BLAST Week #4

Week #4 of BLAST is a short one thanks to the Holiday; however that did not make the workouts any less challenging. It's been raining a lot lately; off and on since Friday, so six days now. Chris had to go to work Monday morning so I went to the night class which was thankfully outside. It was a great workout; very go, go, go! We did 4 rounds of 9 minutes. Our first station was pushups, flutterkicks, and simultaneous rope whips. Our second station was teams of 3 taking turns running with the tire. WOW! Now that was tough but such fun. I really liked it. I think it'll help make my legs stronger for running in the sand. Great, great workout today!
I don't have any images, but I found these online to show what rope whips (fun!) and the tire setup was like:

Troy said he was feeling bad about the whole mix up last week when I didn't get the notification that the workout was inside, but showed up and did it outside anyway, so he gave me a t-shirt!! My long sleeve tech shirt that I ordered last month came in too (although I thought it was supposed to be neon green; it's still pretty nice though).

For the Tuesday workout Chris was off work, so I got up bright and early to do BLAST #2 workout of the week which just happened to be called, "Legs, Legs, Legs." It was moved inside because of all the rain, but that didn't matter since we didn't need a ton of space. I was happy that my legs weren't feeling too sore from the night before, but that faded about 2 sets in. We started with 100 yards of double walking lunges and 100 squats, then we counted down from there: 80/80, 60/60, 40/40, 20/20 of different exercises that included triple walking lunges and split squats - UGH!! At the end of the board he wrote "cry" - pretty appropriate I'd say! We ended our workout with 2 rounds of 90 second wall-sits. As soon as I got home I chugged some chocolate milk then soaked in epsom salt, smeared Biofreeze on my achy quads, and put on compression sleeves.
I'm feeling pretty good today. My legs are a little stiff, but otherwise they feel great. I could even go for a run which actually sounds like a great idea. I do believe I will...after I eat a few more sugar cookies (WHY are these things in my house?!?). Merry Christmas!!

BLAST Week #3

Week #3 of BLAST is in the books. It was a good week and I actually managed to get them all in - even with a small mix up on Thursday.
Monday's workout was fun and challenging. We started and ended the workout with sprints. We did 5 sets of sprints - 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, 60 seconds, and 30 seconds. Each set got faster and faster for me. I tried to not go all out at the start so I reserved some energy for the last two. When we were done with sprints we did a a ladder workout of 7 exercises. We started with just 30 seconds of one exercise and then we kept adding exercises onto it. When we were all done we did the round of sprints again. My kids joined us for the sprints. They love running! Not sure where they get that from...
Tuesday was a bit hectic in the morning, but I still made it in time to run the chip trail with Chris over his lunch break. We did 3.5 miles before I started having problems. I didn't eat enough or drink enough that morning so I ended up getting really light headed and had to walk the last .75 miles or so. I was being stubborn and tried to run a few times but had to walk. I've never felt so light headed on a run before and I know it was from lack of food and water (I had half a bagel with pb and honey and coffee at 0730 and then nothing else; we ran at 1100). I drank lots of water afterwards to be ready for bootcamp.
Tuesday night we only had a small group show up (5 of us). We were put into a group of 3 (my group) and a group of 2. I LOVED this workout! It was a change from the norm and had no cardio in it - all weights; which was good since I probably still hadn't had enough water. We were supposed to grab a weight that was about 5 lbs heavier then we normally would choose and we did 3 sets of 3 exercises. You had to do 10 reps of the exercise and then single reps until muscle failure (or 25, and if you hit 25 you had to increase your weight because it wasn't heavy enough). I was so proud of myself. We did:
Overhead Presses. I started with 15 lbs, then did 20 lbs, and then 20 lbs again.
Squats. I started with 2 - 20 lbs (so 40lbs total), dropped to 35 lbs for the single. Kept the weights the same for the entire three sets.
Floor Press. I started with 15 lbs for the first set and 15 lbs on the single, but for the next two sets I switched to 15 lbs for both hands and then raised to 20 lbs for the single presses.
We made it through one time and then started all over again only this time we only did two sets (we made it to the squats before we had to stop).
We ended the workout with a "stack" which I absolutely loved! It was challenging and tough, and just a great workout. Basically you start with one exercise and end with 6 or 7 exercises all in a row. Troy told me to do 20 lbs but as he was describing the exercises we were going to do I went ahead and grabbed 15 lbs too. I did start with 20, but about half way I had to drop down to 15. We started with bicep curls, then overhead presses, then we dropped to a burpee, deadlift back up to bicep curl, upright row from burpee, and mountain climber from burpee. It was a great new exercise that was challenging and fun. I tried my best to stay with Troy and not fall behind. Great, great, great workout!
Wednesday I didn't get any workouts in due to conflicting schedules which just happened to carry into Thursday morning. I got up on Thursday and started getting dressed since I didn't have any e-mails saying the location had changed to indoors. I was putting on my shoes when Rebecca text me and asked if I wanted to ride together. Ride? The workout did get moved inside, but I never got an e-mail. I figured since I was up and dressed that it was dumb to go back to bed (I know I'd be super mad at myself later in the day if I climbed back in bed), so I went over to the track to do some laps. It turns out that I wasn't the only one who didn't get an e-mail. Lisa was there too. Both of us have to stop working out and be home by 0630 so we decided that since we were there we'd just do it together. Troy sent us the board but we didn't know half the exercises, so we just made some things up. The board was a tabata and had a lap after every exercise. We both knew that the purpose was to keep us moving and our heart rate up, so we replaced the exercises he had that we didn't know with moves we thought were similar. We also decided that we should do our least favorite exercise since we hated it for a reason. It was a short, but great workout. This is what we created:
Do one minute of burpees (my least favorite)
Run one lap
Do one minute of ski abs (her least favorite)
Run one lap
Do one minute pushups
Run one lap
Do one minute step ups (30 seconds each leg)
Run one lap
Hold a 90 second plank
Each lap we did took us about 2:45 (we just ran it together). I asked Rebecca about how long they did each of their exercises since that hadn't been on the board picture I had and she said they did 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off four times; so we weren't off by that much when it was all said and done. We were quite proud of ourselves and we took a selfie and sent it to Troy so he knew how badass we were for doing it outside! (seriously though it wasn't cold, 45 degrees).

My view on the way home after our workout. Great start to the day!

Friday morning my bootcamp class ran. They do a 5k run every few months (I think every 4); since we are in BLAST right now they offered a 5 mile run too. Troy bumped the start time to 0530 so I was able to get in the whole 5 miles before getting home so Chris could leave for work. It was a great run! My garmin still isn't working very well (and I even did a soft reset plus scrubbed the back with an eraser...I think it's time for a new one). It worked for the first 3 miles before it shut off. I was averaging low 9 minute miles. The turn around point was around 2.34 miles (according to my Garmin). Troy was there in his truck waiting for us and he asked me if I drove there - haha, I'm not that fast! I was the first runner though and when I turned around the first person I passed was Rebecca!!! I was so proud of her. We air high-fived and cheered each other on. She motivated me to push harder the rest of the way back. I was a little annoyed because I decided to wear knee-high socks and my right foot was sliding and got a small blister and my left calf was super tight. I pushed through anyway. I made it to the finish before Troy got there. I turned my Garmin back on so I could have a time to tell him; he pulled up about two minutes after I had stopped. He checked his watch and I finished 4.6-4.8 miles in 44-45 minutes. Woo-hoo!! I did great and I was super proud of myself. I hung out and waited for Rebecca to finish; she was only about 10 minutes behind me. She did amazing - it was her first time ever running 5 miles.

We only have two bootcamp classes this week, so I'm sure they'll be brutal!

BLAST Week #2

Another week of bootcamp is in the books. This one did not go as well. I ended up missing two of the workouts; not because I wanted to but because it was cold and the location got switched to indoors. To get to the indoor location I have to drive 10 minutes, plus in the mornings I have to leave 15 minutes early so Chris can get to work on time. With 20 minutes of driving and another 15 for making it home on time it's not worth stressing about. I did make it to the first two of the week.
Day 1, Monday:
This one we've seen before; well, something similar to it. It was called the 12 Days of Christmas. It went just like the song: do #1; do one rep of #1, two reps of #2; do one rep of #1, two reps of #2, three reps of #3; do one rep of #1, two reps of #2, three reps of #3, four reps of #4; etc. The difference this time was the exercises we did. I actually really enjoy this workout and if I wouldn't have had to leave early I'm sure I would've finished the board! I got to #10 then headed home so Chris could get to work. #1 was suicides - which meant lots of running! The last exercise I did was dive bomber pushups. It was a great variety of exercises!
Day 2, Tuesday:
I went to the evening class since the morning session got moved indoors. It was a great little workout. We got to have a partner which is always fun. My partner and I managed to finish the entire board - yea us!! We had to do the board three times and each round we had to increase the reps we did. Our first set was Burpees/Plank. My partner did 10 burpees while I held the plank then I did burpees while he held the plank. Then we did five more exercises this way before starting over and increasing the number of reps. It actually was a lot fun. While we worked out, my good friend Rebecca had to do the lap of death = flip the tire around the track while stopping every quarter or so to run a lap. She did great!!
Tuesday was also my weekly run. I went to Johnson's Beach and ran 2 miles on the beach road then did 1.5 miles back on the sand. The first part was great - nice and flat with packed sand, the last half mile was a different story since it was sloped and soft.
Wednesday night was my weekly run at WOB with Team RWB. It was a great run. I had my fastest 5k in ages (just under 28 minutes). It felt great!!
Thursday morning was moved inside again so I missed the morning session. I can't make the evening sessions because Katelynn has her therapy and we don't get home until after 6 pm.
Thursday was also another run day - that I did manage to accomplish! I met Ian and ran about 2 miles with him in his C25K training then I headed over to the beach and ran 2 more miles in the sand. The entire run was mostly soft so it was slow going, but it was still a great run.
Friday morning for bootcamp was moved inside again and there is no Friday evening class, so I missed the last two days this week. Thankfully, Rebecca sent me the workouts. On Saturday I knocked out the Thursday workout. I drug my family over to the track with me and the kids had fun doing the workout with me. Chris didn't want to do it, so instead he started flipping the tire which turned into his completing a lap of death (minus the runs).
I set myself up like I was at class:

 I got some pictures of Chris flipping the tire (how low can you go?!?):

 Denver wanted to help!

 Katelynn doing mountain climbers with me:

 I love this picture because it looks like she's checking out my form:

 "lower Mom!"

 In and outs

 Hammering out my quads which were on fire at the end!

There were a lot of lunges (120 per leg) in this workout, plus some running, and a ton of squats. My legs were not happy. In fact they hurt for the rest of the weekend. I skipped my Sunday run to let them recover; still not sure if that was such a smart idea or not.

Airport Runway 5k for the USO

On Saturday I ran the Pensacola International Airport Runway Run 5k that supported the USO. Overall it was a great little race.
The start was lined with flags which was pretty cool:

I didn't find out about this race until last minute, but I'm glad I did. Turns out that kids under 12 got to run for free! Hopefully next year my little ones can do it too. The entire race was on the runway at the Pensacola airport. When they were doing colors before the start of the race a biplane flew overhead - it was super cool!
I decided to run the race with the American flag.

I ran into my friend Lisa, who did the Pensacola marathon with me. She was doing really well. We finished together. Couldn't really talk though because it was pretty windy and the flag was taking it's toll on me.

I had to take a 30 second walk break after pushing up a hill against the wind (around mile 2). It literally took the wind out of me. After that I was good to go. My garmin said 3.01 miles in 28 minutes. The official time was 30:02 (9:42 minute pace). I was 15/46 for my age group and 252/551. Not bad at all!
The worst thing about this whole race was the parking situation. We got to park in the economy lots for free which was great! However they said to choose either #1 or #2. I parked in #1 since it was the first one I came upon. There were no signs telling you where to go and it took some time to find the tents and packet pick-up area. I was glad I'd arrived an hour before the start because it took about 45 minutes to find the start, get my packet (nice long line of people), and then get everything back to my car, then back to the start. It would've been nice to have mentioned that economy lot #2 was right next to the tents and signs directing you to the start and to use lot #1 as a back up. It would've also been nice to have signs at lot #1 directing you towards the tents. After the race there was a long line to get out because you had to sign and print your name on the backs of the tickets which no one knew about so we were all doing it while trying to leave. Other then that it was a very well executed race! There was someone taking photos, but I haven't seen any other then the ones I've shared, so hopefully they'll post more soon!

Bootcamp December BLAST

The month of December is referred to as BLAST in my outdoor bootcamp class. It's all new workouts that are meant to push us harder then ever before. It's actually been very challenging and a lot of fun. I find myself wanting to push through and finish the boards.
Day 1, Monday. I just couldn't get out of bed for the morning class, so I went to the night one (I'm sure this had everything to do with just getting back from CO and not being caught up on sleep yet). Monday nights are tricky because Chris has bowling and has to leave at 630pm which means the kids have to come hang out with me during my workout; not normally a problem, but it's been getting dark so it's harder to keep track of them.
The workout was just called 10 Minute Blasts. There were 3 stations that added up to 10 minutes. 1 minute of one exercise, 2 minutes of another, 3 minutes of one, and 4 minutes of yet another exercise. The 4 minute exercises at the end were killer! You already started to feel yourself getting tired and then you had to knock out 4 minutes of something - the worst one was 4 minutes of bear crawls! My kids loved them though! Katelynn kept telling everyone that they were awesome and doing great and she knew they'd finish. It was actually pretty cool to have the kids working out with us.
Day 2, Tuesday night. This one should've just been called Death by Baby. After our warm-up we were told to get a weight (I picked up a 10 lb medicine ball). Troy told us it was our baby and we weren't to put it down until the workout was over. It was crazy! We ran one lap on the track with our babies and then did a bunch of core exercises, then I did 200 walking lunges followed by some leg exercises, and then I got to Scoop and Throw my baby over 30 times just so I could do a few more leg and core moves. It was crazy hard and my legs were quite sore the next day. Of course my run in the sand earlier that morning probably didn't help the condition of my legs any!
Day 3, Wednesday was my weekly run with my Team RWB crew. I did the 5k route and actually felt really strong. I finished it in under 30 minutes (29 something) and my last mile was my fastest!!
Day 4, Thursday. Back to bootcamp. I have to do Thursday's class in the morning. Katelynn has therapy Thursday nights and there just isn't enough time to make it to the workouts.
This one was called, "I hate you!" Troy always says you need to fear the boards that have the least amount of writing on them:

It was 100 of all the exercises listed. 40 super burpees (with a pushup) then 40 weighted overhead lunges; 30 burpees, 30 weighted overhead lunges, etc. I got really happy on all the sets when we hit the 20 and 10!!
I had a major accomplishment with this board. I don't do box jumps. I fell at the gym when my trainer (back after Katelynn was born, so 2009 time frame) had me do them on a weight bench in the gym. I did ALL 100 BOX JUMPS!!! I asked Troy to take a photo so I had proof:

I look great don't I! Don't be fooled this was me after the workout:

Troy put together a collage of all of us doing the workout. I'm moving so fast I'm a blur on the ski abs! hahaha

Overall it was an excellent workout!
Day 5, Friday. There is only class on Friday mornings, so this was another early morning workout for me. It was also the only board I did not make it through. It started off with a high rep of exercises and then as we progressed through the workout the reps got fewer, but we added on exercises. It was called "Tack It On."
It was another great week of workouts! I'm really enjoying these classes and how strong they make me feel. I went ahead and signed up for an entire year of them!

Running in the Sand

Look at all that beautiful, fresh sand just waiting for someone to run on it! This is where I did my run today. A nice, short 15 minute run. I wanted to give it a try and see how it went.
I decided to just take it nice and easy and do intervals. I ran for 90 seconds and walked for 60 seconds. I'm going to change it up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds on Thursday then just keep increasing time and distance from there. I'll take my Garmin on Thursday too so I can get an idea on distance. It hasn't been lasting for very long lately, but I'm not planning on running long periods of time on the sand right now anyway, so the battery should last for these sand runs.
A before selfie...

 And my footprints in the sand.

It was actually a very beautiful run. I found it tricky at spots - areas that looked wet/firm I actually sank in. It made the run fun and challenging all at the same time. I'm looking forward to getting out there and running again.
Of course the whole reason I'm torturing myself this way is because I signed up to do a 50 Mile Relay in the sand over Valentine's Day Weekend. There are 4 of us (all girls!) and our distance is about a half marathon each. In March there is another beach run that is offering a 5k and half distance. I just might go ahead and sign up to do the half there too; especially since I'm training for a sand race anyway, why not, right?!? It doesn't hurt that both races support the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

I was told it would be a good idea to try trail shoes and to buy a pair of gaiters. This is what gaiters look like:

They are supposed to help keep the sand off your ankles. Cost is around $27, so not too expensive and if it'll help with chaffing from sand, then it's a worthy investment. I'm excited for my next run in the sand!

Bootcamp Month 2, Week 3

A cold front has moved into Pensacola so our outdoor bootcamp classes got moved into the local church gym. I'm still really enjoying the classes and the variety they bring to my workout routines. I went to Monday night and Tuesday morning sessions before we started our Thanksgiving vacation trip to CO.
Monday was called FOF 40's:

We were inside so no sprints; instead we got to jump rope. I'm getting really good at jumping rope and actually enjoy it. The thrusters in this set were super tough by the last time through. I was definitely feeling my legs after this workout!
Tuesday morning we did 12 Rounds of Torture (think 12 Days of Christmas):

I made it the entire way through this board and then up to #4 before time was called. This was another fun one and no run (jump rope instead). The last two exercises were by far the worst. When we were done two of us got to put on these awesome suits...

Yea, those things were like a sauna. I didn't wear my shoes, and had no grip so I ended up getting knocked out of the "ring" every time. Sucked, but was fun just the same. Great way to end this month's workouts for me. No more until December.

Bootcamp, Month 2, week 2

This is probably the first time this has ever happened - two days on one board! I ran the marathon on Sunday, so I took Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday off from bootcamp. Wednesday night I went to WOB and ran the 5k with Alyssa and Team RWB. I was not too thrilled on Thursday morning when I saw the board involved more running and resisted the urge to turn and run home.
On Thursday bootcamp, we did our normal warm-up and then knocked out a one mile run followed with 300 squats, 200 push-ups, 100 sit-ups. It was best to break those up so I did 9 sets of 30 squats, 20 push-ups, and 10 sit-ups. I ran out of time and couldn't get the last set in before we had to run one  more mile. Didn't get to finish my mile either since time was short (did 3 laps then he called us all in). I did hold the entire 90 second plank at the end of class though - that was a first!!!
On Friday it was super cold out and windy (I think it was around 29 degrees at 545 am) so we had bootcamp indoors. It was actually a pretty easy board - all abs. 20 ab exercises. He just yelled out the exercise and gave us a certain number of reps or time. The wall sits were the worst! My legs have had quite the beating this week.
I plan on going to the Monday class before we leave for vacation. I'd like to get Tuesday in as well, but that might be pushing it a bit. I'm still pleasantly surprised with how well I've recovered after the marathon. I was really expecting to hate running and not want to run again for a long time, instead I'm still really enjoying it!

Veteran's Memorial 5k

The Veteran's Memorial 5k Run was a great little event in Milton, FL. The race organizer asked if our team could provide runners for all the service flags. We managed to find someone for all the services and Tracy ran with the POW flag and I was going to run with the American flag. We had a brief mix-up at the start, but we just rolled with it. Michael was gracious enough to carry the American flag (still placed in the top 6) and I ended up running with the Marine Corps flag. I figured it was okay since my brother was a Marine, I just did it for him. I was pretty tired after having just completed the marathon the weekend before, but just kept pushing through...kept telling myself, this is for you Stew, I can do this, I won't let you down!
They captured a few really great photos from the air:

 

 

It really was a small race; maybe 50 people? It was still quite moving to see all the flags. 3 of the top 6 finishers were carrying flags! We started off at the airport and then ran on the original highway through Milton. It was all brick! It was very pretty, but hard to run on. I don't have any good shots of the actual highway we ran on. There were police escorts on horseback throughout too - they were neat to see.

They got a pretty good shot of me running with the flag:

My stats:
Time: 28:39 (with flag)
Place: 4/6 in age group
Overall: 16/36
We also managed to make it in the paper; that's always fun!

Hopefully they'll do this race again next year and we'll be able to get more people to come out and support our local veterans!

Pensacola Marathon

I. DID. IT!!!!! It's official, I'm a marathoner! I am so very, very proud of myself. I can't believe it!! 26.2 miles at one time. Just amazing. I have come so far since I started this blog and running. Just three years ago I started the C25K with a double jogging stroller and now I'm a marathoner!
I was so nervous the week leading into the marathon. I had trouble eating and actually had to force myself to eat several times. I was a huge bundle of nerves. I had some of my Team RWB teammates come over on Friday night and we chowed down on spaghetti, ate chocolate cake, drank some wine, and made a ton of motivational signs for the marathon. Arin, Alyssa, and Laurel did a great job at helping keep my mind off the upcoming race.
Saturday Chris and the kids went with me downtown to the expo to pick up my race packet. He bought me the pink 26.2 sticker for after the race and even found the pair of patriotic socks I'd been wanting. We drove the course one more time on the way home. It felt like a long way just driving it which probably didn't help my nerves any. When I got home I crossed off the last day on my training calendar and then laid out all my race stuff. The only thing missing was my trusty Garmin which hasn't been so trusty lately. It's been struggling to last longer then 90 minutes, so there was no way it would last the marathon.

Gathering all my gear helped calm my nerves. I did the mandatory post to facebook and then logged off to unwind. I forced down some rice and chicken for dinner and then I made myself some sleepy time tea before getting to bed. Chris was so helpful with getting the kids cleaned up and in bed so that I could relax and destress.
I contribute the majority of my success on race morning to the support of Chris and the kids. They got up with me on race morning, dropped me off at the start, and then randomly popped up along the course for the next 26.2 miles. It was so wonderful having them along for my journey. It made my heart skip a beat and brought a huge smile to my face every time I spotted them along the course.
They dropped me off at the start around 540ish (race started at 630). It turned out to be a little warmer then I was expecting so I left the arm warmers in the car, but kept my throw-away gloves. I ran into some of the mom's from my playdate group before the start (Michelle, Lisa, and Jennifer). We didn't train together, but we followed each others progress online. I'm so glad we snagged a picture together at the start because we actually ended up running a lot of the race together.

Stan wanted to run the entire race with the American flag and asked if anyone wanted to run along with him to help get it done. Kelsey, Katie, and I offered to run along with him. Unfortunately, they ended up going out faster then me and I was never able to catch them. I'm sure this turned out for the best since it was my first marathon and their pace plus the added weight of the flag would've surely made the race turn out completely different for me. After watching them complete the marathon and now finishing one myself my goal for next year (because yes I want to do it again) is to run the whole thing with the American flag.

My goal from the start was to join the 5 hour pace group and try my best to stick with them. In the beginning it would be to keep me at a slower pace and in the end it would help keep me going. I did the first mile with them, but as we came up on the first hill I pulled ahead and stayed ahead for quite some time. I ran into Michelle, Jennifer, and Lisa around mile 3 and we stayed together for probably the next 10-15 miles.
I saw Chris and the kids for the first time around mile 5. They were waiting for me at the top of a steady climb.

 They were giving high 5's to the runners!

He drove past me a little bit later honking the horn with the kids cheering and waving flags - it was so awesome! I passed the 10k mark at 1:10 (11:22 pace) which was great! That meant I was successful at keeping those first few miles at a reasonable pace and not too fast.
I saw Chris and the kids for the second time around mile 11.5. He got some photos of me running with Michelle and Jennifer. We were still smiling at this point of the race.

 

We ended up losing Jennifer around mile 14. She started having a side stitch and leg cramps. Michelle and I were still feeling strong so we pressed on. I passed the half way point around 2:28 and was still feeling really strong. I had just gotten done telling Michelle that I was starting to get hungry when I came up on my running Coach Michael's beer aid station. He was there with Charlie and they were cheering and hollering. He had a pb and honey sandwich for me!!! It was so awesome. I gobbled up two quick bites then pushed on. I was getting close to the 12th avenue hill (mile 17). I was so happy when I saw Chris and the kids at the top of it!!
Katelynn ran down it and gave me a huge hug...

Then we jog/walked to the top.

She kept asking me, "Aren't we going to run Mom?!?"

 

I drank some stuff at aid station 18 that I thought was Nuun, but it didn't taste like Nuun, it tasted like Gatorade and I can't do Gatorade when I run. I ended up feeling super sick for the next several miles. I've never felt like that while running. I really wanted to take another Gu too, but I was worried that it would push me over the edge and I'd get sick and not be able to finish, so I just kept sipping on water.
Chris caught up with me right sometime in mile 18. I was still feeling okay in this first photo.

This is at mile 19 and I was just starting to feel crummy from that crap I drank. Jamie, the 5 hour pacer, had just passed me. He is just in front of me in the yellow tank top holding the pacer sign in this picture.

Mile 19, 20, and 21 all seemed extremely far apart. I never felt like I wanted to give up, I just felt like it was taking forever to reach aid stations and people. That stretch along Palafox was long and quiet. This is also the stretch when I realized how hot the race suddenly seemed. The sun was just beating on me. No shade for the rest of the race. Chris and the kids drove past me and he knew something was wrong. He drove really slow and then went ahead of me and pulled over.

 You can see the expressions on my face, I was less then thrilled.

I just kept telling myself that it was okay to walk, that I needed to enjoy this moment, don't dwell on the heat or the fact that the pacer (and Michelle) was now in front of me instead of behind.

Then just like that - Look! The kids and Chris! And this time they are waving flags and cheering and jumping up and down shouting, "Go Mommy!" Oh, I feel good. I love them so much. I can do this! I see the church, it's all downhill from there. I've run this loop lots of times. I am doing this! I can do this!!

Alright, I'm off and running again!!

I ran into downtown Palafox, caught up to Michelle, chatted with her for a bit, and pushed on. Grabbed two bites of a banana at mile 23 and no longer felt like I was going to be sick. I'm nearly there! Only a 5k to go! I so got this!!
At mile 24 I heard someone calling my name. I looked up and it was Kristy. Smile, she said. Okay, I can do that. I've got this!! 2.2 more miles to go!!!

Just past mile 25 I saw someone in a blue Team RWB shirt coming towards me with a flag. Is that Bill? What in the world is he doing? Why, he was coming to help get me to the finish. You couldn't ask for a better teammate! With only a mile to go I found Chris and the kids. Chris handed me an American flag and we all took it to the finish - Bill, Katelynn, Denver, Chris, and me. All one team.

Passed my girls Victoria, Alyssa, and Arin at a motivation station with only half a mile to go...

Every time I see these photos of that last half mile my heart just swells. It was a wonderful way to finish my first marathon. I walked a little, ran a little, cried a little, and crossed that finish line in 5:14:45!

 

 

 

My favorite photo from the entire day:

And just like that I'm a marathoner!! I chugged a chocolate milk, ate a banana, and then got some hugs from my girls...

Then Chris drove me to the Gulf and I climbed in up to my hips and just let the cold, gentle waves wash over my tired legs. We went home and I soaked in an epsom salt bath, put on my compression leg sleeves, put my feet up and marveled at all I had just accomplished. I stressed all week about all the horror stories I had heard about people running marathons. I had wondered if my longest run at 15 miles would be enough. In the end I was so thankful that I had all my toenails, no foot issues, no chafing, nothing was wrong with me other then some tired legs. Every time I stood up on Monday I was reminded about what I had just accomplished. By Tuesday I was walking in the parade and doing our Team RWB WOD with Warriors (that included sprints, squats, and box jumps) with no pain, just soreness. Today, three days after my marathon my legs feel great. What an absolutely wonderful experience. I am so proud of myself and all that I have accomplished. I can not thank my husband and children, my running Coach Michael, and my Team RWB family enough!