Courir du Festival 5K

Every year in a town about an hour away from mine is a festival...they call it the International Festival or Courir du Festival. They have bands from all over the world come in to play, different types of cuisine from different parts of the world, etc. Reminds me a lot of the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot (except I didn't drink any wine or anything like that! lol)!

Our running group participated in a 5K there. I woke up Saturday morning VERY nervous. My husband was working and I was worried about having to drive out of town by myself in the RAIN! That's right...horrible weather was predicted for that entire morning! I was really scared and I didn't know what to do! I had already registered for the race and paid for it so I decided to go.

I met up with my running group at 5:30 a.m. and we were on the road by 5:45 a.m. There was only one incident where a wreck almost occurred on the interstate but God is good and all is ok. We were able to caravan safely to our destination(we had about 7 or 8 cars in our caravan). I wasn't sure how I was going to do in the race with my nerves and the predicted bad weather so I just decided to go and do it and whatever I got was whatever. I was wearing a bracelet I got in New Orleans from the Team 413 booth. I know running is all a mental thing so I decided that any time along the route I wanted to stop and give up and walk, I would tell myself, "I can do ALL THINGS"....you can DO this! I wanted to see if my strategy would work! LOL

Guess what? It only rained a LITTLE bit off and on during the drive! YAY!

So we got there, we checked in (I forgot I signed up on Pay Pal so my last name was my Maiden name and I got race #1!!!) LOL We stretched, then we took a warmup run. We did about a mile or so. It was funny as we all came around the corner, the cop put on his lights and he started on his intercom "THE RACE HAS STARTED THE RACE HAS STARTED!" We had to inform him that we were just warming up! LOL There were about 15 or so of us!

Before the race, it would get dark, then it would get light, then it would get dark again and rain a little, then it would stop. Surprisingly, we didn't have ANY Rain during the race (around mile 2 I wish it would have sprinkled a little! LOL) AND I didn't have ANY rain on the drive home (the skies were blue with NO clouds!)!!



Me with my #1! LOL



My friend DeeDee



This is my friend Adam. He's the one that scared the bageebees out of me last weekend when we were running in the dark! lol



Running Group picture!!!



All lined up and ready to go!!!!



Off we go.....I was glad I didn't have to weave too much...I started pretty close to the front...

The course was great. I wasn't too sure how I was going to do because it is unfamiliar territory. It was also very hot and MUGGY outside with only a little breeze! Around mile 1, I was already needing water. Of course, there was none to be found! Around mile 1.75, I thought that water wasn't going to be a part of this race and I just knew I was going to DIE! lol But YAY at mile 1.80, there was water. It was not good water, though! It was WARM! UGH!! Oh well, I took a few drinks, walked a little, then kept on pushing. Now if you remember, my PR from my last race was 28:06. I wanted to hit 27:59 so bad I could taste it! I've done hill workouts, track workouts, and training runs all in an effort to increase a little in speed. I know my rough points in a race. It's after mile 2. I run out of gas. That's why Saturday, I had the bracelet and the mind thing going on (I CAN DO ALL THINGS!!!)! I definitely hit a low point after the water station. I walked only about 15 seconds then kept on going. I wanted to walk again SO BAD but I wouldn't let myself. I CAN DO THIS I CAN DO THIS is what I kept saying over and over again. I even had to take the earphones out because I couldn't concentrate! lol Anyway, we had run a little of the route on our warmup so when I saw Garfield St., I knew it was only a little further and I had this. Time was 25 minutes so if I kept on course, I'd get 27 something....

I rounded the corner and I heard our base coach yelling. I also saw the finish line but it was pretty far down the road. (Ignore the time here...this was taken WAY before I made it back in! lol)



I knew I was almost there. I wanted to vomit so bad. I know that is gross but that's how I felt. I had no circulation in my legs or my arms....my body felt like mush...



I kicked it up somehow and I crossed the finish line in.......

27:39!

HOLY COW was that right?!?! I had to look twice! Then I had to check my Garmin to make sure they didn't cheat us any distance in this race and NOPE...it said exactly 3.10 miles! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to scream and cry and laugh all at the same time! I would have jumped on my husband had he been there but I had to curb my enthusiasm and keep it to myself cause I didnt' want everyone to think I was a crazy person! I couldn't find any of my running group people for a while .... then I spotted DeeDee!



She was back over by the base coach. I ran and gave her a huge sweaty hug! lol I DID IT!!!! She was excited for me!



After the race, we watched a group from New Brunswick. They were entertaining even though I couldn't understand a word they said! LOL

One of the girls in our group came in first overall in women's and our running coach got 2nd overall! Woohoo! Great job, ladies!



I didn't place but it sure felt like a #1 in my book! LOL

Goal #1 met: PR sub 28...
Goal #2: Place in my age category (we'll see if I get that this year or not...lol)

I met up with friends for lunch after the race, then I came home. My brother and SIL were in town so we all had dinner together! We went to Wal Mart and I found a penny in the driveway! Must have been my lucky day!!! LOL

HILLS! Ugh...

This past week, Madalynn and I ran 3 miles on Tuesday night. I was so excited when I got off work Tuesday cause it was COOL outside! Woohoo! The weather was just perfect! It was overcast and windy and cool...very unusual for this time of year! There was also a definitely chill in the air on Wednesday morning, too. I love that kind of weather! I wish it would stay like that all year! Anyway, we had a GREAT run and I ran farther than I usually do on my own without stopping. I think I stopped a couple of times because of neighbors dogs. One dog in particular is a little 5 pound dog that lives next door to me. It FOLLOWED us ACROSS A BUSY ROAD to the next neighborhood! I was so scared for that dog I turned around and picked it up and brought it home! LOL It made me nervous! I don't want to be th reason my neighbor's dog is dead in the road! No way! lol

Wednesday night is always a hill workout for my running group. I haven't been able to make it though because of the girls program at church that I run on Wednesday nights. Well, this past Wednesday night, we had something special going on and there was no girl's program, so I was able to make it to the hill workout! OMG that mess is HARD! I hadn't done it since October and I forgot how bad it was. I can tell I'm increasing in speed/strenght a little though because I was able to go further this time than I was in the fall! Yay! We run 5 minutes up and down a huge hill for 4 times. We also jog a 10 minute warmup and cool down. All in all, I did 4.25 miles on Wednesday night!

Last night was a different story, though! I was going to just do 2 miles with Maddie but I'm also painting a room right now and it wasn't complete. I was so mad cause I thought it was all done and it wasn't! Oh well..it needs a 3rd coat so I'm going to do that today. I was so mad/frustrated last night I didn't want to do anything. So Jason and I went to Wendy's. I was craving a salad (lol) but I also wanted Ice Cream so I got a salad and a Coffee Toffee Frosty (SOOOOOO BAD for you, I know) but oh well! I don't hardly ever eat ice cream so it's ok!

Anyway, we have a RACE tomorrow! It's supposed to RAIN! UGh. It's out of town, too so I wasn't sure at first if I was going to run it since Jason is working. I signed up anyway cause our running group is caravaning over to the race so hopefully it will be ok. I'm driving myself though cause I'm meeting up with friends for lunch. However, if it's raining too bad, I dont' know what I'm going to do. I HATE driving in the rain (especially an hour out of town!)!! Oh well!

10 mile morning!

I got up this morning at 4:45 a.m. to meet with my running group at 5:30 a.m. It's about a 20 minute drive from my house to our meeting spot so that's why I have to get up a little earlier. I usually set out all my stuff the night before so all I have to do is get up and go. I know it's early but I would MUCH rather run early mornings than in the heat of the afternoon! I love getting up and watching the sunrise! Yes I get tired and yes I like to stay up late on Friday nights and sleep in Saturday mornings but I only like to do that on occasion. Church on Sunday morning doesn't start until 10:30 a.m. so I have time to sleep in a little on Sunday mornings!

This is what we got to see this morning:





Like I've said in the past, Sunrises and Sunsets are some of my favorite things! :0) I was once asked one time in a meeting, "When do you feel closest to God?" Others in that meeting answered different things like "Reading the Word", "Music", "Church"...I didn't have an answer at the time. I do feel close to God when I'm doing those things mentioned but I couldn't put my finger on "closest". I figured out my answer this morning. It's when it's just me and nature and God. No music, no traffic, no distractions...just me, my running shoes, and my surroundings. It's a time I can reflect and pray. I'm so grateful I get to see things like sunrises every morning and that I can run! Running is a gift..and I'm so grateful I've been blessed with the ability! I love having that time for just me and the Lord. I can talking to Him without having any distractions and it's so calming.



These flowers greeted us along our route this morning!

I have a funny story for today! We ran 10 miles today and part of our route led us downtown (not a very good area of town) and of course, that early in the morning it's still dark. Well, one of the girls I was running with looked at something out of the corner of her eye and she said "Oh, that scared me!" I of course turned around to look and I saw this MAN running up behind us. I SCREAMED and jumped up in the air cause it FREAKED ME OUT! I thought it was some stalker man coming to get us down the dark streets! Turns out it was my friend ADAM (who is also in our running group)! LOL OH well!

Last week durning our 12 mile run, my knees were KILILNG me! I didn't know if it was because of the late night or riding in the car all day but whew...it was bad. They just recovered THURSDAY! So anyway, I wanted to see if it was my shoes or not. Today, during our 10 miler, my knees didn't hurt near as bad as they did last week but they still ached so I guess it's time for new shoes! The ones I'm wearing are from Christmas but we've done a lot of high milage since December!

A note from our coach on the wipeboard....



LOL She's so goofy! I guess it's time to RIP Saucony Hurricane 10's and introduce Saucony Hurricane 11's. I'm lucky...they are coming out with the Hurricane 12's in May so the 11's are on CLOSEOUT at Running Warehouse! I'm going to order them sometime this week!

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!! God bless!

A little this and a little that!

I snapped a few pictures on Monday night on my way back from running track!



The sunset over our river...so gorgeous!



Sunset from my backyard! lol

Hey what can I say?! I LOVE the sunset and surise!!



So yesterday, Maddie and I were running and we came upon this house that has these huge Blood Hounds. I run by this house everytime I run at home and I talk to the Blood Hounds everytime we pass but they never cease to bark at me! LOL This time that we passed however, they had another friend in the yard! A HORSE! Madalynn was so captivated by this horse. She sat down in the middle of the road and just stared. lol I tried to get her to keep walking and she wouldn't! Finally, I got her back up and moving. On the way back, I took a picture of our new friend! :0)



Maddie wouldn't look at the camera because she was too distracted by the horse! LOL

To honor my run with Maddie, I wore a shirt that I ordered from One More Mile. I had seen this shirt in New Orleans but they didn't have the size/style that I wanted! I ordered one in Lilac!



It came in on Saturday but I didn't check the mail till Sunday! I was so excited!!!

This is the front of the shirt:



And the back of the shirt! :0)



Today I'm resting! It's nice to take a little break! :0) Have a happy Wednesday everyone!

Cademan 5K

I had another 5K on Good Friday weekend...it wasn't timed or anything so I really didn't consider it a "real" 5K. I also didn't have a camera there because my "camera man" aka my husband had to work! lol

The race was called the Cademan 5K....it was for a little boy in our area who has Leukemia. They had a GREAT turn out! They raised over $14,000!!!!

This is a link to him singing a song he wrote...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCCF4RMg7k

He was at the race and he got to sing two of his songs. He really broke my heart. I know I work with Oncology but there's NO WAY I could work with Pediatric Oncology. Too depressing!

I ran with some friends and we were not pushing it at all. I really was not feeling it at all. In fact, I hadn't been "feeling it" all week. I didn't run at all that week cause I spent most of my time taping up stuff and prepping to paint. Then I stayed up until 2 a.m. Friday morning trying to get the bathroom done. It's a pain in the rear!!! lol Anyway, needless to say, I didn't want to get up that morning but I did. I didn't feel the need to push myself since the race wasn't timed. Me and a few of the girls in my running group finished at 28:35 (per my Garmin). Not too bad since we really weren't trying for a decent time! lol



Like I said, I didn't have my camera, but I took a few on my iphone! lol This is Cade singing one of his songs!



They had fruit and cupcakes after the race. The cupcakes were from a place called Jo's Party House...This is the most AMAZING cupcake/cake place in my town! If someone says that the goodies came from Jo's, everyone usually "Ooooh's"! LOL!



These are the girls I ran with! They are from my running group! We went and played around at the park after the race! Haha!



Me with my Jo's Cupcake in my car on the way home! LOL

---------------------------------------------

Saturday, I did a 12 mile run with my running group. I have been debating on running a half marathon at the beginning of May in Beaumont. However, I decided against it today. I'm just going to run the 5K with Kayla instead! I feel drained today. This weekend was nuts anyway....

My brother graduated from the Texas State Trooper Academy this past Friday....

So Thursday at the hotel, I ran a mile on the treadmill! LOL That's all I had time for but it felt great!

Then Friday morning, I woke up and ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill.

We were supposed to be in Dallas after the graduation, but with a change in plans, we got home at 1 a.m. (Saturday morning) and I got up to meet my running group people at 5 a.m. (I slept a lot in the car on the way home) for a 12 mile run. Felt great but it was hard. My knees were really bothering me for a lot of it. I feel worn out now! lol I took a 3 hour nap when I got home! lol

Today, I was supposed to have softball practice but I'm so drained, I stayed home. lol OH well! Tomorrow night is another track workout! Yay!

Free to Breathe 5K Pictures!

So I totally have NOT forgotten about my blog...it's just been a crazy weekend! I've been painting our house all weekend and building a new flower bed. Who said that Easter weekend is relaxing? It totally was not for me but I got a lot done and that's a great feeling!!!

Anyway, here's some pictures from the Free to Breathe 5K I ran last weekend! The Free to Breathe race was to benefit Lung Cancer. Being an Oncology Nurse, I love running races that have a good cause behind them! (sorry the pictures are so big! Just click on the image and you'll be able to see the whole thing!)
















This is a HUGE event for our area and there were a ton of people there! Our Senator even opened up the event!




















I ran in memory of my grandfather who passed away in 2000 with Lung cancer!

My sister in law (Kayla) and I walking to meet up with my running group!

Lined up, ready to race!

There I come! I was kinda disappointed but that's ok! 28:09 is still a personal best for me! Yay!

Kayla and I after the race!

My brother, Kayla, my dad, me, and my mom! All that is missing is my husband! (he had to work!)

Our hospital team!