"A Wink and a Smile"

Just prior to the start ... I'm a little cold, but anxious to begin.   One of my cheerleaders ... I love this photo.  Even my 16 year old still loves her MAMA! My five girls, my sister, and my mom helped hand out water cups.  They were so into it!!!! This guy WON the FULL 26.2 mi Marathon!  He started the race a little before the Half folks (me), but he finished near the same time as me.  This KENYAN can run! Here I come ... I can see the finish and I am starting to sprint (at least I felt like I was). My finish (2:22) and the Kenyan (2:29).  He ran twice as much as me.  I guess I can always do better ;) It was all worth it.  My family was there to support me.  Thanks especially to my husband who allowed me the time to train ... it was all consuming ;)  He also snapped some great pics.

SPLITS MILE TIME AVG. PACE 1 9:11 9'11"/mi 2 18:37 9'26"/mi 3 27:41 9'03"/mi 4 37:00 9'20"/mi 5 46:18 9'18"/mi 6 55:07 8'48"/mi It may not have been my fastest average, but it felt pretty good for a 6 mi run. I think I was most pleased to see an 8:48 split on my last mile. I'm ready for that 1/2 MARATHON on 3/4/12. Because it is my very first HALF MARATHON, I don't have big goals, but seeing that I can keep my average under 10 per mile (I did it last week with my 13.2 mi run), I would like to see a finish with an average under 10. BRING IT ON!!!!!

Little Rock Marathon 2011 by emommy5 at Garmin Connect - Details My FIRST MARATHON Yes, it was just a "relay" (leg #2/4 and the 2nd longest) It wasn't my fastest run, but it was consistent It was really cold for me (32 degrees and windy) I had a cold (coughing and nose gunk) I felt strong I felt proud to finish Ready to move onto the HALF MARATHON !!!!!!

I've been a little busy (nothing new there). After a 2 month hiatus from running, I started back up at the beginning of February. IT wasn't even 2 weeks later that I was (*volunteered*) asked to join in on a relay marathon for Little Rock. I said (gulp) YES! I'm leg 2 of the 4 runs and will be doing 6.9 miles. I'm doing it for two reasons ... I'm 40 and this was something I said I would do for myself in the year I turned 40 (guess 3 weeks later isn't too soon), and I heard the medals that they give out are HUGE !!!! With all this running, I've noted some hints of SPRING in my garden. I love seeing the bit of color peek out when most everything looks brown and sad. Bring on the color and the nicer weather ... I AM READY!

My husband bought me a GARMIN for my birthday. It's a bit more complicated (to me) than the NIKE + that I have been utilizing. This picture shows me trying to find a satellite. I guess I moved all over my home property to locate it. OR ... maybe I had no idea that I was STILL trying to locate anything while roaming. What's comical about this picture is that in real life I pretty much run all over. There are no straight lines in my day. THIS MOMMY IS ALL OVER THE PLACE!

The world is awake ... there are cars on the road and people outside walking/running Even at 6am, there is still some HEAT out there ... 80 degrees with 87% humidity (still sweaty) Senior citizen males (walking about) predominantly wear khaki shorts and white T's (this is no joke) If you run circles in a neighborhood you will start to wave hi to the same people (feeling a little silly after the fact) Crossing the highway to run to the other side brings a different crowd of runners (a little younger and a little faster on their feet) Squirting a water bottle too hard may result in water going up the nose instead of down the throat ... oops There are a lot of opportunities to run through the automatic sprinklers at this hour ... hope no one saw me I still sweat and still have to peel soaking wet clothes off at when I get home ... ick I didn't see any raccoons like I had just yesterday ... 3 BIG ones who looked me straight in the eye Getting home at 7:25am after 5.63 miles felt g...

Sure it wasn't a big one ... just a 4 mile run. BUT, I did get a medal and it was 1st place for my age group ... 30-39. I felt confident about running this race. I've done 4 miles with no issues so many times. However, this time my run was on a very hilly path. Couple this with being my first run and not knowing exactly how to pace myself put me in a tricky spot. I went out rather easy, but found myself looking ahead and not where I usually put my focus on. I saw people (especially noting women) ahead of me and breaking away. Me, I was stuck next to an 8 or 9 year old boy. I love little kids, but this one was annoying the heck out of me. He kept stomping his feet aside of me. Sometimes he would slow down, but then he would quickly race ahead of me and zigzag in front of me. A few times he even jumped up to hit trees so that the water would come down above us. Did I mention it was raining at the beginning of my run? Did I mention that I've been suffering with a co...

This was my BEST MONTH ever for RUNNING that is. The month total was 59.83 since March 17th. This week was 19.85 miles. I'm feeling better about what I can do. Now I just need to really figure out the best way to train properly. I'm always up for suggestions. I also need to eat better. Somehow I gained 4 pounds this month. Don't even tell me that muscle weighs more than fat. No girl wants to hear that one. Next up ... (((GULP))) real races ... 5K, 10K, half marathon. I still can't foresee a full marathon. I have to be completely nuts for that, and I'm not quite there. Or maybe I am?

HEY, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, ... Some commenter mentioned how his dancin' was creepy. NONSENSE, I say! The man is 41 and sounds great AND looks great. PLUS he makes me want to run on my treadmill. AND, I know who MISTER MISTER is (LOL) So that make's him pretty great in my books ;) *move onto the black area to find the PLAY arrow ;)

I know it isn't a HUGE deal to those MEGA runners out there, but I have been improving. SUDDENLY, I feel like running further. Running FASTER. It's CONTAGIOUS! How far will I go?

NAKED! Not sure if there is a little glitch with the nike+ site, but it's bizarre. or MAYBE, there is someone telling me that I need to pay more attention and actually RUN! Hopefully another RUN today ...

I'm taking a few minutes to update the blog while eating my shredded wheat and rice milk ... sounds yummy, eh? I just got three little girls off to school while the other 2 are waiting on me to start their day. Homeschooling is getting a little better. This school year had a shaky start, but we seem to be settling into a groove now. I put on my running shoes the other day for the first time in a few weeks. We've had so much rain and mostly that was my excuse for not running. Yesterday I had a pretty good run while listening to "A Wrinkle in Time" on my iPod. I find that stories and podcasts are much more stimulating to me than music while I run. I always get bored with playlists and after a few songs, I feel like I am watching the clock. It has also helped to have some sunshine ;) Swim team is starting to get busier. We just had our first meet 1.5 weeks ago and we will have one this weekend. The girls did great at the first one ... really cutting their times from the...

Most of the time you will hear me say that I love to exercise. That might not be the whole truth. I love the way I FEEL and LOOK after I exercise. The during part is what I HATE. It was a struggle when I was younger ... when I swam.  Back then I had coaches to push me which made it nearly impossible to not give it my best. Even then I can recall reciting the lyrics to songs to make the time go by faster.  Today I don't have a coach and it's all up to me. Sometimes I count songs or take a peek at what my Nike + reading tells me.  The beginning few weeks always takes me a while to build up to a level.  One where I hit my zone and don't notice as much the time or distance. Right now I am in the beginning (again) stage where I count, look at the time, and secretly hope that I just make it a little further than last time.  The "zone" would come a little sooner if I didn't take so many days off and my "last times" weren't so far apart. This is the we...

Apparently all this lack of running is making me sluggish. That, and I am now a couch potato. I need to get my run on. I guess it has been a week. WHERE DID IT GO?

I love the start of a new year ... resolutions, de-cluttering,  and all those goals. After a 3 week hiatus from exercise (bad, I know), I started back with my running.  My husband will go full force into his P90x and I will likely do some of the workouts with him.  YOGA was really my favorite and the kickboxing was pretty good too.  I know the program works.  After a few weeks of working out with it, I was really seeing some changes.  My only issue is that life happens (so do excuses) and everyday exercise is not always priority to me.  Taking this on just at the start of Thanksgiving and Christmas was tough too.  I was also missing my running because while doing P90x, I just couldn't squeeze that in as well.  There were just not enough hours in the day. SO, starting on January 1st, I dusted off the sneakers and went for a little run.  Today again I donned a new running outfit that my sister gifted me for Christmas, and used my new handy dandy nike+ pouch ... I love that thing....

After dropping little {c} off at preschool I headed back to the BIG *** BRIDGE for my run.   Today it was a little crowded with bikers, but I managed not to get run over.  I'm liking this course ... not too hilly (except for when I am running UP the bridge).  Today I was even prepared with my newest playlist for running, so that kept me pretty motivated. Not too hot Sunny A GOOD run!  I've already passed my 5K goal, but I would like to increase my speed and hopefully the distance.   Hmmmm ... wonder which is more important at my age ... speed or distance?

I am in my house during the day ALL ALONE . Going for my r u n ... *To clarify ... alone time is just 2 mornings a week, but that is a huge amount of time for me .

This past year was probably the most motivated that I have been since before children.  I WENT to the gym pretty regularly (3 gym days and usually a run or 2 on other days) ... never letting more than 1 week (or 2) slip on by.  I would certainly feel those missed days, but I would regain pretty quickly. May came and things got busy. Excuses started. Exercise DID NOT HAPPEN. Besides the physical effects of not exercising, I started to notice the emotional/mental effects.  I NEED to exercise.  I NEED the stress relief.  I NEED the little time alone. So, this past holiday weekend, I have made some new goals for myself.  Putting exercise on my calendar will make it happen more than just saying I will try to.  Already I am feeling so much better, but I tell you, I CAN FEEL THAT I AM OUT OF SHAPE.  My muscles are just throbbing and the other day after a stupid run in the heat of the day, I seriously thought I would throw up. I KNOW IT WILL GET BETTER.  I just need to be consistent and pus...

Not sure if that is the sound of sniffing, but GOSH ... I LOVE NEW SNEAKERS. Where I live, they would be called tennis shoes. SILLY PEOPLE ... they are running sneakers. After 3 weeks of consistant running (4x a week), I now can do 3 miles without a lot of effort. Usually I stop because I have time constraints (indoor running on a treadmill at the gym with 2 children in childcare and 3 at swimteam practice). This may be bragging, but I really don't care ... so sorry ! I am putting forth the effort which is so darn gratifying! Today I stopped in at our New Balance store and purchased my first pair of spendy running sneakers. The people there measured my foot properly ( a 1/2 size larger than I thought) and watched me walk/run to see how I perform (inner foot pressure). They then fitted me with the proper sneaker ... so I hope. Tomorrow I will go for my first big outdoor run. I have never purchased a spendy sneaker, but at the same time that is soooooooo motivating. I cannot let th...