13.1

Well I did it, I ran a half marathon, I ran 13.1 miles.  This was a goal that I set for myself at the start of 2012 and I did it, I really did it. I wanted to share more about my experience than just my time, so that is why I am blogging this big event.  So grab a drink, settle in and get ready to hear the honest truth about my first 1/2 marathon. 

Before we get into the actual race, let me fill you in on my history. I am currently 32, a mom of two boys Ty who is 4 and Reece who is 17 months.  I have been married for 8 years to my amazing husband Dallen.  Both my husband and I were collegiate athletes, I played water polo and he was a wrestler. In college we were exercising 30+ hours a week, then we became adults...with jobs.  We tried to stay active, we bought road bikes and started riding and even completed a sprint triathlon.  We completed a couple of 10k races together, in fact we ran a 10K when I was 10 weeks pregnant with our second son. Although we would complete in a race here and there we would train for 6 weeks, run and be done with it, we were not consistent.  Going to the gym has also been part of our lives, but I tend to have a bad attitude about going, Our kids have to be in daycare and it is so germy and at one of the gyms the daycare is sub-par and I feel like when we leave Reece he is expected to fend for himself.  As our family has grown our physical health has declined and I decided that we needed to change this and for us we needed a goal, which turned out to be the 1/2 marathon. 

I suppose you can say I started training for the 1/2 back in September of last year.  My neighbor, Nikki, set a goal to run a 1/2 marathon in February of 2012.  So Nikki and I started walking (walking and running).  Back in September of 2011 getting out at night to jog was my outlet, adjusting to two kids was difficult for me and I needed kid free time so at 8pm 3 nights a week I would head out with Nikki, enjoy the fresh air and enjoy not hearing some call for us every 5 minutes.  Nikki and I ran the spooky sprint, which was a 5k, a Veteran's day race which was a 10k.  Then I started to be a little less motivated and she was dedicated to her training.  Nikki worked hard and not only finished her 1/2 marathon but finished it less than 2.5 hours.  In my book she rocked it!  I decided then that I could do this, I could train and run. So this summer I took the boys to the gym, hopped on the treadmill and ran.  I quickly came to the conclusion that treadmill running sucked.  Work started again in August (I work part time as a high school math teacher), and I decided that I would start running in the mornings, get it done and enjoy the rest of the day.  I asked Nikki to join me, because after my first solo morning run in the dark, I realized that there is safety in numbers.  Nikki joined me again and also brought in Cindy.  I am so thankful for the two of them, we have been getting up twice a week (pending everyone was healthy)  and running 3-4 miles.  Cindy is the quick one and she has pushed me to be faster and today I was thankful for her quick pace.  Our short runs have been great and dare I say enjoyable. Dallen and I did our long run together. We had to plan our long runs, because it wasn't just us our boys were along for the ride too.  At first it was okay, Dallen pushed them and I was able to run, but eventually the lengths of our runs became too long for him to push 80+ pounds.  We worked though it and would run to a nearby school set the boys up with snacks, toys, books and we would run the track.  Slowly but surly we increased our mileage up to 10 miles, that was two weeks ago.  We tapered and then it was race day. 

To say I was nervous was an understatement. I was freaking out, I planned my running gear 2 weeks ahead of time, I worked on my playlist for hours.  However this over preparation just made me more nervous, would we leave on time, would we have enough time to stretch, would we be able to find our starting corral.  Dallen was able to calm my nerves by telling me that the race was going to start no matter what, we were going to start, run and no matter what we will finish.  I realized he was right we were going to finish no matter what.  This morning we woke up at 5am got dressed and left 10 minutes late, I was shocked we had no kids with us, yet we were still late.  I became nervous once again.  We pulled into the parking lot with 30 minutes to spare, the of course we had to wait 15 minutes to use the bathroom, nothing like waiting in line to use a port-a-potty.  We found our corral, we put our ear buds in and I tried to calm my nerves.  I reminded myself of these three things...

1. I would be happy if I didn't have to walk
2. I would be happier if we finished in two hours and 30 minutes
3. I would be thrilled if we could do a 10.30 mile pace

Then I reminded myself that no matter what we would finish and the race began.  There I was with thousands of people all there to accomplish this huge task and a sense of calm came over me.   When we finally crossed the starting line we were off and going at a fairly good pace, I didn't look at my watch to check our pace we were just going.  The first two miles we were constantly trying to maneuver around the other runners. I looked down at my watch and we were pacing 9.20 miles.  YIKES! We needed to slow down, was what my brain said, but I felt great we were doing so good. So we kept trucking on at the same pace.  At mile 3 I realized we were going to have to run under a few roads, which meant we were going to have to run down a hill and then back up, in all I think there were 8 of them. In the beginning the were fine, in the end they were horrible. At 4 miles the elite marathon runners were coming back. It was impressive to see just how fast they were. Then at 4.5 miles I saw an elite marathon runner eat a stick of Vaseline, by mistake. I felt really bad for him, did he not know what was at the medical stations.  I only hope it didn't affect his time too much.  Running brought out the competitive nature in me, every time I passed someone who was in my age bracket or younger, I got a little excited.  I also was beyond impressed with the men and women who have stayed active into theirs 60s and 70s and were running a 1/2 marathon some were even running the full marathon.  There was an older woman who ran the entire race pushing a stroller, because she needed the stability. She by far was my favorite runner today.  At mile 6 we stopped passing other racers and fell into our pace group.  We would pull ahead of a couple of runners then fall behind then back ahead. This repeated until the finish line.  At mile 7 my left hip started to hurt, at mile 8 I felt a blister starting to form on my right foot,  mile 9 my right hips started to hurt.  Really mile 9 and I was falling apart. I had to finish, I had to keep going.  Finally the 12 mile marker was in site.  We tried to pick up the pace, everyone around us was running faster, why were my legs not moving faster?  Finally I saw the finish line, my legs started to move and my smile got bigger and bigger.  We were almost there. Then we were done.

 I slowed and then stopped to check my time on my watch and my legs locked up.  Luckily my weight was forward and I managed to step and avoid falling.  So we walked.  We got our medal and sweatshirt and thankfully they had breakfast waiting for the finishers.  We grabbed our eggs and headed out to the tables by the lake.  We ate and enjoyed to sun and then we tried to get up. WOW! Ouch!  After reteaching my legs how to move we went and had a brownie ice cream sundae.  I think the ice cream sundae at the end of the race was the true reason why I chose this race to be my first race. Yes, an ice cream sundae at 9:30am and it was fabulous.  We left to get our boys from their grandparents and that is when we both started to fall apart. Our legs were killing us, joints aching and our tummies were not too happy either.  At home I couldn't wait for nap time. Usually I love nap time because I get to work on crafts, but today I wanted a nap myself.  It was a glorious nap!  When I got up I once again had to reteach my legs to move.  I also thought my tummy would be better, nope not better. Now after both boys have gone to bed, Dallen and I are exhausted, our legs feel horrible and we are both fearful of what tomorrow will bring, but we did it! We really did it! 

Our results...We did not walk at all! That made me happy. We did finish faster than 2.5 hours, that made me even happier.  We even ran faster than 10:30 pace!!!!  WE FINISHED IN 2 hours 7 minutes and 48 seconds!!! Our official pace was 9.46 mile.  I had NO CLUE that I could run that fast a 10 minute mile was the fastest I thought I could run and I ran faster than that!  AMAZING!!!

                                                   Ready to run! Before our race all smiles!

We did it!  Trying to smile through the pain.

                                                         Yep I ate the entire sundae!

Can you see the blister?  Ouch!

I do have another 1/2 marathon coming up in January. To be honest if I wasn't already signed up I may not have followed through with it, but I am sure once my legs are no longer sore and my joints are back to normal I will be ready to go.  Secretly I am already trying to goal set for that race...maybe 2 hours and 5 minutes.  :)   I am officially taking the week off from running.  I will be back at it next week, until then I am going to try to sleep in every morning until 6am!

Welcome Back! My family and I took a mini vacation after the 4th of July and now that we are back and settled in I wanted to share the card I made my hubby for our anniversary. July 3rd marked our 8th year of marriage (together 11.5 years). We agreed that we would not get one another gifts this year since we were leaving for a mini vacation with our kiddos two days later, but that didn't mean I couldn't make him a card and write about just how much I loved him inside. Without any further ado here is the card I LOVE!

I used quite a bit of Stampin' Up materials. The paper I used was Lucky Limeade for the base and the mini banner as well as Basic Grey, Tempting Turquoise and Cherry Cobbler.  I also used Framelits-Apothecary Accents, the mini heart punch, the woodgrain background stamp, and Rhinestones from Stampin' Up. The wood letters are from Studio Calico, the grey twine was recycled from a gift I had received from a dear friend (thanks Carissa), the date stamp was from Dearlizzy and,  glossy accents was the last touch I needed on the heart. I love the layout of the card and in fact I have repeated the layout for a baby card and I love it as well.  I hope that you have found some inspiration in this card to get yourself crafting!  Oh and there is the baby waking from his nap, happy crafting my friends. Until next nap time....-Bre

Need a Quick Fix...Fast!

Welcome back! Well, I have found that I am crafting a lot this summer, but not taking a lot of pictures, this will change! So this morning I went to get the baby up and when I got to his room I caught him chewing on his crib. My little guy only has three teeth, two on the bottom and one on top, but boy oh boy did he do some serious damage. I jumped online to look for a bite rail and I realized that the cute ones were way too much ($50-$70) and it was going to take too long to get one made and shipped to me. So I decided to problem solve. Here is what I did. I bought a pool noodle for $1.99 at Target. I made sure to get the small noodle because I didn't want it too thick. Then I cut the tube to the correct length and sliced it open. I bought two yards of fabric and paid about $8 for it. I originally wanted to get some cute chevron print, however I thought more about the room and I decided that wouldn't go with the animal theme. As a result the elephant print won. I cut a piece of fabric that was 56inches x 13inches. I was originally planning on sewing the fabric and sliding the noodle in, but of course my sewing machine decided to bite the dust. GRRRRRRRR.....So all I did was tuck the fabric into the sliced part (temporary fix) then when I purchase a new sewing machine I can sew it . I popped it onto his crib rail and tied some ribbon around it so it stays in place (double knotted of course). That is it! I fixed the problem for $10!!! I think I will use the money I saved for a pedicure ;) Have a great weekend!  Happy crafting! ~Breanne

I'm Back! Yes, I know I thought I could find time for it all. I thought I could find time to be a super mom, wife, teacher, crafter and blogger. Well, I quickly realized that I could not wear so many hats so something had to give, out went blogging and often out went crafting. Now that school is out I have time spare (maybe) so I am crafting again and hopefully blogging. My first craft of the summer is an appointment calendar. I decided that I needed to schedule events and "learning" time for my four year old.  No I do not home school, but I want to work on writing, basic math and do a lot of fun science and art things with him this summer (thank you pinterest for a lot of ideas). I found that in the past few years I have wanted to do the same, but at the end of the summer I really didn't get a lot done with him.  This summer I want to do better, so that is why the calendar is needed.  Plus being a teacher writing things down is natural and over planning is sort of my thing. I went to a few different stores to find a calendar that I liked, but none fit the bill. That lead me to making my own template in excel, playing with the printing margins and finally getting something I liked.  Since my crafting and scrapbooking time has been very limited my Studio Calico supplies have been piling up so I rummaged through my three drawers of paper, stamps, embellishments and letter stickers and put together a cover that I love (if you know me you know my favorite color is yellow). I used my bind it all to finish it off, but I think I need a little more practice with it, I think it will hold for the summer though.
  
 Below are a few pictures of the inside. When I started writing in the calendar I had some issues adjusting to a Sunday-Saturday format. I am used to writing in a Monday-Friday with Saturday and Sunday as notes format.  That is why in some spots I have arrows pointing to the correct days (sorry Brooklynn) and why there are a few scribbles already.  You will see at the bottom I have a space where I will write what I have planned for dinner each night as well as a space for me to write in what exercise I have done that day and my current weight.  I may not weigh myself everyday, but if I do I can keep track of where I am.  Swim season is already here and I am not in the best bikini shape.   I will also be using this calendar as a food journal to keep myself accountable for what I am eating. This calendar is serving multiple purposes all of which will make this summer more fun and rewarding.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Breanne

Sunday Blues

It's Sunday January 8th, 2012....that means it is the night before I go back to work :(.  I am sooooooo not ready to go back. I have enjoyed being home with my boys for the past three weeks and one of those weeks my husband was home too!  I do enjoy teaching, but it doesn't even compete with how much I love being home playing with my kids.  Earlier I posted my new year resolutions so you might be wondering if I am keeping up with my goals...week 1 SUCCESS!  I ran 11 miles I drank over 72oz each day and I am organizing my mail station (more on that later).  So far so good. Let's see how week two goes. What I am least looking forward to is that since tomorrow vacation ends, I need to step on the scale and see what damage the holidays did, YIKES!  I may have to add some weight loss goals (let's hope not).

I do have a crafty project to share with you. I first saw this idea on Pinterest, but I unfortunately cannot find the original pin.  So as a disclosure, this is not my original idea, I just wanted to share with you my project and end product.

I purchase a lot of wood plaques of varying sizes from hobby lobby. They ranged from $1.99 to $2.99. They were on sale for 40% off.  My first step was to paint the plaque and then sand the edges to give it a bit of and aged look.

Then I took Mod Podge and painted a layer on and laid my photo on the wet Mod Podge. I let the everything dry for about 15 minutes then I did a layer of Mod Podge over the photo and let that coat dry for 30 minutes then I did a final layer of Mod Podge making sure to change my brush strokes to the opposite direction to create a linen effect.

After everything dried I sanded the back of each plaque to get the excess paper and Mod Podge off.  I used Command picture hanging strips to hang my finished product.  Right now I have 4 photos completed but my goal is to complete 10-12.  This project was a bit time consuming due to drying time, but I think it was totally worth the time. 

I hope this encourages you all to venture into the world of Mod Podge! I am off to enjoy one last bowl of ice cream! 

Christmas Card Storage

Until a few years ago my least favorite part of the holidays was figuring out what to do with all of the photo cards we received. I always hated throwing them away but at the same time I couldn't imagine all of these loose cards piling up in a box.  So I usually ended up allowing myself to keep a couple of them and then I had to toss the rest.  A few years ago my little sister had a Christmas party and she had a few years worth of cards out on display. She had hole punched the corner of her cards and placed them on a binder ring.  So I went home and I punched mine, but I didn't have a binder ring...my solution ribbon of course.

Well this year I was pulling my cards off my card display and my Yourstory by Provocraft caught my eye.  I looked through my stash and found that I had an 8x8 book..perfect!  So I cut plain white cardstock to 8x8 and then scored one side at 5/8 of an inch using my simply scored by Stampin' Up.  On each page I put one photo and I added a few extra blank pages in the back in the event of straggler.  Next I heated up my YourStory and in went my book.  After a few minutes of cooling my card storage was done!

 

This was the front and back of our family card. We tried to go for funny this year using a "business" theme. :)

This was a simple and fast project and now I have a photo book to look back on our family and friends.  I hope this helps you with your Christmas photo storage.

This is my last week of vacation so I am trying to get as much time as I can in my craft room.  I hope you all find time this week to do what you love, be it paper crafting, knitting, reading, enjoying your family, etc! Crafting while I can ~Breanne

Reso-what?!?

Happy New Year!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful time seeing 2011 out and welcoming 2012 in.  My night I would not of had any other way.  We took the boys out to dinner, came home and put them to bed. After picking up the house we curled up on the couch and watched Crazy Stupid Love (great movie).  When that was over it was time to feed the baby again and then there was just 7 minutes until the new year.  We toasted in the new year with a drink of water and of course a kiss and then off to bed we went.  Even though we stayed up late that does not mean our kiddos were going to sleep in. Sure enough we had a 6am wake up call from Tyson.  While at dinner Dallen and I started talking about new years resolutions and what ours are going to be individually, as a couple and as a family. There are so many things to consider.  I have so much that I was to accomplish and become better at in 2012, so I thought I would share my goals with all of you that way I am accountable. 

Similar to most people I want to be healthier in 2012, I want to lose weight (my last 3lbs of baby weight) and I want to exercise more.  But for me just saying that does nothing for me.  Let's be honest unless I have a plan I will continue as I am.  So I have two big goals I am going to complete in 2012 they are to do 1 tri-athalon (looking for July-ish) and I am going to run 1 half marathon (October-ish).  In a few months I will begin training for the triathalon until then to keep me active I have decided to make monthly goals.  For the month of January my goal is going to run 10 miles a week. This can be on the road or in the gym. I just need to put in the miles.  As of this post (January 1st) I have put in 3.5 miles for this week and I still have 6 days to complete my task.  I am excited for this running adventure this month.

In keeping with wanting to be healthier I am going to make it my goal to drink at least 72oz of water a day.  I hope to drink more, but I am starting with an amount I think I can obtain. I drink water, just not enough. With my new water bottles I know I will be able to maintain this goal.


Now onto some of my other goals.  I would say that I am someone who is always trying to organize different areas of our home. However, I never fully complete the task.  So I am going to pick one area of our home and dedicate a month to completely organizing this area of our home.  My goal is to complete the organization and live with it for a week and then make any adjustments to that area to make it work more efficiently for our family.  I will take before and afters of my organization area and let you all know how it is working.  My first area to work on is a mail center.  Right now the mail piles up, the filing piles up and it just clutters my office.  I am excited for this organizing adventure.


Now for my last resolution. This one is sort of random, but I think it is a good one. I have decided that I am not going to purchase ANY wrapping paper, gift bags, clothing boxes or tissue paper in 2012.  After cleaning up from Christmas I realized we have an abundance of all of the above.  Now I must apologize ahead of time, I have two boys, no girls, so if you are a friend or loved one who has a daughter she may be getting her birthday gift in a Cars, Monster Truck, or Alien bag.  I figure the kiddos want what is on the inside more than what is on the outside anyway.

Now for my blog, I am going to commit to blogging twice a month. In fact I have already planned out my blogs for January.  You may just get more than one! :)  

There you have it, my goals for January and 2012!  Enjoy and have an amazing 2012. I am off to get ready to have our Japanese New Year Lunch/Dinner at my Uncles house.  I may just add a few more pounds after all the delicious eating I am about to do!  Happy New Year Everyone!