Vai rolar a festa....: 2/24/13

Phoenix Half-Marathon

Awhile ago, a friend in the running group I’m in, Allison, signed up for the Phoenix Half-Marathon. She told us all about it and one by one, we all signed up to run the half with her. We started training in December and it was fun, hard but fun.

Yesterday, March 1, we all packed up in various cars and headed up to Phoenix for some fun, food and racing! We went straight to packet pick-up, which was fun. Am I nerdy for thinking that? We got arm warmers in our goodie bag!! I’ve always wanted some but never purchased any because I am cheap, so that was super duper exciting! And we got to walk across an activation pad, to activate our race chip. I’m a nerd and it was my first big run, so I thought it was totally cool and fun! Then we headed out to dinner at a place called RigaTony’s (http://www.rigatonys.com/). It’s a great Italian place in Tempe and a favorite of a friend, Melody, who also runs with us. The pizza was amazing! The fettuccine was good too but the pizza was fantastic!

Back at the hotel, Charlotte and I, who bunked together, got everything ready and realized we were really tired! Luckily I slept really well and felt pretty good when I got up.

RACE DAY:

I set my alarm to go off at 4 am but we were up before that. We caught the shuttle to the bussing area at 4:30 and waited in the frigid, almost hypothermic inducing cold (ok, maybe not that cold but definitely chilly) for the rest of the group to show up, as we had all stayed in 4 different places. It was kind of cold to start but it was supposed to be really warm and since I didn’t want to have to check a bag with extra clothes, I just went in my running skirt and short sleeved shirt, with….. THE ARM WARMERS!!! I was even more excited to have those than I was the day before! And that’s why I said, frigid, almost hypothermic inducing cold. We ended up getting on the bus with just a few of them, Melody, Cyndi, Shane (a friend’s husband who had driven down from Anthem, AZ this morning), Charlotte and myself. We eventually found them at the starting area and were able to get a group picture before the race.

I ran an amazing race for me! Sometimes I really surprise myself with what I end up accomplishing or doing. Normally when I run with the group, I run with ladies who are faster than me, so I run faster. Then when I’m alone, I run slower and I’m not sure why. So I started off and I felt ok. My legs felt kind of heavy and I was really cold. We turned a corner and it got even colder! I thought it was going to be a bad race for me BUT then I started to warm up, my toes weren’t semi-frozen and things started to go better. My time for mile 1 was 10 min. 30 sec. That was fast and I didn’t think I could keep that pace up so I slowed down. My goal was to finish the race in 2 hr. 30 min.

I kept running along, doing intervals, which means I ran for 5 min and fast walked for 1 min. Then ran for 5 min and fast walked for 1 min. over and over for a little over 6 miles. My plan had been to do that for 6 to 7 miles and then just run. So that’s what I did. After my potty break at mile 6 I just ran. And run I did!!! Unbelieveable is what I say. I passed a ton of people twice, as they had all passed me on my potty stop. I eventually caught up with the pace guy for 2 hr. 20 min time and passed him. I WAS GOING TO GET UNDER 2 HR. 20 MIN!! I couldn’t believe it and I didn’t feel really tired or horrible. When I passed mile marker 12, I checked my watch and thought, “I can get under 2 hr. 15 min.” and sped up just a little bit. HOWEVER, MILE 12 TO 13 SEEMED TO TAKE FOREVER!!! It was the longest mile I have ever run! I seriously think it really was longer than a mile. Fortunately it was downhill for a lot of but still….. Finally the finish line was in view and I gave it all I had. I crossed the finish line and I heard, “Oh my gosh, Emily?” I looked over and there was Coach Mindi and some of the other girls. They were totally surprised that I was there so early! I was too! When she said that, I replied, “I know! Who knew?” I really didn’t think I could do that!! My average mile time was 10 min. 20 sec. I guess I can do better than I ever thought I could!
So we waited as we all came in one by one. Then we were all in and it was fabulous. I think we all really did a fabulous job! We got pictures taken, grabbed some free drinks and headed back to the hotels to shower (yay!!!), go eat and then go home!

We had lunch at a place called ChuckBox (http://www.thechuckbox.com/). It is an amazing hamburger/chicken joint right by ASU. I had a huge guacamole bacon swiss burger with onion rings. I didn’t actually think I’d be able to eat it all since it was so big but I was H-U-N-G-R-Y!! It was a pretty messy burger but after that run, it was soooooo good. Well, it would have been good anyway but it was especially good since I was soooooo hungry! Then we came home and it was nice to be home. I bought some salted caramel rolls from a friend who has a business doing that, called Rebel Rolls (http://rebelrolls.wix.com/rebel-rolls). Sooooo good! Tim and the boys weren’t home, so I had one. Then, after they got home, I had another one. SOOO GOOD!!

FRIENDS:

I had a few friends from out of state who were running this race, Melinda, Lindsey and their mom Cathy. I was keeping a keen watch for them and I FOUND THEM!! They passed me while I was in line for the bathrooms before the race started. It was totally fun. Then I saw them running the half and at the finish line! I am better friends with Melinda and we were able to catch up after we had finished the race. I haven’t seen her in years but we have kept in touch. It was sooo great!! Only sad thing is we didn’t get a picture!

Then, as I was wandering around pre-race, I heard someone yell my name and there was another friend,
Katherine! We studied in Spain together in college. Total surprise and a great one at that! I was able to catch up with her too! I LOVE it when things like that happen!

Charlotte: She lives here near me and she is a great friend. We run lots of little races together and after I finish, I always go back to find her and run her in. So I decided to that this race. I didn’t go out very far because I was tired but I was able to run the last little bit with her. There was a blue mat that read the name of the runner on it and when she went over it, she was all alone. Suddenly we heard over the loud speakers, “There goes Charlotte! Almost done with the half! Way to go!” It was sooo cool!! And she did great! She ran a 4 hr. 30 min. half one month ago and today her time was 3 hr. 35 min. So awesome!

Coach Mindi: An amazing lady and friend. Charlotte and I call her Coach Mindi because she has helped us so much with our running. She’s always telling us what to do while preparing for runs, stretches, things to get, about shoes, everything running. Today she ran the last 1.1 miles with Charlotte after running a sub 2 hr. run herself! She is truly amazing! I don’t know how she does it!

And then all the ladies who were up there with us, the ones we run with all the time: Allison, who was the first to sign up, Melody, Cyndi, Kris, Cami, Nancee and Kellie. All amazing ladies!
Enjoy the pictures!

And yes, I am totally sore! The stairs in the house are killers! And I'm pretty sure I'll be waddling tomorrow. If you see me, don't laugh at me! I just can't help it.

Charlotte and me on the bus. This was the 3rd picture with
a blindingly bright flash in the dark. I could barely keep
my eyes open!

Melody and Cyndi only took 1 picture and they look great!

Pre-Race pic: back: Allison, Cami, Mindi, Charlotte
mid: Melody, Nancee, Cyndi
front: Kris, Kellie, me

Post-race pic with our medals!! back: Nancee, Allison, Cami, Mindi, Kellie
mid: Charlotte, myself, Melody
front: Kris, Cyndi

Medlinda, Cathy (mom), Lindsey and Dad (totally just spaced his name!)

Katherine and me with our medals!! YAAAA!

Shayne and Kellie. Shayne ran too but wasn't in any of our group
pictures. He took them all and helped everybody whenever he needed to.

Bacon’s Broken Leg

Yep, we’ve had our first broken bone in the family. Thursday afternoon, a little before 4 pm, I took Bacon downstairs to get his blanket. I plopped him in the family room by his blanket and went over to close the curtains in front of the sliding door. The sun was beating in and it was getting warm. Just as I finished, Bacon fell and started crying and screaming. He falls all the time so I wasn’t too worried until I picked him up and he dug his hands into my arms like he was holding on for dear life. Usually he just rests his head against my shoulder long enough to get a few pats on the back and a hug from me before he’s down again. So the hands were a sign something was wrong. He continued to scream for 20+ minutes. I called Tim 3 times before he answered and he came right home. He told me he hadn’t heard anything I said, only Bacon screaming like a maniac.
By the time Tim got home, Bacon was asleep in my arms on the couch. Tim took over getting the other boys to clean up (I was watching 2 boys for a friend when all this happened) and got them dinner. I had called someone we knew and asked him what to look for. He had us go to his chiropractic practice and he took some x-rays. He couldn’t really see anything but said if it was his child, he would definitely get it looked at. It concerned him. (*side note: he called the next day just to see how Bacon was doing and what the diagnosis was. Such a great friend!). He also said to call the hospital and urgent care places to see if they would actually do anything for the leg if it was broken. Glad he told us that because they don’t really do anything. Urgent Care only takes x-ray’s and ER will only put it in a splint.
Friday morning, bright and early I called both places our insurance covers for pediatric orthopedists. We got into the second way, which is all the way across town. A great friend subbed Joy School for me and another agreed to watch Pickle for us. A different friend picked up Pach from school and watched him.
THE DIAGNOSIS: A broken leg (that you could probably get from the title of this post). The correct medical wording, I believe is, Tibial Fracture or more commonly called a Spiral Fracture because of how the leg twists when it breaks.
Dr. Valencia was fabulous! He was so calm, which helped keep Bacon calm. He said he would rather put him in a walking boot rather than a cast because little kids his age put stuff down the casts and they tend to get pretty wet. So after spending most of the afternoon there, we headed through town to get the walking cast. Bacon thought it was pretty cool when he first got it on. When he realized he had to keep it on he was less than thrilled.
He crawled around for a few days and we thought he would eventually just get up and walk. It became apparent that wasn’t going to happen, so one evening we spent an hour walking with him. I walked him to the loft and then said, “Daddy has candy in the office. Let’s go walk to him.” He then walked back to Tim and then the cycle would start all over again. It got him walking and then running and climbing and jumping and doing more than he did before. Nothing slowed him down!
He wore the boot all the time, minus in the bath, until January 8, when he had his check-up. His leg was healing wonderfully, so it was time to wean him off his boot. Nothing was stopping him anymore, not that the boot had stopped him. It only slowed him down for a few days. He was off and running as soon as he could be. Now he just climbs even more. We’ve found him sitting on their dressing, climbing and diving over Pach’s bedrail guard, on the piano, climbing up and flopping over couches, etc. He knows no fear.

The only good picture I can find.

5K Jingle Trail Run and 1K Santa’s Little Helper 2012

Today was the 7th annual Jingle Trail Run and Santa’s Little Helper run. It was great! Tim hung out with Bacon and took pictures as I ran with Pach and Pickle on their 1K run. They did pretty good. And they LOVED the little prizes they got at the end.

Then I got ready for my 5K run. It was a great day for the run! A bunch of young boys (9 to 12) were running the race. Last year one of them (Isaac) beat me and this year I told him I was going to be him, that was my goal! Well, I was ahead of him for the first 1 mile and a bit but then he passed me. Darn it! After I finished and found him, he goes, “Ha, I beat you!” and laughed. I told him next year I was going to break his leg so I could beat him. He and his friend laughed even harder. They are fun kids.

My real goal, however, for this race was to finish in under 30 minutes. I smashed that goal. I came in at 28:02 (according to my watch). I was feeling pretty good and going faster than I normally do and when I got to the first mile marker I looked at my watch and it said 9:16. I thought, “OK, a little fast but nice.” I was hurting a little and decided to slow down a bit. A couple minutes later Isaac and his mom passed me. She said to me, “You ran an 8:30 first mile. Way to go.” I told her it was a 9:16 and looked at my watch. Well, my watch said 9:19. After I’d started my stopwatch I clicked it back to normal time. Hahahaha! I slowed down a bit and felt a little better. It’s a crazy course, uphill and downhill, dirt, rock, grass and concrete path, aside from the track that we start and finish on. I am a little sore but I made my real goal and had a great time.

Pach and Pickle ready to go.