Winter flab...be gone!

I'm not exactly sure what inspired me to write today after a yr. off, but here I am. 

I'm not going to list excuses why I haven't blogged in so long, truth is...I just haven't really felt like it. LOL. I'm not a writer by nature so I have to get in "the mood".  Apparently, today was the day!

This past winter I got lazy, not even gonna lie.  I had zero desire to work out or to eat super healthy.  I enjoyed every minute of it too!!  However, when I really looked in the mirror in January, I realized I didn't like the results of my lazy winter.  My clothes were much tighter and getting uncomfortable.  Not to mention I was sick of the lazy feeling I get when I don't workout and eat right.  I had been comfortable in my over sized winter gear for long enough.  Spring was on the horizon and I was not ready for the attire that comes along with warmer weather.  I'm not claiming to have become a cow or anything, and I know in some people's eyes I was still "small",  but for me and how I'm comfortable in my own skin, I needed to make some improvements.

Also, the hubs came home with a scale a few weeks ago.  In our 13 yrs of marriage we have never owned one.  I guess it was time.  I've never been one to care what the scale says, I've always gone with how I feel and fit into my clothes.  However, about 4 yrs ago, when I really started working out consistently, day 1 I stepped on the scale at the gym and didn't like what I saw.  I was 134...the heaviest I'd ever been other than being pregnant, of course.  It proved to be a motivator over the next few months.  I didn't get obsessed with the number but I found when I was mid 120s I felt the best and healthiest.  When I stepped on it a few weeks ago...I wasn't in the mid 120s but in the 130s.  132 to be exact. I wasn't surprised with how I was feeling lately. It was a definite motivator! I will not obsess with the number but I do take it into consideration.  My current goal is to lose 7 pounds and that would put me at 125.  Today when I stepped on the scale it read...130. Yay! Progress!!!

Late January, early Febuary I began doing a Jillian DVD called "Trouble Zones".  It is a great 40 minute workout! I ran randomly at my church gym while Emma had basketball practice.  I was slowly starting to perk up and get out of the winter funk.  But, not entirely.  I proved to be a hard winter case of laziness to crack!

Fortunately for me, my church was offering an early morning boot camp starting in mid February. I was so excited and knew it was exactly what I needed!  I showed up bright and early that first class not knowing what to expect.  It proved to be extremely challenging and I was hooked!  With a different workout each time we meet, my muscles never know what's coming.  I have now been doing it for 3ish months and I am still sore after every class!  I keep thinking there will be a day I'm not sore afterwards, but I'm beginning to think not! I don't mind though, soreness means that I'm getting stronger. 

I am also doing a push-up challenge. It's a 30 day challenge and I do 100 push ups a day. I follow this super cool runner on instagram, #fitandfaithfulfc,  and she threw the challenge out there and I accepted right away.  I haven't been perfect and have missed a few days, but it's amazing to me how much easier they are getting as the days pass.  Note....I said easier, not easy!! Big difference! I am also doing a "big girl" push up or so I like to call them.  Only hands and feet touching the ground! The first day I could only do about 10 at a time and I broke the 100 up into groups of 50. Doing some in the morning and some at night...or whenever I had time.  15 days in, I'm doing all 100 in about 10-15 minutes tops.  Sets of 10-15 with about a 30 second break between sets. My goal by the end of the month is to be able to do 2 sets of 50...we shall see!

Here are some progress shots!

day 1

day 6

 

day 14

 

 

Getting them done....Although, this was more of a plank because I had to wait on my sweet son to take the pic! lol

 

You may be thinking, why are you doing all this extra working out and not just running? In short, I am slightly injury prone when I have increased my mileage in the past so I want to make sure I'm strengthening my muscles to support the impact of running.  Plus, I need to tone up the "winter flab!"

I have started running more regularly as well.  I am running anywhere from 2-4 times a week.  It is honestly depending on how sore I am from boot camp as to whether I can run or not the following day. 

A fun motivator has been the awesome Garmin forerunner 220 running watch I received for Mother's Day! I love it! I have been wanting one for years and I'm thrilled that my hubby got all the hints I dropped ;)

 

Showing off my Garmin and awesome Fleet Feet Mother's day shirt!

Steam

So, you know those days where you just need to blow off some steam? Not even for any particular reason.  Well, that was me yesterday.  Unfortunately, we overslept and missed church, which made me sad and upset! I hate missing church! I love our church family and I love our weekly corporate worship. So when we missed, it automatically put me in a sour mood.  After doing some much needed chores around the house I decided to go to the gym for a serious calorie/stress burn. 

I jumped on the elliptical and tore it up.  I went for 30 minutes on level 7 and didn't let the speed go under 7.5.  There were moments I thought, just slow down a little, nope - that's when I made myself go faster! I did 3.5 miles.  After the elliptical I did weights and hit every major muscle group.  I usually go home after I've done cardio and weights but decided to jump on the 'mill for a mile run. Well, I ended up running 2 miles with an incline of 3 and average speed of 6 aka 10 minute miles.  The last half mile or so I gradually increased the speed and ended in a sprint.  Whew! I was beat but it felt oh so good!!!! I love a good hard workout!

Today, I organized Brock's room! When I was done we had a dance party in his neat clean room! We turned on his disco ball and cranked up the music! Little did he know I was sneaking out a cardio workout! ;)  I'm hitting the gym again tomorrow! Can't wait!



Blessings to you,

I'm back!





 

So, I realize it has been several months since I last updated my blog.  My knee issues were frustrating me so badly that I took a much needed break from running and the blog world.  I tried several times during my time off to run in hopes that the pain would magically not return.  Unfortunately, that was never the case.  I would go a max of 2 miles and have to stop.  SUPER FRUSTRATING!!!

 

Well, about 2 weeks ago, my friend introduced me to KT TAPE.  I had never tried it, but she assured me that it would help.  In fact, it was what enabled her to run a marathon without killer pain in her knee.  So, I went to her house and she taped my outer left knee.  That was 2 weeks ago Wednesday.  I went to my parents house that Thursday evening and was dying to give it a try and see if it would help me be able to run pain free, or at least close to it.  I was skeptical, I'll admit, but hopeful at the same time.  I laced up and was out the door.  It felt so amazing to run outside! The few times I'd run had been inside on the 'mill so it was so refreshing to be in the sunshine! I kept waiting and waiting for the pain to come raging back in my left knee, but it never did.  I ran 3 miles PAIN FREE! Holy cow I was excited!!!  Praying that it wasn't a fluke, I ran another 3 that Saturday and again had no pain. YES YES YES!!! It feels so good to be running again! The past week I've run 2 more times - Friday 3 miles, and Saturday 4 miles.  This morning I did the elliptical, bike, and weights.  Since I don't have any major races on the horizon, as of yet, I won't be running a ton.  I will incorporate the bike and elliptical along with weights to make sure I'm strong strong strong!

 

I got new shoes for my birthday and even though I don't buy running shoes for cuteness, it sure helps when they are cute!  I LOVE the bright colors on the Brooks Ravenna 4s and so far they feel great to run in. 

 

 

New shoes = awesomeness!

Here is a pic of my knee all taped up. If you go to this site, there are videos that walk you through how to tape whatever area is bothering you! BTW, I bought purple and black tape, to match my new shoes!! How fun!

knee troubles

This past RAINY Saturday Candace, Sara, and I met for a run.  We met at 6:30 am and had no trouble parking since we were the crazies out running in the rain.  Luckily the temps were in the 60s so we didn't turn into ice sickles. 

 

The run started out great.  I forgot to mention in my last post that my knee trouble hasn't gone away.  It started bothering me during the half marathon at about mile 6.  It hurt for several days afterwards but then subsided.  Saturday was the first run since the race and I was hopeful that the pain wouldn't return.  Sadly, that wasn't the case.  It starts out super dull and then slowly progresses to a intense burning.  It feels better when I stop and stretch for a second.  However, when I begin running again the pain creeps right back. I'm so frustrated with it at this point and the only thing I can think to do is to take some time off.  You all know this is NOT what I want to do, but the last thing I want to do is keep running on it and make it worse.  I'm thinking it's either "runners knee" or "IT band" issues.  If worse comes to worse I'll see a doctor, but I'm hoping a few weeks off will do the trick.  I'm also thinking my shoes may be slightly to blame as well as the higher mileage.  The knee pain started pretty quickly after I got my newest shoes.  When I start back I may run in my older pair and see how it feels.  I never had any pain when I ran in those.  I will still go to the gym and ride the bike and weight train.  I guess this is just a reality of being a runner that I have to face.  Runners get injured.  Because we all know that it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm getting older :) haha

 

 



Half

 







 St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend

 

First up on the agenda was the Expo Thursday night.  Candace and I went around 4:30 and we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't busy.  We were able to take our time and browse all the fun running gear they had available.  I got a super cute Adidas sports bra and fun arm warmers, both for just 10 bucks each.  The rest of the time we sat through a course description, sampled yummy apples, talked to some friends, and most importantly activated our race bibs.  It was so cool walking over the sensors and seeing my name pop up on the screen.  It made it real.  We were doing this and we couldn't have been happier. 

 

Unfortunately, I still wasn't feeling great.  At this point I just knew I'd be 100% since I'd been feeling badly since Thanksgiving evening. That should be plenty of time to get better, right.  This virus just wiped me of all my energy and left me with a throbbing headache and sore throat.  However, I am one determined girl and pressed through.  I went to bed at a decent time Thursday night, but didn't sleep great.  I have the hardest time sleeping when I'm nervous and I'm not sure I've ever been so nervous.  I'm not really sure why I was so nervous but, man I just couldn't shake it.  I think I just wanted to do so well in the race I was putting unnecessary pressure on myself.  Yes, it's a little nuts, I know.  I'm working on it.

 

Friday I spent the day doing things around the house, laying out all my race gear, and getting ready for Candace to come over for a pre-race pasta party.  We had a great time hanging out, eating pasta, salad, bread, cobbler, and coffee.  We discussed the final details of race day and parted ways at 9 in hopes to get a full nights rest.  Well, like I said I don't sleep well when I'm nervous or have things on my mind.  I certainly tried and tried and tried.  I maybe got 2 hours the entire night.  I ended up getting up at 4 and had plenty of anticipation and excitement to push through the sleepiness.  I attempted to eat Cream of Rice and oh my word that stuff is so nasty I just couldn't do it.  So, I opted to eat half of a peanut sandwich, half of a banana, and a full glass of water. 

 

 

 

I laced up my shoes and was ready to go

 

 

 

We arrived downtown at 6:30 and made our way to the starting line for my Team Ingram picture.  After the picture, a porta-potty visit, a nice warm up walk, and prayer time we made our way to Corral #6 and the final wait began.  Probably the sweetest moment of the morning was the precious little girl who sang the National Anthem.  It was a tear jerker, for sure.  The gun went off and about 10 minutes or so later it was our turn to start the journey to completing our very first half marathon. 

 

 

 

The early miles were amazing.  Emotional is the best way to describe it.  We ran down Riverside Drive and enjoyed the beautiful view of the river and before we knew it we were on Beale Street.  It was packed and the energy was undeniable and awesome.  You can't help but feel a little like a celebrity with all the awesome people cheering for you and rooting you on.  I gave tons of high fives and heard lots of "Go Allie" or "Thank You, Hero".  We rounded a corner and I began searching for my family.  I knew to look for Team Ingram and they would be close to them.  Sure enough I spotted the sea of green ahead on the left.  We made our way over to them and I was able to give sweet little Ingram a high five.  Holy cow,  that was a moment!!! About 15 seconds later I saw my sweet little family and it absolutely made my day.  Seeing Brock and Emma with the signs they made and D with the video camera was just almost too much to take.  I was so overcome with joy. 

 

 

 

This picture cracks me up.  I promise they were happy and smiling when I passed, but this was about 45 minutes later and needless to say they were ready to go eat!  But I'd say they were the cutest cheerleaders on the course :)

 

A short mile or so later we were running through St. Jude.  I mean it when I say there are no words to describe this moment.  I looked into the eyes of so many moms, grandmothers, and dad's who with their whole heart told me "Thank You".  Oh my goodness, the tears were flowing! There was pain, sadness, joy, and thankfulness in their eyes and you could tell that they genuinely were thankful.  We all know that they are the real heroes here.  For taking care of their precious little one who is ill.  It was a moment I'll never forget!!! Ever!!!

 

We were soon running on North Parkway.  This is where the race turned for me.  I decided to eat a Gu Gel at mile 6 since I'd been running for an hour at that point.  During practice I'd used a caffeine free, vanilla Gel.  Well when I went to the store to buy one all they had was the ones with caffeine.  So, I broke the big rule of not trying anything new on race day.  I quickly began feeling nauseous.  I'm not entirely sure if the gel is to blame but I think it had a part in my upset tummy.  I kept thinking oh, it will go away and I'll feel better.  Nope.  No such luck.  In fact, I got worse.  At one point I told Candace I felt like I was having an out of body experience.  She had me put my head between my legs for a few seconds to try to ease the nausea.  I was dizzy and just plain miserable.  I am not a quitter and was bound and determined to persevere.  Even though all I wanted to do was lay on the side of the road.  She was AMAZING.  She encouraged me, quoted scripture, and stayed right by my side the entire time.  I kept telling her to go ahead and leave me because I didn't want her race to suffer because of me.  She refused and told me she wasn't going to leave me.  I am so grateful for her and her selflessness during the race.  She helped me and didn't leave me and for that I am forever grateful.  That is why I'm calling us 13.1 Soul Sisters!!! Still to this day I'm not sure what went wrong exactly.  I'm thinking it was due to being sick,  lack of sleep, and the wrong gel.  I could so easily beat myself up for not racing well but, I'm not.  You never know when you will have a "bad" running day.  You can't predict them nor can you control them.  I refuse to have negative thoughts about the race just because I wasn't feeling my best.  I gave my all and that's all anyone can do or ask.  Overall the day was amazing and I'm so blessed and happy that I was able to play a small part in helping the amazing kids at St. Jude. 

 

 

My mom snapped this awesome picture of little Ingram playing on the side of the road.  This is what it's all about.  Little angels just like him. 

 

 

 

Here we are right at mile 13.  Praise Jesus, we were almost done.

 

 

I LOVE this picture!!!!! My dad knocked it out of the park with this one! To me, this shot says it all!

 

 

This awesome sign greeted us as we entered the stadium!

 

 

 

Hugging my sweet mom.  My parents are so amazing and always support me in whatever I do!

 

 

Oh yes, we certainly earned these!!!

 

 

My dad found my name on the massive list of finishers! 

 

 

Love my little family.  They should've received a metal as well for encouraging & supporting me through training!

 

 

 

Oh how we have waited and worked so hard to be able to hold up our 13 mile fingers!!! Woohoo!!!

 

 

Me and my sweet boy!

 

 

The proof is in the metal :)

 

 

Last but not least...the 13.1 sticker is FINALLY where it belongs, on my car!!!

 

 

Our mile splits...

 

1 - 10:04

2 - 9:28

3 - 9:16

4 - 8:53

5 - 8:59

6 - 9:36

7 - 9:58

8 - 9:59

9 - 10:37

10 - 10:41

11 - 10:58

12 - 12:38

13 - 12:38

 

Official Time - 2:18:32

 

You can tell where I really started to have trouble.  I'm looking forward to the next half so I can beat my time :)

 

I wanted to say a special thank you to everyone who supported me, prayed for me, donated, and just bared with me while I talked their ear off about the race.  Haha.  I have the best support system and I love each and every one of you!

5 days

5 DAYS

 

Today marks 5 short days until race day! 

 

I find myself with a mix of emotions today.  I'm feeling excited, ready, nervous, anxious & overall just pretty emotional.  While I'm feeling better, I'm still not 100% well yet so I'm sure that is playing a part in my emotional state :)  Here's the deal, I've trained my butt off the past 16 weeks & the realization that in 5 short days I will have completed a race I've worked so hard for, seems well, overwhelming.  Not to mention the fact that I love St. Jude and how they help thousands of children each and every year.  I am honored to run for such amazing kids.  So, if you think about it this week, please say a prayer that I'm 100% physically ready to run my best!

Coach Kevin Leathers is the national coach for the St. Jude heroes program.  On his blog, he has a detailed course description and I've included it here if you are interested in checking it out.  I have to say what I'm most excited about is running through the St. Jude campus.  I'm fully prepared to be an emotional wreck that mile so I'll make sure to have plenty of tissue! 

He also talks about proper tapering.  Read all about it here
With this annoying virus that hit me late Thursday night, I do find encouragement in his tapering plan.  I had to miss my final long run this past Saturday and I wasn't happy, but I don't feel like missing it will affect me in the end.  I did run this morning.  I did an easy 2 miler/19 minutes and that was it.  The plan for the week is 3 miles tomorrow and 2 on Wednesday.  Depending on how anxious I'm feeling Friday, I may go to the gym and bike gently, just to work out nerves.  We'll see.

Final Training Days

Final Training Days 

 

11/20/2012

 

I headed to the park on this gorgeous Tuesday morning for a fun 3 miler. 

 

I'm feeling super ready for the half NEXT SATURDAY!!!

 

My splits were...

 

Mile 1 - 9:21

Mile 2 - 8:38

Mile 3 - 8:15

 

Total Time - 26:26

Total Distance - 3.02 Miles

 

 

Later that day I was able to pick up my heroes singlet! Yippee!!!

 

 

 

Sara, Me, and Candace after we rocked the Turkey Trot

 

Turkey Trot Mile Splits

 

The Turkey Trot was a fun race.  We made the mistake of starting too far back in the pack of 3000+ people.  It's just so hard judging where to line up when it isn't broken down into race paces.  We spent the whole race passing person after person.  There was a lot of running in the grass and passing passing passing.  That's ok, it was a gorgeous day and I'm already looking forward to next year's race. 

 

 

 

 

                                                   

Thanksgiving was a success.  We had delicious food, desserts, and wonderful family time.  Unfortunately Brock woke up that morning with a cough and fever.  I felt a little off but nothing serious.  Until Friday morning, when I woke up with a sore throat :(  Needless to say, I'm loading up on my vitamins, esp. vitamin C, gargling with salt water, drinking plenty of fluids, and resting!  I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE SICK NEXT SATURDAY!!!!!! I really hated to miss my final long run before the race, but figured to be smart and not make myself worse, I should sit it out.  I feel very ready as far as training goes for next Saturday, so I didn't think missing one run would be a huge deal.  I'm hoping to get my short runs in on Monday and Tuesday.  Then rest Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  Packet pick up is Thursday afternoon!!! I'm hoping to get a cute shirt or something at the Expo! It's crazy to think that this time next week, I will have completed my first half marathon!!! Bring it, I'm so excited!

 

 

 

let the countdown begin!!!



almost time...

 With only 12 days until race day, to say that I'm excited would be a major understatement!!!! I absolutely cannot wait to get out there and run for the precious kids of St. Jude.  My passion to help these precious little ones is ever growing and I just feel so blessed to have the privilege to help in any way that I can.

I'm also THRILLED to announce that, with your help, I've reached 105% of my personal fundraising goal!  A HUGE thank you to those of you who have donated! That is what makes this race so special! Y'all are amazing!  In fact, since I've been writting this post, it went from 77% to 105%. Thanks SO much!!!!!!!!!!!! 

If you are still wanting to donate, please do - I'd love to raise as much as we can!

It's super easy.  Simply follow this link and follow the instructions.

Training Update!

Let me tell you something, I've learned so much about myself these past several months.  I've learned that I'm physically capable of so much more than I have ever given myself credit for.  I'm not bragging,  I'm just saying that I'm proving to myself that I can do whatever I set my mind too...with a LOT of hard work, sweat, and tears!  It's so liberating and I'm loving every second.  Of course there are painful moments involved in training but the pay off is so worth it!

 

Me, Sara, and Candace after our 8 miler on Saturday

Saturday morning was gorgeous! It was a little chilly at first but it quickly warmed up.  I have been nervous about my knees and the fact that they have been hurting during and after some of my runs.  I was grateful that they didn't hurt during my run on Saturday. We decided to tune into Pandora and run to some Christmas tunes.  I'll admit, at first I wasn't crazy about the idea because we haven't even made it to Thanksgiving yet! However, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the fun and festive music!  I can't convince D to listen to it yet...he says, one holiday at a time! Haha.


Around mile 5 I spotted a runner sporting the St. Jude Heroes 50th anniversary singlet! Let me tell you,  it pumped me up!!! I believe I saw at least 5 runners during the course of the run wearing them.  It made me want mine so badly!  I received an email today that mine is ready for me to pick up! Yay!!! I plan on picking it up tomorrow! I'm receiving mine a little later than most people because Team Ingram/Vining is just plain awesome.  They are having our team logo printed on each and every team members singlet! All 200 of us! By the way, our team has collectively raised OVER $300,000!!!! Seriously amazing!

So, For those of you who are wondering what in the world I'm talking about - a singlet is basically a running tank top and this year's is super special because St. Jude is celebrating 50 years of saving lives. 
 

 

here is sweet Ingram sporting the awesome 50th anniversary singlet!

 

 

Blast from the Past

 

Last year my awesome sister, Ashley, ran her 1st half marathon with her best friend, Kathy.  They did amazing and I had the best time cheering them on and tracking their time!  I'm telling you what, it ignited something inside of me and I knew that I would be a part of it this year, Lord willing.

 

 Here are a few pics from last year's race. 

 

 

Ashley & Kathy just before the race. 

 

They did it!!!

 

I'm a proud little sister!

 

 

 

 So, in 12 short days I'll be lining up to run in this amazing and life changing race!!! I can't wait!!!!!

 

 

 



 

God bless!

Allie

update

Goodness, how I have slacked on this blog!  A lot has happened in the 2 weeks since I last blogged. 

 

A few memories...

 

 

We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary!!!! We had a fun date and I got some killer cowgirl boots! He got his Trek road bike ( a month or so ago )

 We also celebrated Brock's 5th birthday! We had a fun day at the Children's Museum, lunch at Macaroni Grill, shopping at Toys R Us, plenty of cake, and lots of laughs. 

 

Cannot believe my BABY is 5!!!

 

 

 

 

We also had a fun Saturday hanging out at the Collierville Square.  We shopped, played on the train tracks, ate a fantastic lunch, and just had good old family time!

 



 

 

Emma had her first Ignite ensemble performance at the fall fest at church on Halloween.  Then we had a fun time of playing games, riding ponies, and getting way too much candy!

 

 

  She is the cutie with the boots on in the middle.

 

 

Emma was an equestrian rider, without her helmet - and Brock was Darth Vader, without his mask! LOL

 

 

Brock learned to swing all by himself!!! He gives all the credit to Madi, his cousin, for teaching him,  but he forgets the many times I showed him. :)

 

I've enjoyed some seriously beautiful sunsets!

 

There are so many other little things that have been blessings in the past few weeks, but those were just a few. 

 

 

 

Now for an update on my running...

 

 

The last time I blogged I had just run 11 miles :) I've been training hard the past 2 weeks but have been battling my left knee off and on.  It started hurting the day I did 11, so I rested it for several days.  The next few runs were short and it didn't bother me so I figured it was over.  Unfortunately, my next long run the following Saturday, it started hurting again.  This time it was at mile 8 and I had to cut the run .20 of a mile short.  I was so bummed because I felt amazing everywhere else and felt like I could run forever.  The weird part was as soon as the run ended it stopped hurting??!! It felt great the rest of the day.  I'm so confused at this point because I've run several times since then pain free but yesterday I just felt like it was weak.  It felt great when I ran yesterday morning but started a dull ache for the remainder of the day.  Today, I ran 3 and it felt good, but it's been that dull ache all day again.  I wore my knee brace for most of the day today in hopes for a quick fix.  So, for now I think I need to take it easy and just be safe and cautious.  The LAST thing I want to do at this point is make it worse and not be able to run the 1/2 in 3 weeks. I know I've put in the training the past several months and I know I'm ready to run a good race.  Now, I need to focus on making sure my knee is well rested for the big day! So, I'm not sure what my training is going to look like the next few weeks but I do know that I'll be ready to race!!! 18 short days left!!!

 

 

Allie