Last Saturday I ran my half marathon! I was really nervous about it. A few months ago, I started a training program that I found on Hal Higdon's website. But, I wasn't great at keeping exactly to the schedule. I missed a lot of the runs, including the last two big runs of 9 and 10 miles each. As my runs got longer, my body would hurt more after each run. After my 8 mile run, I had pain not only in my knees but also in both of my feet in the arches. Then, last week, about 5 days before my race, I came down with a cold--sore throat, fatigue, runny nose, you name it. I was so worried that I wouldn't have the energy to finish or that I would injure myself. But, with a little help from the Lord, I was able to finish the race! I had three goals with this race (the first was a goal I wanted to hit, and the other two were more like "It would be nice if I..." rather than "I WILL..."):
1.) Finish - that's it! Just get through it without quitting.
2.) Don't walk at all.
3.) Run in 2:37 or less (an average of 12 minutes per mile)
So, I finished. I did end up walking, but only barely. I walked at the drink stations just long enough to drink my water. I stopped long enough to pee in a bush (they did have portable toilets, but the lines were so long and I didn't want to lose time waiting in a line), and I walked about 10 seconds at about 8.5 miles into the race. Not too bad for my first race! And, my race time wasn't 2:37 (see below).
The race started at 6:00 a.m., but we had to be at the local mall between 3:30 and 4:30 a.m. to meet the buses that would take us up the canyon. I spent the night at my sister's house because a.) it was closer, and b.) she's usually up early in the morning anyway to feed her baby. She dropped me off a little before 4:00, and my crazy morning began. At the start of the race, there were so many people! The website showed the final count of those running the half at 1,949. Plus, there were volunteers, pacers, and maybe some who were doing relay half marathons. We were all trying to stay warm, and I didn't know a single person there (I knew some who were running the race, but I didn't see them). As it got closer to 6:00 a.m., the sun started to rise, and we all made our way to the starting line. We didn't have a gun that went off or anything--I just noticed that people were starting. I hung toward the back because I didn't plan on running too fast, so I didn't want to get in the way of tons people who would be passing me. It took a few minutes to get my stride, and then I settled in. There were stations every two miles with drink, food (some stations had oranges and bananas, while others had GU gels), and bathrooms. It was awesome to hear people cheering each other on, whether they were going fast, walking, or in-between. I was most inspired by those who seemed like "underdogs" - those who didn't appear to be in the best of shape, or those who were getting senior citizen discounts at restaurants.
Once we got out of the canyon, the race became harder. It was all downhill at this point, but the beautiful scenery was gone and I realized we still had a long way to go. This was also at about the 8 mile point, which meant I was also running further than I had in my training. But, it also meant that family and friends of the runners could be standing by the course, and there were lots of people there cheering not only their friends and family but everyone! It was such a boost to hear those people cheering, even though they didn't know me. And then, I saw my family! B1, B2, D, and my mom had come to cheer me on. After I passed by, they all got in their car and drove a few blocks down and kept cheering! It was awesome that they did that, as it kept me going during the worst part of the race. Once I hit the 9 mile mark, it became a little easier to keep going. Then, I saw the Riv, where B1 and I met nearly 9 years ago, and I realized how close I was. I increased my pace just a little, and when I got to where Brian and I lived when we were first married, I could see the finish line 5 blocks ahead. When I was at 2 blocks away, I increased my speed again, and I sprinted the last 50-100 meters to the end. Then I thought I'd pass out. :) I could barely stay on my feet as I walked around trying to find something to drink, and then I went and found my family. Beez and HeyHey met up with us right after while I stretched and tried to get my strength back. My official chip time was 2:42:46. So, it was about 5 minutes slower than what "would have been nice" but I'm still happy with my time.
As I've talked with people about the race since then, I've found that the best comparison I can make is that running this race was like giving birth. At first, I thought it couldn't be that bad. After all, thousands of people run races like this, or even worse, so why shouldn't I be able to do it too? Once I started training (like once I got pregnant) I realized that this was more daunting than I had realized, but the training process helped me feel like it was still manageable. The night before and the morning of, I was nervous but excited. About halfway into my race (like labor), I thought that this was the dumbest decision I had ever made. What smart person really runs like this for fun??? And what type of masochist actually does it more than once? With the help of my family cheering me on, I saw the finish line and I was able to finish knowing that the end was in sight. Once done, it was a high--I had done it! I had done something that lots of people don't do, and I had survived! The biggest difference between the two scenarios is that immediately after B2 was born, I swore I would never have kids again, because there was no way I'd be that stupid as to put myself through that again. However, immediately after the race was done, I thought, "Yeah, I could totally do that again, and next time I'll do it faster!"
Showing posts with label bucket list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bucket list. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Can't sleep
Ug. I can't sleep. I hate it when I can't sleep. I'm not sure if I can't sleep because I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon (soooo good), or because of the nightmares I had while taking said 3 hour nap (not soooo good--mostly strange dreams about D drowning in pools and I can't swim to save him because of the surprisingly buoyant clothing I'm wearing *shivers*), or because... I dunno. Maybe if I get some of these random thoughts off my mind, I'll be able to turn it off and go to sleep.
I'm worried about B2. (Warning: this paragraph is highly TMI--if you don't like discussions about poop, please skip this paragraph.) B2 has had bowel problems since he was a baby. When we first introduced him to rice cereal, they cropped up. Basically, he can't seem to move his bowels on his own. We've given him Miralax almost every day since about he was about 6 months old. If we ever forget for a few days, it happens: the backed up, rock hard, bum-tearing bowels. In these cases, we usually have to give him an enema, which he of course hates, just to get it to come out. Our pediatrician told us that some kids just like to hold on to "it" and that he'd grow out of it. That was two years ago, and it's still not better. In fact, it seems worse, because now that I'm home I'm realizing how much of a problem B2 has. He's potty trained just fine when it comes to pee (even at night now--yippee!!!) but for the love of all that is holy cannot go poop by himself! Instead, he "stores" it in between his cheeks when he feels it coming on! It's so gross! We know he feels it coming, because a.) he'll still go and hide sometimes, and b.) he freaking squeezes in his cheeks! How can he not feel that? But, instead of just going to the bathroom, he'll stay like that, sometimes for hours until we catch the smell or undress him for a bath. It happened again today--third day in a row that he's done this, and third day without really pooping even when we make him sit on the potty. Plus, he's still on the Miralax. After 4+ years, shouldn't he really be off this stuff now? I'm close to my wits end. I'm tired to spending so much money on Mirarlax and multiple wash cycles to clean his underwear. Any help?? I'm definitely going to bring this up to the doctor when we take B2 in for his 5 year check up, but I'm willing to try just about anything before then--except taking him off the Miralax, because I just can't stand seeing my baby cry and scream in pain when he tries to have a bowel movement.
I guess it's time for a good update on my yearly goals:
Finish P90X
I'm getting closer to finishing this goal. I finished Week 5 this week (though I didn't work out today--sadness!). Legs & Back is my favorite workout, and I'm sad to see that I won't be doing it the last 4 weeks because it's not on my schedule. I started a new lifting routine this week: Shoulders, Arms and Triceps. Many swear words when through my head during this workout. Curse you Tony! I'm getting bored with the Kenpo routine (which was ironically one of my favorites at the beginning), plus it's starting to hurt my knees. I may stop doing this particular routine in favor of my new training (see goal 2). I measured again this week, but didn't see any difference that's worth mentioning.
Run a half marathon
Progress is being made! This week I registered for the Utah Valley half marathon, to be ran June 11th. I start my training next week. I alternate between really excited and freaked out of my mind. I think that as long as I can actually do my training schedule, I'll be okay. We'll see though. I just hope all that road running doesn't aggravate my old knee injury.
Get to 135 pounds
Let's be honest--I suck at weight loss. Not because I'm not capable, but because I seriously lack the discipline not to each an entire "family" sized bag of Doritos in one sitting. ("Family" sized my butt--what family would be satisfied with that teeny little bag??) Doritos are sooo good. Not only that, but now that I'm home more a lot of my meals are homemade (or leftovers of homemade), so I don't have good calorie counts. I've largely fallen off the calorie counting band wagon. I'm hovering right around my homeostasis weight of 140. Not bad, considering that I'm probably building a bit of muscle mass with P90X, but still not a great number.
Finish Old Testament
I'm finally making progress here too! I finished reading the Book of Mormon yesterday, and so am continuing my newly developed habit of daily scripture reading by finishing the Old Testament. This goal will take me the rest of the year to accomplish, so I won't really comment more on it in future posts. Just check the side bar to see how I'm doing. (I'll update those numbers soon--I don't have them all in front of me right now.)
Read 12 books
I'm not quite on track here. I'm finishing my second book of the year, a non-fiction book called Boys Should Be Boys. It's a book on parenting, so it's taken me longer because I've wanted to soak in what I was reading. Plus, my last few weeks have been spent making my little sister's baby shower gift (I still have a few more items to make before her shower on Saturday), and making a blessing blanket for my adorable niece O, who will be officially adopted, sealed, and blessed at the end of the month. So, I have some time crunches with those projects, which means reading has been pushed back in priority.
I'm worried about B2. (Warning: this paragraph is highly TMI--if you don't like discussions about poop, please skip this paragraph.) B2 has had bowel problems since he was a baby. When we first introduced him to rice cereal, they cropped up. Basically, he can't seem to move his bowels on his own. We've given him Miralax almost every day since about he was about 6 months old. If we ever forget for a few days, it happens: the backed up, rock hard, bum-tearing bowels. In these cases, we usually have to give him an enema, which he of course hates, just to get it to come out. Our pediatrician told us that some kids just like to hold on to "it" and that he'd grow out of it. That was two years ago, and it's still not better. In fact, it seems worse, because now that I'm home I'm realizing how much of a problem B2 has. He's potty trained just fine when it comes to pee (even at night now--yippee!!!) but for the love of all that is holy cannot go poop by himself! Instead, he "stores" it in between his cheeks when he feels it coming on! It's so gross! We know he feels it coming, because a.) he'll still go and hide sometimes, and b.) he freaking squeezes in his cheeks! How can he not feel that? But, instead of just going to the bathroom, he'll stay like that, sometimes for hours until we catch the smell or undress him for a bath. It happened again today--third day in a row that he's done this, and third day without really pooping even when we make him sit on the potty. Plus, he's still on the Miralax. After 4+ years, shouldn't he really be off this stuff now? I'm close to my wits end. I'm tired to spending so much money on Mirarlax and multiple wash cycles to clean his underwear. Any help?? I'm definitely going to bring this up to the doctor when we take B2 in for his 5 year check up, but I'm willing to try just about anything before then--except taking him off the Miralax, because I just can't stand seeing my baby cry and scream in pain when he tries to have a bowel movement.
I guess it's time for a good update on my yearly goals:
Finish P90X
I'm getting closer to finishing this goal. I finished Week 5 this week (though I didn't work out today--sadness!). Legs & Back is my favorite workout, and I'm sad to see that I won't be doing it the last 4 weeks because it's not on my schedule. I started a new lifting routine this week: Shoulders, Arms and Triceps. Many swear words when through my head during this workout. Curse you Tony! I'm getting bored with the Kenpo routine (which was ironically one of my favorites at the beginning), plus it's starting to hurt my knees. I may stop doing this particular routine in favor of my new training (see goal 2). I measured again this week, but didn't see any difference that's worth mentioning.
Run a half marathon
Progress is being made! This week I registered for the Utah Valley half marathon, to be ran June 11th. I start my training next week. I alternate between really excited and freaked out of my mind. I think that as long as I can actually do my training schedule, I'll be okay. We'll see though. I just hope all that road running doesn't aggravate my old knee injury.
Get to 135 pounds
Let's be honest--I suck at weight loss. Not because I'm not capable, but because I seriously lack the discipline not to each an entire "family" sized bag of Doritos in one sitting. ("Family" sized my butt--what family would be satisfied with that teeny little bag??) Doritos are sooo good. Not only that, but now that I'm home more a lot of my meals are homemade (or leftovers of homemade), so I don't have good calorie counts. I've largely fallen off the calorie counting band wagon. I'm hovering right around my homeostasis weight of 140. Not bad, considering that I'm probably building a bit of muscle mass with P90X, but still not a great number.
Finish Old Testament
I'm finally making progress here too! I finished reading the Book of Mormon yesterday, and so am continuing my newly developed habit of daily scripture reading by finishing the Old Testament. This goal will take me the rest of the year to accomplish, so I won't really comment more on it in future posts. Just check the side bar to see how I'm doing. (I'll update those numbers soon--I don't have them all in front of me right now.)
Read 12 books
I'm not quite on track here. I'm finishing my second book of the year, a non-fiction book called Boys Should Be Boys. It's a book on parenting, so it's taken me longer because I've wanted to soak in what I was reading. Plus, my last few weeks have been spent making my little sister's baby shower gift (I still have a few more items to make before her shower on Saturday), and making a blessing blanket for my adorable niece O, who will be officially adopted, sealed, and blessed at the end of the month. So, I have some time crunches with those projects, which means reading has been pushed back in priority.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Time for New Years!
So, I got tired of the #Reverb10. This year's questions were pretty dumb. But, it's almost New Years Eve, so it's resolution time. But, instead of resolutions, which tend to have a negative connotation of vague intentions that rarely see fruition, this year I want to set goals, complete with action plans and deadlines. So, here it goes.
Goal 1: Finish P90X
Right now, I am planning on being a stay-at-home mom at the end of January. Once I am no longer losing 2 hours a day to commuting, I want to invest more time into getting back into shape--because, frankly, it's pathetic how much my kids wear me out. So, I want to completely go through P90X as my first part of getting into shape. I've realized I hate treadmills, and there's no way I'm running outside when it's this dang cold. I plan on P90X taking more than 90 days to complete, asI want to do the full 90 day workout without working out on Sundays (usually the 7th day is for stretching, but I don't want to skip that workout). If I don't miss any days and stay perfectly on schedule, I will finish May 10th. But, let's be reasonable and say my deadline is the end of May. I also have a plan of waking up every day at 6:30 to start my workout. That may seem early, but it's pretty much the time I'm waking up now, or earlier, so it's not that much of a stretch. We'll see if that remains the case once I try...
Goal 2: Run a half marathon
My bucket list contains as one of its items the goal of running a full marathon. So, why not buckle down and do it this year? Well, there's a fairly good chance that B1 and I will try to get pregnant some time during 2011, and I don't want this goal to get squashed simply because something more important comes up. My plan is to start training for the half marathon once I complete P90X, using the same hour in the morning as I currently have set aside for P90X (I'll have to figure out how to work this out on days when B1 is off flying). I want to run a 5K no later than the end of June, and run a half-marathon no later than the end of August. The only out I want to give myself for not completing this is pregnancy.
Goal 3: Lose 10 pounds
I think goals 1 and 2 will get me to this, but I hope to hit this goal a lot faster. I got on the scale today and saw an ugly number: 144.6. I haven't seen that number in a long time, and frankly, it sucks. I don't want to wear any of my shirts because of the muffin top I get. I want to get back to 135. Not 137 or 136, or even 135.8. I want to get to 135.4 or lower, where I can honestly say I weigh 135. Deadline: May 31st (again, I'm hoping to finish that sooner).
Goal 4: Finish the Old Testament
B1 and I have been reading the Old Testament for something ridiculous, like 2 years. This year, I want to finish what we started. No, I'm not going to be super ambitious and start over--I just want to finish. Deadline: December 31, 2011.
Goal 5: Read 12 books, with at least 6 books being non-fiction
I LOVE to read. Seriously, I do. But a few months ago my father-in-law told me that I needed to branch out from my fantasy genre. While I do love fantasy, I thought his comment was a little too global. For example, lately I've also read some classics (I'm currently reading Madame Bovary, and this year alone I've read Animal Farm, Great Expectations, Scarlet Letter, and Persuasion). However, I have not been reading a lot of non-fiction (other than self-help and business books), so this year I want to stretch myself a bit and read some more non-fiction books. I'm allowing self-help (or, as I prefer to think of them, self-improvement) and business books to fit into the non-fiction category, as I've been enjoying those. Deadline: December 31, 2011.
On the right side of the blog I will keep a list of these goals and update you on my status. This way, I have some accountability.
Now, for some resolutions. These are things I want to do that will take constant improvement and will never have a point where I can say "Done!"
Resolution 1: Build an unbreakable habit of scripture reading and prayer.
After our recent scare about maybe moving to Minneapolis or Houston (resulting in us being able to choose to stay in SLC or choose to move), I came to an unhappy conclusion: I can no longer complain about living in Utah, since I choose it. Secretly, I've been blaming Utah for anything unpleasant - Utah Mormons, Utah culture, Utah weather, and so on. I remember one sob-fest I had, a year or so ago, when I told B1 that I just can't be a good LDS member in Utah. Honestly, I don't remember the argument that I tried to make for that statement, but I've let it be an excuse for why I don't do the basics. A few months ago, our stake Relief Society presidency challenged us to read the Book of Mormon by March 19th. I'm a little behind now, but am on track to be caught up by Saturday. Reading the Book of Mormon has brought sanity back to my life. I'm more patient with my children and overall happier. I want to keep this up and not stop once I hit the short-term goal of March 19th.
Resolution 2: Cultivate friendships
Considering I've lived in my condo for five and a half years, I feel like I'm missing the friendships that others have created. Not to guilt-trip anyone who reads this blog and also lives in our condo community, but it's the little things that make me jealous of what I lack, such as people posting on my Facebook profile or inviting me to activities (granted, this latter one, I hope, has been largely due to my inability to attend since I've been working full-time). I'm not saying I want to be the most popular person in the ward (okay, I do, but that's not reasonable)--I just want to feel like I can go to church and sit next to someone without the feeling of needing to create, awkwardly, conversation. I'm not going to post here what I plan to do, because I don't want anyone to feel like they're my project or that I'm their project.
Resolution 3: Love being a mom
Of course, I love my kids. But honestly, the looming possibility of being a stay-at-home mom has me terrified. Here at work, I've coined a pathology: "What-the-crap-do-you-do-all-day disease." It's rampant at work--department A wonders why Department B can't help out with task C, because seriously, what the crap does Department B do all day?? I have the same problem with stay-at-home moms, but a different twist. I know it's busy being a stay-at-home mom, but what I wonder is what on earth do they do to keep their kids busy, without resorting to 5 hours a day of Spongebob? This is something I desperately want to learn. B2 will be starting kindergarten in the fall, and I don't want his last months of being at home all the time to be spent in front of the TV. I do plan to attend as many play groups as I can, and we bought the Pass of All Passes so we can spend lots of time at Trafalga, Seven Peaks, and sporting games. Seriously though, SAHMs, any feedback, advice, or tips you can give me would be warmly received!!!
Wow--these are some lofty goals and resolutions, but I really think I can do it!
Goal 1: Finish P90X
Right now, I am planning on being a stay-at-home mom at the end of January. Once I am no longer losing 2 hours a day to commuting, I want to invest more time into getting back into shape--because, frankly, it's pathetic how much my kids wear me out. So, I want to completely go through P90X as my first part of getting into shape. I've realized I hate treadmills, and there's no way I'm running outside when it's this dang cold. I plan on P90X taking more than 90 days to complete, asI want to do the full 90 day workout without working out on Sundays (usually the 7th day is for stretching, but I don't want to skip that workout). If I don't miss any days and stay perfectly on schedule, I will finish May 10th. But, let's be reasonable and say my deadline is the end of May. I also have a plan of waking up every day at 6:30 to start my workout. That may seem early, but it's pretty much the time I'm waking up now, or earlier, so it's not that much of a stretch. We'll see if that remains the case once I try...
Goal 2: Run a half marathon
My bucket list contains as one of its items the goal of running a full marathon. So, why not buckle down and do it this year? Well, there's a fairly good chance that B1 and I will try to get pregnant some time during 2011, and I don't want this goal to get squashed simply because something more important comes up. My plan is to start training for the half marathon once I complete P90X, using the same hour in the morning as I currently have set aside for P90X (I'll have to figure out how to work this out on days when B1 is off flying). I want to run a 5K no later than the end of June, and run a half-marathon no later than the end of August. The only out I want to give myself for not completing this is pregnancy.
Goal 3: Lose 10 pounds
I think goals 1 and 2 will get me to this, but I hope to hit this goal a lot faster. I got on the scale today and saw an ugly number: 144.6. I haven't seen that number in a long time, and frankly, it sucks. I don't want to wear any of my shirts because of the muffin top I get. I want to get back to 135. Not 137 or 136, or even 135.8. I want to get to 135.4 or lower, where I can honestly say I weigh 135. Deadline: May 31st (again, I'm hoping to finish that sooner).
Goal 4: Finish the Old Testament
B1 and I have been reading the Old Testament for something ridiculous, like 2 years. This year, I want to finish what we started. No, I'm not going to be super ambitious and start over--I just want to finish. Deadline: December 31, 2011.
Goal 5: Read 12 books, with at least 6 books being non-fiction
I LOVE to read. Seriously, I do. But a few months ago my father-in-law told me that I needed to branch out from my fantasy genre. While I do love fantasy, I thought his comment was a little too global. For example, lately I've also read some classics (I'm currently reading Madame Bovary, and this year alone I've read Animal Farm, Great Expectations, Scarlet Letter, and Persuasion). However, I have not been reading a lot of non-fiction (other than self-help and business books), so this year I want to stretch myself a bit and read some more non-fiction books. I'm allowing self-help (or, as I prefer to think of them, self-improvement) and business books to fit into the non-fiction category, as I've been enjoying those. Deadline: December 31, 2011.
On the right side of the blog I will keep a list of these goals and update you on my status. This way, I have some accountability.
Now, for some resolutions. These are things I want to do that will take constant improvement and will never have a point where I can say "Done!"
Resolution 1: Build an unbreakable habit of scripture reading and prayer.
After our recent scare about maybe moving to Minneapolis or Houston (resulting in us being able to choose to stay in SLC or choose to move), I came to an unhappy conclusion: I can no longer complain about living in Utah, since I choose it. Secretly, I've been blaming Utah for anything unpleasant - Utah Mormons, Utah culture, Utah weather, and so on. I remember one sob-fest I had, a year or so ago, when I told B1 that I just can't be a good LDS member in Utah. Honestly, I don't remember the argument that I tried to make for that statement, but I've let it be an excuse for why I don't do the basics. A few months ago, our stake Relief Society presidency challenged us to read the Book of Mormon by March 19th. I'm a little behind now, but am on track to be caught up by Saturday. Reading the Book of Mormon has brought sanity back to my life. I'm more patient with my children and overall happier. I want to keep this up and not stop once I hit the short-term goal of March 19th.
Resolution 2: Cultivate friendships
Considering I've lived in my condo for five and a half years, I feel like I'm missing the friendships that others have created. Not to guilt-trip anyone who reads this blog and also lives in our condo community, but it's the little things that make me jealous of what I lack, such as people posting on my Facebook profile or inviting me to activities (granted, this latter one, I hope, has been largely due to my inability to attend since I've been working full-time). I'm not saying I want to be the most popular person in the ward (okay, I do, but that's not reasonable)--I just want to feel like I can go to church and sit next to someone without the feeling of needing to create, awkwardly, conversation. I'm not going to post here what I plan to do, because I don't want anyone to feel like they're my project or that I'm their project.
Resolution 3: Love being a mom
Of course, I love my kids. But honestly, the looming possibility of being a stay-at-home mom has me terrified. Here at work, I've coined a pathology: "What-the-crap-do-you-do-all-day disease." It's rampant at work--department A wonders why Department B can't help out with task C, because seriously, what the crap does Department B do all day?? I have the same problem with stay-at-home moms, but a different twist. I know it's busy being a stay-at-home mom, but what I wonder is what on earth do they do to keep their kids busy, without resorting to 5 hours a day of Spongebob? This is something I desperately want to learn. B2 will be starting kindergarten in the fall, and I don't want his last months of being at home all the time to be spent in front of the TV. I do plan to attend as many play groups as I can, and we bought the Pass of All Passes so we can spend lots of time at Trafalga, Seven Peaks, and sporting games. Seriously though, SAHMs, any feedback, advice, or tips you can give me would be warmly received!!!
Wow--these are some lofty goals and resolutions, but I really think I can do it!
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