New product and a hard decision!!!

As summer approaches, I really forgot how humid and HOT it gets here in SC. It could be 50 degrees outside but the humidity is AWEFUL. I sweat walking to my car, which is 10 steps from my front door. Oh yeah BAD!! So as I am trying to get my body use to this weather on LRS,
I was realizing that I was sweating so much, my clothes were drenched and they are sweat wicking material. I really started to look at a fuel belt. BUT I hate anything around my waist. I don't like being constricted around my waist. I like to flow, which you really don't flow when your running. But I did get a Nathan fuel belt with 2 10 oz bottles for whatever drink you want. I want to fill mine up with a ice cold margarita BUT I think I will be more drunk then hydrated. So water will do. It has pockets out the wazoo which I love cause I was tying my keys to my garmin and putting other things in my sports bra. But after 3 times of trying to adjust it, it really worked. However by mile 5 I was out of water cause my dumb arse at the time thought one 10 oz would be enough to do 10.5 miles. Umm nope I need water. I was looking for water hoses just to get some, not available lol. But I like it and the bottles stay put, if you put them in the right way and it really is true, you can run and drink at the same time. Water that is:)!!!

Now on to decisions: I found out the other day that early registration for the charleston half/ full marathon is open an you can get it for a great price until September 2nd. So I have thought off an on about running a full which is 26.2 miles. Now running that is going to hurt. I have already thought of plans, gels, breaks and time. What scares the the out of me is the training runs which include 18-20 milers. I don't know why they scare the shit out of me. I need about 20 weeks to train. So I'm thinking of starting in the freaking dog days of summer which is late August, early September which we a know its not even remotely cool. Yeah I need one of those 10 ozs to be some sort of alcohol drink. A pink lady sounds awesome!! So I haven't really committed. I mean I think I'm there to be honest, I just don't know that I'm THERE. I would love to do one, I'll be 33 and it's on my bucket list. The course is flat and it would make me feel like a real real badass!!! Who knows. I have until August to really decide but I could just freaking pay for it so I can't back out!! Which y'all think??? Another beautiful run in charleston?? Ummm

It couldn't have gone any better :)

I was very excited for my 10 miler this morning. I peeked outside to see the sun shinning and some nasty ass winds blowing all the trees, but that's not what tickled my fancy, the temp was AMAZING. You see here in SC the weather in the spring and summer is like sitting in a sauna. So much to my delight it was pretty chilly but not chilly enough for me to wear long sleeves and workout pants. Oh no it was tank and shorts kind of run day!! Now next weekend is gonna be a different story. That's why I bought a Nathan fuel belt. Yes I caved. I never thought I would need one. But you really do need one this time of year. So very excited to get this. I am also very excited to get the book Born to Run!! It's been on my reading list for awhile. So I will have to put candy crush aside for a time :(. After my beautiful run I went and had lunch with my buddy Ashley!! Gotta love subway after a LR. Had a blast visiting and laughing!! Love that girl!! Can't wait for more time together. Then I kinda came home and waited for hubby to come home. Grilled some steaks. baked potatoes and salad, oh so good!! But it's back to work tomorrow and school. Wish may 31st will hurry up, I'm done with school!!

Ready for this week to be OVER!!!

Oh goodness what can I say that all others haven't all ready said. All the feelings, all the raw emotions. It's overwhelming and humbling at the same time. So we will start with Sunday. I am running my 10 miler, truckin along when I get a phone call that my grandmother on my mothers side has passed away. I wasn't really that close to her but still, a sad emotion it is. Her grave side service is tomorrow in Waco Texas where I will not be considering I'm in SC. But I will be there in spirit an praying for all my family involved. Monday: so excited for the Boston marathon. Got to watch the female winner, which was amazing. I am amazed at the hard work, endurance and training that marathoners have to endure. Trust me it's been on the tip of my brain, but I am not totally there yet. Listening and reading the rest I was DEVESTATED, HEARTBROKEN and SHOCKED as I watched stories unfold, pictures unveil and saddened by people who waited so long, trained so hard for this marathon, only to have this as their memory. To some they qualified and ran their first Boston, which is HUGE, all memories based on the tragic events. I have prayed, I have ran and will continue to run to show my support. The running community is amazing and we get back up. We are all united. Sad and tragic as it is, the other suspect is caught and well personally I think he should be put in town square and let the community beat his ass, but that's just my opinion. Most of you don't know is that I was born and raised in Waco Texas. I got married there, had my kids at Hillcrest hospital. My grandparents lived there forever and I still have a lot of family and friends in Waco area. West is about 20 miles from Waco. My daddy Vic said he felt the blast only to think it was thunder. I am so proud of my Texans who have come together in wake of another tragedy. It's so heartbreaking to hear that that little town I use to ride the streets on is hurting. Again I run, again I pray. I pray that our loving God wraps his children in his protective arms and shelters them as they are grieving. This is for all tragedies this week. I pray that this world we live in will keep standing strong for our people. They need our love and support. Pray for America, remember there is still good out there, just open your eyes to see the beauty, not the evil.

Yes I stew so what

So yes I have been dealing with this change in weather and my running for the last couple of runs. It's hard not to when you have had wonderful runs pretty much all winter. Good races, paces and times oh my. But this change in weather is like hitting a wall. Then out of the blue I read a post on fb and part of it is scripture. Now I don't get all religious on here, it's personal but he was really talking to me this morning in that post. But it states that basically I hate change. And this is a change I can't change lol get it. It said use this change as a challenge. See the lightbulb went off. Duh how come I can't think like this. The weather is something I can't change, but I can change my goals, my expectations of myself, I can change me. So I'm going to stop this nonsense and challenge myself during this challenging time!!! Happy Monday

It was a trick!!!!

Woke a wee bit earlier than my alarm was set to go off, ok more like 45 minutes before I got up and got ready for my run. Like I said in my precious blog post, I had prepared as best I could for a hot, humid 10 miler. So I got up, had my usual LRS routine + a salt shot lol. Get over it, it's 5 o'clock somewhere;) Jk!!!!! And off I went. So I check outside to see how the weather is and to my surprise it was cool. I was so happy. I thought hell I don't need my frozen bondiband or salt packs. But boy oh boy I was wrong. So by mile 4 I was soaked, head to toe drenched in sweat. I stopped at a local gas station and went potty and got some water, fixed my top that kept coming up during the whole 4 miles. Then ventured out to finish. I was doing well, my pace was at about 8:54 min mile which for a long run is a little fast. I knew I needed to slow down. I pushed through, trying to stay on beat with songs, my head was way to much into my run. Mile 8 I took a time out to really have a heart to heart with myself. Which includes using VERY bad words which I will not say on here because they are very very vulgar. So off I go and I'm telling you I was soaked which then means I am hungry which means I WATER!!! It was hard to keep going. As i am thinking that i have only half mile to go I meet this women who I see run all the time. She's a bit older than I, lets just say she's been running for 46 years!!! We talked cause we also ran into eachother at the half. And you know we both said the same thing. It doesn't matter how long you have ran you will most of the time be in your head. At some point you put these rules on ourselves when we run when there isn't a rule book. Yes I have certain expectations of myself as a runner. But I know that my body can run a half without walking, I can run distances that are hard without walking, but these last couple of runs have pushed me so hard mentally. Persevere!!! That's a meaning that each runner can identify with. It's ok to walk for a minute to just regroup, to breath, to say nasty things to yourself or just pray, I know where I've been, I have seen what I can do, I need to stop being in competition with myself and just enjoy the beauty of running!!!

Um yea I'm a little anxious!!

So after 2 days of what I call bad running, I am nervous for my 10 miler tomorrow. I'm getting up early, before I melt, to venture out. I have thought about how I did it last summer and I remembered salt packets. So I have those ready. I have thought of a great idea ( I hope), I put my bondiband in a freezy bag and stuck it in the freezer. So far it's still moveable. I wonder how that will do. I have hydrated myself all day and ate pretty good. But I am nervous. Constantly looking at the weather, times of day where it might be hot and of course the humidity. Call me crazy, paranoid but that's how I roll. So my plan is this. For the next 4 Sundays my LRS be 10 miles until my body can acclimate to this weather change. Then if I feel I can do more I will. I will have my water handy and salt pack ready for just in case!! Be back tomorrow for update ;)

Why can't we all have perfect runs?

This running week has sucked and I mean bad. Hell this whole week has sucked to be honest. So much going on with Emily, I haven't slept good or a full 12 hours in a week;). Ok around 11 hours of sleep is good for me, it's HOT outside, which means my body has to adjust to the new weather change, which then in turn makes my runs SUCK and bad. So what do I do to make running life a little but easier during the summer months? Hell I can put my clothes in the freezer before a run, I can stuff ice cubes down my pants and sports bra, I can get a fanny pack!! All such wonderful ideas, not!! I love running in the winter I really do. I forgot about the humidity and heat and fatigue. Last week I kicked some ass, this week barely made it 20 miles. Why can't we have have perfect runs??? Why why why :(

I swear today is all about waiting!!

I thought I prepared myself as best as I could from last time we were at the hospital, boy I was wrong. I brought snacks and some water, a few running magazines but that didn't help pass the time. I could see myself getting VERY cranky from lack of food and a diet dr. Pepper. Got at hospital at 11:00 and she just went back. It's 3:49!!! Talk about frustration. I made sure that no one else spoke to me because I could not be held responsible for what would come out of my mouth. I was getting pissed by the hour. But finally the hubby arrived and I had company.. We sat some more, he napped here and there and we watched Hannah Montana the movie until they came and gave some loopy drugs. She was a funny mess for sure. So we wait for her to come out, which should be an hour to two hours. Again WAITING. But you do what you have to do when being a mother. So she will be drunk, her right leg will be restrained for about an hour, she will have a bandage from foot to hip that we have to keep on for 2 days straight. Then she can only take it off when she showers after the 2 days for 1 week. I will be shown how to wrap it which seems easy enough but I bet it won't be. They want to compress her leg so they can compress those veins but also so she doesn't throw a blood clot. She will be able to go to school on Thursday ( thank you Jesus) and then we will proceed with the rest of our school year. If she has to have more procedures done it will be during summer so she doesn't miss school. I don't want her to miss too much. So we will wait for her to come out!!! She's a trooper, she's got this!!!

Hospital Part 2!!!

Yes I am a mom to 2 preteens, lord help me, a wife to a amazing husband, a daughter to the most giving and loving parents, which one doesn't even speak to me. Oh well he is the one missing out and another discussion! A employee from 9:30-5:30, yes I am so lucky to start work at 9:30, that's why I can run so much in the morning. BUT today my job and only job today is to be a mother to my beautiful daughter Emily (12). She was born with a venous malformation on her right leg. A lot of veins involved and a lot of blood if anyone were to do any procedure on it. Many doctors in Texas would not even touch it. We came out to SC and after settling in, we decided to go ahead and see a doctor who specializes in the veins. We started with MRIs, then more doctor visits, we needed to do a angiogram of her right leg which we had to spend the night at MUSC Children's hospital. It was a long and exhausting procedure but needed to be done. Today we are at again. She will be admitted again for the 1st round of treatment (we hope) to shrink these massive cluster of veins. Its called Sclerotherapy. And you ask "what is that"? Well what they will do is inject diluted alcohol into these blood vessels to blast them and to shrink. She will be under anesthesia with a ultrasound guided visualization to see the veins. From what I was told they are injecting alcohol into her system, which mean yes she will be drunk. NOW I can see this as 2 ways.

1. This is give me a chance to see what kind of drunk she will be. I told her she better be a happy, funny drunk, if not well see ya:) j/k
2. This will give my husband and I a clue as to when she gets older and goes out, if she comes home drunk. You see we will look back on today and say, "yep shes drunk, she is acting the same way she did 5 yrs ago" lol.

But on a serious note, there are always risks. They can not get the alcohol on her skin. If  this were to happen her tissue around her leg will start to die and then there would have to be a skin graft. But hey she has skin, somewhere and if she IF that should happen, I have PLENTY of skin she can have. Another risk is a blood clot can form and travel. Yeah scary and third is hyperpigmentation. Which is redness around the site.

They told us this one would be a little more painful but I am just praying for God's hand over the surgeons and everyone involved in Emily's care. I will update later on. I plan on getting a video of a drunk 12 yr old. Such a bad parent I know.. :)

Bridge Run and a paramedic!!!

Well the day 40,000 people have waited for. The famous Cooper River Bridge Run, 6.2 miles, a incline that would kick any athletes ass and a shit load of porta pottys.. I set my alarm for a early 6:30 am, woke up and thought "what the hell am I getting up this early for"? Then it hit me, a 10k. So I got up, got dressed, laced up and of course had to have my cup of joe:) So my plan was to leave at 7 am, thought real hard on that one, 40,000 people lol . So I left at 6:45 am. I did not want to not have a parking spot but of course my cup of joe quickly decided it needed a bathroom and quick. It was supposed to be a beautiful day which I was so thankful for. It was a little bit chilly but I knew I would get hot real fast. I got to see the sunrise coming up over the ocean and from this Texas girl, it was a beautiful sight to see. I was happy and excited but all I thought was 40,000 people lol. That's a lot of people running. Well I hit traffic as soon as I got into Mt. P. it wasn't bad, a local doctors office was offering parking for donations and I of course donated and got a great spot. Thought I had a great spot, I was a little far from my corral D. But I must say I had heard about last years screw ups and you could see how happy everyone looked as things were running on time. So we march up to the starting line and music is going and the energy is out of control!!! LOVED IT. Took off, things going great. Pace is good, time looks good, body is feeling amazing. I was just running and jamming to thrift shop. Then the big bad incline was soon in sight. My first thought was oh shit here were go. Weaving in and out to keep my pace was hard but I couldn't slow down, I couldn't, if I did I would end up walking it. I was NOT walking up that fucking slope. Just as shit was getting hard John mellencamps song Hurts So Good played through my iPhone. Perfect song for the horrible feeling of pain I was feeling. But I made it over that slope. I was one proud mother runner!!! So now it was all down hill from there or so I thought. I round the corner got a small swig of water and right at 5.7 miles I got the worst side stitch I have EVER had. I had no choice I had to stop. I was in so much pain. I walked a bit and then started up running again only for the pain to come back with a vengeance and again I had to pull over. Waited then out again and the third time is was at 5.8 I was almost done, tears started to sting my eyes, I was so pissed. But I was hunched over by two older people and as I was hunched over the old lady came over and just put her arms around me when her husband went to get the paramedics much to my surprise. So he came over and I was dropping a lot of fbombs. It felt like someone was stabbing me over and over. So I tell the paramedic I'm fine and he says I can't leave you until you start going, and off I went and turned the corner to see the moist precious word ever, FINISH!!! I crossed the finish line at 54:32.. Which I was amazed considering but I thought shit my time would have been better. But even the best fall and it was my turn. I went and got water and a banana and sat for a few before walking back downtown and back across the bridge to Mt. P. Might as well make it a LR Saturday.. All in all it was amazing. I love racing and I love all the people who do it. They are awesome. There so many costumes and of course at every run I always see a woman wearing running leggings that are see through. Yeah I got a good ass look;).. Hey if you got a ass like that, sport that round, plump rump!! I will say I am paying for it today. I am so sore from head to really my little toes. But I love that soreness!! Good thing I am not running till Tuesday. Got more races to get ready for. In the mean time check out some great photos!!!

Easter, a good run and not much else!!

Easter weekend was great. We took the kids to see the new G.I. Joe movie, I really went to see The Rock to be honest (at first)!!! But really it was a great movie, The Rock was awesome!! Anyways did most of Saturday grocery shopping and getting Easter baskets ready from the "Easter bunny".. Yeah they know it doesn't exist but if they don't believe they will only get undies, until Christmas, then we have gotten to the point that Santa is mama and daddy!! Hey they are getting older, older means more expensive, get it;). Then Sunday we did the baskets which they loved. I wanted to head out for a 12 miler which was a beautiful run because it was a beautiful day. My pace was much better and time was really good. Came home to relax and finish watch the seasons of Friday Night Lights. So sad for it to end, which was of course years ago lol. Really not a lot going on. I have the Cooper River Bridge Run this Saturday. I really love seeing all my bibs hanging in my closet. It gives me determination in the morning when I go in there to get ready. Some days I so don't want to leave a nice warm house, but looking at those give me a perspective and out the door I go. I am excited that (knock on wood) the weather is going to be AMAZING!! I love I mean LOVE the race scene!! Love the energy, the people, hell I high five all runners, of course there are some that are like "what the hell are you doing" but I go my merry way!! So that's my recap of Easter, running and other stuffs!!! Have a great weekend!! Ill come back and tell you all about my CRBR 10k highlights!!