The day is finally here! We are heading out for Temecula, CA this morning and tomorrow I will be running the Spartan Beast and Sunday, the Spartan Sprint. Add in the Spartan Super I completed in April and I’ll have myself a Spartan Trifecta! Woohoo!!
That is of course, if I survive this weekend. I love that feeling after a race, you know the one where you feel amazing and awesome! Your body is sore and bruised but you still manage to walk a little taller. You’re on a major high from completing something completely terrifying. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment when you cross that finish line. Not too many things in life compare.
But, that feeling before a race….the self doubt, the anxiety, the nervousness! The feelings of maybe I could have done more, maybe I shouldn’t have had that ice cream a few weeks ago. Maybe I should have ran more during my training. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Then come the what ifs. What if I cramp up during the race? What if I hurt myself? What if I don’t finish? Well, it’s just enough to drive a girl crazy (and quite possibly her husband too!) Ahhh!! Yup, these thoughts are all running through my head right now.
Friends ask me if I’m ready and I just shrug, give a weak smile and say, “We’ll see!” Because, well, the truth is, we’ll see! I’ve trained hard. I’ve given it my all. I’ve been to tons of boot camps, practice obstacle races, elevation trainings at Camp Rhino. I’ve sacrificed sleeping in on the weekends. I’ve sacrificed evenings with my family. I’ve sacrificed time with friends. I’ve passed on dessert I couldn’t tell you how many times. I’ve been so sore that it’s been difficult going up the stairs. I’ve gotten bruised and scraped. All for what? For a medal. For bragging rights. For that feeling after a race. For me. For my kiddos who believe in me. For everyone who supports me. I do it because it scares me. I do it because it pushes me to try harder. I do it because I can. Because I never dreamed I could.
After a short summer track break for Diego, he’s now officially a 4th grader! School started back up on Monday and he wasn’t too excited about it. He barely let me take a picture of him. Once he got to school though and saw some of his friends, he was fine! I’m super proud of him and I just know he’s going to do great this year too!
This was also Elysse’s first day of kindergarten. Here in Nevada, kinder is only half day and we chose afternoons for her (none of my kids have been early risers!). All morning s he kept asking if it was time to leave and how many more hours until she went to school. To say she was excited, is an understatement! Finally, it was time to go and I don’t think she was a bit nervous about it. I remember Diego was so cautious and a little scared on his first day. Not Ely! As soon as she heard the bell ring, she ran to her classroom without even saying goodbye! I just love her independent spirit, but of course, I walked after her and went into the classroom to say goodbye. I thought I’d shed a tear sending my baby girl off to school, but nope, no tears. She was just so excited and ready to be in school, I couldn’t feel sad. Plus, it’s only half day kinder, maybe the tears will come next year….
Did you send your little ones off to school this week? How was it?
Just 17 more days until we head to Temecula, CA and I take on the Spartan Beast & Spartan Sprint! I’m still really nervous about, not only getting my butt kicked during the 12+ mile Beast course, but doing it again during the Sprint. I keep reminding myself that my hubby will running along with me during the Sprint and he’ll be a huge help for me over walls and such! Plus, after 12+ miles, the 5K Sprint shouldn’t be so bad right?
Either way, I have amped up my training and have been really focusing on endurance & upper body strength training. This past weekend, I put my training to the test. I ran the Moms Run This Town Summer Safari virtual 10K with some other amazing ladies Saturday morning. We started at 6am, knowing that it was going to be a pretty hot day. We met at a local park with a nice paved running trail. The run was great and totally non competitive. We ran together at a nice pace, chatting it up! I forgot how much I enjoy running with a group. I’m so used to running alone that it was definitely a nice change and I really need to remember do it more often. This was also race 11 of 14 for 2014!
After the 10K, I went over to an LVAC gym nearby for a nice stretch, shower, and snack before meeting up with 2 other amazing ladies from my facebook running group and we headed up to Mount Charleston for Camp Rhino‘s Elevation/Spartan training at 11am. This was an awesome 2 hour workout that really pushed me. It was tough and brutal at times, but so rewarding! Getting to the top of that ski slope after carrying up a sandbag and then pulling a tire up the slope felt unbelievable. Literally ever muscle in my body was being used. My legs and arms were burning and sweat was just dripping off of me. Once at the top of the slope, we could take the ski lift down or walk/run back down the very steep slope. Let’s just say, I conquered my fear of heights this day and got on that chair. I was scared and nervous, but the view and rest were totally worth it!
Once I got home, I had my Skoop recovery protein shake (review on that coming up tomorrow!). I stretched and took a nice warm epsom salts bath. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too tired or sore. I figured it was the adrenaline still running through me, but when I woke up on Sunday morning, I really wasn’t as sore as I thought I would be and I made it to Sunday morning’s 90 minute Camp Rhino boot camp! I’m glad I survived this weekend! I figured it would be a good test on where I was physically and endurance wise. I think I did pretty good and even doubled up on boot camp classes on Monday! Putting my body through these tests is definitely helping build up my strength, but also my confidence. Whatever happens during my crazy Spartan weekend, I’ll know that I trained hard and gave it my best.
I’ve been posting all summer as we check things off our Summer Bucket List and even though it’s been an interesting summer with year round school, we’ve still managed to keep this tradition. The kids talk about it throughout the year and we make a big deal about everyone contributing to the list! I think family traditions are so important. It is something very comforting and at the same time exciting for kids to look forward to each year! We have a few family traditions in our house, from big to small, but one of our traditions has been to take a trip to Southern California every August. It started right when we moved to Las Vegas and were just looking for a getaway at the end of summer. Vegas summers are hot and the SoCal beaches are such a dream to retreat to! We then added these trips to our yearly Summer Bucket List and they’ve become a back-to-school tradition. I’m so happy we’ve been able to create this for them. Usually, we’ll go away for 3 – 5 days. So far, we’ve taken back-to-school trips to Santa Monica, Disneyland, Legoland in San Diego, Newport Beach, and the Pasadena Children’s Museum! So much fun 🙂
Like I said, this summer has been quite busy and we’ve tried to cram a lot in between track breaks, so we weren’t sure how we’d get to go but we managed to make it happen, albeit it was just for the weekend. We still had a blast and it was one of the most relaxing trips we’ve had. There was no real agenda (I know, this is shocking for me!) We just went to Laguna Beach and let the kids play! They also got to enjoy the pool at the hotel on Sunday morning before we headed north a bit to Redondo Beach pier for a yummy lunch by the water and a few more hours at the beach before heading home. It was a quick, but much needed trip and we kept our back-to-school tradition! Traditions are where memories are made and we hope we can continue to take these summer trips for many more years and we especially hope our kiddos will always remember these yearly trips!
Do you and your family have any special family traditions? Any back-to-school traditions?
It’s summer and yea, with trips out of town, bbq’s with friends and family, and so on & so on, we let the kids have a few more treats than usual! When we put together our Summer Bucket List, we added a few intentional “treat” days to the list. We figured a trip to the chocolate factory would be fun on a day when we had nothing to do. So, on a Monday after lunch we took a trip to the chocolate factory. I think my kids were expecting Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, so when they saw that it was just a hallway with information and a window into the actual working factory, it was not very exciting! But, we did learn a few things about how chocolate is made and we got some free samples at the end. Of course, we did buy some chocolates to take home and we walked around their cactus garden. It was super hot that day, so it was a short walk!
After doing some back to school shopping a few weeks ago, we went over to Yogurtland for some yummy froyo! The kids love being able to serve it themselves and pick out their own toppings! It was a nice treat on a hot summer day for sure!
I’ll be back tomorrow talking about why traditions are important in families and sharing some photos from our yearly back-to-school California trip!
Some days I walk into the gym and feeling like a total badass. I feel amazing, like I’m in my happy place. I walk in feeling Comfortable and confident that I belong there. I’m working hard and this place, this gym, is helping me reach my goals. And then. And then, there are days where I walk in feeling like its the first day of freshman year in high school and I can’t find homeroom and I don’t know how to open my locker. I look around me and see only young girls with flat abs, hair & makeup done, and of course wearing a matching Lululemon outfit! I look down at my shorts and top that do not match, I can feel my hair already starting to frizz, and well, let’s just say there are no abs of steel here! I’d love to say that I shake off those feelings and go on with my workout and kill it, but I’d be lying. The truth is, those feelings of anxiety, self doubt, and pity linger on during my workout and beyond. I begin to question everything I’m doing. Am I working out enough? Should I change my diet? Why am I not seeing results fast enough? Should I lift more? Should I add more cardio? And on and on and on. If it’s really bad, I’ll even compare my progress with others. I know this is ridiculous, but when you’re feeling down, it’s hard to think logically.
What makes me snap out of it? How do I get back to feeling like myself again? It’s tough, that’s for sure. It’s hard to just say “enough!” and move on, but that’s what it takes. I just have to say, “Enough of this nonsense, I am enough” and believe it. The believing, that’s the hard part. Believe I’m good enough, believing I’m working hard enough, believing in the process. Yes, it’s tough, but I’m tougher. And so are you! The next time you start feeling down on yourself or worrying that you aren’t doing enough, just remember where you started. I think back at the habits I had before and compare it to the habits I have now. Sure, I have my days where I don’t feel like a rock star, days I’d rather lay in bed and not workout, days I wish I could eat the whole pan of brownies, but they’re only days. They aren’t my life. Moments of weakness don’t define who I am. They don’t make me turn back to who I was before. A moment of weakness are just that, a moment, a very brief period of time. We all have our “moments”, but it’s important to keep them brief because we can’t let a bad moment change the progress we’re making.
So, the next time I walk into the gym and see the 20-somthing girl with booty shorts and crop top walking confidently around the gym, I take a deep breathe (yea, I’m sucking it in) and think of how my body has given me 2 healthy beautiful children. I think about how my body has carried me through 30-something years of life. I think of how my body can take so much more than I thought it could. I think about everything I’ve accomplished so far and I feel proud of who I am. And then, I hold my head up high and I exhale. I am enough.
Have you ever felt this way? How do you deal with feelings of self doubt?
We are having a great time this summer, even with Diego being in year-round school. Tomorrow is his last day in 3rd grade and he’ll have his 3 week summer track break before starting 4th grade. We plan to pack a lot of summer fun in the next 3 weeks 🙂
We were invited over a friend’s place for a BBQ earlier this month and the kids had a great time playing with the other kids and swimming in the pool. It really was a nice relaxing day with friends. It was exactly what we needed!
This Saturday we finally went to Wet N Wild. I say “finally” because this is the 2nd season it’s been open and we literally saw it being built. The water park is about 4 miles down the road from our house and we drive down that road every day to & from the gym. When it opened last summer, we heard stories of how it was so packed, so we decided to hold off. Our kids had been patiently waiting all year, so when it was time to put our summer bucket list together, Wet N Wild was maybe the first thing they suggested. Huge thanks to our friends, Ernie & Veronica and my nephew, Jared and his friend Mikey for getting us in with a buddy pass and saving us quite a bit of money!!
We spent about 6 hours at the park and had a blast! It was not crowded and the lines were not crazy long. The kids got on most of the slides, played in the wave pool, and relaxed in the lazy river. It was perfect! I think they must have said, “thanks for bringing us here” about a hundred times! We’ll definitely be getting season tickets next year.
Did you and your family do a Summer Bucket List? What kinds of fun things are you doing this summer? I’d love to hear them!
I am so proud of Jason for running his first half marathon (Bryce Canyon Half Marathon) with me earlier this month. He trained hard and it totally paid off. He finished strong and more importantly we finished together. It was pretty amazing.
Our 18 year wedding anniversary is coming up and it got me thinking about how we do so many things together and enjoy lots of the same things too and I think this makes for a happy marriage, it really does!
When I started this “fitness journey” Jason was so supportive and understood that in order for it to work it had to be a lifestyle change. He knew that eating healthy and exercising wasn’t just about me, but about the whole family. He not only stood by me, he joined me. We’ve been having so much fun running races and participating in obstacle course races together. Not only is it better for our health, it’s been better for our marriage and our family life. Having a spouse support you in following your dreams and cheering you on is so important!
Running is such a metaphor for marriage. It’s about staying beside each other even if you know you can go faster, it’s knowing when to take the lead or slow down a bit. Jason’s helped me up dozens of walls and obstacles, he’s literally carried me on his back, he’s encouraged me to not give up. Jason has been to every race of mine either, cheering me on or running besides me. No matter what life throws our way, I know we’ll be able to deal with it. Together. Our marriage is one big fun crazy adventure and I love it more and more each year.
What are some things you and your spouse do together to keep your marriage strong?
Summer is in full swing here in Vegas (read: hot as an oven!) so going out to Bryce Canyon, UT this past weekend and enjoying cooler temps was such a nice break from the 100+ temps. Since we were already going to Bryce Canyon for our half marathon, we decided to make a family trip out of it and add it to our Summer Bucket List!
Our obligatory/traditional photo in front of the national park sign!
After the 5 hour drive on Friday (we took the scenic route) we totally needed to stretch our legs and let the kids run around. We found a list of suggested trails and decided on Mossy Cave, it was an easy & short 0.8 trail that led to a small waterfall and offered pretty scenery. It was just the right amount of exploring we needed before dinner and calling it a night since Jason and I had an early start the next day!
After Saturday’s Bryce Canyon Half Marathon and a hearty breakfast, we made our way to hike among the hoodoos on Navajo Loop. It was a fun 2 mile trail that led you down into the canyon and then back up. Some of the drop offs were kinda scary, especially with my daredevil Parkour loving 13 year old nephew and Diego ready to keep up with him! But, we all survived and were starving afterwards. My sister and Jared took off to come back to Vegas after our late lunch and we went back to the room to relax a bit. Running a half marathon, then hiking for 2 miles really made us tired and I think I was in bed snoring by 9pm. It would have been sooner but we had to get dinner and some groceries for the picnic we were planning the next day.
On Sunday, I was still a little sore from the race, but I felt so much better. After breakfast, we made our way back to the park so the kids could listen to a ranger talk, which was part of their Jr. Ranger program. We’ve been doing these National Park Jr. Ranger booklets for years now, but this was the first year Elysse was actually excited about completing her booklet and getting the badge. It was pretty cute 🙂 Her souvenir from the trip was a army green Jr. Ranger vest!
After our picnic lunch and a little walk around some lookout points, we pretty much called it a day and started our trip to Vegas! Like I said, this was a much needed break from the Vegas heat and just the daily grind. Going on road trips and vacations with my family is really one of my favorite things to do and I’m so grateful for all the memories we get to make together. I can’t wait for the next one!
What’s one of your favorite things to do with your family? Do you have a favorite National Park? What’s on your summer bucket list?
So, you all know how much I love my sister, right? It’s apparent. She rocks. She’s my bff, my biggest supports, she puts up with my craziness. I could go on and on, but for today’s blog post we’re going to talk about how she became my super hero/lifesaver! Here’s the story:
Jason and I, along with the kiddos, headed out to Bryce Canyon, UT early Friday morning. My sister & nephew would be coming later that afternoon. We took our time driving out there and stopped in St. George to have Chick-fil-a (YUMMM!!) We saw Dick’s Sporting Goods had a tent sale, so we walked around the tent full of running shoes for a bit but didn’t buy anything. So, off we went. We made it to Bryce Canyon around 2pm. When we pulled over to one of the lookout points and were ready to walk a short trail, I go to the back of the car to grab our shoes. You see, I packed the kids hiking shoes and my shoes in a separate bag and we just wore our flip flops for the trip. It’s way easier to travel with kids in flip flops than in shoes that need to be laced up. Well, alas, there was no bag. I asked Jason if he put the bag in front with the kids, but I knew the answer….the man forgot to pack our shoe bag. How was I going to run a half marathon in flip flops?!? I may have started to panic, but then I quickly thought to call my sister and see if they were near St. George. It was about 2 hrs away and the closest town with a sporting goods store. We had to drive a bit to get signal, but when I called and spoke to my nephew and he told me they were about to drive into St. George, I knew I’d be ok. Big sister to the rescue. Long story short, she found me some Saucony ProGrid Ride 5 sneakers on sale at Dick’s Sporting Goods store and grabbed some shoes for the kids at the Old Navy next door. I was pretty nervous the rest of the day, but glad that I would at least have sneakers to run in for the half marathon. When she arrived, I was so anxious to try on the shoes and even more relieved to see that they fit and were comfortable.
I had a rough time sleeping that night. I was still anxious about running in new shoes in a brand I’d never used before. What a way to break in your shoes, huh?!? 4am came way to quickly. I felt like I was in a fog getting ready and drank some bad in-room coffee maker coffee to help wake me up. I went through the motions, but just couldn’t get excited. I was more nervous and scared than anything. My super hero sister came to to our room to keep sleeping with our kiddos & we walked out of the room to catch the bus driving us up to the start line at 5am. I really lucked out when booking our hotel room because the pick up was right across the street from where we were staying and the half marathon ran right in front of the hotel too!
Thanks to Jason for taking these pics of the starting line and during the first part of his run! I still can’t manage to get myself to take pics during a race!
It was still pitch black as the bus drove us to the start line and I couldn’t help but think how crazy we all were sitting in this cold bus way too early in the morning, to go run downhill for 13.1 miles! We managed to stay warm(ish) by standing next to one of the 4 or so bonfires that were set up at the start line. A few runners made small talk with us, I ate my Larabar, had my Island Boost, and just waited to start feeling better. Well, I can tell you that that didn’t happen until after mile 2. At this point, Jason was running way ahead of me, I had told him it was ok and he took off! After the first flat 2 miles, I found my groove and the road started to go downhill. The scenery was beautiful and was really enjoy the downhill speed. I was able to see Jason up ahead of me running with the 2:20 pacer but I didn’t try to catch up. I was already running way faster than normal and I didn’t want to push myself too much so early in the race. By mile 8 he started to slow down, so I ran a little sprint and caught up to him. We were running through the town so we slowed down to see my sister and the kiddos! They were out there with their cow bells making noise and cheering us on in their PJs! It was awesome to see them and it got me pumped up for the next 5 miles. At this point, the downhill incline wasn’t as steep and I knew I was slowing down, but I was keeping a nice pace and feeling really good too. Jason was also slowing down and I could tell that he was starting to struggle around mile 10 or so. By mile 12, I was ready for it to be over! I wanted to run faster, but Jason couldn’t go any faster than what he was already going so I stayed running by him. I knew I was going to PR at this point and I remembered how crucial it was for me to have my cousin with me for my first half marathon and I wanted to do the same for the hubs…even if he did forget to pack my sneakers in the car!!! When we spotted the finish line, we did a mini-sprint to the finish line together and it felt great! Our official time was 2:25:27:06! Jason finished his first half marathon, I PRed by 9 minutes and couldn’t be happier! The finish line had the regular post-race snacks of bagel pieces, orange slices, bananas, water, and chocolate milk. We stayed around the finish line area, walked around, stretched, enjoyed some free ice cream, and waited for my sister to pick us up.
All and all, the race was very well organized, we had no issues at all with packet pickup or at any point during the race. There were plenty of water stations along the road and port-a-potties at about every mile (Woohoo to not having to use them, though!) The scenery was lovely and the downhill course was just fantastic! And, although I wouldn’t recommend trying a new running shoe on race day, the Sauconys worked out just fine!
Be sure to come back tomorrow to read and see pictures from the rest of our trip and our family time hiking through the Bryce Canyon hoodoos!
I loved running with my Swings! !! They added that extra little “umph” I needed! I think I’ll be wearing them on my next race 🙂
It's a Messy Life 