Typical Tina!

Right foot still no bueno

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 16:16:00 +0000

Update on my right foot.

As you know I was sidelined for almost a year with no running. I only recently was able to start running again in Aug 2019 after tons of physical therapy, several cortisone shots and one PRP shot. I wasn't sure if my foot could handle ramping back up and I was quite nervous. There were a couple of iffy moments in the beginning where I had to back off on mileage, but thankfully by Nov I was running consistently. I made it up to 12 miles during my training, then ran 3M in Jan. I was worried running a race might derail me, and sure enough it did. I felt great the 1st 6 miles and went faster than my training pace runs. By mile 8 & 10 I had foot pain and thought I felt/heard a pop in my foot. The tendons were NOT happy. I did finish the race but since then I've had constant foot pain, even to the point of limping while walking.

I have decided to stop running for 2-4 weeks (hopefully I can stick to that). I may even put my boot back on. I did get a free consultation from Airrosti this past weekend at a CG event, they said it's cuboid syndrome or something like that, which causes pain on the lateral side of the foot and involves plantar! I was told to 1st work on strengthening my right hip, then work on ankle/arch strength.

Fun stuff. I hate being injured...

The next race I'm signed up for is the Dfest 5K in May...really hoping I'll be OK for that. I should...that gives me 3 months. Then I have the Shiner 10K in Nov.

I think my competitive running days are over...I'm to the point I don't want to go over 6 miles anymore and rather just run for fun and the company of my friends. Plus I seem to constantly get injured from running. 😞

3M Half Marathon 2020

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 18:15:00 +0000

Ah 3M, one of the best half marathons I've ever run. The last time I ran this half was in 2018, the same year I was training for the Austin Marathon. I had an amazing Austin Marathon race in Feb, but unfortunately by May of 2018 I sustained a right food injury and had to take a year off!! I only recently was able to start running again in Aug 2019 after tons of physical therapy, several cortisone shots and one PRP shot. I wasn't sure if my foot could handle ramping back up and I was quite nervous. There were a couple of iffy moments in the beginning where I had to back off on mileage, but thankfully by Nov I was running consistently. Not fast mind you, I didn't want to risk my foot with speed, so I focused on distance and endurance. I made it up to a 12 mile run (with lots of breaks) and two 11 milers...so technically I was ready for 3M, technically....The entire time I was training my right foot was never 100%, it would ache after long runs.

The weather for 3M weekend had us all thrilled, it was going to be a cold 40 degree at he start of the race! A nice change from 2 years ago when it was 60 degrees and humid (barf). I tossed and turned the night before on what to wear. I really wanted to wear long sleeves and tights, thankfully I have these blogs that document my thoughts/temps/outfits. I actually found a comment I had made in a previous 3M post to remind myself to wear short sleeves, arm warmers and crops whenever it's around 40 degrees. OK!!! Got it, then that's what I shall do.

Saturday I carb loaded for the race. Waffles for breakfast, Tex-Mex fajitas for lunch and another waffle w/ PB for dinner. I did not go to the Beef Team dinner this year as they were hosting a chili cook-off. Who in the world thought that chili before a race would be a good idea!? I laid out my race clothes and prepped my race equipment before hitting the sack around 10:30 pm. Of course I'm always nervous before a race and have a hard time sleeping. I usually have to take a sleeping aid to get any amount of sleep...and I'll still have restless sleep.

My alarm went off at 4:45 am, giving me a good 40 mins to get ready and eat my traditional toast with PB breakfast and load up on ibuprofen. I met my friends and fellow Pfelly runners at 5:45 am to carpool to the start. We sat in the car to stay warm for a good 20 mins before walking over to the potties and staging area. We were FREEZING! It was 41 degrees but felt like 35 with the 10 mph wind chill. At least it was perfect weather for a race; clear skies, 40-45 degrees the entire race with humidity in the mid 40s. We took some group pics, I ate my Gu, and then headed to the start line at 7:15 am. I lined up just in front of the 2 hour pacer.

Pre-race group shot, we're freezing!

Ready to run!

I felt great when we started! The cold weather was a godsend and I was holding a 9 pace for the first 5 miles. By mile 4 I pulled down my arm-warmers and removed my ear-warmers & gloves. Around mile 6 I could tell my foot was getting tired so I scaled it back a bit to a 9:15 pace. I was doing fine until mile 8...that's when my foot went haywire. I got the worst cramp in my right foot and thought I was going to have to pull over. I knew I was straining my tendons more than I ever had in any of my training runs, so I slowed my pace again to a 9:25 and that helped to alleviate some of the pain. I was able to run through it and the cramp dissipated. Of course the cramp hit my foot again at mile 10, this time in both feet! At this point I slowed to a 9:45 pace (my normal training pace) to compensate and that seemed to help my feet recover. I stayed at this pace for the last 3 miles. Apparently they had changed the 3M course and there were a lot more hills these last 3 miles as well. So much for a downhill route! Miles 9/10 and 11-13 had inclines!!! I was elated when I saw the finish line and picked up speed for a nice finish. I hit my goal of not walking and finishing this race. I gotta admit, this was probably the first half I've ever run where I didn't curse myself half way through and wonder why in the world I was subjecting myself to this torture. 😂

finish line

Jenn and I

Capitol pic

My official chip time was 2:02:59 at a 9:23 pace. My Garmin showed I ran 13.26 miles in 2:03:01 at a 9:17 pace. Not too bad considering my nagging foot injury and very close to my 2018 time of 2:02:09.

5K 28:06, 9:02/M
10K 56:31, 9:06/M
15K 1:26:06, 9:14/M
Finish 2:02:59, 9:23/M

We all headed to the gear trucks for our bags and coats then jumped on the transport buses around 10 am to take us back to the start. After changing in the car we headed to NXNW for brunch and our free beer with our race bibs. Mmmmm BEER!

Unfortunately going all out for this race really irritated my foot and set me back. I decided it was best not to run the Austin Half (which was 4 weeks later) and sold my bib. I've taken a good 2 weeks off from running and it looks like I may be back to square one with training. My next race is not until May, which is only a 5K, so hopefully that's enough time for my foot to recover.

Bib, watch, medal

Avg pace - 9:17 (going off 13.26 miles, Garmin)
Mile 1 - 9:09, Mile 2 - 8:41, Mile 3 - 8:54, Mile 4 - 8:56, Mile 5 - 8:58, Mile 6 - 9:16, Mile 7 - 9:13, Mile 8 - 9:23, Mile 9 - 9:29, Mile 10 - 9:41, Mile 11 - 9:45, Mile 12 - 9:44 Mile 13 - 9:35, last 0.26 - 2:16 (8:42 pace)

Race prep:
What I ate: Waffles & syrup for breakfast, Tex-Mex for lunch (fajitas & tortillas), waffle & PB for dinner (was still full from lunch). My traditional toast with PB on race morning. I wore my hydration vest so I didn't have to stop at any water stops and carried 3 Gu's (1 at start, mile 5 and I skipped mile 10).
What I wore: Lulu mid calf crops, team beef SS shirt, arm warmers, ear warmers, gloves, hat, sunglasses, Garmin watch, hydration vest, Brooks Glycerin shoes (size 10), wright socks. Gear checked my lulu scuba.
Other items I carried: 3 Gu's, wireless earphones, phone

Carsyn's 6th birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 21:01:00 +0000

Another year around the sun and our daughter is now 6! Our quirky, sassy, lovable little lady still gives great hugs and is honing her sense of humor. She's as active as ever; still loving soccer and has taken up jazz/hip hop dance. Carsyn has grown 3.5 inches this year and the personality to boot. We are so proud of you baby girl, MWAH! 🎂🎈🎉💗😘

This year Carsyn choose unicorns and rainbows as her theme. It was magical how it all came together. The birthday girl LOVED it! 🦄 🌈

Carsyn had a blast with her friends and was thrilled with all her presents. We truly appreciate all our friends and family that were able to join us and celebrate Carsyn's 6th birthday!

For the full blog head over to mymomsmemos

birthday girl

cake and cupcakes

goodie bags

good bag contents

DeutschenPfest 5K and Kids K 5/19/2019

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:47:00 +0000

Yup, forgot to blog about Dfest yet again! It was hot and humid with sunny skies. That's about all I remember as this race was 5 months ago.

Race results located here.

I placed 4th in my division. I was coming off my foot injury so I ran it at a comfortable pace.
time - 31:33 pace - 10:07

Malek placed 12th in his division.
time - 32:01 pace - 10:16

The littles ran the Kids K.

Ry turns 8!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 20:56:00 +0000

My little boy is not so little anymore! Hard to believe he turns 8 in just a couple more days!!! To date he's lost 6 teeth (oh my!), is in the 2nd grade making As & Bs and loves playing sports (except for baseball). Ryland is funny, sweet, quick, smart, bright-eyed and full of smiles! He will still cuddle but has nixed giving kisses. 😘 He likes to tease and loves to read his Dogman and Captain Underpants books. If he's not playing sports (mostly football and soccer) then he's hanging with friends and setting up as many sleepovers as he can. He even tried his had at mutton bustin this year at the ATX rodeo and LOVED it. Too bad we were only able to fit it in once as he has now hit the weight and age limit for the sheep. 🐑 We are so proud of our sweet, sensitive little man. LOVE YOU! 🎂🎈🎉💗

This year we celebrated Ry's birthday at Altitude Trampoline park. This place was awesome! The facility had tons of foam pits, climbing walls, obstacle courses, a jousting balance beam, dodge ball arena and so much more! Ryland was super excited to celebrate with his friends and run amok!

We greatly appreciate all our friends and family that were able to join us and celebrate Ryland's 8th birthday!

For a full recap go to MyMomsMemmos

Fitness Competition!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 14:26:00 +0000

So...I’ve gone and done a crazy thing that is completely outside my comfort zone. It all began last year when a gradual running injury sidelined me from running and racing the ADC series. Not being able to run hit me hard, that coupled with thoroughly enjoying the last 2-3 months of the year took a hit to my waistline. I decided I needed a new goal, I needed to focus my energy on something else if I couldn’t run. Come the new year I settled on my challenging new goal….a bikini competition! That’s right, you read that correctly, I’m going to compete in a fitness competition come May. As of Jan 17th, I am registered for 4 different categories, it’s official official…no backing out. Eeeekkkk!!! It’s all sorts of scary and intimidating but I have a great coach, Nikky at Transform Fitness, to ensure I’m competition ready and my partner in crime and fellow competitor, Katie Ann, who will crawl through the trenches with me in high heels! Together we will crush this goal and slay our meal prep! We will have earned our summer beach bodies and I can rock my 40th year like no other! Wish me luck on this new endeavor and I appreciate any encouragement you throw my way as I begin this transformative journey. 💋👠👙

My Cinderella slippers :)

We are participating in the NPC Texas Body Building Contests, specifically the NPC (National Physique Committee) SOUTHEAST TEXAS CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Bikini Competition!

2018 Annual Deutschen Pfest 5K and Kids K

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 17:29:00 +0000

Holy moly, I just realized I never blogged about this race! For shame Christina, for shame...

My memory is now a bit fuzzy on the details so it will be a short post. Our family loves this race! It's local, only 15 mins down the road, perfect for kids and they serve free beer and pizza afterwards!

This ended up being an excellent race for me this year! I had a solid run and managed to snag 2nd place in my age group. It was 75 degrees, partly overcast with occasional rain. I even remember seeing some lightning around mile 2 and was worried they were going to cancel the race, but we all made it through!

We had a huge turn out for our Pfelly's and love that it's a Team Beef approved race. Even the littles had a blast, they love getting their medals after the Kids K and exploring the Fire Truck.

I had an official time of 25:35 at an 8:15 pace. I can't find the results anymore online but Athlinks actually had it!
Malek - 35:17, 11:21 pace
Emma - 34:55, 11:14 pace

Pfelly's! 5/20/2018

Pfelly + Beef

Beef ladies

Family Pic! DFest 2018

Kids K start

Kids K, Ry in the lead!

Ry and Emma almost done with the Kids K

Carsyn and Emma finishing up the Kids K

2nd place in my age group! 25:39 per my garmin, 8:12 pace

my results

Malek crossing the finish

Emma crossing the finish

2018 Running Review

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 16:19:00 +0000

This year was half awesome running and half injury related. Not only was I sidelined half way through the year with foot issues, but I also found out I have mild arthritis in both knees...sigh. I haven't been able to run since Jul/Aug due to plantar in my right foot. ADC goals were dashed and I had to sell all my bibs in the race series (except the 1st race). I did kept Shiner, no way was I giving up that awesome race and after party. I was released from my boot the week of the Shiner race, I decided to downgrade from the half to the 10K and walk it. After that race my foot was acting up again, so I had an MRI done and had to put the boot back on for another 4-6 weeks. Not only was the plantar and peroneal tendonitis still there, but they found a partial tear in the peroneal tendon (outside of foot). I'm just hoping I won't need surgery to repair it. How my left foot made it through all this unscathed I will never know.

I was finally able to take the boot off my right foot at the very end of Dec, and it's still not 100%. So no running for me anytime soon. In fact I may not try a run until Apr/May. I'm hoping my 1st race back can be our annual Dfest 5K...but we shall see.

Now to my 2018 review:
The beginning of 2018 was actually pretty good! I was training for the Austin Full with my friends Michelle and Jennifer. Thankfully everything was going really well; no hip pain, no injuries, body felt great! We ran 3M in Feb, which was HORRIBLE as it was 65 degrees and humid. Normally that race is cold! I was miserable due to the heat and humidity and we were just praying the Austin Marathon would have better temps.

The marathon was in Feb and praise the lord we had awesome weather!! It was 55 the entire time, overcast and misting. I was energized and ready to tackle that course. I gotta say I'm ecstatic for my time, it was a really tough course and I almost beat my PR, just shy of 3 mins.

Next up was TIR in March and I was team Captain! This year we formed our own team of Pfelly's and friends. It was a great time!

April was the Cap10K race. I have a love/hate relationship with this race and only ran it because this was the 1st year ever for a medal. This year it was super cold and I PR'd! Plus we ran it under HEB so we enjoyed special pricing and the HEB tent afterwards.

I can't believe I forgot to blog about Dfest! Totally realized that as I'm writing this post, so I will have to post a very delayed recap for that following this recap. It was 75 degrees, partly overcast with occasional rain. We had a huge Pfelly and Team Beef turn out and our entire family participated. Malek, Emma and I ran the 5K and the littles ran the Kids K (Evan was at collage). My Garmin said I had an 8:10 pace and I placed 2nd in my age group!

It was after this race that I started noticing my foot was beginning to hurt. I made it to July 4th for our annual Pfelly lane 4th of July run and had to stop. Then began all the Dr apts, PT and boot wearing. Out the door went my dreams of competing in ADC...I think I'm cursed with this race series challenge. Every time I sign up for it I get injured!

Total miles ran in 2018: ~550 miles according to Strava. Not too bad I guess considering I was out the 2nd half of the year.

History of all my races on Athlinks.

Races:
1/21 - 3M half - 2:02:09, 9:19 pace
2/18 - Austin Marathon!! - 4:21:11, 9:58 pace
3/23-25 - Texas Independence Relay, I was team captain!!!
4/8 - Cap10K - New PR!!! official time of 53:25, 8:36 pace. My Garmin said an 8:30 pace!
5/20 - Deutschen Pfest 5K - official time of 25:35, 8:15 pace. 2nd in age group!
July - foot injury...and it only got worse
9/16 - Casa 5K (ADC #1) - walked/slowly jogged it
11/18 - Shiner 10K - had to downgrade from the half, walked it at a 16:00 pace

Upcoming races for 2019 (pending my foot):
May 19th - Deutschen pfest 5K
Nov 23rd - Shiner Half

Dfest 5/20/2018

Dfest for the entire family! 5/20

Dfest podium winners. 5/20/2018

Shiner Race Weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 17:29:00 +0000

We 💖this race!! Unfortunately this year due to my injuries and wearing a boot for a month (plantar fasciitis, partial paroneal tendon tear, peroneal tendonitis all in my right foot), I had to downgrade from the half to the 10K and WALK it. I found out about the partial tear 2 days before the race. However I was determined NOT to miss this race and wanted the medal because it had a bottle opener on it! It's all about the hardware.

We drove down to Gonzales Friday after work and joined some friends for a late dinner at La Bella Tavola, the same place we ate at last year. Afterwards we checked into our hotel (Holiday Inn) and hit the sack. Next year we discussed us all renting at the same B&B!

Dinner at La Bella Tavola

The race was Saturday morning at 8:30 am for the half and 8:45 am for the 5/10k. The weather again was amazing! This year it was about 50 degrees at the start (vs 70 the previous year), with the high around 65 degrees. The sky was gorgeous, partially cloudy/sunny and a very light breeze. It was so hard not to go out running when the race started, I had to hold myself back. Malek and I walked the first 2 miles together before he turned around at the 5K mark and I continued with the 10K. My foot did throb the entire time and was super sore the next day. I knew I'd be going back in the boot once I got home. I finished with just under a 16 pace. Not bad for walking! Funny little side note; somehow Malek and I switched shirts...as you can tell in the pics the one he's wearing is a little short and mine is huge. Oops!

pre-race

Getting our walk on!

Race complete!

The gang, celebrating!

The after party was amazing as always. Great weather, great friends, great food and of course Shiner beer! We stayed until ~2 pm then drove back to the hotel to shower, take a nap and head back out to the Come and Take It Bar & Grill for dinner. OMG they have the best pizza!

Dinner at the Come and Take It Bar & Grill

We slept in Sunday morning and leisurely made our way back home by lunch time.

Can't wait to do it all again next year! Fingers crossed to be injury free so I can run the half again. 😁 Though I gotta say, it was nice to 'walk' the shorter distance and not feel pressure to race.

Happy Halloween 2018!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:37:00 +0000

From my BOO-tiful babies

Carsy turns 5!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 19:54:00 +0000

Our little girl has grown so much in the past year! In fact she's no longer little, she's grown 3 inches since her last birthday! Happy 5th birthday to our darling daughter, Carsyn. You continue to amaze us with your loving personality, awesome hugs, sweet kisses and quirky sense of humor. You're starting to find your love of sports (soccer), dislike of cheer-leading, and fascination with makeup! Love you to the moon and back! 🎂🎈🎉💗😘

Birthday Girl

This year we celebrated her birthday at Capital Gymnastics with a My Little Pony theme. What better way to burn off all that energy and sugar high than diving into a foam pit, climbing on balance beams and jumping in a bounce house. Any prancing pony would love dashing through those obstacles! Carsy was super exited to celebrate with all her friends and family.

rainbow cupcakes and rainbow dash cake

We greatly appreciate all our friends and family that were able to join us and celebrate Carsyn's 5th birthday!

Everyone in the foam pit!

For a full recap go to MyMomsMemmos

All pictures located here

Spooktacular BOO-ze Bash! 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 19:29:00 +0000

These parties keep getting better and better!! We had another excellent turn out for our Spooktacular party and we rose the dead and partied til 2 am. This year we went with a pirate theme for the front room, complete with a mermaid skeleton! Malek got crafty and even made a pirate ship for the captain. Thankfully the weather was perfect and everyone could enjoy the front and back patios, the previous year it was freezing so we were all crammed inside. 💀👻🎃

This year Malek and I dressed up as the main characters from The Fifth Element: Leeloo and Korben Dallas! There were so many awesome costumes...and apparently we showed up at the party as ourselves, not even 'The Maleks' would miss our own party!

A huge thank you to Scott and Jennifer for setting up the photo booth! It was a hit and we appreciate all the time and effort you put into those keepsakes! Can't wait for the digitals. :)

FB link to all the pictures

Pirates argh!

beware the captivating mermaid skeleton

Leeloo & Korben Dallas

The Maleks made an appearance!

The Maleks x2

Cleopatra was glowing!

The ladies of the night!

roaring 20s

Injury update - I got the boot!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 19:03:00 +0000

Say hello to my little friend. Peroneal tendonitis. So long ADC, you my friend are never gonna happen for me...At least 2-3 weeks in the boot, then we shall see how I feel. And no, I was NOT running...I was being good, but body was overcompensating for the plantar and caused the tendons on the outside of ankle to become overloaded, making it painful and difficult to walk. Treatment: Immobilization: Stopping the foot and ankle from moving using a boot or support.

So yup, ADC goals were dashed. As soon as I received this diagnosis I sold all my bibs except for Austin Half. I'm not even allowed to do bootcamp! Now I'm just trying to rest (so hard for me to do) and figure out trendy footwear to pair with my new accessory.

Oh, I am keeping my Shiner bib...hoping by Mid Nov I'll be able to walk the 10K. If not, I'm still going to the after party!

The big 40 - & the party continues!!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 18:55:00 +0000

My birthday week was FABULOUS!!!

My actual birthday was on a Wed and I was surprised that morning with a yard sign! The hubby is really rocking the planning on this birthday! Later that night we went to dinner with my parents at Razzoos. It was a gorgeous evening so we sat on the patio while the kids played on the playscape. Ah bliss! Thank goodness the rain stayed away, it had been raining here for a month straight and was supposed to rain the entire week/end! We got lucky during ACL as the rain miraculously pushed out and dissipated...and then the forecast cleared for Wed-Sat, which allowed for the rest of the events (which was kept all hush-hush) to unfold perfectly!

Dinner with the rents

Thursday I enjoyed a wonderful sushi lunch with my bestie, Jenn.

food porn

Now the weekend was upon us. Friday had arrived and I still had no idea what was going on. Everything had been a complete surprise and kept uber quiet. I worked remote that day and was patiently (sarcasm) waiting for something to happen. Like seriously...what is going on?? What do I need to wear?? I'm a planner and I was starting to get nervous...despite my best efforts, no one would give me any juicy details...in fact they all said they hadn't heard of anything going on...WTF! Kudos to you strong willed compadres.

Sometime around noon I gave up and told Karen and Katie we could watch Hocus Pocus that evening at my house. Gosh darn it if I wasn't gonna do something! They totally went with it too!

Sometime around 2 pm Jenn came over to have some wine with me. We were both dressed comfy casual...as I waited patiently (yeah not so much) for a hint as to what was going on. Finally Jenn told me bowling! Apparently bowling was the plan. Hmmmm, mkay. We'll call it 'bowling'. After about an hour Jenn raided my closest and picked out an outfit for me. Still no clue what we were doing...oh yeah, bowling...don't forget the socks! Not too long after that Jenn got me in the car and we started to drive....to B SWEET! Yup, my fav little Pflugerville boutique. I was getting a makeover! While B Sweet was working on my makeup, people started to arrive. OMG OMG OMG my friend Mary walked in, she flew all the way from Washington to celebrate my birthday! Followed by Michelle, Katie (you little minx! Hocus Pocus pfft!), and Monica. We drank wine and tried on clothes while several of us had our make up done.

After our little boutique experience we were back in the car...heading to bowling (sure sure...). About a mile or so down the road we pulled into the Red Green barn at Heritage Park, and there was my other bestie Amanda!!! She also flew all the way in from Washington to celebrate my 40th. We starting walking towards the barn and more people came out of the wood work. All my closest friends we there, dressed in cute western wear for A PHOTO SHOOT! All my friends know I LOVE pictures...and that's what they were giving me!!! We're still waiting for the pics from the photog, but below are some we captured with our phones.

After the photo shoot the girls asked me if I knew what we were doing next. I guessed either eating (cause it was around dinner time) or dancing as Mavericks (a country bar) was just around the corner and we were wearing boots. Dinner it was, and we went to my fav Tex-Mex joint which was also in the area, Rio Grande!!! This was turning into a night of my favorite things...which apparently WAS the theme that day for my birthday. Dinner was a blast, the margs were killer, the girls made sure I drank lots of water, I couldn't stop smiling or doing my grrrr face. While at dinner if I said a 'key word' one of the ladies would stand up and give a little speech about me. ;) At one point another table sat down with a baby, and they asked us to be quiet. That prompted the 'baby in a bar' and various other comments that made for a great laugh the rest of the night.

After dinner we headed back to Jenn's house for more of my favorites things! We changed into comfy clothes and enjoyed all my favorite desserts and drinks: bananas fosters, cheesecake, creme brulee, ice-cream, sugar sugar sugar! We indulged, watched a photo slide show of my life and celebrated the night away. I'm pretty proud to say we made it until 1am! What an amazing night with awesome friends! Thank you! I know a lot of time, effort and planning went in to making this such a fabulous 40th birthday!

Saturday morning came very quickly as the kids never sleep in...those Malek Made Mexican Martinis and the late night were taking their toll on me. Thankfully the kids had sports so Malek had them out the door by 9 am. Amanda and Mary ended up kidnapping me for most of the day. They picked me up around 10:30 am for brunch at Chez Zee followed by mani-pedi's at this awesome spa in the Domain. After that we crashed at Amanda's hotel in the Domain for the most glorious nap I've had in a long time. Seriously, that bed was amazingly comfortable and the nap was much needed after Friday nights shenanigans.

Around 4 pm we finally starting heading back to Pf. I still was not told if there were any other plans made but my Spidey Senses were tingling...something was afoot! When we arrived at my house I noticed my parents car, but otherwise everything seemed normal. They must have stopped by to get something for the kids as they were watching them that evening. I slowly made my way to the door and stepped inside where I was met with a SURPRISE party! The kids came running out yelling surprise with megaphones, music playing in the background and friends and family all waiting for me. There was Rudy's BBQ & ribs for dinner, a keg (yes a keg!) and more cake for celebrating. It was a perfect way to end the week/end long journey to turning 40.

A HUGE thank you to Jonathan Malek & Jennifer Batey Cox & Amanda Gray Mills & Michelle Hall Myers for your extraordinary planning skills and flawless execution! I was clueless to the events that were to unfold: from ACL (VIP baby!) to makeovers and a photo shoot, Rio (you have a baby, in a bar?!?!?), all my favorite things (food, friends, fun, fotos), brunch, mani-pedi, naps and a surprise 40th birthday party!!! I am in awe and feel so loved. It means the world to me that I could spend this special occasion with family and friends from near and far!. I will cherish these memories always. And so the party continues!! Cheers to 40, fabulous friends & family and many more!!

ACL & The Big 40!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 16:54:00 +0000

Started off my birthday week in style with awesome ACL VIP tickets from the hubby!!! This totally rocked my world. The tickets were for the 1st weekend on Saturday where Metallica headlined! VIP tickets included ALL food and drinks (buffets, cocktails, beer, wine, water & more!), A/C'd bathrooms (can you say NO LINES), elevated viewing deck next to the best stages, private bars, a massage booth, hair styling booth, delicious food trucks, ACL apparel/merchandise for purchasing, projection TV to watch football. You name it they had it, and it was AMAZING! The best way to experience ACL in my opinion. I'm not sure we could ever go back to general admission. We never had to leave the VIP grove (unless we wanted to, which we did once). A huge shout out to my hubby for an awesome 40th birthday present...and apparently more surprises to come throughout the week!

VIP shady grove

viewing deck

friends!

Glenfiddich tent

Injury Update

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 20:04:00 +0000

Sadly my foot has not improved since my last injury posting back in August. I had hoped that taking some time off would be enough (beg of July- Aug), but I was wrong. After 1.5 months off I slowly started trying to run again. I was able to run 4 or 5 times at 1-2 miles each time, then when I tried for 3 miles the pain returned. I ended up getting a cortisone shot in mid Aug and had to take another 2 weeks off from running. During this time I was also going to PT and having very vigorous calf massages and trigger point therapy. I was feeling great so decided to try running again in Sept, slowly of course. No bueno, I only made it a couple runs before the pain returned. I stayed off my foot until the Casa 5K (9/16) and took that race uber slow, with lots of walking. I've never walked through a water stop before! 1st time for everything I guess. After that race my foot continued to throb, the pain never dropped below a 3/4 on a 10 point scale of pain. Even walking would irritate it. Sadly I went back to my foot Dr today (10/1) and received my 2nd cortisone shot. Of course my foot feels great right after that...but I'm worried after 2 weeks when I try jogging again that I'll be in the same boat as before. If this shot doesn't work, my next option is Platelet Rich Plasma injections (PRP). Essentially for PRP they take your blood and spin out the platelets and then inject them into the problem area, it helps promote soft tissue healing. Finger's crossed that one of these work...my next race is a 10 miler the beginning of Nov! Ugh...training on an elliptical isn't going to cut it.

Casa 5K (ADC 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 19:44:00 +0000

Oops! Forgot to post about the 1st race for the Austin Distance Challenge, the Casa Superhero 5K on 9/16/2018! This race was a lot of fun! It was the first time I ever ran it, well I should say slowly jogged/walked it as I have plantar fasciitis in my right foot/heel. There were tons of booths set up with free food and trinkets, lots of people dressed up as superheros and just some good ol' fun! The race was at 8 am, so not crazy early. It was probably around 70 degrees and humid! I ran the race with Karen and Mai, we tried to keep our HR's under 150 so we'd jog slowly for a while, then walk to recover, repeat. Thankfully this strategy went over well with my foot...it only slightly ached from the race.

Afterwards we hit up the ADC tent for our free taco and magnet. Next up were the giveaway booths. We scored coffee, Amy's ice-cream, free sunglasses, chips and other food items. My favorite was taking a picture with the 'official' superheros who were promoting the race.

My race time is not even worth publishing for this entire ADC series as I'm going to have to slowly jog/walk it due to my injury. 😒 Right now I'm stubborn and determined to finish the ADC...but we shall see what happens once I hit the half marathons...

Black Panther for the win!

Ear-piercings for Carsyn!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 19:19:00 +0000

Yup, this just happened! I'm so proud of my little lady. She finally said she wanted to get her ears pierced for her (early) birthday so I decided to take her the very next day, before she changed her mind. We went to a little local shop where I know the owner (B Sweet) and picked out a pair of black onyx studs. She really wanted pink but unfortunately the store didn't have that color in stock.

Poor little girl had no idea what was about to happen. We couldn't do both ears at once as there was only 1 person in the store to do it. So I sat on the chair with my little girl while she watched you-tube on my phone. The 1st earring went in effortlessly. At first Carsyn had no idea what happened, she went from shocked to crying in a matter of seconds. She did rebound quickly but now she KNEW what was going to happen with the other ear and wouldn't let us near it. Thankfully my friend Katie had come with us, we had to hold her down on the table so that the owner could pierce the other ear. OMG you would have thought we were committing murder in that boutique. This time it took several minutes for Carsyn to calm down. B Sweet made it all better by giving Carsyn and her friend Evelyn a mini make over, complete with sparkle eye-shadow! 5 mins later she was a happy camper.

I'm just glad it's done. Now we just have to try and keep the earrings in for 6 weeks. Cause if they fall out, not sure I can go through that experience again! She should be able to start changing them out by her birthday in Oct, hopefully she lets me do that...

prepping the ears

Ready for the 1st piercing! Oblivious...

Hurry and get the 2nd one in now! Can you see the tears??

All done! Mini makeover complete. Now we are happy.

Oh! I also decided to get my ears pieced with Carsyn. Now I have them double pierced. My husband has only been asking me to do this for a good 2-3 years now...

our pierced ears

Wrecked

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 16:05:00 +0000

It wouldn't be like me if I didn't post an injury update here and there. Something Carsyn and I have in common.

I went to my sports Dr today for my foot (and knees) and had xrays taken. Verdict is I can run (YAY) and the culprit is plantar fascia of the medial cord insert (BOO!). Not much I can do but stretch it, wear heel cups, no barefoot walking, etc. I can run but I need to come back in slowly and take it easy. Guess I caught it early enough to recover more quickly this time (hopefully). Check out my xrays, I have a wicked bone spur on my heel, you would have thought that was the culprit, but no. Oh! The straight on shot of my foot is showing an navicular OS (extra bone) on the inside of my arch, I had it removed when I was young and it grew back! UGH!

On another (kinda sad) note, I had my knees examined. They have bothered me for years. Turns out I have osteoarthritis (OA - wear and tear of the joints) and Patellofemoral Syndrome (overuse from vigorous athletics = pain). Yup, I was afraid it was that. The Dr actually said I was pretty young to have this much arthritis already...This means I need to do more cross-training, less high impact, take up biking/elliptical/rowing (WTF! I'm so not any of these) AND reduce running. My Dr cringed when I told him I had 4-5 halves in the next 6 months. Long story short - I can run, but the longer and harder distances will result in payment later (think knee scopes/replacement). So my full marathon days are officially over (never say never?), and I'll need to run less half marathons a year.

When I wreck myself, I go ALL THE WAY. Also attached are my xrays from 2005 when I broke my hip from my very 1st half marathon. Pretty nifty eh? Just call me bionic...cause soon my knees will be there...I think my body has been trying to tell me for years to stop running...but I don't listen.

link to pictures

In the past 2 days I decided to make a list of all my injuries/surgeries/etc. I find it impressive.

Extra bone removed right foot – elementary school
Right hand pinky finger fractured playing VB (splint) – HS (95/96?)
Several sprained ankles w soccer/VB - HS
Wisdom teeth removal - sometime in HS
Lasik (eyes) – March 18, 2005
Left hip femoral neck break (surgery, screws in hip) – May 2005
Softball to the chin, line drive, 9 stitches - June 2010
C-section – April 2011
Plantar fasciitis in both feet – May 2012
Stress fracture left foot – Sept 2012
C-section – Oct 2013
TFL (Tensor fasciae latae) left hip strain – Aug 2016 – Dec 2016
Broke right pinky toe – Sept 2017
Plantar fascia right heel (medial cord insert) – Jun-Aug 2018 (and still going...)

cracked femoral neck 2005

screws to fix my hip

amazing heel spur - July 2018

extra bone grew back - Jul 2018

softball to face = stitches, June 2010

broken pinky toe Sept 2017

broken pinky toe

Ry turns 7!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 20:10:00 +0000

My little boy is growing up so fast! I can't believe he's now 7 years young; reading, protecting his little sister and mastering his humor/teasing. He's such an amazing, loving, handsome, sweet, caring, kind, funny, intelligent, energetic little guy full of life and smiles! You love your family, friends and football and put all your heart and energy into everything you do. You make us very proud and we love you very much! 💝🎂🎉🎁

batkids

This year we celebrated his birthday with a batman theme 🦇 at DARTemUP. We dressed up in bat apparel, engaged in nerf battles, played arcade games and ate pizza and batcake. All in all an excellent time was had. Ry was super excited to share his birthday with friends and family, and we couldn't have asked for better weather too!

batman cake and cupcakes

A big thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated Ryland's 7th birthday with us❣ 💗

For a full recap go to MyMomsMemmos

All pictures located here

bat family

Cap10K 2018 - New PR!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 16:10:00 +0000

I didn't run this race last year as I was still babying my hip, so this year I was determined to run it, especially since this was the 1st year they offered a medal!

A big thank you to Brian and team HEB, their tent rocks every year! Free ice-cream, breakfast tacos and massages for the win!

This year was unseasonably cold! We left the hood around 5:15 am so that we had plenty of time to park and hit up the potties. We were waiting at the start line for almost an hour and hardly anyone was in the corrals. We figured out later it was because they were all hiding in buildings to keep warm!! It was 44 degrees at the start, overcast with 3 mph winds. Burrrrrr!

Pfelly's!

ladies of beef

selfie

The cold weather did make for a great run! We were only freezing before and after the race...like shivering blue lips cold! I pretty much stayed with Jessica the entire race, she was my white rabbit. :) Thanks to chasing her I hit a new 10K PR! We actually had the same exact chip time, what are the odds!?

My official chip time: 53:25 at an 8:36 pace for 6.2 miles.
My Garmin time: 53:28 at an 8:30 pace for 6.3 miles

#TeamBeef!

garmin

Pfelly's and HEB tent

1st Cap10K medal!!

We only hung out at the HEB tent for maybe an hour max. We were all just too cold. I made sure to get my free massage before we left. After we got home and took hot showers, we met at Rio Grande for a celebratory lunch of queso and margs!!!

Texas Independence Relay recap 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 21:00:00 +0000

2018 was my 2nd year to run TIR and my first time as Captain! Jenn and I decided after last year we should start our own team with the Pfelly's group. Since we ran with a well organized team last year, we were well prepared by leveraging some of their timing sheets and expertise. Being captain was a whole new ball game, it was up to me to make sure we had all the material, hotel accommodations, rental vans, gas cards, team shirts and checklists put together for the team and both vans.

I registered our team back in Nov/Dec of 2017, and the rest of the team members just had to make sure they were registered by the end of Feb. It took a while to settle on a team name, but we finally agreed on Salamis & Mommies (S&M), with Rihanna's S&M as our theme song. Recruiting and making sure we had all 12 runners + 2 designated drivers was a bit nerve wracking, but thankfully we secured all the spots.

I almost waited too long to book our hotel rooms for Gonzales. I called the first week of January thinking I had plenty of time and most of the hotels were already booked! Thankfully Sleep Inn & Suites still had enough double queen rooms to book us all together, we needed 4 rooms total. Whew! That same week I also called around for rental vans and ended up booking with the same company as last year, LongHorn Rentals, they were the most affordable and had a TIR discount! So glad to have the big items out of the way.

Next came our team shirts. So glad Tutuy stepped up and took over designing our team logo. I started checking out shirts from Dicks, Academy Sports, Walmart, etc. Eventually Jenn and I went to Target and finally found some tanks we liked for the team. I made sure to get everyone's sizes and placed a bulk shipment order. My neighbor, Angela, printed the tanks for us as well as our designated driver t-shirts. They look awesome! We had a meet and greet at the end of January to pass out shirts and go over all the info and any questions everyone might have.

Team shirts!

Finally our weekend had arrived! There were a lot of last min reminders sent out the week leading up to TIR. I printed off a gazillion directions and cut up running leg instructions, purchased the gas cards for the vans, food, packing, etc. Everybody met at my house between 5-5:30 pm so we could load up, decorate the vans and head out to Blacks BBQ.

Team S&M

Van 1 feeling 'good', on the way to BBQ

Blacks BBQ

Carb and protein loading. #teambeef!

We spent the night in Gonzales at the Sleep Inn & Suites. Our official start time was 6:58 am on Saturday, so we went to bed around 10:30 pm and were up at 5 am. We wanted to get to the start a good 45 mins-1 hour early just in case. Thankfully the hotel put out their breakfast early for us runners. We parked and picked up our bibs around 5:45 am, hit the potties, took pics and waited to start. They were actually ahead of schedule and we were called up to the start line by 6:50 am. The 1st mile we all ran as a team, and since I was the team captain I got to continue on with the 1st leg. BOOM!

Ready to run!

I enjoyed my 1st run as it was still dark (I should have worn my reflective vest) and overcast. Unfortunately it was already 70 degrees and a bit muggy. Half way through my run it started to get more light out where I didn't need my headlamp. I saw NO ONE on my run as we were spaced out from the start by a good 5-10 mins, therefore I didn't get any kills. I averaged a 9:34 pace for my first leg.

running in the 1st leg

1st leg complete!

we always selfie

Grab that @$$!

funny guys just had to copy us

Van 1 finished around 11 or 11:30 am and we found a tex-mex restaurant for lunch. Afterwards we headed straight for the exchange point to try and nap. Van 2 had much faster runners than van 1, so our recovery time was shorter. By 2 or 2:30 pm we were off running again. Now it was HOT! Full sun, 88 degrees but felt closer to 98 on the road. IT WAS BRUTAL. Poor Michelle went out too fast and the sun got her, Jason had to finish off 0.7 miles of her run, which apparently pissed off another team and from then on we were in constant competition with the Regulators.

before starting our 2nd legs...chillin

Michelle's 2nd leg - oh the heat...and still digesting lunch

I started my 2nd leg (#16) around 5 pm. I was lucky because just as I started some clouds came out and the temp started to drop a bit, plus there was some nice wind. I ran with a cold towel around my neck and ice in my bra. Every mile or so someone would come out and pour cold water over my head and back to keep me cool. I decided not to push it during this run and I averaged a 9:56 pace. Again no kills as we were in the lead...how we were in the lead I have no idea, but we knew the faster teams would catch us during the night runs.

Love this shot of me running in, gorgeous!

#TEAMBEEF

YEAH 2nd LEG DONE!

Here's where we started getting into the night runs. We met van 2 around 8 pm for the switch off. We drove around for a bit to find a sandwich shop them went to the exchange point to sleep. A couple of us got out our sleeping bags and slept outside the van. Unfortunately our exchange point was also at a train crossing! Every 30 mins a train would drive by and blare their horn! This did not bode well for sleep. I think we started running again around 12:30 am.

Jenn starting her night run

My 3rd and final leg (#30) was around 3:30 am and I was the last one to run in our van. Again the low was only 70 degrees and now we were in Houston so it was extremely humid. As our van and the Regulators were the only ones still out front, we didn't see anyone on our runs, therefore again I didn't get any kills. This was probably my longest leg and I averaged a 9:47 pace (stupid humidity). The nice thing about this run is that the store we ended at was giving out free breakfast tacos! Food for the win!

Once we ate our tacos and changed, we drove straight to the last exchange point which also happened to be the END. Since we were downtown Houston we couldn't sleep outside (too many homeless people), so we all had to squeeze in the van. I think I managed 2-3 hours of quality sleep at this point, even though the van started to get fairly humid after a couple hours (we couldn't leave it running for AC). Around 7 am we all slowly got up, a few of us found a Starbucks for some coffee, hit the rest rooms and waited for van 2 to arrive. The nice thing about being so far ahead was that all the port o potties were still clean and fully stocked! Van 2 finally arrived after dropping their last runner and we all headed to the top of the tower to wait for Chris and run in as a team.

TIR tower

waiting for Van 2 to arrive

the tunnel

Waiting for our last runner

Our last runner came in around 9 am!!! It was so awesome to be the 2nd team across the finish line. This did not mean we placed, in fact we actually were 30 in our division and 52 overall. I was able to video us all running in the last 0.1 miles together. It was such a different ending this year as we didn't go to San Jacinto, but oh so much more enjoyable as it was 20 miles shorter!

That's a wrap!

After we finished we grabbed some free beer, our 3 pizzas for the team and took some group pics. By this time it was 10:30 am and we were ready to head out. My van, van 1 went straight home. Van 2 actually found another tex-mex restaurant to celebrate. I did try and get our van to have a celebratory mimosa on the way home but no-one seemed to be up for drinking except me. Everyone just wanted to get home and showered. We arrived back at my house around 1:30 pm. So much earlier than last year! In fact I was able to make it to Ry's soccer game at 3 pm! I was mentally out of it for the rest of the day and Monday. Recovering from sleep deprivation is rough and takes longer than you want it to.

celebrating afterwards with mimosas

Over all a very successful TIR experience and my first time as captain. :) I'm sure we will all run it again next year, though I'm hoping to pass on the captain torch.

Medal and captains bib

Austin Marathon - Complete!

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 21:58:00 +0000

The marathon of my nightmares, the race I had been dreading all season was finally here. ATX marathon weekend had arrived and I was ready. It was a good thing my bestie Jenn made us run the new course 2x's as part of our 17 & 21 mile training runs, that really helped mentally and physically prepare us for the hills and course. But let me back up, how did we get to marathon #3 after having such an amazing #2 that could not be topped??? Well, it was on Jenn's bucket list to run the Austin marathon for her 40th birthday, so of course I was going to support that initiative and I figured I at least had to run the marathon in my home town. We also managed to rope in a lot of the Pfelly's (our neighborhood running group of friends). 7 of us signed up for the marathon and 9 for the half. My goals were to finish in under 5 hrs with a stretch goal of 4:30, oh and of course not die a horrible death. Let's do this!!

The beginning of the week was nice and cold, in the high 30s/low 40s for morning runs. However by Thursday temps had jumped up to 64 degrees in the morning! The forecast was also calling for rain and high humidity, I kept having flash backs to our horrible weather conditions for 3M . We were all praying for better weather. At least all of our runs this week were only 3 & 4 miles, we had some amazing quick short runs and loved that it didn't consume our entire morning. PLUS it was carb loading week!!! I made a ton of waffles on Sunday which I ate every morning with sausage links. I also made chicken and rice for dinner several nights, on Valentine's day I ate drunk noodles (pasta from Thai Spoon) and plenty of bread throughout the week. Saturday evening was our #teambeef dinner. We had a very similar meal as our 3M dinner, except this time the beef tenderloin was served warm. I only had 1 alcoholic drink all week, 1 glass of red wine on Valentine's day. I was going to try abstaining from alcohol for 2 weeks before the marathon but that didn't happen.

Side note, I realized 4 days after the race that I totally forgot to do my runner nails! Oh well.

The Expo:
Several of us headed down to the Expo on Friday after lunch. This year it was at the Palmer Events Center instead of the Austin Convention Center so we couldn't take the metro-rail. The Expo was OK, unfortunately I didn't find any cheap shoes for me but I did find my marathon coffee mug and an awesome Wonder Woman running tank top!

ATX Marathon runners unite!

We found Ashley! Crush it!

Expo swag, the marathon bag even came with a pair of running socks!

Saturday was really busy with kids sports in the morning, a baby shower early afternoon, later we dropped Ry off at a friends for a sleep over and took Carsyn to my parents house for the night, then we headed to the Team Beef dinner at 6:30pm. Dinner consisted of fancy salad, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, angle food cake & berries for dessert and beef tenderloin slices which were served warm instead of cold. Everything tasted great! I totally stuffed myself and went back for seconds. As we were leaving I grabbed a couple of Team Beef signs for the littles to hold up during my race. We got back home around 8pm so I had plenty of time to get all my race gear ready. For the first time ever I decided to wear a skirt for a long race. The Dona Jo skirts are amazing and stay in place so I wasn't concerned about chafing. I also packed a bag with a change of clothes afterwards since we'd be going straight to lunch after the race. I packed a couple new Gu's as well, toasted marshmallow and Campfire S'mores (which were awesome by the way!).

I finally hit the hey around 10:30 pm but I guess I was so anxious that I couldn't sleep. I ended up taking 3 Advil PMs and 2 melatonin pills. I still woke up every hour starting at 1 am. My alarm went off at 4:45 am. Despite the lack of sleep I got up no problem and felt wide awake. First thing I did was check the weather: 52 degrees, cloudy/overcast, misting the entire time (5-15% change of rain), 93% humidity which dropped to 88% around 11 am, 1-3 mph winds. This actually made me happy as it was 10 degrees cooler than 3M! I made myself half a mini bagel with peanut butter for breakfast then drove over to the FP clubhouse to meet the rest of the ladies for our carpool downtown.

Day's husband was nice enough to drive us downtown so we didn't have to worry about parking. We left the hood around 5:30 am and arrived at the start line around 6 am. Plenty of time for stretching, pictures and potties. My body knew it was a race day and I went to the bathroom 2x's before even leaving my house, then again when we got downtown. After pictures we headed to the corrals and lined up with the 4:25 pacer, I ate my 1st Gu and waited for the race to start. The gun sounded and we started to make our way to the start line, it took us 10 mins to finally cross the start line. The start line had some awesome colored lights and smoke displays. So exciting!! I couldn't believe race day was actually here and we were gonna do this!

Pfelly's running ATX! 4/18/2018

In the start line, Ready or Not here we go!

Our strategy was to go slow...running between a 9:50/10 pace the entire race. The first 3 miles were at an incline and we had to painfully force ourselves to slow down and fight our starting adrenaline to prevent burn out. Miles 4 & 5 were down hill and we ended up going a little faster, I had to keep telling ourselves to slow down. At mile 6 we passed the team beef cheer station, GO BEEF. When we hit mile 8 we mentally reset as that is where we started both training runs in preparation for the marathon. We were feeling good and knew we could finish it!

Mile 1 - 9:57, M2 - 9:46, M3 - 9:36, M4 - 9:24, M5 - 9:26, M6 - 9:35, M7 - 9:42, M8 - 9:49

At mile 6, waving on #TeamBeef!

Miles 8 & 9 took us up Lake Austin Blvd, past Hula Hut, and then we turned onto Enfield for miles 10-12. Enfield is very hilly and I was concerned how'd I do since I didn't have fresh legs. Amazingly enough the hills didn't even bother us, we were ready for them! We took that final King of the Hill on Enfield like a boss and passed the half marathoners split off and continued left onto Guadalupe. It was at this point Jenn spend up a little and pushed ahead of me, I stayed at my 9:50 pace but always had her in my sights. At this point I put my headphones on and listened to music while trying to spot our family and friends cheering for us. Guadalupe was a nice straight away to 45th street. I loved that I could recognize my surrounds and knew what to expect out of the course. Somewhere around mile 17th was my first sighting of my family! The hubby came out with the littles and my dad to cheer me on with their home made signs. I saw them again around mile 18.5 and gave them high fives, no stopping for me!

M9 - 9:46, M10 - 9:47, M11 - 9:41, M12 - 9:45, M13 - 10:05 (recovery from that last hill), M14 - 9:46, M15 - 9:51, M16 - 9:50, M17 - 10:01, M18 - 10:01, M19 - 10:08

The signs my family held up for me during the race.

Somewhere around mile 18/19 I think

Having a grand ol' time

Usually around mile 17/18 my hips start to burn, however this time I noticed everything still felt pretty good. No hip issues, lungs felt great, breathing was easy. The only thing that hurt was the bottoms of my feet from slapping the ground and of course my knees were aching/sore (fairly typical for this distance). At mile 20 we passed another water stop and I saw my previous boss passing out water, I was able to get his attention in time for him to wish me good luck before I was gone. Miles 21-22 was another straight away, then we had a short stint on 5th street before turning onto Cesar Chavez. I had been waiting for this road! I knew the end was near as we only had about 3 miles to go. I can do this, there's only a 5K left!! I caught up and passed Michelle just after mile marker 23, close to the gas station. Around mile 24 I saw Jason, he ran with me for a bit and tried to get a video but it didn't save. I was in such a good mood, giving 2 thumbs up and super excited to almost be done. FINALLY we hit Waller street/mile 25, those 2 miles to that street felt like forever! At this point I briefly caught up with Jenn and gave her some encouragement before she sped up, I also skipped my last Gu. We were within a few seconds of each other as we were winding ourselves through the last few turns. Then came 11th street and the final doozy of a hill (how mean to put this hill right before the finish!). I realized once we hit the incline that I still had energy to burn! I turned it on and kicked it up that hill, the rush of knowing the finish was only 0.4 miles away had my adrenaline soaring and increased my speed, Jenn was only 20 seconds behind me. I turned the corner and there was my family!! I could see them right in front of the finish. I sped over for a quick high five and flew across that finish line. OMG!!!! I was done, I felt great, we had survive and I had beaten all the goals I set for myself. 🏃

M20 - 9:58, M21 - 10:05, M22 - 10:18, M23 - 10:25, M24 - 10:15, M25 - 10:24, M26 - 10:15, Last 0.36 miles - 3:36 (9:56 pace)

My official race time was 4:21:11 (9:58 pace), I was so close to beating my Houston PR of 4:18:51 (9:52 pace) and Austin was a tougher course by far!

My Garmin said I ran 26.36 miles in 4:21:13 (9:55 pace).

feelin good

Coming in hot and happy!

Excited to cross the finish line!

The 3 amigos

We did it! ATX marathoners!!!

Worked my butt off for this medal!

tracking results

Splits from my Garmin

Jenn and I downed a couple bottles of water as we worked our way out of the finishers corral. Our families were waiting for us at the very end. I was so happy to see my littles and excited that they were able to witness me run this race. Since this event was sponsored by High Five they had a beer garden at the end! I had 4 free beers to drink, which I shared with the hubby and my dad. I did manage to grab 2 snack bags at the end of the race which I gave to the littles as they were hungry. By this point I was starting to shiver from the cold and my right knee briefly locked up for about 5 mins. It was still around 55 degrees and overcast and my body temp was dropping rapidly. Thankfully the hubby brought my change of clothes with him so I went into a nearby restaurant to change. We met up with Day and Shelley in the beer garden and finished our beers while Malek went to get the car. He picked us up not too far from the finish and we headed to Pint House Pizza for a celebratory drink(s) and food with everyone.

Celebratory lunch at Pint House Pizza

The medal is also a belt buckle!

I'm super stocked with my time and performance. The weather was awesome!! 52 degrees, overcast and misting the entire time. I even had energy at the end to kick it up that last hill and finish strong!! I couldn't have done it without my training partners Jennifer and Michelle. And big kudos to my hubby for navigating traffic and road blocks to bring my dad and the littles out to see me race! I loved seeing the signs they made for me. All the support from my friends on the course made this race an amazing experience.

the day after - coffee in my race mug

My thighs were sore for 4 days after the race. By Thursday I could finally get up and down without groaning and felt mostly normal. My inner most toe on my right foot was a little tender, it had obviously been rubbing up against my toe box. However thankfully I didn't get any blisters or black toenails. AND I had almost zero chafing and none of it was on my inner thighs!!! I only chafed a tiny bit on the inside of my right arm from rubbing on my pack, and then a little on my backside where I think my pack rubbed on my skirt tag. Other than that I was practically unscathed!

I did go for a run on Friday, but it was horrible and my knees protested the entire 2 miles. I ran again on Sunday and am happy to report everything felt back to normal.

Race prep:
What I ate: I carb loaded 7 days before the marathon and tried not to drink any alcohol 1 week before (I caved and had 1 drink on Valentine's day). I ate lots of waffles and syrup for breakfast, pasta and chicken & rice. The day before the race I drank lots of water and tea. Saturday evening was the Team Beef dinner, we had salad, bread, beef tenderloin slices, grilled veggies, mashed potatoes and angel food cake with berries for dessert. Breakfast the day of the race was 1/2 a mini bagel with peanut butter and water. I ate a Gu every 5 miles during the race and one Gu 10 mins before the race started, I did skip my last Gu which would have been at mile 25. I had my hydration vest so I didn't have to stop at any water stops.
What I wore: Dona Jo skirt w/ side pockets, beef tank top, stuff your bra (more pockets!), hat, Garmin Vivoactive HR watch, hydration vest, Brooks Glycerin shoes (sz 10), spenco earthbound insoles and wrightsocks double layer socks. I went up another 1/2 size in my shoes from a 9.5 to size 10.
Other items I carried: Cell phone, 6 Gu's, mp3 player, sun glasses, chapstick.

3M Half Marathon 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 16:24:00 +0000

The last time I ran 3M was back in 2015 and I PR'd with a 1:55:21 chip time. I didn't run in 2016 as I had completed the Houston Marathon the weekend before with a PR of 4:18. I was supposed to run 3M last year but I was recovering from my hip injury and couldn't run any of the ADC. 3 years later I finally got to run 3M again, though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to PR. A few of us Pfelly's are training for Austin Full in Feb, so speed was not our goal. I should have followed my plan and run a more consistent pace, but instead I tried to go out at that PR pace from 3 years ago and it was not meant to be. Nasty weather conditions and little speed/track work quickly squashed those dreams.

The weather all week was excellent! Super cold, in the 20's every morning, making for great runs. However by the time we got to Saturday the weather changed! It was muggy, 100% humidity, rainy, 7-8 mph winds and it was already 60 degrees at 4am! This did not bode well for my race, my pace is drastically affected by heat and humidity. The only nice thing about the weather was that it was overcast instead of clear.

Saturday night we ate at the Team Beef Headquarters, #fuledbybeef! I don't remember who catered the food but it was really good! Fancy salad, mashed potatoes, bread, grilled veggies, these amazing cold beef tenderloin slices (rare, just the way I like it!) and for dessert they had angel food cake with berries/sauce and whipped cream. I was stuffed! After dinner I came home and got everything ready for my race before heading to bed at 10:30 pm.

My alarm went off at 5:25 am and the 1st thing I did was check the weather. The rain had pushed out, so no longer thunderstorms during the race, but the temp was now 62 degrees with 99% humidity. UGH! I did not eat my normal toast with PB as I was still full from the beef dinner. I met the rest of the Pfelly's at the FP clubhouse at 6:15 am and then we all carpooled to the gateway theater which was right next to the starting line. Thankfully I didn't need to use the potty as the lines were crazy long. We took some group pics, I ate my Gu, and then headed to the start line at 7:15 am. This year the race started at 7:30 am instead of 7. I lined up around the 1:50 pace group, delusions of grandeur.

Per-race group shot 1/21/2018

Ready to run!

I felt strong when we started, going out at an 8:30 pace, it rained on us about 1/2 a mile in but it didn't last long. I was able to keep a sub 9 pace for the first 5 miles. However by mile 4 I felt like puking, the humidity was getting to me, so I started to slow down. By mile 8 the 2 hr pacer group passed me and I realized I had to give up my goal of breaking 2 hours and just focus on finishing. Mile 10 was my slowest mile as that was uphill. Normally I would have had my 3rd Gu at this time but nothing sounded good and I was worried I'd puke if I ate it, so I skipped it. I was able to pick up my pace a bit the last 3 miles as I just wanted the race to be over. They changed the course a little at the end and I liked the last mile to the finish, it was a flat straight away vs the turn and incline to the finish it had been in past years.

By the ADC tent - thank goodness we are done!

My official chip time was 2:02:09 at a 9:19 pace. My Garmin said I ran 13.2 miles in 2:02:10 for a 9:15 pace. I felt miserable but at least it was over and I got my medal. We waited until 10 am for the rest of the runners before heading to the buses at which point it began to rain on us. Once back at our cars we changed clothes and headed over to NXNW for brunch at 11 am. NXNW gave us a free drink with our bibs! My favorite thing about this day was the brunch and bloody Mary's. 😀

Next up, Austin Full. Finger's crossed for better weather...I'm dreading this marathon.

capitol pic

Avg pace - 9:15 (going off 13.2 miles, Garmin)
Mile 1 - 8:24, Mile 2 - 8:35, Mile 3 - 8:43, Mile 4 - 8:48, Mile 5 - 8:57, Mile 6 - 9:11, Mile 7 - 9:16, Mile 8 - 9:22, Mile 9 - 9:35, Mile 10 - 10:01 (incline), Mile 11 - 9:55, Mile 12 - 9:52 Mile 13 - 9:35, last 0.2 - 1:46 (8:48 pace)

medal

Race prep:
What I ate: Team Beef dinner at Beef Council Headquarters; cold beef tenderloin, bread, mashed potatoes, grilled veggies, angel food cake w/ berries. I skipped my traditional race breakfast this time. I wore my hydration vest so I didn't have to stop at any water stops, 3 Gu's total throughout the race (1 at start, mile 5 and I skipped mile 10).
What I wore: My lulu speed track shorts, team beef tank, hat, Garmin watch, hydration vest, Brooks Glycerin shoes (size 10), Sof Sole running socks. I did not gear check anything.
Other items I carried: 3 Gu's, mp3 player, phone.

2017 Running Review

noreply@blogger.com (Christina M) — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 22:04:00 +0000

I didn't post a running review for 2016 because I injured my hip and had to sell off all my ADC bibs. By the very end of Dec last year I was just starting to run maybe 20 mins every other day. To help with my recovery I joined a neighborhood bootcamp. Bootcamp helped me to strengthen my core and hips and reboot my fitness and health. I had gained a lot of weight due to my injury and hit an all time weight high. Bootcamp and my meal plan helped me to lose 20-25 lbs and strengthen my body again so that I could run!

I was able to run the Texas Independence Relay in March and Deutschen Pfest 5K in May. I had a couple set backs and residual pain but after June that disappeared all together.

Then my friend Jenn decided she wanted to run Austin Full for her 40th bday so I begrudgingly agreed to run it with her. Hence began my training for marathon #3! So far training has gone really well. I had one set back in Sept when I broke my right baby toe and couldn't run for a good 3 weeks. However by the 1st week of Oct I was back at it and was able to run the 80's 8K for my birthday. ;) Talk about being lucky! I've heard some people couldn't run for over 2 months after breaking a toe. Who would have ever thought a baby toe could be so bloody painful!?!?!

In November I decided to try the Shiner half marathon. OMG this race is so much fun!. :) I will totally do this again next year. I even got the hubby to come out and run the 10K. They throw an amazing after party where you get 2 free sausages and 4 free beers! BEST RACE EVER!

To end the year we signed up for the Austin Rockin' Resolution Race 20 miler. We had to run a 20 miler anyways for training so why not do a race and get a medal!! We braved the bitter cold 38-36 degree temps (yes it got colder as we ran), 13 mph winds, oh and misty/overcast conditions for an overall great run! I took 3rd place in my age group!

Total miles ran in 2017: 744 miles according to Garmin. Not bad considering my hip injury at the beginning of the year and a broken pinky toe!

Races:

3/25-26 - Texas Independence Relay, ran 13.5 miles total

5/21 - Deutschen Pfest 5K - 26:02, 8:21 pace

10/8 - 80's 8K - 42:32 (garmin), 8:33 pace

11/18 - Shiner Half - 2:02:36, 9:22 pace

12/31 - Rockin' Resolution 20 miler - 3:13:34, 9:41 pace, 3rd place in age group.

Upcoming races for 2018:

1/21 - 3M Half

2/18 - Austin Full

3/24-25 - TIR

April - Cap10K

May 20th - Deutschen pfest 5K

Sept 30th - 80s 8K (ADC)

Nov - Run for the Water 10 miler (ADC) and Shiner

Dec - Decker half (ADC)

Jan 2019 - 3M (ADC)

Feb 2019 - Austin Half (ADC)

I plan to run the Austin Distance Challenge in 2018-2019.