Motivational Monday #59

Today's Motivational Monday post is another long one! I hope everyone has had a great couple of weeks. I obviously had an amazing time in San Diego for Ragnar SoCal, and I was so proud to see my little brother finish his first 5K on Saturday. But I am definitely relieved to get back to my typical eating/running routine.

Because this post is so long, I have to truncate it again--so I'm sorry, but if you're reading this on a reader of some sort, you'll have to click through to see the whole thing. Lots of submissions today!

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Katie is feeling the runner's high of completing a fantastic training run! Her husband gave her a run clinic gift certificate for Christmas, and her "homework" was to run 5K on her own with a great time. She reduced her time from 72 minutes down to 54 minutes, and that included stopping at traffic lights! She's looking forward to an 8K race on May 4th, and feels very confident in her ability, thanks to this run! (Katie's blog)

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Cindy Jo just completed her longest run yet--7 miles--in preparation for a half-marathon! She completed her first 5K last year, and her co-workers suggested doing a half. She said it's a scary goal for her, and sometimes she doubts her ability to do it, but she was SO proud to have accomplished her 7-miler!

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Elizabeth just ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile race in Washington D.C.! The race has a strict 2:20 time limit, which worried her during her training. She obviously had nothing to worry about, because she finished in 1:58! There were many times she wanted to walk, but she talked herself into running a little farther... until she'd run the entire race.

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Lauren (in the gray/yellow jacket) completed her goal of walking a half-marathon! She sent me an email back in January to ask about walking a half, because she was worried about the race's time limit. But she finished the Philly Love Run in 3:34, despite the 45 degree temperature and rain! She's already registered for her next half :)

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Jamie just ran her first 10K race! The race was in her hometown, so she wanted to make sure to support it. She even finished five minutes faster than she predicted! (Jamie's race report)

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Katelyn just ran her very first marathon--in PARIS of all places! She wanted her first marathon to be extra special, so she chose the Paris Marathon for her first. A year ago, she never dreamed she'd do a marathon--and she finished in 4:37:25! (Katelyn's race report)

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Allyson just completed her first half-marathon! She ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half in Raleigh. It was hilly, and harder than she expected. Her goal was to finish sub-2:30, and she crossed the finish line in 2:29:29!

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Recently, Nicole and her kids completed a 5K Color Run! Unfortunately, her husband had to work, but she and her kids (including her 11-month old daughter) did the race together and had a blast! They followed up with a vacation to San Diego and Las Vegas--and even saw some of the Ragnarians coming through La Jolla :)

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Melissa had a very rough pregnancy, and was put on hospital bed rest due to severe preeclampsia. Not surprisingly, she gained a lot of weight. She read the Motivational Monday posts, and determined that when she got down to her goal weight, she'd be on Motivational Monday... and here she is! Six months later, through eating well and exercising, she's lost 70 pounds and 10 pants sizes.

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A year ago, Dean sent in a Motivational Monday submission for completing his first 5K. That post led to more posts, as he continued to progress. I eventually invited Dean to join my Ragnar SoCal team. His progress over the last year has been HUGE--I've even started calling him "Dean the Machine". Yesterday, Dean did another 5K race on the one-year anniversary of his first, and his time improved ridiculously: in 2013, he finished in 33:27 (10:46 pace); and yesterday, he finished the same race in 25:54 (8:21 pace)!! Last year, he weighed 259 pounds; and this year, 198. Nothing short of amazing! (Dean's race report--yes, he started a blog!)

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In November, Shelley (in black) joined a workout/weight loss challenge. Even though a quarter of the members dropped out within the first week, she toughed it out and kept going forward. She became friends with Lee (in blue) in the program, and they became workout buddies. They lost 20 pounds in 40 days, winning their challenge, and continued to push each other. Shelley convinced Lee to start running, and yesterday, Lee completed her first race--a 1-mile race to support the library! She did great, and has signed up for a 5K in a couple of weeks. Shelley has dropped over 100 pounds, and is working on her 5K and 10K times!

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Lesleigh recently stepped WAY out of her comfort zone when she saw that her local running store was asking for people to model some athletic wear in a fashion show. She signed up, but then started to feel self-conscious--she's lost 70 pounds, and was concerned about wearing shorts with some loose skin she has on her legs. Instead of backing out, she talked to the store about it, and they had her wear capris--problem solved! She was super nervous, but it ended up being a great experience. She wanted to show other women that runners come in all shapes and sizes. She was given a shirt and socks as a "thank you" gift, too!

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Krystal just completed her first 5K race! She sent me an email last month, looking for some reassurance about whether she could complete the race. I (tried my best to) ease her fears, and she did fantastic at the race! It ended up being mostly uphill, which was a huge challenge, but she was passing people and realized that just because someone "looks" like a runner doesn't mean they are in the shape to rock out a 5K! She had been nervous about being judged for her size, but she realized that runners come in all shapes and sizes. She ran the entire way, finishing in 46:20! She's already looking forward to her next race, and continuing the weight loss--she's lost over 50 pounds already :) (Krystal's race report)

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Kristine (in the middle) just set a 6-minute PR at the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon in Raleigh, finishing in 2:21! This was her fifth half-marathon, but her first since the birth of her daughter last May. She did most of her training on the treadmill this winter, because of the brutal weather, but still managed to do some long runs outside--even when her water bottles froze! She's also lost 70 pounds since 2011 :)

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Kristina just completed her first half-marathon! I've "known" Kristina online since long before I lost the weight, and she was a big inspiration to me (she's lost a lot of weight herself). I'm so excited to see her board the running train now! ;)  (Kristina's blog)

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Finally, I just have to brag about my friend Stephanie--she completed her first full marathon on Saturday! I've gotten to see her through her entire weight loss/running journey so far, and I was so proud to see her cross the finish line. Steph had volunteered to be a guinea pig for when I got my RRCA certification, so I wrote her a training plan and paced her to a sub-2:10 half-marathon. She trained SO hard through this awful winter we've had, and she ran outside through all the worst weather imaginable. She finished her race in 5:05:50! (Steph's race report)

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Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post for more stories!

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The Holidome

My kids definitely don't understand the concept of "sleeping in". We had no reason to wake up early today, and I slept like crap at the hotel. Jerry left the hotel at 4:00 this morning to head to work. And kids woke up at 6:00. They were considerate enough to whisper to each other, rather than talk loudly, but their whispering is just as loud as their normal voices ;)

Last night, we spent most of the evening in the pool. I really hate swimming, but I wanted to spend some quality time with the kids, so I got in the pool with them. The pool has an opening that goes outside the building--you basically swim underneath a little wall, and then you're in the outdoor pool. When I was a kid, I loved that part! My parents used to take us there, along with our friends from the neighborhood, and we'd swim outside in the winter.

We'd always go in January or February, when it was freezing cold outside. I remember jumping out of the pool with my friends to make snow angels while in our bathing suits, then jumping back into the pool before we got frostbite. Haha!

Anyway, Jerry was working yesterday, so I wasn't expecting him to show up at the hotel until about 7:00. I was sitting in the jacuzzi when Jerry came up behind me and surprised me at around 5:15! Shortly after he got there, my mom came for a little while, too. When the kids were ready for a break from swimming, we took them to dinner at Chili's, and then back to the hotel where we swam some more.

I never thought I'd say this, but I am SO tired of dining out. Restaurant food makes me feel so sluggish and puffy and just gross. When I was in California, I ate out for every meal; and then I was only home for a couple of days before going to the hotel with the kids. I'm just really excited to get back to my normal eating routine, which rarely involves dining out.

The kids had a blast, and they stayed up watching TV while Jerry and I fell asleep by about 10:00 last night. This morning, they woke up at 6:00 and were begging to go to the pool; but the pool didn't open until 9:00. I tried to keep them entertained in the room, and then we went down to breakfast at around 7:00. Naturally, we were the only ones in the hotel restaurant at that hour on a Sunday morning ;)

The kids ate free at the breakfast buffet, but I wanted to eat something that felt more like what I would eat at home. So I ordered an English muffin, a scrambled egg, and fruit. I felt good after eating that, and not nearly so sluggish. At 9:00, we went back down to the pool for a couple of hours, until it was time to check out.

When we got home, I had a pretty unproductive day. The kids and I watched the movie Pearl Harbor, which is something like three hours long. But it was really nice to just relax and not have to be anywhere. Today was supposed to be my long run day, but since we were at the hotel, I skipped it. I'm going right back to my running schedule tomorrow, because everything has been so out of whack for the past couple of weeks.

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In thinking about Mark so much the last few days, it made me wonder how things are going with doing random acts of kindness in Mark's honor? I'd love to read about what any of you have done in honor of Mark, no matter how big or little it might have been. I forgot to post this earlier, but when my sister was in town, she took my kids to the store to buy a bunch of needed items for the Humane Society. They donated it in honor of Mark :)

I've done a few things here and there, and I'm always looking for new opportunities. But I've been trying to get more creative, so I'd love to know what acts of kindness any of you have done to give me some ideas.

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Tomorrow is Motivational Monday! It's been a couple of weeks since the last one, but if you have a photo you want to share of a health/fitness accomplishment, you can email it to me at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com, subject: Motivational Monday, along with a brief description, and I may include it in tomorrow's post!

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Martian Meteor 5K race report

I got up at 5:00 this morning to get ready for the Martian Invasion of races in Dearborn. The 5K didn't start until 8:00, but I wanted to get there before the marathon started at 7:15, so I could see Stephanie before the race. Today was her first marathon, and I was so excited for her!

I dressed in my muscle pants and the race shirt from the Rock CF Half I just did--I thought the "lungs" were appropriate with the pants I wore ;) I had a feeling I'd be too hot, but I've had those pants two years, and I've only worn them once! I ate a bagel thin for breakfast, and then went to pick up my older brother, Brian, from my parents' house at 6:00.

My younger brother, Nathan, was going to meet us as the race. I wanted to drive separately so that I could stay after and cheer on Stephanie, and my brothers could leave after the 5K. Brian and I headed to Dearborn, and just a few blocks before we got to the race, we spotted Nathan's truck. So we just followed him to the parking lot.

I went to pick up my t-shirt and race bib, and Brian had to register. A guy wearing a kilt and a pig nose and ears came up to me and asked for a picture together--I learned it was a reader of my blog! I always love when readers introduce themselves, and I feel absolutely awful, but I can't remember his name--I want to say Dave? (If you're reading this, I'd love for you to email me the pic! And I'm sorry if I got your name completely wrong. I hope you had a great marathon today!)

Then we met up with Stephanie at the starting line! She was standing with her friend Carrie, who was running the half; and Jessica, who was running the 10K. Steph seemed to be feeling good, and not nervous or anything. I was a wreck before my first!

Carrie, Steph, me, and Jessica (we've lost a collective 450-ish pounds!)

The marathon started at 7:15, and I waved and cheered for Steph as she got a strong start. Then I just hung out with my brothers while we waited for the 5K start. We put our shirts in the car, and used the porta potties. Brian suggested that we wait until everyone else started the 5K before we even cross the starting line. There were a TON of walkers, but the whole starting line was completely packed, so I thought it sounded good to me. It was chip timed, so there was no reason to start with everyone else.

It took several minutes for everyone to cross the starting line. Once the last person crossed, we started walking to the line. Once we crossed, we started running, and it was pretty easy to pick up the pace because the crowd had spread out a little. I really liked that strategy!

We fell into an 8:45-ish pace, and were passing people left and right the entire race (because of our late start). When Nathan said he wanted to run sub-9:00's, I assumed he meant 8:59 pace. Ugh, he had me huffing and puffing the whole way ;)  I don't have the splits with me (I'm at the hotel with the kids right now), but I think our first mile was 8:45-ish. I was staying as close as possible to my brothers, and just tried to keep up with Nathan.

Mile two was faster--I think it was an 8:35-ish pace. I was glad I had held on that long, and just hoped I could keep it up. I somehow got a burst of energy at that point, and found myself in front of my brothers, setting the pace at 8:30-ish. When turning a corner toward the end of mile three, Nathan got pushed in front of me. I guess he decided at that moment to sprint hard to the finish line, because he just shot forward like a rocket.

A couple of people cut in front of Brian and I, so it was hard for us to keep up with Nathan. Brian wanted to catch up to Nate, so he took off, too. And naturally, I didn't want them showing me up, so I ran hard to try and close the gap. Brian didn't catch Nathan, and I didn't catch Brian; so at the very end, we finished one right after the other--Nathan (25:58), Brian (26:06), and me (26:11). Damn boys!

Nathan, me, and Brian

Yeah, I know, you can't really tell that they're brothers, right? ;)

I'm happy I kept up as long as I did, but I'm still just a little surprised at how hard this run felt for me. I want to get my fitness back to where it was a year ago!

Anyway, I'm really proud of Nathan for finishing--and with a sub-26 to boot! This was his first race, and he already wants to do a 10K. He's going to be running on my relay team for my sister's marathon in a couple of weeks. One of the girls that was going to run on her team backed out, so Nate said he'd do it. He's even going to wear a tutu. What a champ!

After the race, I said good-bye to my brothers, and then met up with Jessica so we could cheer on Steph. We got a coffee and then went to the finish line to cheer on some runners for a while, then decided to drive to mile 20 to see Stephanie. We had a hard time navigating and figuring out where to see her, but we asked some guy in a parking lot for help, and he told us how to get where we needed to go. Once we found a spot to park, we saw a few runners go by, and we cheered them on. I started to try to do the math in my head, hoping that Steph hadn't already gone by, when Jessica said, "There she is!!" and sure enough, Steph was coming. It was literally about three minutes after we got out of the car. We couldn't have planned it better.

Steph looked extremely tired, and she didn't say a single word to us--just nodded when we asked questions--but Jessica and I remembered that feeling very well, because we felt the same thing during our first marathon in Cleveland together. We asked if she needed anything, and she shook her head no. So I told her I'd see her at the finish line, and we headed back to the car. Even though she looked tired, she seemed to be going strong, so we weren't worried about her.

Jessica had to get home to her kids, so she dropped me off at the finish line, and then she left. I waited  at the finish line for a while--the weather was gorgeous today!--and someone named Kelly came up to me to introduce herself. Another reader :) She had just finished the marathon (in great time, too).

I went to the 26.1 mile mark to watch for Stephanie, and I saw her coming right around when I predicted. She was still going strong, but looking like she was totally ready to be done. I sent her friend Carrie a quick text to say Steph was on her way, then I ran for the finish line to get there before Steph, so I could take some pictures.

That's her son with his arms reaching out--so sweet! Steph crossed the finish line in 5:05, and she did AWESOME!! I got choked up when I saw her finish. She trained through the worst winter imaginable, and had a great race day. I'm just so proud of her :)

Just before I left, a familiar face came up to me to say hello--it was Burt, another reader of my blog, who I'd met once before at the Halloween 10K last year. He's so sweet, and has lost a lot of weight himself! He did his first half-marathon today. A big congrats to him!

It was an awesome day--getting to hang out with my brothers, seeing Nathan finish his first 5K, seeing Stephanie finisher her marathon, spending some time with Jessica (I hadn't seen her in a while), meeting a few readers... and gorgeous weather on top of it all. Now I'm at the hotel with the family, so I'm going to head down to the pool with the kiddos.

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Mark on my mind

I've been having a ridiculously hard time getting back to the norm after spending a week in California. I'm so tired in the mornings, and it's so hard to get out of bed!

This morning, after I got the kids off to school, I ate breakfast and got ready for my run. I was so sure that I had six miles on the schedule today, but when I double-checked, I saw that I only had five. I haven't had a run in a while where I could see where my pace is right now--yesterday, I forgot my Garmin; during Ragnar, I had a ton of stoplights and I got lost; before that, my sister was in town, and I ran with her at her pace.

Lately, I've been feeling so slow! This morning, my brother told me that he'd like to run sub-9:00 miles tomorrow, and it makes me nervous. It should feel like a cake walk--even my very first 5K was faster than that. But I'm feeling so doubtful right now, and I'm not sure why. I think it's just a combination of being out of my routine, and the weight gain over the past few months, along with all the treadmill running over the winter that's making me doubt my abilities.

Anyway, I was curious to see what my "comfortable" pace was today. I was hoping I'd be running an effortless sub-9:00 pace, but of course it didn't work out that way ;) My first mile was 9:32; second was 9:50; and third was 10:02. I was getting more discouraged by the mile. My fourth was 9:37. After that, I decided to see if I could even get in ONE sub-9:00 mile. I knew if I couldn't run one, then I certainly wouldn't be able to do three tomorrow.

I picked up the pace, and focused on my arms (my little trick for pushing through when it feels tough--I focus on my arms instead of anything else). My pace settled around 8:30, and even though it was definitely tough, I managed to hold on. I finished the fifth mile in 8:27. That definitely gave me some hope that I can keep up with my brothers tomorrow! I don't want to hold Nathan back on his first 5K. I just might be able to pull off an 8:59-ish pace.

This afternoon, I got a package in the mail from Caitlin, who was Runner #4 on my Ragnar SoCal team. She sent me a gift as a thank you for co-captaining the team--a three-month subscription to StrideBox!

It's a box of products geared toward runners. Each month, the box contains different items. In mine today, there was: Quest Peanut Butter Cups, NOW Trail Bar, Huma Chia Seed Gel, Achiva Native Energy Chia Seed Chews, CytoMax Sports Performance Mix, ZipFizz Energy Drink, and a StrideBox Running Belt. So awesome! I thought this was such a thoughtful gift for a runner, and now I have something to look forward to in the mail for the next couple of months. It's smart marketing, too, because now I'll get hooked on all these products and buy more ;)

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I've been thinking about Mark a lot lately. His death is really starting to sink in. When I was grocery shopping yesterday, I would see something he'd like, and think, for a brief moment, "Oh, I should get that for Mark!" And then I'd remember.

I let myself think about him for a while today, and it made me so sad. When we celebrated his last birthday, we had no idea it was for the last time. He was diagnosed in November, and he died in March. It all happened so fast!

Something has been bothering me a lot about the last time I saw him. He apologized to my dad for his being sick for so long, and he said that when he gets better, he can go fishing with my dad. I had explained to Mark, when the hospice nurse came to evaluate him, that he wasn't going to get better; but I don't think he understood that. It just makes me feel so sad that he thought the treatments had cured his cancer. It was such a hard thing to explain to him, and I don't think he understood.

I've been trying to think about what his birthday will be like this year. Every Halloween, my dad brings him over to his house for Mark's birthday and to pass out candy. It's actually kind of funny, now--Mark always told us his birthday was on Halloween, and that's when we celebrated. But when he went into the hospital, we noticed that on his hospital bracelet, his birthday was listed as November 1. ;)

I was thinking about doing a Virtual 5K this year on his birthday, and possibly raising some money to donate to his group home. He loved that home and all of the residents and staff there! When I was visiting there, I saw that they could certainly use some donations, so I think it would be a good thing to do in Mark's honor.

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Anyways, tomorrow is going to be a very busy day! I'm getting up way too early to drive up to Dearborn for the Martian race. I want to see Stephanie start the marathon, and then I'll run the 5K with my brothers at 8:00. Then, I'm going to try and go to a couple of spots on the course to cheer for Stephanie.

I definitely want to see her finish, which will be at around noon. I'll go home, pick up the kids, and take them to the Holidome for the night. My brother had some points on his credit card and wasn't able to use the night specified, so he booked the room for us. We took the kids there once before, and they loved it, so they're really excited to go back. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be, so I may or may not post tomorrow night.

Hopefully I'll see some of you at the Martian tomorrow!

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Running naked

It's been kind of tough getting back to normal after a week in California! Yesterday was pretty busy. I woke up at 7:00 to get the kids ready for school, but I think my body was confused--in CA, it would have only been 4:00 AM. I was really tired, but I got the kids ready for school and took them to the bus stop.

I ate breakfast and got dressed to go to Weight Watchers. I knew my weigh-in was going to be awful, because I didn't count a single point the entire time I was gone. When I got there, I asked Glenda (my leader) if I could skip the scale this week--and she said that was fine! Not that being in denial is going to change anything; but it was literally about 12 hours since I arrived home, and I didn't want that weight written in my book. I will weigh in next week for sure.

Someone in the meeting brought in a new Hungry Girl book called "The Hungry Girl Diet". She said that the recipes were mostly made with Simply Filling foods (the HG books are notorious for using lots of "fake" ingredients, and this book focuses more on whole foods). I don't eat a "clean" diet, but after eating pretty much nothing but junk for the week, I was craving real food. So after the meeting, I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy the book.

This book is different from her others in that it's more of an actual diet plan, and not just a recipe book. I'm not going to be following the plan itself, but I do like the meal and snack ideas, and the recipes sound good.

When I got home, I had just enough time to eat some lunch and then go to the dentist for a cleaning appointment. I really wanted to reschedule it, but I ended up having to reschedule last time. So I went and got my teeth cleaned, and when I was done, I had just enough time to make it home before the kids got home from school. I couldn't believe how fast the time was going.

Martian Half-Marathon 2013

This morning, I had another difficult time getting out of bed. I just felt so tired! I got the kids off to school, and then I registered for the Martian 5K, which takes place this Saturday. My little brother, Nathan, asked me if I'd want to do it with him, so I said sure. It's his first race, and I really want to be there to support him.

I'm not sure if he wants me to run with him or not, but I'd like to. I don't know if I can keep up with him, though! I think he'll be running about an 8:15-8:30 pace, and I haven't done that in a while. I'd be lucky to hang on at a 9:00/mi pace!

My older brother, Brian, is flying in tomorrow, and he's going to do the race with us also. Should be fun! I'm planning to wear my muscle pants again this year ;) At this race last year, I did the half-marathon, and finished in 1:52 (an 8:33 pace); and this year, I doubt I'd be able to run that pace for the 5K. Good grief! A lot has changed. I feel like I'm back at square one.

Today, I was hoping to get back on schedule with running. I really wanted one more day off, but I knew I should run. I had six miles on the schedule, and I decided to go to the State Park to run it. I got all ready to go, and then when I drove to the park, I noticed that I forgot my Garmin. Normally, if that happened, I'd go back home to get it; but I've been wanting to try a run "naked" --without my Garmin--because I thought it might feel freeing. I decided to just go for it.

I know the park really well, and where all the milestones are, so I could judge the distance. I was really surprised at how windy it was when I got out of the car! (I later looked at the weather report, and the winds were a "mere" 29 mph!)

I wanted to relax and run for fun, because I didn't have my Garmin; but I was on-edge the whole time. I hated not having my Garmin on! I planned to run six miles, but it was so windy, and my feet were hurting pretty badly, so I just did the 5K loop. I'm not sure why my feet were hurting--they felt like they do when my shoes have too many miles on them, but they're pretty new. (I never ended up getting the Brooks Ghosts; instead, I found my Adrenaline 13's online for $72/pair! I bought four pair to last me the whole year...)

It was a crappy run, and I just didn't feel very good the whole time. No doubt because of my stellar diet in California ;) Tomorrow, I'm going to do my best to get in six miles, and then Saturday is the Martian 5K. I'm looking forward to spending some time with both of my brothers! Anyone else running an event at the Martian Marathon Saturday? I'll be easy to spot!

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 4

On Monday, Colleen woke up at 7:00 and went for a 6-mile run! I wasn't feeling so ambitious. I'd finally gotten a good night's sleep, though, so I was grateful for that. John had to work; Dean and Thomas headed to the Midway; and us girls (Martha, Bonnie, Cat, Colleen, and me) decided to head to the beach for a walk.

Bonnie had never been in the Pacific Ocean before (and I couldn't remember if I had or not when I was in San Diego over 10 years ago), so she wanted to step foot in the ocean. Bonnie is absolutely adorable, and I took a bunch of pictures of her. Then we wrote "Strangers to Sole Mates" in the sand, and asked someone to take our picture. I love it!

I hadn't had breakfast yet, and I was starving! We stopped in a little bar called Sandbar, and ordered a few appetizers to share and a round of margaritas--a nice breakfast ;)  It was 11:00, so I guess it wasn't really breakfast by then.

After that, we went for a long walk along the boardwalk, all the way to the pier. I couldn't believe how many people were out walking, running, skate boarding, and bike riding! It was a Monday afternoon, and there were SO many people out. I came across more runners in a few hours than I do in about a year where I live!

Dean and Thomas told us they'd meet up with us for lunch after the Midway, so we started looking for a place to eat. We found a place called FatFish, and that looked good. So we had another round of margaritas while we waited for the guys. I wasn't very hungry, because we'd eaten the appetizers just a few hours prior, so I ordered lobster-stuffed mushrooms. It was only three mushrooms, plus a few crostini. They were really good!

After lunch, we (sadly) had to say good-bye to Thomas, because Dean was going to drive him to the airport. Saying good-bye to each person was so hard, because there were so many things I wanted to say, but they just couldn't really be put into words. Cat and I walked to a little clothing shop, because we wanted to buy the same shirts that Bonnie and Martha had just bought. They were super cozy!

As if we hadn't eaten enough in the past few hours, we all went to Yogurtland and got self-serve fro-yo. For the first time (in my entire life, probably), I ended up throwing a third of mine away, because I was just too full to eat it. It had sounded SO good the whole time we were in San Diego, but I should have gotten it when I was hungry.

Dean met us again after taking Thomas to the airport, and we went to a souvenir shop. I looked around to try and find something for Jerry (I'd gotten the kids something at the zoo--paper made out of panda poop!) but I couldn't find anything. Dean still hadn't stepped foot in the ocean, so we went back out to the beach and took a bunch of pictures.

We played around for a little bit, and then it was time to take Colleen to the airport. Again, with the good-byes... so hard! We had plans to meet up with John and his Aunt Sue after he got done working, so we went to one of John's favorite bars called Gossip Grill. We sat outside, and it was so nice out! I ordered a caprese panini, but only picked at it, because I felt like I'd done nothing but eat all day, and I wasn't even close to hungry. But I was still in the mood for margaritas, and Bonnie and I got talked into ordered an "Ass Kicker"... it wasn't nearly as strong as the name made me think it'd be. But it was pretty!

We sat and chatted for a few hours, because it was the last time we'd all be together. Everyone had morning flights.

With Colleen and Thomas gone, I had the hotel room all to myself Monday night. It was pretty lonely! I went to bed at around 11. On Tuesday morning, I had some time to kill, so I FaceTimed Jerry and talked to him for a while. Then I packed and got ready for Dean to pick me up for the airport.

There were good-byes all around, and Bonnie and I discovered our gates were just a couple apart, so we got to hang out until our flights (11:00 & 11:15). We had our matching shirts on that we'd bought, and we sat and ordered a beer while we waited. I was actually in the mood for a beer instead of my usual pre-flight wine.

Bonnie is SO very sweet, with the cutest southern accent, and she's fun to chat with. The time flew by, and soon, we were heading our separate ways.

I'm a super nervous flyer, and I am very particular about where I sit on a plane. It has to be on the left side of the plane, a window seat, and just in front of the wing. I got my ticket early and my favorite spot was available, so I was very relieved to have selected my window seat.

Delta apparently defines "window" a little differently than I do:

It was literally the ONLY "window" seat on the plane that didn't have a window! I could see just a tiny sliver of the window in the row in front of me, and could only see a sliver of the wing out of the window in the row behind me. I felt claustrophobic and a little panicky, but there was nothing I could do.

Thankfully, the take-off was super smooth (that's the part that causes the most anxiety for me). The rest of the flight was uneventful, and I even started nodding off a few times. My eyes would close and then my head jerked up. I watched a couple of movies, and the flight didn't drag on as long as it had on the way there.

I was so happy to land in Detroit. I missed Jerry and the kids a lot! The three of them picked me up, and I wasn't home until almost 8:00. The day went by so fast. But it felt really good to be home again.

I had the BEST time with my new Sole Mates! I wish we'd have had more time together, but I have a feeling we'll be getting together again. I ate terribly, and drank like a fish, but I don't feel the least bit guilty. However, it's back to counting points today!

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 3

(...continued from part 1 and part 2)

Once our van was at the finish line, we just had to wait for a text from Colleen saying that she was a mile away. We had some time to kill, so we went to the beer garden to claim our free post-race beer. There, we sat and chatted with a few other teams. The weather was GORGEOUS--perfect for the finish line!

When we heard that Colleen was a mile away, we headed over to the finisher's chute. When we saw Colleen round the corner to the chute, we all joined her and ran the last tenth of a mile with her to cross the finish line. It was fantastic!

Once we crossed the finish line, John got our medals, and told everyone to take one and then put it on someone else's neck. Of course, I wanted to crown John with his medal, and he did the same for me :)

Once everyone had their medals, we took a group photo.

I have no idea how it happened, but Colleen wasn't in this photo. She was in the one that the professional photographer took, but I think she must not have noticed that we stayed for a few afterward.

The whole race was SO amazing. This team, Strangers to Sole Mates, made it such a great experience! Every single one of them has something uniquely fun about them.

We stayed at the after party for a little bit, and then headed to John's house for dinner. John's husband, Ric, went ALL OUT for this dinner party. He'd decorated the backyard and I was stunned when I saw how breathtaking it was.

It looked like it was set up for a wedding! There were even "floating" umbrellas overhead, and outdoor heaters (that pole next to Caitlin in the bottom pic is a heater). It was simply amazing!

Before everyone got there, John pulled me inside to give me Mark's bracelet. I had gotten a mustache-shaped slap bracelet to wear in honor of Mark, and we passed that along between each and every runner from our team along the course. I know that my team did it for ME, which just shows how thoughtful they are.

Ric and Sue, John's aunt, made a delicious dinner--pasta with two different kinds of sauces, bread, and salad; and there was a ton of wine and beer. I sat next to Colleen, and this was about the best picture I took, which wasn't very good!

The food, drinks, and awesome atmosphere made the lack of sleep really start to kick in. I was dead tired by 10:30, and Dean drove us back to the hotel.

I wish I could say I slept like a rock, but that wasn't the case. I drank more than I probably should have, especially considering I was dehydrated and working on little sleep, which is probably why I didn't sleep well. At 4:00 AM, I was wide awake, so I got out of bed and worked on my blog posts.

At 10:00 yesterday, we went to brunch and John's favorite spot--Baja Betty's. They had a brunch buffet and all-you-can-drink mimosas. The food was really good! I had two plates, and a couple of mimosas, and I was stuffed.

Tay had to leave after brunch, and it was sad to say good-bye to her. She was voted "MVP" by Van 2, because, well, she's awesome. The rest of us (except for John) wanted to go to the zoo. That was the one thing I really wanted to do on my trip here. We headed to the zoo and spent the afternoon exploring. We took the Skyfari (I think that's what it was called!) to the far end of the zoo to work our way back to the entrance.

It actually felt pretty hot outside--much more like I expected from California! The weather was great, and we had a good time at the zoo.

After a few hours, I was really starting to feel fatigued. The whole weekend was starting wear on me. We got on the tour bus then, because I think we all just wanted to sit down, and we rode around the zoo seeing a lot of the animal exhibits we'd missed on foot.

We left the zoo at around 5:15, and headed to dinner at a place called The Fish House. The food there was SO good. I got a cup of clam chowder, which ended up being the best I'd ever tasted, and swordfish tacos.

After dinner, we had to say good-bye to Caitlin. She wasn't supposed to leave so soon, but her aunt fell and broke her hip, and needed Caitlin there. It was sad to say good-bye, but I'm going to be seeing her in Boston in a month for Ragnar Cape Cod ;)

Dean dropped Colleen, Thomas, and I off at the hotel. We sat around chatting for a few hours, and went to bed at around midnight. I FINALLY got the sleep I needed! I slept from midnight to 7:00, and only woke up once during the night. I feel really rested for today. Dean and Thomas are going to see the Midway museum, and I think us girls are going to rent some beach cruiser bikes to ride. Should be fun!

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 2

(...continued from Part 1)

I left off when our team was at Exchange #12, waiting for Van 2 to get there. Colleen was the last runner for Van 2, so she was out running while her van was trying to get to the exchange before she did. Traffic was really bad, and they weren't able to get there on time. But Van 1 was there, ready for Thomas to start us off with our second legs. Colleen came FLYING in, at a 7:47/mi pace for her 6-ish mile leg!

Thomas headed out for his second leg, which was a 11.9 miles with NO van support (meaning we weren't allowed to stop along the way to offer water or anything, because the location didn't allow it). We knew we'd have over an hour and a half to get to the next exchange, where I would start my leg. That turned out to be a good thing, too, because the exchange site was SO congested with traffic.

My leg was only 3 miles, so that didn't give the van much time to pick up Thomas and get to the next exchange before I got there. John's second leg was 3.3 miles, so he suggested that I run both mine AND his, and then he would run both of our third legs on Saturday. I loved that idea, because it meant I'd be completely done after that run!

We had forgotten about the fact that Ragnar made a big mess of the SoCal course this year. They couldn't get permission to use a particular area for the race, so instead of rerouting, they had it planned to where Runner #2 would finish the second leg, and then instead of handing it off to Runner #3, like you normally would, we had to drive all six of us to the next exchange, which was miles away! Then, Runner #3 would be dropped off at a new location to start the second leg. It was the only exchange like that, but it was weird and it ended up adding an hour to our overall time, because of traffic.

Anyway, I got to the exchange point to wait for Thomas to hand off to me. Thomas completed his second leg (the longest leg on the course) like a total champ.

I headed out on my three-mile leg in the dark. Thankfully, there weren't any spots to turn, because it was some sort of path, so I didn't get lost ;) My pace was good, at about 9:00/mi. When I got to the exchange point, I wasn't expecting to see my van there, but John told me that we had forgotten about the fact that we had to drive to the next exchange. We still decided to swap legs, though.

We drove nearly an hour to the next exchange point, where they dropped me off to start John's leg. It was a scary leg! It was pitch black, and went through some sort of park. The path had really deep ravines on each side of it, and I just kept picturing falling off the course to my death ;) I tried to get pictures in the dark, but this is how well they turned out...

You can see the reflective vest of the runner ahead of me, but that's about it. I tried to keep up with that person, so I didn't feel so alone, but they were too fast for me. My legs had stiffened up a lot in the car, and my pace was about 9:40/mi.

I was absolutely FREEZING the entire 3.3 mile leg. I was in a tank and capris, which I thought would be just fine for Southern California, but I wished I had my Cold Gear with me. I finished the 3.3 miles without falling into the ravines, and I was done! I handed off to Caitlin, and then got in the van to warm up.

After the rest of the van finished their legs, we handed off to Van 2 at the major exchange, and then immediately headed to our midway hotel. It was almost 1:00 AM. Everyone showered and went to bed ASAP, because we had to wake up at 3:30 AM to leave again. I ended up falling asleep for about an hour, which was enough to reenergize me. John woke us all up at 3:30, and we headed to the next major exchange to wait for Colleen to run in and hand off to Thomas for his final leg.

Once Thomas headed out, we drove ahead to a gas station to use the bathroom and buy some snacks. John was outside, and I was trying to pick out something for Thomas to have for a snack, when Thomas flew right by. I felt awful about missing him, because he'd had no van support for his first two legs! So we drove ahead a little ways more, and then jumped out of the van at the last second as he ran by, so we could at least cheer him on.

Thomas handed off to John, so John was running both my leg and his own, a total of about 6 miles. We decided to have some fun with John by leap frogging him every quarter mile or so. Usually, we would only stop once or twice during a leg, depending on how long it was; but for John's last one, we stopped so much it was a bit ridiculous. Very fun! I started offering Twizzlers to the runners who went by, too.

The scenery for the last legs was absolutely GORGEOUS. Pictures don't do it justice at all. It was right along the ocean. We even saw some sea lions sunbathing on rocks down on the beach.

While Caitlin was waiting to start her last leg, we were so cold. We huddled together to try and keep warm, and especially keep Caitlin warm. Someone took our picture, and it ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the race!

Once the rest of the van was done with their final legs, we were so excited to be done! Van 2's final legs were long ones, so we had a lot of time to kill. First, we leap-frogged Dean for his whole first leg, which was a blast. Dean is so much fun to watch--he runs the entire time with a big goofy grin on his face. He looks so happy the entire time!

After Dean's leg, we ended up going to get lunch and then taking it to John's house. We went to In 'N Out, a burger place that I'd never been to, but everyone else said was amazing. I hadn't had a hamburger in a long time, and it was really good!

Caitlin, Thomas, and I booked a hotel about a mile from John's house, so after lunch, we went to check in. We took showers and rested for a few minutes before we had to pick up John, Hilary, and Paige and go to the finish line to wait for Van 2. When we got to the finish line, I was stunned at how amazing everything looked. The scenery was gorgeous, and there were so many people!

(To be continued...)

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Ragnar SoCal, Part 1

(I typed this post on Friday... I'm going to try and get caught up today!)

The past couple of days have been super busy! It’s probably going to take a few posts to write everything out, but I’m going to try and keep a log as I go, so when I get internet access, I can start posting them. Right now, as I type this, I’m at Exchange #12 of Ragnar SoCal. But let me back up…

Yesterday, I got up bright and early to head to the airport. My flight was at 8:30, and I got to the airport at 6:30, so I had plenty of time to check my bag and, most importantly, have a glass of wine before getting on the plane. I’m a SUPER nervous flyer, and wine definitely helps take the edge off.

Jerry dropped me off, and when I went inside, the line for baggage check was ridiculously long. I waited in line for a few minutes, when a woman who worked there directed me and several other people to go to international baggage check, because there wasn’t a wait. There were only a couple of people in line ahead of me, so I thought it would be a super quick check in.

I don’t know what the problem was, but I waited there for 35 minutes, and the line didn’t budge. I was really starting to worry about even making my flight, let alone get a glass of wine, because I still had to go through security. Anyway, I finally checked my bag at about 7:15, and thankfully, security was a breeze.

I booked it to the gate (which was, literally, the farthest from security it could possibly be). Next to the gate was a bar, so I had a glass of wine. We boarded the plane, and we sat there… and sat there… and sat there, at the gate. Finally, the pilot came on the speaker and said that the plane was only about 10 days old (which I could see—the plane was super nice!), but that they were given the wrong manual for the plane, and they needed the correct manual in order to fly. Yep, that was reassuring.

We ended up waiting on board the plane for an hour and fifteen minutes at the gate! My little wine buzz and completely worn off, and I was getting more anxious by the minute. I had brought a bag of chocolates for the flight crew (something I do for every flight), and one of the flight attendants came by to thank me. She asked if she could get me anything, so I asked for a glass of wine. She asked if I could wait until we were airborne—I really didn’t want to, but I figured I could white-knuckle the take-off while sober ;)

We finally took off, and the flight ended up being great. Not at all turbulent, and I loved having the little TV on the seat back with about a hundred movies to choose from. There was also a flight tracker on it, which was awesome--I could see exactly where we were and how much time was left in flight on a little map:

When I arrived in San Diego, I got my bag and waited for John to pick me up. I was SO excited to see my team! John picked me up, and we went to his house, where I was able to meet everyone but Thomas and Hilary. Hilary was already at our hotel in Huntington Beach, and Thomas’s flight was delayed. We had a snack, and chatted for a bit, and then John and I left to go pick up Thomas. 

Thomas lives in Portland, and he brought us doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts! 

Mine was called “Old Dirty Bastard”—a yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, peanut butter drizzle, and Oreo crumbs--right up my alley ;) I ate it before I thought to take a picture, though!

We left John’s house and took our two vans up to Huntington Beach to our hotel (the Ragnar starting line was in Huntington Beach). Everyone was starving after a long travel day, so we went out for our team dinner. When we were done eating, we went to Party City and to the grocery store to get decorations and snacks for the race. We got a little silly in Party City ;)

We had to leave for the starting line at 3:50 AM, so we made it an early night. I was in bed at 10:00, but it felt so much later, because in Michigan, it would have been 1:00 AM. I set my alarm for 3:30, but I was wide awake at 3:00, so I got up and got dressed in my clothes for my first Ragnar leg. Van 1 (Thomas, me, John, Caitlin, Hilary, and Paige—in order of our legs) headed to the starting line. I was so surprised at how cold it was! I was expecting it to be really warm in SoCal, but I ended up wearing a sweatshirt and I was still freezing.

We got our team checked in, took some pictures, picked up our shirts, etc. Van 2 met us at the starting line to see Thomas off. 

Then Thomas got ready for his first leg. We lined up to cheer for him when the race started. They ended up starting our wave 15 minutes late, because they were waiting on some teams. At 5:15, Thomas took off. Then the rest of us headed to the van to go support Thomas.

There ended up not being any spot for us to stop, which was a bummer. We couldn’t even see the runners—aside from it being pitch-black outside, the runners were running on a path, that wasn't visible from the road. We just went to the first exchange to wait. I got geared up in my nighttime running stuff (headlamp, finger lights, vest, etc.) and shivered at the runner’s chute. It was freezing cold! I wore a sweatshirt until it was my turn to run.

There were about 3-4 people who came through, and then Thomas. Since we were the first wave to start the race, I only had those few people to follow. I was worried about getting lost, but I was careful to follow the signs, and my leg was a pretty straight shot (just a couple of turns on the whole 7.2 mile leg).

I was running at about a 9:00/mi pace, but I kept getting stopped at traffic lights, so my splits were in the 10:00’s. I passed a couple of people, including a girl in a grass skirt, and then every time I got stopped at a light, she caught up to me. So I asked if she wanted to run together, and I just slowed my pace to match hers (about 10:30/mi). We chatted, and at mile 7, we were on the lookout for the exchange point.

A van rolled down the window and yelled to us that we were going the wrong direction. We both thought she was just messing with us, because we were sure we had followed the signs correctly. And we saw some runners way up ahead of us by about a half-mile. The girl I was running with called her team, and they said we should have turned. She ended up getting in the van of the people who’d stopped so they could drive her, but I didn’t want to do that (Ragnar rules say that there always has to be a runner on the course, and you can’t hitch a ride). So I just turned around and hoped I’d find my way!

I came across another woman who was going the wrong way, and I told her what was going on. She called her team, who said they’d come find her. We stopped at an intersection and waited there for a long time (my lap pace was at 40:00+/mi at that point!!) I called my team, but we couldn’t figure out where I was or which direction to go. I was so frustrated! Finally, the woman’s van got there to show us the right direction, so we followed them back to the course.

I thought I was really close to the end, so I picked up the pace. Then at mile 8.3, I saw a sign that said, “One mile to go”… I was so disheartened. I slogged along for the last mile, and finally got to the exchange point at mile 9.3 (of a 7.2-mile leg). My average pace was 11:30-ish, with all the traffic lights and then stopping for a while to figure out directions. 

I was glad to get my longest leg out of the way. My second and third legs were only 3.0 and 2.9, so those would be a piece of cake after my first one. While the rest of Van 1 ran their legs, we got out and cheered between exchanges. That’s my favorite part about Ragnar! 

At exchange 6, we met up with the Van 2. Paige came in, and Dean headed out, so Van 1 was done with our first legs.  A couple of days ago, I got an email from a woman named Michelle who is a reader of my blog, and she said that we’d be running right by her house. She offered to let us stop by for water, or bathroom breaks, or whatever we might need. John checked out the logistics, and it turned out that she was only 4 miles from exchange 6—which was perfect, because we’d be done running. 

She’s a teacher at a middle school, so we ended up making plans to go to her school to say hello. I was a little nervous, because I’m always nervous to meet people, but it worked out so well! We went to her school, and the office was expecting us. Everyone was so nice! They took us to her classroom, where we met Michelle and her class. It was a reading class, so we chatted with the kids a little about journaling/blogging, and how it can open up so many opportunities. We stayed for about 15 minutes, and then we headed out. I’m glad we went, because it was so fun!

Michelle suggested a place for us to get lunch, and by that time, we were all ravenous. It was a Mexican place, and the food was fantastic! After lunch, we headed to the next major exchange (#12). It was right on the beach, and such a great place to hang out for a little bit! 

The rest of my van wanted to nap, so I went for a walk looking for an ice cream shop, but I couldn’t find it. I did find a huge flight of stairs going up the side of a mountain, so I decided to earn some altitude on my Fit Meter ;) I went up the stairs once and then back down. This picture really makes it look so small--in person, the stairs seemed never-ending!

I found a nice spot to sit and work on a blog post, so here I am :) To be continued...

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