Oak Barrel Half Marathon

On April 5, I completed my fourth half marathon and I do have to say it has been the best one yet. Yes I beat my best time by 15 minutes but that is just icing on the cake. I believe that I was more prepared  this half than I was for the previous ones. I went in with the mindset that is going to finish and it didn't matter what my time was. I also got a Garmin so I no longer hear my splits while listening to my music. That helped out a lot.

So at the start of the race, I almost took off too fast and knew from experience that if I did that I would burn out too quickly and struggle to finish. Not to mention there is a massive hill on this course but I will get to that in a minute.

The organizers of the race were club officers of the running club that I'm part of. Everything was perfect. Right when I started to need something to drink there was a water stop and the best part was there was Gatorade at every water stop!!! I was tickled.

Anyway, around mile 4 is the start of the massive hill, which to the running community is known as Whiskey Hill. This is why at the beginning of the race I wanted to make sure to pace myself. I wanted to run as much of this hill as possible because it is a mile long.  It gradually gets steeper and the last quarter of a mile is the steepest part.

I made it half way up the hill before I had to walk and that I was proud of. That was until I made the turn to go up the last quarter mile of the hill and realized they were playing Eye of the Tiger. This particular song is on my playlist to give me motivation and there was no way that I was going to spend all my energy to run up a quarter of a mile and not finish strong for the rest of the race.

After conquering Whiskey Hill, the rest of the race was went pretty smooth. I believe that driving the course the day before really helped. Especially when I was getting tired because I knew when I would be having a change of scenery and that was a relieve. I didn't feel like I was running forever like I was at three Middle Half in October.

I started to half done problems around mile 12 with some cramping and would run a little and then walk a little. I caught myself several times between miles 12 and 13 start to cry from pure joy. I couldn't help but keep looking at my watch and it was at this time that I knew that I was going to make a personal best and my kids were waiting for me at the finish line.

When I made the last turn toward the finish line, I took off in a full sprint because I realized that I was going to beat my half marathon personal best by 15 minutes!!! I was completely overwhelmed with emotions. I was exhausted, happy and felt very proud. I accomplished something that I never thought was possible and I'm also setting a good example for my children. So until next time.

It runs in the family

The streak is still going on and when I run this evening I will be completing day 64 but this particular blog is dedicated solely to my son. Last year he joined a running club at his school and he had the option to run the Country Music Marathon in April. I talked this over with him and he agreed that he wanted to participate.

The way the kids marathon works is that they train over the course of 6-8 weeks to accumulate 25.2 miles then travel to the race destination to complete the last mile. Like mist half marathons and marathons he will receive a goody bag with a shirt and other items plus he will receive a medal when he completes the race. I know he is looking forward to this because in my family we have made it a big deal. For one reason, he will be the first person to complete a marathon in the family.

I know this has to make him feel very special because this is also a way for him and I to bond. He is at the stage where he wants to do everything with his daddy so the opportunity to be able to do something with him is awesome. He has completed about a week and a half of the training plan so far. He is doing awesome.

Like any runner he has his good days and bad days. He is doing anywhere between almost a 12 minute avg per mile to 14 minute avg per mile. This is including walking/easy running so this is a good pace for a 6 year old.

It is awesome to see one of my kids want to follow in my foot steps. Especially with something that can benefit them their whole life and keep them healthy.  So to encourage him to want to continue on this path we are constantly telling him good job. He is also going to be the first person in the house to complete a marathon so we have made that a big deal. I am proud of his accomplishments and for his interest in wanting to be healthy. That was one of my goals when I started exercising was to show my kids the importance of being healthy and to know that Bradley is following my foot steps makes me feel like I have doney job. :)

I will continue to keep yall updated. So until next time.

A rough few weeks

I know that it has been a while since I have wrote anything in a few weeks but it has been kinda rough. I have been going strong with my running streak and completed the month of January with 81.52 miles. I am extremely proud of that for a couple reasons. One I ran at least a mile everyday for the entire month and two I honestly wasn't sure if my feet would hold up to it. Much to my surprise they have and I have been running for 45 days straight.  This past week is where my running streak has helped me through a difficult time.

On February 4, my sweet Grandma went home to be with the Lord. It was unexpected to say the least and rough for everyone. I was able to push through the sadness and be strong when I needed to be. Something I have only learned through running. Last week I ran not only to log miles but to grieve. To reflect on all my memories that I have made with my Grandma and to be honest, I never understood how running could to do that until now.

The peace that I felt when I was running was unbelievably calm. At first it was a different feeling but once I adjusted to it, it made the grieving easier.  Simply because that is exactly what I was needing at the time. Running has not only become a form of exercise to me but a way of life. I didn't realize how much I needed it until that was the only way that I knew I grieve. In my own way and my own time.

Sure I had family and friends that were there for me and I greatly appreciate every single one of them. Unless you are a runner, you don't understand the power that a single run can make. Something I kept telling myself was that running won't fix it but it will make it bearable. This sure was true for me.

My next half marathon that I am training for is on April 5, the day before my Grandma's birthday. So I have decided to make a shirt with her picture on it and run it in her memory. She was always asking how my running was going so this run is for you Grandma. I love you and you are greatly missed.

Day 17 complete

I am happy to say that I have completed 17 days of my run streak.  This week has been an off week and today is the only day that I have ran more than one mile.  It couldn't have come at a better time either.  Have you ever just had one of those days that you knew that a run would have made it so much better?  Where the time didn't make a difference, it was about clearing your head and how you felt after you completed the run.

I started out this morning just getting on the treadmill to run my mile and after running my mile I decided that I was going to run 2, after I reached 2 I decided to run 3 and I am sure that you can see the pattern that is developing here. When I completed four miles, I felt so much better and I could continue my workout with lifting weights.  I do have say running today, even though it felt amazing afterwards, was probably the hardest run that I have ever done. 

I say this because of everything that was going on and really in reality I was probably just trying to "run" from my problems.  There was several times that I almost burst into tears and then there was times that I sprinted because I was mad.  I had so many emotions going on that at times I pretty much forgot that I was running on the treadmill.  Which is very weird coming from me.

I guess that for this post this is all that I have but I just wanted to update all of you on my run streak and sorry about the little extra part but that was part of my run for the day.  Will be running 5 tomorrow in training so I will be blogging soon about that.  Below is my recap from my run so until next time.

Does running relieve stress?

Does running relieve stress for you?  For me, it does.  That is one of the reasons that enjoy doing this run streak.  Due to the temperatures for my area, I have been running on the treadmill.  Normally I wouldn't like doing this but it has been quite beneficial to me.  Let me explain.  Normally when I take the time off toward the end of the year like I did last year, I usually always struggle with trying to get my breathing rhythm back.  Being on the treadmill I am able to do that.  I can keep the pace constant where as outside you are not able to.  So I have noticed a big difference in my breathing when I am able to go outside.  So the last time that I blogged I have completed 3 more runs. 

I just published a post in regards to my run today so there are still 3 more that I would like to share with you.  On Thursday I just felt like going out without having a set number of miles to run so I made my mind up to run at least a mile and anything after that would be fine.  I had a slight lapse in judgement when dressing for the gym that morning and I dressed in shorts. Which normally wouldn't be an issue but I forgot to put on chaffing cream.  How I managed to do this with my issues with chaffing in the past I don't know.  Anyway, I decided that I would run as far as I could.  So you can imagine the disappointment when I realized that I forgot the chaffing cream because I was really wanting to go further than a 5k that day but I still did my miles.  I can't complain there. 

Below is my 5k run.  It wasn't my best but at the time I was just excited to be able to run.  I have learned that it isn't all about the tim but about enjoying doing what you love.

 

Just like on Thursday, I went out on Friday and chose to run at least a mile. Then whatever I did after that I would be happy with.  So I hopped on the treadmill and just ran. Below is the result and I do ha

 

My next run was on Saturday with the Mach Tenn Running Club.  I have learned one thing from doing this run streak.  It has taken a lot out of me and I need more rest.  That is what I failed to do for my run Saturday and my performance suffered.  I just couldn't get my rhythm going and then I had knee issues for whatever reason but still even after all that.  I had a good run.  I am improving everytime I get out to run and on my long runs, I am still doing better than what I was doing when I was running my half marathons last year.  So far this year has been wonderful with my running and can't wait to see what else it has in store for me.

Nothing like spending time with family

Sometimes the best days are those that are unplanned.  I originally wanted to run 3 miles this morning before church but was unable to find someone to run with.  Since it would be before Sunday School, I would have to run at 6 and it is still dark at that time.  So I decided to run after church and make it a family event.  My son is currently training to participate in the Country Music Marathon in April.  He will run 25 miles leading up to the date of the race and then run the remaining 1.2 miles in Nashville and finish on the Titans football field, I believe.  He is beyond excited and has come a long way.

We ran together for the first time last week. I have been trying to work with him on pace so that he is not wearing himself out too quickly so the first time that he ran his mile was 12:58 which is awesome for a six year old and he did it without stopping so that was amazing to me.  Today we did have a few bumps in the road and had to stop but his mile this time was 11:03 which is almost a 2 minute difference in time.  He is doing amazing and I know that he will just continue to improve on his time.

My daughter also ran with us for the most part.  She is 3 years old and will turn 4 in March.  She isn't quite ready to be running like that but she is still doing awesome.  She ran probably about 3/10 of a mile before she was wondering where her Daddy was.  He doesn't run so we had to stop like this several times but we got it done.  They both did awesome.

I will definitely be keeping you up to date on how my son is doing in training and when he goes to complete his marathon.  I am also considering registering him to do a 5K in March.  I will be training for a half marathon and doing my run streak so it will be a great time to spend with him.

Below is our run.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and sharing in my journey.  So until next time.

Holy cow did I just do that?!?!?!

As I have stated in previous blog posts, I have started a challenge with myself for overall health and sanity reasons to run at least one mile a day for the year. After that we will just see where it goes from there.  Anyway, it is Jan 9 and I have not missed a run yet. Grant it, due to the cold weather where I live, I have done most of my runs inside.

The benefits of running inside for me are that I can get my breathing under control and keep track of my speedwork when I get ready to start. Normally this time of year I haven't even started back running. This is another reason I registered for the Oak Barrel half in April. I wanted to stay motivated throughout the year and I knew I would be doing at least one in the fall. Also, this one is a little closer to where I live and there would be no reason to stay in an overly expensive/cheap hotel. What I mean by this is the hotel I stayed at for the Women's half didn't even have a fridge or microwave and I paid over $200 to stay there. Talk about ridiculous.  So I am really looking forward to this one.

The hopes of making this resolution was to run at least a mile everyday was to keep me motivated in those months that I am not training for a half or any other race. I have, however, notice a big difference in my monthly mileage for this month versus other months where I just ran 3-4 times a week. I am sitting at my monthly mileage being a little over 24 miles!!! I am beyond excited but mostly shocked. Mainly because I started having knee problems when I was training for my first half marathon in 2012 and then last year I developed plantar fasciitis. Both of which were very painful and limited how often I could run plus the number of mileage I could run.

So to be able to run 24 miles in 9 days is a big deal to me. I plan to go for the full year and who knows maybe I will go further than that. I just had to share with yall how my progress is going with the run streak. Grant it my pace isn't the best but I have fun running and I am faster than what I use to be so there is no reason not to be happy.

Below is a screenshot of my monthly totals. Thanks for taking the time to see how my progress is going. How are your fitness goals going? So until next time.

5 miles done on day 5 of running streak

Today marks day 5 of my running streak.  I initially was only going to run a mile but a friend of mine texted me asked if I wanted to run this morning.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity to do so.  We are both the same and refuse to run in the dark by ourselves.  I for one think that I watch too many criminally based shows and that is why I can't do it.  I don't run with music so while running my mind has a tendency to play tricks on me.  I would be checking behind me for someone, thinking that I hear something when I don't or be suspicious of a random car that is just merely driving down the road.  So for my sanity and safety I choose not to run in the dark.

Anyway I am getting sidetracked as usually.  She asked if I wanted to run between 5 to 6 miles before church this morning.  So we agreed on a time to meet.  I, however, didn't get the proper amount of sleep so it was a little rough.  I had to walk 3 or 4 times and felt bad because my friend asked me to run.  Since I have started doing the running streak I haven't run that high amount (high to me right now anyway) back to back so I was quite pleased with my time.  It was only about 8 seconds difference per mile than my run yesterday and that really isn't bad at all. 

The only thing about this run that I have to share that was kinda frustrating was the wind.  It was blowing in gusts at times and was hard to run against.  We made it through though.  Now for tomorrow's run I am not sure if I will be moving it inside or running outside for just a mile because of the weather that we are suppose to get.  Mainly for the reason of not having any winter running gear and the wind chill is going to make the weather seem as though it is -9.  Not really much better than the actual high for tomorrow of 7.  7 degrees!!! That is absolutely crazy.  I will be running tomorrow one way or another and starting back on my weight lifting plan. 

So as I said in my previous post below is the screenshot of my run this morning.  Thanks for allowing me to share my running experiences through all of you.  I have another blog post coming either tonight or tomorrow that I hope that you will check out.  So until next time.

Training mode has officially commenced!! :)

As crazy as this may sound to some, I can not begin to describe how excited I am that I can officially say that I am training for my next half marathon.  The enjoyment that I get each time that I complete a run is beyond my ability to express into words.  My next half marathon is going to be the Oak Barrel Half on April 5.  This will be the first race that I have completed in the winter/early spring so I am not sure what to expect.  All 3 of my last half marathons have been in the fall.  In months where the weather is either hot or seems like it is too cold since you have been training in the heat anyway.

So with that being said, yesterday was my first official half marathon training run of 4 miles.  The run was great.  It was cold and for the first time ever, I have had to layer up to run.  Although I have run in colder weather, I do have to say that this particular run seemed colder than the 10K dam run that I did back in October.  I feel that this is because of the wind blowing so the wind chill made it seem colder. 

The training this time around seems to be different and more enjoyable.  Just for the simple fact that I have people to train with and get to know through the Mach Tenn Running Club.  I joined this group about half way through my training last year for the Women's Half and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was pretty bummed that the training was over.  So needless to say, I was beyond thrilled that they would be doing group runs again.  What makes this race awesome is the fact that they are putting on the Oak Barrel Half Marathon.  I am excited/honored to be able to run a race that the club is putting on. 

I am also not that worried about my time as much as I was last year.  I feel that last year I was so wrapped up in doing a run in a certain amount of time that I lost the love of running that I had.  Then I finally was just like you know what it doesn't really matter.  God has given me this ability to run and I should just be thankful for that. I know that I said that several times last year but I feel that for once that I truly mean it this time.  Besides I am trying to do a running streak this year and if I get to wrapped up in my time then I am going to get burned out and not even want to run.

So here is to a successful, fun filled half marathon training and to my running streak.  I have also decided to share a snap shot of each run that I have completed and a description of how the run went.  Some of the posts will be short and some will be long.  In the end all that matters is that I completed another day when others have never had a chance to do one.  So until next time.

New Year, New Start

Well looking back on this past year, I have had several firsts. I completed two half marathons in the same year and had a personal record in both. I have also started weight lifting on my own. Something I never thought that I would do simply for the fact that I didn't think that I had the knowledge to do it on my own. Thanks to my dear friend Amanda and several hours of researching online I have been successfully weight lifting for about 2 months. Noticing a change in my body and although I have gained weight due to gaining muscle, I look and feel skinnier.
For the first time, I can say that I have kept a New Year's resolution. Last year I had a resolution to not drink any coke or coke related products for the entire year. It is now Jan. 4 and I have not drank a coke in 369 days!! I am quite proud of that. 
So this year I decided to set my standards more on the fitness side. Not that quitting cokes is not for my health but I wanted to set my goals on the physical aspect of fitness. So thanks to a friend that I follow on Facebook (Run Nerds Rock) I have decided that I would try to run at least one mile a day no matter how I am feeling for the entire year.  He has gone over 2 years running at least a mile every day. Which is my plan and so far I have succeeded.
I have run 4 days in a row with a total of almost 11 miles so I am excited to see how many miles I will rack up to with my half marathon training. I will blog on that in a minute.
I hope that you will join me on my journey this year of my running streak and half marathon training. If you yourself have a goal that you will like to share please do so. I would love to join you on yours as well and encourage/support you along the way.
Below is the first run of the new year and of my running streak. It felt so good to be back to running after taking a break.