And The Winner Is........ME!!!!!

My online running friend, Christina, has AWESOME giveaways on her blog. I even won some Body Glide from her a few months ago. She had a giveaway for some Ryders sunglasses and I WON!!!! I have been in need of some sunglasses for running for a while now. Every race I do I have to wear my sunglasses and they are just not dark enough. I end up squinting which in turns causes me to have a headache the rest of the day. Happens when I go swimming or to the beach too so I know it is from the sunglasses not giving me enough coverage. Really excited about these sunglasses...hoping they are darker and do the trick! Thanks so much Christina!!! Go to her blog and check her out...she usually has a giveaway once a week!!!

Long Run Day...11 Miles!!!!

Well our route was changed today because we were running to pick up a friend from her house...Christina! (Who we have missed so much because she has been resting from running due to an injured hamstring.) It was awesome to have her running with us again this morning. Anyway, I met Katrina and Laura at Laura's house around 5AM. They had already ran 3 miles before grabbing me. We then ran about 4 miles to Christina's house to pick her up. And then we ran a route back to Laura's house. I ran a total of 11 miles in 2 hours and 17 minutes which is an average pace of 12:27. The key to these long runs for us is a slow and steady pace. The run was great for me this morning. I hit my usual wall around 5 miles but pushed through it and finished strong. And GU is my best friend!!! And so is Laura's water and Gatorade drops...could not make it without those! But we talked about getting some kind of fuel belts this morning. Because we are used to getting a bottle of Gatorade or water about every 3 miles and carrying it with us while we run for a ways. That way we get to sip as needed. But at our half marathon, they are going to give us cups and we can't run with those. So fuel belts make sense. Any suggestions on what to get???

Gonna relax with my boys the rest of the day! Happy Saturday everyone!

3.55 Miles of HILLS!

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE hills??? I know they are good for me but ugh! At least I did it though! It was a good run even though it was challenging. The temps were still cool although not as cool as yesterday morning. Running is my favorite way to start the day!!!

Looking forward to my long run on Saturday morning! Planning on running in downtown Fairhope past The Grand Hotel. That is such a nice route. Hoping the cool temps stay for that run!

5 at 5 This Morning!

I ran 5 miles with Paige this morning. We had a great run! The humidity was low and the temperature was around 75 degrees...heavenly! I cannot WAIT for cooler temps and fall weather! We ran with an almost full moon...beautiful! We ran our 5 miles in 58:32 at an average pace of 11:40. I was so proud of Paige...she rocked the run this morning!!!

PT No More!

Great news! I got released from Physical Therapy today!!! I just have to continue doing my strengthening exercises and stretches about twice a week. Woo Hoo!

10 Miles...Whoop Whoop!!!

I ran my first long run since I hurt my back this morning. And it was AWESOME! No back pain at all! The first 2 miles were a struggle but that is the case with all my runs. It was a little eventful...we ran into 3 pretty mean dogs. They were growling and barking at us but luckily they didn't chase us. We were ready with our mace though! It was a gorgeous morning! The moon going down was orange and beautiful. And we got to watch the sunrise over a field full of cows! We even had a nice cool breeze towards the end of the run. It was awesome to be back on the road again!!!

4.25 Miles!

I hit the road by myself this morning! I had a much better run! My legs were not as tired and my back was still pain free! I did start to feel tight in my shoulders about half way through the run but that could be due to the fact that I have been doing side planks in physical therapy. I wanted to just take it easy this morning...I ran 4.25 miles in 48:34 at an average pace of 11:25. I really feel like I have lost some of my endurance since taking a week off. I am hoping I build it back up quick! All my running friends have a long run planned for us on Sunday morning...they are doing 13-14 miles. I am going to aim for 8-10. I am nervous though...hope I can do it!

3 Miles...Haven't Run In A Week!

I went to physical therapy yesterday and my physical therapist, Aimee, gave me the ok to run today. PT went great...I learned that my legs are really strong (although my right leg is stronger), my butt muscles are strong, and my abs are weak lol! She showed me several strengthening exercises and stretches for my back. My back is feeling so much better already!

So I ventured out to run this morning. And let me first say that taking a week off was not good! My legs were tired the ENTIRE run! I barely made 3 miles and had to keep slowing down. I made it though...in about 35 minutes and an average pace of 11:37. The good news is that I had no back pain while running! The bad news is that I am soo discouraged now. I have that feeling of how am I going to run a half marathon when I am struggling at 3 miles??? Ugh! Hoping my next run is better!

Compression Socks!

I've been wanting to try these for awhile now! I have my rainbow socks that I wore to the race the other night but they are not compression socks. Anyway, a fellow blogging runner friend of mine is having a giveaway for a pair of these socks! Head over to her blog to find out how to enter!

Momma Of 3 On The Run

A Visit to the Doctor...

I went to the doctor this morning for my back. They took x-rays. The doctor said the pain I am having is a "good pain." That it is nothing serious and I probably hurt it by sleeping on it wrong or something. Just a strained muscle. He said it was probably angry at me and then when I fell Monday night I made it angrier. Thus the reason it was hurting pretty badly during my run this morning. But he wasn't as concerned about that as something else he saw on my x-ray. He asked me if I had lower back pain and I do...I have for as long as I can remember and it is always pretty bad around my period. And I always notice it when I am folding laundry (he he he...that's why I ate folding clothes)! Well, I have an old stress fracture on my lower back! He said I probably got it when I was a teenager...usually it is caused in girls from extension activities like gymnastics and cheerleading...which I have never done! I have no clue when I could have done this...my mom said the only thing she can think of is when I was skating that maybe I hurt it when I fell or something. Anyway, the doctor said he could see some degeneration already from that. So I have to go to physical therapy twice a week for 3 weeks...to help with my back pain now AND so I can learn exercises and stretches to do at home so that the lower back fracture doesn't become an issue. Blah! He said I can continue to run though...yay! He just wants me to not run until around the first of next week and then to be close to home in case it hurts and I need to head home. Anyway, so I am going to miss my long run this weekend...AGAIN! So bummed about that! But I don't think Andy would let me run anyway...he wants me to rest so I don't make it worse and have to take even more time off! So for the next few days I have to ice and take 2 Aleve twice a day. Anyway, just wanted everyone to know what is going on and to continue to pray for a speedy recovery for me! You know how I HATE missing my runs! So I may need lots of encouragement the next few days!

Hilly Miles and Hurting Back...Ugh!

My back is killing me! I am not sure if I injured it when I fell the other night or what. I've been having some mild back pain for a couple of weeks...but it never hurt while I was running. This morning it was hurting while I ran...especially when I tried to increase my pace. I am really frustrated and depressed about this. Why can't I just run...with nothing on my body hurting? It seems like something is always hurting...shins, knees, now my back! Ugh! On a positive note, there was a nice breeze this morning...I guess from the Tropical Storm in the Gulf. We ran 3.96 miles in about 46 minutes so an average pace of 11:36. I am planning on taking a few days off to see if this pain gets better. I have a long run (about 11-12 miles) planned for Sunday so I am hoping I will be all healed up by then.

4 Miler...With My First Battle Wound!

Decided last minute to run 4 miles with my girls tonight. Not sure if that was the right decision or not because I experienced my first battle wound! We were off roading it to dodge a car and I fell on some loose rocks. It happened before I knew it! I landed on my right side and caught myself with my hand. Ouch! I got right up and continued my run...I wasn't going to let a little road rash ruin my run! Even though my hand was stinging and throbbing the rest of the run...I made it! And it was a pretty good run...we ran 4 miles in 43 minutes and 1 second which was an average pace of 10:45! My hip is definitely bruised and my hand hurts so bad...but I tried to be a big girl while my hubby helped clean my wounds!

Ouch!


Do I look sad? I promise...it hurts really bad!

Bushwacker 5K!!!

This race was sooo much fun! I was looking forward to it since it was near my hometown! I spent many of my childhood days on Pensacola Beach! The route was nice and a little challenging. It started out in a neighborhood and then we ended up running on the Bob Sikes bridge (this is the toll bridge that takes you to the beach). Yep...that bridge had a huge hill! I made it though! Ran the whole way! The downhill part of the bridge was really nice! I decided before I started running this race that I was going to take it easy...I had a goal to finish in about 33 minutes. So I took my time...or what I thought was taking my time. I ended up finishing with a time of 31:45! I was very pleased!!!

Before the race: Holly, Paige, me, and Dana!


Me with the skirt guy!!!


All of us!


Me and Paige after the race!


All of us...sweaty lol!


Relaxing on the pier!

4.47 Miles!

Laura and I ran from my house this morning. We both decided to run slow today...we are still trying to recover from that fast pace we ran at the race Tuesday night. And we both needed a good run to boost our confidence! We ran 4.47 miles in about 51 minutes...an average pace of 11:24! The weather was actually cooler this morning which was really nice! And we had a few raindrops sprinkle on us too! About the last mile and a half we started seeing some lightning and hearing some thunder...we finished the run just in time thank goodness! The bottom fell about about 10 minutes after we finished!

I am running another 5K on Saturday! I know...craziness running 2 races in one week! But I just love it! This one is the Bushwacker 5K on Pensacola Beach! It's gonna be fun! Paige and Holly are running it too. I am halfway thinking about running it with them and not going ahead like I normally do. But I am not sure if my competitiveness will let me do that! Gonna attempt it though lol!

Crime Prevention 5K!

This race was so much fun! Except during the run part lol! Katrina, Christina, Laura, and I all had a goal to finish under 30 minutes. Not a very reasonable goal when the heat index was 110 degrees! When the gun went off...we all shot off! Big mistake for me! I started out waaaay too fast. I was trying to keep up with Katrina...who looked down at her Garmin and declared that we were running a 7:30 pace! We hadn't even hit the half mile mark yet and I had a stitch in my side. I ended up having to slow down and lucky for me Laura wanted to slow down too. Christina passed us trying to catch up with Katrina. Laura and I were miserable the whole rest of the run! It was so hard to keep going...I wanted to walk sooo bad. But we didn't...we ran the whole way and even were able to sprint to the finish line. My time was 31:48. Not my best (31:32) but not my worst either. The thing is that I knew I was starting out way too fast...and if I had run at my normal consistent race pace, I would've made around the same time. Katrina and Christina made their goal...they are both awesome! Katrina finished in 28:17 and Christina finished in 29:14! I was sooo proud of them!!! Maybe one day I will be able to finish under 30 but for now I am proud of my 31 and 32 times!

Anyway, we had a lot of fun! We dressed up really silly and it was fun hearing everyone's comments! And running under the finish line was fun...they called us out because of our rainbow socks!!! Here's some pictures!

Me at home before the race! I look cute, right??!!


My running girls! Without them, running would not be as fun! Christina, me, Laura, and Katrina!


Yep, we are silly!


Ready to conquer those 3.1 miles!


My ever faithful race partner and wonderful friend, Paige!

Run Data From Sunday Night!!!

Ok how cool is this? Christina let me borrow her Garmin forerunner Sunday night for my run. She posted my stats on her blog for me to see and gave me permission to post them on here. This is so awesome...another reason why I NEED (lol) a Garmin! Click on the photos to see them enlarged!

This is the route I ran:


And here are my stats:

4 Miles With the Sole2Soul Sisters!

Well tonight was another group run with the Sole2Soul Sisters! I so look forward to running with and encouraging these wonderful ladies! Christina, Katrina, and I met at the track a little early. Christina and Katrina ran the track some and did bleachers...I opted out of both since I knew I would be running 4 miles with the 10K group. But Christina and I did do some crunches, tricep dips, and the plank. So I got a little extra workout in there and that was nice! Tonight's run was HOT! We had a few ladies who felt sick...I am sure it was due to not being hydrated well enough. That is something I am always on top of...I drink plenty of water! The plan tonight was for me to run at the front of the group and once I reached 4 miles to stay there so I could tell all the ladies where to stop. So I got a good workout in...the run was great for me! I got to wear Christina's Garmin Forerunner again...I sooo need one of those! I looked down at one point and I was running a 9 minute mile pace! I knew I better slow down if I was going to hold out for 4 miles. I ended up running the 4 miles in 41 minutes and 57 seconds at an average pace of 10:29!!! Whoa! I am pretty proud of that time! Especially in this heat! This week is going to be a little different for me...my morning running partner, Jennifer, is on a cruise this week! So I may be on my own some. I am going to skip running Tuesday morning and run a 5K race that night with Christina, Laura, Katrina, and Paige. We are going to dress pretty goofy for that race...wearing our purple Sole2Soul Sister shirts, green plaid running skirts, rainbow socks, and pig tails in our hair! We should be a sight to see...don't worry I will post pics! Christina, Laura, and Katrina want to try to finish the 5K in under 30 minutes...not sure that is going to happen for me but I am going to try! :-)