Monday, January 14, 2013

I did it!!

I still really can't believe I did it....but I did.  I ran a half marathon!  I may not have been the fastest runner out there, but I definitely was not the slowest either.  And I did not stop or walk the entire time.  I finished in about 2 hours and 40 minutes...averaging about a 12 min/mile.  And all nearly 3 hours, was pure awesomeness!!

I was totally freaked out the night before.  Even though I ran 11 miles the Sunday before, I was panicking.  What if I got a shin split, or side ache, or foot whatever?  What if I hit "the wall" and couldn't continue?  Add in the fact that the forecast was low 40s and RAIN!  What to wear??  My mom spent the night to keep the boys and I think I finally fell to sleep some time after midnight.

We woke up early around 4:30am.  And it was COLD and RAINING just as projected.  I had bought these sheddable/disposable jackets for Matt and I at the race expo so my plan was capri pants, long sleeve top, gloves, visor and this sheddable jacket.  We arrived downtown about 5:45am and yay, no rain!  Went inside to meet up with the gang and get our numbers pinned on, etc.  Like cattle we then followed the herd outside to line up....its drizzling.  The race starts.  We are probably several thousand people deep so it takes about 15 minutes before we even are near the official start line.  And by the time we reach it, it is full.on.POURING.  I waved goodbye to Matt so he could carry on and just focused on me.  I didn't care how slow I was, I just wanted to finish.

(Matt, Me, and Thomas pre-race)

It rained for probably the first hour of the race.  Like hard.  I was SO glad to have the visor to keep my face clear and the jacket on.  It was keeping me warm and fairly dry.  And happy to have capris on too and not dealing with wet ankles/pants!  The bad part was the gloves and the shoes.  SOAKED.  But even with running around the puddles, etc it was still pretty cool.  People were cheering us on!

Thank goodness for the music.  There were some great songs on my ipod that really got me through. I felt so powerful and strong!! Passing by Matt and Jenny along the 8-9 mile stretch was pretty cool too.  They were about a mile ahead of me and I saw them as they were coming back on the u-turn.  That really gave me some motivation to keep going!  When I reached mile 10 and was headed back towards downtown...I knew I could do it.  The home stretch. I soaked it in.  And then seeing MARATHONERS passing me...I definitely couldn't quit then.

When I finally reached mile 12 entering downtown...knowing I had just a mile to go....the emotions got me.  I truly couldn't believe I was doing this.  I passed some people, others passed me.  But I was SMILING the whole time with tear filled eyes.  I wanted to reach out and touch everybody around me and give them a high five and say"c'mon...we can do this!  We got this thing!!" That mile was my fastest of all 13.  I loved racing through the final stretch.  I raised my arms up and gave it my all as I crossed the finish line!  It.was.AWESOME.

A little less than 2 years ago I started the couch to 5k program.  I could barely jog 30 seconds.  Last year at this time, I ran the 5k while Matt ran the 1/2 and decided after seeing him finish, that I too wanted to run next year!!  Fast forward 9 months, and sweet Lukey was born. It was beginning to seem a bit ambitious that I would be able to complete the race.  There was no way I could get back in shape enough to run in just 3 months!  But thanks to the persistence especially of my #1 supporter Matt, and forever optimist friend, Jenny...they didn't let me give up.  I kept on training.  And on Sunday...I became a 1/2 Marathon FINISHER!!

If it is ever something you think maybe you would want to do...if you set your mind to it, do your miles, and stick with it, you can do it too.

What an awesome day.  Thank you again to my hubby, my parents, and all my friends for the encouragement and support.  Can't wait to do it again next year!!!
(Post race- Me, Matt, Andy, Jenny, Thomas)
 We did it!!
 (My #1 supporter!)


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Wednesday weigh in

Today was my first official ww weigh in....and happy to report I lost 4lbs! I was hoping for the magic 5lb, but 4is pretty good do I'm not complaining. I tracked every lick, bite and taste...and planned my snacks and meals for work. Still got to have my pizza on the weekend but that is what the ww extra points are for! :)

I have 2 events I'm working towards:
1) Disney. I'd like to lose 10-15lbs by first week of march. Hard? Yes, but doable too! I have a 10k race in there to work for and I bought Jillian Michaels 30 Day shred to start in February too! It's all about planning!
2) summer! Last year I didn't get to enjoy my weight loss as I was already pregnant again. This year, I just want to look good and confident in a swim suit! And be at or under my lifetime goal.

Hoping by putting it out there, it keeps me accountable! Do you have any goals for the next few months?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Sunday Stories

It was the first weekend in what seems like weeks that we didn't have any events to attend.  Plan was to get our final long runs in before the Half Marathon next Sunday on Saturday, but the very rainy day decided to interfere with that.  Instead we took down Christmas and I took the boys to the bounce house.  All in all a nice day but not what we intended!

So that left today to catch up. Training with 2 adults and kids it is hard to find the time.  I ended up skipping church so I could run first due to work timing (back to being on call on the weekends).  I am slow, but I did 11.2 miles today.  I have accepted that I will be walking some of the race, but I think I will definitely finish!  We will see what happens.  I do like training for something, so tonight I spent some time looking for some 10ks that perhaps we could do.  Keeps me focused and always good to have a goal to work towards.  I never thought I would say this, but I like 5-6 mile runs.  Its not SO long that my legs feel like they may give out, but long enough to have to work at it too.  Now to get faster would be nice now too...

And I am officially back on ww.  I have a little less than 2 months until our Disney trip and I would really like to lose some weight.  My first weigh in will be Wednesday so we will see how I do.  Besides Saturday night, I think I am doing okay.  I am tracking my points no matter what.  It is a good eye opener to remember how much or little some things actually are and what exactly is going in my body!

Made some taco soup tonight and it was really filling and easy and about 8 points for ~1.5-2 cups.  Plenty of leftovers.  YUM!  Time to get back into the kitchen and get cooking more often.

Baby boy has his 4 month check up tomorrow....where has the time gone already??


Yep, slow, but done!  Hope I can make 2 more miles!!
 My lil cowboy

 Rooting on the Fightin Texas Aggies to Victory!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy new year!

Hello! Anybody out there?? I can't believe it's been months since I have posted. The draw back of Facebook...harder to blog when you can so easily post and comment there.  That and having a baby and 2 other kiddos and work...well you get the picture!

But alas, I am still here and will be better about blogging in the new year! 2012 was a pretty great year for us with the arrival of sweet lukey, but I am thinking 2013 is going to be even better!

We will have some big milestones this year (zach will turn 5, I'll turn 35, zach will start kinder in the fall and Luke will turn 1). Not to mention some fun adventures...Matt and I are running the half marathon in 2 weeks, we are going to Disneyworld in March and I'm sure some other fun along the way.

And I'm committed to getting back on the weight watchers wagon. I gained close to 50lbs with Luke. Have lost half and have about 25lbs to lose to get back to the goal weight I worked so hard to reach last year. Matt and I are both going to try to be healthier this year.

And do you read Beth Moore's blog? She's a really great Christian writer/speaker if you don't and her blog is linked on my sidebar. She is starting her scripture memory for the year this week and I am going to do that too. 24 verses of your choice to memorize in 2013. I'd love you to join me too!

My first verse is from proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.


I can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year. Besides the regular resolutions of weight loss, exercise, saving...I want to be more THANKFUL this year...and to extend GRACE more often to my family, friends and even myself.


So that's what's new with me. What about you?! Any new years resolutions or big plans for 2013? 

Heres to making 2013 amazing!!