Running!

It's that time again ... training season. :) I'm so excited. Jenny and I are volunteering again for the Galloway Training program as Pace Group Leaders for the Palm Beach Half Marathon. We have a pretty big group right now, I think 13 people. Today we're doing 6 miles ... and for most of them, it's the most they've ever done. I really enjoy watching them progress and do things they didn't think they could. I've been up since 4:20am, I need to leave shortly to pick Jenny up and get to Fleet Feet by 5:45 to start running at 6:00 .... it sure is early.

We have a busy day ahead of us ... when I get back from my run, we're going to Alex's open house at his daycare so we can meet his new teachers. He's moving up to the toddler class. It'll be interesting. No more cribs to sleep in, no more tables to hold them ... it's on to mats on the floor for nap time and a small table with chairs. I think they potty train them in this class too. Alex has started telling us when he goes in his diaper, so it's time I guess. I thought you didn't potty train till 3? Shrug. We're learning as we go.

Gotta run .. yes, I know I need to post pics of Puerto Rico .... hopefully this weekend I'll find some time. My brother-in-law, Aldo, is on his way here from Texas to stay with us for a bit, so lots to do before he gets here. Joy joy.

Back on track!

Yeah, I've been missing for way too long ... time seems to be flying by these days ... this post is about my running, I'll post about Alex and the house soon ...

Jenny and I did 1.98 miles with an average while running of 14:38 this morning ... OMG. I feel so totally fantastic! I'm so happy to be running again. We haven't run together since ... April? Jenny sprained her ankle at work and wasn't allowed to run for what seems like forever. We were group leaders for a newbies only running group at Fleet Feet that ended in May at the 'Run for the Pineapple 5k' ... The results show I finished in 50:42, but they didn't have a starting time, so I think it was closer to 49! Yeah, I know, a minute really doesn't matter to most, but it does to me. :) The group we "trained" ran ahead of me, I am so very proud of them! Way to go ladies!

Jenny and I will be pace group leaders (PGL) again (3rd year) for the upcoming Galloway training group at Fleet Feet in Stuart. We're aiming for the Martin County Half Marathon in October and the Palm Beach Half Marathon in December. Bucky is training to do the full in Palm Beach. I think Jenny/Bucky are talking about doing the full marathon in Tampa at Gasparilla in February ... if so, I'll do the 15k on Saturday and cheer her/them on for the full on Sunday. Then in July we're going up to visit April to do the Peachtree Road Race. That's the long range plan anyways!

Although my weight has stayed at a steady high, ugh ... I'm glad it hasn't crept up higher in the last month of non-activity. My eating hasn't been great and stress has been pretty high. I'm hoping today is a day to get back on track and start feeling great again. I've really missed running. I never thought I'd say that, but I do.

Wonder if I can talk Jenny into running tomorrow? I'm gonna try. :) Alex just woke up .. have a great day!

Palm Beach Half Marathon

Santiago and I dropped Alex off at my parents house (thanks mom and dad!) and headed down to West Palm Beach to pickup my race packet, along with Jenny and Christina's. I was quite annoyed that the exhibit hall closed early and they'd run out of the correct sized shirts, especially considering we all signed up months ago, and when you sign up, you have to give your shirt size. This didn't affect me pesonally since all they had left were Small and 2XL. But that isn't the sizes Christina and Jenny wear. Ugh.


I was really looking forward to walking around the exhibit hall ... that's where you see all the cool new running stuff, get samples of stuff and pickup information about upcoming races. I love seeing what other races are out there and we can do. Oh well.


We met Bucky and two of my training group ladies, Bonnie & Treici for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Way yummy food!! It was a great dinner ... getting to chit chat and hang out before our big race.


Hubby and I stayed at a fancy hotel, Hawthorn Suites, and I woke up early, 3:45am. Bucky met us at our hotel at 4:45 and we headed to the starting line ... the race started at 6, but you've gotta get there early to meet your buddies, stretch and get pumped up!




At the starting line area ... ready to run!!! L to R, Rhonda, Trecei, Me, Bonnie and Jenny ... Christina and Bucky were there too, just not in this picture!


It was so exciting to see everyone so excited! :) I know I was finally feeling good and ready for the race, even though the weeks leading up to it had been hectic. I was ready. As we got lined up, we lost our training group ladies, Rhonda, Trecei and Bonnie, I think they were further up, they planned on staying together, so we weren't worried, plus they're a lot faster than me! :) Jenny, Christina, Bucky and I stayed together for the first mile ... Christina, who had not trained at all, started falling back, (I later found out she fell that morning) ... so Bucky, being the cool guy he is, stayed with her for the entire race ... they walked it.





The race started with a cool breeze and a little fog, it was perfect! Here's Rhonda, Trecei and Bonnie stickin together! On the left is probably around mile 4 and on the right was around mile 7 ... they're always smiling!




I love the picture on the left ... there was one part of the race where you turned around, between miles 6 & 7 ... this is our group around the 7 mile mark and Jenny & I around the 6 mile mark, passing each other ... this really pumped me up. I was so excited to see them doing so well and still smiling. We high-fived each other!





Jenny and I at the 10 mile mark ... Still together and smiling!

During the turn around point, we saw a younger "big" guy and we said we had to catch up to him .. around the 9 mile mark we did. And we told him we were trying hard to catch him, it made him laugh ... we played leap frog a few times, him passing us, us passing him ... and we started chatting with him as we did this ... his name is Simon, he had an accent although I don't know from where ... there was a thin girl in front of him, running backwards, cheering him on and encouraging him. I'm guessing this was his trainer or a good friend. He was struggling. But he was pushing through! I think it was around the 12.5-13 mark that we finally took off ahead of him. When we finished, we went back to the finish line to cheer him on ... it made me cry. It was his first half marathon and you could tell it took everything he had to finish. That's him in the picture below on the far left side.






The time on the clock is from when they started the race, but with so many people, it took a while for us to cross the starting line. We wear a "chip" on our shoes which is our real time ... our chip time was 3:38:53, our pace was 16:42. This is the best I have ever done ... so it's my new "PR" Personal Record!!! I've completed 3 half marathons so far.


Jenny & I stayed together the whole time ... it really meant a lot to me. She pushed me when I wanted to walk, encouraged me when I ran ... it was great! I also pushed myself pretty hard, at one point, I think I ran for 3.5 minutes ... which is a lot for me, considering we do a 30 second run with our training. It felt great to be with her the whole race! We caught up on each other's lives and talked about everything and anything. We are a great team. Towards the end I was hurting and tired, but I listened to Jenny and pushed through it ... it was out of this world having her next to me at the finish line ... and yes, I cried.


Jenny said it was the best she felt after a half ... that's great, considering this was the 5th half marathon she's completed!! WOW!





Us with our hubbies ... they're the best! They're both really supportive of our running. Santiago was all over the course ... snapping pictures, cheering and encouraging us along the way. It was great seeing him every few miles.





We hung around waiting for Bucky and Christina ... we were worried about them, but they made it!! YAY!! It was Christina's first (and I think last) and Bucky's 3rd ... he's usually by my side, but he didn't want to leave Christina alone. Kudos to them both!





Jenny, Christina, Bucky and I after we all finished ... look, we're still smiling!!! :)

I saw this sign as we were leaving and it really hit home ... 7 years ago, I tipped the scales at 374, yes, three hundred seventy-four pounds. I could barely get around, much less go walking or running. In 7 years, I've kept off 100 of the pounds that I lost, and although I'm sure my gastric bypass surgeon wouldn't be jumping up and down with my long term results, I am happy with where I am. If anyone would have told me years ago that one day I'd complete ONE half marathon, I woulda laughed ... and here I am today ... with the help of my family and friends ... happy and looking forward to many more races.

Here's our Galloway training groups' finishing time & pace ... what a great race!!!

Bonnie 3:04:40, 14:06

Teresa (Trecei) 3:06:13, 14:13

Rhonda 3:06:15, 14:13

Me 3:38:53, 16:42

Jenny 3:38:53, 16:42

Bucky 4:59:50, 22:53

Christina 4:59:56, 22:53

For some perspective ... the 1st male finished the half in 1:14:18, pace 5:41 and the 1st female finished the half in 1:25:56, pace 6:34. The 1st full male (26.2 miles!) finished in 2:28:03, pace 5:39 (yes, he finished the full before we finished the half!!) .. and the 1st female finished the full in 2:55:35, pace 6:42 - and she is 50 years old! Isn't that just amazing!

After we finished the race ... Santiago & I stood watching people finish while we waited on Christina & Bucky ... we cheered on lots of strangers, most of them finishing the full marathon, screaming extremely loud for the half finishers.

During this time a running friend, Kathy, came up to me ... I trained with her in 2006 for the Palm Beach Half ... I immediately started crying ... she lost her husband, Mike, suddenly just before Thanksgiving, he was an avid runner and a great guy. Everytime he saw me out running, he telling me how good I was doing and encouraging me to keep going. I must have hugged her 10 times. It was great to see her, but I can only imagine how hard it was for her to be there. Mike was registered to do the full, so Kathy had one of her fast running friends wear his chip ... Kathy said it was the fastest Mike had ever done a full ... we laughed ... she was able to get his finishers medal and the special 5 year finishers medal (for those that have done the Palm Beach since it started 5 years ago) ... I hugged her some more. It was great to see her, but it hurt my heart. I'm not quite sure why his death has affected me like it has, but it's hit home with me. He was a healthy, active man ... I never thought I'd be going to his funeral. It hurts.

The 2008 Palm Beach Half Marathon was the best ... the weather was perfect, not too cold, not too hot, just perfect ... my company was great, my time was awesome ... the entire day was a great day ... I was on cloud nine ... telling everyone that would listen about my race.

My life has changed so much in the last two years ... and I am so very thankful. :)

Rushing about ...

Yes, I know, I'm way behind on my posting and will try to catch up soon ...

This morning I got through some of my 250+ emails that I've had saved in my inbox (read and saved to respond to later - bad idea). I just haven't had much computer time (at home) lately. When I snuck my last few posts in, I was at my parents house for Thanksgiving, Alex was taking a nap and my brother and his family weren't there yet, so I jumped on, posted some pics and that was all I had time for. :( It was nice to finally catch up on some old emails though. I miss staying in touch.

I'm rushing about packing, hubby and I are leaving shortly for West Palm Beach, I'm doing a half marathon tomorrow. We're dropping Alex off at my parents house until we get back tomorrow afternoon. Aren't I lucky to have such great parents!?

Fleet Feet is a big sponsor of the race, so when we're training, it's one of the ones they talk about a lot, especially because it's local and not a "huge" race, so the newbies won't be totally overwhelmed! I'm glad we found this race, it's totally flat and it's a pretty run. Here's some pics from the last two years from the same race ...

Here's Jenny & her hubby Randy after the 2006 Race.

Jenny, Me, Gina and Bucky before the 2006 Race. We sure are happy for a 5am picture!!

Jenny & I after the 2007 Race ... 2 weeks before I had Alex, no wonder I'm so ummm, rounded.

Randy & Jenny right after the 2007 Race ...

I'll post pics of this race hopefully tomorrow ... Jenny and Bucky will be doing it again with me (Bucky & I's 2nd time, Jenny's 3rd). April had an injury and won't be able to do the race, but will be there cheering her hubby, Geoff, on. Lee & Christina are co-workers that are doing it for the first time. And of Jenny & I's Galloway Training Group, Bonnie, Rhonda, and Treici will be there. Tina, Rick, and Cheryl had injuries and won't be able to make it. We'll miss them for sure!

I haven't been training this week ... or much in the last few weeks. It seems the cold/coughs want to stay in our house. I'm so over it. This week Alex was teething and had a fevers up to 104.6, it was very scary for me. :( He's feeling much better now, which I am very thankful for. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and stuffy nose, sigh ... just my luck.

Jenny and I are thinking about doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon ... we keep talking about it. It's so darned expensive though. We'll see if we do that one or another. If we do that one, I'm really going to have to buckle down, lose some weight and increase my speed. They have a pace limit of 16 ... and for long distances, I'm at a solid 17. We'll see.

Ok, I need to run ... hope everyone has a nice weekend!!

Martin County Half Marathon

The water booth that my parents (mom-red American shirt, dad white shirt) volunteered at ... Jill (in pink pants) with the harem and sultan (her hubby). Jill was one of my leaders back when I first started running. She was there for me at the finish line for the Palm Beach Half Marathon in 2006. My parents had a great time helping out.

Video is of my mom and the water stop girls cheering on the runners ... these water stops are the best, not only do they give you hydration, but they really cheer you up and motivate you to keep going! The the Martin County Half Marathon, the water station people were dressed up for Halloween (a lil early) and voted on by the runners ... Lincoln Park Academy's Cross Country Team's water stop won! Go Greyhounds! :)


Alex cheering on runners!


One of my friends, April, running through a busy intersection.


Video is of Rick, Bucky and myself after finishing the last bridge (there were 2 in this race) ... My dad and Alex caught up to us to cheer us on ... the three of us stayed together for a good while, great race company! :)


Parking lot of the race, way more people than I thought would be there! I think there were over 250 people who finished the race! WOW! That a good bit for a local race, put on by Sailfish Striders.

Jenny & Cheryl almost to the end of the race ... Jenny's hubby Randy giving them encouragement!


Trecei, Bonnie & Rhonda just finishing their 1st half marathon!! Way to go girls!!

Jenny smiling after her finish ... and this made me giggle, that's Cheryl in the background sticking her tongue out, as if to say "finally!" ... Way to go!


Jenny & Bonnie after finishing the race, and coming back to cheer everyone on!

April & her hubby Geoff (newlyweds!) after the race, they're still smiling!


Me smiling at April's mom as we were nearing the finish ... Santiago, Alex, my mom, Jenny's hubby Randy and Bonnie are in the background.

One of my favorite pics from the race ... my mom and Alex after we finished.


Me just after I finished .. don't I wish that was my time? Laugh, add an hour to it!

Bucky and I showing off our cool medals!


L to R - Tina & daughter, Jenny, Rick, Me, Bucky & Rhonda after the race ... we're missing Bonnie, Cheryl, Trecei from this picture!! Wish we had a full group one, we'll aim for that at the Palm Beach Half Marathon in December.


Ok ... now that all the pictures and videos are up there, I'll do a re-cap of our race since it's been hectic around here and I haven't made the time ...

We had special permission to start an hour early because we wanted to make sure we finished before they closed the finish line. Bucky, one of my best friends, met us there and did the race with us. Our Galloway training group is ... Rhonda, Cheryl, Tina, Trecei, Bonnie and Rick ... plus Jenny & I.

It was very dark when we started ... we had lots of honking of horns (cheering) as we started off, which was nice. Santiago & Alex caught up with us around the 1 mile mark, so they were there throughout the race ... driving around, honking his horn and cheering as we ran by. That really meant a lot to me.

There were two bridges in this race, which we did not train for, but really, we did just fine. We all enjoyed running down the first bridge, I think we ran for a straight 3.5 minutes ... it was a nice and comfy run downhill.

We ran mostly on sidewalks throughout the race, sometimes on the road. It was hard to see in certain areas, because they weren't all lit very well (I need to invest in a better head lamp) ... I tripped in a dark area around mile 4-5 and hit the ground with a nice hard "thud" ... if you look closely at my shirt at the end, you can see the grass stains. Not fun. Although Jenny said I would laugh about it later. :)

By the time we got our of the the Sewell's Point neighborhood around mile 8, Rick, Bucky and I were running together, everyone else was doing great and ahead of us. Around mile 10.5 or so, I told Rick to go ahead, I was hurting pretty bad, my feet were killing me, my thighs were cramping up ... Bucky stayed with me and we walked the rest of the way. I was still sick, coughing with an ear ache, and my fall didn't help me (yes, I'm trying to justify my slow time).

With all of that said, as Bucky and I neared the finish line, we had lots of people cheering us on ... Santiago & Alex, my parents, April's parents (and dog, Molly), April's hubby Geoff, Jenny & her hubby Randy .. I'm sure others were there (Bonnie?), but I'm having a brain fart right now.

With everything I had left, we ran the last tiny bit through the finish line ... we finished around 5 minutes slower than we did the Palm Beach Half Marathon in 2006. So although I'm not thrilled with my time, I'm very happy I finished!!

Shortly after I finished, I saw Rick ... carrying around a bunch of balloons! :) How sweet! I think his daughter brought them for him. We met our group's families, kids and cheerleaders! It was so great they were able to be there to cheer them on! I know it means the world to me to have my family there for me. We've trained together for so long, it was so heartwarming to see them all with smiles on their faces and knowing they just finished 13.1 miles!! :) I'm so very proud of them all!

We all took a few pictures ... had some hugs and I put on a big smile ... and disappeared pretty quick to find a banana and a place to sit down ... I was in a haze ... I wasn't feeling myself at all. Usually after a race, I'm exhausted, but on a total high, in very good spirits and talking about the race. This wasn't the case this time. I was hurting so badly, my body ached. I cried. I was shaky and just out of it. I think Jenny made me drink the endurox. I made it to the van, sat down and was just, ouch, hurting ... we all hung out for a bit ...

April crossed the finish line shortly after ... we hugged and we just cried and cried. I met April at a Gastric Bypass support group right after she had her surgery 2 years ago. She's worked hard to get where she is today and I am so proud of her and how far she's come ... as I told her in her ear, who would have ever thought we'd be runners??? :)

Sunday afternoon was rough ... but I survived ... and looking back on it all ... I'm very happy and already looking for another race ... Jenny and I are talking about doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Whining.

Ok, so in less than 7 hours, I need to be dressed and leaving my house to pickup Jenny and head to Jensen Beach Park to start our "training" half marathon with our Galloway training group. This is will be different though cause this is a real race ... the Martin County Halloween Half Marathon. :) I picked up our packets today at Fleet Feet (they're a big sponsor) and they made the coolest looking shirt, I'll have to get a picture of it.

Normally I would be very excited, and I kinda am .. but I'm sick. I'm still coughing junk up, my eye still itches and is gooey and today my ears started hurting. Can't someone take me out back and shoot me? Geeze. I'm so totally over being sick. And Jenny said today that she wasn't feeling well, I hope she's feeling better tomorrow.

On the other hand ... I'm very excited about our group doing this half. They have worked so very hard for it. Putting in the weekly runs and doing the Saturday training together. They're really a great group of people.

And Bucky is coming to do the race with us, and I don't get to see him very much anymore. I think this is only the second time since Alex was born actually. It'll be nice ot catch up with him in person. So I'm excited, just wish I wasn't feeling this crappy.

Ok, I'm headed to bed ... come cheer us on if you're local and are up that early ... we should finish at the Jensen Beach Park around 9:15-9:30 ish .... we're going over two bridges and my group hasn't done any hill work, so it'll be interesting! :)

11 MILES!!!!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Wow.

I'm a giddy.

I did it. I really did it. I did 11 miles ... Go ME! I'm a little achy, but nothing major. I just emailed our group, here's the numbers from our run:

Total Distance: 11.00 miles
Total Time: 3:11:28
Overall Pace: 17:24 (Previous weeks: 17:16, 17:06, 17:06, 16:58)

Calories Burned: 2,156 (with my weight of 270)

The overall pace is a bit off though ... we don't stop our watches for water/bathroom breaks, so really we were going faster than that during our runs. I'm frustrated with my Garmin. Of course it's not the newest, I bought it in 2006 when Jenny & I started running. But since Jeff Galloway changed our running ratio to 30:30 (seconds) instead of a 1:1 (minute) ... there are only 99 "laps" you can program. Argh. So on the 9 mile run, we didn't get an accurate pace and such because the Garmin stopped after it got to 99 laps. So for this run we set it to 'alert' us every 30 seconds ... which doesn't keep track of your running/walking pace ... which annoys me terribly. I like to know that info! So I'm annoyed with my Garmin. Maybe the newer ones don't have this limit. Who knows.

Anyways ... I'm thrilled ... I'm drinking some gatorade right now and I just had a bagel (I'm sure my gastric bypass readers are cringing at the bagel part!) ... I'm gonna go chill for an hour then time to get ready for April & Geoff's celebration, then off to Orlando with Jenny.

Oh, and I checked on Alex ... he did fine last night, slept till 4:30 am or so ... he was outside playing with my mom when I called. My dad was giving me a play by play of what Alex was doing, it was cute, I could hear the smile on my dad's face as he was telling me. Alex is so lucky to have them so close by.

One last thing ... Go ME!!!!!! :)

Friday Evening

I should be in bed by now ... but I'm excited, nervous, anxious ... all rolled into one. Tomorrow is our 11 mile run. I'm planning on waking up at 3:00am, leaving by 4:00am, to be at Fleet Feet by 5:00am to start our run. I'm guessing it'll take us around 3 hours. 3 hours. Can you picture it? I can. I'm looking forward to it. :)

Jenny watched Alex for a bit today, she said he wasn't his usual self, he had a slight fever. He is staying the night at my parents house ... he's not feeling well though, I think he's teething. He had a fever, 102.1, this afternoon but he's been really happy and playing, so I'm hoping it's nothing serious. My mom called, Alex is already asleep, yay! Santiago is working late tonight, so he won't be home till around midnight.

When I get home from the run, Santiago & I are going to April & Geoff's celebration lunch, they got married a few months ago and are now having a 'reception'. They're also doing the Galloway training, so they're doing 11 miles tomorrow too!

Then Saturday afternoon Jenny and I are leaving for Orlando, we're doing Disney's Race for the Taste 10k on Sunday. A 10k is 6.2 miles ... laugh ... yeah, it's going to be an interesting weekend.

I better get to bed ...

Training Started!

I'm so totally pumped right now! Last Saturday was the Kick Off of the Galloway Training program at Fleet Feet in Stuart. It was an information session with a demo run afterwards. This morning was our first "real" run, and it was just fantastic! :)

I'm sure it's hard for most people to picture someone my size running ... but as I said last week at the info session, I was built for endurance, not speed. I stole that quote from Jenny during our first year of running. Running gives me such a natural high that lasts throughout the day.

A little history on my running ... Jenny and I did a 5k at Disney in January 2006 with my mom and family friend, Belle. We were all running to raise awareness and money for the Jerry Ayre Scholarship Fund, who is the son of one of Belle's friends (now my friend too!).

Anyways ... while we were waiting around for the 5k to start, we were watching the Half Marathoners finish. Jenny and I were cheering them on and we were very moved, I was even crying. It was just totally amazing to watch these people, not all of them thin people, some older, some kids ... some couples holding hands as they finished. It was just amazing for us to witness it. We decided then and there that would be us the next year. And we set out to accomplish that goal.

We started going to local 5k events, where we met lots of great people and learned about Fleet Feet in Stuart. During the summer of 06, we signed up for the Galloway Training so we could do the Disney Half Marathon. It was not easy! I started out at 267 and I really had a hard time with it, but we did it! During my run training, I was also going to Harsh Reality Fitness twice a week for strength training, which really kept me focused.

December rolled around and so did the Palm Beach Half Marathon, which we registered to run. It was a very hot day, but Jenny, Bucky and I completed our first half marathon!! Jenny stayed with her running group and Bucky and I stayed together. It was hard work, but we did it! My hubby, my parents and my brother were along the course cheering us on, that really meant a lot to me. I was on a high for weeks afterwards, telling everyone I could that *I* did a half marathon. I mean, really, how many people can say that? I was, and still am, so very proud of myself. During that training, I lost 30 pounds, which was a great "side effect" of the training. I'm aiming for similar results with this training!

Alex is napping, I've gotta get a shower then we are going to the La Leche League meeting in Fort Pierce. I'm hoping this weekend I can learn how this blogging works and get some pictures posted. I've had a blog on myspace for a good while, but I haven't been able to keep up with it and my family doesn't like having to join myspace in order to see pics of Alex and see what's going on. So since a lot of my friends are doing this, I figured I'd give it a try. :)