1) I painted my living room this week. Well, my husband and I split the work. While we were renting the house, our last tenant painted the living and the entry and deep red and I hated it. 1st of all, red is so typical out here. 2nd, it was way too dark and made the living room feel really small.
From red to yellow
After we finished painting the wall, I began my own little project. I started painting all my frames that were at one time white, then green, and are now purple. I laid them all out on the floor and made a pretty kick ass photo collage. That part was all me. Brad helped paint and hang, like 5 frames and that's it. I love it so much, I'm just going to sit in this chair and stair at it all day.
Now all I have to do is figure out which photos I want to fill the frames with. Lots of mountain pics, that's for sure!
2) I ran 3.15 miles yesterday. I've been feeling really great lately when I run. My stride feels natural, and I'm not tiring as quickley. Also, I used our new Timex GPS watch for the first time. I guess it worked well. It took me a while to figure out what each set of numbers was telling me but I think that's just because I'm a first time GPS user. It seems to pick up the signal just fine, and it does all the things that a GPS watch is suppose to do without any added bells and whistles. I don't really know what else to say about it since I've never owned any other brand. It's the Timex Marathon GPS and it's $99 brand new. I took a pic of it at the Expo last week. We paid $86 after taxes because of a special they were running just for the Expo. I'll give R&R one point for that nice little deal.
3) I haven't posted any pictures of what I look like pregnant so far. "This is how I roll, animal print pants out control"
After our group run last Saturday
4) My husband sure is bitching a lot right now (like, litteraly as I type) about how I'm blogging instead of dusting. Funny considering the recycling is still in the cabinet when I asked for it to be taken out 3 days ago. Damn straight! I lay down the law in this house (he doesn't read my blog)!
5) Have you seen the newest post apocalypric horror film? Whether you lean right or left, you have to be annoyed and humored by political scare tactics. This one makes me laugh really hard.
First I'll start off with the positive stuff. My husband did a fantastic job in his first half marathon, finishing in 2:23! That's 4 minutes faster than my first half. Also, I do believe the kids and I did a kick ass job spectating.
The course is in the shape of a horse shoe with the start and end in different locations. First we hung out at mile 5 until Brad finally came by.
He was looking and feeling really good at this point. His shirt is wet from some water he poured over his head. It got pretty hot as soon as the sun came up.
After cheering on a ton of people at mile 5, the kids and I jumped in the car and headed across the horse shoe to mile 10.
He said he was struggling a little at this point. I can imagine. I was getting hot just standing around with a sign. Must have been really hot running, but he still had a smile on his face.
We left mile 10 and made our way to the finish line in Fair Park. This is where shit went sour. Or at least for me as a spectator it did. Navigating to Fair Park around the race course was difficult, but expected and I made it with relative ease. As you read this next part you might think I'm over reacting, being dramatic, or that I'm just an out right bitch. You could be right. I don't know.
Anyway, I pull up to the parking lot in Fair Park and what does the sign say?... $10 to park. $10 to park!!!! I rarely have cash on me so I asked if they took credit cards. Of course they didn't. The attendant rudely asked me to make a U turn and find an ATM. Thanks for the help, C U Next Tuesday! I went and found an ATM, reluctantly pulled out $20 and entered the parking area. Once I was in there I had no idea where to go. Brad called me almost right After I parked. He had already finished and been through the corral. I never even went into the post race area. It took over half an hour of the two of describing land marks, and me navigating the chaotic, huge parking lot before we found each other. He jumped in the car, ready to get the hell out of there, and we left. The first place I parked was over a quarter mile from the narrow gate where all the runners and spectators were being funneled out and there were no signs for any of it. Had Brad not called, I could have walked the entire perimeter of the park with kids in tow. And I paid 10 bucks for that shit!
I know it sounds ridiculous that $10 could ruin me forever on Rock And Roll races, but it did. The Cowtown Marathon didn't cost as much as this half. I didn't have to pay for parking at the expo and it was totally feasible to find a free space close to the finish line... AND I got a finisher shirt. R&R races have crazy entrance fees and if you want a finisher shirt you can absolutely have one... for $35. I just feel like they gouge for money at every possible opportunity. The parking thing could very possibly be a city of Dallas thing. If so, maybe R&R needs to move over to Fort Worth. Either way, that one inconvenience ruined me on their races. Of course I blasted my complaint all over their facebook wall. All beware when I go into super bitch mode.
1) This post is being done completely from my phone in the backseat of a van between my two kids who are going a little nuts. I keep hoping for my son to pass out. How is still going?! So don't expect good grammar or spelling. Also, the following pictures may or may not be in the in order for which they are discussed.
2) We had our sonogram yesterday! We're having a.... we don't know because we never find out! I don't open my gifts before Christmas! In the terrible pic below, look for the two dark circles that are eye sockets. Think "dia de los muerta" art and you'll see my kid's face.
3) My husband made tamales and they are delicious. Too bad he's giving them all away to our running group tomorrow. Sucks to be me.
4) We just got back from the R&R Dallas expo. I hate navigating and parking in downtown. We got an excellent deal on an Ifitness belt for Brad (he's running, I'm just cheering). $22 for the one with 6 gu loops and a pouch. Then we stumbled upon the deal of the year. I stopped over at the Timex booth just to look at all the pretty colors. The lady showed us their newest GPS watch that they aren't yet selling in stores. It retails for, wait for it... $99! They were running a special just for the expo and after tax we snagged that sweet watch for 86 bucks! It's no thicker than my current timex so it fits the female wrist very well. Brad will using it way more than me for a while but I can't to give you a good review! Have you ever seen a gps watch for under 100 brand new?!
5) Wish Brad luck in his very first half marathon on Sunday! I'm already a little pissed because his t-shirt is so much better than what I got last year.
This one won't be like my other "where I've been" posts that I used to do a long time ago.
I DID go somewhere though. Last week I went to Robber's Cave state park just outside of McKallister (I don't know how to spell it) Oklahoma. However I did not take a camera. So, sorry about that. The kids and I camped in tent beside my dad's horse trailer/camper and my step sis and her family stayed in a cabin across the park. We were in the equestrian campground so it did smell like horses and manure but I grew up with those smells and they really don't bother me. I did a short trail run (only about 20 minutes) on the equestrian trails on Thursday. My daughter peed or crapped her pants every single day of the trip. Seriously. It's embarrassing to even mention it. She is nearly 5 years old and this should not be happening. It all boils down to laziness and apathy. I also think it's partly my fault as a parent for never having taught her how to squat. Perhaps the distance to the community restroom was just too daunting. Other than that, the park is really beautiful. There are more than 50 miles of trails, then there are lakes, streams, cliffs, and of course the caves to climb around in. It got it's name from when bank robbers would come to the area and hide out.
Running wise things have been grand. I had a great group run on Saturday and acquired one new guy! I'm excited about this guy because he and his wife will both be running with us and they have 3 kids almost exactly the age of my kids. I have to stop myself from being creepy even though I think we're destined to be BFF's and have game nights together (just kidding... maybe)!
I went on two runs yesterday. One was Alaurie's second mile in her kid's marathon training and it was 1 minute faster than her previous mile even though we had to stop and wait on her whiny little brother (who was on a bike). After that I did my own 2 3/4 mile run in Vibrams. It's been so long since I have run in them. The belly has created this outward pendulum effect that has been throwing off my stride and running in the Vibrams helped me figure it out again. I won't be doing that very much though. My feet aren't accustom to it anymore.
The gut is definitely getting out there and I have quite a bit of light kicking going on inside. Right now I'm guessing "it's" a boy. That's only because both of my kids continually say that they are having a little brother and haven't wavered on it in months. I think they have a 6th sense. I'm still in my regular jeans, which I see as a good sign that I'm getting fat slowly, but they are way down around my hips giving me a saggy ass. My goal for this pregnancy is to not go over 180lbs. With my first I gained 60lbs and my final weigh in was 204lbs ("that's one huge bitch!" -Duce Bigelow). With my second I made a goal to not hit 200. Final weigh in... 199lbs! Success! I think it's hilarious how fat I got with my first two. Fact: I ate shitty, bad for you food. Fact: I ate a whole lot of shitty, bad for you food. Fact: I thought I was a model of smoke'n maternity hotness in my first pregnancy. Fact: I could push in on my ankles like a memory foam mattress.
The day before Alaurie was born, 4/30/07
Notice there is no jaw line in the above photograph taken by my good friend Shanon. Forever proof of my immense weight gain. Thanks!
A little more than 4 years later
I have my jaw back!!!
I figure it will be pretty smooth sailing if I can start out 20lbs lighter than in the past. Just gotta keep it under control.
1) My son shit his pants 3 times this week. He IS potty trained. Has been for months. I don't know what his effing deal is this week. Oh, and then he peed on my bed. Oh, and our washing machine is broken because somehow a pair of fingernail clippers were shoved past the rubber guard and made their way into the drainage pump. So yeah... shit, piss and no way to wash it all. It's been a great week (<sarcastic font).
2) The running group has been growing the past couple of weeks with all the great weather we're having. This weekend, however, will not be very pretty so we'll see who shows up.
3) I want a margarita.
4) I finished all the Hunger Games books. They were wonderful and now I'm sad that it's over.
5) I want a bottle of wine. Not a glass. I could drink a glass if I wanted to, but no. I want an entire bottle. After the shit filled week I've had, I just want to blow through an entire bottle of 2 Buck Chuck and watch the room spin.
1) In case you missed it, I put up the Cowtown race recap. If you want to check it out, just got to the bottom of this page and click "older post". Link to it? Why should I have to work any harder?
2) Today is Texas independence day! I'm a lousy Texan because I didn't know this until I saw it on Facebook and on Cely's blog.
3) I started reading the Hunger Games series and it has 100% taken over my mind. I like it. It's been a long time since a book sucked me in like this. I planned on starting the second book last night. However that didn't work out. While at Wal-Mart, I picked up a second copy of the first book which I've already read. It had a different cover which I guess is what confused me. I'm smart. And now I have no idea what's happening with Peeta and Katniss and it's driving me crazy. Crazy!!!
The first book I got
Second book I got (It has fire on it! I was close, right?!)
Book I should have got
4) I'm friends with Carolina John on facebook and his status update said this "Flopped around like a catfish having a stroke out there tonight. But, it still felt good to get wet." TWSS of the week. I left out a full sentence that explains what he was talking about, but I like it better this way.
5) I can't remember if I mentioned it in my race report, but not one person yelled for Hugh Jass at the marathon. One guy looked at my shirt, confused, and said "Much Jazz?" Come on man! Put your glasses on!
I'll try to be organized with my thought, but I can't promise anything.
Let's start from the beginning, how I ended up running a marathon pregnant. I'm a little self conscious about it because I know that there are people who think what I did could be reckless and irresponsible. I ran Chicago in October and my dad ran White Rock (Dallas) in December, both of us coming just shy of our sub 5 hour goals. So for Christmas he surprised me with the registration for Cowtown two months away. I opened a box with my registration confirmation and a tech shirt that says "Training for Cowtown 2012". Only moments after that, my dad and step mom opened a card from me saying "Surprise! You're getting a 6th grandchild!". Double whammy! My training wasn't hard core. Just a couple short runs during the week and some long, slow, unimpressive long runs on the weekends. I basically maintained my base, still left over from Chicago and The New Years Double, but nothing more. Everything felt fine in terms of pregnancy. The only issues I had through training were within my head. Motivation is hard when you're not gunning for a specific goal.
Coming up to race day I was getting nervous. I thought a couple of times about dropping down to the half, but then I reminded myself that everything has felt just fine. No matter how great I felt I was not going to be aggressive, and I already completed one marathon on zero training (eh-hem, Chicago 2010). Pregnant or not, I was in a far better place with conditioning than I was back then. And if I didn't feel right, or just couldn't take anymore, I had no reservations about taking my first DNF. Everyone has to get one at some point, right?
On Saturday I was feeling surprisingly optimistic. I had my mind right. A new Ifitness belt from the expo didn't hurt either. I had also purchased a new pair of shoes a few weeks earlier that have more padding than my Minimus. For some reason my feet hadn't been holding up as well as they had in the past.
Finally it was race day! I had some cereal, a banana, a muffin, and some coffee in the hotel lobby. I decided on capris with my Hugh Jass shirt and some cut off tube socks for arm warmers. I HATE to be cold and the temps were probably warm enough for shorts, but like I said, I hate cold.
Dad, me, Johnsa, and Matt at the start
I used the port-a-potty before the start. My dad was still going for his sub 5 and I was definitely not. We wanted to get a picture together in the stock yards where my step mom would be and we thought we worked out a brilliant plan for it. Dad had me move up a corral so that I could have a head start. I was doing a 4/1min run/walk and on my first walk break I hear dad saying "well, that didn't work out" as he was passing me. Fail. I could have held his pace for 6 miles, the distance to the stock yards, but I wan't taking any chances on bonking at the end.
I was feeling really good, taking my time, but I did feel like I needed the port-a-potty again. I passed the first with a long line, the second, and then the third set. Finally I had to stop at the fourth set somewhere around 5 1/2 miles. The line was still really long and when the door in front of me opened up, there was a chocolate rage doll laid up on the back of that port-a-potty seat! How shitty is that (<pun)?! I turned it down and some dude went in. The very next door to open up I zipped in. Then I took a minute to stretch and I was back on the road. Can you tell I'm in a huge hurry? (sarcasm)
The Stockyards were really cool, and honestly can't say that I've ever been there before. Maybe when I was a little kid? After the Stockyards, you curve around and head up Main St straight toward the County Courthouse. It's a really long bridge, uphill all the way. I was really proud of myself at this point. All these people who spend all their time training on the flat roads of Texas (which I guess is me again now) stopped to walk up this hill. I must have passed 30 people on this stretch. Hill? What hill? I've been running around North Carolina for 2 1/2 years. I kept telling myself "it's not half as bad as Mallard Creek Rd" a road that was on my regular long run route in Charlotte.
Jazz hands in the stockyards
crappy internet picture
We went through the big buildings in downtown for a bit where the half marathoners split off. I always hate losing the halfers. It gets so quiet and lonely. After we left the halfers we hit the neighborhoods which only added to the quiet and boredom. There were very few spectators and other runners were either way behind me or way in front of me. Brad had called and said he would be waiting at mile 13 with the kids so I had that to look forward to.
Somewhere in a neighborhood or something
Seeing Brad and kids perked me up a bit. I stopped to give hugs and chat, then I was back on the road. Oh, and I forgot to mention I had another port-a-potty stop somewhere around 10 or 11.
There may not have been a ton of spectators out, but the ones that were there were really good ones. Everyone was giving out stuff to eat and drink, and I was partaking in all of it. Between 13 and 19 I had an orange, some liquorish (<sucky speller), and a bite sized snickers. A little after I saw the fam I started losing motivation again (see how easy it happens). I hadn't seen a mile marker since 13 and had no idea how far I had gone. Finally a marker popped up and I was pleasantly surprised to see the number 16 on it. I was thinking I had only made it to 15! Motivation back!
At mile 19 we left the neighborhoods for just a bit and went into a really pretty park. I don't mind being lonely so long as I have something nice to look at. Then at 20 we were back in the neighborhoods and I felt the urge to pee. I felt like I had to pee most of the race and that's the only pregnancy "problem" that I've had when running. This time it was bad and I couldn't ignore it. I was praying for a port-a-potty at every turn. I walked almost all of miles 20 and 21 until I finally found the pisser at the mile 21 aid station. Also, I grabbed a couple more GU's and Snickers that were being handed out by spectators close to the aid station. More GU, and an empty bladder. I was back in!
At mile 22 there were some folks handing out little shots of beer. Like I said, I was taking advantage of everything being offered on the course.
Brad and the kids were waiting for me again at mile 23 and ran almost the rest of the way with me. My legs were getting really tight as they typically do toward the end. Every time I picked up my run interval, I repeated "good form" to myself. It's when you get sloppy with your form under fatigue that it starts to hurt.
Look at all that effort!
I hit a huge wall at mile 24. Just past the 24 mile marker you can see the road to the finishing chute. However you don't get to go that way. You still have to complete the mile long loop in the park and you can see the entire thing. It's demoralizing. I guess when I get use to running in Texas again, maybe seeing all my miles laid out in front of me wont bother me so much, but right now I hate it. In Charlotte, your course in concealed by tall trees and rolling hills. Brad did his best to keep my mind right. I was going so slow though, we let my daughter out to run beside me. She loved that.
Again, look at all that effort! Had I known I was being filmed, I would have given the impression of effort.
My finish time was 6:06 and despite everything, I actually felt really good all the way through this race. Taking it slow and easy was the right way to go. I even recovered faster than I ever have before. Sunday I was doing the waddle. Monday I was feeling a little sore and by Tuesday there was nothing. I took an ice bath and used my stick on Sunday evening. I don't know if that is what did the trick.
Some other honorable mentions of the weekend are:
My husband, Brad, who ran the 10k on Saturday. He got there late (of course) and ran straight out of the car across the start line. He finished in 1:06. I thought that was a very impressive time for his first ever race.
And deer ole Dad smashed his previous PR of 5:06 and got that sub 5 with a 4:49! He says he's done with marathons... unless I beat that time. Guess this mean I'll be shooting for a 4:30 when I get this baby out.
Look! He's wearing a Charlotte shirt!
My two step brother's in law ran the half marathon and rudely broke me and dad's 2:11 PR. Matt came in at 2:07 and Johnsa came in at 2:06
Also I receive my very own honorable mention for awesome race photobomb!
The race in general
I think the course is a nice one. I'm really picky about scenery, so I didn't like being in the neighborhoods so much, but you also go through the historic Stockyards, downtown, and some nice parks.
The medals are nice. If you run the race multiple years, the medals come together and make a star. AND they give out finisher shirts. I love getting a bonus shirt for finishing! They had two different ones for men and women. I gotta say, I like the men's shirt better. Who doesn't love black?
The finish corral was sub par in my opinion. After I crossed the finish line, I had to seek out the teenagers who were handing out the medals. Usually they are right there putting it around your neck before you even realize what you've just done. Also, the snacks and finisher shirts were inside the convention center and it wasn't well marked. I had met up with Brad and gone to sit down. We were about to leave when my dad called me back and asked if I had gotten my shirt and snacks. He had to explain to me where it was. It should be more clear.
I think I would do this race again. Maybe next time I'll make it an Ultra! I know it can get really cold this time of year, but the weather this past weekend was the best I've experienced in 4 marathons. It was perfect. Sunny, 70 degrees, a little windy but that's Texas.
It was a great race that I'm so proud to have finished, but now I'm looking forward to relaxation. Some short runs during the week, maybe some nice trail running here and there, and nothing more than 6-8 miles if I do get the urge to do a long run.
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