Annster's Domain: May 2013

Friday, May 10, 2013

Big BooBoo

So, in my excitement to return to hip hop class last night...

I was running late and rushing out the door...I turned and grabbed my gym bag and it was stuck on something so I pulled it....really hard and apparently it was stuck on my huge, heavy paper shredder!

Well, when I pulled it; the paper shredder actually fellover right on my big toe! Serious pain!!

Needless to say, is till went to class....it hurt but it was so nice to see everyone! Here's the toe when I got home...

Another view... :-(

And another...

Icky!!

So I went to work today and it just kept throbbing like crazy so I left and went to MedExpress. It's broken! My bug toe tip was broken laterally and the bone split den the middle...so it's wrapped and I have this lovely walking boot in the photo and crutches. :-(

I am off at 1pm to see an orthopedic doctor to make sure it heals right.

Worst thing of all, no working out for at least four weeks!! Guess I will catch up on my reading or see if I can bike with my instep without pain....biking may be my answer!! :-)

Sooooooooo sad!

Posted with Blogsy

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Running Products and More Recap from Half Marathon

More about the marathon...ha ha!!

Can you tell I am having a proud few days - LOL!

I honestly was not sure I would finish let alone do as well as I did (for my level that is).

I felt great the whole race...and no blisters thanks to prep!!!

I will give you my low down on my new running products...they ALL worked!!!

I LOVED my fanny pack!!! It did not get in my way at all and I was able to put my car key and inhaler and sport beans in it and also have the water I needed to get the sports beans down.

The sport beans were great too!!!! I ate six about 1/2 hour before the race with some Nunn water (also great)!!! Then ate three ever four miles after that and I never felt tired!!! AMAZING!!! My legs got tight at the end but I was not tired at all!!!

At the end of the race my feet felt amazing!!! Not a single blister on them which I contribute to the use of bodyglide...that stuff works! I smeared it all over my feet and not one single blister!!! I swear I usually get blisters when I only run two miles so this stuff works!!!! The only issue I had with my feet was the following...take this as a warning...

I went the day before the marathon to get my pedicure. I heard you should make sure your toenails are short. I went to Annies where I always go and asked to have them shorter than usual that I was running the next day. They gave me a new girl and she cut my big toe sooooo short it bled!!!!!!!!!!! I was really upset but did not say anything. I will never go back!!!!! The only thing that hurt the ENTIRE race was my big toe!!!! Dont ever do this...just cut your own this close to a race LOL!!!! LESSON LEARNED THE HARD WAY!!!!

Anyway.... here is more race pics, etc.

My lovely photo after I crossed the finish with my medal and Gatorade!

This is my official time/pace/etc. It is good for me...LOL~!

This is the photo I ordered to put in my shadow box with my bib and medal. The official "crossing the finish line" moment!!!

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video/8844792-2013-marathon-finish-line-31000-32000/

I run across the finish at 3:11:06 on the right side of the screen under the Dicks sign. I am wearing black capris, grey t shirt and fanny pack.

Monday, May 6, 2013

I Can Break Rocks!!

What an amazing day Sunday was!! I was sooo excited for my first half marathon!! I arrived at North Shore parking and happened to park right next to a very good friend of mine and his family. They were kind enough to let me hang with them until the start of the race. In talking with his sister from Harrisburg, we realized that my niece and her daughter graduated from high school together....small world!!!

So this is me all corralled into Corral E...needless to say I think it was the slowest corral....hee hee!!!

Apparently more than 27,000 people were registered between the half, full and relay marathon. What a rush...soo many friendly people!!! This is my view to the right...it is PPG towers in Pittsburgh.

And this is the view forward....it is the Highmark building near Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh.

During mile 3 we ran right past my favorite restaurant in the Strip District - I swear they have the BEST chicken noodle soup!!! Amazing!!!!! I love to text (or try to) when I am running so I decided that I could slow to a jog and facebook during the race to keep things fun .....thats exactly what I did!!!

This is the sea of people in front of me as I passed the fourth mile. We were crossing our first bridge at this point. A girl next to me said I wish I could get a copy of that picture - she told me she was running for her blog - I wish I could have gotten her name or her blog name but I guess I will never find her now..... :-( She ran past pretty quickly. hee hee

After I started nearing the Duquesne Incline....I think around mile 7 or 8; I started thinking maybe I could not finish....everything was getting pretty tight...and i was feeling really beat. Then I came up on these two wonderful people!!! They made my race....never once did I think they would have a sig for me!! Seriously, how sweet!!! They were my awesome cheering committee ad they gave me the determination to finish. I stopped to get a photo of them with the signs and they were like "no, keep running!!" and I was like "no, I have to get a picture of you guys". I was overwhelmed with gratitude!!!! Sooooo sweet!!!! Love you two!

As I neared the South Side area - about mile 9 or so I saw a sweet friend from Zumba with her group of friends and they passing out peeled clementines...sooo sweet!!! Love my friends!! Seriously, amazing people. On that note, there was not a single stretch of the whole course that was not lined with people cheering - it was awesome!!!

This is my finishers medal!! My official time 2:46:42....which is around a 12.5 minute mile...I am soooo good with that. I was soooooo happy I thought I would explode!! Felt awesome the whole run and sooo happy I did it!! Can't wait for Julie to run hers....I know you will rock it girlfriend!!!!!

This is my self-photo on the way to the car.....lovely, hugh!?!?!?!?

And this is me today....little better - HA HA!!!

Sooooo proud!!!

Here is the official link to the story http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/05/05/runners-line-up-for-pittsburgh-marathon/

So glad I walked through the fear!! What an amazing experience!! Thanks to everyone that encouraged me and helped me along the way - you are all amazing and awesome people and I needed every one of you to finish!!!

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Sunday Half Marathon Raceday

Well, we are three days away from my first half marathon. Needless to say, the time went sooooo fast since signing up and I have not trained AT ALL!!!

I work out almost every night (6 out of 7 days) for normally at least two hours. Some days it is hour of spin and hour of Zumba, others it is hour of Cardio HipHop and hour of Zumba, and others it is hour of Eliptical Trainer and hour of Cardio HipHop. But I get a lot of cardio in and then lift weights in between here and there.

Well, I signed up intending to train but I love my Zumba, Spin and HipHop so much and it has been sooo cold here that I could not force myself to get on the treadmill. So, yesterday I realized that I have four days until I have complete (see, I did not say run or jog ha ha) 13.1 miles!!! WOWSA!!! Sounds really daunting!!

So, yesterday after work I went out to the trail and got a run, jog, walk in....I went 10 miles and felt pretty good!!! I was a little tight for the first half so I think if I rest from now until Sunday I will be golden for the half marathon.

Time will tell but I sure hop I can make it across the finish....time does not matter AT ALL to me this year....next year the "beat last years time" bar will be set verrrry low - hee hee!!!

So here is all my racing gear!!!....

Tried a few of these in the last 10K I did and I am convinced they work!!! And they are soooooo yummy too!!! You don't have to ask me more than once to eat candy and run!

I think this will be great....inner thigh issues averted!! If anyone (pssst Julie: knows where else to put this pleasse fill me in on the secret....)

My upgraded fanny pack.....I have asthma so I have always used a fanny pack for my inhaler, keys, ipod, etc. and this one has an added bonus of refreshment....perfect to sip while I eat my beans that require liquid when you chew them.

And this is what goes in my water bottle. I tried a tablet yesterday when I did my trial 10 miler and I am not sure if it helped me stay hydrated but it definitely tastes yummy!

Wish me luck......I think I am going to need it!!!!

On to pretty things.....Here are my patio plants ...planters with herbs and my beautiful clematis....these flowers remind me of my Grandma Wells for some reason...