Marathon Finish and Support

I had soooo much support for the marathon.

I finished in about 6 hours. I love my bling!

I was happy with that time for my first and only marathon!

No blisters but a little pain the last 10 miles-ha!

My family and friends made it all worth while!

Just looks at the pictures of my signs they made me!! Have a full race recap but I am holding off on that until tomorrow when I have more reflection time.

Awesome poster and a rhyme!

Soooooo awesome!

Adorable!

Sooooo sweet!

Love it....!

All my nieces and nephews are on it!!

Then they took me to eat here! Yummy carbs!! For recovery of course!

Congrats Balloons!?!? Awesomeness!!! I am by far the most blessed person in the planet! These are from my other sister that could not come into town! How amazing and thoughtful, right!?

 

I am blessed and I am a marathoner!!

NEVER AGAIN-but that's another post...ha!

 

 

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Pittsburgh Marathon Packet Pickup

 

 

Please day hi to my breakfast of champions. Today I am off to the Convention Center for packet pickup for my first ever marathon!

And this is traffic...planned to be patient...what a crowd!

Here it is....my bib and goodie bag!!

Here is the welcome wall. Every runners name was on this...very, very tiny.....

Here is my name zoomed in on the wall of runner from above! Love this although it was hard to find your name going across! Ha

Here is a picture of the BLING we are running for...this is the marathon medal!!

I got my knees taped by the pros. They taught me how to do it but I am hoping this stays stuck until the race on Sunday. The girl that taped me said it could last for three days...fingers crossed!

This is the "why do you know" wall...this is my answer!!

This is the front of my new shirt...

And the back!! Ha ha! Soooooo true!! I will not be wearing this on race day as I have not run in it before but I had to get it! Too funny!!

This is my new headband...I will be wearing this on race day...it cracks me up- I love it!

And this is one final gift for myself! A pandora like charm for the Pgh Marathon 2014....

Got lots of great loot and bought some cool stuff at the expo! This is my Friday night carb load....not the whole case...just two! Hee!

 

Happy Friday night!!

Wow! I can't believe only one more sleep until the race is FINALLY here! Four months of training all comes down to this...pretty sure I will not sleep at all tomorrow night!!

Sweet dreams yinz!

 

 

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TGIF (for me at least)

Today is my Friday!

YEA!
 
I took off tomorrow to be able to go down to the Expo and pick up my packet early and browse around. I did not want to have to rush in and out after work.  Tomorrow is the day!!!

I got my confirmation email and my runner number - 1884!!!

I also signed up for an app (RaceJoy) that will allow me to be tracked the whole race.  My family will be able to find out when I will finish and where I am all along...kinda neat, hugh?!?!? 

Especially since I am a slow runner...now they wont have to wait at the finish line all day! HA HA

I am not a preson that takes the race itself too seriously usually.  But for some reason I am getting sooooo nervous for this one!
I like to take selfies during the race and also get photos of the cute signs, etc. that the people who make the effort to come out and watch made!

I plan to take lots of pics, maybe even a few videos...we shall see....
 I cant believe it is only three days away!!

All these months of training runs and it is finally here!!!

I was chuckling the other day because I bought new shoes (Asics) just for the marathon and I have already worn out the top of my toes on them...

 
They were purchased in January to start training and EVERY run was done in these...I hope they last for my last 2 mile walk and the final 26.2 mile challenge!!!!!!!!! ;-)

I love these shoes!!!!

Here is the training schedule with all the completed runs checked off!! Only a two mile walk left for today and then the race on Sunday which is circled!!!! YIPPEE

Hope you all have an amazing Thursday - Friday is right around the corner!

Pittsburgh Marathon Update

This is going to be a very emotional post for me. I ran the half marathon last year just to try it and to see if I could finish.
I did no training other then the cardio I did normally - which consisted of a zumba or hiphop class a few times a week and of course a run here and there but no FORMAL training schedule. I finished the half and aside from feeling really tired it was not TOO horribly painful. Here is my proof from the finish.

This year I was getting ready to register for the half again and started questioning myself. I am 45 years old and have the onset of psoriasis. Chances are pretty good that I am slowly going to have the painful part of this disease which is arthritis (pain in the joints). When this occurs, I will no longer be able to run.  This helped me change my decision and I decided that now is the time and I should try the full marathon before I am no longer able.

I downloaded the below training schedule from the internet and set off on my training (The check marks indicate completed runs to date). For the first two months I would run four days a week (according to the schedule) and also still do my zumba, hiphop and bodypump classes about 6 a week total.

After those first two months, I got a really sore knee and had trouble bending it. I decided that it is probably due to over use (I was working out over four hours a day on some days) so I stopped everything except the running and of course stretching.

I am sooo looking forward to getting back to my favorite place on this planet, StudioFit, after the marathon is over on Sunday! I MISS MY CLASSES SOOO MUCH!!

So, all of this to say...I am not one of those people that has been bit by the marathon bug. I am proud of all that I have done....I will do my best to cross the finish line on Sunday...I will never DO this again. It will be checked off my bucket list as completed and that will be that. I LOVE running, don't get me wrong, but after Sunday I will stick to 5Ks and 10Ks with an occasional half - HEE!
I have missed a lot of family functions for this training, including my niece and nephews birthday parties. I can never get that back and those are the things that I cherish today.

I am in this weird place because I just found out that pretty much my entire family is coming in from out of town for this marathon! This is them below!!!

WOWSA!!!
I am sooooooooooooo blessed! I never expected that!
My Mom and Dad, sister and brother-in-law and their three kids and brother and sister-in-law and their two kids! AMAZING!!! I do not know what to say! I am humbled by the support that my family gives me constantly!! They have been through soooo much because of me and now, today, still support me SOOOOOOO much!!!
I am beyond blessed!! I also have many relatives and friends that are cheering me on from afar! Again, WOWSA!

As for Sunday, I keep having dreams that I do not finish!!! Scary, however, I know I will never do this again and this Sunday I will cross that finish if it KILLS me!! I have trained....I am strong...I am capable....I am worthy....and most of all I am blessed!!!!! I have the best family on the PLANET!!!!!

God, give me strength!!!

Fingers crossed that I cross on Sunday!

April Birchbox

 Here is the cute little box that I love to see arrive each month!!! If you have not looked into Birchbox yet, you can do so HERE.  It is $10 a month.  Out of my boxes that I subscribe to, this has become my least favorite but it is still fun to get - it's just that the others are a little more fun and have much larger product samples.  Gotta be honest right?!?!

 

Here is the card that lists everything enclosed...

 

This is energizing shampoo...can not wait to try this. I LOVE anything minty for my hair.  Maybe even enough for more than one wash?

 

Then some skin perfecting liquid. This is also a decent sizer sample this month.

 

This cute polish. I am going to try this on my toes for my next manicure. Love this color.

 

 Then I got this cute little compact. This is cheek and lip color. It is a cream. I will probably only try this on my lips.  Cute packaging though-never hurts that have a half naked man on your product!! HA

 

And lastly, a Kind bar. This is beauty sample box so I get thrown off every time they include food. I actually got chocolate last month.  I get the whole beauty comes from the inside out thing but I don't really want food samples in my beauty box....maybe its just me?!?!

 So, that's it.  If you are looking to send yourself a little present this month....here it is.  I love all the subscription boxes - I am WORTH it!!! HEE HEE

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April Ipsy

 Here is a little peek into my awesome IPSY box this month!!! Ipsy always has GREAT stuff to try and almost always FULL sized samples!!! So worth the 10 bucks a month!!! If you haven't checked out Ipsy you can do so HERE.  Don't you deserve a little treat each month?!?! It is like a little $10 present I send myself each month!!

Every month they send your stuff in a cute little makeup bag...here is this months bag....sooo cute!

 

 Urban Decay!!! WHAT!!?!?!? Love this stuff!!! Really excited about this one!!! Almost full sized!!!

 

A little Root Pump...who does not love a little volume!?! This product is great!!! LOVE it!

 

This is great!! It is a little pod of lipstick/gloss.  The handle is a built in brush!!! It is a great color and such a great design - I will definitely invest in some other colors of this - it lasted a LONG time on my lips too!!

This is a little pod of eyeshadow.  It is a really pretty golden color...I will be trying this on my next night out!!!

 

 I was really excited to see this in the Ipsy this month! I have been wanting to try this at Sephora for a while now. 

 SERIOUSLY LOVE IPSY!!!!

Thanks again for all the amazing samples this month!!!

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April StrideBox

 As always...Stridebox is my very favorite monthly subscription box!! I am not sure if that is because I am still training for the marathon or not, but it is always loaded with goodies to try out...each and every month it never disappoints!!

Here is the listing for this months box...I also like how it tells where you can buy it and the price for the product.

 

 Seriously!?!?!?! These were amazing!!! They did not last the day out!!!

 

 This was actually kinda tasty as far as a gel goes...I still prefer the salted caramel Gu one in last months box though!!

 

 These are in my desk at work just waiting until I have a craving!

 

 LOVE these drink mixes for pump and zumba!!! I will be back in a weeks time so I am saving these for then!!!

 

Another treat for when I am back into the Zumba routine!!

 

 And this awesome thing!!! This could not be better timing!!! I was just trying to figure out where I am going to put my gels during the marathon so I can reach them! I got the camelbak backpack that has pockets for them but I cannot reach gels from it unless it take it off and what a pain that would be when trying to complete 26.2 miles.

This will be perfect!!! I will store them in here and then shove it in the camelbak when then supply is used!!! AWESOME!!

Again, if you are a runner or into any sports and athletics; you owe it to yourself. It is like sending yourself a little gift each month and you can also try all kinds of new products!!!

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