Mom on the Run--Woman of Steele

So in September I ran another 13.1 hoping for redemption from my awful Madison Mini 13.1.  I also ended up injured and completely burnt out by the end of the month.  Here's the story! Discover Whitewater Half Marathon September 21, 2014 This was my redemption from the Madison Mini!  I made sure to do everything different from the Madison Mini!  I made sure to eat well the whole week before, but especially the day and night before the race.  I tried to make sure I was well hydrated all week and kept my running to a minimum.  I picked up my packet the night before and made sure to drink my Shakeology in the morning early enough so I wouldn't be too full for running.  We arrived early enough so that I could use the port-a-potty and I was ready to go.  I even added new songs to my running playlist, but set my Runkeeper app to the wrong playlist.  Oh well!  The playlist I had playing still worked just fine!  I got very emotion...

We all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It's everywhere!! Football players were pink, we had pink dress-up days at school!  I always like to do some kind of run for Breast Cancer during this month.  Last year I ran a 10K, this year I chose 13.1!  It was a virtual race for Breast Cancer Awareness and I had every intention when I signed up for this race to run a full 1/2 marathon on a Saturday or Sunday.  That did not happen, however, due to my hip injury last month.  After that injury, I could hardly run a 1/2 mile!!  It was frustrating, but I had also lost my running mojo!  When I think about it, I had been training for half marathons since April without really taking any breaks!  That's a lot of training!!  I think I just completely wore myself out with running.  I think I also gained some weight while training, because I was not fueling my body properly.  I always think that I can eat whatever I want bec...

August was eventful!  My daughter turned 6!!!  We celebrated her Golden Birthday with family and friends; and I ran in 2 fun 5Ks and the Madison Mini Half Marathon. Blacklight Run 5K August 9, 2014 Fun run! This was a first for me with this race.  It was like the Color Me Rad where you are splashed with color only at night and you ended up glowing in the dark under the black lights.  It was a lot of fun!  I managed to run it in approximately 29-30 minutes as I didn't wear my watch for fear that the paint would ruin it.  I have already gone through one Nike + watch and returned it to Nike, so I really didn't want to do that again.  It was a fun run!  I do enjoy the fun runs, I just think I really need to focus more on my half marathons if I am going to get better at them and eventually run a full marathon and qualify for Boston!  My kids did enjoy the run as well!!!  Before the race!!! ...

July is a slow racing month for me.  I like it that way though, as it can get quite hot in Wisco!! Milton Optimist Fourth of July 10K July 4, 2014 I have not run this race before and this year I felt silly knowing that I would be running that day anyway through Milton, so I signed up.  It was a warm morning, but I wore my hydration belt with electrolyte tabs in it again.  I knew that even though the race began at 8 that it would get hot.  Plus we were running on country roads without much shade.  This race starts and ends at our local high school and winds its way a block from my house! Beautiful neighborhood if I do say so myself!  I wasn't sure if I would PR for this race as it was a Friday and I had trained hills the night before.  But I went in with an open mind using this race as a training run for my next half marathon.  I met some fun people along the course and paced with them for a bit.  I took it easy and still managed a...

Oh June!!! My new favorite month, racing my new favorite distance---13.1!!! Whitewater Run for the Soul 5K June 1, 2014 I ran this race last year and loved it so much! It's un-timed and basically just to enjoy the love of running and being healthy.  Plus you get some awesome Schwag!!!  This year instead of t-shirts we received a gym bag filled with goodies!!! So nice!! I really like this race!  The course is through a beautiful area in Whitewater that follows a trail past 2 lakes.  It's peaceful and serene!  Until you get to the cheerleaders!!! I love this race because it is non-competitive and shows people the love of running and being fit!  It is great that there are so many cheerleaders along the course to encourage you.  Even a more experienced racer like myself truly enjoys the cheering!!  It makes me push myself even harder!  The only downfall to the race this year was the lack of marking on...

I absolutely love the month of MAY!!!  I pretty much run in a race every weekend!! Perfect weather for most of the month was fuel for these races and my half marathon training.   Edgerton Lion's 2nd Annual Dash Against Diabetes 5K and Kids Fun Run May 3, 2014 I ran this race last year and I loved it!  It's a nice course and the organization is incredibly friendly.  The kids fun run is free which is not typical for races (hopefully it stays this way) and my babes received a medal as they crossed the finish line!!  They love their race bling as much as their Momma does!!  I may have started an addiction for them!! They had a blast and that was all that really mattered!  My goal for this race was to redeem my 5K time after last month's awful time during the Pace for Parkinson's 5K where my calves locked up.  I did and I pushed myself to run the whole time with no walking breaks.  I finished in 29:57 which is not a PR for a 5K for ...