Stroller Group Run...Feels So Good To Be Back!

Sure it may have been a slower, easy run, but man did it feel good to get back out there with the stroller group today!

3 easy miles, well as easy as pushing a 3 yr old in a stroller can be, in the warm rain, with a Stroller Mom I adore was just what I needed!

While I'm still dealing with some upper back issues, there was no pain while running, and I actually had a better adjustment today with the Chiro.  The back is still pretty stuck and not wanting to move, but it was better.  It's a work in progress I guess. (P.S. Dad - he asked when you will work on me again...he says he needs you to work on me! :)  He also says that you have educated me very well and helped me develop the ability to breath through the pain of the treatment to get to the fix.)

I'll run again this weekend sometime, life is crazy busy the next 4 days, so it will take some juggling to get away for a quick run, but I'm excited to get 4 or 5 easy, flat miles in, and see how it goes.  Honestly it's just nice to be running without a pace/PR goal hanging over my head.  I'm so proud of what I did, but that was a lot of pressure I put on myself and was obviously physically taxing on my body.

Running for fun and just because I really want to is what I need right now!

When not running I'm really trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer/early fall/life before pre-school schedule starts.  Sky and I are soaking up all the sun, enjoying the last few days of rain we have had, and are doing lot's of pilates and dance partying.

 She's wasn't being sassy at all in this pic.  ;-)

 Climbing on absolutely everything!

 

 She loves doing my pilates workouts with me! 

I loved the mind part of the workout for today.  We got to make a liberating list of things we don't do, and just let it go.  Don't feel bad about it, don't feel the need to change it or work on it...just let those things go. Focus on making room for the things that make us happy and bring fulfillment.  No comparing to others...no guilt.

I love it!  If you are wondering what the #mindbodymat 28 day challenge is check it out over at The Balanced Life !

---------------

Fill in the blank: I don't_____________________

Finally Feel Ready To Run!!!

While the last week or so, since the race, have not been fun with all the back pain, the one really great thing to come out of it is forced rest.

I'm not great at giving my body the down time it needs, especially when I have back to back races.  I must have really needed the break though because I had my first DNS (Did Not Start) this past weekend, and I didn't even care.

Thank's to my new chiropractor though I'm feeling so much better.  Still have some things to work out, but I finally feel like I want to run, even if only for a mile.  Still forcing myself to wait until the Stroller Group on Wednesday though...just want to give myself as much time as possible, so that when I do start up again I'm don't reactivate anything.

Sky must be ready to run as well because she keeps asking, "Mommy we go run, run".  I love her little runner heart!

In the meantime I'm enjoying lots of time with the family, hanging out with friends, plotting and planning races for next year, having a potty trained tot, and hitting up a lot of awesome garage sales over the weekend.

Steilacoom, the little town next to us, has a city wide garage sale day every year, and every year we end up finding exactly what we need/want!  First year it was a new vacuum, last year it was high quality pots and pans, and this year there was only one thing I wanted, an electric griddle, and we found one!

I cam home that night and used it to get the tortillas ready for dinner, and used it again the next day for lunch. I can tell I'm going to get my moneys worth out of it, especially since it was a great price and brand new!

Sky scored big time as well...

It worked out perfectly because the first sale we stopped at she found the wings and tutu, so after that she thought every single house was going to have more of the same.  She was all about walking to the next one and pawing through stuff looking for more tutu's and princes dresses, which she found!

Hours of garage sales in the sun, play time at the park, and 2 tutu's, 1 set of wings, two princess dresses, 1 pair of jeans, and 1 summer dress later she was worn out!  But, not too tired to maintain a death grip on her treasures!

-----------------

How do you stay active when taking a break from running? 

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm Thankful For Today:

-A new to me Chiro that worked me into his busy schedule yesterday as a new patient.  Short story is my psoas was so fired up from the race (where it attaches at the top by the ribs) that it felt like my ribs were crushing my lungs.  I couldn't breath, couldn't lay on my stomach or back, it was making my stomach hurt, and basically every move made me gasp.  I thought my back was out...but turns out it wasn't my back at all..."just" the psoas.  Started on Monday, and finally this morning started feeling better.  I go back tomorrow for more care, but man does it feel good to be able to breath again.

-A full night of sleep last night!

-For Tylenol with codeine and muscle relaxers in it...thank you Canada!

  

-That Ice Cream at 7:55 am works as incentive to go potty!

She is going to hate me someday.  :/

-That potty training is going so well.  Princess dresses, ice cream, $1 Store presents, and playing on the Nabi while waiting for things to happen have all made it happen!  

-A look at her serious side.  She posses, asks for a pic and then gives me the most serious of serious looks she can manage.

-For catching this moment of self admiration.  She stood there for a long time looking at herself, smiling, and saying "I'm so beautiful".  I wish adults were able to do the same for themselves.  

-Race bling...it makes me happy, especially this one!

-Silly picture time with my favorite munchkin in the whole world!  She makes my heart happy even when my back (or rather my psoas) is killing me!  

-For Movie time.  Even though I feel a million times better today I'm still sore, and really tired from several nights of little to no sleep.  3:30 pm and I need a break!  

------------------

What are you thankful for today?

Sky Pics and Recovery

It's not all running all the time around here.  Actually for a runner that blogs, there is way more family life going on than running!  I actually probably more of a blogger that runs than the other way around.  

Anyway once the weekend race was over it was time to shift focus on the last hurdle to Sky starting pre-school...

I felt kind of the same way.  Getting up and down off the bathroom floor the day after a PR race...not fun!

She's doing really well,  Very few accident and lots of time spent in the bathroom, thinking about the bathroom, and reminding her to go to the bathroom.  Some hits, some misses, but at least I'm confident she will start pre-school potty trained!

We have taken some time out for fun as well!

Movie time with Grandpa.  

 Playing and posing outside.

I don't know what her deal was in these photos.  She posed, asked me to take her picture, and then refused to smile, not even a hint of a smile.  It's ok though...I kind of love seeing this side of her.  

The timing has been perfect actually.  My legs are still pretty shot from race day, so sticking close to home and spending lot's of time sitting on the bathroom floor to keep her company is working out well for me!  

Tomorrow we venture out into the real world for the Stroller Group Track Day...keep your fingers crossed there are no accidents!  

Tacoma Narrows Half Race Re-Cap

I almost don't even know what to say.  Let's start with I DID IT!!!!  I started, I finished, and I have an awesome new Half PR of 2:09:28...10 minutes faster than my old PR!  

Finally able to smile and enjoy the accomplishment!

The reality is though this is what the finish line really looked like for me...

The woman in the light blue shirt just behind me...remember her, she's important!  

 Collin keeping me on my feet...I was not feeling well at all.

 Emotional fall-out!  Could not stop crying.

I was a little lost as to what my specific goal should be, and what pace I'd actually be able to do since I missed so much training with the knee issue.  After my 12 miler though it looked like something between 2:00 and 2:10 would be a good goal to shoot for.  So, I lined up right behind the 2:10 pacer and we took off. 

 

I felt really strong at the start and passed up the pacer pretty quickly, my plan at that point was to keep 2:10 behind me clear to the finish.  By mile 3 I was with the 2:00 pace group and it felt good...I didn't feel like I was running faster than I should have been (I did freak out a little in my head though...who did I think I was running with the 2:00 group?!).  Even though I ran with my GPS I didn't look at it once.  I have a bad habit of looking at the watch and getting stressed if I'm too slow, and slowing myself down if I think I'm going faster than I'm capable of.  I'm pretty even paced naturally (according to running buddies) so I decided to just go with what felt good.  (After looking at my splits for each mile I was running a pace that is good for me from the start.  I thought maybe I started too fast, but I really didn't).  

I felt pretty great the first 6 to 7 miles.  I was getting too hot though and kept having to take my hat off and let the breeze cool me off, then I'd put it back on.  I thought about ditching it, but it's Mark's hat, plus my hair was a mess and even though I was getting way too hot I didn't want my finish line photos to be with messy, sweaty, hat hair.  Stupid I know.  

Mile 9 I saw Dad for the last time before the finish and by then I was fighting to keep calm.  I was starting to feel sick from the heat, the only thing that wasn't bothering my tummy was water, and my legs felt like bricks. It was a struggle at that point to keep going.  I almost started crying when I saw him, but managed to hold it together and after a short walk break with him/trying to get some electrolytes I took off again because the 2:10 pacer was right behind me.  Dad had my hand held water bottle, so I took it with me and figured maybe drinking water more often than the aid stations would help, but by that point in the race I was already in trouble, and the water bottle was so heavy my arms just couldn't do it.  I ended up ditching it at the 10 mile marker.  

By this point it was a cat and mouse game with the 2:10 pacer.  I had to walk a few times to keep from vomiting and every time the pacer was catching me just as my tummy calmed down enough for me to run again.  I'll tell you that last 3.1 was the longest 5k of my life, and the last mile I was pulling out every trick I could mentally to keep going.  But, with about .6 to go one of my legs locked and I almost fell.  I wanted to stop so bad but managed to stay on me feet and keep going, constantly looking over my shoulder for the pacer, she was so close! 

That's when the lady in the blue shirt saved me!  As she was passing me she looked back at me, reached out her hand and said "Come with me, we will finish together, I'll get you to the finish".  She must have seen the panic on my face, I was so close to the finish and so close to loosing it all.  So I ran with her.  She talked to me the whole time and was so encouraging!  As soon as I could see the opening to the shoot I told her to go ahead and go (she still had a finishing sprint in her legs...I did not) and she asked if I was sure.  She wouldn't leave until I promised her I was going to make it and not stop.

I'm glad Dad got that picture of me double over with her in it, because I was out of it, my vision was flashing black and I was dizzy...I had no idea she was right there next to me after the finish line...I would have given her the biggest hug if I had known.       

I was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.  Everything was so overwhelming.  Every hug and every word of congratulations just made me cry.  Pulling off a PR when there were points that I didn't even know if I'd be able to finish was just a lot for me to take in.  

I won't be chasing another Half PR any time soon, maybe never, but for now I'm really proud of myself! While I had awesome support along the way I was out there alone for 13.1 miles, and I got myself through it...I didn't let myself down and I'm really proud of myself for getting it done!  

A few things I learned along the way: 

-Races/courses run previously with a friend are a lot harder, and a lot less fun when alone! 

-While I'm super proud of accomplishing my goal...that is not the kind of running I enjoy.  I would rather run an easier pace and/or run with a friend(s) and enjoy it more, actually be able to smile at the finish.  

-The issues I have running in the heat are not just a fluke.  It's happened enough now that I will most likely be skipping August races, or at least the half distance.  The shorter distances may be doable still.

Next up is the You Go Girl Half the middle of Sep which I'm actually dropping down to the 10K.  I need a break from the half, it's not a course I like very much, and I need a 10K to PR, and this one is a PR course, so it all works out for the best.  

PR goal #1 for the year done.  Now, to go get #2...I actually think the 10K is the hardest distance for me, so will see what happens.  :)

For now I'm going to enjoy this one for a bit, rest the legs this week and focus on some fun running before thinking to much about You Go Girl.  

All the photos are from Dad and/or Mark!

  

    

TGIF = Packet Pick Up Day!

I totally have race day on the brain.  I couldn't sleep last night at all.  All sorts of dreams/thoughts about my alarm not going off, getting lost on the way to the start line, having a totally horrible race,  wearing my white running skirt and potential disaster, being to hot, waking up race morning and it being frozen all of a sudden.

Honestly I'm not worried or nervous...I'm just really excited!  Excited to be running this one period, and excited about the pace I was able to achieve on my 12 mile training run even with the lack of training, I'm really ready to get out there tomorrow and see what I can do!  It's kind of silly really...it's not like this is my first race.  

In the meantime I'm still working on getting life back to normal!  It's busy work let me tell you!  Everything from getting back on track with my Jamberry business (I was bummed I only had one party going into July, but turns out that was a good thing given how much we ended up being gone!) to a marathon grocery shopping trip with Sky yesterday (she was such a good girl, had a smile the whole time!) and (boy does it feel good to have the freezer and pantry stuffed full of yummy goodness again!), to getting the laundry done, phone calls made, appointments scheduled.

It's been busy, but life feels organized once again and that makes me happy!

A few pics from the week...even though it's been a busy one we still find time for fun!

Totally girly and totally fun...had to include nails in my race day prep!  Runner Girls ready to run! 

Wednesday afternoons Sky visits the parents for a few hours allowing me to run errands, or just chill with a book.  It was ring inspection day and the store needed to keep my ring for a while to work on it.  So, I hit up Jamba Juice to try out the carrot, ginger, cayenne blend and I loved it!  Try it...just don't drink the last little bit at the bottom too fast...all the cayenne ended up in that one sip.  WOW is all I have to say about that.

Elya and I took an evening walk around the Chambers Bay loop Tuesday night, and it was felt so good to be back at it with her!  We have seen each other and hung out since the ankle break, but have not done intentional work out type of activity since the end of March!  She is working hard to get her ankle back to fully functional and I'm glad I get to be part of the process!  (Cruddy pic of us, (sunset behind us with my cell phone = not great) but had to take it since it's our first time "working out" in a very long time)!

We walked Sky down to the school playground near our house and do you think she played on the playground at all?  NO!  All she wanted to do was hike in the tall grass, and run the stairs!  She went up and down the stairs, and did some hill repeats, the whole time we were there.  She was a sweaty hot mess after about an hour of that.  "I just run, run".  Makes my runner heart, and my Mommy heart happy!

She put then in time out...I have no idea why, but she was pretty ticked at them! 

Always asking if she can take pics with my phone. 

 Grilling as much as possible since it's so nice out!

P.S. Special Shout Outs to a few friends running Tacoma Narrows Half tomorrow as well: El - my friend and stylist who is running for a huge PR!  You will kill it, I just know it!  Kelli - who I met through Fleet Feet is running her very first Half tomorrow!  Have fun with it!  And shout outs to my Dad and Elya who will be stationed along the route cheering runners on...it means more than you know!  They will both be at the top of the last of the first few hills that are the worst for me...my mantra for those hills "Get to Dad and Elya, just get to them".  After that it's RACE ON! 

------------------------

Who else still gets race day jitters before the race?  How do you stop the tossing and turning?