Diva Talk

I'm a little late on posting about my race- no surprise there. Planning a race two days before market started for me maybe wasn't my brightest idea. Market is over, and I've logged 130 hours in the last 10 days.

But back to my race. I got 3rd! Out of... 160ish in my age group? I can't remember the actually number. And I got 22nd out of like 1500. So. Happy. My official time was 25:35. The girl who won finished with like 22 some minutes. This is the first race where I've not felt any regret for not trying my hardest. I set myself up with all the things I knew to do, and it paid off. God is so amazing. He gave so much much strength I never knew I had. 

I heard a quote I really liked yesterday watching "Unbroken." They said "if you can take it, you can make it." No one made me do that race it go through all the struggles and sacrifices I went through. There's always going to be things we can avoid to make our lives easier. Being an athlete, starting a new business... Although things we put ourselves through aren't necessary, struggling for a little while can open your life to many more amazing opportunities than you ever thought possible. 

I can't wait to race again. I really wanted to break into 24 minutes, and I came so close. So now I know I can come even closer next time. I haven't run since my race. The second day of market I sprained my ankle pretty badly, and on top of the sprain, I was carrying a really heavy box called a cambro (we use them to transport hot food and keep the food hot) and it fell on my ankle. Needless to say, over a week later I'm still pretty bruised. It really sucks having to go through market injured and being on my feet all day, but I can't tell you how grateful I am that I got to race the week before. 

I know I'm never going to the Olympics, break a world record, or even run the Boston Marathon. The races I enter are still fairly small and don't actually mean anything. But to me, knowing that I can push myself to be better and beat my own times means everything to me. I was never an athlete in high school. I've found something finally that I'm relatively good at. You have to use your talents. For what's a sundial in the shade? 

The Bread of Life

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believe in Me shall never thirst."  -John 6:35

One thing I have learned from running is that your conditions are rarely never ideal. It's either too windy, too hot, too cold, or raining. If the weather is perfect- you probably didn't get a good sleep last night. Or maybe you had to skip lunch and won't be able to eat enough before your run. Maybe your knee is still bothering you from your long run a couple days ago. A big part of learning to run for me is how to condition my body to prepare for my next run. 

What I take from the verse tonight as I read my devotion is that we cannot concentrate on our problems. As runners, or just athletes in general, how many times have we heard that it's all a mental game? It's all in your head. So why not focus on the Father? Let Jesus be our strength. Let Him fuel your run. Sure, you need your water and your carbs and your sleep. But the next time you feel tired on your run, remember that Jesus is your fuel, and you'll never run out. 

Today's run was 3 easy miles in the park with a friend. Nothing amazing, just good social time. 😄 

Pictured above 👆 my Brooks Mach 14 Spikelss shoes- if you've ever thought about trying minimalist shoes- I highly recommend it! They are great for anyone who has feet/knee injuries, shin splints, blah blah. But listen to me when I say to break them in slow! They advise to build up slowly to your normal running mileage- walk a lot! I didn't listen and the only way I can describe the pain in my feet would be in a car wreck/blender. Seriously. 

Oceans

I'm a few days late on this, but I had the most incredible run the other morning. And the crazy thing is, it was on the treadmill. I'm sure I'm in the top percentile of all runners when I say I hate the treadmill. It hurts my knees, and when I run at home, its even worse than the gym...instead of watching my treadmill TV, I stare at the tractor because its in the workshop. Borrrrrinnnnnnggggg.

For this run though, I tested out running to a new song. Its been a favorite for a while, and I thought it would give me strength to press on. I'm a little less than a month from my race now, and I'm hungry. Starving, really. I WANT this win. I've wanted it for a year now. A lot has changed since last year. I'm not moved in my house yet like I thought I would be- which is actually why I thought I could sign up for this race- because I would have plenty of time to train. ....Surprise! I thought I would have extra time to run since I was finished giving my free time to painting and pulling up floor and....whatever else has taken my time to renovate my house. (COMPLETELY restore it, I may add!)

So this run, though. I'm trying to figure out how my negative splits can time out for my race. The more I run, the better I get at racing. I don't mean that as in, 'I'm getting in better shape.' Well, duh. No, I mean I need to stop going out too fast and wearing out too soon in my race.

So for this run, the song is "Oceans" by Hillsong. Part of the lyrics are- 

• "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

  Let me walk upon the waters

  Wherever You would call me

  Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

  And my faith will be made stronger

  In the presence of my Savior"

This really pushes me when I'm feeling weak. Yes, I run and work out as much as I can, and I would say I'm in pretty good shape. Yay for me. That's me pushing myself to succeed. But none of this could be done without my Savior. I am nothing. I am a lazy couch potato who loves pizza. I pray for strength and perseverance. 

I'm pretty stubborn by nature, but I'm also weak. If I haven't had enough sleep, I'm hungry, its hot, its windy.....those all also pretty good excuses for a walk break. If you catch me in the right mood, I can push on. If not....oh well. Its too hot to really run this much, even if it is a race. 

Everyone finds inspiration from different things. I'm happy I've found that this song pushes me more to be stronger and better, and remember to rely on the Lord for strength and stamina. 

I ran 3.1 this day, and my splits were 9 minutes, 8:30, and for the last mile, I ran at an 8 min pace for the first half mile, and then each .1 mile, I increased the speed by 1. For the last .2 mile of my "race" I ran at 7:30 pace until I was done. I love finishing my runs pushing myself every now and then, to know I can do it, and to prepare myself for when its actually a race. 

With all the knee pain I've suffered in the past and having to taking breaks from running to rest my IT band, I'm so thankful I can run without hesitation now. I could say my clean diet with paleo and drinking plenty of water is giving me that, but I know its also a gift from God. Thank you, more than I could ever express.

First Run of March

With last week's snow in the ground, I felt so overwhelmingly happy today to be running in a T-shirt. I wish it would last all week- tomorrow is going to be a high of 35. Glad I got a warm run in while I could! 

Today I ran just over 3 miles, and walked home the last mile. The headwinds were insane the first two miles before I turned around, but wouldn't you know as soon as I finished my 3 miles the wind completely died down. I think overall I had a pretty good run. I think my average pace was 8.53 per mile. It's hard to tell on my Nike app- doesn't always seem accurate. 

The other day when I ran, my splits were 10 mins, 9.22, and 7.57.  I'm happy with these two runs. For my race, I think if I finish in 25 minutes that should put me in a good position to take my age division. Last year's winner finished in a little over 26 minutes, and I think she was 28th place overall. My race PR is 26:24, and that was October 2013 and I was sick and my breathing was off. I think I took 5th out of like 800 In my division, and 71st overall. You never know who is going to show up and give you some competition, but I really want this. I want to earn this win.  

Yoga Strong, Yoga Fast

My next race is 7 weeks away. Two of my friends and I are doing the Diva run 5k in April in Myrtle Beach. We did the same race last year- except it was the half marathon. This year we are opting for short and fast- my style! 

Last year the winning time in my division was 26 minutes. If I train and put in my time, I know I can kill that. 

So here we go. Hopefully it starts warming up soon! Working so many doubles at work is really killing my running- and just my routine in general. This is still fairly new to me since taking my promotion to being the restaurant manager and catering coordinator. Love it, but getting home at 10pm and back up to work in the morning really hasn't let me do too many early morning workouts. Yes, I'm one of those sissys who needs her 9-10 hours of sleep to feel perfectly rested! 

I've been doing yoga almost every day now, and really enjoying it again. I've gone off and on the past few years- doing it 4 or 5 times a week for a few months, and then quitting almost a year. But tonight I'm doing it at night for the first time- just to really make myself get it in. As part of my race training, I still want to do yoga- even if it isn't long- every single day- and if I don't run that day, make sure part of my yoga is geared towards asanas that help runners. I WANT THAT MEDAL! 

Tonight, my poses are 

• low lunge (anjaneyaasana)
• downward facing dog (adobo mukha svanasana)
• squat (malasana)
• boat pose (paripurna)
• dancer's pose (natarajasana)
• upward facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana)
• head to knee pose (paschimottanasana)
• Cow face fold (gomukhasana)
• Leg drains or legs up the wall (viparita Karani)

My flexibility has like... Vanished. The 9 year old gymnast-Erin really wants to kick 26 year old Erin right now. But another thing I want to bring into my life from yoga is meditation. I read the other day that 20 minutes of meditation is equivalent to... Oh I forgot. Sleep. You need less sleep. Or 1 hour of yogic sleep?? Is the same as 3 hours normal sleep. I could definitely go for that! 

Paleo Sausage Biscuits

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed my breakfast this morning! Over the course of 2014, my parents and I all made the choice to change our diets to gluten free and then later, paleo. My parents went hardcore from the beginning and noticed significant changes in their health (more on that in a different post!) while I.... Had a few more cheat meals. Unfortunately for me, being a restaurant manager where we have some of the most AMAZING (aka, unbutton your pants fattening!) southern food makes it that much harder to eat right. 

This month, I am doing NO cheat meals, just to completely get gluten and toxins out of my body... And then I can reintroduce "cheat" foods later to see how my body reacts. 

The misconception with paleo (or gluten free too if you only wanted to make that change) is that everyone thinks you will be horribly limited in what you can eat, or it will taste bland and boring. NO WAY! This is the first time in my mom's entire life where she has enjoyed cooking- and it's because she's finally using real, fresh ingredients, and it tastes amazing. 

I want to keep sharing our recipes- but to start off, this is one of the most simple foods you could think of. And on a "diet" too! 

I can write another post later going into more detail, but animal fat IS good for you if you aren't also taking in processed fats! Seriously- my mom eats either sausage or bacon with her breakfast every morning and has lost 30 pounds she didn't even know she needed to lose. That's so contradictory to anything we've ever been taught. 

www.primalgirl.com

Click above- this is a link to the biscuits- we use tapioca flour! It does taste different, but I really prefer this to anything with refined flours! I also use this to make "yeast" rolls, crackers, and pizza dough... Yummm!! Paleo is only restrictive any boring if you don't do your homework! But as for me, I'm eating the most delicious food I've ever tried, and it's healthy! 

Hope if anything actually reads this hehe, you enjoy it! 

Half Marathon!

It has been a week since I ran my first half marathon. What an exhilarating experience. So many people, my mom included, asked me why I would want to put myself through it. Its hard on my body, especially with the trouble my IT band gives my knee. I paid $90 to register for it, and I didn't win any money. So why? Nobody made me.

Except that I made myself. There were so many times during my 12 week training period that I wanted to call it quits. With everything else going on in my life, this is the last way I wanted to dedicate my time. I had to take a lot of breaks to let me knee heal and rest, which was frustrating as hell. At the beginning of my 12 weeks, I wanted to give it all I had, and actually compete for a winning time. That's how I approach the shorter sprint races. I'm still new to running, having only run for a little over a year now, but I don't have fun racing unless I'm breaking PRs and placing. I'm hungry for a medal. I was never athletic in school. I cheered for my little league teams, but that was as far as it went. When I showed horses, I loved winning. I loved seeing hard work pay off. Now, I get the same feeling with running.

So after taking a lot of time off, I got to the point where I just wanted this stupid half to be over with. Just check it off my list, and be done. I didn't care anymore. My last few weeks up until the race, I didn't even do a long run on the weekends. I would run 2 or 3 miles at a time, maybe 2 or 3 times a week. When people would ask me if I was excited, I would tell them I was excited it was almost over. 

Even though I gave up caring about my finishing time, I knew that running 13 miles, no matter how slow, would still take a toll on me. I am so happy with my carb-loading experience. The 72 hours before my race, I ate over 430 carbohydrate grams a day. When they say to carb-load, it definitely doesn't mean eat some spaghetti and salad. Holy cow. 430 grams is a TON, incase anyone wasn't aware. I loved snacking so much though!! 

I'm also really glad I woke up at 3:00am to eat my final pre-race breakfast. I had some frequent marathoners disagree that waking up so early was necessary, but if I ever race a long distance again, I will definitely repeat the 3:00 breakfast. The only bad part is I never went back to sleep. While I laid there for the 2 hours before we got up to get ready, my mind must have wandered through about 30 different things. Not really what I had in mind. I raced on about 4 hours of sleep...but since I had carb-loaded and my pre-race meal was 100 grams of carbs, I have NEVER felt better during a run- energy-wise anyway. Not once did I get even slightly winded. Usually during my long training runs, I have to push myself through a wall around mile 4. Not this time. My body felt great, except of course my dang knee. It felt like it was going to snap off after the third or fourth mile. Not ideal, let me tell you.

I loved seeing all the funny signs the spectators- mostly guys with the best ones- had for us all along the course. The best ones were  "try not to suck," "remember, you PAID to do this," and "forget the race, forget the pace, lets just drink a case!" 

Around mile 10, while I was still feeling good, I knew I had it in me to speed up and finish strong. What I couldn't believe was that once I turned the corner and was making it down the last little stretch to the finish, with the biggest crowd possible on the sidelines, I went full out, as hard as I could....and nobody else made that hard push with me. No matter what my time is during a race, I will always be happy if I know I gave it all I had during that last bit to the finish and sprint my guts out. I want to know that I finished as strong as I could, despite the first leg of the race. Not that I am super fast, but I really couldn't believe nobody else was sprinting with me. But in all honesty, it made for a really cool finish, passing about 50 competitors on my last stretch of my first half marathon.

And yeah, I just said first. Before my race, I swore up and down I would never do another one, and DEFINITELY no full marathons. I would prefer to speed up my time for 5Ks. And that's true....but will I ever race another half? Yeah, maybe. I'm not addicted like everyone tried to convince me....but I would like to see how well I can do if my knee ever lets me fully recover to do another one.

We'll just see! After all, I'm only half crazy.

Oh and did I mention the perks of a Diva Run...?

Ladies and gentleman (but mostly ladies!): the fireman finish. This is who medaled me. A hunky fireman. Well, probably a model doing promotional work wearing fireman pants. Do I care? Heck no.

Plus, a champagne toast, cooooookiesssss (not a huge perk to normal people, but I hadn't had a cookie in 2 or 3 months! I ate 2, and got my professional finisher's photo holding up my cookie. I was one happy camper!), and roses. Plus, a pool party at the Baywatch Resort and tickets to the House of Blues. What an awesome day. I'm almost caught up on my sleep.