Christmas Vacation... Whew!!

So the kids are back at school now and I wanted to just quickly post about our whirlwind Christmas break. We had so much fun!

Chad starred as the "purple king" at his preschool Christmas pageant.

December 18: Christmas Festivities kicked off with the Annual Oliver-Williams Dinner at Spring Creek BBQ

After dinner, we came back to our house for the stocking exchange. The cousins opened all of their presents... Nana got all the kids cute robes.



December 19th: My parents treated us to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord. We all had to wear these huge blue jackets. It was cold!

That blue coat with feet is Ryan.

December 20: Cookie baking at Grandma's house! Had to include this picture... Colette dumped some flour on the floor and had so much fun playing in it!

Grandma & Chad worked hard making the Spritz cookies.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

That night, Staci & I visited Elizabeth's new baby girl. Born on Staci's birthday!

December 21: The boys and I tried to build this gingerbread house.

Uhhhh.... looks kinda like it, right? It's made of gingerbread...

December 24th: We went to my parents house to celebrate. Grandpa put on the Santa costume and Ryan was not happy!

We all opened our name gifts and our stocking stuffers.

Christmas Day: Santa came!

I made homemade cinnamon rolls and they were yummy!

We headed to the Knights' house for lunch. We brought our new Band Hero.

Prego Jaime, Brad, and Jill rocked it!

My sweet family

December 26: My baby turned 7!

We went to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags. I love this pic!

The boys got to sled down a snow hill! I love this pic too. ;)

December 30: We met Grandma & Grandpa at the Dallas Zoo. The new Savannah section is really nice. You can feed giraffes!

We've been reading Harry Potter each night, but Chad only lasts a few pages.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

White Rock Marathon 2010

So now I'll post about the White Rock Marathon! Sorry my last post was a little bit of a downer (Whaa-whaa...) I just wasn't feeling it before the marathon. I wanted to be pumped, but since my training didn't go as planned, I had no expectations. Just wanted to finish.

I woke up race morning at 4AM. I wanted to be able to shower, have coffee, a little breakfast, and be able to tape my legs and not feel rushed. Glitter nails, homemade purple sparkle sweaty band, skirt, pink Zensas, and tank (plus running jacket and turkey trot shirt)... ready to go!

...a little segue here... At the marathon expo on Friday, A young cute boy wrapped my sweaty flat feet in KT Tape. He said it would help me. I bought 2 rolls and it might have saved me! I watched a video on YouTube on how to apply it for posterior shin splints. I applied it to my shins and to my right arch. I know, super exciting. But I was excited and was hoping it would help!...

Staci picked me, MF, and ThatPinkGirl up and we were off! We hung out in the Women's Museum before. It was nice to have a warm building and a clean bathroom before the race. Thanks Run On! At 7:30, we headed out to the starting line. My SIL Jill was in corral K, so we figured we'd try to find her. We wished Staci Good Luck and headed further and further back. Didn't find Jill and didn't start until almost 8:50!

THE BEGINNING:

We found Jill and ran with her for a couple of miles before she ran ahead. She was feeling awesome! Amy and I ran together and tried to keep a 10:30 pace. We saw my hubby, kiddos, and Howard fam at mile 4.5. They took a great pic. Don't I look excited?

Then we ran through Highland Park and marveled at some really expensive Christmas decorations. After mile 8, we decided that we had just run the Turkey Trot... now we were going to run the Tour de Fleur! It really helped me to break up the run this way. Marathons really are mental! It was pretty amazing when we broke away from the Half Marathon runners after mile 8... we were really going to do this!



THE MIDDLE:

We ran though M-streets/Lakewood area and then to the lake. I saw a bright green sign that said "Go Anne" and realized it was for me! My mom and sister were chasing my nieces around. I waved and ran right by... can't stop now!

It was chilly around the lake. I'm glad I decided to wear my running jacket and gloves. After the halfway point (13.1 Yay!), I finally decided it was time to use the port-a-potty. I had had to go for a while (TMI, I know) and there were no lines now that we had split off from the Half Marathoners. I told ThatPinkGirl I'd put in my music and catch up, but I think we both knew this was it. We had talked before that we didn't want the other to wait... we wanted to do our absolute best. She had trained like a rockstar and was going to do awesome. I knew the 2nd half would be a challenge for me. I am so thankful that we got through the first half together!

Funny thing was... after battling shin splints for almost 2 months, my shins really didn't bother me. I mean, I felt them and it was uncomfortable, but no stabbing pain. What did bother me happened at mile 18.5... I was running and jamming to my tunes... then my muscle on the inside of my knee just balled up. It hurt! I think it's what runners refer to your knee "seizing up". It felt like a charleyhorse the size of a small apple. I thought "Huh. This has never happened before." Really. I wasn't upset. I really had no expectations of this race and I knew I would finish even if I had to walk the rest of the way.

I tried to stretch it out. Didn't work. I tried to massage it out. Didn't work. So I just started walking. I got out my phone and texted a few people and called my husband. After about a mile, I tried running again and I could! During the rest of the race, my knees seized up again and again, but I would just walk whenever it happened. It happened in the best possible part of the course... right before the hills. So I just walked the hills. No biggie. I was going to finish.


THE END

I reached mile 20... uncharted territory. Now I had run the Turkey Trot, the Tour de Fleur... all I had left was running the trail. That's it. I got choked up a little.

I saw my parents, sis, and nieces again around mile 21. My sister told me later that my dad was a little confused that so many runners were walking. I have to say, I was a little surprised too, but I guess that's what happens when you have hills at mile 21!!! I waved and ran right on by... I saw them during one of my running stretches... can't stop now!

I reached mile 23. I remember thinking only 3.2 miles left. Amazing. AND I was probably going to finish in less than 5 hours. Wow. I got choked up a little.

I was running on Swiss Avenue. Justin told me he and the kids would be on Swiss Avenue. I would see my kids soon. I got choked up a little. Someone handed me a banana... I ate it.

I saw my family. Ran over and dumped my jacket (gloves were dumped a mile before) and my Garmin (stupid watch ran out of batteries before mile 8!). Kissed my kids and was off again!

I reached mile 25. Almost done! I couldn't find Ke$ha or the Toadies on my playlist, so I listened to Freedom 90 by George Michael. I guess putting 125 songs on my playlist was too many... especially when I just wanted to listen to my running favs over and over. Mile 25 was the longest mile EVER!!!


Then I turned and saw the finish line. I choked up and then all out lost it. Was I sad? Was I exhausted? Was I relieved? Probably all the above. I was done! I crossed the line (head up... gotta have a cute pic, right?) and a nice lady wrapped me up in a silver blanket thingy (I've always wanted one!). I saw my BIL Gary and bawled some more. Another nice lady called me sweetheart (still bawling) and gave me my medal. It was pretty freakin' awesome.


I ended up with a time of 4:54:04. I am really happy with it. Will I do another marathon? Maybe. Probably. We'll see...



I wanted to add more pics, but I'm new to this blogging thing and adding them is a pain in the behind. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Me, Gary, & Jill... FINISHERS!

Caught up with ThatPinkGirl afterwards... aren't we cute?

Me and my boys!

Training for White Rock 2010

So I finished my first marathon! Just under 5 hours... I got on the computer wanted to write down my race story, but I think I'll write my training story. I didn't realize I had so much to say about my training, so I'll save my race story for my next post.

Wow. A lot has happened in my training since my October 17. I ran that 18 miles, then the next week ran on the treadmill at the gym on Tuesday. My legs hurt... there was pain, but quoting Hal Higdon, "You may still be feeling some residual fatigue as a result of the 18-miler that you did over the weekend." I didn't think anything of it... figured it was just aches and pains that come along with training for a marathon. Looking back, I should have taken a few days off. I ran hills with ThatPinkGirl on Wednesday. I remember actually saying "Ow. Ow. Ow." during the run. Then Thursday I "ran" again on the treadmill. I couldn't do it. It hurt too much. After some internet reading, I figured out that I had posterior shin splints. Fun. Now I was injured.

Why did I get them? Old shoes? (had run about 250 miles in them) Treadmill? Running faster than usual? Who knows! All I knew was that I was injured. Ugh.

I skipped the "long" run (12 miles) that weekend and I skipped the long run (20 miles) the weekend after that. I invested in some new shoes (cute pink Mizunos) and leg warmer thingys (Zensa calf sleeves).

The NEXT weekend I ran the DRC with ThatPinkGirl, Jen & Adriana. Well kinda, ThatPinkGirl and Jen took off FAST. I just put in my tunes and ran at my own pace. I felt great and PR'd! 2:13:06. But then... guess what? Shin splints. (returned the Mizunos... they just felt wrong) Sooooo... more rest.


BUT I was determined to do my 20 miler that week. We ran on Friday (11/12/10) because I was going out of town. We finished. It wasn't pretty. It was humid and we were slow and walked a lot, but we finished. It actually was kinda fun. Staci, & Sarah ran the first 10 miles and then we just did the loop again.

But then... guess what? Shin splints. Sooooo... more rest. I'll call it extreme tapering.

I did run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving with the fam. I ran with Jill, Gary, & Grubby (hubby). It was Jill's first race. (Her 2nd was the WRM!)

But then... guess what? Shin splints. Sooooo... more rest. I figured I'd just rest until the big day. No reason to take the chance of injuring myself more now... I'll just do that during the marathon.

A few days before the marathon, I started receiving emails saying that I've worked hard and I'll do great and I've put in the time etc. I really just felt like I hadn't. I had rested SO MUCH. I was starting to get a little nervous. But I was pretty good at just not thinking about it. As my 6-year-old says, "It's fine Mom. It's fine." I thought, it will be fine. I'm not trying to break any records.

I just want to finish.

BUT I did have my 3 goals. FIRST, I wanted to finish. THEN, I wanted to run faster than 5 hours. THEN, well, I'm not going to tell you. ThatPinkGirl says I shouldn't tell people my 3rd goal. I'll keep that one secret until I reach it someday.

EIGHTEEN MILES!

So I'm training for my 1st marathon. I got talked into it. I'm really nervous, but so far so good! Saturday I picked up ThatPinkGirl and headed to White Rock Lake to meet my sis-in-law and her friend for EIGHTEEN miles! Props to my sis-in-law... she just started running in January and is training for the marathon! Pretty amazing if you ask me.

It was really a great run. The weather was perfect (and I'm not one to use that word often). It was in the 50's and not windy at all. We started out on our first lap and passed all the people training with Lukes Locker. Felt a little proud that we were out there training on our own. On our 2nd lap (yes, we ran around the lake TWICE) the sun was up, but it was still nice and cool. I started to feel a little sore around mile 14 and mile 17 pretty much sucked. But we finished! High fives and Jill did a cartwheel. :)

Scary thing is that the marathon is EIGHT more miles! EEEEK!

Brazilian

About 3 weeks ago, I got my first Brazilian... Brazilian Blowout that is! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I bought it on Groupon (my new addiction). They put this "Brazilian Super Nutrient Complex" (I know... whaat?) on my hair and then blow-dried my hair, used a flat iron, washed it and blew it dry again. It is AWESOME! After years of having to straighten my hair with a round brush and a flat iron, now I can let it practically air dry and be straight! It's supposed to last 12 weeks. I'll be sad when it wears off because it usually costs $250! I've joined every Groupon-like website... hoping it will come up again as a deal. Crossing my fingers!

My Last Baby Just Turned ONE!

Ryan turned one on Thursday. Boy, it has been a crazy year! Not a lot of sleeping going on. He FINALLY started sleeping (mostly) through the night.

Ryan has turned out to be such a fun little kid. I'm going to write down things he likes to do as a one-year-old. More for my benefit than anyone elses (I'll be rambling)... I have a horrible memory and I want to remember this sweet, loud, trouble-making, independent, inquisitive, cute baby!

Ryan LOVES to get into his brothers' room and climb as fast as he can (before Mom catches him) to the top of the bunkbed. Once he's there, he smiles and tries to get away when Mom reaches for him.


Ryan loves to carry around Bakugans


He will run to an open toilet and stick his hands in before Mom can get to him. He is so quick!


Ryan wants to drink out of everyone's drink at the table


As I'm holding the laptop away from him right now, he is saying "Dis dis", reaching for my laptop keys, opening his mouth as wide as possible, showing me his "Chicklet" teeth, and screaming.


He likes to be put in his crib awake with his bottle. I tried to rock him the night of his birthday party and he wanted none of it. It broke my heart a little... he's not a baby anymore!


Speaking of bottles, he LOVES bottles! If I am holding one, he will scream and cry and throw a fit while reaching for it while I fill it up. So impatient! :)


Ryan loves to pull all of the sandwich bags out of the box, climb into the dishwasher and pull out the silverware, get into my bathroom cabinet and pull out all my q-tips, climb on the fireplace, press buttons on the phone, climb on the bed and/or sofa (and smirks... he thinks he is a big boy)


Ryan loves his daddy. He will walk up to him with his arms extended wanting to be picked up. He loves for Daddy to carry him around.


He giggles when we play "This Little Piggie".


Ryan loves the water! He will smirk at me, walk off the step in the pool, and go under water. He has fallen into the bathtub while his brothers were in it with his Pjs on!


When we go to Paw-Paw's, he always heads for his big digital clock, plays with the lowest keys on the piano, carries around picture frames, and does "headstands".


Favorite foods: bananas, yogurt, pizza (he eats the topping off first), milk, waffles, pancakes, goldfish...

I could write more and more, but really, the smirk says it all!

Darn you Donald Draper!

I am so tired! Donald Draper, it is all your fault! Justin and I have been catching up on the Mad Men series. We are on season 3 now... can't... stop... watching... Just... one... more.... Hit me again.