Gluten free update, Labor Day, and NEWS!

We've made it over a week without gluten!

It's been tough, but also easier than I expected. I've realized that far more foods than I thought don't have wheat. It's pretty exciting. Now if only I would not overcompensate by eating the entire XXL bag of peanut m&m's or the whole carton of chocolate ice cream, I might lose those 15 pounds that lady talked about...

The hardest day was Saturday. I made these amazing S'mores bars for a BBQ with some friends. I did not eat one. single. bite. Not one lick of dough. Not one corner on a spoon (that's my way of "tasting"...with the biggest spoon possible). Not even a taste test to make sure they turned out alright. Proud of myself is a bit of an understatement...

Then on Labor Day our ward did a 5k fun run and breakfast. Of course we have connections to St. Louis Bread Co. and they brought in 200 fresh bagels. Cinnamon sugar bagel? My favorite. Did I have one? No. Instead, I filled my plate with fresh fruit and a gogurt after I killed it in the race. I ran with my running bud Leia and we finished in 28:06! Woot woot.

Speaking of Leia, I wanted to announce that I'm joining her food blog! We are so excited about this new endeavor and have lots of delicious posts planned. Jump over to: eatitandsayyum.com to see what's up! I'll be posting all my favorite recipes, new and old, there, and keep this blog as more of a family update and ramble blog.

Happy Wednesday, friends! Eat some chocolate chip cookies for me!

My Running Quirks

I went on my first real run post-baby two days ago.
Despite being on a treadmill, it was glorious.
The day before that, I ran a 1/4 mile lap on a track outside. It restored my confidence in being able to run again.
When I stepped on the treadmill and punched the button up to 5.0 mph, a surge of joy bolted through my body. "Back in the saddle. Just like riding a bike." I thought. I was able to keep that pace for 5 straight minutes before taking a walking break. Then I ran again. Then walked. For 30 minutes. I loved every last second.

One reason I was on a treadmill was to test out my new kicks.
My current shoes are well broken in and very beloved, so it was a tough comparison to run with something foreign. I was very aware and cognizant of the 8 oz. of rubber and fabric attached to my feet while trying to maintain a 6.0 mph pace for 60 seconds. Not easy. I'll get there.

The second reason I was on a treadmill was the heat and humidity at 2 pm. I'm definitely a 70 degrees and below runner. 85, humid, and sunny is just not a good combination for me.

In celebration of completing my first official run, and after reading a fun article in Runner's World, I thought I'd share some of my personal running quirks. These stem from my training last summer for my first half marathon.

Before every run longer than 5 miles:
-Eat a piece of whole wheat toast covered in peanut butter, and a banana.
-Do 50 jumping jacks, 50 crunches, 10 push ups.
-Lightly stretch my hammies, quads, calfs
-Leg swings front and back, side to side
-Stash my key in my shorts pocket. Double check for key. Check again before running. Check again during workout. Check again during water break. (Can you tell I lost a key once on a run in very large city park?)

During the run:
-I always wear my hair in a pony tail with a rubber headband. If it's below 55 degrees, I cover my ears with a cotton headband.
-Wave, nod, smile or "good morning" when passing other runners
-Motivate myself by obsessively thinking about what I'm going to eat when I get home (waffles, pancakes, eggs, pizza, chocolate milk)
-When I'm tired I set goals to reach: "make it to that tree. Make it to that bench. Make it to that house. Make it to the stop light." After every landmark I reach, I make a new one.
-Uphills I run 100% on my toes. Downhill I try to just lightly hit my heels.

Post run:
-Gatorade if it's longer than 8 miles
-Lots and lots and lots of water.
-Stretch and roll my IT bands
-Eat. And eat. And eat some more (after long runs).
-Obsess over my lap times, overall time, average speed, and fastest mile on MapMyRun

I know I'm just a beginner runner. I still have yet to experience many of the real highs and lows of running. But I know I love it. It hurts so good and makes me feel like I accomplished something. I'm thrilled to start running consistently in the mornings and get into the nitty gritty of race training again!!

The best part? After 11 weeks post baby, I finally feel like myself again. Thank goodness!

Wednesday Confessions: Running

I must confess: I am absolutely, completely, 100%, terribly, horribly, stuck in a running rut.

I have zero desire to run.
I have zero motivation to run (except for the cinnamon rolls, cookies, and ice cream calling my name from the kitchen).

Why would I want to wake up at 5:45 to run in the freezing cold, dark abyss of a morning, when I could just stay snuggled up in my warm, cozy bed?

It's so frustrating.

Especially because I have a gym with a treadmill only a few hundred feet up the road.
I could drive to the gym. Run. Then drive home.
But I still can't seem to do it.

What is WRONG with me!?
Maybe it's the fact that I have no race to train for.
Maybe it's the fact that the sun goes up and down 6 hours sooner than it used to.
Maybe it's the fact that every morning in the past week has been under 45 degrees.
Maybe I just need to stop whining, procrastinating, excusing, and suck it up then run.

Fellow runners, how the heck do you run in the winter?

p.s. I would love to run at 9:00 am, but this sweet bundle of love, and a hubby in over full time school, prevent me from doing so.

disclaimer: his outfit is not a reflection of my personal fashion sense.

he refused to let me take off his cars jammies.

since when were toddler boys picky dressers???

Me: Finishing a 1/2 Marathon

I am proud to say I have now completed my first 1/2 marathon!

The day before, I was nervous, anxious, and stressed about everything. Every possible negative thought and scenario was flying through my mind. I felt sick nearly all day. I started calming down once we were in the car and on our way. The race was in Columbia, just under 2 hours away from home. We dropped off Bub's with some friends, picked up Jaron, and headed out. Once we got there we picked up Meagan (who was at a work conference), grabbed our race packets and checked in to our hotel.

After relaxing for a bit, we drove to Olive Garden to meet up with the crew.
When I say crew, I really mean, Big Crew. There were 9 girls from my ward, Meagan and I, and our 2 hubbies. So 13 in all.
We had a blast eating and chatting and prepping ourselves for the big day the next morning. Unfortunately our server must have thought we were having a little too much fun, and we ended up being there for over 2 hours. Which was a little too long for my taste. But we made the best of it.
We went back to the hotel and dropped the boys off. Us girls headed over to one of the suites another group of girls had. We all painted our fingernails hot pink and had some fun Girl Talk.
Then the infamous bed time.
I'm not sure anyone in our whole group of 13 got more than 3-4 solid hours of sleep.
Personally, I tossed and turned and kept waking up thinking it was time for my alarm to go off.

All set up and ready for the big morning.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat in the morning, we set off for the race. It wasn't as cold as I was expecting it to be, but it was still pretty chilly. I was happy I had bought a jacket from Goodwill that I could wear and toss. Our crew walked over to the start line, snapped a few pictures, some of us did a short warm up jog, then it was TIME!!!

We joined the crowds of people lining up to start.
Of course by this point I was far more excited than nervous.
Meagan, Leia, and I, lined up before saying bye to our hubs. Luckily for us, as the crowd started moving, they jumped in from the sidelines and ran with us the first block or two. Then, of course, they took off.

The first 4 miles we so much fun! I had a blast running, chatting, and taking in all the excitement around us. There were little groups of people here and there along the race that were holding signs and cheering for people. But since we needed cheering too, we always hooped and hollered and got them to cheer for us.
One group of people had signs that were pretty raunchy but pretty hilarious too.
Us girls took turns leading each other around other runners and keeping our pace. At one point Meagan busted out: "I feel good! na na na na na" and we all jumped in singing and dancing the words. We passed a few other runners and they thought it was quite funny.
Around mile 5 we made a pit stop. I thought the line was too long, so after waiting 2 minutes, I took off and left Meagan. I ran hard to catch up with Leia, who had gone ahead. It took me about 1.60 miles running at a sub 8:00 pace to catch her. I thought for sure I wouldn't see Meagan again.
But between mile 8-9 she came out of nowhere!! She seriously hauled tail for at least 3 miles to catch up with us.
Once we were back together, her and I took off. Don't worry, Leia had found another running friend on the course so we didn't abandon her.
We ran hard for the next few miles and had such a fun time laughing, talking, and pushing each other. We kept a quick pace too, which was awesome.
Then the unfortunate hit.
If you've ever run any sort of distance, you know that running really triggers the digestive system. Well, apparently mine wanted to rebel between mile 10-11. I started feeling really sick and stomach crampy, but I didn't want to stop since we were in such a good groove!

Then came the hills.
Brutal, awful, terrible, end of the race, hills.

I really love hills, but these were especially tough being at the end while feeling sick. Meagan kept pushing me and did a great job of keeping us going.
Around mile 12.5, as we were cruising up the hill, we heard some loud cheering. It was our boys!!!
We were SO thrilled to see them, and they were thrilled to see us since we were making good time!
They pulled us through the finish line.
It wasn't easy at the end, but it was so worth it! And even though I thought every last ounce of energy was spent, somehow when I entered the finish chute I had a little more guts left and sprinted toward the end.

It was such an incredible experience to finish my first long race.
After I used the bathroom, got some water, and stretched a bit, I realized I wasn't as tired and spent as I thought I would be. I also wasn't as sore as I expected.
To me that says my training was spot on and I worked hard to get to that place.

Just after finishing. 

My time according to my watch (which was borrowed, and which I stopped at the pit stop).

My chip time was 2:10.

Our matchy-matchy boys.

They ROCKED the race!

Jaron had a time of 1:33 and Scott had a time of 1:37.

Me and Meagan post race.

We did it!

We did whaaaat?

It was really fun once we finished to watch and cheer for all the other girls crossing the line. We made quite the welcome noise! I loved watching each of my friends faces as they realized how close they were and that their friends were cheering and excited for them to finish. 

Running this race was really an incredible experience. I loved every minute of it! I never thought I could have so much fun running but I did! 

The next morning I told my hubby it didn't feel that much different than my training runs and that it felt a little too easy, so I needed to train and run a full marathon. I think part of the whole training/racing package is the work you put in to make the race feel easy. That's where the true grit lies. 

My new goals are: 

run a 2:00 half marathon

run a sub 2:00 half marathon

run a full marathon

I know I can do it, and I'm excited to work for something new! 

Bubs and his girlyfriend he stayed with. 

Aren't they so cute! They love playing together.

Me: The Day Before My First 1/2 Marathon

Tomorrow is race day.

I feel sick.
Like nervous, anxious, excited, sick.

I really cannot believe it's already here.
The summer went by so slow yet so fast.

One day, back in July, I was having a particularly diffucult week.
I felt discouraged.
I felt inadequate.
I felt like I couldn't do it.

So, I sat down with my husband and he asked me some deep questions.
One of which was: "Why are you running?"
Then he had me write down my answers.

I still have the paper.
At the top of the page I scribbled: "for when I don't want to run"

Looks like I feel the need to prove something, eh?

After that exercise we made a schedule of training. Something challenging yet doable.

At the time, it seemed completely insurmountable. Impossible. Undoable. Overwhelming.

Well, guess what?

Tomorrow is September 22, 2012.

I have followed my training schedule and completed every single run I needed to.

Some were shorter. Some were longer.

But I ran every single time I scheduled myself to.

Tomorrow is the big day.

I will run 13.1 miles: my farthest distance yet.

I will set my first PR for a half marathon.

I will accomplish something I have dreamed about doing since the beginning of the year.

I will do something I never, ever, thought was possible.

Me: Running 11 miles

11 miles.

Who in their right mind wakes up early on a Saturday morning and says: "ooh, I think I'll go run 11 miles today."
Apparently I did. Last week.
Fortunately we made a quick weekend trip to visit my family so Dad was able to watch Bubs while Mr. Man and I ran together.
Note to self: Husband runs much faster than wife. 

The first 5.5 miles were lovely. The clouds were thick, street lights illuminated the sidewalk, bugs were still chirping, and traffic was minimal. We jogged slowly through the sleeping businesses, down the hill, around the bend, and under the bridge into a quiet, forested trail winding along a golf course.  It wasn't long before dawn broke and we saw a beautiful sunrise. We chatted about life, running, goals, funny stories, and the lack of hills ahead.

Around mile 4.5 we entered a clearing that reminded me of fall: skinny tree trunks, crunchy leaves, and grey skies. We picked up the pace every so slightly and continued on. When we reached our turning point, we stopped to  re-hydrate and check our time. Suddenly our lovely, beautiful, jog took a disappointing turn: I was relying on him to set the pace (since he was faster), and he was relying on me to set the pace, so we ended up running an 11:30 mile for the first half. In our minds this was unacceptable.

The next 3 miles were tough. We wanted to make up time. He pushed me. I pushed myself. Our 11:30 pace quickly shifted to a sub 9:00 minute mile pace and I started to get a little tired. Around mile 7 the horrible, awful, nobody-ever-tells-you-about, digestive system kicked in. Since we were running along the lovely golf course, there was a potty...nowhere. Around mile 9 I thought I was going to puke, pass out, and die. Mile 10 I felt like I couldn't possibly take another step, but with the promise of a "nice downhill just around the corner" I pressed forward. Well, that downhill was actually an uphill. Then a flat. Then a very short and subtle decline before another small uphill. Right when I knew I couldn't take a single step more, we reached 11 miles. 11.03 to be exact.

In the end, there were some memorable moments. I realized, way deep down, that running really is about 90% mental and 10% physical. If you say and think "I can't", guess what? You can't. But if you remind yourself how strong you are and tell yourself that you can do it, guess what? You can.

Between miles 9-11, Mr. Man had to keep reminding me how great I was doing. He kept throwing back things like: "You can do this!" "Keep it up!" "Come on, you got this!" "Don't give up! Don't quit! You're a fighter, you don't give up!", and my personal favorite mantra: "You're stronger than you think!"

Most of the time it was motivational. A few times it was frustrating because I felt like I couldn't go any faster or push any harder. But I finished. I also did not die. Or puke. Or pass out.

This Saturday I had the same crazy thought: "Ooh, I think I'll wake up early and go run 11 miles today." This time I joined up with a group of girl friends and ran with them. My usually training partner was out of town, so I ran with a couple other girls, who kept reminding me "If you want to run faster ahead, you can. It's okay." Mostly because I've been training at a slightly faster pace. However, I decided I needed to build some confidence in myself and have positive thoughts toward a long run, so I wanted to go slower, take breaks, and enjoy the run more. We did just that. We took plenty of walking breaks, a couple bathroom breaks, and really just enjoyed running. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and the company. I also enjoyed feeling much better about myself, my capabilities, and my strength...since I finished well and didn't feel completely spent at the end. (unlike my last 11 mile run)

So, moral of the story? Running long distance is hard. Really, really, really, hard. But I think like anything else, it takes time to build up the strength and endurance, then eventually it becomes easier and easier. I am really excited about the race coming up. Only 2 more long, Saturday, training runs before culminating event.

My mantra for the race? (and every other hard run I run): You're stronger than you think. 

Because, by golly, it is so gosh, darn true. For every single aspect of life.

Color Run: The Good, The Bad, The Hollywood Stunt Double

This has been quite the running year for me.
The first time I recorded a run was on May 9, 2012. I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes.
Since that first recorded run, I have completed:

-My first nonofficial-official 5k, in 28:20
-My first official race, 10k, in 1:00:06
-My longest distance ever: 10.13 miles
-My fastest run ever: 3.12 miles in 26:48

I have logged 205 miles on my shoes.
I have ran 2,074 minutes.
All this in just 14 weeks, 3 days.

My race of all races is only 5 weeks away. My end goal. My reason for training. My dream.
My first 1/2 marathon.

Enough with the dramatic stuff.
Today I was the most enjoyable run I have ever completed!

THE COLOR RUN!!!

(psst, new highlights! LOVE.)

"Yeah, that sun is really bright..." and so is my shirt!

Color Runners before getting colored!

Us girls, pretending to be strong.

Jaron.  Being strong. With a bulging arm. 

The Bad:
Waiting in this line for 50 minutes before we could actually start "running."

Serious walls of white.

"Hey mom, I'm really bored. Get me outta here!"

The boys.

See the lack of wrist band and bib on my husband?

He may or may not have just blended in with the crowd and ran the race. Free.

The girls.

Happy family!

Getting ready to go...

Bubs really wanted to hold this girls hand.

Bummer the shadow was in the way.

The Good:

Finally  RUNNING!!!!!!

Along the 5k they had 4 color stations. At each station there was music pumping and people squirting bottles of colored powder on you. It was colorful clouds of fun!

Except when they decided to spray it right in Bubs' face. Twice. Poor kid!

Also, I did not push the stroller the whole way. But you can pretend I did...

Streets FULL of Color Runners!

The Hollywood Stunt Double:

I wish I had a video. Or picture.

About halfway through the race, we came up on a lady with a sign that said it was her birthday. So we wished her a happy birthday. When I turned my face to present the wishes, my eyes unfocused on the road. Which meant I failed to see whatever it was that tripped me.

In slow, movie-style, motion I stumbled and fell toward the ground.

As I was falling I was thinking "Oh no! I can't break my knee! Or my arm! I must. roll. now.!"

I caught myself lightly with my hands and flipped my right hip under to tuck into a side roll before popping myself back up.

It was amazing. Even though I didn't see it.

I just knew.

Also, it happened in front of hundreds of people.

And they all cheered for me. 

It was definitely spectacular.

My colored boys!

Yes, Bubs did kinda have fun.

After the color.

I wish I were actually that tan on my arms...

Favorite. Picture. Ever.

Me: "Okay, now smile!"

Mr. Man: "No. I don't want to."

bahahaha.

Something about sticking the hip out that erases masculinity.

Our whole Color Running group.

If you think it looks like we had fun, you're right. 

We had a BLAST!

I'm not sure why we decided to do cartwheels. 

And take pictures of them.

There must've been something in that colored powder...

Oh, the pits.

Techni-colored hair.

Techni-colored face.

Last of all, a special treat. I never post videos, so here are THREE! for your viewing pleasure. Just to give you an even better idea of what our morning was like.

running.

color party.

Bubs dancing.

We had such a good time. It was fun to be goofy, silly, and crazy. It was especially fun because Mr. Man got to run with us.
So now, after such a fun time, it's time to buckle down and gear up for 13.1 miles on September 22!
Bring it ON!!!


p.s. I think Aviator sunglasses are most definitely cool. What is your opinion?

Me: Running a 10k!

Today was the day.
I ran the farthest I've ever run in my life: 6.2 miles
I ran the hottest I've ever run in my life: 86 degrees.
I ran the fastest-long run I've ever run in my life: 1:00:08

I am so proud of myself.

Let me break it down for ya, shall I?
All week I have been psyching myself out a little too much: Ah, my knee hurt a little. Shoot, my calves are tight. Crap, I just ate half a pan of brownies. Dang, I only slept 6 hours. Ugh, it's So. Dag-um. HOT!"
Mostly these freak outs happened because I'm really good at freakin' out.
I really shouldn't have.
But I was freaked out up until the moment the buzzer went off at the start line. As soon as I started jogging, I realized how silly I'd been for worrying so much. This is a never ending lesson I keep learning. Like patience.

Pre-race

For the first time in a very long time, I am finally happy with my body, my weight, my size, and pictures of myself.

Pre-race

My awesome hunk of a man who is so tan!

Pre-race

Anyway, the first mile was great. It was emotional. It was all I could do to suck back the tears. I don't have a good explanation for this, other than it's just incredible to be running alongside so many others from so many different backgrounds, who are all running for a significant reason. It's also overwhelming to recognize you're doing something you never expected yourself to do.

I really loved when a mom pushing a jogging stroller passed me. I only loved this because the back of her shirt said "Doing it for Duncan." I have no idea who Duncan is. I have no idea why she was doing it for him. But it meant something significant enough to her, and him, that she woke up early, loaded her toddler in the stroller, and ran 6.2 miles on the hottest morning of the summer.
A couple miles later I saw this Duncan at a drink stop with her, he looked about 8-10 years old. While I was getting water at the finish, she urgently was telling someone they had to get back to the line to watch him cross and finish. Maybe his first race? Maybe he has MS? I don't know. But it was neat.

The Hills.

Most people really, really, really, hate hills. I used to be one of those people. Now I love them. As we headed up the first big hill on the course, racers started slowing, walking, and taking breaks. I shifted my pace to my toes and kept at it. My mantra all the way up? "You got this. You've trained for this. You love hills. You're good at hills. Keep going. All these people are looking at you thinking: man, she is great at hills!" 
It's okay, I'm a little narcissistic sometimes.

The Heat.

It was pretty bad. Luckily, thankfully, the course was about 70% shaded. There were also 3 "aid" stations, all of which I jogged through, sipped a couple swallows, and dumped the remaining ice cold water down my back. Each station popped up just in the nick of time to cool me down again. We passed a sign at the high school that said 86 degrees. It was around the halfway mark.

My Knee.

It didn't hurt! I was really surprised. Although there was a point near the beginning where it tinged a little, but other than that it was fine.

My Mantra.

Running is so unbelievably mental. I kept telling myself things like: "You are strong. You've trained for this. You know how to run hills. You can do this. This feels great. Keep breathing. Stay relaxed. You're stronger than you think." I think it helped. If I had remembered to write things on my hand, I would've written: You're stronger than you think. Endure to the end.


The Finish.


After I rounded the corner at mile 6, there was quite a big hill. I was tired. I could feel salt on my cheeks. I could feel my arms and face tingling and chilling a little. I started to worry that I would get dehydrated and collapse with heat exhaustion. That psyched me out. Enough so that once I made it up the hill, I walked for a few seconds. After a gal I had just passed passed me, I picked it up. Then I saw Scott walking toward me. He picked up my pace and ran next to me with words of encouragement. He pushed me and got me through. On the straightaway to the finish, something exploded a little inside and I ran faster than I've ever run in my life. I sprinted to the end. It almost felt like I was flying. It was glorious.

Post race

Two steps after the line, I stopped and wanted nothing more than to collapse on a bed of ice water.


But I did it!!!!


My Time.


My goal was around 56-58 minutes. When it was forecast to be so hot, I knew I'd have to tack on an extra couple minutes. When my knee gave me grief, I knew I'd have to slow it down a bit. When I passed Mile 1, I was at 8:04 minutes
Mile 2: 17:04
Mile 3: 27
Mile 4: 37
Mile 5: 46
Mile 6: 56
Finish: 1:00:08

So I'm very pleased with how I did. I really wanted to be a sub one hour, but 8 seconds is okay with me. I averaged a 9:40/mile pace which I am very proud of, given the conditions and it being my first big race!!!

All in all, it was a spectacular morning. I accomplished something I never dreamed possible even just 4 years ago. I have never thought of myself as a runner. But, these days, I'm getting there.

I'm stronger than I think.
And so are you.

Peace, love, and happy running!!!

p.s. Hubby finished in 46 minutes and 4th place for his age division. Rock on Baby!!!!
I also realized I need a running buddy for the 1/2 marathon coming up!!! It's much better running alongside someone.