See Jane Run 5k {Leftovers}

I love my husband for MANY reasons.

The main reason THIS week??

PICTURES!  

While I was busy getting my 5k on, Gary was a rock star blogger and took a TON of pictures for our memories {and my blog posts}!

Here's a sampling of some of my favorite pics from the 5k!

Me with my See Jane Run Swag!

What woman wouldn't??

All smiles at 7 am

We had noooo idea what was about to happen to us!  ha ha ha

I love these two!

That park was packed full!

A lady had just asked if we were famous because we had so many people there taking pictures!

Look carefully...these signs were ALL over.  Very confusing, but they made me laugh!

Almost there!

Finishing strong

We did it!!

I know I get overly mushy sometimes, but I seriously could not do anything I do without the support of Gary...he is my biggest supporter & #1 fan!

This is going up on my wall with my medal!

TRUTH.  We've been friends for 20+ years now and I wouldn't have wanted to share this experience with anyone else.

See Jane Run 5k {Recap}

My first 5k was a success and SUCH a blur, but I am going to try and sort all my thoughts out to share with you!

What I ran for...chocolate & champagne!

Since the race was almost 2 hours from home, Gary & I decided to stay overnight in Alameda {the horribleness of our hotel stay will be another post}, so we could walk the .9 miles to the Start Line and not have to wake up toooo early.


We still woke up at 5:45 to make the 6am Continental Breakfast the hotel provided.  Good thing we brought some boiled eggs and fruit of our own...the coffee and nutri-grain bar I got was not going to hold me over for 3 hours!


My race did not start until 8:30, but we wanted to meet my BFF, Deidre, and her family ahead of time, so we got there at 7:30.  Once the Half Marathon started at 8, Dee and I went to the Porta Potty station....holy crap!  There were 3 LONG ass lines!  Luckily, they all went quickly, so WE could go quickly!  hee hee

Imagine this with 3 LONG lines...

After that, Dee & I lined up as close to the Start Line as we could...which wasn't that close. While waiting for the race to start, we went over our strategy for the day.  When training together, we would start off walking before jogging, but wanted to kick it up a notch!

If you would turn left, we were a ways back from the Starting line.

Weeeeellll, that didn't work out for us.  I don't know how other races work, but there were a lot of people in the front who started at a slow walking pace, making it difficult for those wanting to jog/run.  It seriously took us about 2-3 minutes before we could even start our jog.


Once we got going though, we jogged longer than we had before.  There were times we had to stop and walk, but we jogged whenever we could.


The run itself was beautiful!  We ran right along the waterfront, so the view was magnificent!

To say there were a lot of people there is like telling you that Oprah is kind of rich.  The running lanes were packed!  We were weaving between people in order to keep our pace. 


As we approached the Finish Line, we definitely picked up speed and finished strong {my official time was 46:28}!!  Our families were there to greet us and take pictures.   As we crossed the Finish line, we received our medals and were ushered into a line to pick up food and drink. 

I was dying to get some pretzels and peanut butter {in my hand while taking this photo} in my stomach and chug down some coconut water.

After that, it was really confusing.  There was a huge Expo going on, but the lines were long and unorganized.  Nobody knew what the were in line for.  We thought we were in a line for the photo booth and it took about 5 minutes to realize that it was actually a wraparound line for the booth to get shirts & bags.  Funny thing is, that was the booth we just came from and there was no line.  Then the line to get chocolate & champagne {please remember, I ran for this pairing} was super long, but dissinagrated halfway through.  


I don't want to sweat about the small stuff, because in the scheme of things, this is small stuff, but I do think there were a lot of things the event organizers could have planned better for.  

One of the lines that seemed to end in the middle of a crowd!

Overall, I had one of the best times of my life!  I feel so accomplished...this was the first time in a LONG time that I set a personal goal, worked hard for it and did it, giving 110%.  I even brought the medal to work to show some of my coworkers! 


My quads hurt for hours after the race, but settled down in my knees on Monday and to a dull soreness overall by Tuesday.  I LOVE IT!  Makes me feel strong!


What now? 


My next 5k is a nighttime, glow-in-the-dark race near the end of September in San Jose and I have another one the week after that in Modesto. 


My goals for those are easy {in theory} -
1. Run {or jog} the whole thing!  No walking. 
2. Beat my time of 46:28.  I would like to get to under 40 minutes.


Two goals that I KNOW I can accomplish...shit, 6 months ago, I would have never thought I would run down the street, not to mention a 5k!


Doing the See Jane Run 5k showed me I can do anything I want and I am grateful for that!

Dee & I with our friend Susan, who is married to my brother's best friend....family by choice!  :)

I DID IT!!

I'll fill you in on ALL the deets later this week, but for now just know I completed my first 5k this morning!!!

I finished with my BFF right by my side...and DAMN, we finished strong!

Of course, my biggest supporter was there cheering me on & ready to CELEBRATE!

Cheers to all my running friends out there!  And to those of you that even have the slightest interest in running...sign up for a 5k.  You can do it...I PROMISE!

Running to Laughter

In honor of my first 5k this Sunday {eek!} here is some running humor.


Sad, but true!




Maybe...maybe not.



Watch out now!



Always be prepared with TP!




This makes me laugh and groan at the same time!


I have not trained as much as I planned for my 5k, but I am confident that I will do well.  "Well" meaning finish even if I have to drag my ass across the finish line!

Wish me luck!!

{Almost} Wordless Weekend

Friday night Costco dinner

Exactly what a WW needs next door...a burger joint!

Saw this at the mall...I always knew this Johnny Cash kid would make it big one day!

Ran my #blend5k Sunday morning.  Proof I finished alive!

Sasha enjoyed an afternoon of protecting her toys from the neighborhood cats!

Gary's weekend project. New vertical blinds on the back slider.

Used this to get what you see below:

Venti non-fat Mocha Cookie Crumble Frapp during Happy Hour!

 ***How was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun?***

Buddy System

Remember the "Buddy System" from elementary school that we used on field trips to ensure that everyone stayed with the group?  Well, it always made things more fun than having to walk single file, all alone.

I've decided that this method still works to this day!  On Saturday, my BFF drove all the way from the Bay Area so we could try a 3 mile walk/jog to see how we will do in our 5k on June 3rd.  I was able to map out a 3.6 mile round trip on MapMyRun, that didn't seem to hard.  We did  a few things to make it closer to 4 miles total.  From start to finish, including an extra walk around my court and 5 minutes of stretching, it took us 55 minutes.  We probably walked more than we should have, but we had a lot to catch up on.

4 miles was definitely the longest I have done in a LOOOONG time, so the fact that we made it without passing out from exhaustion thrilled me!

Our hour passed by quickly.  In addition to catching up we experienced 2 dogs trying to jump over fences to attack us {okay, the second dog probably would have licked us to death, but the first dog would have enjoyed feasting on my thick legs}.  Then as we got closer to home it seemed like bees were just attracted to me.  No joke - a few actually stopped in mid air as I was running and I had to jog around them {my BFF is my witness that I am not overreacting}!

Once we got home, we cooled down a bit then hubby drove us to Qdoba for lunch....yum!

We both felt so accomplished that we decided to get together at least once a month on a weekend to take a jog.  This will mean both of us driving 45 minutes to meet in the middle, but we know it's going to be so worth it.  We're meeting one more time before out actual 5k, so I am excited to see how our time improves between what we did Saturday and at the end of May.

2012 Goals {Check In #4}

Back in January {which seems like a lifetime ago} I set 4 goals for the year.


For the fourth time this year, I am checking in to evaluate how I have done.


1. Take more time for me.  Not so good, but not horrible.  Honestly, I just didn't have time this past month to take time for myself.  Even the fun things I did included other people, which is not a bad thing, but it did not give me much time to focus on myself and MY inner peace.


2. Get back on track health wise - eating.  As in March, this was not stellar.  But I did up my game a little bit, so some improvement is better than none.


3. Get back on track health wise - exercise. Ah.Mazing!!  I've been religious about getting workouts in at least 3 times a week.  I've even added a few 20 minute walks in at work, which has helped me reach my personal goal of 10,000 steps a day.  Signing up for a 5k was the best thing I could do to motivate myself!


4. GO ON VACATION!!  We're going on a road trip!!!  Oregon, Washington, the coast....I am in heaven!  And the BEST part is that we've saved enough money to do this vacation and not stress!  :)


My grade this month - A-.  I really need to get back on track with eating well 90% of the time, so I can indulge that 10%.  One thing I'm doing is making my own iced coffees to take to work.  Basic ingredients, no extra crap that Sbux put in and waaaay less calories!  My 5k is one month from tomorrow and I'm pretty confident that by then I'll be able to jog 1.5-2miles of it.

Starting Off On The Right Foot

In my last post I mentioned the advice I received about getting fitted for proper running shoes.  I had already thought about it in the past, but after receiving this advice from avid runners, I KNEW I had to do it.  I had heard positive things about Fleet Feet, but the closest one to me is 45 minutes away and the reviews on Yelp were so-so.  When I broadened my search, I found a Fleet Feet in Pleasanton that is on the way to my brother's place...SCORE!  Gary & I had already planned to drive down and see him this weekend, so we decided to leave home an hour or so earlier than originally planned.

We got there about 2pm and were greeted as soon as we walked in the door.  They were pretty busy, but it only took a few minutes for someone to come out and help me.  I was lucky to get Eric, who seemed very knowledgeable.  He measured my feet as I sat, then when I stood. Next, he watched me walk barefoot through the store.  After this {probably 15 minutes in} he went into the backroom and brought out 2 pairs of shoes.  I tried on the first pair, then he took me outside where I ran up and down the block for him.  Not liking what he saw {I'm NOT talking about my dope running skills} he took both shoes back and brought out 2 different pairs, since I overpronate {which is interesting because I have high arches...normally overpronaters have flat feet}.  I tried on both of these pairs, ran up & down the block again {I wonder how long it took the barber shop at the end of the block to get used to crazy people running right up to their door then turning around and running back the other way}.

Once that was done, these are the shoes I chose:

Saucony ProGrid Stabil CS2 - PERFECT!



After that was done, Eric explained to me why I should not be wearing cotton socks while running, so I bought 2 specialty pairs of socks and some Superfeet inserts that he thought would help me out.  Then he answered some questions I had regarding compression sleeves and I ended up getting a pair of those as well.  That's when I asked him about sports bras and he kindly handed me over to one of the ladies working.

I never caught her name, but she is my new BFF.

Why??

Because when I told her I wore 2 sports bras to hold my girls up while exercising, she shook her head and said that I should never have to wear more than 1.  To be honest, I did not believe her.  Still, she helped me pick out a Moving Comforts bra to try on.  I got into the dressing room, put on my bra, jumped around, hoped there were no hidden cameras, jumped around some more and realized...

...wait for it...

HOLY CRAP!!  I NOW ONLY NEED ONE SPORTS BRA!!!

If I wasn't worried about ruining my makeup, I would have cried.  But I had places to be, so there were no tears shed on the outside.

I added the bra to my pile of goodies and began the checkout process.  Thank goodness Gary wasn't wearing makeup because I think HE did cry when the total came up.  Just a little over $300 was my damage.  I had actually already figured {thanks to my Type A personality} that it would be be over $250, but even I was sad to part with that much money.

Here's what $300 got me...not bad!  :)

If you have a Fleet Feet near you - CRAP - even if you have to drive an hour or 2 to get there....GOOOO!!  Their customer service cannot be beat and the products I bought there were all high quality!

I've been able to use all products twice now and I am confident that I made the right decision by going to Fleet Feet to help me get started with the proper running gear.

***Has anyone out there had the "Fleet Feet" experience?***
***What shoes do you run with?***

5k Craziness

Almost 2 months ago I signed up for my first 5k.  Since then, my training has been sporadic, to say the least.  I have weeks where I am getting out there and running on the days I am supposed to and going to the gym on the other days.  Then I have weeks like this past one...

This is how I envisioned my week of Spring Break would look ~ a 1-2 mile walk with Sasha every morning, then either the gym or running on my own later in the day and MAYBE throw in a late afternoon walk with Gary once he got home from work.

This is how my week of Spring Break ACTUALLY looked like ~                           ...

No, I did not type in invisible ink above.  My problem was, for the most part, I did nothing to help my training.

On Good Friday I took a great mile long jog, where for the first time, I jogged more than I walked!  Progress is what I call that!

So Saturday morning, I was still on that cloud, when I made a mistake.  My legs were hurting a bit, and I had told myself that while I am training to never run 2 days in a row {actually, my training schedule told me this}, but I KNEW I would be okay.  I laced up my shoes and headed out the door.  A little more than halfway through, I felt sharp pains in my shins.  So sharp that I had to stop immediately and stretch.  I tried jogging a bit more after that and it was NOT happening.  I actually sat down in the middle of the sidewalk to stretch and contemplated calling Gary to come pick me up.  Instead I got up and walked home veeeeery slowly.

As soon as I got home, I reached out to my FB and Twitter friends on how to handle shin splints...I received amazing advice {thanks to all of you who responded}!  The main thing I got was to get fitted for proper running shoes {I will blog about that experience later sometime this week}.  I also received a great idea to massage down your shin using the heel of the opposite foot.  It hurts, yet feels so good, at the same time.

No joke, my shins still hurt.  Not like the day I injured them, but more of a dull ache.  Is this what getting older feels like??

It also did not help that the weather was horrible this whole week.  Rain does not begin to describe the weather we had in the Central Valley.  I am not afraid of rain, but it hailed here at least 2 days, we had thunder & lighting quite a few times and even the "regular" rain felt like I was being shot at with a BB gun.

Trust me, I get that I still could have gone to the gym and had a good low-impact workout....I just didn't and I own that truth.  It is something that I am working on.  The way my personality works is that when something does not go at least 80% of the way I envisioned, I have a tendency to say "screw it!"

Please tell me I am not the only person out there like this!

As of today, I have 6 weeks left to train for my 5k.  The weather looks promising for the week {low to mid 70's} which gives me NO excuse not to train...even if it means just getting outside to walk or ride my bike.  If you follow me on Twitter or "like" Organically Mo on Facebook, feel free to ask me about my training....I like to be kept accountable!

2012 Goals {Check in #3}

WAAAAY back in January, I set 4 goals for the year.

For the third time this year, I am checking in to evaluate how I have done.

1. Take more time for me.  This month I learned that taking a jog around the neighborhood or lifting weights at the gym NEEDS to count as me time.  I love getting lost in my thoughts as I spend time working on my health.

2. Get back on track health wise - eating.  Ouch.  I need to be honest...I have indulged in too much junk food this month.  I don't know what is wrong with me...as I eat {or drink, because you KNOW Sbux has been involved} what I "shouldn't be" I feel guilty.  I have a million excuses I could spout off, but that is all they are....excuses.  I need to up my game in April.

3. Get back on track health wise - exercise. As bad as I have been with eating, I've kicked ass on this goal.  A few weeks ago, I created a training schedule for my 5k and have followed it about 90% of the time.  But I am making sure to get my workouts in!

4. GO ON VACATION!!  We are still on track for this goal.  I have a million travel guides and magazines on our living room table to help me plan!


My grade this month - B-.  I know that what I put in my body is even more important than exercising, so I MUST figure out what is going on in my head and work towards my goals.  I have some more thoughts on the food thing and will share them with you later this month.

Don't Be Nervous!

I cannot lie: as excited as I am to run my first 5k, I am JUST {if not more} nervous.

Here's why:

This past April I started getting a pain in my left foot.  I pulled a typical Mo and did NOT get it checked...for 2 months.  Even then I ONLY went to the doctor because I could barely walk without extreme pain & my mom pulled out her "mom card" and kept nagging encouraging me to go.  I was told I had Plantar Fasciitis and that since I let it go on for so long without treatment {yes, Mom, you were right} I needed to stay OFF my foot for a month.

SAY WHAT?!?!

I was JUST getting back into exercise {I had already lost 20 pounds in the past 5 months} and this was NOT what I needed.

So I pulled another typical Mo and only partially listened to what the doctor had to say.

Yeah, I did not get better.  UNTIL I finally did listen and only put pressure on my foot when I had to {did I mention we were moving at the time}, and wore tennis shoes all the time.  In summer.  In the Central Valley.

***Please Note:  Shoes on my feet in the summer is my own personal hell!***

But I did it, and I started feeling better.  I went back to the doctor and was told that was a good first step {no pun intended} but until the pain was at least 80% gone, don't do exercises that put massive pressure on my foot.  Crap!

Fast forward to December.

It was a few days before Christmas when I woke up and realized "Holy crap!  I haven't had that pain in my foot for a few days now!"  IT WAS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!  ;-)

Two days after Christmas, Gary & I started taking regular walks around the neighborhood, slowly upping our time and mileage.  Every morning I would walk up pain free.

Occasionally I would wake up with a dull pain.  To me that meant taking a day off, which has so far worked.

These past few weeks I have slowly been adding jogging to my routine.  Never 2 days in a row.  Not pushing myself into an injury again.

I am soooo afraid that I will do something to mess my foot up again and be on couch-rest.

But I'm not letting that fear stop me.

I stretch my foot everyday & I massage it using this special prickly ball I bought on Amazon.com.

I WILL cross that finish line in June, and in doing so, kick Plantar Fasciitis in the ass {with my good foot, of course}!

***Have any of you ever suffered an injury that kept you off your game for a long time?***

So Much To Say

These past 2 days {Wednesday & Thursday} have been so busy, so fun and so full of exciting news!

Thanks to budget cuts, I have had this whole week off of work due to furlough days.  Mostly I've been sleeping in {when I can even get to sleep}, catching up on Hulu shows and reading from my stack of magazines I have laying around.

Wednesday I had plans to drive down to the Bay Area to get together with a longtime friend who I have not seen in about 4 years {pretty sad since we live only 2 hours away}.  We got together and had a BLAST!  I love that with true friends you can go for.ev.er without seeing them, and the minute you're back together it's like no time has passed at all.  I had so much fun that I stayed much later than planned and didn't get home until after 8pm, giving me just enough time to watch Glee and get to bed {driving long distances really wears me out}!

Bay Area Bound!

Thursday, I did my grocery shopping for the next few days, stopped by Sbux for a treat and spent close to 2 hours at Michael's.  I can be pretty crafty when I want to be, so I found some supplies for a Pinterest project I will be working on and posting about in a few days.

I have spent a lot of time this week creating some new recipes and tweaking old ones.  I will be posting all about them soon.

The MOST exciting thing I did this week was.....SIGN UP FOR A 5K!!!!!!!!  Best part?  My BFF is doing it with me!!  We live about an hour and a half away, so most training will have to be on our own, but we did talk briefly about meeting midway and training together a few times.  I cannot tell you how proud I am of the both of us.  We have a long way to go before the 5k is here {June 3rd} so I know we will be kill it!

Here is the 5k we signed up for:

Wish me luck as I start my training!

One thing I am LOVING right now is the weather {high 60's, low 70's all week long}.  Warm weather:

~Makes my hydrangeas grow

Hello, Beautiful, I have missed you!

~Gives me a chance to wear flip flops ALL DAY!

Ignore my need for a pedicure!

Sasha, however, says that sunny {and cold} weather makes her want to cuddle in her bed.

Happy Friday!

**Any big plans this weekend?**

**Any runners who can give me advice on my 1st 5k?**