The Zombie Run

If I had to describe the Zombie Run in one word, it would be "meh". It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great, it stood idly in the middle of both. Last night my husband and I ventured into this type of race for the first time thinking it would be fun. The actual course led us through extremely narrow paths filled with zombies grabbing at your life strings dangling from your waist. You are given three at the beginning of the run. The paths would then clear giving you a break. It was somewhat boring and the decor was limited. Some zombies had great make-up and others did not. At one point, the path turned towards the ocean and narrowed to a few feet and the zombies duplicated. A giant 6'4" man trying desperately to get away from a zombie pushed me so hard I flew into the water and landed my gorgeous pair of $150 Brooks and me into the ocean water. Needless to say, I was upset. I removed my last life string and put it in my pocket because I was trying to get out of the water and had about 5 zombies waiting for me hissing and growling and all I could think about was that my running shoes were drenched in salt water and filled with sand. As I walked out of the ocean, the zombies left me alone and I had to stop for a few minutes to let the water seep out of shoes. I considered removing them to get the sand out but there was no way I could put my socks on again after that so I just went on. 

The course was not calculated correctly so it wasn't a 5K after all which I normally wouldn't mind if it were not for the fact I was walking around in soaked shoes with lots of sand in them. I ran calmly and stopped to take lots of pictures of what I thought were the best zombies and made the best out of it. To every bad, there is a good. After all, it was date night for my husband and myself so we left the run and ended up having a great dinner and a great time.  

The Color Run 5K and the tutus

I volunteered to make tutus for all the Mommyathlons doing the Color Run together and it turned out to be a more complicated task than I thought. I averaged that each tutu would take about 15 minutes to make and it was closer to an hour. The dining room table was covered in tulle all week but I got them all done! 

I'm normally not a tutu wearer but I decided to go all out this year with the tutus and wild socks to make it funner for my daughter and it's been a hit. She is super excited and to tell you the truth, I'm really looking forward to dressing up silly and having a blast. Just a few more days to get colored!

My plans for 26.2 have changed - and it's going to be even better!

So this little kid next to me has been one of my best friends my entire life. He has been the brother I never had. A friend in the worst of times and the best of times and I've cried with him, laughed with him until our faces hurt and daydreamed with him many times. I just found out today that he will be my partner for "our" first full. He has been doing the long runs with me and was toying with the idea of doing a full marathon. In the middle of a 14 miler today, he let me know that he is going for it but he couldn't make my race day work b/c of his job and he was thinking of doing his first full in February.

Long story short, I've changed my plans for my first full from 12/2013 to 02/2014. 10 weeks is worth the wait to share this experience with someone that has been standing next to me for the past 35 years. 

THE COLOR RUN 5K- MIAMI 10/12/2013

I showed up last year with my 9 year old daughter to what was claimed to be "THE HAPPIEST 5K ON THE PLANET". They were not kidding! Loud music, color everywhere, happy faces, costumes and a whole lot of fun!

I naturally registered months ago for this year's fun being held on 10/12/2013 and I recently was asked to be a Color Run Ambassador and blog about it and I jumped at the opportunity because I truly believe this is a great race and even more so with family and kids. There is no timing chip, no pressure, just fun!  Walk or run with family and friends and have a good time! Yes, tons of colored powder will be thrown at you but if you don't want to leave looking like a rainbow, you have the option to walk through the color stations without getting totally bombed. If you're going with crazy children (such as my daughter), you can let your inner child roam free and get color bombed and get real messy and love every minute of it!

Check out this great promo code for $5 off!  Enter code COLOR5OFF! (Promo code is valid in any city that is not sold out)  When people register in a team of 4 or more, it is automatically $5 cheaper. Join the MOMMYATHLON team and use your promo code for a total of $10 off the race!!

You can find your race for registering at http://thecolorrun.com/locations/ and you can also find additional information at the main website at http://thecolorrun.com/about/.

WEAR WHITE AND FINISH IN COLOR!

*If you are going with smaller children, I suggest goggles (such as pool goggles) to keep the powder out of their eyes and adults should wear glasses as well to avoid being uncomfortable. A handkerchief will come in handy as you pass through the color stations because there is a lot of powder in the air and if you are very sensitive to that sort of thing, try walking briefly through the color stations through the middle and you won't get splattered as much.

Only 10 miles?!?!

This past week was my short run week following my 16 miler last week-end and before my 18 miler next week-end.  My 16 miler was an unexpectedly great run (http://mommyathlon.blogspot.com/2013/09/16-miles-and-10-to-go-102-that-is.html). Let's see what 18 brings next week!

In any case, for this week's 10 miles, I did a few miles before our group run started and I took on the Key Biscayne bridge 5 times.  I did bridge repeats over and over and didn't pass out and finished strong. They say incline work is great for strength and endurance and I have been doing this bridge for a year now. I used to be able to go over once.  It obviously works because I was going back and forth like nobody's business. It made me feel really good! I finished a great 10 mile run, hung out with the amazing running ladies of Mommyathlon and off to my house I went.

When I got home, my husband asked me how long I went and my answer was "I only did 10 miles". Then I started laughing thinking at how marathon training warps a runner's way of thinking. I remember when 10 miles was a huge feat and all of a sudden, marathon training has me thinking it is a very short distance. Short enough to be preceded by the word "only". Pretty cool (and crazy)!

16 miles and 10 to go! (10.2 that is)

So I had a 16 mile run to complete and I figured that it would be a great way to end the run by running a 5K to remember the mileage. It was going to be my first time running past 14 miles and we all know how badly that went a few weeks ago. I was feeling very confident and strong since I had changed my training and I registered for the Hyundai Hope on Wheels 2nd Annual Miami Children's Hospital 5K. I would run 13 miles then finish the last 3 miles with a 5K. I thought to myself, "I got this".

My husband and a best friend (Pedro) told me they would join me in my crazy 16 mile run and keep me company. I've been trying to convince Pedro to do a full with me. He's a good runner and a dear friend since I was 4 and he was 3. What better way for both of us to do our first full than to train together for it?! I'm still working on him! It's taking time. 

Our day began with a wake up call at 3:30am. I am not a morning person so I asked my husband why he let me register us for a 5K on the day we were doing a 16 mile run. I asked him if he didn't mind me being so crazy that I would think a 3:30am wake up call before a 16 mile run was a good thing? I told him he was a fool to go along with me. He laughed and then he grabbed my bagel straight out of the toaster with his bare hands. I remember thinking he must be burning the heck out of himself. I just kept staring at him in awe when all of a sudden he throws the bagel on a plate wincing in pain and shaking his hand in mid air then running cold water on it. I asked him "What were you thinking?!?!" to which he replied "What do you think? It's 3:30 in the morning, in my mind at this time "I AM INVINCIBLE!" This threw me into the worst laughing attack and I could barely breathe and eat for the next 10 minutes as I kept laughing hysterically. I was now up and ready to go! Thanks to the hubs for being able to make me laugh so early and for getting the blood flowing! 

We got ready and out the door we went to pick up Pedro. We began our run at 4:45am. When we were about to begin, I frantically searched the car for my Garmin and of course, I had left it at home charging. I was upset to say the least. As I cursed myself, I turned on my Nike GPS app and on we went on. Pedro and my husband told me to get over it and just focus on the run but I kept cursing at myself for a good 30 minutes.  Every mile that the Nike app. told me we reached sent me on another rampage and cursing frenzy of how I could not believe that I was not going to be able to track my lap times the very first time I reached 16 miles. My husband and Pedro patiently let me do this and ignored me each time I started again. Somewhere around 40 minutes and mile 4, I found a comfortable rhythm and we were all talking, laughing and I was feeling pretty good and very happy.

Miles 5-10 went by quickly or at least it seemed like it and then it was just a matter of thinking that we were about a 5K short of a half marathon but then I had to keep going for another 5K.  How would I feel then? I got very sentimental at this point and thanked them both for being so good to me and for being the best friend and husband a girl could ever have. Needless to say, they both made fun of me. We all figured right then and there that when I would cross the 26.2 finish line, I would be a mess of tears. That's fine, I don't mind crying in public.

We finished the half distance and to my surprise, I felt really good. We changed socks, shirts and on we went to the start line which we timed perfectly because the 5K began 15 minutes after we reached our 13.1 miles. I started off and kept marveling at how good I felt considering I had just run a half marathon and was going to run a 5K now. The minutes went by quickly as I visualized 26.2 instead of 16. I averaged that once I was finished, those extra 10.2 miles would take me less than 2 hours. Would I be okay to do it? I crossed the 5K line and got my beautiful medal which now will always remind me of these 16 miles and of the wonderful cause behind the 5K. I thought to myself of how many more miles I had in me if I had to keep going. I felt like there were about another 4 miles left in my energy tank. That meant I needed 6.2 miles more to do the full. I marveled that 26.2 will be accomplished! All I need to do is keep going with my training, stay focused and move forward. It will be here sooner than I know it but I will be ready. 

Love, love, love my hubs - thank you baby!

My awesome running buddies!

My awesome running buddies!

My awesome running buddies!

Off to breakfast with Alfie (my husband) and Pedro. We splurged!

Pedro - I hope you decide to tackle the full so we can share this!  Thank you for years of friendship!

This man was at my 2.5 mile mark and he was cheering us on telling us "RUN IT IN, you can do it, I can't!"
and I did run it in. I ran it in with all my might. There are some people that are so inspirational. This man was one
of those individuals.  I found his picture on some site on Facebook and realized he had finished the race then
gone back to cheer us runners on. I was so happy that I can always have something to remember him by.
Thank you stranger - you are so incredible! 

26.2 and all the miles getting there...

I've been horrible about blogging lately but I've been great about training and I'll take the latter! Following my almost near breakdown of my 14 miler and bonking, I refocused and continued my journey through this thing known as "full training". I became even more determined. My desire strengthened. I understand why people must be committed to this goal as it involves long hours of running many, many miles and your heart truly has to be in it. I trained for half marathons and it seems so easy now compared to this training plan. 

I rarely have spare time between the family, kids, chores, and now full training. The blogging has been put off to one side so I can give all my extra time to cross training, lifting and running and I am running a lot these days. I have a 16 miler planned for this week-end and it will be my next step up to getting closer to 26.2. I feel like a machine these days and the progression of adding more mileage is coming naturally now that I have learned some do's and do not's. That being said, it's NOT easy! But I'm guessing when I cross that finish line, it will be very worth it.  

I always try to see the positive side in things and so I obviously always thought I would make it to 26.2 but as an average woman, every once in a while, the question "Will I make it?" would pop up in my mind. A few weeks ago, I used to wonder and then I would think of all the ways I could ensure that I would make it. Lately, I'm changing. Instead of thinking of ways to get there, a calm, quiet voice speaks up and says "Sure, why not?!"

Therein lies the beauty of training. Through it, you begin to realize you are unstoppable.

Dear 26.2, 21 weeks has turned into 11. See you soon.