Fit with Ruthie

I headed out on Thanksgiving day for a nice relaxing 8 or 10 miler... But I ended up doing 13.1 miles (AGAIN).. I am working on adjusting my running form so at mile 12 I was feeling sore in my outer thighs/hips.... as I result I decided to walk/jog the last mile.... It was nice. It was relaxing. It was hard to believe 13.1 again ... I havent kept track of how many half marathons I have completed.... but I decided to start labeling thru my blog to try and figure some things out and make my blog more user friendly.... so... today I worked just a bit on "half marathon" labeling... heres a link :) no time to write more right now... but I found this quote tonight and I find it true.... so whats a girl to do? "Sooner or later it happens. Sooner or later the unthinkable becomes thinkable and undoable becomes doable. In time, a distance that was beyond the imagination becomes routine. In time a pace that was elusive becomes ordinary. When that happens, for better or ...

After the run I enjoyed lots of smoothie :)  For we are all God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  Ephesians 2:10 It was a run I will never forget. After a busy day I left the house a bit after 730pm for what I had planned to be a 4 to 6 mile run.  As soon as I started jogging I was shocked how great I felt. Just one house down from my house I thought "wow... I feel GREAT".. I decided to put my ipod on "shuffle" where it shuffles all the songs ... I didnt know what i was going to get. But from the first to the last each song was PERFECT for where i was at that moment mentally and physically. From Mika's "Love Today" which got me thanking of Josha in colorado... to Beckah Shae "Such a Time as This"... that came on as I was pondering my future and my past.  PEFECT. As I kept running... I thought... "well.. maybe I should do 8" ... I mean I ...

I dont have a lot of time My sweet hubby is surprising us with a mystery outing.. we have no idea where we will end up today :) i still have packing to do so i have to make this quick ate oatmeal before bed, but didnt get good and asleep until 11pm. was up at 4:20am! left the house at 4:55am.  The run was AhhhhMAZING! I had to walk to stash my stuff (gatoraid, snacks, and water)... so that added time to my .. time LOL... I tried to jog with that back o stuff but it just wasnt happening. so.... 13.1 miles in 2hour 13 mins :) I am happy with that! the run was a blast and I LOVED IT! College campus was alive and awake early this morning... a boot camp was out, social clubs doing silly things and all the dorms had fire drills and the basketball team jogging around campus! I was kept entertained for sure! I have no idea if mile 11 was hard... it always has been in the past but today i didnt even think about it. got a runners high at mile 13! woowhoo! more later! gotta go....

Dark isnt the word for what it was out there this morning. It was a tad cool so i wore my night life jacket... by mile and half I was HOT!.... Perfect weather for running or sleeping in a hammock (which i plan to do later today) low 70s (like 72) no wind- over cast ...... but 88% humidity which is HI for here. I grew up on the coast of texas and wozer if felt like texas coast this morning! By the time I was done I was DRENCHED in sweat... nothing evaporated. NOTHING. every crook and cranny was sweaty. and boy did I ever stink! thankful for the lighting! :) . thankful for God's word etched in stone! So this is how it went down. mile one.. great mile 2.. great but hot mile 3.. took off jacket and then great mile 4... this song came on and I cried. Thinking of all my girls going to do their halfs on saturday and those who have already done them and those who wish they could. Mile 5 .... OH GLORIOUS MILE FIVE... .LOVE LOVE LOVE MILE FIVE... run...

We left the house Saturday morning for the drive to Dallas. Most of our group was to meet up at 1pm at the Expo to get our packs and enjoy the experience. It ended up I was the last one to meet up with the 1pm group as we got stuck in traffic for over 30 mins. I sat and stared at the Six Flags Superman ride for most of the 30 mins. We finally got to the center and had to find parking... ended up in the garage. I met up with my sister who had already picked up her race pack, tshirt and had already shopped a bit .... got my number, tshirt etc and started "shopping" I enjoyed the brooks booth, got a look at the medal, and love the booth with funny shirts that said "I dont need therapy, I run" and "will run for coffee" etc. My sister bought me a 13.1 and 26.2 sticker to put on the back window of my car (no its not on the car yet) ... she also spoiled me with a "Run girl Run" shirt. Which i love!!!! :) After the expo we went to the hotel.... we...

Lacing up those shoes ready to gooooo! I stayed up late last night.... and the dog woke me up 3 times (urgh)... so when I finally got up about 845 this morning I wasn't too sure about it all... I did know that I really really wanted to have this half checked off my list so I could move on to new things :) My shins and calves were a tad sore too from yesterdays workout..... but I decided to ignore that :) The weather was PERFECT.. about 45degrees when I started.. a gentle breeze and foggy! It was so humid and I LOVED IT!!! ... I saw Coach Art at mile 4 and 6 .. that was encouraging :).. and I saw a few of the ladies who are in my half marathon group... that was cool too!!!! :) I ran ... RAN 10 miles with just 2 short walking breaks ... for a total of about 6 min with walking in the first ten miles! I have never run that far in my life without walking that little so i was soooo happy! ... I felt really really good the first 10 miles. 11 miles... as always.. I started to get ...

13.1 here I come! (NOT) If its anything I have learned all this year its that My stomach rules my life for the most part. If I eat good.. I feel good.... If i eat bad I feel bad or have life interrupted for tummy time. I left the house this morning at 930.... plenty of time to finish my miles before track practice at noon. I had 7 miles under my belt and BOOM it hit me.... I spent the next 20 mins with some alone time in the track restroom. I knew I shouldnt have eating all the yummy food at the party last night but I though it would effect me as much as it did. So.... the choice to continue or to quit... could I run 6 more miles in an hour? even with the possible tummy ache coming back? I gave it a shot.. ran a bit more and finally decided to call it quits at 8.5 miles. I have learned my lesson again. It is really ok.... the whole goal of today was to be out and be active... I know I could have finished 13.1 if my tummy wasnt hurting. Its just how running is.. you never know...

Yikes I stayed up WAY too late last night... 11pm! .. so.. this morning.. it felt REAL early! I should have been running by now! Su was ready to go! When I left it was dark! I did 4 miles with Su .. and was surprised to find a few other walkers out that early. I got on the road about 540 ish . I brought Su back after 4... and headed back out. Miles 5 and 7 was ok .. nothing to holler about :) ... but I am telling you.. MILE TEN brought me to tears. I knew I would finish... I knew I would finish! I saw my mom at mile 11. She was walking with a friend. Told her I was on mile 11 and she said "WHAT!"... "BE CAREFUL! ... get a drink!" ( dont you love moms!) Mile 11 wasnt too good... It made me want to quit... I wanted to stop. But I kept going... I wanted to run mile 12 and 13 .... but had to walk just a few times. But I was almost done.... so I kept going. I did it! 13.1 miles in 2.27... just a few minutes beyond my last years time... the iro...

What fun surprise! Today I received a finishers t-shirt for completing the "Mom's Freedom Half Marathon Run" that I ran on July 4th of 08 :) Sweet friend Josha made it and sent it to me! I LOVE IT! I think this calls for a tradition.. Every year July 4th "Mom's Freedom Run Half Marathon" will take place! Make plans to join in on the fun this July 4th and celebrate! Run where you are and join fellow Moms in your area.. and .. shoot.. who knows.. we might even have cool t-shirts like this one! Thanks Josha.. YOU ROCK!

Yep.. now i found a bit of time to post quickly about the run. I went to bed WAY late last night.. did hit the hay until midnight!!! but i must have been ready cause i woke up without my alarm at 5:48am! Josha wanted details.. so here they are: I dressed (running skirt that is too big and have to keep pulling it up) and an old tank top that was red... I mean it IS the 4th.. i had to wear some red. .. my socks aren to thick or too thin.. perfect :) I loaded some extra songs on my ipod and fixed up my nikeplus. all this while i ate half a blueberry bagal and drank half a glass of OJ.... Hair in ponytales, sun glasses and oops forgot the sunscreen. i headed out the door with a large water bottle... it was 620 am. weather perfect.. sunrise beautiful I started jogging and when i got half way around campus on the first lap i hid  my bottle in some tall grass landscaping .. All was grand until mile 5.. i kept say.. ugh mile five is always hard! .. (cause it is)... but i just walked...

13.1 miles in 2 hours 20 mins! thats under 11 min a mile.. but i dont have the exact time I do have more details i will share later.. but we have family here for the 4th.. and i need to go eat :) i am starving. cant believe it!

Josha asked a few questions about my running the half marathon.. I decided to post my answers instead of reply in the comments .. So, what is your marathon goal? My goal is to make it to the finish line.. when i run the 13 miles it will be the first time ever at that distance. So just to finish has been my goal from the start. Are you shooting for mostly running with some walking or all running or what? There are several training schedules in the Marthoning for Mortals book. I feel my fitness level is halfway between the "running most walking a little" and "running all" training plans. So what i have decided to do is run as much as i can and not feel bad at all for walking when i need to. And, at this stage in the book, are you running it all or mostly running? Right now.. (yesterday) I ran at a moderate pace the first 2 miles.. after that i was pretty much walking half a lap running half a lap. .. the last two laps I did pick up my pace and ran harder cau...