Training Recap: May Week 3

What an exhausting week...and I barely did any training!

Monday: 3 Miles + Strides 

I much as I knew I needed to run, I didn't.  After a crazy/mostly good weekend out of town, nothing went as I originally planned and I was bummed. Pity Party for 1 please!

Tuesday: 5 Miles

I was still in a funk but last minute changed my clothes and headed to the gym. I only had an hour before childcare ended at noon so I am pleased with the 4mi I ran, leaving myself adequate time to cool down and stretch. While I had a good run (10:43mm pace), I was disappointed that my childcare time was expiring because I wanted to keep running. 

Abigail had a swim lesson and dance class in the afternoon, our usual Tuesday activities. After dance we headed to a local Tuesday Farmer's Market where I picked up some kale and spinach (pretty disappointed with the overall selection of this market). Then we met up with friends for Food Truck Tuesday! More friends were here tonight, so Abigail had so much fun. How I didn't get one picture from the entire day is beyond me!

Wednesday: XT or Rest
Matt and I were startled out of bed when Abigail announced from our bedroom door that she threw up. What a wake up call! I spent my day rationing fluids and food. Abigail is only 4yo so she wasn't able to comprehend why she couldn't drink or eat as much as she wanted. It was exhausting for both of us! Even though Abigail was feeling better in the afternoon, she took a nice long afternoon nap which is very unusual! 

I had a 6pm Chiropractor appointment, so luckily Matt was able to get home in time to take over before I had to leave. I picked up a Starbucks on the way so I could unwind the long day. The visits always start with 15-20 minutes in a massage chair. I love this chair; it even has a calf muscle massage option! I got cracked in all the right spots and was able to go home fairly refreshed. We were all thankful Abigail's afternoon/evening was back to normal.

Thursday: 3-5 Miles
Abigail & I took the morning easy, not wanting to overdo it too quickly. Since she seemed to be back to normal, had hadn't puked in over 24hrs we decided to venture to her swim lesson (chlorine kills everything, right?). Her appetite was back and had a good class so I took her to gymnastics a few hours later. Again, she was her normal self again. So weird!

I did get to Gold's to run a bit in the evening. I managed a 5K in 34 minutes (10:55mm pace) but was tired. I stopped by Publix on my way home and stocked up on my favorite chocolate, Chocolove Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate. Yes, it has been one of those weeks! I finished my day with season finales of Grey's Anatomy & Scandal...wow!

Friday: 3 Miles or XT (Optional Bail Card)
The sun finally came out enough for me to get out Abigail's little princess pool and let her play outdoors with water. Brewer loved it just as much, if not more, than Abigail. The colder weather lingering throughout May has really been extra strange for me. I'm still a FLgrl at heart and it is NOT supposed to be cold in May. I sat outside and got some much needed Vitamin D while the kiddos played. I look forward to more of these moments throughout the summer!

Another exciting piece of Friday? My Foodie Penpal package arrived! I'll be posting all about what I received on May 31st, so keep an eye out.

Saturday: LR: 8 Miles
We attended an early afternoon birthday party before Matt's parents arrived for the night. Abigail wanted her Nana & Papa to go bowling! So we enjoyed a full day socializing and playing.

Sunday: Rest
I woke up early, race morning style, and felt energized. I checked the weather, still a chance for rain. I had told Brandi I would join her at the Freight Train 5K, and she was hoping to PR again like she did on the course last year. About 15mins before the 7:30am race start, it started to POUR. Luckily there were some tailgate tents from different vendors and the majority of the racers were able to get out of the downpour. The race is the first of four in The Locotamotive Series so the race would proceed rain or shine.

The race start was delayed but when the rain let up a bit we were sent on our way, my first experience running in the rain. Unfortunately, the jacket I bought last month (in case of rain for Auburn's Finish on the 50) is not waterproof like I thought! I wasn't drenched but I wasn't dry either. My new InknBurn Dragonfly shorts were FABULOUS! The best part of this morning? I managed a new PR! Even in the rain!

QUESTIONS:
-Do you ever have weeks that seem completely exhausting? How do you recover?
-If you have a favorite chocolate splurge, I'd love to know, please share!

Wordless Wednesday: The Disney Letter "K"

It took me forever to think of someone or something Disney related with the letter "K" other than "Kingdom".   Finally, I remembered the Kilimanjaro Safaris! Well, I had to go back and look it up because we usually just call it the Safari instead of by it's full name.

It wasn't until October 2010 until our very first visit to Animal Kingdom, so that was our first time also riding the Kilimanjaro Safaris. The big touring vehicles reminded me a bit of The Jungle Cruise boats on wheels, but it was more informational in comparison the the hilarity of The Jungle Cruise.

The African savanna reminded me and my parents of Busch Gardens, easy to compare since we are from Tampa. Abigail loved looking for all the animals (she wasn't yet 2yo on this visit).

Black Rhino

Our second visit to Animal Kingdom wasn't again until March 2012. Abigail still loves seeing all the different animals! Every time you experience the safari you will have the chance to see a variety of animals.

Crocodile

 

Crazy Ostrich running at our truck!

QUESTIONS:

-Have you experienced the Kilimanjaro Safaris for yourself?

-Do you have a favorite African animal?

Training Recap: May Week 2

Below is the Another Mother Runner's Half Marathon: Finish It Training Week 6. Since Week 5 didn't go as well, I should have set that to repeat but instead I was using this week to taper a bit for the half marathon I thought I was running on Mother's Day (I'll touch on this again later). Maybe I should restart Week 5 today, May 13th.

Monday: 3 Miles + Strides or XT
The weather Monday was completely nasty, but it didn't matter since my running friend Katie (from Corral G) would be in town! We had talked about going for a run or dinner, then decided on a Hot Yoga class. The class was Be Hot and was 75mins in length. The instructor focused a lot of the class on balance, Katie and I have LOTS of room for improvement in our yoga skills. It was so nice seeing Katie, and it was so great of her for coming back to the house for dinner where Abigail covered her in stickers and she got lots of unwanted attention from Brewer.

As I walked her out, I checked the mail and my first StrideBox arrived! Through a Twitter chat sometime in April I heard all about StrideBox, it's a monthly subscription for runners to try "cool stuff". My box cost $15 and 9 items arrived, very wonderfully packaged, and I was very impressed. I had purchased/tried JellyBelly Sport Beans before but never this specific item and the same goes for the Stinger chews, I have tried another one of thier products but never these chews. I was most excited about The Klitch footwear clip! I never knew something like this existed, and I pulled it up on Amazon.com and this same item retails for $16.95.

 

Tuesday: 6 Miles
Food Truck Tuesdays has returned to a local park during dinner time, so I knew if I wanted to go I had to get my miles in early. I ran 5mi in 58 minutes, an 11:35 pace. I would have tried running a bit more but the gym's childcare closes from noon-4pm daily.

Somehow we never made it to any of the Smyrna Food Truck Tuesdays last year. Abigail & I drove straight over after her dance class, we enjoyed a popsicle each from King of Pops. Abigail chose Strawberry Lemonade and decided to indulge in their Chocolate Sea Salt! Abigail still devoured all her mac & cheese (The Mac Attack) from the Happy Belly Truck. Since it was the first week, we're hoping more trucks will rotate through each Tuesday.

Wednesday: Rest
I had a morning meeting which led to Chick-Fil-A lunch with friends. Abs & I came home to play with Brewer in the backyard before we headed to her swim class. After swim I was on a mission to find the new Chobani Flip I have heard so much about! They are currently only stocked at Target so I took a mini cooler bag to stock up. I found three flavors: Key Lime Crumble, Honey Bee Nana & Raspberry Choco Fix. I got extra lucky because Target had two of these on sale for under a dollar! I had the Key Lime Crumble for dessert and I was super surprised I had to fight Abigail for my yogurt. She loved the "sprinkles" of graham cracker crumbs and white chocolate chips and I'm thrilled, not only did she try it, but she really liked it! We'll be going through lots more Chobani in our house now!!!

Thursday: 3 Miles Speed Training
During Abigail's swim class I decided to search for race details Mountain Momma Half Marathon, my Mother's Day gift! Upon pulling up the site, I saw the race has been postponed until 2014. What? How did I not get notified? Upon further investigation, I discovered I never registered for this race! How did I miss this? Turns out only 19 people registered for this race. The race contact I spoke with said next year they plan to also allow men to register and it will not be held on Mother's Day in 2014.

I hadn't planned on running today, since I had been tapering this week for the half marathon on Sunday. When Abigail & I got home from her gymnastics class, Matt suggested I go for a run. (Well, I didn't think I was pouting.) I wasn't completely in the mood, maybe I was pouting, so I decided to use the VFuel Gel that came in my StrideBox. The flavor was Peach Cobbler and it was very yummy! Unlike other fuels, VFuel is made with only real ingredients. I have never had tummy issues from other fuels, I know other runners who have had some terrible experiences, but had a great run with the help of this VFuel. I ran 5.75mi in 60min, a 10:26mm average pace. I would absolutely LOVE! to sub-1hr at The Peachtree Road Race so I was very happy with this training run!

Friday: 3 Miles or XT
Before we headed out of town for the weekend, the mail arrived with my FREE Quest Bars compliments of Hungry Girl! I got two of Hungry Girl's favorites, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Apple Pie and I am so glad because these are two of my favorites too. Sometimes I warm the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough for 10-15 seconds in the microwave (I suggest you do this on freezer paper), and it tastes like a warm cookie straight from the oven. I am so glad Marcia & Lena introduced me to Quest Bars, they have become my new favorite go to bar over the last couple months.


Saturday: LR: 9 Miles
Sunday: Rest
There was zero running this weekend. Even though my race was cancelled, we still spent the weekend in Pigeon Forge. Matt & I used to make trips at least annually to Pigeon Forge but it's been THREE years since our last trip. I will post separately about our weekend getaway. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

QUESTIONS:
-Do you subscribe to a monthly subscription box service like StrideBox?
-Have you tried Quest Bars and/or gotten your two FREE yet?
-Have you ever had a race get cancelled because of low registration?

Wordless Wednesday: Resorts & Relaxation

We don't often stay at the WDW Resorts. There's usually 5 of us, making one hotel room feel very small, so we stay off property at my aunt & uncle's timeshare or at a Holiday Inn Express (my parents use their points). Many of our Disney visits are day trips from Tampa. It makes sense to us because we get free parking with our annual passes and since we spend all day in the parks, we don't ever leave time to enjoy where we stay (i.e. pool time or on site restaurants).

This picture is from Pop Century, where we stayed for Abigail's 3rd Birthday! It was too cold to even think about enjoy time poolside but we really liked all the super-sized toys and decor throughout the resort.

QUESTION:

-Do you have a favorite WDW Resort? 

Training Recap: May Week 1

Overall, this week's training was not great. I ran a Half Marathon on April 27th so I rightfully should have planned rest days but I have a training plan to following and I want to succeed. Well, sometimes a plan needs to be tweaked along the way to ensure success. While this was not my best training week, it was a good week, even with the spontaneous Strep factor...

Monday: 3 Miles + Strides

I knew I was going to start the 30 Day Love Your Greens Challenge with smoothies, but I decided I would step it up a notch and try again with my juicer. I made a huge batch so I could drink off it all week. The recipe wasn't awful; the ginger has taken a while to get used to. 

I soon realized you get what you pay for when it comes to a juicer. Towards the end of my juicing, I realized there was only one or two drops coming from multiple slices of apples. One of the pieces of the juicer was clogged with fiber so I transferred all the pulp to a strainer to get every last drop of juice. Not ideal, but it was a very cheap juicer and this is probably why I haven't used it as much as I would like, because it's not really efficient and crazy difficult to clean all the pieces.

Tuesday: 5 Miles
I headed to Gold's in attempt to run a few slow miles. I was pleasantly surprised my legs weren't screaming at me from all the rolling hills during the Auburn Half. After previous races, my legs (particularly my IT bands) have been so extremely sore after hilly races. While I am not really training for hills, I am training and it's nice to know my body is responding without revolting after a race. While my legs felt good, my heart wasn't feeling it. I tried to push through and just couldn't, so I finished two very slow miles and called it a day.

Wednesday: XT or Rest
In the morning, we attended my very last MOPS meeting. MOPS International, Mother's of PreSchoolers, is a Christian based mom's group and it has been a huge part of my "mom life" for the last 4 years. I've really tried to not think about this too much, this is definitely the end of a season of life for me. I will very much miss the advice and encouragement from these women on a regular basis, but I hope to continue the friendships made.

Matt had an all day golf tournament through work so I bought last minute tickets for Abigail and I to Disney on Ice! On Tuesday, I saw a commercial on TV advertising $15 opening night tickets, SOLD. I have wanted to take Abigail to a Disney on Ice show for a couple years now, but the shows have always been scheduled for dates when we already had plans to be out of town. This show was "World of Fantasy" incorporating Cars, Little Mermaid, Pixie Hollow & Toy Story. Abigail loved the show! I'm glad we got the prices we did because all the story lines were directly from the movies, the skating was very well done but for us it wasn't anything extra spectacular since we do have Disney Annual Passes and visit the parks frequently.

Thursday: 3-5 Miles
I went back to the gym, in attempt to run, although I still was not completely feeling it. I kept it slow and was encouraged when others tweeted me saying it's okay to have an easy week, sometimes your body needs it and I know to listen. I felt much better than Tuesday so I managed 5 slow miles.

When I got home, Abigail was getting out of the bath and Matt had be inspect her spreading rash/hives. Lovely. After a quick call to our Pediatrician's on call nurse, we gave her Benedryl and planned for a sick visit to the doctor on Friday to play it safe.

Friday: 3 Miles or XT
Abigail's doctor appointment was not at our usual location but in Acworth, about 30-40mins north of us. It seemed to take forever to get there but Abigail was still her usual self, no signs of a sick kid beyond the red spots. The doctor almost didn't do a Strep test, which I asked for since the on call nurse really seemed to believe the rash/hives was Strep even without seeing Abs. Abigail was a champ getting her throat swabbed, maybe it was the promise of ice cream? The test came back positive, the doctor was very surprised. We were sent on our way with an Amoxicillin prescription and a dosage for Zyrtec to help with the rash/hives. We spent the rest of the day taking it easy, and hoping for no other Strep symptoms! It's not easy forcing a child with so much energy to rest when she feels normal.

Saturday: LR: 8 Miles
Matt and Abigail had a morning home while I headed to breakfast with some awesome Atlanta runners & bloggers! We met at The Flying Biscuit in Brookhaven after Brandi's 5K. It was nice to sit and chat without literally running off before a race. We have been talking more since the Publix Georgia Marathon weekend and it was about time our calendars finally aligned for us to get together! In case you'd like to "meet" these ladies through their blogs, I have listed them below.

Brandi: Girl on the Run
Jen: Hello Fitness We Meet Again
Ramona: In the Life of a Runner

Sunday: Rest
We attended the afternoon Braves game against the Mets. Abigail was still feeling fine and with two and a half days worth of antibiotics in her, we decided she would be fine attending. She actually stayed awake the entire game but grew restless during the 7th inning when the Braves went through THREE pitchers (hey, I was growing restless too). Abigail wanted to stick around to run the bases and even thought the line was super long we waited. She did great!

All the kids receive a certificate for running the bases and a Braves shirt! 

QUESTIONS:
-How good are you at listening to your body when it comes to needing extra rest?
-How do you handle extra rest days when it doesn't "fit" into your training plan?

Wordless Wednesday: May Calendar Shot

This is Abigail the first time she visited Magic Kingdom in May 2010, she had turned 1yo the December before. One of my all time favorites!

QUESTION:
-Do you have a favorite picture from a special first visit to Magic Kingdom? Is it you or a child?

Smoothies!

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you probably have noticed I have been making a lot of smoothies this month. I will be the first to admit I am not the best eater, and greens have never done it for me. I started making "green" smoothies a couple summers ago after hearing about them from a friend. I wont lie, I was highly skeptical because I really didn't believe I would be able to disguise the spinach. To my surprise, the smoothies I made were always super yummy.

What recipe do I follow? Now that's the complicated part because I don't actually have a recipe! I usually use a few scoops of yogurt, some juice, spinach and fruit. I started using half frozen fruit for more of that frozen smoothie taste without ice chunks.

Ingredient #1: I prefer Cabot Greek Yogurt, I use plain for my smoothies and vanilla for Abigail's. Greek yogurt is creamier which is perfect for making smoothies, well, smooth. There's also more protein in Greek yogurt which is an added bonus, especially since my smoothies will sometimes be a meal replacement. If you want to read more about the benefits to Greek yogurt you can try HERE, HERE or HERE.

Celery, Spinach, Strawberries, Pear

Ingredient #2: My usual go to liquid/juice for smoothies has always been orange juice. When I started the Sugar Detox earlier this month, I tried using Tart Cherry Juice instead and I still really liked the results. I had read a few months back that Tart Cherry Juice was a natural anti-inflammatory and was great for runners to aide in muscle recovery and joint pain. Like it's name says, it is tart and when it's served chilled over ice it's not awful, but it's not great either. I'm sure it's an acquired taste but for now I'm loving it in my smoothies. For Abigail, I have been using milk to keep her smoothies creamy.

Carrots, Strawberries, Spinach, Mango

Ingredient #3: I love Organic Girl Greens. Spinach is one of the "dirty dozen" so I always buy organic. I have had great luck with this brand, it never goes bad before I use it all. My new little trick is to actually freeze the spinach greens, their texture is like chips but it gives the smoothies a little more umph if you are not using a lot of frozen fruit. This was an accidental trick because I froze some before going out of town and then when I used it it was great.

Ingredient #4: Fruit! The strawberry is probably my favorite fruit, so I tend to use strawberries in almost every smoothie. Strawberries are also in season right now and they are super easy to clean and slice. Bananas are loaded with potassium, help make smoothies creamy and takes absolutely no time to clean/slice, what's not to love? I like to incorporate plenty of other fruits in my smoothies: berries, mango, peaches, cherries, pineapple, grapes and, most recently, cantaloupe.

Celery, Strawberries, Banana

I've also been experimenting with other veggies in my smoothies. I have tried celery and carrots, though never together. Too much celery or too many carrots will cause your smoothie to be thicker, more fiber texture. If I go overboard, I have fixed it by adding more berries or other fruit and maybe a splash more of juice. I would also like to experiment with zucchini, cucumber, beets and sweet peppers.

Carrots, Spinach, Blueberries

Have you ever put nuts or seeds in a smoothie? I have used sliced almonds and pecans in my smoothies. The nuts add a bit of texture to the smoothies so I would not use too much, especially if you're using thicker ingredients or a grainy fruit, like a pear. I also use flax seeds in my smoothies and have been intending to pick up chia seeds for a couple weeks now. Wheat germ and oatmeal can also be added as additional ingredients, but always keep in mind all these items mentioned with make your smoothies thicker so I tend to only use one at a time.

Pear, Strawberries, Spinach, Carrots

Cantaloupe

Instead of purchasing frozen fruit, which can sometimes be more expensive, especially when a fruit is in season, I decided to purchase fruit and freeze it myself. This can also be helpful for larger fruits like watermelon, papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe and honeydew that might take you longer to eat or use in smoothies. You can also buy larger quantities in bulk or when specific fruits are on sale then freeze yourself to save on costs.

Have you ever heard the term "flash freeze"? After cutting the fruit, I spread it out on a baking sheet lined with freezer paper and place it in the freezer (see picture of the cantaloupe on the right). Make sure the pieces are spread out, if too many pieces are touching/clumped together they will all be stuck together when frozen. Once all the fruit has been in the freezer 10 minutes or so, transfer it to a gallon ziploc bag or a large container for easier storage.

I did this again with mango, blueberries and strawberries before we headed out of town last week instead of letting the fruit sit and risk it spoiling before I used it. I flash froze the mango first, then added half the sliced strawberries and blueberries, then the second half of the sliced strawberries. This wasn't necessarily intentional, I just would add more fruit to the baking sheet once I had a decent amount of additional fruit to add. I accidentally forgot the fruit overnight in the freezer and transferred it to another gallon ziploc bag the next morning.

Mango, Strawberries, Blueberries

As you can tell from all the pictures, while I do have my basic 4 ingredients, I throw my smoothies together differently everyday. I am very haphazard in my selections, sometimes I choose based on what fruits might be older or getting close to going bad. Other days I choose based on what I see first either on the counter or in the refrigerator/freezer. There really is no rhyme or reason to any ingredient beyond my basic ingredients.

Mango, Strawberries, Spinach, Pear

I love my smoothies and make one almost daily. I know I'm giving my body the nutrition and fuel it needs and I have started noticing little differences inside and out. Since these smoothies have become more regular in my diet, I decided to join the Unconventional Kitchen Love Your Greens 30 Day Challenge for May. This challenge will give beginners lots of assistance and instruction to help get you started making and loving green smoothies. I signed up this weekend, after a friend shared this challenge with me, and have already received a shopping list for each week of this challenge. I'm intrigued by some of the ingredients and look forward to receiving the daily recipes and hope to find some new favorite flavors for my smoothies. I encourage you to join me in this challenge too!

QUESTIONS:

-Do you like smoothies and make them at home?

-Will you be joining me in the Love Your Greens 30 Day Challenge?

Finish on the 50

Yikes! This is my pre-race pic?

We have been looking forward to this race for a few months now. I am so glad we all decided to run and was even surprised we would know quite a few people running one of the four races all to Finish on the 50!

Matt and I arrived at 6:30CT so we could find parking and check-in. I quickly realized this was the most disorganized race I have run to date. We pulled up our names on a laptop then were "assigned" a race number by one of the volunteers, it was a bit strange. We headed over to find a spot in the sun on the corner where the Toomer's Oaks were recently removed. There were not very many people around yet and if my race number (#404) was any hint, it was not going to be a huge race anyway.

I kept my eyes peeled for anyone I might recognize, hoping I would find Emily my "old" Auburn friend. Instead I spotted, easily, Leigh and Diane two fellow runDisney enthusiasts I've met through Twitter and runDisney Facebook boards. Then Ramona found us and it was great finally getting to meet her in real life, which was nice since we had run the same races but never actually met before.

The Half Marathon was supposed to start at 7:30CT and I don't think we were finally off an running until 7:38. We couldn't really tell what was going on then everyone just started running, no announcement or music or anything. Spectators cheered, as did runners of the other races, but my favorite was the Auburn Swimming and Diving team cheering in front of Samford Hall!

The runners headed down College Street crossed in front of the Auburn University campus before turning to run down Gay Street and through residential neighborhoods towards Wright's Mill Road. There were plenty of rolling hills and a water stop around Mile2, but it's hard to say because there were ZERO mile markers and I was going by my NikeGPS App (since I forgot my NikeGPS watch).

When we got to the turn at Chewacla Park, there was a water table with cups and a huge tub of powder Gatorade but no volunteers. This was a crucial point since runners would be running past this table twice. There was no huge cooler of water and there were no cups on the ground, leading me to believe this station was just never fully setup. Luckily there was a small pavilion with a water fountain if runners were really in need, but I didn't want to stop.

We headed back along the same rolling hills of Wright's Mill Road and I felt very strong. I decided to really try to watch my pace, hoping to stay between a 11-11:30mm pace in attempt to run this entire 13.1 without intervals. I shouldn't compare myself to others, but it was really encouraging when I passed other runners. It was especially encouraging when I passed other runners as I felt strong running UPHILL. We continued to backtrack and passed the same water stop that was Mile2, maybe around Mile 6+ on the way back. Huge kudos to volunteer at the intersection of S Gay Street and Woodfield Drive, we passed him twice and had the very important job of directing 10K and Half Marathon runners to the split in the course. On my way back through, this same volunteer was also photographing runners!

While there were arrows helping guide runners throughout the course, color coded arrows for each race might also be helpful since parts of the course overlapped for the different races. Mile markers would have also been very helpful throughout the course, as I was asked by few runners wanting to know mileage.

Half Marathon

Another huge shout out to the Auburn Police during this race! They were very attentive watching for oncoming runners and halting traffic accordingly. There were four really important locations... 1. As runners turned off College Street at the beginning of the race. 2. As runners crossed the I-85 Wright's Mill Road overpass and the police were only allowing cars in one direction at a time. 3. As runners crossed the E University Drive intersection. 4. When the runners crossed back over College Street from residential neighborhoods heading back onto campus.

Once back on campus, there was another water station. I think it was fairly close after we crossed back over College Street but I'm not exactly sure if it was there on Woodfield Drive or if it was after we turned onto Donahue. This had to have been somewhere Mile8 and Mile9. If I had known there wouldn't have been another water station until Mile12, I probably would have stopped and chugged more than one half dixie cup of water.

We turned down Lem Morrison and I was really surprised to find so many buildings I didn't recognize from my days at Auburn. I wracked my brain trying to remember if this road even existed back then, fully knowing if it was it was not developed or utilized a decade ago. This same road curved and then became Mell Street, and buildings started to look familiar again. I ran past the Arboretum and then as I was passing the President of Auburn's house is when it really hit me, I was going to set a new personal record. My pace up to this point was excellent and I still felt strong and  only time would tell by how much my new PR would beat my last, set on March 17 of 02:36:17.

I got ahead of myself. I don't think I started running faster. I don't think there were more hills, yet. I could see the stadium but I still had another 3 miles to run. My mouth was dry, I needed water. I willed myself on, knowing a water station would be soon. I mentally kicked myself for not knowing the course better because I could have asked Matt to meet me on Tatch with a bottle of water, but the race organizers never posted where or how many water stations there were along the course and I had trusted they would be prepared. Mile 11 was downright awful, I caved and did a few intervals. I realized my thighs were chaffing a bit from my shorts riding up and so was the inner section of my left arm, both consumed me as we hooked onto W Magnolia Ave (or as I knew it, "Old Frat Row").

Finally at Mile 12 there was another water station. The volunteer was enthusiastic and gave me a fist bump for running for the Boys & Girls Club of Auburn, but I told him I was going to hang out a bit. I ended up chugging SIX dixie cups of water. The volunteer was nice and sprinkled some Gatorade powder in two of my cups. I was drained but I proceeded onward. Wire Road seemed to be a slow and steady uphill before turning onto Samford to head around the football practice facilities. I'm sure I drove this road many times in my years at Auburn but I never realized their was a crazy hill as you continue on Samford toward the intersection with Donahue. Wow, a brutal hill at the end of a Half Marathon is brutal. I no longer felt strong, I just wanted to move fast enough to still PR.

Looking back, I think I was more defeated than I let myself believe because I was just on survival mode. How do I know? I have zero pictures or screen captures after that 10 Mile screen capture. I didn't even send Matt a text message to give him an update I was getting close or even entering the stadium. They weren't looking for me, but Matt said my mother-in-law spotted me on the field. I finished. I set a new PR. I got my medal and felt like I was scavenged for refreshments. Someone pointed me to a huge tub, and I actually had to dig through lots of empty bottles until I found two. I stepped off the field and completely downed the first bottle of water. Matt and family walked to me and we took a couple pictures, I think. I recovered enough to spot Aubie and start heading his way, only to learn he left! HUGE sad face.

I asked about Matt and Abigail's race. Matt was so proud of her! He said she started out very timid, wanting to hold his hand but then after watching the other kids run with their families she caught on and decided to run too. I honestly wasn't sure if she would run or not, she didn't want to run at all during The Royal Family 5K in February and "ran" just about the entire race on Matt's shoulders. This course was shorter and she didn't have to be up nearly as early for this Fun Run!

Fun Run

Finish on the 50 Fun Run

Matt took lots of pictures during their run and even got video of Abigail's Finish on the 50!

Abigail couldn't wait to show off her medal to Aubie! She even told me Aubie kissed her medal and picked her up. Hopefully it wont be another 3yrs before we get our next visit with Aubie.

 

We headed out of Jordan Hare to get to the Tailgate Party at the Transportation Center. I saw a couple lines of people, and had to ask what was going on. Runners were supposed to be able to look up their finish time but there was some sort of error and none of the times were posting. There was another line to pickup race shirts around the side of a van and they were out of all the sizes we needed. Luckily, the ladies behind us in line were trading their Women's Medium for a Small so I was able to get my correct size. Abigail ended up with a Women's Extra Small and she's going to wear it as a nightgown. The only Men's size remaining was XL so we had to put his name on a list for reorder. The was no signage and I did see some Powerade, I never figured out how to get additional refreshments and we decided to just leave and head to lunch.

On our way to lunch Matt told me before his race the runners were being told some of their volunteers were missing in action. Unfortunately, there was more lacking than just volunteers. I should have remembered this was the first year the Half Marathon was being offered, and I should have been more prepared. I should have worn my fuel belt with my own water and I should have run with some GU or Clif Shot Gel. I still do not know how I forgot to run with fuel, but then again I forgot my watch at home too. (Sigh.)

While this was my FORTH Half Marathon, it was definitely the smallest. I'll chalk a lot of it up to a learning experience for me and while this race was still lacking in a few areas, I am still really happy that I was able to set a new PR. It was amazing to run through the city of Auburn and the campus, because when I was in college I thought the sororities who hosted races as fundraisers for their philanthropies were out of their minds. Now here I am 10yrs later and I couldn't be more thrilled to drive in from out of town to run/race here. I hope we'll be able to Finish on the 50 again next year!

I am not sure if it would be possible, or if the race organizers had already reached out, but it would have been pretty amazing if some of Auburn's organizations were present on the race course or helped at the water stations. Ideally, this race could work with Auburn's Student Government to allow the different organizations to earn spirit points if they have members running, volunteering at water stations or set up cheering sections along the courses. This "2013 Finish on the 50 will benefit Student Affairs for programming for intramural sports, group fitness and club sports for the student body" so it would only be fitting for the organizations to also be more involved on race day.

It seems like there are plenty of people unhappy with many aspects of this race but I hope they realize it's still a newer race and decide to register again in future years. The course was great, the organization with the city seemed to be great and if a few campus organizations would step up to assist, this race would be absolutely perfect.

QUESTIONS:

-Have you ever Finished on the 50 yard line of a race?

-What do you do when you run a race that is not organized as well as you hoped?

Training Recap: April Week 4

While I don't feel like I worked out nearly as much as I have compared to April Weeks 1, 2 or 3, it has been a very successful week of training.

Monday: Fun Workout
From what I gathered, many running stores across the country were hosing Boston Solidarity Runs Monday night. I decided to join a friend to run with Phidippides, an Atlanta running store. When we arrived, there was a decent showing and I counted at least 8 2013 Boston Marathon shirts throughout the crowd. Phidippides was "selling" mini race bibs for a $5 donation to contribute to One Fund Boston.

The run was great, a little hilly but I tried to keep my pace slower in order to run the entire 3mi without intervals. I kept my music off to keep my mind on those grieving in Boston. I ended up running the last mile with Barbara Galloway and didn't even know it until later.

When we finished the run, there were chair set up for "Reflections of the Boston Marathon". Jeff Galloway, former US Olympian and designs all the training plans for the runDisney races, thanked everyone for coming out and a shared a few of his own favorite stories from running Boston himself. In my photo with Jeff above, he's holding his 5th place Boston Marathon trophy which is the best he ever finished in Boston. He introduced Mike, a runner from Boston, who then shared a bit of his race story then shared about a friend who wasn't able to finish, but instead finished his last half mile on another street without a true finish line. Mike then proceeded to give his own medal to the other runner.

While I really only knew one person on my run, I knew many others also running with their local running stores. I really enjoyed reading about Lena and Rachel's blog posts about their meet ups in Seattle and Tampa, if you'd like to read a bit more their names are linked to their blogs. I am still so blown away how the running community has come together and although I now have many running friends sprinkled from coast to coast, this Boston Solidarity Run really brought us all together.

Tuesday: 7 Miles
Abigail is currently taking swim lessons 3-5 days each week. She sweetly requested I swim with her so I had to oblige. I swam my first 10 down and pack laps using a kickboard and Abigail even swam a few laps with me before her class started. I swam a few laps freestyle before Abigail's class was finished and she wanted to swim more laps with me. She kicked on her back with her flippers, and she's FAST. I would push off the wall and kick only under water (holding my breath) and I could barely keep up with her (and I had flippers too!). Swimming with Abigail will need to be at least a weekly happening because she then asked me to swim both Wednesday and Thursday with her!

I went to the gym to run after Abigail's dance class. Matt was able to watch Abigail, instead of her coming with me, so I took advantage of not having a 2hr time limit at the gym. I decided to quicken my pace each mile and I felt great. While my last 10 minutes were definitely tough to finish, my overall average was a 11:18mm pace AND I ran for two straight hours non-stop. ZERO intervals!

When I finished Couch to 5K, I could run an entire 5K without walk breaks. Then I switched over to interval running for all training and racing, and I lost the ability to run 3.1mi straight through. I am sure some of this is mental. Or maybe it's just stubbornness, since I have to keep a slower pace to run without intervals. Whatever it is, today I ran two straight hours and my pace was less than a 12mm. I know it's not much improvement, but I am pleased to see improvement as it is encouraging and helps keep me working towards my goals.

Wednesday: XT or Rest
I completely intended on attending the Gold's Power class again this week but it didn't happen. Abigail's swim class ran late and the weather was rainy, so by the time I got to the gym I was 20mins late for the 50min class. Sigh, oh well.

Instead I came home and decided to attempt a new recipe I read about on another Atlanta runner's blog, Hello Fitness We Meet Again. Jen has a Foodie Friday weekly post on her blog and the Spaghetti Squash Alfredo recipe from a couple weeks back sounded right up my alley. I followed the directions and was confused when the sauce never thickened leaving it very soupy. I went back and read the rest of Jen's post and she noted the same result when she tried this recipe. Maybe I should have read her post all the way through before starting to cook mine, ha.

I wasn't sure what Matt would think about eating spaghetti squash in leiu of "real" spaghetti so I decided to tweak the recipe. I cooked up some whole grain spaghetti but drained it well before I normally would, leaving the pasta extra al dente. I then mixed the spaghetti with the spaghetti squash alfredo, it was still fairly soupy which I expected so I transferred all the spaghetti to a glass 8x8 dish and baked it for 20-30mins. The extra soupiness was baked into undercooked pasta and I sprinkled more Parmesan before serving. It was a success, especially since Matt devoured his serving before I ate half of mine!

Thanks again Jen for the new recipe and inspiration!

Thursday: 3 Miles Speed Training
Another planned work-out gone wrong. I was going to head to the gym for today's scheduled speed training but Brewer had so much energy! I decided to take Brewer out for a run. The pollen counts have been down over the last few days so I didn't have be be all drugged up to be outdoors. We only ran a mile and a half. Brewer is still not used to running on a leash and he is very easily distracted! He was distracted by vehicles, birds and pine cones  I'm sure he will become a great running partner after some more practice.

While I was exhausted after that short run, I'm not used to the extra workout of controlling a dog on a leash, Brewer was still ready for more. He played fetch a bit but really likes to play keep-away more. He really likes playing keep-away from Abigail because she will chase him. Brewer would pause and lay down, allowing Abigail to slowly creep toward him before he would sprint away at the last moment not to be caught. When Brewer was finally exhausted, Abigail was able to catch him a couple times.

 

Friday: 4 Miles or XT
Today will be a rest day for me in preparations for my half marathon scheduled for tomorrow!

Saturday: LR: 7 Miles
Instead of 7mi, I will be running 13.1 down in Auburn! I heard about this race sometime in the fall and thought finishing on the 50 yard line of Jordan Hare Stadium would be so fun. Also on my radar was Nashville's Country Music Marathon was the same day and this was a race I dreamed of running, err participating, when we lived there April 2008. Since this Nashville race is now being organized by the Rock'n Roll Marathon Series and I'd like to race that series a some point, it'd probably be best if I chose Auburn his year and RnR for another. I made this choice before Auburn decided A-Day would be the last rolling of Toomer's Corner and before Auburn announced the Toomer Oaks would be removed before Finish on the 50. It will be really strange returning to Auburn where the start line of all the races is Toomer's Corner.




QUESTIONS:
-Are you discouraged when your training is botched more than one day in your training week?
-Do you have any fun plans this weekend?