2 Awesome and Terrible Miles

Despite a sore knee I decided to try and run for the first time since the half! I was so excited wear my new running gear from the half marathon expo and my #rockstar #fellowflower! It felt amazing to get out and run since it has been OVER two weeks. I wish my knee would agree with the rest of my body, heart and soul. I didn't even make it half a mile before I had shooting pains in my knee. I pushed through and did some walk/run until about 2 miles. 

Bib/Bling Holder

At the Diva Dash Half Marathon expo I purchased a custom bib/bling sign from York Sign Shop in Tennessee which arrived today! How awesome is it? Now the only problem I have is that I don't know where to hang it and the rest of the house is BROWN. Oops?! 

This is my next project…. 

Chiropractor, PT and Tape

I started seeing a chiropractor this week to try and work out my knee/hip issues so I can get back to training because let's be honest, a marathon isn't going to just run itself. The chiropractors at Momentum Chiropractic and Rehab are AWESOME. They have done electrode and vibra therapy as well as adjusting and doing some other chiropractic techniques including K tape! I have heard amazing things about sports tape and have seen tons of athletes use it but part of me always wondered how much this silly colored tape could really do. I no longer believe that it is silly and has made a big difference when I am wearing it. I just ordered my first roll but in PINK of course! 

Not Sure What Just Happened....

So…I may have just signed up for The Color Run on November 1st at Nats Stadium. I already have a November race and I still haven't ran since the half. Not sure this was my best idea yet but I am excited to have a few new friends joining me for this race! Maybe it's because it's the #happiest5k and right now I could use a little running happiness.

My Heart Hurts

Today I was supposed to run 22 with Kimberly and Eileen but I am still struggling to walk. I am so proud of these two ladies for finishing their long run today but my heart hurt when I got the MMR notification because I wasn't able to join them. #injuriesSUCK #runnerproblems 

Post Race Purchases

Not even 5 hours after the race I had to do a little Amazon shopping while popping Ibuprofen and icing my knee. I have needed a foam roller for months. I used it at PT for my other knee and the therapist recommended I get one then. Oops! My second purchase was a pair of Crocs. Kimberly has been telling me to get a pair forever. She swears they are the best recovery shoe. I've put it off and made fun of her fashion choice but I thought I would give them a try, well since I can't even walk. They are THE most comfortable pair of shoes ever and she was right! 

13.RUN

I'm not a huge fan of car magnets or stickers but I love my 13.RUN decal. Hot pink looks awesome on my new black car and I felt like it would just be wrong not to have one! 

Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up."

It's crazy to think how far I've come on my running journey, a year ago I would've laughed out loud and rolled my eyes at the idea of running 13.1 miles. I didn't "get" running. Somewhere along the way though, I fell in love with running. Running has has taught me lots of things and helped me to build some very strong bonds with amazing women. Yesterday I finished my very first half marathon, my 9th race of the year and one of my hardest runs yet. The course was hilly and my knee/ hip were not hearing, "Suck it up, buttercup." There were lots of tears and no mantra I could say was helping the pain. Thankfully I was surrounded by some awesome friends. Kerri , you are a rockstar! I cannot thank you enough for scooping me up and getting me through the last 2 miserable miles! While I'm not wildly happy with my time (02:23:03) I'm so proud to have crossed the finish line. Thank you to everyone for your sweet comments yesterday! We had an awesome "diva" weekend and I'm so lucky to be able to call such fierce and strong women my friends! 

Diva Dash

Race day had finally arrived! We woke up beyond early and had way too many logistics going on before it was even light out. We arrived at the start line in our PINK attire with about 2,000 other racers! Of course we also wore our #fellowflowers! #courage #noexcuses #hope

It was a bit chilly but perfect weather for a long run! The race started going slightly uphill on gravel and was crowded! Before we even got a mile in there was a peppy little runner shouted "On your left!" from behind us. "Seriously, EVERYONE is trying to pass. We are ALL on the left." was my irritated response as we ALL wanted to start the race strong. After the first mile or so there was room to run and we were able to pick up our pace! The course was advertised as "flatter and faster" than last year. Apparently we misunderstood flat and fast because there were HILLS, LOTS of hills. Despite the hills the miles were peeling off… until mile 5. "My knee is hurting. It's really hurting." - Me "Suck it up, buttercup." - K and that's exactly what I did for the next 4 miles. Somewhere around mile 9 my knee/hip gave out and I was in excruciating pain and then came the tears! I don't actually know how I made it through 9, 10 and 11 but I ran up the hills and walked down them. Opposite of what most runners would do. There were quite a few times when I literally couldn't run because I felt like my knee was going to snap off or my hip was going to pop right out of place! Cheerful runners passed and offered words of encouragement which only made me want to punch them in the face :)! "You got this. It's only a few more miles. Finish strong!" "You're almost there. Just keep running." "Mind over matter. You can do this." I just wanted to yell, "It's NOT the distance that is BOTHERING me. This is a training run for me! I am in pain so just shut up and finish YOUR race :)!" I don't know if I was more angry that I was ruining my goal time or that I had actually hurt myself. I tried saying every mantra I know which helped me to keep going but the pain just kept intensifying. And then the tears… this was supposed to be my BIG race of the year, what I had been working towards ALL year and now I was struggling to walk let alone run. Thankfully at mile 11 I felt an arm wrap around me and saw a sweet familiar face, Kerri! She got me through the last 2 miles and we crossed the finish line together- smiling, well maybe I was a little teary! In my head I know that the time is not important but in my heart I was wildly disappointed because I started so strong. I guess I have a new goal to crush :)!  

We enjoyed the hotel jacuzzi and relaxed for awhile in the room.

We celebrated all 13.1 miles and the journey that we've taken thus far out at PF Changs! 

Then we had a Princess Party back in our room! It was an awesome weekend shared with some amazingly strong and fierce women who I am so lucky to call friends!

Kicking Off Diva Weekend

Diva weekend is finally here after months of training! Before I fell in love with running I committed to the Diva Dash Half Marathon. This was supposed to be my "big" run of the year, my ultimate goal and then I got a CRAZY idea to run a full and now it's "just a training run". This race had me at PINK and I am so excited for our girls weekend to kick off! K, E and I headed to the expo right after work where I might have gone a little overboard (running headbands, a tank, a runner girl tee, my 13.1 window sticker, a custom medal/bib holder). Angela met us from Jersey and then we had Kimberly's birthday dinner at Not Your Average Joes and a sleepover! 

After 5 minutes of being checked in it looked like a bomb of PINK went off in our room! How much gear can four girls pack you ask? Well, this is only half of the room! Looking forward to an AWESOME race and seeing the sea of pink tomorrow morning at the start line. 

Packed

A few new purchases arrived just in time for the Duva Dash Half Marathon. I'm not really sure how my roller suitcase got to be overflowing for two nights but there's no more room! Excited to have my mantra tank with, "She Believed She Could...So She Did" to celebrate my first huge running goal. I also love my new #fellowflower hoodie. I'm a huge fan of gray and it's so snuggly. Can't wait to throw it on after the race and proudly display the #ff message! #believe #achieve #blossom #endure

Julie is Running 13.1

Meet Julie, one of my high school/college besties! She is "newer" to running and I am so proud of her for putting one foot in front of the other on her running journey. Much like me, Julie has had a love/hate relationship with running for awhile but recently she started falling in love and realized what a #ROCKSTAR she is. Running has an amazing way of teaching you about yourself as well as many other lessons! Running has also really strengthened our friendship. Julie and I have exchanged thousands of texts about running and life and our #fellowflower friendship has blossomed. We are #fiercelyunited and I am beyond ecstatic that she has committed to her first HALF MARATHON! The best part, she will be running her first half with me in Richmond the day that I run my first full marathon! I couldn't be more excited to be spending an awesome girls weekend with her in November and celebrating such an awesome milestone together! 

#believe

Rocking my #believe #fellowflower from Julie and trying to make the nerd belt look cool. 

20 +

Love my two #fellowflower running buddies and have had some awesome long training runs! Today we did 20+, 21.62 according to my MMR but K, E and I never agree on distance so we shall call it a long run! A pricker bush attacked and K got a battle wound today. #ouch #marathontraining #longrun 

Nerd Belt

I never wanted to be THAT runner with a ridiculous hydration belt but the camelback has caused some serious chaffing which I would love to avoid! 

#FF Believe

Check out my new #FellowFlower from one of my high school / college besties. Julie and I were close "growing up" and have always kept in touch but running has really brought us closer together and strengthened our friendship which I am truly thankful. She is one of the biggest hearted women I know and I am so lucky to call her a friend. She is always positive and super encouraging. I love my new #believe #fellowflower and can't wait to rock my first run with it in my hair. I love you, Julie. Thanks for being such an amazing friend. You are a #ROCKSTAR and I cannot wait to run our races in Richmond in November!

Green

I do own something other than pink, shoker :)! Check out my lime green outfit and my beautiful #hope #fellowflower accessory. Being back to work full time is making training hard but I got out for a quick 7 mile run tonight, my fastest time yet!

100 More Miles

Another month and 100 more miles! Running truly has been a game changer for me!