Don't Worry. I'm Still Here.

It's been quite crazy the last few weeks. Scratch that. It's been a ridiculous 2011 and I think I've been moving at 88 MPH. If only I had Doc Martin and the DeLorean to take me back to the beginning of the year to slow things back down. Hmm... wouldn't that be nice?! The year started with prepping for the husbands deployment, continued with him deploying to Afghanistan and me going back to Milwaukee for a few months. I ran my first half marathon (and my second) and played tour guide to both my sister and my mom here in California. Throw in a few cross country road trips, and at least a hundred incredible memories and you'll have my 2011 to this date.

Since the America's Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego 3 weeks ago, I have found myself in such a horrible post-race depression/funk/rut. It's funny how as I was crossing the finish line at that race I was thinking about how I couldn't wait to start training for a full marathon, and a week later the last thing that I wanted to do was put on my running shoes. Thank goodness for all my incredible running friends who urged me to lace up, and my good friend Kama who got me to the gym yesterday for a killer spin class and weight session. It feels amazing to have the endorphins surging through my veins again. Tomorrow my friends and I have a challenging 5 mile hike planned and I'm so excited to take it on. Also, Tuesday officially starts my marathon training for the Carlsbad Full in Carlsbad, CA. It's so crazy to think that in just over 18 weeks I'll be crossing the finish line to my first marathon and able to call myself a marathoner.

So yes. I'm still here, just been very busy and was laying low from the running community. I'll be more active from here on out. Promise.

We Run For Those Who Can't

I always love reading the shirts of fellow runners, and seeing everything from various charities to "I run because (insert motivation here)". It's always amazing to see where runners have been, and what their motivation is to continue for one more mile. I've learned that runners tend to wear their heart on their sleeve, and my running group for the AFC Half Marathon in San Diego on Sunday was no exception. Who were we running for? Five incredible men who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and we pray will never be forgotten. You will recognize three of the men from my previous post from my first half marathon, but unfortunately two more names have been added to the list of fallen from our 3rd Battalion 4th Marines Family. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The Marine Corps is a family. The Marines themselves are brothers, and their wives/girlfriends/sisters/mothers are sisters to each other. 

We ran to honor these men. 

We ran to remember their sacrifice. 

We ran in hope that others would read their names and never forget. 

Cpl Paul Zanowick

LCpl Jason Hill

Cpl Mark Goyet

Lcpl Christopher Camero

SSgt Leon Lucas

Post race. Runners & Our Cheerleaders.

Also, a huge thank you to one of our Darkside Moms who had these shirts made to honor the men lost (whose names are listed on the back).

Planking: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It

I know. I know. I know. I said this morning that I was going to put up a running post tomorrow, but I really didn't want to forget feel like waiting. Sure, maybe I feel like I need to make up for lost time, since I haven't blogged in a month. But anyways, here's a running blog. A day early.

And here it goes...

Last night I was checking out my DailyMile and realized that thus far in 2011 I have only ran a total of 266 miles. Depressing. So it got me thinking that in 2012 I want to make some major changes. Not just want... need. How major? Run at least 1,000 miles in the year 2012. But then I starting thinking, why should I wait until 2012? Let's start now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not January 1st, 2012. Today. For the next 52 weeks I plan on running at least 20 miles per week, to put me at a grand total of 1,000 miles. Will it suck? Yes. Is it do-able? Definitely. Will I need to find some major motivation somewhere? Heck yes, you betcha. I would love to be taken seriously as a runner, as well as think of myself as a serious runner. Sure, I've completed in one half marathon and I have my second half marathon on Sunday, but I don't think I'm anywhere as serious as I should be.

Planking. What the cool kids are doing.

While I'm putting in some major miles for the next 52 weeks, I figured I should kill myself a little bit more throw something else into the mix. Planking. No, no, no. Not planking like all the cool kids are doing (see photo: on the right). Planking like all the real cool kids are doing (see photo: below). So starting today I'm also starting 365 days of planking (#plankaday on twitter). What are planks? There are many variations, as is with most exercises. The form that I'm used to is the one pictured below. Lay on your stomach, on the floor resting on your forearms. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. You want to keep your body as flat and in line as possible, and hold for as long as possible. Planks are an amazing workout, strengthening your arms, back and core as well as your stabilizer muscles. Really. Who doesn't want amazing arms, back and core? Don't get me wrong, planks suck. Right now I can only get in about 60 seconds until I'm falling to the ground, but after killing myself with some practice I'm going to be amazing!

Planking. What the really cool kids are doing.

Why wait for January 1st for everyone else to decide it's the appropriate time to make new years resolution? So not only is it not the first of the year, it's not even the first of the month. Ooh, such a rebel.



[Thanks to my friend Vincenzo (@Spincenzo on twitter) for letting me use the picture of him and his brother planking like the cool kids.]

Pack Your Bags And Drive To A Sunny Day

I'm back in California.

Okay, okay... I've actually been back in California for 2 weeks now. After an amazing 2 month long vacation in Milwaukee, WI, it's definitely bittersweet to be back in California. Being "home" in Milwaukee was a blast; for two months I got to feel like my old self again. In a weird way it was nice being able to go out on a Friday and Saturday night, go to concerts and be with all my friends. I actually felt like a normal 25 year-old. As much fun as I had over those two months, I'm glad to be back in my own home. I've missed cooking in my kitchen, sleeping in my own bed and being my 25 year-old self with five years of marriage under her belt.

That's another thing that has recently happened, just celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary. Well, I guess celebrated it as any other military couple would whose spouse is currently deployed. We were lucky enough to Skype for 45 minutes and 53 seconds (who's counting?!) and he sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Sure, it's not the traditional way to celebrate a milestone anniversary, but our marriage is anything but traditional. Just over six years ago we started dating, and 364 days later we were walking down the aisle. Just over a month after we said our "I do's," we were saying our "I'll see you later's" (It's never goodbye, it's I'll see you later) as he boarded the bus to Iraq. So in a weird way it almost seemed fitting that we would be celebrating our golden anniversary (we were married on August 5th) while he was deployed to a far away land.

The past five years have been quite the adventure. In five years we have lived in 2 states, 4 cites and now currently on our second duty station. Nothing brings a couple closer together than deployments and PCSing. Well, those two things can do one of two things: strengthen their marriage, or weaken their marriage. We've been lucky that thus far it's been the first one. You just have look at the good side of things, instead of dwelling on the negatives. For anyone who has been stationed in the oh-so-glamorous MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, you know that this place can not only make or break a relationship, but a person as well. To put it kindly, we're in the middle of nowhere. But since we've moved here we've learned to make the best of what God has given us. Isn't that what life is truly about? If you don't like the hand you're given, make it what you want it to be.

Yep, I was definitely planning on a running blog today, but this just seemed to flow. :] Running blog up this week. Promise. Thanks for reading.



Terms:
Home I often use the term loosely. I have two homes. Milwaukee is home because it's where I'm from. My second home is wherever I'm currently living.
PCS Permanent Change of Station
MCAGCC Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

The Dreaded Race Photo

Race photos are one those things that I have a love/hate relationship with. I'm not going to lie, I'm one of those girls who will take twenty-five five pictures, and choose my favorite one to post as my new facebook/twitter/dailymile profile picture. Back to the topic of race pictures. I love having pictures of darn near everything, so the theory behind race photos are great. However seeing my sweaty-in-a-ton-of-pain face in pictures was something I really needed to get used to once I started running races.

Post race, I always have a mini anxiety attack when I see Photos from [fill in the blank] are online! in my mailbox. Oh boy. The thoughts in my head start going a mile a minute. "What crazy face am I making?" "Do I look like I'm about to cry?""How sweaty did I look? Because I know I could smell myself." So before opening the email I'm always anticipating an entire album of pictures similar to this:

In human form, of course.

This leads me to the dreaded The Rock n Sole 2011 Photos are Online e-mail that showed up this morning. I was expecting to not want to show a soul these pictures, and honestly I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see them myself. This race was a disaster, and I sure felt like I had to have looked like a HOT MESS. The reality? Best race pictures I've ever gotten. Major kudos to the photographers, and whoever spent hours photoshopping me to look my best.

Alright Runners World, I'm ready for my cover.

Channeling my inner Adam (The Boring Runner)

Why do I look so happy?!

These Men Deserved A Post Of The Own.

On Sunday's Summerfest Rock n Sole Half Marathon I had three special men accompany me during my race. They were with me all 13 miles, and had my back even when I wanted to give up. These three men many have never heard of, though they should be household names. These men? Cpl Paul Zanowick, LCpl Jason Hill, and Cpl Mark Goyet. All three Marines were deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan with 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, where they made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Cpl Paul Zanowick

LCpl Jason Hill

Cpl Mark Goyet

I never knew these men personally, but in the Marine Corps everyone is like family. Scratch that. They are family. When you move away from home, especially at a young age, you are forced to make a new family and new connections based on common experiences. Everyone is there for each other through thick and thin. You laugh together. You cry together. You mourn together.

May these men will never be forgotten. 

Summerfest Rock n Sole Half Marathon

I'm officially a half marathoner.

A half marathoner? I'm not going to lie, it's a weird word to get used to. I worked so hard to complete 13.2 miles that it almost seems weird to look at my medal, and realize that my first half marathon is now behind me. I'm no where near happy with my finish time of 2:58:23, but considering the conditions that I was running in I'm happy that I was able to finish and not end up on the back of an ambulance.

Time: 2:58:23
Pace: 13:30 min/mile
Division Place: 291 / 341
Gender Place: 1,401 / 1,616
Overall Place: 2,666 / 2,954

Pre-race I was excited to see the amount of people who came out for this race, especially the amount with the half marathon bibs. I guess my reasoning was the more people running the half marathon the better chance I have of not finishing last. Please God, do not let me finish last.

Pre-race. I may look calm, but can you see the panic in my eyes?

Mile 1-3: This isn't so bad.
I lined up around the 12 min/mile pace flag, figuring that it should be a good pace for my first half marathon and get me to the finish line around my goal of 2:30. Just before 8am I was waiting for the National Anthem to be played, but next thing I knew we were off. I started off slow and I felt good. The Hoan Bridge was the first half of the race, and I really underestimated the incline. I swear. It really doesn't look that bad while you're driving! The view while running over the bridge is amazing and loved seeing Lake Michigan to my left, even though the wind way high up could suck it.

Mile 3-6: Should have switched to the 10k.
Seriously. What did I get myself into?! By the turn around point on the bridge I was already hating life. By 8:30 am Bradly clock tower was registering 87 degrees and the water tables were either running out of cups, water or both. Thank goodness I had my hand bottle, but I was hoping to refill my bottle soon with fresh cold water. By mile 4 I had started getting really nauseous, ate Hammer Gel #1 and forced myself to walk for a little bit. Wish I knew if it was because of the heat, bad choice of breakfast or the scent of dead fish from the lake front. I guess I'll never know, but I do know that I almost lost my breakfast a few times on the bridge. Sexy.

Don't let that smile fool you into thinking I was having fun.

Mile 6-9: I. Need. A. Tall. Drink. Shade.
HALFWAY! I never had even thought for a second the lack of shade along this course. Pretty much from mile 1 to mile 9 it was completely in the sun. Thank goodness I put on sunscreen, otherwise I would have been a lobster! Still didn't help the fact that I felt like I was burning alive in 90+ temperatures. Continued to keep a run/walk routine going during these miles. The sun was just draining me of all my energy, and the humidity was a killer on the lungs. By mile 7 the flags had gone from low to moderate, but kept pushing. Around mile 8 I ate Hammer Gel #2, I was so ready to get some energy back!

Mile 9-13: What do you mean the race is black flagged?!
The dreaded black flag. When did we skip the red flag, and go from green to black? Not sure if it was because of the heat, humidity, lack or water or lack of aid but by this point they were urging us to walk, and told us that they had stopped the clock. Eff that. I just spent the last couple miles walking so I could run the last miles in SHADE. I made a new friend along the course, it was nice having a running partner for the last few miles. We weren't running fast enough to be out of breath, just fast enough to keep our legs moving and get back to the finish line.

Mile 13-13.2: Run like hell and finish strong.
My legs were killing by this point, but I kept them moving. My body felt like I was going to pass out, but I kept pushing through. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I just wanted my mommy, daddy, husband.. anyone. Crossed the finish line and it was probably the most amazing feeling ever. Even though I know I was no where near my goal, I had finished and it felt amazing.

Bad. Ass.