Fort Worth YMCA Turkey Trot 10K

It was a semi last minute decision... Stacy and I decided to run the 10K this year "for fun."  I was thinking I could average about a 9-minute pace, but I came to terms with my fluffiness and my wee bit of out-of-shapeness when I hit about the 5K mark. 

Splits: 9:39, 8:51, 8:59, 9:28, 9:21, 9:52, 2:46 (9:04 pace on the 0.3)
Total Time: 58:59 (9:21 average for 6.3 miles)

Age Group: 60/109
Gender: 247/508
Overall: 674/1097

We didn't realize just how many people did the 10K.  It was super congested at the beginning and remained fairly congested throughout the race.  We started in the middle or back, so we did a lot of runner dodging the first few miles.  I wanted to push it, but I think sub-9 pace was a little too fast for me.  Those hills took me by surprise!  It was a good challenge (especially before stuffing my face), and it was fun to see a lot of friends out there on the course. 

My Very First "WOD"

My friend Shawna opened up her own Cross Fit gym... check out Shag Fitness!  So on Saturday morning, I attended my very first "Workout of the Day" (WOD).  It was pretty short - about 5 minutes of warm-up and warm-down, and the main set was 20:30 (timed). 

Warm up:
3 rounds of Tabata (20 seconds on 10 seconds off) – Squat- Push-ups- Tuck Jumps

PARTNER- WOD:
30 Deadlifts
15 Burpees*
30 Box Jumps
15 Burpees*
30 Thrusters
15 Burpees*
30 KBS
15 Burpees*
30 SDHP (sumo deadlift high pull)
15 Burpees*
*The original workout was 20, but I had a modification to 15. 

It was a good feeling to push myself so hard (compared to going through the motions when I do a run or the elliptical machine).  I am excited to add this to my normal routine and get stronger.  I woke up this morning, and my legs felt like they had run a marathon yesterday! 

And not to brag or anything, but there is a "Nasty Girl" workout named after me (which I assume means I'll have to do it at some point haha):
Nicole

• 400m Run
• Max Rep Pull Ups
• As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 20 Minutes – Note the pull ups completed in each round.

Susan G Komen 3 Day Walk

Stacy and I headed to Plano on Thursday evening and made a dinner pit stop at BJ's for some yummy salad, pizza, and wine.  We stayed at the Best Western with some of our teammates so we could take the shuttle to the starting line in the morning.  After we scarfed down some continental breakfast, the shuttle left around 6 am.  There was A LOT of estrogen surrounding us... lots of "woohoos," squeals, etc.  But there was excitement in the air, and we were ready to get the walk started.  It was a very cold morning.  I was pretty under dressed since I didn't want to hold on to a lot of layers once the sun came out.

The opening ceremonies were pretty neat.  The lady from Susan G Komen sounds like a preacher (in a cool, inspiring kind of way).  We were standing towards the front, but somehow we were some of the last people out of the gate.  We hit the first pit stop and I grabbed a couple snacks, and that foreshadowed the gorge fest that was about to follow!  We all ate way too much the first day since we were pretty bored and the food was free.  My favorite was these graham cracker sandwiches - 2 graham crackers with PB&J in the middle.  Nom nom nom.  We didn't realize that the "60 mile walk" was actually 17 miles on Day 1, 21.3 miles on Day 2, and 15.2 miles on Day 3.  So that was a nice little surprise (but don't tell anyone).  The walk took a very long time.  I wasn't expecting the amount of congestion from walking on the sidewalk and stopping at the lights.  Plus we took long breaks at the pit stops and at lunch.  We started around 8:30 am and got done at 4:30 pm.  I ended up walking with my two BFFs (Stacy and Shawna), and two of Shawna's friends (Sarah and Elizabeth) that I hadn't met before.  The five of us had an amazing time together, and I made two new (and super!) friends. 

After the walk, we pitched our tents (fortunately our neighbor was a pro, and she helped us out), showered in the trailers, and ate some dinner (which was surprisingly tasty).  I didn't need the huge piece of carrot cake that I shoved in my pie hole, but yummmmmmm.  After dinner we walked over to the Doubletree across the street and had some much needed drinks and relaxation.  We may or may not have passed a bottle of Bailey's around our circle of 5 girls sitting inside a tent designed for 2 people.

We made the decision on Friday night that we would stay at the Doubletree the next night.  I made the mistake of not bringing an air matress, and I didn't sleep well the first night.  Plus my tummy was so upset with me after consuming mass quantities of processed food.  We got up on Saturday morning and intended on getting to the starting line early, but we ended up standing in line and not starting until about 8:30 am.  This was our big day (21.3 miles), so we tried to take shorter breaks so we wouldn't get done super late.  We finished around 5:30 pm. 

It was a long day, but we were over the hump and we had a nice night at the Doubletree to look forward to.  We ordered takeout food - pizza and a salad - and watched some college football at the bar.  It was so much nicer to sleep in a bed... glorious, glorious bed.  On the third day we took a shuttle to Ursaline Academy and walked to Fair Park.  We were on one of the first shuttles, and it made a HUGE difference starting early.  We breezed through the miles.  We treated ourselves to lunch at the House of Blues... we couldn't stomach another Panera sandwich, and we were ready to celebrate. 

We had about 4 or 5 miles to go after that.  We made another unofficial pit stop at a bar about a mile from the finish line for a celebratory pink shot.  So we were feeling no pain at the finish line. 

Somehow Shawna ended up getting interviewed by the CBS News (it was on TV that night at 10:30 pm) and we all jumped in.

Check it out!
http://video.ak.fbcdn.net/cfs-ak-ash4/341546/228/10150436459601639_43521.mp4?oh=e69d9b8a3a8003348e3d
Some of our friends met up with us at the finish line and we had a champagne celebration in the parking lot while we waited for the closing ceremonies to start.  The closing ceremonies was the most emotional part of the weekend.  Maybe that's because we had walked (nearly) 60 miles and we hadn't slept much ;)  They did a great job honoring the survivors.  The Ta Ta Girls got together for one more team photo.

I went into this not knowing what to expect.  Walking with Stacy, Shawna, Elizabeth, and Sarah made the weekend so incredible.  We thought about ways to make this better next year, and it sounds like we will be repeat walkers!

A few lessons learned:
-It's totally worth it to stay in a hotel.  I know camping is "part of the experience," but I'm all about being comfortable and having a good night's sleep.  It was only $89 at the Doubletree... such a steal (especially with 5 of us in the room!).
-Get to the front of the starting line or it's a L-O-N-G day!
-Don't continuously stuff your face.  Try to take breaks between the stuffing, just so it's not continuous ;)
-Find awesome girls to walk with.  This made the walk infinitely better!
-Have some awesome flair.  I looked pretty lame in comparison to some of these super spirited girls.

A Lil' Soul Searching

I did the Honored Hero 20-mile run last month and it didn't go well. I ran a little over 10 miles at a pretty good pace before I crashed and had to start walking. Two weeks before that, I had a very tough 16-mile run. I tried to prepare well for both of them. I gradually increased my mileage, I got enough sleep, I was good about reducing the alcohol intake, etc. I thought I would have a good 16-mile run (especially after the 14-miler the weekend before went okay), but I was a little demoralized after it, and it shook my confidence for the 20-mile Honored Hero Run. But at the end of the day, it comes down to the weight issue (or maybe partially the mental aspect associated with the weight issue). Running is way more difficult when you weigh 15-20 pounds more. I did a great job last year of getting down to 146.5 pounds (a few pounds less than wedding weight) before the Las Vegas Marathon. I followed a training plan pretty strictly, and I did a good job with my nutrition. The most important factor was giving up alcohol about two months before the marathon though.

Now I'm in such a different place than I was last year. I changed jobs in February after I got a promotion to a supervisory position in another office. I am much more challenged than I was before, and it's a great opportunity career-wise. But on the flip side, I gave up telework, I put in way more than 40 hours a week, I have much more stress, and I have a lot less time to workout, sleep, recover, etc. Plus the stress really makes me want to unwind with a glass (or three!) of wine.

I struggled with wanting to go after it and break 4 hours in the marathon versus not having the commitment (and just working out and trying to stay somewhat healthy). With that said, I signed up for the full marathan (and I signed Cliff up for the half marathon) in Las Vegas the first weekend of December. That was a $400 commitment. I don't feel ready to do well (I'm thinking I could probably break the 4:30 time limit, but I have no faith in finishing near my 4:03 PR) and the trip would cost us about a grand (we haven't booked it yet). We just bought an elliptical machine, we have our property taxes due, and we're paying for college expenses. So we made the decision to skip the Vegas trip, and that leaves me marathonless. I am somewhat relieved, so I guess it was probably a good decision.

So now it's time to decide what the future holds. I know the most important thing is to be happy and healthy, but I'm so goal oriented, that it's hard to just go day in and day out without having something to work for. Hmmmm.....