It is my new favorite time of the year. No, not spring, but aqua sox season!! I was at Wal-Mart today and I hit the mother load, the 2012 stock of aqua sox!

I am, however, a bit disappointed with the selections this year. I am first disappointed in the colors, hot pink and black or teal, white and black. I miss the days of simple gray and white. The sizing is also off from last year. I used to be the perfect fit for a size small, but in this year's model, the small is too small, but I could fit an extra foot into a medium! I feel like Goldilocks!

I did come home with 2 pairs of children's XL aqua sox. The blue pair below is from last season, only $4 (hopefully I will find a pair of the white and gray somewhere)! The pink and black is this season's offering. Both colors are obnoxious, but hopefully one will work for me.

As a final plea, my dear Wal-Mart, please please please bring back the 2011 aqua sox. I cannot live without them!

Miles logged: 0

Racing plans!

I had planned to take a break from running and racing after I reached Uranus. I've had hip and foot problems for quite a while now and realize that I probably need some rest. But I can't help myself. I've signed up for 2 races already this week. Both are in April and neither is a half marathon distance. I'm looking for one, though. After running one or two halfs a month since November, it feels like a habit now. And since I had so much fun at the Rock 'n' Roll, I'm ready for another one!

I signed up for the inaugural Austin 10/20 race on April 15. It is a 10 mile race with a band every half mile! I'm meeting my best friend from college there for the weekend and the race. It should be lots of fun!

The next weekend, I'm running the Warrior Dash for the second time! This isn't so much of a race, but an obstacle course with water, mud, and fire! It tours around the country and I would recommend this race to everyone. We "ran" this race last year. I had a stress fracture in my foot and some pretty significant cartilage damage in my hip. But I ran it with someone who had a stress fracture in her fibula and tibia, so my pain was nothing in comparison! We popped a few painkillers before the race and had a blast finishing the course. My only regret was that I didn't cannon ball into the mud pit at the end. I will do that this year!

Miles logged: 3

Hello Uranus!!

It is official! I have reached 2 moons in the Half Fanatics! Uranus is mine!!!!

Miles logged: 3.25

Dallas Rock 'n' Roll Medal

In all of the excitement yesterday, I forgot to post a photo of the finishers medal! I love it!!

Miles logged: 0

Dallas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 2012

Well, I did it, half marathon #8 complete! And I was back at where it all began, the Dallas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon. This was my very first half marathon race, one year ago, and it was great to finish it a second time!

It was an early morning, as usual, to catch the 6:20 am train to the race. The train was quite full and we had to stand the whole ride into town. I was fortunate enough to get stuck under the armpits of 2 different men! It wasn't the only train ride of the day where I had to hold my breath (more on that later).  We arrived in plenty of time and let ourselves inside the convention center for some pre-race stretching, relaxing, and indoor bathrooms. Our moments of zen ended shortly after seeing a large cockroach scuttling across the floor.

Sporting our 13.1 "tattoos" and debuting my half fanatics shirt!

After the roach incident, we hiked our way over to the bag drop and went to get pre-race snack. There were supposed to be bananas, bagels, and water available to runners, but by the time we arrived, only bagels were left. They were good enough for me!!

I still haven't heard an official number of runners, but the corrals were packed. I think there were over 15k runners last year and I would guess this year was about the same. This race is well organized, but, interestingly, our bibs did not have a corral number on them. So we could have picked any corral we wanted without so much as a second look. We were honest and went to corral 10, as assigned.

Rockin' Corral #10!

All the people ahead of me.

And all the people behind me!

The starting line!

 The familiar course took us through some of the nicest parts (and worst, we did run by the jail) of Dallas. One of my friends was at mile 3, we almost missed her, but I went crazy when I saw her. It means so much to a racer to have supporters out there. I had another friend show up around mile 7, but I didn't recognize her at all (she and I ran the Rock 'n' Roll together last year). She even made signs that said my name--and my name does not have a traditional spelling. My running buddy pointed it out and I thought to myself, wow, someone else spells their name that way! When I saw the sign that had her name and my name on it, it finally dawned on me that those signs were for us!

Just after the halfway point, I completely lost my running partner at a water station. I actually had to stop for a second to grab a cup of water and by the time I came out of the crowd, I couldn't find her anywhere. So I ran ahead a little and kept turning around and running backwards to see if I could spot her. I thought that she might have passed me, so I sped up a bit, hoping to catch her. When I realized she had to be somewhere behind me, I gave up and ran on without her.

Along the way, I passed a Marine, in his full gear of combat boots, fatigues, and completely full pack. He was struggling, but I wouldn't have been able to take one step in all that gear, let alone finish 13.1 miles. He was definitely an inspiration. I also came across one of running's rarest beasts, the barefoot runner. I smoked him, but did give him some words of encouragement and clapped in his face. He had headphones on, so I'm sure he thought I was nuts!

The spectators, and not just the ones that I knew, were great at this race. Lots of cheering stations and some really funny signs. I think my favorite one was right at the start: I'm proud of you, complete stranger! Some others were: Run faster, i just farted! Or Hurry up, my arms are hurting!

This was a hot race, similar to the temps I experienced at the Ft Worth Marathon. The high was in the mid 80's today. I would guess it was mid 70's by the time we finished, with blazing sun. It was a gorgeous day, but a bit warm for running.

Even though we got separated during the race, we were all able to meet up afterwards. I was feeling great, no foot pain and all smiles for completing #8! We hitched the train back home and it was packed again. One of the other racers in our car wasn't feeling quite as well as me and puked his green Gatorade up on the train. He did get down in a stairwell, but I couldn't have been happier to get off and switch lines shortly thereafter!

The finish line!

Post race beer!

Even though we got separated during the race, we were all able to meet up afterwards. I was feeling great, no foot pain and all smiles for completing #8! And the ice cold towels they were handing out, made everything else just fade away! We hitched the train back home and it was packed again. One of the other racers in our car wasn't feeling quite as well as me and puked his green Gatorade up on the train. He did get down in a stairwell, but I couldn't have been happier to get off and switch lines shortly thereafter!

Miles logged: 13.1

Rock 'n' Roll Expo

I picked up my packet today at the expo for the Dallas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. I must say, the Rock 'n Roll series puts on the the best expo. I like to mull around for the free Clif bar samples and taste the race electrolytes. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to explore any of it since I didn't have much time on the parking meter and I had to get back to work. Packet pick up was fairly crowded this year as compared to last. Lucky for me, my bib line had only 3 people in it (compared to lines with 20+)! 

Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Health and Fitness Expo

I love the shirt this year, much nicer than the white tech tee of last year. We also got a cute swag bag (which I will probably use for my gear check bag) filled with some coupons, a sample of Gu (YUCK), and pain relieving gel (which I will be using, I'm sure!)

                                                  

Oh shit! They started without me!

 Can't wait for race day! I'll be meeting a friend at the train station at 6:20am!

Miles logged: 0

Your health

I recently tried my first spin class (read about it here) and just came across this article on MSN about how an hour of spinning triggers the same biochemical reactions as a heart attack. I didn't feel like I was having a heart attack after spinning, but I have felt that way after running!

Check it out: Heart attack? Nope, just a spin class

Miles logged: 3

Today was my last chance to get in a long run before the Rock'n Roll half marathon next weekend. If you at a regular reader of my blog, you know that I haven't been running much due to foot pain. So I was worried that I might not be ready for race day. My training calendar called for an 8-miler this weekend and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to finish that distance.

I'm not sure if the rest, the regular icing, or the evening foot rubs were the fix, but I was able to get through approximately 9 miles before I felt any pain in my foot! What a relief! I feel confident that I will get to Uranus this weekend!!!

Miles logged: 9.5

I Run Half Marathons

I run half marathons, it's what I do. I've knocked down 7 of them in the last year. I can run for 2.5 hours straight. I'm in the best shape of my life. So I'm not exactly sure why my ass just got kicked by a spin class!

Since I've been battling foot and hip issues, which I attribute to the high impact nature of running, I thought I would try some cross training. I've heard from several people that spinning was a good way to keep your cardio fitness level up, but ease up on your joints. Swimming is the same, I would assume, but I'm not ready for bathing suit season quite yet.

I'm not an exercise class kind of girl. I prefer my own goals, my own pace, and giving up when I feel like it! It is much more humiliating to fall down or walk out when there is a room full of people watching you. So I picked a bike, all the way in the corner, as far from the door as possible, with no view of the clock. I figured this would help prevent me from quitting midway through. Surprisingly, it worked! I somehow made it through the class with screaming quads and a pool of sweat beneath my bike (literally, I had to wipe it up with a paper towel).

Will I do it again? I'll let you know tomorrow!

Miles logged: 0

I haven't been posting much lately because I haven't been running much lately. Despite what my husband thinks, I really am trying to rest my foot. I'm 10 days out from the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon and I'm not sure I can do it.

I still am feeling some pain in my foot when resting (and I definitely felt it when I ran last Sunday), so I've been trying to do low/no impact exercise to keep my cardio up. I've been massaging and stretching it every night, though I've stopped with the ice. I did 20 pathetic minutes on the elliptical while I caught up on the Real Housewives drama on Tuesday. Not so much of a workout.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a running night and I'm pondering a spinning class. One starts at the gym at 5:30 and I think I'm going to try it. Will I be ridiculed if I have to walk out early because I can't keep up?

Miles logged: 0

Rain, rain, go away!

It felt like it was time to build an ark when I woke up this morning. It had been raining nonstop for 2 days and I was getting frustrated at being stuck inside the house. And I wanted to get in a long run before the weekend was over. I watched the weather radar like a hawk all morning. When it looked like there might be a break in the rain, I put on my running gear and waited for it to stop. And it eventually did, though I had been ready to go for nearly an hour.

My run consisted of dodging puddles, strategically placing myself on the sidewalk as to not get splashed by traffic and more pain in my foot. I got through almost 2 miles before the pain kicked in full force. It didn't take nearly that long for me to have wet feet, but I was in aqua socks and I'm pretty sure this is what they are designed for! Though I think I have a flat in my right one, as it started feeling wet before I got to the end of the block!

I had to turn around much earlier than I wanted to today, originally hoping to get in an 8 mile tun, but the pain was too much. I think I must have tendinitis as opposed to a stress fracture. Anyone else out there struggling with foot pain too?

Miles logged:5.5

Daylight Savings is Almost Here

You know what that means! The possibility of running outside after work while it is still light out! I say possibility, because, who am I kidding, I am not likely to sit in traffic for almost an hour then go for a run. And I'm not going to go to Nutria Park again! So, I'll probably still be stuck at the gym for my short runs. :(

Miles logged: 0

Working from Home

Today I worked from home for one of the first times in my career. We recently bought a new desk that accommodates 2 computers and since my husband its out of town, it was the perfect set up for me and my laptop. I know you are wondering how or why this matters to a running blog, but I'll get there in a second.

Tuesdays are usually one of the days that I hit the gym after work. But I live almost 20 miles from the office (and the gym), there was no way that I was going to drive all the way over there just to run on the treadmill. So, instead, I went for a run today on my lunch break! Greatest thing ever! I had plenty of time to get in a short run, shower, and eat before I had to sit back down to work. The temp was nice at noon, but the wind was blowing like crazy. It definitely beat the treadmill though! I think I might be able to get used to this!

Miles logged: 3.3

An Oasis in the Desert

I am traveling yet again this week and even though I know I should be resting my foot, went for a short run to get to know Scottsdale, Arizona. I'm here for the weekend with my parents and some of my mom's friends for an Old Lady Convention, AKA my mother's 60th birthday.

We have a weekend filled with activities planned and the rest of the guests arrive today. If I didn't run today, I doubted I would have time to run the rest of the weekend. And I haven't run since the Cowtown, so I've been itching to get outside.

My foot is still bothering me, though I've been icing it regularly. And rest certainly has helped. I made it to about mile 1 before it really started hurting. I was trying to get to this park I had seen yesterday, so I pressed on.

The weather was beautiful this morning, mid 50s, not a cloud in the sky and a slight breeze. I wish I could have run for longer. Maybe I'll squeeze another run in Sunday morning before I leave.

Miles logged: 4.5