Philadelphia Marathon and weekend recap

I ran the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday.  It was not a great or good or even bad day for me. It was simply awful.  I had trained to have a great day.  My training overall was strong and I was prepared. I had hoped to PR. But, when I was being honest with myself I knew deep down that wouldn't happen. Still, I had hope because you never know what will happen on marathon day.  HOPE...hang on, pain ends is something I repeat constantly during a race. I barely hung on, but the reward did not come.

Going into the marathon I just did not feel fresh. My legs never felt ready to go. I have also battled a cold off and on for the past month. As much as I really want that 3:45, I did not think it would happen on Sunday. So, I wasn't disappointed so much with the result as much as my body's complete meltdown on race day.

Already feeling off was not helped by the cluster that was race morning. We woke early and arrived at security.  We waited in the security line for almost an hour and still nothing. I was so cold I was shaking. So, just before the race was supposed to begin we ran to another line. Not good to sprint right before the start of a marathon. After finally getting checked we had to hustle to bag check and the corrals. Thankfully the race was delayed 15 minutes because of the security nightmare. This craziness did not allow me to have my pre-race calming thoughts and prayer time. I was so frustrated and annoyed.

Finally the race began and the first 7 miles felt pretty decent. I loved running through downtown Philly. I literally felt like the road was being squeezed by all the spectators. The spectators were awesome. They were everywhere on the course. They were loud and had fun signs and cheered for everyone. Props to all those people because it was not warm!

By mile 9 I was thinking this was going to be miserable and feel really long. I was still on pace to get a PR so I kept pushing as much as I could. By the time we hit the hills at Drexel I just felt defeated. My flat trained Houston legs were unimpressed. My quads were screaming at me.  But, I continued to  have hope that I could still run a PR.

At the full-half split at mile 13 I seriously contemplating turning right and finishing just the half. Why I turned left I still don't totally understand. The only thing I can say about that decision is I hate to quit. In my last long run I quit. I hated that then...still do. I didn't want to feel like a quitter again so I went left to endure the longest and most painful 13.1 miles of my life.

I still was managing a good pace through mile 17. The wind was brutal. We ran into a headwind from mile 13 or so until the turnaround at mile 20. It was exhausting.  From 17 on I just hoped to run under 4 hours. My body was just done. My quads were killing me as was my hip. At one point my IT band got so tight I literally couldn't move. So I obviously had to do some major stretching.  I started walking through the last 4-5 water stations. Just that little rest gave me enough energy to keep plugging along.

Miles 18-24 were like a death march. I seriously have never used the F word so much in my life aloud or in my head. I was so angry. My body was in so much pain and totally failing me. I was breathing just fine. That was never a problem for me even running up the hills. My body just stopped working.  By mile 22 I knew any evolving goal I had was not happening. I was going to run my slowest ever marathon time.  There was no more hope except to finish.

At mile 24 I decided I could do anything for 2.2 more miles. Nothing could be more painful or frustrating than the previous 24 miles so why not give whatever I had left. I worked as hard as I could and ran as fast as I could. Let me tell you, it was not fast. But I was moving forward more determined than ever to get to the finish.  It was a total victory for my heart. My body and mind were overdone. The only reason I finished and I seriously mean this is because of my heart's will to finish. I wasn't going to quit.  Crossing the finish line felt like a total victory and failure all at once.  I failed to meet any goal I had for the day. It was a victory because I never quit. I ran 26.2 miles for the 6th time. So I cried tears of total exhaustion and frustration and anger.

My watch said I ran 26.47 miles in 4:02.4. I have not looked at my official time and I have no desire to do so. I know that I started pretty close to the gun so my watch time is probably fairly accurate. Time became totally unimportant. This race was about surviving and just that....surviving not my time. 

This race became a plan way back in the winter when Susan asked me run with her.  Drew and I decided it would be perfect because we could see family in the area. I unfortunately didn't get to run with Susan. She hurt her shoulder and felt her training wouldn't allow her to have a great race. Susan told me to run my own race. So wish we hadn't made that decision.  

When the race was over I couldn't have cared less about it. It was done and done. I did care about the races of the amazing women I had spent the past day with in Philly.  I love to hear about other's race experiences and hearing about someone achieve a goal makes me so happy. 

I don't regret running Philly. I am so glad Susan asked me to tag along with her and her friends. I am so thankful they invited me into their circle for the weekend. They are each so inspiring and amazing.  I laughed so hard. Smiled so much. Enjoyed all of our time together. Experiencing Philly with Kim, Jaime, Tracey, Megan, Charlene, and Susan was fantastic. We were silly tourists for an evening and it was so much fun.  

It was a weekend to remember. Thank you Tirch's for making me part of your family again!  Sorry about that picture George!!  Thank you ladies for welcoming me. I can't wait to run with you all again. Come on Ragnar...come through for us!  Thank you Susan. You made this weekend happen for me. You continue to inspire me no matter what your race time was. Your guts and determination and heart are uplifting all the time. I am so thankful for our crazy friendship and I love you to pieces. 

Never again Philly, but there will be another marathon. It defeated me on Sunday, but not forever. 

Emma's Level 5 career is over!

Last Saturday was Emma's state meet. She was super excited to end her season on a high note. It was the meet she didn't want in August, but by mid October she wanted it pretty badly. So, off we went to Austin on Friday for a little girls trip and some gymnastics. 

The bummer about the meet was a little injury Emma suffered at practice....at the end of practice....on Thursday. Literally with about 10 minutes left at practice Emma hurt her right foot. She iced it. She took anti-inflammatory meds. It looked better by Saturday morning and it didn't hurt as much to walk. All good things. 

Unfortunately Emma's first event was floor. An event requiring tumbling and running and hard landings. It did not go super well. She is way more capable than her score showed on Saturday. 

Next was vault. That is lots of running. The look in her face when running pained me. Her steps got messed up because she could only run on half her right foot. Yeah...not good. Still, her in flight and landing was good. She managed a decent score. 

Finally bars which is the perfect event for an injured foot until the landing. Her routine was decent...not her best...and she took two steps on her landing. That never happens to Emma and I really mean never. 

Last was beam. I had no idea if she could do the turn because it was on her injured foot.  From my seat I could see that her foot had become quite swollen. I have to say that I was beyond impressed. Her turn was beautiful. She scored higher than at districts and finished in 10th place on beam.  She was hurting. That was quite obvious, but she never quit. 

That is what this entire dang season has been for Emma. One moment after the next of gutting it out, digging deep, making hard choices, and fighting. I was so disappointed for her. I know she was capable of a top 8 finish. She just couldn't do it with her foot. The power was just not there. BUT, and this is a big but, I couldn't be more proud of Emma. She could have scratched and we could have stayed home. After floor she could have said forget this crap...my foot is killing me. She didn't. Emma continued to make me proud because she fought like a champ. She finished her season with a smile on her face. 

So, today we went to the orthopedist. She has a fracture at her growth plate at her big toe on her right foot.  Unbelievable!  Thankfully her season is complete. 

Even crazier than a broken foot is that Emma is sticking with gymnastics. She rediscovered the joy and her love for the sport. She wants to compete level 6!  What a journey the past few months have been for her and there is more to come. Can't wait for it all Emma!

Friends, Fun, and Football

Exactly one week ago three of my friends and I ditched our families and responsibilities for almost 48 hours as we went on a quick girls getaway.  We left detailed lists for our husbands and begged our kids to be good helpers so all would be great at home.  None of us wanted our girls escape to be interrupted.

Leaving almost as soon as we could get that last kiddo on the bus we headed to Ft. Worth with Carmalyn navigating, Kim driving, and Norma and I enjoying the ride!

We stopped at Buc-ee's for a quick break, to eat, and to shop.  Buc-ee's is a treat in Texas for any traveler!

The purpose of our trip was three things.  First and foremost was time spent with friends!  Second was visiting Madi, Carmalyn's daughter who is a freshman at TCU.  Third, was attending the WVU-TCU football game.  We accomplished all that and then some!!!

Carmalyn took us to the amazing Mexican place for dinner.  The entree choices were cheese enchiladas or fajitas.  That's it!  The fajitas were so good!  We all ordered them.  Madi and her roommate joined us for dinner.

The mommas and the freshman

After dinner we headed to the stadium for the game.  So based on the shirts in the above picture it is obvious that Kim and I were rooting for WVU.  It was a good thing that we were having fun because WVU is really not a very good football team and that is so much more obvious in person than on television.  Thankfully I knew this so I just planned to have fun with friends and enjoy being back in a college stadium for a game.

TCU has a great shuttle system on game days.  Simply awesome!  We parked at the high school, hopped on the bus for free, and were at the stadium in less than 10 minutes.  So easy!!

We walked through Frog Alley on our way into the stadium.  I just cannot bring myself to "fear the frog", but whatever!  It was a beautiful night for football.  The weather was perfect....short sleeves at the beginning and sweatshirts by the end.  Our seats were pretty good and we even saw the CRAZY and I mean CRAZY "they give a bad name to the state of WV" fans....you'll see what I mean.  Carmalyn thought they were hilarious!

Here come the Frogs!

Here come the Mountaineers!

There they are...oh boy!

 

This is the best soft pretzel I have ever eaten!

Good night....and yeah WVU lost

The next morning we went to a famous restaurant for breakfast known for some German like pancake.  Norma had it and said it was really good.  It was a fun place to eat and the food was great.  Thank goodness because the service and how messed up our orders were still causes me to shake my head.  It was really dumbfounding.  Oh well!

The weather on Friday was pretty crappy.  But, for a short moment it stopped storming and we were able to explore the Ft. Worth Water Gardens.  This place was super cool.  The different pools/fountains were pretty and relaxing to explore.  It was so loud by the one fountain that the city noises ceased to exist and that was great.  We pretended to be younger for just a bit as we climbed down into the fountain using the steps of course!

Norma, Kim, and Carmalyn

Then we saw this sign and laughed ourselves silly.  What on earth did it mean?  We had some funny guesses as did our kiddos.....no pants allowed, please wear adult diapers, no skinny dipping, and so on!

After another quick visit with Madi we headed back to reality.  Less than 48 hours after we left we were back to normal life.  But, the little getaway was good for all of us.  It was a trip to breathe some energy back into us because life is draining at times.  Girlfriends and laughter can often be the best medicine to anything.  Our little trip was just that.....a cure for the stress of fall, a time to refresh, and a time to build stronger relationships!

Can't wait for the next trip my friends!!!!

Field Day 2015

Field Day was two weeks ago.  I am so behind!  On that Friday it felt like Field Day had just happened and it kind of had.  May was the last time I spent a day walking/running around the Haude playground watching Samuel and Jonah.  This time it was October and I had three kiddos to watch.  It was an exhausting day.  I think I was more tired than they were except maybe Elena.  She was pooped!

This was Elena's first Field Day.  She was so so so excited to participate instead of spectate!  She and Samuel were both in the morning so I had to split my time watching them.  I took just a few pictures of her!

Bouncy obstacle course....she loved it!

I don't think hurdling is in her future!

Elena giving me the business....so funny this girl!

Look at that form and she won!

Always being silly

Samuel had tons of fun at Field Day, but he is pretty serious about the events too.  This is no shock since he is uber competitive!

Tug-0-War is one of his favorite stations

Even a serious face for Four Square

Jonah was in the afternoon.  With it being October it wasn't too hot or sunny on this particular day.  And, thankfully I was just watching Jonah so I didn't have to run back and forth between stations!  Jonah loves Field Day.  You can really see his silly personality as he completes the stations.

Serious talent holding a ball in air!

Dancing just because he could

As much as I like watching Elena, Samuel, and Jonah have a fun day at school, I am super glad Field Day won't occur again for 12 months!  I am pretty sure my Field Day partner feels the same way!!

We survived another one Tina!