Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Preparing for Chicago...

I have a small event in just 11 days.  Yep, I running the Chicago Marathon again this year in 11 days...yikes! 

I really have not talked much about it, since I was unsure up until a few weeks ago if I would even be able to pull it off.  I have been worried all Summer that I would some how re-fraction my leg.  Kind of like when I broke my foot a few years ago.  I still shout at Ken "that's my broken foot"  when he touches it too hard.  Dramatic?  Maybe a little.  :)

My longest run for training was 18 miles.  That might panic some, but I have never been one to run multiple 20 mile training runs.  I think it is a waste of time and energy.  I am using Chicago as a training run for my big plans in November, the NYC Marathon.  With that being said, it will still be 26.2 miles I am running on October 9th, and this should not be taken lightly. 

What have I been doing to prepare?

  • I  have been making sure I am drinking 100 ounces of water.  Last year being well hydrated the week prior is the only thing that saved me during the heat.
  • I am obsessively checking the weather forecast.  So what that the 10 day forecast only shows until Friday and the marathon is on Sunday.  I have extra time to kill.
  • I struggled to run seven miles on Monday.  Yep, I complained during the last mile.  I mean, a marathon is 19.2 miles further than I struggled to run on Monday.  October 9th might be a bad day.  Ken might be drunk by the time I come rolling into the finish area at the six and a half hour time cut off.
  • I am eating extra Reese's Peanut Butter pumpkins.  Everything taste better shaped as a pumpkin, trust me on this.  Actually, do not take my word, try it for yourself.
  • I have been telling my entire office that I am off next Friday and the following Monday.  I think they are ready for me to be gone.  No Keri equals no Keri talking about being off work and about the marathon that is fastly approaching in 11 days!!
  • I am trying to figure out my race day outfit.  I mean, even though I am not going to be all that fast, I still need to look cute. 
Here's hoping for a cool Fall day on October 9th.  If it is cool, I might somehow pull off a decent time.  My main goal is to go out there and have fun, but let's be real here.  We all know that I will be out there with every intention to beat 3:56, even if it means I cannot walk the next day.  This should be interesting...

Monday, September 26, 2011

Rocky Mountain High Part 2...

After spending Friday hiking and tasting beer, we decided to spend Saturday relaxing.  We ate so much food that day!  We ended up driving up Mt Evans and meeting Rick and Tara for more beer tasting a Rock Bottom Brewery. 

The drive up Mt. Evans was gorgeous!  I did not know that they have a race called Mt. Evans Accent.  Maybe this is something to look at for 2012 or 2013.  You in Tara?

We stopped at Echo Lake and walked around for a bit.

It is hard to get good pictures when it is just the two of us.  I think I have one picture of us together from the entire trip!

It was a beautiful day. 

On Sunday we ended up driving to Estes Park for a little hiking.  We hiked the Glacier Gorge trail.

Ken getting irritated at me for taking pictures
Here it is.  The only good photo I have of the two of us together on this trip. 

If I imagine really hard, my backyard in Kansas looks just like this.  :)

It was a gorgeous hike. 
I was waiting on the top of the rock stairs to take his picture.  The hand on the hip shows frustration.  Frustration with me for two reasons:  1. I ran up the stairs because I thought it would be fun and 2. For taking his picture when he is out of breath.  :) 

"I was expecting the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this"





I think this is what Ken was trying to do the time he fell in California and dislocated his shoulder.  :)



And because no Labor Day Weekend is truly complete with out watching the MDA Telethon:

We are both just thankful that we no longer have to spend our Labor Day Weekend working the darn thing.  :)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Rocky Mountain High Part 1....

Ken and I took a few extra days off work and spent Labor Day Weekend in Denver.  We had so much fun last year, that we could not resist a chance to go back again.  We hiked, drank beer, shopped, ate, and hiked some more.  We could not have asked for a better time.  We also met up with my friend Tara and her husband Rick.  I am just bummed that I did not get a picture of us together!  Next time Tara, next time!

We tried out a new brewery, Denver Beer Co.  Not our favorite, but it was fun to taste.

We hiked halfway up Pikes Peak and back down

It was over 80 degrees when we started at 4:20 am.  As we climbed up to 10,000 ft, it had dropped to 50 degrees.  To say I was freezing is an understatement. 
Any guesses on how old I look in this picture?  I guess the no make up look makes me look under age.

It is a long way back down.  We were excited to see the part of the trail that we hiked up in the dark last year.  Um, yeah, it is so steep that we are glad we hike up that portion in the dark!

I have never seen this pose before



We went to Golden and toured Coors.  






Monday, September 12, 2011

18 Miles...

Finally!  I was finally able to make it over my 16 mile up and hit 18 miles. 

I must say, it has all been a mental thing lately.  My legs are fine, breathing is fine, just mentally I am toast.  I decided to make myself toughen up and went to the gym to run.  I had stayed up too late the night before to wake up super early, plus I thought a good mental beating on the treadmill would do me some good.  A mental beating it was.

Have you ever run 18 miles on the treadmill?  It is always funny because I see so many people come and go during my treadmill trek. 

I survived.  I wanted to stop at mile 13 and I told myself to man up and stop being a baby.  I had reasoned with myself to go to 15.  Then I decided that I needed to make it to 16.  I told myself I could stop at 16.  Then, I decided to stop being a pansy and run the full 18.  Glad I did. 

And boy, did I smell like a million bucks when I was finished...

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

A Tearful Goodbye...

Today was a sad day.  Today was the day when I had to say goodbye to Mendy the Mountaineer.  We have had many good times together.  I mean, I cannot even count the number of Starbucks runs, trips to shop, or trips to the gym she and I have taken.  But, it was time.  It was time for me to move on.

I had driven Mendy over 443 hours!  I am glad that she was able to make one last Stabucks run before our goodbye. 


Ahh Mendy, my wish for you is that a nice family will find you and utilize all of your features.  Your third row seat and DVD player need a little use.  :)

What did I get to replace Mendy?



A Lincoln MKX

Not sure what her name will be.  She is TBD for now.  I am already in love.

The First of Many...

Pumpkin Spice Lattes!  I was THRILLED this morning to have one.  Pretty sure that first drink was a bit of heaven.  We were in Denver all weekend and they were not selling them.  Of course once we got back to Kansas, I could get one. 

Kansas City 1 - Dever 0.