Monday Meanings...

Hello all! Just a few thoughts for Monday...

1. I ran the Louisville Sports Commission 1/2 Marathon this past Saturday, WITH STREP THROAT! I mean, who wants to waste that money? I had been on 24 hours of antibiotics, so I felt pretty good until mile 9, then I started to chill, so played it safe and slowed down. Finish time to come in the race recap!

2. I love Sundays! Not only is it a day off of work, but Sunday means FOOTBALL! If the television is on anything other than football on Sundays, then no teams are playing that we see worthy of watching. The best by far? GO STEELERS!

3. When you take six weeks off from boot camp and then go back, it's like you never did it to begin with! My arms are killing me and I've been wearing my compression sleeves all day long!

4. I'm semi-obsessed with GLEE! I have all the CD's to listen to in the car, I am up to date on current episodes, and am currently re-watching the first two seasons. Needless to say, I am the full definition of a GLEEK!

5. Last but not least, I love and cherish my wonderful husband! Even when our world are crazy, he is always there and is always supportive. He is the best husband and the best friend that a girl could ask for!

Today's Top Ten List...

Top Ten Reasons Why Today's 12 Miler was an EPIC FAIL...

10. It turned into a 10 miler (reason coming).

9. I hadn't had anything to eat except for a cup of coffee...STUPID!

8. I put on WAY too much clothing.

7. I was burning up, but had the chills the entire time.

6. I had to stop several times due to feeling like I was going to be sick.

5. I stopped on Bluegrass Pike to watch two cows fighting with one another. HILARIOUS!

4. The smell of the BBQ Festival on Main Street was a little distracting.

3. I didn't drop any water and didn't wear my belt.

2. I didn't keep the pace I wanted.

And the number one reason why my 12 miler was an EPIC FAIL is...

1. The reason my 12 miler became a 10 miler - I refused to battle the ten vultures in the middle of the road, so I turned around and ran back to my car. I could just see them eating me alive! :)

You know...I'm glad I have positive outlook though. I'm running the LSC Half Marathon next weekend, so since this run was such a letdown, that means next weekend will be GREAT! Chalk it up and move on to the next one!

Back to Blogging with a Race Update! A BIG ONE!

You know how they say, "the third time is a charm"? Well, I think they may be right. I just completed my 4th mini marathon, the Iron Horse Half Marathon in Midway, Kentucky. Now, it was my fourth half marathon, but it was the 3rd half marathon where my goal was to finish sub 2 hours. And, I DID! Barely, with a 1:59:48, but it's still under 2 hours.

My favorite part of this race? My SHIRT! My birthday was the week before and my 'sole sister', Bobbie, got me the most awesome shirt to wear for the race. If you know my personality, then you completely understand why she just had to buy me this shirt. (If you look closely enough, you can see a little piece of paper pinned to my bib. That's me, always keeping pace times!)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this race mainly because I didn't train the way I would have liked to train, but sometimes what we would like to do isn't always the best way. The course was a rolling course that was out and back both ways. I absolutely loved the fact that I was being cheered on the whole course. There was always someone coming my direction cheering me on. And I loved cheering on the runners coming the opposite direction as well.

This course also solidified why I love the state of Kentucky. The race was in one of the most beautiful counties in Kentucky, Woodford County. Miles and miles of rolling hills with beautiful farms, horses for days, and grass that is the most beautiful shade of blue when the wind blows.

Getting ready to cross the finish line, still looking at my watch...always pacing.

Here we are, post race, with Mark and Jeff, two other Danville runners.

This will definitely be a race that I run again and again. I highly recommend running this race if you are ever in the central Kentucky area around October. By far, the best half marathon I've ever run! :)

Lucy Activewear has a birthday!

Lucy Activewear (http://www.lucy.com/) has a birthday today. They are twelve years old today and everything in their stores and on their website is 25% off, today only!!! Go over to their website and shop around...they have some really cute stuff for all activities!

Help...please!

I posted a question at the end of my last post and didn't receive any comments :). So, I'm posting my question again and would really love any suggestions you can give...

I really want to finish my next mini in under 2 hours. My last one was 2:01:31. I know the pace I need to keep is 9:09 or below. Any suggestions on how to do this, whether it be keeping the same pace the entire race or using negative splits?

All suggestions are welcome!

Update and a question...

Why am I a joke? Well, simply put, I've let my blogging fall by the wayside while I started a new job. But, the job is settling down some, so I will start blogging more.

Just an update: Ran a 15K this past Saturday. I really wanted to be able to finish at a 9:09 pace so that I know I can finish my next mini marathon in under 2 hours, but it didn't happen. At about mile 6 1/2, both of my Achilles started to ache, so I had to slow down tremendously. I REALLY NEED NEW SHOES! I will be purchasing them this week. I finished at a 9:23 pace, which ticks me off because I kept below race pace for the first six miles and then let it fall that much. UGH! The funny thing is that I'm not usually one to let things like this bother me. I usually just chalk it up as a bad run and move on, but not this time. I literally haven't stopped thinking about it since the finish.

Question: I finished my last mini with a 9:14 pace. I really want to finish this one at 9:09 or less, preferably below 9:00. Any suggestions on a pace scale that includes negative splits instead of keeping the same pace the entire race?

A Few Race Recaps in One! On the road to becoming a better blogger...

Well, it's been awhile. I've been directing the music for a stage production of Oklahoma!, so it's been hard to keep up with blogging, friends, etc. for the past couple of months. So, I haven't been doing my race updates like I should be, so I'm going to catch you up to speed in one post...how about that?

Let's see...

1. Jennie Carol's Memorial Mother's Day 5K - this race is in memory of a dear friend of mine, Jennie Tarter. We taught together and I taught both of her young boys. After completing her second mini marathon, Jennie had a terrible accident while eating dinner, got choked, and was without oxygen for long enough to lose her life. She was a fabulous person and now we run to honor her. This was my first race after the marathon, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But, I PR'ed!!! 26:03 was my time!

2. Next came the Haggin Memorial Hospital 5K at Shakertown. For this race, it always pours buckets of rain! As expected, it did! I don't even remember what my time was for this race. I'm sure it's on my sidebar, but I don't feel like looking. The great thing about this race? It was my brother-in-law's first race and he did great! That's him in the picture below.

3. Then came the Wellness Center 10K. I can't remember what happened that morning, but I showed up in a bad mood. So, I went out, ran 6.2 miles, and was happy with whatever time I got. I know I came in under 56 minutes which means a 5 minute improvement over last year's time. YAY!

4. After that was the Pregnancy Resource Center 5K, which is held in Millennium Park. I loathe running in the park! But, much to my surprise, I did pretty well. I got a new PR! 25:36!!! Not to mention, I got 1st in my age group, Bobbie got 2nd, and Katrina got 3rd! Talk about rocking an age group!!

5. The next race was the Beef Festival Stampede. I had never run this race before, so I was a little worried about the hills, but it didn't turn out to be as bad as I thought it would be. So, I was pretty pleased and only missed my PR by a few seconds, 25:41. By the way, the picture below is of myself and my running buddy, Bobbie. I have to say, I absolutely LOVE this picture!

6. Then, the Run for the Brass. Millennium Park, once again. My time was 25:59 this time. You can tell by my face in the picture that I'm trying to get to the line in under 26 minutes. Ha!

I have another race to recap, but don't have the pics yet. Now that the play is over, I promise I will back to my normal blogging self! Thanks for following my journey! :)