Weekly happenings

So the past week has been CRAZY!!! Both Maryna and Garrett had soccer games last Tuesday (of course in 2 completely different locations). Wednesday, Maryna was supposed to have her school track meet but it was rained out. That evening, we had our AWANA awards night at church. Both kids did extremely well, but Maryna had to use the front pew to hold all of her awards :) Thursday was Maryna's large track meet (between the intermediate schools). She competed in the 100 m, the 4x100 m relay and the high jump. Her relay team placed 2nd, she took 2nd in the 100 m and still not sure about the high jump (although she did not have her best night at this event). It was a fun evening and the weather was perfect.

Friday, I took off work to get stuff done around the house, go grocery shopping, prepare for the half marathon and prepare for mom to arrive. Mom flew in really late Friday night (thanks to Ben for picking her up). Saturday morning was my race. I was very concerned about the weather as they had predicted severe thunderstorms that morning, but we didn't get any rain (couple of drops at the finish line). The weather was great (albeit a little humid) and I was so glad to complete it. Several have asked how the race went. I wanted to finish under 2:15 and finished at 2:11. I was happy with that time considering I was fighting leg cramps in my right calf starting at mile 6 and this course is EXTREMELY hilly. I know that if I didn't have those issues, I could have knocked at least 5 minutes off of my time.

Maryna's game Saturday evening was cancelled as fields were under water. Sunday, we went to church and then both kids had soccer games (1:00 and 3:00) and then Brad and I played an outdoor soccer game at 6:00.

I was glad my mom got to see the kids play while she was here. She flew out Monday morning (thanks again to Ben for taking her). As you can see, we had a very busy but very enjoyable time. Garrett has his school track meet tonight so we are excited to see how he does. The weather is perfect.

Half marathon this weekend

I cannot believe the time has come for me to go out and run 13.1 miles (this Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m.). I have to admit that I am quite freaked out about this. I dreamt Sunday evening that I was so slow, the courtesy van had to pick me up and take me to the finish line. Needless to say, I woke up in a bit of a bad mood on Monday. Then I hear the updated forcast for this weekend....rain on Saturday. And not just scattered sprinkles. They are forcasting rain with chance of thunderstorms. Can I tell you how much I HATE being out in the rain? I don't want my clothes to get wet (unless it's from sweat) nor do I want my shoes to be squishy (yes, I said squishy). But, I know I have trained for this day...I think.

Now my focus is getting my clothes figured out and loading my iPod. If you have any suggestions for what songs to load onto my iPod, let me know.

If not, please just pray that I make it through this.

Hebrews 12:1 (NASB)
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Half marathon...can you believe it?

Ok, so it is less than 11 weeks until I have to do something I'd never thought I'd do.....run a half marathon. For those of you that know me, you realize how crazy this idea really is. I mean, I was the girl that during cross country my sophomore year of high school, hitched a ride back to the school just so I wouldn't have to run the complete distance. I had no desired to run anything longer than about 400 yards and was simply doing it to keep in shape for track. My parents said it was a "character building" opportunity. RIGHT!

Although, I did see on TV where I'm not the only one with that idea. The guy that was eliminated from the Biggest Loser a week ago decided to run a marathon with his wife and in order to complete in the time provided by the race officials, he had to ride in a van the final 3 miles. Now, a marathon is huge (26 miles), but for Pete sake (who's Pete...not sure) if you're going to put it out there that you completed a marathon, complete the marathon.

Ok, I'm back off my soapbox. Anyways, I am following a training schedule which has me doing longer runs 3x a week, shorter runs or cross training (bike riding, swimming, stair climbing, etc) 2x a week and then weight lifting 2 of those days as well. It is a very rigorous schedule, but since I have a schedule, it keeps me on track. I am a little concerned that I won't be up to running 13.1 miles in the morning as my blood sugar worries me a bit. However, I have several good resources (considering I work for a hospital) here that I'm going to tap into for advice.

The weather here finally seems to be turning and warming up. I've been told not train on a treadmill, however, with my luck and my amazing ability to get injured, I decided I wasn't going to train outside if there was a possibility of ice or snow. So, looks like this afternoon I might actually get to do my cross training outdoors (it's 64 degrees outside....heat wave)! I think I'll do some bike riding today. Both kids have soccer practice this evening, so what a great way to spend my time while they are gone. I get to burn calories and be out in the sunshine.
I'm so excited! Bring on the beautiful spring weather.

Half marathon

So Ben and I are both doing a half marathon this May. We started our training program this week. I really like the program cause it mixes up your workouts and you get Fridays off. Monday was just a strength and stretching day, but yesterday was a 3 mile run. Now, I've been running at the gym about 4 days a week and typically run about 3 miles at a time. So, I figured this run wouldn't be too difficult. Here's where I made the mistake. My brother said he was going to run outside, so I decided to do the same. I mean, yeah it is cold (like 38 degrees), but the sun was out so I thought it wouldn't be too bad. I have a 3 mile course mapped out and so I put on my MP3 player and headed out. I forgot how much your lungs burn when running in that cold weather. YIKES! Much different than the 70 degree climate-controlled gym. So, I finished my run and was exhausted. It is much harder to run outside than on a treadmill indoors. Today's workout is either a 2 mile run or cross-train (biking, swimming, walking, etc). I'll wait till the end of the day to decide which option I'll choose.