Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon - Seattle Edition

I must first confess that I am not a photog by any means.  I thoroughly intended to snap more photos (even photos on my phone) of our adventure to Seattle.  Photos like the architecture, the race, etc.  But in reality I only ended up snapping a couple of photos of the restaurant we had dinner at on Friday, the damage we did, and our post-race dinner.  I apologize blog friends.  I will share those photos though with you.....starting....now

 Monique & her cousin Rachel - 2/3 of our running trio!

 The cutie restaurant we ate at -- Mioposto

 Carne Calzone, Marghertita Pizza & a Personal Pizza...DELISH!

Cleaned our plates!

Happy campers!

Post race celebratory dinner -- Turkey Taco Salad

Rachel & her husband Casey's dog Blaze -- the most chill golden retriever EVER! So cute!

All in all, a GREAT weekend with friends.  Only thing missing was hubby of course.

Ran my race - pretty much solo, but it was good, first time I've really done that.  Didn't finish too terribly well, but I hadn't really trained, so I was happy to finish & still be walking! :)

Next time I want to train and get well under my latest finishing time -- we'll see how that goes!

<3

I Don't Do Drama...

Or at least that's what I try to live like...  But to be honest there are times when that twinge comes on, and my inner drama queen wants to make a grand entrance.  Some times she does....other times I'm able to squelch her at the door.  

Not something I'm super proud of - and it's really tough to battle against that inner drama queen, to not just surrender and be completely over whelmed by it.  To not succumb to a bratty disposition simply because I'm not getting my way or things are not turning out exactly how I have thought they should.  Blah - reading that back sounds so incredibly childish.  And here I am at 25, not a child.   Will this battle ever subside?  Will I ever be able to fully conquer this area and banish that drama queen forever?  Lord knows I'm trying.

And as we all know, and likely have experienced, right when we say "I want to practice...*insert character trait*"....along come a wave of situations and people who directly challenge that new goal/mindset.  I am not exempt.  In the past 5 days there seems to have been situation after situation that is testing my ability to ignore and dismiss that D.Q.  For some of the situations I have had the upper hand  -- and others not so much.  Work in progress right?   How do you handle these types of situations?  Have any tips for me?  Because to be honest, it's terribly demoralizing in the really tough situations and that just fuels the little voice that whispers "give up...you can't win...it's not worth it."  Any thoughts are welcomed :)

In other news, work outs have continued at a fairly regular pace & weight loss is continuing as well.  Slowly....but to me that feels better.  I don't feel deprived.  I'm not ravenous, I'm trying to eat normally and allow myself little things that would be considered "bad" - so as not to starve my brain of those things so much so that I completely cave in a weak moment.  And that has me feeling pretty dang good about myself.  
Half marathon is this weekend; I'm a little nervous because I haven't exactly had time to do many long runs in the recent weeks....so we'll see how it goes.  Especially given the fact that my calves have been unusually tight the last week or so.  Pray for health & endurance friends!  That aside - I am looking forward to completing another half marathon.  I always feel a great sense of accomplishment at the finish line...it's a challenge, but one I know I can tackle!
Hope that your week is going well friends!
<3

Race Success & In Need of a Break

The race was a success!  We drove down Friday night and got in to San Francisco around 8am  Saturday morning.  Just in time to pick up our packets, do a bit of shopping, grab some lunch & rest!  It was so fun being together with such great girl friends. 
Sunday morning brought with it excitement & a realization that it was MUCH cooler than last year's race!  But Monique, Rachel & I stuck together through out the race - and even finished about 35minutes faster than Monique & I had last year.  It was great.  It only started raining on us for the last mile & a half.  Otherwise, very enjoyable.  And thankfully my knees didn't hurt quite as much as last year either...now don't get me wrong, they ached that's for sure & for a while I was walking like an old woman.  But the celebratory margaritas at Mamacita was well worth it!  I think between our group of 11 we ordered about 6 pitchers.  So much fun.  Lots of laughs & encouragement.  Of course the highlight of the entire trip were our beautiful Tiffany & Co. finisher necklaces (what obviously sets this race apart from all others!).

Beyond that I have come back totally exhausted (which makes perfect sense).  I am literally counting down the hours until Saturday morning arrives and I have the opportunity to sleep in & bum around until WyldLife.  I am totally pooped.

So I will make it thru these next couple of days by the skin of my teeth and welcome the time to veg out with my husband.  Now if only I could convince my mom to let me take off my 3rd week of vacation the week of Thanksgiving....this might take some major sucking up!

<3

What to do...What to do....

I'm facing a small internal battle right now...
And this is where my adult sensibilities are battling against my juvenile wants.
I've mentioned before that my girlfriends & I are signed up for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in a month in San Francisco.  I did this last year and had a blast -- it was such an accomplishment for me (as a short round Norwegian woman, not typically built for running, much less racing).  I was so proud to have that Tiffany & Co. necklace - and it was such a treat to complete it with a great friend!

Here's the battle....with the recent car accident and consequent need to make a new car purchase, the financial picture in the Parker household is on lock down.  We're trying to be super smart with how we spend/save our finances and are putting funds aside for an impending shortfall from Ike's paycheck. 
I really want to go to San Francisco and complete the half marathon again (we've been training since April) but the financial picture does not really mesh with it right now unfortunately.

So do I stick with the adult sensibilities or give in to my juvenile desires and just throw everything to the wind?! What's a girl to do...

<3

Time for Commitment

 (here)

About 2 years ago a great friend of mine convinced me to go running with her mom & their running group.  I will be 100% honest - I have never thought of myself as a "runner" in any sense of the word.  I always thought of myself as a short, round (face & body) Norwegian who was built for cold winters and big laughs; not athletically geared activities.  But this group brought me under their wing and have taught me a lot about running.  Here's a couple lessons I've learned from this all female group:

1. If you need an extra walk break - take it!
                 When you feel like you're pushing too hard - to the point of pure exhaustion and deflation, slow down! You aren't running anyone else into the ground but yourself!  So take that extra minute and slow your breathing, slow your thoughts.
2.  Miles are miles - no matter how you get it done
                  This has been one of the hardest things for me to come to  terms with.  I guess I always thought that I had to run full speed the whole time! Because when it came down to it, I had to win!  When in reality, the fact that I am up, being active & outside is significant.  Being active & moving is just the beginning!
3.  Always finish together - even if that means you have to double back
                   No matter what you always stick together.  When you're feeling good & pulling ahead of the pack, be sure to keep an eye on the people who you started with.  They may not be feeling so great that day, and so you double back and stick together so that everyone can finish together!  The people that you start the journey with are the ones you should finish it with.

And so I am committing myself to my running "family" - they are a wonderful group of women who I greatly admire.  Each is very different, and brings very different skills to the group.  But when even one person is missing you can feel the impact immediately. 
Not only do I love how I feel physically after my runs -- I love how I feel emotionally.  There's a lot of laughter that is shared, wisdom about life & running, and fun to boot!  And on top of that I've got the Nike Women's Half Marathon in mid-October to stay ready for! :)

So off I go to get changed & ready for night one of my re-newed commitment!
<3