I rocked...

Wowza, I am no longer a half marathon virgin! It has taken me quite a while to recover and even have the energy to try and recap ALL that happened last weekend. So, I am gonna break it down into two parts for your reading pleasure.  First up, Thursday thru Friday, the pre-race festivities, or as I like to call it, "The whole reason to do these big, expensive races!'

Thursday morning, or hours before I was to be free for two days, my boys decided to give me a nice sendoff. Peyton broke a couple of blackberry syrup jars in the laundry room while trying to climb a shelf and while I was cleaning up that mess, Brady decided to get in on the mix and play with his poop in the dining room. I COULD NOT have been more ready to leave. It was going to be my first time away from Riley at night, and I was doing it for two, but I felt she was ready ( or I was a nervous wreck, but desperate to go!)

Excited to be on the road!

Stacie pulled up to get me, and I think I may have sprinted to her car. It was time for an all ladies night at the Sarah and Dimity "Run Like a Mother" house party. Jesse and Jason would be meeting us up there the next day. I was excited for this event and it did not dissapoint! Sarah and Dimity, with the help of their hostess, put together a great shindig with food, prizes, and some great freebies! They are both such funny ladies and it was fun to put their voices to the words in their books. Of course, it was also fabulous to hang out with all my bloggy friends and meet a couple that I have been stalking for quite some time, Lesley and Tricia. 

Here is Lesley, Me, and Stacie

Stolen from Jill!

After the party, and a purchase or two, we followed Zoe back to her house where she graciously put us up for the night despite being in the middle of moving! It was fun to stay up late gabbing and playing with her cuttie patootie daughter, but eventually we all needed to hit the sack. And did we, it may have been 10:00 before Stacie and I got up! We quickly showered and cleaned up, got some sage advice from Zoe's dad (sex before race day, always!) and went out into the pouring rain to Expo it up. There was a very near miss on the freeway where we almost became very acquainted with the bumper in front of us, but we made it to the expo and quickly made our way inside.

I am always overwhelmed when I walk in there. So much to see (read BUY), try (buy), and sample (buy). We got our packets and race shirts, mine was a depressing medium. Apparently when I signed up, I thought for sure I would have lost the baby weight by now, haha got you sucker! But it better be gone by next year, because I signed up for a medium again! The plan was to take a lap, sans boys, to get a good feel for the place, and then do our shopping. Well, we were only about half through when they caught up with us. No offense, dudes, but you kind of bring an Expo down! Stacie and I did have a great time getting our samples and freebies. I tried everything I could, partly because I was starving, and partly because I knew it would be a good idea to fuel up for the next day. We had made it through most of the booths, including spinning for some awesome tuna prizes (Jesse did get a shirt), 

My new beau!

and then we parted ways for a bit so I could get KT taped, but met back up for the Bloggy Meet-up. It was very official this year, Mel was even on the Expo schedule. We heard some great advice from her and John Bingham, and then posed for our signature pic. Poor Jesse is always the only boy at these bloggy things!

My turn to pose with Tricia!

By this time I was getting hungry and tired, so we posed for a few pics, signed up for next years race, bought some insoles, and then headed for the hotel.

Yes, Jesse and I are fun, Stacie and Jason are not!

I got us a hotel early on that was walking distance to the start and finish since we didn't have any drivers. It was nice to be so close, so I invited Stacie and Jason to stay with us, in their own bed, and add to the fun. Even though the hotel was super nice, we were starving and had add to get food asap, so we jetted out and around the corner to The Cheesecake Factory. After an evil 20 min wait, we were at our table chowing down on a ton of bread, ok maybe just I ate a ton! I was so full from the bread and sweet potatoe fries that I coulodn't even eat my pasta, but still managed to order some cheesecake to go! That evening in the hotel was filled with naps, cheesecake, and way too many laughs to count. We were like giggly kids at a sleepover camp. I was almost crying at one point when Jason was serenading Stacie to sleep! Ah, pants on!  Maybe not the best nights sleep before a race, but I hadn't trained for this race, it was all about FUN for me, so the night was perfect! Up next, the actual race!

Gym Brats

Both of my parents were coaches and my sisters and I grew up in a gym. We spent many a night playing, in not a very safe manor might I add, on all the workout equipment upstairs, building forts with the mats, and generally causing havoc! But, we loved it! Gym time was always fun. I feel bad that my kids don't have that. Peyton has gone to track a few times with Jesse, but I don't think it is the same. Now, when we say "We're going to the gym." it means something else entirely. You would think they would love the dedicated playtime at the daycare, but this isn't always the case. When my sister tried to join me at the gym yesterday, her daughter (who did just break her collarbone) threw a fit saying she didn't want to go. Then there are days when we take them and there isn't gymnastics or the pool and Brady, especially, has a hard time understanding that, so a fit usually ensues.

Some of my Gym Brats

But, with Jesse and Peyton still gone, I decided to try and take Brady and Riley to the gym where we do gymnastics at to try and get a workout in. There is this weird spot on my leg that has been hurting, it feels like it's strained, and it makes walking and running even more painful.





Riley is helping to show you where it hurts!

So, I decided to try and stay away from those two activities as not to anger it before the half. I got brave and tried a machine I'd never done before. It is a new fancy machine that I don't know the name of, but you stand on it, like an elliptical, and then you float out sideways and then pull your knees back up and in. Great explanation right? Wait, I found a picture!

Well I did that for 350 calories (while playing the worlds slowest game of sudoku on it, told you it was fancy) and then moved to the spinning bike. It occurred to me while I was on it that, yes, RnR was this weekend, but Chelan Man (my first full length sprint tri) was only a month away. I definitely need to get my butt on the bike more. That forced me to keep my sweaty butt on there for a good 30 min while doing 4-1 min stand ups, which I usually can't do for very long. I left the gym VERY satisfied with my workout and my burn, which helped contribute to another pound lost. That puts me at 7 down, 3 to go before Saturday. Lets hope I don't eat too much at all the get togethers leading up to it! Yikes, that just reminds me how excited I am for this weekend! Yippeeeeee!





Three Things Thursday

1. My run last night, YIKES! Not at all what I was hoping for. It can barely be classified as a run, more like MOVING for 5 miles! I don't know what was up with my tummy, but despite the fact that it was feeling off, I really wanted to get the run in and beat my previous time. By mile 2.5 I was toast. Anytime I started to run, the yuckies in my belly started rising up. I made the depressing choice to walk the rest of it (I still wanted to get in the 5 miles!) My knees always give me problems, but adding the tummy issues was too much for me to handle. Bummer.

2. Speaking of the knees, they suck. Sometimes I can get them warmed up, but usually they just hurt the whole run and when I take walk breaks they freeze up. Jesse went to GNC and got me some joint pills because I have had bad joints since highschool. I am excited to give em a try and they said I should be able to tell if its working within 10 days, which will be just in time for RnR! The extra poundage I am carrying also isn't helping, so I have put a big push on losing it! So far I am down 5 lbs in a week and a half. My goal was 10 by Seattle, so I have to keep working!

3. We are working on the name for our Spokane 2 Sandpoint relay team. I am wanting to do something for breast cancer awareness and have those that will wear pink. I put the task out to my fb friends to help come up with some names that would be both FUN and INSPIRING and here are our top contenders...

Team Save Second Base
Pink Warriors
Save the Ya's Ya's
Pink Panthers
Two's Company
Team Squeeze Play
Save the Tatas...we could wear shirts like this



Can you help us decide and cast your vote for your favorite? It would be a huge help!

Coach and Peyton are leaving for Utah tonight, so it will be just me and the two youngest for 4 days! Guess there will be lots of runs with the jogger in my future!

Have a great Thursday!

If a tree falls...

You know the old philosophical question, "if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?" Well, that is how I've been feeling about my running. If I run, but don't blog about it, does it count? Sounds silly right? But that's how I feel sometimes. Like my lack of recording it takes away from its triumph! Now, before I rile you all up, I know this isn't true, I guess I just miss bloggy land and all it's wonders when I'm gone!


Solution; start blogging again! I have so many exciting events and races coming up, that I would be super sad if I didn't commit them to writing and pictures! First up, Seattle Rock n Roll next weekend. It will 3 fun filled days, starting with a party thrown by the Run Like a Mother gals and ending with 13.1 miles of cheering, dancing, and some running with my best friend, the hubs! Can't wait!!!!!


For now, I am trying to get in as many miles as possible so I can SURVIVE the half. Last night was my first 5 + mile run. Well, run with some walking. I managed 5.18 miles in 1:08. Yikes, I know, but that is progress for me. I will try to beat that time tonight! Wish me luck.

How are you all? PLEASE tell me what you are up to! Ok, much love. Glad to be back!