It's official! Brian and I are signed up with The Heights Team World Vision (TWV) group to run the innaugural Dallas 13.1 Half-Marathon! I'm nervous and I'm excited. Although I've run two half-marathons before, this will be the first since I've had the baby. In other words, I'm heavier and not in as good of shape as I was for my previous two half-marathons. This ups the challenge. I wanted to be on TWV last year, but being entirely too pregnant at the time, that didn't seem advisable. (Actually, as it turned out, the Monday after the White Rock Marathon/Half-Marathon that TWV did last year was when I ended up in the hospital for my bedrest.)
I'm doing this for a couple of reasons:
One is the obvious quest to get my body back. Hopefully the training will get me in better shape and help me drop some pounds. My goal here is to finish and it would be nice if my time was somewhere close to 3 hours (if I recall correctly, my previous finish times were just over 3 hours).
The more important one is to raise money for World Vision. The Heights team will specifically be raising money for an ongoing water project in Uganda. Please visit my fundraising page here and consider contributing any amount you can. My goal here is at least $50 per mile which is $655.
Wish me luck! :)
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label half-marathon. Show all posts
Monday, August 8, 2011
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Trail Report
After our half-marathon a little over a week ago, Brian and I had planned to get right back to the running the following week with some shorter jogs (2, 4, and 6 miles), but that didn't happnen. We ended up taking the whole week off from running. I don't know if it was the time change or what, but I just couldn't get myself motivated to get out of bed. Plus, I only taught 3 times last week and that was all of my workouts. It was really weird. Maybe I needed the break, but it's over. Now it's 5 weeks until our next half-marathon and time to get back to work.
This morning we hit the trail at around 5:30 am and the weather was great - cool and clear with nice twinkling stars. A brisk walk to warm up and then off and running. We ran by "Trail Mix" both out and back; that's what I've named the cute little kitty that lives on the trail behind the QT gas station. She's a fluffy, gray and white kitty who's quite friendly (especially when no one has fed her recently). Sometimes we'll stop to pet her, but I was feeling good and didn't want to ruin it, so we kept going. Stretched and got some water at miles 1 and 2 and then ran back to the bagel store to clock in 4 miles. It was a great run and I felt great afterward. At the end we even got our pep talk from Clyde. Clyde has run marathons all over the world, including one on every continent, but I think the greatest thing about him is that he has the gift of encouragement in abundance. Today he told us how proud he was of us for finishing our first half and working toward our next one. Love that guy!
We're planning on 5 miles for Thursday and 8 or 9 miles on Saturday. Keep you posted!
This morning we hit the trail at around 5:30 am and the weather was great - cool and clear with nice twinkling stars. A brisk walk to warm up and then off and running. We ran by "Trail Mix" both out and back; that's what I've named the cute little kitty that lives on the trail behind the QT gas station. She's a fluffy, gray and white kitty who's quite friendly (especially when no one has fed her recently). Sometimes we'll stop to pet her, but I was feeling good and didn't want to ruin it, so we kept going. Stretched and got some water at miles 1 and 2 and then ran back to the bagel store to clock in 4 miles. It was a great run and I felt great afterward. At the end we even got our pep talk from Clyde. Clyde has run marathons all over the world, including one on every continent, but I think the greatest thing about him is that he has the gift of encouragement in abundance. Today he told us how proud he was of us for finishing our first half and working toward our next one. Love that guy!
We're planning on 5 miles for Thursday and 8 or 9 miles on Saturday. Keep you posted!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
My First Half-Marathon
On Sunday, November 1st, Brian and I ran our first half-marathon. Since it was our first one, our main goal was simply to finish but we were shooting for 3 hours. Well, suffice to say we did finish, but missed our 3 hour goal by 4 minutes. By the end of it, I pretty much just wanted to die. Now, I'm feeling a bit more proud. Here's a brief re-cap.
Mile 0: I cough a little on the shuttle ride over to the race course, but figure it's just allergies. I'm thinking it's a cool, clear morning and perfect for a run. My feet are already a little damp from walking through a soggy field and I just watched a poor spectator unintentionally slide down a muddy hill on his butt. I'm optimistic that even though we only trained up to 9 miles due to some time constraints, we'll be fine and I'm open to walking portions if necessary.
Mile 1: Brian and I stop for our standard 1 mile stretch. We've done this throughout our training and it really helps loosen up my tight, burning muscles which is exactly how I'm feeling.
Mile 2: We stop for our 2 mile stretch and our first energy block and water sip. I'm anticipating getting into my groove in mile 3 like I usually do. We pass a tall lady with jiggly, cellulite-y, excess skin folds on the backs of her legs. I find her motivating.
Mile 3: I get a cramp in my side; it's lower and duller than a side-stitch but I try the standard remedies. I stop and walk for a bit, I sip on some water, and I take several slow, deep breaths. It doesn't work, so I go back to running and hope it will eventually go away.
Mile 4: I'm wishing I had Midol for this cramp. It's one of the few things not tucked into my amphipod fuel belt. We re-hydrate again, eat another block, and blow our noses. I start to feel like I'm slowing hubby down and I alternate between feeling bad about it and mad at him for seeming to want to go faster than my body will go today.
Miles 5-10: These all run together. We drink more water, eat more blocks, blow our noses again, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I still have that cramp and I'm alternating between praying and getting absorbed in the music on my shuffle (having turned up the volume to try to drown out how I'm feeling). I've never hit my stride and have come to the realization that this is just going to be a tough run. It's getting very warm; I'm thinking that the time change is rather unfortunate and wondering why they picked a course with so few shade trees. We seem to be keeping pace with the same cast of characters.
Mile 11: Tall, jiggly-legged lady re-appears. Every jiggle of her legs motivates me to keep going, because I don't ever want the backs of my legs to look or move like that. As it turns out, hubby just wants to pass her so he doesn't have to look at it anymore. (Did I mention that the bottom of her butt was sorta jiggling out of her run skirt? - it really wasn't pretty.)
Mile 12: Hubby and I concede to walking a mile, so that we can finish strong and run the last one.
Mile 13: We run again. Just over one mile and I can stop this insanity! Hallelujah!
Mile 13.1: We can see the finish line and we both pick up the pace a bit. I just want to be done!
Finish Line: I slow to a walk, stagger over to the lady with the water, then the lady with the finisher medal, and then the lady with the camera. Hubby and I pose for our picture together. I stiffle my coughing long enough to smile. I resume coughing and walk through the food tent - my stomach has not realized that I have stopped running yet, so it doesn't want anything. I finish my water, pick up my bag, and feel like I want to die as I start rubbing salt off my skin.
Post-race: We meet up with family and go to Cafe Brazil for some food. After scarfing down my migas and my half of our french toast, I start to feel human again. We go home, shower-up, take a nap, and then proceed to veg-out on the couch for the rest of the evening.
The next day: I'm sore. That about covers it.
Now: I've got a decent little tan (except on my legs which never tan, doh!). I'm proud of Hubby and I for completing it and I'm hopeful that we'll do better on our next one in December. On top of that, I'm starting to wonder which one(s) we should sign up for next year.
Crazy, huh?
Mile 0: I cough a little on the shuttle ride over to the race course, but figure it's just allergies. I'm thinking it's a cool, clear morning and perfect for a run. My feet are already a little damp from walking through a soggy field and I just watched a poor spectator unintentionally slide down a muddy hill on his butt. I'm optimistic that even though we only trained up to 9 miles due to some time constraints, we'll be fine and I'm open to walking portions if necessary.
Mile 1: Brian and I stop for our standard 1 mile stretch. We've done this throughout our training and it really helps loosen up my tight, burning muscles which is exactly how I'm feeling.
Mile 2: We stop for our 2 mile stretch and our first energy block and water sip. I'm anticipating getting into my groove in mile 3 like I usually do. We pass a tall lady with jiggly, cellulite-y, excess skin folds on the backs of her legs. I find her motivating.
Mile 3: I get a cramp in my side; it's lower and duller than a side-stitch but I try the standard remedies. I stop and walk for a bit, I sip on some water, and I take several slow, deep breaths. It doesn't work, so I go back to running and hope it will eventually go away.
Mile 4: I'm wishing I had Midol for this cramp. It's one of the few things not tucked into my amphipod fuel belt. We re-hydrate again, eat another block, and blow our noses. I start to feel like I'm slowing hubby down and I alternate between feeling bad about it and mad at him for seeming to want to go faster than my body will go today.
Miles 5-10: These all run together. We drink more water, eat more blocks, blow our noses again, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I still have that cramp and I'm alternating between praying and getting absorbed in the music on my shuffle (having turned up the volume to try to drown out how I'm feeling). I've never hit my stride and have come to the realization that this is just going to be a tough run. It's getting very warm; I'm thinking that the time change is rather unfortunate and wondering why they picked a course with so few shade trees. We seem to be keeping pace with the same cast of characters.
Mile 11: Tall, jiggly-legged lady re-appears. Every jiggle of her legs motivates me to keep going, because I don't ever want the backs of my legs to look or move like that. As it turns out, hubby just wants to pass her so he doesn't have to look at it anymore. (Did I mention that the bottom of her butt was sorta jiggling out of her run skirt? - it really wasn't pretty.)
Mile 12: Hubby and I concede to walking a mile, so that we can finish strong and run the last one.
Mile 13: We run again. Just over one mile and I can stop this insanity! Hallelujah!
Mile 13.1: We can see the finish line and we both pick up the pace a bit. I just want to be done!
Finish Line: I slow to a walk, stagger over to the lady with the water, then the lady with the finisher medal, and then the lady with the camera. Hubby and I pose for our picture together. I stiffle my coughing long enough to smile. I resume coughing and walk through the food tent - my stomach has not realized that I have stopped running yet, so it doesn't want anything. I finish my water, pick up my bag, and feel like I want to die as I start rubbing salt off my skin.
Post-race: We meet up with family and go to Cafe Brazil for some food. After scarfing down my migas and my half of our french toast, I start to feel human again. We go home, shower-up, take a nap, and then proceed to veg-out on the couch for the rest of the evening.
The next day: I'm sore. That about covers it.
Now: I've got a decent little tan (except on my legs which never tan, doh!). I'm proud of Hubby and I for completing it and I'm hopeful that we'll do better on our next one in December. On top of that, I'm starting to wonder which one(s) we should sign up for next year.
Crazy, huh?
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