Worst Picture Ever

Thank you for all of the sweet comments!  I really don't think I look all that great while running, but after seeing some of the pictures the photog got of me, now I know why ya'll were being sweet.  Seriously, I have about 50 race photos of me from the official photog and MOST are ugly.  

So, for your viewing pleasure....

Worst Race Photo Ever (this truly sums up how I felt the whole time):

 Best Photo:

Happy Halloween to all!  Be safe this weekend!

Race Pictures

I meant to share these yesterday, but we had a family funeral to attend.

Here are a few of the pictures that were taken by my lovely hubs.  And yes, I hold my arms too high.  Feel free to call me T-Rex.

Half Marathon Race Recap

I'll try to make this short and sweet, since it was the worst race ever.

What Went Wrong:

• I didn't sleep worth a flip. 
• I hadn't trained well enough.
• My legs felt like cement and I had zero energy.
• It was about 60 degrees when we started (almost 80 when I finished) and I was used to training in the lower-ish 50's.

What Went Okay:

• We were ahead of the 2:30 pace group for about the first 2 miles.
• We had a lot of fun making fun of ourselves and calling one guy we kept leap frogging, "sexy legs."  It was hilarious since he was probably in his 40s and had the hairiest legs ever.  I dunno, we were delirious.  LOL
• My family and my friend's family were there to yell at us.  I swear, my dad yelled at me and told me to run so many times.  At one point, he even said "this is the last hill" in which I turned around and said "I call BS."  LOL 
• We didn't puke our guts up when we passed fresh road kill.  Although, we gagged and gagged!
• My friend and I crossed the finish line together.

What's Awesome:

• My friend Naomi stopped, turned around, and ran back to get me at the finish line so that we could cross the finish line together.  Ya'll I cried.  I did.  My finish line photo will be awful.  LOL  But it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me in a race.  She turned around and ran in with me, so that we finished together.
• I finally got to meet a blog friend - who I can now say is a real life friend! ha!
• The race volunteers that actually clapped or yelled for you.  There were so many volunteers that just stood there and stared.  Seriously, that doesn't help!

I plan on posting pictures tomorrow!  That's the best part, right?

I realize that I did great by finishing and the more that I talk to my friends, the more I realize it wasn't just me having a bad day!  Almost all of my friends (with the exception of a few) had a horrible race day.  People that normally finish at 2:30 or faster, finished 5 minutes before I did.  So, I'm so glad it wasn't just me!  Makes this girl feel better!  We all have horrible races every now and then - it makes us appreciate the good ones that much more!

Worst Race Of My Life

Official Time:  3:01:05
Official Feeling:  Kill Me Now!  Worst pace of my life.
Overall:  Thankful that wasn't my first half marathon or else I'd vow to never do another.  LOL

I'll have a race recap up tomorrow hopefully! 

Thanks to all that donated and for all the comments! 

The Big Reveal

Without further ado.... My Half Marathon outfit:

I might look like a smurf, but I love it!  This is my absolute favorite color!  The purple ribbon in the corner will be worn in my hair in memory of my Grammy.  She loved purple.  I love the thought of having her with me every step of the way.  I miss her dearly and everytime I see a US Postal truck, I think of her. 

As far as race goals go, I honestly have no idea.  Seriously, no idea.  I'm going to shoot for last year's time of 2:45:30 or faster.  I'm really really hoping that the adrenaline will help me out and that somehow I'll pull through.  I'm being serious when I say that Grad School put a HUGE dent in my training this year.  But, I'm already thinking of doing the LR Half Marathon in March to redeem myself.  We shall see peeps!  We shall see! 

Wish me luck and think of me tomorrow!  I'll post when I get the chance and let ya'll know my unofficial (or official) time!  Have a great weekend and good luck to everyone else racing!

Pretty Please?

As you all know, my 2nd half marathon is this Saturday.  What you didn't know is that I'm raising money for the organization that the HM benefits. 

I'm raising money for Soaring Wings Ranch.  The ranch is located here in Central Arkansas and to try to give you a little bit of background on the ranch and what it does, here is an excerpt from their website:

The goal of each home is to maintain an environment that will offer each child a chance to develop into a confident young adult with a high degree of self-sufficiency, exemplary work ethic, a strong ethical base with a clear understanding of right and wrong, a team player mentality, and a biblical understanding of sin and forgiveness. In addition, they will receive instruction in social skills, proper etiquette, and appropriate physical hygiene.

To learn more about the Ranch, you can visit their site here.

Now, here's where I need ya'll help.  I'm trying to raise $500 for the Ranch.  I've already raised $370 and my husband and I plan to donate $100.  So, that brings us to $470.  That means I'll be $30 short of my goal!

If ya'll could, please donate - nothing is too small!  I really want to make my goal! So, if ya'll could please go here and help me meet my goal!  It's going to a GREAT cause!

Post Race Thoughts

I guess now would be the time to share my post-race thoughts. I'm going to make this short and sweet (my lunch is waiting on me) and use bullets. We love bullets, right?

• I do not enjoy ice baths (random, but I had to throw that out there).
• My ITB is still a little tight and sore-ish.
• I've decided that I love the distance of 13.1 (ok, actually anything past 10 miles I loathe).
• I am FOR SURE doing that race again next year - hands down the best time I've ever had.
• I'm pretty sure the feeling of doing the Half beat out the feeling on my college graduation day. So.Not.Kidding.
• My parents bought me a cool card and gift (Willow Tree Figurine) for finishing. Score!
• I'm unsure if I want to pursue the Half coming up in March (30 mins from my house). I kind of want my life back for a little bit longer and did I mention that I'm not a fan of running in cold weather? Not.A.Fan.
• I'm thinking that I'll keep running (of course!) and take a few yoga and spin classes at the fitness center. You know, since I pay for it and all. Plus, my appetite is still majorly present and it's showing no sign of going away any time soon.
• I'm mailing my grad school application next week. Reminds me...I need to write my essay pronto. Random.
• I'm SO making a shadow box of my medal, bib number, and a few pictures (assuming my sister ever posts or emails them).
• Did I mention that I love Half Marathons? Seriously, it's like I tasted chocolate for the first time. Yum.
  

Bust A Move! Part II

After looking at yesterday's post, I realized that one of the pictures was a little dark. So, I hate doing things halfbass, so here you go:


Now, where were we? Oh yes, around Mile 6. Well, I kept trucking along, nothing really going on. I passed a man who was limping and looked to be in some pain. As I passed him, I told him that he could do this and not to give up. He then got his cell phone out and started calling someone. Poor guy. Later, I saw him limping around barely able to walk - I think he must've pulled something awful.


Anyways, I saw my family again around mile 7 or 8. I waved, stuck my tongue out, and kept running! I was having a great time! Then, we ran through a really nice neighborhood and I started getting tired somewhere around Mile 10. I just kept telling myself that I had a 5k left and that I could do that in my sleep! My 4 & 1 routine started turning into more like a 3 &1 and 2 &1 routine... But, I was determined to try to keep a decent pace.



I saw my family yet again (ha!) and then I saw my husband about a half mile later. It was the funniest thing, he was pulled over on a curb and I kept thinking ... He's going to cause an accident and get MY Tahoe hit! Ha! In reality, he wasn't really going to get hit, but I think I was getting a little delusional! LOL Anyways, I kept trying to push forward and not show that I was getting tired, when my IT band started to hurt. Not only that, I could feel my blisters on my feet now. I knew they were covered with Mole Skin pretty well, so I just told myself that it was all in my head. My feet weren't really hurting, but Self knew better! :)


Fast forward to somewhere around Mile 11. Here comes my dad and stepsister running along a sidewalk. It was really a site to see. My dad, you see, looked like he was really bookin' it, except his feet was doing more of a shuffle run. LOL I love my dad, he's so funny! Anyways, dad runs for a little ways and then says "Whew! I've had enough of this! This is hard!" and I replied back "Um yeah, you outta try it for 11 miles!!" in which he replied "No thanks!" and I just laughed. Then, I let my guard down and said, "I'm starting to hurt, but I'm pushing through!!" and he told me that I was doing great and to keep it up. I then passed the corner where my stepmom was standing (Ha, my stepmom was standing on a corner....LOL jk) and smiled really BIG. She shouted something like "You're still smiling?!" and I kept running. My IT Band was killing me, my blisters hurt, and my calves tried and tried to cramp.



Around Mile 12, I looked up to see the BIG hill. The one that I knew was there and had been dreading all along. That's when Miley Cyrus' song "The Climb" came on. I immediately thought of the Redhead and how she cries when she hears that song (I think it was The Redhead that admitted that, right?) and then thought, How ironic that this song would come on now!! I decided to let the song play through, even though it wasn't an upbeat song and I trudged up that hill. There was a man on a bike saying, "You're almost done, the rest of the way is downhill!" and I replied "Thank God!" (I really was thanking God btw) and he said "Yes! That's the spirit!". (Side note: This was a race for a Christian Children's Ranch, etc. etc.) Anyways, I made it up that BIG hill with nothing left. No energy, no nothing. I knew I had right at a mile to go and that it was only a mile, but I had no power left. At this point, I looked at my watch and said, I can almost make my goal right now even if I walked. But, instead, I ran down the hill and then decided it was time to walk. I knew I couldn't walk anywhere near the finish line, because I had to run there..so I took a little walk break until I saw my dad...


Here comes my dad, all alone, on the sidewalk telling me I'm almost there. So, I start running and chit chatting with my dad - who is trying his best to keep up. I tell him that this was so much fun and how I broke my best 5k time by like 2 minutes, etc. etc. Then he says, "I've gotta take a short cut so I can hear them call out your name!" and he starts running through the muddy grass. I just smile, thinking, that's my dad - RUNNING! I turn the corner and see my stepmom and sister, then on the other side of the chute I see a girl from our training group cheering me on, then another girl cheering, then I hit the mat that gives the announcer your name and I hear "Mrs. Mess" and I look to the left and see my dad and husband and immediately I get all excited and threw up JAZZ HANDS!! and sprinted into the finish - my husband started yelling when I sprinted and I felt as if all eyes were on ME! I loved it!



I hit the finish line, stopped my watch and smiled for the photographer. Then, I grabbed my medal from a kid who lives at the Ranch, and hobbled over to the lady who cut the chip off of my shoe. Then, another kid handed me a space blanket. I was done! I looked down at my watch and saw that I made my goal time and then grabbed a bottle of water and hobbled over to my family and to watch the others come in. My funny husband asked if I wanted him to carry me, to which I replied, "No way dude, my calves are trying to cramp!" LOL I watched a few of my friends run in and then I ran my friend Naomi in. I was as happy as can be!! So, there you have it.. My first half marathon!








That's all of the pictures I have for now..I'm still waiting on my pictures from my stepsister and from the photographer at the race. I'll share more when I get them, of course!!
Yesterday, they posted our official results:
2:45:30 (heck yeah!)
697 out of 842 (more than 1000 registered)
49 out of 59 in my age group
379 out of 498 females
And last but not least... My splits. Notice that Mile 6 was long (it was a slight hill) and then things got a little slower at Mile 10.

Bust A Move! Part I

First off, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for all of your comments! Seriously, I thought of some of the comments while running and they just put a smile on my face.

Here's the first part of the review:

Friday night, we met some friends at Larry's Pizza and carb loaded, then headed to Target for some Mole Skin (life saver). After we arrived home, I took a long warm Epsom bath (my 2nd of the day) and then checked on my race pile one last time. I set two alarms for 5:10am and was in bed by 10pm. I thought I'd have a hard time sleeping, but after saying my long list of prayers, I was out like a light! That is...until 4am. I usually get up at 4am to get ready for work, so I guess it's just natural for me to wake up at that time... I never went back to sleep. I laid in bed till about 5 and then hopped in the shower. I was a tad nervous, but tried not to think about it too much. I took my vitamins, drank lots of water, and made a 1/2 of a pb sandwich to eat later. We took a few before pictures and headed out the door!



A Before Picture...







On the way to the race, I ate my pb sandiwch and took my vitamins. Blah blah blah... Went to the bathroom twice (not to worry, no stomach issues!)...blah blah blah. Now, onto the start of the race!

I kissed hubs by and my eyes teared up - I was SO excited! But, I quickly dried my eyes and got in the last corral before the walkers. This was the corral for 2:00 - 2:45 finishers. I thought, "hmm, that could be me" and "there's no way I'm getting in with the walkers!". After waiting about 3 minutes from the time the gun went off, it was our turn! We walked up to the mat, then started running! I hit start on my Garmin and play on my iPod and was greeted with the song "Bust A Move" by Young MC!!!! I thought - Wow! This is definitely the song to start with!
 
The beginning of the race was a little crowded. I ran around people and tried not to bump into others, all the while trying not to go out too fast. I hit mile 1 and thought hmm, I should probably try to slow it down a bit! To be honest, I was full of adrenaline and felt great. So, I kept trucking along. I looked over to my right and who did I see? MY GRANDMA!!! She had told me that she wasn't going to be there and so it really surprised me to see her standing there all by herself! I ran over to the side of the road and waved like an idiot and shouted "Grandma!!" and bless her heart, she tried to take a picture of me, but ended up taking a snapshot of the people behind me! LOL It made my day to see her out there!

At the first water stop (1.5 miles), I grabbed the first cup I saw and took a sip to find out that it was GATORADE!! Ugh! I threw that cup and grabbed the next to find out it too was Gatorade. That's when I noticed that the volunteers were saying "Gatorade" and "Water", so I took a cup from a kid who said "Water" and drank a few gulps of it and kept running.

Around Mile 2, people started spreading out some. I was running with a group of women who I knew from training and they were doing the "4&1" just like me! I tried to stay with them, but they were a little too fast for me and I lost them around mile 3. At mile 3, I took my 2nd Gu (I took the first before the starting line). Not alot happened on Mile 3, I did see a sign along the way that said "Run Like You Stole Something!" which made me laugh. I missed my watch beeping at me at Mile 3, but looked down shortly after and realized that I had just ran my fastest 5k ever - somewhere around 35 minutes I think! Awesome! I took another sip of water at Mile 3 and looked up to see the dreaded hill at mile 4. That's when the girl behind me said "Now's the time when it's okay to look down!" and we all just laughed. I laughed alot during the race and I wore a smile the whole entire time!

I trudged up most of that hill, but ended up walking the top part of it. It didn't get me down though, I knew my family would be at 4.5 miles and I was ready to throw my gloves at hubs - my hands were getting a little warm! So, at 4.5 miles, I threw my gloves, smiled for hubs who was taking a picture, then smiled for the photographer at the other side of the course and looked for my parents who were no where to be found! My heart sank, but I kept trucking along.

4.5ish Miles, before throwing the gloves (yes, I tend to run with my arms a little high, I tried to work on that):

Then, at mile 6, I took another Gu and some more water and then Brandi came up beside me. We exchanged hellos (I think?) and then I looked up at another incline and saw my parents and sister at the top! Of course! My parent's would be at the top of a hill! ha! I wanted to walk, but said no way, I'm not walking in front of them! So, I kept running and smiled really big! They took pictures and then I rounded the corner. That made my day and I got chills running through me - I was SO happy! I kept running and low and behold... here comes the Yukon with the windows rolled down and my family sticking their heads out the window screaming "Go Mrs. Mess!" LOL To say that I was the happiest girl alive, would be an understatement!!

I don't remember alot of the next few miles... I just remember running and looking at everything around me and thinking I've ran this before, I can do this, this is so much fun, I'm running a half marathon!!!! I was over joyed!

Wow! That covers the first part of the race! Next, I'll tell you about the last half of the race - the part where it got a weee bit interesting! ha!

I Did It!!!

According to the Garmin..

13.21 Miles
2:45:29 time (My Goal!!)
12:31 pace


I had a blast. Hit a wall at mile 10. Will share more later! A nap is in store!

Photo Friday

• The gear is ready! I told ya, I'm wearing mostly black! ha!
• Weather looks great for tomorrow - high of 67 and NO rain!
• I stayed home today. I've felt like I'm coming down with something for the past two days and this morning I woke up feeling exhausted. So, I'm listening to my body and I'm taking some extra precautions. I've taken all of my vitamins and some Advil - to fight off the ickys. I feel pretty good, but on the verge of getting sick. I'm hoping it's just nerves, but there was NO way I was going to work and getting exposed to all the sick coworkers. Trust me, my hand santizer bottle has gotten used and abused this week!
• Tonight, we're meeting other runner friends for some carb loading pizza! Yay!
• Please let me do well tomorrow, running gods!
• I'll post as soon as I can on how I did. :)

TWO Days!

Thanks for all the advice and comments! I think I've made a decision to just stick to Gu and water. I've read online that Gu does contain electrolytes, so that's a plus! Now, concerning the whole sock issue... I think I'll just wear my normal socks and just use Body Glide on my feet before putting the socks on. But, this is exactly what I did Saturday and it didn't stop the blisters. So, we'll see. My only concern on wearing different socks is that my feet will be hot. I wore different socks Tuesday night and I could definitely tell that the socks were too thick...


Moving on.. I've printed out the race map and have figured out a few places where my family can cheer me on from - without having to drive all over the place. So far, it looks like hubs, my dad and maybe my stepmom will be in attendance. Which, is fine by me. As long as I have a few people there - I'm pretty happy. :)


My stomach has started giving me some issues - I'm hoping it's just nerves. I'm pretty sure that's all it is. I just hope the issues go away and will not make an appearance on race day.


I'm thinking of soaking in Epsom Salt the night before the race. I usually just take a warm bath, but I'm wondering if this ES will help loosen up my muscles. Any thoughts?


I pick up my race packet after work - I'm super duper excited! I'll still have to pick up my timing chip race morning. For some reason, they're not letting us pick them up till Saturday morning. Guess they want us to be even more stressed?? ha!


Last but not least...and totally unrelated.. Here is a picture of me and Paula Deen (cut out) from this past weekend. It's a tradition that I take a picture with her every time we go eat there. I totally should've taken off my jacket as it makes me look like a whale...but you live and you learn, right? lol Also, please note that I ran 10.5 miles that day and hadn't had a nap! HA!

2 more days till my first half marathon!!!

Running Madness!

All things running associated are running through my head right now. I had my last training run last night and it went ...differently. We had 4 miles map'd out and the first mile I ran way too fast because I was so darn excited. How fast? 10:57. That's fast for me. After that, things went a little south. The run felt hard, my legs felt dead tired, and my heart just wasn't in it. But, you wouldn't have known that by my overall pace - 12:18 (I think). That's a tad quicker than I usually run! So, on paper, the run looks pretty well, though I know how hard it felt! I'm chalking it up to tired legs and from just being plain worn out myself.

Aside from that, I woke up in the middle of the night last night feeling a pain in my shin. Uh oh. So, I have plans of icing and resting that baby tonight. No worries since it doesn't actually hurt to walk and I'm not even thinking of sprinting across the parking lot to see how it feels. No worries, right?

Now, onto socks. I've been running in dry wick (is that right?) socks that have compression around the arch. I love those socks. They are thin, cheap, and I've used them for 2 years now. They hold up really well. Everything was fine till this past Saturday. 10.5 miles did a number on my feet. Blisters? Yes. Lucky for me, they didn't pop (ew) or anything and they're not bothering me as of right now. But, my thoughts are...should I try a thicker sock this Saturday or just stick with these and deal with the blisters? Or what about that mole skin stuff; does that stuff work?? Any thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

Then, the thoughts on Gatorade - or any type of drink or gel with electrolytes in it... Gatorade and I don't get along. In training, I've drank normal ole water, but now I'm wondering - should I have something with electrolytes in it? I take Gu, but Gu doesn't have the elects in it does it? Oh what to do, what to do... So, I need input please!

Now, goals. Goals:

• Goal A: to finish.
• Goal B: to finish under 3 hours.
• Goal C: to finish at 2:45 or under.

I know I can complete Goal A. I'm pretty darn sure I can do Goal B. Now, Goal C? It's going to be a close call!
For those of you who are interested...I'll be posting my racing outfit on Friday (Photo Friday)!

Orders From The Doctor...

I went to the Dr again yesterday for my legs. It's been two weeks since my last appointment and according to him, I should've been feeling pretty good by now...Well, that isn't the case. So, I went back to the Dr and this time he did X-Rays...(which yes, he should've done the first time)... And guess what? I've got a stress fracture in BOTH legs. Yes, you read that right - both.

So, I'm officially not doing the half marathon I've been training so hard for. I'm really depressed about it too. This was THE biggest goal (physically) that I've ever set for myself and now I feel as if I failed it. I just don't understand why my legs/bones wont hold up when other people's will... Stupid, I know, but it's whats going through my head right now. All I wanted was to do the race this weekend and to get that finisher's medal...But, instead, I'll get a race t-shirt which I'll never wear because I didn't do the race...Ugh.

Anyways, moving forward... I can't run until December and even then I have to start off slow. But the Dr does want me to do some sort of exercise and told me that I could start biking... Which I thought was pretty cool since my husband has been wanting us to start that.. So, when I called my hubbie crying because I couldn't run, he said not to worry, we were going to go get bikes. So, last night, we went to the sports store and bought ourselves two bikes and plan on riding them tonight! I'm so excited! :)