Jumping on the Bandwagon

Steve has been wearing and running in shoes called Vibram Five Fingers for quite a while now. Wearing them is like being barefoot. He started wearing them after having some pains from running. His pain has gone away and only comes back when he runs in shoes. He swears by them and if you want to know a lot more about them I would direct you to talk to him. He can talk your ears off about it. :)

A few weeks ago I got a pair of my own! I was supposed to read Born to Run before we would talk about getting me a pair, but then this happened....

I rolled my ankle while working out at the gym. Steve felt I should get a pair, as it would strengthen many of my muscles, including ones I don't probably use that much. So one day while out to lunch together we stopped by the only store in town that carries them. I tried one on (I was lucky they had my size, they are super popular) and they fit perfectly. So we got them! I couldn't wear them though for the last two weeks due to my right ankle being HUGE.

Here is is the night it happened with Yuri making sure I kept it elevated. This isn't even close to how big it got. You couldn't tell where my calf ended and my ankle began. I wish I would have taken some pictures of it a few days later.

But my ankle is almost normal size now and I can get my shoes on! This is my second time wearing them(they are on now as I type this). The first time took me over 5 minuets. I didn't time myself this wear, but I know it was faster than before. I haven't ran in them yet, just worn them around the house and took the dogs for a walk in them. They feel pretty neat.

Half Marathon

Two weekends ago Steve and I participated in our 2nd half marathon, the Olathe Half to be exact. We both did really well, beating our previous half marathon times set at the Kansas City half back in October, by 18 mins each! A few other changes to this half, besides kicking butt, was our friends Lauren and Katie also ran this one. And we had people along the way cheering us on! My mom and mama came to town Friday night and braved the early morning to come out and cheer us on. I was so happy to have them there and really impressed at the navigating skills they had, being in a city they did not know and trying to find us along the race route. I saw them 4 times!
Katie, Steve, myself and Lauren before the race.

Me heading towards the finish line. So glad to be done!

Mama, mom, myself and Steve after the race.

My half ladies. :) We spent the 12 weeks training for this race emailing each other each week about our training. It really helped keep me motivated to run each week.

Surprise! Drake and Brandi showed up when we finished the race and surprised me with flowers. So sweet of them.

St Patricks Day

The weather was so nice early this week. I think one day even hit in the 60s! I was so excited to get to finally do some outside runs. It didn't last though, the past two days are rainy and cold. But the warm days did get me excited for race season. I feel like it has been so long since we have done a race. Saturday will be our first one, I think since doing the KC Half Marathon! It is a St. Patricks Day race in Westport. I've got my green running shorts & shirt all laid out. Lets hope the weather picks back up and I don't have to break out a St Pats sweatshirt to run in!
Oh and after this week there are only 4 more weeks until the half marathon! We got signed up this week and I am so excited that I will have fans at this one. My mom and mama are coming to Olathe that weekend! It means so much to me that they will be there. 13.1 miles will be so much easier knowing there could be a friendly face just around a corner to cheer you on.

Olathe Half

I have decided that I am going to attempt another half marathon. This time I am planning on actually training...that didn't go so well last time with planning the wedding and taking a vacation during the training time. I have not been running like we used to so it may prove to be a bigger challenge than I realize.

The race is the Olathe Half Marathon. It is April 10th (a Saturday for anyone that wants to come and see us run it). Monday marks day 1 of the training plan I am going to be using. I will probably find myself on the treadmill training the next week or two. This snow better melt soon though cause I am not sure I can endure more than 4 miles on the treadmill.

I believe at this point Steve is going to run it also, but he isn't going to follow a strict training plan. He's lucky enough to have running come more naturally to him. I also have a few girlfriends that are planing on running it also. We are going to work at keeping each other motivated to continue with the training. We might even be able to get in some runs together during the training. If anyone else wants to join in let me know. There is a marathon or a 5K you could do also. It should be fun to prepare for this race and run it with friends. Right now I am excited, I might find myself pissed I decided to do this in a few weeks though. haha

13.1 miles!

Well we did it and survied to tell about it! Last Saturday Steve and I both completed our very first half marathon..13.1 miles. Steve ran his in 2 hrs 25 mins and I was able to complete it in just barely over 3 hrs...3 hrs 2 mins. We both figured I would have ran it in 30 more mins than it actually took me, so coming in at that time I was ecstatic! A few highlights for me were:
- Running through downtown was really fun, there is so much to see. Kansas City really is a great town.
- The beginning few hills were quite a site, thousands of people running at one time is such a thing to see
- I made myself an acquaintance to run with the first 8 miles. This helped out a lot. We chatted and kept each other going.
- There were bands playing along parts of the route that kept it fun and exciting.
- I got to mile 10 and someone had candy they were giving out! The Skittles I took got me through the next mile or two.
- Seeing Steve close to the finish line cheering for me and so happy for me that I was still running was really awesome.
- I was able to continue running till the end of the race. I calculated that I probably walked a total of 30 to 40 mins the whole time. So 2 1/2 hrs running..that's a long time!

Chewie wearing my bib number and wondering why we are up so dang early on a Saturday!

Steve and I before the race. It was dark out still and raining!

Me waving to Steve and some of our friends...almost to the finish line!

My Final Stats:

Track Us

This Saturday Steve and I are running in the Kansas City Half Marathon. Below is a link to a site where you can track how we are doing by text message or email. I thought I would send it out in case anyone was interested in seeing how we are doing or how we did.

http://tracking.theendresultco.com/2009/kc/index.php

Look for Steve to do really well, but don't be surprised to see my time between 3 and 4 hours long. I didn't end up training like I should have for this, but you know I was busy planning a wedding. :) My goal is not based on time really, but just to finish the race at all. I know I have the ability to run half of the distance. it is going to be the second half that I will have to push through (a half is 13.1 miles). Wish us luck!