Playlist

I know for myself, music tends to get me "amped" up. I'm usually caught looking for songs last minute.  I enjoy all genres of music but it seems like when I hear a song on the radio that I think would be a great running song by the time I get to downloading it, I forgot it.

Below is my most current play list:
(disclaimer: I don't listen to songs by how many beats/minute they have, or the speed...maybe I should, but... I don't.  I listen to music I like)

Keep Your Head Up - Good Time
Bullet Proof - La Roux
Dynamite - Taio Cruz
Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding
Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia
Crazy In Love - Beyonce
American Boy - Studio All Stars
Day N' Nite - Kid Cudi
Die Young - Kesha
Domino - Jessie J
Don't Stop The Party - Pitbull
Don't Trust Me - 3OH!3
Drive By - Train
Elevation - U2
Glad You Came - The Wanted
Gold Digger - Kanye West
Good Feeling - Flo Rida
Here We Go Again - Demi Lovato
Home - Phillip Phillips
International Love - Pitbull
I Believe In A Thing Called Love - The Darkness
I Cry - Flo Rida
I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
I Love Rock n' Roll - Britney Spears
Lights - Ellie Goulding
Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars
Meddel - Little Boots
Memories - David Guetta
Mercy - Duffy
One Day - Matisyahu
Paper Planes - MIA
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Rolling In The Deep - Adele
Say Hey - Michael Franti
Stronger - Kanye
Scream and Shout - Britney Spears
Shake It - metro Station
We Run The Night - Pitbull
Want You Back - Cher Lloyd
So What - Pink
Some Nights - FUN
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye
What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
It's Time - Imagine Dragons
Wanted - Jessie James
We Are Young - FUN
Superwoman - Alicia Keys
I Got More - Cole Deggs
You and I - Lady Gaga
Stupid Girls - Pink
Single Ladies - Beyonce

There you have it, hopefully for those of you who have runs coming up, this will help :)

Do yourself a favor and take those headphones out as you approach the finish line...ranks up there as one of the best things I've ever heard.

Running is a pain in the ass...but it'll give you a nice one!

Thirteen Point Freaking One

"You're inspiring people, you were part of the crowd that never thought you could do this. Now go get that finish!"

Is the last thing I heard as I was coming down Lazy Way Lane and nearing the finish line.

Let me back track a bit and give you a sneak peek into how my morning went, or even the night before.

I showed up at 4:30pm Saturday to pick up my race packet. Neglected the line that was forming and walked right up to the table.  The kind lady told me that I needed to fill out the waiver and sign it before I could pick up my bib number.  Now, in any ordinary day, that would totally bug me knowing that someone didn't even take the time to look at the process that they so clearly had laid out...my excuse

I WAS SO NERVOUS! 
(going forward, I'll take this into consideration when I'm helping out at other events)

Anyway, as I signed the waiver, I think I said out loud, "holy shit" - people probably thought I was crazy. Needless to say, I pulled myself together, got my bib number, shirt, bag, some other odds and ends and was off.  Eric even bought me a new arm band for my phone, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!

So, the night went on and I was in bed by 10:00 and surprisingly fell asleep quickly, up at 5:00am.  As I got ready, I thought to myself, this is just another race, you've done 15 of them

NO. BIG. DEAL.

Eric took me down to the start,
(we met up with a good family friend, John who happened to be in KW for a few weeks, so good to see familiar faces!)
I paced back and fourth
fiddled with the arm band
text my best friend, Danielle "holy shit, please tell me you're landing in KW and coming to the start"
adjusted my fuel belt
ate some sports beans
probably was talking to myself
looked at my music list a million times
made sure my shoes were double knotted
and
fixed my hair

... then the sun rose over Trumbo Road in Key West and I heard the shot gun start.

(Sure, someone was speaking over the loud speaker and I didn't hear them, because I had a million and ten things running through my head... million dollar question... what were they saying?)

then, I just stood there...

now something you should know is that 5K races in KW are usually 200-400 or so people, if that.  This race was around 1450 people, I'm used to hearing the start and running right away.

Once we got going, I passed Eric and John on the sidelines, cheering me on, my music was blasting away and I felt great... yes, I felt great. The nerves left and it was me and the road, forget the people in front of me, to the right and left of me and behind me... at that moment,
I realized 100% this is my race.

I was running at about 11:30/m pace and felt good, my breathing was under control, no aches or pains, and my head was clear.  I made it a point to walk through all the water stations making sure I took water, accelerade and water again - took my sport beans/goos when I felt I needed them and got back up to running pace.

If you know the lay out of Key West, you'll know what I'm talking about, but the turn around point was the Naval Clinic... as I was coming around the corner of the airport, I could start to see the bridge right before Flagler, this was about mile 5-6.  Thinking to myself, "okay up over the bridge, down the bridge and turn around..." well my friends, the clinic is farther than you think, and it wasn't "just down the bridge".  The last stretch to the turn around was horrific, and I mean horrific  I felt like I was never going to reach it, however... I did and before I knew it I was up and over the bridge again on my way to the finish line.  As I came over the bridge I could see down the beach, people upon people upon people, coming towards me and running in front of me, both discouraging and encouraging at the same time.

While the rest of the run along Smathers Beach was tiresome, I couldn't have asked for better weather.  The sun was shining, the water was calm and I was in my own world.  Trying to maintain that 11:30/m pace if I found myself slowing down, I'd take a few walking steps.  I figured there is no sense running at a 12:30/m pace when I can walk that, and Bill and I had practiced the walk/run.

Mile 10 was difficult; as I look back, I see two parts of me, internal (heart/head) and external (feet/legs).  My heart/head were totally in the game 100% but my feet were killing me.  I knew that I could finish, at this point, I only had a 5K left... I can do that!

I knew that Bill said he'd come back for me and finish with me, so... down Higgs beach, along the Casa Marina, to South Street, Southernmost point... I thought to myself maybe he's tired, okay, maybe I'm tired, but I'm almost done! Out of nowhere, on Whitehead Street, Bill was standing there, ready to finish the last mile and a half with me.  We had a water station to walk through, back up to 11:30/m pace and finish strong.  I must have asked 10 times, "how much farther?"

Every time I got a new answer,
"you can do this"
"stay with me"
"you've trained for this"
"almost there"
"stay on my hip"
"people that cross the finish line with me don't cross without a little pain"
"if you want it under three you're going to have to work for it"

All these things I've heard before, all phrases that have encouraged me at 6:15am, and now again at 9:45am. I noticed that Bill had a medal tucked into the side of his shorts, all I wanted was to finish.

At the beginning of Lazy Way Lane, I pulled my other earbud out, I could see Gauron's sign from the other end of the road and I knew I was almost done.

That's when I heard...

"You're inspiring people, you were part of the crowd that never thought you could do this. Now go get that finish!" - Bill

I crossed the finish line, and couldn't believe it.  I was holding a medal that read,
"Key West Half Marathon" 
my feet weren't moving anymore, I was a hot mess, literally a hot sweaty tired mess,

but, I FINISHED!
finish 2:56:21/ net time 2:55:26
start to turn around split 1:26:53
turn around to end split 1:29:32

I cannot say enough good things about my trainers over the past year, Stay Fit Studio, my numero uno fan Eric, and all my friends and family who have encouraged, supported and pushed me along the way. 

In all honesty, if there would have been a table with registration for another half marathon I would have signed up yesterday.  2013 is full of new races! 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This same race, exactly one year ago, I was volunteering at the water station with Stay Fit.  I had just joined the gym and longed for a sense of community... I remember telling the people that I was volunteering with, jokingly... "maybe I'll do it next year".   
35lbs lighter
living a whole different lifestyle
25 years old
15 races later...

I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THE HALF MARATHON! 

You're almost done

That was all I needed to hear while making my way down white street to Stay Fit Studio. I started off my 35 minute pace run this am with Bill, we figured at first we were going a little faster than normal but eventually resumed to a pace of just under 11 minutes. Bill helped to keep me focused on that 11 minutes to ensure that this was a pace run.

"We're pushing the threshold..." 
he would tell me, 
"this should hurt..."

...and indeed, it did! (But I'm here to tell the story so it didn't kill me)


Now for those of you seasoned runners, you're probably thinking you can do the crab walk in under 11 minutes, however this is,
ME
MY pace
MY race.

I told Bill I felt like I was a boat/jet ski just pushing through the water but once "up on plane" my legs just went. Don't get ahead of yourself (and maybe I did) because I was winded and tired for the straight away which I lead couldn't wait to turn the corner and see the light at Atlantic and White street, and even then...I couldn't wait to see the light of Flagler and then Truman and then before you know it...the Stay Fit Studio sign.

I'm attaching the photo from my Saturday run, it was approximately 10 miles, I did five with the group, two more with the group up our Key West pseudo-hill and three on my own after.

I.was.exhausted. BUT... I did it.

Needless to say, where I was going with this post is, to graciously thank the gentleman who stood at the corner of Sandys; sat down his con leche, clapped and gave me a high five saying,

"you're almost done!"

I thought to myself, you know what, I am...I am almost done, I've past nearly all the lights I wrote about previously and I have only 3 blocks to go. I certainly had three blocks left in me, so as I remembered what Bill said, along with the encouragement of the stranger on the corner and my own goals in mind... I picked up my feet, took quicker steps, focused on the Stay Fit Studio sign ahead and pushed through.

Remember running is a pain in the ass but it will give you a nice one.

Just one day

That's all it has taken, for me to feel how good clean eating and my body get along. I know what you're thinking... Kristin, you've written a million posts about "today's the day, I'm starting over, one step at a time, etc" but really, once you know what to do and you do it... It feels great!

Breakfast
Banana
One egg two egg whites
Fresh mix of, tomatoes, green onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro, corn and black beans (pre-portioned so they are ready to be quickly thrown into the pan in the am)- do yourself a favor like this, you won't regret it
Bottle of water

Mid morning snack
Coffee
Greek yogurt (trying to get away from copious amounts of dairy, but I enjoy yogurt

Lunch
Left over homemade wild rice soup, complete with fresh veggies and wild rice straight from MN! :)
Water
Iced Americano with Splenda and half and half

Mid afternoon snack
Raw carrots and broccoli
Water

Dinner
Baked chicken and mushrooms with a light sauce over wheat pasta (try Murrays chicken, it's a little more expensive but had a ton of flavor and isn't treated with extra hormones and the chicken is very lean, not to mention treated well, too. We've been eating it for awhile now and really enjoy it!)
Salad
Water

There you have it, my version of clean eating for the day! Not necessarily all raw, nor all crazy out there foods you've never heard of. It's about making good decisions while allowing yourself a little freedom, did I "need" that iced coffee? No but it was good, and I didn't go for the Carmel frappe with sugary syrup, whip cream and carmel drizzle...(but ohhhh that would have been good)

To give you a quick glimpse of what my day looked like a few weeks ago it was something to this effect

Breakfast
Eggs and veggies (I started with good intentions)

Mid morning snack
Coffee
Sugary granola bar
Maybe a Christmas cookie

Lunch
Sandwich
Chips and dip
Cookie/bar
Probably whatever is in the kitchen at the office

Mid afternoon snack
Chips or crackers
Candy laying around the house

Dinner
Fish sandwich
Tarter sauce
French fries
Cocktail

Dessert
Cake/pie/something sweet

Now, even though I was eating that I KNEW, let me emphasize, I KNEW, better!!

I could have switched out the morning snack for yogurt, or fruit, lunch for a healthy wrap, salad or something fresh not loaded with sodium and condiments, traded chips/crackers for veggies, fish sandwich sans bun/tarter (use lemon juice) and with veggies or a salad (quick tip, typically down in key west, dinner specials are fish and veggies, and can run you $20.00-$30.00, order a fish sandwich and take the bun off, substitute veggies for fries and you have basically the same meal (more manager portions) and for a fraction of the cost) I could do without the cocktail for now and if I really "needed" that dessert, a small piece of dove dark chocolate usually curbs the cravings!

Make good decisions and remember, running is a pain in the ass, but it'll give you a nice one!

Never in a million years

Did I think;
I would be as physically active as I am now

I would be able to say I have 7 solid miles under my belt

I would say I enjoyed running

I would be setting goals for myself that begin with 13.1 and end with miles

I'd find such support and encouragement through this journey

I would be able to soak up this gorgeous view everyday (picture below)

While running in Key West that my fleece lined running tights would come in handy not only in Minnesota but also in Key West!

Running is a pain in the ass but it'll give you a nice one.

Just down and back

...is what I heard from Bill, after running down the the White Street Pier and doing a compilation of burpees, sprints, planks, even bear crawls through the sand.

Now, those three little words, "down and back" seem small, perhaps even easy?

Not to be fooled, those three little words meant down to Bertha Street and back to the studio, and all though the distance may be short (little under 3 miles total) after calisthenics on the beach, 3 miles is tough.

I told him it was tough, but I made it through and it even feels better after its DONE, he said "join the club" :)

Anyone who has been physically active knows the "feels so good it hurts" burn in the muscles, that soreness that is indicative of a good past workout. Even though I know I'll be sore, I know it'll be difficult and I know it'll push me... if I can remember to look past all that and keep focused on my goals I'll forget about the burn and the sweat in the eyes.

I'm proud and honored to be part of an unwritten "club" that enjoys a good work out, a little muscle soreness and certainly a great deal of accomplishment.

What will you do today?

Running is a pain in the ass but it'll give you a nice one.

We are dedicated...

Just got in from a 3 mile run... Can't say I've blogged lately but today is a new day. I've been saying for weeks even months, "getting back into it" "starting over" but it wasn't until I truly realized, or should say admitted to myself that, yes I have the tools but I'm not self disciplined enough to do it alone.

I need the:
extra push
accountability
group setting
consistency
knowledge
and good old, encouragement (you know it you like to hear you're doing well, too)

With all that being said, I also need change, change in my diet, exercise routine and, trainer. Raquel fit perfectly for what I needed in the beginning and many months to follow; working on beginning running, strength, spinning, etc. But now as I'm nearing the half marathon, I'm looking for guidance from someone who is well versed in the running world, and can run along side me.

Even after our first run together, I'm feeling more confident and better about myself. I was pushed harder, taught more and ran faster for a period of time. Bill, with Ultimate Athletics has brought the love of running back out of me in a short 30 minutes. Telling me "you'll get back to the point if loving running"

I want to so badly be there.

Through all the huffing and puffing and even though a point that I didn't think I could come out...words of encouragement seemed to surround me. I know it was a short run, and a very short period of time in both of our busy days, but for those 30 minutes I was reminded again why I started running...

for me

and I CAN and I WILL complete this half marathon!

Running is a pain in the ass, but it'll give you a nice one

(I'm going to upload a photo every week- change is coming, I can feel it!!)