Nicole's First 5K

We have a DOUBLE race report here thank you to Brooke for the idea ;)
First I will post Nicole's recap that she emailed me. This is her words :

So my alarm went off at 8am I rolled over and thought wow I feel refreshed I'm ready to do this race. Got up threw together my protein shake in the blender and texted Colleen. It took me about 10mins of being awake to realize omg I'm gonna run/walk 3.1 miles today outside lol I instantly got butterflies! I mean I've done 3 miles twice before but on a TM and as of recent hadn't been happy with my outdoor pace all I could think of was omg what if I'm dead last..how will that affect me? A part of me wanted to stay home make an excuse and not go but another part of me said really? You've never been a quitter don't start now. So I texted Colleen back and jumped in the shower. I knew I was going to have her there by my side for the push and Damian was coming as well and I knew between both of them I would not be lacking motivation from my two cheerleaders! They make me want to run and run hard..when I got to the race and met up with everyone the reality set in. Damian told me to warm up but in my mind I didn't know exactly HOW to do that..I'd never warmed up for a race before. So I stretched a bit and kinda said okay I think I'm good! Lol Colleen arrived and was like you warmed up she had already jogged around and I just started laughing and was like well not really..lol..so I did more stretching and felt pretty good. When the race started it took a moment to work through the crowd and find a pace. Looking back I probably should have walked my first .25 mile just to warm my legs up but instead we jogged. When I felt myself losing breath rapidly I slowed and walked a bit with colleen she was there asking me how I was doing and timing the intervals I knew the fit bee wasn't gonna go too easy on me! After I caught my breath we ran again we reached mile one in 15 mins. I was pretty pleased with that time actually took a moment for it to set in..we continued our race Colleen running beside me pushing me whenever I was starting to give way,at mile 2 was Damian waiting for us to cross so he could cheer us on..like I said a couple of great cheerleaders! He began running with us and finished the last mile run..between him and Colleen they kept pushing me and helping my breathing along. Even singing eye of the tiger for me! My favorite workout song when I feel ready to give up it always sets a fire in me!.. I am a heavy smoker at the.moment and it certainly didn't help any! I felt it today..time to quit?? As we got to the last tenth of a mile I could hear the crowd Colleen raced a bit in front to lead the way and Damian held back a bit while I raced in for the finish line. I wanted to just sprint in there as hard as I could but I'm a klutz and I all I kept thinking was don't trip don't trip! Lol..I crossed the line at 49:09..not too bad for a girl who never thought she'd run EVER! But it felt great I finished!!  and hearing Colleen and Damian cheering me on as I crossed the finish line was the icing on the cake. There's friends we like to have around and friends we need to have around and I hope I always need these two great ppl in my corner! Thanks guys and much love!

 There is Nicole getting her number on!

My quick recap of the day :)

Well after work this morning I headed out to Hingham for the Harvest 5K. I was worried because the weather has been crappy the past few days and I did not want Nicole's first 5K to be in the cold icky rain. But this morning the sun came out and it turned out to be a gorgeous day!! This course was simply beautiful a lovely fall run. I think I will be back at this park next weekend for my training run. I just loved it that much.

See all the leaves and trees and pretty colors? This is why I love New England and why fall is my favorite season :) OK onto the recap!

SO I arrived just in time to grab a number and then run back to my car because the rookie racer thought they would have a credit card machine at the race table ;) But we got her all set and I told her to warm up and stretch more :) We headed over to the start line and away we went!

It was a great small race. So relaxed and I liked that a lot. I was surprised it was even chip times for runners. That is always nice if you are competing ;) But today for the first time this whole entire year I was not racing to compete for a new PR I was there to support my friend Nicole and it was fun! I loved getting her text messages asking, what should I eat? What am I thinking? It reminded me of how I felt last year at this same time doing my first 5K and it made me smile inside. You see Nicole is moving forward along her journey to get healthy and I cannot help but admire her sheer will and strength to push forward and get healthy. I love supporting her and she keeps me inspired too!

We started running and I think she did too much too quick because she got winded and got pissy quick. LOL she yelled at me quite a few times and I reminded her that before the race she demanded me to push her. What is a bee to do but push her student along? I had on my watch and I made her jog every 3-4 minutes for 2 minutes. I let her walk when she needed to but I also knew she needed some pushing hehe

We got to the 1 mile mark in 15 minutes! That was a great pace. I was proud of her. We kept going and she was funny everytime there was a little hill Nicole would say oh theres an incline! I was like yes dear we have many inclines outside hahaha (she is a treadmill trainer the incline verbage showed that ;) But she did great and kept going!

She was working hard, I knew this! She kept looking for the water stop and I promised it was coming. Then she wanted a porta potty haha! I let her know we do not have those for 5Ks and she needed to hurry up and finish. At mile 2 we saw Damian and he was cheering us on and joined in the race to help us bring Nicole home!

 Luckily the water stop came up just after mile 2 and Nicole goes I will take 2 of those! She took one and drank it and dumped the other one over her head. It was a classic moment LOL

She was getting cranky so I knew it was time for the hyper Colleen to come out! I got Eye of the Tiger on my phone and Damian was belting out the lyrics! I started dancing and jogging along and Nicole yelled at me to get next to her because she was going to run me over!! LOL it was pretty funny.

We got to mile 3 and I started cheering for her! I told her the finish line was near and that she could finish strong. She started running again and decided she would jog the whole way into the finish line. In my normal loud fashion I ran ahead and started yelling and chanting. You see when someone runs their first I make sure the crowd at the finish line knows and starts helping me bring them in ;) so I was yelling and singing lets go Nicole!!! Nicole is finishing her first 5K! There was a woman standing with a megaphone at the finish line and she was more than happy to help me out ;) I got there just in time to snap the great shot of the day, Nicole crossing the finish line!!!

 It was great! She finished in 49:09 I was beaming with pride!!!! I knew all along she could do it but I also knew she needed to do it to believe it for herself.

Damian was there with his tablet trying to snap pics we cannot leave him out haha

 We were having fun at the end just joking and celebrating with Nicole. You know what these 2 have come so far this year. They keep cheering for me and celebrating with me at my races and they are racing and building up their distance and speeds too. I love their motivation and support and I do not think they realize how much I appreciate their support. We are the 3 runkateers :) 3 ex couch potatoes proving that it is never EVER too late to wake up and say F you being obese and unhealthy I am going to become a runner and take control of my own destiny!

Set a Goal and Stick To It

This post is for you.

Have you set a goal for yourself recently that you think is unreachable?

Here is the thing about a goal.

It should be hard to reach, it should make you work and move in a forward direction, preferably up a big hill ;)

My point is this.

DO not sit there and doubt yourself.

Do not wait another day to start tackling that mountain that is standing in front of you.

When this girl started asking people if they thought she could/should run a marathon:

(Sometimes I do not recognize her)

I will be honest. No one thought I could/would do it. I got some chuckles. I got some well maybe you should stick to half marathons ... I got the eye rolls. I got the do you know how far 26 miles is?

I heard a lot of doubt from people who I expected to motivate me. I was confused. I began to self doubt. I still self doubt. But there comes a time in your life when you make a stand.

You decide that you will make a goal and work towards it no matter what.

My first goal was to get to a healthy weight for the first time in my adult life. Not many believed I would be "skinny". Well I am fit not skinny now ;)

My next goal is to run this marathon in my time goal. Yup I have a time goal for my first marathon. Yup everyone tells me I should not and my goal should be just to finish. Well I do not usually just do things to do them. I usually am pretty agressive, this is what works for me personally it is what keeps me motivated. I understand it does not work for everyone. But I respect that.

I have my next goal already in my mind after this marathon one is reached. Yes I tend to always be one or two steps ahead of my body ;)

I know this. If I set a goal for myself I will work my ass off to meet it and celebrate the victory that comes when you reach it.

(This is the girl I recognize these days ;)


Do you have a goal you are working towards? How do you over come the roadblocks?

The Long Run Hangover

I find the long run to be a staple in many training plans for obvious reason. You need it to build endurance when you want to run far, you have to train far hehe just the way it is.

For me the long run has become an epic event, I plan for it for days and use it to measure how I will fuel and hydrate before my marathon. It consumes my thoughts and I look forward to it but also dread it in some ways. Then the morning comes and it always seems without fail I head out feeling over welmed but come home feeling renewed. When you conquer a new distance it feels amazing, like you won the fitness lottery. And that runner's high lasts for a good solid 24 hours or so.

Then, the hangover comes. Yep I'm calling it my long run hangover and it is where I am at right now.

The tired feeling sets in through your body. It becomes depressing for me. My body went through this amazing thing and now it feels like lugggage being dragged along. It feels like I'm moving in slow motion. I hate that feeling. And then I go for my normal Tuesday run and it sucks, everytime. And that depresses me more.

I feel like a walking zombie and my emotions are hidden. It is unavoidable for me. I get irritated easier and want to hang out alone. It's almost like I'm a total different person for these few days. I feel bad for my family because they can tell I'm just down.

Physically I feel drained and like the onset of a cold is coming. My glands get swollen and sinuses get clogged I really do not feel well. It is strange how my body reacts but I am learning and trying to help. I have started taking extra vitamin c and my usual daily multi vitamin.

I have also tried to get extra sleep. Key word being try. It is hard when you work full time, go to school part time, and have an energetic 2 year old so you can imagine how tough it can be. I did fall asleep on the couch at 9:30 last night which is a new early time for me haha

The good thing about it is it goes away after a few days. Usually by Thursday or Friday I am back to my normal chipper self. So I am just waiting out the long run hangover and trying to stay positive this week!

Do you get a hangover from an epic workout? How do you cope?

Marathon Training Week 16

16 weeks in!! 4 entire months have my life have passed and I have been working diligently towards a big goal. A goal many never get to see in their lifetime. I feel grateful and blessed this week. I am lucky that I am able to run and physically complete my training as I prepare to complete my first marathon in 6 weeks. If you had asked me 2 years ago at 272 pounds if I ever would be even thinking about walking a mile I may have laughed at you. I may have said something like oh I cannot do that. I am sick. I am weak. I am fat.

Well this week it was really about I am capable. I learned so much this week! It was probably one of the best weeks I have had training thus far. This week not only did I get my physical training done but i over came some mental road blocks too. One of the high lights of the week?

Meeting the amazing Meredith Kessler!

I got the unique opportunity thanks to Arctic Ease to help out at a photo shoot they were doing near me and Meredith was there as a part of team Arctic Ease. She gave me some great tips and I used them this week during my long run and it helped a lot!

Monday- Cross training day! I stopped by the gym and got in 3.25 miles on the elliptical and then headed to pick up Peanut. I did a crossfit home workout when we got home, lunges, squats, push ups, working on my pull ups etc. It was great! I love the ability to kick my own ass at home hehe

Tuesday- After helping out the commercial shoot I headed to the gym to get my run done. I opted for the treadmill to be nice to my knees that were still a bit sore from Sunday's race. I felt good though and intended to do 5 miles but stayed on and got 6 miles done in 51 minutes.

Wednesday- I headed out at night after work for my favorite type of run, a night time fall run. I got 6.1 miles done in 57 minutes and really did feel good. I love running during the cool crisp autumn evenings and enjoyed every minute of this run. It helped me remember why and how I fell in love with running last year and I began to fall in love all over again. It was not about training that run was just about me enjoying myself and I am so glad I took the time to do it.

Thursday- Cross training day. I headed to the gym and Sandy the trainer there gave me a workout she did a few days ago. Dead lift your body weight 20 times, do chest pressed with 30lb dumb bells 20 times, repeat both 10 times each and then run 1/4 mile. Repeat that 3 times! It killed me. It was hard but I did it! I was amazed I can dead lift my body weight 155 pounds and I managed to do it 90 times in total!!! Then when I was done I squatted with that 155 pounds to see if I could do it, of course I could! I did it a total of 5 times. Once again I pushed past a mental road block and I am grateful for Sandy for helping me do that!

Friday- The final run of the week before the big one! I headed out early in the morning for a quick cold 4 miles in 40 minutes.

Saturday- Rest day! I enjoyed it

Sunday- My epic long 26 mile training run :) I blabbed all about it already here!

But this week I learned so much. I learned that I will complete the Philadelphia Marathon and not die ;) I learned that I have worked so hard and so long and all of that hard work is paying off. My body is getting conditioned to run a marathon and I can achieve anything I set my mind to!!!!

How was your training last week?

The Longest Run Yet 26 Miles

Well I can finally say I tackled the 26 mile run!!!

I woke up at 445 am this morning to muster out of bed and get going with my pre long run am routine. It involves getting geared up, stretching, eating and drinking. I tried to keep things simple and had a Luna protein bar and some water. I also had a hammer gel just before heading out the door. This routine seemed to work well and I was not hungry for a long time.

Heading out this morning into the darkness was tough. It was chilly but I had to wear shorts and a tech t shirt because the weather was calling for heat and I knew in about 30 minutes I would be hot from running anyways. So I sucked it up and froze for the first 2 miles.

About those first few miles. They sucked. Like I had to embrace the suck as many say, and I embraced it and I forced it to be done. I do not know why it was so hard to get into my groove, maybe it was the darkness, maybe it was my body not into a natural running rhythm... I think the biggest problem is the mental road block. When you start out looking at a run that is going to carry you into the late morning, and 26 miles it is daunting. So starting out I let it get the best of me, I let my mind win and for those first 3 miles I began doubting myself and this run. I started to consider going home. I Started to think I did not deserve to be out there...

I took out my latte Hammer gel (I needed caffeine) and took it with some water after finishing up mile 3. I told myself that I did not spend the last 4 months working hard for nothing. I reminded myself that I was here for a purpose. That more than anything I deserved to run a marathon and have my day of glory. And even though I was out there alone and feeling like I was climbing a never ending mountain, that people were counting on me to get this done and be successful. I thought about my daughter tucked at home sleeping and hoping she would be proud of me. I thought about my niece who would be running around when I made my pit stop at my sister's house to refuel at 10.5 miles.

I had to keep going, I had to suck it up and get over this hurdle. And I cranked up my music and kept going. By mile 4 I was feeling better and the sky was turning pink. I realized how lucky I was, I got to see the sunrise thanks to running. Before I started running I do not think I ever stopped and took the time to appreciate the sun rising. Now I get to see it happen all the time and it never ceases to amaze me. I kept going and around mile 6 I took a few shot blocks and nuun. I kept going. I was starting to feel good. Those first few miles were roughest and slowest. I am guessing about 11-12 minutes per mile. I felt like I was crawling hehe but I kept reminding myself that the training plan I was following called for EASY 26 miler. I do not know what is easy about 26 miles but that is what it says hehe

By mile 8 I was settled into a groove. I moved up my pace to my steady favorite training of 10ish minutes per mile. At that pace I feel happy, and running is not work it is fun. I got to my sisters house in under 2 hours and felt great. She was awake and my niece was waking up too. It felt good to give her a big hug and have them there filling my bottles and worried about me :) Her boyfriend came in and said wow you do not even look tired... hehe I really wasn't at that point! I thought about it and was feeling great.

I headed out to do 4 more miles around her house. I figured I could relax a bit and not carry all my fuel, then pee one more time and head home for the final 11.5 miles. It proved to be a great plan accept for one thing. My sister lives in the hilliest town ever haha. But it was a beautiful run. I ran around Sharon State park and snapped a few pictures!

I also snapped a pic of myself. This was half way through the run :)

No judging please haha!!

I kept going and feeling ok. I got back to my sister's house in 38 minutes. A pretty quick pace considering I tackled some of the toughest hills I have seen ever! I wish I could figure out the elevations of this run because those hills sucked. i peed one more time and filled all my bottles up, got my good luck hugs from my niece and headed home! It was cute she was looking for my car ;)

I was feeling good, in fact the further I went the better I felt. It was almost like once I got through the first half of the run things went well. I kept going and every 3 miles I took some shot blocks. You know meeting Meredith Kessler was one of the greatest things that could have happened to me earlier in the week! She gave me some great advice and I utilized it all on this run. I took in more fuel and I felt strong through my run.

I stopped at Dunkin Donuts at mile 20 and peed one more time. By now it was blazing hot outside so I refilled my water bottles with some water and headed back out. I felt good physically and mentally. It began to hit me that I was going to finish this beast of a run strong and faster than I had hoped. I held onto a steady 9 min/mile pace because it just felt great.

People may have looked at me funny but at mile 23 I was singing at the top of my lungs. I could not help it at that point I just felt amazing and like I was accomplished. I knew I was almost home and almost done with my second to last long run before my marathon :) I started to feel tingly around mile 24 so I took my last 2 shot block chews and continued going. It helped and the feeling went away and I kept up my steady pace all the way home!

And that was it!!!! I made it home in 4 hours and 29 minutes! :) I felt great I was grinning from ear to ear and I walked around for the next 15 minutes. I did not feel like I was going to pass out, I did not feel like I was going to die hehe Nope in fact I felt good. Finally victory was mine!

I stetched out and then soaked in a cool epsom salt bath for about 40 minutes. Then of course I wrapped my legs in Arctic Ease! Nothing helps me recover better than that!

I feel amazing, I hope to carry this runners high with me for the next few weeks until the end of the month when I do my final long run before my marathon! Just 42 days to go!!!

How was your weekend?