Sweaty Bands!

Now I realize these are incredibly girly, but I love them!!! They are multi-functional. They keep your fly-aways out of your hair when you run AND they sparkle, therefore allowing you to look cute while staying athletic. Might I suggest the sparkle color matching with your outfit? So fun!
You can see that I arranged them to be in the shape of the Olympics. I'm the creative type. You're welcome. :D

For all your sweaty band needs....you can visit: www.sweatybands.com :0)

I Love Short Runs!!!

Yesterday, we had a short 8 miler that was awesome. We had about a mile of intense hills, but overall it wasn't bad. And it was short! I love short runs!! I'm trying to prepare for next week's 15 miler. It's going to be insanely hot...the longest I've gone in this heat. I'm nervous. I also have The Hottest Half Marathon coming up in a couple of weeks. Yikes! Why am I so stupid?? Ha. I know I'll be happy when it's over, and I can't wait to get the medal and the shirt. I'm ridiculously excited about race shirts and what sparkle skirts they match with. Yes, I'm a nerd. :D :D

SO...as the summer is winding down, I'm looking at the prediction of my summer weight loss goals. I wanted to lose 15-20 lbs and it looks like I'm going to hit around 15, if all goes well. I'm bummed I didn't get to 20 but I am smaller now, and I lose at a slower rate when I'm smaller. I should have prepared for this in my calculation. Oh well, I'm trying to be happy with 15. I have about 3 more weeks left of summer so I'm going to try my best to finish strong! I can't believe it's almost time to go back to work. Where did the summer go?!

Rest And A New Shirt!

My Disney "In Training" shirt came in yesterday! I actually chose the more masculine one, which is odd for me since I always go for girly, but I didn't like the design of the lighter color, so I went with this one. Yes, that was a run-on sentence. :D It's a dark color, so I will have to save it for Fall, but it still gets me excited about running Disney, so I'm happy.

I have REALLY enjoyed these last two days of rest. I have stretched out my body a lot and I'm feeling good again. Friday's are usually rest days because of Saturday morning runs, but since we're only running 8 miles this Saturday, I can workout tomorrow since I've been such a bum. (Bummage rocks).

I had lunch with my friend Jenny today and we talked Disney races pretty much the whole time. Eventually, I'd like to run Wine and Dine, Tower of Terror 10 mile, Tinkerbell Half, Disneyland Half, and WDW Marathon Weekend. So yeah, pretty much all of them. :D I can't wait until I have money, it will be ON!

Have a great night, dear readers! I am off for some more resting. (YES!) :0)

630 minutes = CRAZY!

So this week in my UG Challenge, I took on the 630 minutes of exercise in a week challenge. I'm SO tired. I have completed four 100 min workouts and a 12 mile run this week. Today, I took 3 naps and I'm STILL tired. I cannot wait to rest. I was lying in bed this morning and my entire body felt so tight. I know this is good but it hurts! I think tomorrow I'm going to take the day off, even though it's the day of my favorite Zumba class.

I think tonight and tomorrow will consist of lots of sleep, hot baths and many hours of rest. I can't WAIT!!!

2010 DRC Half Marathon

DRC and I have a love/hate relationship. I've done well with time on that race, but for some reason I get horribly sick after all of them. HMM! Of course both times my strategy was completely stupid. I started out going really fast and too hard, and then I'm hella tired by the end. BUT, I still don't understand why I'm so sick when I'm fully conditioned by the time the race comes. The world may never know.

A lot of people hate this race, and I'm not really sure why. It's a great time of year, and though it has some solid hills in random places, I like the race. White Rock is beautiful so I'm always happy to run there. And with a great shirt and a medal, I always enjoy it. Now after this particular race, I remember getting my medal, and see the pic above? I was about to hurl when that was taken. Can you tell? (and oh my gosh, I was fat!) Immediately after that race, I had to lay down because walking made me faint. I got horribly sweaty and started seeing white. If I laid down, it was bearable, but every time I'd try to get up, I'd get sick again. My two PGL's at the time went and got massages while I stayed on the ground, haha. Then we rode the bus back and I felt horrible all the way home. I slept for a very long time when I got home then got very ill the next 4 days. Good. Times.

I Love New Toys!

My medal rack came in! I love it!!! And look at all those holes with no medals. Just WHAT are we going to do about that?! :p

12 Miler

This morning, our Galloway group completed 12 miles. It was actually a pretty fun run, with the exception of the last 2 miles. We laughed a lot and kept each other entertained for quite awhile. It didn't feel like 12 miles. But by mile 11, I was ready to be done. The sun was beating down in a not so fun kind of way, with no breeze. Ew! But the good news, it's over and now we get a later run next week with less mileage! YAY!! I'm trying not to think about 2 weeks from now when we have a 14-15 miler in the same awful heat.

I have the Hottest Half Marathon coming up in about 3 weeks. The medal has the sun wearing sunglasses! Cute!!

And lastly, I'm doing a challenge this week that is the goal of 630 exercise minutes during the week. I was really dumb and took two full rest days, so I'm gonna be bustin' it these last 3 days. We're talking 2 hours a day kind of bustin' it. Why do I do this to myself?!

I'm still feeling great and excited about reaching new heights! Until next time! :0)

3:1's

My training is going GREAT! This week I got up to 3:1's and it felt easy. I'm going to do the same thing next week, but will gradually increase my speed. I had a great weigh-in this week and am down almost 12 lbs this summer. So far I am right on track!

Tomorrow morning, we have a 12 mile run at 5am. It's going to be VERY hot. I will be happy when it's over.

I signed up for another half-Heels and Hills and Him in September. I'm ridiculously excited.

Off to bed...I need to get up at 3:40AM tomorrow. Ahhh!!!

Magic Mile #2

This morning, we had our group run of 8 miles. We started out the run by completing a magic mile, aka run as hard as you can, putting forth 95% of all you've got. We use this tool to predict our race pace and view our improvement throughout the season. My first magic mile was in mid May on the very first day of marathon training. It killed me and I was very slow. Here are stats:

Magic Mile #1-Mid May-13:41 pace
Magic Mile #2-Mid July-11:58 pace

I was pumped about an 11:58 magic mile! And I only put forth about 85% effort, I could have pushed harder but I didn't necessarily want to because we had 7 miles to go and I knew I would crash and burn if I did. So those numbers are a significant improvement and I'm happy.

I was pretty miserable the last 3 miles of the run, though. Those magic miles always kill me and I was feeling very sick, exhausted and defeated. I did fine and held up strong, but inside I was wanting to puke. On the way home, I was trying not to fall asleep in the car. And then I took a shower and slept for 2 hours. I'm still feeling sore and tired but at least I'm more rested.

So yeah, good times. Runs like these certainly make you appreciate the ones when you feel good.

Speed work

I've started lengthening my running intervals during my weekly runs. Tonight I did the following pattern 3 times: 2:1's 2x followed by a 3:1. This pacing seems to be working well. It's not easy yet, but today seemed a little easier than last time and I maintained the 12:56 pace so I'm happy.

Tomorrow is our magic mile for our running group. I'm curious to see how much I improve from the last one we did in Mid May. I've been training hard since then so I'm hoping for a decent improvement.

Off to bed! Early run in the morning! :0)

Body Glide

On runs more than 13 miles in the heat, this little bottle is your FRIEND! Now, this might be gross, but runners learn fast that you learn A LOT about a person on long runs...burp, sweat, puke, you name it, it happens. So if you go long in the horrible heat, you will notice the grossness that is chaffing. Mine usually happens under the sports bra and it is NOT fun. So apply this little baby between any long run, and voila, the RED. IS. LESS. :D

Red Balloon 5K

This race was just for fun. I did this race with my friend's Christina and Jeana. We had a blast! We ended up making shirts with the matching red theme. Aren't they cute?!

We even got polka dot ribbon bows to match. Oh yeah, it happened. :0)

Here we are getting the warm fuzzies as they release the red balloons to symbolize our little ones in need.

The course was super flat and easy and that's my kinda race! It was fun going short. And it was even more fun doing it with friends.

Here are Christina and Jeana looking cute..

And then all of us before the start...

WE DID IT!!!

And of course before we left, we had to get a stupid picture with random blow up hockey man.

Good time, good cause, good day!

Princess Half Costume

So Jenny and I were talking a lot about outfits for the Princess race and I think I've come up with what I want to do. I'm thinking this cute pink polka dot Minnie sparkle skirt...

...with a white or black shirt with my name and a cute saying on it...with these cute matching Minnie Mouse ears...

SO FUN!!!

*Denotes PR’s

Full Marathons
*2012 Dallas Marathon-6:56:18--15:45 pace
2011 White Rock Marathon-7:09:17--16:23 pace
2010 White Rock Marathon-7:13:18-- 16:32 pace

Half Marathons
*2011 Texas Half Marathon-3:03:57--14:03 pace
2011 Heels and Hills Half Marathon-3:05:08--14:08 pace
2012 Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon-3:09:56--14:25 pace
2012 DRC Half Marathon-3:10:18--14:20 pace
2010 DRC Half Marathon-3:11:56--14:39 pace
2011 DRC Half Marathon-3:12:46--14:43 pace
2011 Cowtown Half Marathon-3:21:35--15:23 pace
2012 Hottest Half Marathon-3:26:55--15:48 pace
2010 Big D Half Marathon-3:31:53--16:10 pace
2011 Big D Half Marathon-3:40:53--16:52 pace
2011 Hottest Half Marathon-3:49:11-17:29 pace

15Ks
*2013 Hot Chocolate 15K-2:08:07--13:42 pace
2011 Bold In The Cold 15K-2:11:44--14:10 pace
2010 Too Hot To Handle 15K-2:29:65--16:07 pace

10Ks
*2011 Addison Hot Chocolate Run 10K-1:23:28--13:26 pace
2012 Hotcake Hustle 10K-1:33:30--15:03 pace

6.4Ks
*2012 Dallas Miller 64 6.4K-57:31--14:23pace

5Ks
*2010 Red Balloon 5K-53:10--16:36 pace
2011 St. Paddy's Day Dash Down Greenville 5K-54:29--17:32 pace
2013 FIREFLY 5K Pace????

Mini Marathons
*2013 Moo Cow Mini Marathon 2.62miles-39:45--15:10 pace

2011 White Rock Marathon Medal

This is my favorite FULL medal. The 26.2 changes color tone in the light. It's heavy and made of nice material. Love. It.

2011 DRC Half Marathon Medal

I really like this medal. It was extra big because it was an anniversary medal. Although I like the medal, I got sick AGAIN at this race. I have no idea what it is about DRC, but I've gotten VERY sick both times I've run it. HMM!

2011 Hottest Half Marathon Medal

This race was NUTS! I should have known, based on the name. But 13.1 miles in August heat in Texas was definitely a challenge. I'm still proud of it, though. It has fire on it and makes me feel like a badass. :p

2011 Heels and Hills Half Marathon Medal

Obviously, I love this medal. It's PINK!!! I loved this race, was the only race I've run in a storm! Good times. I love girly medals!!!

2011 Big D Half Marathon Medal

This is my *FAVORITE* Half Marathon medal. It's so cool looking!!! They definitely improved their medal from the previous year. Now I'm not gonna lie, I completed the race, but I was kind of a slacker. I was sick, dehydrated, and pretty much walked the last 8 miles. Oops!

2011 Cowtown Half Marathon Medal

I really like this medal. I earned this one, Cowtown has definitely been the most difficult Half to date. And this race series is so cool because each year's medal is one piece of 4 that goes together to make a ginormo presentation display. Maybe one of these days I can do 4 years in a row for all pieces.

2011 Texas Half Marathon Medal

Although this medal is definitely not my favorite, this race is special because it's my PR, aka my fastest Half Marathon time. WOOP!

2010 White Rock Marathon Medal

This medal is very special because it was my first FULL marathon, and therefore my first full marathon medal. The material is very nice and it's very heavy. I love it, I just stared at it for days! Numberous hours of training and many tears were shed to get this medal. I'm VERY proud.

2010 DRC Half Marathon Medal

This was my 2nd Half, DRC Half Marathon. I liked this medal okay and I definitely earned it. I got VERY sick during this race.

2010 Big D Half Marathon Medal

This was my VERY first race medal! I was so excited about it, even though it's the most boring one I own. I worked HARD for it and it will be forever special to me.

What I Can Do In 30 Days

Today is special because it marks day 30 of staying in calorie range, drinking lots of water, and exercising like crazy! I am officially down 9.5 lbs in 30 days and can fit comfortably in my smallest pair of jeans. YAY!!! MUST. KEEP. GOING.

Officially Registered!

Today, I registered for The Princess Half Marathon! YAY!! Signing up was very exciting and then Jenny and I got to talking about outfit options. My biggest dilemma is going to be to go with Minnie red or Minnie pink. Man, it's a tough life! :p

New Year's Double Surprise

I'm so excited! I got my New Year's Double In Training shirt today in the mail. Isn't it cute?! Can't wait to wear it! :0)

Longer Intervals

Yesterday, I thought I'd try and push myself a little during my run. I've been slowly incorporating longer intervals in my runs to work on speed. The past couple of weeks, I've done 1:1's twice, then 90:60 2x then 2:1's twice. Yesterday, I did all 2:1's and incorporated two 3:1's. I was so happy, my overall pace for 30 minutes was 12:56! I've been waiting to see a 12 for awhile so I'm very excited! It did push me and it wasn't easy, so I'm going to continue to do that and see if it gets easier with time. To Success! CHEERS!!

30/30s

This morning was our 11 miler. It was insanely muggy and I'm pretty sure it's the wettest we've been this season so far. Our Marine Corp runners went early to complete an extra 2 miles but the regular marathoners started at 5am. We tried 30/30s instead of 1:1's. I was against this at first but I have to be honest, I liked them. I felt good the entire time, didn't tire out too bad and could have gone longer. I also felt good for a long time after the run. Score! I can't tell if it was easier because of the 30/30s themselves, or because there wasn't a hot sun today. I'm curious to see if I feel the same on a hot sun kind of day.

I'm feeling good about training and had a great weigh-in week. I lost 2.6 lbs and 4.8 inches! YAY!!! I am starting to see the reshaping of my body and that's uber exciting. I am amazed at the results of strength training. Must. Keep. Going!!!

2010 Too Hot To Handle 15K

This race certainly lived up to it's name. It was a 9 miles of pure hell. First of all, it started late. Almost 30-45 min late, and it got hotter and hotter. The first part of the race wasn't bad. But by the last two miles, we were all dying. I remember only being able to run 40 seconds of the minute interval. And the same was for those around me. Jamie tried to keep us motivated by blaring loud music on her belt, but it didn't work. I thought I was gonna die!! We finally finished, and I'd never been so happy to see the word FINISH in my life!


At the end, after a few minutes of rest, we got a group photo. This was our 2010 Slow Burner Running Team! Memories!!

Since then, we've run in the same horrid heat, but not once have we ever done this race again. HA!

2010 Big D Half Marathon

This race is extra special to me because it was my very first half-marathon. And my very first race, for that matter. I did a half way before I did any 5K, 10K or anything else. I had trained on my own up to 11 miles and I was ready. I was very nervous and had no idea what to expect. I remember being clueless as to what to do at races. As soon as we got there, I asked this lady, "So we just stand around until we start? We don't check-in?" HAHA! And then right before the start, I remember standing in a large group of runners, feeling like I was going to throw up, and telling myself, "You can do this, You can do this." It was TERRIFYING! I did all kinds of stupid stuff in my first half, like start in the front. Oh and then giving it my all for 5 miles and then crashing at mile 6. Gotta love being a new runner, wasn't quite sure how to pace myself back then. And I didn't know how to keep my adrenaline from controlling me. I've learned a lot since then. BUT-my finish was still great.

I cried, of course and my friend Christina and my mom were there to greet me at the finish line.

Then I met a group of my supportive friends at El Fenix for a celebration dinner!

The medal sucked but they redeemed themselves by having a rockin' medal the following year. So overall, a great experience. I thought that'd be it. NOPE! If I had only known just how addictive those races are! :0)

SPARKLE SKIRTS!!!

Jenny is responsible for my latest obsession....SPARKLE SKIRTS!!! Aren't they cute?! We match! And we planned it! Good. Times. :0)

Meeting Jeff Galloway!

Today, some of us from Galloway got to meet THE ONE AND ONLY Jeff Galloway! I'd never met him before so I wasn't sure what to expect. He is awesome. Very knowledgable and so personable! He had very insightful information on all things running. We even got a picture! :0)

He talked a lot about different races and couldn't say enough great things about Disney. This of course got me even MORE excited and now I'm more motivated than ever! I'm also starting to see some serious changes in my body. Thank you strength training!!! Gotta keep going. Possibilities are ENDLESS!