Final thoughts...

I know I haven't been updating this like I said I would but I have so many thoughts I need to get out of my head. As I sit here getting a pedicure (mostly for the foot and leg massage ahhh), I'm jotting down everything. I apologize in advance because this might come off a bit jumbled. 

I finished my first half marathon this morning - the Space Coast Half Marathon in Cocoa, FL. My official time was 3:40:13 with Garmin time 3:40:20. My Garmin also showed the course was long at 13.25 miles but it is what it is. I went into the race expecting a finish between 3:30-3:45 so I'm absolutely thrilled that I met that goal. 

I followed a customized training plan from Runners World...well sorta followed it. I did run at least twice a week and did a couple speed runs and a couple long runs and those tied along with my 3-4x a week boot camp/insanity classes, I felt pretty prepared for this. Of course in the week leading up to the race I came down with a cold, sore throat and cough. I took my meds and just hoped for the best come race day. 

I had my outfit planned out so I could carry my essentials on me - essentials were my phone (for music, runkeeper intervals, and texting my husband my location so he could look for me), gummy bears for my mid race fuel/sugar needs, and a towel in case I had to blow my nose or wipe my sweat. So I wore a tank top, shorts, a sparkle skirt, and a spibelt. The phone went in the spibelt and the gummies went into the pocket on the sparkle skirt. The towel was draped around the belt portion or the spibelt. Everything was comfortable and I didn't have any issues. 

The weather leading up to race morning had me a bit worried that it would rain but it wound up being perfect weather, mid 60s and overcast. No rain. My only issue was the wind, the race was along the river for the most part and when the wind would blow up off the water it got cold! I wished I wasn't wearing a tank top in those moments but I'll take some cold wind over the super hot sun any day. We really lucked out with the weather. 

Anyways, as far as the race itself, I planned on starting out with the 3:45 Galloway method pacer, who was alternating running 20 seconds, walking 40 seconds. I stuck with that group for about a mile and then moved up to the 3:30 pace group who was doing the same interval times, just a slightly faster pace. 3:30 was my ultimate dream goal time so I wanted to stick with them. Well it wound up being a bit too much for me and by the end of mile 4 I just couldn't keep up anymore. At that point I let them go ahead and followed my own 1:1 intervals at my own pace. It worked out pretty well until miles 9-12 where I just really had to slow down. The bottoms of my feet were hurting so bad and I wanted to finish strong so I decided to walk more than I jogged for these few miles. 

When I reached mile 12, I ignored the pain and pushed ahead. More and more spectators lined the course around mile 12.5 and their cheers were SO encouraging. My name was on my bib and people were cheering for me by name and I got overwhelmed with emotion. When I reached the last turn there was a photographer there and I mustered a thumbs up with a big smile for him. As I rounded the corner I kicked it up a notch. People were still cheering for me by name and it felt like I had my own personal cheer crowd. SO incredible. I reached the finish line, put my arms in the air and smiled huge! I was so happy to be done! And so proud that I did it! I will never forget that last half a mile and all that support from those strangers. They just have no idea how much their cheers meant to me. 

I have to give a shoutout to a few people. My husband Anton who woke up before 4am to come support me during the race. He met up with my trainer and friend Wendy and I saw them around mile 4.5 and then again around 8.5. I was so thankful to see some familiar faces along the way. I also piggy backed with a woman named Connie who attends boot camp with me. We crossed paths more than a few times and it was nice not to be so lonely the entire time. I also passed another boot camper Cheri and a coworker Lori who both had encouraging words to say as we crossed paths. So great to see them! 

After the race, I was able to catch up on all the Facebook posts and comments and likes from everyone and it felt so amazing. I felt so much love and reading people say I inspire them and they are proud of me really means a lot. 

Wow- like I said this was very long winded and random, but I wanted to save this memory forever. 

Thank you for reading and THANK YOU for supporting me!

Some pictures....

Before the race

Mile 4.5ish...

Mile 8.5ish...

Coming around the bend to the finish...

Eye on the finish line - almost there!

And DONE! With my medal :)

 

I don't think I've ever seen myself look so genuinely happy. :)

Space Coast Half Marathon Training - Week 4

 Let’s get right to it. :)

Sunday, 9/15

On Sunday morning I had plans to go out to breakfast with a friend and my husband.  The breakfast place of choice is not too far from me, I estimated about 1.5 miles.  I told my friend and my husband that I wanted leave a little earlier than them to run there and they could meet me there a few minutes later.  So I did!  It wound up being 1.29 miles door to door, not too shabby.  It was HOT, though, and since the sun was up I was of course running directly into it which is pretty torturous.  I was soaked with sweat by the time I got there, but luckily I beat them there so I had time to relax in the rocking chairs out front before they arrived.

Sunday afternoon I spent a bit of time chasing my 2.5 year old niece around a building for a family event we had.  That was fun to do in heels. :)

Monday, 9/16

I was still exhausted from the weekend so I skipped boot camp (sue me) and slept in a lot.  It was awesome.

Monday night, Anton and I did T25’s Dynamic Core.  It was our first time doing the workout and it wasn’t too bad.

Tuesday, 9/17

I had 3 miles on the schedule for Tuesday morning.  When I headed out of my house it was DARK out, it seemed darker than usual.  I was a little afraid but it lightened up quickly.

My splits weren’t that great…especially by mile 3 I was just ready to be done with this run.

On Tuesday night, Anton and I did T25 - Core Cardio.  I really do love that workout.  It makes me sweat a LOT, like dripping sweat.  It’s awesome.  Unfortunately, no picture. :P

Wednesday, 9/18

I went to boot camp in the morning and it was my least favorite circuit workout…. Resistance bands!  I just don’t get along with them, I don’t know what it is.  But my arms still hurt two days later, so whatever I did obviously worked.

Thursday, 9/19

I had 3 miles on the schedule again on Thursday.  I woke up feeling positive and got ready to go.  I bought a light-up armband thing to wear in my dark morning early runs so I can be more easily seen so this was my first time wearing it.

Fun! 

After RunKeeper told me my first mile was done in 16:47, I wasn’t exactly shocked.  I was feeling sluggish and heavy and tired and just wasn’t feeling it.  I decided to cut my run short and just walk home.  It was just a truly “off” day and my body was not feeling a run.  I ended with 1.69 terrible slow miles, average pace 17:47.

Friday, 9/20

On Friday morning I decided to try a redemption run to make up for Thursdays awfulness. I went to boot camp first and did a pyramid workout, one of the hardest ones we do at boot camp. I left a few minutes early so I could get my run in before the sun came up.  It was a beautiful morning. 

And the run was definitely better than Thursday. I was pretty happy with it especially right after boot camp. 

Saturday, 9/21

This morning I went to Insanity and pushed myself pretty hard. I didn't modify nearly as much as I used to and I felt pretty strong. Such a great feeling. 

Although I had 3 miles on the schedule for today, I decided to not do three miles for a couple reasons. 1) I ran on Thursday and Friday and 2) I am going to Disney today and will be doing a ton of walking so didn't want my legs to be TOO tired. 

What I did decide to do was run as fast as possible for one mile and see how fast I could do it. 

Off I went feeling good and strong and happy to be running. 

Well, I ran the whole mile straight without walking and finished in 13:50!!! My previous fastest mile was during a 5K in May at 14:06. My pace is usually a bit faster during races due to adrenaline and crowds etc, so to do this on just a normal neighborhood run, I'm pretty proud of myself and it truly shows my growth. :D

I walked the entire second mile and still ended below a 16 min pace. 

Awesome way to end a training week with 10.1 miles overall - now I'm going to Disney World!

Space Coast Half Marathon Training - Week 3

This week of training had its highs and lows.  Not even lows, just averages, I guess. LOL  I do have to say one thing though, I am now 3 weeks into a training plan and I haven't skipped a day yet.  I haven't quite followed it to a T based on how I'm feeling that day (life happens) but it is all balancing out in the end.  Running is my preferred method of exercise but only when the conditions are right for me, and I'm not even sure what those conditions are.  I know I don't like running directly into the sun. :)

I did forget to mention in any previous blogs that I've been doing every single training run at a 2 min run/1 min walk alternating interval.  It seems to be working pretty well for me.  I do have some runs planned on the schedule that are straight running or track workouts, but for my "easy runs" it's the 2:1.  This is probably what I will wind up doing on race day (75 days to go!) so I want to get accustomed to it.

Anyway, let's get to it.  


Monday, 9/9

I overslept on Monday morning and I missed boot camp.  It happens.

I still went for my 3 mile training run.  Here's the overall time/splits.

Not too bad overall.  I am liking these negative splits that keep happening!


Monday night, Anton and I started the next round of T25... the beta round.  These workouts are harder than the alpha round and use weights/resistance bands.  Monday's workout was Core Cardio and I loved it!  I think I was just ready to do something different after alternating the same few workouts every day in the Alpha stage.  But it was a great workout and we were soaked in sweat by the end.

Tuesday, 9/10

Since I missed boot camp on Monday morning, I made sure I got to Insanity on Tuesday.  I pushed myself and tried to modify less and had a strong workout.

Anton had to work late on Tuesday, so I went to night time boot camp.  It's been so dang hot here so it was about 90 degrees at 6:00pm.  We did a good kettlebell circuit workout and I got to see some old night boot camp buddies.  I'm glad I went but it will continue to be a rare occurrence.

Skipped T25 Tuesday since Anton worked late and I went to boot camp.

Wednesday, 9/11

Boot camp was cancelled due to rain, so I had a lazy morning and caught up on some DVR shows.

At night, Anton and I did the next T25 workout from the beta round called Ript Circuit.  It sucked.  It was so hard and the modifier did not modify enough (either they didn't show her or she wasn't modifying) and it was just really hard.  Definitely my least favorite of all the workouts so far.  Hopefully it will get easier.

Thursday, 9/12

On Thursday morning I woke up cranky, unmotivated and not wanting to run but did it anyway and it wound up having my best/fastest training run to date. I was so thrilled with first mile time and assumed would be tired on second mile so super ecstatic the second mile was even faster. It was just all around great run that reminded me why I loved running.  All of my "conditions" fell into place and it felt really good.

After work, Anton and I did T25 speed 2.0 at night and I loved it.  It almost reminded me of some kind of choreographed routine where we did the same 8-10 moves for varying lengths of time during each round.  It went by super fast and I hardly had to modify anything.  

Friday, 9/13

Boot camp in the morning was an all over workout that was pretty intense but I liked it.

We skipped T25 at night since we had plans to go to Disney for a special event.  We wound up not being able to get in, so we went over to DisneyQuest (5 story arcade type place), we took the stairs a few times so still got a bit of a workout in.

Saturday, 9/14

On Saturday, we were still in Orlando so we went to our favorite cafe for breakfast before doing my training run.  Lesson learned:  do not eat breakfast before running!  I can eat something small, but no way can I eat a normal sized breakfast.  There is a pretty lake with a walking trail that goes all the way around it, so we decided to run there.  It was the perfect place to run, partially shaded, but I just felt so heavy during the run from eating beforehand.  We had planned on doing 3 miles but ran out of time and only ended with 2.12.  

Still ended with an average pace below 16 min/mile, but it wasn't a great run.

Total training miles for the week - 7.3

Space Coast Half Marathon Training - Week 2

I gotta be honest. This week wasnt the best for me. I only did one T25 workout (out of 6!) and my eating was crap. Work was really stressful and I had a lot of long exhausting days that I just didn't feel like working out when I got home. I have to get back on track. Luckily my runs have been awesome all week, so let's get to the recap!

Sunday, 9/1

Anton and I went to New Smyrna Beach to spend Sunday and Labor Day with our friends Jackie and Mike. We were staying at a condo right on the beach. The restaurant we planned on going to for dinner was about two miles away and we may or may not have planned on doing a pub crawl in the same area after dinner. Mike suggested (probably joking) that we should just walk there, Anton suggested taking a taxi, so no one would have to drive home intoxicated later. I, of course, jumped on the "walk there" idea and we wound up walking the 2+ miles along the beach to get there. Then of course, we walked back afterwards. The pace was super slow but we got over 4 miles in.  That was about the extent of my exercise on Sunday. 

Monday, 9/2

I had two miles on the training plan for Monday and even though I was out of town, I still wanted to get it done. I decided to get up early and run on the beach before everyone woke up and the beach got crowded. I started running and as I was approaching the turn around point I decided I felt so good and the ocean breeze was nice and I hardly run on the beach so I extended another mile before I turned around. It was a great run! I did notice though that beach runners are not nearly as friendly as street runners. I usually say good morning/make eye contact/wave as I pass people running or biking but these people were having none of that. Oh well.  

Sunrise hidden behind clouds. 

Halfway through and feeling good!

And done!

Total miles - 4.04 miles

Mile 1 - 15:36

Mile 2 - 15:53

Mile 3 - 15:45

Mile 4 - 15:38

Tuesday, 9/3

I skipped Insanity on Tuesday morning, but did T25 - total body circuit at night with Anton. 

Wednesday, 9/4

Boot camp in the morning was pretty epic with 22 people in attendance. We typically have 10-15 people. It was an ability workout which is my favorite and always kicks my ass. 

Skipped T25 again at night. 

Thursday, 9/5

I went to piyo (Pilates/yoga fusion) on Thursday morning. I usually don't go to piyo because I don't like it. It's supposed to be relaxing but for me it's not relaxing in any way. My body is just not meant for yoga. But I went anyway. 

After piyo, my boot camp buddy Kim and I went on my two mile training run. She is moving away and this was our last run together.  It started raining towards the end of the second mile so we picked up the pace a bit. 

Total miles - 2.02 miles

Mile 1 - 16:12

Mile 2 - 15:56

Friday, 9/6

Boot camp in the morning was an arm workout with weights and kettle bells. 

On this day, Anton decided this weekend was our "refocus" weekend to get back on track with our eating. We splurged on one "last dinner" Friday night and then got ice cream. :)

Saturday, 9/7

This morning we got up early for the Insanity workout and Wendy and Anton ganged up on me and made me stop modifying frog burpees. I know it's good to push my body but I've been modifying for so long. It was intense doing them the real way but it felt good. 

After insanity, I had three miles on the plan so Anton and I took off right from the park where insanity was. I started off a little slower and then picked up the pace and killed it on the last mile. Anton was running behind me and was like wtf why are you running faster now?? He was expecting me to be slower as the miles went on. I explained negative splits to him and was excited to have one. ;)

Total miles - 3.22

Mile 1 - 16:17

Mile 2 - 16:23

Mile 3 - 14:51 (woo woo!)

I'll take it! :) I felt awesome but exhausted when we were done. Looking forward to my pedicure/foot massage later this afternoon. :D

Total training miles for the week - 9.28!

Space Coast Half Marathon Training - Week 1

I'm baaaaaaaack!

This time around I am training for the Space Coast Half Marathon taking place on December 1st. There isn't a time limit for the half so I won't have a repeat of my failed attempt at Disney's Princess Half Marathon. Granted I am much stronger and fitter now than I was 2 years ago so things would be different, but I am looking forward to not having that time limit pressure during this half. I just want to do the best I can and cross that finish line.

So while I am doing half marathon training, I'm also continuing with outdoor boot camp classes 3x a week, Insanity Pro Team 1-2x a week, and I'm almost halfway through a 10-week Shaun T program called Focus T25 that is a 25 minute workout 6x a week (2x Fridays). Once my mileage gets higher, I am going to cut back a bit on some of the other workouts.

Lets get to the recap for this week!

Monday, 8/26

Boot Camp was lots of fast paced cardio, lunges, squats, push-ups, etc, but it was cancelled after 30 minutes due to downpouring rain. This was day 1 of training and I had planned to run 2 miles after boot camp. Since it was raining, I was going to go to the gym and run on the treadmill (which I hate!) but luckily when I get about 10 minutes away from the park, it stopped raining so I decided to run on the main street next to my neighborhood. It turned out to be a beautiful morning!

Total distance 2.01 miles

--Mile 1: 16:37

--Mile 2: 16:40

Wore my new shiny Asics! they are so bright!

My legs were exhausted all day, but I still kicked it up and gave my all during T25 cardio after work.

Tuesday, 8/27

I decided to skip Tuesday morning Insanity to let my tired legs recover.

T25 after work was total body circuit. I stopped modifying so much and truly pushed myself. It felt so awesome and I totally nailed it compared to when I've previously done this workout.

Wednesday, 8/28

Boot camp was an arm workout with weights that left my arms sore for 2 days.

Followed by an awesome run!

Total distance 2.03 miles

--Mile 1: 16:24

--Mile 2: 16:07

T25 after work was Lower Body Focus which is basically a ton of lunges and squats.

Thursday, 8/29

My legs were tired, so I decided to just go for a slow walk to get some movement in - I walked 1.48 miles in 30 mins.

I had to work late that night so I skipped T25.

Friday, 8/30

Boot camp was one of the hardest workouts we've had in a long time. It was kettlebell hell and it was awesome.

Since I skipped T25 on Thursday night and Friday is typically double day Friday (two 25 minute workouts), I decided to tack on Thursday's workout, so that's 75 minutes straight of focusing on intense workouts - ab intervals, total body circuit, and speed 1.0. It was hard, but I felt so strong and pushed myself until the very end. I was so very sweaty!

Saturday, 8/31

This morning I did Insanity Pro Team round 2. This round is such a challenge for me and I have to modify pretty much all of it. I took it extra easy today since I did 4 really hard workouts yesterday and still has to run 2 miles after it was done. I left before the last block so I could try to get my run in before the sun came up. I got some crap from Wendy for leaving early but running facing the sun is a big difference than running just before the sun rises.

Running into the sun!

It makes me look like this LOL

Total distance 2.06 mile run

--Mile 1: 16:37

--Mile 2: 16:36

So that wraps up Week 1 of training! I'd call it a success.

Until next time!

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