Tag Archives: Saturday

Good-Bye Austin Half Marathon, Hello Air Cast

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I haven’t wanted to talk about this.. However, it has become more clear to me that it’s time to lay it out there. Once I talk about it, I’ll start to get over it a little bit. I’ll lose the chip on my shoulder… With that being said, I’ve been trying to write this since Sunday night and I keep allowing myself to become distracted. Obviously, there is a part of me still not ready to come to terms with things.

You know those moments that flash before your eyes in slow motion but you just can’t stop them? Well, one of those situations happened to me Saturday morning. I awoke bright and early that day to get in 4 easy-paced miles before work. I headed down MLK toward campus just like I do every weekend. Campus is practically empty on the weekend mornings, making a peaceful and beautiful route to run. I turned up my tunes and completely lost myself in my thoughts as I entered the UT Campus. I was ticking along when I suddenly got the urge to go a different direction through campus than I typically do. I find myself taking a right turn toward Robert Dedman, and up past the Football Stadium. Then the moment came. I’m chugging along and suddenly I launch my foot off the ground to notice (too late) that there was a step down on the sidewalk. The moment passes so slowly that I can feel myself realize that I’m about to do some damage on the landing. Yet, it was too late to do anything about it… I had already launched off the ground. My foot slammed into the ground funny and rolled to the outside.

Down I went.

There was an instant pain shooting up the outside of my left ankle and top of my left foot. Every single curse word in the english (and even some from the italian) dictionary came out of my mouth. There was a super nice, helpful gentleman running the opposite way and came to my rescue when he saw me go down. He asked me if I was okay. I just kind of sat there… No words came out of my mouth. He knelt down on the ground next to me, as if to see if there was any life in my eyes or something. I shook myself, literally, and told him quite frankly “I don’t know. I think so” and hopped to my feet. I couldn’t put my weight on my left foot. I started crying.. Not out of pain (which yes.. I was in pain, but not enough to cry) but because I was terrified I had ruined my chances of running SFM in June. The pain felt exactly like I remember it feeling when I was diagnosed with Peroneal Tendonitis in high school when I was a gymnast… I had to take nearly a month off and very very slowly build my training back up once I returned. AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

The kind gentlemen swooped me up and helped me hobble to the bus stop. It was time to swallow my pride, thank the guy, and take the metro home to dump my foot into a bucket of ice before heading to work. All day at work I was favoring my left foot as much as possible and cringing with every step. Several hours later, I yanked my shoe off as soon as clocking out….

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….Fantastic…

Sunday morning I crawled out of bed to discover it was even more stiff, and the swelling/bruising hadn’t gone down at all. I was supposed to close the bar that night, I am 20 weeks out from San Francisco Marathon, and I work 5-6 shifts a week on my feet. I wasn’t taking any chances to do serious damage and off to Urgent Care I went for X-Rays and to pray for the best. A chuckle from the doctor, something silly.. Maybe a “just lay off it for a few days and you’ll be good as new.”

Of course, we never get what we’re hoping for in the doctor’s office, now do we? Nope. The doctor came back, films in hand, chart in the other, just shaking his hand. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first.” I hate when they say that. Don’t give me options, just lay it on me flat.

The verdict? I will not be running the Austin Half-Marathon in February. I will however, if I take the right amount of time off, do the PT exercises, and ease back into training, be able to catch up on Marathon Training!!

I know what you’re thinking, Give me the DEEETS!
It turns out it’s a Grade II Ankle Sprain.

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I get to sport this super stylish air cast and compression brace until I’m able to put weight on my left foot while it’s straight. At which point I will start adding in dorsiflexion–plantar flexion (aka pumping my foot up and down) Which I’m not allowed to start doing until the end of the week. (insert fit of frustration, here) At which point I’ll start adding in other ankle exercises and some walking. I’m hoping within 3 weeks I’ll be able to run again and ease back into Marathon Training. At this point, I’m just thankful this happened at the beginning of Marathon training, rather than when I’m only a month or two out.

If I’m not able to run on February 7th… Just watch out world, that’s all I have to say.

I’m kind of freaking out, because yes… I know that an ankle sprain, even a grade II, isn’t exactly the end of the world or the end of marathon training. With the proper time to heal I will bounce back from this.. However, I work on my feet. I work long, and hard, exhausting hours that make my feet and ankles hurt even when I’m not injured… How does one go about healing properly while marathon training, when they have bills to pay, and those bills are paid by running around a crazy busy restaurant for 10+ hours at a time? I’ve taken this entire week off… But I can NOT afford to take any more time than that off. I just can’t afford it. I also can’t afford to be injured for more time than I already will be.

FUDGE.

Anyone out there who has been injured while working a job on their feet? How do you deal? How do you prevent yourselves from becoming more injured while still putting food on the table and a roof over your head?

All Roads Lead To (Foam) Barfing

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On Saturday I decided to do something a little crazy. For me at least. I’m sure there are people out there who do this and it’s no big deal. For me, it was nuts-o and even though I have figured out what the issue was and it wasn’t my crazy stunt… I still may never do it again. ;)

You see, I decided to run two races in one day.
The day after my longest run since April….

Brilliant? Or idiotic? You can be the judge of that…

Last month I won a giveaway held by A Runner’s Heart to run the 5k Foam Fest here in Texas. I was pretty pumped. I love some obstacle/adventure runs, and this one had WATER SLIDES THAT HAD BUBBLES INVOLVED. What’s not to love about that? Then, Friday night I’m out to dinner with my folks and my step mom mentions a 10k she was running in the morning. Well oh, okay… However, this post is entirely about the Foam Fest. We’ll get to what happened with the 10k later. ;)

Like most adventure races, the Foam Fest had various wave starts. A new wave was sent off every 20 minutes. I was scheduled for noon. Perfect timing to decompress from the morning and get my booty over there to pick up my bib.

courtesy of 5kFoamFest

I came prepared, because after Warrior Dash I was a sopping muddy mess and Zack didn’t even want to let me back into his car.. Even after I was hosed off and changed. He was still doubtful. So this time I decided to bring 3 towels, a jug of water to dose myself with incase any after-race clean up missed some spots, and of course a change of clothes/shoes.

The start line was incredibly entertaining. There were so many costumes, volunteers squirting people randomly with squirt guns and silly little contests to keep people motivated. I immediately decided if I ever put together a race, I’m going to do something along this lines to keep people from getting stir crazy at the start waiting for the gun to go off! ;)

Then we were off finally!

As soon as we cross the start line we were attacked (okay not attacked.. that might be a bit dramatic) by squirt guns. Which, let me tell you felt awesome in the rising Texas temperatures at 12 in the afternoon. Had this been almost any other part of the country in November and I would have cried probably.

Then we were off on a 3.1 mile, very windy hilly and muddy course that was full of obstacles, mud pits, giant hills, WATER SLIDES, inflatable slip n slides, cargo nets, walls. You name it, it was there pretty much.

One of the very first obstacles is a chamber of foam. Yes, the name pretty much says it all. This big inflatable chamber you go through filled with foamy delightfulness. Someone got a little carried away and went diving into the thing and swallowed a pretty hefty (and nasty tasting) gulp of foam. I could not get the taste out of my mouth for the life of me. At the first water station, I seriously stood there for like 5 minutes chugging cup after cup of water trying to get the taste out of my mouth. At one point I just said screw it and started moving again. A little foam wouldn’t kill me, right?

Wrong.

About a mile and a half into the race I started feeling light headed and nauseous. Like, I was seeing stars. Literally. I was half-way through though and the really fun (and more difficult…) obstacles were still up ahead. There was no way I was calling it quits…

So I kept moving.. I slowed down to a near walk by the time I was 2 miles in and was miserable. I literally felt like I was going to hurl and faint and the exact same time. Then came the evil dirt hill climb, cargo climb, and the 8 foot wall. Normally these would not be difficult for me. No one likes running up a giant hill… But, I mean… Normally I could do it just fine. I was literally turtle walking up that thing. I wanted to crawl I was so dizzy.

I didn’t get it. Why was I so dizzy? (Mind you at this point I had forgotten the gulp of foam I had for lunch and honestly I still couldn’t tell you 100% if that’s what it was.)

I was shaking the whole dang cargo net when I went over it, but I made it over it and then just stood in line staring at the 8 foot wall in front of me. Great. There was a huge line which was good. Maybe this will pass if I just sit tight for a minute. No? Okay that isnt working. Maybe if I can just get to the finish line and eat something. I hadn’t ate in between races because I didn’t want to cramp up. Maybe my body was telling me YO BIZNATCH FEED ME. The volunteer took one look at me when I approached the wall and said ” there is an option to tuck and crawl under the wall” Shoot, don’t tell me twice right now sir!

Stop. Drop. And Roll I sure did! I hopped back up and for a split second thought I was going to be alright after all. Silly body.

Then came the electric crawl… Where you crawl under electrical wires in a big SMELLY pit of mud. My stomach started turning as soon as my chin hit the mud. The smell wafted up and I just wanted to die. I swam through that mud like it was a freaking swimming pool and got out as quick as I could.

I thought I was going to literally pass out so I skipped the 30 foot slip n slide and the death drop and came to a dead hult at the ridiiiiiiiculously long line for the 50 foot slip n slide. I figured that sitting down (literally. on my butt. sitting) in line for a few minutes might help. I had absolutely no idea how much of the course was left and if I was going to be stuck in this gosh darn course for too much longer I may as well give my stomach some time to settle. (while in my head I was cussing it out for ruining what could have easily been a fantastic and fun day)

Finally after waiting what felt like forever I was at the front of the line and dove in the slip n slide.. Where I literally started gagging. All I could think was

“omg charlotte don’t throw up in this slip n slide. Do not ruin this race for every single person that is behind you. Do not even think about it”

I popped out and OMG THANK YOU SWEET 6LBS 8OZ BABY JESUS ITS THE FINISH LINE.

Where I grabbed my medal and shirt and just threw them on the ground and let it all. out. For a good 10 minutes straight.

Yeah, sorry about that mental image. But it wouldn’t be a recap if I left out the nitty-gritty now would it?

After what felt like a century I was dragged over to the med tent where they laid me down and gave me water to drink and after that kept coming back up they gave me some ice to suck on. Finally I felt good enough to sit up and they asked me a bunch of questions. I was in such a haze. What just happened? I wasn’t even pushing myself. I didn’t eat anything unusual. Yeah I had 2 glasses of wine the night before but that’s not going to make me sick. I’ve drank a half a bottle then run 8 miles the next morning and felt super… haha. What was going on?

Finally they decided I wasn’t dying and sent me on my way. Medal and t-shirt in hand.

I went back to my faja’s and tried to drink water and take a nap but that wasn’t happening. I decided that the foam was made out of poison. Is that true? Absolutely not. I have no idea what actually made me so sick on Saturday, all I do know is that it took 4 hours of drink water — oh hi again water — repeat, before I could finally lay down long enough to fall asleep for a few hours.

When I woke up it was like it was all a dream. I felt fine. It was so absolutely bizarre.

All in all, if I hadn’t gotten violently ill… This race would have been a freaking blast. Squirt guns, water slides, cargo nets, mud pits, hills, trail running, noodles that slap you in the face with foam. Etc.

Don’t let my horrible experience scare you off! This was honestly a fun race despite my getting so ill. I honestly don’t know if it was the foam or what was up… But, if 5k Foam Fest comes to a city near you, I really recommend looking into it. Running for a PR is what we’re all after it seems like, but we have to remember to have fun with it too!

:)

Would you ever run Foam Fest? Are you an Adventure/Mud Run type of person?
Have you ever gotten sick at a race?

Trophy Club Salutes Wounded Warriors 5k Recap

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What a huge success TCSWW 5k was on Saturday morning!!! We had over 300 runners, 50 golfers, and between the raffles, registrations, hats, golfers, and sponsors we made over $35,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project!!!

To say that the race went off without a hitch would be an understatement! Sure, it was raining a little, but not nearly as hard as we had all anticipated, and it by no means stopped anyone from getting out there and having a great time!

It was such an incredible experience to do things from the directors/organizers side of a race. Making all of the signs, packing up all 3 of our SUVs with bananas, waters, t-shirts, packets… Setting up the course markers and assigning volunteers to certain areas. Helping with race day registrations. That isn’t even half of it!!! It was an incredibly rewarding experience and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to help out! I’ve volunteered at a few races, but it’s not nearly the same as being there behind the scenes with the organizers getting everything ready for the big show. I have a whole new respect for the wonderful folks who put on so many bad-ass races! Who knew so much went into making a measly little 5k go off smoothly? Huge props to my step-mom and our friend Jess! They did an incredible job.

When we were setting up, starting at the buttcrack of dawn, it was absolutely dreadful. DOWN POURING and pitch black out. It was no fun at all, thankfully by the time packet pick up and registration rolled around the rain had died down a smidge. It was still coming down though… We were starting to get concerned not many people would show up. It’s a smaller race, and nobody wants to start their Saturday morning soaking wet! However as the time ticked on the rain calmed down and by the time the gun went off it was down to a mere trickle.

dark. raining. sad.

8am rolled around quicker than it ever has in my entire life! The rain was slowing down and when I looked back at the start line I was able to take in just how many runners there were! I was so proud of the work my family and friends had just done to make this all happen! :D

We were off!

I decided right away that I wasn’t worrying about time. If you recall, this time last week I was still choking every step I took when I tried to run because of my stupid bronchitis. I told myself that finishing a 5k in the middle pack was an accomplishment in itself at this point.

The course, if I’m being completely honest was nothing spectacular. They could have chosen a better route. It took us out of the parking lot of the Byron Nelson High School, down Bobcat Drive which was pretty, I suppose. Tons of huge mansions and flat flat flatness going on. Then we took a left onto Trophy Club Drive.. Which usually is really pretty but they are building it up right now, so its all dirt and empty space. Nothing fancy going on over there what-so-ever right now… But it was alright.

Before I knew it we were at the turnaround/water stop. Whattt? 1.55 miles already? get outta here! I caught myself wanting to look down at my Garmin but I stopped myself “no Charlotte, don’t look down it’s just going to intimidate you or make you do something your lungs aren’t ready for” So I pulled my coat sleeve down over it so I couldn’t be tempted anymore and just kept up with the girls around me. They were just chatting, having a good time so I figured that would be a safe place to tuck myself in. :)

They were some really sweet ladies! We had some really interesting conversations during that last 1.5ish miles. Lovely Lovely women who drove up all the way from Tyler just to support the Wounded Warrior Project! How neat is that (btw that is a 2.5 hour drive for a tiny little 5k!) They made the last mile and a half zoom by.

Next thing I knew we were running back up the parking lot of Byron and the finish line was in eye sight! I ran across the mat and looked down at my Garmin finally. Not terrible!

Considering I didn’t feel like I truly “pushed” myself to the point where I was breathing heavy at all, and I’m still recovering from this lingering bronchitis, I’m pretty pleased with my time. 10:36 minute miles is nothing special… But since I’ve been sick and out of the running game for the last month… I will certainly take it with a smile! Plus, I’m running the Great Taco Run 10k this morning (by the time most of you read this I’ll have probably already run it) so I’m glad I didn’t push myself too hard so that I’ll be able to give 100% there!! Actually — this will be my first 10k race. Can you believe that? I’ve done a 1 mile race, 5ks, an 8k, 10 miler, half marathon.. but never the 10k!! But, I guess there is a first time for everything!! ;)

Anyways back to the topic at hand…. Over all I was pleased with the race! Especially because I’ve never run a 5k that gave out finisher medals! & THEYRE SO DARN CUTE!!!

Monday’s Extreme Case of ADD

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As a lot of you already know, Saturday was my birthday.

It was truly a great birthday, for the mere fact that it was nothing fancy. I didn’t have a huge party. I didn’t get to go camping like I had originally planned. It was just — relaxing. I spent the day with my husband-to-be discussing growing old together, hanging out by the pool, running, and drinking vodka-lemonades. (then going to work slightly buzzed.) There are not very many days that we can just hang out together, alone, with nothing on the agenda — so it was actually quite special to get to do that for my birthday…. Even if it was interrupted in the evening by adult responsibilities.

Oh, and also — some of you already saw this because I shared it on instagram when it was posted, however — we were submitted to our local newspaper back home. We had decided we aren’t doing an engagement photo shoot. We just don’t see the point. We have billions of photos together, and we already have a professional grade photo that we are using for our save-the-dates… We also decided we weren’t doing an egagement announcement. One of MY biggest fears about wedding day is, well — being the center of attention. It just makes me uncomfortable. I have severe stage fright. So, I didn’t want to submit an announcement.

But — his family decided to be sneaky & team up with my mom to submit one.

I have to admit, I am so glad that they decided to go against our decision. They knew us better than we know ourselves. It secretly makes me smile from ear to friggin ear to see it in print. They’re mailing us a copy of the newspaper so we can save the clipping. It’s something that we’ll look back at in the years to come and smile fondly remembering how our family did something so cute. I know announcements are totally normal, but its the adorable way they went about it! :) LUB OUR FAMILIES SO MUCH (oh if you want to see the article online you can scoot on over to the post journal online over here)

in other news I fell in love with this dog over the weekend and decided that as soon as Z & I move next summer and get a yard, we’re getting a sheltie. They’re pretty much the best dog in the world.

LOOK HOW PRETTY SHE IS. love her. want her. must adopt one just like her next year.

oh and I vlogged.
I am now 6 days out from my first post-injury race. I vlogged. My second vlog ever. I look like a dirt bag that just rolled out of bed.. (or ran 4 miles. either way) anddddd I should probably just stop making videos but y’all keep asking me to, so FINE YOU WIN ;)

seriously, watch at your own risk. It aint pretty ;)
But – I’m making a point this Summer to check in via youtube after every workout. Now, I’m not always going to publish these videos to my blog, no one wants that.. But — I have a LOT of goals this summer that I need to make sure I accomplish. Posting videos for the entire internet to see is a huge way to make sure I stay on top of these goals. Plus, its a great way to break into the world of vlogging. I’m afraid of the camera….. It’s why I laugh too much during videos, its why I look away from the camera. Over time I want to kill this fear of the camera. I mean, one day I’m going to be on the Food Network, right?! Can’t be bashful then! ;)

Anyways, if you want to keep up with these workout check-ins feel free to subscribe to my youtube channel. My username is NeitzelC!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Three Things Thursday. Fueling, Racing and a Baby Shower

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1) I’m having trouble figuring out my fueling.
Not being able to run is giving me a good amount of time to dig, and figure out what I can do… I’ve tried just about every gel they have readily available at Charm City Run & they all make me gag.. I hate jelly beans so Sports Beans are OUT. I was fine with Honey Stinger Chews for awhile but recently they have been making my stomach CRAMPY AND ANGRY. My first half marathon is all about crossing that finish line, so I can probably just pop an Endurolyte around mile 6 and be dandy as far as fueling during my run goes – but this summer I want to be able to perform at my tip top best to get faster – because I have way bigger goals by the time I get to RNR San Antonio in November…. THEN comes marathon trianing…. All, while treating my body the best I can — which means feeding it.

Any suggestions would be awesome.

2) I have dropped all time goals from my half-marathon.
I was becoming so confident in my secret time goal of 2:40… I really thought I had it within reach. (This is what you get for being cocky?) But I now am just grateful that I’ll most likely be able to run it! I’m going to listen to my body – if it still needs to heal I will let it heal, but for now I’m staying optimistic and the fact is I TRULY do believe I will be able to. Crawling, walking, running I WILL cross that 13.1 finish line. WATCH!

3) My best friend in the entire universe is having her baby shower this Saturday!!!!
eeee! I was really looking forward to a vacation to Virginia Beach over Zack’s spring break – but then we realized earlier this week that DUH – its the SAME FREAKING WEEKEND. Best Friends come first and I wouldn’t change it for the world! :) I’d skip a race for her shower!

She's so cute :)

Week 4 Best Training Week EVER

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If Every training week could be this good, I think I could definitely be prepared to run a marathon by this Fall. Everything felt right. I didn’t feel great during all of my runs – but I hit every training day, and added an extra one (oops) I was satisfied with every run & added in some weights!

Monday – 4.02 miles in 44 minutes. A very easy run. I was simply enjoying the peace and quiet I felt for the very first time since well – ya know. Did my 50 push ups for Jill Hanner’s Armpit Fat Blast Challenge.

Tuesday –  3.7 miles. This was supposed to be a solid 4 minutes, I still consider it a win for two reasons. A) 3.7 miles is close enough to 4 to be mostly satisfied. B) Something popped in my left ankle and immediately stung. I hopped right off because even though it didn’t hurt that bad it SOUNDED awful. Good news, by the time I woke up Wednesday morning it felt brand new!

Wednesday – Rest/Tattoo Day

Thursday – 5 Miles on the Elliptical. My ankle felt golden but I was hesitant to over use my right leg with a fresh tattoo and what not. Plus it was sore – I’m not gonna lie! I like the elliptical though. It gives me… Cojones. Made me believe I could be fast, I believed it – my speed crept back in over the weekend! BELIEVE IT PEOPLE! Did 50 wide arm push ups for the Armpit Fat blast

Friday – Went to my first barre class! It was AWESOME! You can read all the deets here. I left LuLu with shaky legs. Felt greatttttt. But of course I got a second wind when I got back to Owings Mills, so I went to the fitness center and knocked out 3 miles and did some leg lifts…. Apparently I had a death wish Friday. Magically, I woke up Saturady with only a twinge or two, my legs didn’t feel completely dead. didn’t do my push ups – was beat by the end of my sessions

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Saturday – 4.01 Miles. Woke up in a serious funk Saturday morning. By the time I got moving and my heart started pumping – funk gone! Magic, I tell ya! I ended the run with a smile on my face. Then headed over to the weights and did some more leg lifts and this time added in 3 sets of ARMS!!! Then finished it all off with a NeoCell Sports Protein Shake (Awesome product. Review coming this week!)

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Sunday – 6.21 miles in 57 minutes!!!!!! FASTEST 10k TO DATE Y’ALL!! After an incredibly frustrating and depressing couple of weeks, I feel like a real runner for the first time in AGES. I swear, I could feel almost feel Matthew’s presence with me, giving me strength and wings. I could have kept going at that pace, but stuck to my training & didn’t want to regret it tomorrow, haha.

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Broken into 2 rounds - with stretches between - round two was faster by an average of 2 seconds per mile. ILL TAKE IT

 

I may kick myself for saying this out loud, but who cares.. I’m trying NOT to get overly excited, but I think if I can keep it up with my training I can beat my A goal for my half-marathon (not yet announcing what goal A is.. But, if I keep it up I think I can knock it out of the park!! eee. fingers crossed!!!)

how was YOUR training week?

Things Runners Don’t Like to Admit & Things That Make Us Happy

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This week has been a true testiment to whether or not I’m cut out for this whole… distance running – thing. Not once, but TWICE during this weeks training I uttered the words “I am so not cut out for this crap”. One run even resulted in me coming back into the apartment in tears telling Zack (& I quote) “This stupid running crap is stupid CRAP” Yea, I know how intelligent I sound with that one ;) I think it’s insanely important to talk about our not so awesome runs. It a) keeps us honest. b) helps us see where we need improvement c) allows others to give us feedback. d) Lets us see how far we’ve come over time.

My first half-marathon is officially 15 weeks away (insert slight anxiety attack here)
This weeks training was both humbling & full of hope. (My running seems to have a serious case of bipolar)

Sunday – 8 miles. Pace? well, It varied between 10:30s to 11 minute miles throughout the run… Not my best day. Was planning for 10, but after a weekend of traveling & not enough sleep, even 8 was a struggle. This, was the first run I thought to myself “I’m so not cut out for this crap!” Nothing felt right. My butt was so incredibly sore from the 13 hours I had just spent in the car all night/morning. The chomps were interfering with my breathing – lame. I ran out of water way too early. But — I got 8 done! THAT is what I’m trying to focus on. I’m nearly 3 months away from the big day and I’m already so close to race distance! So, I have plenty of time to get better at this whole Long Run, thing. Of course, did my #PlankADay

Monday – Rest Day. 2 minute Side Planks for #PlankADay

Tuesday – Ran a 3.66 loop from my apartment, down Reisterstown Rd & up Garrison Forest. This run felt good. Very good. Which was nice from Sunday’s not so fabulousness. I ran a 9:33 pace and felt good. Wasn’t focused so much on speed, more so on my breathing & form. I noticed a huge difference while counting my breathes. Multiple Sets of forearm planks

Wednesday – Did a 45 minute Pilates workout (Netflix Instant – Fat Burning AB ATTACK!) I love this video. I have yet to find a good mat pilates class/studio near Owings Mills… Which eats me up inside.. But this is a good replacement for the time being! I recommend if you have Netflix!

Thursday – Repeat of the same loop from Tuesday. 3.6 miles… This run.. Was a DISASTER PIECE. I woke up with a splitting headache & was in a rush to get my run in before work so I headed out the door without eating. I know! Spare the lectures, I knew before hand how idiotic it is to run with no fuel in your system.. But I did it anyway. We all have. I was trying for race pace. I was absolutely refusing to let go of the pace, no matter all the pain in my lungs, legs, feet, head. I didn’t care. I was going for it… I felt like complete trash after. THIS is the run that I came home crying to Zack begging him to let me give up entirely. After a couple minute long hug & him reassuring me that my training WILL pay off, I laughed at the idea that I had even uttered the words about wanting to give it all up.

Friday – Rest Day. more sets of Forearm planks. These are getting much stronger! :)

Saturday – I started my day with my fairly new addiction HOT YOGA! Oh gosh I love hot yoga. 95 degrees of fitness, sweat & PEACE. It was an amazing class… I love that little studio. No cell phones, absolute silence & sweating out all your toxins… Ahhhh… Today I actually WASN’T supposed to run, according to my training schedule. However with the Twitter Road Race, I had to, obviously! I’m glad I did. Even though it was a “race” I didn’t push too hard. I have 10 miles on deck tomorrow (I AM GOING TO GET ALL 10 THIS TIME. YOU JUST WATCH!) I ran a respectable 9:46 pace! :)

After such a roller coaster of training this week, I ended the week with two running goodies! I’ve been chatting with a girl that is also a member of the Ulman Cancer Fund – Team Fight.. She doesn’t have room for her treadmill in her home anymore & was offering it up for grabs FOR FREE, to whomever can pick it up. SOLD!!! I was all over it. I get to pick it up tomorrow morning! :D

Most likely where I

That’s not all though… After much debate & discussions about how I need an extra pair of running shoes to swap out, I decided to take the plunge & order a pair of the Brooks Pure Connects - Spring Colors Collection. To be honest – I’ve been trying to justify this purchase since I got the e-mail from Brooks announcing the launch.. I had the button ready to click submit since i left for Yoga. While in yoga I decided it is practical…. ;) I’m certain I will get grief about it, but I decided I don’t care. I love bright colors, I love Brooks, I love Pure Connects & I desperately need a pair of shoes to swap out with my current Connects (I have all but officially retired my Nikes). I’m a bit bummed, I got an e-mail that says they are on back order in my size, but that I should expect them to be shipped out no later than the end of next week. No biggie, I don’t need them immediately!

omg Im too impatient!!!!

EEE! So Excited!

I was having a horrible time debating between the purple pair & the orange/grey pair. Zack actually made the final decision for me.. (I was actually leaning toward grey to avoid some conflict) But, since he had previously in the day, snuck me money to support my purchase I decided I should get the pair he recommended. Not only am I getting two awesome tools to improve my running, but it is also amazing to constantly be reminded that you have support every step of the way. Z is incredible. He doesn’t get my running at all, but he supports it every step of the way. He will post-pone things going on in his life to be at my race. He will ignore my hysterics & just soothe me & remind me that I can do this when I’m having a rough training day or week.

How did your training go this week?
What are you training for?