Cap10K 2016

The Pfelly lane runners showed up in force for the Cap10K this year (we missed you Jenn!).  I hadn't run this race since 2012 but this year we got a stellar deal (thanks to Mai!) and couldn't pass it up.  The deal came with free parking, entrance to one of the food tents and free massages!  

Pfelly lane runners - 4/10/2016

At race time it was 66 degrees, cloudy (thank goodness), 90% humidity and 12 mph winds. So muggy and humid! I wore my team beef tank and new plaid skirt.

I was a bit concerned how I'd handle the course with the hills, plus after running it almost 7 years in a row it became a beating.  However I was pleasantly surprised!  I had a great time and ran a tad bit faster than the last time I had run the course.  I didn't PR but it was my 2nd fastest time for this race.  I was a bit surprised that there were no medals at the end, I'm so used to running 10 milers+ and all those races always have medals!

The hubby also ran and finished in 58:51 (9:30 pace)
My official chip time was 57:25 (9:16 pace).  My PR for this race is 55:35 (8:58 pace)
Avg pace per my Garmin - 9:09
Mile 1 - 9:15
Mile 2 - 9:18
Mile 3 - 9:13
Mile 4 - 8:59
Mile 5 - 9:10
Mile 6 - 9:16
last 0.28 - 2:16 (7:59 pace)

At mile 3 passing team beef

The Pfelly ln ladies!

Ryland's 5th Birthday

Happy 5th birthday to my amazing, sweet, rambunctious, intelligent little man Ryland! You're growing up soooo fast! I love you so much, you brighten up our lives. Hugs and kisses always!

Weather has not been our friend lately for outside birthday parties.  Originally we had planned to party at Kiddie Acres (which we had postponed from Carsyn's 2nd b-day the year before), but a series of severe thunderstorms projected for this past weekend resulted in us changing venues to Pump It Up.  So glad we made this change as it rained off and on all day, plus Ry had been begging to go back to Pump It Up.

Ryland LOVED his party.  We invited his friends from daycare, pre-K, family and our friends. The kids had a blast jumping on all the inflatables and running through the bubbles.  The cake/cupcakes were Godzilla inspired as that is Ry's new favorite thing (besides dinosaurs).

A big thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated Ryland's 5th birthday with us❣

For a full recap visit MyMomsMemmos
All photos located here.

Loved this Godzilla cake with crumbling buildings

the cupcakes

Happy Birthday To You

Ry's 5th birthday party!! - 4/16/2016 

my guy

NOLA half marathon and vaca!!!

This was our first out of state race vacation with friends and it was a blast!  We booked NOLA a year in advance, taking advantage of the early bird special pricing (half marathon only $50!!).  For an entire year we eagerly awaited this trip, and it did not disappoint!

Day/Night 1 (2/26) - Checking in, Dinner at Pier 424 Seafood Market and hitting up Bourbon Street!

At first we were going to rent a van, but that was too expensive, so we carpooled down.  The drive was about 8 hours, not too bad when you have drinks for the road and a DVD player!  We arrived at our hotel around 7pm.  Thankfully we managed to all reserve rooms on the same floor.  Once checked in we headed to Bourbon St for food and drinks and people watching.  ;)

Traveling in style, sushi in the car!

watching dodgeball

It's hard work riding in the back, sipping on mimosas

Hawt Dog!  2/26/2016

Giant jello shots!

Day 2 (2/27) -  Beignets, Expo and fancy dinner

We manged to stay out until 1am or so Friday night.  Pretty good for us I think!  Sat morning came all too soon.  We actually made it up by 8am so that we could hit up Cafe Du Monde and then make it to the Expo by 10:30am.  We wandered the expo for about an hour, tried out luck at some pole dancing and then headed out to AMCE oyster house for lunch. This place is popular!  We were probably in line about an hour before we could be seated.  We had to split into 2 tables as a 12 top was quite hard.  This place had the best oysters!  Afterwards some of us headed back to the hotel for a quick cat nap before our fancy dinner at Antoine's!  We did not stay up late that night as the next morning was the race.  We hung out in Mary and Marks room for a bit and then headed to bed around 10:30/11pm.

cafe du monde!

<3 the coffee and beignets!

at the expo

ACME oyster house for a late lunch

The BEST char-grilled oysters EVER!

Ready for our fancy dinner

Antoine's Restaurant

Day 3 - Race day and awesome brunch!

Our alarms went off around 6am, giving us enough time to get ready, eat half a bagel and meet the rest of the half marathon peeps at 6:45am in the lobby.  We were within walking distance of the start line so we didn't have to rush out.  I think it took us all of 10-15mins to walk to our corral.  My hubby was originally going to run the 10K, but he was able to switch bibs last min to the half.  This was his 1st half ever!  The course was extremely flat, the only problem was the roads.  There was a ton of construction, loose gravel and holes in the roads and at some points it was so narrow you were squished down to 2 people side by side.   After mile 6 it opened up a bit more and the last 2-3 miles were pretty exciting.  We scarfed down some King Cake at Mile 4, mimosas at mile 5, beer at mile 8 and jello shots around mile 12.  All in all a fun run.  Afterwards we hung out in the biergarten for a few drinks, then headed to a very late brunch at the Ruby Slipper.  I think some of us tried for another nap right after that, most of us were STUFFED.  Later in the evening we went out again for drinks and dinner.  Most people went back to Bourbon St, a couple of us went back home to rest.  I think everyone was in a food coma and beat.  

Ready to head out.  We run so we can eat and drink all the things!

Clowning around in our corrals

Malek was right behind us, somewhere around mile 4

The only race that you eat king cake and drink mimosas.  This is mile 5!

Runners unite!

I finished the NOLA half in 2:06:21 (9:30 avg pace in 13.3 miles). Whew,  it was hot but the drinks and king cake were great! Jello shots at mile 12!  The hubby finished in 2:08:48 (9:50 pace), so proud!!

The Ruby Slipper - we were stuffed!  Brunch at 1pm :)

Willie's Chicken Shack for drinks and biscuits!

Dinner at Mother's Restaurant

Day 4 - Homeward bound.

We left Monday morning around 9am so that we could get back in time to relieve the grandparents from the kiddos and prepare for work on Tuesday.  We had such a great time and would totally do it again!  The food was amazing, hanging with friends all weekend was great, and I didn't feel too bad indulging in food/drink since we ran a race.  It was a great way to see the city.  In face, we are already researching our next race trip for 2017 and 2018!!!

Austin Half Marathon - Happy Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My friends and I started the day off with the Austin half marathon. It was a warm day for a race; at 7am it was 58 degrees, cloudy, 9 mph winds and 88% humidity, by 9am it would be 61 degrees and 11 mph winds. I wore a hat, shorts, tank top and my hydration vest. I brought my sun glasses but really didn't need them since it was overcast the entire run. Thank god for the overcast skies and wind (the wind had a nice chill to it), that actually made it bearable. If it had been full sun that would have truly been miserable.

Jenn picked me up by 5:30am to head downtown, we picked up Moni on the way down as well.  We found excellent parking just a stones throw away from the start line.  We hit up the potties one last time before getting into line.  Since this was a last min race for me and I was running for a friend, I really didn't stress too much about it.  Heck, I even forgot to stretch before the race started!

Feelin' the love!

The first couple miles were a false flat.  I forgot how hilly Austin really is as this was only my 2nd time running this race!  At least miles 6-8 were nice and flat.  However, Enfield was especially tough will the rolling hills and THE killer HILL at mile 12.  The course changed since the last time I ran it, before the killer hill was at mile 10, this time it was much later.  I actually didn't mind because once that hill was over I knew there was only 1 mile left!  Overall I felt fine, never overheated nor felt like I was dying, I maintained a pretty decent pace considering I was SOOO ready for the running season to be over (burnt out since my marathon in Jan).

I did land a PR for this course at 2:01:33, beating my time from 2012 of 2:06:54. Next year I'll tackle the ADC (Austin Distance Challenge) and my goal will be to finish in 2 hours or less!

My legs (especially thighs) were extremely sore for a couple of days, plus my lower back was in pain right after the race. Thankfully taking some ibuprofen and a nap (laying down helped decompress my lower back) fixed me right up.

Chip time - 2:01:33, 9:17 pace in 13.1 miles (ran under a friends bib 12300)
Avg pace - 9:12 per my Garmin, actually ran 13.22 miles
9:16
9:28 (false flat)
9:09
8:45
8:34
8:48 (flat miles 6-8)
9:07
9:18
9:44 (never ending hills...)
9:32
9:25
9:22 (killer hill, THE hill)
9:22
last 0.22 - 1:44 (7:56 pace)

Race prep:
What I ate:  I drank 3 beers the day before and had spaghetti for dinner.  Breakfast the day of the race was 1 piece of toast with peanut butter and water.  I ate a Gu every 5 miles during the race and one Gu 10 mins before the race started.  I had my hydration vest so I didn't have to stop at any water stops.
What I wore:  Lulu shorts w/ side pockets, lulu tank top w/ built in bra, Garmin watch, fitbit, hat, glasses, hydration vest, Brooks Glycerin shoes (sz 9.5), spenco earthbound insoles, wrightsocks double layer.
Other items I carried:  Cell phone, 3 Gu's, mp3 player.

Rogue 10K

I forgot to blog about this run!

This was my last 'long' training run before the Houston Marathon.  It was really cold, colder than last year, but at least it wasn't overcast and misting.  The clear skies and sun made for an excellent race day.  They also had really nice medals for all distances at the end, very rarely do you get a 10K medal.  :)

Recap from dailymile:
Excellent morning for a race! 29 degrees at 7am (felt like 24), clear, 7 mph winds and 88% humidity. I wore tights, my runderful 1/2 zip, team beef tank, hat, ear warmers and sunglasses. My top had cuffins so I didn't need gloves. I chose my outfit perfectly! I felt great the entire time, only my arms got a little warm towards the end. Cuffins came off at mile 2 and I lowered my zipper around mile 4. I did not carry a water bottle. I actually ended up running through all the water stops. I'm super happy with my time and it was a great race/training run before my marathon.

Chip time: 00:53:41.3
NEW PR BABY! 
I took 8th place in my age group/division.

Garmin: 53:44 in 6.3 miles
Avg pace - 8:32
8:09
8:48
8:37
8:44
8:33
8:26
last 0.3 - 2:25 (8:11 pace)

Staying warm in the HS before the race.  1/10/2016

the start

Mile 1

Mile 4

finish

After the race.  1/10/2016