6 things- Catch Up Edition!

Wow. It has been a month since I last wrote. Here is a quick recap of what has been going on.

1. Most importantly, I graduated!!

 Jumping in the Sewall Park River after graduation

2.  We decided that we are not going to do the San Antonio R&R Marathon. We got in over our head with training for a marathon in the midst of the summer.

3. I started graduate school this week! I am taking three classes. The two novels I am reading right now for school are Sabriel and The Morgesons.

4. We did register for our next race though. The Country Roads 10k in San Marcos. We did it last year. I am really looking forward to it!



5. I also start back at work this week. I really missed working there during the summer so I am happy to be back.

6. I haven't made it to run group all this week. :/ I did Camp Gladiator for the first time Monday evening and was wayyy too sore to make it on Tuesday morning. Wednesday night I have class till late in San Marcos and was too exhausted to make it on time. But I hope to make it back soon.

7. Also, Vince is back from Louisiana. He did a great job with his research but I am so happy to have him back home.

Gaining Weight/Pictures

 

Do you ever have one of those days where someone posts a picture of you and you think oh man. That is how I really look?! Today was one of those days for me.

 

 

In 2006, I was having a really horrible year.. until I met Vince that is. But shortly after meeting Vince, I got kidney stones. At the doctor, they told me I was too thin and needed to gain weight. Since then, I have been gaining and gaining and gaining and now I am at point where I weigh 60 more pounds then this photo right here:

 

(Christmas 2006).

 

When I looked at this picture, I started to think about how from 2006- April 2010, I barely ever worked out and I ate pretty unhealthy. And yet, that is the thinest I have been.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2007

 

 

 

Summer 2008

 

 

Christmas 2009

 

 

April 2010.

 

I did manage to lose some weight right before my wedding, just in the nick of time for bridal shots and wedding photos:

 

 



 

But that didn't last very long. Soon it was after the wedding and although I did start exercising, I just kept gaining weight. The pics below are from 2011, 2012 and 2013.



 

 



I feel like I notice my weight gain more lately and I KNOW I have only myself to blame. I guess when I was younger, I didn't put to much thought into my looks and thought I would be thin forever. I feel stronger now in my body but a lot more self-concious. I have small victories of losing some weight, only to fall off the wagon and give into my true love, hot wings.

 

I know that this is the only body I have and I need to take better care of it. I just need to make a change and actually stick to it.

 

I think I want there to be that magic pill of ta-da, instathin but really, more than thin, I would just like to be at a healthy weight. I have completed so many races at this weight and accomplished more as a "bigger" person than I ever did when I was thin. But I know my workouts and energy level would vastly improve with a healthier body weight.

 

I forgot what my orginal point of posting this was, but I think it has something to do with not wanting to give up on being healthier, even when I feel discouraged.

 

Thanks for reading!

Five Things Friday

1. I started swim class for school this week. We didn't have class Monday and Tuesday we didn't swim. So for this week, I only had swimming Wednesday and Thursday. Which is good because those workouts make me tired. Orginally on Wednesday he had me in the beginner lanes but by the end of class, he told me I needed to be in the advanced lanes and that I was pretty good. That made me feel better. However, Thursday I went running before class and was feeling intimated with being with the advanced swimmers. I choose to swim in the intermediate lanes but I don't know if that is the right decision. He told me I could be in the advanced, but I don't have the endurance they have and I don't want to get in the way. So for right now, I may stay in intermediate. Not sure yet.


2. Joyce Carol Oates. For my Independent Study last semester, I read her book Foxfire, which I had been meaning to read for years. I like her writing a lot although a lot of people say she is too depressing. Right now I am reading her book, The Falls. Pretty intense but good so far.

3. This summer I have run several times with my little sister Taylor. I am so happy to have her back in georgetown and be able to spend more time with her. This is a pic of us running at Brushy Creek last week.

4. Vince is still in Louisiana but I got to visit him for a day. We had a very relaxed visit of dinner and a movie and grocery shopping in the morning before I had to come back home. I miss him a lot but I am very proud of him. 

This is a pic he took of the Louisiana State University Observatory. He is going to run it for a little while next week at Astronomy Night. 

5. I miss races. Feels like forever since the last one. 

Some of my favorite running memories

Our first race- Red Poppy 5k- April 2010

 

April 2012

 

At San Gabriel Park in Georgetown, there is some art along the trail. I think this is really pretty.

 

 

July 2012

 

Pic from the first time we went to run group!

 

 

January 2013

While running in Brushy Creek, this cat was following me. Very cute.

 

July 2012

 

Trying to do a chin up after running at Brushy Creek

 

 

October 2011

 

After Run For the Water 10 miler

 

January 2011

 

Our first half marathon- 3m

 

At the end of my first marathon

 Feb. 2013.

( My official chip time was 6.45 because 12 more minutes is just so much slower lol).

 

 











1st of July-Trying to not give up or Just Keep Swimming!

So last week I ran one time. For 2.13 miles. Sigh.

Why?

I hadn't been feeling so great Monday and Tuesday.

So I went to the doctor and was put on a bunch of medicine and told I couldn't workout till I finished one of the medicines in particular. I finished taking that medicine Saturday so I suppose I could have worked out on Sunday. But I had a long drive from Baton Rouge to home by myself so I didn't. I got home at 11.30 last night and was exhausted.

As much as I am disappointed about my running lately, I do have to say that the good news is that in June this month I ran 5 miles more then last year so that is good.

Also, I can't change the past but I can improve for the future.

The next couple of months I have a lot going on:
I start my new swimming class next week. I will be swimming 4 times a week. I am a little nervous but very excited to improve my swimming skills.
I have one more Spanish class and that swimming class before I graduate.
After graduating, I have 2 weeks before grad school starts!
Grad School!
It's kind of unreal!

I also of course actually need to get on the marathon train and really apply some discipline and get my long runs in.

In my mind I feel too busy to plan out my workouts and get them done. But the reality is I see people that I respect and admire get stuff done and I think it boils down to time management.

In July this is what I would like to accomplish:
- not give myself a hard time if I miss a workout
- plan ahead so that it is unlikely for that to occur
- try my best with Spanish
- improve my swimming

If you know me, you know I don't like change. I am not good at adapting. But the thought of being able to go to graduate school is so amazing.It is nice to think that change can be good. In many ways I think training for a race is so much like studying. It is all about the end result- cross the finish line. I know I have taken the long slow way but I gotta believe I can do it. Finishing my first marathon was so unreal, I was just so proud of myself. I know graduating will feel the same.

On a separate note, I made a personalized marathon training plan for Vince for this next marathon. He is really hoping to hit 4 hours. His training plan is a lot more intense then the one we did last year and is a separate one from mine. I think it will help so I'll keep you update.

As far as my own training for the marathon, not falling and skinning my knee during my 20 mile run would be nice lol.

5 Things Thursday

1. Last week I had a really good workout week for me. I ran three times, did two swims, two weight workouts and a tiny core workout. This week, I have ran one time. That is all. And it is Thursday. :/

2. Next week I FINALLY get to see my husband. He is in Louisana for the summer working on astronomy research. I miss him horribly.

 

(the last known picture of me and my husband

@Chimes in Baton Rouge, LA)

 

 

3. On Saturday, I ran 8.23 miles at Brushy Creek.I was pretty happy with it as it is the longest run I have done this training cycle and also my longest run since the Marathon wayyyyy back in February.

During the run, I saw a couple walking their scottish terrier and I was pretty impressed as no way Eva could be out there that long!

 

 

 

4. Since Spanish started for summer school ( wow alliteration! say that 5 times!), I haven't finished one freaking book! I've been carrying Up the Down Staircase around in my backpack and it is just begging to be finished for the 3rd time. One of my most favorite books!

 

 

 

5. Throwback Thursday Workout: This time last year, this is the workout I did ( I need to do more hill repeats lately. Whenever I can get my butt up to go to Run Group, I can tell the hills are getting a lot harder).

 





Walk/Run Hill Repeats #2- Still Slow, but one more this time!

Still slow, but happy that I did an extra one this time and I took Eva along. She did pretty good for a dog with short, stubby legs, lol.
My knees have been acting up since sunday though. I hope they pull it together. 7 repeats of a .18 hill ( .09 up and .09 down):

 

 



5 Things Since Austin Marathon

I know I haven't done a blog in a while. Since January really, not counting my recap of the marathon the other day.

So here are 5 things that have been going on lately.


1. Tuesday I went for a run in Town Lake for the first time in forever. It was really nice to have a change of scenery. I have been in a running rut lately and I think I just need to run different places. That usually helps bring me out of it.

 

 

(Pics from my run today)

 

 

2. Last week I got accepted into grad school at Texas State for the Master of Literature program! I am really excited about it but I am really worried about Spanish. I have two Spanish classes and a PE class left to finish this summer to FINALLY get my Bachelor of Arts in English. Graduation is Aug 9th. I'll let you know if I make it!

 

 



 

 

3.  I am suppose to be on like week #7 of my training for my second marathon, San Antonio Rock N'Roll. I am not doing very good. I am behind and struggling this time in a way I wasn't before.

I'm not exactly sure what my problem is.

 

 

4. The nice thing about the Spring Semester being over is that I have more time to read books just for enjoyment lately. Although since Spanish class has started I have barely read. These are the books I have read this summer so far:

 

 

 

 

5. The next big race that I want to do is the Heels, Hills and Him Half Marathon in September. In 2010 and 2011, we did the 10k there. Vince even won 1st place in his age division (2011)! The course is not really hilly and I am hoping to finally break 3 hours on what would be my third half marathon. My first half was about 3:14:00 in Jan. 2011 and my second was like 3:07:00 in Nov. 2011. I think I have a decent shot of under 3 hours, but if not, a new shiny PR would be nice! :)

 

 



 ( Pics from the 2010 race)

 

 











Austin Marathon Training Recap- (Really Late I know)

20 Things I Learned While Training and Running  my First Marathon
(with photos sprinkled in!)

1. Join a run group! While I'm not as good about going lately as I was during the summer last year, every time I go, I enjoy it. The encouragement, advice and hard workouts really help a lot.

2. Most of the time, I really don't need to have gloves, jackets or a hat. My body gets hot at about mile 2 and then I just end up carrying a lot of stuff. So I have gotten a little better about overdressing for runs. Although I do like to wear pants when it gets cold as I notice my legs stay cold for a while. 

3. Get a Flu shot! Sheesh. I have never been more sick during training then this last two months. After getting  an upper respiratory infection, I followed that up with the flu. Then another upper respiratory infection. While the doctor said there wasn't much I could do about the infections, I really should have gotten the flu shot. But I learned my lesson!

4. I run the majority of my runs with music. Everyone once in a while I don't because I always worry I will get dependent on my music for racing and then what if something goes wrong and I can't listen to music? For the marathon, I brought my I-POD shuffle and my cell phone. To make a long boring story short, both of the batteries were running short and I only had music for miles 1-5 and 18-26.2. Not having music on hills was hard, but saving my music for the end was the right decision. I feel better knowing that I raced 13 miles without music so I won't have to worry if that happens again.

5. I really think it would have been a good idea to race some longer distances. During training we raced two 5k's and one 10k and that's it. We had planned to run a 30k race late January, but it just didn't happen. :( Next time I will try and plan better.

6. In a weird way it was kind of freeing to not have a time goal. I haven't raced a distance that I never did before since I did my first half marathon January 2011. At the time, I wasn't sure if I could even do 13 miles ( I hadn't run more than 11 miles during my training). During the marathon, I just wanted to make sure I finished before they closed the course ( 7 hours). I thought if I shot for 6:30, that would allow me plenty of time in case I hit the wall. Which I did. My first 13.1 was 11 minutes faster than my last. So really only trying to make sure I finished freed up a lot of pressure for me. Well, until that last mile when I was afraid I wasn't going to make it lol.

7. Keep up cross-training. It really helps combat soreness. I was pretty good about this at the beginning of training with swimming. But as I got busier and my runs got longer, I took more rest days and didn't really cross-train. I think that my body benefited more from that.

8. Get a lot of rest. I am happy to say that  marathon week I made getting rest a big priority. I  got 7-8 hours of sleep every night. I guess you could say I am responsible! :)

(Vince and me the day before at our shake-out run on Town Lake)

9. I really need a lot of water during my long runs. A lot. A lot. A lot. I'm glad I always bring water bottles as I have noticed that not all water fountains on the trails are always on. So I guess what I am saying is be prepared!

10. Speaking of be prepared, during long runs I try to bring one more gel then I really need. This ended up coming in handy when Vince was doing a 18 mile run and lost one of his gels. Jamie to the rescue! I gave him my extra gel and everything was A-ok.

11. Also, I really began to see how much I like to mix it up when I run. Although I have been running for about 3 years, I have never run as much as I have during training. I was at the point sometimes where if I ran San Gabriel Trail (which I do love) one more time, I was going to lose it. So I do like that in general we ran back and forth between San Gabriel and Brushy Creek for our long runs. We even did two long runs at Town Lake. During training, I ran in Del Rio, San Antonio, Old Settlers, Lake Pflugerville, indoor track, out door track, and around georgetown. Also the treadmill a couple of times. Yuck on that.

12. But speaking of running around georgetown, that is something else I really liked about run group. Before run group, I never really ran in downtown  or around the houses over there. I really like the change of scenery. So even in familar places I guess there's always a new area to discover.

( me and my dad after I crossed the finish line!)

13. And speaking of mixing it up, I have to mix up the gels, especially with the long runs. We usually alternate one caffeine gel with one non-caffeine gel. I say gel but about 70% of the time we end up using jelly belly sports beans cause they are a lot cheaper. At REI, if you buy 12 you get a 25% percent discount! 

14. I also discovered that I really like the Honey Stinger Bars for runs that are longer than 15 miles. This is a free endorsement and I am not being paid! Although if they want to pay me in Honey Stinger Bars (or cash), I would not object. 

15. However, I do not like lemon-lime gatorade. Unfortunately, a lot of long distance races seem to like using this. So for our longer runs closer to the race, we would drink that flavor to get our stomach used to how it would feel while we race. But if anyone is reading this and knows why this flavor, I am interested in knowing. I also would like to suggest the blue gatorade. That is all.

16. I waited too long to get new running shoes. This was due to procrastination, lack of planning and money. Next time, I will try to get my shoes sooner. This time, I got my shoes about 5 weeks before the race. So still a little bit of time to break them in, but my decision to run my first run in them as a 15 mile run I think, was probably not a good idea. I think that is part of the reason why my hips were hurting me.

( Right before crossing the finish line).

17. The cold weather really isn't that bad once you start running. I need to remember that because once it gets back to being hot as hades, I will regret cursing the cold. 

18. The mental aspect of doing long runs during training is so important. As much as we train for long runs to prepare our body physically to be able to do a marathon, mentally I think it's important to know that you can deal with being on the road for a longgggggggggggg time.

19. I think I hit the wall around mile 18 or 20. It was really bad for about a mile or two. I was feeling sorry for myself and started to cry and was in pain and everything. But I knew that around this time this would happen as I always hear people talk about it. So I guess my point is to be prepared for the rough patches.

20. Crowd support at marathons is amazing. I think for this reason alone I would find it difficult to endure a marathon that is small. When I was feeling down or tired, those funny signs, high fives and cheers really made me feel better.

( My medal!)

Monday Mumblings- Less than 3 weeks till the marathon!!

1. So the biggest news is that Friday I ran my longest run ever- my 20 mile run! Taper officially begins today, so it was a nice way to go out. At first I was kinda bummed because it took forever ( 5 and a half hours!)

But I did fall at about mile 6 and stuck it out.

It was pretty hot for January by the time I finished ( around 75 degrees). Still though, I RAN 20 MILES!!
Here are some pics from my run-

2. The first book from my Independent Study that I am reading right now is Betty Smith's
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It's almost 500 pages, so it is definitely a time commitment. But it is very engrossing and such a beautiful story. Read it!

3. We are racing in the Cupid's Chase 5k Saturday! I don't know what to hope for as far as time wise. I haven't been doing a lot of speed work and have been focusing on my endurance, so I am not really sure what to expect. But I did PR at this race last year, so I am really hoping to do alright. Still, I think it will be a nice change of pace from marathon training.

4. Right now I am in the midst of planning for our 3rd wedding anniversary trip! We got married during spring break because we are in school and I wanted to be able to do something without us missing class. I am really looking forward to it!

 

 



5. Taper is now here! I have been looking forward to it so much but it's weird now to think I have run my longest run until the marathon. I'm so nervous and excited and nervous and excited. Still kinda tired from my 20 mile run and that was 3 days ago. I can only imagine how I will feel following the race!

20 DAYS TILL MY FIRST MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!