Recovery Day. Race Swag.

I really like our race shirt. It's bright and cheerful.

 Race Bib. Joy for my family members via initials. Yes, I run for me, but gosh, I run for my family and for my charity and for those I love. That's a lot of foot steps to pray with! 

The medal this year was a heavy duty piece of hardware. It totally rocks.

Recovery day.  My blue compression sleeves are amazing! (I purchased them at the expo). I highly recommend compression socks and sleeves for anyone who spends a lot of time on their feet, for runners, for atheletes, etc. They rocked for recovery after the race. 

half marathon recap. (finally)

oh yeah. I have a blog.

;)


It's been a while.  May was one helluva month, and that's me putting it mildly. I am going to to post a few times today to catch myself up on the life that I just lived and experienced since the last time I posted.

We'll start with Marathon Day.

Let me say this -- I finished!  I crossed the finish line. I did walk a lot of the race, but I expected to walk since my training went down the tubes in March and April.  *shrugs* whatev, I did it ;)

This was a poster at the Expo -- I thought it was cool.

Those were my reasons to run :) 

So this is the room that my husband and I stayed in the night before the race, and below you'll see what my view was when I woke up in the morning.  That's Heinz Hall (where we had breakfast) and the Starting Line. 

This  ^^^  is what I planned to wear. This ----->
is what I wore. Well, I actually wore green compression socks instead of the pink sleeves, but it's basically the same get-up.

 The starting line is really really far away from here -- it took me about 25 minutes to even reach the start!

I took a picture of  this woman before the 5k mark and I really was worried that I wouldn't be able to manage 13.1 miles.  I saw my husband a little past this point and he promised to keep up with me on the course (he was riding his bike along the way and I kept finding his smiling and supportive face when I needed to see it) and he said that I could do it, even if I chose to just walk. And I did it, he was right. 

I snapped the jagoff sign somewhere in the South Side and tweeted it out because I thought it was hilarious and quintessentially Pittsburgh. It found it's way from twitter to this blog  JoggingJeans tweeted it here. All of this is quite fun. 

I like shadow pictures ;) 

Am I there yet? Okay, yet? Now? Perhaps, now?

Back at my charity booth, I got a quick massage and hung out with the girls who work at Women's Choice, then ran back to the hotel with 10 minutes to spare before check out to grab a shower before heading to lunch. 

I am again a Runner (er, well, walker?) of Steel :D

 

Me and the darling husband. Dude, he cycled a whole lot that morning. 

He was a busy guy chasing me around. Also, port a potties for the win  ;)

That's my race day recap. It was an awesome experience and can't wait for 2014. Maybe I'll actually train well and run the full!

Blessings! and Joy!

nicole mArie

A Call for Sponsors! Please!

A call for sponsors! I've only got 17 days to raise $673.40 for Women's Choice Network before my I run my first 1/2 marathon on May 6th. Please help! Please donate! Please pray for my health as I continue to train!

Thank you, dear friends :) 

Blessings!  and Joy!

nicole mArie

Nicole Marie's Fundraising Page


UPDATE: I only have $373.40 to go!  Woot!  The people in my life are such witnesses of love and generosity! Thank you :D

Oh! 7.42. What a number!

Oh, so I ran 7.42 miles yesterday.  Dude.  :) You can't see my face right now, but I'm grinning widely and quite excited thinking about this.


This is what my smile looks like, both surprised and excited all at once.  I don't look nearly as sweet or cute  :)                              -------->


I dropped all the littles off at my parents so that they could visit and I took off down the hill and into downtown Pittsburgh.  It was a beautiful day for a run!!!!!

I ran through the Strip District and over two bridges and along the North Shore near the stadiums, and down to Point State Park, through PPG Place (where people were ice skating!), and all over the place and finished in Market Square.  As usual, the first 2 miles were tricky -- I don't think my body is fully warmed up until around the 2 mile mark.  That's what it seems like, anyway.  Once I hit 2 miles it seems like I can just run and run and run.  The last mile was rough, and I was certainly ready to quit and was glad that I did when I did.  I didn't realize that I had tacked on that extra .42 of a mile until after the run, and if I had known, I probably wouldn't have run it ;)  I didn't have my google tracks app set up properly so it didn't announce when I reached each mile.  Oh well.

All in all, it was amazing.   I am amazed at what my body is strong enough to do right now.  I ran well over HALF of my half marathon yesterday.  YES!  I am a little sore today, but nothing that some good yoga and stretching can't take care of later...after I clean this house a bit a lot :)

Blessings! and Joy!
Nicole mArie


Also, I'd like to say that I am still raising money for my charity, Women's Choice Network.  I've got $780 more to raise to reach my final goal.  Please consider helping me out today!  You will be blessed abundantly for your generosity and kindness! Visit my fundraising page for details!

A Sunny 5 Miler

Highland Park Reservoir

Picture taken by my brother, Michael

I ran 5 miles on Sunday. Outside. In the sun. Without a jacket. In Highland Park. Woot!

(All of those phrases were definitely important enough to have a period to separate them from each other. Really.)

It was the first time running outside since December 31st. It was also the first time that I ran in almost 2 whole weeks. The first 3 miles were 11 minute miles and the last two were 12ers. Good stuff for my not running in a while! I also realized toward the end of my run that while I was a little tired and ready to finish, I know that I had another mile or so in me. It was very encouraging.

The soreness that I experienced yesterday was more than I wanted, but I'll take the bad with the good.

Oh! I've reached my fundraising goal of $1310! YaY! I've had 11 wonderful and incredibly generous human beings sponsor me, and many promises of my sponsorship. Since I have 74 days until the race, I've decided to make a new goal of $2000. With your help, I know that I can do it! If you haven't already sponsored me, please consider it. Consider helping out the babies and the mamas who Women's Choice Network is helping!

Thank you for reading. Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings! and Joy!

Nicole mArie

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