Week in Review (Jan. 14 - Jan. 20)

Tuesday - 2 miles in the basement inferno, 17 minutes of strength (arms, 8:00 of planks - 1:00, 1:00, 3:00, 1:00, 2:00).
Wednesday - Still spirit week at the gym, and today was superhero day! A wanted to join in the fun, so I let her borrow the Incredibles tank I wore for Tink 2012. 2 miles on the treadmill and then BodyPump with L. Holy crap, I'm still soooo weak.

Thursday - Got up early and ran a mile in the basement inferno before work. Because AFTER work, I was on my way to the airport for Tink!! My flight actually landed early and Heather picked me up around 10. In bed shortly after.
Friday - Heather's kids had school, so to get my run out of the way before we melted, we ran a mile after walking the youngest to school. You can't tell, but it's pretty much a million degrees already. 1.25 easy-ish miles.

 

Next stop was heading over to INKnBURN. I have only been there for the warehouse sale that I went to last September, but it was insanely busy and crowded. I wanted to stop by and see the operations and meet Nicole, who now heads up the ambassador program. They have some REALLY awesome products in the works that I can't wait to share with all of you!! I picked up a few of the new pullovers (pretty much a staple for me in winter here).

I believe we spent the remainder of the day watching "educational" tv, which included the "World's Fattest Man" and a few episodes of Hoarders. I think I ate all the things, but I cannot remember. Again, in bed fairly early.
Saturday - Up early again. Heather and I headed to Disneyland to volunteer for the kids races. We were lucky enough to be in charge of handing out medals, which was the funnest EVER. Other people's kids that I only have to see for a few seconds are the most adorable. Also volunteering with us was Sheila, and she is hilarious. Glad I got to do this!

 

Since we were already at Disney, we walked over to the expo to pick up our packets. It was still PACKED. We were in and out in just a few minutes as neither of us saw anything we wanted to buy.

I believe the afternoon was again spent watching tv. I had to get my mile in, but waited until dusk for it to cool down a bit. Pretty nice sunset!

 

Delicious enchiladas for dinner. The early part of the evening was spent getting Heather's oldest ready for her formal dance. I hope Heather posts a picture or two, she looked so pretty!! We were in bed early-ish.
Sunday - TINK HALF!!

We finished much earlier than expected, so we sat at Starbucks for about 40 minutes before heading to Souplantation where we met up with Julie and her new (well, 8 month old) baby for brunch!! So great to see her and catch up. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to the airport. Womp. Where did the weekend go???
Monday - I probably could have done more, but this was easy-ish, so I stopped after 3.25 miles. Somewhat of a progressive run (1 @ 5.5, 1 @ 5.6, .25 @ 5.7, .25 @ 5.8, .25 @ 5.9, .25 @ 6.0, .25 @ 6.1). I finally finished "Orange is the New Black" so now I'll need to find a new show to watch at the gym. I had fleeting aspirations of doing some strength training when I got home, but yeah, that didn't happen.

Weekly Miles Run - 24.23 (13.68 racing, 2.3 outside, 6 treadmill)
Weekly Cross Training - ZERO
Minutes of Strength Training - 77 (only thanks to going to BodyPump)

Weekly Gain - 1.4 pounds

• Let's be real. I didn't try this week. At all. And that's fine. I was on vacation for 3 days in SoCal, and I ate pretty much everything. It's not my fault that Heather is the best cook ever, that there were donuts and cinnamon rolls and Halloween candy. Personally, I think I did her a FAVOR by eating it all. (No really, thanks Heather, you're the best hostess EVER!)

• Beer was completely in check this week. I had only ONE beer all week, and that was Saturday night.

Everything Else

• So, we are in week three of me being the only secretary. The really great news is that we have ANOTHER attorney joining our firm, so really, this is MORE WORK FOR ME. Hip hip hooray!!!
• Related: I did finally hear back from the place I interviewed in December, they were still finishing up interviews and thought they would be contacting people to return for additional interviews in the next week. MAAAAYBE.
• OK, so I'm in week 2 (?) of being back on the online "dating" thing. I say "dating" because for REAL, I seem to attract the weirdest and creepiest people ever. I have gone on zero dates. I am likely giving this up soon (again), as I'm not really into it and I appear to be the only normal person online.
• For example (there are messages before AND after this, including asking if I want to go hiking). I have never, not even one time, responded to this guy. But, it's a good example of who I'm attracting:

Tinker Bell Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Sunday, January 19
Anaheim, CA
Half Marathon #99 (!!)
California Half #6
Tinker Bell Half #3
Weather - PERFECT

Thanks to the blog, I knew that we were going to have to wake up ridiculously early to get to the 5:00 am start. Like last year, we were up at 3:13 am. (!!) We left just after 3:30 and made a stop at Donut Star for a donut and coffee (for real, I might as well just copy the first part of last year's recap).

We parked at 4:11 and started the long trek to the start line. We stopped at the first set of port-o-potties we saw since there was virtually no line. We were in our corral about 10 minutes before the start. A MIRACLE!!

We actually DID go into the race with some goals:

A - Faster than I ran the Baker's Dozen this year (sub 2:48:57)
B - Sub 3:00
C - Disney PR (sub 3:08ish)

Now, it's interesting that we were looking to take SO MUCH time off our Heather and Becka Disney PR. HOWEVER, for the first time, it was just going to be the two of us running Disney without either of us being injured. So.... we started in corral A (where we belong, obviously).

I haven't had a really great run since I got back from Texas. I was thinking MAYBE we could hit our B goal, but our A goal seemed impossible. It was a bit chilly at the start and Heather had given me a throwaway shirt that I actually kept on for the first mile, which went by decently fast. We hit the first aid station around 1.5 miles in and then, we were in the park, MY FAVORITE.

We planned on stopping for ALMOST every picture, deciding not to stop only for those with crazy long lines or those characters we don't especially love (Country Bears, I'm looking at you). We had the most fun EVER EVER EVER EVER:

There were a few character pictures that didn't really come out, which was sort of a bummer, but we got a lot of great pictures anyway! I had finished a decent sized coffee before the race and really had to pee and wanted to use a real bathroom, so we stopped near Pirates of the Caribbean. Everything in the park was fun and magical. We managed to catch our friend Julia in Downtown Disney although SOMEHOW she didn't see us. Not sure how she missed us, we are the most fun and loud people ever during Disney races.

Like all Disneyland races, one of the highlights for me is the Red Hat ladies. They took up pretty much the whole section of street near the Disneyland hotel. THEY ARE THE GREATEST. Aid station just past mile 6, and then we were headed into Anaheim. And shockingly, it was still dark outside. We were well on our way to having a super speedy and great race.

Heather hasn't been running much, so she warned me that her brain might break at any moment. SPOILER: It did NOT!! I didn't especially feel wonderful, but the pace seemed ok and we were still able to hold a conversation, so that was nice. There were donuts on the course again around mile 8. The Clif station at the mile 8.5 had plenty of gels left and I grabbed a raspberry and espresso one, although I didn't actually take either one.

It's amazing how much less crowded the course seemed than in previous years. Maybe, it was because we were actually running, and we were mostly with OTHER people that were running. The sun finally started to come up somewhere between miles 10 and 11, and I put my sunglasses on around mile 12. Although, to be honest, I could have skipped them altogether.

The last mile went on FOREVER, although this course has always run long for me.

We for REAL killed our goal.

Official Time - 2:41:23
Official 5k - 38:20
Official 10k - 1:29:27
Official 15k - 2:02:29
Garmin Time - 2:41:23
Garmin Pace - 11:48
Garmin Moving Time - 2:19:58
Garmin Moving Pace - 10:14
Mile 1 - 10:21
Mile 2 - 12:43
Mile 3 - 13:01
Mile 4 - 21:39 (This obviously, was the bulk of the pictures)
Mile 5 - 13:37
Mile 6 - 11:15
Mile 7 - 10:47
Mile 8 - 10:35
Mile 9 - 10:33
Mile 10 - 10:37
Mile 11 - 10:25
Mile 12 - 10:19
Mile 13 - 8:57 (!!?!)
Mile 13.68 - 9:39

Thoughts:

• Holy cow, I love Run Disney so much!!!
• Well stocked aid stations with water and Powerade at all. Friendly volunteers! The aid stations were spaced perfectly, no issues.
• Plenty of bathrooms on the course.
• Heather and I picked The Best costumes this year, Mike and Scully might be our most successful costumes yet!
• The course changed in the park a bit this year and some of the turns seemed more narrow, sharp and awkward. However, since we were the FASTEST EVER we missed a lot of the congestion that might have otherwise made this more frustrating.
• Starting in A really seems to make all the difference. I'm hoping/thinking that next year we may be able to take off another 10 minutes or so off our PR, especially if we can continue to get more efficient in our picture taking!
• The race shirt is great this year - dark pink, and fits better than any other Disney race shirt I have. Should have a picture, but I don't. Womp.
• Heather and I are legacy Tink runners, so I will be back to run next year, of course, on the new date, mid May!

Week in Review (Jan. 7 - Jan 13)

Heads up - I finally discovered the "FitSnap" app - so look for those really obnoxious selfies with a text overlay of my running. Wheeeee!!

Tuesday - The gym was crowded, as expected. I had to wait for a treadmill. 4.25 of not-so-great miles. Felt VERY hard. Also, 3:00 plank.

L surprised me with this tank. Isn't it The Best??

Wednesday - Went to BodyPump, and it was surprisingly NOT packed. It was, however, VERY exhausting. Every time I do this it is like I have never lifted weights. 1 mile after class.

Thursday - Every intention of a Great Run. However, weight gain has caught up with me. 2.5 horrible, terrible, no good, very bad miles AND chafing. Wah. Hopped off the treadmill and did 5.4 on the bike.
Friday - 1 mile in the basement inferno - not bad.
Saturday - L was racing and I since had both kids, I headed to the gym. Hoped to knock out 10 miles, and instead, suffered through 7.5. Again, felt VERY HARD for the pace. No bueno.

Crazy sock day at the gym

Lounged around most of the day. After dinner I headed downtown to meet up with co-workers for bar hopping. Pretty fun, but getting home at midnight was rough.
Sunday - Was woken up early for a trip we have been planning for AGES to Voodoo Doughnut!! They have been open with limited hours since mid December, and we still had not gone! We were pleasantly surprised with a minimal line and were in and out in about a half hour.

Spent most of the day on the couch, but took A skating in the afternoon. Put off running until very late. 1 mile in the basement inferno (not the WORST, but not especially wonderful). Did the arms video and 2:00 plank. I'm going to die dead when I start doing these videos for Real.

Monday - Finally, finally, FINALLY, not the worst run ever. It wasn't by any means, Great, but I got 10k done and one mile was at 10:00, which is pretty fantastic. My favorite day so far of "spirit week" at the gym - NEON!!

Weekly Miles Run - 23.49 miles (all treadmill)
Weekly Cross Training - 5.4 miles on the bike (15 minutes)
Minutes of Strength Training - 74 minutes (I really need to get back to doing those videos...)

Weekly Loss - 2.0 pounds

• I made a conscious effort this week to get back into better habits. I have really let things slide over the last few months, and let's face it. Both the scale and my running reflects that.
• Beer was IN CONTROL this week. I did not buy any beer this week and pretty much the only real consumption was Saturday when we all went out for co-worker's birthday for drinks.
• I did have some splurges this week, of course. And they were totally worth it. Voodoo Doughnuts, Smashburger and Yogurtland.

Everything Else

• We had a firm meeting last week. From what I gathered, they have NO plans on replacing the other legal assistant until after our firm relocates - which is not for another 2.5 months. MY HEAD IS GOING TO EXPLODE.
• Related: I had a "talk" with the crazy office manager that if they don't get someone in soon, I will be looking elsewhere. The concern over my work led to:
• You do the "least" of any secretary in the history of the firm (UM, WHAT???)
• SHE is soooooooooo busy, so at any time I feel like actually pitching in, she needs the help (never mind that she makes three times what I do AND has a company car).

• For fun, I re-opened my POF account. Yep, just as dumb and annoying as I remember. So far, I've been hit up by people in other states (WHY?), a woman, and then of course, the people that after ONE basic message say they hate texting/messaging and we either go out or they don't want to talk to me. Maybe I'm crazy and/or paranoid, but I feel like at least getting to know something BASIC about someone before agreeing to meet them. It's only been a week and I'm already on the verge of quitting. Online people are INSANE, RUDE, and DEMANDING.
• I quit a book for the first time in as long as I can remember. I will usually suffer through an uninteresting book. This one? I just could NOT do it.

• Did you hear that I'M FAMOUS??? A friend on Dailymile sent me a message that she thought I was in the January issue of "Competitor" magazine. And she was right! Aren't I super photogenic?? (Can you even tell which one is me?! lol)

• DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS WEEKEND IS TINKER BELL??? I am the most excited EVER!!! Spoiler: Heather and I are looking for a new Disney PR!!!

And It FINALLY Ended (2013 Recap)

Much like last year, no need to do a giant flashy recap. I can sum things up with a few videos and a picture:

I managed to close out the year with less than TWO MILES more than I ran last year. Which, was the ultimate goal for me once I saw how close I was at the beginning of the month. Considering I took like a 6 week run hiatus, I'm really proud of that number. Not sure what is in the cards for 2014 yet...

 

And it was, of course, a great year with my kiddo. (Yes, I realize some of these pictures are not from 2013, but they were really adorable and I had them from "Throwback Thursdays" so I tossed them in anyway)

 

How was your year? Did you meet your goals? Anything fun lined up for the first part of the year?

Week in Review (Dec. 31 - Jan. 6)

Tuesday - New Years Double "Eve" marathon. An uneventful New Year's Eve, as for the third year in a row I did not make it until midnight.
Wednesday - New Years Double "Day" marathon. After lunch/showering, we had to drive back to Austin from Dallas. LONG, LONG, LONG drive.
Thursday - Lisa had to work, so I spent most of the day on the couch watching a Criminal Minds marathon and dozing off. That night, 1ish mile sloooww around the neighborhood with Lisa. I finally got to see A for the night, and we played a fun game of "Beat the Parents" (which, by the way, THE PARENTS WON):

Friday - Lisa had to work again, so I dropped her off at work. Spent part of the morning watching more crime tv before I finally decided to go for a quick run - on the Brushy Creek trail. Legs felt pretty good and I knocked out a fairly solid 3.3 miles.

Lisa had a date, so I took my oldest niece to go see the Hunger Games. We went to a 9:40 showing, and holy cow, did you know it didn't get out until after midnight?? I'm too old for this.
Saturday - Again, spent a lot of the day on the couch, resting. Mid afternoon, we headed towards downtown, where we ran by Town Lake. First 1.5ish was slow run/walk with Lisa and then I just had to get some real running in and ran other 2/3 of a mile. Wish I would have had more time for this one, it was a great trail. So pretty!

Last "kid free" night, so we went out to the karaoke bar. Surprisingly, I can spend about one evening with the ex without my head exploding. Apparently, I'm the only one that didn't know we were doing goofy face pictures:

Sunday - Repeat couch time. FAAAAAAST mile around the neighborhood before decided to go "hiking" near Georgetown on the San Gabriel trail with Lisa and my niece. They called it a "hike" - but really, 99% of it was paved and it was mostly flat. So maybe, I should just call it a long and windy walk?

Monday - Initially, I had planned on heading to the gym and trying to knock out 5-6 miles. Then,  my ex called to say he was dropping off A earlier than expected. I ended up just doing a mile around the neighborhood. Rest of the time in Austin spent packing and going to the airport. Flight delayed (what a shock), and by the time L picked us up it was already almost 7:00. So glad I chose to fly in on the "early" flight or I could have ended up not getting back until the middle of the night. Rounded out the #eatallthethings vacation with pizza. Delicious.

Weekly Miles Run - 61.83 (8.49 outside, 53.34 racing)
Weekly Cross Training - 6.3 miles hiking
Minutes of Strength Training - ZERO (I failed big time this week)

Weekly Gain - 2.0 pounds 

• I'm actually a little surprised it isn't worse. But... what that DOES mean is that I've gained about 6 pounds in the last month. I've historically never had this happen over the holidays, I typically maintain pretty well.
• Related: I don't care. I enjoyed a lot of foods I normally skip over due to "being bad" for me.
• Related: I must have had GALLONS of beer on vacation. GALLONS.
• Related: Back on track now that I am back from vacation and things are going to go back to as "normal" as they ever get.

 Everything Else

• Back at work, and still the only legal assistant. All of the attorneys are SUPER HAPPY to see me. What that means is I have a crap-ton of work to do. Apparently, time stood still while I was gone.
• Related: There was a woman interviewing this morning - CROSSING MY FINGERS.
• Related: Apparently, our firm is relocating to another building, about a mile south of here. What that means for me is a longer commute, actually having to drive INTO the city, instead of being able to park on the outskirts, and my "cheap" lot is waaaay too far for me to continue to park in. The move is rumored to happen by April 1. I am very unhappy about this, as this will end up costing me at least $10 more in parking, and of course, longer and more angry commute. Sigh.
• Still haven't heard on the interview I went on before Christmas. Still hoping that it was just really busy over the holidays and I will  hear something soon?
• Noooooooooothing else.

Week in Review (Dec. 24 - Dec. 30)

Tuesday - Christmas Eve. I ran a decently warm 6.7 miles along another section of Clear Creek trail that I've never run. Not super scenic and like usual, struggled a bit. Running with L is definitely like doing speed work. SHE IS THE FASTEST.

Wednesday - Christmas Day and the weather was once again nice enough for a run outside. L and I picked Big Dry Creek, and we knocked out a pretty tough 6.3 miles. For REAL, running with her is the hardest.

After our run we sat around and watched tv and then we headed over to Jessa's house for Christmas dinner. She went all out and made a TON of food. We were so full after eating that we could barely move. L dozed off a bit and Jessa and I stole Jackson's Lego's and build the Vampyre Hearse. These Lego kits are COMPLICATED. Holy crap, that took HOURS. Had more beer once I got home.

Thursday - 2.5 miles on the treadmill at the gym. I think it was ok, I don't remember. Also did the video trifecta (legs, arms, core)

Friday - 1 mile in the basement inferno. Zero recollection if this was good, bad or otherwise.

Saturday - Last run of the year in Colorado. The weather was really pretty great again and L and I ran a new section of Ralston Creek in west Arvada. Solid 7 mile run. Will really miss these runs when I have to get back on the treadmill when A gets back from Texas.

L had to nap so she would be able to drive me to the airport, so I sat around watching tv before heading to the airport. It magically started snowing, and even though my flight was supposed to leave at 9:50 pm, my flight would eventually be delayed THREE HOURS. This resulted in me sitting at the airport bar until close, spending an OBSCENE amount of money on beer. I barely remember my flight.

Sunday - What. A. Long. Day. I felt like shit all day after all my drinking at the bar. With my flight not getting in until almost 4 am, I didn't get much sleep and spent most of the day nauseous and wanting to die. Managed to squeeze in a mile-ish run with A around the neighborhood. SUPER chilly.

Monday - Wasn't really in the mood for a long run, you know, tapering for DOUBLE MARATHONS. Lisa had to work a few hours, so I ran a mile-ish in by her work. IT WAS THE HARDEST MILE EVER. Really really really really REALLY dreading the DOUBLE MARATHONS I was stupid enough to sign up for. For REAL, there is something wrong with me.

Weekly Miles Run - 34.55 (3.5 treadmill, 31.05 outside)

Minutes of Strength Training - 30 (ouch)

Gain/Loss - ?!? It's a MYSTERY!!! NO WEIGH IN.

• First off, it's the holidays. Second, I've been out of town since the 28th. I am sure there has been a gain, but I didn't even bother with a weigh in, so I have no idea what it might be.
• The biggest culprit of the week? BEER, BEER, BEER, AND MORE BEER.

• I've been super hungry lately, but that isn't necessarily out of the ordinary. I didn't eat nearly as "clean" as usual, and I think that was showing in my laziness. Ohhhhh welllls. It's the HOLIDAYS.

Everything Else 

• So, there was a secretary hired. And she worked one day. And never came back.
• Related: When are they going to recognize my manager is A CRAZY PERSON and eliminate the REAL problem in our firm??
• Related: I will deserve a medal of honor if I survive my employment without my head exploding and/or me snapping.
• NOTHING ELSE.

New Years Double "Day" Marathon (Race Recap)

Allen, TX
Wednesday, January 1
Marathon #24
Texas Marathon #4
Weather - Chilly at start, sunny, WINDY

Continued from Day 1...

After the race we stopped to get lunch at Chili's. I was pretty sore, and not as hungry as I usually am after a run, which was weird. We headed back over to our friend's house to shower. And then, we did NOTHING. We sat around and watched tv and eventually ordered pizza. Had a few beers, and before we knew it, it was already after 9:00. We went down the street to a New Years party but didn't stay long. I was in bed by 11:00, still unsure of what distance I would be running in the morning. The thought of another marathon seemed EXHAUSTING.

Race Day

We got up about 10 minutes earlier, to allow time for me to drop to the half if that is what I decided to do when I got there. We stopped again at Shipley's - donut, kolachi and coffee. Arrived at the race, and while sitting in the car trying to decide what I wanted to do, I realized I didn't have my wallet on me so I didn't have the cash to drop down. FULL MARATHON IT IS. Womp.

We got in line for the bathrooms and it was WINDY AND COLD. After cycling through the line, we headed back to the car and I decided to just wear my jacket. Like the day before, there was not much time for standing around and I started toward the back of my corral.

The plan all along was to start out slow, run as much as possible and not die.

Well, I succeeded in starting out slow. My legs felt tight, but not terrible, and unlike the day before, I did not have the numbness in my feet/legs. RIPPED the jacket off within the first 15 minutes. Somewhere towards the end of the first loop I saw Beth and Teal running (and looking adorable) and they both said a brief hello to me. Of course, I had to use the bathroom earlier than the day before, around mile 7. I saw Lisa (sister-in-law) and Alyssa (niece) on the course a bunch of times. I was still feeling good the first half, and they snapped this picture of me:

I think I was screaming and flailing my arms. Hard to say. I managed to run the first half without any unplanned walk breaks and had I stopped there, everything would have been fine. Heading into the second half was when I really started to feel all the wear and tear on my body. I overall was just sorta achy and tired. I made a promise with myself that I would not take any walk breaks until mile 18, and succeeded. BARELY.

Like the day before, the last 8 miles were terrible, only obviously, today it was worse. It was SUPER windy, so even when I felt like I had more energy I was working a lot harder. Man. I really hate the wind. The last loop I had to run in the grass on the side of the trail because the bottoms of my feet hurt so bad from all the concrete.

HOWEVER, I managed to get it done, and in a fairly respectable time, especially considering I had just run a full marathon the day before.

Official Time - 5:11:06
Official Pace - 11:52
3.6 Split - 40:54
6.55 Split - 1:12:45
10.15 Split - 1:56:11
13.1 Split - 2:27:57
16.7 Split - 3:09:34
19.7 Split - 3:44:03
23.3 Split - 4:33:36
Overall Place - 96/154
Gender Place - 39/66
Division Place - 10/12
Garmin Time - 5:11:03
Garmin Distance - 26.65 (Whee, ran better tangents!)
Garmin Pace - 11:40
Miles 1-5 - 11:22, 10:53, 10:27, 10:52, 10:47
Miles 6-10 - 11:43, 11:17, 12:27, 10:53, 10:33
Miles 11-15 - 11:00, 11:03, 11:03, 10:46, 10:53
Miles 16-20 - 11:26, 11:02, 11:13, 12:31, 11:24
Miles 21-26.2 - 12:22, 12:44, 13:50, 14:08, 13:50, 13:15, 11:11 (can you tell how much I struggled at the end??)

Full Challenge Plate - GINORMOUS

Thoughts:

• In all the other insane things I have done, I have never done "official" back-to-back marathons. It wasn't especially fun, especially on such a flat/paved course, but I do LIKE the course. HOWEVER, I don't think I ever need to do this again.
• Very well stocked aid stations, very friendly volunteers.
• LOVE the out and back course. So fun to continually see the same people over and over. I love it!!
• We got different shirts this year, a long sleeve and a short sleeve in different colors. Female and male cuts, which I loved. I have already run in the long sleeve shirt and it was great.
• LOVE LOVE LOVE the medals and the challenge plate. Libby outdid herself this year and as you can see above, the plate is bigger and better than ever. This race always works out well with my schedule of picking up A from her Dad after Christmas, so I will be back next year, likely to run the only combination I have NOT done - double half marathons.
• The INKnBURN "ugly" sweater was a huge hit, got TONS of comments on it.

New Years Double "Eve" Marathon (Race Recap)

Allen, TX
Tuesday, December 31
Marathon #23
Texas Marathon #3
Weather - Chilly at start, sunny

I waited a long time to register for my third trip to Allen, Texas for the New Years Double. Somehow, I ended up registering for the double marathons (again), even though last year's attempt was a giant fail.

We had stayed up a bit later than we wanted and I was FULL from all the Mexican food and beer. Nothing about my night was leading up to a successful race.

Race Day

My niece was going to be the slowpoke of the group. We were staying with a friend only about 15 minutes away, but got up earlier to allow for everyone to get ready. Alarms went off at 7, and we got out the door later than planned, closer to 7:40. Our first delay was the weather:

We were not expecting to have to sit in the car to let the windows defrost for over five minutes! Then, we had to stop at Shipley's and to get a kolachi and a donut and coffee. We arrived at Celebration Park with enough time to get Alyssa (my niece) pins for her bib and to use the port-o-potties. It was MUCH colder feeling than last year, although there was no wind and the sun was out. And of course, no rain.

I have run the marathon course twice, and the half course twice. It is a flat and a fairly "fast moving" course. I headed out with some basic goals.

A - 4:45 (this was a HUGE long shot, as I only recently have gotten my half back under 2:30)
B - Sub 5
C - Fastest marathon of the year (sub 5:16:47)

I started in the back of Corral F and settled into an "easy-ish" pace. By the time I passed through the first aid station at mile 2 I was already HOT. The problem was that I was wearing my long sleeve shirt UNDER my tank. The mile I was undressing and redressing went by pretty fast. I don't even know how I managed to do it without hurting myself.

I was NOT feeling super great. You would think that the big problem would be GI issues from my Mexican food, but it was a newer issue. No actual calf tightness, it was numbness in BOTH feet, and it went all the way to my knees. Lasted for at LEAST one loop. It was very uncomfortable.

Passed through loop 1 with a decent pace and headed out for loop 2. That loop was uneventful, and towards the end the numbness in my feet/legs finally went away. I crossed through the half way point around 2:21. On the way to meeting my "A" goal, but it was going to be tight. Coupled with having to stop and use the bathroom around mile 14. THEN, I finally felt better. The race sort of fell apart around mile 18. That was when the unplanned walk breaks started to happen. My feet were achy, my legs felt tight. I saw Lesley by the drop tent and gave her my long sleeve, ski hat and gloves. THANKFULLY. Sooooo hot.

The last loop went on forever and ever.

The course was thinning out, but there were still a decent number of people out. I was eyeballing my watch quite a bit the last few miles, but knew that I was not going to make my goal. However, I was guaranteed a sub 5, something I hadn't seen since I ran Grand Valley marathon in May, 2012.

The course has consistently measured (substantially) long for me.

Official Time - 4:52:12
Official Pace - 11:09
3.6 Split - 40:00
6.55 Split - 1:10:29
10.15 Split - 1:51:02
13.1 Split - 2:21:43
16.7 Split - 3:03:53
19.7 Split - 3:36:35
23.3 Split - 4:19:18
Overall Place - 105/179
Gender Place - 44/86
Division Place - 11/19
Garmin Time - 4:52:13
Garmin Distance - 26.69 miles
Garmin Pace - 10:57
Mile 1-5 - 10:26, 10:20, 10:31, 10:43, 10:10
Mile 6 - 10 - 10:38, 10:41, 10:05, 11:34, 10:29
Mile 11 - 15 - 10:51, 10:19, 10:44, 12:00 (bathroom), 10:28
Mile 16-20 - 11:09, 10:28, 10:50, 12:10, 10:40
Mile 21-26.2 - 11:45, 11:25, 10:46, 11:41, 11:57, 11:50, 10:58

I collected my medal, and met up withe Lesley to get my stuff back. Brief hello to Libby (race director), and then some finisher pictures.

As soon as I was finished, I was already thinking - HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN TOMORROW?? Initially, the thought was to drop down to the half marathon like I had done last year. 

Stayed tuned for day 2...

December Dollars

As promised, I continued to track all my finances through the month of December, since it was going to be a more "typical" month of spending.

Household Bills (Mortgage, Electricity & Water) - $856.70 (My half)

Car (Loan, Insurance) - $434.50

Netflix - $8.27

Credit Card Payments - $160.00

Savings, Investments - $85.00

Insurance (Life, A's Health) - $129.40

Dad (Money I owe him and cell phone) - $150.00

Gym Membership & Childcare - $41.90 (My half)

Race Registration - $240.00 (Only one, NYC marathon!)

Groceries - $173.00

Beer (Store & Bar) - $108.31(about $50 higher than normal between excessive delay at the airport and beer I bought for Christmas dinner)

Dining Out - $105.44

Parking - $112.00

Gas - $80.36

Gifts - $16.96

Other (Roller Skating, non-food items) - $51.74

I didn't get as much money from my ex this month (he recently quit his job), so I wasn't able to chip away at the credit cards as much as I would like. This is definitely a better example of where my money actually goes. Other than registering for the NYC marathon and the beer this month, there really isn't anywhere I can/will cut. We didn't do any extra-curricular spending this month and I had no one but a work friend to buy Christmas presents for, which saved a lot of money.

It really is eye-opening to see where money goes. Thinking I might risk going from cash to debit, although I'm not super reliable about writing everything down. Due to reduced income and high outflow, I don't keep a ton of money in my checking account and I don't have overdraft. Tips on keeping track of money? I still use a paper register...

Not sure if I will continue tracking going into 2014, as it seems I've got things as under control as it can be...