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 Finding shoes that don’t touch your healing tattoo which you can also wear for work- Priceless

 Super sleepy mutt

Official raceday photos that didn’t turn out too bad 

Trolls with Mustaches 

Resting

Wine and Cigar night getting a little sloppy 

HUGE breakfasts

Tattoo time

Since the race, I’ve been eating a lot of garbage.. "recovery foods" have included Ben and Jerry’s, french fries, sangria and wine, and candy. Hey it’s cool- I ran close to 200 miles in the last 2 months and burned 1400 calories durning the race Sunday. 

There was at least one good meal

 Sushi is the best.. Except I followed it up with 2-3 glasses of wine.. BUT its got antioxidants so it’s cool right?

I haven’t worked out at all and thankfully my legs have seemed to come back nice and strong. I decided to get a little run in Thursday morning.

 The run was just under 3 miles. It felt awesome to stretch them out. 

After the run, James and I had a little meeting to go to.. we stopped in a little bakery nearby for some coffee and a snack..

 That “snack” is called Almond Joy…. Coconut and chocolate.. and so delicious.. 

After our appointment, we had lunch. I’m obsessed with lamb burgers.. I just can’t help it.

I had a massage scheduled- which was awesome as always.. before heading out to FINALLY get my Hydro tattoo started.. Say goodbye to a naked left foot!

 My appointment was at 3pm. The first couple hours was dedicated to finalizing the design- which Larry drew on the spot- going off some photos I had sent him for inspiration. And then it was time to put the stencil on. 

 And draw on the final touches

 Finally… we started tattooing.. 

Now, let me start by saying, I knew it wasn’t going to feel “good”. I mean, it’s not my first foot tattoo.. However.. The parts near the toes were the worst pain I think I have ever felt. True story. 

Outline completed! 

Side by side

(My other tattoo is nothing in comparison.. and the new one isn’t even done. haha) 

From the front

The appointment to finish it is a at the end of June but until then..

the fun happens- healing... 

Addicted

I’m addicted.
I know you’ve seen it happen before… A friend of a friend is doing a race and they ask you to come along. “Sure” you think to yourself.. why not? I’m in decent shape, and it would be fun to do it with a bunch of people..
Oh and the race happens to be the same date as your cousin’s wedding? Eh.. You can still make it there in time- you think… Plus, when will you ever have the chance to do this race again with these people? Probably never.
Ok.. so maybe your being a little selfish.. but hey, your an only child.. so its just in your nature.
So you sign up.
That race comes and goes.. it’s an obstacle race, so you get muddy and casually run through the 5k with no problem at all. You make it home just in time to get off “most” off the mud, put on a little dress you borrowed from your friend and look halfway decent and RUSH to the wedding reception.. Without raising too many flags.
But then you think to yourself, “Hey didn’t do too bad for time considering, maybe I should sign up for a regular 5k race.”
And you do.
You do one for charity- breast cancer.
You don’t train.. since, well, it’s a 5k.
You set a time goal and just barely make it by the skin on your nose.
Maybe you could be a runner?
So you talk about someday, in the far off distant future- running a marathon- knowing full well you don’t actually have the balls to sign up for one.
But at some point, you think.. maybe I should start off with a half marathon?
Again you push that off until an amazing friend comes to visit for just one night. You go out, drink a whole bottle of wine each and talk about your lives, your dreams, your ambitions. This particular friend has done many races- and earlier in the year completed a half iron man.. She’s amazing. So the conversation continues.. and somehow she tells you that she will drive over a 1000 miles to do a half marathon with you.
And you start to think, that maybe.. just maybe.. with a friend by your side you might be able to do it.
So within the next week, you find a race.
You sign up
And shortly thereafter, you start to train.
After a month or so, you get this feeling that your friend might not actually be able to do the race with you, so you email her.
And she can’t.
But part of you knew that and already came to terms with it.. Really your just happy that she gave you that little push you needed to have the balls to sign up.
You continue training.. and prove to yourself, week after week.. run after run, that there is a good chance you will finish. Maybe you’ll even be able to come in under 2 hours.
Though you never really feel like a runner.
Until..
You go spectate at the Boston Marathon.. and miss the bombs by 1 1/2 hours.
You feel sad, angry, and scared..
Your race is just one month away.

The race comes..
You finish
and your family is there to support, be proud and catch you at the finish line.
You miss your time goal by 1:27
It is then predicted that you will sign up for more races by the end of the week.

Nah… that won’t happen.

Less than two days later, you start looking at more races.

Yup.. Your addicted.

RACE DAY!! Half Marathon racap!

The days leading up to the race I was watching the race countdown like a hawk

 You could say I was freaking out a little bit ;) I was super nervous, a million things running through my head- since I didn’t really know what exactly to expect- granted you can’t control everything and I knew ultimately that i would just have to trust my training and my body to get me through.

I had to work both Friday night and Saturday morning- which meant a lot of time on my feet. I made sure to eat good food and did my best to get lots of sleep (Which totally didn’t work) 

Saturday I even whipped out the foam roller and the yoga mat to stretch things out a bit

 Then I set my clothes out for race morning

 I showered and braided my hair- which I had decided was a good idea to do the night before.. I can braid my hair with one hand tied behind my back most days, but when I’m stressed I just can’t get it to work and then I get really annoyed, which I didn’t want to deal with on race day. It turned out to be a great idea BTW.

I was drying off from the shower, my necklace broke off. I’ve had that particular necklace on for three years (I’ve owned and worn that bead on my neck on one necklace or another for over 9 years) So I was sad that it wasn’t going to be around my neck for race day- but glad it broke at home instead of on the course!

 And then I taped up my shin- hoping that it would alleviate the pain that I have had all week. 

 Unfortunately I didn’t get the kind of sleep I should have.. James was sick all night which woke me up at 1am- from then on I got a couple of winks here and there.. Thankfully I still felt pretty decent and ready for the day. I drank coffee, ate my usual breakfast (Greek yogurt, banana, almond butter, chia seeds) and got dressed- and added a little motivation right where I could look at it when I was feeling down

 It was raining and grey.. which I was bummed out about at first, but actually turned out to be awesome. 

I got to the starting line around 7:40am- and stood around watching the marathoners start. While waiting, I couldn’t help but notice the amount of crazy security there was everywhere (which is nice, but a little unnerving at the same time) I’m talking guys heavily armed on roofs, with bomb sniffing dogs, walking around… 

The half marathon was supposed to start at 8am but it started 20 minutes late.. which meant I was standing in the cold rain for about 40 minutes before starting. 

 Once we finally started I was very happy it was drizzling.. 

I had two main goals for the race. #1 finish, #2 no walking.. (#3 was to come in under 2 hours) As I was running the app on my phone was telling me I was right on track, but the mile count was off.. 

 I’m still waiting on the official race results.. but according to my phone I ran almost 14 miles in just over 2 hours.. 

 My dad and James were waiting for me at the finish line

 FINISHER!!!

(I felt pretty dead as you can see- hence the fake smile)

But when we got back to the car I was much better :)

Plus we stopped at the market where I chugged chocolate milk while still walking around the store and we got 3 pints of Ben and Jerry’s, fudge and whipped cream.. perfect refueling if you ask me :)

After the ice cream, I sat on the couch for a LONG time.. eventually I got up and did the whole foam roll, stretch, ice bath routine… before I ended up back on the couch. I felt like I did a whole lot of drugs- similar to when I got my appendix out and was coming off anesthesia, and on morphine and Percs at the same time. Eventually we ate some dinner, and met up with a friend for a couple glasses of sangria to celebrate.  

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Finally- the official race results are up. Official time 2:01:27. 845 overall (out of just under 2000) 383 out of 1158 woman. 151 out of 386 in my age group. 

So I missed my unofficial time goal by 1:27- and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed.. but hey- I finished my first half marathon.. didn’t stop to walk, not even once! Guess I have a reason to do another one ;) 

Post race, my body is feeling pretty rough. I’m walking like I rode a horse and it is extremely painful to walk stairs.. or walk at all. Good times ;)

What it takes… (For me to run my first half marathon)

*4 months of training 
*$315+ on gear/supplies and fees
*50 runs
 *184 miles
*4 ice baths
* gallons of coconut water, chocolate milk and packs of candy.. 

Today I finished training (and almost threw up) I’ve pushed through shitty runs, negative attitudes, and multiple thoughts of “What the fuck did you get yourself into” BUT I also learned to LOVE running, I surprised myself multiple times, and finally believe that I can do this. In 2 short days I will achieve my goal of crossing that finish line.. I don’t care what it takes. 

A lot of things happened during training.

Soon after I started (like 3 weeks into it) I had to say goodbye to Hydro.

I’ve mentioned it a million times, but I’ll say it again. Hydro was the love of my life and dealing with his situation and ultimately his death has been one of the HARDEST things I’ve ever dealt with and I’m not even close to being over it (I’m not sure I ever will) 

 For the first few weeks following his death, each time I got on the treadmill and started running, I burst into tears.. like full blown, running nose, tears streaming down my face, unable to breathe crying. I dealt with it by running as fast as my legs would take me.. As if running on a treadmill would allow me to run away from my feelings. It didn’t work, but at least while I was struggling so much, the physical pain dulled the emotional pain. 

I decided that I would train/run in honor of my little mutt

Any time I wanted to give up, I thought about Hydro. 

I have his collar hanging on my rearview mirror- and I got into the habit of touching it each time I was driving.. especially on the way to run. I would remember the strength I had to find on his last day and use that same strength as my inspiration. 

Also during training:

We brought Tuna home 

I quit my job (that really sucked a lot, lol)

I got a new job (that I really love a lot)

I started to eat meat after 15 years- following a Paleo-ish diet

I discovered that Lamb and bacon are amazing

Learned to love ice baths

Discovered compression socks

And found some leg muscle definition ;)

Whatever happens on race day, I will be confident and trust my training. Whether I reach my time goal (which I was told not to make since it is my first half.. but that’s not how I roll- so I did anyway, lol) or I just cross the finish line, I will be proud of the last 4 months and all that I accomplished leading up to it. 

Home stretch!

HEY YOU THERE!!! 

Long time no talk.. You’ll have to excuse my absence.. Shit has been really crazy over here. 

A couple of weeks ago I started my new job and between working doubles and the last few weeks of half marathon training, I’ve barely had time to do anything. You should see the state of my laundry basket, bathrooms, and floors.. Oh man do I need to get cleaning. 

That won’t be happening this week though.. because I’m taking it easy preparing for race day THIS SUNDAY!

Tuna has been helping me with my training

 Which is mostly me stealing his heat after my ice baths.. 

My race day socks have come in

 I’m doing my best to really REST on my off days of running

 Especially this week.. With only ONE training run left, I’m not doing a whole lot of anything else.. but Sunday I ran my first double digit run 

So now all that’s left is that final run tomorrow morning, a massage in the afternoon and race day SUNDAY! Woot Woot.. 

Wish me luck!