Women's Half Marathon and Sole Sisters

So I started with Sole Sisters back in August with a mission to raise $1000.00 for Chances for Children and complete the Women's Half Marathon. My biggest concern was that I would not be able to raise the money that I committed to. Well I did raise the money plus a little more ($1103). I really appreciate all of my friends and family that helped me reach my goal. I am really glad that I decided to step out of my comfort zone and ask people for donations. The kids from Chances for Children can use all of the help that they can get.

The half marathon is this Sunday November 6th and I am very excited and nervous to run this race. I have been training for months and know I can run the miles. I feel like mentally I am in better place than my last half marathon, so I am trying to stay positive and believe in myself. I have been doing track workouts once a week and my long runs have been going great. I really hope that I can carry those experiences into the race and have a good performance. At the end of the day I know that I have done everything that I could with my training and I need to just run my own race.

If you can come out to Tempe Beach Park the Sunday to support all of the people that are running this race. We start in Scottsdale at 7:00 am and end in Tempe at Tempe Beach Park. My girls are coming out with my husband and I am so excited to have them see me accomplish my goal!

Vanessa 1 year

Brooklyn 2 years

AFC Half Marathon

Myself, Allison, Derek waiting for the bus at our hotel

So I did it! Not the best of races, but I crossed the finish line in 1:50:17. I felt so nervous from the moment I woke up until about 1/2 mile into the race. We got the bus at our hotel at 5:15 a.m. The race did not start until 7:00 a.m. so we waited at the start for a while. I was so excited to get running. I was trying to go the first two miles at 8:20 and 8:17 pace. I went out too fast and definitely paid for it later in the race. I ran the first two at 8:00 and 7:59. The next two were down hill and then the course flattened out. I started to feel the pain at mile 6 and I took my GU to try to get some energy.We had a turn around loop in the Harbor and I was just trying to keep strong mentally because physically it was not looking good. There is a mile and a half hill in the last two miles. That hill kicked my butt. I ended up walking part of it because it was so hard. I tried to stare at the ground because it seemed like there was not an end to the hill. As I entered into Balboa Park I knew I was so close. I just pushed through it and  in the end I am so happy that I finished.I am looking forward to my next one November 6.  My miles:

 

Finish time 1:50:17 total 13.24 miles

8:00,7:59,7:42,7:14,7:53,8:07,8:14,8:13,8:14,8:21,8:59,10:07,9:33,1:41

Allison and Derek before the race. They both did awesome

Myself and Allison at Point Loma

View from our room

Derek and Allison

AFC is Here!!

So the AFC Half Marathon is finally here. Sunday August 21 is the date of the San Diego race. Derek, Allison and I are leaving on Saturday and coming back after the race on Sunday. A quick trip, but I am sure it will be a blast. I feel excited and nervous. I don't know what to expect. I do know that I put in the time training and I am physically ready, I just don't know if mentally I am prepared. I just need the confidence to know that I can do it.

10K Time Trial

On Saturday I ran 6.2 miles to see how fast I could run so I would have an idea what pace to shoot for in the half marathon. I was lucky enough to have my sister in law Allison run with me. I did better than I expected but I credit Allison for keeping me going.

Team Sole Sisters/Chances for Children Charity Event

Date: August 12, 2011
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Bar Fitness, 4425 E. Agave Road, Suite 1200, Phoenix AZ

We will have a silent auction, raffle items, 50/50 raffle...and for the most fun of all --- A LIVE AUCTION!! All proceeds to benefit Chances for Children!! Please come support Chances for Children. Check out the website: www.chancesforchildrenaz.com

Training with Team Sole Sisters

Today was my first day to train with Team Sole Sisters. We had a track workout today and it was awesome to run with a group. We did a warm-up then running drills, one mile time trial and cool down. It was a great group of people and so much fun. I am really looking forward to training with them. We had a meeting and a run on Saturday, but I could not go because someone decided to break into our business in the middle of the night. I had to go and meet the police and wait for the glass doors to get replaced. I ended up missing the meeting and run. I was so disappointed. I ended up starting my 11 mile run 2 1/2 hours late. The weather was so brutal. My legs felt great, but I was just SO HOT! I finished my run but it was definitely one of my hardest runs.

Flagstaff

I went up to Flagstaff on Sunday with just Brooklyn and Vanessa. I was staying with my friend Lindsay while I was there. The weather was amazing compared to Phoenix. I ran 5 miles Monday morning with my double stroller. It was so hard with the altitude and the hills. I definitely struggled during this run. Pushing two kids in a stroller up hills was one of my hardest runs so far.

Brooklyn and Ava playing on the porch before the giant storm

Struggling through the heat

For the past few weeks I have been struggling with the heat and humidity. I run very early (4 am) so I usually get the best weather of the day. After my first two miles of any run my legs felt like I had just ran 10 miles. I looked all over the internet about dehydration and it seemed to be common for runners to feel this way in the heat and humidity. I found a product called Endurolytes and they are working for me so far. My legs feel so much better and my recovery feels so much better. I have brought them with me on my long runs the last two weeks and they are really helping me.

Training for my First 1/2 Marathon

After the birth of my first daughter I was very eager to get back into shape. I joined Stroller Strides as a way to exercise with Brooklyn. We would run during class and I was instantly hooked. I would never run more than 5 miles at a time. During my second pregnancy I ran throughout the entire pregnancy and I picked it right back up after Vanessa was born. I wanted to create some goals for myself in order to keep the running and exercise fun. I entered some local 5k races and then  I decided that I would sign up for my first half marathon.

 With my brother's help (he is coaching me) I started training in April for the Women's Half Marathon in Tempe. The race isn't until November 6th so I decided that I wanted to try to find a half to do sometime in the middle to keep me motivated through the summer months. I signed up for AFC in San Diego on August 21. I also decided to join a group called Sole Sisters. Sole Sisters is a training group for the Women's Half Marathon that runs together and raises money for Chances for Children.


Chances for Children supports programs that provide access to sports, physical education, and character education for youth. They provide fitness training, nutritional programs and educational services to students at schools throughout Arizona. I have made a commitment to raise $1000.00  by November.


This blog will be dedicated to my training and my committment to raising money for Chances for Children.

Vanessa

Brooklyn