Walt Disney World's Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Part 3

If you missed part 1 here, and then onto part 2 here.

Part 3 and I promise the last one.

The lovely thunderstorms that canceled the half Saturday morning brought a nasty cold front through central Florida on Saturday afternoon. The forecasted temperature for start time Sunday morning was 36 with wind chill in the 20s. I grew up in Missouri, but I lost all that toughness when I moved to the South. E and I decided to find a Wal Mart Saturday morning to stock up on hand warmers, gloves, hats, and ponchos. We woke up at 3:15 Sunday morning, grabbed our stuff, and dashed to the car to head to the race. I am so glad we drove to the race instead of staying on property and taking the shuttle buses. We sat in the warm car as long as possible. Plus we parked right next to the staging area. It was sweet. Finally around 4 we made our way out of the car. The race didn't start until 5:30, and our corral wasn't scheduled to start until close to 6, but I had to pee. We still had to make our way through security, meet with a few people, and then hit the bathrooms before the long walk to the corrals. Disney advises to give 20 minutes to walk to the corrals from the staging area. I don't think it took that long, but it is still a pretty long walk. After we met with some friends, and hit the bathrooms, we took our place in the corral. It was on the long walk that E realized he lost his watch. He had it in his hydration vest, but it was gone when he went to put it on. Luckily, he didn't plan on using intervals so he decided to run by feel. He likes doing math while running so calculation his pace every mile helped him pass the time.

We were in corral H so we had a bit of a wait before our start, and I was so happy when we finally started running. It meant that I could try to warm up a bit. I had decided to use :90/:30 intervals for the race. Disney races are very popular with run/walkers so it can get crowded in spots when a group of friends or a pace group is near you. I ran in the grass a lot the first few miles. With such short intervals, I was afraid to venture to the middle too much so I stuck to the edges so I could move over during the walk break. So many people would just stop in the middle for their walk break, and it would cause such a bottleneck. I was feeling pretty good that day even with the frigid temperatures. I have always had an issue with fuel and nutrition for a marathon. I decided to suck it up and wear my hydration vest filled with Tailwind. I had tried it on short runs and knew it didn't bother me, but I had never tried it on long runs. I hate wearing my vest because it rubs my neck, but I was tired of vomiting during marathons. Let me tell you, the Tailwind was amazing. I would sip it whenever I was thirsty, and trying to make sure to take a big gulp every mile marker. I didn't use any gels or chews. I ate 2 bananas that were given on the course, and would take some water the second half of the race to balance out the Tailwind. I never felt sick. I was thrilled. I found myself running the miles a bit faster than I planned. At about the halfway point I decided to go for it. I was going to attempt my ultimate goal for a marathon which I had never achieved. Running through the parks is so exhilarating that I never felt tired during those parts.

How can you be unhappy when running down Main Street?

He had no line so I jumped right in

I crapped out a bit around mile 18, but I realized if I hustled I could still make my goal. I kicked it into gear, then had a mental breakdown at mile 20, kicked it up again, and then lost it at 22. By mile 22 I was spent. I switched my intervals to :60/:30 and that helped. I was able to get some energy again as I went through Hollywood Studios, but I wasn't moving as fast as before. I lost a minute per mile for the last 4 miles. Plus I had a 5 minute bathroom break at the halfway point in Animal Kingdom. (Thanks to Mother Nature for giving me that lovely time of the month issue the day before a race.) I was still really tired those last miles, but I kept going. I didn't stop running during my run intervals. I was shuffling at times, but I was still moving.

Nothing like giving Mickey a high 5 at the finish line

Despite my best effort I didn't make my goal time. I missed it by 7 minutes. If you take out my bathroom break it was only 2 minutes. I hate that I have to count that time, but it is what it is. This was a PR for me. It was my third marathon in eleven months. From my first to this one, I took 35 minutes off my time. I took 12 minutes off from my MCM time. I was pretty proud of myself. It is easy to run and have fun at Disney. The crowd support is great. The signs were funny, and people were giving away food along the course. I really had a great time. I have said this would be my last marathon, and it will be for now. With everything that is going on this year, training for one would be difficult. I have told myself to take a year off from that distance and consider it again for 2018. I really want to get my half time to under 2 hours which will be my goal for 2017-2018. Oh yeah, and run healthy again. 

    

Walt Disney World's Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Part 2

If you missed part 1, you can find it here.

I left off on Friday night. E and I were preparing for the half the next day when we started noticing rumors floating around social media that RunDisney was going to cancel the race. There was a chance of storms Saturday morning, but the chance had gone from 100% to 50%. Sure enough RunDisney started releasing information about the weather, and they would have an update at 7pm. E and I kept refreshing everything as we watched pictures roll in from the resorts showing signs stating the race was canceled. Finally around 7:15, the announcement was made. Race is canceled. Social media exploded. Everyone starts asking questions and freaking out. People were crying. I was pretty disappointed when I heard the news, and honestly, a bit pissed. The weather didn't look that bad, but I guess they had enough reason to think it would be. As the night went on, I started hearing stories about how people were going to run their 13.1 miles anyway. They would head out on Saturday and run around their resort to complete the miles. I was going to join until my head hit my pillow and I decided that sleep and rest would be better for my angry legs. A nasty storm did move through during the night when the first of the volunteers were scheduled to be out. I was out at 7am, and there was lightning. They did make the right call. Lightning in Florida is horrible, and I can understand  they did not want to endanger volunteers, employees, and runners. As for the ones that ran their own race Saturday, it was awesome. I saw so many pictures of hundreds of people doing laps around hotels to finish their miles. Spectators lined up to cheer. Employees set up water stations and snacks for the runners. There were even toilet paper finish lines. It restored my faith in people and reminded me that runners are awesome.

Now all of this caused an issue of people claiming that it wasn't the race so the miles didn't count, and so on. I am in the camp of it was great that people went out there, they did not complete the course so the challenges weren't true. It became quite the debate all weekend. Despite the lack of race, E and I still made the day fun. We fixed our half marathon shirts to reflect the true mileage for the day.

 We also made sure to find Donald while at Epcot so we could take a sad picture with him. He was pretty sad, too, that his race was canceled.

Ignore my face. Apparently I can't make a sad face.

We finally called it a day in the late afternoon. E and I knew that we would be running the next day, and it would be the big one. We made our way back to the condo to prepare for the marathon. It was going to be a cold one. To be continued...

***Sidenote: I have never experienced a cancellation of race. It is pretty disappointing to train for so long only to be told you won't be running. I will give RunDisney some credit. They provided runners 3 great options as an apology for the cancellation. Legally they didn't have to give us anything. I was impressed with how generous they were.

Walt Disney World's Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Part 1

I am breaking this into a few parts since it was a crazy weekend.

Many months ago I registered for Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. For those not familiar with RunDisney, it is a challenge where you run the half marathon on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday. 39.3 miles over 2 days. It used to be the only challenge for the weekend until they introduced the Dopey Challenge a few years ago that includes running the 5K, 10K, half and marathon over 4 days. 48.6 miles for those dopey people. I didn't think it would be that bad until I started my back to back long runs in November. It took a bigger toll on my body than I realized. My legs were already sore after coming off MCM training. Then I throw in back to back long runs, and my legs were pissed. I have been suffering from shin splints since July, and then I developed some odd foot pain that I can't diagnose. I was completing my runs, but much slower than I anticipated. I knew I would finish the challenge, but it was probably going to be my slowest half marathon and marathon to date. After I finished MCM I said that Goofy would be my last marathon so I was going into it looking to have fun. My plan was to use run/walk intervals to save my legs for the marathon. During the half I was going to use a :60/:60 ratio and take all the pictures I could. For the marathon I planned to use 2/:30 because I didn't want to be out there forever. I had my plan in place, and now it was time to use it.

We went down Thursday afternoon so we could hit the expo and pick up all our stuff. The girls were running the kids' races Friday and we didn't want to be rushed in the morning. My brother and niece were flying in from Kansas City to vacation with us and watch the girls while we ran. Their flight was supposed to arrive at 11pm, but thanks to delays did not arrive until 3am. It was a short night of sleep for them. Thankfully they were troopers the next day, and we didn't have to get up too early Friday morning. Our plan was to hit the kids' races and then head to Hollywood Studios for a bit. E and I wanted to get to bed early Friday night since we would be waking up at 3am Saturday morning for the race. Plus everyone was tired from the delayed flight fiasco. The girls had awesome races. Meeghan ran the 200 meter race, and Hannah ran the 1 mile.

 Yes, they had matching outfits except for the skirts. I wish I looked as good as them when I run.

After our afternoon at Hollywood Studios, we went back to the condo to enjoy some pizza and prepare to run 13.1 miles the next morning. As we would find out just an hour after eating dinner, our plans would change dramatically.

To be continued...

Marine Corps Marathon

I am going to skip over the formality of why I haven't written. Life. I think that can sum it up perfectly.

I did want to write about my experience at the Marine Corps Marathon this past weekend. I had never been to Washington, D.C. before the race so I was excited to see new sights, and take in the People's Marathon.

I flew on Friday, and went to the expo after checking in to the hotel. It was smooth process to pick up my bib and shirt. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but it was nice to look at the different booths.

After dinner we checked out the White House at night.

Saturday I didn't want to walk too much so we kept it pretty easy by sleeping in, and then heading to the Mall. We visited the Air and Space Museum (of course),

My brother loves Star Trek so I took a picture for him.

The rest of the day was spent resting and contemplating the race. 

Sunday was the day. I was up at 4:30 for an 8am start thanks to the Metro issues. I am glad I left when I did because I heard it was pretty crowded about an hour after I left. I walked right on the shuttle and was whisked to the Runner's Village. The weather was not the best. I never have good luck in the weather department. I was hoping for cooler weather since it was D.C. and the end of October. However the forecasted high for that day was 80. 80! I was pretty worried about the heat bothering me. I trained in the heat here in Florida, but I was never out there in full afternoon sunshine. I had a time goal for the race, but decided to not worry about it when I saw the temperature. Also, I was worried about the hills. Florida is flat. Very flat. The first 3 miles of the race is up, and then the end is hilly. I wasn't sure how I would respond to the hills. 

That is the elevation map for the race

I wanted to go out slow and speed up for the second half. Unfortunately I went out fast. I thought I would be able to maintain it, but I eventually died around mile 21. Considering I only had one 20 mile training run I was pretty pleased I lasted that long with the conditions. I took one break to fix my sock that was rubbing on my toe and caused a blister. I also had one bathroom stop that cost me a few minutes. I noticed at the end that I wasn't really sweating and I knew I was in trouble. I started dousing cups of water on me at the water stops which I would regret later. I really wanted to quit, but knew that if I switched to walking it would take forever to finish, and I was done. I just put my head down and kept going because I needed to finish. I crossed the line 19 minutes after my time goal, but it was a 13 minute PR so I will take it. I was proud that I conquered the hills, the weather, and my brain. 

I had some medical issues when I finished. I made it halfway out of the chute when I vomited. Another runner took care of me since the medics were busy with more serious cases. I saw a lot of people on stretchers. After a few minutes of resting and some liquids I was ready to head back to the hotel. When I finally made it back to the hotel I realized that I chafed everywhere. My chest, arms, back, side of my body, my forearm, and my knees all were chafed. It was horrible. I am guessing when I dumped the water on me, it caused friction. 

My side

My back

My chest

Monday we decided to head back to the Mall and the Capitol. We took a tour of the Library of Congress, and then of the Capitol. We also visited a lot of the memorials on the Mall. The steps in the buildings killed me. I was moving pretty slow on Monday. I loved seeing all the monuments even if I was in pain.

I was very impressed by Washington, D,C and I would love to visit the city again. There is so much to do, and I definitely couldn't visit it all in the short time I was there. As for the race, if you ever get a chance to run it, do it. It was amazing. The Marines are great. The crowd support was unbelievable. There was only one real stretch that wasn't lined with people and that was a bridge. Even the Pentagon parking lot had people cheering. You run past so many of the famous sites of the city. Between mile 10 and 11, they have the Blue Mile where they have pictures of fallen service members, and then family members holding flags. I almost cried running through this part. So many faces that left this world too soon made you realize that running 26 miles isn't that big of a deal. I wish I had taken pictures during the race. I didn't want to keep messing with my phone so I left it in the armband. It has been my favorite race so far. It is a lottery which typically opens mid to late March. I never want to run a marathon again (except I have that pesky Goofy race in January). However, if I choose to run a fifth marathon in the future, this one would be at the top of my list. Oh, and I would train for the hills next time. 

Lazy summer days

I keep neglecting this little blog. With summer here, it is hard to do anything while the girls are awake. If I sit down I become a jungle gym for Meeghan. The summer has been a typical one. We are camping when we can. We spent a weekend at Cocoa Beach so we could check out Kennedy Space Center. It was pretty neat to see. E has always wanted to be an astronaut, and so he was pretty happy to see the shuttle. We camped at Patrick AFB, and our spot was along the river. It was really pretty to look out the window and watch the water. We are gearing up for a trip back to Kansas City. We are going to take the RV so we can camp along the way, and then camp while we are there. Usually we stay at my brother's house, but I always feel bad doing it. When we stay with them it is 8 people living in a house that is built for a family of 4. We are losing our free lodging, but this should give us some space and allow my brother's family to keep theirs. I am not looking forward to the drive. 17 hours of driving over 2 1/2 days (one way). The girls get antsy on a 20 minute drive around town.

I have also started marathon training. This time I am going full throttle. The Navy sent E out of town during the holiday weekend, and of course this was the first long run of the training plan. I sucked it up and ran 8 miles while pushing the girls in the stroller. It sucked. I was looking to get the miles on my legs, and I wasn't too worried about time. The heat doesn't help either. It is still in the upper 80s at 8 o'clock at night. I am looking to buy a treadmill for the days where getting outside is not feasible. 17 weeks until the race. This time I will hit my goal time.


Another thing has taken up my time is I have become an ombudsman for E's squadron. It is a voluntary position, but it comes with a lot of commitments. I haven't gone through training yet so I feel a bit lost about the job. Essentially, I am the line of communication between family members and the triad of the squadron (the people in charge). It is only for a year, and luckily most of that year falls during home cycle when nobody really needs us. Deployments bring about more questions and concerns.

The girls fell asleep during my shorter run Sunday night

Playing Catch Up...Again

Once again I have neglected this space. I blame the kids. Again.

Speaking of the kids, they are definitely keeping me busy. Hannah is in girl scouts and soccer which means a lot of running around for her. She is about to finish kindergarten, and she is ready for first grade. We are still waiting for the gifted program testing to see where she will be placed for first grade. She lost her first tooth last month. She had been waiting to lose a tooth since the second day of kindergarten.

She also learned how to ride her bike without training wheels and how to tie her shoes. I can't take credit for those because E tackled those after he came home. 

Meeghan is the same old Meeghan. She is still a quiet mouse at school and a nonstop talker at home. She is still pretty tiny, but the terrible threes have hit. Many meltdowns and power struggles lately. 

I haven't been doing much lately. Basically I try to survive the days without eating all the chocolate in the house. Hopefully I will have a review of the Disney Star Wars Dark Side Half coming soon. Oh, I also registered for the Goofy Challenge at Disney in January. I will run the half on Saturday and then the full on Sunday. I told myself no more marathons after Marine Corps, and E said no more marathons period. Somehow we talked each other into, and now we are both running it. 

The last big thing is we bought an RV. We went to look one afternoon, and somehow we walked out of there the owners of one. We have wanted one for years, but financially it was never a good decision. Now that we are more stable, we decided to look again. I never thought we would buy one this quickly. It is a little travel trailer. It isn't huge. Our minivan can't pull anything too large, but I think it is a good start. If we like it, we may upgrade in a few years. 

Yes, I am already looking for lights and fun curtains to decorate it. 

Stitch Fix

I am slowly crawling out from the hole that is the flu. I figured I could write a quick post about the Stitch Fix I received a month ago. (I know I am a slacker.) I apologize in advance for the crappy pictures. It turns out the only place I have a full length mirror is in my dark closet. Please ignore the mess in my closet. It has been cleaned since these pictures.

Pieces 1 and 2:

I liked the fit and feel of the capris, but the white scared me. I am pretty clumsy. Add to that the dogs and kids, and I felt like they would be ruined pretty quickly. The blue top was very soft, but I felt like it showed my pooch too much. Plus with the lacy shoulders I couldn't decide if I could wear a regular bra with it. Is it okay to show bra straps now?

Piece 3:

I really liked this top. I felt it hid my pooch without being too frumpy.

Piece 4:

I loved the color of this top, but I didn't like how it looked on me. I felt it was too low cut. (I used to wear stuff that showed a lot more. I guess I am old now!)

Piece 5:

I liked this top because it covered everything, and it was a bit different than other pieces of my wardrobe. I didn't feel too frumpy in it either.

So in the end I kept 3 and 5. I was torn on the blue shirt, but in the end I sent it back. I am excited to see what the next box will have. I went with the every other month subscription so hopefully in about a month I will have more clothes to share. (I didn't realize how bad these pictures are. I will try a new way next time.)

Third times a charm?

With all the excitement of the end of the deployment, I haven't really had time to reflect on what happened shortly before E came home. I entered the lottery for the Marine Corps Marathon not really expecting to have my name drawn. Let's face it. The odds aren't great (although this one has better odds than others. I am looking at you NYC.) Anyway, drawing day came and I started to read that charges were showing on bank accounts. I decided to check even though it was only the first wave. I was pretty shocked when I saw a pending charge from MCM. Shocked. I couldn't believe that I actually won a lottery. So now I have 6 months to train for my third marathon. I am pretty scared after the last one. However, I knew after the last one that I needed one more shot at this distance. One more chance to prove to myself that I can do it without my body hating me. I need to find hills here in flat Florida to train for hills. And I need to find some new fuel for my runs so I don't end up sick again. I think I can do it. The other bad part is I have some random foot injury. The pain comes and goes. When I have it, I can barely put weight on it. I have my last race of the season Sunday (Star Wars Half at Disney World). I am going to take that one easy, and then heal so I can tackle this marathon. 

Also, I have never been to Washington, D.C. Any suggestions on restaurants or must see? I will only have a few days. E is going with me, and he pretty much just wants to spend every day at the Air and Space Museum. 

Finally!

The time has come and E is finally home! He has been home for a few days, and it has been so nice. The only bad part was his plane landed in the middle of the night. I had to drag the girls out of bed at 2 am, but it was totally worth it. He was given a few days off before he has to go back to work, and we are just hanging out enjoying being a family again. It is still a little weird having him home since I used to him being gone, but I know that will fade.

The Other Half of My Story

A few weeks ago I wrote about how the running portion of my life. Now I will fill you in on the rest of my life. I was contemplating quitting school because I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. Also, I was shocked by how much I would have to spend on a nanny for the two semesters I would be in practicum. At the beginning of February I decided to pull the trigger and withdraw from classes. It may not have been the smartest move, and I definitely didn't feel 100% sure about the decision, but I think it has been a good one. I was already falling behind because I was having trouble finding the time to study, and then when I did have the time I was falling asleep or thinking of all the other things I needed to do. Honestly, the idea of going back to work scares me. I haven't worked since 2011, and I kind of like my freedom. The extra money would be nice, but I am not sure how much extra money there would be after child care costs. I can't count on E being around to help out because the needs of the Navy are first. He can't stay home if the girls are sick. Hell, he can barely stay home if he is sick. Every day I feel better about my decision.

As for other stuff, E is still deployed. I swear this is the longest deployment ever. I don't remember the year long Army deployments feeling this long. Thankfully, the end is almost here. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and every day it shines brighter. Hannah's attitude is still pretty bad, and I am trying to ride it out until E is home to see if that makes a difference. If it doesn't, we may be visiting a professional. I need help, and I don't know what to do anymore with her behavior. In the good news department, she will be tested for the gifted child program at her school. The girl is too dang smart for me now. She figured out that the characters at Disney are just people in costumes since their eyes and mouths don't move. I guess Santa is next. Meeghan is Meeghan. She is getting a pretty nasty attitude, but she is in the terrible 3s and she has a good teacher in Hannah. She is pretty proud because she learned how to put on her shoes. She is so excited to show E when he comes home. She still doesn't talk much at school, but I know she loves it there. She asks to stay late every day.

Just because a post should have a picture, here is one from Sunday when we visited the Magic Kingdom. (I am loving the Memory Maker feature of Meeghan's annual pass. I do not love the price increase though.)

Marathon #2 in the books!

So I guess I have become more of a once a month post kind of person. I blame my kids for causing me to be so exhausted at the end of the day that all I want to do is eat chocolate and then go to bed.

I have many things to write about, but I will have to divide it up into two posts. This one I am going to focus on the running part of my life because it is easier.

Sunday I completed my second marathon. If any of you want to run an awesome race, come to Jacksonville and run 26.2 with Donna. They have a half, a full, and a 5K throughout the weekend. I believe next year they are adding a 10K for the 10 year anniversary. It is a race that was started by a breast cancer survivor to raise money for breast cancer research. She is joined by Mayo Clinic where many women are treated for breast cancer. Part of the race is usually on the beach, but this year they moved it off the beach. I was sad I wouldn't run with the ocean at my side, but glad I wouldn't have to deal with the sand and salt. I couldn't get over how all the neighborhoods on the course came together to cheer on the runners. There were decorations, music, food, water, block parties, funny signs, and just a ton of people out. It was basically a 26 mile long party. I wish my phone was more accessible while I run so I could take pictures. There were only a few spots where it was quiet and no spectators. Some sections were so loud I couldn't even hear my music. The entry fee is a bit higher than other races, but all the proceeds go to the foundation. Seriously, if you are looking for a fantastic half or full, run this race.

Now, onto how I did. My training sucked for this race. Just plain sucked. Between school and a virus that knocked me out most of December, I was happy to get to 18 miles 5 weeks before the race. I knew that it was probably going to be ugly at the end, but I was hoping adrenaline would help. The first 15 miles of the race were great. I was hanging with the pace group (ahead at one point which would turn out to be a bad idea), and I was feeling good. At some point during mile 16 my stomach started to hurt, and not in a I need to go to the bathroom way. It felt like a knife was in my stomach. Some kids were handing out bananas so I grabbed one hoping it would help. It helped a bit. It was at this point I lost the pace group because my stomach and lack of training were slowing me down. I make it mile 20 and I am taking pretty long walk breaks at this point to settle my stomach. I stopped at the med tent where they told me I needed more salt. They handed me some chips, a cup of water, and a barf bag. They sad they could call the sag wagon and I politely declined saying I was so close I would walk the entire thing just to finish. I continued on with trying to run only to feel awful so then I would walk. Finally around mile 21.5 I vomited. I did feel better, but still weird. I decided to stop running and just walk the rest. I was still feeling pretty weird and shaky, but decided the run the last mile to finish the race. I missed my goal time by a lot. I mean a lot. I was okay with it, though, because I finished. Technically it was a PR which is always good.

I am guessing I was dehydrated because on Monday my legs felt great, but my body felt like crap. I didn't stop to pee once during the race, and not much was there after. I think I went twice the rest of the day. I took Gatorade every other stop, and water I took at every stop. My legs felt great for lack of training. I know that if I can figure out this nutrition problem I could probably bring in a time I want. I said I was finished with marathons after this one, but I really want another shot. I want to figure out if my body just hates this distance or if I am not feeding it correctly.

The only picture I have right now is the one I took of myself on the bus. However, if I buy my finish line picture I will share it. My face depicted exactly how I felt. Here is my only picture:

Speaking of running, I really want to run a Ragnar Relay one day. If anyone else is interested, let me know. Seriously. I want to form a team, but I am having trouble finding people who want to do it.

I am still here! (Kind of)

I had to abandon my tiny corner of the internet thanks to school and life. I feel like school has taken over every aspect of my life, and I have to squeeze everything in the little spare time I have. I have done a crappy job of balancing everything. I don't study as much as I should because I get tired of it. The girls take the rest of my energy. I have been having problems with Hannah lately, and it is to the point I am considering professional help. She has been physical and full of attitude. She tells me she is mad at me all the time. She wants to know when I am finished with homework so she can spend time with me again. I feel guilty. E is still deployed although we do have light at the end of the tunnel. I have come very close to quitting school. I have no passion for it. I did fine last semester, but I really should have studied more. I am great last minute studier, but I didn't really retain the knowledge. I should be studying now, but I can't even force myself to open a text book. I know if I go to E and say I want to quit, he will be angry. I would be quitting something once again. Life would be so much easier if I didn't have to worry about school. I could actually do stuff with the girls. I could go to things at their schools. This program is hard. It is very challenging, and I know I am not putting into what it is required. I also have no clue if I even want to work when I am finished. I know I complained about staying home, but I really would be sad if I couldn't attend the special lunches and programs at school. I always had my mom attend the special things at school. I want my daughters to have the same experience especially since they are missing out on having their dad around all the time. I know part of it, too, is just fatigue. This deployment has felt like an eternity. I am so ready for it to be over. E wants to go on a family vacation when he comes home, but oh wait school won't allow it for me. I guess he can go with the girls.

There have been a lot of positives the last few months. Hannah has been chosen to be tested for a gifted child program. She went through a period where she wanted to be homeschooled because she was bored. She was crying and begging me not to send her to school, but things are better now. I told her first grade would be better because they would have more options and programs to challenge her. Meeghan is slowly coming out of her shell. She is starting to talk to her teachers which is progress. She has changed so much since E left. I have redecorated (or really decorated) the house. My mother-in-law painted the office, my bedroom, and the guest room for me. I bought a new bed. The girls wan to change their room so I am using that as incentive for them to sleep in their room since they were sleeping on an air mattress in my room. Running was bad in December thanks to some horrible cold virus that stuck around for 3 weeks. However, this month has been great. I have run two halves, and both of those times were much faster than previous races. I have started using intervals while running longer distances. It was the only way I could even run a mile in December so I had no choice when I had a half on January 3rd. There is no way I would have been able to run the entire race. I run for 4 minutes and walk for 30 seconds. It is just enough of  walk break that I am running miles at the end of a race faster than I ever have. I have a marathon in 2 weeks that I am not completely prepared for. I have only made it to 18 miles. Both attempts at 20 fell short thanks to stupid reasons. I can switch to the half if I need to, but I think I am going to go for the full. It may be the stupidest thing I have done, but at least I will try. I also volunteered for the first time at the Disney World Marathon. I was handing out powerade just before mile 23. The faces and sounds people make at that point are pretty funny. Also, it was pretty amazing to see the behind the scenes stuff for a race. My shift started at 4:30am and we packed up around 1pm. It was a long day, but a good one.

That is all I have for now. I hope it won't be another 3 months before I visit here again. If it is, just assume I am buried in textbooks and powerpoints!

6 years

Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. This is the first time in 6 years that we are spending the day apart. Normally, we don't usually celebrate, or do anything big, but it still sucks that we are apart.

Our wedding day wasn't fancy or even big. I hate having people stare at me or focus on me so I wanted something small. Hell, I was content to go to city hall. After many discussion, we finally decided on Vegas. We like to travel so we figured we could go on vacation and get married at the same time. E was still in Iraq while I planned the wedding which meant I made most of the decisions. I finally chose Mandalay Bay (the aquarium area of Mandalay Bay to be exact.) There were sharks floating around me while I said "I do". Since it was a small space they only allowed 10 people. We had our families and a few close friends come. I was pretty excited to stand in front of a few instead of a few hundred. The ceremony started at 9am, and lasted 15 minutes. It was perfect in my eyes. The big secret we kept for that weekend was I was pregnant with Hannah. I was a bit scared to tell my conservative, Catholic family that I was pregnant already so I made E do it. I am a baby I know. We had discussed starting a family and decided to try the month before the wedding. Who knew it would actually happen?! So, I was 7 weeks along when I walked down the aisle.

Our wedding day. We look so young!

My friends that came to celebrate (thank you pregnancy for giving me cleavage)

My family and E's family

My brother who wanted to wear a Hawaiian shirt or tuxedo t-shirt. I chose Hawaiian.

The first year of our marriage was rough. Really rough. To the point where I almost left. However, we have grown a lot and learned how to work through the rough patches. Marriage isn't easy, but I am glad the last 6 years have been spent married to him. It is already the 10th in Japan. Happy Anniversary, E!

Let's Get Physical

Yes, that song is running through my head now.

The girls are still sleeping horribly (and so am I). I am still failing a class even after a second attempt at a quiz. The class is hard! However, one thing going well for me is running.

I am taking advantage of having grandma here to help, and filling my racing schedule. When E is home, we either have to take turns running a race or find one that allows strollers. Since it is just me running right now, it makes it easier to register for a race. I have a 10 miler in October, a half in November (and maybe a 10K), I am still deciding about December, a half in January, a full in February, a 15K in March, and a half in April (Star Wars at Disney World). I know I will add a few more before the season gets into full swing. I was following Jeff Galloway's plans, and it was a great way to ease me into running, but I wanted to work on my times. I decided to try Hal Higdon's plan for my next half. Training started a few weeks ago, and it seems to be working. I went from running 3 days a week to 5 days. My legs are responding to the fatigue. Some runs start off a bit sluggish, but I finish strong. I am starting to see faster times more consistently despite the wretched heat and humidity we still have here. I have no clue if it will translate to longer runs, but I am excited to see if it works. My biggest hurdle is still the mental aspect. The minute I decide I am tired my body shuts down. I have to yell at myself not to slow down or stop. I start playing the "run to each lightpole" game. I am working hard on fighting the mental fatigue that has always plagued me. Some runs end up emotional runs because I feel like it is the only time I can truly think about everything going on. I consider it free therapy. I have set my 3 goals for the half in November. I am still not sure if I want to share them at this point, but I am going to fight to meet my A goal. 

Time

It has been over a month since I have updated although I do write some great blog posts in my head while driving to and from school. School is taking all my free time. I am behind in every class thanks to the unorganized program I am in, but I am trying my hardest to catch up. The classes are harder than I thought they would be. Plus the girls are really clingy. On top of school for Hannah, Meeghan, and myself, we are dealing with a deployment. E left a few weeks ago, and the girls are not handling it well. Meeghan doesn't understand so she is super clingy. Hannah is fine during the day, but clingy at night. All this means that nobody is sleeping well. I get up at 5am to get my run in for the day since I know trying to run during the day won't happen. I tried to run after putting the girls to bed last week, and Meeghan stood at the window screaming for me. My mother-in-law is here to watch the girls while I am in school so that does help, but I am still struggling with trying to fit in all of the study time. For every hour I am in class, I am supposed to spend 2 hours at home studying. That would be 20 hours a week. Not happening! I no longer have any expectations other than passing these classes. C is for cookie and that is good enough for me.

Back to school

School hasn't started around here yet. However, a few weeks ago I received a very large envelope in the mail telling me I had been accepted into the Medical Laboratory Technology program. It is official! I will be in school to become a MLT. The funny thing is years ago when I was in college so many people told me this is what I needed to study instead of general biology. I wish I would have listened to them. I am taking the hard route by getting the associates degree for MLT, and then going back for the bachelor's for MT. I am pretty excited to start the classes. And a bit scared. I think it will be good though. I am hoping after all this I can work part time while the girls are in school so we have some extra money for debt, and I can still be available for their school functions or extracurricular activities.

My life will revolve around all sorts of bodily fluids. Yay!

21 Day Fix

Normally, I don't really buy into these kind of programs that limit what you eat. However, a friend of mine is a Beachbody coach so I figured I would try it. She swore it would help my running. I was supposed to start last week, but I failed miserably because of vacation. So Monday was my first real day of trying the program. I hate it. I hate that I am hungry all the time. I know I was probably eating portions that were too big, but dang. I. Am. Hungry. It is making me cranky and irritable which means I am yelling a lot. I am supposed to portion out my food, and follow the color container for food type. It calls for a lot of protein. Unfortunately, I don't like to eat a lot of meat and the other proteins are things I don't eat. They have beans in a different category so I am screwed. I am hoping in a week I will adjust, and I won't feel so hungry but I know they limit your calories on purpose. I am not too concerned about losing weight. I want to be toned and stronger. The workouts are pretty hard, and I typically yell obscenities at the lady on the screen. I push through, though, and finish it. The office has been transformed into a semi-gym. We bought floor mats to make it softer since we have laminate flooring. I will keep plugging away for the next 3 weeks to see how much it works, and I will do my best to stay away from chocolate (you know that thing that keeps me sane).

Happy thoughts

Things around here haven't been especially happy and positive lately so I thought I would post all the good things happening. I have been in a funk, and I am hoping that focusing on the positive will help break out of it.

• I have a 95% test average in my class right now. All the late night study sessions are paying off. 
• Meeghan is 99% potty trained. At night one of us has to wake her to take her to the bathroom, but most morning she is waking up dry. Plus she is over her fear of public restrooms! A few weeks ago she had no choice but to go in one, and she did. Since that night she has gone without a fuss. It has made outings so nice. 
• E is taking leave in a few days so we are taking a mini vacation
• Hannah ate mashed potatoes last night! I know it doesn't sound like a huge deal, but for 2 years she has been refusing to eat them. Last night she helped me make them, and decided she wanted to try them. I can finally make potato dishes again!
• I may have made a friend here. She is close to my age and has two boys close to my girls' ages. We were talking about going to Disney together while our husbands are gone.
• E was promoted this month. The pay raise is always nice when trying to pay down our debt. 

And with that bit of happiness, I am off to study about point of care testing and all the crap that goes with it. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I am back!

It has been almost a month. I am slacking lately. E was home on leave which I thought would be relaxing. Ha! He decided he needed to do stuff so we painted the living room, kitchen, and the hallways. As well painting the cabinets. We also threw in a day trip to Disney. It was not relaxing like I hoped. It was tiring! Let me tell you, all the squatting I did to paint the baseboards counted as cross training. My booty was sore for a few days. What free time I do have has been spent catching up on my classwork. We have to type labs and study questions. I was far behind, and my notebook is due soon. I needed to type all this stuff so I can get back on schedule. We did sneak in a date night. It consisted of going to dinner and then Target, but it was nice to eat and shop without kids. We are running out of time to hang out as a family of four. A deployment date has been issued and now it is looming over us. Thankfully, he will be here for Hannah's first day of kindergarten. Also, his mom will be moving here to help out so I don't have to hire someone while I am in school. The girls are pretty excited to have grandma here for a few months. I am hoping I can be more consistent with updating. I am still struggling with balancing everything right now. I promise I will try harder though!

Running lately

Lately, exercise for me is chasing after a dog who stole something, or trying to bathe a child who clearly doesn't want to take a bath. With E gone, running  means pushing a double stroller or running on a treadmill at the family gym on base. Base is 20 minutes away, and the kids interrupt me constantly so I never really get to run, so pushing a stroller it is. However, we are in the middle of summer here, and it is around 100 every day. I am limited to early morning or late evening. I have tried both, and neither are working very well. The farthest I have run in about 3 weeks is 2 miles. I figure since I am pushing 65 pounds of kid while doing it that I can really count it as 4 miles. I decided just to call June a rest month, and start fresh again in July. My times are going to be slow, and my stamina will probably suck again, but not much I can do when life gets in the way. I am sure I could try harder to squeeze a run in, but I haven't. Since I can only study at night, I also have to choose between studying and running. Studying wins. Here's hoping to a fresh start in July.