Woman Up!

I started my marathon training in May, right at the beginning of summer and I have gotten used to being slow as a turtle because of the ungodly Texas heat beating down on me every second of the run. But this past Sunday, the first day of fall, brought much much cooler weather and I saw a major difference in my run! 
I had been dreading this run...like dreading to the max because I knew I had never run that far and I knew I would be doing it all alone. But as I was going to bed on Saturday night, getting myself more and more nervous and anxious about the morning ahead, I just so happened to stumble across this...

This struck a cord in my brain and I realized I was getting myself in a tizzy for nothing. Whining and bitching about it wasn't going to do anything but put my head in a bad place and set me up for a bad run. So, I had a little "Come to Jesus" talk with myself and set my alarm for 3:45am so I could be out by 4:00am.

Before I knew it I was up...at 4:30am! AHHH I had overslept!! Instead of getting all worked up and stressed out again I got dressed, ate my PB and Banana Gluten-Free Toast, stretched, grabbed my lights (all 4 of them since it was still super dark out) and headed out the door telling myself "I can do this". I gave myself 4-5 hours to get it done. 

I took one step outside and a blast of cool, crisp fall air hit me in the face and I literally stood there and smiled and thanked GOD for such a gorgeous morning. As I took the corner of my block I thought that I should have brought a jacket because I was chilly. It was 53 degrees out after all!! 

The cooler weather truly was a blessing. I was expecting to finish the 20 miles in 4-5 hours and I actually did it in 3.5 hours! This makes me feel SOOOO much better about the upcoming Marathon! I might even be able to finish it under 5 hours! 

The moral of the run is to Shut your brain up. Stop getting all worked up and talking yourself out of something wonderful. WOMAN UP, Y'all!! Something Wonderful is out there waiting for you to accomplish it. 

Fall and Halloween Mini-Sessions!

I am so lucky to have such an awesome photographer in my life!! Go check out Cara Thompson Photography...especially right now since she is having an awesome Mini-Session Special!

Run or Dye Houston

This past weekend The Hubs, a few of my MRTT Ladies and I ran in Run or Dye Houston. You know, one of the super awesome crazy colored powder fun runs...AKA Get a bunch of colored corn starch thrown at you and in your face while you run a 5K. It's fun, just go with it.

Anywho, it was the first race The Hubs and I have ran together and it was awesome. He for the longest time has said he was NOT a runner but over the last few months he has been coming over to the Darkside and running! And I could not be happier about that!
It was also the first 5K for a bunch of my Moms RUN This Town Members! And I was so excited to be able to be a part of that experience with them. Especially when we crossed the finish line.
I have no idea what our time was or anything like that, all I know is that we had a blast and I am already scoping out another race for The Hubs and I do run together!!!!!

Longest Run to Date...

Gah! I cannot believe that in just a little over 2 months I will be running my first Full Marathon!! I am both so excited and so terrified at that fact...especially when I remember that just 1 year ago I could hardly run ONE mile without stopping and almost dying. I have come a long way and this weekend I hit a major milestone...my longest run to date. 

So far before this I had topped out at 15 miles and Saturday I had a 17 miler scheduled. Let me tell ya, I was not lookin forward to this run. I just could not get my head in the game all last week. But I made sure I ate right and hydrated properly to make life a bit easier. I found the best amino powder and it's really helped with my cardio and lifting workouts! 

I woke up and met my running buddies and we headed out at 6am for the run. I was still a little sleepy but around the first mile in we saw a skunk {only about 10 feet away from us} and that woke me up real quick! 

I wasn't going for speed on this run, I really just needed to get the miles in and when my Garmin beeped for the 17 mile completion I was so happy and proud of myself. 

Only 9.2 miles more and I would have had my marathon...but who am I kidding, I REALLY need to work my way up to that. 

I have 20 miles scheduled the Saturday after this coming one...that'll be my next milestone run. I'm really looking forward to that Run!! Let's hope I don't die in the process hahaha! 

The Pinterest Epidemic

By now you have probably found the awesome world of Pinterest. Maybe, like me, you've lost more than a few hours of your life sitting on the couch pinning away recipes, craft ideas and countless other things you may or may not ever use. But they're there. Just in case!! 

I have found it to be my biggest go to source for birthday party ideas for the boys and a great way to find palatable gluten free recipes. 

This eCard cracked me up though. I'm one of those moms that gets a bit crazy if my Pinterest project doesn't turn out just like the "easy tutorial" said it would. 

But I just have to remind myself that as a mom it's okay to take the shortcut sometimes. The kids don't really care all that much if the cookies aren't completely homemade. They just want the dang cookies!! 

Be the Bigger Person

There was once a time in my life where I would have fought tooth and nail to have the last word and make sure my voice was heard in every situation. But after having kids and growing up I realized sometimes it's okay to take a step back and not waste my breath when I know it's not going to make a difference to those that assume they know the whole story and what's going on because they're convinced that what they think is right. 

So I'll leave you with this...

Time to Get Real!

If you've been following my blog for any length of time then you will know that I am in the midst of training for my first Full Marathon, Rock n' Roll San Antonio. And although I have a real love for running and endurance sports, I do believe that I found my real place in the fitness scene...Lifting and Muscle Building. No, I didn't say Body Building because that usually brings to mind visions of overly veiny, super manly women and that is definitely NOT the look I am going for...not offense to anyone, that's just not for me personally. 

This brings me to a pretty big, and scarey, announcement...I have taken the plunge and am now in the beginning stages of Bikini Competition Prep. Yup, me...mother of 2...entering a Bikini Competition. What exactly is a Bikini Competition?? It's a category in the Figure Competition World...Bikini, Fitness, Figure. It's confusing, yes I know, But here are a few examples of the differences...

Bikini:

Fitness:

Figure:

Big differences, Right?!? Maybe one day I will be able to gain enough muscle to so Fitness but for now I am starting off with Bikini.

The Prep for Competition is pretty intense. And I can't REALLY start buckling down and really preparing until after the marathon due to needing to cut out intense cardio but I CAN start Upperbody work. 

Let's get beastin'!! I'm working on finalizing my training and eating plan so stay tuned!!