5K Season

My bad weather curse followed me to my first 5K of the season. There were severe thunderstorms and tornado watches. It was not raining up until about 2 seconds before the race started. However, we ran in a torrential down pour the ENTIRE time. The city of Danville ended up getting 8.5 inches of rain that weekend. Despite the weather and running uphill in gravel for 1/2 mile I did really good. My watch time said 27:11 but the official time was 28:52. Check out how wet we are!

My time was good enough for 1st place in my age group! I would have been 2nd overall for women if I had kicked it up some at the end.

The above picture is from the Jennie Carol Mother's Day Memorial Run. Click on the link to read the story behind the race. This was my first "run" last year. I randomly signed up thinking "Hey, I will walk to honor this former teacher". I ended up attempting to run and finished in 41:51. I was quite disgusted in my health and decided I had found a new hobby and a way to get rid of baby weight.

Check me out finishing STRONG this year! I came in at 26:32 which is by far my personal best. At the end of last summer my best was 30:35. I will be doing at least 12 5Ks this summer in order to complete the Serres. It is a nice little incentive to run all summer. It started Derby Weekend (the rainy race) and will finish up in September at the Constitution Square Festival.

Kris is going strong! She does not do the blogging part of this blog : ) She ran the Jennie Carol with her 3rd grade daughter and they finished in around 35 minutes. Her half ironman is next weekend. I am hoping her hubby will post some pics so I can put some on here.

Update

Not much to update just doing the same ole' same ole'.

Kris is getting ready for her half Ironman in May. So she is adding swim to her weekly workouts and adding in some 1 hour (or more) bikes outside. And she is obviously doing great on her 2010 miles! Go Kris!

Twila just taking it easy for a minute. My knees appreciated a week with no running. It was Spring Break so I had no babysitter most days and my husband was out of town so I did all indoor work outs. I have went for a few short (3) runs this week and am going to keep doing 5 to 6 on the weekend. I am also going to trade my elliptical for my friend's treadmill for a while. We were both getting burnt out on our current machines so thought a switch might re-motivate us : ) I know alot of you hate the "dreadmill" but the thought of being able to get in a run when I have Parker is very exciting! I can do the jogging stroller for 2 or 3 miles but it is a lot harder. Plus Parker is very OVER being confined to a stroller so I listen to "Mommy, Mommy Mommy?" "out?" to whole time. Doing great on the 2010 miles. I might even end up on the plus side again this month. : )

Thanks to all the check in. Sorry for lack of pictures and posts but we have been very busy enjoying BEAUTIFUL spring weather. You can always check my Parker page for more current updates on life in general.

Lexington Half Marathon

And we are off! I am in the white jacket and Sheri is in the black shorts beside me.

Coming across the finish line. Chip time was 2:30:09 and Sheri was 2 seconds ahead of me at 2:30:07.

We were in it together! 4 weeks of long runs together and we never left each other the whole way.

Grammie and Grampy brought Parker to meet us at Guadalajara for some Mexican and a cake I ordered myself. I have a small addiction to Twisted Sifter cupcakes. I banned them for the past 2 weeks so I had a mint chocolate chip small cake made to celebrate.

I was so bummed Saturday night that I couldn't have a drink while I watched UK LOOSE to West Virginia that I ordered myself a big ole' margarita. Funny thing is I could not drink it. My stomach was not ready for alcohol.

Race recap:

Woke up to sprinkles and very chilly weather. Traffic and parking was complete madness. Tried to wear a trash bag for warmth and water protection; ditched it before I even started. Gooed before the race and peed. Race took off very slow which is why the clock time is about 2 minutes fast. Mile 1 was very slow due to the crowd. We started to get in a good pace and then the heavens opened up and soaked us with ice cold rain blowing in on our left side. MISERABLE. Started feeling good mile 2-5 despite the wind, rain and cold. Mile 6 I had to pee and wanted to Gu. Water stops were too far apart. Finally gooed about mile 7. Still had to pee so I found a nice rock wall in the horse park and took a quick stop. Here is when the wall smashed in on us. Around mile 8ish we were COLD. Our whole body was bright red and tingling. We fought through but at 10.5 miles we stopped and walked for about 1 minute. Did some talking and realized this was not going to be a 2:15 more like a 2:30. Last 2 1/2 miles consisted of pep talks and a few walk breaks. We were both fighting some aches and pains on top of the cold. I have honestly never been so cold in my whole life. My hands were swollen and pulsing. I had to run with my hands up because I couldn't bring them down to the side without them stinging and throbbing. FINALLY we were back at the entrance to the horse farm. We picked up stride a little since there were actually spectators. We were both very happy to have someone waiting for us at the finish line. So glad Scott was there to make a quick exit out of the crazy traffic. We made it back to the hotel and I was able to shower. There are few showers in my life that I remember but I have a feeling this will be one of them!

What is next you ask? 5K SEASON! I have toyed with lots of possibilities but with a young one at home and a husband with a busy work schedule I am going to concentrate on 5Ks so that my workouts do not have to be so long. If the summer is uneventful I will bike some and try to get in the pool and MAYBE do the Sprint Tri here in Danville that the local gym puts on. Kris on the other hand has very big plans on her calendar! The Century bike ride in June and looks like she is going Half-Ironman in May; there is one in Taylorsville, KY that she is going to do.

Thanks to everyone that reads our blog and leaves comments!

Jinxed?

So my first half was cancelled my the first snow in 10 years in Myrtle Beach. Now Sunday's run is going to be rainy (possibly storming). I can handle a light drizzle. Maybe even a steady rain but I am not sure I am willing to run in high winds/hail/thunder/lightning. I am just hoping for the rain to come in later than predicted! Go figure that Saturday is going to be sunny and 66 degrees. Then good ole' Kentucky is going to drop to the 30s at night and bring in some cold Spring rain. I knew they should have raced on Saturday instead!

~Twila

You know you are a runner when...

you go shopping at the mall and you come back with Thorlo socks and an Under Armor shirt! My husband was perfectly willing to let me buy some clothes but I walk out with running gear. Oh well! My toes are in need of some help. My right second toe is getting beat to death. I am hoping the extra cushion and no seem will help. I am getting blisters on top of blisters also. SHEW! Very proud to have made it into another "hundred" Going to slack off the miles the next two weeks. I was a little crazy about getting in extra miles this week and I was majorly tight on my nine mile run today. My goal is to get 2 outside runs in during the week for the next two weeks and then do 30-40 minute cardio workouts instead of spending over an hour on the elliptical/bike. Maybe one long bike ride on Sundays : ) Can't get too far behind in the miles.

I went and checked out the Lexington half course and "rolling" is a good description. There are a couple of good climbs but the good news is the way back is more downhill!

~Twila

Always Wanting What is Next

Just like my little guy Kris and I are working on "what is next". I am running Bluegrass Pike to get ready for Lexington and biking (inside) so I can attempt some long runs and perhaps due a bike race this summer. Kris has her bike out and is working on long runs so she will be ready for her century. I love where I am at right now in my working out. It takes up a lot of time but I feel healthy and motivated. I also love that I can eat pretty much whatever I want and not feel guilty for it! This week I made most of my daily goals to get back on track for my 2010 miles. Hoping a long bike ride one warm weekend will get me pack on the plus side. I won't brag too much about the 50 degree weather since I know some of you are still very cold and snowy : )

Short month and a plan...

So due to the traveling and February being a short month my miles this month was not where it should be. I am trying to get 167.5 or close to it every month so that in December I am not working out 2 hours a day! I was a mile short in January and around 16 miles short for February so I made a plan.

Monday - 5 miles on elliptical

Tuesday- 12 miles on bike trainer

Wednesday- 6 mile run OUTSIDE

Thursday- 12 miles on bike trainer

Friday - OFF

Saturday - long run (8,9,10 then half marathon)

Sunday- 15-18 miles on bike

This should get me right back on track or a little over. After this half marathon I am hoping I can get in long bike rides on the weekend. Keep in mind I have not rode a bike outside since I was like 10 years old. I am going to run shorter runs to work on speed for 5K season. I still have a personal goal of getting well under 30 minutes. Then my last big battle is learning to swim this summer and attempting to complete a small triathlon in September! Gotta have Goals!

Registered!

I was having a hard time getting motivated to run so I went ahead and forked over the cash. I am getting in ZERO outside runs during the week due to my husband's work schedule. I do elliptical two days (40-50 minutes), bike two days (45 mins - an hour) and long runs on Saturday. Anyone out there have this same problem? Will I be ready for the half? The two weeks before I should be able to get outside and run some but the next two weeks will be all indoors unless my parents pick up Parker one day a week for me. Some sun would help in the motivation department too!

Race Recap and our Journey Home

What the beach looked like the day we ran. Glad we waited until Sunday because the weather was gorgeous. The ocean to my left totally helped at the end of the race.

Race Details for those who are interested! We woke up about 8:00 am and decided to head out. Temperatures were going to be in the 40's. What to wear? What to wear? We decided on tights, light weight Under Armor base layer, long sleeve Cold Gear, gloves, headband and Kris wore a jacket. We proudly pinned on our irrelevant bibs and took off. I took off really fast since I had not ran in almost a week. Glad Kris was there to keep me on pace. About mile 4 we started getting thirsty. We didn't make a belt to carry water since we were planning on water stops and obviously we could not do water drops. So we ATE snow : ) First snow was a pile in someone's yard. Next snow was around mile 6 so we could "re-goo". We did a down and back since it was easy to run down Ocean Blvd. 6.5 miles and turn around and head back. When we made our turn to head back to the hotel we put in our iPods. The new playlist and 2 packs of goo had us very chipper. I honestly couldn't have felt better. Kris had to remind me to slow down we still have 5 miles to go. Around mile 10 I was impressed that I was still going strong and so was Kris. Our only issue occurred about mile 11. Kris was needing to stretch and catch her breath a little. But when she would stop my stomach would start churning. I knew if I stopped for 2 long I was going to be in trouble. Runners you know what I am talking about. So I would keep on running when Kris would stop. We were never more than a block and a half apart. At the end of mile 11 I started thinking "Should I walk? Do I need to walk" But I was super close to 2:15 which would have been great. So I pushed on. At the end I think I was running more like a 12:00 pace. I saw that 13.1 hit and I knew I had to keep moving. I turned and made it back to Kris and her Garmin was not reading 13.1 yet so we finished hers out and made our way to the beach. We were enjoying some stretches on the warm sand but my belly was going crazy! Lets just say I spent a lot of time in the potty for the rest of the day. However, I was able to feel good enough to head to Abuelo's. Kris had a huge Sangria and I had a nice Margarita and an incredibly fattening plate full of enchiladas, beans and Papas! My stomach was a little angry the rest of the night : ) Overall perfect race! I did not walk one step and Kris only walked for a matter of seconds. We are both very proud of our time and proud we did it on our own. Who needs water stops, mile markers, crowds of people cheering them on, a fancy finish line, a medal and someone taking their picture along the way? But they are mailing our medals to us. Thanks to everyone who has followed this part of our journey to 2010 miles. I am going on to do another half in Lexington, Ky in March; so I can have an official one under my belt. Kris is going to do a big bike race for MS in early June (100 miles in one day) and I may join her. I am going to do a shorter ride in April before I commit to that much mileage.

Airport Terminals! Yuck and on top of that SNOW plagued us every where we went.

If you are still with me I will give you our story of getting home. Basically we live 10-12 hours from Myrtle Beach but chose to fly so it would be more like a 4 to 5 hour trip and we would be ready to run. Trip down.... PERFECT. Trip home.... CRAZY.

Monday morning 4:00 AM we got a call from Delta that due to weather all flights were cancelled. Should have flown Myrtle Beach to Atlanta to Cincinnati; putting us home at noon on Monday. So we went on to the airport to find out what they could do for us. Delta wanted us to stay in Myrtle Beach another day and then fly Atlanta to Detroit and then to Cincinnati; not getting home until 9pm Tuesday night. We refused that and said "We HAVE to get home tonight" So we were put on a flight to Charlotte to Raleigh- Durham to Philadelphia to Cincinnati putting us home at 7:30 pm that night. Better than the next day, right? So we take it. Other than a lot of flying and CRAZY neighbor companions it was great trip UNTIL Philadelphia. Landed in Philadelphia and it is snowing. Endured our FOUR hour lay over to find out 10 minutes before our flight that we would not be landing in Cincinnati. Back to Special Services we go. They give us "discounted" vouched to a hotel and new tickets to fly out the next morning to Charlotte (yeah we had already BEEN there) and then to Cincinnati. Which would put us home at 5:30 on Tuesday; still better than the original deal. Go to the hotel (there is a bar!) an take a hot shower. We woke up feeling good about our travels. That is until we spent 45 minutes on the tarmac waiting to be deiced. Land in Charlotte as our next flight is boarding. Kris was moved to the front so she could run a head and catch our flight. I on the other hand was sitting in row 31 and had to wait forever to get off the plane. I ran to the gate just to find out I was two minutes too late. THANKS!

Then they get Kris on the next (and last) flight to Cincinnati but not me. I would be on stand by with little chance of getting on. Which would mean I would spend the night in Charlotte and fly out the next day. So I go get on a flight to Lexington at 4:15 so Scott can pick me up. Kris waits for the 5:50 flight to Cincinnati. My travels went fine. I landed in Lexington right on time and had my husband and son waiting on me. Kris however had to circle the airport for 20 minutes, didn't land until almost 8:00 pm, had to DIG her car out of snow and then drive VERY slow to get home at 11:00 at night!

Doing our OWN Half-Marathon

13.1 miles BEEN there DONE that!