Cowtown Marathon

I've done it! Marathon #5 is in the bag! It dawned on me Saturday (pre-race day) that I have done more marathons since Isaac was born than before he was born. Whoa! Moreover, I have done three in the first 24.5 months of his life. That, in itself, makes me very proud. And I am a humble gal... but I feel that is quite an accomplishment considering I am no Kara Goucher.

With a little encouragement from Chasen, Isaac thought of a way to go with me to Texas. NOT!

My travel to DFW was uneventful. My guys dropped me off at the airport after I made us a homemade buttermilk pancake breakfast (something I normally like to do pre-church on Sundays, when we can). The flight was smooth and before I knew it I was in the Lone Star State. Now, I have to admit something here. I am NOT a fan of Texas. There's no good reason other than the fact that I am from Arkansas - aka God's Country. I even got upset after finding out that Chasen the Oklahoman was BORN in Texas, which he chose to wait and disclose after I was head over heels. Oh well! Being that I want to run a marathon in all 50 states, I had to get there eventually. Might as well be now!

I got my rental car and headed to the expo. I am not a huge fan of expo's, either. You've seen one, you've seen them all. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. After a bit of a wait at my hotel, I got to check in. Within a half hour or so I headed out to run three pre-race easy miles. The desk clerk directed me to a local park. There was a safe, concrete trail about a mile long. Three loops sans water (doh! no water bottle!) and I was heading back to the hotel.

A little background info: I chose this race because A) my frequent flier miles would cooperate, and B) a friend from high school lives in the DFW area. So on Saturday night I was going to be able to see my friend Sonya for the first time in 8 years. We last met up at our 10-year reunion (in case you're trying to do the math, I am 36 and she is nearly 36). She came to my hotel and we went to the IHOP around the corner for pancakes and about two hours of catching up and laughing our heads off. GOOD TIMES!

I got back to my room with the chance to get 8 hours of sleep. Holy Cowtown! Because I couldn't get right to sleep (go figure) it ended up being right at 7 hours. Wonderful! The front desk called to wake me at 4:45 AM (a cool 5 minutes before I asked them to). I ate my oatmeal and got showered and ready to go. I left about 15 minutes before I intended to, which turned out to be a great thing because traffic was heavy and I just HAD to find a restroom.

Read to run! To the restroom! Move it, thousands of people! I gotta go! (cool freebie green reflector)

It was about 65 degrees when I arrived "on the scene." The humidity was *gasp* 89%. Ouch. The heat would rise to 75 degrees by the time I finished. The announcer was cautioning everyone to be conservative out there and warning everyone that it was "probably not the day to PR." I didn't like the sound of that, but I knew it was true.

Fortunately there was a breeze. It turned out to be both a help and a hindrance.

I was in corral 5, waaaaaay near the back. I was cool as a cucumber, mentally, because I KNEW that I was going to do well. Training had gone fantastically, and I knew this was my day. Well, minus the hills, heat, humidity and wind...

Here I am, ready and waiting. Get in the Zone!!! (Chasen's St. Jude Half jersey - way cool)

Corral 5 had to wait ages to cross the mat. Here is a pic of the scenery.

Finally I got to run! It was ON! Look out, Texas! People were just flying already, but I kept it conservative. I knew I had many hills ahead of me. Not to mention heat, wind and humidity.

The course was gorgeous. It mostly consisted of residential streets and parks. You couldn't ask for much more beauty (but they could have flattened it all before I arrived if they had any manners). And the historic stockyard area was my favorite part. Just awesome!

The entire first half, minus some challenging hills, was pretty successful. The splits were like this.

Mile 1) 12:07

Mile 2) 12:38

Mile 3) 12:37

Mile 4) 12:25

Mile 5) 12:53

Mile 6) 12:30

Mile 7) 12:16

Mile 8) 12:26

Mile 9) 13:05

Mile 10) 13:33

Mile 11) 13:45

Mile 12) 13:28

Mile 13) 13:10

When Chasen called me at mile 13.66 I proclaimed to him "I am going to set a post-baby PR!!!" I had run the first half in about 2:49, and I thought for sure that I could break my 5:59:58 post-baby PR.

At this point I was focused on getting to mile 20. I can't say that I was feeling fabulous, physically, but I was doing very well mentally (a first for me at this point of a race). I was psyched! The water stops, located about each mile and a half, seemed to appear quickly. I was walking a bit more than before, but the heat was rising and so were the hills.

Mile 14) 12:57

Mile 15) 13:53

Mile 16) 14:16

Mile 17) 14:49

Mile 18) 14:29

Mile 19) 14:53

Mile 20) 14:47

Happy day! I was there! Just 6.2 to go and I still had not technically hit the wall. Party time! Due to the heat, hills, humidity and wind (that was ALWAYS blowing in my face, mind you) I began a Galloway-style method of walking .05 and running .20 and there for a while I was on top of the world. You see, I had done a bit of a calculation in my head and determined that if I could maintain 15 minute miles I could set a post-baby PR for sure. Surely I could do 15 minutes, right?

Miles 21 and 22 were great. I was so happy (yes, that late in a race - a true first for me).

Mile 21) 13:41

Mile 22) 14:05

I was doing it. Whoo hoo! Mile 23 was mentally tough, but physically I guess I still had what it took, barely.

Mile 23) 14:51

By mile 24 I just wanted to sit down and throw in the towel. That was not going to happen, but that's how I felt. I could barely move.

Mile 24) 17:15

I did another calculation in my head and realized that unless I could pull sub-12 miles, a true impossibility at that point, the post-baby PR was going to have to stay at Rocket City. That was a tough pill to swallow, but given the hills, heat, humidity and wind (gee, I'm a broken record!) I considered it a victory to have done what I had done so far. So I forged ahead. Up more hills. With dead legs.

Mile 25) 15:46

Mile 26) 15:15

The finish line was one that you can hear for a long time but takes forever to see. After what felt like a million turns I made the "final ascent" UP the long, spectator filled chute. The announcer called my name and told everyone that I had come "all the way from Mississippi." Ha! I joyously crossed the mat in 6:05:33. People in camo fatigues had been manning the course, and there was a fellow about 10 feet ahead of me waiting to give me my gorgeous medal. I said "I'll get there tomorrow" because my legs were sooooo tired. He chuckled. I finally got to him, and he also handed me a bottle of water with the cap already removed. Smart thinking!

Happy, windblown, marathon #5 mama!

Because of the very efficient runner tracking system, Chasen received a text message and knew I had finished and called me mere steps past the finish like. That was lovely!

Being that the start and finish took place at the historic Will Rogers Convention Center area, the post-race food was located in a cattle barn. Ha!

Get your bananas, ice cream and manure here, folks! (just kidding, there was no manure)

I was then directed by a tiny, hand-written sign to go to the poultry barn for my finisher's shirt, which I had completely forgotten about. There were no chickens. :)

Here's where the true misery began. I had to figure out how to get back to my rental car. I had no "oomph" in my legs and had no idea where I had parked, as I was out of my element, exhausted, and I had arrived when it was still dark. Luckily, some nice fellow runners offered to drive me to it. They said "We'll find it." That was the first in my life that I have ever hitch-hiked. But the nice Fort Worth folks had me there in mere minutes. Runners are always nice. Thank heavens!

Lucky for me, sweet Sonya said I could come to her house and take my ice bath. Once I got on the expressway, I called Chasen and gave him the full race story. I stopped to get a bag of ice and Whataburger (which Chasen loves) to fill my empty belly.

By the time I got to the tub, I hardly felt like I needed ice at all. But I used it anyway.

After I took the ice bath and then got all cleaned up, Sonya and I were able to visit for about another hour and a half. That was a pleasure! She is so funny, smart and friendly. Birds of a feather, you know. HA!

Here is my loot. Much love to Fort Worth!

I love the printing on the ribbon. Too cool!

Beautiful medal that did not pose a problem to airport security, thank heavens.

The total package: pink finisher's shirt, white entrant's shirt, medal and race bib.

Here is the back of the finisher's shirt. I love it!

The trip back home was indeed eventful. Yuck. I was exhausted, as I had gotten up at 4:45 AM and ran 26.2 miles, and we had to deplane and go all the way to a different terminal because of an aircraft problem. So I didn't get home until past 11 PM. *yawn*

And now, the day after, I have only a bit of soreness, yet a lot of tiredness. But this boy keeps me hopping, so there is no time for the marathon blues:

Silly Isaac put on Chasen's big ole boots!

I feel so, so fortunate to have had some many people tracking me and sending me positive, supportive Facebook, Twitter and text messages. I am a very lucky girl! Cowtown may have been a bit slower than I had originally planned, but it was my most successful race yet. To have a positive attitude into the 20's and not hit the wall until mile 24 is a huge, huge victory for me. Mooooooo!

It's Here!

Tomorrow morning I leave for Texas! The good news is that training has gone amazingly well. The bad news is that the temperature on Sunday is supposed to reach 79 degrees. Ick! And it is supposed to be rainy. But -- this is marathon #5 and I am going to give it my all. If you'd like to track my progress either via text or email, click here. I am bib #887. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Sub-Par Running Week, Super-Sized Park Week

This week I had one decent run and three not-so-fabulous runs. More importantly, though, with Isaac turning two years old on Tuesday 2/15, we have had a doozy of a week playing at playgrounds!

On Valentine's Day, with Chasen's visiting mother in tow, we headed to the Olive Branch City Park. Isaac had a fabulous time! His two friends Eli and Jude (adorable brothers) came, also.

Isaac pretends to use the big boy swing as his grandmother looks on.

My two fun-loving boys show off their pretty smiles.

Chasen and I prove that it is indeed Valentine's Day. Goofballs!

On his birthday Isaac received a very cool tool set. He has been in fix-it mode ever since.

Prior to putting "Gran" on a plane back to Oklahoma, I went out for what was supposed to be an 8-mile pace workout. I didn't have a lot of time, so I opted to shorten it to 6. I did a good job, but as I got back to my starting point I realized that I was only at 5.75 miles. Doh! I had to call it quits, though, for the sake of the airport.

On Wednesday I was to do 4 easy miles. It was so gorgeous outside that I thought I'd break out the stroller for the first time in probably three months. Isaac and I headed to our old neighborhood. I just wasn't "feeling it," as they say. We lasted 2.5 slow miles.

Same old story for Thursday... except this time it was to be treadmill speedwork. Three miles is not six miles... but better than zero miles.

This brings me to today. My final pre-Cowtown longrun! 10 easy miles! The wind blew at me the first five miles. Seriously! Needless to say, heading back toward home was a lot easier. I got through it, which is about all I can say. This week, as a whole, was sub-par on the running front.

I have thought about it, and since I am in taper mode, slogs are acceptable in my book. Now I need to focus on rest. Lots of it. My TWO-YEAR-OLD is wearing me out! Seriously - he has started to wake up 1 - 1.5 hours earlier than he used to. Yuck. *yawn*

In order to try to wear him down a bit, after my longrun today we went to THREE parks. The first was super crowded with bigger kids. The second was tiny and uncrowded, but there was a pond with ducks and geese, and Isaac was more interested in them than the playground. We finally ended up at our old standby which was just right. It was a Goldilocks situation!

My boy is getting more and more brave. Aye aye aye!

This time next week I will be in Fort Worth (alone) preparing for marathon #5. Holy cow! Time flies when you're super busy!

My Own 10k

After coming down with a head/sinus cold last weekend, I decided that some time off was in order. Believe it or not, I took eight straight days off from running. Yikes! I am feeling MUCH better, so it was high time to get back on schedule. I was to do a 10k race this weekend, but the only available one was yesterday morning when Isaac's party was to be. What to do?

I weighed my options. I even tried to get a friend to run with me. She's faster than me, so trying to keep up with her would be like a race. Ha! She wasn't available, so I just decided to go it on my own. After a post-church nap on all our behalf's, I got ready and headed out. I was going to run from our home to our church, which is nearly a perfect 10k distance. Chasen and his mother (who is visiting for Isaac's birthday weekend) loaded up Isaac and proceeded to track me along the way.

Isaac loves to watch Mommy run! Awww - that boy sure is sweet.

I did pretty well out there. The weather was just under 60 degrees (gasp! we had 4+ inches of snow just 5 days ago...) so this was my first outdoor run in ages that required nothing more than shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. My goal was to stay sub-12. Overall, I did it!

Mile 1 - 11:14 (no walking break)
Mile 2 - 11:33 (.05 mile walking break)
Mile 3 - 11:16 (.05 mile walking break)
Mile 4 - 12:23 (.05 mile walking break, plus lots of hills)
Mile 5 - 11:42 (.05 mile walking break - nearly done!)
Mile 6 - 11:31 (.05 mile walking break - the church is in sight!)
Mile 6.2 - 2:21 (yes, .05 mile walking break then a speedy finish)
Total - 1:12:03
Average - 11:37 per mile (nearly a minute faster than dream goal marathon pace)

This time two weeks from now I will be on a plane heading home from the Cowtown Marathon. Wow - it's nearly here and I do feel ready. Piece of Cat In The Hat cupcake!

Isaac's Second Birthday Celebration

Today we had Isaac's birthday party! I can't believe that in a few short days he will be two years old. Time flies. Here is the invitation I crafted for him. The Cat In The Hat is his main man!

I am quite proud of my clever wording. I had a bit of help, I have to admit.

I made Cat In The Hat cupcakes. I got the idea from a blog. Can you imagine life without Google?

Here is a closeup of the super easy cupcakes. The hats were made partially of marshmallows.

Every party needs a signature drink. Here are some cat-tini's (Cherry Sprite with a cherry). My idea!

We had, including Isaac, TWENTY little ones at our house this morning. Would you believe that there was not one drop of red icing or juice box or cat-tini found on the carpet? Not a drop!

In the following photo, the unimaginable happened. I got out a blanket and said "OK kids, everyone come get on the red blanket." And they actually did it! It was my ploy to get a group photo. It worked! Now, I didn't say there were all still and posing... we're talking about 2-year-olds here, people!

It's like herding cats... but the blanket also served as a place to eat. No spills on the carpet!

Isaac chose to eat at the table. Fine by me!

His friend Isabel sang happy birthday to him all by herself. How sweet!

Gettin' after it!

After the cupcakes and juice boxes, we all put our coats on and headed out to our big back yard. The kids ran off some of that sugar, and the parents probably appreciated that. Slowly everyone started to pack up and go home. It is amazing, though, how tired a parent can become after putting on a mere, simple two-hour party. Yikes! But it was wonderful and I am excited for his actual birthday on Tuesday. I have more [simple] baking to do! :)

Up, Down, Repeat.

It's getting close, folks. Yep - Cowtown is just three weeks away. All of my arrangements have been made, including my post-marathon ice bath location (my high school friend's house, so as to avoid having to pay for two nights in a hotel for the mere sake of soaking in ice and then cleaning up).

Get ready Texas, my least favorite state, here I come!

One could say that the marathon course has some hills. Thank heaven it has been revised a bit since 2010 (see below). The black line looks a lot more friendly!

Since I totally bonked on my first attempt at a 20-miler a few weeks ago, I knew I had to make attempt #2 a success no matter what. In other words, I at least had to finish the thing! On the heels of last week's successful, yet hilly, 15-miler, I mapped out a 20 mile course. It would be no less hilly... but just HOW hilly it would be surprised even me. But first let me paint you a picture of my day.

Chasen and I committed to helping out at our church both on Friday night and Saturday morning, and I knew I'd be wiped out after all that, so in essence I needed to complete the run during the five hours that Isaac would be at Mother's Day Out on Friday. Yes, quite a switch for this Saturday runner, especially for such a big run which would usually require some support. So I arranged for a friend of ours to be "on call" during those hours. As it turned out, Chasen began to come down with a cold, so he called in sick to work. There was my support staff! Plus, I managed to collapse into bed early on Thursday night and get a much needed TEN hours of sleep. I have been exhausted, people.

I dropped Isaac off and headed out. My course both began and ended at his school. It was supposed to both rain and snow while I was out there (but never did, thankfully). Ick. So I wore 2 jackets and 2 pairs of pants! Mile 1 was very speedy, but I overheated rather quickly. I can now say that I have taken off pants and tied them around my waist while out running (remember, I had others on beneath the outer layer). I can say the same thing for my jacket!

Man oh man - what a course I chose. It was one hill after another. See below.

By mile 12 I called Chasen and I was ready to pack it in. I felt spent. But I knew I needed to build up my endurance and quitting was not an option. When Chasen met me at mile 14, he said "You have to make it to 20, even if you have to walk." Gee, thanks.

My strategy was to make it to at least 16, since I ran 15 last week. But I also kept thinking "Surely I can go 6 more miles. Plus, I no longer have to worry about being done exactly at 2 PM to pick up Isaac." So I got cookin' and was at mile 16 before I knew it. I have to say... while I was indeed tired, I actually felt OK out there. Like, strangely, unprecedented, OK. Wow.

Mile 17 was through a baseball complex, and I have never been fond of running through that area, even though it is pretty flat, safe and gorgeous. So getting through that was just a "grin and bear it" type situation. Then at mile 18 I was back on the "main drag" and could see the steeple of Isaac's Mother's Day Out church (yes, 2 miles away... it is a HUGE place).

I ran into the parking lot at 1:54 PM with 19.31 miles on the Garmin. Chasen also drove in. I motioned for him to go on in and pick him up so I could finish up. No sense subjecting everyone to my sweat! Next thing I knew, he and Isaac were following me around the huge back parking lot as I finished up that last mile. Then we all drove home together! Yay - best 20 miler ever! My average pace through all those hills was 13:09 per mile.

When we got home I was not hobbling like usual, which shocked me. I took an ice bath while Chasen and Isaac went to the library. Then we headed to our church shortly thereafter. I got about 5 hours of sleep that night and arrived back at church at 4:50 AM on Saturday. Yikes! I could not catch a nap on Saturday afternoon due to some home plumbing issues (grrr!) so the next thing I knew it was 1 AM on Sunday and I woke up with the start of a nasty head cold. Figures - I guess all this living has caught up with me. So for now I will take it easy and try to get better. After all, I have a mere three weeks til the big day!