I'm Back And For Real This Time

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you've all had a fantastic 2011 and are looking forward to 2012 as much as I am!

I know I've been MIA online everywhere since the middle of last year.  I was occupied with training for my first Ragnar, my first half marathon, and pretty much with everything else that is necessary to raise 3 boys with the hubs.

Thanks to Shut Up And Run who inspired me to literally shut up and blog already!  I am hoping (oh boy, here it is again) to keep this blog up again.  I'm going to try my best at least, now that I've found this nifty blogging app called Blogsy.  I'm going to try to not let myself get bogged down by being so far behind on my blog.  I still want to add my Ragnar race recap and finally finish Part 3 of my Monument Av 10k race recap.  This blog, I have to remind myself, is for me after all, and all my followers (you) are like my cheering section, pushing me to run, to train, to draw, to create, and to write.  Thank you!

So here's to new beginnings, new goals, new challenges, new aspirations, and new inspirations for this new year!

Wordless Wednesday: My boys, always my #1 supporters

Help me beat the crap out of lung cancer.

Please DONATE.

First time doing 9 miles!!!!

Did 9 miles last Saturday for the first time ever!  Couldn't help but feel a little badass for surviving a distance I didn't think I could do when I started running that morning.  At Mile 2, I stopped to walk so I can drink some water and paused my Garmin.  I didn't hydrate as well as I should have and was totally feeling it at Mile 2.  Well, I must have gotten distracted because about half a mile later, I realized I forgot to un-pause the Garmin!  ACK!  I did not want to run more than I needed to that day (it was hot), but I wanted my Garmin to record the 9 miles I was about to do, regardless. 

Has that ever happened to you? 

So I pushed myself until I saw 9.03 miles on my Garmin and stopped, but knowing full well I did 9.53.  Regardless, it's the longest distance I've done so far, and I still felt badass at the end, but not without suffering.

My knees started to ache at Mile 3 and I walked and took water breaks at 4, 6, 7, and 8.  I wanted to be able to walk the next day and I'm glad I took those breaks because my knees felt better at the end.  I slowed down too and really just focused on finishing the distance.

What do you do about sore knees?  Does it ever go away with increasing distance?

After completing 9 miles, it occurred to me that my next run could be a 10-miler and after that, I am technically ready and trained for a half marathon!!  WOW.  I never thought I'd get this far!  With Ragnar in late September, I still have time, so I'm going to work my way up as gradually and as safely as I can and hope my knees get used to the mileage.

Anyone else training for a race distance you haven't done yet?  How's the training going?

Three Things Thursday: Why I've Been MIA

So enough procrastinating on my part.  It is 12:17am, I have a 9 miler early tomorrow morning, but I am here, updating my blog.  Finally.  It's not Thursday, but it's never too late for Three Things Thursday.  So here is why I've been MIA for the past 2 months.  :)

The Month of May Excuses (lol)
The dreadful SOLs that my 8 y.o. has to take.  Thank goodness he's got a great memory, but I was on top of that boy since "last day of schoolitis" is going around.  He did great on those tests, by the way. 

Yard sale.  I love and hate yard sales.  Love them because it's a chance for me to get rid of our junk.  Hate them because I have to go through our junk to figure out which ones are junk and then to have to haul them all out onto the driveway.  Why I do this every year escapes me, but for a quarter for this and that, it helps me save many trips to Goodwill.

Ragnar Picnic.  I am the team captain, so did a lot of organizing, researching, to get 12 runners together to meet for the first time for most.  We had a blast. Perfect picnic weather, but that day I was exhausted.  I did an early morning run - 7 miles, I think, and all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. 

The Month of June Whereabouts
Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure.  This needs a race report which I will add to my growing list of must-write race report.  There is nothing like running a race with friends.  More later.

And then I got sick.  I had to skip a few runs which I did not want to do.

Fundraiser.  I got myself even more busy by planning a fundraiser!  In case you didn't know, I am running a race every month to raise money for LUNGevity Foundation for lung cancer research.  I did a used book sale fundraiser.  So for a month we were swimming in books donated by friends and neighbors.  It was heavenly to be surrounded by books but it got out of control, so my time went to organizing them all as if I lived in a library or a bookstore.

The Month of July Excuses
By this time I've had all 3 boys at home.  It's nice to not have to be up every 7am...and sleep in, but the challenge went into entertaining the boys.  So many trips to the library, park, the pool, and playdates outside.

My fundraiser was just last weekend.  I went from having just $50- in my donation bank to now almost $800-!  Thanks to friends who bought books and donated money online.  Oh and if you're wondering how you can help me beat the crap out of lung cancer, please go to my DONATION PAGE.

So the last week, I've been trying to reduce the amount of books I have here before I haul them to the used book store in town.  I've kept up my running since May, and last week signed up for a fitness challenge so I can lose the last 4 pounds I need to lose. 

So there you have it, my Three things for Thursday.  Why you haven't heard a peep from me.  In a nutshell.  I've missed visiting and reading everyone's blogs, but I am back, because I've missed the bloggy world.

Three Things Thursday: Three More Races!

I am a total addict.  I'm addicted to races.  I'm not a fast runner, but I love the rush of a race, the people, and especially the friends whom I get to run with.  A few days ago, I decided to sign up for 3 more races.


1)  Glow for Hope 10K - I'm excited about this one because it's a NIGHT race and lots of glow-in-the-dark possibilities to add to my running outfit.  I'm most excited about running this with lots of friends - my 2 running buddies from my last 10K, my Ragnar Relay teammates, and a couple of Mom's Club friends.  We're just as excited about the Beer Garden at the finish line and the craziness that can happen when you combine post-race euphoria, beer, and friends!!

2) Sunrise Stampede 5K - It's their inaugural race.  I love small town races.  Even though I almost always end up at the back of the pack, I love that it's not crowded and you can't beat the $15- registration fee too!  Running this one with the hubs.  We won't be running together - he's way too fast for me - but it's always fun to start together and to get that big hug from him at the finish line!

3)  Marine Corps Marathon 10K - On the other end of the spectrum is this huge race.  Nope, NOT the full marathon (YET).  I decided to run the MCM 10K because I NEEDED an October race that is not too close to my Ragnar Relay race.  I have no idea how long I would need to recover from Ragnar so I have this one set at the end of October.  Oh and I also like that you get a medal for running a 10K race too. Hee hee.  I'm a little nervous about this race being a week away from my 5K race and 2 weeks away from my first half marathon!  But I think I'll be ok.  I'm going to treat this one as one of my long runs and just have fun.  I haven't found a friend to do this race with me yet.  Hoping my friend Nikki does it with me.

Are you just as addicted to races as me?  How often do you have a race?  Every month, every other month?