Foodie Pen Pals...Take Two...

I signed up to be a foodie penpal, and sent a box to Martha from Rochester, NY.  I contacted her and found out that she's about my age and share's my passion for running.  She doesn't have her own blog so I invited her to write up a post for my blog about the goodies I sent her.

Foodie Pen Pals…

I signed up this month to be a part of the Foodie Pen Pals that The Lean Green Bean has been organizing.  Basically, you say you want to be a part of it and you get put on the list.  You are assigned a person and you get assigned to another person.  You have to mail a package of different foods by the 15th and then you get to blog about your package at the end of the month.

I got my first box on Monday.  I love receiving packages in the mail.

You have to send a note with the package.  My package came from Crystal of Crystal’s Cozy Kitchen.

Here’s the yummy stuff that was in my box…

Vegetable Chips, I love these, chips made out of sweet potatoes and beets.  We have had these before at our house and they are tasty.

These Chipins are awesome!  Popcorn in the form of a chip.  Perfect for Camy and her mouth full of braces.

Strawberry Healthy Harvest applesauce, I have seen these at the store many times but have never bought them.  I love that they are tart.  Great for a lunch on the go.

Nut Butters, I’ve never seen these before.  Camy has already eaten one of these.  She thinks it’s very convenient and they would be perfect to squeeze onto apple slices.

Stephen’s Hot Chocolate in raspberry cheesecake.  I am sad that it’s been close to 80 degrees all week.  I think that winter is officially behind us and I might have to crank the a/c so I can try this out.  What could be better than hot chocolate mixed with raspberry cheesecake?

Homemade stuffed cookies.  Yum!  Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Oreos, 100 Grand, and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups.  We have all sampled these, and I am not embarrassed to admit that the 100 Grand cookies didn’t even last long enough for me to take a picture of them, and I did not share them with anyone.  They were so good.  I might just have to incorporate that lovely little candy bar into either a cookie or a cupcake.

I hope my pen pal enjoyed the box I sent her, and I can’t wait to be a foodie pen pal next month.

Post Cross Training Dinner...

Last night I got a double header of cross training in after work.  Pilates and spin.  I am sore today because of it, but I feel awesome having done it.

I even got this guy to come with me.

He even invested in a pair of bike shorts and opted to leave the Superman snuggie at home.  What a guy!  I am very lucky.

So after an hour of ab pain and an hour of Donna's Killer Spin Class, we headed home and I was starving.  I decided to whip up a batch of breakfast burritos, because it just sounded awesome.

First, I was looking for some hydration after sweating for an hour.  Seriously I think my close held about five pounds of sweat when I took them off.  Gotta love a workout that will make you nice and sweaty!

I decided to try the Zico dark chocolate coconut water that I purchased a few weeks ago. 

It was pretty tasty, although I have one kid that happens to not like anything and she loved it.  She asked again and again if I could buy more, at over $2 a pop it's a pretty expensive way to hydrate post workout, but if she'll drink it I might have to buy her some more.

For me I popped a Nuun pink lemonade tablet in my big glass of water and let it fizz away while I made dinner.

One potato, one fake sausage patty, a few canned mushrooms, three egg whites and one whole egg, Chia seeds, and some shredded cheddar cheese.  It only took about 20 minutes or so and then served up with warmed flour tortillas and a little bit of salsa and I was good to go.

I made today a rest day because I thought my body would love me for it.  I love getting a great night of sleep after a hard workout.

Injury Update…

I talked to my doctor this morning.  The MRI last week confirmed the stress fracture on my tibia and thankfully nothing else.

Because I don’t have pain when I walk with this lovely boot, I get to avoid being on crutches.  I’ll be in this boot for another two weeks until I can walk normally without pain.

No running for another five weeks, but I can still spin, swim and do the elliptical between now and then.  I have my workout plan for the next five weeks and I am going to focus on staying in shape and getting ready to be able to run again when May 1st rolls around. 

I had hoped to be able to help pace Rochelle for the marathon, but it looks like that falls within the five week No Run Zone.  Guess I’ll have to organize my own cheering station for all my friends that are running that day.

---

Here’s what’s to come this week…

Rock n Roll recap, my friend Patti said she would write a recap from a runner’s point of view.

Food for race weekend.

Hotel from race weekend.

Technorati Tags: injury,No Run Zone

What’s for Breakfast…?

So last week I had a little green smoothie disaster.

Green smoothie that tastes like pickles, and not in a good way = yuck!

So I finally went to the grocery store last week after about an eternity of not going. Turns out a stress fracture will greatly reduce a person's willingness to go to the grocery store. You just have to get creative when all the easy items in your pantry are gone.

Anyway, I picked up a new (to me) kind of Greek yogurt. It's flavored with honey and it's super tasty. I honestly bought it because it was the only brand that was less than $5 I think, but it's always nice when a bargain turns out to be better than the more expensive version I had previously been buying.

I broke down and made some of my homemade granola, which could not be simpler.
Here's my recipe…
2c oats
1c peanuts chopped
1/3 c honey
1/3 c brown sugar
1 Tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Roast the oats and peanuts on 350 for 10 minutes. Combine all other ingredients and heat until it's all melted (I like to bring mine to a boil to make sure all the sugar dissolves). Mix with the oats and peanuts. I like to toss in some mini semi sweet chocolate chips, because why not. Spread it out on a cookie sheet and pop it back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Yum! I like to break mine up into smaller pieces because then it's prefect to mix with my Greek yogurt and Chia seeds.

I'm not gonna lie, it is much easier to eat with a spoon, but I went off and forgot mine this morning and forks are all I have in my desk. Good thing I have the granola or it would have been really hard to eat with the fork.

I do have two green smoothies in my freezer, I might have to get them out and drink them because I am not out of Greek yogurt. I think I'm going to have to lug my fancy boot around the grocery store this weekend.

Baby Shower Cupcakes…

I got home from the Y this morning at about 6:20 and realized shortly after that that I was supposed to make cupcakes for a baby shower at Josh’s work today.  Sure I had cupcakes, but at 6:20 this morning they were still in the form of butter, flour, eggs and powdered sugar.  All in their original form.

So I decided that I could get myself ready for work and bake a couple dozen cupcakes so Josh wouldn’t look like he dropped the ball.  Lucky for me it doesn’t take that long to throw together a batch of vanilla cupcakes, and once they go in the oven I had 22 minutes to hop in the shower and get myself dressed.  While the cupcakes cooled off I made the orange butter cream and dried my hair and did my makeup.

All that was left was to frost them and box them up and head to work.  Josh came by my office to pick them up and he said everyone enjoyed them.  It’s always a good day when only one cupcake was left.

He even snapped a picture for me, since I forgot to.

 I’m not gonna lie to you, this really is a horrible picture.  Can you tell that these cupcakes tasted like a dreamcicle?  Yum.

All-City Orchestra Concert…

We just got home from the All-City Orchestra Concert.  This is Camy’s second year to participate and it’s amazing how much better the 6th graders sounded compared to when they were in 5th grade.

Of course we had to have a shot of Carson and Josh as we were waiting for the concert to begin.

And then a picture of Camy with her friends Cassidy and Elizabeth afterwards. I think this is the only face Carson knows how to make in pictures.

As you can see, she is making it again here, and I had to almost bribe Camy with money to get her to smile for one more picture.  The kid is way too cool for her mom already.

 

Technorati Tags: orchestra

In the Pool…

So instead of running on Saturday morning I hit the pool at the Y.  While I didn’t do any speed work or sprinting, I did get some distance going.

I did 2500 yards total.  My workout looked like this:

100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 300 freestyle, 400 alternating backstroke and freestyle, 500 freestyle, 400 alternating backstroke and freestyle, 300 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 100 freestyle.

It was a good workout and I sat in the sauna for a little bit afterwards.  My sauna experience was ruined by a guy in the sauna who was a mouth breather.  It made my sauna experience not so relaxing and I only stayed in for about five minutes before I gave up on it.

The best part of my workout was my new Speedo goggles that I picked up recently.  Camy stole my last pair and recently when I was at Academy stocking up on gloves and ear warmers for almost nothing I stopped by the swim section and picked up a new pair.

They were awesome!  They were very comfortable and stayed put very well.  Best of all, they didn’t fog through my entire workout.  I swam for almost an hour and I didn’t take them off once.  There is nothing I hate worse than foggy goggles.  They were worth every cent.

No word from my doctor about my MRI results yet so I have no idea how long I’ll be suffering through my new boot.  I have a feeling I’m going to have plenty of opportunity to wear my new goggles coming up.

Technorati Tags: swimming,goggles

Race Weekend…

I love race weekends.  Especially ones that involve a road trip with the girls that I run with.  Josh usually refers to them as my Herd.  This weekend will not include participating in the race for me. I’m not going to lie and say that I am not insanely bummed out about this.  I am.  But I am going down to Dallas with my friends to support them as they run this race without me.  I’m not going to say that it’s going to be easy either.  It is not.  But I’m going to suck it up and just do it.

---

Last night I went here to have my MRI.  I actually had two, one for my right knee and the second for my right lower leg.  I had hoped that Dr. Hines would have my results and I would have heard from him today, but no such luck for me.  I get to walk around for two more days before I find out for sure what I probably already know.

I would like to know how long I’m going to be wearing the boot, mostly because it’s hugely annoying.  But I guess I’ll just try to forget about it and have a good time this weekend and worry about my recovery on Monday.  Oh if it were only that easy.

---

I’m going to go swim in the morning.  I am going to whine a little more and say I am sad to think that not only will I not be running on Sunday with my friends in Dallas, but I will not be running 20 miles with the OK Runner running group tomorrow morning.

Instead I am going to get up and go swim in the morning.  At least it’s not cold outside.  I have never loved swimming as an adult when it’s cold outside, chalk it up to one too many winter time workouts in high school.  It is officially spring so I am going to drag out my suit and my new goggles and get some laps in tomorrow.  I will get to get some time in the sauna for all my hard work.  That could make it worth it.

---

The last random thought for the day is that I found out yesterday that the Redman Triathlon has an Olympic distance tri this year.  I have so got to do that!

Strides of March 5k Recap…

So this is my first race recap for a race that I didn’t participate in.  Jen ran the Strides of March 5k at Draper Lake on Sunday.  They also had a half marathon, and the entry fee was dirt cheap at only $35.  For a half marathon that’s a steal.

I got up and drove out to meet Jen and Jeff at Draper before the race started at 8.  I found Jen in the line for the port-o-potty.  It was not a very big race, but they only had three port-o-potties.  I thought they probably needed more based on the size of the lines.  Jen opted to wait since it was almost time for the race to start and there were quite a few people in line ahead of her still.  We told her it would make her run faster.

The 5k and the half marathon started at the same time, both were just out and back routes that were relatively flat around the lake.  Jen was off and Jeff and I got to hang out in the wind and sprinkles for her to return.

Here she comes to the finish line.

She was the first woman to cross the finish line!

Here’s her results:

Place Name           Nettime      Guntime     Pace   Bib#

    1   Jen Bartlett      24:47          25:05       8:05    12

First overall female and first in her age group, she declined a second medal.

The best thing?  She actually got a real prize, a $40 gift certificate to Red Coyote.

Gotta love the small local races with the perks you don’t get from the larger races.

Good job Jen!

Technorati Tags: Strides of March,Jen

I Know It's Not the End of the World...

Well yesterday was not one of my better days.  Not near as bad as a day in January of 2010, but still not one of my top ten best days.

I went and saw Dr. Hines about the pain in my leg and the fact that I have not been able to run for the last week and a half.  He did some x-rays of my leg and suspects I have a tibial stress fracture.  They are going to schedule an MRI to confirm the diagnosis.

Insert sad face here.

To top it off he put me in a boot, and we aren't talking one that's comfy like my new Uggs.

This is not the most comfortable boot I've ever worn, that's for sure.  Camy, Carson and Hailey were all at the doctor's office with me and they decided I should roll up my other pant leg so I would be matching.  It was probably a good thing they were there with me, because there were no tears in front of my doctor.  Now, as I sit here and really contemplate what the next month or so has in store for me I don't feel as hopeful.  

I did have to take a short break after the marathon last year because of some pain below my knee but that was only a couple of weeks and I had already run the marathon.  This time with it being right in the middle of it all it's not so easy.

I still plan to head down to Dallas to support my friends as they run the Rock N Roll half.  I'll just leave Josh at home and it'll be more of a girls trip.  Cheaper too, which the Dave Ramsey side of Josh should appreciate.  I still need that pink sparkly Sweaty Band I had my eye on in Fort Worth, and I'll be the picture girl.

It's hard to not feel like everyone is running away from me as I spin and swim.  Good thing I got those new goggles, maybe I need a new suit.

Are We Gonna Rock n Roll?

Well today is the day. I am going to see Dr. Hines about my knee/leg issues. It has been a very long nine days of pain and no running and I'm hoping to get some answers today. I am hoping he's going to give me a solution that doesn't sound like "Don't run for x amount of time."

Sunday is the second race in my own personal race series that started with Cowtown and ends with the Memorial Marathon. I raised my $1,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, paid for my hugely expensive registration, made my hotel reservation, and even have the perfect new outfit to wear. So today we find out if I get to Rock n Roll, or if I get to be the photographer for my friends that are uninjured and able to run.

I guess in about five hours I might have some answers.

***I am going to do a race recap of the Strides of March 5k from Sunday. I didn't run it but I know someone who did and I got my injured self out of bed to cheer her on.***

The Big Fat Zero…

I love keeping track of my miles. I hate to run without my Garmin, even if I have someone with me that has their Garmin on, I still want to have mine. I log my runs on my Daily Mile account; if you are reading this, well then you probably already know this since my last run is posted on my blog. I have friends that aren't near as obsessive as I am about this.

So I just got my weekly email report from Daily Mile and for the first time in weeks and weeks I didn't log a single mile last week. Wow. I knew that I didn't run at all last week but it was kinda hard to see that big fat zero. Maybe I should have logged the 300 feet or so I did run on Saturday before I decided that it would be more painful. That would probably not round up to 1.

After I ran those 300 feet, I got back in my car and cried the whole way home. Dramatic? Probably. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Taking a week off is no big deal but I'd much rather be doing it by choice and not having my body force me to take time off. I got home and sat around for about 30 minutes feeling sorry for myself and then headed to the Y to do a yoga fit class and then a spin class. I figured if I couldn't run for two hours I'd better do something instead.

I didn't wear my cycling shorts because I was doing the yoga fit class before the spin class and my bum is paying for it today. My knee started out feeling like it had an air bubble in it and then it kinda popped and felt pretty good through the whole class. I felt pretty good when it was all over, but I sure wish those spin bikes had miles on them.

On my way home I drove past where the Y running group was running and saw a girl running that clearly had the look of defeat I had on my face last weekend. I stopped to see if she was okay and she was having hip issues so I drove her back to her car. I went home after that and my leg felt pretty good the rest of the day. I guess when my doctor has told me before that the bike is good for me he's not kidding.

I'm going to go see him tomorrow. When I called last week I didn't think they'd be able to get me in until Friday and I almost cried and explained to the girl that schedules his appointments that I am supposed to run the Rock N Roll half marathon on Sunday she squeezed me in tomorrow. I'm looking for a miracle. I hate the thought of paying $85 for a race and raising $1,000 for a charity and then not running. Josh said he's take my bib and run in my place, I told him he better not win.

I did get to go cheer my sister on yesterday as she won the very first Strides of March 5k. She was the first woman to cross the finish line. Yeah, Jen!

Braces…

In January we learned that Camy was going to need braces.  I never had braces, neither had Josh.  It’s like a whole new world for us.

After the initial consultation where they showed us what she would look like after, told us everything they would need to do, and let us know how much it was all going to cost we made our plan.  We would use our tax return to put the 30% down and then pay out the rest for the next 36 months.  I called and scheduled her appointment.

The appointment to get the braces was actually three appointments.  I took her to the first one, where they made molds of her mouth so they could set the braces prior to the next appointment so that putting the braces on would only take about an hour.  The molds were fun.  There was quite a bit of gagging, but thankfully there was no puking.  It was hard for me to watch her go through that.

Josh took her to the second appointment, where she would actually have the braces put on.  This appointment went well, although afterwards there was quite a bit of complaining and grumpiness.  We did learn later in the week that it was not all braces related.

Here she is during the visit.

And afterwards…

And, because we are spending about a million dollars on all this new hardware, she got a “free” t-shirt.

Last week I took her back to get her Herbst Appliance put in. They had put spacers between her teeth to make room for this.  It’s the weirdest thing I have ever seen. 

Apparently, this is what it will do:

The Herbst appliance has revolutionized the way orthodontists treat an overbite: It uses a tube and rod mechanism to put pressure on the lower jaw to help it grow forward and on the upper jaw to help it grow backwards.

This is before she got it put on.

I am sure that one day she’s going to be so happy that I posted this.  This is what it look like in the top of her mouth.  We have a little key that has to go in to this and get’s turned once a day for 24 days.  When we go back in eight weeks they will attach arms that will connect this top portion to the lower portion, and then in 24-36 months her jaw will be where it’s supposed to be.

So weird!  She says that when I use the key to move it that it doesn’t feel like I am choking her.  My only issue with this so far is that she talks so fast and she now has a little bit of a lisp, it’s hard to understand her some times.  I guess I’ll keep reminding her to slow down.

Bright side is that if Carson ends up needing braces we’ll save 10%.  It’s always nice to get a discount for the second kid.  You know when I was pregnant it was going to cost me $2,000 to have a baby, since there were two it ended up being $3,000.  It’s always nice to buy one, get one half off.

Technorati Tags: Camy,Braces

Day Four of No Running…

I went back to the chiropractor today and got adjusted again.  The level of pain in my right leg has gone down considerably but it still doesn’t feel 100%  I am trying hard to not be discouraged.

My girls are meeting up in the morning for a run, and I thought that I might be able to go, but I have decided that I’ll take at least one more day of rest.  Two days ago I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to run, today and am afraid of trying to run again.

Saturday was such a hard day for me mentally that I just don’t think I can bear to have another bad run.  I feel like it would be a bigger blow to my confidence.  Damn the mental aspects of running!  So I’ll rest for one more day and see how I feel on Friday.  Long run is coming on Saturday and I really want to be up for that.

I’m not the only one having a heck of a week full of non-running.  My friend Rochelle has the flu.  The doctor said that she needs to take the next 4-5 days off to let her body recover.  Ro is running the full with me in April, and it is pretty comforting that we have both hit a speed bump in our training program.  The flu is no good and I hope she gets back to her strong bad ass self in no time.

Green Smoothies…

Have you ever had a green smoothie?  Until about a week and a half ago I had not.  I have made smoothies before, but they mostly had fruit, grape juice and almond milk.  I did make one recently with oatmeal that was very yummy.

Quick Chiquita Banana Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2   whole Chiquita Bananas (best with brown flecks on peel)
• 2   cups Ice
• 1/3   cup Yogurt - preferably Greek yogurt flavored with honey
• 1/2   cup Cooked oatmeal
• 1/3   cup Almonds

Pour all ingredients in blender pouring ice in last. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until smoothie thickens.

I didn’t put the almonds in when I made this and it was yummy.

I have friends that swear by green smoothies.  Until recently the thought of putting spinach or lettuce in a blender and then drinking it just didn’t sound appetizing.  Boy was I wrong.

I guess the secret is the Vitamix blender.  If I put all of this in my regular blender it would not come out smooth enough to drink through a straw.

Here is the list of supplies we used.

• spinach
• romaine lettuce
• apples
• bananas
• oranges
• kiwi
• avocado
• cucumber
• strawberries
• pineapple
• apple juice
• almond milk
• frozen berries
• broccoli

I should have kept better track of what we put in each one because we made different varieties so some tasted better than others.  I’ll do that next time.  I froze them in individual containers and have been thawing them out and have drank one almost every day since we made them.  I am definitely sold.  I have supplies in my fridge ready for our next smoothie adventure that should be coming soon.

Trip to the Chiropractor…

My leg didn’t feel quite as bad today, but I called my chiropractor and got in to see him this afternoon. 

I am very glad that I did.

He adjusted my back, my knee and my ankle.  He said that he thinks that somehow it just got out of alignment and that is enough to cause all the pain I’ve been experiencing the last two days.  Then they taped up the side of my leg to help with the pain and to help it heal.

The tape should stay on for about five days or so.  So now I’m going to suffer through some rest days.  I am going to think positively and enjoy the rest.  I am going back on Wednesday and Thursday to see my chiropractor.  I am hoping to be off the injured reserve list as soon as possible.

Technorati Tags: running,injury

Post Cowtown Fueling…

So we got back to our hotel, some of us showered (I won’t tell you who) and we loaded up our stuff and headed over to Joe T. Garcia’s for a much needed meal.  This place came highly recommended by people that work in our Dallas office, and since beans and rice aren’t good pre-race foods we decided to stop by on the way out of town.

This place was crazy busy and we did contemplate giving up and going somewhere else.  Lucky for us, our marathon winner was already there in line and we didn’t have to wait as long as we thought we would.  Boy were we glad, you would never guess that this place won a James Beard Award in 1998.

I went with the Chiliquiles, which I had never had before.  I was not disappointed.

This looks like a plate full of yummy goodness to me.  Along with flour tortillas and chips and salsa I was a very happy girl.

And because we are who we are, there were more pictures.

Rochelle and Kim

Kelsey and Abby

Patti and Angie

We could not leave without a group picture outside.

Conner, Rochelle, Taylor, Patti, Scotty, me, Angie, Kelsey, Kim and Abby.

Then we loaded up in the car, and I cannot confirm or deny that someone peed behind the car before we left.  We did have a stop in Davis, OK for fried pies on the way home, because why not stop for fried pies on the way home.

What a fun RUNcation we had and I can’t wait for the next one.

Nursing an Injury…

We had 18 miles on the calendar for yesterday and I was a little nervous about it, but after the 14 miles of hills + 6 miles the next day last weekend I felt like I was ready for a nice long run.
I had had some blister issues since Cowtown, and I made a mistake and switched up to a different set of insoles in my shoes this week.  I think I’ll be throwing those insoles away.
The run started out good.  We had a pretty good pace going on and we did an out and back from OK Runner.  We were at about 12.5 when we got back so we headed out for another out and back to get the additional 5.5 miles.
I should have stopped at the first sign of trouble, but I thought I could push through it.  I was wrong.  I started getting a sharp pain in the top of my right foot whenever I would pick my foot up.  A couple of times it was so sharp that I kind of thought my leg was going to give out on me.  My hamstring had been a little tight and them my calf started not feeling right.  I stopped a couple of times and tried to stretch it out.
I made it to 14.2 miles before I was done.  The feeling of quitting is not fun for me and I haven’t had a run I couldn’t finish since marathon training last year.  I was lucky to meet up with some other people in our group and got a ride back to the store.  I was very close to tears and called my friend Patti and she gave me the pep talk I needed at the time.
The pain is below my knee and the outside of my leg and into the top of my foot.  I headed home to my first ever ice bath.
I have soaked in Epsom salt before but have never done an ice bath.  I was a little scared because it sounds so cold, and rather painful.  I filled the tub with cold water and got in.  I’m not going to lie, it was not easy to sit down in that cold water.  Once I got in I added the ice and tried not to scream too loud.  I stayed in as long as I could and when I got out I immediately got in a nice hot shower.  That was pretty painful too.
I do still have pain and it has been hard to walk, but my feet seemed to recover nicely.  Maybe there is something to the ice bath.  I did soak later in my Epsom salt, that really is nicer I think.
I think that my problem might be nerve related, but I’m not 100% sure.  I am going to call my chiropractor in the morning and see if he can help.  The thought of not being able to run is enough to make me feel like I could have a panic attack, but I am trying to get past that.  I understand that injury is part of running but I am going to think positively that the chiropractor can help and that after just a few days off I will be back at my training.

Cowtown Half Marathon Recap…

It has been two weeks since the race so it’s probably time to write my recap.  Overall, this was a great race.  I do have issue with the disqualification of the winner, but still this was a race that I would love to do again.

We stayed at the host hotel, so we got to take the shuttle to the start.  This was well worth it, in my opinion.  We didn’t have to deal with parking or anything on race day.  We just had to worry about getting ourselves to the shuttle and if we got good enough pictures on the way.

I think we did a pretty good job.  Can you tell we got up at about 4:45?  The gentleman on the bus that we got to take this picture was a good sport.  He didn’t look like he was there to run and you’ve gotta love a guy that will get up at the crack of dawn to come out and support someone that’s going to run a marathon/half marathon/relay or any other type of race.

One of the best things about this race?  The start and finish was located at a convention center.  It was cold when we got there and we got to wait inside.  And there were bathrooms that were not port-o-potties before the start of the race.  And we had time to take some more pictures before we headed out to the starting line.  I think we looked fabulous in our OK Runner shirts.

Soon it was time to head outside into the cold and get ready to get into our corrals for the start.  There were more pictures before the gun went off.

And one last pre-race group photo…

After this we headed to the starting line and got in the corrals we were supposed to start from.  It was still chilly, once you get in the corral it usually warms up a bit.  Not long after and we were off.  Patti, Rochelle and I were shooting for a sub 1:50 time so we started together.  Angie was with us, she was the only one running the full marathon started with us.  I kind of felt bad about that, I think the first couple of miles she ran with us hurt her later on, but she still ran her sub 4 hour full.

By mile 2 I was warm enough and the ear warmers came off.  I felt bad when my new purple sparkly sweaty band came off with it and had to come to a dead stop to pick it up.  I think I almost took a couple people down with me when I did that.  We settled into a pretty strong pace and the miles seemed to fly by.

Don’t get me wrong, the miles were hilly.  They were crazy hilly.  We ran through the stockyards and that was pretty painful.  Running on an uneven brick road felt like running through sand and it was a little hilly getting out of there.  The hardest part of the race was around mile nine when there was a hill that lasted for about the entire mile.  We could see it ahead of us for at least a mile before we actually got to it and it was intimidating.  It was a bridge that just seemed to go up and up.  Once you got over that you thought it would be easy, but then it turned to the right and went up some more and then turned to the left and continued to climb.

By about this point I could tell that I had some blister issues going on in my right shoe on the bottom of my foot.  I think I did a pretty good job of pushing through it and by my Garmin we were right on track to meet our goal time.  We stayed strong until the end and these are my official results.

Here’s my Garmin results:

According to my Garmin the route was a little long so my official results show that our pace was a little slow, but on my Garmin based on the distance we were right on track.  Overall I am very happy with how we did on this super hilly course.

At the finish line the food was all inside the same building we got to wait in before the start of the race.  It was very organized and they even gave us a bag to put our stuff in which was very helpful.  They even had ice cream.  We were super shocked to discover that we got finisher shirts for the half too!  That sort of thing is usually reserved for full marathons.

Of course there were more pictures.

I really think that skirts made out of Mylar blankets could be big some day.  I was freezing after the race, even inside.

After Angie finished the full, we loaded up on free yogurt and hit the shuttle back to the hotel.  Nothing like free yogurt if you are willing to lug it back to the hotel with you.

One last photo on the shuttle.  These were some very tired feet.  From the top left you have Angie, Rochelle, Kelsey, Kim, Me, Patti and Angie.  I could not have picked a better group of girls to take this road trip with.