Mission Accomplished

Well, I did it! I finished my very first half marathon and aside from all the aches and pains I am feeling today, including the feeling that I have completely thrashed every muscle in my lower body, I feel happy!

I should tell you, it was the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done, but also incredibly rewarding! I learned a lot that will most certainly help me do even better next time.

And by the way, as I was running yesterday (at about mile 8 or 9), I honestly thought to myself, "I must be absolutely insane to want to do this again!". I had serious doubts I would even want to train for a full, but once it was all said and done and my "runners high" kicked in, I quickly realized that the sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing the finish line is so worth the pain and hard work it takes to get there!

Thanks for all of your sweet comments and support!

Happy Running

Happy Friday! Any fun plans for this weekend?

I am running my first half marathon this Sunday! Thank goodness Sunday is shaping up to be a beautiful 72 degrees! And not to mention I have my new Lululemon running crops for race day (I'm obsessed!). I'm getting so excited and hoping this race will continue to motivate my training for the full marathon in July!

And Sunday evening we will be celebrating Chris' best friend, Brads birthday at Buca di Beppo. Looking forward to a great few days!

Have a lovely weekend!

A Friendly Distance?

As some of you know, I am currently training for a half marathon this April (and possibly a full in July). While I am thoroughly enjoyed the training process, I've also been chewing on something I read recently. I am following Hal Higdon's training program and on his website he mentions that a half marathon is a "friendly" distance for a runner. At first I laughed, because as much as I love fitness, running has never really been my thing (until now anyway!). But I kept asking myself, at what point does one feel like 13.1 miles is a "friendly" distance? Because let me tell you, very rarely have I looked back on a run and called it friendly...

Until recently, that is. Coming off a pretty tough and busy week (read: shorting myself on a few workouts!) , I thought my long run was going to be awful! But I was pleasantly surprised when I completed it and afterward found myself actually saying the words, "That was a friendly run!". Who knew?!

And just like that I am totally encouraged that when I complete my half marathon in a mere 7 weeks, maybe I too will be calling it a friendly distance. Let's hope!

A Moment of Reflection

Back in March, I began the pre-training for a marathon this December. You may or may not be aware that I kind of fell off the horse around the middle of May. I continued running, but definitely not at the same intensity. Me and failure are not friends! Especially when I have nobody to blame but myself. But, because running a marathon is something I really want to do, I decided to buck up and start again. After all, failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently, right? So I decided to reflect on the reasons I quit the first time around and here's what I realized:

1. I went at it alone. As much of a self-starter as I am, it can still be really tough to keep it up when you get tired, busy and just plain unmotivated. So I have enlisted some friends and family members for encouragement and accountability. And I will hopefully have a few people running it with me!

2. I had no short term goals to get me to my long term goal. Everyone knows that in goal setting you have to create benchmarks in order to keep yourself focused. So I've planned various 5k's, 10k's and a half marathon along the way to keep me excited. My first 10k is next Thursday!

3. And finally, I was too hard on myself! I tend to have the 'all-or-nothing' mentality, so when I missed a run I got really bummed and felt like the week was a total failure. What I should have realized is that there will be times when I miss a run or I get sick and have to take a few days off, but the important thing is to bounce right back!

This Saturday will mark the end of my first month of training. I'm still full of that energy and vigor, but because I know it will start getting harder in the upcoming weeks as my runs get longer and more difficult, I can prepare myself.

During our visit to Indiana last month I was really inspired by my Aunt Lyn who just ran her first marathon. She said something to me that was so simple but has really stuck with me. She said, "Determination will take you places you may not even dare to venture otherwise. So if you set a goal for yourself there is only one thing to do...get there, whatever it takes.". I am the only person who can either get myself to the finish line or give up. It's my choice.

Wish me luck as I once again attempt to get here~

Friday Faves

Run to Feed the Hungry ~

An event I did last year and absolutely loved! It is a Thanksgiving morning 5k/10k. This year I am running the 10k and couldn't be more excited because it is the kickoff to my marathon training program. For those of you out of the loop, I am still running a marathon, it will just be a little later than I originally anticipated(more on that later). While running last night I realized the run is exactly 4 weeks away, which means I am behind on sending emails for fundraising. Last year I was able to raise $500 for families in need...thanks to a lot of you! The really cool thing about Run to Feed The Hungry is that every single dollar donated means $10 worth of food products given to those in need! So if you think about it, a $20 donation would mean $200 of groceries!! I really appreciate what the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services does and love being able to support them in this way! If you would like to read more about it, check out their website! Here is the link to my fundraising page if you feel so inclined:)

What do you believe in? ~ I'm with Audrey on this one!

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
— Audrey Hepburn


Lovely food for the weekend ~

As usual, I have great plans for cooking and baking this weekend and I can't wait to share with you! Here's a little peek at what I have on the menu:


McDreamy ~

Oh yes, I am ridiculously obsessed with Gray's Anatomy right now! I don't know if I am just realizing this, but the writing is actually really good! Last night's episode was fantastic and all I can say is, if I ever have an inoperable tumor on my spine, I'd want Dr. Shephard to operate on it, too;)


Halloween ~

Have any great plans for this festive weekend? We will be having chili with family, celebrating my Dad's birthday and attending the 90th birthday party of Chris' great grandmother!


Have a fantastic weekend!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I am convinced that weird weather makes for weird days!

Here in Sacramento, we have definitely not had a shortage of sunshine; appropriate for the time of year and much appreciated!! It has made it much easier to go for my runs in the evenings after work. And not to mention just being more active throughout the day. Who wouldn't want to be outside when it is a perfect 71 degrees?!

I'm not really sure what happened, but this afternoon I was working away and I realized it was raining!! Excuse me?? Where did my sunshine go? And especially right before my birthday! The weather report says it should clear up by Friday, but that's still cutting it a bit close for my comfort!

Don't get me wrong, I love big rains, just not in April. This is pretty much how I feel today:(


So what have been the effects of this strange turn of the weather you ask? Well for me, I am finding it hard to get motivated to work out tonight. Bah! I have been doing so well and pushed through being really tired at the end of last week and now this? All I can say is, it will take some major motivation from my hubby to not put my sweats on when I get home:)Especially since I have a super yummy dinner planned tonight (soba noodles with grilled flank steak). I should also mention how the strangest people come out of the woodwork on days like this! Not only was I swamped at work, but I dealt with some real crazies today!

Today wasn't all negative though. Chris actually took the day off and got to watch the Giants opener! Honestly, I was a bit jealous when he was still in bed and I was leaving for work this morning, but it really was much deserved. I am so blessed with a husband who I can be proud of! I know that he has always and will always do everything in his power to suppport us and that is such a wonderful feeling. Thank you for your hard work, my Love! I hope you enjoyed your day off!

Rafiki

Happy April!! I am thrilled about so many happenings this month. This is probably no news to you if you have been keeping up with our blog:) However, instead of repeating the things I have already shared, I am going to tell you about how we will start my birthday (which is April 11, BTW).

Chris was looking around for fun things going on that weekend and stumbled upon a 5k we have signed up for. The thing is, the day after my Birthday is Easter so there isn't a ton of stuff going on. So, this morning Chris sent me some info about the run and I am super excited to be taking part in something so cool! It is called the Redeemer Run and sponsored by Koinonia Foster Homes. The proceeds from the race go to a foundation for an Orphanage and School in Uganda. I will let their website explain the details to you. Please take a look at it. Their heart for the Lord and His purpose really touched me. http://www.kfitness.org/Rafiki.htm


"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Love

Indecision

So it's back to the hustle and bustle of Monday morning. Tired and already looking forward to next weekend. Isn't that the way it goes? I think the better the weekend, the more reluctant I am to get out of bed on Monday. It never fails that when the alarm buzzes on the oh so dreaded Monday, Chris and I look at each other and say, "You wanna call in sick?". Of course these have never turned into anything but shallow threats, but one day it may happen:)I just can't quite justify taking a sick day when we will be taking three days off for our Napa vacation in 2 short weeks!! We are SOO looking forward to the break! Besides, I think we are both way too, "play by the rules" to skip work without actually being sick...

I simply must tell you how our weekend began, as we couldn't stop laughing at ourselves. For years now, Friday has been our date night. The deal is, I cook most other nights and Chris treats me to a dinner out on Friday's. It is wonderful! Besides, who wants to cook on Friday's? Given the fact that we have an over abundance of restauraunt in this area, we are never short on choices and can typically make a decision fairly quickly. Starving and ready for dinner on our drive home we start asking each other what the other wanted to eat. We started naming some of our favs, but to no avail. Looong story short, we sat at home for 45 minutes going back and forth, but we were so hungry that nothing was sounding good! Weird, huh? So we decide to jump in the car and drive, assuming we will see something that looked good and could satisfy our hungry tummies. Bad idea. We drove for another 30 minutes and finally Chris says, "This is ridiculous, let's go to Johnny Garlic's!". So we stop and signed up, only to be told there is about a 30 minute wait! Uhhh! I really wasn't feeling it, so as we are standing outside I see Chili's and ask if we can go there. Chris gives me the curled lip, "Seriously?". You have to understand that with all of the places we could choose from, Chili's is NEVER on our list. I think we are jaded from living in Abilene and only eating there because it was the only descent restaurant on our side of town. Needless to say, this was a suprising choice for me to suggest. I will admit that I really wanted a margarita and I happen to know that Chili's makes a good one:) So off we trotted to Chili's and wouldn't you know, we enjoyed ourselves! To cut the wait time, we sat at the bar and sipped a few margaritas and enjoyed each others company:)Whatever it takes, right!

I think I can say with much certainty that Sunday was the best day this weekend. We have been church hunting for a few months now and been a little dissapointed. But finally, this Sunday, we tried a church that I think we loved! Yay!! I am really hoping we can land there. We need to give it a few weeks to know for sure, but based on yesterday, I have a good feeling about this one!

Also, yesterday marked week five of my training and I am pushing through being tired and a little unmotivated last week. Before church I ran a 5 miler, with much ease, I would like to add! I love getting my run in early on the weekends! It gives me the rest of the day to relax! In fact, I took a wonderful Sunday afternoon nap after church. That may be one of my favorite things about Sunday. I love knowing I have no where to be and no worries:)You would think I would be more refreshed today!

Sorry I didn't post the answer to my quiz this weekend. The correct answer is January. Congrats to the majority of you voters who got it right!!

Enjoy your Monday...

Well, I have something to smile about today. I bought the new issue of Clean Eating yesterday! Lunch couldn't come soon enough:)

Much Love

Mildly Obsessed

I have found a new reason to love Sunday nights: CSI Miami marathons! It truly is an obsession. I can seriously watch 4 episodes in a row and I'm not even a big tv watcher! It may be that I am trying to savor every last drop of the weekend, but I just can't get enough!


Uh oh, I'm becoming more and more like my husband as the months pass:)And in case you were counting, Saturday marked 9 months. Can you believe it? I can't. We are coming up on a year! Yay, more things to celebrate!! Crazy wonderful!

Also, Sunday was the beggining of my fourth week of training. I am feeling so good and trying to convince my friend, Parris, to train for the marathon with me! It would be awesome to have someone to do this with:)

As I was running on Sunday afternoon I kept thinking of a saying I used to hear from a group fitness instructor I took classes with. He would always say, "Sweat is just calories running scared!". Don't you just love that? It always makes me smile and push just a little bit harder when I picture that:)

Relief

I don't think I realized how roomy our living room was until we had an extra couch smack dab in the middle of it..for a MONTH! We finally sold it on Friday and now feel like we have a HUGE apartment:) What a relief!! We also sold Chris' video game rocker, which is completely useless to us since he no longer has any video games! Man, I love Craig's List:)

Speaking of relief, we bought new pillows yesterday. I made a big mistake when I bought cheap pillows last summer. Little did I know how quickly they would wear out or how painful no neck support could be! After a week of waking up with a stiff neck, Chris told me to buy new ones. Well, it was a splurge I highly recommend!! I can not believe how amazing I feel today thanks to my new alternative microfiber pillow:)

In fact, I felt so good this morning, I decided to surprise Chris with a yummy little treat...



Pretty cute, huh?

Okay, now for an update on my training. I am officially in my 3rd week and loving it! Seriously, I ran five miles today and felt amazing. I must say, I am ridiculously impressed with the body's ability to adapt so quickly! My only complaint would be that one of my toenails was a bit too long and I finished my run with a completely bloody sock and shoe:( Huge bummer! Otherwise, I am feeling great!

I hope you too had a fabulous weekend!

P.S. ~ Don't forget St. Patty's Day is this Tuesday:)

The Art of Being Disciplined

I have had this silly little thing on my mind lately. In a few words: discipline and hard work. I must admit, these thing are not neccessarily my idea of fun and they are definitely not easy, but I do believe that without them, life just wouldn't, nay couldn't, be as enjoyable. Allow me to divulge my thought process.

It is amazing to me how everything in life that has been worth having, has come with a price. I'm not talking money, but rather good old fashioned hard work.

The main reason this is on my mind is that Sunday was the first day of my "pre-marathon" training. This is the 19 week mileage build-up before I begin my 17 week training in July. The game is on and it's time to buck up! All day I have been anticipating my four mile run. I know it might not seem like much, but it's rainy and dreary outside. You know, the perfect kind of weather to stay cuddled up inside and NOT work out:) The thing is, that's not an option if I am going to be serious about training, right? Grr! So here I am, talking myself through the fact that I have made a physical commitment to run a marathon this year and by golly, I will do what it takes!

As I am giving myself this pep talk, I am amazed at just how many of the wonderful and enjoyable things in my life are a product of choosing to be disciplined.

*Keeping my body healthy
*Growing in my walk with the Lord
*Building a strong marriage
*Maintaining long distance friendships (such a hard one)

The four things I listed are, for me, the most difficult and rewarding challenges I face each day.

If training for a marathon was easy, it wouldn't be such a desireable goal, would it? So, just as with every other thing in my life that is worth working for, I am going to push through the possible (read, likely) pain and keep my eyes on the goal. My reward will come at the end of the race when I can honestly say that I trained diligently and my body was prepared for that day.

Okay, so here's the game plan: I am going to run my 4 miles tonight...no complaints, I promise.

Kate



"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 3:14