COWTOWN 2010: The Half Marathon

Distance: 13.1 Miles
Duration: 02:00:31 (2 hrs 31 secs - setting a personal record)
Avg Pace Per Mile: 09:11
Gender Place: 465 out of 2,443
In my age group (25 - 29) I placed 80 out of 438 female runners
The average female finish time 02:25:00
Race day weather: AMAZING!!!! It was at least 40 degrees, sunny, and little to no wind. So, basically perfect race weather conditions. Three years running COWTOWN and this was the best weather EVER!

Before we left the house, Steve said, "I can't believe we're going to run this." He sounded really nervous and this picture shows it.

My cheerleaders, Cheyenne and Trey. He was on baby duty and did a great job.

Linda's Dad, Jim, drove into town for the big event. And he was so proud of them. After we finished he said that next year he wants to participate in the 5K.

Cheyenne snuggled up in the baby jogger. She took a two hour nap, while we were there.

Counting all races, there were over 20,000 runners!

When the race started, instead of having thousands of runners--rush the start line...Race officials corralled us out. So, I started the race at least 10 minutes past the gun time. I'm so glad they added the corral feature. I was less than a mile into the race and I didn't have to scramble through and dodge other runners -- I should also add I didn't get trampled by the elite runners. Less bottle neck means happy runners! The fluid stations were great. I only stopped at two since I like to run with my own bottle.

I really like this picture of Linda and Steve crossing the finish line. They said that when they crossed they were either going to hold hands or make-out. Haha. I'm glad they decided to hold hands.

Trey and Cheyenne on the roof of the parking garage.

Thanks to my family for putting up with me during this last year of training. So, more to come about my next running goals. Ma-Ma-Ma- I can't even say it! We'll see....

13.1 Miles

More to come, but I just wanted to say the half marathon was a success. It was so much fun.

Cowtown Weather Conditions

It's gonna be a good race.

"Yes - I Will Take Them"

Yesterday, after work I stopped by Luke’s Locker and bought a pair of Saucony’s.

An employee did a heel to toe “assessment.” After the “assessment” the saleswoman recommended three types of shoes. I tested the Saucony’s on the store treadmill and said, “Yes. I’ll take them.” In and out in less than 15 minutes.

I couldn’t wait any longer for the Merrell’s to arrive and really there is no guarantee that they will be here by Friday. I figured, if I’m going to run 13.1 miles in new shoes, I at least want to get ONE good run in and that’s what I did last night. It was wonderful. I’m not 100% back, but my feet feel better.

The back

The heel



Thanks to Trey, the treadmill is in the guest room.

Now, I got my own little gym going on.

It looks really good in there and I like running in that space. I started watching the first season of 30 Rock. I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants and almost fell off the treadmill.

For the Grandparents

Especially my mom and Trey's mom will appreciate this post. I'm sure they are tired of seeing pictures of shoes. Who cares about shoes when you have this cute baby around.


This is when Trey was installing the light bulbs.

He had to use a ladder and Cheyenne was hanging out watching.

IKEA Trip & Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

If you’ve ever been to IKEA you know you really need to make a day trip out of it. Well, yesterday evening we met up with Chad and Katy and made an evening trip out there. We closed the store down, literally. We were the last customers in there. Chad and Katy are in the process of updating their kitchen and Trey went to help with the loading/unloading and I went along for the ride.

It’s easy to get inspired when you see the IKEA showroom. I didn’t get anything big, instead I got a few small organizational pieces. I also found some hooks to go in the mudroom. I want to place it under the mirror, so Cheyenne can use it to hang her jackets.

While I’m on the topic of home living, Trey and I are in the process of changing all our yellow light bulbs to energy efficient daylight bulbs. So, far we have all of the living space converted and one bathroom. I don’t know what kind of home lighting you prefer, but I really like the daylight-white lighting. Some of the new bulbs, especially in the kitchen and living room are dim when they are initially powered on, but after a few minutes they warm up and get brighter. I guess that’s one way they save energy.

My Heels Need Some Healing: Before & After Running Shoes

Merrells Before

After-
Notice the small red mark on the left. That is a chili stain from the last race. Race voluenteers were handing out chili and I dropped my bowl and some of it splashed on my shoe. By the way, that race was three weeks ago and my second bowl of chili was amazing.

Before

After

More Heel Shots of After

Another angel

Brooks Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Another After shot of the heel

Windy Run & Injury Report

My Weekend "Long Run"
Distance: 4.5 miles
Duration: 48:28
Average Pace Per Mile: 10:46
Weather Conditions: WINDY!!!! So windy I almost blew away. Not really, but you get the point.

I planned on running 8 miles, but I have been dealing with an injury. A week before Cowtown and I'm injured. I believe my shoes are to blame. I've exceeded the miles in both shoes: Brooks and Merrell's. Looking back on the race I just ran, I should've known it was time for a new pair.

I talked with Chad, my friend and Merrell rep and he said he'd be happy to send me another pair. What a blessing. The shoes should be arriving this week. If they are not here by Thursday, I'm making my way to a running store and purchasing a new pair to guarantee I have comfortable shoes for Saturday's race.

I really don't know what kind of shoes I will be receiving. I just know they will be Merrell's, a stability shoe, size 7, and I guess that's all I need to know. I've been so pleased with my current shoes, I'm just sad I didn't replace them sooner, so I wouldn't be dealing with this injury. The injury itself isn't that painful, it's just uncomfortable with a little bit of pain. The bottom of feet hurt, especially my heels.

Hair by Erin

Erin has been busy doing hair for the last few weeks. She's in the process of updating her hair portfolio and asked if I could help. I don't know any woman that would pass up an oppurtunity to have their hair and makeup done. It was a nice treat and fun hanging out. Serena took the pictures.

She gave me Taylor Swift curls.

Cheyenne had a good time at Erin's. She spent time playing with all the cool toys!

We might have to cut this off

For the last few days, Trey has been out of town working. He got home
early this afternoon and picked up Cheyenne. We've missed him and
we're glad he's home. I'm looking forward to eating pizza, watching
The Transporter and snuggling on the sofa.

Trial Run: Treadmill Running in the Wee Hours of the Morning

I’m thinking about changing my weekday-training schedule, from evenings to mornings. And by morning, I mean before work, so for most people, that would still be night-time running. I should also mention, this is treadmill running. BLAH.

This morning was my first run on this new schedule and I have to say it was nice. And as fun as running in place can be. I’m a morning person anyways, so getting up a little early and running four miles before my day starts--is a good option for me. I’m just getting tired of passing up time with Trey, in the evenings to run for 45 minutes. I've been doing this for almost a year and it's getting old and I don't want to resent running. If I continue to run mornings, I need to move the treadmill from the bedroom to the guest room. Sorry guests, but I have no choice. Well, actually I considered putting it in the laundry room. Yeah, it would fit too…the laundry room is still an option. For now, it will most likely go in the guest room. Trey will appreciate me moving to another room, so he can sleep in.

So I won’t go crazy…
I need to see about getting a TV connection in the guest room. The treadmill has a built in TV monitor, but we don’t have the room set-up for TV watching…This will change. This morning while I was running on the mill (in the bedroom) I tuned in to ABC’s America This Morning. Who said there is nothing good on TV at 4:30 am? Seriously, that is a pretty good news program and I really like Vinita Nair and Jeremy Hubbard. I also need to see about getting a DVI/Video adapter, so I can stream Netflix from my laptop.

The Big Picture
I would really like to add a sunroom to our back porch and use that area as an exercise room. Trey and I also considered buying a Murphy bed for the guest room, but that was before we priced them. Those beds are crazy expensive, it may be more cost effective to add a sunroom. Surprising, I know. I’m still not going to rule out the Murphy bed….

It's Bath Time

Sunday Evening Long Run

I'm a little late at posting this entry.

Distance: 9 miles
Duration: 01:27:10
Average Pace Per Mile: 09:41
Temp: 48 Degrees with a NW 5 mph
Notes: I ran 5.5 miles on the treadmill, while Trey went out, to run an errand and Cheyenne was napping. As soon as he got back I went outside and finished my run. I stopped the clock during transition.

It's eleven days until COWTOWN! I can't believe it. We were originally planning on staying in a hotel, downtown Ft. Worth. I made the reservations months ago, but after receiving an astronomical energy bill, I decided to cancel the hotel reservations. COWTOWN is still going to be EPIC! I'm looking forward to seeing Linda and Steve next week. We've been looking forward to this race for a year.

This Little Piggy Went to Bed

Since, Cheyenne was busting at the seams wearing twelve month sleepers, we decided it was time to promote her to the next size. Now she has room to grow.

Adorable

Notice she has one hand on the blanket

She kept saying "baby-baby-baby..."

Story Time with Aunt Tasha