People who race together, stay together

 Kids, jobs, and life in general put spouses on the back burner. The person who you couldn't imagine your life without suddenly becomes your tag team wrestling partner in the game of life, trading off and collaborating to somehow and someway to get everything done. And when that date day you have waited for a month for finally comes, somebody throws up, a babysitter cancels, or some another mini-crisis occurs. This is the story of our lives. 

So... back to running. Rewind to October 2015. When I approached my husband about running the mini, (this would be the Indianapolis Festival 500 Mini Marathon I so lovely refer to as simply, the "mini.") I believe his exact words were simply "no." (Rewind also to the 2008 mini, Jason's first and only 1/2 Matathon, where his longest training run was 6 miles. This had a huge influence on his answer: ) But as an ambassador for the year's mini, it is my job to promote and recruit for the mini. So I was relentless, and when he said he would do it if I ran with him, I agreed. And for those who don't know me, I will admit that I'm way selfish about running, but I felt if it's my job to promote and recruit, said my obvious reply was yes. So I will forgot my level 2 seeding and a hopeful sub 1:40 time to make this a successful and memorable experience for us. (Although I totally think this guy can go sub 1:40 if he trains rights!)

So intstead of the weekly "sit down", we have a weekly "run on." Of course we start out reviewing our week thus far, what's to come, and plans for the weeken ahead, (our runs are every Wednesday after work). Our runs work on many components of marriage-coprimise, communication, and supporting each other. We compromise a on route and a pace, we communicate on how we are feeling, and we support each other when we are struggling on those last miles. When we are done, we feel like we can accomplish anything in our marriage, and most importantly reminding ourselves who blessed we are to still get out there and get after it at 37 years old.

I asked my husband what his thoughts were on our new weekend runs. He told me that they reminded his of back to the summer of 2007, when we ran together and cooked dinner EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT religiously. And we fell in love over that. These runs are the time when life is perfect, all is good, and we can accomplish anything together. And how fitting was it he proposed to me in the middle of a 5K in 2008. 

But at the end of the day, a seasoned runner with a career ending injury, told me this week, "it's not about the miles or the pace, it's ability to get out there and run." It with my nagging IT band and my husbands pending asthma flare up this week, we remembered that on yesterdays run. We simply "enjoyed the run."

Haters gonna hate

Yes. The weather has been less than optimal. Which has resulted in running in sub 10 degrees windchill, ice, and snow. These runs have been described as "crazy" by some. They are half right, because I instead feel we are "dedicated," so haters are welcomed to say "crazy dedicated."

This is an ongoing word thrown around at dedicated runners and triathletes, (well all athletes). I have been told it was "crazy" that I work out at 4:45 am or run right after work. In fact, once I was leaving on a run from work (on a 40 degree day), and someone told me it was crazy that I was going on a run. At that point, I was so put off by this comment, I simply replied, "it would be crazy not to."

It's frustrating and annoying to hear this, because most these people have never tried. Why not run? You can do it anywhere, anytime  Why not workout at 4:45? Less traffic, my kids are sleeping, start my day out right. Why run in the cold? Or even heat? As long as you are smart about it, why not. You never know race day conditions, as "a smooth sea never made a smooth sailor." And as an added bonus, it's the cheapest way to prevent cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cerebralvascar accidents. #nobrainer 

So I will continue with my crazy 4:45 workouts, because that's the only time nobody needs me. Because God gave me a gift, (actually to many of us), two good legs to run. As a result, I will run till I can run no more. 

New Year, New Endeveours

 I have never liked New Year's. Something about new year gives me anxiety. It's the pressure of finding new things to conquer when you're still feeling guilty about the things you didn't do. But I'm proud to say 2015 was a success. My husband and I wrote our 2015 goals over a fancy bottle of wine, and he said the times were lofty. Looking back at them, taped in the mirror up every day of 2015, I can say we successfully got them. Even the crazy fast times we set for ourselves.

This year we did not set goals or "resolutions." I'm instead trying to live by three simple rules. Strengthen my marriage, strengthen my relationship my children, (FYI LOVING the Pope's Top ten resolution revs on his blog Word on Fire, Catholic or not, worth reading,) and help others.  I did not set PR goals. If they happen, they happen. And it was a TOTAL honor to be one of the 33 Festival 500 Mini Marathon ambassadors, a sign to help others PR this year. So that's the plan.

1) I'm running with Mini with my husband. I DO NOT run well with others. But the hubby is not a fan of distance, but he runs a mad 5K. So with the right training, he can conquer this. We already have three FAST runs together under are belt this year, and loving it. He's faster and stronger the he thinks and not does it give himself credit 😊

2) I hope to have a training run, if possible, with every referral I got for the mini. So far, I have 18 referrals, and 18 friends to get a training run in with prior to the race. And for those who haven't signed up, go to Indy Mini to sign up, and use me as your referral! I can't wait to run with all of you and have fun along the way.

3) Leading a pace go up for Connection Pointe Mini Matathon Program. With 10 Indy Mini's and a few other half marathons under my belt, I'm excited to share my experience. I'm never seen a better program that focuses on the physical and emotional aspect of training. This program is a MUST if you are struggling with any aspect of training. 

And to help some of my newbies (or oldies) get on track, here are a few of my favorite app's to help:

• Nike running. Before I got my Garmin, my personal favorite. Tracks your runs, pace, training PR's, and time/pace. I've done a lot of apps before and this seems most accurate. Cost: free. 
• Map my Run: I've only used the free version. I don't find the miles/pace as accurate. However, I use it to map longer runs out before directly on the Internet, not the app, which has been pretty accuracy. The paid version app lets you map within the app. Cost: free, 2.99. Several other version I have not trialed also available. 
• Walk, Jog, Run: suggested by a friend who used it to track her 1000+ miles in 2015, (BTW-way to go Jen). Tracks workouts and does stars for weeks, months, years, per workout. (I may have to get this one). Cost: 4.99. Apple only 😔
• My Fitness Pal: Best. Food. Tracking. App. Ever. Have everything. Including the Starbucks Cake pops you have no business eating. I finally lost all my baby Jude weight when I used this religiously. And if you have a Garmin with Garmin Connect, (another great app), your calories burned automatically upload.

As for my race plans in 2016...with a family and kids, nothing can really be set in stone. Kids sports and my husband still taking classes, family is always first and foremost. But the Festival 500 Mini Marathon and Monumental Marathon are registered for as my big Spring and Fall training. I am really hoping to do my first half Ironman in July, and will make that decision by April. Aside from that, I will fit in a few spring or Olympic Triathalon and shorter races, depending on my familily's schedule. I typically have do Tri-Insanity, Eagle Creek, and Tri-Indy, but we shall see! I am proud to say I have qualified for Age Group triathlon nationals again, I'm not sure if it will be in the cards.

Looking forward to great things in 2016-Happy New Year and Training to all!

XC is no joke: Dirty Sants recap

Easy peasy 5K-right? Atleast that's what the husband and I thought. But with uneven terrain, mini hills, and sharp turns, we gladly accepted a little challenge. And as usual, RaceMaker Productions never disappoints, with fun swag and a post race beer. #score

Here are a few highlights:

• 9 am start. With my husband a first shift nurse and my 4:30-4:45 AM runs to accommodate his schedule, sleeping in until 7 AM is a dream.
• The swag rocks. RaceMaker Productions puts out the softest T-shirts ever! And if you do two or more races in their cross country series you get a sweatshirt-Which rocks even more than the T-shirt.
• Location, location, location. With this park located in the outskirts of downtown it's a easy in and out. Postrace at the IUPUI Stacked Pickle is just a stones throw away.
• Just right challenge. With my husband and I training less than stellar at the moment, a 5K with extra challenge was perfect. Some sharp turns, uneven terrain, and tiny inclines, kept the race interesting. 

Even though it wasn't a super fast 5K for us, we totally appreciated the challenge, as we kept saying "we felt lazy ONLY doing 3.1 miles." It was a great "date race" for us, as the post-race beer topped off our favorite type of date...a race and a drink.

Post Marathon Blues

It's that time year where I find myself floundering. The marathon is over and frankly I'm just so damn tired. With nothing to train for, sleeping in and skipping workouts is easily done without guilt. And unfortunately my body still is in marathon training/eating mode, so peanut butter by the spoonfuls while returning emails is the norm. So here are my thoughts and ideas in beating the "post marathon training depression," because it's the real deal. And it sucks.

Do something different. It's a great time to try something out new that you always say you don't have time for because it would interfer with training. Groupon, Living Social, or Amazon Local are a great way to try something new for a month or so and stay on a budget.

Strength train. Strength always gets thrown to the back burner. With many days stuck inside, the opportunity is perfect. Right now I'm loving dropping in at VFIT a few days a week and taking what I've learned back to the gym. (And BTW Morris pretty awesome there.)

The obvious. Train for something. Even though it's the off season, there are so many fun races to sign up for. The hubs and I are doing a cross country 5K this week, which gives me a reason to throw in some fun with running sprints for giggles. And a beer and appetizer for all the finishers at the Stacked Pickle?! Double score. For more info on the Dirty Santa 5K, check them out at RaceMaker Productions, they never disappoint and the swag rocks.

Track your food. I would love to say I'm religiously doing this right now, but I'm trying. When you are running 40-50 miles a week plus cross training, I don't really worry about how much or what I eat. But the only time I really loose weight is when I'm tracking, and I'm a big fan of My Fitness Pal. It has EVERY food possible (even Starbucks cake pops), and if you have a Garmon with Garmon Connect, it's can automatically add your calories burned. And when I'm religious, I track EVERYTHING. Even though it's hard, it's important to see that you consumed the 600 calories after dinner or the 440 on Sun King beers.

And with this, I challenge you and myself to get it together. Life is tough sometimes, especially at the holidays. Don't ask for an easier life; instead ask for the strength to live the one you have.

"Good to be alive...right about now"

In the words of Ron Burgundy, I was a "glass case of emotion." Even with this only being my second marathon, I am a huge believer that a marathon brings out every possible emotion in a human being. I smiled, I laughed,  I got angry, and I cried. But at the end, I smiled because I knew I did the best I could.

Leading up to this day, I had no idea what would happen. I had done the training and figured out the nutriton, but my stomach was a mess, and still battled the question whether or not I make it through this race without a bathroom break. I gave up pace goals and instead focused on how far I could run before going to the bathroom. But the stars aligned and the sun gods shone bright, and it all came together for race day. And props to a little help from my favorite pharmacist for helping me figure out my medicine.

So here  breakdown of this monumental race:

Pre-race:
With anxiety high two days leading up to the race, race morning was fun relaxed with the help of the crazy runner girls. ( They were the biggest and blessed surprise is my running life which came to me on Labor Day weekend of 2015.) The ride downtown with the laughter and positive thoughts, and pre-race was filled with pictures and laughter at the JW, (and bathroom breaks of course.) The Runners Prayer with the Saint Malachy Ladies could not have been a better way to send me to the corrals.

Corral B: It was great to see my friend Jen and catch up on life and race goals. She is an amazing lady and a great person to talk to pre-race with a great goal in mind but the same time ease your anxiety. Even though I was anxious getting to the corral was just only 10 minutes till the start, that was more than enough time.

Mile 1-15: I felt freaking amazing.  Fluctuated between 7:55-8:15 miles, 1:47 half split. As much as I wanted to and told myself to slow down, I felt great and felt I can could maintain it, or close. Even if I dropped my last half to 8:30s I could still finish sub 3:40. I saw my family at 6.6 which was expected and motivational, but the fan base along the way simply amazing. The fan that stood the most on this stretch was out at mile 12 entering Broadripple, holding boxes of Kleenex out, because God knows my arm sleeves needed a break at that point! I did get a text my family at that halfway point they would not be at the IMA as through the planned, but I was OK with that

Mile 15-17: Honestly, I don't freaking remember. I think I was delusional at this point.

Mile 17-18: I started to realize that I went out entirely stupid fast. I was hurting, I was mad, and I was sad. I was getting close to IMA, where my family would've been, but got a text they wouldn't make it. Then I saw Dawn, who was like an angel, and gave me that umph. Her sign was the hard truth, but I loved it. That was the first time I cried that day.

Mile 18-19 (IMA): This is a beautiful mile because of the obvious, but started out a little sad because Jason and the kids had planned on being mile 18.8. I told him from the beginning not to make driving around stressful, so it was ok he didn't make it. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't sad, because I was, but I also knew my husband is full of wonderful surprises. So I prayed my runners prayer and hoped he was there. And he was. As I rounded my way to the front of the museum I saw Jude's bright pink tutu. And I cried again. And stopped to kiss Simon, and I didn't care about time I took to stop. Hands down. Best part of my marathon. And I will never forget that moment. Toward the middle of this stretch Andy Grammer's "Hallelujah" came on my playlist. I had that on repeat atleast 3 times because it was "good to be alive, right about now." And it reminded me, I was doing something pretty awesome.

Mile 19-21: The high of seeing my family and choking down another gel lifted me another mile. Then I struggled. The 8:23 pace I needed to qualify for Boston was slipping away. Then seeing Jen and Beth at the Armory totally lifted me for another 1/2 mile, and downtown was in sight. This is also got me into familiar running territory of my days running after my work day at Riley...but I knew the dreaded straight away lies ahead.

Mile 21-23: It hurt. Even my shoulders hurt. I knew a sub 3:40 full wasn't happening, but a PR was for certain, so I didn't push. I focused on making my stride pretty for any race pictures at this point, but I'm sure it looked pretty ugly.

Mile 23-25: Downtown was visible. I stopped looking at my Garmin at this point. My pace had completely fallen off, and looking at it would do nothing but frustrate me. I continued to focus on a comfortable and pretty stride.

Mile 25-26.2: It was here...the fan base was arm to arm and I knew I would see my kids in less then 10 minutes. I rounded the last corner and saw Jude in her little bird hat, Simon in his Bears, and Jason, and finished hard. I crossed at 3:47.2, which was my original goal, and a PR by 8 minutes. So I cried, again.

Post-race: I staggered through the finisher area gathering my loot, noticing many runners being held or laying in the grass. That looked like a phenomenol idea, so many headed over to a nice grassy patch and laid there until my family found me.  And God bless my husband he had my PR donut ready for me devour. It. was. DELISH.

All in all an amazing day and journey. I owe so much to the girls that I logged many miles with that made running fun again. Watching those four strong ladies I met only 3 months ago, cross the finish line in was another highlight of the day. It was a great day to #bemonumental.

Time to be #BeMonumental!

It's here...the biggest taper week of the year. Months of hard work relying on a smart week of choices, trusting your training, and trying not to go cray cray thinking about it.  I drink water like its my job and try not to freak out with my lack of working out and sleeping in, and believe it will pay off on race day. But the perks of this week rock. The obvious, sleeping in, massage with Kara, (who is AMAZING...check her out Bonsai Therapy) and an excuse to eat pasta. And I think this might be my least crazy week at work for the year so far for an extra bonus. It WILL be a good week.

This will be my second Monumental Marathon, with three half Monumental Marathon's prior. I ran last year as my first, on my 36nd birthday, with the thought to do something "monumental" as I am over halfway to 40, (thanks Gina for reminding me of that the other week). Running a marathon definately takes the sting off of being a year older, and as I write this post on my 37th birthday, knowing I am more than ready to run 26.2 miles Saturday and the training to get there, I don't really feel bad being a year older. 

As I said before, with stomach issues aside, (which I am close to figuring out : ), I feel more than ready for 26.2 miles through the streets of Indy. Getting an 18, 21, and a 24 mile run has helped me gain the confidence and figure out nutrition to make this race a successs. The crazy running girls have made running fun again and have pushed to run father (and way earlier on a Saturday) then I ever would do alone. Additionally, I am super excited and honored to run for "Kaitlyn's Krew" and support her memory at Why Not Today. So if you are on the course Saturday, look for me in my hot pink shirt to support the Krew.

And 6 days out weather is looking DRY with sun and high of 56. Considering I don't think it ever got higher than 40 with unforgiving wind last year, raceday weather looks like a dream. And I'd love to say my favorite two letters when I finish, but at the end of the day I just want it to feel good and have fun. And when it's all over, celebrate with champagne and donuts ☺️