The Las Vegas Rock and Roll Half Marathon - MY FIRST!

It finally came....the day I'd been training for! The day that has been 5 MONTHS in the making!

I look back to the posts I wrote when I initially decided to do this, and I'm pretty surprised at where I'm sitting now. I went in thinking I had plenty of time. Five months of time to be exact. At least I'd hope that was enough. I was never a runner, and I didn't even know if it would be possible to get myself to the mileage level, let alone the mentality to get myself through. Ok, well that's kind of a lie. Over the last year and a half I've done a pretty good job of fixing my mental state of mind to reach some goals that were pretty far off! But running has always been this impossible hurdle for me. One I've fought to conquer my whole life.

And then not to mention after 4 months, with ONE month to go, I ran into knee problems. Problems that for awhile I figured might take me out of the race completely. BUT thanks to some amazing time with two different PTs I worked my way back to at least be good to finish the race. It may be walking, it may be run/walking, but it would be finished. SOMEHOW!

The last time I posted I told you about my PT. The hope that I'd gotten back when it came to this race. My first night after seeing her I'd run 5 miles on the treadmill. Before that my last long distance was 9 miles. BUT the whole thing had been walking. And let me tell ya....it is SO much HARDER to walk that distance than run it. Weird....I know. But when you know you can run all you want to do is run it. Walking takes longer and puts more wear and tear on the joints. So when I could start running again I was stoked.

After getting in to see my new PT, we came up with a run/walk strategy to try out as my last long run before the race. And it instilled more hope for me. The run/walk combo for my last long distance was 11 miles. I started with a walk and then rotated to a run about every other mile. We went with the following pattern 1/1/1/2/1/2/1/1/1. Starting and ending with walks. And I completed it with minimal pain to the knee, and a pretty decent pace. It was an average of 11:30 per mile. Not what I had thought it would be months ago, but the fact I could handle the distance meant everything in the world to me. I worked with my PT the week before Vegas, and I had a well laid plan going in. To go at it easy, with a run/walk combo. And just finish. After I'd finish I could work on the NEXT race. And work to get stronger and faster and have the race I'd wanted. To run it all!

Well the road to hell is paved with good intentions......but I'm getting ahead of myself


RACE DAY
The day started with me up bright and early. Even though the race wasn't until 5:30 that evening, and I'd gone out the night before. I was restless. I knew after the last two weeks long runs that I'd be able to finish the race, but I had this underlying fear that the knee would give out, that I'd get too tired, or that something would go wrong.

I spent the day relaxing for the most part. Mom and I grabbed breakfast at the Treasure Island buffet....DELICIOUS. And it was a champagne brunch....I gave mom mine since it probably wouldn't be the BEST idea to drink day of! We walked the strip a little, picked up some supplies at Walgreens and headed back to the room at Encore to get a little rest.

Tried napping but no luck. So instead I woke up and started prepping my gear for the race.....TEAM ALEX all the way!

Go Team Alex!

Waiting for the tram at the Wynn

With my energizer powered light for the night race!!

At 4pm mom and I headed down to catch the tram at the Wynn. Trams were to be running every 15 minutes so I figured getting down there an hour and a half before the race would leave us PLENTY of time. Even if the trams were running late or there were tons of people! Well I was wrong....45 minutes later not ONE tram had come....Then finally 3 came. We got on....but it took an HOUR to get from the Wynn to Mandalay Bay....which is only 3 miles away...SERIOUSLY?! Traffic was horrible, and technically we didn't even really reach the Mandalay Bay. We were going through the back roads and traffic stalled. It was 5:50 at this point. Race had started....and my corral was about 10 minutes out from start. Everyone on the tram convinced the driver to cut through a dirt lot and for us to get off in the middle of nowhere and  basically run to the start.

I had enough to time to use the restroom and hop into my corral. And then we were off....

So if you remember from before, my plan was run walk/run it....and it was supposed to start with a walk as a warm-up....well starting it walking felt...wrong....So I decided last minute to start with a light jog, and that would be my warm up in this cold weather, and then fix the rotation of my walk/run.. Well one mile in I was feeling good. No knee pain at all and so I decided to keep going and at the end of mile 2 I'd go to my walk/run plan. Because that would have been when I would've been walking next anyway. End of mile 2 came around and same thing. No knee pain, but I was like ok I'll walk....10 steps in and it felt wrong...I should be running, the walk pace was just slower than what felt good. So I started running again and decided to take it mile by mile. To assess the knee and take care of it whenever anything felt slightly painful. 

Next thing I knew it was the end of mile 5....and I was still running. With NO pain. WTF? I was pretty astounded at this point. This was pretty damn great! So I kept on keeping on. And the next thing I knew it was mile 8. My energy was still pretty good, and my legs were good. There were moments between mile 6 and mile 9 where I had moments of wanting to walk and rest a little. Where my side would hurt, or my energy levels started to drop. I pulled out my sport energy beans for a little bit of energy....but most importantly of all my mom kept me going. She was phenomenal. Throughout the ENTIRE race she sent me text messages to inspire me. "Go Amy!", "I'm so proud of you", "Go Team Alex".....she was my source of strength throughout the race. She seemed to be able to read my mind and would come through with a text whenever I was starting to drop in energy.

The other things that kept me going throughout the race were the inspiring people around me. I've heard of race day high, but I don't think there are words to describe this experience. Running with 44,000 other people. All with their own story of why they're there running. I saw so many things that made me cry throughout the race (yes I really cried....multiple times) and made me smile. A couple with the Crohn's and Colitis team....names on their backs, and the husbands with an arrow to his wife and below it said "I run for her."

There was one particular woman who was in front of me the entire race. The back of her t-shirt said "Last Chemo Treatment 11/16/2011." THAT did it for me. This woman had chemo 3 weeks before the race....and she was running. The whole thing she ran. If she could do it than I needed to suck it up and DO IT. If that isn't inspiration enough for you I don't know what is.

There were groups of girlfriends dressed up, bridal parties, Elvis costumes, people with their loved ones names on their shirts. Me with my Team Alex down my legs. Those letters inspired me throughout. Knowing I was running for my adorable little nephew. 

And then the crowds surrounding the race. Volunteers with signs to make you laugh (like "Just Keep Going....That's What She Said", people dressed up on the sidelines, kids with signs for their mom or dad that was running, students with signs for their teacher, the bands. Needless to say it was one large mix of inspirational things!

Before I knew it we were at mile 10....and at that point we were back on the strip for the last 3.1 miles!! And I was STILL running. Well once I hit the strip again I knew there was no stopping. And I have to say that the last 3 miles were extremely emotional for me. I realized that I was ACTUALLY going to do this. That my dream of finishing this race running the WHOLE thing was going to happen. That even after being sidelined for a month that I'd somehow fought back and made it. 

There were so many times in that last month that I could've said screw it. Tossed in the towel and gave up. But I didn't. And I think that's one thing I've learned most about myself in the last 2 years. My willpower and strength....things that for a long time I thought I'd lost....they were there...I just needed to believe in myself.  

At the end of mile 11 it was my music that gave me more inspiration (it had given it throughout due to my awesome mix, but the ending miles it seems that my iPod KNEW what songs to save for the end). "All I Do is Win" by DJ Khaled came on and I was SO pumped. It was this burst of energy..only TWO miles left!! PUSH IT PUSH IT PUSH IT! I seriously threw my hands up a couple times as I was running :)

The Mandalay Bay came into sight and I knew it was almost done! The big finish line signs saying "VICTORY IS YOURS!" And all I could think is HELL YES ITS MINE! This is where I pretty much lost it emotionally. Free flowing tears the last mile of the race. I was doing it. Finishing. Running. I thought back to where I was two years ago. Overweight, unhappy, in a job that made me miserable. No way two years ago would I have imagined myself finishing a half marathon. Having accomplished the goals I'd set for myself physically. 

I'd changed my life. I'd rewritten my story. No longer was I the girl who was lying in bed dreaming of what my life would be like when I took the weight off and turned things around. I WAS that girl now. Doing the things I wanted to do and achieving goals. I'd known for a very long time that I'd been doing great things for myself. Losing the weight, pushing myself physically. My friends and family have been amazing in constantly supporting me throughout and reinforcing my accomplishments. Being MY source of inspiration to KEEP going!

But there was something in this finish...THIS accomplishment....that made it so real. Maybe it was the obstacles I'd overcome, maybe it was the distance, the stories around me.....I don't know. It just was PERFECT. 

Not to mention the last half mile of my run my FAVORITE song of the moment (Jessie J - Domino) came on....it was the PERFECT way to end my run...to give me that last OOMPH to burst through the crowds and pick up my pace!

Arms up as I crossed the finish line...I DID IT.

Jenny and I...my running buddy and constant source of inspiration!

Me and Steph....Miss IronWOman

At the end of the race!

Finisher!

The medal!

Me and My Medal! I did it!

And below are some pictures from in general before the race. Me at the expo and some of the signs set up around the strip :)

My race bib! 

Training Week #12 - 2 months till VEGAS!

This week's training did not necessarily go as well as I would've hoped. It didn't necessarily go BADLY, but I think my expectations were a little higher. I had planned to have 4 run days (totaling 18 miles) and a cross train day, with the long mileage being 6 miles. And those 6 miles were being run in San Diego.

Well I only had 3 run days and one walk day. After doing our 8 mile hike on Saturday, a 6 mile run on Sunday, I woke up Monday and decided that it was going to be a rest day. The body (and knee) needed some recovery time and I didn't want to push it too hard. Tuesday I set off as planned and ran my 4 miles. Feeling good but definitely could tell I was still tired from all the weekend activity. Wednesday was my walk night and just did a nice walk around the lake with mom. Thursday was supposed to be another 4 mile run, but around 2pm my body tanked on me. I was dizzy, lightheaded, and feeling sick to my stomach. I thought maybe I just hadn't eaten enough. Took down a granola bar. No help. Got home, took a little nap, and woke up still feeling the same. By about 6pm when nothing had changed I thought I should TRY to get something down. So I had some ground turkey meat and veggies I'd cooked the night before. Not kidding, two minutes after I took in the turkey I started feeling better. Apparently my body needed protein FAST! 

Needless to say even though I felt better I wasn't going to push it and try to run. But the next morning I woke up feeling great and didn't have to get into work until a little later so I did a quick 3 mile run. It was still rough. Given it was at 6:30 in the morning and very very cold. Probably shouldn't have pushed it so soon but that's a lesson to learn! 

Saturday was my attempted 6 miler in San Diego. I pulled out 5, which I have to say I'm pretty proud of. SD was WAY different than running in Seattle. Probably a lot of it was the mental factor. I'd been prebuilding that it was gonna be a rough run. So I think i MADE it rough. But it was also at 6:30 in the morning, after going out the evening before and having a few cocktails. It was also VERY humid that morning. By 6:30 there was no marine layer at the beach and was bright and sunshiny. I loved it don't get me wrong, but made for a more interesting run. 

So the week was not as successful as it could've been, but overall still pretty good. And given that I seemed to have exhausted myself the weekend before I think I was wise not to push it too hard and risk injury. This week also marked the end of basically 3 months of consistent training. WOOT WOOT! 2 months (and a week technically) to go!! Vegas baby!

Danielle's Visit to the Emerald City

One of my very BEST friends from back home (and by home I mean Vegas) came to visit the little place we like to call the Emerald City a couple weekends ago. It was a last minute trip decision, but I have to say it was one of the best weekends I've had in a VERY long time!

It was amazing to be able to have someone who has been in my life for so long come up and see what my life is like now. To see my new city and see all of the changes that are going on. Most of all, I love the fact that I can have one of my best friends come up, someone I haven't seen in over a year, come up and have it be as if NO time has passed. We are able to pick up and be the friends that we've been all along. And I am truly blessed to have someone in my life like that.

Our weekend was jam packed full of sightseeing and good times. We did the usual spots - Pike Place Market, the Waterfront, Alki Beach, Green Lake, Seattle Center and Space Needle etc. But we got to do a lot of things that not all of my usual visitors get to do. We were able to catch a free concert down on the waterfront (along with some TASTY bloody marys!), kayaked Green Lake, hiked Rattlesnake Ledge, wine tasting in Woodinville, and just relax and enjoy some BEAUTIFUL Seattle summer weather.

Danielle told me on more than one occasion that I'm crazy. (in a good way I think) Mostly because of how much we ran around while she was there. Pretty sure she told me I probably get more done in a day than she does in a week or month because I walk so damn fast. What can I say?! I like being on the go now! :)

Anyway - I have to thank Danielle for coming up and making it such an amazing weekend. It honestly was EXACTLY what I needed. An amazing friend to take my mind off the many things that have been running rampant around me. To allow me to just be me and enjoy myself, my friend and my beautiful city.

Love you lady!

Added some pictures below of my favorite moments :)
xoxo

Training Day #3

Another run day! :-)

Jenny and I headed to Gasworks Park for our nightly run and went out on the Burke-Gilman trail. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and running by the water was a wonderful treat. Given I live by Greenlake, but a change in scenery is always a pleasure!

We successfully completed our 1 mile run, improving upon our time from our Monday run. We also ran/walked another 2 miles, going about half and half the remainder of the way. The run seemed a little tougher this day, but I think it was primarily due to my slightly sore muscles from bikram yoga, as well as the fact that the first run day was cloudy and sprinkling :-)

Its going to take time and effort to get through this training program, but the first few days have definitely been motivating. To be able to head out and feel like I'm tackling my goals head on and doing pretty well at them is amazing. It would be slightly harder if I'd started the process and struggled through it. But I know there are many struggles to come along the way. I just have to continue to press on throughout the journey and KNOW that I can DO this!

Motivation baby! Gotta keep your eye on the prize....and mine is SET! Here I come VEGAS!

Blast From the Past

So today was a blast from the past! I got the very nice surprise of having a bunch of old Silver Doll pictures getting posted to facebook! :-)

These were the days that my love for dance started and was fostered, so to be reminded of where I came from and how far I've come was such an amazing thing for me today. It strengthen my determination for getting back to my passion and figuring out how to pull it even more into my life. I've got a little inspiration already in play. Its just honing it and starting the path.

I've included the pictures below for everyone's viewing pleasure :-)
Oh to be young and carefree again! I miss these girls so much!

Half Marathon - Here I Come!!!

It's Official!!! I have signed up for my first ever HALF MARATHON! Yes thats right! I've signed up for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas on December 4, 2011. :-)

You all know that I've spent the last year or more working on losing weight. Well I wanted to now start working toward toning up and getting more fit. So now I've decided that I need a new challenge to do this. And that challenge is a half marathon. I've never been much of a runner, but its my new found goal to become one! I've got my training schedule set up, I've looked up nutrition information for how to make sure I'm getting all the right types of food and supplements while I'm training, and the whole program starts TOMORROW!! Whoa!

But I was shy of the MOST important piece of this whole thing....SHOES!! All of my friends who have run one, as well as all the training guides say that the SHOES are the most important piece of your training. So what did I do?! Go shoe shopping of course!! And here are my new pairs!!! (Yes PAIRS)

Yes I got TWO pairs! Why?? Because all the articles I've read say you need to have pairs that you rotate. So thats what I got! I went to Road Runner today and did the ShoeDog tool. Its a tool that measures your balance between left and right, as well as where you place pressure on your feet while you run, and also monitors how you run to see how you distribute weight throughout your run. So from all of this I learned I have VERY high arches, but run very evenly! It was amazing to actually have them be able to tell me which shoes would work best for me, and sculpt inserts for my shoes! The quick runs I did while trying the shoes on in the store felt phenomenal! :)

I'll be putting up posts throughout my training to keep everyone posted on how I am doing! I've got 147 days people!! Time to start rocking and rolling!!!

Greetings from the MIA

So I've only been MIA for God knows how long, and this blog has been severely neglected for that same period of time. I'm going to try and get back into doing this regularly, but please bare with me as my life has been somewhat chaotic of late. I'm still trying to iron things out and figure out my course which has proved difficult during the recent months.



The Christmas holiday is over, which depresses me greatly. But New Years is around the corner and I don't know if thats exciting or even more depressing for me. Because I look at where I was last year at this point in time, the expectations I had of the coming year and all the excitement it was going to bring, and I look at how severely disappointing 2008 turned out to be. My expectations were blown to hell, and I was left struggling to pick up the pieces. I still AM struggling to pick them up and put them back together.

To say that 2008 fell short of every single one of my expectations might be somewhat harsh, and reality its not completely true. I had several GREAT things come my way that I would not change for anything. However, there were many struggles and let downs that I would rather erase from my memory and leave behind with no chance for rediscovery. Lost love, anger, and resentment among the top.

But looking back at 2008 has made me put new perspective as to the upcoming year. Actions need to be taken, rather than sitting by and continuing to live the same scenarios. I know this is all very vague, but many things cannot be written in explicit detail because of several things: 1) I still can't vocalize my feelings on the subject/person; 2) the events are still too fresh to be completely separated from them and reflect objectively and 3) its not the time to reveal my thoughts.

I know..complicated right? And that I think has been the hardest part about this past year. I have always been one to figure things out and make decisions without prolonging it. However, I have been incapable of doing that this year. I continue to mull in the same spot and cannot make heads or tails of what I really want or need.

Alright - I can't do heavy crap right now. So some of the good things that have come of this year

Funks/PGN - the dance team that I joined back at the end of January 2008 has now branched out and we have now started our own group PGN Dance Co. And this group of people has been my savior throughout the year. The new friendships I have gained have helped me get through the shit I didnt want to deal with and has offered me the greatest opportunity.

My new Place - I've moved out on my own. I branched out and have stepped into the world of living in a 2 story 1 bedroom loft. And I love it. It fits me perfectly. Allowing me to be as creative as I want in decorating, live the life I want to live, with no interference. Not that there was really ever interference before, but something about getting to be in charge of everything that comes along with the apartment has been such a blessing. Its been my little safe haven.

Weddings Galore - I think I lost count after the 4th or 5th wedding. I can say that I have traveled more this year than I have in any recent years, and that was due to the immense amount of weddings/bachelorette parties/family events etc. New places that I traveled this year include the following: New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, Newark, Detroit....and I returned to San Francisco for the first time in a very long time as well. Several bachelorette parties in Vegas, holidays at Sunset Beach...its been quite intense. As well as draining on the bank account, but in the end it was totally worth it :-)

Family - there have been several hardships that my family has gone through this year. Some which we thought we had gotten past that resurfaced, and others that have been ongoing struggles for many years. But these struggles have strengthened the bond within my family. I realize more and more every day as to how much they all mean to me and the lengths that I would go to for them. They are my world, and I only wished that we were all closer in proximity. Because the distance between us is sometimes more than I wish to bare.


So thats my update for now. I have concluded the first week of my holiday vacation and I have 2 more weeks! I don't know what to do with myself. Its insane to have so much free time but I'm loving it. I've finished 3 of the 4 Twilight books within the last few days (Xmas presents which I have not put down since I got them). And I can't wait to see what the next couple weeks pans out to hold. I know I am excited to finally get a chance to go home to Vegas for an extended period. Without bachelorette party obligations. I'll actually see my friends and family. And it has been way too long for that. I yearn to have that time with them. :-)

But for now thats all. I promise to keep this more updated. If I don't I give full permission to hound me until I do. Because I will hound others who have been slacking on theirs as well!!(cough::cough::: Sister::cough::cough)

<3