10K trail race recap

alright guys, i did it. i ran the 10k and it was harder than expected. lets start off by talking about my training.. or lack there of. i did not train enough for this race. i did really good for about 2 weeks and then i stopped. i only went on two real trail runs when i should have been going on a few a week to prepare for this race. i don't know why i didn't go on more because they are awesome with amazing views. but it's just so much different than running on a road. when you are on a trail run you have to deal with rocks and mud and all different kids of elements that you don't have to deal with when you are running on the road. here are some photos from my (lack of) training.

see what i mean about those views? amazing. so flash forward to today. the longest i had gone in my "training" was 3.5 miles so i was so scared for today. i barely slept last night because i was so nervous that i was going to sleep through my alarm. and then all morning my stomach was hurting because i was so nervous about the run. i so badly didn't want to be the last person to finish. that just seemed like it would be the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen. then when i showed up for the race and saw that our group of runners for the 10k wasn't anymore than 30-40 people i just knew i was going to be last and felt even more sick to my stomach. 

the race finally started and i kid you not, by .25 miles every single person running the 10k had passed me and i was feeling pretty down on myself. i wanted to quit right then and there. i mean, not only had everyone passed me but i couldn't even see anyone anymore. i was 100% on my own and in the back. for the first 2 miles i felt awful. my legs hurt, i wanted to cry, i wanted to quit and i hated myself for signing up for this race that i was so terrible at.. then once i hit mile 3 i started to feel better. my legs didn't hurt as bad and once i got over the fact that i was going to be last i let it go and decided to just do the best i could. i mean, i was still out there running almost 7 miles which is something that i've never ever in my life done before and i top of that i was doing it on a trail which was much harder than i anticipated. i ran/walked the entire thing by myself with not another person in sight aside for the occasional marathoner who was lapping me. it was quite peaceful actually. i wish i could have run more and walked less but i am beyond proud of myself for finishing. even if i was the last one to cross that finish line. i wanted to do it under 2 hours and i did. i crossed, i finished and i'm proud. 

and as much as my legs and feet are killing me right now i am going to do another race. and next time i will do better. 

and thanks megan for being my running buddy. you are the best!! and super inspiring! 

sweet berry farm in marble falls

yesterday we decided to venture out to marble falls which is about an hour away from us to visit sweet berry farm. the farm is turned into a fun halloween town full of activities. other than the fact that is was way too hot for the middle of october we had a blast! first off the drive out there was gorgeous. rolling hills of green. not what you picture when you think of texas. one of the many reasons i love austin so much! 

once we got there we jumped on a huge air pillow, made sand necklaces, rode horses, picked flowers & pumpkins. it was a blast spending the day exploring the farm with my little family. we will definitely be going back next year for sure! 

warning: i took a lot of photos.. and not surprisingly i am not in a single one. ;)

training for a 10k

guys, i am no runner. i actually used to (still kind of do) despise it. but a while back i was talking to some women at my church who were wanting to run a 10k and i decided i would sign  up as well. really i needed something to motivate me to get out there and make some changes. 

for a few weeks after signing up for the race i just put it out of my mind. i had immediately regretted signing up and i didn't train at all. i even had made up my mind that i was just not going to run the race at all. i had gone on a trail run with a friend who is running the race with me and i could not finish. i had to sit down to make sure i wouldn't pass out. we had to cut through someones back yard to get back to the main road so we could slowly walk home. it was pretty awful and i was pretty embarrassed. i decided i was done. i had given up before i really even started which is something i have done more than once in my life and i finally realized that it's a cycle that i wanted to break. so last week i got off my butt and got outside.

my first run was really hard. i was not in it mentally and i ran/walked one mile in 16:25. i was pretty bummed about that. but i was determined to try again. my second run i ran/walked a mile in 15:19 and was so proud that i knocked an entire minute off my time. my third run i decided to add another mile and my pace was 14:35/mile and i was so proud of myself. i couldn't believe that just by putting my mind into it i was able to better my time so quickly. today on my run i did two miles again but i went a different way and the entire first mile was uphill and i did it with a pace of 14:56/mile which was slower than the day before but the run was a harder run so i still considered it a win.

i have come to learn that your mental power play a huge roll in running. on the days where i felt like i wasn't going to do well or i was limiting myself to what i thought i could do i would barely make it. but i've learned to pump myself up, and to think about my end game and becoming this totally awesome runner and it psychs me up and i can push myself so much harder. i have always felt like i have had terrible mental game when it came to exercise. as soon as i would get uncomfortable i would stop. i never could really push myself. but someone told me that you don't make progress until you are pushing through the uncomfortable and that has really stuck with me. it really helps me push myself. 

also, something that has always kept me from running is that i get shin splints pretty easy. i always have. so that made me nervous that my shins were going to hurt too bad and i wasn't going to be able to do the race. i bought some compression socks and they seem to help a lot. they are an absolute pain to put on every time i run but i'm willing to do anything to help them not hurt so bad. i have also been using a foam roller which also is helping. they still hurt and are pretty sore but it's bearable. 

i am really proud of how far i've come. and i look forward to see how far i can go. baby steps. my race is on nov 5th so i don't have much time. and it's a medium hard trail race which adds a whole other element and i'm a bit nervous about that but i'm committed. 

sunday afternoon

sometimes when it is sunday afternoon and the weather is perfect, and everyone has had a sunday nap you just have to get out of the house. today we took the girls bikes to a parking lot behind brooklynn's school so the girls could ride their bikes freely. since we live in a townhouse there isn't really anywhere great for them to ride their bikes so we usually find a good empty parking lot for them to do it. this one is especially great because there is a park right there. brooklynn had a good time playing queen and she let quinn be her guard and made her do things for her. surprisingly quinn loved it. i love spending quality time with this little family of mine. they are pretty great!

time to take action

okay guys, i swear i have said a million times that i was going to start blogging regularly and then i get distracted and i don't do it. or i think to myself, i'll blog more when i finally can get that camera lens the ti really want. but i've been doing this challenge that has made me realize that now is the time to do what i want. why wait? it's time to take the bull by the horns and just do what i want to do. and blogging and taking photos is what i want to do. so that is what i am going to do.

also, this girl is officially going to apart of our family! my brother in law josh asked laura to marry him a few weeks ago and we are beyond excited about it!