Friends Ecourage Friends To Run 20 Miles

I Had Zero Motivation

When my alarm went off at 6 am on Saturday I couldn’t remember why I had it set. I think that is the first sign of being overly tired. I hit snooze, rolled over and went back to sleep. 5 minutes later it went off again. NO! Why is my alarm set on a Saturday? And then I remembered. I needed to get 20 miles in and in order to do that and run with the Rock Runners I needed to get out of the door. Immediately. 20 miles. Today? Really? So.tired.

I finally dragged myself out of the sack around 7. Too late to get any miles in before heading down to Point Loma. Tweeted that my body was yelling at me for rest. I just felt lazy and coffee sounded so good. Thought about going back to bed…and then…5 weeks til Vegas flashed in my mind. Oh yeah. Better muster up a positive attitude.

Ran my first 6 with Stacey and Randa. Love these two ladies! There is nothing like running with friends. The miles go by so much faster when you are chatting. When I say chatting we were yapping for all 6 miles. It was awesome. Doesn’t hurt that we had this view once again

We finished at 6.03 and I knew I had another 14 to go. I am telling you that I wasn’t feeling it. Doubt set it. Sat and talked with my girlfriends for a few. They both encouraged me to get it done. Annnnd I knew Stacey would check on me to see if I did it. I LOVE when friends hold me accountable. Not only in running but in life. Those friends are friends for life.

Soooooo I decided since I lacked motivation I’d rather be safe than sorry. I headed to Chuze and busted out my last 14.10 on a treadmill. I set the incline at 1% and pounded out the last 14.10 in 1:47. I took a gel at mile 5 and 10. I did take one quick potty break. When my legs started to feel tired I sped the treadmill up. I have always been told that when leg fatigue sets in to run faster and utilize different muscle fibers. Around mile 11 I was so ready to be done- then an old friend from the gym showed up to teach a class and talked me through the last 3 miles. 

I.freaking.did.it. On a day that I really didn’t feel like it. YES!

Total miles 20.13, total combined time 2:46. Overall average pace 8:17.

I needed that run. Needed it. It gave me a total attitude adjustment. I am feeling a lot better about 26.2 in Vegas. 5 weeks!

~

And Then There Was Pizza

After chillaxing for a few hours I rounded up the troops and we headed to THE BLIND LADY PIZZA AND ALE HOUSE on Adams Ave.

There were so many people dressed up for Halloween, including the staff! The kids thought it was awesome.

As always the food/drinks were sooooo good! This place is always busy, the staff is always friendly and the kids (and LD) can be as loud as they want and no one bats an eye. Did I mention how freaking good their salad and pizza is?! THE BEST. You can check their menu and read about how they like to keep it local and organic by clicking HERE. This is by far my favorite pizza joint in San Diego. (Pizza Port is a close second- but they are two totally different places. I really can’t compare the two because their food/drinks are so different.) If you are local, or come to SD for vacay you NEED to go to Blind Lady at least once. You will not regret it.

Let’s Get Reacquainted

In The Past Few Weeks I Have Gained Some New Readers!

Let me start by saying…

 

And thank you for stopping by. I will warn you that I am inconsistent, tend to ramble, and live in my own world known as “crazy.” Consider yourself warned.

Let’s get to know each other, shall we? (To my regular readers, maybe you will learn a few new things. Wait, probably not. But it sounded good, right?)

This is moi:

I am 32 (old in the running/blogging world, not old in real life), I love God, I am married, have 2 kids, a super rad dog, work a full time job in a crazy industry and I loooooove running.

But running does not always love me. Unfortunately I am not one of those people who can run a zillion miles a week and not get hurt. Nope. If you’re thinking, hey that sounds like me, awesome! We march to the same drum friend! If you are thinking crud, she is a wuss, then keep it to yourself 🙂

My blog name came from my fantasy football league. My hubby and I were one of the first couples in his group of friends to have kids. My FF team name has been Haute Mama since my first child was born and it just stuck. I added the “running” when I started the blog and now you have HRM. Ta-da!

You can read about how I got started in my ME ME ME section. I have 3 races left in 2011 and am looking forward to an awesome year of running in 2012!

This is my hubs (also known as LD in blog land):

When he is not busy being an awesome husband and Dad he is on stage. I think I once said his life is prioritized as follows: God, Family, Texas Football, Music, Every other Texas Sport, and more Texas. Did I mention he is from Texas?

Here comes the shameless plug:

He sings in the band OF SONS AND GHOSTS. If you would like a free download (or two) click HERE and hook yourself up. They are playing a breast cancer benefit show tomorrow night and are nominated for the San Diego Raw Artist band of the year award. Pretty darn awesome.

Last but not least, my 2 kids and my fur baby:

The three of them are hilarious. My son could have a blog of his own. He loves having his picture taken and a LOT of funny things come out of his mouth. What do you expect from a 4 1/2 year old? My daughter lives in a tiara and all things sparkly. Total girl. Yes my doggy is smiling. She is used to having her picture taken. She is a great family dog and puts up with a lot. I mean, what other dog has to deal with something like this:

I know, poor girl. Don’t worry, she licked my daughter’s face off for this. Well played Abby, well played.

We will get back to discussing all things running and random tomorrow! Happy Friday Eve!

 

Giveaway Winner!

The lucky recipient of the Brooks Fun Bag is…

Kathryn!

Congratulations!! Please email me at hauterunningmama@gmail.com so I can get the goods shipped!

~

Off to crazy business meetings (read: bringing cell phone and just might be distracted by Twitter). See y’all back here in a bit!

 

 

 

 

What Motivates You?

For just one moment, if you close your eyes and think about what motivates you, what comes to mind? Is it family? Your health? Self worth? Doubt? The challenge of a hard workout? What is that one thing deep down in your core that pushes you to do work? What is holding you back?

Whether or not you watch the Biggest Loser, you likely know who Dolvett is

He is the founder of Body Sculptor Inc., trains celebs and joined BL for season 12 as a coach.

He is quickly becoming known by us average peeps for his ability to motivate. One moment he is kind, the next he is like a coach on the football field. It doesn’t hurt that he is easy on the eyes. Love this guy.

On tonight’s episode he challenged contestants to remember their purpose and stay focused. Something that is easier said than done both in the gym and in life, right? Do we always remember our purpose in life and stay focused on the end goal? Food for thought!

Now back to Dolvett 🙂 How do we bring out our inner soldier and push ourselves to go harder to meet our fitness goals? I’m thinking life size cut out might do it for me. Orrrr if that can’t happen I will keep depending on my running/blog friends (you know who you are) to keep pushing me. Your race peer pressure does wonders tweeps!

So tell me…

– Today’s 6 mile run was motivated by breakfast. Not kidding.

Are you holding yourself back?

– I admit that I often do. Doubt can be my worst enemy!

The winner of the giveaway will be chosen by random.org tomorrow morning! Yipppeee!

 

Help A Runner Out!

IT’S NO SECRET THAT FRIENDS RULE

But friends that also have a freakish love of running make the addiction seem totally normal. You know, the friends that suggest going for a long run to chat and then go out to eat afterwards. The friends that talk about compression tights, repeats and can somehow convince you it’s a good idea to register for a zillion races all over the place. The friends who will not let you quit no matter how terrible the last run was. Yeah, those friends.

I have made so many great friends through running/blogging. I chat with a lot of runners on a daily basis that I have never met. And you know what? They are awesome peeps! The best part of the running community is that everyone is so friendly and encouraging. 

With that I know that there are some peeps out there  that can help another runner out! Reader AMY (who has somehow survived my crazy blog for several months) has been battling runner’s knee that just will not quit! She desperately wants to break-up with this injury and get back to pounding pavement.  Does anyone have any advice?!

I think she has done the ice, ibuprofen, stretching/strengthening hammy’s/quads. What else?!

Please help AMY!

~

Reminder: You still have one more day to enter my giveaway! There are a few extra little things (gels and such) not pictured here. Winner will be announced on Wednesday morning (pacific time).

 

This Shirt Says It All!

Well, I don’t know about the second part. Today’s run was hilly, hard and down right kicked my butt. It sucked to put it nicely.

Run: 18 miles 2:40

Cool Down: .5 miles 8:00

Total: 18.5

This run started out with rollers that were not terribly bad. It was foggy and cool. Perfect running weather. I went out faster than planned and didn’t realize that around mile 12 I would pay for it. Boy did I pay for it. I am still not sure why on God’s green earth I thought it was a great idea to end my run with a 2.5 mile climb (365 feet- ok it could have been worse), followed by 3.5 miles of rollers. I never said I was smart. Yes it was good for me. No it was not fun nor did it feel good.  I stopped around 14 because I was pretty sure I was going to barf. Mental? Maybe. Did it have anything to do with pounding water like it was going out of style. Likely. Dehydrated much? DUMB! I wanted to punch running (and myself) it the face.

At mile 18 I spied 7-11 and it was as if the heavens parted. I threw in the towel, walked inside, bought a Gatorade and walked the last half mile to my finish. That Gatorade tasted so.freaking.good.

Lesson Learned? Do not drink a gallon of coffee and spend a zillion hours at a pumpkin patch in 90 degrees the day before a long run. 

The good news is I got it done. The bad news? Super gnarly chafe mark on my back from my water belt. Running scars are cool- but not until they heal!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

~

Don’t forget to enter my GIVEAWAY. You still have time!

 

 

 

 

Bates Nut Farm & Giveaway!

Bates Circa 2007

I own the rights to this fabulous photo of my grumpy child. Reproduction or reuse without my consent is prohibited.

Is this not one of the funniest photos ever? This one will make his senior slide show and his wedding. Classic. This was his first Halloween and I was determined to get an Anne Geddes-esque photo in a large pumpkin. Turns out he wasn’t down with it. Total dude.

–

 

 

Fast Forward to 2011

Today we headed back out to the farm for our 5th annual family day full of fun. There is a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, pony rides, hay rides, a corn maze, arts/crafts, food and most importantly a candy shoppe!

It was CRAZY hot. I’m talking 90 degrees, windy and gross. I am pretty sure everyone there had sweaty pits. Even this guy

Although it was hotter than hot we had a great time.

We had a total of 15 peeps in our group! It was my fam, my parents, my sis, my bro and his fam and our close friends! The kids had a blast.

After picking out the perfect pumpkins we bought $28 worth of candy and fudge. That is ridiculous right? I justify it by saying we only get to do this once a year 🙂

We were out of cash after our sugar shopping spree. We headed back to my parents house where it is almost 25 degrees cooler (praise God). We have a pot of sauce on and will be enjoying a big Italian family dinner. 

~

Who is ready for a giveaway?!?! Meeeeeeeeee This here is a Brooks earth friendly bag filled with all kinds of awesome

Hershey Bliss Raspberry Hot Chocolate, Planters Nut-rition Energy Mix, E-Gel Lava Gel, Gu Chomps, New Balance Chapstick, Brooks Run Pin and a Run Happy sticker.

Can we call this a fun bag without it being inappropriate? Sure we can.

Giveaway will be open til Wednesday. Winner will be chosen by the oh-so-famous random.org! To enter just comment below and tell me that you want in. Easy right? Good Luck…I’m off to carbo load for tomorrow’s long run!

Think Big!

Yesterday is still kind of a blur…

I got up at 4:25 a.m., pounded out 8 miles, kissed my family good-bye and headed to work. Morning meetings lead to lunch meetings that turned into afternoon meetings that ended with a fancy shmancy dinner. After all was said and done I finally got home at 9 p.m. HOLY LONG DAY.

If 10 years ago someone would have told me I would be discussing predictive modeling and business plans I would have laughed. 10 years ago I also said I wasn’t getting married and I was certainly never having kids. Running a marathon? Right. Good grief, the me from 10 years ago doesn’t even recognize the me today.  Wanna know what? I THINK THAT IS AWESOME! There is something to be said about getting out of your comfort zone. Doing something that makes me feel uneasy is what gets me to accomplish my goals.

Yesterday when I sat down with one of the most senior exec’s of our company he had a discussion with me about our goal to think big. Last night when I finally got a moment to myself I replayed the discussion in my head and how it would apply to all of us in life.

If we don’t set our eyes on an end goal we will never get there. If you want something make it a priority. Determine your purpose, set your goal and GO GET IT!

Now that we have had that inspirational talk let’s discuss how I got sucked into this

I am going to blame it on Chacha. We got into twitter talk about her running the half and I may or may not have instigated her to do the full. I also may or may not have said I might consider doing it if she does.

Turns out she ended up transferring from the half to the full! Wahoooo! While I was super excited for her and cheering her on my race peer pressure backfired on me.  SkinnyRunner blogged about it and, well, it led to this:

Dear Nicole,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2012 Tri-City Medical Center Carlsbad Marathon

And not long after I tweeted this totally mature, grown-up message to Chacha

@lil_yogini Ok butt munch, I am registered for Carlsbad. Ready for 26.2?! # racingbacktobackweekends #whoamI

So I am now officially running back to back weekends. 26.2 in Carlsbad on Jan 22nd and 13.1 at Tinkerbell the very next weekend. If this isn’t thinking BIG when it comes to running, I don’t know what is. Oh wait, yes I do. SR is running 2 marathons in 2 days in November! Go show her some love!

 

~

Giveaway is coming tomorrow afternoon!

What are your weekend plans?

~ I am headed to Bates Nut Farm (I know, so many jokes can come from that name) with the family to get pumpkins and have all kinds of crazy fun.

~ Hoping to get in a 20ish miler on Sunday!

 

 

 

 

Bringing It Back: Ramblings Of My First Marathon

I will never forget my forget my first marathon. June 4, 2010. San Diego Rock N Roll. I remember waking up around 4 in the morning and slipping these babies on. Flat and fast. I loved these shoes. They carried me through a 5k PR and a 10K PR.  They would certainly be perfect for the marathon right?

Racing flats. Why I made the last-minute decision to wear them that day is beyond me. It must have been the light as a feather reasoning.

I remember the gun going off and sailing through the first half with ease. I think I crossed 13.1 at 1:44. Man, I thought, I am going to crush my goal. This is awesome. I continued to feel pretty good through 17 and around 18 I started to feel fatigued. Want to know what stinks about getting tired? My form fails a little. Failing form in racing flats is not a good combo.

It was at 18 or maybe 18.5, I can’t quite remember, I felt a sharp pain in my knee. It was so bad that I didn’t think I would finish. What could be wrong? Mentally I felt fine. Yes, it was hot but I would survive. I pressed on to 20 and wanted so badly to sprout wings. By now the pain was shooting down through my foot. Only 10k left.

My early cruising pace turned to what felt like a shuffle. I walked through the water stations and considered bailing out. No!! I am almost done. There is no turning back. I remember getting to mile 25 and wondering what the heck happened? I was doing great and now this?! And then there it was. The finish line. FINALLY! It took every last ounce of energy to get my legs to go. And then I crossed it and I think I cried a little.

I finished my first marathon in 3:59. Barely broke 4 hours but I did it. And I didn’t celebrate. THAT SUCKS. The last 10k took me more than an hour. And I beat myself up about it. SO LAME. SO SO LAME.

I was ticked. Ticked. I was ahead of the 3:30 pace group through 17 and at 19 they passed me. That feeling was horrible. Yes, I finished and I was proud of that. But the feeling of defeat still lingered. Who beat me you ask? I did. I beat myself. That, friends, is the worst.

A week after that marathon I couldn’t walk. That pain I told you about? Plantar Fasciitis. And bad. So bad that I was out of running for 3 months. I was able to start again about 4 weeks before the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. Lesson learned after my first 26.2? Don’t do anything new on race day. Oh, and don’t try to run a marathon in minimalist shoes without slowly building up mileage.

Why am I talking about this now? Because I still have my shoes with the d-tag attached that stare me in the face every time I open the closet. They are a reminder of what I accomplished that day. A day I will never forget. And a day I really didn’t get to properly celebrate. Maybe I will do that tonight!

#4 is 7 weeks away!