Miracle Match 13.1

Last year I ran this half as part of my marathon training & felt really strong through it. This year? Not even close to feeling strong. I simply did not put in the amount of effort necessary for me to feel as though I successfully completed a half.

The furthest training run I had done was 7 miles. I chose to sleep in, spend time with my friends/family over the holiday break and just fell back into my running slump that’s been hanging around since last March. I briefly considered not running it but then I remembered Amanda from The Lady Okie was going to be there – and seriously, I couldn’t back out. I was also living on that runners high from the previous days 5k.

We met up about 30 minutes before the start of the race so I could give her bag/bib I picked up at the expo and also, to you know, awkwardly hug and say a little prayer of thanks that neither of us appear to be psycho serial killers. You can read Amanda’s recap of the experience here.

Originally, Amanda was going to go for a PR but when she saw how awesome I was (I’m assuming) she decided she’d slow down and stay at my pace. Which means, I basically had a 3 hour run-date where we talked about running (duh), life, God, stupid water stations that had no water, and took selfies (something neither one of us usually do on runs).

Around Mile 4.

I don’t normally get to run with someone, so it was definitely a nice change of pace for me – and I’m pretty grateful for it since I was over it by Mile 9 due to my wonderful training schedule I didn’t adhere too.

Telling Amanda to hurry up.*

*Lies. We actually think we’re just super funny & clever.

We ran through Baylor campus and the new stadium, the zoo, and the hills. Those damn hills. I was already in pain from them so at Mile 11 when a dancing chicken (literally) asked us if we wanted to do Jacob’s Ladder for extra bling, both Amanda and I hit those stairs like a boss.

Amanda’s mom (who is super wonderful & sweet) found us right before we were set to hit the finish line and then we were done!

We ended up getting a bunch of great photos (they were free this year) and ate some fajitas at the finish line once we got our extra bling for Jacob’s Ladder. 

It was a great experience – although, it makes me a little sad that Amanda doesn’t live closer because I’m pretty sure we’d have BFF necklaces if we did.

Well, now that I think about it – we kind of do – I mean, race medals are just like BFF necklaces, right?

Yep, that’s what I’m going with.

It was beautiful weather, a fun experience and knowing me – I’ll end up doing it again next year (creature of habit when it comes to this race). Ha!

Until we run again, friends!

Miracle Match 5k

On January 24-25th, I slipped on my running shoes, threw on some lipstick and hit the pavement for not one, but two, races. 

Wearing lipstick on race day is totally legit, right? #miraclematch #5k #beeftip #teambeef #txbeefteam

A photo posted by Tamara Lehmann (@tamara0827) on Jan 24, 2015 at 6:50am PST

I know what you’re thinking and the answer is yes.

Yes, I am totally on fleek.
(Shout out to Kate for keeping us aware of what all the cool kids are saying these days!)

The race weekend includes a 5k on Saturday and a half-marathon on Sunday. Well, for me it does, you can pick and choose anything from a 1 mile, 5k, 10k, half, a full, or an ultra. You can even participate in a fire-truck pull.

I ran the 5k & half last year (recap here!) as part of my marathon training but this year I had three entirely different reasons to sign up: 

1. This would be my first opportunity as a Beef Team member to race.
   
2. Amanda, from The Lady Okie, was running the half.
   
3. And probably most importantly, I’d get an extra medal for running both.

Clearly I couldn’t say no.

My training for the 5k went really well (half-training? Uh, we’ll go there in the next post but short answer: I suck.) I made it a point to have at least one run where I focus on speed training. Because I’m no professional and had no idea how to do that safely, I downloaded the Jeff Galloway 5k app and utilized it for my speed sessions. Based on my performance for this 5k, I would say it’s doing the trick.

I finished in 35:43 with an average pace of 11:31.

My first mile was 10:36.

I have never ran even close to a 10 minute mile. I am not exaggerating when I say I started crying upon realizing it. While I have always wanted to be faster, I have never really put in the work for it. I always just kind of hoped it would happen naturally but after 3 solid years of running, it hadn’t so I just resigned myself to being a slower runner. No big deal. Still love the sport, I just love it a little longer than most people do out on the race course, right? Getting my money worth, that’s all.

I made a video (a little reminiscent of my first running vlog!) right after the race. I meant to post it Saturday after the race but you know, life happened. So it references tomorrow (being Sunday for the half with Amanda).

Eventually, I’ll write up my resolutions for the year (I have them, I just haven’t posted anything about them because I’m a terrible blogger) but one of my running goals this year is to focus on quality and not quantity. I really want to improve my pace so that when I decide I’m ready to run another marathon, I won’t have to question if that damn course will close on me because of ‘bad weather’.

(Please reference face below when reading ‘bad weather’ as I may still be slightly bitter concerning how Texas weather did me last year during my marathon.)

The 5k itself was great and the running team I’m now a part of (Team Beef) ran the water station at the halfway point. They snapped this super happy picture of me. I have more to say about Team Beef in a later post but the picture they took pretty much sums up how I feel about it.

Overall, the race didn’t disappoint. In the past 5 years I’ve ran it, it’s always gone off without a hitch, incredibly well organized and easily accessible. (Your parking is like 100 feet away from the start line!) It’s always great to start the year off with happy feet & Miracle Match certainly does that for me.

I mean, if my finish line photo looks this freaking happy – it’s got to be a testament to something, right? (Also, pictures were free this year!)

 

More tomorrow in regards to the half that I (spoiler alert) hardly trained for!

Until we run again!

Miracle Match 2015 Training Shenanigans

This was my first week back into half-marathon training. I’ve been out of the running long distance game for what seems like forever. I have done a couple of 5ks over the past few months but the last time I ran anything longer than 3.1 miles was in April (just a few short weeks after my failed marathon.)

After devoting so much time to running over the past few years, I think I got a little burned out. I told myself that when I start running again, I want to do quality over quantity. I mean, last year I ran 14 races. FOURTEEN. I never really got much better/faster even though that’s something I kept saying I wanted. I’m pretty sure it was because I refused to focus my energy on one race. Instead, I was all like I WANT ALL THE RACES AND I WANT THEM NOW. It was fun though.

Also, race registrations can be expensive and with the starting of Alfred’s business, I’ve been a little more conservative in my spending.  When I chose my next long-distance race I wanted to devote some quality running to it.

So, what race did I choose?

Miracle Match 5k & Half-Marathon 2015!

I ran this last year as part of my marathon training. I love the course, it’s practically in my backyard & you get extra swag for running the 5k on Saturday, then the half on Sunday. I do love me some swag. (Also, this was my first ever 5k five years ago, so it holds a special place in my heart.)

But to make this even more exciting I’m actually going to meet Amanda from The Lady Okie. I plan on giving her a wonderfully awkward hug & forcing her to take fake running selfie’s with me.

Here is my tentative training schedule. This is fairly fluid, depending on what’s going on in my life I’m up to being flexible as long as I end up getting my long runs in. We shall see.

On the speed/tempo days I’m just going to use my Jeff Galloway running app. It will tell me exactly what to do and when. I’m clueless when it comes to actually getting faster, so I’m just going to trust he knows what he’s talking about and take it from there.

Moj days are whatever she sets up for us. Sometimes that’s a 40 minute burpee session, other times it’s a 40 minute stair workout. She likes to make me swear & sweat. I like her for putting up with my snarky attitude. Win/Win.

Rest/Lift days are just that. If running is wearing me out, I’ll take a rest day. If I feel up to a weight lifting day, I’ll pop open my BodySpace app and get some dead lifts in.

I’m excited to see how this training schedule will work with my WeightWatchers. I’ve never actually lost weight on a running plan (EAT ALL THE FOODS) and it will be interesting to see if it can be done.

(I know it can but dude, running has the ability to make the best of us HANGRY, so yeah.)

Any races in your future?!

Runners Tell All: What is your training routine?

I decided to do something crazy. Something wild. Something insane.
I’m sponsoring this month’s Runners Tell All! I know, cuh-razy, but I figured in honor of my birthday month (no shame in shouting out my own birthday – it’s this Saturday by the way) I’d step a little out of my blogging comfort zone. Life is good when you’re about to be twenty-fine (not a typo), so let’s get started!

Training Routine.

This prompt couldn’t have come at a better time seeing as I just started training for my fall races last week. I mostly took off from running over the summer because I had a non-fractured foot that was healing and wanted to try my hand at weight lifting.
For the past two years I’ve really enjoyed learning to love the run itself and haven’t been crazy interested in getting faster. But then my marathon happened (or didn’t happen) and I know if I would have been faster I would have completed the race – so I’ve decided to start from the bottom up. That 5k time is going down this fall.

Like all of you, I have a busy life - working full-time, being a mother to an incredibly awesome 3 year old and a wife to a very studly 31 year old – so in order to get my workouts in my best option is my lunch hour. It’s not for everyone but I work in Higher Education and have the luxury of free access to the gym. It’s literally a 2 minute walk from my office. My excuses are limited. Le sigh.

Today, I wanted to share with you a few of my training routine tips that help me get in and out of the gym in less than an hour and still looking somewhat presentable.

1. Pack your bag. I (really try to) pack my gym back the night before and put it in my truck – that way the excuse “I don’t have my stuff” won’t technically work. Especially when my mind is telling me I should take a nap in my truck instead. (For the record, lunch hour quickie naps are the best.)
   
   If you’re able, I would recommend renting a locker so you don’t have to tote a ton of stuff every day. You can keep your essentials in there. A few things in mine are: deodorant, blow dryer (with a cool setting), dry shampoo, and extra hair ties/bobby pins. I also keep out my printed workout sheets as a fall-back plan (see #1) in a little pile that I can pull from if need be.
   
   Things in my gym bag: clean dry underwear.
   
   I don’t know about you but I sweat like a chicken in a deep fry competition and to combat that, I need some clean panties. I just can’t get behind butt-sweat. (See what I did there! ha!)
   
   Other essentials in my bag: gym clothes, tennis shoes, O2 Gold, body wipes, towel, headphones, make-up bag.
   
   
2. Plan your workout. I can’t stress this enough – know exactly what you’re wanting to do when you get to the gym so you don’t waste time wandering around wishing you were eating enchiladas instead. I usually write down my plan of attack on a small piece of paper or put it in the notes section of my phone.
   
   Also, have a small inkling of a back-up plan in case the equipment you need is full or out-of-order. For me, the first few weeks of the new semester the gym is packed with all the new incoming students wanting to look fly,and I plan accordingly. Treadmills all taken? No worries, I’ll hit up the stair master.
   
   Since I work so close to my gym, travel time isn’t usually taken into account, but I can generally get a solid 40 minute workout in – with the other 20 minutes spent on changing into and out of my gym clothes. 
   
3. Shower or No Shower? Um, can I be real with you guys? I totally don’t take a shower after every workout. Sometimes I’m just not that sweaty to justify wasting 5 minutes rinsing off that could be better spent towards running an extra half mile.
   
   On those non-shower days, I wipe myself down with a body wipe, apply deodorant, & body spray and BAM, smelling like an artificial rose in no time. On days when I look like this after my workout,
    
   there’s just no way around it despite my best efforts.
4. Looking Presentable. I keep a blow dryer in my locker that has a cool setting on it (because let’s face it, I ain’t about to blast my body with HOT air after a speed session) and try to wrangle this hair situation I have. Sometimes my hair will have mercy on me and I can go for the beach wave look afterwards and let it dry naturally – most times, it goes in a braid or a bun.
   
   
   For make-up, my face usually stays pretty red for about 20 minutes after a workout, so I’ll throw some powder on, fix any smudged eyeliner or mascara and add some lip gloss. Boom. Nailed it. 

I think the best tip I can give you is to keep it simple as possible. The more extras you throw in there, the less time you have to murder that workout.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention this month’s giveaway!

Beka is super adorable, am I right or am I right?

You can win an Under Armour Tank Top (fitted heat gear, size large) and headband just by following the prompts below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, your turn! Tell us about your training routine by linking up below.

Runners Tell All: My Proudest Moment

Your Favorite and/or Proudest Running Moment
Crossing that first finish line? Running a mile without walking?
What’s your proudest running moment to date? Brag on yourself!

When Amanda first mentioned this link-up, I scanned all the topics with excitement trying to figure out what I’d post for each one of them, and I knew – without a doubt – that when this topic came up what I would choose. I just knew it’d be the moment I crossed the finish line of my first marathon. (This link-up started a couple months before my race.)

But that didn’t exactly pan out like I wanted, so while I’m very proud of what I did accomplish, it’s not at the top of my list when I start scanning my brain for great race moments over the past 2 1/2 years. (Dudes. I’ve been actively running that long, CRAZY.)

The thing my mind always settles back into is my third half-marathon – The Bearathon. In that blog post, I explain a little why it meant so much to me at the time but to sum it up – it was the race I had worked for (in my mind) for at least a year. It was ultimately my goal race, even though it wasn’t technically my first half.

Everything just came together – the weather was great, I felt strong (despite the freakish hills), and I made sure to enjoy every single mile (even when I wanted to chew my legs off and jump in a taxi). There was also no one there at the finish line for me.

Does that sound sad? I promise, it wasn’t.

It made it full circle for me. No one was there to push me to start running, I was just there – alone in a gym, scared as hell that people were going to judge my 200 lbs of awesomeness for jiggling on a treadmill but I did it. And I did it over and over again, until finally – there I was alone at a finish line knowing I fucking did it. And it was wonderful. I proved to myself what I was capable of and …then I videoed my reaction. I’m glad I did, it serves me a good reminder of who I was, who I am and who I’m going to be.

National Running Day 2014

Last year on National Running Day I went back & forth on whether or not I should post something inspirational or motivational – I eventually decided on doing neither.

Instead I decided to share some of my “best” race photos over that past year. And by best I mean – absolutely shameful. The kind of photos you would un-tag of yourself if they showed up on your Facebook feed and then give your friend the stank eye for even uploading them in the first place. Well, everyone except me.

You see, I love every single race photo I take. Even the bad ones (especially the bad ones!) because they share my personal message that you don’t have to look like a runner to be a runner. It’s all in the attitude you have.

 From sliding down a 40 foot tarp into a pool of mud.

To using all your strength for a jumping photo in a race only to find out the photographer didn’t even capture the jump. Or maybe he did and the fact is, you really just have no ups.
#whitegirlscantjump

To running incredibly fast by your husband that he catches the most amazing action* shot known to man. Even though clearly there’s a girl in a boot beating you.

*this photo may or may not have been staged for the purposes of this blog

And there was that one time when I had no neck. After the race, I went home and the only shampoo I could use was Head & Shoulders. Get it? Get it?! BECAUSE I HAVE NO NECK, IT’S ONLY FOR HEAD AND SHOULDERS.
Oh, I kill me. 

Hope you all had a wonderful National Running Day! Until next year!