Day 1 of my 30 day shred!

First off, hello to all my wonderful readers! I had to take a few days off after the big race this past weekend to recoup and re-energize! I'm planning going on a 4 miler with my friend, Heather, (who is doing the women's half with me in September) on Saturday.

Today though, I finished day 1 level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred DVD. I have been wanting to switch up my workouts basically because I haven't seen much weight loss and I'd like to loose a couple pounds. Anyways, my friend Heather and I watched the first exercise of this DVD on Sunday to see what we were getting ourselves into....our talk was SO wrong! We watched the first exercise and thought...eh that looks like a piece of cake......tonight while I was doing it...I thought differently!

Jillian definitely makes you work our butt of (literally) in those 20 minutes of torture! I will thank her for it someday when I have a rockin body...in the mean time all I can think about is wanting chocolate after this workout....

Country Music Half Marathon Re-Cap

WARNING: In this post I will be telling it like it is. I'm apologizing before hand for some graphic stories! This post is also filled with pictures!

Sister and I carb loaded the night before at their house. We got up at 4:30 AM (apparently that wasn't earlier enough!!) My Race Number!

We left by 5 and thought the last shuttle from the finish left at 6 am to go to the starting line. I 24/ I 40/ I 65 split was grid locked a mile before the split. Luckily I had my iphone handy and mapped another route that took us to LP field. We got their past 6 and there were tons of people still waiting for shuttles.

Lines for the Porta Potty's were RIDICULOUS!

We stood in this line FOR-EV-ER!

Starting line!!! We started at 7:29 or so.

GOOOOO!!!!!

Look at all those people! 30,000!!!

At about mile 4-5 or so, I finally go the "Runner's High" and ran for I don't know how long and then it hit me and I came back down! The fueling stations were great. Had Cytomax (or Cyto-cleanse, as I might put it later) and water at almost everyone and LOVED the oranges and bananas.
Around mile 8 or so, struggling but still trying to smile!!

Sorry this one is a little blurry! Belmont Church Praise Band was AWESOME and so encouraging!

Run Kenzi RUN!!

I'm Proud to be an American!!
The guy on the left carried that American Flag the whole time and the solider on the right wore full army fatigues/backpack for the whole race!

Mile 11 right before the DOWN POUR!!

This part was the toughest for me. Kenzie would reach out her hand to help me along when we would run in spurts...I was in a lot of pain by then. I almost teared up on the last picture from the right because we had almost completed a half marathon!!!

WE DID IT!!! 3 hours 10 minutes and 27 seconds later! I completed my first half marathon!
Hubby, Heather, TJ, Jared and Lindsey were there on the final stretch with signs and cheering us on!!! It was so encouraging and great to see and hear them!!!!! Thank you all for coming out and supporting us!

On the way back to Kenzie's house....took us FOREVER to get out of the parking lot.

* Side note* Here comes the brutally honest part. Skip over if you don't want to read! My youngest brother, who is a cross country/swimmer/ and track star, always told me that a "pre-race poop is totally necessary" well, I didn't have to at Kenzie's and didn't have time before the race. I was fine until about mile 8 or so. The Cytomax (cytocleanse, as I like to put it, was kicking in) and I had to pee so bad. I didn't want to stop so, I just kept going. The more I tried to run, the more it felt like I was going to have an accident. I tried to run as much as I could though. We crossed the finish line and it was pouring the rain so we ran to our car and pretty much sat in our parking spot for 30 minutes. We moved a little bit and I decided I couldn't hold it anymore, so I got out of the car, took an umbrella, and my phone and went to the Ramada inn across the parking lot. I got down to the bathrooms and there was a line. Finally got into a stall and let it all out. We finally got back to Kenzie's and I used the bathroom again, ate waffles and bar-b-cue nachos (random I know. but SO good), used the bathroom again. Took an ice bath for 20 minutes............................
After the ice bath, took a short nap/relaxed on the couch where our friend Leah, gave my legs and feet an awesome rub down!!!! and used the bathroom again. I took a shower and got ready to go out with friends for dinner. We ate at Maggiano's and it was SOO yummy. We had dinner with Jared and Lindsey, Steve and Emily and Amber and Brendan. We had so much fun! We ended up crashing at our friend TJ and Heather's house and when we got there....you guessed it, I used the bathroom again. I pooped 5 times in 1 day...and it was regular poop. That doesn't seem normal.

Today, I soaked my feet in Heather's foot bath with Epsom salt and if felt good! I am still in tons of pain in my hips, quads, and hamstrings. I was in pain all over yesterday but my feet and knees feel O.K. today. My toes had and still have big blisters on them the size of TEXAS! I wish they would heal and go away. I've already drained them 3 times....ughhhhh
Thank you for all your encouraging words and prayers these last few months!! They have been a blessing and even though the after-math blows, it was so worth it and will be doing many more in the future!!!

I can now say that I have done a half marathon!!!!!! Country Music Half Marathon-it's been real! Women's Half marathon-here I come in a few months!

Pace

Ttlrace

Ttldiv

Ttlsex

5 Km

10 Km

10 Mi

Expo Night

Thursday night I headed downtown with Hubby to go to the Country Music Half Marathon Expo to pick up my stuff and look around. I met my SIL there and hubby dropped me off at the door to find a parking spot. Well I would've been able to enjoy it more if he actually parked instead of driving downtown and waiting for me. There was so much to see, seeing that I am a first timer. I enjoyed seeing all the booths but wish there would've been more freebies. I also wish I could've snagged some products to review on here...we'll just have to be patient I guess! I did get a demonstration of The Stick product and man was it nice! Hubby was rushing me to be finished so I didn't quite get to see everything but that's okay. There's always one to look forward to in September and this time I won't bring the hubby :)

KEEP ME IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS!!! Hopefully I won't be swept up in a tornado tomorrow and am not completely miserable running/walking in the rain....4 am is going to come early. Tonight, Derek and I are headed over to SIL and BIL house for a spaghetti/pasta carb loading experience!!!! and to watch the episode of 24 that we missed on monday that they DVR'd :)

Happy Running (in the massive storm) Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon Runners/Walkers! See ya on the flip side :)

P.S. I will have my sweet Olympus Water proof Camera with me and will be documenting EVERYTHING!!!

3 days to go till Race day!

I haven't posted in forever because just about the time I sit down to do it, my hubby wants me to watch 24 (not like I don't want to watch 24 ;) and he says I need to pay attention to it the whole time...aka not playing on my computer. So here I sit, during my planning while the kiddos are at P.E. typing my little heart out! It's nice to have some peace and quiet during a loud day filled with 6 and 7 year olds.

Anyways, back to my training stories. Saturday, Derek and I were in WV visiting my family and in for a wedding of friends we went to college with. Saturday morning, me, my brother adam (a cross country/track guy), our golden retriever (Tanner) and Derek mapped out our 5 mile loop. Derek rode a bike with us. Our track was 3 neighborhoods in all. Adam made me run up hills and run a lot in general..He says "I've gotten get you in better shape for this race" haha...not going to happen the week before little bro! We did 5 miles in about an hour and 15 min or so...not the best but we did have the dog so ya know....

I took Sunday and Monday off...suppose to run yesterday but lost track of time so my punishment was to get my sleepy butt out of bed this morning at 6 AM and do an easy 3 miles. This is the first morning that I have not hit my snooze button in a LONG time...I mean A LONG TIME!!!!!!!!!!! I was proud of myself! I checked the weather and it said it was 38 so I nixed the running outside thing and headed to our complex workout room! (Good thing I have that!) I did 3 miles in 25:59!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOO for me! Plus I also got to watch Saved by the Bell...one of my all time favorite shows! No wonder why I don't see it on anymore...it come on at the butt crack of dawn.

Alas...I am out for a girls night to see The Last Song with friend Heather and maybe friend Lindsey!!! Tomorrow Derek and I are headed to the Half Marathon Expo to meet sister and pick up our racing packets/goodie bag/gear stuff...

Yikes! Getting nervous/excited....hoping that the weather man is wrong and God blesses us with great weather!!

Down to the home stretch

10 days until the Country Music Half Marathon.
10 days until I start my first half marathon.
10 days until I complete my first half marathon.

I did a short train today. 3 miles in 28 minutes! I plan to do 4 miles tomorrow and then hopefully a 6 miler on Saturday morning. We are traveling back to my home state, Good ol' WV, for some friends from college wedding. We'll be staying at my parents house and the wedding isn't until the afternoon, so hopefully I can get in a quick 6 miles that morning. Then the last week until the big day!

I have been wondering about post-half-marathon training. Any good tips? What do you normally do after a race? I've been plateauing lately with weight and I'd like to loose a couple more pounds so I bought the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred! I plan to do that some after the half but I need to keep up the miles because I am doing the 10 miler in Bellbuckle in June. I would also love to get into kick-boxing, zumba, and spinning classes! We'll see! Gotta get a workout schedule that will work for me but let me keep getting my miles in for training.

P.S. Since I'm a first grade teacher, I have to share two little comments from my sweet little children. First: A little girl came up to my desk a couple days ago and said "My mom's gone all organic on me! She buys everything organic! She made me throw away all my snacks and now gives me organic snacks!!!!" later on during snack time she held up her bag and said "Look who gave me organic again! I can't take organic anymore!" SHE CRACKS ME UP!!
Second: A little boy came up to me after working on a math worksheet and said "Mrs. Clark I feel like my brain has been working really hard but I think the left side is broken."
27 more days until summer break! I sure am going to miss those kiddos!

7.5 Mile Sunday and Spring Break Re-cap

7.5 Miles

Sunday, SIL and I went on our walk/run. We started at Centennial Park and instead of going on the course, we went down West End and then to Broadway all the way down until we got to the river, we went down 2nd and up church for a bit, went by the Ryman and then back to Broadway onward back to Centennial. IT WAS HOT! Luckily we had propel and Power Bar Energy chewies! I also was sporting my new dri fit tank from Academy and my "swear by" nike dri fit tight running shorts! While on this trek, I got to make my downtown/Broadway st. to do list, which includes:

• Eating at Demo's
• Seeing a show at the Ryman Auditorium
• Going to the Big Bang-Dueling Piano Bar
• Going to the Wildhorse Saloon to learn how to line dance
• Get a pair of Cowboy boots from a store where you can buy 1 and get 2 pairs free!!
• Eat at The Melting Pot
• Check out all the other music venues downtown!

If you see something that is missing from my list that is a must do-please comment and let me know!

Spring Break Re-Cap

Accomplished List:

• Met Tim McGraw with MIL (Ate at Macaroni Grill for the first time)
• Went Shopping (got new running clothes), Visited Fleet Feet for the first time!
• Ran/walked a total of 31 miles!
• Ate at Chuy's for the first time-GREAT!
• Celebrated Easter with my In-laws, SIL and Hubby. Church service was awesome! Home cooked dinner of Ham, Asparagus, Salad, cheesy potatoes and rolls!
• Cleaned out the outdoor storage closet with MIL-went to Lowes and got a shepherds hook for our bird feeder and other random stuff.
• Went to Radnor Lake for the first time- LOVED IT!
• Went on several convertible rides with hubby!
• Spent time with my friend Lindsey, who is getting ready to have a baby!
• Went shopping at the Avenue in Murfreesboro with teacher friend, Amy.
  
• Cookout with Friends Jared and Lindsey
  
• Helped friends move in this past weekend
• Picnic in Centennial park after church with friends, TJ, Heather, Lindsey and Jared with Hubby! We ate Chipotle!!! and brought snacks!
• Got a flat tire on my SUV :( luckily it was the valve cap that was messed up and only cost us $2.19 to fix!
• Met Kix Brooks from Brooks and Dunn at Arrington Vineyards at the first ever song writers night. It was awesome! Ricky Ray, Walt Aldridge and Kix Brooks sang and played their guitar!
  
• Hooked on the show 24 and from last Tuesday until tonight we have watched all of season 1 on Netflix! We are CRAZYYYY!!!

Hope ya'll have a great week! Less than 2 weeks til' the big race!

*Celebrate good times, Come on*

For some reason, I have that song in my head because I have some pretty exciting stuff going on in my life! After waking up this morning, making hubby an egg sandwich for breakfast before he went to work, I made my self a cup of wonderful coffee (with cinnamon vanilla creamer :), a bowl of cereal and Rachel Ray, I sat down to catch up with facebook, emails, google reader, twitter, etc. To my surprise, Women's Running Mag announced a new city for their Women's Half Marathon!!! AND GUESS WHAT!!!! It's in NASHVILLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was prepared to skimp on shopping for a couple months and save my blow money to travel to St. Petersburg, FL in November to do the Women's Half because it looked awesome! Now I don't have to because it's basically in my backyard (give or take a few miles...well 30 but closer than FL) AND it is sooner! September 25th!! I am sooo excited about this one!
The charm comes out of the center so you can put it on a necklace! How cool is that!!!!

Visit Women's Half Marathon to register! Between now and April 18th Registration fee is ONLY $50!!! I am signed up and hope all of you Nashvillians sign up as well! Even friends not from Nashville, COME VISIT and do this with me!!!


I am as equally excited/nervous that my first half marathon is only a few short 16 DAYS AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for training today, I began outside. It was really windy and a little bit chilly. Tut Tut..looks like rain

This is my house!
I did 1.5 miles outside and decided to do the other 3.5 inside to total 5 miles in 55 minutes!

Then after finishing my run/walk, I did 30 minutes of strength training and yoga on my Wii Fit!
Today's workout was so great! I felt great about it!

Tonight we are going here: Arrington Vineyard to hear Kix Brooks (from Brooks and Dunn) sing for FREE! He is the co-owner of the vineyard and it's going to be outside! I am soo excited for this too!

Wonderful Tuesday!

Spring Break has been absolutely great so far! Here are some things that I've done:

1. Met Tim McGraw at his new book signing.
2. Went shopping with my mother-in-law and sis-in-law.
3. Ate at Chuy's in Coolsprings for lunch with the above in #2.
4. Went to beautiful Radnor Lake with the above in #2.
5. Had a wonderful smoothie from Smoothie King after Radnor Lake!
6. Beautiful Easter Sunday service at church and lunch/walking with family afterwards.
7. Went to Lowe's with my Mother-in-law and got some cool stuff. (Hook for birdfeeder, my fav)
8. Cleaned out the outside storage closet, changed air filters, changed lightbulbs, etc.


9. Walked/ran 3.5 miles today in the neighborhood where my school is located. It was fun and exhausting. LOTS OF HILLS!!!! and when the wind wasn't blowing, the sun was super hot. Good thing I wore sunscreen!



Still on my to-do list on SB:
1. a couple convertible rides with hubby.
2. Visit with my friend, Lindsey.
3. Shopping trip to The Avenue (Murfreesboro) with my teacher friend, Amy.
4. Laundry, Kitchen, our bathroom (cleaning)
5. Watch Hubby at his bowling league on Wednesday night.
6. Do some more training and long run/walk on Saturday.
7. RELAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8.75 miles at Radnor Lake

Yesterday, MIL (Mother-in-law, Sandy), and I went on a 2 mile brisk walk before hubby got up and Kenzie (SIL) got here! We had a full day of fun shopping and gallivanting around Cool Springs and the Brentwood area! I got some new running shorts and shirts from Academy Sports and TJ MAXX!! Sister went to Fleet Feet and got new shoes....I'm so jealous! I'm definitely getting my next pair there!! The service was excellent and I was watching the girl like a hawk when she was talking to Kenzie and having her try on the shoes, walk and jog in them! I was so intrigued!

Today, Kenzie, Sandy and I went to Radnor Lake to do our long walk/jog! We did 8.75 miles and Sandy did all of it with us! Halfway through we stretched, ate a powerbar recovery (I was starved and couldn't wait until our training was over!!) and tried a powerbar energy fruit chew! They were really good and gave us just enough boost! I believe that this might be my new favorite place to walk/run in Nashville. Although, I do love the trail off of Concord Road!!!
Enjoy my pictures, taken from my iphone!

I love that this road is closed except for the park workers

Isn't this just beautiful?????

Let's go Kenzie and Sandy!!!!

Look at the row of turtles sunning themselves!!

We are so ready for the Music City Half in 3 weeks!!!! Well almost ready!!

We are also planning on doing the Bellbuckle 10 miler in June and the half marathon in Murfreesboro, TN in October so far. I would love to do the Women's Half Marathon in St. Peterburg, FL in November! We'll see how the budget is and if I can swing it!