Throwback Thursday

So, getting back into the habit of blogging, I'm going to try to post every day when I can  -  at least a couple of times a week when I can't.

For Throwback Thursday, I went back to when I first created this blog in 2007 and grabbed the first picture that I posted here.

I had captioned this picture "What Happened to my Waist?"

Seriously?  I'm young, I'm fit, and I just won a trophy at a 5K.  And, I'm COMPLAINING.
Hopefully, I've learned to be a bit more kind to myself since then.  I try.

52 Minutes?

There's a loop that I tend to run at home on most of my weekday runs.  It's 4.3 miles.
Last night, G and I decided to go for a run after work, since I said "Hell No" when the alarm went off at 5 in the morning.

First run after our Half Marathon on Saturday.
I didn't care about time, but I always wear my Garmin and he likes to "Map My Run".

Anyhoo, we get home from the run, and I'm just happy that we ran the entire time with only a short walk break at mile 2.  When he ends his workout on his phone, it informs him that it was 52 minutes.  He actually had to make me show him on the Garmin that, yes, it WAS 52 minutes.  Yeesh.  I mean, yes it was much slower than we normally run our loop, but I needed it to be.

I enjoy running together, and he hates running alone.  But, I'm afraid there is going to come a point where I'm going to have to tell him to go and get his run on and let me trot along at my turtle's pace alone.

Or, I'll magically get my old speed back.  Time will tell...

Indianapolis Festival 500 Mini Marathon

What a good time!

I had registered for this race way back in October, shortly after registration opened.  Since I live in Indiana now, it was a given that I have to run this race.  The nation's largest Half Marathon, of course I have to run it.

We went to the Expo the night before, and I ran into an old colleague from my former workplace.  Small, small world.  We then ate at Fazoli's.  Yep, we're big spenders.  Actually, I was hungry and wanted to eat and go home, so we chose the fast food route.  Full of spaghetti and meatballs, and exhausted, my husband too excited to sleep.  Yes, it was his first half marathon.  It was enough to almost make me excited about race day again.  

Anyhow, we get up Saturday morning and make the trek to Indianapolis.  For such a huge race, there was ample parking very close.  And cheap!  Where else can you go to such a large event and pay a flat $5 for parking?  

G was assigned to Wave 3 and I was assigned to Wave 4 (due to an oops when I registered him).  We decided to try and get into Wave 3 and get started 15 minutes earlier.  That was no problem.  We started with the Wave 3 group, at 8:15am.  G was shocked by how crowded it was along the course (imagine if there wasn't a wave start! Oy!).  There was almost always entertainment along the course, bands and cheering and tons and tons of water/Gatorade stations.

Yes, we got to run around the speedway, but after a mile of this, I was ready to get out of there.  Still another mile left.  Ugh.  Boring.

When it was all said and done, I was pleased with how we ran (he stayed with me the whole time, even though he could run quite a bit faster than me if he would go).  I felt stronger and stronger throughout the entire race (plus, NO HILLS!).  Just check out those split times!

Finish Time
Finish Net	2:35:31
Finish Gun	3:07:45

Location	Net Time	Clock Time	Time of Day	Pace	Pace Between
Start	00:00	32:15	8:20:26
5K	37:41	1:09:55	8:58:07	12:06 /mi
					11:59 /mi
BRICKYARD	1:32:45	2:04:59	9:53:10	12:02 /mi
					11:56 /mi
11M	2:12:11	2:44:25	10:32:36	12:00 /mi
					11:03 /mi
Finish	2:35:31	3:07:45	10:55:57	11:51 /mi

Our next Half Marathon is on May 24.  G plans to run it with his brother and see how fast he can go.  I'm just hoping to beat the time I posted on Saturday.  

Next race:  May 10, just a 5K.  

Run for the Ivy 10K, 4/26/14

I was supposed to work all day Saturday.

Well, "supposed to" is strong language.  A consultant was in, and I had sat in on the sessions with him Thursday and Friday, planning to spend Saturday.

We had already registered for a 10K race on Saturday.

I had already worked over 60 hours for the week.

Friday evening, when I left work at 8pm (and skipped out on their after-dinner session), I decided that I had enough and was going to run the race on Saturday morning anyway.

Saturday morning, up and at 'em.  Only, not that early.  The race had a 9am start time, and the high for the day was predicted to be in the 80s.  I dressed in a running skirt and tank and hoped for the best.

The race started a few minutes late (as most races do around here, from what I've seen so far).  I was a little worried when we started because I felt like my skirt was slipping down my hips (it was new).  As we got going, it seemed to stay put after the first half mile or so.

I pushed myself harder than I usually do the first run after a marathon.  With the long hours at work all week, I hadn't had a chance to get a run in before the race.  I was on my feet all day most of the week, so I did work out all of the soreness and felt strong for the 10K.

The 10K course was 2 laps of the 5K course.  Ugh.  I hate those.
BUT, we did manage to lap the last group of walkers.  Woot! for us.

I got a little warm by the finish, but manageable.
Our finish time was 1:10:17
Yep, they recorded my husband and I with the exact same finish times.
And we were almost last.  Aargh!  One of my least favorite things about small town races.  We averaged 11:20 per mile, granted not my fastest but I thought it was respectable.  And STILL almost finished last.  There were only 2 finishers behind us.

A couple of observations now that I've done some races in my new(ish) small town.

1- Why do they never start a race on time?  If I go to warm up, I'm always cool by the time they start the race.
2- They give out more awards to the walkers than runners.  This is the opposite of what I've seen in my past in other towns.
3- All of the women look MUCH older than they are.  I finished right behind a woman that I guessed to be mid-50s, and she was MY AGE.  This has happened with multiple women at every race I've been to in Indiana.  I have since stopped drinking the tap water here.

Next race is the Indy Mini on Saturday.  We are certain not to be last place for such a huge race!
Saturday will be my husband's first half marathon.

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon 2014

Never a dull moment around here, let me tell you.

March 29:  My wedding day.

March 31 - April 7:  Honeymoon in Hawaii

I've been back to work for almost 3 weeks now.  The first 2 weeks were 60 hour weeks.  This week is shaping up to be a 70+ hour work week.  I'm exhausted.  But, I decided to throw a marathon in there on the same weekend that we travel 4 hours each way to visit my family for Easter.

Yeah.  It's been a full couple of months.

I registered for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon several months ago, when I still had grand plans for completing the training.  I started out not so bad, but then it all fell apart.  I had one 16 mile run, and a couple of 14 mile runs in there as my long runs (one of those was in Hawaii, so I should get bonus points for doing a long run on my honeymoon).

The race itself was well organized, and I have zero complaints about the weather.  I didn't know what to expect from myself, but I was hopeful that I would beat my time from the Monumental Marathon back in November (6:02:45).  I was completely untrained for that one.

I felt strong for the entire race, and I only walked at the water stations (and up a couple of hills in the park, because dang).  I managed to best my last marathon time, finishing in 5:34:57.

Hopefully, I'll improve on that for my next marathon (and my husband's first marathon) in South Bend, IN on May 31.

He's running his first half marathon with me next weekend, we're doing the Indy Mini.  I've been registered for that one for months, too.  We just realized it wasn't full and registered him last week.  Should be a good time.

It's so much easier training for these races with a running partner. If only our work schedules would cooperate and get back to 40ish hours per week...

Less than 18 hours after leaving Louisville from the marathon, and a 4 hour drive later, we were off for Easter service at my parents' church.  With half of our kids (my daughter had to work, his son is a drama queen and didn't come with us).

It's a race filled few weeks.  We ran a 5K on 4/12, my first 5K in ages.  I ran it in just over 31 minutes.  I was quite pleased with that, considering my lack of faster runs lately.

Up next, a 10K race scheduled for 4/26.  This will be my first run since the marathon.  I can't wait (not sarcasm).

Going to the Chapel

Yup, I'm getting married.....  Again.

I never realized before I met my fiance that love is really not supposed to be so difficult.  So, when he asked, I couldn't wait to say YES.  We aren't wasting any time, either.  The wedding will be March 29.

Now, because we all know that I have to put all kinds of undue pressure on myself, this falls right in line with the rest of my calendar.

March 29:  Wedding
March 31-April 7:  Honeymoon (Maui!!!)
April 19:  Kentucky Derby Marathon
May 3:  OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (Indianapolis)

The fiance is pretty stoked about these races, too.  He's even been running with me even though he's never really been a runner before (with the exception of the last month or so, I'll tell you about that in a minute).  So, no matter how hard I try to convince myself that I should just skip the marathon on April 19, he's not going to let me.  Urg.
Dam him for being so dang supportive.

Anyhow, we had been doing really well earlier this year.  Going to the gym and running on alternate days, worked up to a 12 mile long run, getting stronger and faster.  Well, and then this winter happened.  There came a point in time where I just couldn't take the cold and the snow and the cold cold cold.  All I wanted to do was stay in bed until the last possible moment when I had to get to work, then come home and put on something warm and fluffy and go to bed and hibernate.  The cold got me down, too.  I just can't stay happy when I can't stand to step outside.  So, I've been a bit of a slug for the past 4-6 weeks.

Now, I only have a few more weeks until it's marathon time, with a wedding and a vacation stuck in there.  Everything may not be perfect, but it's going to happen, and I'll be happy no matter what.  Ha!

I've been an engineer for 17 years and never had an interest in dating an engineer.  Ever.
I'm marrying........     an engineer.  

I'm Back to the World of Blogging

So, it may seem like I've dropped off the face of the planet, but I'm still here.
MEEEEE:

Maybe nobody will read this, but I miss writing and will keep doing it just for me.

So, what has happened since I last posted here?  Well, that's too much.  I'll hit the highlights of the past few months.

- I accepted a position with a new company and moved to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.  Great pay, boring job, horrible location, good boss.  Meh, it could be worse.

- I'm RUNNING again.  I ran the Monumental Marathon on November 2, and I was running again the following week.  I didn't train for the marathon, but I had a 16 mile long run in the tank, so I decided to go for it. Running is going well, I'm feeling great, and I'm finally dropping the weight that I gained by eating my feelings the past couple of years.

I swear, they use a special camera at races that adds 20-30 lbs.  I really am losing weight, even though my race pictures don't show it...

- My daughter is considering moving back in with me, she doesn't love it where she is now and needs to switch schools anyway (she started at a community college Fall 2012 and is staying with my parents in Southern IL right now).

- I started dating again.  Yes, after taking a few years off from dating and being a hermit, I finally decided to get back out there in the world again.  Of course, the first guy I started to get serious about turned out to be a serial cheater.  Yeah, found that out a couple of weeks ago, and it still burns.

- My 40th birthday is on Black Friday (yes, this Friday).  My best friends in my hometown (where I will be for the holiday) have out of town company/family obligations, and so I have NO plans for my 40th birthday.  Yeah, just got out of a bad relationship, and I get to spend my 40th alone.  Fun times.  The good news, my daughter doesn't have to work that evening, so I'll probably go shopping/take her out to dinner.

- I did have Friendsgiving (friend thanksgiving) with my friends in Chicago a couple of weekends ago, so it's not as if I haven't had any fun stuff going on the past couple of weeks.  Haha!  I needed to get away the weekend that I found out about the ex, so I went there.  We had a blast, and much champagne was consumed.

- I've put up 2 Christmas trees already.  I helped with my friends' tree in Chicago, and I put mine up over the weekend.  I'm going to have a good holiday season this year, darn it!!  I don't care how much garbage is going on in my life!