It's a love/hate relationship

As the weather has slowly (or quickly, depending on your location) cooled off I have had to reacquaint myself with running in the cooler weather. This had me weighing the pros and cons of running in the heat versus running in the cold. So here, in no particular order, are the reasons I love/hate running in the cold:

1. I don't sweat as much which means less chafing and painful burning of my eyes.
 *However, I still sweat, which just makes me colder when the wind hits me.

2. With less humidity in the air I can breath easier and it doesn't feel like I'm running through a river.
*The trade off is that the cold air makes my lungs burn and my nose clog up/run like crazy.

3. I don't have to get up before the crack of dawn to run outside and beat the heat of the sun.
*I actually enjoy the quietness and solitude that running this early delivers. I like focusing on my run without having to worry about cars, dogs, or other people.

4. I get to go and buy fun cold weather running gear that gets me excited for my runs.
*After a few miles, I get so hot that I no longer need all the fun gear I spent mucho mula on, but then I'm stuck carrying it.

5. I really enjoy long sleeved shirts since my arms are always cold and I don't have to worry about straps falling or baggy short sleeves bothering me.
*I have some weird OCD thing where I constantly push my sleeves up my arm and them pull them down again when I am uncomfortable or anxious which tends to slow me down while running.

6. When it is cool enough to run in the daylight I am free to run anywhere, without having to stick to the lighted sidewalks.
*I live and run on an Air Force base, where the planes start flying early, so I might as well be running outside the Atlanta airport with all the noise and air pollutants I have to deal with. 

 All in all, I do like when the weather gets a little cooler but anything below 50 and I'm hesitant to leave the warmth of my bed/couch/house. If I can overcome my aversion to the cold, my new love for running will hopefully continue and I will conquer the winter blues like a boss.

  

Playing catch-up

Yes, I know, I'm being a lazy blogger again. But I have been somewhat busy and having lots of fun so please forgive me. Let me catch you up on the last few days: Thursday was spent unpacking, doing laundry, repacking, cleaning the house, running some errands, and getting some much needed sleep. 

I got up at 6am on Friday morning, loaded the car, and headed down to the Gulf Coast so I could spend the next week with my much missed hubby. I know I was just down here last weekend but I needed some more quality time with my awesome man. What a pretty drive it was with all the changing colors! 

The picture doesn't do it justice, I love fall!

I got here about 11am and met Chris for lunch. We had Charley's subs, and I tried something new instead of getting my usual philly steak. I got a turkey and cheddar, sorry no picture of this as I was starving and scarfed it down way too quick. Chris was also nice enough to share his fries with me, just another reason that I love him!

I always think of this when I think about sharing food.

Chris headed back to work and I headed to the condo to rest for a little bit and change for our run at the Ocean Springs bridge that afternoon. Let me just say that it was HOT out there! It was also really sunny and I was squinting hard. Chris wanted to run 3.5 miles at his speedy pace and I was just looking to get in a easy run so I decided to run 3 miles. The run felt good and I was enjoying tackling the hills but just when I was about to finish strong a bug flew in my eye at 2.80 miles. It hit me right in my tear duct and hurt like crazy but I kept running and trying to get it out of my eye at the same time. I finally made it the 3 miles and then stopped to walk. At this point my eye was really hurting and I wasn't sure if I had actually gotten the bug out of my eye. I finally caught up with Chris and asked him if he could see it in there and he said no, so I figured it was still hurting from the trauma and it would stop soon. This wouldn't have happened if I had a nice pair of running sunglasses (hint, hint). 

What it felt like when that bug flew in my eye!

After the run, we headed back to the condo to shower and get dressed. Then we headed out to dinner and Chris took me to a place I had never eaten at, Grains of Montana. It was delicous! I got a cashew chicken salad sandwich on sourdough bread with the house chips. I have had chicken salad with walnuts or pecans but never cashews and it was interesting. The chips were really good and had a flavor that I could not figure out but I loved it anyway. Sorry, once again no pic as I was way too hungry to take the 5 seconds to snap one. 

Then we headed over to Target, my favorite store, to look around. It was candy corn heaven and we found some interesting stuff. 

Candy corn bark!

Corn chips, pretzels, and candy corn

We also picked up some Halloween candy on clearance including this and 2 bags of candy corn to get us through the next week. 

I found a new running shirt on clearance for $3.50, I love when I luck out and find things in my size! Then we walked around Best Buy and Dicks Sporting Goods for a bit and decided to call it a night. We got back to the condo and watched The Campaign. I thought it was pretty funny but also a sad representation of what politics have come to in America. 

We slept in on Saturday morning (7:30 is sleeping in to me) and then got up and went to Walmart for some groceries. We got back and ate breakfast (just some poptarts for me, getting those carbs in for my long run on Sunday). Then Chris worked on some school work while I caught up on my internet stalking and watched some college football. Georgia was playing awful and Chris needed a break, so we decided to go to the mall and look around. I tried on a few things in American Eagle and they really need to work on their sizing. I typically wear a size 2-4 depending on the brand, I tried on a pair of size 00 shorts that fit really well, a pair of size 0 jeans that I couldn't get all the way up, a pair of size 0 capris that were a little loose and a pair of size 4 capris that fell off of me. I decided I didn't need any more clothes so we did some more walking around and left the mall empty handed.

We got back in time to see Georgia kicking butt, I guess I just needed to stop watching so they would win! Well, I think I have gotten close to catching you up on my weekend, my next post will include the rest of my Saturday and my 15 miler on Sunday!

Had to share the beautiful sunset from Friday night.

How I spent my Halloween

Since I stayed for the awards after the race on Tuesday night and then made a stop by Walmart, I didn't get home until 8:45. I didn't end up getting in bed until well after 11, which is way late for this old lady. So I slept in until 8:30 and that's only because my phone rang and woke me up. 

Since my day started so late I decided to take it easy and wait for it to warm up a bit before I went on my easy 6 mile run. I had breakfast (shredded wheat, skim milk, and a banana) and caught up on all my social networking. Since I usually find it hard to get motivated to work out if I don't do it first thing in the morning, I kept procrastinating my run. 

Finally, at around noon I got up and started to get ready to go. I made it out the door around 12:45 but by then it was at least warm enough (for me) to try out my new Under Armor shirt and give my new shorts a second test run. 

I wanted to run at a casual, easy pace just to see what an easy pace is now that the half marathon training is over. I forgot about how bad the wind is here, especially in the middle of the day when the planes are flying (I live on an Air Force base). The problem with wind is it makes me run faster than I should because I keep hoping I can outrun it or at least change directions so it isn't smacking me in the face. 

I pushed way too hard during my first mile and the rest of the run reflected that. I had to stop and fix my hair because it was falling down and I also stopped for a walk break halfway in. I wanted to use this run to work on my form so I kept having to focus and remind myself to keep my arms down, land with my feet under me not in front of me, and keep my breathing even and controlled. This focus takes a lot of my energy so between that and everything I did on Tuesday I was just not feeling it. Even with all that I still managed to finish my "easy" run in an hour and 2 minutes.

After my run it was time for lunch. I had the usual turkey wrap and then a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I have a hard time deciding what treat I want with my lunch so I end up piling on a few different things in the hopes that I will satisfy whatever craving I am having and can't identify.

I spent the next few hours snacking on my weight in candy corn and dipping about half of it in peanut butter (seriously, try it!). At around 6pm I made a quick dinner so I could go sit in my bedroom with all the lights off and avoid the trick or treaters because I failed to get the tons of candy required to last the 2 hours of trick or treating on base. 

Dessert consisted of this: 

Then its time to hit the hay because I have a very busy day ahead of me for Thursday, hope I don't have a sugar crash and get lazy.

1st vs. 2nd Half Marathon

Ever since I ran my second half marathon on Sunday I have been thinking about the physical and mental differences I experienced with each one. Here's a comparison of the two half Marathons (HM).

1. 1st HM- I physically and mentally felt like I had accomplished this big feat and pushed my body to its limit. (I also felt this way after I ran my first 10k)
2nd HM- It was challenging but also felt like just another long run

2. 1st HM- As soon as I crossed the finish line I was in pain and every step hurt like crazy. The day after, I could barely walk and every muscle in my body hurt. 
2nd HM- I felt my legs starting to tighten up when I stopped moving but they were fine after I was able to stretch.

3. 1st HM- After the race I was famished and everything tasted amazing. All day I couldn't get enough food (lucky for me it was Thanksgiving).
2nd HM- I only ate what I knew I needed to refuel. Even at lunch time I forced myself to eat something simply because I knew I needed it, not because I was hungry. 


4. 1st HM- I rode the high from this race for weeks, but also had no interest in running anymore after I was done. It took me several months to find my love for running again.
2nd HM- The high from this race only lasted for the first day but I still have my love for running and am already planning my next half and possibly a full??

**The only lasting soreness I had from this last HM was in my deltoids and after looking at my pictures, I can see why. I really need to work on my running form and stop punching myself in the face.**

AthHalf Half Marathon Recap part 2

That's my Dad in the red jacket taking pictures

As I talked about in part 1 of my half marathon recap, it was very crowded at the start line and it didn't let up once our timing started after we crossed the line. I was able to start jogging but definitely not going very fast. I started trying to weave through the other runners as much as I could but I wanted to stay on the left side because that was were my Dad was going to be taking pictures. Unfortunately, there were so many people my Dad didn't see me so I missed photo op #1. 
Since we were basically running around the block, my Dad was able to walk up the street and get some more pictures of us passing. I again tried to stay on the left side so he would see me, while still weaving through as many people as possible. Here is the one pic my Dad was able to snap before I zoomed by.

After I knew the photo ops were done, I started concentrating on keeping a comfortable pace while getting free of most of the crowd. I was feeling really good and keeping an awesome pace of around 8:35 and then after I hit mile 2 my legs just wanted to quit, they felt so tired and I began to question my fueling plan and whether I would be able to finish the race. I told myself to just keep going until mile 3.5, refuel, and then reassess how I was feeling. So I pushed through and got my peanut butter gu followed by some water at mile 4. 

I began to feel better and then we hit a nice long downhill that felt like it lasted for over a mile. This was when the euphoria hit and I felt like I had the biggest smile on my face. I was enjoying every minute of the downhill and felt like I could run forever. Then we got to mile 5 and the uphills started, just a few at first and one big one I powered up but then it felt like we just kept hitting more and more uphills and I started feeling sluggish again. We crossed the timing line at the 10k mark and I realized I had just ran my fastest ever 10k at 54:39. This gave me a nice push when I needed it and I knew I was still on target to meet my goal of finishing under 2 hours. 

Crossing the bridge over Sanford Stadium

At around mile 7 I started recognizing some landmarks from my college days, and realized we were heading towards the apartment building I lived in my junior and senior years. Unfortunately, we had to climb a couple of big hills to get there. By the time we made it to where my apartment was, we were headed down a nice hill. I totally missed the complex as I was concentrating on getting some water at mile 8 and trying not to focus on the pain that was radiating from my right ankle and up the back of my calf.

Heading up the first of the last 3 hills

The course then brought us to the east side of the UGA campus, which has changed so much in the last 9 years. The parking lots I remember are now dorms, but it was nice to be able to run down some of the same roads I walked down all those years ago and see the many changes and that some things are still the same. I refueled again at mile 9.5 and followed it with some water at mile 10. At this point I was ready to be done but I was really enjoying seeing the campus again. 

As I was nearing mile 12 I passed what used to be my dorm my sophomore year and sadly it no longer existed. A new building was going up in its place, this made me a bit sad but that quickly passed as I zoomed down the hill and headed towards the stadium and what would be the final leg of the half marathon. 

I pushed through the last 3 hills and finally headed downhill towards the entrance to Sanford Stadium. This was the part of the race I had waited all morning for! Actually I had been waiting months for this part of the race and it was so much better than I thought it would be. Running a lap around the hedges, being on the jumbotron, not once, but twice...So amazing and the perfect way to end a race. 







After leaving the stadium, it was just that final tenth of mile left and I was making great time. I was even kicking myself for not pushing harder and getting an even better time. So my goals were to set a PR (my first half marathon time was 2 hours 5 minutes and 37 seconds) and to finish under 2 hours. Here are my results:

So there is my recap for the race course. Overall, it was a great course, some of the hills tried to kill my spirit but I made it and I am stronger for it! Stay tuned for part 3 where I will review the finish line set up, post race food, and the race aftermath.   

The hills of Athens

Mile splits

AthHalf Half Marathon Recap part 1

The alarm went off at 5:15 and I got up easily, still not feeling anxious but also not feeling excited either. After dealing with the foot problems that have not completely gone away and some not so stellar training runs I wasn't feeling very positive about my chances at a PR and I was just ready to get it over with. I got dressed and got everything together and went downstairs to meet my Dad for breakfast. 

The hotel provided a fairly common continental breakfast and I decided on a mini bagel with some jelly (sadly there was no peanut butter) and a blueberry muffin. I made sure I drank plenty of water and mentally prepared myself for the cold I was about to step out into. 

After breakfast we left the hotel to head to the start line. We managed to find parking within a block of the start line and I begrudgingly took off my sweatshirt. I had a quick motivational chat with my husband (he is so encouraging) and climbed out into the cold. I immediately started pumping my arms and jogging in place to try and get the blood flowing so I wouldn't freeze before the race started. It actually was not that bad out as long as we stayed near the buildings and out of the wind. 

We headed over to the start line and staked out a warm spot to hang until closer to race time. I decided I should try to empty my bladder before the race and headed over to the port-a-potties. I made it halfway across the street when I saw the line and decided I would never get through it before the race started and I didn't have to really go so I went back and started my warmup. My Dad was nice enough to lend me his jacket because my arms were freezing and I enjoyed the warmth until they announced it was time to head to the start line. 

There was supposed to be close to 3,000 runners and they told us to line up according to our bib numbers (hello I was 1007 and now I'm 2955!) because they were assigned according to estimated finishing time. Of course no one really stuck to this and I managed to squeeze my way into the middle of the pack but a bit far behind the 2 hour pace group. 

As we were packed in like cattle, I was reminded why I dislike running in races with more than 500 people. It was complete chaos (at least to me) and I only heard the last line of the National Anthem and none of what the announcer was saying. I didn't even hear the gunshot and only knew we had started when I began to see people heading up the hill in front of us. 

One nice thing about being packed in like sardines is you are no longer cold but it makes for a very frustrating start to the race. As we slowly started walking to the start line, I hoped that I would be able to start running once I crossed the line and my time started. I was really starting to fear that this slow start would blow my entire race plan. Stayed tuned for part 2 of my recap to find out how the race went along with a few pictures of the course.

My Happiness

I realize that I am a sporadic blogger. I started blogging to get some of my thoughts in order and to try to discover some insights about my running and my life. However, Some days the thought of sitting down and writing sounds so tedious and I don't want this to become a chore. I want it to be fun and therapeutic. Instead of forcing a post, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the little things that make me happy and wanted to share some of them. 

1. This delicious pasta dish that my Daddy made for dinner my first night home, and yes I had seconds on the pasta and thirds on the garlic bread.

2. This miniature mason jar I found in my parents cabinet, seriously, it is the cutest thing and is the size of a salt shaker. I am so stealing asking if I can have this.

3. Remembering how much I love running hills! There are not any hilly areas to run where I live and it is so nice to challenge myself when I visit my hometown. 

4. My sweet Bella, she is the sweetest dog you will ever meet and just wants tons of loving. She loves to have her belly scratched.

5. Remembering why I loved growing up in the country and stepping out on the front porch to enjoy all this beauty. 

6. Just starting to see the changing colors of the leaves and enjoying the mild temperatures that fall brings to the South.

7. Getting amazing deals on running clothes from the Under Armor Outlet. Seriously, those shorts were only $5!

8. Knowing I will be visiting the wonderful city of Athens, GA tomorrow, my home for 4 years during my college days. I will always bleed Red and Black!

9. Testing out running in the cooler weather this morning and knowing that I will be able to handle the cold morning for Sundays Half Marathon.

10. This awesome shirt that my wonderful husband sent me. He is just the best and most amazing person ever!

What are some of the things that make you happy?

Anyone jealous of my new shirt?

Are you running a race this weekend? Where?