Have you ever wondered how many calories you burn during exercise, cleaning your house...maybe even riding in a car? Well check out this website. I thought it was pretty neat and there are lots of activities to choose from!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Today's Lunch Special: T, L, & T. That's short for Tempeh maple flavor bacon, Lettuce, & Tomato with a little Veganaise & guacamole on a toasted bagel. Tomato, cucumber & herbed greens salad on the side. I have been making different versions of this sandwich lately but this one is on the A list with me AND my husband!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Decisions, Decisions
I am still trying to decide where this blog is taking me and in which direction. I have a lot of ideas but it's putting them all together and organzing them. I'm still using it to log in my workouts and tell a little about them, but I want to do a little more, a little different. I'm also using this blog to link to my Facebook page. Also, I will be doing a little writing for my friend's blog, Growing Healthy Sprouts. I am really looking foward to this new endeavor!
So until I figure some things out, bare with me and keep coming back!
Thanks.
So until I figure some things out, bare with me and keep coming back!
Thanks.
Friday, March 18, 2011
26.2 Miles and Finished It!
I know it's been a while and didn't write my post about the actual MARATHON! Well, here I am, a little over a month later ready to talk about my first marathon experience.
I wasn't even nervous that morning. I was very excited and I was very confident that it was going to go well. We put in the training and prepared ourselves in every way so that we would be successful and able to finish feeling great...or so we thought.
We spent the night in the hotel and luckily the morning of the race we only had to wake up at about 5:30 am. I know you are saying, "Only?" but compared to some of the other races I've done, that was cake. The line was long outside already waiting for the shuttle bus to drive us over to the race site. Plus, it was freezing that morning and I was relieved with my decision to wear my running tights instead of shorts.
When we finally started the race it was so exciting and the crowd was amazing! So many people participating in the race-most who were wearing pink tutus, pink shirts, and just LOTS of pink! One man who was doing the race, who was not wearing pink, was wearing a U.S. Marine uniform and did the whole race with a backpack and boots!
One thing I have to say about this race was how wonderful the support of the community was. I am so happy I decided to sign up for this event and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Mile after mile, all of the runners continued to receive support with yells, cheering, fresh fruit, music...and most of all, the support from cancer survivors yelling a big "Thank You!"
My husband, my friend's husband, and her sister were also out there along the course at various points cheering us on and taking pictures. Without the support of your own family, the training and race would not be managable.
One highlight of the race was running on the beach-which was a lot easier than expected and definitly memorable. Not just memorable because of the beauty of it, but because my watch decided to have a mind of its own right before we turned onto the beach, and I spent almost the whole 2 miles(miles 5-7) trying to set it straight so our intervals would be correct.
Unfortunately, the second half of the race my friend's hamstring started hurting worse and worse...until she could barely run. I remember at mile 20 the pain she was feeling and her blister that was not getting better. But I am so proud of her for continuing on the journey to complete her goal. It's in these situations the mind must take control over the body; to tell your pain, "I am in control, not you."
By mile 24, we had been mostly walking, but I felt my body wearing down and yearning for food. Unable to stop for walk breaks any longer, I apologized deeply to my friend and told her I must keep going without stopping, for I could feel my body was shutting down. She had been telling me to go and I know she wasn't upset and so I set off to finish the last 2.2 miles alone. I think those were the longest 2 miles I've ever ran. I stopped maybe twice but felt worse so I kept telling myself to keep going and I did.
I finished in just under 6 hours and my friend actually pulled through and made it to the finish line not too much longer after I did! I know before the marathon, the training was tough, but it was no comparison to the mental and physical toughness that I experienced that day.
If you had asked me the day before the race if I would ever do another marathon, the response would have been a quick, "NO!" But that tune slowly changed while riding the shuttle back to the hotel, even though the pain was still very much real. I started thinking about next year doing it again...and my friend, a few days later, agreed.
I wasn't even nervous that morning. I was very excited and I was very confident that it was going to go well. We put in the training and prepared ourselves in every way so that we would be successful and able to finish feeling great...or so we thought.
We spent the night in the hotel and luckily the morning of the race we only had to wake up at about 5:30 am. I know you are saying, "Only?" but compared to some of the other races I've done, that was cake. The line was long outside already waiting for the shuttle bus to drive us over to the race site. Plus, it was freezing that morning and I was relieved with my decision to wear my running tights instead of shorts.
When we finally started the race it was so exciting and the crowd was amazing! So many people participating in the race-most who were wearing pink tutus, pink shirts, and just LOTS of pink! One man who was doing the race, who was not wearing pink, was wearing a U.S. Marine uniform and did the whole race with a backpack and boots!
One thing I have to say about this race was how wonderful the support of the community was. I am so happy I decided to sign up for this event and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Mile after mile, all of the runners continued to receive support with yells, cheering, fresh fruit, music...and most of all, the support from cancer survivors yelling a big "Thank You!"
My husband, my friend's husband, and her sister were also out there along the course at various points cheering us on and taking pictures. Without the support of your own family, the training and race would not be managable.
One highlight of the race was running on the beach-which was a lot easier than expected and definitly memorable. Not just memorable because of the beauty of it, but because my watch decided to have a mind of its own right before we turned onto the beach, and I spent almost the whole 2 miles(miles 5-7) trying to set it straight so our intervals would be correct.
Unfortunately, the second half of the race my friend's hamstring started hurting worse and worse...until she could barely run. I remember at mile 20 the pain she was feeling and her blister that was not getting better. But I am so proud of her for continuing on the journey to complete her goal. It's in these situations the mind must take control over the body; to tell your pain, "I am in control, not you."
By mile 24, we had been mostly walking, but I felt my body wearing down and yearning for food. Unable to stop for walk breaks any longer, I apologized deeply to my friend and told her I must keep going without stopping, for I could feel my body was shutting down. She had been telling me to go and I know she wasn't upset and so I set off to finish the last 2.2 miles alone. I think those were the longest 2 miles I've ever ran. I stopped maybe twice but felt worse so I kept telling myself to keep going and I did.
I finished in just under 6 hours and my friend actually pulled through and made it to the finish line not too much longer after I did! I know before the marathon, the training was tough, but it was no comparison to the mental and physical toughness that I experienced that day.
If you had asked me the day before the race if I would ever do another marathon, the response would have been a quick, "NO!" But that tune slowly changed while riding the shuttle back to the hotel, even though the pain was still very much real. I started thinking about next year doing it again...and my friend, a few days later, agreed.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Marathon Race Weekend: First, The Expo!
Arriving at the Prime Osborn Convention Center
Leaving our mark...
Man enough to wear Pink...
These boards were placed on our run on the beach.
There were about 6 of them, each saying something
different.
I am a few days late in writing this for a few reasons but the main reason is that I caught the flu, or something like it, yesterday. I was trying to recover from all the soreness but must have had a lowered immune system and I caught my daughters cold.
So to start off the weekend, my husband, kids and I headed up to Jacksonville and spent the night with my family up there. I was so excited and not nervous at all. I just wanted to make sure I didn't forget to bring anything. One thing I brought was vaseline which helped SO much race day. Other things I brought were, my ipod, race gear, my breast cancer hair ribbon and my camera!
Then Saturday came. Had my coffee and breakfast and got ready to go to the Expo. My sister-in-law volunteered to work at the Expo so I drove over there with her.
My friend and her family came up Saturday and met us there. One great thing about these bigger races is the Expo events. There are countless vendors and free items they are just giving away! What was unforgettable about this Expo was, meeting and listening to the famous runner, Jeff Galloway. He had valuable information to give and took questions from the runners.
Another wonderful experience was meeting the woman who started this race, Donna Deegan. She started The Donna Foundation, in which 100% of the race proceeds go to. She was so nice and willing to take the time to get a picture with her and she also signed our bibs!
Then we picked up our race packets, shopped a little, and headed to the hotel to check in. After that, we drove back to my family's house. My husband and mother cooked us a nice spaghetti dinner. Later, said our goodbyes and good lucks and off to the hotel for the night. We stayed a couple miles from the race and the hotel provided us with buses to and from the race site. With over 9,000 participants, it was MUCH better than having to drive there and park.
Finally, the girls watched some Pride and Prejudice and the guys watched some sports, took some pictures and off to sleep we went.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Just wanted to post really quick about my run I did this evening. I felt really good. Not tired and full of energy! 40 minutes with a little sprint at the end. Just about 3 days now until the race and I'm getting so excited! Went over race plans today with S. Everything is coming together now and we even have matching shirts :)
Well off to bed early tonight. Tired. Night.
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