Short races make me want to vomit and soooo close to a sub one hour 10K

Full race recap to come once they post the official times and some pics. But for now a few things:

* My body feels so damn good after running 6.2 miles this morning! My legs have that wonderful soreness. And most importantly - my foot doesn't hurt!

* Oh, it stings so much to come this close to a sub one hour time. 1:00:13 (unofficially right now). I shouldn't have stopped to take off my jacket. Why did I drop my ipod and not notice it right away? Why didn't I push more? Hindsight thoughts that will plague me until the day I do run a sub one hour 10K.

* Immediately after crossing the finish line, I felt like I had to vomit. That one was new.

* Cross-training works! I haven't run in two weeks, and even then it was a measley two miles. But I maintained my cardio fitness with all kinds of crap - elliptical, bike, Insanity, HIIT workouts. I was scared I wouldn't be able to run even one full mile without stopping. But I did it! Thank you, elliptical machine, even though I hate you with all my heart.

Rest

I've been doing pretty good with my New Year's resolution in listening to my body and not running when I'm hurt. I haven't run since Saturday and plan on taking one more week off. However, I do need to listen to my body more, and today, and yesterday, too, although I didn't listen then, it's telling me to rest. I feel tired and beat up. I might even take another rest day tomorrow. Two rest days in a row? Gasp!

I've been doing a lot of strength training and Insanity again. The other day, I even did over an hour of cardio - 30 minutes on the stairmaster (Holy shit, this apparatus is scary!), 10 on the ellipitical (before I got bored to tears), and 25 on the bike. (This workout had me ravenous and eating like a horse all day!) I've been doing a lot of doubles, two workouts in one day. And my body is feeling it. I'm trying to keep my fitness in prep for a 10K coming up next week.

But today, and tomorrow maybe, I shall rest. I'm sure my body will thank me for it.

Hooray for short-cuts!

After my New Year's Eve Half that left me with a swollen foot and a limp for a week, I wasn't sure I'd be able to tackle the Tinkerbell Half injury free. But I did!

The next day, however, when I set out to do an easy 3 mile shake out run, my right foot arch started hurting, so I stopped running after only 2 miles and figured I'd take a few days break from running to give it a rest.

That was five days ago. My original plan this morning was to go for an easy ten miler. However, I woke up and figured I should take it easy on my body and just do six. I felt awesome for the first mile, picking it up and running fast whenever the chorus of a song came on. And then after two miles, I felt that pain in my arch again. (This was right after a huge guy pulled over and got out of his car and asked me, "Why you runnin'?" It scared the shit out of me until he then asked if I saw a cocker spaniel.)

I really, really wanted to do at least three miles and kept running for a bit, until I told myself I was being stupid and made myself stop and turn around and head back home. I jogged for a little bit, then just made myself walk. It was such an internal struggle to not run. The thought of walking 2.5 miles back home was just not appealing, but it beats hurting my foot more. And then I saw the short-cut path that would lead me back to my house in about 15 minutes that I had completely forgotten about. Yay! Thank God for short-cuts!

I've got a 10K with a friend coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking I might just take a complete break from running until then. I wonder how that will turn out.

The Great Medal Debate

On a facebook page, I saw some people talking about a Tinkerbell Half race medal they found on ebay. Each poster said they would never give up their medal. They earned it, and it was quite important to them.

I went on over to ebay, did a search and found two Tinkerbell medals up for sale. One was at $76, the other at $167.50! The Tinkerbell medal is the nicest medal I have. It's huge, about 4 or 5 inches across and up and down, and has a Tinkerbell in the center that you can spin.

However, I have no attachment to it, or any of medals actually, except for maybe the first one I earned. I was actually planning on donating it and all my other half medals to Medals 4 Mettle, an organization that gives these medals to people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.

(Okay, after typing that out, I feel like I should stick with my original plan and just donate it.)

Anyway, I thought, "Shoot, for 70 bucks, I'll sell it!" I figured I could recoup some of my expenses that way. So I sent Martin a text letting him know what the going price was for my Tinkerbell medal. He replied, "No. You earned that." Which I think is the sweetest thing ever.

Most of my medals are hanging on my closet door knob. Some are scattered around the house, because my kids like to play with them. I'm pretty sure some are lost. However, it doesn't really bother me. Sure it's nice to get a medal when you finish a race. However, my joy comes from the experience itself, the training, running the race, that sense of accomplishment once I'm done. The medal is just gravy.

CHICAGO!!!!!!!!!

After the Nike Women's Marathon, I swore I would never do a big race again. However, I did Tinkerbell, which was about half the runners of Nike, but was still big nonetheless at around 11,000 or 12,000. And if you couldn't tell from my last post, I loved running Tinkerbell.

I met an awesome friend at the Nike Women's Marathon - my good friend, Lisa. I love this woman! Anyway, she posted something vague on facebook, and I asked her about it. She said she signed up for Chicago. I was so happy for her. Marathons are a big fuckin deal, and I had always heard good things about Chicago. Since Martin was sitting right next to me, I casually asked him if we could go. He gave a nonchalant "okay."

And so I signed up this morning!!!

I am so excited! Not just to get to visit Chicago again or run another marathon. I am actually most excited to see Lisa again.

Squeeeeaaaaallllllll!!!!

Tinkerbell Half - Race Recap

2:18:54 (Stopped multiple times to wait in line to take pics with characters.)

Steph and I left at 11:30 pm Friday night. We got to LA around 5 am, and she called the hotel and was able to get an early check-in time. Score! We got to the hotel a little before 6, napped for a few hours, then got breakfast and headed to the expo to pick up our bibs and Disneyland tickets. The expo didn't open until 10 am. Booooooo! That was two hours of Disneyland we would be missing. This 10 am expo opening was the only negative thing about this whole experience.

Bibs secured, Disneyland tickets in hand and we were off to go play. I never used to understand adults who went to Disneyland without kids. I always thought Disneyland was so boring. And then I had kids. Now I know that going ANYWHERE without kids is a joy.

 

Staying up all night during the drive and having only a few minutes sleep in the morning left us feeling pooped by 5 pm. So we split a fried chicken meal and carrot cake at Disneyland and called it a day and headed back to our hotel. We were asleep by 8 pm and up at 3:30 am to get ready.

4:30 am and Team Eat Our Pixie Dust was good to go. It was a bit cold, but not that bad as we made our way to the start. Everything was easy to find.

We were in Corral B.

Tons of people were in costume. It was all so cute. However, it kind of sucked being behind people wearing wings if you don't like your eyes being poked at.

The gun went off at 5:45 am. We were at the front of our corral, so we managed to cross the start in about 5 minutes.

It was pretty neat running through Disneyland, they had it all lit up. I wasn't worried about time. My aim was to have fun, so I gave Steph my garmin before the race because she wanted to beat her previous half time.

I saw Captain Hook and had to get a pic with him and that's when Steph and I split.

 

Sure I had to wait in a line, but come on, how often does one get this chance?

The neat thing about it was not only did they have the Brightroom photographer take your pic, they also had a Disney worker there to take a pic using your camera. How cool is that!

We ran the first few miles throughout Disneyland, then Downtown Disney and out into the streets of Anaheim. The crowd support was amazing! There were tons of families out there supporting their moms or family members, but it was so awesome because they also cheered for everyone. It made you feel like a rockstar. There was crowd support at the Nike Women's Marathon, but I got a whole different energy and vibe from Tinkerbell's crowd. This was actually fun.

There was also a lot of entertainment along the way - cheerleaders, the Red Hat ladies, Hawaiian dancers, an Army Band and tons more I can't remember. You didn't run very long without something to see.There was an aid station at almost every mile. The volunteers were great. It made me smile every time I heard, "Good job, Mary!" thanks in part to Disney putting your name on your bib.

I remember feeling super awesome at Mile 9, thinking that was when my wheels normally fall off. But I felt great, and for the first time in any of my races I was sad it was nearing the end because I was having so much fun. I decided that when I hit Mile 10 I would pick it up. There was a guy pacing me, so I speeded up just because I could.

In the middle of Mile 13, I had to stop. I guess racing that guy earlier took its toll on me. However, I walked only a few feet before I came across this:

I actually ran again to hurry up and get in the line for this picture.

It was just the break I needed to finish up the race.

Steph got her PR and I came in just two minutes after. I'd like to think that if I didn't stop and wait in line for pics, I could have PR'ed, too, since my time was just a few seconds off from my PR. But who knows. Maybe those stops re-energized me. All I know is that I had an amazing time, and I actually had fun during a race.

I felt so happy afterwards and had that runner's high. I felt like I could run another 13.1 miles. I thought all the hype about Disney races was just that - hype. But they really are amazing. They are well organized, you can't beat the crowd support and I was never bored during the whole race.

Oh, and Team Eat Our Pixie Dust came in 16 out of 154 teams!

I was worried about my left foot, but it felt perfectly fine this morning. I went for a shake out run at the gym, but then my right arch started hurting, so I stopped after 2 miles. Looks like it's time to give my body a few days break from running.

Handstand Attempt #4 - charging like a bull

With no Martin around to help me up, I had to try it solo today.

The first time I kind of made it up, my head charged into the door. Yeah, just like a bull. My wrists bent all wrong and I crashed down.

The second time I kind of made it up, somehow I hit the door with my lower left back first before falling on my head.

Today's attempt was a complete fail. And now I think I have a giant bruise on my back.

3 miles and no pain!

I did 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. After one one-miler and one two-miler where I needed to take breaks, I was curious as to how the 3 miler would pan out. I did it! Zero breaks! Incline set at 1.0 for the whole run, 11:00 mile pace for the first mile, 10:30 for the second and 10:00 for the third. I was so proud of myself... even when I saw the tall skinny girl on the treadmill over going at a 9:00 mile pace. What made me even happier was when I woke up this morning with no pain in my foot. Hooray!

My friend Steph and I are doing the Tinkerbell half in about a week and a half and I am a tad bit worried that I lost a lot of my fitness taking a running break for two weeks to let my foot rest. An, well, I'm running it for fun anyway.

Handstand Attempt #3

I still had to get Martin to lift my legs up, but I mananged to hold it for a few minutes, long enough for him to get his phone and take this pic.

Then when I went up again, I tried doing a handstand push-up. Negative. I think I managed to bend my elbows maybe a centimeter. I would assume it's the equivalent to shoulder pressing your body weight. Hm, pressing 130 pounds doesn't seem like a good idea.

Later on, I tried getting up all by myself. Once, I managed to get my legs all the way up. And then my wrists collapsed as soon as I got up and I fell on my head.

We shall try again later.

The wonders of being forced to use heavier weights

My hammies and shoulders are screaming today! I love it!!!

I went to the gym yesterday, but could not find any of the 7.5 lb, 10 lb or 12 lb dumbbells. I asked thses two girls if they were using all the dumbbells they had in front of them, and one told me I could use the 15 lb ones.

I only managed 10-12 reps instead of my usual 15 for a lot of the exercises But I am feeling that heavier weight today! I am so sore. It makes me happy. It lets me know I pushed myself and am getting stronger. The only way to progress is to step out of your comfort zone. 15 lb dumbbells for me from now on!

Handstand Attempt #2, and I ran!

I tried without success again yesterday to kick myself up to a handstand position against the wall. I think my biggest fear is actually making it up and then falling on my head and breaking my neck.

Anyway, when Martin came up I asked him to help me again. And again, I screamed like a baby when I was upside down. My second attempt was better and I actually held it for a few seconds before screaming for help. Martin tried it, too. I had to help him up. It wasn't that hard getting his legs up and he only kicked me in the throat once.

I haven't run since December 31st, 13 days ago. At the gym, I did 10 minutes on the elliptical, an hour of weights, 10 more minutes on the elliptical (planned on 20, but I got super bored), then headed to the treadmills to do one mile. I started out at a super-duper slow 5.0, took a minute break every quarter mile and upped the speed a teensy bit so I ended at a 5.8, which left me super winded, and sad since once upon a time it was my easy speed.

My fingers are crossed that my foot will feel perfectly fine tomorrow morning.

Handstand - Attempt #1

One of my New Year's resolutions (which I have yet to write down here, oops) is to be able to do a handstand.

My first attempt was actually a couple of days ago. I googled on how to get started and found that you use a wall to stabalize yourself. You face the wall, place your hands about a foot in front of it, kick up with one leg, follow through with the other, and have both feet rest against the wall for balance. Sounds simple, right?

Well, I found a nice wall in my house, door actually, that had an abundant amount of free space around it in case I go crashing down. I put my hands down, and kicked up with my left leg and tried following through with my right. Hahahahaha! I could not get anywhere close to the wall. WTH! Do I need super human strength for this? Perhaps it is because I carry all my weight in my bottom half?

After many failed attempts, laughing like a maniac while feeling like the biggest heaviest weakling, my husband took pity on me and volunteered to bring my legs up.

OMG! Yeah, I got no where close to the wall with any of my attempts, because he brought my legs up and just kept on going and going. The wall felt so far away. I felt super disoriented and could feel my shoulders giving out. I had no idea of time and space and how to steady myself. After screaming for him to lower me down, he graciously did so, and all was right with the world again.

Attempt #2 in 3... 2... 1...

5 minute plank!!!

I did it! I just did it! I held the plank position for a full 5 minutes!!! 5 freakin' minutes!!!

I was shaking like crazy towards the end, but I did it!!!

No more limping!

Today is the first time this year I've been able to walk without a limp. Hooray! I still feel a slight pain in my foot, but I'm no longer limping or having to walk super slow.

I'm already getting bored with my limited exercising. I tried doing P90X's Yoga last night, but couldn't make it past 15 minutes. It was just soooooooooooo boring. So I did my own thing.

Hammie exercise with oblique twist - 8 lb ball - 3 sets of 15 each side
Push-ups with legs on stability ball - 3 sets of 15
Planks - 3 sets (1st set 3 minutes, 2nd and 3rd 2 minutes each)
Side planks with leg lifts - 3 sets of 15 each side
Crunches on stability ball - 8 lb ball above head - 3 sets of 15
Rotator cuff exercise - 9 lb dumbbell - 2 sets of 8, 1 set of 10

I felt really good when I was done. I did most of it while watching I am Legend and Tomb Raider. The bods on Will Smith and Angelina Jolie were plenty to inspire me.

Oh, just a calcaneal spur... and a spur by my ankle... and a spur by my achilles tendon...

Spurs are little growths on the bone. It's basically my body saying, "WTF! You're doing too much. I'm going to grow these little suckers because you're hurting me."

And they don't go away. My doc told me to rest for a week or two, and then to build back up gradually. If the pain doesn't go away, then she'll refer me back to the podiatrist.

So I haven't run this year yet. I feel a bit antsy, but I'm actually not feeling too bad. I've been doing P90X, Shoulders and Arms on Monday, Chest and Back last night, and some pilates on Tuesday. I just really feel this need to get some intense cardio in somewhere.

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. Looking at all these fit bodies I have pinned on my board inspires me to do better and not eat too crappy. Oh, I still eat crappy. Just not 24/7. Maybe 20/7. :)

Starting the year with a DNS

Did Not Start.

I had registered for back-to-back halfs, one on New Year's Eve and the other on New Year's Day. And then I won tickets to my favorite band's concert.

I did the New Year's Eve half and finished with a 2:47. That was hard! It was my first trail half and the hills were killer! My left foot started hurting last week and the pain has been off and on. It didn't hurt the morning of this race. But it sure as hell did about 5 miles in. It stopped hurting later in the day though.

And then we went to the concert in Napa. I also won tickets to the sound check party and the meet and greet, but we couldn't make it to that because of baby-sitting issues. Totally bummed about that. But I still had the best time at the concert. Thanks in part to five beers. Yeah. We didn't get home until about 3 am, where I kicked off my boots and passed out in bed.

I already knew there was no way in hell I'd be able to do the New Year's Day half. It was the same trail course, just running in the opposite direction. I'd like to blame my foot. However, it really was due to my drinking. So hungover this morning.

So, to sum up - hungover, DNS and a jacked up foot. Great way to start the new year. Haha.