Another Milestone Met!

What a fabulous weekend! I not only reached another milestone in my running but also had the chance to spend quality time with Chelsea at the lake house.

When my alarm went off at 3:50 this past Saturday morning I jumped out of bed ready to run 18 miles! Believe it or not I actually look forward to my long runs on Saturday mornings despite the anxiousness (I'm not sure that's a real word, but this is a fun blog; no need for a grammar lesson) I start to feel during the week. I have my Friday night rituals and enjoy getting my running gear all layed out on my kitchen table. I eat the same thing (a whole wheat english muffin with a smear of peanut butter and a banana if its a longer run) every Saturday morning before I head out. Naturally, I arrive about 20 minutes early because I get so anxious sitting at home. For some reason I'm afraid of traffic at 4:30 in the morning, I mean, I do live in Houston so you really never know if that will happen...

So off we went at 4:50am! I'm so so glad that the weather is starting to cool down! By cool down I mean it was 73 when we started running and still below 80 when we finished. That is very cool compared to the 83 it was just a few weeks ago and closer to 87 by the time we finished. Houston Fit has fabulous coaches and they set up great routes for us. We ran from the Memorial Park area, around Rice University, down near the Med Center, out by the Zoo, and back! We also had 4 water stops so that was especially nice since they had snacks and restrooms available at each stop. I thought the food really made a difference this time even though it was just a few pretzels with peanut butter and M&M's. During my 15 mile run I was so hungry!

All in all, I felt great after finishing! It's kind of crazy to think about because I drive about 22 miles to my client every day, so just 4 more miles and I could have run there!

After my run I came home, stretched, and took a nice little nap :) This too has become part of my Saturday ritual.

Chels and I had planned on going to the lake for a much needed girls weekend so we got started by having lunch at Johnny Rockets (amazing hamburgers!) and doing a little shopping in The Woodlands. We always seem to run into fun adventures together :) And actually this month it will be 7 years that we've been friends! Wow! Ok, not only do I feel old but so blessed to have such a fabulous friend in my life! Now that I think about it, the first night Chels and I "bonded" was on a shopping outing to Walmart just a few days after we started our freshman year at Trinity. Hahaha... Anyway...I digress... So we headed back to the lake house with pizza, wine, and the Hannah Montana Movie. We almost left Kroger's with a puppy, but decided maybe that wasn't such a smart decision. I love hanging out at the lake house. I think it's in my top 10 favorite places ever. (I'll have to use that as a blog topic tomorrow)

What a fabulous weekend! I was definitely not ready to start the work week but I had a change of attitude after a great arm workout this morning coupled with an amazing new breakfast discovery! All of you (all 5 of you who follow my blog ;) ) need to try Lean Cuisine's new breakfast pannini's! I had a sausage, egg, and cheese pannini. It was AMAZING!! I don't know the last time I was so pumped about Lean Cuisine food! The part that makes it all so yummy is that the bread is some kind of cinnamon something or another. Seriously. Amazing. I can't wait for breakfast again tomorrow!

10 and 13 Mile Weekends

So I kind slacked a bit last week by not posting my run but here's a quick recap: We ran 10 miles last Saturday and it went by so fast! After the 15 mile weekend before, it was a nice break for sure. After the first 3 miles, then I start to feel a lot better and get into a good rhythm.

This past week the running coach sent out emails regarding the importance of cross training so I decided to take a break from running one night this week and did the elliptical for the specified number of minutes instead of running. I'm also looking at trying out a few yoga or Pilate's classes at the gym. I've always been curious about these and I really need to work on my flexibility.

This weekend I ran 13 miles on Saturday morning. This particular route seems to be a bit harder than when we run out the other direction. Maybe it's all mental now though... After I finished up the run this morning, my knee felt a bit sore and achy. Its been bothering me a little throughout the day, but I think with some ice and rest it should be ok.

Nothing else too exciting going on recently....18 miles next weekend!! I'm already nervous and excited!

A few summer adventures

Ok, so I've been meaning to add a few pictures of the summer and to blog about other things beside running. So here is my summer in a nutshell :

Colorado Reunion

This was in Denver where a big group of my PC got together for a Sigma reunion. We all stayed at Whitney's cabin up there and got to catch up on life. We rafted, hung out, ate, drank and had a great time. A fabulous weekend :) I realize I don't have a group picture of everyone... Below you can see a bit of the tree's and mountains along with Laura and I bundled up because it was COLD!!

Saturday Fun Day!!

This is a picture of Chelsea's Fun Day Birthday Celebration. We had a wonderful day beginning with brunch at a Shade, a cute restaurant in the Heights followed by antique/boutique shopping in the area. We also had yummy cupcakes at Sugar Babies and ended the day with at Miller Outdoor Theatre where we grilled hot dogs and listened to the Houston Symphony. Seriously, one of my most favorite days in Houston! Below you can see Ol' Smokey? or Little Smokey and the theatre.

Happy Birthday Tia-Lupe!!

Next was my summer vacation home! We celebrated my Tia Lupe's 50th birthday with cake and of course Margaritas!! I had a blast that weekend with lots of laughing, family, and food. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing family. And, as my grandpa used to say " I just don't understand why God didn't make me rich instead of so good looking?!" You can't have it all right! It was so nice to be home and spend time with all my family including my hilarious cousin Jack. Every time I see him I come back with one of his Jack-ism's. This year it was " Aaaand what am I going to do/eat/see?". You have to stress the 'and' and 'I'.

Touring Olympia

I got to spend a little while longer at home so mom and I toured Olympia one day and you can definitely see my mom was meant to be a model. Look at her pose like one :)

So that's my summer so far, I just need a picture of a pool and me in my super cool running gear and it will be complete :)

Longest Run to Life!

Yesterday morning (starting with my alarm set for 3:55 am) I logged the most miles of my life. Ok, I may sound a bit dramatic, but I think 15 miles is quite the feet (ha...get it...Chels, I think you might enjoy that :) )

Let me start at the beginning of the week...Sunday afternoon I left for Barton Creek Resort (just outside of Austin) for new senior training. This resort is actually really nice and recommend it for families. They have scavenger hunts, game rooms, and of course a really really nice pool. The golf course is supposed to be a good course as well. Last year Dennis Quaid was there at the same time we were.

Anyway, I was actually really excited about training (we call it Accounting Camp) because its a nice getaway from work and its good to catch up with other D&T friends. I actually completed all of my runs, but did not eat the healthiest things while I was there. No biggie, but I was a little nervous about what my body would do after eating/drinking during the week. I tried to keep hydrated but had to get up every hour during class to go to the bathroom. I felt bad for having to get up so often, but I figured it was better than being dehydrated on Saturday.

After a fabulous week of Mexican food, cupcakes, Thai food, amazing desserts, and good times with friends I drove back Friday afternoon and got ready for my run early Saturday morning.

At the beginning of the season one of the Houston fit coaches said the hardest distance to get over would be 6 inches, the six inches in between your ears. In other words, it's all mental. If you're training right then the biggest hurdle should be getting over the mental aspect. I really think this is true.

Fifteen miles sounds like so much, and granted this run was long and could have gone more smoothly had I been taking better care of myself during the week, but I did it! And I felt good after! I was definitely ok with not running further this weekend, but I think training is going well and I'm pretty proud of myself so far.

Next week we drop down to 10 miles, then step up again. After next week we will practically be running a half marathon every weekend up until a week before the marathon!

Twelve and Counting

Earlier in the week I was thinking, as I'm sure may of you do, what am I doing--really? Why would I want to keep up this hectic schedule for 15 more weeks?! But after every run I realize more and more why I actually enjoy training. Crazy, yes, but start running and I think you'll understand.

Some background on my running schedule:
Using the Houston-Fit Schedule Monday's are optional easy run days. We are to run Tuesday-Thursday, right now 30-45 min runs with some speed work/hills/tempo training. Friday's before Saturday long runs are always always rest days and Sunday's are rest or cross training days. Thanks to my wonderful work life this past week has been busier because of the quarter review so I didn't get to run on Tuesday or Wednesday. By Thursday I was getting a little cranky and anxious because I hadn't been able to run the other two days. Chelsea and I had planned on running Thursday which was nice because I was getting my run in and quality girl time as well. Oh-on my Monday night run I happened upon Joel Osteen and his wife riding bikes! I saw them and thought they looked familiar but I couldn't place them, partly due to the fact that I was out of breath and running at super speeds ;) My first star sighting on a run!

Saturday morning's run was set to start at 5:30 am which meant that I had to wake up at about 4:15 to get ready and be at the park. We ran in the Heights which is also a fabulous area to run in. This is probably my favorite neighborhood in Houston. Each of the little bungalow's have their own personality and all the houses just look great together. This run has also been my favorite so far because I ended up running with a group of 4 other ladies who were all pacing at a good pace. We also found out we are all doing the San Antonio Marathon so that was even more exciting because this way we can train together as well as run the actual marathon in our group.

So 12 miles in total on Saturday! I felt good after this run as well. I was absolutely drenched by the time we were done, from my head to my toes. I've gotten more comfortable with my hydration belt as well. I'll have to take a picture of my cool running outfit and post for everyone to see :)

Next Saturday's run will be the longest run I will have ever completed. A full 15 miles! I'm excited an anxious already but I have confidence that I'll be able to do it! This next week I'll be at national training in Austin out at a really nice resort so I'm excited to run a few Austin hills before the big run on Saturday!

10 Mile Weekend!

This week has been b-u-s-y!

At work we've been working on our quarterly review so that's always a hectic time. I finished archiving the workpapers from my last client, so all in all a busy work week. When is it not right?

This past Wednesday was supper lover's day! Supper Lovers is the supper club Chelsea and I started when I moved here last year. This past week Chelsea hosted and it was amazing! This was the only day I missed running what is on our schedule. It was only an easy 3 mile run, but I felt guilty for not running that day.

This morning I woke up at 4:45 am. YES- 4:45 AM to get to Memorial Park to meet the running club for our 10 mile run. We ran through the tanglewood neighborhood, just a block over from where I live. These houses are absolutely gorgeous and its always nice to run in that area.

I was a little slower today but I think it's because I started off a little too fast. I've decided to stay right near the running coach for my group who paces right at 10:30/40 mile. This makes complete sense now as I write it out. I also decided that I need to make sure my back to bottles on my super cool hydration pack stay full so that my belt doesn't start to ride up towards my waist. For this run I also had my I-shuffle with me this time even though we're not supposed to be running with headphones. The head coach didn't say anything when we stopped at our water station, so I think it's ok.

Because it was such a long hectic week, even though it was hard waking up at 4:45 this morning, I felt like this long run was a great way to get out all of that energy or anxiousness that builds up during the week.

Total Mileage this week: 19! (Monday-Saturday)
On to 12 Miles on next Saturday's run!

8 Mile Group Run

This past Saturday I ran my first group run with Houston Fit. Early on I decided that I needed to join a running group in order to reach my marathon goal. I needed the additional motivation, accountability, and pretty much I'm too lazy to organize an 18 mile run.

I was quite nervous last week when I found out the "Fall Marathon Group" had actually started training the 2nd week of May!! This meant I was 2 months behind them! I spoke with one of the coaches and she reassured me that I would be able to run with the fall group but may not be able to do their distance runs initially. After research and talking to my friend Laura (who is pretty darn amazing and has several marathons under her belt now) I decided I would be fine and really 18 weeks was still plenty of time to prepare. It's not like I hadn't been running and since I've already completed two half marathons I felt like I would be fine joining in this group.

I showed up promptly at 5:40am at Memorial Park with my hydration belt in hand. (Note that the next 18 weeks of my life will pretty much revolve around training for this biznass. Yikes. there goes my social life. Ok, lets face, I don't really have one to begin with, so better yet, it gives me an excuse to not be social ;) Just kidding.) I show up, find my group and introduce myself to a few people, mainly the "red" group coaches so I know who to keep up with. ("Red" group is for the 10min+ runners for the marathon).

Off we go! I stayed right behind the coach and another older woman who were chatting the whole time so I got to overhear their conversation while running, keeping my mind off the fact that 1. its 6am and 2. I'm about to run 8 miles (with plenty-o-hills). We're technically not supposed to run with headphones on in running club, although several people still were. I did not want to break the rules on day 1 and get kicked out.

We ran through a nice Memorial neighborhood to the Allen Parkway area doing the "clover leaf" which included several good hills and over passes. We had a set water break at about the 4mile point where I also took some "gu blocks" to fuel up for the remaining run.

All in all everything was great, we kept a good 10:30 pace for the 8 miles.

Next week is a 10 mile hills route! Woo!