a different batter than I usually do and I think they came out a tad dry, so I wasn't terribly proud of them, but hey, it's the thought that counts, right? Here's a picture of the finished product:

I sprinkled crushed Oreos on the top of the frosting and cookies were baked in

Tomorrow is a work day and then it's race day!!!

Running In the Rain

I'm going to save the post about Muffins with Moms for tomorrow because I still have to take some pictures and upload them and it will be a little lengthy (well, not too lengthy, really).

Alright. I said that I would take some pictures during my run today, and I did! I wish that it had been sunny and beautiful, but we'll just have to make due with the rain. I wore my running clothes under the clothes I wore to have muffins with Gabriel because, let's face it, it is not cool to be the chubby mom in running gear at 8:30 in the morning! I'm actually proud to say that my running pants fit under the size smaller jeans I was wearing (you know, the ones from the thrift store trip?)!! So, when I got to the trail, I just had to take my shoes off, peel off my outer layers and put back on my shoes along with my runner's belt (complete with camera case). It had stopped raining while I was at Gabriel's school but, of course, it had just started to rain pretty good again. This is the first picture, before I started running:

Here is my starting point

Today, I actually welcomed the rain because I knew that I would be stopping to take pictures during my "walk breaks" and it was later in the morning than I usually run, so it would keep things cool. I ran about a half a mile before taking this next shot:

About a half mile down the trail

Then, I ran little more when I noticed that I was coming up on the bridge I've been talking about. In this next picture, you can see it, just coming up. I was running at that point. I usually try to walk a little bit before getting to the bridge so that I can run across it!!

Here you can just see the bridge coming up

Remember how I said this part of the trail is really pretty? This next shot is what I'm talking about. These benches sit right before you begin crossing the bridge. They look so cozy. Too bad I have never had the opportunity or the desire to sit on them!

Ok, anyone who knows me at all knows that I have a serious bridge phobia. The scientific term is Gephyrophobia. You can read more about it here. As I was saying, as a general rule, I try to run the entire distance. The very first time I crossed this bridge, I couldn't make it across the entire length and had to walk some of it (trust me, it was very little). I am now capable of running across the whole thing if I am caught up on breath, but today (for the sake of a blog entry with pictures) I walked across most of it.

Here is the start of the bridge

You can see how high up it is. I am looking at the tops of houses!

Here is some of it when you are looking down at the water.

After the bridge, I ran for a pretty good distance before I walked again. The next adventure I encounter along the way is this snazzy tunnel that crosses under the main road. The neat thing is, I travel on this road to get practically everywhere multiple times a day and I never knew about this tunnel! You actually can't see the trail here from the road!!

Entrance to the tunnel

Inside the tunnel

There's really not too much but trees and a curve in the road after that. I ran on until I could see my turn around spot. It's a little hard to see, but there is a post sticking out of the ground on the right. That marks my halfway mark. I generally run to it because I know I can stop for a second once I get there!

See that little post sticking out of the ground on the right near the stone on the side? That is where I turn around

Today, I actually remembered 1) to bring my HRM with me and 2) to turn it on when I started running. Here is my time and calorie count at the halfway mark (1.78ish miles). As you can see, my time is kick-ass (or atleast I think so)!

This is where I can see the bridge coming up ahead. I always think that the way back is faster because I don't have to think about what's coming up. I've already passed it once!!

You can faintly see the bridge in the distance.

I didn't feel the need to take a picture of the bridge on the way back across. The scenery is pretty and you don't really notice the houses, but it was raining pretty hard and I really wanted to run across that bridge this time over! In fact, I didn't really take many pictures on the way back at all. In the next shot, the furthest point you can see through the tree line is the place where I started. It's atleast a half a mile away, but I'm usually pretty determined to get there!

Where you see the sidewalk end through the trees is where the car is parked!!

The last little bit of my run was completed with my camera in my hand because I didn't want to have to dig it out once I was finished. Here is a picture of my HRM with my ending time and calorie burn!

And last, this is me after it's all over and I'm back in the car. The rain was REALLY pouring down at this point!

The 5K is just 3 days away on Saturday evening. This run felt pretty good and I think my legs will have plenty of time to recuperate before the actual event. If all goes well, I should finish in 36 minutes or less!!

Gotta go now. I am baking Death by Oreo cupcakes for Gabriel's teachers at school. I hope they like them!! 

Nom Nom Nom!!!

OMG!!! I can't seem to stop eating today!! I am so far over my calorie intake that I was almost ashamed to log them! I know this is due to a hormonal flare, but sheesh! I never eat as much as I have eaten the last 2 days!

Speaking of eating, I get to go and have muffins with Gabriel at school tomorrow and then I am going for my last solo run before Saturday. I have been itching to run, so I hope it's good. I plan on taking my camera so that I can take some pictures while I'm on the walk intervals. I plan to have those up in tomorrow's blog entry.

I finally bought cupcake wrappers tonight, so I can finally bake the "Death by Oreo" cupcakes for Gabriel's teachers in honor of teacher appreciation week. I hope they enjoy them!

Well, sorry this is so short, but I've worked a lot in the past 2 days and I'm tired. I'm off for the next 2 days, so I should have plenty to say tomorrow!!

Sometimes I Get Carried Away

I get so wrapped up in books that I enjoy that I have a tendency to read them too fast and finish them before I realize that I've done it. Especially with characters or a story that I am familiar with. I empathize with the characters. I feel their joy and pain. I laugh with them and cry with them. I enjoy every minute of it and when it's over, I feel a void that isn't easily filled.

It was like that reading Deadlocked. I have seen the world through the eyes of Sookie Stackhouse through 12 books now. I have to say that the plot of this book was well written. It was starting to become easy in the past to guess the antagonist and the plot twists, but not in this one. I was surprised at the end, which was nice. When I rated the book on Shelfari, I only gave it 4 out of 5 stars because I think I can see what the author is coming to in wrapping this series up and if it is what I think, I'm not thrilled. I won't spoil it for those of you who may not have read this book or even this series yet, but know that I am a little unhappy with where I think it's going. I won't be mad or anything if it does, but it won't end the way I want it to (as if that matters)!

I think I am officially addicted to running. I know I blogged earlier, as well as told myself earlier, that I would only run once this week due to the 5k being on Saturday and that day is Wednesday. However, I am chomping at the bit to go and run. Wednesday can't get here soon enough!

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T-Minus 1 Week and the 12 Minute Mile

Wow. I can't believe it! Only 1 week to go until the 5k. I'm not sure what to expect. I have my dress all picked out. I think it will need to be pinned to my bra because I really don't need straps falling down while I run. I also need to figure out some way to get my tiara to stay on my head for 3.1 miles!

Speaking of 3.1 miles, Jenni and I did our run this morning on the "pretty" stretch of the trail. Are you ready for it? We ran it in 36:10 minutes!!! That is a 12 minute mile, baby! My knees held up alright and I had a band-aid on my heel. Despite being out of breath, I was pleased with the run. We ran harder and farther than ever before. I think I will run one more time on Wednesday after I have muffins for moms at Gabriel's school and then I will rest until Saturday. Hopefully, I'll get some time to take some pictures of everything.

Here lately, after I run, I have had some pretty insane cravings for carbs. I couldn't fight it today, so I caved and we went to Stevi B's Pizza and ate the buffet. I was amazingly not as hungry as I thought I would be, although I still managed to consume 1300 calories in one meal. (Good thing I skip breakfast before my runs)

Deadlocked is going well. I think I am on chapter 5 right now. Charlaine Harris has a tendency to have super long chapters and chapter 2 was especially long! I'm not sure how I feel about what's going on in it. I know that Ms. Harris has said that she will not be turning Sookie into a vampire, but I just can't imagine her with anyone but Eric. Sighhhhhh.

Oh, the new sporting goods store in town had it's grand opening today, so we stopped by since it is in the same plaza as the pizza place. They had an outdoor fishing hole for kids to fish with actual bait for 5 minutes. Evelyn caught a real catfish!!! She was excited until it came out of the water, then she was scared as hell! Gabriel was a little bummed because he didn't catch one, but at least he has now had the experience. Tons of fun!

Well, work tomorrow, hopefully uneventful!

Smaller Pants Yields Muffin Top

The fruits of my labor are starting to pay off and I can fit into the size smaller jeans that I bought while thrift store shopping last weekend. The downside is that they give me a small muffin top. I'm fairly certain that I can live with that, but it does bother me a little. I just have to keep telling myself that it will go away in time if I continue on my course.

I have plans to go run on the pretty section of the trail in the morning with Jenni. I really hope that I can keep a steady pace without many stops. My knees feel better after having the day off. My left shin is a little sore, but I can deal with that. I still have that sore on my left heel, so that will have to be covered. Now, if I can just remember all of my gear!!

The second part of Neverland was also good. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it. Speaking of seeing, I'm starting to think that I will never get to see The Hunger Games while it is still in the theater and The Avengers came out tonight. I know if Shane has a choice between the two, The Avengers will win and I can't really begrudge him that. I want to see it, too. Ughh...well, maybe when it hits the dollar theater we can arrange for a sitter and go. Kinda sucks since movies don't hit the dollar theater until they come out on DVD. **insert pouty face**

It looks like I'll be making Oreo cupcakes this weekend to give to Gabriel's teachers on Tuesday. I'm sure they'll enjoy them. Those cupcakes are like crack!! (Not that I've ever had crack...just an expression).

Well, time to get some sleep. Semi-busy day ahead of me tomorrow starting with a 3.1 mile run!

Scenic Run

This morning, as planned, I went for a morning run alone. I tried a new section of the trail that is absolutely beautiful. I actually hated turning around halfway. One of these days I'll have to bring my camera with me and take pictures of it. I also had my best time yet of 34 minutes which I don't understand because I know I walked a lot of it due to my knees still hurting. I did, however, remember to cover up my heal sore and I could barely feel it. Unfortunately, I used up my last band-aid and will have to buy more.

I decided not to start Deadlocked until tomorrow evening because we rented Scyfy's Never land from Red box. We watched part one last night. I really liked it and as soon as I'm finished with this blog entry, we will begin part two. Well, I guess that time is now...

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(Dead)locked and Loaded

I have officially downloaded Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris. Yay and squeeee!!! Gonna get my Sookie fix just in time for season 5 of Trueblood to start in June! I know that if I start this book tonight, I might not wake up on time to a) take Gabriel to school or b) go for a much needed morning run. Oh, the decisions! Start it....or wait until the weekend? Then, if I do start it, what if I tear through it and I'm left with a void until the next one comes out?? Sometimes being and avid reader really is challenging!

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week and Tuesday is "bring something sweet" day at school, so I plan to bake the teachers at the school cupcakes. Shane was supposed to find out what Gabriel's teacher's favorite kinds of cupcakes are today. I'm not sure if he remembered. I'll try to remember to post some pictures of what I come up with for them.

Speaking of cupcakes, this will be a slightly more busy baking month for me than usual. In fact, this really starts the busy baking season for me. Evelyn's 3rd birthday is at the end of the month, so I'll be baking for her and then one of my co-worker's birthdays is the day after and she has requested an Oreo cheesecake for the occasion. I'm actually quite excited about the cheesecake because I hardly ever get the opportunity to bake or eat them! I will definitely have to run a LOT next month!!


Although my right shin is still sore and the blister on my left heal is not quite healed yet, I am planning to run 3.1 miles tomorrow after I drop Gabriel off at school. The 5k is next Saturday and the training time is certainly important. I don't know if I should just go for it the way I am or if I should try to bandage my heel first. I guess we'll all find out tomorrow!

One of Those Days

This post will be brief...

Ever had one of those days when it feels like the sky has opened up and poured crap all over you? That was my day...just one thing after the other. Sometimes I wish we could just pack up, move away and start it all over. ALL of it.

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