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Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Right foot still no bueno

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. 😞

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

3M Half Marathon 2020

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

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Carsyn's 6th birthday

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

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.





















Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Ry turns 8!

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

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Fitness Competition!

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!

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

2018 Annual Deutschen Pfest 5K and Kids K

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