There Is Nothing Better Than a Clean Port-A-Potty

Long Run Saturday! Woo Hoo!  This is honestly my favorite day of the week.  Last night, Mike and I met my SIL and her husband for a few drinks, no big deal, we were home and in bed before 1000.  Sometime around 230 one of the neighbors woke me up (grrrr) and I was having a hard time falling back to sleep.  Then around 300 Ryan started coughing.  Finally sometime around 400 I finally fell back to sleep.  When the alarm went off at 600, I was just not ready, but the only way to get to a marathon is to get out of bed!
On the drive to the rendezvous point my stomach told me I should have taken a few more minutes in the bathroom this morning.  I was praying for a port a potty at the park and ride, but alas, I was denied!  Having worked all those years in surgery, I decided I would have to institute operation "Bodily Function Control".  Luckily, exactly one mile in, there just happened to be a Port-A-Potty...I did not care what shape it was in, I just cared that I would have relief!!  I am by far the most lucky girl in the world!  Not only was there a Port-A-Potty, it was clean, it had toilet seat cover, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer!!  I felt like I had just won the lottery!!

Saturday  means it is time for my long run/therapy session with my BRF Michelle.  We have been growing our running group, but something in my gut just told me it needed to be Michelle and I today.  I am so glad it was just us!  I have realized I have a found not only a running buddy, but someone who truly gets what I am going through!  It is life changing to not feel alone or like you are the only one going through these crazy life challenges.  I could go on and on and on about my excitement having met Michelle, but I don't want to start sounding creepy (and by the way, I am still kind of on my running high)

The week in general has been very inspirational and motivating.  I have been feeling fast and I decided I needed to start working on a little speed.  It paid off!  I have come to the realization that I am running almost as fast as I was at my peak fitness.  I can't believe that last year at this time I could not even run a mile non-stop...that is if I had even put on shoes to even TRY to run!!

Let's recap the week just because it felt so good.

Monday: Cross Training- Skiing with my husband!!  First time on ski's in four years...it was heaven
Tuesday:  3 mi outside, in the rain, on purpose!  I felt good to just get out and do it
Wednesday:  3 mi Speed work on the treadmill.  8.5 actually felt good
Thursday:  3 mi Another great treadmill run.  Fairly fast and with some incline!
Friday:  Rest day
Saturday:  7mi run with Michelle.  Lots of hills, but a great way to start the day.
Sunday:  Cross day...not sure what I will do, but I think it is high time I got my bike back in some sort of order and on the rollers at a minimum.

Next week will be back to no hubby at home, so also back to all runs at 6am on the treadmill :p Not Awesome!!!

One thing that is Awesome...Next years running re-TREAT is on the schedule!! August can't come soon enough!

How about some pics to finish off the week

The only post workout pic I have that doesn't look horrible, simply because it was after family pics so I had on makeup and it was on the treadmill.  Plus I felt very inspired that run.

Michelle and I post 7mi feeling great about our upcoming goals

My New Years Resolution A Little Early

So I have decided that I spend most of my time Facebooking everything I would write here. Lame. So in an effort to drive some of my friends less crazy with my constant updates on FB, I will go back to my original plan of keeping this page a little more timely.

I have done some great runs since my last post including the 12 K's of Christmas through Kirkland. I planned on running with my BRF's (best running friends) and in fact did start the race with one of them.
I let her know before the start that my legs were feeling a little itchy like they wanted to just go and she let me know her legs just were not feeling a PR race. We decided to just go with it and see how we felt.
I should have known better...
We started in the 10-11min/mi corral. I promptly lost my BRF within the first half mile! I was so irritated by how slow the herd was moving! I felt like I was either going to run over one of them or trip myself on their feet. So I did the old bob and weave and started going at a ridiculous pace. I never even got to see my BRF on the turn. I was too busy getting around everyone else!
Then at about mi three I ran into another BRF who had started in a faster corral. She was dealing with a stitch in her side so was running a nice comfortable pace. I hung out with her for a bit and got control of myself. But, as I am known to do, the next big hill I hit it again.
Let me explain, there are two times you Never want me setting the pace...on a hill or at the finish, no matter what finish! I attack both like it is my business. In both cases, I want the pain to end. So of course in my twisted brain the faster you run the quicker the pain will be over...no matter how much more pain you put yourself in in the meantime. Good Lord I am messed up!!
Then I hit just about midpoint of the race and I hit my first wall. This is the point were I learned my first lesson in racing more than a 10K, always bring energy!! I went out with nothing not knowing any better and I guarantee I will never do that again! Luckily, the aid station was not that far away! Silly me didn't even know where or if there was even going to be an aid station. As I said, I was lucky and there was water. I can tell you water has never tasted so divine in my life! I of course chug two cups (if one is good two must be better) which seemed like such a good idea until about a 100yards away when I got a side cramp. Nothing major, and luckily I remembered reading recently to run through that pain instead of stopping. It quickly was gone and my race was back on. You may have guessed that was my slowest split, a 1030 min/mi if I remember right.
The rest of the race was fairly uneventfull. I got into a nice grove and found myself in the pack of what seemed to be the very fit 50/60year olds. I felt good just being in a pack of anyone looking fit at that point.
I did eventually run into another mommy runner I had met at my running retreat. Her group kept me at a 930min/mi pace for around 2mi. We chatted for a few minutes and then TOOL came on through the headphone with about a mile and a half to go. Clearly it was a sign from MJK (my other boyfriend) that I needed to kick it into a lower gear and dig! I found my legs and just as I was about to run out of steam I saw my amazing husband and my two beautiful babies! I had an instant rush of endorphins that made my legs go just a little faster than they had been going.
It was truly a magical moment for me!! Good Lord how dramatic!! Imagine what I am going to be like after 26.2!!!

The Babies and I after my 12K's of Christmas Finish

The day after the big race was the first day of marathon training. YIKES!! This would be scary except I am doing the Hal Higdon plan which starts on Monday a rest day. Praise God!!

A pretty uneventful running week but it was Christmas week so busy busy busy.
I was able to talk my BRF's into a Christmas Eve early morning run. It felt great to start the day active! My poor friend Michelle was not feeling quite so good so she did not finish with us. She sent us forward so she could work out her stomach issues alone. Can't say I don't blame her. She is such a rockstar though. She finished the loop not too far behind us. We were still in the parking lot when we saw her run around the corner. I was so proud of her!

Not much to report right now. I am still on pretty short midweek runs and I have seven scheduled for Saturday. We will see how the cross training goes on Sunday seeing as though it will be New Years morning!!

One last thought...Mike and I were just saying that it is almost 2012, I reminded him that it will be the last year of our lives and I wondered if he had any big plans. Of course we were joking, but it got me to thinking...what would be on your realistic list of things to do if you knew this was your last year of life?? I have accomplished so many goals the last few years, and now with the half and full marathon in sight, my bucket is getting pretty empty. Time to start dreaming big again!!
I would love it if you have any thoughts on your last year of life list, just jot them down in the comments. Maybe we can all inspire each other...

Me, Michelle, and Melanie after our Christmas Eve run

Me, Megan, and Melanie after our Christmas Eve run

"Before Starting A New Fitness Program, Please Consult a Physician"

So being the good direction follower I am, I of course made a Doctor appointment!  Wouldn't you know it, after fasting and the whole shabang, they messed up my appointment!!  I am now rescheduled for tomorrow.  I now have an entire list of questions written down.  That Dr. will rue the day he forgot to fit me in!
All joking aside, fasting made me realize just how low my blood sugar goes.  It took me until 8pm to finally catch up and not feel like a Mac truck had just run me over.  Maybe it was a good thing I decided to go the nerdy route and see a Dr.

Another totally Sarah Nerdy thing I have been doing...messing with my workouts on purpose just to make sure I have a backup plan while training for the Big 26.2.  It is so like me to not just go with the flow, rather figure out the logistics and how to make it work.  My husband laughs at my efficiency in everything I do.  It's true though...I could put UPS to shame with my logistic abilities!! 
Today Mike met the kids and I for lunch at the mall.  We ate at one of those italian pizza places and of course my picky kids aren't willing to just eat anything....NOOOO...so I have Mike order first knowing he won't be thinking of how to get food in these kids and I on the fly fix my order to include things that will mesh with his stuff to get the kids fed.  Within about oh, 1.5 min I have the two plates of food rearranged into four plates of food and everyone is happy...this is the same amount of time it takes Mike to find napkins.
I am still trying to figure out a way to translate this skill into making my millions because clearly it is my calling!

I digress from running though....Mixing it up on purpose, yes that's where I was.  I have figured out that runs on the treadmill are absolutely doable with the kids around as long as I am ready to jump on the treadmill the second the movie starts.  Then I get 30min...maybe 40 tops!  This should be ok for a little while and after that maybe I will brave the jogging stroller.  The problem is, within 5min they are beating the crap out of each other I swear!! Ok, maybe they are just leaning into each other, but it still leads to a lot of yelling and crying and me wanting to hang myself!!  We shall see.

Other than that, I have the Big 12 K's of Christmas coming up this weekend and I am looking into joining a running clinic on Tuesday mornings.  Officially training starts one week from today....I am totally stoked to be running for a goal again and at the same time terrified that I am actually going to not only do this, but keep telling people about it!  Quite frankly I am more scared of what people will think of me as they read my blog.  But I think that is part of it.  Facing the fear of opening myself up so much is like negating my fear of trying to accomplish a big running goal.

I have also added two great girls to my partner arsenal of runners; Melanie and Megan.  Here is a pic of us Saturday after our run.  Maybe Next time I will have a different hat on :p

Bad Blogger!

I was so worried about blogging too much....HA!!!


After multiple illnesses, developmental leaps by the babies resulting in less than optimal sleep, hosting my first Thanksgiving, and a trip to WI, my poor blog has fallen to the side!


I'm back though-lucky you!!  


My miles have been few and sometimes far between, but I am still making tracks and getting in a minimum of two runs per week.  Things seem to be looking up though.  I tried my first run with both babies awake.  It was less than optimal, but at least now I know I have the option to get some sort of run in if the 6am run falls through.


Since my last post I have finished my first adventure run which was super cool!  Definitely not something you are shooting for a PR though!  I think it took us over an hour to do a 5k!!!  Even better, I still have a momento.  I bruised the inside of my ankle on the first obstacle and it still hurts like a bruise if I touch it!  That was at least three weeks ago!!


I am prepping for my very first 8K next weekend.  It will be the furthest I have run to date. It is also the first "real" race I have run since 2004. 


I have found some amazing running partners and that is VERY important because I have signed up for my very first Half Marathon!!  I will be running the SLO Marathon on April 22, 2012 SLO Marathon link Just in case you want to join me :o)
The more amazing part is my gut, my heart and my head are all telling me to go for the full...so I am going to start training on Dec. 19 and see how it goes.  I have already talked another friend of mine into training and I really would love to get a good group together!  It would be so much fun to have my friends and family there to cheer me on.  That would make it so I complete my goal one year early.  Kind of makes for an anticlimactic blog, but it feels right none the less.
The super cool part is that it will be the first ever SLO marathon and it will be my first.  Kind of cheesy, but it makes for a good first marathon story.

Here is a Pic of my lovely running partner Michelle and I after our run this past Saturday morning (check out that Packer frame on the back of the hot Lexus!)