Trying to find time...

Busy : ( I have busy for a not so great reason! My Granddaddy has been in the hospital and is not doing well. While there is no place else I would rather be than sitting with him in the hospital I do miss running. I got in 10 miles Saturday morning because I was so stressed and sad but know I will not be able to run this week. I am going to try to run at night on the treadmill for a little bit. Anyone than runs knows you get antsy when you can not run and when I am under stress I am awful to be around if I have not been able to run. Friday night I was very emotional about loosing Granddaddy and I cried all night. So Saturday before I went to the hospital I ran my 10 miles and cried most of them but it helped so much! I just feel like I can deal with things better when I have an outlet for my stress. I am sure people were thinking "if it hurst so bad why is she running?" But I am not a crier and I needed somewhere to leave my tears : )

BUT spending time with my Granddaddy and watching Parker get kisses from his namesake is priceless and I will not run for weeks just to have more time with him.

Ramblings and Venting

Current workout plan:

5-6 days a week 1 hour of cardio; 3 bike and 3 run or 2 bike and 3 run depending on the week. One of those runs will be my Saturday run which I am planning on getting in 10 miles every Saturday (obviously that will take longer than an hour). Now that the sun comes up before 8:00 I am hoping to start my Saturday off with a nice 10 mile run. Something about 10 miles makes me feel great. I also am no longer running with my Garmin which feels great! I work on speed on the treadmill but for long runs I just run courses I know the distance of and leave the garmin at home; just me, my thoughts and my music!

Random thoughts:

I need a race to train for! Thinking a marathon in Knoxville in April or just wait until the half but that doesn't seem motivating enough : ( Frustrated that there aren't more races in the winter. Plenty of 5Ks but I am done wasting money on them and it takes too much time out of my day to get in just 3 miles. I would rather spend the time it takes to drive there, wait, run, wait, drive home.... well running!

Here comes the venting! ..... I am sick of the skinny comments! I have my weight back down to where I want it. I have not lost ONE pound since APRIL! I have just continued to tone up. It is RUDE to say the following to skinny people "I am surprised you even eat!", "What do you eat?", "Why would you work out that much?". I do not go up to people who are overweight and say "How much do you weigh?", "How much do you eat?", or "Why don't you work out?". I eat 3 meals everyday. I consume the needed calories for someone of my size and I am well within the healthy range for a 5 foot 2 petite woman. I have met with my doctor multiple times about my working out and he knows what I eat and how much. Basically I don't eat junk (minus by daily regimen of cupcakes) and I work out 5 to 6 days a week. Venting done!

Little fact about me: I am a scrooge : ) The holidays are not that big of a deal to me. I like going to see family and eating (see I eat...oops I said I was done venting) but I think you can be with family anytime of the year. Going to see your family once a year because you HAVE to because it is the holidays is not what the holidays are about. Also, I am not a present person. I could honestly go the entire Christmas season without receiving one gift. As far as giving goes I would rather buy someone a gift when I see something I know they would like, even if it is on March 12th and not the week before December 25th. Point of this rant? Most people are all a twitter about the holidays; I on the other hand find myself getting increasing annoyed : (

After reading a couple of blogs about the New York Marathon I have decided it is a must! I even want to enter the lottery right now! I think I am going to hold off for a couple years since I am planning on going big for my 30th. I am thinking Arizona instead of Disney.

Thinking about new shoes?!?! Going to change it up. That will be a post of its own!

Sorry for the grumpy post : ( I will be more cheerful next time I promise!

Tagged! It is about food!

As soon as I saw Big Daddy Diesel had been tagged I knew it was my turn : ) But I like to talk about food!

If you could eat anything without any health repercussions or guilt, what would your meal be?

Dessert! Dessert! Dessert! A lot of you are saying but Twila you eat dessert everyday! But I spend the whole time on the treadmill or bike saying "I ate a cupcake, I ate a cupcake!" I could honestly eat sweets until I threw up! I love junk! I could go days without eating meat, veggies or fruit and simply eat processed junk food : ) That is just sad to admit. I seriously have the worst eating habits knows to man.

If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why?
I would love to meet my mom's dad. He passed away a few years before I was born and I hear a lot about him from my mom and her sisters. He just seems like a real neat guy. I have always been a little sad about that fact I did not know one of my grandparents.

On a lighter note I really want to meet Steven Tyler! He will always be my #1 celebrity crush. I am going to watch American Idol (a show I HATE) just to see him weekly.

Why did you start blogging and what did you expect when you started?

My original blog is about my son Parker. I started that blog in June 2008 when I first got pregnant but I miscarried. I kept my blog going during my infertility issues and kept the blog to serve as a pregnancy journal. Then I had a few family and friends following my blog to keep up with Parker. In January; by that time Parker was 1 and a half, I made a news year resolution to get in 2010 miles of exercise in the year 2010 so I started a running blog. The blog community had gotten me through a miscarriage, pregnancy, newborn days, and toddler days so I figured it would get me through becoming a runner! I have grown so much as a runner because of my blog friends; granted I feel like a stalker at times : )

What is the one book you could read over and over again?
I have read "Flowers in the Attic" by V.C. Andrews at least 10 times since I read it for the first time in 5th grade; I think I was too young to read it then. Other than that I do not read books more than one time. I love to read and when I have the summers off (I teach) I ready no less than 20 books during the summer. When I was at the beach this summer I read a book everyday. Favorite authors and series include: James Patterson, Nicholas Spark, Patricia Cornwell, Mary Higgins Clark, Twilight series, Sookie Stackhouse series, Mitch Album and the Harry Potter series. I have also started reading "running" books such as Run Like a Mother.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
My bucket list of places to travel to is LONG! I want to see all 50 states and travel Europe before I die. BUT if you made me pick one place it would be Hawaii. I have in my head that Hawaii is going to be some magical island where I will be laying in the sun getting a golden tan, drinking fruity drinks, eating fresh fruit and swimming with sea turtles. Don't ruin my fantasy!

If you could have a TV show on the Food Network, what would it be?

I don't cook at all : ( and I don't think I can name one show on Food Network. Don't get me wrong I can cook basic foods but I rarely cook. Most nights it is just me and Parker at home since Scott works out of town so we spend a lot of nights eating frozen meals. Mom of the year I know! I am working on it I promise.


What was the best meal you ever had?
I know I have walked away from a lot of places saying "That is the best meal I have ever had" but for some reason right now I am at a loss! Hands down good Mexican is always a BEST meal. I am lucky to have a great Mexican restaurant where we live. The one meal that sticks out in my head at this moment is an anniversary dinner at The Melting Pot. Not sure if the food was the great or just the night itself; or the ending the meal elbow deep in a bowl of melted chocolate.

Who has been the greatest influence on your love for food and learning to cook?
Learning to cook?? Well lets say I got my lack of cooking honest. My mom is a great cook and is capable of cooking anything in the world but we just don't like to do it. My love for food probably comes from my husband. When we met I was PICKY. If you think what I eat now is bad you would not believe how horrible I ate 10 years ago. Scott has done a great job of introducing me to new foods and encouraging me to try different foods.

I am going to torture... umm tag the following people:

Racing with Babies

Am I Crazy of Just Crazy (one of my real life friends; Crystal)

Running Librarian

Book Worm Runs

Hope you had fun getting to know me better!

Iron Horse Half Marathon

I signed up or this half marathon early because I wanted to support the local races and this was its first year. I didn't even think about the fact I would be running it 2 weeks after my marathon. I was really unsure if I wanted to run this race but I am a race addict so I did. I felt very unprepared for many reasons:

1. For the past 2 months I have been perfecting running a 10 minute mile for the 26.2

2. I barely ran the week after my marathon and it was awkward and slow

3. This weekend was crazy busy!

I was so blah about the whole race I did not do anything to prepare. I had a girl I know go get my packet and didn't even go pick it up from her house. The night before I ate a huge Mexican meal and threw out some random running clothes. I rode up with a Lisa (my chiropractor's wife) and we decided we would try to run together. I was hoping to maintain a 9:00 minute mile and she is more like a 8:00 minute mile runner. It was a small crowd of under a 1,000 so it was not too hard to get out of the pack. We did our first mile in 8:15.... uh oh am I going out to fast? I decided what the heck lets see what you got! I can run 8:00 minute miles at shorter distances (3-6 miles) but have never been able to maintain anything better than a 9 something on the longer distances. Well Lisa and I just chatted it up and were at mile 6 in a flash. Every mile was 8:33, 8:45, 8:38! What the heck? On top of that it was a hilly course! It was never flat for more than a few minutes. But we just kept on trucking. At mile 11 we went up one last big hill and Lisa pulled ahead of me. Going down the hill I knew she was going to fly so I let her go. But I told myself not to pull back too much. When I looked at my watch going into the last 3 tenths I was running 7:45! Sweet! The clock was 1:53:00 even when I finished but I still waiting on my official chip time. Should be a minute or two faster. My last half back in March was a 2:32!

*Official time 1:52:11; 9th in age group, 8:34 pace!

Overall it was a great run! Chilly start (low 40s) but turned out to be a great morning. Plenty of water, great volunteers, nice country course with a lot of scenery. You would have to train for hills to be ready for it but I think I will run it again next year.

Sandal Season??

So the question is will I be ready for sandal season? I have never lost a toenail or had a black toenail but the marathon gave me another first! The 2nd toenail is all the way gone now and the big toe nail is falling off too : ( Guess this makes me a runner for sure! How long does it take a whole toe nail to grow out? Guess that is the good part about doing a fall marathon you can get your toenails back by sandal season. Makes me second guess that April Marathon!

Since I grossed you out with my feet I will leave you with something a little cuter...

Happy Halloween from my Mickey Mouse!

Black Cat Chase 5K

My mom at her first 5K! The Black Cat Chase is a fun Halloween themed run that is put on by YMCA. It was at 7:00 at night and was is downtown Franfort at the State Capitol. There were over 1600 people and a lot of people wore costumes. We started off at the old capitol lawn and ran UP to the capitol building. It was beautiful running towards the capitol all lit up! We went around the capitol and then the whole race was downhill to the finish. Mom crossed the finish line at 30:35! GO MOM! She is ready to do another one. There are a couple Jingle Bell Jogs coming up so I think we will do one of those.

2 Race Kind of Weekend

This weekend I am going to be a BUSY girl!

Friday night I am running in a Halloween themed 5K in Frankfort. It is suppose to be a real fun run. It is at night and there are over 1000 people that run in the race. The BEST part is that I am running with my mom. It will be her first 5K so I am really excited about that.

Saturday is the day of Halloween activities. We will be trick or treating downtown and taking part in all the festivities that it offers. I am from a small town so it will be limited. There is going to be a Thriller Dance at the end of the night. That should be interesting.

Sunday I am running in a half marathon. Not really sure why but I am. I signed up for it long ago and think I wanted to support the local races or something. But 2 weeks after my marathon I am just not feeling it. I was able to run "fast" the other night for about 3-4 miles but I still feel awkward running. My toenails keep flaking off so my toes are super tender. I have been getting blisters easier too. I think my feet were raw from the marathon and are blistering easier. But either way I am going to run 13.1 miles on Sunday.

* I FINALLY have a team for the Bourbon Chase. The race started 2 years ago and I have wanted to do it each year but never found anyone that wanted to do it. I am excited about a the group I am running with. I think we are going to have a lot of fun! You can read all about the Bourbon Chase here. Basically it is a 12 person relay that runs for 200 miles in 36 hours or less : ) If you want to get in at the cheap price ($1200 for the team which is $100 per person) you have to sign up by Thanksgiving. This year there were 220 teams and 44 states were represented! I went to the finish line and watched some of the teams come across and it is going to be a great time.

My eating is OUT of control since the marathon! I have been eating JUNK. "It stops tomorrow" "I won't do this next week" "Next week I am not buying that at the grocery" EXCUSES! EXCUSES! It is time to stop eating junk. I am really stressed at my job right now so that is 90% of the problem. I typically don't "eat my feelings" but I have started that bad habit again. SO I am going to say it one more time "the junk stops NOW". Time to take out my frustrations on the treadmill or the bike trainer.

Have a great holiday weekend with your family!

10 miles and Ramblings

On Saturday I ran my first long run after the marathon. 10 miles felt really good! I was able to run the first 5 in 44:30! I was wanting some speed work; so I pushed myself to that uncomfortable pace. I took a little stretch break and took a Gu but I was not able to push out that pace for the next 5 miles. I was also going uphill most of the way back since I was on the Pike. Overall I was happy with the run. I had some goals in my head and was disappointed in my final time of 1:45 but hope it was the hills.

With that being said I am going to go ahead and do the local half marathon on Sunday (Halloween). I have some goals in my head but the #1 goal is to beat 2:32 (my first half). That should be a done deal since at 13.1 during my marathon I was 2:14 for my half way split. I would like to be even quicker than that but we shall see.

I registered for a very important race this Friday. I am doing the Black Cat Chase in Frankfort with my MOM. My mom starting running this summer; she says I inspired her : ) She has been running 3 miles for the past few months and has decided to tackle her first 5K. It is suppose to a real fun race and I am looking forward to running every step with my mom. She is even considering signing up for a half marathon in the Spring.

DVR: Greatest invention ever! Since I am not marathon training right now I am getting in some extra miles on the trainer. My favorite show to watch is Biggest Loser; even though they are hands down the worst cast ever! I also watch Days of Our Lives, Amazing Race, 90210 and chic flicks! Nothing like an hour or so on the trainer to get me to 2010 miles.

GO KRIS! Kris is going to knock out her miles this week. She is awesome. Follow her new blog (linked on the side) as she trains a few ladies for their first half.

Post-Marathon

What do you feel like after a marathon? Well here was my week:

Cross the finish line - radiating pain in all parts of body, joyous yet wondering if your muscles will ever un-cramp! 4 hour drive home was a huge thumbs down. Best part was laying in the grass stretching at a rest area and looking over and seeing a guy with a medal doing the same thing!

Day 1 after - not sure if there was pain because I did not leave my recliner other than to pee and eat! I ate EVERY calorie I burned plus some.... I had fast food! GASP!

Day 2 after- back to work : ( Man my classroom is too far down the hall! I could not keep up with my kids. Walked a mile on the treadmill and that seemed to help

Day 3- Hello legs! Tightness was the normal "long" run tightness. Ran/walked 4 miles : )

Day 4- no pain during the day and ran 5 miles (slowly)

Day 5- biked 12 because foot was being achy again

Day 6 - rest because it is Friday and I do not work out on Fridays

Day 7 - Bring it on LONG run (10 miles) I will let you know how that goes!

I had read about a variety of post marathon feelings and I think I had them all!

Superwoman: Check

Need to sign up for Race Addict Anonymous: Check (I googled the next marathon all day the day after)

Fatigue: Check (I was shocked that I was tired for a couple days after)

Mopey: Check (had some post run blues)

Ready to focus on more manageable miles for the next 2 months! Still want to hit some 10 mile runs on the weekend but anxious to do some speed work again. Half marathons are in my future for sure but I have a feeling another will find its way back on my schedule sooner than later; maybe Spring?

Trying to find a NICE marathon in January 2012! I really want to run one the weekend before or after my 30th on January 11th. Mixed feelings on Disney so I am also looking into the Arizona Rock n Roll. Thoughts? Suggestions? I know that is far away but I am a planner and list maker : )

Indianapolis Marathon Race Recap

The stats for those who don't want to read my novel:

5 mile split 51:36, pace 10:20, Rank 723

Half split 2:14:17, pace 10:16, Rank 676

19 mile split 3:14:26, pace 10:14, Rank 608

Last 1.25 miles 12:25, pace 9:56, Rank 297

Net time: 4:27:46, pace 10:14

Division Place: 47

Gender Place: 151

Overall Place: 506

Pre-Race: I rode up with Jeremy and Crystal who were doing their first half so that Parker and Scott did not have to come up until the day of. We had a great trip up and found, hotel, shuttle location, race course and expo fairly easily! Packet pick up was quick and the expo was so-so. Not a lot to look at but I did get to Bondi Bands. I bought the pink one below since I eat at the Twisted Sifter at least once a week and a blue one that says "Run Like a Mother" because I love the book and follow the RLAM blog.

Pre-Race Meal: O'Charleys! I do not do pasta!! I burp it up the whole next day. The sauces, garlic and butter are not my friend. During training I have done a high protein (plain burger, chicken) and a large baked potato. So I had a "pick 2" of grilled chicken breast, chicken fingers, baked potato and 2 rolls. I was easy on the butter, sour cream and only drank water. I was nervous about the chicken fingers since I have not had anything friend in a very long time but they sat well. I felt nice and full but not heavy. Based on the next day I will make that a regular pre-race meal. I also drank water like it was my job all week and the day before.

Race Day: I slept so-so; basically I was up every hour to see what time it was but I was able to go back to sleep. Woke up at 6 am, suited up and was out the door to the shuttle bus by 6:45 am. The shuttle was great (minus the fact that the drive got lost on the way there)!

The outfit: Under Armour capri leggings (LOVE), black running shorts over, long under armour tank, white wicking long sleeve tee, throw away sweater, thorlo socks, bondi band, Garmin, Go Belt with 3 Gus and 1 Cliff Blocks and my iPod.

Corrals/Port-a-Potties: The race site was great (minus being upper 30s). Lots of port-a-potties! and the corrals were nicely organized. This is where I met my pace group. I was nervous about starting by myself and being by myself the all day so I started look for a friend. I saw this couple (Jon and Kim) who were looking for the 4:30 group. I wanted to stay as close to the 4:30 group for as long as I could. This was my "A" goal. Well we finally found our pace guy; Iain. He was great! I could tell from the beginning he was going to great to have around. He had an cool accent (British? Australian?), a nice calm about him, had researched the course, gave us a plan for water stops and hills (he would walk them), told us how to go pee and catch up and told us he would never leave us. I committed along with 5-10 other people plus plenty of other but there was a "group" of us that knew each others names.

Miles 1-5: Uneventful! The weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous! The trees were all changing and we ran around a campus and into Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park which was breath taking. We would eventually run in and out and in and out of this park! I felt like I was in an ant farm. There were parts we ran through at least 3 times but never the same way. It was nice because you could always see a "winner" coming or the back of the pack and give everyone a cheer! The one thing I was shocked about was how hateful people were! It was crowded on the narrow trails and people would get down right ugly. But my pace guy kept us at a stead 10:00-10:30 pace!

Mile 1: ditched the gloves

Mile 3: tied shirt around waste (I threw down the sweater before I started)

Mile 4.5 mint chocolate GU

Miles 6-10: Still having fun! We had a set group at this point. Jon, Kim, the 60 year old out to BQ, 52 marathons in 52 weeks guy, nameless lady and the 70 year old who was going for a 2:15 half marathon. I still felt good but did turn on music at mile 7 just to give me something else to think about. I did the one ear, low volume thing so I could still talk. Again the race just kept getting prettier and prettier! The sun was out, still cool and I loved every minute of it. This is also when I spotted Racing with Babies on the trail. I saw yellow and orange flash by and knew it was her! I ran up to say "Hello" but let her go on at her faster pace.

Mile 11-14: Yep! Still fun! Little pain in the calf, knee, arches here and there but nothing serious. I was able to see Crystal at mile 10 of her half and Sarah at the same time; these girls have done some great things this summer getting ready for their first half! Racing with Babies doesn't know it but I also saw her have to stop for another bathroom break at mile 14! I love seeing people along the course and I am sure I am borderline annoying with my cheering and yelling but it helps me and I hope I am helping them. I Gued again at mile 10.

Mile 15-18: The pain starts to show up! Anything over mile 15 is where my body starts to hurt! I guess it is lack of long runs and I have only been running for 1 1/2 years. I was hoping my parents, Scott and Parker would be at mile 17 so I put on my big girl pants and sucked it up! Instead of guing at 15 (the plan) I decided to open my Cliff Blocks at 17 and eat one every mile (until 22) to give me something to do during the feared "wall"; this turned out to be a great idea! My family was at mile 17 and I could not look at them for fear of sobbing like a baby. They kept me smiling until mile 18.

Mile 18-22: "Hi" wall, "Bye" wall, "Hi" wall, "Bye" wall. Did I hit a wall? No. Did I see the wall? Sure did! It went something like this:

The wall: "just walk, if you walk now you will still make your C goal!" "Lots of people can't even say they have done a marathon, who cares about your time!" "Who does this?"

The Anti-wall" "That is just stupid! You have stuck with it this long; you better suck it up" "You have hung with the group this long, DO IT!" "Waist up you are fine!"

We had this conversation for a long time! But anytime Jon or Iain would see me slipping behind he would come back for me.

I had told myself I would stick with my pace group until mile 20 and then drop back on my own and just run/walk/shuffle it in on my own. Well my pace group was having no part of that plan. Iain and Jon were like "You are strong". At one point they boxed me in and would not let me fall back! LOVE them! Finally I said "I feel like hell!, How do you all feel so damn good?" The 60 year old spoke up and said "I feel like hell too but I am going to die trying to qualify for Boston" Ianin spoke up and reminded me I would not be human if I didn't hurt! So at Mile 22 I sucked it up and counted down the last 4 miles!

Behind me is the pace group (I was running ahead to see my family). I have a better picture from the finish line. Will post the close up picture tomorrow.

Mile 22 - Mile 26: I had been breaking the run down into "5Ks" 17-20, 20-23 and 23-26! That helped and I had one Gu left. It is my super caffeine one. I knew it would not actually kick in but I told myself it would help. So at mile 22 I tore it open and started "sipping" on it. It was nice to have some flavor and I talked myself into thinking it was giving me a boost. Let me start off my saying I was in PAIN! But I was able to push the pain aside and but my sights on the finish. These 4 miles actually went by quick! We were ahead of pace and knew mile 25 was a possible hill so there was no walking or slowing down in case it was needed at mile 25. Mile 24 I put in both ear buds and cranked up the music! Iain was trying to tell me how great I was doing but the tears were flowing so I had to tune him out : ) I listened to "Where the Spirit of the Lord Is" and Shackles. Nothing like a reminder that God is awesome to make you think you can do anything! Keep in my right before that it was some old school rap with lots of angry curse words! I have a diverse playlist on my iPod.

Coming up on the finish I put it into high gear and went for it! My pace group came across together. By this time it was Iain (pace leader), Jon, Kim and 60 year old BQ lady! The others had dropped in that mile 17- mile 21 loop that was the "wall" for many! Seeing people hit their wall was sad. There were so many people walking and sitting down. It I had not had my pace group I could have easily joined them.

Do you see the pain in my face? My calved cramped up so bad! I could not walk! But there were a lot of other people around me who looked the same so that helped! The game plan was to hit the hotel, shower and go to Louisville for Mexican and Cheesecake Factory dessert but I just wanted home! So we decided to get on the road for my favorite restaurant Guadalajara and I grabbed some of Crystal's birthday cake!

2 tacos, 1 enchilada, 1 tostada, bean dip, chips, salsa, margarita which was followed my a piece of mint chocolate chip birthday cake that I brought home with me.

What next? Another Marathon? YES! I will do another marathon. However, the training is time consuming so it will be awhile. So I am going to try to get in 3-4 half marathons in the next year and then train for Disney World (January 2012, close the my 30th birthday). I am going to put my bucket list of future races up soon. Right now I have Midway, Ky in 2 weeks (if the pain is gone) and want to sign up for Virgina Beach Half in March and Rock-n-Roll half in Nashville in April.