marathon complete!

i'm done and i'm still alive, and i only had one bloody pinky toe blister!
after twelve weeks of intense training, my marathon goal is complete. i ran my first marathon this past sunday, and kept a few goals within the race. i didn't walk, and i finished between a time of five and half hours or under. here's where i'll take you through a "quick" run through (no pun intended) of my 26.2 mile journey.

somewhere between miles 12 and 13

sunday morning 0545--wake up
0600--dress & eat bagel w/ peanutbutter & honey, drink water, drink ensure, eat banana, drink more water (at least 600 calories)
0630--pack kids bags and get everyone ready
0715--leave hotel for shuttle bus to race
0800--race begins!!!!!
0908--10k split (6.2miles) with a time of 1:08:49
1024--half split (13.1miles) with a time of 2:24:42
1150--20 mile split with a time of 3:50:33
1310--26.2 miles i finish with a proud time of 5 hours 10 minutes and 15 glorious seconds!

my dad and his cheer poster

 as i was running the last leg of the race, i saw my parents with m & c, and a just a few paces later i saw the proudest person, my husband cheering me on to push it to the finish line. i can't really tell you how i felt crossing the finish line, but i can tell you how i felt when i had to stop running, and receive my ginormous medal of a prize. a overwhelming emotion came over me. a sweet girl placed my medal over my very sweaty neck, another sweet girl clipped my time chip off of my beaten saucony shoe, and a cute boy gave me finisher flowers...then i saw my husband. he was beaming with absolute pride and in his eyes i could see the pure happiness that he had for me. it's one of those moments that rank up there with getting engaged, married, having babies, kind of moments. a big thank you to my all inspiring husband, my supportive parents, and happy children that made this past weekend one of my favorite weekends ever! here's to looking towards the next 26.2 mile run! run happy!

running into the finish line

you'd think i won the race with the size of that medal

my very sweet support team

comfy yoga pants, tired gold toes, and a well deserved adult beverage

chicken wing cuppycake

The Bomber and I saw a segment on good morning america about these buffalo wing cupcakes

crazy kind of cupcakes that were newest thing this superbowl season. The Bomber gave me a pretty please kind of look, and off to the kitchen I went. They were not appealing to me, but knew that the guys of the party would more than likely enjoy them. 

The Bomber said he liked them, and they were a perfect combination of spicy, blue cheese, with a sweet sugar taste.



buffalo wing cupcakes with jalapeno wraps



i was a hamster

Friday night it rained. Saturday morning still raining.



what I look like at the gym



at the 10 mile half of the 20 miler

I went to bed on Friday night preparing myself that I may have to do my 20 mile run...on a treadmill. Sure enough, it was still raining on Saturday morning, and I knew that I was going to have to go to the gym, and spend four hours of running on the treadmill. My sister and her fiance were visiting so, it was a perfect time to leave the Dinosaur & Birdie at home, instead of my gym's nursery (note: there is a 2 hour limit). Also the Bomber wanted to do his swim and run at the gym as well. With the kids at home, the Bomber doing his workout, I jumped up on the treadmill, pressed start, and began my training run. I ran for five miles, jumped off, walked to refill my two water bottles, and then back to my treadmill for the next 5 miles. After the 10 mile half way mark, I was feeling pretty good. Got the runner's high at miles 13-17, and before I knew it I was up to mile 19, add one more mile run, and I was there at 20 miles! I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself. Running 20 miles is quite a challenge, but on the treadmill, adds that extra mental block to break down. Next week's long run is up to 22 miles, and maybe one more 22 miler, before I began to taper down the "long run" to 12-13 miles that leads up to Marathon Day!









blogging round two...or round three

There is a children's song that holds the lyrics "second verse, same as the first" which I feel applies to my second (maybe third) attempt at blogging. A LOT has happened since the last time I wrote a blog post. My husband deployed, our boy turned one, husband returned home (five months later), pleasantly surprised by number 2 pregnancy, traveled to Hawaii, baby girl born, ran some more half marathons, boy turned 2, lots of family vacations, husband deployed & returned home, boy turned 3 and girl turned one! See, what I mean, it's a busy busy life for us, so my blog posts will hopefully keep you updated on the happenings of my life, and some "look backs of my most memorable moments" of the past two years. As for now, here's the weekly "life in pics" photo dump. Enjoy!