check out this great virtual race!

just a quick post that i've been meaning to do...

you all should head over to rachelle's blog and sign up for her grandma lill's 96th birthday virtual race! she has some great prizes up for grabs and i think it's wonderful that she does this for her grandma!

i ran the 5k on saturday as a part of my 12 mile training run. you have until february 21st to get your run in!

shingles rears its ugly head again

after my last 20 miler it took me the whole week to get back to normal. my legs felt really dead and i muddled through my runs for that week. so i wasn't surprised on tuesday when my five miler felt like a fifteen miler.

wednesday i woke up and noticed a little scratch near my right eye. this wouldn't normally cause me any alarm, but last year i had shingles in the exact same place.... and it sidelined me for almost a month. so what did i do? i ignored it. went to work. came home to run my 8 miler. 

it was doomed from the start. i was dizzy. disorientated. had no energy at all. i walked a lot and finished stopped after five. you've gotta be kidding me. yeah, my day of denial was over. i have shingles. 

thank God my only symptoms [other than the awesome blisters on my face] have been flu-like symptoms but they've seemed to pass pretty quickly. last time i didn't feel bad, but my rash was bigger and i had HORRIBLE neck pain. i'm so thankful that this seems to be a lighter case. the scariest part though is that this time it's actually in my eye too. my eye doctor checked everything out on friday and  said that it isn't in my cornea [which can apparently cause vision loss], i just have to use some drops and leave my contacts out for a while. 

see, not so bad! [ps i'll have a review on my glasses later this week, i got them free from firmoo!]

saturday i was able to get through my last long run before the marathon [12 miles], which i was so  thankful for. i took thursday and friday off after my horrible wednesday run [so i ended up being 7 miles short this week] so it was really important for me to finish this run. i am a big fan of the saying 'trust your training.' i can't trust my training if i don't follow the training plan. this close to the marathon, it was a big deal for my mental game to finish this run. 

now it's taper time. my longest run next week is 8 miles. and two weeks from today, i'll be running my first full marathon. i cannot believe it's almost here. it seems like a long time coming. 

and some fun news for you all, expect some fun giveaways the week leading up to my race! i'll be sharing some of my favorites with you all!

i love a good mail day!

doesn't everyone love getting mail? i always looked forward to holidays when i was away at school because my mom sent the BEST care packages. i even dreaded finals a little less because our church sent us boxes full of candy and treats! 

anyways, i've had a couple of good mail days and i wanted to share and say thanks! 

i joined lisa's healthy valentine's exchange and received a bunch of goodies from larry. 

lock laces, nathan reflective bracelets, body glide and chocolate! larry i hope you see this thank you and let me know if you have a blog, i'd love to check it out!

this showed up a week or so ago and i was so excited!  i shared it on instagram [courtlauren05] but i forgot to share it with you all. rnr gives you heavy medals if you complete more than one race in a year. i did two so i earned this one.

i won a giveaway on neon blonde runner's website a few weeks ago so i was thrilled when these showed up:

i love them, thanks katherine [and sunglasses shop]!

last but not least, today i received some more lock laces!

how did i get them? you AUTOMATICALLY get a pair when you sign up for amanda's spring bootie buster challenge! how great is that? i'm so excited to put these in my wave riders! thanks amanda! the challenge starts march 4th [i'm using it to make sure i stay active post marathon!]. i've done two of amanda's challenges previously and i HIGHLY recommend them!

sign up here!!!

2013 Strawberry Plains Half Marathon:::: Recap & Review

.:race details:.  

date: saturday february 9th
race day pick up? yes. you could pick up your packet the morning of the race or the night before at Academy Sports + Outdoors in Knoxville.
start time:  9 am [the 10k also started at 9am]
did race start on time? yes
adequate restrooms?  i didn't need the restrooms so i don't really know. there were bathrooms inside the school and also portopotties outside
aid stations:  i think there were about 6. the race is a T shaped course and the second and third time we passed the intersection they had Gu gels. The rest had water and gatorade [except one time when we went through they were out of gatorade].
course spectator support: there weren't many spectators along the race but the volunteers and  even the police officers were all very friendly and encouraging. 
course terrain:  all paved, a couple of large hills. all out in the country though, it was beautiful. 
shirts:  long technical shirts. i was honestly a little disappointed in the shirts. last year they were so pretty, i loved the design and color. I'm not sure what was up with the donkey being the theme of the race. There were some donkeys on the course but a lot of other animals too. Maybe next year it'll be chickens instead. Even with the donkey though, I think a colored shirt would have looked better. 

medals:  the donkey rears its ugly head again. it's not my favorite medal, but it is quite unique. 

would i race again?  yes 
any complaints? other than the shirts, not really. 
what you need to know:  parking is a little tricky, so get there early. i had to park on the side of the road, which was fine because it's not a high traffic area, but make sure you're not going to get blocked in. also, this course does not allow headphones [they will not give you your medal if you're caught wearing them!]


.: my race :.
chip time:::: 2:33:41

i drove to knoxville on friday to pick up my packet and do some shopping. i got a hotel room on the strawberry plains exit and it worked perfectly. i had a 20 miler on the schedule so i got up and ran 7 miles on the treadmill at the hotel. then i changed and packed up my stuff to head to the race. 

dawn and i were hoping to run into each other and we did right before the race. [ps-- she's running 30 half marathons before she turns 30, how awesome is that?!] this race does not allow headphones, so we started out together, chatting as we went. isn't it crazy how you can meet someone for the first time but have so much to talk about? i've never talked that much while running, but it did keep me aware of my breathing and made the time fly by. it was also great to get to know her better. 

we saw a lot of animals during the race:  dogs, horses, goats, chicken, donkeys, cows, and a little dog even ran with us for a little while. dawn got this pic of me with our little friend!

we walked some of the big hills and tried to make up the time lost by running a little quicker on the downhills. she wanted to break 230 and i'm sad that i didn't get her there, but i have a feeling she'll get it at her next one! 

dawn's husband took this one after the race, isn't that sweat stripe so flattering?

all in all, a successful saturday/long run. thanks to dawn for being a great running buddy!

i also ran this race last year, if you'd like to check out that recap you can find it here. 

hello marathon hunger... aka holy crap i'm hungry

up until about a month ago i was really pleased with how my eating/fueling was going even as my mileage started creeping up. i did my clean eating routine through the week and had a cheat meal on the day of my long run. if i needed a boost before a run, i'd eat some JIF on toast.

i even lost some weight, but i think it's because i'm losing muscle [not cool].

well that's all changed now. i'm a bottomless pit! i usually eat every 3 hours or so, but i'm even getting hungry in between that!

do you all have any insight? i have worked my butt off to lose this weight [and still have some more to lose] so i do not want to screw this up!

working for the weekend... and the spring bootie buster challenge

friday i'm going to knoxville so that i can run the strawberry plains half marathon on saturday morning. i ran this race last year and it was a pretty good time. it's a small race that's mostly out in the country, but i liked it. i'm excited to get my first medal of 2013!

saturday is also my second and last 20 miler before the biltmore marathon. i need your all's advice... do i run some before and some after the race, all before, or all after? i'm not sure which would serve me best, but i'm really looking forward to it!

today i ran 5 miles for mommy run fast's 5 by the 5th. i took it really slow since this is a high mileage week for me. 40 miles, eeeeek!

have you all seen that amanda [run to the finish] is hosting a spring challenge? i've participated in her holiday bootie buster challenge for the past two years and i am so happy that she's added a spring challenge! you get points for working out and eating your fruits and veggies, plus amanda has great forums and q and a's with various fitness experts. you should definitely check it out [ps - if you sign up you get a free pair of lock laces!].

rearview mirror:::: january 2013

running:::: 

i finished january with 137 miles. that's the most i've ever ran in a month! i ran my first 30k, my first 20 miler, and ran a new PR for the 10k. 

i've been very happy with my marathon training so far. i can't believe i only have a month left. i've missed a run here and there, but i've hit all my long runs, and even hit a little higher mileage earlier than what was on the plan [which allowed me to put in a second 20 miler, which i'm happy about]. 

weight training::::

i miss this... a lot. i made the decision to run this marathon back in the summer, before i started training with fitness poynters. it's really important to me and i want to see it through, but i do miss feeling strong  and toned. i know running burns calories, but for me and my body, i think lifting makes me feel better and gives me better results for my time. unfortunately i haven't figured out to manage my time enough that i can do both.

reading::::
i finished the matched series by ally condie. it was okay, passed the time and attaches you to the characters like most series do, but it wasn't a must read.

i started reading ulysses by james joyce, to get a start on one of my 2013 goals, and it might not have been the best choice, but i'm trying to get into it.

as far as Bible reading goes, i'm in isaiah now and i'm doing pretty well at studying beth moore's 'john.' the only problem is that i'm working in it when i'd normally been just reading the Bible, so my Bible progress has slowed.

2013 goals::::
i crossed off one thing here this month when i completed my 30k for my 30th birthday. i came thisclose to getting my sub hour 10k, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, right?

i'm doing terribly with the computer time goal, which may have been a 'bit' unrealistic. i did deactivate my FB profile halfway through the month to see if that helped, and while it did, it hasn't made as much of a difference as i'd hoped.

brad and i went to a new connect group at church last sunday and again today. we really like it so far and i hope we can continue to attend and make new friends!

life::::
january was a difficult month, for all the usual reasons plus some. i always fight the urge to get depressed in january, i think it's a combination of the holidays being over and the weather. the holidays are so busy, we're usually surrounded by family, have all the happy decorations up, then you have to take it all down and everyone goes back home... it can get depressing!