The Weekend Report

We have had a wonderfully simple & just perfect weekend for us, so I just wanted to do a little bit of a recap.

Before Adam and I met in person, we were just teens chatting on social media. During one of these chats, I promised Adam I would cook him spaghetti. I'm pretty sure I was just talking out of my butt because I did not know how to make spaghetti at the time. But when we finally met, I made him spaghetti. He loved it, and I used to make us spaghetti almost every Friday night. But since weight loss surgery, I haven't made it much at all because I really don't eat pasta. But this Friday, I decided to cook him some spaghetti just for him as a treat.I got to use our new stove for the first time and he got his favorite meal. That's a real win-win.

After dinner, I watched a movie I had been excited about for a while, As Dreamers Do. It is all about the early life of Walt Disney. It was a little bit of a cheesy movie, probably a little bit too simplistic. But I liked the movie regardless. No different than a lifetime movie or a hallmark movie, and I always stick those out to the bitter end (like the Brittany Murphy Story, so awful!). I enjoyed sticking this one out though.

I signed up for a local 5k on a whim last week. I always wonder why I do this to myself because setting an alarm for 6:30 on a Saturday is so not cool! But I'm always glad I did. It was uber cold on Saturday morning, feeling so much like Fall! Although I was cold pre-race, I knew I would warm up once the race started. This was a smallish race (maybe 70-100). I was nervous as always, worrying my legs would fail me. But they didn't! I finished the race in 44:20! That is 3 whole minutes off my last 5k time!  And can I say that run has me so excited for Fall weather running? Bring it on!

 

Adam did some yard work around the house on Saturday. I love watching my husband do manly, man things (not that women can't do them too, but I'd just rather not).

 

(BTW, I'm lovin' my fuzzy hair, and Carlee our weekend house guest resting on my lap in this picture). Adam recently remembered that he has an Atari (how he forgot this I will never know). So we went to the Athens-Limestone Flea Market to browse some classic video games. He bought a whole bunch of Atari games. He also picked up his favorite Nintendo game, Duck tales, and my favorite childhood game, M.C. Kids. It is a game that was basically made to advertize McDonalds (yes that McDonalds), but it is so fun and surprisingly difficult. We had fun messing around on those for a bit. 

Of course, no fall weekend would be complete without a little Packer's football. This was our first public outing in our cheeseheads this year, and we checked out a new sports bar that we liked a lot! We got a rough start, and the gamed looked awful during the first half, but we pulled off the win anyway! So that's a good game day!

By the way, this is the face you make after celebrating two Randall Cobb touchdowns, just to be reminded your opponent in your Fantasy league is playing Randall Cobb. The cheesehead of shame!

Brittany

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Running of the Bulls 5k

Last weekend on a whim, I decided to sign up for a fairly local 5k, The Running of the Bulls, just because I love a good race. Plus, it has been a while since my first full 5k running a few months ago, and I wanted to see if I could do better on my time.

Adam decided to come with me, although I told him he certainly didn't have to. Just because I decided to get up early on a SATURDAY, didn't mean he needed to be tortured as well . But he really wanted to support me (and I love him for it). Although, every time I metioned what time we would be getting up (5:30) he made sure to tell me he, "hated me."

When the alarm went off, I was ready to go. The 5k was not as local as I thought it was though, and it took us 45 minutes to get over to the race area. But the GPS failed us, and we could not figure out where to go at all! This made me anxious, as we drove all over the place, just trying to figure out where we were supposed to go. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we finally found the location for the race, and it was one of the first locations we stopped at. I don't know how we didn't see the finish line the first go round!

We got there at 7, I knew the race started at 7:30. This barely gave me time to use the bathroom, pick up my packet, pin on my bib number, and get a proper warm-up completed. You know how I said the race started at 7:30? Nope, I was dead wrong, it actually started at 8! I was a total nincompoop that morning. 

Once I realized I had some spare time,  I stopped to pose for a picture with the school mascot. It reminded me of being back in NYC on wall street with the bull market statue.

It was so hot and humid that morning, and I was worried about being properly hydrated. I was dripping in sweat even before the race started. Luckily, the course was a nicely, shaded trail. 

I felt really good throughout the race, even from the beginning (my least favorite part). I could feel the progress I had made in the last couple of months! I was actually passing people! I have never been able to pass people, I was always the one being passed! 

When my app announced I had gone a mile, I was SHOCKED to learn I had completed it in 13:53. I have never done a sub 14 minute mile.  Before this race, my fastest mile was 14:30.  I was so incredibly proud in that moment.  My next splits slowed down a bit (14:23 and 14:59). All under 15 minutes!  I think I'm going to be in such good shape for Disney!

The last little bit of the race had a short but steep incline, followed by a brief downhill stint. When I rounded the cornor, I could see Adam cheering me on. I crossed the finish line at 47:30. That is my best 5k time to date! .

That post race watermelon was possibly the best food I ever tasted. 

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The "Big" 5k

Last week, I decided I wanted to do a 5k over this weekend. So I hoped on Active.com and found the "Big" 5k, right here in Huntsville. It was a charity run for big brothers/big sisters. I love that organization, so I thought this race would be perfect.

For a while now, I have been feeling very frustrated with myself during 5ks, because I could not perform in races like I do in my work-outs. It was all mental. There was no reason I could barely run a lick in races, when I have been able to run 3 miles working out many, many times!  So my motivation in signing up for this race was to break that mental barrier.  Therefore, I decided to go alone.

In no way, has doing 5ks with my husband or Jana held me back. But I knew to break this mental barrier, I would need to dig deep and be focused only on myself and my running. I have never done a race alone, so I didn't know what it would be like. 

I had a somewhat fitful night's sleep on Friday. I kept waking up to glance at the clock, terrified I was going to miss the alarm. I guess it was a case of pre-race jitters. My alarm went off at 5:45, and I got up, got dressed, and drove over to Huntsville (the race started at 7).

I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, as I walked the parking lot trying to get a decent warm-up in.  I tried not to think about the race at all. But soon it was time to line up, and before I knew it the start horn blew. I just started jogging. I told myself my first goal was to get to the half  mile mark. It is a pretty short distance, and I always feel better after the half mile mark.

When I got to a half mile, I still felt decent, so I just kept going.  The first mile and a half went by pretty fast. But once I got to 2 miles, it started to feel difficult and I had to dig in. The course wasn't entirely flat, and I hate HILLS (even small ones). But I kept going anyway. 

I once told my husband he shouldn't talk to me when I'm hungry, tired, or going up hills.

When I saw the finish line, I wanted to cry. When I crossed the finish line, I almost did cry. I did it in 49 minutes (a 15:40 minute mile average). I had done it, I had finally broke that mental barrier. I felt amazing. And tired. And sweaty.

I immediately called my husband, mom, and texted Jana the news! I could not wait to share it with them (even if they were still asleep). They were so happy to celebrate with me. I wanted to tell everyone! 

I walked over to the food tent to grab a banana, and a lady I did not know came up to me. She said that she had been walking behind me the whole time and she was so inspired by me. Someone was inspired by little old me.Hearing that made me feel amazing. 

Today was the best day, I have truly never been more proud of myself.  I just can't wait to see how I will do in the next race. I guess now I have to work toward finishing a 10k, running!

J's Running Bucket List

30 Races to do before 30!

Most people have a "bucket list" of things they want to accomplish before they die. I have a 30 races that I want to accomplish before my 30th birthday bucket list. Please take note and if you have any other suggestions on more I can add, please put them in the comments section. :)

1, Complete an Obstacle Run

2. Complete a Mud Run

3. Complete a Color Run

4. Complete a Glow Run

5. Complete a Zombie Run

6. Complete a Beer Run

7. Complete a Foam Run

8. Complete the Disney Princess Half Marathon

9. Complete a 10K

10. Complete a "Girls Only" Run

11. Complete a Hot Chocolate 5k

12. Complete a Turkey Trot

13. Complete a Jingle Bell Run

14. Complete a Dirty Girl Run

15. Complete the 5K Foam Fest

16. Complete the Spartan Sprint

17. Complete Living Socials 5K Dance Party

18. Complete a Super Hero 5K

19. Complete a Bad Prom Run

20. Complete a Wine Run

21. Complete a Run for the Cure race

22. Complete Warrior Dash

23. Complete a Leukemia Run

24. TBA

25. TBA

26. TBA

27. TBA

28. TBA

29. TBA

30. TBA

Glow in the Park 5K

As most of you know, Brittany and I are always looking for fun ways to train for upcoming races, so when she told me about the Glow in the Park 5k Foam Run I had to do it. I have a bucket list of races that I'm wanting to accomplish and a foam race was #7 on the list! What better way to mark it off the list than do it with one of my best friends?

The rules are simple enough.

Rule #1: Wear a white shirt.

Brittany and I entered our wardrobes and each found a satisfactory white shirt to wear for the race.

Rule #2: Apply black light activated paint to make the glow more fun.

Rule #3: Put on Glow in the Dark necklaces, bracelets, etc

Each of the runners was allowed to pick only one color of paint out of Green, Pink, and Yellow. Brittany chose pink and I chose green. They go so well together don't you think? We were also given each a glow necklace, a glow bracelet, and two finger lights to wear once it got dark. As you can tell, we didn't wait. LOL!

Rule #4: Show team spirit!

Our team name was ET Foam Home. Pretty creative if I do say so myself!



Rule #5: Masterfully get a picture with the "Honey Moon" on Friday the 13th

Okay, so maybe that wasn't a rule, but the next one won't happen until again until 2049 and that's too long to wait to get a photo op, so we found a good place to stop and took this amazing selfie. Notice how we are donning our glow gear. :)

Rule #6: Enjoy the foam cannon and make sure you get all sudsy!

The foam cannon was located on the top of the biggest hill in the race. I'm proud to say that Brittany and I both conquered this hill running and our reward was a few amazing pictures of us covered in foamy goodness! It was such a blast!

Rule #7: Catch an awesome black light selfie of you and your team.

At the end of the race, there are black light stations along the course so we made sure to stop at one and get the mother of all glow selfies. I documented it using my Nike Run app, so we have a nice little souvenir that we can enjoy forever. :)

If you have ever thought about doing a glow foam race, I encourage you to do it. It is really fun and it is a great time to fellowship with friends and fellow runners. And if you get an opportunity to do the one in Memphis, TN...DO IT!

Until later,

Jana