20 Mile Long Run

Distance: 20.3 Miles
Duration: 3:31:16
Average Pace Per Mile: 10:25
Temperature: 48 degrees
Wind: South at 6 mph
Power Song: Alec Eiffel by The Get up Kids

My overall pace was 10:24, that's without stopping my watch during bottle changes, video/photo breaks, and pit stops. My stopwatch pace was 9:54.  I wish there were race volunteers during my long runs. How incredible would that be? Or neighbors standing outside of their homes cheering me on? Or how about neighbors cheering me on with water?!

I stayed close to home, but once the sun came out, I ventured out to the lake. I stopped at one of my favorite spots and captured this short clip. 

The first 4 miles were tough, but somewhere around mile 8 thru 14, I kind of forgot I was running. Sometimes this is good, but most of the time, it's bad because I slow down. That's what happened, but I feel like that's what I needed for this run. The next 20 miler, I will try to be more aggressive with my pace, but gosh it felt terrific to run at a comfortable speed.

After I was done with the 3 hour run, I sat down on the sidewalk and caught my breath. I heard Tony Horton's voice, "Take in the fact that you just did that!" This is the second time I have completed this insane distance. 20 MILES! Tag on another 6.2 and you got yourself a marathon. Dallas White Rock is in 34 days. Bring it!

And this is what I ate to refuel after my endurance run.
Healthy nachos topped with greek yogurt!

Fall Festival

Yesterday, Cheyenne and I dressed up for Halloween and went to a fall festival. Cheyenne went as Snow White and I decided to dress up as a princess. I wore a dress that I wore to winter formal sophomore year of high school. The dress is beautiful. Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to wear it. :)

There were so many people at the festival. Crowds of people! Our church had a booth out there and Trey and I volunteered to work it for about 30 minutes. By the end of the night we were exhausted and I barely had enough energy to put Cheyenne down for the night, so Trey took over. Thanks, sweetie! 

I think Cheyenne enjoyed the lollipop too much! Or as she calls it, POP! 

The Princess Likes to Read

The only way I can convince her to wear this Halloween outfit is by telling her it's a Dora the Explorer princess costume.

I took these photos before heading out to a fall festival.

Pumpkin Eater

Mr. Pumpkin head is a mess and he appears to be eating himself. This might scare the trick-or-treaters. Is that mold growing in his mouth and eye?!?                                

                  

1-2-3

Sugoi Compression Socks

This past weekend, I went to Luke's Locker and bought compression socks. A wonderful sales lady helped me out. Those associates know so much about running and gear...OH, and they put up with customers like me -- After running over 15 miles in my new shoes, I realized I needed a different size. To my amazement Luke's took them back...Great customer service. Now, I'm a customer for life.

Back to the Socks: 

So, the lady showed me a pair and was giving me all the details on a particular brand. I wanted to save her time, so I interrupted and asked about the price. 60 $$! That was completely out of my price range. Good gravy, they are socks! Trey had to remind me they are special socks. He's right. Well, I did not walk out with the gold-diamond embellished pair, but I did walk away with Sugoi compression socks for half the price. I spent the rest of my Saturday afternoon, evening, night, and Sunday morning in them. Yes, I wore them to church. Oh, they were amazing. My legs and even my sore hip/thigh felt like new. 

I know some people don't buy into the whole compression recovery thing, but I'm a believer. Special thanks to @jerilee40. A while back she wrote a blog post that sparked my interest. I know that compression socks won't make me invincible, but I'm glad they will help speed up my recovery. 

Little Dancer

HalloWOD at Lululemon Showroom

Yesterday, after the LMRA 5K we headed out to the Lululemon Showroom. Check out this complimentary workout they were offering --- This is the Crossfit Fort Worth folks.

Intense!


The event was set-up like an outdoor halloween festival, so Cheyenne wore her Snow White outfit. Here is video of her doing one of her favorite things.

This was Trey's first visit to the Ft. Worth Lululemon. He browsed the floor and found an awesome gym bag.

Lockheed Martin Recreation Association 5K Race

Distance: 5K = 3.1 miles. Actual course distance was 2.9 miles.
Duration: 24:46
Average Pace Per Mile: 8:32
Weather: 63 degrees. Overcast and a little chilly.
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Pre-race photo at the start line. Don't I look happy? I guess the tights helped because my pain seems to be diminishing each day. I also took two full days off -- no running and no cross training. I'm not 100%, but I'm well on my way. 

I wasn't planning on running a 5K race, but yesterday Isis invited me and the race sounded fun, so I thought why not?!?

By the way, I love how the lady behind me is wearing jeans.

This race was small. I'm just guessing, but there were probably 100 participants. We started the race on the Trinity Trail. The course was mainly cross country/trail running. I really enjoyed it because I want to start doing a little trail running. I thought this was a nice intro.

I ran the course with Lee.

Isis in the orange running

The weather was shady and overcast. Perfect weather, if you ask me. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't rain, while we were there.

The Home Stretch: Lee sprinted at the very end and I tried my hardest, but it was extremely difficult to push myself. Notice the man on the left, cheering us on....

And at the very end, I grew wings on my head. This obviously helped me finish strong.

And the finish line. I told you it was a small race, but it was so much fun!

Adjusting my hair...

Quick photo with Cheyenne. We were both tired.

Post-Race Photo with Isis and Lee aka The Running Couple. They introduced me to Honey Milk. It's a great recovery drink. I had the coffee flavor and Trey had the chocolate flavor. Cheyenne saw us drinking it and HAD to have some! She LOVED the chocolate drink too.
                   

My Little Shopper

Injury Report

At the moment, I'm in denial-land, but it may be possible that I may sort-of-kind of have an injury. My outer right upper thigh, near my hip, (can I be more specific?) is sore.

Per mile, I'm running a minute slower than my average pace. I'm considering purchasing compression socks. I hear they work wonders and help runners recover faster. In the meantime, I'm wearing my Nike Pro tights. These babies are TIGHT. I'm not sure if they are advertised as "compression tights" but they sure do feel like it. It can't hurt to try, it may hurt not to.

Pumpkin Carving

Last night, we carved a pumpkin.

Chey had to do a taste test.

She wasn't sure about this vegetable.

Daddy had to show her the guts!

Yummy. Who wants to come over for dinner?

She probably thought I was going to feed her the guts.

What else is in there?

Daddy! Don't show me that!

Notice, Trey is smiling...

Gross!

She tried to stab it with the carving knife.

Take that!

All done! Oh my, look at Chey's expression.

That's a little better, pumpkin pie, but next time don't hit him in the face.

I'll leave you with this photo.

Nitrous Oxide & Running in Place

Today, I went to the dentist and got several fillings. Yay for me! The dentist thought it would be best to give me nitrous oxide (aka laughing gas). I really like my dentist, maybe because he's always waving fees like the nitrous oxide. So about the laughing gas.....Whoa, that stuff made me feel crazy. After the dentist was done, I told him, I needed a few minutes to sit and let the woozy feeling pass. After a minute or two, I sat up and then had to sit down again. I felt out of control, but after a while the feeling wore off and I was back to normal.

Running in Place:
In other news, I'm back on the treadmill. For a while, I managed to stay off of it and I was running outside. Ohhhh it was WONDERFUL! One of the reasons I was running outside more often is because my weekday mileage called for 5, 7, 8 milers at a time and running that long in place seems like an eternity, especially when I'm in the guest room secluded from the world.

So, I got to thinking and I thought it would be nice to move the mill (TEMPORARILY) to the living room. The last two nights, I've been able to watch the Rangers game with Trey. He usually sits back in his recliner, while I'm huffing and puffing killing it on the mill -- It works for us.

Who Needs Toys When You Have Spoons?

Seriously Considering It

I'm seriously considering running an ultra marathon next year. I blame Trey for this crazy idea. He brought it up yesterday. He was like, Oh yeah, you might as well run The Cowtown Ultra, plus you won't have to really train too much since you run the marathon this December.

A marathon is 26.2 miles.

An ultra marathon is 31 miles. 50K. 

We'll see how I feel AFTER the full marathon. 

20 Mile Run

Distance: 20.1 miles
Duration 03:16:10
Average Pace Per Mile: 09:45
Temperature: 53 degrees
Note: 53 degrees = glove weather
Breakfast: Large slice of toast topped with two eggs, chopped onions and spinach, and one large banana on the side.

Beautiful Morning at the Lake

Before setting out on this run, I knew I wanted to treat this like a marathon dress rehearsal. So, early on I decided I was NOT going to stop my watch during water breaks, picture taking, bathroom stops, and traffic lights. I held my guns and fought the urge to press pause on my watch, especially during my bathroom break.

The Run:
Early this morning, I checked the weather and saw it was 53 degrees. I figured it was long sleeve running weather, but I didn't think it was cold enough for gloves. Yeah, I got that one wrong. Around mile 8, I made a pit stop at my house and since I was home I grabbed my gloves. From that point on, the run was 10 times more enjoyable. I felt strong, but consumed a gel pack just in case. Mile 16 is when I started to lose a little bit of my energy, but I kept moving.

The run was excellent, in fact a lot better than I had anticipated. The day before I was worried about the food I consumed, wondering how my stomach would react to it. Luckily, there was nothing to worry about. The night before I had a Kashi Pizza and loads of spinach and tomatoes. This meal agreed with my tummy.

After the 20 Miler:
I got the sleepies around 11 am. I was practically falling asleep at the dinning room table. I put Cheyenne down for a nap and then I put myself down. I managed to get a few hours of sleep, but when I woke, I was still exhausted. The rest of the day I made camp on the couch. Well, I did that for a few hours, but that got old, so Chey and I got out of the house and went to a nearby fall festival. Now, I'm ready for bed. Zzzzzz. Goodnight.

HVAC Work

Saturday morning, Trey and his co-workers stripped parts from old HVAC units.

Just a Few Things to Take Along

Because she can't leave anything behind, she has to take everything.

Grumpy Pants

Have you ever had an off day? A day when you were moody, grumpy, and mean? Well, yesterday Cheyenne had that kind of day.

Mama said there'd be days like this. 

You think you have a headache?!?!
These photos were taken in the morning and by bedtime she was growling at me and appeared to be foaming at the mouth.
 

"Thanks Nanaw & Poppy!"

Nanaw and Poppy stayed with us this weekend. We had a great time visiting with them. Saturday, we went out to eat at Gloria's Restaurant at the Montgomery Plaza. Good food.

Cheyenne wants to say thanks to Nanaw and Poppy for the craft table.

Her feet are dangling, so she won't be outgrowing this anytime soon.

Coloring in her Dora the Explorer color book.