Mighty Chicago

Today was the day! My very first half marathon. I ran 13.1 miles! I finished the race and felt proud. I do have to say today was HOT! It hasn't been this warm in the midwest like this all summer. I trained all summer in the low humidity, cloud cover, and 60 degree temps. Mother Nature wanted summer heat today. Not a cloud in the sky, the humidity was high and it was mighty warm. Oh and no breeze and we were running along Lake Michigan in Chicago.

It was a crowded race. I checked my results and 14, 821 people finished this race. 18,000 signed up, but either didn't finish or show up. It really never seemed to thin out, but that was motivation for me to keep going. I already know that I am going to sign up to do another one next spring. I want to beat my time so badly!

This is the breakdown....

• Overall placement was 8959/14821
• Gender placement was 4419/8613
• Division placement 429/817
• Chip time: 2 hours 22 minutes

I would of liked to do ALOT better, but the water stations were crazy and so was the heat!

One of my sisters wasn't running and she was taking photos at the finish.

Giving it all I had. I could see the finish!

Our group that finished this today. My sister and her husband(far left) me and my hubby in the middle, and our two great and best friends on the right!

This Is It

The weekend I have been training my a$$ off for is finally here!! It is the weekend of the Chicago Half Marathon. I am mighty nervous, but I know Ican do it. The weather looks good. I feel good. And I am hoping the lines at the Port o Pots are not too long. I think the nerves will get the best of me before the start time.

I am doing this with my husband, sister, brother in law, and 2 very good friends!

I will hopefully post on Monday to share some pics and times.

Have a cold one for me this weekend!!

Oh Get Over the Feeling

Some of you may already know this, but I am training for my first half marathon that is scheduled for Sept. 13th in Chicago. I printed out a training plan and have been following it pretty religiously. However, lately I have been feeling like this whole thing is becoming more of task that I HAVE to do, rather than running for pleasure and exercise.

I go to bed at night thinking of the miles I must run in the morning. What route I should take and what time is the best to go...blah blah blah.

Is this a normal feeling when training for something this big (at least this is HUGE to me) running 13.1 miles use to be so far out there, I could of never imagined, but now I know that

soon it will be here and I will be fine and I will do it, but first I need to get over this love/hate thing I have going on.

This is a photo at the expo for the Trek Tri I did in July...I was happy and ready and that is where I want to be again!

Sidenote...As a runner do you feel like certain drivers don't care if you are there or not? Like they look at you like you are taking up there road and they have ALL the rights? I feel like I am very considerate when I run...I run facing traffic, I get over when there is a car approaching. I even run on the gravel. I AM SO CONSIDERATE! This morning this crazy woman pointed at me and told me to move over...I was as far over as anyone could get on the road. I was practically running into people's mailboxes. What is wrong with people? I even think half the time they don't see me because they are too busy texting, talking, or whatever. I guess I need to start wearing blaze orange on the roads!

It's All About The Climb

As I was running this morning, I was doing some thinking about how in the world am I going to do this Half Marathon that I signed up for in September. ( Not in that negative kind of way)

First, I am hoping and praying the weather was like it was today...overcast, slight breeze, no humidity, and beautfiful temperatures. I felt so good this morning. I could of ran and ran.

Second, I have to stop thinking about how fast I need to go, instead I have to focus on running miles and time, not SPEED. Usually I am all about the speed. I have to slow down and focus on the distance.

Third, I know I can do it. I just have to stay focused and go with my training plan. I am also going to journal this. I think it will inspire me when I am feeling like I may give up or having a bad day.

Finally, I am going to put together a playlist that will help me rock all the way through. That Keith Urban is what I find worth running too. He is awesome...everytime I listen to Sweet Thing...I cry...not sure why, but it is just a cool song.

Any other tips? Has anyone else done a half and want to share their strategies? I am doing this thing on Sept. 13th in Chicago along with my sister, BIL, BF and her husband. My hubby is doing the 5K...he has no interest at this point to run that far. Maybe one day he will change his mind.

13.1 Here I Come

Well I did it! No turning back now. If I do then I lose my well earned $65.00!

I signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September. I'm pumped, excited, and happy. I told my husband to let the madness begin!! Training in the summer should be fine because I won't be working (summer's off...bonus of being a teacher) and my oldest daughter can watch the other 2 while I run. I may just get up early and do it before the heat of the day! That would only make sense. Again...pumped!!

Great day...great weekend and looking forward to my day of pampering this Saturday with my sisters and Mom.

Running Passion and Bags!

Everyone knows how passionate I am about running and working out. I really enjoy the rush, sweat, and adrenaline I get from doing those things. It keeps me SANE and forget about all the crap that comes into our lives. This weekend, I am going to be the cheerleader instead of the participant. There is the inaugural marathon in my town this weekend. It is called the Wisconsin Marathon "The Cheesiest." It is either a full 26.2 or half 13.1.

I will be at the finish line taking photos of my sister. I am so proud of her. She has trained so hard and has been focused on this goal for months. I will be yelling for her as she crosses that line. Her husband will also be doing this as well. My cheers will be as loud for him too. My best friend will be doing it and many other people I know from the gym. It will be exciting and the rush and adrenaline will be no different. It is a passion either way!! (pictures next week)

I am 90% sure that I am doing a half myself....if Chicago isn't filled already....I am signing up.

*** One of my favorite bloggers More Wine Please is celebrating her 1 year Blogaversary. In honor of her Blogaversary she is having a giveaway. A really cute monogrammed bag giveaway. Go check out her blog and enter yourself in the giveaway and let her know I sent you there! ***

Can't Wait for the Green

I signed up for the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago at the end of March. I am so excited to do this race. It is a huge venue. They cap the runners at 32,500. That is a lot of people. The race is an 8K. I am doing this with hubby and our best friends.

I like having things to look forward too. It motivates me to train harder. I know I am a bit pyscho as it is about working out, but this makes it worth my effort. I even looked up times from last year in my age category. I would like to place in the top 100 of my age category. If not the top 100 close to it. I am already going to start hitting it hard. The only thing is that I will have to continue to run the track at the Y or use the treadmill. The weather outside is horrible. I don't mind the cold, but today again windchills below zero. It can only get better. I hope. :)

We did have 1 sleepover this weekend. Not to say that the begging went on and on for everyone. I just held my ground. My oldest daughter had her friend stay over and they texted kids for hours last night. Just to see how nuts they were, I checked the log this morning...she texted almost 500 last night alone. I am totally serious. Thank goodness for the unlimited plan. They were texting boys...I remember when I was that age...we would call and actually talk. I guess this way it isn't so awkard with the silence on the phone.

Oh and I found this note on the floor today. It wasn't snooping because it was just sitting there...on the floor ready for me to read.

It was quite cute...I remember those days. "J" do you still want to go out with me? Or not...let me know by the end of the day...A When I mentioned it to her...it was like old news. To be 12 again...haha.

I Did It!

Yesterday I ran the Thanksgiving Day Turkey 10K run. I have been anticipating that day for weeks. I was a bundle of nerves up until the gun shot start yesterday morning. It was a great day for a run. The temperature at start time was right around 30 degrees, no wind, lots of sun, and it was a pretty flat course right along Lake Michigan...just beautiful. ( a couple minor little hills). My husband, sister, BIL, and some friends all finished STRONG!!! My goal was to finish in less than an hour and I DID!! My time was 56:19. My sister finished at 56:00 and husband around 49 minutes. I think BIL was around 45 minutes. Anyways, we all did it and no matter what the time was, we had a great time. I am not sure if I am up for a half-marathon. I will consider it, but would like to run a couple more 10Ks to make sure that is something I can do.

I treated myself to a couple Hook and Ladders. I am not a pie eater so I didn't indulge there. So I just had a few cocktails and called it a day. It was a great day to be with family.

Going Dry...until Thanksgiving

I went running yesterday with hubby and bf Cari. Let's just say it was mighty cold (windchill around 20), my face was frozen, my pants kept falling down, and my stomach was in knots (too many Hook and Ladders the night before). I did run 5 miles. I did okay..48 minutes. The turkey run is coming up. I want to do great, so no more Hook and Ladder until after the race. What kills me is that Cari ran 4 more miles than me ( 9 total) and she drank just as much as I did. WTF?? I will say that she is way younger than me so maybe that is why. Saturday night was a celebration of the Wisconsin Badger win over Minnesota. Go Badgers!!

I went to buy the book New Moon yesterday and it was gone. I was so bummed about that. I really wanted to start the book. So instead I bought the soundtrack to the movie Twilight. I listened to it on my way to work today. I really liked it and will download it to my MP3 player. That should help on race day.

I took the girls to the mall this weekend. Alyssa had money burning a hole in her pocket so I took her and Emma came along too. I knew I had another reason to take Alyssa shopping...it was time for the sex talk. There has been some recent discussions within her friends, that I thought it was time to find out what she knew and how much I needed to explain. In a nut shell she told me sex is getting naked and rubbing your body parts together. I told her you kind of understand and she thought doing that was nasty. I guess people call it doing "The Nasty." I continued to tell her it really isn't gross or anything and that you need to make good choices and should fully understand the meaning. I asked how old you should be and she said 24. For now, I will leave it at that. We will talk about this again I am sure of it and hopefully she still thinks 24. My little girl is growing up and she is only 12.

Cheesehead Race

On my way home from work today my friend calls me and says...."Guess what I was thinking I should do?" She shouts to the rooftops....A FULL MARATHON! Yikes I say...I think I need to think about my 10K race in a couple weeks first. I do however want to run a half marathon next Spring I tell her. I think that is something I could try and succeed at.

I was going to travel to the Mini-Indy in Indianapolis, but I just found out that our town will be hosting a marathon that same weekend!! I won't have to pay for travel expense, take off of work, or ask my SIL if I can invade her for the weekend. I can stay home! This is the first year for this event. It sounds wonderful because the course will be along Lake Michigan and pretty flat. That is good news for someone like me that has never done something like that. So after the 10K turkey race, I am going to sign up for that marathon...not the full, but the half. That is a start...you never know what I will want to do after that. Maybe a full someday, but for now just a 10K and the half next spring. So while I am running my first half marathon, my friend will kick a$$ at the full. Then we can celebrate together and buy bumper stickers for our cars so we look really cool.. :)