Jingle Bell 5 Mile Recap

It's Christmastime (hence the font color). The Christmas lights are flashing, the hot chocolate is brewing, presents are opening, and there are more cops on the road to catchya after too much eggnog at the holiday party. What better way to celebrate than with a run...and not just a 5k, but a 5 mile run. Am I really ready for this? I think not. Am I going to try it anyways, because I'm a complete moron? Oh hells yes.

This is the second time that I have actively participated in dressing up for a race. Last time, the girls and I donned the Maiden USA costumes during the Hot Undies Run. For this race, I decided to be more creative and fun. I searched Pinterest for some cute ideas and landed upon one. Sara was immediately on board and we bought our pieces separately.

Pinterest Inspiration 

Alas, the Snow Princesses were born and looking pretty cute I might add.

Striking a pose to melt your heart!

Finally, December 14, 2013, arrived and it was time to put on our super cute costumes. We looked amazing. I couldn't have been more happier. If we would have showed up early for the costume contest, we so would have won.

I mean seriously, did the other runners have a chance at the costume contest?

That. Just. Happened. 

On a side note, we went to the Walgreen's to get a solid color red scarf for my costume. We caused quite a stir, but a man wanted to take a picture with us to use in the holiday card promo. Actually, this wouldn't be the first time we were asked to take a photo with the guys. Sara may or may not have caused a fight between a woman and a man. I swear we thought we were just cute.

We arrived at the event and it was cold and windy, but thankfully, it was sunny. So, as long as we stayed in the sun, we were golden. We walked around looking at everything and I conceded that our costume was in fact the best. Only one other costume got my attention and that was the Gingerbread man costume (didn't get a picture though).

Hey look, it's Santa AND Clutch. We had to get a picture. 

Okay, maybe this little guy was cuter than the Snow Princesses.

Or maybe this guy. I want a puppy so bad.

This was a contender for the most original, but we were betterer (spelled wrong on purpose).

As they called for our race to begin, I got nervous. Even Sara was nervous. I haven't ran this far in a LONG LONG time (same for her). At this point, I've only ran 1.5 miles maybe. Then, I heard the countdown song of Jingle Bells. This was different, but totally cool. Then, we were off. Here goes nothing.

Check out my snowflake red scarf that I had to get to finish the costume.

That's right...we are in the FIVE mile run. WHOA!

Even though it was stupid packed, I didn't feel as jammed as I did in the Turkey Trot.

We (mostly me) was slow and that's how I wanted it. The plan was to run the first mile without stopping and then go four minutes run/one minute walk, which we did for the most part. Since there were small hills involved, I would just run to the bottom (even if we were at four minutes), walk up to the top, and then start the one minute walk at the top of the hill. I quickly learned that I should have ran a bit on the cement instead of on the running track. My feet immediately felt different. In fact, my feet hurt alot, but I kept on pushing through. I was so proud of how great I did considering the lack of running and the foot.

Um...didn't know Clutch was running. Didn't know Clutch was already passed the turnaround...in that costume. GRRRR! No wonder we met up with the walkers.

Cute reindeers and snow princesses...yes, please.

Sara had to join in on the fun.

Hopefully, I'm still in love like this after all of these years.

Yeah, these hats were cool!

We got a lot of compliments on our costumes during the race, including a lady from the top of the bridge taking pictures of Sara and I. And because we were going slow, I was very aware of the photographers. One of them even told me how great are costumes were.

Our 50,001 compliment of the race...from a photographer...we rule.

Jim noticed we were all smiles. There's a reason. 

Love this photo. We saw the photographers on the bridge and decided to do something fun. The other photog got us doing this. YES.

This was by far one of my favorite runs. Even Jim noticed what a good mood I was in when I got home. Sara and I just had so much fun looking at the costumes and enjoying the beautiful day, except for the bells. It was funny that I pushed for the bells on the shoes until Sara said how annoying that they will be to hear the entire run. OMFG, was it ever annoying. Everyone had bells going. One lady had an entire costume doused with bells from neck to toe. 

See bells...they all rang...ALL.OF.THEM. And naturally, she stayed with us the whole way.

I just wanted the bells to be gone; however, it helped push me to run faster. Even though the sun was out, I was glad that I wore my leggings. I probably could have gone with a t-shirt instead of a long sleeve, but it was nice while we waited for the race to start.

We finally crossed the finish line at 1:10:19, with a time that beat my first 10k. I got excited until I realized that I was running one less mile than a 10k. Oh well. I still had fun and I can't wait to do this again next year. And we ARE entering the costume contest and we WILL win.

This is what happens when you use Pinterest as your inspiration. I still feel like our costumes were way cooler. Get it...cooler...yeah, I know.

And what do Snow Princesses want when they are done with a great race...they want TACOS! So, we headed to the taco truck by West Alabama Ice House. This is where Sara almost caused a fight with a couple. Awesome. 

Barbacoa, white cheese, and lime on a corn tortilla...um...yes please. 

So, if you are keeping score, that's one run done out of my upcoming races post. I already feel like I have accomplished something.

Next scheduled race is the Quadraman on Saturday, February 8, 2014. Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field. Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Chelsea Memorial Ride

Hundreds of cyclits gathered at Whole Foods Market on Wednesday, December 11, 2013. Why were there? To ride in honor of a fallen cyclist. Chelsea Norman was riding home on her bike from Whole Foods Market a couple days prior. She was struck by a car and died at the hospital. The car drove off and did not render help. To this day, they still haven't found out who killed Chelsea on a hit and run.

My city (like so many...London comes to mind) has become engulfed in a war between cyclists and drivers. Drivers do not realize that cyclists BELONG on the street as per law (although, some states might have specific laws) and they get angry for cyclists "causing traffic" as they like to say. In fact, it's appalling to read comments that Chelsea deserved to get hit for the mere fact that she was riding a bike on the road. And to make matters worse, some cyclists do some messed up stuff and/or not follow the laws, which makes even angrier drivers. No matter what cyclists do, we don't deserve the aggression or hitting or killing that is occuring in my city and cities around the world. I myself have witnessed some aggression by drivers when I'm in the bike path that scares me. Right now, during the Christmas season, the drivers are even more aggressive and angry and hopped up on Christmas present getting cocaine. So, when I see another hit and run story about a girl whom I have never met before in my life, I get sad. It's just an unspeakable and needless act whether you are in a car hitting another driver, cyclist, or a pedestrian.

And that's why we gathered in a controlled environment at the Whole Foods parking on that day at 7 p.m. 

They even had a bike safety talk at 6:30, but I didn't get a chance to attend. They also had non-alcoholic cider to warm our bones for this cold ride. Bike Barn had flashing red lights for the cyclists and I even ran into the guy that fixed my bike and taught the bike maintenance class. Also, we had volunteers stationed at all intersections of the bike path handing out flyers to anyone and everyone. It was so great to see them there and to see drivers caring to know what was happening instead of the "I'm going to report you" way.

The plan was to have groups of cyclists, walkers, and rollerskaters/bladers in groups of 30 launching at different times and directions so as not to crowd the streets. Each group would do a four mile loop about 3-4 times, including riding by Chelsea's ghost bike memorial where she was killed. Once again, I joined the Crucial Matter folks, but we all got separated in to different groups. I even saw my friend and fellow skydiver, Caroline.

Isn't she so cute? 

Thankfully, Evan was with me in my group. 

Lining up in the different groups.

Overall, I had a good time and can really feel myself getting faster just in a week (not quite fast though to consider myself a good cyclist). We had the rollerbladers within our group. Three of them actually kept up with us, which was quite impressive. However, the rest didn't do so well. One of them wiped out pretty bad and did not continue with the ride. Our group leader went a little faster than the entire group could handle and there was very little communication from front to back and back to front. One guy had his go pro light on the helmet and blinded you if you looked back or made you think it was a car coming. 

Which one had the helmet light?

But eventually, the group started to thin making me the slow one where I rightfully and comfortably belong and our communication got so much better. The best part was stopping at the memorial and taking in what you are seeing.

We did three loops for a total of 12 miles. I was definitely sore the next day. It was a well run bike ride and for a great cause. Plus, Houston Chronicle got a picture of me riding my bike (3rd picture). Thanks to everyone that organized it, helped with it, Whole Foods Market, the volunteers handing out flyers, David for picking me up and hauling me around, and Evan for riding with me. If you would like to donate money to Chelsea's family, click here.

If you are cyclist, driver, runner, speedwalker, please watch the video below. We all need to do our part in sharing the road.

Post by Look! Save A Life / Arizona.

Also, if you missed my post about my first organized fun run, please check it out.

Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field.

So, please come out and show your support to help our friend called David.

Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Bitter Cold Running

You read that right, I'm running again.



Well, it was more of a slow jog, but I will take it.

I feel like I've done this before. Is it deja vu'?

I bailed on the bike ride the night before, because of the temperature and wind. But I wasn't going to bail on my run scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. I had been thinking about it all week...it was happening. I mean I have a five mile run scheduled for next weekend that I'm ill prepared for conquering. So, I needed to do something.

On a side note, Sara and I are going to look freaking Christmasy Awesome.Pictures to come soon.

I took my running partner, Remington to the little track by my apartment for some quick running on both Saturday and Sunday early morning. It's been awhile since the little man and I have ran together. With his surgeries and my surgery this year, we just haven't been ready. That all changed this past weekend. I did not bring my watch just because I didn't want to know how long it would take me to finish. However, I know that I ran/walked at least 1 mile on each day. On Sunday, I had my fitbit and know that it was 1.25 miles before I started my cooldown walk home. I could tell in one day that I wanted more, which is why I added an extra half loop around part of the track.

Even though I was layered up, I could still feel the bitter cold against my face. I didn't need to peel off any layers, while I ran. Best advice is to always have easy layers on when running in the cold weather so you can pull them off and tie them around your waist so as not to bother you when you running. And maybe get one of those velcro face masks for the wind against your face (good for biking, too).

I'm glad to be back to doing what I love best...running. I just need to keep it up and hopefully adding many more runs with the little guy.

Also, if you missed my post about my first organized fun run, please check it out.

Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field.

So, please come out and show your support to help our friend called David.

Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Turkey Day Biking

Ever since I did the Turkey Trot last year, I am now on a mission to do some type of exercise on Thanksgiving day before the gorgefest later on that evening. It really makes me feel good and ready to eat.

I was not ready to run this year, but I was definitely ready for some biking. I had a plan to go out on my own for a ride around Rice University. It's usually about seven miles total, but I was close enough to home to avoid what happened last time I tried to bike.

On a side a note, I tried to bike up to BikeFest Downtown last month. I made it halfway and had to call a cab to come pick me up, because I felt overheated. Granted, I was still getting over a sickness (and found out quickly after that I was not done), but it still sucked.
So, I saw a note from my friend, David about biking. I mentioned my planned bike ride and he was here in an hour or so to join me. He's kind of a biking monster. I was so happy to have the company.

First thing I noticed...I was in the lead. This was not David's normal route, but it was mine. EEK! Do I normally lead? No. Do I like to lead the bike ride? Not right now, I don't. But I did it anyways. Second thing I noticed was how slow I was. So. Freaking. Slow. I felt like I was pedaling through molasses or something. I just kept apologizing to David and lucky he was in the mood for an easy ride.

Our path took us around Rice, through West U (thought a bar would be open on turkey day like it is on Christmas, but it wasn't) and back around Hermann Park, and then on to home. We stopped at the Reflection Pool first for some pictures. 

Black and White at Reflection pool.

A cool Instagram effect. Which is better?

It was a beautiful day, but slightly cold. 

And then we stopped at the Japanese Garden.

David doing his zen thing at the Japanese Garden.

I don't remember seeing turtles before. 

We just biked...on Thanksgiving...we rule. 

David hadn't been to either place before and we are looking to propose a bike ride to Crucial Matter for the Spring.

Unfortunately, the Hermann Garden Center was buh bye. Not sure if it's coming back or getting a massive face lift. The pagoda was on a lift ready for moving.

On the way back, we took the shortcut through Hermann Park and then back along the bridge. It was a nice 8+ mile bike ride, perfect for what I needed. My only issue was the helmet. It has lights on it that are connected to this big wire thing under the helmet. It makes the space in the helmet less and constricts against my head. When I get hot, it gives me a headache. Needless to say, I rode without a helmet for the last half of the ride, which normally I don't like. However, there wasn't much traffic out there, like at all.

Now, that I have done some type of exercise two years in a row, I certainly want to make this a tradition for future years whether it's running, biking, kayaking, skiing or hiking. I just need to get out there and do something. I was only sad that I couldn't volunteer like I did last year.

Next ride is the Chelsea Norman Memorial Ride on Wednesday starting at Whole Foods Market Montrose at 7p.m. Come join us to show your support for someone that was killed on a bike ride home from work.

Also, if you missed my post about my first organized fun run, please check it out.

Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field.

So, please come out and show your support to help our friend called David.

Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Quadraman Fun Run

Since I started running in 2010, I have ran a great deal of races, including a half marathon. Most of the time, I just pay the registration and not really think about what the cause is for if there is one. I think the only times I've ever ran something close to my heart was the Sprint for Life series (2012 and 2013). Never have I thought about actually organizing my own race. 

Until now. My good friend, David Hartsock risked his body and life on August 1, 2009, to save another human being whom he had never met before. He was a Tandem Instructor at Skydive Houston; Shirley Dygert was his passenger there to celebrate her son's 30th birthday. Strapped together, they left the plane at 13,500ft. Shirley was having the time of her life, plummeting to the earth at 120mph. After about 45 seconds of freefall, it was time to wave goodbye to the videographer and open the parachute. But there was a problem; the parachute didn't open properly. A seasoned professional, David quickly deployed the reserve parachute, which became tangled with the main parachute. David and Shirley were now descending way too fast and a moment that will forever link these two names.

As the ground rushed up to meet them, David made the decision to place himself underneath his passenger so that he could take the full impact when they crashed. Shirley suffered multiple broken vertebrae and internal injuries, but she walked away. David fared much worse. With spinal cord damage, he was paralyzed from the neck down. He had never met Shirley before this day, but he sacrificed himself for her making him a hero in our eyes.

For more information, watch this below.

After the accident, I toyed with the idea of organizing a 5k to raise money, but it never materialized. And then I heard that David was making yet another trip to the hospital, which meant more financial burdens on David and his family. Medical expenses and a full-time nurse are not cheap. Plus, his 80+ year old mother helps take care of David 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I decided to make that 5k plan something real. Little did I know, that my friend Kate (Sprint For Life Kate and hater of all things running or so she says) was thinking along the same lines right at the same time. We asked for advice from our two other friends, Susan and Jen, who were asking us what they could do to help. It all seemed like magic and the Quadraman Fun Run was born.

Come join us on February 8, 2014, at 8 a.m. at Bear Creek Park for the first annual Quadraman Fun Run. It's a two mile run and the best thing is that it's only $10. If you can't be in the Houston area on that time, don't fret. We set up a Virtual Run for the same price. Just make sure to send us your pictures about your run or organized run. We will also have a Quad Trot for the younger participants ages 2-10, which is a 444 ft run.

Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field.

So, please come out and show your support to help our friend called David.

Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Upcoming Races for KW

Well, I'm not going to let the fact that I had to miss my first marathon again get me down, even if I paid for it already. I'm also not going to even let this darn foot thing get me down, because I'm officially in normal tennis shoes now for the next two weeks. I can see the end of this last obstacle in sight.

Woohoo! Two Shoes People...TWO. SHOES.

And then, I'm free to do what I want when I want.

But I'm really talking about running. 

So, now it was time to put this year's bad stuff aside and pick my marathon. I did a great deal of research on available marathons in the Spring vs. how long I can do my training vs. where I will be hanging out. My friend Helen mentioned the Edinburgh Marathon to me a month or two a go and I considered it. I mean it was right around my birthday (two days in fact), I will be in England about that time, and it's during England's bank holiday time and Memorial Day for us Americans. I was still undecided, but then I jokingly mentioned the marathon to my other friend JL. In a surprise chess move, she said, "Sure!" I gave her the information and then a couple of weeks later, I registered. 

So, it's official. I am signed up to run the EMF Edinburgh Marathon Festival on May 25, 2014.

JL registered and then she registered her husband. Sometimes, I think she forced him, but she assures me that she didn't. I immediately wrote Helen an email to let her know that good news and she was totally excited. 

We all picked our expected finish times of 4 hours, 17 minutes. This will be a fast time for me, but I wanted a better chance of all three of us (and hopefully Helen, too) getting in the same corral. I also found out after I signed up that we are not allowed to use music players. So, I'm going to need some people to talk to during the marathon or I may go insane. And now, I'm going to have to train without music, too. Well, maybe. I mean, I trained with music and didn't even use it during the half marathon. So, who knows. 

And to jumpstart my exercise, I also registered last night for two other races, both of which will be ran with my running partner extraordinaire, Sara.

• Total Jingle Bell 5 Mile Run on December 15, 2013, which will be a nice holiday burn some calories run before my epic holiday extravaganza trip to England for two weeks. I'm pushing myself a bit with five miles, but the 5k involves the runners and walkers. I don't want to deal with that crowd like the Turkey Tot last year.
• And the mother of all runs (which might be as important as the marathon) is The Duck Dash 5k, with Duck Dynasty's Jep Roberston through Minute Maid Park on February 15, 2014. We get beards and a bandana with our registration and Sara and I are searching for some awesome cameo gear for the run. She found some awesome shorts, but they may be too cold to wear during February. I think my mom might be more excited for me to run this than I am until she found out that Si won't be there.
• I'm also going to register for the Woodlands Half, March 1, 2014, with Sara, of course. It's the perfect time for my half in my training series and she has ran it before with Kris. 

Plus, I have lots of biking fun coming up, including HTX BikeFest next Saturday, November 16, 2013, at Market Square Downtown (10 a.m.-6 p.m.), November's Critical Mass, December's Karbach Bruise Cruise, December's Taco Ride, and any other bike rides I find along the way. 

So, that's my plan for the upcoming months leading up to and running in my marathon. I hope to see you out there for support. I know Jim would like the company since he will be lonely for the four hours cheering for me in Scotland. I mean it IS a great vacation idea. I do plan to tour some Scotch distilleries for my birthday on that Friday. 

I added this picture of Tucker just because...he just sat there like this for 10 minutes.

Thoughts on a Broken Paw, Part 1

 

I'm at a week and a half of my recovery and I must say without a doubt that this sucks. Nope, not going to sugar coat this...it sucks. I had a moment yesterday where I got out of the car with the intent to walk like a normal person when I realized I needed to get my crutches from the back seat. My mom and I had a laugh about that one.

Let's recap...I had surgery on October 2, 2013, to remove my bunion on my left paw. This is not my first foray in to the bunion removal world. I had my right paw bunion removed in 2009 (why I missed my first scheduled Chevron Marathon 5k in January of 2010). It was by far the most painful thing I have ever experienced and because  I waited too long to do the surgery, my paw was messed up beyond belief. It took me 3-4 months to get back to normal, but I wouldn't have started my journey without it. In hindsight, I should have listened to those people that warned me just to take care of both at the same time. Oh well.

I decided at that time not to do both for obvious reasons and I thought I would get away with not having to do this bunionectomy until I started running back in April and May. I began to feel pain in my left paw and realized that this is only going to get worse. I made the appointment and now here I am, couch bound for the next four weeks (at least). This also meant that I had to drop out of my scheduled marathon in October, which makes me super sad.

My mother doesn't miss an opportunity to photograph.

On a side note, I am looking at March-May to do my first marathon.

My doctor gave me hope that this will actually take the 6-8 weeks to recover like a normal person recovering from a bunionectomy. It already feels different even if I'm still on crutches. This time last surgery, I was not even putting weight on the hurt paw.

This is me on most days in the car.

So, back to my random thoughts:

• I prepped my ass off for easy access to food. The Lean Green Bean would be so proud. However, it doesn't help if your ghetto Kroger's has crappy produce and/or bread. Lots of things barely even lasted half a week. 

I froze stews, spagettis, and other meals ready to go.

• I'm so thankful to my parents for being here to take care of me. They are awesome. They make me food, get me whatever I need, and transport me to and fro. This sometimes means early mornings or in traffic. 

• I'm so thankful to my dog walker, Esmeralda. She is taking my precious little man and spoiling him rotten. Although, I worry I may never see him again, because he may not want to return. 

• I'm thankful to be able to switch cars with Dan even though it doesn't take much to convince him to drive my car.

• Even though the automatic bathroom door set me on my journey of the back injury, it is a GODSEND now. I love automatic doors and surprised my ortho doctor doesn't have them. 

• Giana sent me the best fruit basket thing ever. I so needed to eat more fruit. 

• Speaking of eating, I'm eating way too much and my sweet tooth is back in a big, bad way. I need to get this under control, while I scarf down the lemon bar I got yesterday. Hence, why I used the fat cat image at the top. 

• If your toes and other parts of your foot are hurting worse after the first week Dr. apt and new bandage than the actual surgery entry point, then your bandage is too tight. Get it fixed. I spent two days with what I call sausage toes. They swelled up so much, which made the bandage way too tight. I have since gone to the doctor and had my foot re-bandaged. HEAVEN!

Sausage Toes

Fixed bandage shows more toes now.

• During my drive to my parents (with my mother driving, of course), I captured this wonderful sunset.

• Tucker has been an Angel...probably because he doesn't have to deal with Remi.

• I have daily visions of myself running and getting healthy, maybe even in November. It's intoxicating. I can't wait. I've even talked with Suzanne on some ideas for strength training (look for a post on that later). Now, I just need to get my food intake under control. 

• No matter if you've been through this before and you have an idea of how painful this could be, you really forget how freaking painful this recovery is on the paw. OUCH!

• The friends that have checked on me repeatedly...love you guys! 

• And I can't forget that I would die of boredom if I didn't have Jim to talk to all the time on Skype. I love you! Even though, my mom makes fun of us for just sitting there doing our own thing. She doesn't get it. I can't help her.

• Good luck to everyone jumping on the Texas Women's State Record for Jump For the Rose. I was planning on participating until this happened. If you can donate, please go to the website and check it out. It's for a great causing raising money for this wonderful clinic called The Rose. 

• I'm so thankful that last week and this week have been the start of new and old shows on TV. Even though I spent months stacking my DVR with things to watch during recovery, it just wasn't enough. I've only got four programs left and those won't last long. At least it's football season. This brings me to my next point...LET'S GO TEXANS! Put that crap behind you and let's win a game. All those people being negative are just morons. Booing only makes it worse and you suck worse than this recovery if you do it during the game.

Until next time...be safe out there.