The marathon winner

I have decided on a marathon…

Route 66

in Tulsa, Ok (home) on November 23.

image from newson6.com

Many factors influence my decision:
1) no travel=less stress, especially with 2 kids
2) sleeping in my own bed
3) Morgan has a work retreat the weekend of 2 of the races I was thinking about
4) a special First Marathon medal
5) family and friends can support me
6) it was my first half, so it’s kinda cool to make if my first full too

I’ve mapped out a training plan. It’s good use of nervous energy-how the heck am I going to run 26.2 miles?

I’m still working out all the training details, what should my longest run be? When to do hills or speed work? Can I fit in another half this fall?

Galloway Monday-Mental training

This week we are focusing on the mental aspect of training. Long runs can be challenging physically and mentally. I found intervals to help me in the mental game. I can count down how many runs and walks I have.

Once you realize your body is PHYSICALLY capable of doing what you are asking, it really comes down to telling your brain that it is POSSIBLE to take another step. I play a lot of games with myself.
-On the treadmill, I can’t look at the screen for a certain number of songs. Watching the time and distance slowly go up can be discouraging, so if you wait you feel like you’ve accomplished so much!
-When I’m running outside, especially around the neighborhood, I switch my route up , I go down different roads, or just reverse my direction. If I’m thinking about something other than how long it’s been, it is much more enjoyable and seems to take less time.

I have a few different music options as well:
-My spotify playlist is pretty GREAT-running playlist
-I have a similar playlist on my phone, but it’s not quite as good-my music library is not awesome-but if I’m having trouble getting good service it works!
-the “Boom boom pow” (black eyed peas) station on pandora is good. I’ve used that station so much, I’m kinda sick of it, but not totally!!!!
Music helps me pump up for a race as well. An upbeat song gets me in the mood!

As I’m increasing my distance, to a while new level, keep my mind away from discouraging thoughts is really important. I have lots of mantras, and my latest piece of advice (from my 6 year old) is:

Run as fast as you can, for as long as you can.

More Galloway fun! Check out: Powered by Bling, Pretty ‘lil Mudder, and Shorty Runs for more motivation!

Galloway Method Mondays: Getting Started with Galloway

Today I’m starting a series with Cassandra from Powered by Bling, Montana from Pretty ‘lil Mudder, and Heather from Shorty Runs for Galloway Method Mondays.

We are all in different stages of training for various distances. Each Monday we will write about our training with the Galloway Method, hoping to inspire others on their journey! Today we are just Getting Started with Galloway.

If you are unfamiliar with the Galloway method, let me try to summarize. Jeff Galloway is an American Olympian, author of several books, and running coach. His running plan is a run-walk-run approach. There are several benefits to the Galloway method; less fatigue, faster recovery, often faster times (avg.7 min over 13.1 miles!).

For my first 2 half marathons I strictly ran, I took a few walk breaks at water stops. While training for my 3rd half, I tried running 1 mile, then walking 1 minute. I did a 10 mile run, my pace was very close to normal, and I recovered quickly.

With Dumbos Double Dare in August, and a full marathon this fall (still not sure which one) I really think the run-walk-run method will save my legs, and help me increase my distance.

Based in my goal pace of 10min/mile, Galloway recommends a run:walk ratio of 3:1. I like my 1mile run 1minute walk. I think I will play around with the ratio for a while.

even Jeff recommends playing around, until it feels right. I have a feeling that 3 minutes is too short of a run for me, but who knows!

Yoga + Creativity #imfitpossible

***through my affiliation with I’m Fit Possible I received the book for free, the opinions are my own***

So, like I said before, I had the opportunity to read this awesome book about yoga and creativity. It is available at Yoga and Creativity.

The book has pictures of the poses, activities to get your creative juices flowing, and a very uplifting feel. I really enjoyed reading the book and working through the creative process with yoga. While I’ve never met the author, Lacey, she writes in such a conversational way, I feel as though I’ve taken several classes from her!

I have lots of screen shots from the book saved on my phone, so I can remember what I’ve learned. There are awesome mantras that are not only good for your practice but for life. (Ps-screen shots from books are the new dog eared pages!)

I didn’t do the book justice with my review, it’s not your typical book about yoga, or creativity-it really is a guide to follow!

3 day to 100k-Sundays 25k recap

This weekend a 3-day stages race was held in Oklahoma. Friday night was a 25k (paved running trail) Saturday 50k (trail) and Sunday 25k (trail). You could participate in 1, 2 or 3 days of the event.

25K was a big enough challenge for me! I originally registered to run Friday night, on the paved running trail. I figured the distance would be a challenge, but at least it would be paved….however, due to a work event, I changed to Sunday. Morgan ran the race to, and he was not looking forward to the trail.

This was a very small race, less than 100 people! No expo, no corrals, no timing chip-just runners outside on a fabulous May weekend.

Sundays portion was held at Walnut Creek State Park, which is at Lake a Keystone. It was about an hour from home, which made eating before difficult for me. I ate a Lara bar (and coffee) when I got up, and brought another bar and applesauce with me. It worked well!

The course was a bit short, 14 miles, 2 7 mile loops, which were run forward and back-in the woods. Trail running is FUN! I had to much to look at, like where I was stepping, what branch was going to hit me in the head, wild flowers, a lake, cows, I missed the deers-the were 7 crossing the trail! Since I’ve never run a trail race, I can’t compare it to anything.

There were 2 fully stocked aid stations, which you hit out and back. Gatorade, and water and all kinda of snacks! I don’t normally eat check mix on a run, but I thought it sounded good.

I saw Morgan after he turned around, he was in second place when we passed each other. It was fun to see him and talk for a second. He was enjoying the race, which made me happy. I was enjoying the trails, but I wasn’t sure he was going to like it.

I was much slower than normal. My over all pace was 12 min/mile. I really had to watch my footing, and there were some steep climbs/descents. Not hills, but going into what would be a creek, if there was water.

I totally bit it at about mile 6. The was a root sticking up, it was marked, and I saw it, and I didn’t trip on it. I tripped on the flat ground, and I rolled! Luckily I was by myself, no one needed to see me do that. I wasn’t hurt, just a little dirty.

At mile 12, I rolled my ankle. It was bad. I heard something pop, could have been a stick, but I was in pain. I stood around for a few minutes, decided I was ok, and started walking. After about 5 minutes, I felt better, so I ran again. My legs were pretty wobbly by then, so I would run as fast and as far as I could, then walk for a little bit. I was surprised that my ankle felt fine for the rest of the race.

I finished in 2 hours and 49 minutes (although I think it might be a few minutes long). This was the hardest race/run I’ve done. I really earned my medal, but I had a great time.

I had a little buddy run with me at the end!

The after race snacks were awesome-homemade Indian tacos. I had never had one before, I’ve wanted to try one for the longest time. It was so yummy, and I was really hungry. We stayed for a while after we had finished, watching other runners come in. It was a great atmosphere.

I’ve been icing my ankle, I think it’s a minor sprain. I’m going to take some time off running to let it heal.

No race recap is complete without a picture of food. We made Barnyard Burgers for dinner.

And a beer!

Virtual Races: Jost Running

I was contacted by jostrunning.com to run some of their virtual races, and blog about my experience

What is a virtual race?
It’s a race you run when you want, and where you want. When you are finished you submit your time. It’s simple! Friendly completion with yourself from month to month or with other participants each month!

Jost running offers 4 virtual races each month: 5K, 10k, half marathon, full marathon. Every months races are fundraiser a for different charities. So not only are running, you are supporting a very worthy organization.

Oh yeah…and the bling!

(image from jostrunning.com)
The 5K and 10K share a medal, and the half and full share a medal. They are very nice medals…they make me want to run!

I decided to run the 5k in May. I Picked last Wednesday morning to race. I had my bib, loaded Ella is the stroller and took off.

The theme of May is Brave new route, but the stroller limits me on trying a totally new route.

30:33 is defiantly a PR with the stroller! Pushing that thing is tough!

post race selfie!

Since they were nice enough to send me both medals, I need to EARN both medals. Jost Running wants people to move-you don’t have to run, you can swim, bike, walk-Just get out there!! I’m not sure I can fit another 13.1 mile run in this month, so I may earn my half/full marathon medal a little unconventionally!

If you are interested in running a virtual race, go to Jostrunning.com and check out the June races and medals! I think I shoot for running the 10K and maybe another unconventional half/full. I’m going to taper down a little bit….gearing up for marathon training!

Workouts #BESTFOOT

I don’t have much motivation today. My allergies are again on full blown flare up. The weather has been fabulous, therefore we have been outside.

Monday-rest. I watched everyone swim, it was too chilly for me!
Tuesday-1 mile run while Parker rode his bike

Wednesday-3.1 mile run, followed by barbell strength-I tweaked my knee during lunges

Thursday-knee feels better, but Parker had a role in his kindergarten play so I skipped the gym!!!!!

Friday-rest for tomorrow’s run
Saturday-Morgan was worried I would get heat stroke if I started my run at 9am…he rode/ran early-so another rest day!
Sunday9.73 miles. I wanted to do 14, my hip felt wacky so I stopped early!

I ran 9 of those miles and walked .73. I was trying the run/walk Galloway method. I ran 1 mile and walked 1 minute. My pace was under 10 minute miles for the most part. I like the method, it conserves some energy.

This week I need to conserve all my energy for Sundays 25K!!!!!! I have my fuel, and new water bottle, but I haven’t settled on an outfit. Now to get my allergies under control.

Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon recap

Where to begin ? Do I go straight to the weather or start at the expo? Oh, just get prepared for a LONG post

Saturday-
We decide to make this a husband and wife trip. The kids were staying with grandparents, we woke up early (as usual) went out to breakfast. Then Morgan had to pack. Who waits until the morning we are leaving to pack? Oh, a guy. Luckily I had washed every.single.dirty.thing.in.the.house. (Did the periods between each word work for dramatic effect?)

Luckily the drive to OKC is easy. We were starving once we made it, and my navigational skills found a Panera about 12 minutes from the hotel, I’m pretty sure there was a closer one, but whatever. We checked in to the Skirvin. It’s the oldest hotel in the city , it’s supposedly haunted, and it is awesome!

image from okc metro daily photo
The Pioneer Woman has a review of the hotel!

Then we went to the expo. It was remarkably un-crowded. Morgan was on the hunt for cliff bars, and we could not find any. We didn’t stay too long, and headed back to the hotel. I had a killer headache, and we had a race the next day, so we just hung out, drank water and watched movies on HBO. I enjoyed Die Another Daywhile Morgan snoozed.

We ran to CVS (shameless plug for my store) to get cliff bars…and Gatorade, and kind bars, and applesauce and cashews.

I ran into Fran, a Swirlgear athlete. I was kinda creepy… I stopped her in the revolving door! We took a picture while waiting for the car (I was still dealing with my raging headache, I was guzzling coffee trying to get it to go away.)

The Skirvin was one of the official pasta dinners of the race. They had a Buffett in the restaurant, and it was very well priced. There was a Caesar salad, and mixed green salad, an AMAZING berry salad, and fruit. Then three kinds of pasta, three sauces and three protein choices ( steak, chicken or salmon). We also ordered calamari, everything was very good. And we just had to hop on the elevator and we were back in our comfy room.

I feel asleep early, and slept GREAT.

Sunday-
The race was set to begin at 630am, so we set our alarm for 530. We had a 5 minute walk to the start line! There had been talk of bad weather, so we got up and checked the news…a severe thunderstorm was headed right towards downtown Oklahoma City. The race was delayed 30 minutes, then an hour, then 8am was start time. We eventually started the race at 820am, nearly 2 hours late…and I AM THANKFUL! A little before 8 it was pouring, hailing, thundering, lightening. Had the race started at 630, I would have been stuck in that. Tons of runners were in parking garages, under awnings, or any shelter they could find. I did wear a trash bag while walking to the start, I wanted to stay dry.

The weather
The race started very humid. The storm had passed, but it left a ton of moisture in the air. I was sweating very quickly, and I wore a long sleeved shirt, not my brightest move.

I ran with a pace group for several miles, when I was I’m the clump of people I was very uncomfortable. When I got out of the group, there was a nice breeze. The sun ended up coming out , and the humidity seemed to go away, but it was pretty warm, and I didn’t bring sunglasses or wear sunscreen. I didn’t have to deal with wind, but for the marathoners, the wind got pretty brutal (and it was in their face)later in the day .

The course
I’m not very good with directions/landmarks/directions in OKC.

The race starts by the memorial. There are 168 of silence before the start, in memory of those killed 19 years ago. It is very moving.

We ran by the Capitol, then through some neighborhoods. I tried to take a picture of the Capitol.

It’s behind the trees!

The half and full run together until mile 7 ish. Then it got confusing. I’m pretty sure I never saw mile 10. The full meets up at like mile 23, but then goes off again, then comes back. I had a hard time, mentally, in the last half, because I was confused. I wasn’t sure how much longer I had to run, I thought I was a mile further than I was. It was discouraging. I saw mile 12, and I knew only 1.1 miles left!

The course had a few hills, one is called Gorilla Hill. It is lined with people, they had signs, bananas, and it’s a big deal…but I didn’t think it was a bad hill- I’ve seen worse!

Support
The race was very well supported! People were EVERYWHERE. Since there are a lot of neighborhoods, people are out in their front yard, cheering and handing out food-pretzels, bananas, oranges, strawberries, grapes! One lady said she liked my skirt 🙂

Water and powerade stopes were plentiful. In the last 2 miles there were an abundance of stops. I don’t know if there was a mixup, or if companies set up their own, but it was like every 1/2 a mile-Water!

My race
I finished in 2:19:11. I struggled from mile 10-12.5. I don’t know if it was all mental, the weather, breakfast too early, trying to push to early? I saw Morgan near the finish and he gave me a boost. I had something left in the tank, I wish I had kicked it up earlier! You can’t PR every race, some races are slower than others. I am proud of my finish!

The hotel was a few minutes from the finish, I was very excited to shower, and all runners had late checkout at 3pm. We didn’t stay that late. But we did grab a burger before heading home.

The Breakfast a Burger from Brucktown Brewery- a burger with hash browns, a fried egg, bacon and cheese . It was GOOD.

I would like to run this race next year. It will be the 20th anniversary of the bombing and 15th race. And I’ll stay at the Skirvin, everything was wonderful!

Oh, hey there IT band, I thought I’d lost you! #BESTFOOT

Wanna know something CRAZY, I still have an IT band. I hadn’t heard anything from it lately, I thought it left. Turns out, I.WAS.WRONG. (That might be a little dramatic)

I got some new shoes, apparently I don’t like them. My last few runs have been sub-par. My legs have felt achy, I thought I was getting shin splints, my feet have been hurting, and my IT band is starting to twinge. It’s not a full on “OH MY, my whole leg feels like it’s going to fall off” more like, “Hey, I’m here, you’ve been neglecting me.”

I’ll be honest, I haven’t been doing everything I should be doing. And I fixed that. I’m adding my PT a exercises back in, more stretching, foam rolling, got a different pair of shoes. It looks like the random pair of shoes I stumbled upon and feel in love with…are discontinued. I found a pair online on sale…but what do I always LOVE the shoe that gets discontinued?

#BESTFOOT
Workouts
4/14
3.5 mile run
Hot vinyasa yoga

4/15
Physical Therapy exercises

4/16
1.8 mile walk
Barbell Strength

4/17
20 minute bike

4/18
Yoga

4/19
Cleaned for birthday party

4/20
7 minute workout
PT exercises

I’m kinda a Pro-Race Week Tips

So, it’s race week for my 3rd half marathon-WHOA! I think I’m now “pro” status. I should be writing books on how to do this half marathon thing, but I’ll stick with the blog for now!

I have some race week rituals:
-drinking extra smoothies-it’s my version of lots of pasta carb loading
-I really focus on my diet, I don’t try out new food, and keep my meals healthy, balanced and full of nutrients. I like salads on race week, they are filling, but they don’t weigh me down. I might splurge a little too, it is race week after all!
-I wear compression socks and trying to sit as much as possible at work (which means never.)
-I make sure my toe nails are properly trimmed, and I give my feet extra massages! Happy feet are important!

-I foam roll and stretch. I will try to take a yoga class early in the week, but I won’t push it. I use it to relax and stretch.
-watch my caffeine intake. I something like to think that if one cup of coffee is good, then 75 cups must be amazing. Turns out that it’s not healthy! I get my beloved 1 cup in the morning…and THAT.IS.IT.
-since I won’t be drinking coffee from sun up to sun down, I guess I’ll drink lots of water and Gatorade. Everyone has there own opinion on which electrolyte replacement is the best. I really like Cool Blue Gatorade. *soap box time-it is very important to hydrate with more than just water. It is possible to drink too much water. Water is so very important for runners, but electrolyte imbalances can be very dangerous. Be smart, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!! End soap box*
-Sleep. No late nights reading, it’s early to bed all week!
-carefully do everything. Especially letting out the dog in the middle if the night. Don’t want a last minute injury.

-Lay out my clothes/make sure I have everything I could possibly need to race day.
-Relax. The race will happen, I will do my best, and I WILL have fun!

Any race week rituals?