Aramco Half Marathon - 2015

I'm officially a runner!!!!! 

Waaaaaay back in October, when I was still on track training for a December marathon, a friend called me to see if I wanted to do the Aramco Half Marathon with him. Um, YES!! I signed up with all the fervor of a new runner. 

And then life happened. All through November I ran with horrible shin pain and finally in December I called it quits with the Marathon training and decided to take two weeks off to heal my shins. Well two weeks turned into three, into four, and then suddenly, oops! It's a week before I have to run 13.1 miles. Crap. 

I. Was. Terrified. Because of the way the permits worked for the race, you had to get to mile 9 with a 13:45 minute/mile pace. That's how fast I run on a good day...after a diet coke...with the wind at my back...going downhill. Needless to say I was sure I was going to get picked up and be disqualified. 

It was early. So very early. I heard parking would be nearly impossible to find but luckily a friend shared with me a top secret, slightly illegal place that he parks every year. We parked and then waited oh so impatiently for the race to start. I worried about my slow pace while listening to King worry about his pace (he runs about five minutes faster than I do...he had nothing to worry about. But it was his first half so fear is understandable). We finally made out way out to our starting corral where we waited...and waited...and freaked out...and waited. :) forty five minutes after the gun start, I finally crossed the start line. 

"Oh My God. I'm so scared. Omg. Omg.
Don't have a panic attack. That would be embarrassing."

We passed a fire house! They were super nice and cheered us on while they leisurely enjoyed their morning coffee. 

Seriously. The signs are the BEST! I laughed so hard at this sign I startled the person next to me. 

See that guy in the white shirt? He's juggling. My though process went something like this:

Hey, is that guy juggling?!?!?!
Omg, he is totally juggling! That's so awesome!

Wait.

Did I just get passed by a guy juggling!?

Halfway there! This is my first race selfie!

Ok, so this is the big achievement. I fought so hard to run 10 straight miles with no walking. I am so very proud to be able to say I have run double digits. By mile 9 EVERYTHING was hurting but I pushed through it and dragged my slow self to the ten mile marker. 

Around mile 12 I was over it. I was exhausted and everything hurt and I just wanted to finish. I kept telling myself to just run it so I could be done but I just couldn't run anymore. 

Once I hit downtown I knew I was in the final stretch so I ran the last mile or so. People were watching, I couldn't NOT run! ;)

I don't have any pictures of me immediately following the race, the finish line was so clogged with spectators that Barry couldn't get a shot of me. The race has photos for sale but they're like $30 a photo, that's not happening right now. :)

Barry met me with roses and a beer, it was such a sweet gesture! 

It was a great experience and I'm so proud of myself! Now that this race is behind me I'm going back to the basics. I know I can run long distances but I'm not very fast so I've started a 5K training program. I'm hoping to be able to run a 5K at a sub 10 minute per mile pace. It's a big jump for me! I've signed up for a chip timed race in March to keep me motivated. 

-Ri

What are some of your fitness goals for 2015?

A New Direction pt. 2: A New (Out)Look

Guys. 

I'm like a real blogger! Look at this design! I am finally out of the blogger templates! It's definitely not my final design but it is a beautiful placeholder while I'm figuring it all out!

Now, about this title change. 

I've come to the realization that my life revolves around water. Truly, I am a complete and total water baby. I adore the ocean and all things beachy, I love rivers and streams and babbling brooks; I'm not much for lakes and ponds but get me some moving water and I'm home.

The more I think about it the more I notice how much water is a part of my life. Some of my best childhood memories happened in Galveston. Whenever Barry asks me where I want to go on vacation, there is always water around (the Caribbean, the river, Florida, Galveston...), I won't move us away from Houston because I don't want to be more than an hour from the ocean (true life), we even live next to a bayou that reacts to the tides.

Water has always played a key role in my happiness. So I took a page from Corona's book and have adopted the slogan Find Your Beach. Some days may be crummy and wet and cold and I might be stuck at a computer all day but I'm going to find a way to bring the tropics into my life! I am going to do my best to stop reacting to my life and start living with intention. And I intend on enjoying my life. I'm going to stop worrying about the money we don't have and start focusing on having fun with what we DO have: good friends, a great family, and a whole lotta love.

 

Exciting things are happening over here. I can't wait to see where it all takes me!

-Ri

A New Direction

WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS FOLKS!!!

Barry, the bestest most awesomest, coolest, hubby ever,

fixed our computer!!! It turns out our hard drive just up and died and

our computer was running slow because we only had the factory level

ram installed. New hard drive, increased ram, and a reset from a 

back up we did in July (thank god!) and our computer is running

B E A U T I F U L L Y!

This means I can stop blogging from my phone, a joy I'm sure you can imagine. 

AND I can finally use our 7D again! I was only using my phone to take

pictures because our computer was so jacked up I couldn't even open iPhoto

much less import new photos.

With this new-found excitement and functionality I have been thinking about

this blog. What do I really want to accomplish with it? Is it a personal blog

that is mostly for me to look back on? Do I want followers? Do I judge my 

success by followers and comments and pins? Do I really want people to read it?

Do I really want to be expected to write three posts a week? 

What do I really want? 

So I've decided to go in a different direction. 

Lists. Lists are my big idea. One of my most favorite things to do with this

blog is to update My Bucket List post with links to completed bucket list 

items. I feel a sense of accomplishment every time I scroll down that 

post and see all the pink highlighted words. In my daily life I have

six or seven lists going on a daily basis.

I've noticed that most blogs have a running theme. Some are cooking blogs, 

baby blogs, fashion blogs, home decor blogs and some are just lifestyle

and personal blogs. I don't want my blog to be limited by its theme but

I feel like it completely lacks direction. So I'm going to become this list lady. 

I kinda like it!

I'm going to make seasonal lists, things I want to accomplish lists (like 

fitness goals), lists of things I want to do with the boys, places I want

to see....well you get the picture. 

I'm so excited to have finally picked a direction that fits with our 

crazy, no schedule, life. It is distinctly me. 

I can't wait to see how this turns out!

-Ri