Great Mother's Day Race

I am so excited to say that I spent my Mother's Day doing something good for myself.  I was fortunate enough to participate in the Great Mother's Day Race in Tampa.  Never in a million years did I think I would be spending my special day running 3.1 miles but I'm glad I did!!!

On Saturday, I took Noah with me to Fit2Run in International Mall to pick up my tshirt and race packet.  I have to say, the shirts were pretty awesome!  They are so soft!  They feel like a really worn in cotton tee with an active element to them.  I don't know...I can't say enough about the feel.  (I'm all about a comfy feel).  I may have worn it the rest of the day!!!  Noah loves going to packet pick ups with me so it was nice to spend some quality time with just him.  I got there right when they started so I didn't have any wait at all!  It was nice to breeze right in and get what I need.

Of course I sprung it on the Hubs that I needed a new shirt to run in.  For some reason I have to buy a new shirt or something when I have a race.  It's weird.  I think it's because all my pictures have the same 2 shirts in them.  So off to Old Navy I went and came home with a new tank and an amazing sports bra (this is a huge accomplishment since I am a little too blessed in that department.  Finding a decent bra is hard and I found this one and it was on clearance!!!!).  I was totally ready for the race!

The race was held at Al Lopez Park in Tampa.  I have seen the park before but had never been there before so I had no idea what was in store for me.  I ended up getting there insanely early (the Hubs overestimated how long it would take to get there) but it allowed me to get some stretching in.  After a while I met up with Jen, one of my Tampa Bay Moms Blog contributor friends, and got to meet her adorable family. I love that they run as a family.  One day that will be us.  Hear that Hubs???  Her hubby is a trooper and pushes the jogger the entire race.  We headed towards the starting line and got ready.  I hung back a little ways for a couple reasons:
1. I'm not a good run and talk girl.  I have to concentrate on actually breathing.  Plus I listen to music to drown out the sound of my heavy breathing
2. I'm slow and I knew they would be a heck of a lot faster
3. I was rocking this race solo.  Most of the time my brother's girlfriend does the races with me.  We start off together then she leaves me in her dust.  This time it was just me.

The course was really nice.  It was pretty flat and pretty shady.  The first mile was a great one for me.  I recorded my fastest mile to date as well as my fastest 1K to date.  Granted, this is still really slow but I was proud of myself.  And I did it without trying.  But then, BAM.  Mile 2.  For some reason the second mile is always the hardest for me.  I'm not sure why.  But it got to me.  Then I had an epiphany.  This race was about me.  As much as I wanted it to be about PRing, it was more about doing something for me.  With all the stress of Em's health and surgery and severe lack of sleep, this race allowed me to have a few minutes to just clear my mind, which was the best Mother's Day gift I could have received.  All of the stress I've been under just melted away.  I decided in that moment that I was going to just do what felt right.  If I wanted to walk, then I was going to walk.  If I wanted to run, I was going to run.  And I wasn't going to beat myself up over it.  And you know what?  It was the most liberating feeling.  Sure my time was about 3 minutes slower than any 5K I've ever ran.  But those extra 3 minutes were what I needed to clear my head. It was a wonderful feeling.  Oh and I can't forget how awesome it was that Jen and her crew were cheering me on as I crossed the finish line.  Her boys were cheering for me and it was absolutely adorable!  I can't thank them enough for that!!!

I can't speak enough about this event.  The race directors are awesome.  Claire walked by me before the race and introduced herself and welcomed me.  That's pretty awesome in my book!  I loved how family friendly it was.  So many people were pushing strollers so their little ones could be part of the race.  It was a great location with a great course.  And more importantly, it was a celebration.  There was an amazing sense of love and family every where you turned. I can't wait to spend many Mother's Days to come at this event!

Disclaimer: I received an comp'd entry into the Great Mother's Day Race in exchange for promoting the event.  I am not being paid to participate.  All opinions are my own.  
    

Weekly Workouts

I'm linking up with Meghan and Kat for this week's Weekly Workout.  And it's not going to be pretty....I'm just warning you now.....

The past few weeks have been quite busy for us.  There's a lot going on with Em (I'll get to that tomorrow) and I've been busy with work and the kids school so, unfortunately, my working out has taken the back seat.  I know, I know....excuses, excuses.  But let me tell you, I haven't slept a full night of sleep in about 5 weeks and its finally hitting me.  I can't wait for this month to be over and life can go back to normal.

I will honestly say that I did not work out at all this past week.  I walk a lot at work so I guess I was a little active but no where close to where I want to be.  One day I'm going to wear a pedometer to see how many steps I log in a day.  That would be interesting to see.

But I did work out a little the week before so I guess I'll share all that instead.....

The week before was more of Family Fitness time.  Noah really wanted to run with me and I know his little 6yr old legs can't do 3 miles yet.  So we went out a few nights and did a mile or so.

Monday 4/22: we went out as a family for a walk/run.  Em did not want to walk so she was in the stroller and I pushed.  Noah and the Hubs came along too.  We would walk a little, run a little.  Overall we did 1.16 miles.  We have a great neighborhood that I figured out a 1 mile loop to run.  Noah did better than I figured he would and I even got to see the Hubs run!!!

He really can run!!!!

Tuesday 4/23: Noah wanted to go out running again and the Hubs really didn't. So I loaded Emmy up in the stroller again and the 3 of us headed out.  We did more running than walking, which I was really proud of Noah for.  Until we got to about 0.8 miles.  That's when he started telling me he needed to stop running and catch his breath.  At this point he was full on wheezing, throat tugging, couldn't catch his breath.  I almost had to call the Hubs to come pick us up so we could get home faster.  But Noah wanted to keep walking.  We ended  up doing 1/17 miles.  When we got home, I took a listen to him (I've had my stethoscope in my purse for weeks now) and he was wheezing like crazy!!!  A few puffs of Albuterol and some resting on the couch calmed him down. We've been playing around with this idea that he has some form of Asthma but we've never really been convinced of it.  Well I am now a believer that he has exercise induced asthma for real.  I have never seen him work so hard to breathe in my life.  It was horrible to watch because I knew that I was to blame.  I was making him run.  The mom guilt was happening big time!

Wednesday 4/24: This is the day our week went upside down.  I worked, then rushed to Countryside to take Em to a specialist, then raced back to All Children's in St Pete to get Xrays done.  Let the whirlwind begin. No working out for me.

First day in the OCC waiting for Xrays

Thursday 4/25: Went to work again only to make the in laws bring Emmy down to All Children's again for blood work. No working out for me.

Round 2 in the OCC waiting for blood draw

Friday 4/26: Work Work Work.  No sleep and no working out.

Saturday 4/27: Picked up an extra shift on the inpatient unit.  Probably walked about 3-4 miles in those 8 hours.  Still not sleeping so that walking will have to do

Sunday 4/28: The Hubs's family came over for a birthday lunch.  April/May are very busy months in the birthday world for them.  I was exhausted and it was my only day off before starting another 5 day work week (11 shifts in 13 days is tough). All I wanted to do is sleep but I ended up grocery shopping instead.

I got a few minutes to just breathe

And we all know that I did absolutely nothing this past week.  I hate that I've let the extreme exhaustion catch up to me but I'm pretty much running on empty.  I was able to get a decent amount of sleep Friday night and a little bit last night so I'm in a better place.  I plan on pounding the pavement today and getting in as many miles as I can before Friday.  Em has surgery that day and I know I'll be a little consumed afterwards.

How do you stay motivated?  Is it better to keep pushing yourself to be active or take a breather every once and a while?  I'm afraid if I take a breather for too long, I won't get back into it......

Iron Girl to the Core

I am so behind in updating my exciting race experience!  Life has completely gotten in the way of things.  So here goes.......

I was provided the opportunity to participate in this year's Clearwater Iron Girl race through the Tampa Bay Bloggers.  I did the Iron Girl 5K two years ago and had a blast so I was definitely looking forward to participating again this year.  I convinced my brother's girlfriend to run it with me too (knowing she'd leave me in the dust).  I had grand plans of really training for this race and blowing my RnR time out of the water. Well, let's face it, I'm a loser.  I might have ran once prior to the race.  And if I did, it obviously wasn't memorable or worth it.  So I went in to this event knowing that I was going to be HORRIBLE (which I was).

I opted to wait until Saturday to pick up my packet so I could scope out the expo.  Noah's been showing interest in running and races so I figured I'd bring him along.  We parked, walked to the expo, and figured out a game plan.  I went to get my bib first then Noah was distracted by giveaways.  I had to convince him I needed to pick up my shirt and bag first before we did anything else.  Once I got those 2 things, we headed off to have some fun.  First stop was the Athleta booth for awesome hair ties and poster making.  Noah wanted to make a poster for us, even if he wasn't going to be able to use it for the race.

Then we wandered around, picking up anything free he could get his hands on.  He might have picked up a racing bug!  His favorite booth, by far, was the Polar booth.  The boy snagged everything!  He even made me pour our bottle of water into his new Polar water bottle.  He asked if he could take a watch too but I quickly prevented that small case of theft from happening.

Shortly after, we headed back home.  Em was all shades of jealous since he got so much stuff.  I went to bed somewhat early knowing I had an early wake up call the next day.

My alarm went off and I started to get ready.  I was debuting a new running skirt and I was a little anxious about it (I'm blessed with thighs that touch and rub together.  I usually don't run in shorts because of it but I wanted a cute skirt.  I apologize to anyone who had to see my legs running around out there because I'm sure it wasn't a pretty sight.  Plus I was reminded around mile 2 why I wear capris to run...my legs were hurting so bad!!!!  I won't be wearing a skirt in a LONG time. Let's just put it that way).  But I was stoked to be rocking my Asics.  They're so bright!!!  I must have gotten a million compliments on them and my feet felt amazing!  My brother's gf picked me up and we headed down to find parking.  It was a little bit of a hassle but we managed to find a nice spot in a garage a few blocks from Coachman Park.  We parked, grabbed our gear, and headed down to the Park. Somehow I missed all the TBB girls (I'll meet you soon!) but the atmosphere was awesome!  That's the one great thing about women's only events.  There is so much excitement, inspiration, and strength present.  We watched the half marathoners take off.  Let me just say that the Fab 50 group was out in full force!  These women were unbelievable.  They're running races better than I am and I'm 20 years younger.  True inspirations!!!  When they called for the 5K runners to the chute, we started to make our way down.  We did run into a friend of my dad's who was there to support his wife and daughter.  It was nice to start the race with a familiar face.

We took our place towards the very end of the pack and waited for the start. This course was no joke.  Hills right off the bat.  I was feeling pretty good up until I turned the corner and saw the bridge.  I knew the bridge would be part of the course, I just didn't know how quickly it would get to me.  Or that we were literally running over it and then back over it again.  Note to self for next time.....practice this bridge a few times.  I made it up pretty good and going down it was a breeze.  I had the worst taste in my mouth so I grabbed a cup of water.  Well I tried to drink and run at the same time....no bueno.  I almost choked so I stopped drinking right away and tried my best not to keep coughing.  From that moment on, I was a mess.  The way back up the bridge again was the WORST.  I didn't think I'd ever make it up there.  I did have to walk a bit too. But when I go to the top, I saw a familiar face, and that's exactly what I needed.  Meghan was supposed to run with us (well in the half) but was sidelined with an injury.  I think she's a rock star for coming out and supporting every one.  I needed to see a familiar face with a "you can do it...there's no more bridges" at that moment in time because I was about ready to quit.  I was ready to walk the rest of the way.  But I didn't.  I found some energy and finished up the race.

Yep...that's the bridge.  

I met up with Sharon and we ran into my dad's friend and his family.  I actually finished right behind his daughter and got to witness the cutest thing.  He saw her at the 3 mile marker.  He caught her attention, snapped a quick picture of her, and took off running towards the finish line.  He ran along the fence as far as he could cheering her on.  It was amazing.  And it gave me a little push to the finish. One day I hope that I'll have the same kind of cheerleader waiting for me at the end of a race.  (Yeah I'm talking to you Hubs.  I know you've been to both my half marathons but a 5K is just as important. Just sayin.......).  We said our goodbyes and headed to the breakfast tent.  While I couldn't eat the pancakes thanks to my gluten allergy, I did load up on the banana and strawberry toppings.  We sat in the grass by the pond and had a great breakfast.

Then we got a crazy idea.....let's go to the top of the bridge and take a picture.  Probably not the best idea we've ever had.  We tried our best to get there but realized that in order to get up there from where we were, we'd have to walk up a ramp that the half marathoners were coming down.  That just seemed like a horribly rude thing to do so we got as close as we could without going up.  Then we cheered on the runners for a while.  They were almost to the finish line.  Once again we saw all the Fab 50 gals who were just chugging along like it was no big deal.  I plan on being one of them in 20 years.  As we were leaving, the 2:45 pacers were coming up.  They kept telling the runners around them to pick it up and not finish after them.  They kept encouraging everyone around them.  I was so thankful for them and I wasn't even running.  Just to know that there are complete strangers out there wanting you to do better than you think you're capable of doing is just amazing.  These 2 girls were awesome.  I can only imagine what the other pacers were like!

While I am not happy with my time, I can't complain about finishing a race that had horrible bridge running.  I wasn't the last one to cross the finish line.  And it gives me a good starting point.  I'm determined to improve upon this performance.  I've already beat my time in one of my runs this week.  I know that one day I'll get into the time range that I want to be in.  I know I'll be able to run up and down that stinking bridge without stopping.  So until then, I'm just going to relish in the fact that I'm an Iron Girl to the Core!!!

Picture courtesy of Sharon

Disclaimer: I was provided an entry to the race in exchange for sharing my experience.  All the opinions are my own and I totally recommend this race series to any and everyone!!!!  
     

Weekly Workout

I've linked up with Meghan once before but I'm so proud of myself for linking up this week!!!!

I've turned over a new leaf!  I'm trying to get in a routine with running.  I want to make it a permanent fixture in my life but haven't been able to yet.  But I think it's about to change.  Not only do I have a few more 5Ks scheduled, I also have a big 10 miler at Disney in October to train for.  The Hubs is running it too and there is NO WAY I can let him beat me.  Not because I don't think he can but because I'll never live it down if he does.  So I have that goal in mind that I need to start working towards.  I think this week was the jump start I needed.

On Sunday, I participated in the Clearwater Iron Girl 5K. I'll have my recap up tomorrow of the race but I ended up doing 3.18 miles according to my Nike+ app that I had going.  I didn't weave as much as I thought I did I guess.  It wasn't a great race for me but I finished it.  And that's all that matters.

I took Monday off because my body realized that I had done something so out of the ordinary that it went into shock. OK maybe not that dramatic but I was feeling it so I didn't want to push my luck.  I took the day off to relax

On Tuesday, I sported my yellow and blue in honor of the Boston Marathon tragedy.  I still can't wrap my head around all of it.  Once we got the kids to bed, I put on yellow and blue again and got on the elliptical for 26.2 minutes.  It was the least I could do.

Wednesday...I was determined to get back out and hit the pavement.  I did 3.1 miles, beating my Iron Girl time by about 15 seconds.  I'm considering it a PR.  I'm giving myself small victories and if that means PR'ing my training runs, then by golly that's what I'm going to do!  I had some wicked left shin pain when I finished, which isn't very exciting at all.  I'm horribly prone to shin splints (I think it's due to an injury I had years ago that affected a lot of the tendons in my foot/ankle) so I was not excited when it started back up again.

I don't even know what I did on Thursday but I know running wasn't involved.

Friday was another "rest" day but there was no resting to be done.  Work was CRAZY.  We were slammed and running around like crazy people.  I need to start wearing a pedometer when I go to work.  I'm sure I walk a million miles a day. I got a call while at work about Em and had to race to the pediatrician with her.  She's doing so much better now but it was a horrible afternoon/night.  I think I went to bed at 7:30pm.

Saturday turned into the type of day that we didn't plan.  Originally the kids were going with my in-laws to a circus and we were going to have a few hours by ourselves.  We were going to watch our friend who was competing in her first Cross Fit competition.  But with Em being sick, only Noah went to the circus and we didn't leave the house.  Once Em went down for a nap, I laced up my shoes and went out for a run.  I did 2.25 miles and recorded my fastest mile to date.  I wasn't trying for a fast mile either.  I just went out there feeling great.  I only did 2 miles because my shin pain started coming back and I didn't want to push it too hard.  I did a 0.25 mile cool down walk before heading back to the house.  When Noah got home, he wanted to go running so I took him out for a bit. We didn't go very far but let me tell you....the boy is fast.  It was fun to be out there with him.  I really hope I can instill the importance of a healthy lifestyle in him at a young age.  And who knows, maybe he'll end up being a race partner for me!!!

I can't wait to see what next week brings!!!!
    

How do they do it?

I just don't know how people actually get up early to work out.  Every morning I set my alarm for about 45-60 minutes before I really need to get up, just so I can hop on the elliptical to start my day off on the right foot.  Guess what happens.  That alarm goes off and instantly gets turned off and my late alarm gets set.  Every.Single.Day.  I just can't help it.

I'm not a morning person at all.  Never have been.  I wake up with the smallest amount of time to spare to get ready in the morning.  I don't do make up in the morning (more so because I have absolutely no idea how to do make up) and 9 times out of 10, I don't even brush my hair.  It's swooped up in a messy bun every day.  I'm always running around frantic because I'm chronically late.  So why would I ever think I'd be capable of waking up an hour earlier (usually meaning 5am) to get a jog in?

So what does that translate to?  Homework's been completed.  Dinner's been served.  Kiddos are in bed.  I'm hitting the elliptical between 8:30-9:30 at night.  Not a bad way to end one's day except it makes me WIDE AWAKE.  My body is ready to keep plugging along (and is woken up by my post workout shower) which leaves me up until midnight or so.  Not a good combination for a 5:15am alarm.  It's driving me crazy because I'm not getting enough sleep.

So how do you do it?  How do people force themselves out of bed at that ungodly time of day?  I really need some help/suggestions because I'm not sure how many more nights I can take only getting 5 hours of sleep because I'm so amp'd up post workout.

But on a brighter note, I now understand everyone's obsession with workout gear.  I've changed out of my scrubs into running clothes all week and it's really been quite surprising.  Not only am I motivated to work out (don't want to waste the outfit), I'm actually comfortable!  I love my new Old Navy Bubble Tank and I might actually go out in yoga pants without feeling too ridiculous (I never go out in public in work out clothes.  It's some crazy thing with me)

Of course I instagram'd it
@lifewithmyloves

       Help a sister out!!! My sanity depends on it!!!
 

Adding More Bling This Year

That's right ladies and gentlemen.  This girl is adding more bling to her collection.  Race Bling that is!  I'm so excited to be getting back into the running world again.  As part of my goal for 2013, I'm going to become more fit.  Part of being fit for me means pounding the pavement again.

The Hubs put one stipulation on this endeavor: be smart.  I hurt my knee pretty good after my last half and ever since, I've had knee pain when I run.  He knows me better than anyone and knew that I'd want to jump in head first and pick up a long distance.  His only request was that I take it slow.  I could do whatever races I want as long as I'm not going for 13.1 again until the fall.

So for the first time ever, I'm going to listen to him.  Call the press.  This is a first.  Jess is actually listening to the Hubs.  Has hell frozen over?

But he has a point.  I need to really do this right.  I want this to become a lifestyle, not just something I'm doing once.  I need to make sure I'm doing everything I need to in order to be safe and injury free.

So here's my plan so far:

Feb 9th: Rock N Roll St Pete Mini Marathon (3.1 miles)
April 14th: Iron Girl 5K
May 4th: Expedition Everest (This one's not a definite but I want to do it and I want the Hubs to do it with me)
I'm hoping RunDisney is having the Tower of Terror 10 miler again this year.  I think that would be a great race to do and if it's in September again, it would be a great time to be doing a 10 mile race.
November 24th: Women's Half Marathon I've ran the 5K in this series and had a great time.  I've always wanted to do this half so I think it's a good choice and great timing for me.  It will make the Hubs happy too.  Plus it will give me another half under my belt so I can go into the Princess feeling pretty good.  I think it's only fitting to head back to Disney for this race so I can completely blow my previous 2 finishes out of the water!

So here's to 2013 and adding more Bling to my life!!!!!

My collection needs some new friends!!!

Workout Roundup

Hi. My name is Jess and I am a workout loser.

I've been secretly jealous (and seriously mad at myself) because I haven't been able to link up with Meghan and Genna. I've had a bit of an epiphany and kicked my healthy living (or attempt at healthy living) into high gear this week.  I'm proud to sit here and have a post to share with everyone!

Sunday: Noah wanted to ride his bike to my parents house so we could print pictures of his weekend with Froggy (more on this another day).  So we tied Froggy to his bike and off we went.  My parents live about a 1/2 mile away from us so I knew it would be a quick outing.  I've failed a tad in the parenting department with Noah because he's still not riding without training wheels.  He's close but he's not there yet.  But boy, he was riding fast!  Normally I can just walk quickly but I ended up jogging to keep up with him.  So I decided to make this a little "training" run.  It was a nice run/walk/run/walk session.  It took about 20 min (I promise I can run a 1/2 mile faster than 20 min) but it let my body ease back into running.  By the end of the night, my left ankle was killing me and I wasn't sure if it was because my body was in shock that I actually ran or if my new shoes didn't agree with me.  But I woke up Monday morning feeling just fine.

Monday: I didn't get a run in.  I took a day to recover from the busy weekend we had.

Tuesday: I had a much needed reunion with my elliptical after the kiddos went to bed.  I hope the Hubs was happy since our $900 elliptical has turned into a very expensive piece of Florida room decor.  The machine itself might have been in awe that it was being used again.  But we both got over that initial shock and had a great time together.  This is where I get really embarrassed and ashamed.  I ran for a whopping 20 minutes at a resistance level of 1.  Yep.  1.  O.N.E. I wanted to push myself from the start but, for once, I was smart about it and took it easy.  I usually end up going balls to the wall and end up hurt.  So it was nice to hop off the elliptical and be able to move rather than my usual "my body hates me and refuses to bend" feeling.

Wednesday: No working out for me.  This girl passed out at 8:45.

Thursday: The kids had their Christmas concert so there was absolutely no time when I got home from work.  I did end up with the cutest bunny and the most handsome little man on the planet!  Proud Momma right here!

Friday: Work kicked my rear end today.  I usually work from 7-3:30 and I ended up working 7-6:30.  Talk about a busy day.  I need to start wearing a pedometer at work to see how many miles I end up getting in inadvertently. I'm sure I get in at least 5 miles a day.

Saturday: Does folding 7 baskets of laundry count as exercise?  It took me a LONG time and I was quite exhausted when I was finished.

So my week wasn't the greatest on the exercise front but I'm glad I got something in. I have to come up with a plan for this coming week because we'll be busy busy  busy. Anything's got to be better than nothing so I guess I'm okay with the way this week went.

Here's my burning question for all the runners/active people out there.  I need to find a great sports bra that will support a larger chest (aka my DD friends). I've always had issues in this department as long as I can remember.  I used to wear 2 sports bras at a time when I was playing volleyball.  It sucks.  So now I'm looking for a great bra with tons of support.  Any suggestions for what I should try?