River Road Take 2

Saturday morning long runs are almost always an adventure, specially when running down River Road. This happens to be the route where I once saw a ground rattler, a den of water moccasins, a gator, and I ran underneath a stopped train (NEVER again)!

Although Saturday's run didn't yield any heart stopping moments, it was still a fun and enjoyable run with my friend Heather! Bonus, this run didn't take place around my house again - some wonderful people from my running group have been setting up coolers in our old running group routes so we've been taking advantage of that! It's been so nice to see familiar faces out on the roads and run in an area I'm familiar with!

I also have to say that my dad is awesome. My husband was working days this past weekend and was unable to watch Brayden while I ran. So, my dad agreed to come over at 6 a.m. and waited around until Brayden woke up. Then, he took care of Brayden (diapers, oatmeal, milk, etc) until my mom came over after she woke up! His level of rock-star-ness just increased in my book! (By the way, he's an early bird anyway, so the 6 a.m. time frame didn't bother him at all.)

Ok, so on to the run. For starters, the humidity was in the high 80th percentile and the air felt heavy, like it needed to rain. Sadly, with the overcast skies, I didn't get a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise like usual. Oh well....maybe next time!

 One thing we did notice that we hadn't seen in the past were these gorgeous white flowers!

They were all along the side of the road and we had no clue where they came from!

If you look beyond the greenery, you can see an entire field of them! Heather and I both agreed that the field would be an awesome place to take pictures! Sadly, there was no way to get to the field as the ground was nothing but a swampy, marshy mess. I would love to know what type of flower this is.

Another random sighting was this troop of geese! They were all over the front yard of this home. There were even a few babies in the mix!

 

Although we only planned on a 6 mile run, we ended up running right at 7 miles. It was a great run and the time passed by quickly because I was in good company! :)

Starbucks was definitely needed after the run, too! I ordered an iced non-fat caramel macchiato. I'm pretty boring because I usually order the same thing every single time. It was definitely a nice and refreshing treat after a warm Saturday run!

That's it for my Saturday run! How was your weekend? Did you go for a run or participate in a race/event?

Goodbye, GoRun

As many of you know, Saturday was supposed to be the last group meeting of the running group I've been a part of for the past 8 years. We've had organized group runs every Saturday with water and Gatorade stops along each course, a running coach who planned out our training schedules, and lots of support along the way.

However, mother nature had another plan for Saturday and we weren't able to meet to say goodbye. With a ridiculous below-freezing cold snap in South Louisiana, much of my town was frozen over and we woke up Saturday morning with a "feels like temperature" of 14 degrees F. (That might as well have been below zero to me.) So, the decision was made to cancel our group run. While I understand the reasons, I'm not gonna lie...I was a little sad. You see, change isn't easy for me and I like closure. I was looking forward to meeting up and saying goodbye to everyone. This upcoming Sunday is the Houston Marathon and though many from my group are running it, I'm not this year.

Since we weren't able to say goodbye in person, I decided to put together a little memory of my time spent in GoRun.

My journey with GoRun began in 2009 after returning home from the Walt Disney World Marathon. I was there to spectate for a few friends who were running the race and I decided I wanted to train for the half the following year. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I think I would run anything more than 3 miles at a time...like ever.

When I returned home, I began looking for local groups in my area and that's when I stumbled upon GoRun. I initially thought I would only be a part of the group for a year because I mean....once my half marathon was finished, that was it, right?! Yeah...right. What was initially supposed to be one season turned into eight years of my life.

Throughout those eight years, I've learned a lot about myself as a person, I've grown mentally and physically, I've accomplished things I never thought possible and obtained PR's and goals I've set for myself, and I've made lifelong friendships...all because of my running group.

I've also done things I never thought I would ever do!

Take Goofy's Challenge for example...
 

 
Or how about the fact that I've completed 5 marathons and 25 half marathons to date! (Had you told this to me in my early 20's, I would have told you that you were cray cray!)

What about the time we ran underneath a parked train?! (OMG I still can't believe we did that!)
 

 
Or ran as superheros through town on Halloween?

I've seen gorgeous sunrise after gorgeous sunrise...

...I've also overcome an injury and had an amazing physical therapy team because of my running group.

My favorite of all? I met one of my best friends...

....and made many other friendships along the way because of GoRun.

Sure, all of these things didn't just happen, it still required me to get out of bed early on Saturday mornings and put forth the effort to train...but despite it all (ridiculous heat and humidity of the summer, crazy cold of the winter, even a tropical storm!) my running group has been there through it all.

I can't say enough thank you's to my running coach and all of the friends I've made along the way. These past 8 years have left a huge stamp on my life and I know I'm a better person because of it.

Here's to new challenges and future adventures! Goodbye, GoRun. I'll never forget you or the impact you've had on my life! Thanks for the lifetime of memories!!

All my love, Karen

Run Now Gobble Later 4 Miler

Happy Monday and Happy Birthday to my husband!! How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We had a fantastic weekend over here and I'm sad to say it's over! I hope you all had a great weekend as well! 

On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day), I ran the virtual "Run Now Gobble Later 5K"...except we turned it into a 4 miler! This race was a part of Gone For A Run's Virtual Race Series. Although I am a Gone For A Run Ambassador, I did purchase entry into this race on my own.

Sadly, my area no longer hosts a community wide turkey trot, so my running buddy Heather and I had to come up with our own Thanksgiving morning game plan! After debating what to do, we finally decided to register for a virtual race. It just so happened that Gone For A Run was hosting one, so we decided to go for it! Registration for the race was easy and shipping was super fast! With our registration fee, we each received a race bib, knee high socks, and a medal.

Heather and I met up at my house at 7 a.m. to begin our run. Brayden also had to tag along since my husband was working days. I was a little worried about him lasting the 4 mile distance, but he did AWESOME!

It was a little chilly that morning, so I bundled Brayden up with several blankets and he didn't move at all during the run! At one point, I forgot he was even in the stroller!

We had a great run as always and I definitely enjoyed the company! One of our favorite parts of this specific virtual race was the adorable turkey socks!! I washed mine and kept them on the rest of the day!
 

My little trooper did such an amazing job - he stayed awake the entire run and didn't make a peep!

We did it! :) These medals were really colorful and well made!

After the run, I showered then got ready for brunch with my parents.

They came over and enjoyed these delicious pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls with us! :)

In all, it was a great run and I would definitely participate in another Gone For A Run Virtual Race in the future!

Did you participate in a Turkey Trot race?

12 Mile Run...& All Kind of Craziness!

Happy day before Thanksgiving! Today, I have half a day of work which will be followed by a bit of baking for our Thanksgiving festivities. I also can't wait for my crew's annual Black Friday shopping shindig! We are going to have so much fun!! :)

This past Saturday, I ran a 12 mile training run with my running buddy, Heather. This training run was our last "really" long run before our December half marathon and was a huge confidence booster for both of us.

Starting out that morning, the weather was incredibly chilly and I had no clue how to dress. I mean, I felt like I regressed back to my newbie running stages where I either over or under dressed all the time. You'd think I would have learned by now! After putting on two different pair of tights (a maternity pair accidentally made it into my tights drawer...whoops), I was ready to hit the road! I might have been late, too...I was incredibly confused by the tights I had on at first and couldn't figure out why they were so big on me. Guess that's what happens at 5:30 a.m.!

After meeting up with Heather and our running group, we began our run. Somehow, it was colder at our meeting spot that it was at my house, which means we spent the first part of our run trying to warm up. That hasn't happened in forever and I kinda liked it! 

Throughout our run, we encountered several "interesting" things...

• A car passed by and saturated us with a very odd odor. Apparently that odor was weed and it was only 8 a.m. Stay classy, Lake Charles.
• During one of our neighborhood loops, we looked over and saw a guy who was urinating behind a restaurant near a dumpster. Yes, he was outside and fully exposed. I could go without seeing that ever again.
• If you've ever had a baby, you will know what I mean by this....well, let's just say that my bladder isn't what it used to be (without being incredibly TMI). Thankfully, I spotted a much-needed port-a-potty somewhere near mile 8 or 9 along our route. As we began running again, we realized that there was NO construction around and pretty much NO reason for said random port-a-potty to be located in that spot. So strange. Hopefully I wasn't being secretly filmed and I won't end up on some random crazy TV show down the road.....!

Needless to say, we had several good laughs during our long run that morning. Out of all of my runs lately, this was by far the best. My knees felt great, my lungs were feeling better and I was finally able to breathe again, and I had good company along the way!

This run ended on a high note and definitely made me grateful for the random bad ones because I was able to appreciate it so much more!

I love getting a ton of steps in before 9 a.m.!

After the run, I stopped by Starbucks for a Christmas/Holiday beverage.

I also had to get this adorable snowman cookie to eat as a snack later on that day. Both the drink and the cookie were delicious! :)

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen while out for a run?

Of Running While Prengant

On Saturday, my BRF and I set out for a long-ish run/walk. I had plans of 10 miles but wasn't sure how far I would be able to go since I experienced back/nerve pain on Wednesday and Thursday and was unable to do practically anything. By Friday, the back felt a LOT better and by Saturday morning, the pain was gone.

I made sure to park my car in the garage on Friday night because a freeze was coming through and I wanted to avoid defrosting my car forever before hitting the road on Saturday morning. As I got ready to leave for the run, my car decided to act silly and wouldn't start properly. The service engine light came on, of course. Thankfully, Jason was off work this weekend and I was able to take his vehicle to meet up with my running buddy. Guess where his vehicle was parked? Outside...and the windshield had ice on it. Yes...this is how my luck goes, people.  (We found out later that there was an engine mis-fire in my car! Yikes!)

Anyway, I finally made it to my running buddy and we set out on our course. We decided to do a 2.5 out and back and another 2.5 out and back for a total of 10. We're still keeping up with the 4:1 run/walk Galloway method and it's been good to me so far!

I felt great the first 5 miles - no discomfort, no pain...all was well! After resting/using the restroom for a few minutes, we set out on the last half of our run. Around mile 6, I began having round ligament discomfort. I attempted to walk longer than a minute and start running again but that didn't help...the discomfort only lasted while I was running and not while walking. My OB said that it was ok to continue running as long as I didn't feel any pain. So, we decided to walk the remainder back and call it a day at 8 miles.

Saturday's run was also a test-run for the Galveston Santa Hustle. I'm planning with run with my sister-in-law and a few of her friends and wanted to measure my body against distance to see how it would hold up. I was on the fence about the half because I knew I would have to walk a majority of it (which I'm fine with, but I don't want to make them wait on me forever). So, I made the executive decision to participate in the 5K which takes place 30 minutes after the half marathon begins. Still lots of Christmas, Santa, and sugar cookies, shorter distance. 

I wasn't sad or disappointed with the shortcomings of my running goal on Saturday - this is all a part of the pregnancy process. I'm enjoying the changes that are taking place in my body right know and I know that all of this is temporary! Taking everything (including my fitness/running levels) one day at a time is all I can do for now and I'm grateful I can make it that far before the round ligament discomfort kicks in!

I felt like the marshmallow man, dressed in so many layers! It was actually 34 degrees at the start but "warmed up" to 47 degrees by the time we finished our run. 

After returning home, I polished off the remainder of our Thanksgiving cinnamon rolls and indulged in a Starubucks hot chocolate with a peppermint truffle for flavoring! YUM! 

At the end of the day, I reached 23,000 steps which I was (and am) super proud of! 23,000 steps for 23 weeks! "Just keep moving" is my motto and if that includes longer intervals of walking with my running, then so be it!

This weekend, I'm participating in a Christmas 5K in Florida with a friend and next weekend, I'll be participating in the Galveston Santa Hustle 5K. Lots of fun times ahead!

How was your weekend? Run any Christmas-themed races?

Running Through Soup

On Saturday morning, my friend Heather and I attempted our longest run all summer. Over the past few months, we've been sticking to 6 mile runs and haven't really pushed beyond that.

Saturday was different, though. Our new Fall training schedule began increasing the mileage gradually and as I inspected it on Friday night, I saw that we did indeed have 8 miles on the schedule this week.

The only thing I wasn't expecting was that we would run all 8 miles through what felt like a bowl of hot, thick, steamy soup. Lovely.

I even commented on Friday night to Heather that if the weather stayed the same as it was that evening (cool, no humidity, beautiful night), we would have an amazing run!

Well, it didn't stay the same.

The humidity must have been lonely because it came back in full force! YUCK!

Ah well, we made it through all 8 miles without any issues and had a great time along the way! For the first time in a while, I actually felt REALLY good...my knee didn't bother me, my legs felt light, and I felt as if I could run forever. Saturday's run was just what I needed to begin boosting my confidence for this half marathon training season!

How was your weekend? Did you run this weekend? Participate in a race? Hope you had a great one!

Official Road Sharks!

On Saturday morning, my BRF and I embarked on a grand Road Shark adventure...Gone for a Run's Road Shark Virtual 5 Miler, that is! Shark bait...oooh ha ha.... (I had to, sorry...)

To our amazement, the weather for Saturday morning's run was PERFECT! Low humidity and temperatures in the 70's - I sure wish that would hang around Southwest Louisiana a bit longer!

Our route was a typical Saturday morning group run route and we had a great time laughing, talking, and catching up on recent travels!

Before we knew it, we were at the turnaround point and that's when I realized that we ran 3 miles instead of 2.5, turning this 5 miler into a 6 miler! Whoops! We were just having such a great time, we didn't even realize it! Miles fly when you're having fun! :)

After the run, we awarded medals to each other, then took a few pictures before saying our goodbyes!

I am in LOVE with the shirt from this race!  It's SO soft and comfortable! I didn't run in because I had plans to wear it the rest of the day!
 

I attempted to get a picture of my watch and this happened....and it stayed stuck like this forever. I finally gave up waiting on it to process!

 After returning home, I put my medal on the hanger and my magnet on the fridge! :)

It was such a gorgeous day, I even enjoyed a cup of coffee out on the deck in the back yard!

I'm so glad I had the chance to experience this race with a friend! Overall it was a fun one and the swag was great! Stop by Gone for a Run and see what's next on their list of races to come!

Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

*Disclaimer: As a Gone for a Run Ambassador, I received entry into this race free of charge. No compensation was given in return for this review. All opinions are my own.

Name one highlight of your weekend!

B.R.F.

B.R.F. – Best Running Friend

This past weekend, I headed out for a long run with one of my BRF’s, Heather. We had cool weather all week but Saturday’s weather was (of course) warm, humid, and there was a light fog in the air.

Since my last “long run” was several weeks ago, I decided not to push my luck and instead of 12 miles, we ran 10. Thankfully, I did not experience any knee pain or twinges and we completed the entire 10 miles! Yay!

I enjoyed catching up with Heather and we chatted every step of the way. I love running with people I connect with – sure helps the time pass!

(I forgot to pause/stop my watch at the 6 mile GU break and after we finished running…whoops!)

They say that running is a way to relieve stress – I agree, but I also think that running with a good friend is not only a stress reliever, it’s also incredibly therapeutic.

God sure knew what he was doing when he placed these two in my life! I’m very grateful for my BRF’s and the friendship we’ve developed.

Four (almost five) years ago, I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and join a running group (all by myself – I knew no one)!  I’m so glad I made that decision – not only did I join a running group, I had help and encouragement to train for and complete lots of half marathons, four full marathons, and I gained friendships along the way.  I can’t imagine where I would be today without my running group and the awesome friends I’ve made because of it.

Do you have a B.R.F.? Who are they? Give them a shout-out or say something you love about them…awww… :0)

Hooray for BRF’s!