Cox Providence Half Marathon Finisher!

It happened! On Sunday I ran 13.1 miles for the first time in my life. And it felt so good. The best part was crossing the finish line…and seeing all of our supporters on the sidelines.

I guess the best way to recap this half marathon weekend is to start at the beginning. Friday night I nervously packed my bags, with literally everything I could think of to bring. I had every different combination of running outfits, just case there was a freak snowstorm…or hurricane. Hey, I wanted to be prepared! Saturday morning Matt and Jess picked up Dan and me and we started our journey back to the ‘hood (not the real “hood” but that’s just what we call our neighborhood, since Jess and I have been neighbors since I was 10).

Probably a week ahead of time, I had my prerace dinner planned out.  I knew we probably wouldn’t be home in time for the dinner with the other Rhode Scholar bloggers, I went to my go-to fueling meal, Spaghetti with Mushrooms and Spinach. I rolled with white pasta, since it’s easier to digest. I noticed how much thicker white pasta is than whole wheat and I can definitely say that I like whole wheat better. Hooray for healthy!

I figured I could splurge on some white bread, ya know, since I was about to run 13.1 miles!

Yummmmm, pasta!

With butterflies in my stomach, I tucked myself into bed early so I would be well rested for what was coming. I woke up around 6am and we left the house at 7am.

Despite my long night’s sleep, we look a bit groggy waiting for the race to start.  We took our places and the gun went off at 8am. We were off!

The first 5k went by really quickly and my nerves quickly dissipated.

Our families came out to support us and positioned themselves on Blackstone Blvd. in Providence, where they knew they would see us twice.  Here we are so excited to see them at mile 4! We knew they would be around mile 4 but it was still a nice surprise to finally see them!

The course was hilly, as expected, and we did a really good job of pacing ourselves and listening to our bodies to make sure we conserved energy for the rest of the race.

To entertain ourselves during the race, we came up with three mini goals. The first was to not finish last, which we figured would be easy to accomplish. The second was to finish in under 2:30, which was going to be more of a challenge because of those dang hills. And the third was to beat the man wearing cargo shorts in front of us, because really, who wears cargo shorts to run for two and a half hours!?

Another way we entertained ourselves? On-the-run photo shoots!

Here we are around mile seven, starting to get a little loopy.

Mile nine was quickly (well it wasn’t actually that quick) approaching and we knew we were going to see our families again soon, which gave us something to look forward to.

These are our cheerleaders, minus my dad because he was taking the photo. Thanks for coming to cheer us on guys!

I must say, this course was absolutely beautiful! So many gorgeous houses to look at.

A spontaneous jump at mile nine, which took a toll on Jess’s knees…sorry for making you jump for the camera, girl!

We weren’t sure if we would see our cheerleaders again before the end of the race, so we turned to say goodbye.

But see them again we did, right around mile 11.5, where we both were really starting to fade. This is right where the marathoners joined the course, so we kept moving out of the way for the elite runners who were looking to win. When we saw our families this time, they tried to get us to jump again…you can tell by our faces that that was NOT going to happen. Dan’s dad kept telling us we were going to set a world record, which made us laugh each time. Jess’s dad mooed for us since they didn’t have a cowbell, ha! And my dad ran alongside us for a little to take some photos.

Finally, after 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 57 seconds, we were done! That’s right, we beat our goal time! HOORAY! And we didn’t see cargo shorts again, so we assume we beat him too. Yay for hitting all of our goals!

As soon as we crossed the finish line I just about collapsed. They quickly handed us our race medals, a bottle of water, and these super chic tin foil blankets. As we searched for food, I wobbled a few times and had to catch myself from falling. But as soon as we got to eat and chug water, I felt much better. Weird thing though, my feet kept cramping up, which I’ve never had happen before. I quickly chugged a Gatorade and devoured a banana and it eventually stopped.

We met up with our families and took some finisher pics with our first ever race medals

After the race we all went out to have an enormous breakfast, complete with bloody marys and mimosas, of course!

All in all, it was a really great race.  There is some discrepancy with how long the half marathon course actually was, but we still beat our goal, even if the course was a little bit longer.

After making ourselves feel like humans again, we hopped back in the car for the 3.5 hour ride home.  Jess and I had big plans to nap the whole way, but that never happened. By the time we hit New York City, everyone was really loopy and out of it, which lead to some overtired giggles. Once we got home, I finally feasted on a day late Cinco de Mayo meal and called it a night.

Boy was I SORE when I woke up this morning though! I foam rolled a little this morning but it didn’t help much. At work I tried everything to make myself feel better including Advil, coffee, Emergen-c, walking during lunch, and stretching as much as I could.

Check out what was at the office this morning…we have the best co-workers Thanks for getting these, Gill!

When I got home, I took an Epson salt bath and foam rolled my little heart out. I’m starting to feel more human, but I still can’t bring myself to grocery shop!

My first half marathon experience was truly a great one, and I definitely plan on doing another one soon, maybe even this summer! I want to thank a few people who made this experience so enjoyable and manageable. A huge thanks to the people behind the race at Cox and Eident Marketing for giving me the opportunity to be a blog ambassador and for comping my race entry fee! Thanks to Dan who encouraged me to continue to train, even when I felt like I wanted to give up. Thanks to Jess for always being my fearless running buddy and running right along side of me for each mile, you’re the best! Thanks to Matt for the delicious breakfast and for driving us to and from the race! Thanks to my family, Dan’s dad and Pam, and Jess’s fam for waking up early on Sunday to cheer their hearts out each time we ran by, the cheers really kept us going! And thanks to everyone who listened to me talk about my training plans and training runs and are still friends with me after it’s all over! You all are the best and I wouldn’t have done this without all of you.

So there you have it, 13.1 miles down! Next up, I’ve got a 13 week speed plan I’ll be working on while running other races in between. See you soon blogstars!

Getting out of my comfort zone

Hey guys how’s it going? Not much is new over here, except for running. I went home to RI for Easter weekend and while I was there I ran a 10k…over a bridge!

This wasn’t just any bridge, it was a 2.5 mile bridge connecting Jamestown to the mainland of Rhode Island. Take a look at this puppy.

(Source)

Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind the whole day before. I was not-so-quietly freaking out about the fact that I had to run over a bridge. First of all, I hate bridges. I hate driving over them, I hate thinking about them, I hate looking at them. So that’s where half of the nerves came from, and the other half came from the fact that I didn’t think my body would be able to carry me over the bridge twice.

My mom always says that a positive mental attitude is 90% of achieving anything. So Friday night, I started using that PMA to get myself ready for the race. I laid out my outfit the night before and got a good night sleep.

One thing I was excited for was the swag; mainly the tek tee and the bunny ears! We wore the bunny ears throughout the whole race and it gave me a sense of community, which made the race a whole lot more fun.

Nervous nelly on the right the morning of.

We had beautiful weather that day, although it was a bit cool. 

And you know what, the race wasn’t half bad! Despite the butterflies that were circling my stomach all morning, as soon as the first ascent started, I knew I was going to be just fine. And my second realization? I’m not nearly as afraid of bridges as I thought I was! Check out this pic I snapped from the very top of the bridge, it doesn’t get more beautiful than that!

I’m so lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful place-I can’t wait for the summer!

After all the worrying and psyching myself out, we made it to the finish line and didn’t feel like we were going to die!

I even had energy left to sprint the shoot!

Who’s that girl haulin’ some serious a**? Just me!

Thanks for the photo Capstone!

So the name of this game was conquering fears. And you know what? You may find you’re not actually as afraid as you thought you were! Facing those fears is the only way to ever overcome them and grow.

Oh hey, the running bunnies survived!

We finished the race in 1:10 (gun time, I think we were a minute or so faster if they used our chips instead). Not the speediest race ever run, but at least we didn’t walk for a second!

Hey look, there are people behind us on our way up!

So now that it’s been a little bit of time since the race, I have had time to fit in quite a few more runs, I am feeling far more confident in my running ability. Last Sunday’s run was an 11 miler, my longest run to date. Sunday’s forecast called for nothing but rain, so there was talk of changing the run to sunny Saturday.  I decided I needed to become familiar with running in the rain, in case the Cox Providence Half Marathon ends up with weather more like this:

Fingers crossed that’s not the case, but if it is, I feel ready because I did my 11 miler in the rain.  I actually had a good time.  I never got hot and it was kind of fun avoiding the rain puddles. Another benefit? When it rains, people tend to stay inside. Hooray for nearly empty streets, which is a rarity in my little city!

So there you have it, an update on all things running. I decided I should taper the week before the race, so I am only doing 6 miles this Sunday, instead of 12 like I had previously scheduled. And once that run is over, I’m having a huge home cooked breakfast and declaring my training for the Cox Providence Half Marathon (and my first ever half marathon) over! (Save for a Zumba class or two I plan on taking the week before.)

What fears have you overcome recently? How did you face them head-on?

Week 2 Wrap of Best Body Bootcamp

Hello friends! I hope you had a great week and a happy Saint Paddy’s Day! I spent the weekend up in Boston with some of my favorite people.

This weekend was week 2 of phase 1 of Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp and week 5 of my half marathon program. I’m so happy it worked out that both of these plans matched up and I had to do cardio in Tina’s plan on the same days as I had to run in Hal’s plan. Hooray for good timing!

I really love doing Tina’s plan because I am doing strength training moves that really challenge me like never before. Another part of the plan is to pick two personal goals to complete each day.  I kept the same two goals (taking a multivitamin and eating one serving of protein a day) and succeeded each day in completing them! They have become a normal routine for me so I am going to try two new goals for phase 2 (which starts today). Those two goals are going to be to only eat meat at one meal a day and to unplug from the computer and TV for a half hour each day. I really struggle with this because I spend all day on the computer at work then I come home and use my iPad or watch TV for most of the night. I think these are two achievable goals but ones that I will have to put my mind to.

In half marathon training news, I hit a huge milestone for me.  I ran 8 miles without stopping or walking once yesterday! I never in a million years thought I could run that far, and with this new distance comes a new confidence. For the first time since I started training for the race back in January, I know I can do this. Each week I doubted I’d be able to add another week to my mileage or ever finish 13.1 miles. But now I can say that I know I have it in me and I know I will finish. In fact, I’m looking forward to adding more mileage each week. I can’t wait to get to 9 miles this weekend because I know I can do it!

This photo makes me so proud!

Is anyone else signed up for the Cox Providence Half Marathon or doing Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp? What are your keys to success during your training?

13.1-I’m a Problem Solver

How’s everyone doing on this fine Monday? I’m pretty excited because I’m taking a few days off at the end of the week! This weekend was stellar. The ole’ apartment was stuffed to the brim with friends, which made for the perfect time.

Now on to the running portion of this program. While I am following Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon training plan (novice 1) pretty much to the T, I changed up the long runs in order to be better prepared for the 13.1 miles I am going to face.  With Hal’s novice plan, the most you run is 10 miles.  I know people say that adrenaline and the cheers of the crowd will carry you through the rest of the run but that 3 mile deficit was too much for me.  In order to close that gap, I adapted the plan to become my own and increased the mileage. Case in point, this week instead of 5 miles, I ran 6 and next week instead of 5 I will run 7. Enough about the plan, let’s talk about how I have put the plan into action.

To be frank, I have been having a little bit of anxiety about the upcoming Cox Providence Half Marathon. Before I began training I hadn’t run anything further than a 5k.  While I do feel like the plan is helping me (and I’ve been following it pretty religiously) I still get a sinking feeling that I won’t be ready come race day.  Here are some of the reasons I am intimidated by this race:

• I have been running pretty much solely on the treadmill.  Last week I expressed my frustration and boredom and tried to run outside. That run was a bust, so I was feeling discouraged.
• I don’t feel like I am working out enough for someone who is training for a half marathon.  Aside from my long runs on Sundays, I’m not really putting in any more time than I normally would be.  The only difference is that the training plan keeps me honest and forces me to stick with my exercise frequency.
• Hills! I am pretty frightened by the the quantity and severity of the hills that lay before me on May 6th. The only time I have run hills in a race, I nearly puked. It was not pretty. I live in a city and there really are no hills to run outside.

Those are my main fears and frustrations. After many days worrying that I won’t be able to finish this race, I decided I just needed to come up with a better game plan. So today, I laced up my sneaks, threw on a fleece, gloves and ear warmers and took to the streets.

Running on the treadmill has become so easy and boring for me, so I knew I needed to take the opportunity I had today and just bite the bullet and run outside. I mapped a run that would be pretty and I downloaded a long podcast to take my mind off of the running.  I was pretty pleased when I looked down at my Garmin and saw this beautiful sight:

I did it! Six miles is my new PDR and I did it outside without walking at all! Needless to say, I was pretty pleased with myself.  What I was even more pleased with is that I didn’t want to die when I was done. An accomplishment indeed.  I didn’t want to gouge my eyes out during the run either, so I’d say running outside is in fact the boredom buster I needed.

My second problem is the intensity of the workouts for the rest of the week. I want to push myself more during this training because I want to be in the best shape ever when this is over. I’ll admit it, my strength training at this point leaves a bit to be desired. Monday’s stretch and strength usually involves me laying on the floor “stretching” during The Bachelor and maybe doing a plank or two. Or curling the measly 3 pound weights I have in the apartment. How old am I, 80?! I’m training for a half marathon for crying out loud.  So here I am, proclaiming myself a changed lady and I will now kick my own butt with lifting that leaves my muscles begging for mercy. Hold me to it, will ya? Link up to your favorite weight workouts!

Finally, we face the problem of hills.  Honestly, I haven’t really come up with a solution for this one yet. I thinkkkkk that what I might do is dedicate one shorter run (either Tuesday or Thursday) to running hill intervals on the treadmill.  I’m thinking running hills on the mill is better than not doing them at all. What are your thoughts?

One final note, I tried a new-to-me method of fueling during my run.  I know 6 miles doesn’t really require fuel, but I know I am going to fuel during the race, so I don’t want any surprised the day of. I stocked up at Sports Authority last weekend with a few types of fuel and today I decided to try out the infamous Gu. I went with Gu Energy Gel in Tri-Berry and I had a so-so reaction to it.  I wasn’t expecting it to be so thick and I kind thought I was going to barf when I took my first hit.  Luckily I didn’t and I was able to gulp down the whole thing at a red light. The flavor was good and I didn’t cramp or anything from it. I just don’t know if it did anything. Around mile 5 I was really dragging and I don’t think the Gu really helped all that much.

(Source)

I have more fuel to try out during my runs and I’m willing to give Gu another chance. I think I’m going to force myself to get used to it because Gu is a sponsor of the race and will be on the course.  I’d rather not have to carry my own fuel since it’d be a lot more convenient to just grab a packet as I ran by.  We’ll see how it goes.

So there ya have it, my ramblings for the week. How is everyone else’s training coming? Any advice for a newbie like me?

First Week of Half Marathon Training

So that’s it, ladies and gents…I’ve completed my first week of half marathon training, which means I’m fully committed to this race!
This week I had to juggle the plan a bit because I was on vacation and traveling for the beginning of the week. Can’t complain though, because I was running in 70 degree weather until Tuesday!
Some scenes from the runs in Marco Island, FL:


It is honestly my most favorite place to workout because I have all of the time in the world and the best views to take in. We had a yoga instructor come to the house and teach all 10 of us yoga lessons a few morning that week.  We practiced outside by the pool-I can’t imagine a better way to spend vacation! I ran almost everyday, so while I didn’t follow the plan to the T, I did get a lot of great workouts in!
In other running news, I got this baby when we were in Marco…

A Garmin Forerunner! This baby is pure running gold.  It uses GPS locators to accurately track your pace, time, and distance. It can also tell you your calorie burn among tons of other statistics. I’m in love!
Here’s what the 8 week Hal Higdon 10k training plan looks like:

Since I am starting the half marathon plan as soon as this one is over, I am skipping the tapering week and moving right along. I worked out on my own the first week because of the holidays, but I did as much as I could.
This week I started and finished the second week of the training plan this week.
Monday: I was still on vacation on Monday, so I ran to and from the gym and did a total body circuit while I was there. I used the stretching cage to get my stretch on. It was a butt-kicking workout that looked like this:

Tuesday: Tuesday was a travel day, so I wasn’t able to workout.  I flip flopped Tuesday and Friday and worked out on Friday instead and got my run in on Monday.
Wednesday: Half hour on the Pre Core machine while reading my Kindle.
Thursday: I completed my scheduled run on the dreadmill at a 5.5 mph pace.  I cranked it up to 6.5 mph for the last minute of the run.  I was surprised that running on the dreadmill felt pretty okay.  I thought that after a week of running outside in the beautiful sunshine, running inside would be a snooze but I was wrong. I distracted myself by listening to the Britney Spears station on Pandora and thinking of my New Year’s resolutions (post to come tomorrow).
Friday: For the longest time, I have wanted to be a morning exerciser.  It sounded so good to get the workout done before I did anything else and not have to worry about it after work. There have been so many mornings when I’ve set my alarm earlier but I don’t even think about it and turn the alarm off and go back to sleep.  I decided on Friday to get serious and move my phone to the other side of the room.  This way I was forced to get out of bed to turn the alarm off. I got out of bed ready to roll but I decided to do a yoga DVD which made me even sleepier. It was so tough to stay awake and I felt so weak even in downward dog. Note to self, no yoga in the morning.
Saturday: I rode the bike on a high resistance for 40 minutes while reading.
Sunday: Sunday was a big day! I ran the farthest I ever ran! While to many, 3.5 miles doesn’t seem like a big deal at all, it was a huge deal for me. I always wanted to be a runner but never thought I had it in me. My pace was 9:49 per mile, which is a little bit faster than I usually run.  Every time I tried to slow down I would find myself back in the 9 mile/hour range.  I guess that is where I am comfortable now. Every mile-stone I make in this training will be one step closer to becoming a real runner. After the run I fueled with tons of water and a shake of dark chocolate almond milk and whey protein powder.
Long runs mean lots of ice on my left knee and ankle.

I’ve always had problems with my left knee, so I am going to make sure I ice it after runs and wear a brace when it bothers me. Don’t want any injuries during training!
So that’s it for this week’s training, I feel great about my progress so far. I’ll be posting my progress every Sunday night. Tata for now!

Juice Fast Reflection

I survived! Two days of nothing but juice and it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve experienced.

Throughout the day Saturday, I had 4.5 juices, which is much less than I thought I would need.  I was surprisingly satisfied after each juice and found myself not consumed with the thought of food. The one rough moment I had on Saturday was when I went to Target.  I think a combination of the bright lights and loud noises caused me to feel faint and feverish. I took some deep breaths and powered through the feelings and eventually felt better.

I woke up Sunday and immediately checked the scale, I had lost two pounds! While I was not doing this for weight loss and I know that weight will come back as soon as I started to eat real food again, it was interesting to see what not eating for a day can do! The rest of Sunday was pretty similar to Saturday. I think I only had 3 or 4 juices on Sunday.  After a bit of discussion, I was worried that having our first bite of food on Monday morning would be problematic (read: cause the body to go into shock, making you feel sick and miserable), so we decided to have a big salad for dinner, strictly made of fruits and veggies with no dressing added.  It was wonderful to finally have food after two pretty long days of not eating.  We polished off a fair amount of salad then had some brown rice for substance.

Today was not a great day.  I’m not sure if it’s because of the toxins that have been re-released into my body due to the fasting, but I came down with a head cold today.  This is a pretty common side effect during the fasting, but it didn’t happen to me until this morning.  If I still crappy tomorrow, it’s probably a real cold but if not, it was just the toxic evacuating my body!

All in all, the juice fast was not a miserable experience.  Would I do it again? Probably not for two days in a row. Did I enjoy fasting? I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it but I can say I didn’t hate it. Am I glad I did it? Yes, 100%. It showed that I do have the determination it takes to stick to something like this.  I’m proud that I accomplished a fast!

Tips for a juice fast:

• Enlist a buddy!- Having Dan fasting right along next to me made it much easier.  If he had been eating real food as I was drinking juice, I probably would have not had the will power I had. Misery loves company, right?
• Pick a weekend when you can dedicate your time to the fast.-I am glad I chose a weekend that I didn’t have anything to do.  Not having to be around other people that were eating or even outside stimuli was a blessing.  My trip to Target was too much to handle and I wouldn’t recommend leaving the house besides going for a walk.
• Don’t have too many delicious foods in the cabinets.- You want to eliminate as many temptations as possible.

Would you ever do a juice fast?

How long would you want to do it for?

One small victory!

Monday marked a huge turning point in my fight against sugar. The place I work is always scattered with sugary goodies to keep us going through the night. In the past, I was overcome by my desire to enjoy these tasty goodies, often consuming more than any human should. This week was different though. The table was covered in delicious looking cookies, brownies and candy. My first reaction was to marvel at how good they looked and I got excited to eat one with dinner. Right away, however, I remembered my pact to rid my diet of refined sugar. Disappointed, I walked away to do work but I couldn't stop thinking about the treats that were waiting on the table for me.

While I am still amazed at my self-control, I managed to make it 6 hours without touching a single sugary treat. I attribute my success to having banned refined sugars from my diet. Here are some of my other tips to resisting:

-Remind yourself why you gave something up in the first place. If you did it for weight-loss, think about the results you want to achieve and how you can be successful.
-Walk away! Take a step back from the candy jar or big piece of cake and do something else. Take your mind off of the treat and you are likely to forget about the craving.
-Don't keep a candy jar on your desk. Keeping candy at your desk will only promote mindless snacking. If you really want a piece of candy, you should seek it out to ensure you really want it.
-Just say "No, thanks!" It is hard at office parties and gatherings to avoid your co-workers' baked goods. There is nothing wrong with just saying "No" if you are offered something you don't want to eat.

What tips do you use for avoiding something you are trying not to eat? Have you tried any of these?