Birthday Tribute To The Running Dork!

It's special tribute time!!! Today I would like to wish a VERY SPECIAL (in soooo many ways) PERSON a VEEEEERY HAPPY BIRFDAY!!!!! This one's for you, RUNNING DORK!!!!

The only person I LITERALLY make long-distance friendship hearts with. Tear.

Aw, look at us the day we met.

We were so excited to finally meet each other!!!

And clearly, we had a good time.


Who else would hang out a car window with me to cheer on our fellow friend (The Running Lawyer) in a race??

And I'll NEVER forget when she put her meat in my box.

Oh, and these tiny little carts...how cute!

I can't think of anyone else I'd rather look longingly at.

And as a card carrying member of The Quadrouple, it is her honorary DUTY to do the following:

Be pensive.

Do Jazz Hands.

And the Shocker.

And - oh yes - make friendship rainbows.

I *heart* you, dear friend! Hope you have the bestest bday ever!!!!

*PS - I scheduled this to post at 2:26am....since your bday is 2/26 and I'm so clever and all. ;)*

Love 2 Run (AKA The Lesbian Race) Race Report

ALSO known as....the coldest efing race I hope to ever run in my life. Yeah, it sucked that bad. First off, when you are dressed like THIS before the race and you're still frozen solid the second you step outside, you know it's colder than balls:

About to run a race...or about to rob a bank?? Take your pick...

Yeah, I knew the weather on Sunday was not going to be in our favor. It was the coldest day in the 10 day forcast by about 15 degrees. Nice. Turns out that with the wind, it was a whopping -3 at the downtown airport that morning.

Here I am, preparing to freeze my tatas off....

Oh wait, I forgot to cover my ears with an additional layer!

The Running Chalupa looks like she's about to knock off a liquor store!

We arrived at the downtown airport (which is only about 5 miles from my house) more than an hour before the race so we would have enough time for packet pick-up and a quick warm up. Yeah...the crowd was small and the extreme early arrival was totally unnecessary. So we pretty much just chilled (literally) for about an hour. I had 7 miles on my schedule that day and had planned to run an extra loop after the race. About 30 minutes before the race, the thought crossed my mind that we should have done the extra loop BEFORE the race as a warm up...and because we were there so early. But by then, it was too late. Oh well. Honestly, if I would have done the "warm-up" loop, I probably would have ended up not even running the race. How sad is that??

The race itself was pretty uneventful. I've ran at the downtown airport plenty of times - did a lot of my half marathon training out there last year. It's completely flat, but the wind can be pretty brutal since it's out in the middle of nowhere. But yeah...I was not prepared for the SUCK of this race. Here are the lowlights:

**Garmin battery died less than a mile into the race, so I had no clue what my pace or distance was pretty much the entire time.

**My legs were frozen solid, even after the small warm up that Val and I did. What this amounted to was extreme pain in my calves and shins with every step I took. The muscles were just cold and tight and it completely hurt to "run."

**I ended up having to stop to stretch my calves and walk a bit THREE times!!! I can't even remember the last time I had to walk during a run, let alone a short 4 miler on a FLAT course. That was a bit of a blow to the ego...esp after all the really great runs I've had lately.

**Another runner actually had to ask me if I was okay as I limped along in pain and agony from stiff, cold muscles.

**I never did run my extra 3 miles I had on my schedule that day....I was barely able to finish the race.

There WERE just a couple of highlights too, though:

**I still managed to PR - LOL! I will say this though, this was only the SECOND 4 mile race I've ever ran and I had a stress fracture (not yet diagnosed at the time) during the first one...which was also just 6 days after my first half marathon and I could barely walk at the time, let alone run. So yeah....beat my previous 4 mile race time by 2:57.

**The Running Chalupa & I had an AMAZING brunch at Corner Cafe after our race (this is becoming a tradition) and it was DE-LIC! We split 2 meals - chicken strips & fries, and waffles with eggs & bacon - oh yeah! Oh, and we downed it with some loving chocolate milk. Highlight of the day. Well, that and the nap I took when I got home. ;)

Here are some pics we took after the race. One even shows our faces! LOL

So I now have 2 races under my belt for 2010 - 1 in January and 1 in February. Oh, and the next time I think about registering for a race with temps like this, please -for the love of God- talk me out of it!!!

Happy Birthday To The Running Lawyer!!!!

See the chick on the right?

Well that would be my good friend, The Running Lawyer. And today just happens to be her BIRFDAY!!!!!! Please make sure to stop by and wish this lovely lady a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

February is a pretty awesome month, considering the entire Throuple will be celebrating a throuple of birthdays this month - we're pretty awesome like that. We travel in packs, too. So watch out!

2009 Recap

Yeah, yeah, I'm a little behind... And I have even had this post all ready to go for a couple weeks now, but I've been waiting to upload pictures.... But honestly, I just don't have that much time, so I'm just going to post it as is. The first month of this year has been so insanely busy, I just haven't had a chance to get around to recapping '09, but better late than never. So, here goes:

2009 was one of -if not THE- best years of my life. Although there was a healthy mix of highs and lows, overall it was a year of many successes, accomplishments, achievements, love, laughter, friendships, fun, and happiness. Where do I even begin...??

In January I registered for my first triathlon (and let's face it, first RACE) ever - an olympic. It was scheduled for June. I began training on my own in January and began team training with TNT in February. I've always worked out and tried to stay in shape...but I've never been a runner. Or a swimmer or biker for that matter, either. My workouts consisted of regular muscle conditioning classes and the occasional elliptical session thrown in from time to time. Once in awhile I'd go for a "run".....and then not go for another one for 2 - 3 months. Looking back, it was a huge deal just to be able to run 1 - 2 miles without having to stop and walk.


In February, I had a monumental birthday and turned the big 3-0. My husband threw a huge surprise party for me, which was one of the best birthdays I've ever had! That night, a couple friends told me they were training for a half marathon and asked if I'd want to do it with them. At that time, I was only up to running 3 miles and was a bit skeptical. But somehow I decided to take on the challenge.

In March, I juggled my triathlon and half marathon training. In hindsight, I definitely took on more than I could handle, as I later ended up with a stress fracture. But I will say that training for the half with my friends definitely brought us all a lot closer. It definitely solidified our friendship and allowed us to share something that will forever be just between us.

In April we made the trip to St Louis where I ran my first ever Half Marathon...and yes, it was my first ever RACE - period! The emotions I felt at the start line were overwhelming. I had never ran a race before, let alone a race with 15,000 other people. What an experience!

I discovered a new found love for racing and raced 4 weekends in a row in April and May. But the pain I first noticed during my HM training started to get worse and worse. By the time I got an MRI, I pretty much already knew it was a stress fracture. Just weeks away from my triathlon, I ended up having to drop out of the race. It was a tough blow...but in the end it all worked out.

In May, my oldest daughter completed her first year of kindergarten! Around that same time, she expressed an interest in running and ran 2 5k's with me that spring. She also got invited to join the competitive team in gymnastics.

After 6 weeks of rest and healing, I began to train again in late July for another triathlon. I made even more new friends on this new team and really enjoyed all the open-water swims during the nice weather.

In August, I ran my first race in several months - Race for the Cure. It felt great to run again and I was even able to PR! August was a busy month for our family - Harper turned 1, Rylie turned 7, and she also began 1st grade. Late August was also the peak of my triathlon training.

In September, I made the trip to DC with my mom and members of my TNT team and competed in my first triathlon! What an exilerating experience - I mean, hello - I swam in the POTOMAC RIVER!!! Words cannot even describe the emotions I felt as I caught glimpses of monuments and national treasures in our nation's capital during my race that day! I conquered a HUGE dream of mine that day - it's a moment in my life that I will never, EVER forget!

I felt good after my tri and was ready to take on more races. I registered for my first 10k and ran it a few weeks later. I even committed to doing the Giblet Jog with Dork & Lawyer...but soon learned that my body just isn't designed to run back-to-back days...as I soon felt an all-too-familiar pain in my left leg. I didn't need a doctor to confirm it this time - it was another stress fracture.

I took more time off, but still accompanied my family to the Jared Coone's Memorial Pumpkin Run in October. I had already registered all of us for the race, but since I couldn't run with my injury, I just volunteered instead. Also in October, Randy and I celebrated our anniversary with a trip to Mazatlan, Mexico with some friends of ours. It was our first trip together since our honeymoon and it was so needed and so much fun! We had an amazing time together and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary.

I started running again in November so I could participate in the Giblet Jog with the Throuple (me, Dork, and Lawyer). But I ended up downgrading from the 10 Mile Turkey Trot and Gobbler Grind Half Marathon to the 2 Mile Turkey Trot and Gobbler Grind 5k. It was still 2 races in 2 days...and I managed to PR in both races! But more importantly, the weekend was a BLAST with great running friends that I adore!

December was mellow on the running front...but busy with the holidays, my husbie's birthday, and time with family.

Overall, 2009 was quite the year - I started blogging, turned 30, met lots of friends through TNT and the blog world, started racing for the first time ever, did 9 races - most of them being "firsts" of that distance, and pretty much a PR every time - hey, when you start out as slow as me, all you can do is improve! ;)

1 2 mile race
4 5k's
1 4 mile race
1 10k
1 half marathon
1 olympic tri

I would definitely say that '09 was a success....2010 has some big shoes to fill!!!

Groundhog Race Report - i.e. A Crazy-Fun Weekend With The Quadrouple...And A Teensy Bit of Running

Okay, okay, okay....I figure since I ran my second race of the year on Sunday and need to get THAT race report up, I might as well post my FIRST race report of the year beforehand....so, here ya go. And yeah, you probably already read all about it from these fools:

The Running Lawyer, The Running "Chicken", The Running Sri Lankan, and The Running Dork, ....so this really won't be a whole lot different. And honestly, it's more of an excuse to post pictures than to report about my race. So hopefully that will make up for the late factor. ;)

Basically, the weekend was a whole lot of fun, laughter, FOOD, and dirty jokes/sexual inuendo, with a little bit of running thrown in for good measure. The 4 of us ladies (Dork, Lawyer, Sri Lankan, and I) started out with a little of all the above (minus the running) at Stix.

Here's a pic of Laywer & Dork enjoying some sake.

We then headed over to the Nike Outlet for a brief shopping excursion, followed by a delicious viewing of Josh Duhamel in "When In Rome." We then picked up the Sri Lankan's husbie (AKA Sherpa) and headed to Blanc Burgers & Bottles for dinner.

Here's a pic of Dork & Myself with the cute little carts of sweet potato fries - YUM!!

Blanc was amazing. I had an inside out burger - aka a burger stuffed with blue cheese on the inside, which I can only describe as a food orgasm. O...M...G...!!! Wow. That's really all I have to say about that.

And here, one of the highlights of the evening, Beka putting her meat in my box - a moment I will remember forever.

Here's a couple group pics at Blanc. I particularly like the "pensive" photo. I know I was reflecting back on the moment Beka put her meat in my box...

After a fantastic dinner, we called it a night. That's because we had the following to look forward to the next morning:

In case you are wondering, Indi and I are pretending to be groundhogs in that middle photo. ;)

The 5k began at 9am and the 10k began at 10am. With the limited amount of parking available, we really tried to get there early...and then we had a long wait. But not really. The Running Chicken was running late (again), The Running Lawyer left her iPod in my car and had to go back and fetch it, and the lines for the bathroom were ridiculous...so really, not much time to spare.

Here's a pic of the crowd in the caves before the race.

I will say that running in a cave is def a first for me. And with the wind and cold that day, I will say that I'm GLAD we were inside! It was actually a little toasty for my taste, but still better than the frigid cold. AND, for the record, this is the only underground race in the country - cool!

The entire group was registered for the 10k except for me, since I had just started running again and did not feel prepared quite yet for a 10k. I opted to run the 5k instead, but didn't really want to run at 9am with all of my buddies running at 10am...so I just ran with the 10k-ers, but ducked out after the first loop. And with no garmin signal in the cave, I have no idea what my pace was or what my splits were...and honestly, that's just fine with me. After a 2 month hiatus from running, I really don't care to know just how slow I was... ;)

Here's a pic of me and Indi....I'm the pink blur beside Indi.

And I still hold claim that I BEAT the Running Chicken!!! It doesn't really matter that we began at the same time and he ran a 10k and I only ran a 5k....I still beat that guy. Fair and square.

Here are some of the fasties....pretty sure they lapped me & Indi on our first loop as they headed for the home stretch....sure is great on the ego when that happens, LOL.

And the white blur you see here, my friends, would be my homie - The Running Dork!

Oh, and while at the race, we saw The Running Santa Claus (above Indi's head there). I really wanted Mark to go sit on his lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas, but he declined....

No running group would be complete without a Sherpa. Here's ours - he pretty much rocks - lugs our stuff around, snaps photos, and does it with a smile!

Here's the Sherpa with the Running Ladies! **Notice all the matching....all 4 ladies in matching running tights, Beka, Kristen, and Indi in the same shirt (Beka & Kristen's are even the same color), and Kristen & I have the same pink shirt on underneath...we are quite a bunch.**

And of course, you can't have a race with the Quadrouple without Jazz Hands photos!!! Ignore the Running Party Pooper in the background....jazz hands will be photoshopped on him soon enough...

This photo...well, it speaks for itself.

After the race, we headed over to the Flying Saucer for some more delicious food...and BEER! The follow pics were taken at The Flying Saucer:

The Ring of Honor....no, it's NOT like a pearl necklace.... ;)

Beka & I looking longingly into each others eyes...and Kristen pouts for being left out. Classic.

Apparently a delicious meal makes us pensive. It also reminds me of Beka's meat...and my....box....

Yes, another successful weekend of fun, food, beer, friends, and oh yeah, what's that other thing....running. And here you thought you were going to get a RACE REPORT - ha!!! But I will leave you with the BEST pic of all - oh yes, are you ready for this one?? The Friendship Rainbow! Heart. And maybe even a tear.

I'm A Bad Blogger...

I have 4 draft posts I'm working on right now and feel like I'll never get to due to the craziness of my life right now. Work is insane, I never have a moment to myself at home...so where does that leave me? With little time for blogging.

So anyway, today I really just want to update my blog with my last several workouts. This is mostly for my benefit, so I'm sorry if it bores you. I'll try to get my Groundhog race report out soon...you know, since it was 2 weeks ago and all and I'm running another race this weekend. Val (who I think I'm going to have to start calling The Running Chalupa, fyi) and I are running the Love 2 Run race on Valentines Day together. It's a 4 mile loop out at the downtown airport. The high for Sunday is 24 - the HIGH. I'm pretty sure around 9am, we'll be lucky if the temp is even in double digits. Add to that the wind out at the airport and yeah....I wonder if it'll even be above 0??? Yikes!

Oh, and it's unfortunate that Val and I had already registered for the race before we thought to register as a couple since this race has both a singles and a doubles division. Cuz how cute would it have been for the 2 of us to cross the finish line holding hands on Valentines Day?? ;) I have since discontinued calling it the Love 2 Run race, and am now refering to it as our Lesbian Race. Heehee.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Have a super V-Day & eat lots of chocolate!!! :)


Recent Workouts:

Thursday, February 4, 2010: P90X Kenpo, 3.1 mile run (same route as Tuesday, beat time by 4 *yes, 4!!* seconds, lol)

Friday, February 5, 2010: P90X Cardio X, Wii - Just Dance (has anyone played this game?? so fun!!)

Saturday, February 6, 2010: Wii - Just Dance, 6 mi run (Longest run since September! Ry ran the first 2 miles with me. Pace for miles 2 and 4 was exactly the same, miles 1 and 3 within 3 seconds of each other, mile 5 was the slowest - mostly uphill, and mile 6 was the fastest - yay! Mile 6 was mostly downhill, but still....I like ending with my fastest mile ;) .)

Monday, February 8, 2010: P90X Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps

Wednesday, February 10, 2010: 3 mi run (coldest run of the year...fastest pace of the year! negative splits...and last mile 1:55 faster than the first!)

Oh yeah, that just happened!!!

I'm completely blaming peer pressure on this one. The Running Dork has been dangling the Chicago Marathon in front of me like a chocolate covered steak coupled with beer and rainbow hugs - how could I say no???

First off - have I always wanted to go to Chicago? I believe the answer to that one is a big fat YES! Here I live in the midwest but have never been to Chicago - what gives?? I've been dying to get to Chi Town JUST to eat some Chi Pizza for 3 days straight! Secondly, have I ever given much thought to running a full marathon? Of course. I read all these blogs by runners and feel their victories as I read about them crossing the finish line and I feel that rush of adrenaline just thinking that one day that could be me. Yeah, I just started running last year. But I ran a half marathon last year and I'm running another half this year. So what better time for a full than just a few months after a half, right? I can just keep the momentum going and cross another item off my bucket list.

Maybe I rushed into this decision? Perhaps I got wrapped up in the excitement of doing another race with some of my fave girls on this earth. And maybe, just maybe, the words "free place to stay" on top of all the other temptations was enough to push me over the edge....but whatever it was, it IS official - yesterday I registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon!!!! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!

Workout Updates and January Monthly Totals

First off, I haven't done "monthly totals" in forever....probably September. Geez, I suck. I also never did my yearly totals for last year either, which I still need to do for my own benefit. Sigh... And here it is, already February, and I haven't even done a 2009 recap either. I'm so behind. But for now, here are my most recent workouts, followed by my totals for January (totals kind suck considering I was detoxing half the month and therefore not working out....)

Thursday, January 21, 2010: 40 minute walk w/dogs

Friday, January 22, 2010: P90X Legs & Back

Monday, January 25, 2010: 2.6 mile run on treadmill (had to stop early due to pain in the left leg)

Saturday, January 30, 2010: 45 min on elliptical, abs, biceps, triceps, shoulders, inner & outer thighs

Sunday, January 31, 2010: 5k race (race report coming soon!)

Monday, February 1, 2010: abs, biceps, triceps

January Monthly Totals:
Running: 5 days, 14.8 miles
P90X: 3 days
Yoga: 1 day
Weights/Strength Training: 4 days
Misc Cardio: 2 days
Total Days of Cardio: 7
Total Days of Work Outs: 9

Be on the lookout for my race report from Sunday involving The Running Dork, The Running Lawyer, The Running Sri Lankan and The Running "Chicken".

Workout Updates

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support through my detox endeavors. Ending the detox was not an easy decision to make. But it came down to toughing it out for a few more days to get the full benefits in exchange for not being able to ingest vegetables again for a veeeery long time, or go ahead and quit early and still be able to consume veggies in my day-to-day diet. I really had to weigh out the pros and cons of each side. And although my judgement may have been a bit irrational at the time, due to the hunger and severe NEED for solid food, I feel that in the end, I made the right decision for me.

So now, moving on from the detox, I'm pleased to announce that I'm back in the swing of things again, workout wise. I have no idea what came over me in December, but I became a huge, lazy piece of shiz! But that is all behind me now. I have plenty of spring races coming on the horizon, including Half Marathon #2 - woot! So as soon as I phased off the detox, I knew I had to make up for it by getting my rear back into shape. So below are my workouts for the past week and a half - note, I've worked out more in the past 3 days than I have in the past 2 months. Fact. LOL...and sad.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010: P90X Ab Ripper X
--This was my first workout in nearly 2 months. Sigh, I know. I suck. The holidays, illnesses, and life all got in the way. Moving past that, I got my butt in gear and did the ab ripper workout. The following morning, I didn't even feel any soreness. As the day went on, I began to feel more and more sore. By Thursday, I couldn't laugh, cough, or even breathe without about doubling over, lol.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010: 2 mile run - treadmill
--This was my first run since November. I struggled, but made it the whole way through without walking. My pace was around 10:00 - 10:30. I was incredibly sore the next 2 days - could barely walk, lol.

Monday, January 18, 2010: 4 mile run
--This was my first run outside since Gobbler Grind in November. I still consider myself a new runner. I just started running consistently last year. And even my "consistent" running hasn't been all that consistent. I'm the epitome of a "fair weather runner." I don't even own all the proper gear for cold weather running. In fact, there are probably only a handful of times that I've ran in temps below 50 degrees. And they were probably all in the mid to upper 40's. So I set a new record on Monday when I pounded out 4 miles in only 36 degrees. I know, 36 isn't even THAT cold. But this is a new accomplishment for me, and I was quite proud of myself.

I met up with my friend Valerie at a new trail Monday morning (I love work holidays!) and set out for a run. Neither of us had ran in awhile (minus my pathetic 2 mile TM run on Wednesday), so neither of us really knew what to expect. The run was def slooooooow (for me, at least...Val blew right past me very early on). But the scenery was beautiful. There was snow on the ground, we were in a wooded area with a trickling stream and several little bridges to run over, and there was a LOT of fog out that morning. It was absolutely breathtaking! And to my surprise, I was able to pound out 4 miles! This is only my second run back from a 2 month hiatus and I was able to run 4 miles! Wow....a year ago, it took me several months to work up to 4 miles! I remember being excited just to run 1.5 - 2 miles.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010: P90X - Shoulders & Arms, and Ab Ripper X
--I'm trying to get back into the P90X program, but with training for some upcoming races, I won't be able to follow the schedule exactly. So I've just incorporated it into my schedule on the days I want to do strength training / weight training.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010: 3.1 mile run, yoga
--I ran 3 miles outside in my hood - LOTS of hills....and I ran 'em all! My pace was slow, yes. Like ridiculously slow. But the run actually felt good, so I'm not going to focus on my pace. I really only took my Garmin to see my distance. It was cold out too. And windy. But again, it felt good. When I got home, I stretched really well and did 45 min of yoga. It was a good workout day.

So, it's official - I am training to run the Oklahoma City Marathon (okay, the half marathon) with The Running Dork and The Running Lawyer. That's the "big" event I'm training for at the moment...but I have several other races on the radar as well. A goal I really wanted to set for this year was to run at least 1 race every month this year. So far, I have the first half of the year covered. :) I'll post more about upcoming events soon.

Forget 1 Day At A Time...More Like 1 Hour At A Time!

Okay, as I mentioned this morning, I've had to change my mindset a bit with this whole detox. I'm no longer looking at the big picture of 21 days, but just focusing on 1 day at a time. I will bask in the success of each day completed and will be proud of that, rather than feel down about not making it to the end, if that's what happens.

So yeah, 1 day at a time....at this point, it's becoming 1 HOUR at a time! Just about an hour ago, I was ready to give in and have a snack. I got that whole "f*** it, I'm done, I've had a good run, but now I'm ready for some FOOD" thought back in my head. I was honestly actually planning what I was going to EAT...when I went ahead and prepared my scheduled green drink and got my supplement pills ready to take. I popped the supplements, drank my drink, .....and suddenly, the urge to "cheat" passed. Thank goodness for the "feedings" (aka, nutrient-packed beverages & supplements) every 2 hours to keep me "full" and focused. I just need to make it to the next feeding.

Anytime I start thinking "Holy crap, there's no way I can do 13 more days of this!!" I have to stop and tell myself, "Don't think of it that way - just think about NOW and worry about the rest later. We'll climb that mountain when we get to it." It's just like a race - you can't sit there and think "Crap, I still have 12 miles to go!" or "Geez, I'm only done with my swim, but I still have to bike and run - I'm going to be at this for HOURS!" You just have to focus on the current task at hand and worry about the rest when you get there. So yeah, that's what I'm doing.

Again, thank you all for your support! This could quite possibly be the hardest thing I've ever done. I mean, races are over the same day you start them. Even childbirth doesn't last this long. Granted, pregnancy is 9 months and my second one was a doozy, but this involves WILL POWER. It's a mind over matter kind of thing. Just have to keep focusing on one small piece at a time.

At this point, I want to thank my biggest cheerleader and co-detoxer, my bestie - Melissa. We've been best friends since the 2nd grade. We've been roommates, we've traveled together, we were in each others' weddings, we've supported each other through many ups and downs in our lives. And I have to tell you, if it weren't for her, I would have jumped ship DAYS ago! She has been the best support system EVER and has talked me off the ledge MULTIPLE times with this detox! And she is sooooo kicking ass with this detox - she's on Day 9 and still going strong! So if you get a chance, please go give her some bloggie love and support in her detox journey, as lord knows she's given me a pantload of support this past week through mine!

Giblet Challenge 2009 - A Weekend of Throuple Love!

Okay, so I'm over a week late getting this posted, but better late than never. ;) A couple months ago, Running Dork, Running Lawyer, and I made the Giblet Jog announcement - we were all going to run the 10 Mile Turkey Trot in Wichita on the 21st and the Gobbler Grind Half Marathon in Kansas City on the 22nd. Well, please give some bloggie love to the Running Lawyer - the only one of us that actually accomplished this feat!!! Due to injuries, I down graded to the 2 mile Turkey Trot and the Gobbler Grind 5k, and Running Dork was one of the best Athletic Supporters that a group of runners could ask for!! ;)

Okay, so let me start at the beginning of the weekend. I got off work early on Friday the 20th and headed out for the 3 mile drive to the Dub. I got there around 5pm and met up with Beka at her abode. Kristen showed up a little bit later and we enjoyed an AMAZING dinner with plenty of wine and laughs. And apparently wine is my new pre-race-requisite because I ran my fastest race EVER the following morning. (PS - fastest ever for the running worm is basically faster-than-a-snail-but-still-slower-than-a-turtle.) ;)

Here's a pic of the Throuple on Friday night:

I stayed the night at Kristen's house and we met Beka at the race. The start time was 9:30, which was actually kind of nice since it was pretty chilly out that morning. After a long line for the bathroom, we barely made it to the start in time for the gun.

This race was my first run in almost 3 weeks after being sick and having a lot of craziness in my life. AND, I had only ran 3 times since my last stress fracture, so I was hardly prepared for this race. I was really just there to have fun. I told Beka I anticipated finishing my 2 miles in around 22 - 24 minutes. So you can imagine my surprise when I finished my first mile in 9:30! Now I will say this - being that the race was in Kansas, it was EXTREMELY flat - no hills, barely even an incline here or there. The course was really nice - right along the river, some of it on streets, most of it on a trail, and even part that went through a grassy field - srsly. I was covered in stickers afterwards...which did not feel good when I accidentally sat back on my heels later and got some stickers in the tooshie!

Anyway, if this race had been a 5k, I definitely would have gone out way too fast in the first mile and then ran out of gas at the end. But since it was only 2 miles, I really pushed myself to maintain my speed. Those of that have been following my blog for awhile are aware that I've only been running for less than a year. So when I finished the race in 19 min & some change, I was SHOCKED...and excited! New PR for the Running Worm!!! And after a 2 month running hiatus (other than 3 small runs), I was pretty pumped!

There are no pics of me running this race cuz I told Beka - who was waiting at the finish line - that I wouldn't be done until 22 - 24 min, and I finished several minutes faster than expected, so she didn't have her camera ready for me. ;)

But here is a pic of Beka & me (& Milo!) after the race...and after I changed out of my sweaty running clothes - thank goodness for Beka's ridiculously dark tinted windows so I could change in the car. ;)

We got to see Kristen run by in this trail during her 10 mile race and then we jetted over to the finish line to see her finish. She did AWESOME!!! I only aspire to run that fast one day!

After the race, Kristen and I went back to her place to shower and get cleaned up. We then met up with Beka and Kristen's mom for some yummy brunch before we headed out for the 3 hour drive up to KC. We arrived just in time to pick up our race packets. Then our friend Indi and her husband met up with us and we headed out for a tasty viewing of New Moon, followed by dinner (and drinks of course!) at California Pizza Kitchen, and some amazing gelato at a cute little gelato shop.

Here's a pic of us ladies (from left to right: Indi, Beka, Kristen, Me) at CPK:

That about wrapped up our night. Then we had to get some shut eye before the race the following morning - 8am start time!

Here's a pic of us girls before the race Sunday morning (from left to right: Katy, Valerie -who has a new bloggie of her own that you all should check out at The Coach's Wife-, Me, Kristen, Indi, Beka)

The GG started promptly at 8am and I started of just as fast as I had the day before - big mistake. I wasn't far from the end of the first mile when I felt some crazy pain in my shins and my left knee. I didn't stretch as well as I should have the day before and I was seriously just shuffling along.

Here's a pic of me during the first mile - I was still running faster at this point - notice the blur! ;)

Anyway, the rest of the race was pretty painful. All I really wanted to do was stop and walk, but I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to run again. I never EVER run 2 days in a row - my body just can't handle it. So racing 2 days in a row had me in a great deal of pain. But I just powered through so I could be done. Didn't stop for water....knew if I did, my legs would refuse to run anymore after that. So I did manage to run the entire race without walking....and somehow, even though I felt like I was at snail-pace, I still managed to PR! I will say this though - this was only my 4th 5k. 2 of those I ran with a yet-to-be-diagnosed stress fracture....and a 6-year-old in tow. The other I ran in August in nearly 90 degree heat with some massive hills. My previous times weren't hard to beat - they were all slow as all get out. So yeah, there ya have it - 2 PRs in one weekend! Not to shabby for the Worm!

After I finished the race, I could barely walk. I grabbed some chocolate milk and hobbled over to a tree where I did some much-needed stretching, which totally helped! Then Beka, Indi, Trevor (Indi's husband) and I went and drove around to try to spot our friends running the half. We were successful - first we spotted Kristen and obnoxiously yelled out the window at her....for a couple blocks. ;)

Here is a stellar pic that Indi took from the front seat featuring me and Beka hanging out the back window yelling at Kristen who is running on the left:

And just a few blocks ahead we spotted Valerie too. Cheering out the window of the car was so much fun....so fun, in fact, that we just started cheering for random names. The best was Lindsay...because some girl perked right up at the sound of her name and started waving wildly back at us and giving us the thumbs up. Ah, good times.

We then headed back to the finish line where we anticipated Runnur Mark finishing in roughly an hour and a half....and he did not disappoint.

Here's a group pic after the race (Mark, Me, Beka, Kristen, Indi):

And what would a race be without some Jazz Hands photos?? Too bad Mark scurried away before this was taken. ;)

After the race, we got cleaned up and headed out for some traditional post-race Chipotle love. Nothing quite screams "celebration of accomplishment" to me quite like a loving bowl of Chipotle - yummmmmmm!!!!

And here's a pic of us ladies after our delicious Chipotle love:

Shortly after this last pic was taken, we all parted ways...sigh. It was definitely one of the best weekends I've had in a LONG time!!! I do believe we plan to make this a tradition....with hopefully some more fun weekends together in between. These ladies are a blast - nothing beats the Throuple. Nothing. Except maybe the Throuple + Chipotle.