Run for the Chocolate 5K

I'm not going lie.  I thought about skipping this run.  The alarm went off at 6:15 am.  I shut it off and the second went off at 6:30.  It was going to be *really* cold outside and my bed was really warm.  My kitty, Mr Blue, was snuggled up with me giving me purry kitty love.  Why do I pay to run?  Why do I pay to run a race 30+ mins from my house in February?

Yesterday my husband went to pick up the packets.  I suggested that he go get them in case the race was canceled and we couldn't get them Saturday morning.  Yes I was kind of hoping the powers that be would decide for me and simply cancel the race.  Then I wouldn't have any guilt.

I guess because this race is near Valentine's day, they categorize the runners when you sign up.  You have the option of this such as happy couple, bachelor, bachelorette, it's complicated. . . . the shirts reflect your status and each one is a different color.  This year you had the option of a shirt or a beanie.  I chose the shirt, hubby chose the beanie.

This morning we arrived an hour early and sat in the car.   Everyone was sitting in the car.  I'm was dreading the pre-race trip to the porta-potty.  That was going to be frigid and it was exactly as cold as I thought it was going to be!

The race started promptly at 9 am and it was a chilly 14 degrees without the wind chill.  This race takes place pretty much right along the Mississippi River in downtown St Louis.  There's wind.  The first mile I ran with my right hand inside my left fearing frost bite.  Yes I had gloves on.  My right index finger was just so cold I really wondered if I'd get frost bite.  However, I usually have hot hands when running and they warmed up and I had damp gloves at the end.  But. . . I was busting a move my first mile and I got this new record: 

Last year we ran this race and it was short of a 5K.  Significantly short if I remember right. This year it was still short.  They changed the route slightly but I knew it wasn't going to make a solid 3.1 miles.  When I looked at my watch crossing the finish it was 3.0 miles.  My hubby's Garmin said 3.02.  I kept running after the finish to get a solid 5K.  I thought maybe I'd beat my 5k record in my Garmin, but that didn't happen.  Another lady asked me if my watch showed 3 as she me continue to run.  Hers showed 3 too.  That's so frustrating.  This would be my fastest 5K in a race, but the official results are skewed in my opinion (the avg pace is off) because it wasn't 3.1 miles.  I hate that. 

This photo shows us at the start line as well as the goodies at the end.  They gave us chocolate fondue this year!  The race is held at Bissinger's Chocolate in downtown St Louis.  They have amazing chocolate.   The chocolate dipping sauce was so yummy.  They make their own hot chocolate and I wish they would sell it.  It's so creamy and smooth.  They put chocolate covered marshmallows that are topped with peppermint in the hot chocolate.  SOOOO good!  It hit the spot. The melty marshmallows were the best!!!

At the finish like you get these chocolate heart suckers.  A the one water stop on course they gave out the little chocolate hearts.  I just grabbed some and put them in my jacket pocket.  I was running to fast to mess around with eating :) 

Here are our official results  But again it was a 3 mile run.  Here's my Garmin results. 

I'm glad I got my warm and lazy butt out of bed to do this run. We took a pic before leaving and the quote kind of sums this day up for me. . .  I have a love-hate relationship with running sometimes, but I don't quit. 

TGIF - 3 day weekend ahead. . .

It's Friday!  It's a 3 day weekend.  It doesn't get much better than this :)  

It's been a long week.  Days have moved slowly.  Stress has been involved.  I wrote a blog and took it down cause I felt it was too personal.  So that brings me today and I'm feeling the urge to write. 

Last weekend was drop dead gorgeous.  Especially Saturday.  When you see this you know it's a wonderfully nice day.  (none of those are Eli)

I had a good ride on Saturday and took Eli for a walk in a grassy lot afterwards.  It was just too beautiful - we had to go out and soak up the sunshine. 

I went for a run Saturday morning and finally had a pretty good pace.  The kitty selfie is Mr Puddin'.  We call him Puddin' Pops, Pudding McPoppers, Puddy.  .  . he's an amazing kitty.  He lives outside in the shop with his brother. 

My pace was purposefully fast because I want to keep up with my husband during the 5K we are running tomorrow.    The thing about tomorrow is. .  

It's going to be REALLY cold!  Look at the "feel like" temp.  I'm not sure we should actually run this race, but I'm sure we will.  It's paid for.  My husband is going to pick up the packets today. 

So while last weekend was gorgeous, come Monday the temps were 30 degrees lower and we had a couple days of light snow this week. 

I love snow!!!!  I want more than we ever get unfortunately. 

Today is February 12 and it's the release date of Vince Gill's new CD. 

I was really excited about this, but I'm kind of pissed right now.  I pre-ordered this CD.   The website said it would ship a few days ahead of the release date.  The tracking appeared in my USPS dashboard this morning.  There is a tracking number but it doesn't appear that the package has actually been accepted by the post office.  I assumed I would receive this *on* release day.  I could have pre-ordered from Amazon and I know I would have received it.  I could go to the store and buy it.  Yes my pre-order included a t-shirt, but I don't need that shirt.  I just ordered it in advance so that it would show up in my mailbox on release day.  When will it arrive now? Monday is a holiday and so I'm guessing I don't see it till Tues or Wed.  I'm really bummed about this. 

This morning was rather interesting.  We got light snow overnight. .  . *maybe* a 1/2 inch.  As I was driving out of my drive and onto my road I saw tire tracks with some snow over them. . . and some foot prints with some snow over them.  I thought to myself "who was walking on the road".  My road is a dead end.  You are either coming to my house or my neighbors house.  Once I got to the end (which is a very short drive) I see this. 

Oops!  Someone had some problems.  I called my husband.  He walked down from the house (again this is really not far) and looked at the truck and the plates.  I headed to work.  My husband called me. . .the foot prints didn't go anywhere.  They never came onto our property.  They walked past our drive and then walked in a circle.  We assume the person was calling for help.  My neighbor said no one knocked on his door.  My husband called this into the police.  They took 1 hour to arrive.  They talked to my husband, called a wrecker and another truck showed up (presumably the owner or someone connected to the owner) and that's about the last I heard.  The roads weren't slick.  Based on the snow in the tracks/prints this had to happen sometime after midnight but likely before 4 am.  There was a small window of snow last night.  Maybe the drive slid.  Maybe he was drinking.  Maybe he fell asleep.  My husband did say it appeared the driver broke the window of the passenger side with a hammer to get out.  The driver's side of the truck is facing the photo and that's pretty flat as you can see.   What an interesting morning!

So three day weekend coming up!  Valentine's day (I'm having cake!) and a 5K.  Hopefully some sleeping in will be included during the weekend.   Have a great one!

New PRs and a holiday weekend

This was such a busy weekend and at the same time I felt like I didn't get anything done!

First I got off work on Thursday at 11:30 AM.  We were given 3 hours off and I didn't take a lunch.  I went to the park in town to do 3 miles before going to ride Eli.  It started off amazing and just stayed that way.  It was cool and overcast.  There was  fine mist at the beginning.  Perfect running weather.  Just over halfway through my Garmin beeped that the battery was low.  OMG.  I knew I was on track for my fastest 5K.  I just hoped the battery would last.  Thankfully it did!  I am so tickled with this pace.  It actually felt easy.  Now the rest of my runs this weekend were not like this.  But I'm hoping that I'm onto something and will need to re-evaluate my goals.

Then I went to the barn and I just had a great ride on Eli.  He's 20 now and things haven't been so good.  But he gave me such a great ride.  Great way to start my weekend!

It was a busy week and my 7 day fitbit step total was the highest I think it's ever been on Friday.

114K!  Usually breaking 100K takes some effort or some long runs.

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On Friday we had tickets to the Cardinals game.  We were going with my parents and it was their first time at this Busch Stadium.  I believe this is the 3rd Busch Stadium, but I'm not sure.  It opened in 2006.

We had fun!  There were fireworks after the game.  They do such a good job of this and everyone has a great seat.  It's fun to just sit there and wait for the lights to go off and the fireworks to start.

My mom took this photo of us.  I don't really love it.  I think it makes both of us look heavier than we really are. She got close (as opposed to zooming in) and I also feel like it's shot upwards a bit.   But there you have it. . .

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We didn't have any plans for the 4th.  A friend from my barn gave me some homegrown blackberries and I attempted to make a pie.   I tried this years ago and it flopped.  It was super runny and disappointing.  This time it turned out much better!

But holy sweetness!  I guess cause I don't eat much sweet stuff anymore, this was a shock.  We got some vanilla ice cream to top it with.  That helped toned down those blackberries, but my teeth were still coated in sugar.  Thanks for Carb-Ease Plus from Advocare.  I popped that before inhaling this hot mess of sugar!  :)

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Yesterday I went to the barn to ride and found this:

Swollen knee from a little cut above the knee.  I opted to ride him lightly for 40 mins to see if the swelling would go down.  It didn't.  It did get warm when it wasn't before.  So maybe riding wasn't the best idea.  But Eli puffs up like a stove pipe from the most superficial cut.  So I knew that's what it was from.  I put ointment on the cut and hopefully this is better today.  He was going to give me a really sweet ride so I was bummed that I had to go easy. :(  

Today is someone's birthday at the barn so I made a patriotic cake. 

Now unfortunately it's Monday.  I didn't gain any weight from this crazy weekend when I got on the scale this morning. :)   WHOOP!   I leave for Canada in 3 days! Well the first stop is Detroit.   The nerves have kicked in. 

Runs For Chocolate

I'll do anything for chocolate.  :)  Including running a 5K in 30 degree temps.  Eh, who am I kidding, I'd do that without chocolate.  This morning my hubby and I ran a 5K sponsored by Bissinger's Chocolate in St Louis.   When you sign up you are categorized and you get the respective shirt: Bachelor, Bachelorette, Happy Couple, It's Complicated (teams of 3). . . . 

That's us before the race and a photo of our shirt.  The race wasn't in the best part of St Louis, but they had decent parking so that felt safe.  

We ran along the river! :)  It was actually a nice run.  The temps were perfect for running and it wasn't windy.  The temps have continued to drop through the day and the wind has picked up.  So we got really lucky. 

We were suppose to get a chocolate medal at the end.  We got a chocolate heart sucker. . . . 

They handed out chocolate during the race as well as at the beginning/end.  We grabbed quite a bit.  They also gave out some amazing hot chocolate.  YUM!

I didn't have my Garmin synched to GPS on time so it started about .10 mile behind.  Ugh.  Here are the results though: 

I was really surprised because we did a run/walk.  My husband doesn't train, but he has a pretty fast walk and also runs faster than me.  If he could sustain his run, he'd leave me in the dust.  My hubby shaved some time off his last chip timed 5K though, so he rocked it!

Of course I have to be a dork when crossing the finish! :) 

From the race we went to a few stores, got some free cupcakes at the bakery that did our wedding cake and went out for BBQ.  I will be fat on the scale tomorrow, but that's ok.  I'll buckle down tomorrow.  I would like to see the 180's soon!

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As a side note, this morning was the end of my additional 2 weeks on the Advocare MNS phase.  I lost weight much slower.  But I wasn't as perfect. 

I weighed in at 194.6 this morning, but the app only allows whole numbers.  Losing an inch off my hips and waist is great. But I'm not sure I believe it.  I hate measuring.  Did I mention that.  So I guess I'm going to keep doing this in 2 week increments.  I have another box of MNS.  So at least 2 more weeks.  Fingers crossed the next 2 are better.  Today was not the best start. 

New Record!

I love when my Garmin tells me I have a new record. That doesn't happen very often.  Mainly because I don't run fast.  Also because there aren't that many records it tracks.  It tracks fastest mile, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon as well as Longest Run.  

The *very* first day I wore my Garmin was during the Hot Chocolate 15K in Dec last year.  I had just got the watch and my last few training runs prior to the race were in the gym due to the icy weather.  So I was unable to actually try my Garmin before the race.  I hit start, ran the 15k, hit stop and had no idea really what the Garmin was telling me.  I didn't know my average pace till we were at breakfast and I decided to see if I could figure it out. Lol!   So that run set a few records.  It was a great run for me.  I ran a fast first 5K in that run. 

Then yesterday happened.  I had a 3 mile run that I wanted to do during lunch because I had a massage after work.  It was a terribly rainy morning and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to run at lunch.  I may have said before, the town I work in is hilly.  So I like to do some short lunch runs to train on the hills.  There is a 1 mile loop at the park and I started off and I felt *really* good. I've yet to be able to predict when I will have a good run, or a bad run, or know what creates both of those.  As I was running I saw my pace, felt like I could keep it, decided to stay on the paved path for 3 laps (sometimes I'll run a mile loop into the town and back to the park).  I didn't want to mess up my mojo so I stayed on the track.  I thought I knew my fasted 5K record, but I wasn't totally sure since it's been there for so long.  I never tried to beat it really.  But again I don't run that fast.  However, I felt like I was going to beat it.  So I tacked on the extra 0.1 mile. . . hit stop. . . and "1 new record" appeared on my Garmin.  *happy dance*

My previous record was 33:33 with a pace of 10:48.  My new record is 32:52 and a pace of 10:35.  That's fast for me! I was super duper excited!!  And I loved how even my splits were as well. 

I wish the Garmin would track a record for 15K as well, but it doesn't.  The Hot Chocolate run from last year now currently only holds the fastest 10K record.  It did hold the fast mile for a while, until I just tried to run one super fast mile in the week before my previous half marathon. The week before is always really light on the running schedule so I did a mile out and back run and decided to see how fast I could run the first mile.  The record is 10:12.  Maybe someday I'll get something in the 9's.  

This weekend I have 10 miles to do and I'm not sure if I'm doing that Sat or Sun.  My half is next Sunday so I feel like my last long run should be one week prior - on Sun.  So that's probably what I will do. Plus we are going to a ballgame on Sunday so why not burn the calories that morning :) 

Have a great weekend!

2 weeks. . . 5K and Half Marathon

Hey everyone!  It's been a *long* time since I posted.  Mostly cause I haven't done jack with my weight loss. Total stall.  Slight gain.  Slightly bouncing around.  I struggle to lose weight during half marathon training when I have longer and longer runs.  I think in some way my body is always in a state of inflammation.  I will gain 2 lbs shortly after a long run. . . try like hell for a week to get it off and then have another long run.  Sucks, but it's life.  I'm hoping to really buckle down once the race is over.

So here's what happens in 2 weeks.   I run (well I think I will be walking to save my legs) a 5K on Saturday the 18th.    I get this medal:

The next day I run a half marathon and I get this medal:

But because I did both I also get this remix medal.  Apparently the middle part spins.

Who doesn't like race bling?  That's the *only* reason I'm doing both of these - for the bling.  First of all I have never done a 5K and received a medal.  My very very first 5K that I ever signed up for, gave away medals.  But it was rained out.  I still got my medal.  And I cried!  No joke.  But eventually after doing a few races I threw that medal out.  It didn't count.  My husband is doing the 5K with me and I think this will be the one time he finishes before me!  I'm really worried about putting those miles on my legs the day before a half.  Last month we did a Run or Dye (one of those color runs) and we walked quite a bit of that.  My legs were sore.  You use different muscles to walk than run.  So I'm kind of torn on if I should really walk this 5K.  I've not fully decided yet.  It will be hard to walk it cause I'll have fresh legs and I will want to run!

My half training is going well.  I'm following Higdon's novice 1 plan. I followed this the last time as well. However, I had just finished a 15K using his plan for that distance.  And I ran 3 times a week.  The half plan calls for 4.  For my last (and first) half marathon I tried that for 2 weeks and just couldn't commit to 4 days.  So I tossed the really short run in the middle of the week and did 3 days.  I figured it worked for 15K - 9.3 miles, why won't that work for 13.1?   It did work.  I mean I have no reason to believe it didn't.  But this time around I'm doing all 4 runs.  I have hopes that getting my weekly base mileage up will help those last couple miles of the race where I was just dying the first time around.  I should note that really I'm only doing the runs on this plan.  Not the strength and cross training too.  I wish I had the time for all of that, but I have too many other commitments. I ran 9 miles on Sat and I looked back at my 9 mile run for the first half (cause let's be real, I never run 9 unless I'm training!) and my avg pace was faster.  So maybe the 4 days is helping.  I'm not going to lie, it's hard.  I've really struggled last week.  And I struggled in the last 2 weeks of the plan the first time as well.  So I have a 10 miler this weekend and my fingers are crossed!   I really want to PR this half, but I know the course will be more hilly and I will be running alone (I had a friend with me the first time) so I really don't know what to expect.  I want to run the whole thing first and if a PR happens then that will be great.

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Last but not least - any baseball fans out there?  I'm a new baseball fan.  This is really my second year of paying attention in a way that I can knowledgeably talk baseball, I can identify the players on the field, etc. The St Louis Cardinals (my home team) are in the playoffs.  I'm going to game 4 of the 5 game NLDS series tomorrow.  I have tickets to 2 games for the NCLS should we make it that far.  I'm not sure we will.  The Dodgers are tough, among other things.  But my fingers are crossed.  I'm struggling with my soda drinking habit, so I was thinking I may give up soda once the Cardinals are done with their season.  I haven't fully decided. It's such a drug.  It's emotional for me too, but sometimes I just *want* a soda.   In the meantime Go Cardinals!

This is a mixed bag blog. I'm going through a lot of mixed emotions right now.

First let's start with vacation. OMG Cancun was gorgeous. I totally needed it. Here was my view from where I was laying out catching some rays poolside:

So on Sunday 1/15 we went to St Louis to stay at the Drury near the airport. My weight that morning was 178.6. A bit on the high end of my maintenance range. We had dinner at the Drury. They have hot eats every night and you really don't need to go out for dinner. I can't even remember what I had. A salad and chicken tenders I think. I had my first soda that night in a LONG time. Wow. I figured I'm going to be drinking alcohol what's the difference? But soda is a slippery slope for me. It's almost like an alcoholic. I have just one and I'm done for. But I maintained control and upon returning home I'm perfectly fine. :) We left Monday for Cancun to return Friday. I did NOT pack my scale. I ate and drank in Cancun. Way more carbs than I normally have. I was addicted to Dirty Monkey drinks and they have bananas in them. I cringe when I think of how many bananas I consumed. lol. Saturday morning when I woke up at home I got on the scale. I was 181.8. That's not too bad! 3.2 lbs. Considering all that I consumed and the carbs I was happy. I should mention here that I worked out at the gym the three mornings I was there. Tues - Thurs. Friday we had to leave for the airport too early to work out and eat breakfast as both places opened at 7 and our shuttle picked us up at 7:55. I was proud of myself. I only did 2 miles on the treadmill but it was something. And it was HOT HOT HOT in that gym. I hated it. Saturday we had plans to go to my parents for my hubby's bday which was the Sat before. I did 3 miles on the treadmill Sat (5K - more on that in a minute) and ate fairly well. But the next day I was up to 182.0. Shoot. I had my yogurt all ready in the fridge before we left for Cancun prepared to do a yogurt day. So Sunday was the day. Monday morning the scale said 179.2. Whew! Much better. 180 is my panic button. Huge panic. I had a riding lesson that day and I went to the gym and did 2 miles. Next day 179.0. Yay. This is Tuesday now. I had a session with my trainer. First since before my trip. We did 4 exercises for each - leg, back, chest and core. I was super sore that night. I rarely get sore the night of anymore. So I was surprised. Wednesday morning I felt like I was ran over my a big truck. I got on the scale . . . .180.4 AH!! Up 1.4 lbs. Deep breath. It's gotta be water being used by my muscles for repair. Drink lots of water. So I did. I also did 3 miles on the treadmill after riding my horse last night. Today . . . 180.6. I'm still really sore but I have a hard time believing it's the muscles now. I have another session with my trainer tonight. Geesh. I'm trying not to panic.

Here's the thing - I'm having a chocolate/candy problem. I did well till about noon yesterday. So today I'm going to try to do better. But even with that my calories yesterday should have been within range. I'm going to try to start tracking again today. I was doing so well at tracking and now I totally don't have the dedication. I start well with breakfast and then it goes to hell. So I'm going to try harder.

So now the 5K. I think I posted about my new found ability to run 3 miles on the treadmill? It's been hard since I returned from Cancun. I'm not sure why since I did hit the treadmill there. I did it Saturday and not again till yesterday. For some reason I crack at the 2 mile mark. But. . . I signed up for a 5K yesterday!!! Yay! It's in April. I can't wait. I want to run (*jog*) the whole thing. But I need to be at like 5 miles on the treadmill first. Cause running outside. . . well I suck. Big time! But no matter what I will do it even if I walk. There are people that just walk them, so as long as I don't finish last I don't care. I don't even know what to expect. This is the first time I've done anything like this. But let the training begin!!!! And let's hope the freaking scale goes DOWN!!!

3 Miles!!

I think I've mentioned that I want to do a 5K. That's 3.1 miles and I should be able to walk that even if I can't run.

Friday night I pushed myself to do 3 miles on the treadmill. Pushed isn't the right answer, once I get through the first mile, the second seems easy. So I decided to hang on and try a third. I did it! Counting my 1/4 mile warm up walk, I did the 3.25 miles is 41:12. Saturday I decided to do it again. It was harder. I was sore. My legs were hurting. I only had one day off at the gym this week so I wasn't surprised. But I did manage to shave about a minute off my time. I did the 3.25 in 40:03. I said I wasn't going to do 3 miles again today. I was TIRED yesterday after I was done. Completely pooped. lol. However I slept well, I slept in and today my body said it felt great during the first mile. So I did it again! I shaved off even more time and the best thing is that I feel SOOO good!

38:05! that's not bad considering I walk the first .25 in about 4 mins if I remember right. i want to be able to run 5 miles on the treadmill before I do the 5K in April. We will see. :)

I technically leave tonight for our trip even though our flight doesn't leave till tomorrow AM. I will be working out on vacation. :) I can't give myself that much time off. I just hope I can run 3 miles next Sat when I'm back. Have a great week!