It's Perfect!!

Remember when I ran that half-marathon last year and finished with the tiara on my head and the hot pink feather boa? And then they gave me the awesome medal with the spinner? Well, the tiara, medal and boa have just been sitting around here for the last year...but not anymore!!!!  

After getting an AWESOME deal on a shadowbox, I was able to turn all my race items into a great display! It's so girlie and pink...I LOVE IT!!!  I snipped the sides of my tiara so that it would fit...and put my official race photo collage in the back...and now I have a great piece to remind me of the accomplishment...so much better than everything just being thrown in a box...don't you think???

Hard-Fought

When I was thinking about what to title this post, I looked up synonyms for difficult.  Challenging, arduous, herculean, rough and nasty all came up...but the one that fits the best is hard-fought.

Almost exactly a year after I had first decided to run for health and weight loss, I completed a half marathon.

ME

I'm not the fittest, I've never been physically coordinated, and I had a whole bunch of physical setbacks that threw off training like I had planned.  But I finished 13.1 miles. 

I took part in the first Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  We stayed at the beach spot, drove to the expo to pick up my packet (and super awesome race shirt...I'll have to share that sometime), and ate dinner with my friend CrimsonPurl and her husband.  She gave me all kinds of tips on my first race.  I was so glad she was there to calm me and mentor me!

The day of the race Hubby and Little Man dropped me off a few blocks away and I approached the starting line where, after a quick potty stop, I was ready to go.  As I ran past CrimsonPurl's hubby I threw my light hoodie his way (Thank you!!!) and went on my way.  There were tons of people cheering, and fun music as we wound through the streets of North Myrtle Beach.  My pace was decent, I was in a zone listening to carefully chosen playlists.  I ran.  And ran.  I drank at hydration stations.  At the first hour I ate some sport beans.  I ran.  I stopped for a potty break.  I ran.  I hydrated and ate sport beans.  

Around Mile 7 or 8

 I saw the first casualty...a woman unconscious on someone's lawn being treated by emergency personnel.  It freaked me out.  I ran.  I talked to myself.  It was a very solitary experience.  There were people cheering at different parts of the route...and there were DJs set up...but, it was a long, slow way.  

Mile 9 

My feet started to hurt.

Mile 10 

My feet hurt like I had stepped on knives.  I had massive blisters on my feet. I thought about how it could be worse, I wasn't getting punched like Rocky.. I could make it.   

Mile 11

 Up ahead I saw photographers so I pulled it together long enough to stride by them before I continued to walk.

Mile 12

At Mile 12 there was supposed to be a tiara and pink boa station so that when you crossed the finish line you'd be wearing them for pictures.  I didn't see the station.  Did they run out? Was my running watch wrong and I had further to go? How would I make it? I told myself as soon as I saw the station I would run the rest of the race no matter how bad it hurt.  I got worried I wouldn't finish before the cut-off...what if I didn't finish by then and didn't get a medal?!?

I got that tiara and boa, took a deep breath in a ran like I had stolen something.  Through the pain in my feet.  I would get that damn medal! And I wanted Hubby and Little Man to see me finish strong, not hobbling over the finish line!

13.1 miles.  And I did it.  In the end, Hubby and Little Man were late and didn't see me finish.  At first I was really disappointed...but...it was my moment...I had taken every step to get me there and kept myself from giving up.

Right after that joyful finish I hobbled to the side to catch my breath.  I was dizzy, overheated and my feet were in horrible shape (okay, everything was in horrible shape).  People all around me were smiling and I thought, "Why are you so damn happy? That was miserable! Didn't you just do the same thing I did?!?"  I saw hot guys holding medals with long lines of women posing for pictures and I went to the fireman with a shirt on because I didn't have to wait.  

Then I grabbed my long-stemmed red rose.  And saw a friend.  And then I grabbed my champagne (yeah, they know how to make you feel like a diva).  Photos came next and then...the car.  Where I cried a little, and had to get everything off me.  Then we went back to the beach spot and I collapsed.

One day later I kept telling everyone I couldn't believe I had been so crazy.  Two days later the pain started going away and I could sit without wincing.  Three days later I started thinking about doing it again.  A month later my feet finally got back to normal.

I still have to put a photo on the other side of my medal...the shine like a diva part spins.

That half marathon was DAMN hard-fought!!!!

I Said I Had Lots to Share!

If I'm quiet here in blogland it's usually because there's loads going on in the real world.  That's definitely been the case this year.  Here are some more highlights!

Hubby, Little Man and I all took our first trip to Fort Sumter while we were visiting Charleston.  A beautiful ferry ride took us over, and on the way we enjoyed watching the dolphins playing.

See that big ol' bridge in the photo above? Yeah, that's the one I ran over!

During the trip over and back Little Man worked on the Junior Ranger booklet, learning answers along the way (with our help) so that when we got back to the center, he got a badge!  He's an official Junior Ranger!

Before we headed to PA we decorated our Easter eggs so they would be ready for the Easter bunny.  This year we went with Angry Birds...I drew faces, cut them out and then passed them through my sticker maker (except for the eyes...a good old hole puncher did the trick for them).

In PA, my Mom, Hubby and I had a great time taking Little Man and my nephew to the planetarium and museum.  It was so cute hearing the boys interpret art when I asked them what some of the pieces made them think of.

A special treat was the Andy Warhol exhibit...part of which was the the Mylar balloons interactive exhibit.  The museum had a fun scavenger hunt for the exhibit that we all worked together to find the answers to also.

We did our first family 5k (and Little Man's first 5k ever!) to benefit the Pawz Too Run charity.  Little Man struggled a bit for the last mile or so, it'll be a while before we do it again...but we all felt great when we finished!

Another first? I took the NC Concealed Weapons Class with two of my co-workers.  We had a blast....literally!!!

Cooper River Bridge Run

So, I knew we wanted to go to Charleston again this year, and I got the bright idea to do the Cooper River 10k Bridge Run, which takes place in Charleston.  You can read all about it here and here.  And if you want to read all about the mess it was this year, you can read an article all about that here.  The race is the 6th largest race in the U.S....and the 3rd largest 10k.  Over 36, 000 people ran it this year...lots of folks!

The drama of the event started before we even left when I had bad chest pains and went to urgent care.  The doctor felt I had strained something and suggested I not exercise for 2 weeks since she felt the push-up challenge I was doing was probably the cause.  Well, sometimes I'm stubborn, and I decided we would forge ahead with the trip, even after we had to pull over with me anxious about the pain.  Yeah, I know, pretty stupid.  We got to Charleston on Friday afternoon just in time to make it to the park where Little Man participated in his first ever registered race.  It was so exciting! The kids run was done in different segments based on age, and it was so well organized with lots of free vendors, treats and activities.  It was really hot, and Little Man felt a little under the weather, but we all enjoyed the park, which we hadn't been to before, and the festivities.  We picked up his bibs, bag, t-shirt and towel, he enjoyed a donut and some other fun, and before we knew it, it was time for the race!

Little Man was super excited because all the kids got a medal!

After the kids fest, we headed to the hotel.  We had a great location for the race, it really helped that after we checked in we didn't have to drive anywhere again during our stay.  We headed off to the expo to pick up my packet, and wow, did we not know what we were about to experience! People were close to throwing free stuff at you! Free cases of Greek yogurt, tons of fitness bars, pretzels, candy...it was crazy the stuff we saw people leaving with! My co-worker who also ran the race wasn't able to get anything so Hubby and I grabbed and I split it with her later, after all, no one needs 24 containers of yogurt, right?

There were so many people in Charleston we dang near didn't eat.  We ordered from a place that never got our food ready...and wound up ordering pizza delivered to the room.  Still, I had no idea the pandemonium I'd experience the next day!

A 10k is 6.2 miles.  For this race, they bus you from historic Charleston across the river to Mount Pleasant and then you run back over the bridge.  I got up at 4:30 AM to get ready, eat an apple, and then head to the bus lines where the masses were all headed.  It was so crazy to see all those people, in the dark, walking about.  And at 5 AM it was humid enough that I didn't need a jacket...not a good sign!

Even with soooo many port-o-johns the wait was 30 minutes.  At one point I was so worried I wasn't going to make it!

There were TONS of people! And we waited over an hour PAST when we were supposed to start, after being there QUITE a while beforehand already.  And it was warm, and cramped.  And then it started.

It was so weird running over that bridge. It was also hot as Hades.  And me, wearing black. And nervous about running with my injured chest. AND THEY RAN OUT OF WATER!!!!!  It felt unbearable at times.  And stupid. And then, I knew where we were and that we were almost done.  And I thought to myself, I may never run again....why did I do this to myself?!?  And then we turned the corner, and I saw the finish line.  And I didn't know if Little Man and Hubby would see me, and so I finished strong...and seriously thought I might cry.

And when I saw this photo of me later, I REALLY thought I'd cry...look what the humidity did to my HAIR!!

I quickly found Little Man and Hubby at the fountain where I told them we should meet afterwards, which was a good plan since I can't remember the last time I experienced chaos like that.  We walked back to the room (me kind of hobbling) I washed, changed and we started speed walking to our lunch reservation...in the wrong direction! We would have been fine, but time wasn't on our side since the race started sooo late, and with roads closed we got turned around.  We couldn't even get a call through to the restaurant because there was no service (freaked me out a bit...if a national emergency happens we're all screwed).  It all worked out though, they were very understanding, and the food was delicious! Which is good, since I still had had only an apple to eat at this point!

I'll finish sharing about our Charleston adventure and what happened with my chest pain next post!

P.S. My chest did not hurt the day of the race at all.  

P.P.S. And, I'm so crazy, I haven't ruled out doing the Bridge Run again...I feel like I have more to give it!

Beauty and a Bit of Brawn

We have enjoyed a beautiful spring here in the South.  It was wonderful watching the new neighborhood bloom since it was the first time we were able to see all of the flowers and the trees bloom for spring.

The neighborhood also afforded us another opportunity...to race! I ran a 5k, and Little Man and Hubby ran the family fun 1 miler.  It was brutally hot the day of the run, but we had a great time!

Can you see Hubby and Little Man waiting for the gun to start the race?

Little Man and Hubby didn't get any loot since their race was free, but I got this running shirt and some freebies.

I had a big race in my future at this point...but before that we went to an art show at Little Man's school.  It was so well-organized! I was blown-away by how beautifully the art was displayed! Each child had at least one project on display.  There were two different lighthouse themed project displays, and I HAD to take photos as I thought my Mom would like to see.  There were clay lighthouses with baby food containers at the top where the light would be.  And there were also drawn lighthouses.  Isn't it so fascinating to see how each of these children brought their own individuality to their projects? They are so alike, yet different enough to be distinguishable...like a little glimpse into their creative minds....I loved the show!

What a beyond crazy spring we have had. I can't wait to share more with you!

Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5k

I'm almost ready to post part 2 of December's fun...but first, here's what I did yesterday...I ran a "virtual" 5k that was organized by The Boring Runner.  The idea is to commit to doing it, and then, instead of getting up really early and freezing while you wait to run with a huge group of people, you run that day when you can.  Even better was he even provided the cute race bibs.  It got me outside, where I enjoyed the weather.

I'm still on the slower side (42 minutes yesterday for the 5k), but I'm slowly getting faster and building my endurance.  I've been doing my own personal Janathon (running or walking at least a quarter mile everyday) and I'm looking good to finish the 100 mile challenge I signed up for that I need to have done by the end of February.  I love having goals to keep me motivated, and the virtual 5k was a great way to end January!