Aramco Houston Half Marathon

Last weekend was marathon weekend! We started Saturday off with a trip to the expo to pick up our packets. The runner's expos are some of my favorite parts about marathon weekends. Everyone there is excited about the upcoming race, so the atmosphere is always lively. I personally like to go to check out the different types of running gear the vendors have. I've been doing a lot of my runs right around dusk lately, which isn't the safest thing, but it's when I have time. One of my favorite new "toys" from the expo is a light up wrist band. It's made out of reflective material and you can turn on some flashing lights should it get dark outside! I had been wanting one forever- and they were giving them out for free! (winner).

Saturday night was our annual carb-loading extravaganza. We invite friends and family to get together to eat (whether they are running- or not)! Last year's carb loading location was a bust- Olive Garden- with about a two hour wait- with a reservation. In an attempt to not experience the same wait time as last year, I racked my brain for a new place. Houston has some amazing restaurants, but most of the italian restaurants are packed around marathon time. We finally decided on Buca di Beppo. I hadn't been there in years, and it's located a bit further from downtown, so we figured it wouldn't be super crowded. On top of that, their family style portions are perfect for carb -loading.

We went to town on that food. It's the one night of the year, where I can eat as much as I want, without feeling guilty. Sadly- I am always kind of anxious about the race, so I can't fit nearly as much in my belly as I would like :( Here are Kim's giant meatballs.

 I woke up at 4:30 the next morning. Last year, I learned my lesson, and even though I live close to the start line, there is always tons of traffic and they start closing streets early. We had to rush to our corrals last year, with little time for stretching and bathroom breaks. I didn't want the same problem this year. I ate my usual coffee, with some almond butter and a banana on a piece of toast, and we were ready to go.

I love race-day mornings! I love to people-watch- looking at people's race outfits is one of my favorite things to do. I chose to go with some neon on neon. :) It was supposed to warm up into the 60's, so I went with short sleeves and some shorts. Before I knew it, it was time to line up in our corrals. We headed over to B, and lined up in the 9:15 pace. I looked next to me, and I saw my friend, Tatum - who just happened to be running the full.

Me and Tatum before the race!

The gun went off, and we were on our way. Around mile two, Aaron's ankle started hurting him (he had injured it earlier in the week), so he told me to go ahead. Without him. Now, I was not mentally prepared to run this race by myself. Granted, I had been doing all of my long training runs solo, but it made me a bit nervous. I went on ahead, and was doing pretty well on time. The course was completely different this year, so I had some different scenery to look at. I saw our friends John, Jessica and Aaron's parents around mile 6- always nice to see a familiar face in the crowd. I was in a good place until about mile 10, which had been my longest training run this time around. I had three miles remaining- and was targeted to finish around 2: 04. Three miles are like a normal distance on any given week night for me, but after you've already run 10, it can seem like a lot. I had to remind myself to just keep moving, and every step forward is a step closer. I struggled a bit through miles 11 and 12- and walked through the water stations, but pulled it together for the very last mile. I finished in 2:07, which was a personal record for me. I'm running the Austin half in February, and I'd like to see that time decrease even more. Eventually, I'd like to see it under two hours!

Resting after the race.

Running toward the finish line!

Weekend Reflections and More

So I'm just now getting around to my weekend post, so I figured I'd combine thoughts about my weekend and the beginning of the week....

Saturday morning started off a bit slow. I had every intention of waking up early and getting a run in. I was honestly dreading my last long run before the half marathon. My goal was 10 miles. Slower than my expected pace, but I blame the hotter weather.

Not exactly the performance I was expecting one week prior to the race. I've been having a few foot problems lately, but they actually didn't bother me at all during this run. I had minimal soreness post-run- all felt fine except for some pain in my calves. My expected race time is a 9:30 pace.... Say your prayers, people!

After my run, I gave this sweet boy a bath! He needed one like two weeks ago. He was hating life when I first started out, but the shampoo felt good on his itchy skin. Poor guy has the worst allergies. Luckily, we found some Burt's Bees conditioner for dogs, and I swear by it! Sawyer loves it too! After his bath, we slapped his bowtie on, and all was right with the world- he loves dressing up. Sawyer's adoption birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I got him in 2011 and am so thankful for the joy, laughter and lessons this little big guy has taught me.

 I took a little post-run and post-dog bath nap, and Aaron and I met some friends for din din. We all wanted to try Goro & Gun. We perused the menu earlier in the week and opted to try the duck, which you have to order 24 hours in advance. "Herbert" the duck, was fantastic, and the place comes highly recommended, not to mention they have some pretty sweet cocktails. After that we went to a bar downtown and had a few drinks. We made it an early night.

The following morning, I figured I owed it to myself to have a sprinkle donut (okay, I lied, maybe I had two), which I managed to enjoy outside in the beautiful weather with a nice, big cup of coffee. I am loving the weather we are having right now and am taking full advantage of the sunshine and perfect temps.

 We enjoyed the rest of our Sunday by getting a bit of shopping in and some errands done. I woke up Monday morning to some beautiful sunshine and my new coffee cup below. Thank you, roomie! She didn't know it, but she made my day. Yesterday was the anniversary of my grandpa's death. That was our last picture we took before he passed. It was taken during Christmas, and we were both matching! He will always be remembered for the gentle, kind and loving person that he was. I think about him frequently, but he is specially remembered this day every year!

So remember, enjoy every second of this short little life. Maybe it means taking five minutes out of your morning to enjoy your cup of coffee outside. Maybe it's taking the effort to strike up a friendly conversation with that person you see in the elevator all the time. Maybe it's taking time to remember everything you have to be thankful for!

Running Beginnings

I started running back in 2009 when I was in grad school. I lived in Austin pretty close to some neat trails and would hit the pavement when classes were finished for the day. I would consider myself a fair-weather runner during that time. If it was too hot, or even a smidge too cold- forget about it. I had done a couple of 5K's, but more for the social aspect of the race.

I started to take running more seriously in 2011. I had just been laid off from my first job out of grad school during a "reorganization" of the company. Albeit, a "sign- of the economy," but as someone a year out of grad school and ambitious my whole life- to say I took the whole thing pretty hard would be an understatement.

I needed a goal. I needed some structure to my days while I searched for my new place in the working world. So, I signed up for a half-marathon scheduled for January 2012. I guess I kind of started cold turkey. I didn't really know much about running, form, distance, etc.. but I had a pretty cool condo up in the hills in Austin, and certainly took advantage of the scenery. My new training regimen allowed me to set goals- both short and long term, and it helped break up the monotony of my days while I searched for a new job. During that time, there was also some transition happening- I knew I would be moving to Houston in the fall of 2011 so my boyfriend could go to dental school, so I needed to figure out transition to a new city as well.

I started off running a couple of days a week- for shorter distances of about two miles at a time. I felt my body slowly adjust. Then, I started to read more about it and talk to some friends who were runners. I would fall in love with it after a good run, and then fall out of love just as quickly during those hot days or bad runs.

I moved to Houston and had to adjust to the humidity. I developed a few migraines after long runs, and I had to adjust my running a bit (more on the migraines in a different post), but I was still on schedule for the Aramco Half-Marathon in January.

I had a running partner- Kristen- and even though we lived in different cities at the time, we held each other accountable for our long runs on the weekend. A running partner comes highly recommended when training for a race (more on that later as well). January crept up on us. The week before the race I got sick with a cold and got bit by a red ant on my ankle (I'm allergic). My ankle swelled up and I was unable to fit my foot in my shoe. The day before the race, I was on the upswing. We were good to go.

My swollen ankle from my red ant bite! Pretty gross.

We went to the runner's expo, where I was amazed at the amount of runners and the support of the running community. We planned the first of an annual carb loading party the night before and got ready for the race. Kristen and I barely slept, and our alarms woke us around 4 a.m. I ate my pre-race breakfast, which to this day, consists of coffee and an orange, and we were on our way.

Our race bag to check in. Mine always contains a fresh pair of socks, a change of clothes, some ibuprofen and lip gloss (can't forget the lip gloss).

 As we waited to line up in our corrals, we were stretching and doing some people watching. I felt very not-hardcore compared to some of the other runners I saw. I was nervous and intimidated. Soon, it was time to line up in our corrals. They said a prayer and the gun went off. It was go time.

Kristen and I started off on our journey. We knew our friends would be there to cheer us on along the route, but it wouldn't be until later in the race. The weather was a bit chilly, but was slated to warm up just perfectly toward the end of the race. We knew we had trained the best we could, and now it was time to run the race. I settled into the run. Houston has some amazing crowd support- the best I've seen- and a ton of runners. There was live music and even some house parties right along the route. Spectators line the course the entire way!!! A great course for a first-time half-marathoner.

About halfway through the run, we happened to see Kim there to cheer us on! Then, we ran into the Tatums-one of which who took a lovely video of us and ran with us for a bit. Before we knew it, we were nearing the end. We finished the race together with a time of 2:19:41. I was in a bit of pain following the race, but I was addicted.

Since then, running has become something near and dear to my heart. I've participated in three half-marathons, a 10k and some 5k's in between. I've certainly learned some lessons along the way. I'm about the run the Aramco  Houston Half-Marathon again on January 19, and this time- I'm going for a PR.

 

Us during the race doing a sic 'em!

A New Year

So, I'll admit- I haven't been the best at keeping up with the blog. Water under the bridge. It's been a nagging thought in my mind lately to start blogging again- so I'm going to do it. It's good for the creative side of the brain, and it allows me to do a very different kind of writing than I do for work. Win win.

Clearly much has happened since my last post back in 2011 (oh.my.gosh)! Mostly good, with some learning experiences thrown in there as well. To recap: I moved to Houston, got a new job, moved into a house, acquired a new roommate (and her dog), and got a new boyfriend. There you are in a nutshell. Obviously, some of those changes/transitions are much easier said than done- and I in no way want to make light of them. However, I am in an excellent place right now, so we will just leave it at that.

I want to start my re-entrance into the blogging world with this: you are going to see a lot more about my running endeavors on the blog and some more glimpses into whats happening in my world these days. I'm also working on a not-yet-live new blog design.

Here you go:

New boyfriend. His name is Aaron.

New roomie (but an old friend). Houston half-marathon 2013. Ran the entire thing- in. the. rain.

New roomie again- because I love her! Spectators at the Austin Marathon. If you've never been a marathon spectator, you should seriously try it. It's one of my favorite things to do. You can also come up with some raunchy creative signs to keep the runners "motivated" when they go by.  

New roomie again. Us in New Orleans 2013.

New boyfriend again. After the Austin Capitol 10k. Next time, someone please remind me there are hills. Serious memory lapse.

My other new roomie, Huck the husky! He and Sawyer love each other.

Happy 2014! This year I'd like to slow down a bit and enjoy the small things more, love people better and make some more amazing memories with my family and friends. More to come!