If the shoe fits...RUN! Sea Witch

After taking a week off from running due to the holiday and then getting sick, I hopped on the treadmill today for my last run in 2013.
I ran 3 miles making my total miles for 2013 - 471 miles!! That includes 13 races (5ks, 10ks, 8 miler, 5 miler)

I earned the If the shoe fits... RUN! Sea Witch medal for my run today. It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be after taking a week off.

Run, Mom, RUN!!! My 2013 in races

Running Au-some

I am sad to say that I haven't run in exactly 1 week. If you know me, you know I'm not one to slack, so let me explain myself.
Normally I run Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday. Last Tuesday was Christmas Eve and I would not have the time to fit a run in, and I haven't missed a run since Tink training began, so I decided to give myself a pass & skip that run 'just this one time'.  But then on Christmas day I came down with an awful cold. And I was unable to get my Thursday run in. This cold has kicked my butt!
But I woke up feeling somewhat better today so I decided to give it a try. I knew it was going to be rough but it was just plain awful. I'm still so stuffed up that I could barely breathe and had to keep stopping to walk. My overall pace was 12:30 a minute. My normal pace is 10:30-11 a minute so that 12:30 pace really hurt! Plus, I gave up after about 2 miles, there was no way I was making it to 4 miles. My body was telling me it just wasn't ready to get back out there yet.
I will try again on Tuesday.

However, I did earn this cute little Running Au-some surfboard medal. I love hibiscus flowers (even have a tattoo of them on my back). So even though it was a rough run, I still earned some cute bling.
And yes... the picture of me is all bundled up in my bathrobe and blanket after my run. that's the best picture I could get right now. lol

As the year comes to a close...

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on some things this past year & jot down my thoughts. This is a serious post and might get a tad emotional.

I have made it through another year of maintaining my weight & healthy lifestyle.
Last year at this time of year, I was about 150ish and had been maintaining there for most of the year. 150lbs was ok, but I had dreams of 140, which was half of my heaviest weight, being my goal. The last 5-10 pounds are always the hardest to lose & I know now that's not a lie. I never gave up the fight and I finally reached my goal of 140 pounds in July. But since then, the scale has settled  at 143-144ish and seems to be happy there. While the number on the scale doesn't always make me happy, I need to remind myself of a few things.
I have done great things this year. My year started off with excess skin removal surgery - removing excess skin (due to losing almost half my body weight) from my stomach & arms. And then I spent a few months recovering from that. I have worked hard on building & reshaping the muscles in my 'new' arms. And I have taken my running to a whole new level. I ran my first 5k in June and since then, I have run 13 races in 2013. (7) 5ks, (4) 10ks, (1) 1/2 marathon relay - 8.1 miles and (1) 5 miler. And I am now a month away from running my first half marathon!  I am pretty sure that I have more muscle in my legs now - while my legs haven't changed much in size, but they definitely seem more muscular & strong. Therefore, I need to stop being so hard on myself over 3-4 pounds... because that is probably muscle gain.
I'm living a healthy, active lifestyle, eating right and maintaining my current weight. It's not always an easy thing to do, but the more time that goes by, the more I never want to go back to the way I was and will continue to keep this up.
I still don't have the 'perfect' body or even a typical 'runner's body'. but I have MY body. And I need to remember that this is who I am and be proud of it.

Jingle Romp

Today, I ran 12 miles. It was unseasonily warm for Dec 22nd - 60 degrees out but humid as ever!  The humidity pretty much killed my good pace so I ended up finishing 5 minutes slower than what I was hoping for. I guess it was natures way of saying "here's one last humid practice run before Princess."

I am having a lot of mixed emotions right now. 2 weeks ago when I did 11 miles, I felt confident that I was ready. But today, after doing 12, I don't feel confident at all. I don't even feel proud that I ran 12 miles.... I'm just feeling blah and I think I'm starting to get burnt out so I'm going to start tapering. In 2 weeks, I should be doing 14 miles, but I think I'm only going to do 10.

Anyway, I ran this 12 miles in honor of the Jingle Romp - a Christmas Minions run because my kids LOVE the Minions!
And I wasn't really in the mood to take a picture of myself with the medal, so here's what you get..

If the shoe fits...RUN! Bad Apple

The weather was beautiful today and I got to run outside for the first time in 2 weeks.
I runner slower on the treadmill than when I do running outside and I thought all the treadmill running would slow down my regular running pace. It did a tad - my pace was about 10:31 per minute and before the cold weather hit I was doing almost a 10 min mile. I guess it is what it is. It's better than where I started earlier in the year around a 12 minute mile.

It felt great to get outside & run!!

If the shoe fits...RUN! Grecian Goddess

And I even channeled my inner Greek Goddess by wearing my Megara costume (which I will be wearing for the enchanted 10k.)

And that also finishes up If the shoe fits...RUN! Princess set 2

If the shoe fits...RUN! Dreaming in Pink

Due to the snow we got yesterday (which then turned to slush because of the rain), I had to do my run inside on the treadmill today.

If the shoe fits...RUN! Fairest of them all

If the shoe fits...RUN! Off to the ball

I did a weekly maintenance run tonight on the treadmill. 3 miles in 33:12 to earn this beautiful medal

If the shoe fits...RUN! Classic Beauty

Today I ran my longest run to date - 11 miles. Say what? You heard me... 11 miles! In the cold, none the less!
I finished the 12th week of my half marathon training and there is only 6 weeks to go before my first half marathon.

I carb loaded for the first time yesterday. I did a lot of research on it & figured "what did I have to lose". Hmmm, apparently all I had to lose was minutes... OFF MY TIME! 2 weeks ago when I ran 9.5 miles, I finished it in 1:47:24. And today, when I hit the 9.5 mark, I checked my time and I was only at 1:44:46 - I had shaved about 3 minutes off my time. YEAH!
I finished the 11 miles strong at 2:01:15 with a pace of 11:00 exactly. Heck yes!  Only 2.1 miles more would put me aprox at 2:23:10 for a half marathon. wow!
I never got tired or sluggish and I didn't hit a wall. I felt great... it felt like I FLEW through those 11 miles. And usually after my long runs, I feel sluggish/tired for the rest of the day, but so far (it's now 4pm and my run was at 8am this morning) I am feeling energetic and great!
I think I like this carb loading idea!

And because today I earned the last medal in the If the shoe fits...RUN! Princess set 1, I got to proudly display all 4 medals!

Running is a Winter Sport!

Remember the pictures of the awesome medals I shared with you a few days ago?!
Well, I earned the 5k/10k one today!

Since my run was 11 miles (which is more than a 5k & 10k combined) I decided that it counted for BOTH distances on the medal! I more than earned this medal!

The weather was a cool 23 degrees. Starting out was a little rough, but by a mile in, I was nice & toasty warm.
I carb loaded for the first time yesterday (testing it out for my first half marathon which is 6 weeks way) and I have to say that it really helped! I soared through those 11 miles, never got tired, sluggish or hit a wall.  I had set a goal for 2 hours & 6 minutes and ended up finishing in 2 hours and 1 minute! I exceeded my own expectations and it felt amazing!!

My 5k time was 33:16 - not a PR, but still a good solid time for me.
And my 10k time was 1:06:53... very close to a PR. I missed it by about 45 seconds, but still one of the best 10k times for me, so I'll take it!

I honestly hate being cold and I hate cold weather. A few months ago, if you had said I would be running ELEVEN miles in the cold, I would have thought you were crazy. But I did it! And I made it look easy!
Running can indeed be a winter sport!  I even had this pretty bib to print & wear for my run!

And of course it helped that I got to earn this amazing medal!

I will be earning the 13.1 medal next! I can't wait to add that beauty to my collection.

As usual these medals from Jost Running are stunningly beautiful. And actually, each new one seems to outdo the one before it, if that is even possible!  I'm sure they put alot of hard work into these designs and it pays off! And the quality of the medals is absolutely top notch!

When I was done with my race, I submitted my results to Jost Running so that they could add my results to their leader board (found on their website) 

Right now I'm standing strong at #7!

Here's my collection of Jost Running medals so far. I have the other September Soaring medal (yellow & green plane, you can see my previous post for pics) that I let my son hang on his medal rack.

Don't forget to use the code "Countdown" to get 10% off the "In with the New Year" race from Jost Running.  I bet it will be a real beauty!

And they even have gift certificates, so why not give the gift of a race to someone you love... or maybe ask Santa to put one in your stocking ;)

Running is indeed a winter sport!

I haven't earned these medals yet, but they were just too beautiful to keep hidden until I actually do earn them.
I'm not a fan of being cold, but I don't think I will mind running 11 miles in the cold on Sunday to earn one of these beauties!! I will be earning the 5k/10k medal this weekend - hey, I'm running 11 miles, that covers both distances!! LOL

Jost Running (www.jostrunning) does NOT disappoint with their medals. They are big, glittery & just absolutely breathtaking!
I can't wait to see what they have in store for January - I'm sure it will be absolutely worth it! And you can even get 10% off their January race - In with the New Year by using the code "Countdown".
Check back in with me in a few days to hear about my run!
In the mean time, Happy Running!

If the shoe fits...RUN! Arabian Nights

With the time change,  we all know it gets darker earlier. I don't mind running in the cold, but I don't feel safe running outside in the dark alone. So I decided to join a local gym for the next few months. I hate hate hate running on the treadmill (aka DREADmill), but earning some bling helps it be more enjoyable for sure!

Tonight I ran a 3 mile maintenance run on the treadmill. Nothing major to report about a treadmill run. We all know how it goes - you turn the machine on & go... there's no fun new route or pretty scenery to take in. It's dull & boring, but it's safer than the alternative right now, so I do what I have to do.

But at the end of my run, I earned this pretty medal - Arabian Nights, and it made it all worth it! And I even got into the spirit just a little bit by wearing some "jasmine" inspired colored running clothes today - blue & turquoise, it seemed appropriate!

If the shoe fits...RUN! Under the Sea

Today I earned my Under the Sea medal.  The second one from If the shoe fits...RUN series (princess part 1).
I did 4 miles today and it seemed appropriate that I earned this one in the... rain (and cold!).

The run itself was pretty routine. Nothing really major to report about a 4 mile run.

A rite of passage?

So IT finally happened - a black toe nail!
Before you ask, yes I was professionally fitted for my shoes, they are half a size bigger, etc, etc. What I don't understand is that I have been wearing them for 5 months and they have never caused any problems before. So I don't know what caused it, except maybe running 9.5 miles??
But after running 9.5 miles a week ago, I had a pretty purple blister form under my nail... it started off small and got bigger and bigger and turned black. It hurt like heck for the first couple of days.

I read up on it and there's basically nothing I can do at this point. the blister will go away on it's own and the nail may eventually fall off and a new one will grow in. I've never lost a toe nail before, but I have lost a finger nail.
And some even consider it a rite of passage as a long distance runner. So I guess it's proof I worked hard for those 9.5 miles?