Flying Pig Marathon

My sister has been here all week, and we have been hanging out and catching up, so I have been a little distant from the blogging world. I plan to catch up tomorrow after she leaves. But I wanted to tell you all something crazy.... I am planning on running the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati on Sunday. I know I just ran Kentucky derby marathon on Saturday, but I am an addict... hence two marathons 8 days apart. I only live an hour from there, so it makes it hard to not want to run it because of the convenience. So I talked my hubby into making it a little family trip. Cincinnati has a great Aquarium park, so we will take the girls after the race on Sunday. Plus, I told the hubby he could golf Saturday morning if he would let me run on Sunday. We are always making some kind of a deal with each other. I get what I want and he gets what he wants... we are both happy... isn't that all that matters?

Kentucky Derby Marathon race report

Forgot to take a picture of me with my medal at the race, with me in my disgusting, stinky clothes.... so this is what you get..... Not even sure where to start......

Out of the 8 marathons I have now run, this was the toughest one. Between the brutal heat, which got up to 85, the hills that I wasn't expecting with wind blowing in our faces, and being sick, I am just happy I crossed the finish line. It may have been 23 minutes slower then I wanted, but it was a finish and I will take it. I am going to spare you the boring details, because I am sure you can guess what kind of a race I had with all of the crap that was thrown at me. I will just share a few statistics.... For the Half marathon (mini) 9397 finished... the full had 1067 runners finish. I finished 386Th overall, 102ND out of the females, and I finished 16Th in my age group.

This picture is of me at mile 22..... This is right before we went over the 3rd street bridge, when we came back over we were almost at mile 25, which is where I stopped to pose for a photo with my two cute little girlie's. The 3rd Picture is of my nasty toe. I can't figure out why, but my right foot gets the brunt of the pounding. I lost the three middle toe nails on that foot from my marathon in Feb and so what you see painted pink, is just the hard stuff under. The middle toe took the pounding yesterday.... Ouch.......

The last picture is from my hotel room window. That is the 3rd street bridge, which we ran on... it was super windy running across this baby. If you look close you can still see people running when I took this picture.

I of course forgot to put sunscreen on, so I am toasted. I am a little sore today, but not bad at all. I think that is because I walked so much. The last 6 miles were hell, and everyone was walking more then once a mile. I drank so much water and Gatorade. I wanted to be sure I stayed hydrated, and I did. By mile 20 I had to pee again, so I knew I was staying hydrated. I heard siren after siren after siren and I knew it was other runners that couldn't make it to the finish line, and I was determined to cross the finish line and still be standing. I was, and my chip was 4:23:30..... A little slower then I wanted, but I will take it.

"PUT YOUR BIG GIRL PANTIES ON AND DEAL WITH IT"

Call me crazy, but I had never heard of a half Marathon being called a Mini Marathon until I moved here to Ky. I guess this is only the 4Th year or something like that, for the full to be part of this race. Between the two races, their are 12,000 people registered. I think I read somewhere that only 2000 of those are for the Full.

I have a few concerns about this race. Well, mostly just one. The race starts at 7:30. I know.... I thought it was kind of a late start as well. The problem is the weather. The low for Sat morning is suppose to be in the 60's and the high..... a scorching (or it will feel scorching while racing) 86 degrees...... I know, right. HOT HOT HOT. I haven't been training for a specific time lately, just training and running for fun, but I still hope and think I can run the race in under 4 hrs. So if the race starts at 7:30 and it takes me 4 hrs to finish, then we are looking at 11:30 to be crossing the finish line. I am pretty sure we will be in the 80's by then, if not, then super close.

I guess the other thing that worries me is the fact that I have been fighting a cold all week and with the heat and just getting over a cold, I am worried about dying at the end. I guess I am just going to have to "PUT MY BIG GIRL PANTIES ON AND DEAL WITH IT" (thanks Kimmy K) It will help knowing that my Twin sister will be there waiting for me at the finish with my cute little girls.

I have to say.... I ran 5 miles hard yesterday on the Treadmill at the Y. It was super cold and windy here and I thought the treadmill was a better idea with having a cold. Anyways, I pushed hard and I felt really good. I hope this is a sign of good things for Saturday's race.

T minus 4 days.....

So last week my 3 yr old was super sick. She had the flu. The real thing. Running a fever of over 102 unless she had Tylenol in her, she ached everywhere, so much that she wouldn't even walk. She talked funny and said even funnier things then usual. (she is a crack up) I just let it run it's course, knowing the Doc would just tell me to keep doing what I was doing, so I never took her in. But I am certain it was the Flu. Then when that was all over she decided to have a cough and a runny nose.

Well for a couple of days now, I have been feeling it coming on. (not the flu just a cold) I have been drinking EmergenC and doing the Zicam swabs, drinking alot of water and trying to rest. I decided yesterday was a skip church day but I still wanted to run. It was 55 degrees out, but raining. I didn't care. I loved it. I didn't even take my ipod. I felt pretty good, until I woke up this morning. I have a sore throat, runny nose, achy body and my ears feel funny. OMGosh, are you freaking kidding me???? The marathon is in T minus 4 days. If I remember correctly, this happened to me back in Feb right before I ran that marathon. UGH... what is my problem??? I don't really expect an answer..... But maybe you can all send some healthy vibes my way.

Foto Friday.....

It's Foto Friday over at Nike Mom. I haven't posted a Foto Friday post in several weeks, so I thought had better get back on it. This is a cute little pic of Nellie the dog. My 8 yr old was messing with her and hollered... "Mom come and look at Nellie"

I have taken her on 2 runs now. Each only 1 mile. She is doing really well. My hubby takes her for a 2 mile walk almost every night. She loves it. It's the only exercise my hubby gets. He sits at a desk all day (or runs around solving other peoples problems) and by the time he gets home at 6, he just isn't in the mood for exercise. So after my Kentucky Derby Marathon, we are going to start getting up at 6 am together every morning and do the p90x workouts. I am ready for something to kick my arse. I don't seem to do it to myself.

Running Blogs....

The topic over at the Running Lounge today is... Running blogs, and how they help us.


Well, I have to first say that I knew starting a running blog would be very helpful in my training. I had just moved her to Ky from Ut and I was trying to dig deep for motivation but couldn't seem to find it. I know that sounds strange because I love to run and I love to run Marathons. The move had changed something in me. I just needed something to help get me out the door.

What I didn't know was that I would get so invested in so many other blogs and the lives of those writers. I love hearing about your training tips & your ideas about nutrition. I have learned so much from you all. I didn't realize that I would get so excited to read your race reports and that I would literally feel your emotion like it was my own when you describe crossing the finish line. So I started my running blog for me, for selfish reasons, you could say. I have come to find out that even though I never knew I had it in me, I can and have and will continue to inspire others to run. Maybe not run a marathon but to start the journey of a running future. I have had a few blogger's tell me they find my blog inspiring. Well, this just shocked me. I know I am not a great writer, and I know that at times I just ramble and don't make sense, but I am learning that with my honesty and my simple little life of running and taking care of my little girls, that somewhere in there I can inspire others.

So thanks to those of you who read my ramblings and an even bigger thanks to those who leave comments (who doesn't like comments) with inspirational words of advice and comfort.
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You gotta go check out this blog, Tall mom Running is having a give away.

Priceless......

New Running Shoes....... $130

A box of Roctane Gu........$50

Registration for the Kentucky Derby Marathon.......$90

A plane ticket for my twin sister from Utah to Ky....... Priceless

* Since my hubby wont be able to make it to the finish line in 10 days (YAY) I bought my twin sister a plane ticket from Salt Lake City to Louisville (where the race is) to come and cheer me on and to take care of the kids while I am running. I am so excited to have her come out again. (she was just here a month ago)

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I am planning on spending some quality time in Utah to visit friends and family this June. I really wanted to run a marathon while I was there. Turns out, my brother in law and my sister are running the Bear Lake Half Marathon on June 13Th. So I just registered for my 9Th Full Marathon. The Bear Lake Marathon sounds beautiful. I am also excited to be able to run part of this race with family members.

"For the love"

This is something I say all the time around my house. When my kids are driving my crazy and not listening..... "FOR THE LOVE". I am not sure where I got it from, but I say it and it's funny because now the 3 yr old is picking up on it. She doesn't just say the words, she has the right tone as well. LOL-

Well, today while I was running my 12 miles, I kept thinking "FOR THE LOVE" and a couple times it was "FOR THE FREAKING LOVE". Why? Oh only because I felt really heavy and I felt like I was running so slow. My pace was pretty close to normal each time I looked at the GPS, but I felt slow. I felt heavy and slow. "FOR THE LOVE"

How is it that one week you can run 20 miles and feel AWESOME. (last weeks run was 20) and then the very next week you only go 12 and you feel like you ate a load of bricks and now you are dragging your butt on the ground. UGH....

Two weeks from today is the marathon. I am super excited. I am a little anxious because my hubby is always there at the finish line when I run a race. He drops me off at the bus pick up and then he is always there to see me finish and then he drives me back to the hotel. Well, turns out there is a golf tournament that he really wants to play in. I figure this isn't my first or second marathon, in fact it will be my 8Th, so I told him that if he can get a sitter for the kids that morning while he golfs, that I wouldn't mind if he skipped this race. I really don't care. I am just wondering how it works at the finish line when you don't have someone you know there waiting to cheer you on. I am also wondering how I am going to get from the finish line back to my hotel. I might have to get a room close enough to the finish so that I can just walk back. We shall see.

* Update on my brother. He got the results back yesterday. It was not Cancer. YAY! We really didn't think it was, but we were still worried. Turns out it didn't even have anything to do with his Over active lymph nodes either. It was an infection in his Salivary Gland that had gotten really bad. Thanks to all who sent up a little pray on his behalf.

How cool is it when....

...you haven't posted in a while and when you finally do, it is about your brother and his health, and your readers come out in full force to support and let you know they will say a little prayer for someone they don't even know. It's pretty cool. Runners are cool. Runners are so dag-gum supportive no matter what. I am so glad I can call myself a runner. We rock. ;)

So a little catch up on my training. I ran my last 20 miler till the marathon on Saturday. It was the perfect day for a long run too. When I left the house, it was in the 30's. I bundled up and headed out the door. I ran 7 and then came home to get my kids dressed and fix their hair. The hospital was putting on an Easter egg hunt and since the hubs is the CFO, he wanted to support and take the kids. I Kind of wanted them to look cute, so I stopped home for a min and did my thing. I changed my shirt into something a bit cooler cause it was warming up quickly to be in the 50's. In fact I got my first sun burn of the season while running. I didn't think I would need sunscreen when I left the house, but I ended up with a watch line and everything. It was a tad windy, but I wont complain.

I ran 6 miles this morning and it was CHILLY and WINDY. Oh well.... it felt good to be out there. I ran 5 miles and then stopped home to get Nellie the Dog and take her for a mile. She is doing so well. She is back to her normal happy self and now I am slowly getting her to run with me. She went a mile with me today and she did so well. She stopped once to go #2, but she stayed right with me and loved it. I think she had a little bit of a runners high after. She was one happy dog.

The marathon (Kentucky Derby Marathon) is in 16 days. YAY for me... I love taper time.

Life tends to throw curve balls......

First I want to apologize for being so distant from the blogging world. I am sure most of you have not even noticed. Between family being in town, Spring Break, and the Computer being touchy, I just haven't been on as often to read blogs or to blog on either on of my blogs. Oh well...time to play catch up.

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So meet my younger brother, Glen.

He is a very happy, healthy and active 30 yr old man. He exercises regularly, LOVES Volleyball and craves being outdoors. A few years ago he had a very large lump in his armpit. When the doctors took it out and biopsied it, they determined it was NOT cancer. Thank goodness..... but they diagnosed him with something called Castleman's Disease. Anyways... long story short.... he was going to have to move to Houston (from Utah) for several months for treatments, which are just as intense as Chemotherapy. A few days before he was to leave for Houston, they called and told him he had been Miss-diagnosed. They said it was "Over active Lymph nodes". OK..... Fast forward 2 1/2 years, a new lump, this time in his neck. After doing a small biopsy the results came back abnormal. They decided to go in and take it OUT. This was yesterday. They should know more about the results in a few days. After a day of fasting and MUCH praying on the behalf of Glen and his little family (a wife and two little girls and a baby boy on the way) we are very hopeful that again, it is NOT Cancer. So for those of you that have a spare moment, don't forget this cute little family in your prayers, that all will be OK.