It's been an active year...

It's been an active year for me race wise. So why haven't I posted? I just can't seem to get it together to post lately... okay a little longer than lately.  I've had great successes with endurance events this year and several big PR's. Outside of racing though life has been tough. Seems like it's one thing after another. If anyone has a teenage daughter they may understand.

Being a mother isn't always a rewarding job. Often times we have to make tough decisions. I'm to a point that I'm not sure I can make it through another tough decision. My daughter is a strong willed, moody, demanding, all knowing 14 year old.

This past summer she came back to live with me full time after a year of barely talking to me or fighting with me every time she stayed with me. Unfortunately, this was not by her choice. It's been tough. We've had good times (not that she can remember that when she gets in her moods) and we've had bad times (to her that is all the time). Unfortunately, those bad times happen often. She wants more freedom. She wants to see her dad, who isn't supposed to have contact with her and at one point she didn't want to talk to him or see him. She has recently called him anyways. Of course then I'm the bad guy... for turning him in for child support, for keeping her away from him (mind you by court order, he's a pedophile, he likes teenage girls who are under 17), for working night shift when she was younger so she stayed during the week with my mom and grandma (funny how I made it to her school functions though), for not letting her have more freedom. I'm always the bad guy, but I'm always there for her.

Yes, I expect her to stand up for herself. Yes, I expect her to be respectful and respectable. Yes, I expect her to take responsibility for her actions and behavior. Yes, I expect her to go to school and to get good grades. Yes, expect her to do things around the house. So what does a parent do when these things are not happening?  She doesn't have a phone any more due to it breaking and later her throwing it several times on the driveway when she was mad.  She runs out of the house and doesn't care about consequences. She skips school. She isn't afraid of running away. Her dad is back in town so she knows she can always go to him.

I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. All I can do is tie a knot and hold on for dear life.

Psycho Wyco Run Toto Run 2014

My first race of the season, a Trail Nerds event! What better way to start off my year in which I have decided to do a 50k!

The incredible swag we received (a hoodie, a bag, a mug, finisher's medal) and the shirt I wore during the race.

Run Toto Run 2014 was an extremely tough race. A week prior to this race there was a snow fall that came through which gave us about two inches of snow and some had ice under that.Then that Tuesday, we got our biggest snow storm of the season. I was really hoping to get in a couple miles out on the trails after work, but that just didn't happen.

Friday night I helped at packet pickup. I ran into my old high school teacher and we chatted for a while. Met Bryan West, who has a beautiful red husky as his running partner. They were signed up for the 50k. The more Trail Nerds events I do, the more people I recognize and they recognize me. I really enjoy these Trail Nerds events, no matter if I'm participating or volunteering. I seriously considered signing Keeli up for this race and I almost did. However I thought I better do this one without her.

Saturday morning my friend Anna, who had never done any trail running and was signed up to do the 10-miler with me, picked me up at 5:45. She was about 10 minutes early and I wasn't dressed! We head out to help volunteer before our start time of 9am. The 20-milers and 50k folks start time was 8am. Little did Anna and I know that we would be getting an arm workout before our race by filling the water jugs for the aide satations!

This picture shows about 2/3 of the water jugs we filled. We didn't load all of these, but we did load about 10 of these in the truck. 

Funny story about filling these... we had to use the faucet under the men's sink in the heated bathrooms. Sorry to all those guys that had to use somewhere else while two ladies were filling up the jugs!

We saw off the 50k and 20-milers and than got ready for our race. We changed a few clothing items, changed into my running shoes, and ate a little food. I had a very cold banana that Anna was kind enough to share! We ended up chatting with some ladies in the heated bathroom. One lady, came in from Florida! She stated that she had to buy some cold weather running gear the night before. Once we were all toasty, we went back outside. It was nearly time to head to the starting line.

Then we were gathering at the starting line and next thing we were moving. My GPS watch didn't want to find a signal at first, so I stopped messing with it and started my phone app. I like to compare the two, sometimes my phone app has me shooting off across rivers and flying to near by cities. We started as a group, but quickly went to down to two running paths across the bridge and field before bottle necking onto the single track trail, at least I was able to get GPS on my watch and started it. We were in for a big surprise though... 

The snow wasn't packing down, it was all soft and fluffy... shoot, not what I was expecting or hoping for! Traction was horrible, imagine running through lose sand or mashed potatoes. Every step had a little slide to it. My ankles quickly became sore and somewhat painful. I started to wonder if I was going to survive or find myself in one of those shallow graves I've heard talked about on the Trail Nerds Facebook page. I wasn't whining, but I felt like I was moving slower than a "turtle stampeding through peanut butter." There was five us in the back, the lady from Florida was in with us. Talked with her for a little bit, found out her name was Nancy, she's an English teacher for 10th graders and she's going to have book published next year. I didn't want to leave my friend Anna behind, so I stopped once in a while or slowed down. We took some selfies and kept moving.

We came across a creek that was partially frozen. I didn't want to get my feet wet that was for sure, so I cautiously walked across the thickest ice I could find. Nancy however just went for it! The five of us stayed fairly close together until right before the triangle. At the aide station Anna caught up with me and we went through the maze. Nancy left us and we left the two ladies behind that were behind us. We had some funny moments and had to stop again when we had to go over a tree limb. Perfect place for a pic...

Coming out of the “triangle” I found myself on my own again for a little while. I took this time to remember why I started and who I was doing this for this time. Early that morning, I posted on Facebook that I was dedicating this run to my friend Tammy. She’s currently battling breast cancer and she is awaiting some test results to figure out her next steps in her plan of action. I began to say a prayer for her and for her family. Honestly, I don’t remember much of the trail at this point; I just remember praying my heart out for Tammy. Yes, I pray while I am on the go. It helps me mentally and physically. This wouldn’t be the only time I prayed during this event either…

At this point I do remember sliding down a hill and then coming to a steep uphill with a narrow passage. I had hoped no one faster would be coming behind me; however someone did come up behind me. When I was able to, I let them pass.  I slowed down and Anna caught up again. Then we came upon “fall down” hill, surprisingly it wasn't too bad. It was fun to be able to pick up some speed and go! At one point I grabbed a hold of a tree to keep standing upright while I let someone pass. It made me laugh; I was picturing myself standing there holding onto a small tree so I wouldn't fall while staying out of the way of others passing.

Then there was a flat open field which led to the “dam” hill. The hill is at the dam and we must go up 

and around a slight curve and waiting at the top was a mound of snow from the roads being plowed. It was soft; it just wasn’t easy to get up to the road where the next aide station was located. At this point I had a GU and drank a little water and asked for Advil or something, my hip was hurting. From here it was road for about a third of a mile or something and it was up hill mostly. 

There is a point here on the road that you can look out and see open field, I-435, and the tree line that follows the Missouri River.

Courtesy of Mile90 photography 

Then it was back into the forest we went. We knew that from here on out, there were going to be some massive hill climbing for us, but first some downhill… Here we ran into the photographer Rick (I’ve done some trail running at Smithville with his wife Kristi. Together they make up Mile 90 Photography – check them out here: www.mile90.com ). 

After this, we headed to Fester’s Wander. There are a couple of hills in this area that has ropes to help you get up the hill and this is one of them. Sometime between Fester’s Wander and the last aide station I hit a wall, I don’t know why I was shocked, but I was. I never hit a wall with this low of mileage. It sucked, my legs didn’t want to work and then my stomach started growling at me. Well darn... I didn’t plan my fueling very well. I just wanted to sit down, but just kept going one slow step in front of the other slow step. “Come on feet,” I was yelling to myself in my head. I did little cursing in my head. I almost wanted to beat my head against any one of the plethora of trees, multiple times slowly telling myself “what was I thinking when I decided to do this event, in the flipping snow?” My hip was hurting, which was also making my inner thigh hurt. I just kept going, wonder what was going to hurt next. Oh yeah, my back! Nearly every trail run/walk I do, my back tends to hurt. This was no different. “Check your posture,” I told myself. “Shoulders back, head up,” slight pause “watch where you’re going!” Then the singing in my head started (at least it stayed in my head. I’ve been known to start making up songs and singing them out loud)… oh my! “Just keep moving just keep moving” was going through my head for a while to the tune Dorie sang in Finding Nemo. You know the one where she’s singing “just keep swimming?”

Then Anna asked me if I wanted a fruit strip. Oh heck yeah, a fruit strip! It tasted so awesome, much better than my GU. I’m going to have to remember to ask Anna what kind of fruit strips those were. I pulled out my water bottle and drank some (first time using this water bottle belt). I just have to remember to make sure the cap is screwed on all the way after filling it. Other than that, I had no problems.

I started feeling better. Anna was going slow, we both felt like we were getting slower and slower and slower…  we crossed another open field and more people passed. Yes, that gets a little discouraging, but at the same time it is so impressive to watch these guys and gals. I noticed that Bryan and his beautiful red husky, Kayta, hadn’t passed us yet. I really thought they would have by now. I hoped he was okay, I hoped Kayta was okay.

Then there were more hills and more hills and hey, finally the last aide station! Give props to these guys at this aide station! They asked me how I was doing and if I was going to finish. My reply was simply, “I’ve come this far, even if I have to crawl across the finish line, I am going to finish this thing!” They gave me cheers and encouragement and asked if I wanted some beer. Okay here’s the deal, I’m not a huge beer fan, unless I’ve been running and then bring it on. Seems as though I can enjoy a different kind of beer (Sixth glass, IPA, ect.) during or after a run, however it will taste disgusting to me if I haven’t been running/exercising (sixth glass for sure is like this for me).  Anyway, I enjoyed both kinds they gave me, although I am not sure what they were, but one of them was thicker. Hmm, tasty, especially followed up with a handful of Peanut M&Ms! Belch!

The homestretch and the toughest part of the race were upon us. Three back to back hills, the three sisters as some call them, while others may refer to them as the three bitches. I’ve been on this part of the course before (summer Pyscho 5k – which was my first trail race) and I have to admit, they made me cry the first time, but also made me stronger mentally. This time I wasn’t going to let them make me cry. I hit the first hill and a faster person came up behind us. I stepped to the side and let them pass, but he was encouraging and I stepped back on the trail and kept up with him for about half the hill following in his tracks. I pushed myself. This hill was never ending! Again I started pulling ahead of Anna, but I didn’t want to slow down in the middle of this climb. Luckily, the people coming up behind me didn’t catch me until the top.

The terrain seemed so different than I remembered with the snow cover. At some point after this first hill, Bryan finally caught up and passed me. I asked him how he was and he stated he rolled his ankle pretty badly the first loop around. He was still going though, but I could see the disappointment and frustration in his face.

After they passed, I looked back and caught a glimpse of Anna. I yelled to make sure she was okay. She said she was and that she was just losing steam. I hope I gave her some encouraging words, but really I don’t remember. I think this was the last time I saw her (later she told me I could have left her a long time ago). I had to keep moving. I felt good, but I was tired and my hip was still bothering me. I said another prayer and thought about Tammy and her battle again. I kept pushing through those hills, going, going, and going. Finally I recognized the final slope, I could hear the DJ. I just had to get through this last upward slope.

I turned the corner and there, much to my relief was the finish line! I saw the timer glowing in red, laughing at me, and thought “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!”  Some very serious curse words were going through my head. There was Kristi, the other photographer waiting there to take finish line photos, so I had to smile my funky frown smile and with thumbs up, I crossed the finish line. 

Courtesy of Mile90 photography

I stopped my GPS watch (9.99 miles) and my phone app (11.39 miles), got my medal and exchanged words with the guy, talked to Kristi for a minute and then turned around and headed back on the trail to encourage Anna. I got to the turn and there she was! I ran with her to where the gates were and then ran on the outside to the finish. After she got her medal, gave her a high five, and I introduced her to Kristi. Then we went to the shelter there at the finish line.

We were so hungry. We had a small bowl of Chili, only because we didn’t know where the closest Taco Bueno was. Talked with Bryan for a few minutes and I gave Kayta a few pets ( btw here’s his report: http://a-runners-journey.blogspot.com/ ). Then we headed out. We both changed shoes. I had forgotten my other pair of socks at home, so she let me use her extra pair. I have to give many thanks to Anna! She picked me up from my apartment, shared her food with me, shared her extra socks with me, and took me home after we stopped at Taco Bueno for food. 

Thanks also goes out to all the other runners who passed me and gave me encouragement, being one of the slowest out there can be pretty tough mentally. Thanks to the volunteers, you rock as always! Thanks to Ben for putting these events on. 

As tough as trail running is, I love it! This was my third trail event and 2^nd with the Trail Nerds. I am definitely planning more trail events this year and I will be taking Keeli with me. She’s going to love it for sure! 

Kansas City Half Marathon 2013

My first half marathon was The Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay, and 5K in October 2011 with Team in Training. I did it again last year and improved my time by more than 40 minutes. This year, the course changed a little and I finished 5 minutes off my PR from last year. My GPS also had the course .41 miles long. I'm not going to think about how I could have PR'd if the course wasn't long.

This year it was 36 degrees to begin with. I was so cold and really I don't think I ever got fully warmed up! I also didn't have any family there this year, which was very disappointing. I didn't cry, even though I came close several times. It has been a rough year and having not even one family member there for me sums up how I've been feeling as of late... lonely and not very important. Most of my training runs are either alone or with my husky, Keeli. Most of the time, this doesn't bother me. Most of my running friends are way faster than me. I am getting off subject though.

I did meet up with some ladies from the local Moms Run This Town chapters. Two of my closer friends (a couple) was on a Relay team. I actually got to watch them finish! It was so nice to be there for them and support them. In a way, I feel like I have had a little influence in their running careers. I hung out with them for a little while and ended up running into an old co-worker. Then I headed to my mom's and got a mini massage and listened to the Mizzou game (yes they won)! After that it was time to head home. I was still cold, so I crawled under two blankets after eating my lunch/dinner (it was like 4pm). I fell asleep and woke up with parts of me hot and other parts of me cold. I had a hard time with my body temperature getting regulated. Finally around 8pm I was able to get fully warmed up and stay warm.

After I got warmed up, it finally hit me what I've accomplished. I just did my 6th half marathon for the year, my 9th half marathon ever! I did something lots of people can't or won't attempt. I did cry a little, but happy tears! I feel like this is a disorganized blog post, but I wanted to post about the KC event.

I also felt like I was wearing too much pink! I'm not much of a pink girl, I'm more of a purple kind of girl. I like my purple. So here's my picture from the KC event. It's the only one were I don't look miserable! This was taken down on the Plaza, which is just about half way through the race.

 

Up this coming weekend I have a 5k and I am doing a 50 mile team relay (Bison 50) from Topeka, KS to Lawrence, KS. Then I have my last scheduled half marathon the weekend after. We'll see if I can get in another half before the end of the year. 

Trail running

Yesterday I completed my first trail half marathon, which was also my fifth half marathon for the year! Now I can check off one of my goals for 2013... to complete five half marathons.

I know I haven't posted for a while. I've tried sitting down to write a post, but alas I haven't been able to. I either haven't had the time or I get writer's block or not sure of how I want to write something out. Today I will try again and I have pictures to share, just not much from this trail event (will explain).

I have been having to combine my training for this trail event and for some street events coming up. I haven't had too many long runs on the trail. It has been a challenge to train for both, but the last few weeks I've been more focused on the trail running. I've ran trails at Smithville, Shawnee Mission Park and Wynadotte County Lake Park.

Smithville Lake:
I fell each of my first two runs at Smithville and not in the same place! I met up with the Thursday night Trail Nerds the first time out there. Luckily, someone was kind enough to keep it slow enough for me to stay with her. There are a couple of spots that are a steady uphill, but I really enjoyed the run. I did fall, as mentioned previously. This was my first time falling on a run, I tripped over a tree root. It was a tight S turn and I just didn't pick up my feet enough. I ended up with bruses on my arm and on both legs. This happened about half way through the run. I was more careful after that and I did hurt a little, but not enough to slow me down too much.

 

The second time I went out there was on a Sunday evening (two weeks ago) and I took Keeli with me. She really seemed to enjoy it and did very well. We were doing really good. Got though the long gradual uphill and was on nearly smooth surface in a pretty open area and BAM! I tripped and fell! This time I had scrapes and blood on my right shoulder. If I wasn't wearing my leg compression sleeve, my legs might have gotten scraped up as well. I fell face first with my hands stretched out in front of me. Luckily Keeli stopped and looked at me, because her leash came off my wrist. I got up and then she started going... I had to rush after her. I don't think she realized that she wasn't being held. She was just trotting along at what pace we were going at prior to me falling. I ended up with stickies all over and splitters in my shoulder, which the last one didn't come out until five days later.

 

My palms and shoulder were a little sore the next day, but other than that, I was okay. One might consider not running this route again, I mean two runs on this trail and two falls... well less than a week later I went out there again and did the route a third time with the Trail Nerds group. I did not fall and I ended up doing the last part of the trail alone, because the lady that I was running with brought her dog and he pooped out at about mile 2. She took him back to the paved trail and headed back. I did great and felt great.

 

Shawnee Mission Park:

The first time I ran this, I did the orange loop at a Wednesday night Trail Nerds group run. I was fairly easy, but I had done the July Trail Nerds 5k at Wyandotte County Lake and that's all I had to compare it to. I enjoyed the run and decided to go back again a week and a half ago. I was going to wait for the group run, but decided to go ahead and head out after work. I also decided to add the purple loop. Shortly after entering the purple loop, I came across this:

 

Yes, those are two piles of rocks! This should be a forewarning of what's to come. Really, seriously, this was a very technical trail. Rocks, rocks and more rocks! Want to see... well here's a couple more pics:

 

Here's the picture of the trail map:

 

 

Wyandotte County Park Lake (aka WyCO):

My first experience of this trail was a 5K Trail Nerds event in July. It was tough and made me question myself about doing a trail half marathon. It was very technical and had several steep hills. I did not like it and I came in last and it was probably the first time I actually cried out on the course. I finished though. I wasn't sure I'd ever go back to WyCo, but I did!

 

Last weekend a Trail Nerd friend of mine mentioned on FB that he was going to go run the trails at WyCo, so I decided, why not and went with him, his girlfriend, and his two dogs. I thought I would hold them back, but he assured me that I wouldn't. I enjoyed it and it was a slow enough pace that I was more than capable of staying caught up. I did really good, I was enjoying the trail, it was a beautiful day, Chiefs had won and then I felt a pop in my right calf. Then there was pain. We were about 2.5 miles into the run, after that we ended up walking most of the last mile. I was really worried about being able to run my trail event that was less than a week away. It was painful just to walk.

 

I went home and iced it. Put my compression sleeve on. Relaxed. I went to see my mom the next day, as she is a massage therapist. She checked it out and said it wasn't warm and not really swollen. She said it didn't feel like I tore anything. I took the next couple days slow and easy. Walked Keeli around the apartment complex on Wednesday and it felt okay. Thursday I walked Keeli some more, still felt okay, maybe a little tight, but I stretched.

 

F*L*A*T*S Half Marathon:

 

The above picture includes my finisher shirt and my packet goodie bag. Yes, that's a beanie hat and it's embroidered! I don't think I have ever stressed so much about a race, I even had dreams about this race. I wasn't sure about the logistics. I ended up driving up that morning, it's about a three hour drive. I had asked if anyone would be willing to go with me, but no one did. I asked my mom to go with me and possible drive back and she did go with me. She ended up not feeling good most of the day and I even drove back home afterwards.

 

It had rained earlier in the week and even the night before. It's been really dry here, so it soaked up fast so the course wasn't too bad, a little tacky in some places. It was questionable on if it would rain during the event, but it didn't. Here's the only picture I got, which was taken before the race started:

I was the first one to sign up for this event and I was able to pick my bib number, so I picked 24. The first mile and some was on pavement, which my shin did not like at all. I wore my trail shoes, which cause me pain when I am on pavement. I was the last one to get to the trail. Once I hit the trail, I was able to get moving faster, at least for a little while. If I wasn't the last runner, I might have stopped to take some pictures, however, I didn't feel that I should. Plus I had the sweepers on their bikes right behind me and they stayed with me most of the race. They stayed at the 7 something mile aid station, so I did get a little reprieve from them breathing down my neck. It was a beautiful course. At about 6 miles, I started hurting and started thinking about quitting. Then I considered, is it my mind that wants to quit or my body. I just kept going, one foot in front of the other. My back started hurting, my knees started hurting, my muscles were starting to burn more and more, my mind was wanting to quit, and I kept going. I didn't want to have to tell everyone that I didn't finish. Between mile 9 and 10, I hit a wall. There was a long gradual up hill climb, my legs wanted to quit, they were getting heavy and it was getting harder and harder to keep picking them up. So I walked and walked and walked some more. Finally, I picked up my sped and started climbing some more. There was a little bit of a down hill and then another daunting up hill. That last 3 miles was tough and once we came off the trail, it was gravel the last half mile or so. I was glad to be done. I was the last runner to come in, but even being last, I finished and it wasn't as difficult on my mind as the first time I was the last runner.

Here's the events facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/FLATS-Trail-Half-Marathon/251720808185656

I might be slow. I wanted to quit. I kept going. I crossed the finish line!

I am sore today, but not as bad as I thought I would be. Will I do this race again, probably. I actually considered going out for a run today, just to loosen up some muscles. I won't, although, I will take Keeli for a walk.

Here's couple more pics from other runs I've done:

 English Landing - Parkville, MO

 English Landing - Parkville, MO

 Roe Park - Overland Park, KS

Thank you goes out to all of those who have supported me and encouraged me. I still have two more half marathons to go, Kansas City (October 19th) and Bass Pro (November 3). I am also part a Bison Relay Team (October 27).



 

 

 

 

 

Trail running, a 5k, my dog, and big mileage completed for July for me

I've taken a few days off from running. I am feeling wiped out, maybe due to the weather or maybe due to over training or because I just haven’t been feeling good or any combination thereof. Here it is Wednesday and I haven’t run since Saturday night. Here’s a re-cap of last week:

Monday night: I waited until it cooled off and didn't go out running until 8:30pm. My dog Keeli loves going with me, so the later I wait, the better it is on her. She’s a husky, sometimes she pushes me to go faster, and other times, she slows me down. We got in a decent 2.2 mile run/walk in 34 minutes.

Tuesday: In the morning a friend of mine shared on Facebook that a local runner was missing from the night before. He had gone out and didn’t return. It was very sad. Reports state he doesn't run with his phone. Police started their search, even brought in a K-9 to search. Unfortunately, this story did not have the hoped for ending. Chad Rogers’ body was finally found on Friday. Reports so far are that there wasn't fool play involved.

This event did bring up concerns from my mom, my grandma and one of my close friends. I do not go running without my phone and I usually have my running belt/pack on as well. If it’s cool enough and I’m going somewhere I can take Keeli with me, she goes. When I don’t have her with me and I am running alone, I am usually paying closer attention to other people around me, trying to make eye contact, and I tend to have my phone in my hand as well.

Wednesday: I was going to go to a group run with the Trail Nerds group at Shawnee Mission Park, however I had left my bag with my running clothes at home. So I decided to make a stop at the chiropractor’s office. I was really out of place! After putting me back in place, I went home, changed into my running clothes and headed to Parkville Nature Sanctuary.  This was my first time running here. The trail seems to be a work in progress. Part of it is graveled, which made running a little difficult:

Other parts of the trail were more trails like and enjoyable:

I nearly ran into a doe, which I think surprised both of us. She took off before I could snap a picture. Right about the same time, I had a big old flying creature start buzzing around me and I took off at top speed, really I was going as fast as I could go, like sprinting! I just kept thinking to myself, I need to remember to put on bug spray when I go out on the trails and hoping that I didn't trip and fall. I did manage to snap this picture:

Finally it stopped chasing me, probably a good thing since this is what I saw when I slowed down:

Yep, I might have tripped over those rocks and fallen flat on my face, ouch! The rest of the trail was uneventful, oh wait… just beyond the trail in the above picture, I had an 8 point buck jump in front of me about ten yards away. Luckily I didn’t have to deal with anymore gravel, big flying bugs, or deer after this section. Towards the end of my trail run, I got to enjoy this:

Unfortunately, my picture is a little blurry, but you get the idea. There is another part of the waterfall up to the right on the other side of the bridge. It was getting dark, but hard to tell since the flash was used in the picture. In the end, I really enjoyed this short 2.4 mile run, which took me about 50 minutes to complete. Unfortunately, Parkville Nature Sanctuary doesn't allow dogs, so if I run there, Keeli won’t be joining me.

Thursday: I use to do my runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, however, I have class on those nights now. I’m going to school to be a Personal Trainer. This night’s class was Kettlebell training. Pryor to class, I went to visit Fitness First. It’s a fitness supply company that our Tuesday night instructor told us about and it wasn't too far from the school. I was able to pick up two Kettlebells (10lb and 15lb) for a very reasonable price. In class we learned more about the Kettlebell swing, clean and jerk, and practiced some of the moves we learned from the week before. Then we ended up doing a Tabata session using the Kettlebell movements we learned. Burned lots of calories that night and ended up also hitting 10,000 steps just as I left the building after class. Usually I have to walk my dog around the apartment complex after class several times in order to reach that 10,000 step mark.

Friday: I took it easy. I gave blood on Friday at work doing the special donation were they hook you up to the Alyx machine. They take out your blood like normal, but then run it through this machine (Alyx), take what they need and put the rest back inside of you. I did really well until the last time they put back when they didn’t need. I got a little woozy. They just laid me back and gave me something to drink and eat. I was okay for the most part after that. Then I went to get my daughter from camp. We both fell asleep when we got back to my apartment and her dad showed up shortly after that to pick her up. I hadn't gotten a long enough nap, so I tried to lay down again. I laid there for a little bit, but couldn't fall back to sleep and gradually was awake enough to not have a headache. I decided to take myself to see a movie, Wolverine! It was pretty good.  Went home afterwards and went to bed.

Saturday: Had class that morning and a 5k that night. I took my running clothes with me, however we ended up getting out early and I went home and took a nap as I was pretty tired. Got up, felt tired still, and met up with my friend Meghan and we rode together to the event, with her husband and daughter. We got there way early and we were able to find good parking and pick up our race packets quickly. I warmed up a little prior to the start, but that didn't seem to help. It took almost the entire first two miles for my legs to stop hurting, even while walking. They were really hurting and I almost quit, so I ended up walking most of the first two miles. It really upset me too. Once I hit that two mile marker though, I was good to go and was able to do my run/walk pattern.. I finished in 46 minutes, not my fastest, but not my slowest either. Considering my legs, I was satisfied with my time, even if I was upset about my legs hurting. I did feel like I could have probably done another 3-5 more miles at that point as well.  Here's Meghan and me and then the Bling for the 5K:

Sunday: I was planning on doing some bigger miles on this day; however, I was just too wiped out. I ended up going to breakfast with my close friend. After that, I ended up gathering up my laundry in preparation to head to my mom and grandma’s. I also gathered up my 2lb dumbbells and some bands to give to my mom and grandma since I wasn't using them anymore. I was loading up my car and well Keeli was giving me the “come on mom, I wanna go for a ride” look. She also was doing her “husky talk” when I would shut the door when taking something to the car. So here she is:

Keeli loves going for rides. Lately she’s been in the back seat and goes from one side to the other. This day was different, she wanted the front seat. So off we went… I did a short workout with my grandmother. It was a little difficult with mom there, she kept interrupting me.  That’s my mom, it’s what she does.

I forgot to mention that I had ordered some compression sleeves for my legs earlier in the week and I got them on Friday. I wore them on Sunday. My grandma asked me if I was wearing duel colored socks or two pairs of socks. My grandma has a sense of humor and was definitely in full form on Sunday. Anyway, back to the compression sleeves. I wasn't really sure if they would help or not. I didn’t have to wonder for too long. One of the dogs at my mom and grandma’s, Milo, got loose and took off running. Milo has a story, he was my dog for a long while, but first he was my grandma’s, now he’s back to being my grandma’s. Well I took off running after Milo. I didn't warm up; I just took off sprinting after him. He’s a runner. Australian shepherd mix is what he is. He’s beautiful as well. He runs across the road. I was almost to him and he took off again. I was almost to him again and he took off… again. Luckily, someone driving by turned around and helped me catch him. That sprinting wasn't going to keep me going, it’s not what I am trained for. By the time Milo was caught, I was breathing heavily, not horribly, but heavy and I was winded. It didn't take me long to recover though. My mom had gotten in her car and drove down to meet us, so I didn't have to walk back to their house. I got in the car and noticed that my shins were not hurting. So, I guess, maybe I will start wearing them while out running.

Monday:  I didn't go to work. In the middle of the night, my stomach started bothering me and when I got up to get ready for work, I starting throwing up a little. I went back to sleep. I woke up still tired and wiped out, but I didn't go back to sleep. Monday was a lazy day. I almost got in 8,000 steps though.

Tuesday: Made it to work, still feeling yucky, but not as bad. I almost decided to skip class, but glad I didn't. I felt much better by the time we were done, even though we did a seven point body fat check and well, I have some improvement, but I already knew that. Got re-assigned to a new account ability partner and we have to come up with a workout for them for next Tuesday. I did end up having to walk Keeli around after class in order to get my 10,000 steps in, but at least I had the energy to do so.  I didn't track how far I walked her, just a leisurely walk.

Today: My goal is get in at least 3 miles tonight, 6 would be better, but I don’t want to push myself too much. Right now I am sitting at 57 tracked miles for the month of July. My longest run at one time was 4.8 miles, but I also did another run that day for 3.75 miles. I wrote this earlier and wanted to give an update… I did get in my 3 miles… 3.12 to be exact. It wasn't fast (51:51 was my time) and it wasn't pretty, but I got it done and my dog Keeli really enjoyed it.

Now here comes August... I don't think I have any scheduled races coming up this month, but you never know what might pop up. There is a trail race coming up Friday, but I don't know if my daughter will be staying with me yet. Other than that, I am just going to try to keep up with my training for my fall races. 

Beginnings

I have been thinking of starting a Blog for some time now, so here I am. I suppose the best place to start is to tell a little about myself...

Growing up I wasn't very active in sports, well I take that back... I was an active bowler. Some people don't consider bowing a sport, but in my eyes and to my body, it is a sport. Bowling was my only sport. I tried softball when I was in third grade and didn't even last one practice! A ball to the nose resulting in a bloody nose, pretty much detered me away from softball. I tried playing basketball in 5th and 6th grade. Key word there was "tried." I just wasn't that good. I was slow on the track when it came time to run in gym class. Sports, with the exception of bowling, just wasn't my thing. Bowling I was good at. I am still a bowler to this day. I have stopped bowling on leagues a couple of times, but always seem to go back. Right now I am not on a league, but I do bowl a couple times a year.

I have struggled with my weight most of my life or maybe more of my body image. In high school I weighed in between 110lbs - 120lbs, but it was a pudgy 120lbs. In college, I gained about 10lbs. I wasn't to happy about my body and what it looked like, but I wasn't unhappy enough to do anything more than complain about it. A couple years after college, I got married and then had a beautiful baby girl (she just turned 13 earlier this year). I gained a lot of weight, like 50lbs! I tried to lose it by walking and eating less. I didn't have much luck and the whole self-esteem was trashed. I started using Herbalife and it really helped. I got down to 145lbs and was so excited, yet devastated. Why devastated? Because it still wasn't good enough for my then husband. I heard him say things like I "wasn't tone enough" and "you used to be beautiful." Those words still hurt at times even now. I stopped using Herbalife (also got divorced) and did fairly good for a few years. Then the weight started creeping up again. I started working overnights, was getting less sleep, I got remarried, and I started packing on more weight.

In 2009, two years after I got remarried, my then Husband, Chris, left me. A few months later he had joined a gym and then I joined under him. I even got a couple sessions with a personal trainer. I tried so hard, at least I thought I was trying hard. For the four months I went to the gym, I had lost less than 5lbs! I was so frustrated. During those months, my husband and I worked things out. He had stopped going to the gym within a month and half of him joining, but I had continued to go for a few more months. I just got to the point that I felt it wasn't doing any good, so why keep going.

Then two years ago, a co-worker had asked me to sign up with Team in Training to do a half marathon here in Kansas City. We had already been helping our manager raise money with fundraisers for her Team in Training events. My co-worker and I decided that we could walk a half marathon and we both signed up. Wow, how signing up with Team in Training has changed my life! Started training in June of 2011 for the Waddell and Reed Kansas City Half Marathon (they have a full too). My co-worker was a little bit faster than me at walking and sometimes she couldn't make it to team trainings on Saturday mornings, but I there was another walker. We helped each other get through the miles. We learned a lot about each other and we even tried a few bouts of running. When I say bouts, I'm talking like maybe 30 seconds. We would use landmarks to start and run to. My new friend couldn't make it to the 9 mile training day. That was a tough one for me, but also a great learning experience. I got to mile 7 and I just couldn't walk anymore. I wanted to be done. So, I started running. Just one foot in front of the other. I would have to stop and walk a little, but I didn't let it last for too long. Walking just hurt too much. As bad as I felt, I finished strong and was really proud of myself.

So in October 2011, I started and completed my first half marathon... in 3 hours, 46 minutes, and 23 seconds. I did have the support of Chris; he actually came and took pictures. He and my mother were there at the finish line, cheering me on. Ah, thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. I set out and did something I never thought of doing before. I was so sore, my hamstrings hurt so bad, I was so excited, so amazed, so thrilled, yet was limping around for a couple of days! BTW, even before completing this half marathon, I had signed up again with Team in Training to do a full marathon in June 2012... in Anchorage, Alaska.

After the KC half marathon, I took some time off walking. Then training started back up in February for the full I would complete in Anchorage. Training for a full takes up a lot of time and can result in a lot more struggles. That second group training run, I met some new walkers. I even helped get them through their first long training walk. One of them even asked me if I was a coach and when I said no, told me I would be great at it! The third week of training brought me a new walking friend! Carrie, she's amazing and awesome! We helped each other get through those long miles. We even met at least once when we both missed group training to try and put in our 8 miles. We only put in four miles that day... great memories were made that day. I'll never forget how at about a mile and half out on our training walk, it started down pouring. We thought it might let up, so we made it to the 2 mile turn around point (we were going two miles in one direction, head back to our cars and go two miles in the other direction), however, it didn't stop raining and we were soaked by the time we got back to our cars. During the week day runs on our own, I would attempt to run more. I was able to do pretty good. I even did a half marathon (Running with the Cows) on my own in May of 2012 and loved it so much! Then there was the 16 mile training day... I was supposed to go bootblocking after our training, but it was also rainy and I'd never done 16 miles. I didn't bootblock, but Carrie and I had to help each other finish. I think she carried me more that day than I carried her. The 22 mile training day... wow, what a long, hot, and miserable day! By mile 20 I started making up my own words and signing. We laughed and giggled and it helped us finish those last two miles. Yeah, I am pretty sure I was delirious or something. Come to find out, on long mileage days (greater than 16 miles) I tend to start signing and making up songs the last two miles! Yep, did it during the marathon as well. We finished in just under 8 hours. We still chat every once in a while.

After the full marathon, I took some time off. I was experiencing some really bad leg pain. I was so tired and just blah. My weight was still an issue and I couldn't understand why I hadn't lost any weight. I had actually gained a few pounds. I was frustrated and when the scale tipped 212, something clicked. I HAD TO DO SOMETHING! So in the middle of July last year, I joined a gym. I did a little research and found that people training for marathons and half marathons usually had a hard time losing weight. I added some weight training, I did some walking and tried to run some more. I had signed up for the Kansas City Half marathon again. I wanted to improve my time. I wanted to be able to run more. The weight slowly started coming off. I didn't do a lot of long runs, but I did get in an eight mile (on my own) and an eleven mile run (as an alumni with TNT).

Race day... It was weird doing a race and not being a TNT member. I did meet up with the group, however, it just felt odd to me. I was pretty much on my own most of the race. I felt really good too. Chris was there again, but not my mom. This time Chris didn't meet me at varies spots on the course. I did however see my manager! She came over to cheer me on. She was volunteering at an aid station, but wanted to see me. I got another surprise as well, my co-worker that I had signed up with TNT the year before was out there and cheered me on in several locations. It was such a surprise; I didn't know she was going to be out there. I felt great that day. I was running a lot, slow, but I was running. I did walk/run with someone for a little while, but we soon parted ways. I came to the water station that was being run by TNT and oh what an awesome site. J-Ro even sprinted out to meet me and ran with me for a few hundred feet. Kim was there (mentor from the KC group the year before) and they all said I was looking so good! Wow, I felt amazing really. I wanted to finish between 3 hours and 3 hours 15 minutes. When I realized I was going to do it, I was so excited. When I crossed that finish line, I wanted to cry and jump for joy. My time for this half marathon was 3:04:12! I had improved my previous years time by just over 42 minutes!

So somewhere between Anchorage and KC, I had decided I wanted to go back to school to become a personal trainer. I started that in February this year and will be done at the end of December. I've learned so much already.

In December 2012 I also decided I wanted to complete five half marathons in 2013. In December, I signed up for Running with the Cows (May) and Kansas City (October). On January 1st I signed up for Hospital Hill (June). In the middle of January, I added Rock the Parkway (April) and by February I added F*L*A*T*S (October - this is a trail half) and Bass Pro (November). In May I also picked up Kansas City Corporate Challenge half marathon, which was the week after Running with the Cows. So far I have completed Rock the Parkway (3:05:46), Running with the Cows (wore wrong shoes and had to get a new timing chip, which messed up so I have no time, but think it was 3:11), KC Corporate Challenge (3:11:34) and Hospital Hill (3:07:44 - omgoodness the hills! There is isn't just one).

The first part of 2013 has been filled with great accomplishments (4 half marathons within 7 weeks, three of which were completed in a 4 week time period) and much sadness for me. Chris and I have separated, we have moved to opposite ends of the KC metro area, and we will be filing for divorce. My daughter decided to move in with her dad. These two events have been very tough on me emotionally. If it wasn't for school and all the miles I try to put in, I don't know how I would have been making it through these events.

I took a few weeks off for recovery after Hospital Hill, okay maybe like a week and half. I've gotten back into training. I've done a couple 5k and 10k's. I did my first trail 5k and came in last! I will save that for another entry. I have a couple more 5k's coming up in the next few weeks. I've also found the "Get out and run" program from US Road Running (www.USRoadRunning.Com) and they have a monthly medal. I have a few of my friends running or walking now. I am part of Moms Run This Town (www.momsrunthistown.com), in which I am the Chapter Leader for the Kansas City Group (www.facebook.com/groups/kansascity.mo.mrtt/).

So what about my weight? Well I am down 30lbs! I started using MyFitnessPal (kitcatkiss12), I also have a FitBit Flex that keeps me motivated to get my steps in for the day. I currently have the goal set for 10,000 steps per day. Tuesday seems to be the day I have the most trouble in reaching this goal. I am working on this though. I still have about 40lbs to go, but to lose 30lbs over the past year is a big accomplishment.

I look forward to putting into words my thoughts, experiences, and any other thing I feel like writing about. I am going to try to keep my focus on health, fitness, and running, however you may find other things here and there. I am hoping that I will be able to help others, inspire and encourage. I know I have already done so with some, but I want to continue to do so.