Goal: Postponed

This week turned out to be the shittiest week ever!

Monday started out good, I had a great run. I ran around my neighborhood, taking a different path and ended up with 3.25 miles. I kept a 9:40/mi pace and it was a nice, relaxing run. It was a great start and I thought the rest of the week would follow suit.

I found out Tueday that I was going into the hospital Wednesday for a procedure that would leave me out of commission for a day or two. Well, long story but the procedure went awry and they ended up putting a hole in my uterus and it's Saturday night and I still can't imagine going on a brisk walk, much less a run.

On top of that, my dog almost died and to be quite honest I'm still not sure whether or not she's going to make it, she hasn't shown any improvement in over 24 hours and frankly, that scares the shit out of me. Right now, with all the stress in my life, a nice, long run would be perfect but physically I can't and that just stresses me out even more.

Tomorrow starts a new week and hopefully, a turn of events for me and I'll just let my goal roll over for next week or until I feel better. I'll leave you with a picture of my Susie Darlin' to hold you over until we're feeling better here.

Huh?

Okay, so when I ran through the chute the time said 28.45, I started at least a good 15 to 20 seconds behind the gun and when I checked my official time it says 28.51. I'm not really sure how that happened?

So, no PR for me....I think?? I still ran a good race, my legs are sore today so that is always a good sign. When I race again in January I better beat that time because it really annoys me that I don't know which time to believe.

My new goal is to run 15 miles this next week and to work on strength training.

Race for Hope

This morning was the 5K Race for Hope in OKC, I don't have my official time yet but the clock said I came in at 28.45 and I didn't start at the beginning of the pack so I have a real chance at beating my old PR. It was a good race, I started out a little slow because it was so cold but I really pushed through in the end. Here are some pics from the race and I'll post my official time as soon as I get an email.

Pre-race peaches and stretching.

Giving thumbs up to my cheering squad.

I can see the finish.

Thanks for the butt shot, honey!

The Ol' Switcheroo!

On Saturday I set out on my long run for the week, 6 miles; I run a 3 mile track twice, it works out perfect. I was excited about the run, I hadn't run more than 2 miles since my 10K and I was wanting to get out there and get lost in my thoughts.

It didn't work out that way though, I ended up struggling by the end of mile 2, my hip was killing me. I've had some problems with my hip before I started running but it hasn't really bothered me on a run before. By the end of the first loop it was on fire and I decided to stop at 3 miles, go home and ice it.

I did a quick mile last night (a PR for me, 8:22) and it was still feeling sore so my husband and I talked about it and I'm going to call and switch my entry for this weekend to the 5K. I was planning on switching back to 5K's after this race anyway, I want to start working on my time, so I'll just be doing it a little bit early.

I'm also not going to be doing a race in December because we're going to Colorado for Christmas so this weekend will be my last race of the year. I'm shooting for a PR, I want to go out with a bang!

Jiggly Pics

I hate looking at pictures from races I did, I always look awful and I mean AWFUL!!! I just got an email from the Monster Mash and it's all like "Yay! your pictures are in!!!" and I just dread looking at them. Of course, after I look I regret it, my boobs look like they're at my belly button, all my pudge is caught in mid jiggle, and my face looks ridiculous. I think my future goal should be to get a decent looking race photo.

Monster Mash 10K Houston

Sorry for the wait, I just got back home from my trip to Houston. The Monster Mash run was awesome, it was so much fun to watch everyone in their costumes running and it was great having my kids and husband there to cheer me on at the finish.

We started off with the kid's 1K, I ran with Nicholas and my husband ran Sophia. Apparently, there was a mix up on the course and the 1K turned into a one and a half miler for the kids, I was really proud of both of my kids because they never stopped running, Nicholas definitely catches the running bug during every race he's done.

After that was the 5K, my aunt, my cousin and one of my good friends was running in that one and I got to be at the finish line to cheer them on too. It was my friend's first race and she rocked it. About 15 minutes after they came in my aunt and I headed to the start line for the 10K (yes, my aunt ran both, she's a rock star!).

My aunt totally made this race for me, she really helped me keep my pace which my goal was under a 10 minute mile and I did it. I started really dragging at the end but she kept me motivated and I pushed through. My final time ended up being 1:00:03, I missed my goal by 3 seconds but I was close enough that I'm still pleased.

My cousin took some pictures and as soon as she posts them I'll be sure to put some on here, it was a great race and I'll definitely be doing it again next year.

Race Day Breakfast

Today I have a doctor's appointment, not because I'm sick I'm still fighting that on my own but because I need an adjustment. This is something I haven't really talked about on this blog because until now it really had nothing to do with my running, it's not something I try to hide but I do try to keep it from defining who I am. Last December I had the Lap Band surgery, because of this surgery I've lost 50 pounds and the weight loss made it possible for me to start running.

I've hit a plateau, it's been 2 months since I've lost any real weight (meaning: I fluctuate a few pounds but I'm essentially the same weight). The last time I had my band adjusted I opted to have it a bit "looser" than my doctor would have recommended but I wanted to lose weight slower and still be able to eat some things that I probably shouldn't.

When I started running it worked out fine because I needed to eat more because I was burning more calories. Now that I've stopped losing weight I need more restriction but I don't want it to effect my running. Basically, with this adjustment eating is going to become a chore because I need to be really careful of what I put in my mouth and make sure it benefits me the most.

I used to eat a granola bar and a cup of diced peaches before a race now I won't be able to eat the granola but I'm thinking of substituting it for a bowl of oatmeal, maybe a scrambled egg? What do you eat before a race?