My First Half Marathon is Done!

Friday night I had mac and cheese for dinner and was in bed at 8:30 (and was awake at 2:30!) but dozed on and off until 7:30. I ended up skipping Weight Watchers - I wouldn't have weighed in anyways.

My daughter had a 9:00 am soccer game and I had to drive an hour to pick up my bib starting at noon. The weather wasn't conducive to apple picking so we went for Mexican for lunch - probably not my smartest choice, but I drank a ton of water all afternoon. After getting my bib, the rain stopped long enough for us to grab some Mumms and mini-pumpkins for a farm stand, and then I lounged the rest of the afternoon and ate a huge bowl of pasta for dinner.

Wake-up was 4:30 am. The race started at 8:00, but parking was going to be a problem so we need to get there early. I met my friend at 6:00 and she drove to the coast. It was definitely chilly. Thankfully I had brought a throw-away coat (it was too big - yeah!!!) for the start of the race.

Sunrise over Hampton Beach, NH

My goal really was to just finish the race. I would have liked to get under 2:30 but I hadn't trained for it. My hopes were to run 12:00 minute miles for 0-7, 11:30 for 7-10 and 11:00 for 10-13.1. The race was 4,700 people - Me and my friend lined up in the last corral - though she could have lined up in the one prior as she was hoping for 2:19.

I started out too quickly running about 11:30 and I really ended up doing that for the majority of the race. There were only small inclines, the max getting to 60 feet above sea level. There was a strong headwind the last 2 miles by the beach, which were hard. By that time my feel were hurting and I wasn't sure if mentally I could keep going on. I was tempted to call my husband, but I talked out loud to myself and got through. I was able to gun it the last .3 miles (at a 8:45 pace) and finished in 2:33.

I was thankful to have my camelbak as I didn't have to stop for the water stops, except once to douse my bandana. I had on sunglasses but hadn't worn my hat - I kind of wish I had. We really lucked out with the weather - I am not sure how I would have done if it had been hot!

My toes are not good. I thought I was getting a blister on my little toe but it didn't blister but I am wondering if I may end up losing it :( One of the big toes was so so, but the other was a bloody mess when I took off my shoes :( I didn't do much to it last night - I just changed the wrappng, but I've got to let it breath and drain it and keep it clean.

I am scheduled to do a 10K on Monday but even if my legs are feeling okay, I may have to skip it to let my toes heal. We have a date with Mickey Mouse in a month and I need to be healed by then!

So what is next?
Enjoying long runs of 6-8 miles - but I need to make myself do them! Not every single weekend, but more often than not. Last year when I wasn't training, I only got out once a month if that because I used every excuse not to - it was raining, I was tired, I want to sleep - all the things I haven't used as excuses for the last 3+ months.

I will do another 1/2 - I am just not sure when and where. We really lucked out with the weather but I can't always be guaranteed such good luck. And getting in all those long runs in August and September is hard with the schedule - but when would be a good time? I need to find a perfect end-of-April race :) But I also love all the spring 5ks.

It is what it is.....

My first 1/2 is in 2 days, I am not sure how my toes will fair, I've been eating myself out of house and home and I've gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks. It is what it is.

Sunday I ran/walked our town's 5k with my 8 year old. It was very hard for me not to be racing, or even running the whole thing, but it wasn't about me. I am so glad I didn't sign up for the 1/2 Marathon - It was hot and it didn't start until 10:00 - There were only 222 people who finished and looking at the results, I would have been one of the last ones. Much better to do a race with a much bigger field!

My toes have continued to bother me - not only were they raw and sensitive, because of the pain I have not been walking much, but when I do, I've been walking on the outside of my feet, screwing up my muscles and joints. Fun times.....

They have made vast improvements in the last 2 days, though I haven't put on shoes and socks yet. But I am hoping by Sunday they will be tolerable.

I am not even worrying about the scale right now.  Yes, it has said some pretty frightening things this week - like 8 lbs up! But I will deal with that after the race. Yes, I plan on having a lot of pasta the next couple of days and I will be having some celebratory food on Sunday, but then it will  be right back on track, even with TOM coming next week.

My poor toes!!!

I can't do this 1/2 marathon or have a DNF because of my toes, I am going to be pissed!!


After much googling, I decided I needed to drain the 2 large blisters I got last weekend. I did it Tuesday night, but by Thursday night they were filled again, so I drained them again. Yesterday I had the day off so I left the blister bandaids off of them to let them dry out, but then my rest toe cracked and bled. And when I put the blister bandaid back on, the top layer ripped off when I took it off.


I wanted to test my feet out, so I decided to do 7 miles this morning. Then I would run/walk the 5K tomorrow with my daughter.


I wrapped my toes and headed out. I felt really good running and my toes felt good for 5 miles. Then they both started to hurt. I hadn't brought shoes to change into since I haven't been doing that unless I run 10+ miles. When I got out of the car at home (after a 25 minute drive) I could barely walk my toes hurt so much.


I decided to forego my daughter's soccer game so I could shower and do errands and tend to my toes. I think I need to at least order new socks for next weekend (it makes me nervous to try something new on such a big run) and I will be tending to my toes all week long - I may even wear Crocs to work all week - how sexy!!!


I am also concerned amount the pain in my toes altering my walking gait and that I will screw up my muscles just by walking.

Mid-week check in

Today has been a horrible day foodwise (and isn't over yet!) We had a lunch presentation which I was a presenter - they brought in pizza and soda. Probably because I was nervous, I had 2 pieces and a soda before.....and then 2 pieces and a soda after. And now we are all going out for a going away party for a co-worker - drinks and appetizers. I probably won't have drinks, but appetizers - yes!

I wasn't very successful with my holding out for a 7:15 dinner on Monday - I held out for a while, but got hungry and munchy.

Yesterday I was trying to clean out some stuff in the pantry so had a "no cook" Thanksgiving dinner - canned cranberry sauce, Stove Top stuffing, pre-made mashed potatoes, cooked turkey, green beans with Funions, and then apple pie and ice cream. All this on a Tuesday night. Not good.

BUT I got up and worked out this morning. I woke up without an alarm around 5:10 and was wide awake because I had fallen asleep at 9:30 (probably from the turkey!). I knew I had NO excuse to not get up. I fumbled around for clothes. I walked on the treadmill for 5 minutes and then ran for 5 minutes - my legs really weren't feeling good yet, so I got on the bike for 10 minutes and then did a little bit of lifting and core wore. Just enough to dip back into it.

The weather report for Sunday is still in the 80s, but low humidity so I think I am back to thinking I will run my race....even though the thought of doing 7 miles in the shade of the bike path sounds really nice.

13.14 mile run

I do feel like I want to crawl into bed and wake up when my legs don't ache, but I did complete my first ever 1/2 Marathon distance.


And along with that came completing the goal I set for myself in February, to double my 2013 distance of 150 miles.

It wasn't a pretty run, but before the re-cap, let's go to Saturday.

I had a successful day on Friday, eating normally and woke up on Saturday to 180.0. I was so tempted to not drink or eat anything at my WW meeting and see if I had to go to the bathroom again when I got home, but I was too hungry and I figured that was just a little bit too neurotic.

It was 35 degrees when I woke up - I was very jealous of my running friend who got to do her long run on Saturday. I had thought my daughter's soccer game was at 10:15 on Saturday, but it was at 2:15 - I was tempted to run on Saturday, but I hadn't carbo loaded at all and I really wanted to go to WW, plus I couldn't lie down all day like I intended to do on Sunday. So I spent all Saturday getting stuff done for the week to come so I could truly do nothing on Sunday, except for run. We went to soccer and then out to dinner (Italian  - ie pasta :) )

The forecast for Sunday had been humid and 80 all week. When I woke up at 5:30, it was pouring! I looked at the radar and knew I had to wait it out - though the hourly forecast showed potential for thunderstorms, which made me nervous. I stayed in bed a while longer and heading out at 7:00. The sun was starting to come out when I left my house, but by the time I got to the bike path it was raining again.

When I got out of my car, my passenger seat was wet and a wet camelback proved that I had not secured my bladder correctly. In trying to fix it in the rain, I lost quite a bit of water. I didn't think about replacing it with water I had in the car because last week I had had so much water left.

The rain ended pretty quickly and didn't rain for the rest of my run.

I had a Salted Caramel Gu before I started, and at around 3,6 and 9 miles. Because it was 100% humidity, I took some water at each mile. The drawback of a camelback is not knowing how much water is left :(

I ran the 5 miles to the end of the path, turned around and ran 1.5 miles, then turned around again and went to the end again and then onward for the final 5 miles.

Negative splits were not meant to be. The humidity was starting to get to me. I knew my water was getting low and I needed it for my final Gu. Once I hit 11.7 miles, I knew I had completed my 2014 goal of 300 miles. I was very tempted to quit and walk the last 1.5 miles, but I knew I could run and be done faster. The last couple of miles were torture. I felt a twinge in my hip, my ankle, my knees were aching, and then I felt like my toes were rubbing together on my left foot and it hurt.

But I did it. I hit 13.14 miles (I did a little extra because I want to do a full 5K + 10 miles). I was so relieved. I walked the remaining .25 miles and walked around the parking lot for a while. I took a good 30 minutes to stretch, walk and decompress before I left like it was safe enough for me to get in the car and drive 25 minutes home.

Before I drove off, I took off my shoes and socks to put on my calf compression sleeves. I found HUGE blisters on both my big toes - on the side next to my 2nd toe.

I skipped my normal routine of getting gas on the way home. Even though I was thinking of getting 2 bags of ice and doing my first ice bath. But I just wanted to get home.

I took a long warm bath and then lay on the couch all afternoon. I ate like crazy (and did drink a lot of water) - this is why I gained so much weight in 2002 when I was training for Mt Rainier - every Saturday for 4 months I hiked 3-5 hours and then ate like crazy the remainder of the day and all the next day.

But I don't plan on having this feeling much - I am completely nervous about my toes. I am scared that whatever caused them to blister will happen early in the race in 2 weeks and I will be in pain, or I won't be able to continue. I am nervous for humidity.

Right now I am just eager to run 3.14 miles on Sunday for the 1/2 Marathon race to be over so I can go back to running 7 miles. I still can't believe I am looking forward to 7 miles because that would be easy.

Getting through the week....

This is one of those Friday's that I just want the day to be over and wake up on Saturday. Though I shouldn't expect a huge miracle or anything in the morning. But I am excited to see my weight and got to my meeting.

The week continues to be a success.

Wednesday night I made pasta for dinner - had a second small helping and a chocolate chip cookie my husband brought home from a work function, but no eating while making dinner.

Yesterday I went out to lunch with my co-worker and ate what I planned - a small burrito and water. My family was away for dinner so I had a PB&J sandwich and a piece of fruit. That is part of why I am not expecting a big miracle tomorrow morning.

This morning the scale said 181.8. But I usually see a big drop after having a tiny dinner. I will have another tiny dinner tonight as I usually do on Friday nights, so I don't expect the miraculous drop tomorrow as well.

I so badly want the scale to say 179.8 so I am going to be working hard!!

Today I am working at home, so I am trying so hard to eat like normal - that is one great reason of having my meeting on Saturday mornings, to keep me in line if I am home on Friday.

Last night I started flipping my closet to fall. I knew I needed to try on the size 14s I bought in August. Everything fit well! These are the other things I did:
--Moved upstairs the majority of my summer clothes except what I anticipate I may need  for Disney
--Had a few remaining 16W bottoms which went upstairs
--in my Fall closet are my new 14 bottoms and a couple size 16 (not 16W), as well as size L shirts - the size 16s are a tad big, but still doable
--I left my XL shirts from last winter in the back of the closet, mainly because I ran out of space in the attic and there are a couple of pieces I may need because I don't have an L equivalent and I don't want to buy it again. I am also a little nervous about some of my existing L shirts - some are a little short and with the post-kid chest, they are even shorter. I did buy quite a few size L tops which appear to be longer, so I am hoping I don't need to dip into any of my XL shirts.

Today I am rocking a pair of size 14 jeans which are total "Mom Jeans" because they are not low rise, but I am okay with that!!

Mid-week check-in: Doing Good

Even though TOM has been kind of a bitch this month, I am feeling really good this week. Maybe still on a high from my run this past weekend. But really my TOM issues are before, not during. I can feel myself getting thinner and less bloated, so I am usually in a good mood. And knowing that the 2 weeks after, pre-ovulation is when I feel my best out of the month, it is something to look forward to.

While our dinners have been a little chaotic, 2 nights of not eating when I got home is good!

Yesterday at lunch, I went down to the cafeteria with my co-worker and brought my lunch - didn't buy anything or have any soda

Today I went to the Weight Watcher's meeting at work. I chose to wear jeans at work. We started the meetings around Memorial Day and every week I went I wore a light piece of clothing from my honeymoon wardrobe. While it wasn't overly chilly during the day (a high around 70), it was around 50 this morning. I chose to wear jeans (and a belt!) because I figure that is what I am going to be wearing until the spring. And as long as I am consistent with what I wear, my weight loss should be reflected.

The plan for the rest of the week:
--My family most likely won't be home when I get home, but I will not use that as an excuse to eat while I am making dinner. We are having pasta with homemade meat sauce. I will eat a normal amount. I did get a carrot cake over the weekend and we ate 1/2 of it. I anticipate that we will eat the rest tonight.

--Tomorrow me and my co-worker are going out for shopping and lunch. I am getting the small burrito and a water, what I had been having earlier in the summer, not the large burrito and the Nutella milkshake that I have gotten the last 2 times.

--Thursday I am going to Parent's Night at school, which means I have some time to myself while my husband and the kids are at soccer. Maybe I will fit in a run - depends on whether I get up in the morning and get on the treadmill (I laid out my clothes last night, but didn't get up :( )

--Friday I plan on working from home but will eat my normal food - not get anything extra at the grocery store and have my planned PB&J for dinner.

--Saturday I will go to my WW meeting at 7 am and then have a busy day. We are going out for pasta for dinner of which I will eat a lot. Because.....

--Sunday I am going for my last Long Run. I am not committing to how long. Right now it is supposed to be in the 80s during the day, so who knows what the morning will look like. I want it to be 10-13.1 miles, the later being preferable :)