March #GoalGetter2013 Checkin

Alright, I know that I’m a week late with my March goals check-in, but better late than never, right?  As a recap, here were my March goals:

Get better!! This one may seem like a silly goal but it’s super important right now.  I haven’t been this sick in years and it’s really messing with me mentally.  I feel like I’ve regressed, fitness wise, tremendously.

• A+.  It took a lot longer than expected to get over the bronchitis and sinusitis but I’m all better.

Spend more time in the kitchen. Yep, I putting this one back on my list; however, I’m going to be more specific this time.  I will make at least one meal the both of us can enjoy.  One of the reasons I find this such of a struggle is due to the fact that Jody aka the hubster refuses to eat clean.  After 1 1/2 years of clean eating, I still haven’t been able to get him on the bandwagon.

• I would give this one a B-.  I did end up finding some things that we can both enjoy but still didn’t spend as much time as I could have in the kitchen.

100% clean {and husband approved} Sausage Stuffed Baby Portobellos.

Enjoy my next half marathon.  At the end of the month I will be running the Viking Half Marathon and I just want to have fun.  I’m not worried about time goals or PRs.  Just whatever happens, happens.

• A-.  I enjoyed running the Viking 1/2 marathon without any pressure of a PR.

Cross train, cross train, cross train! Now that I’m not training for a marathon (first time since last July) I can focus my attention on cross training without fear of injury.  I will be hitting the weight machines pretty hard, cycling my little legs and {of course} still getting in my running – just not 40 miles a week worth of running.

• C.  Because it took so long to get over being sick, I really only had two full weeks in March to cross train.  I did make it to the gym several times during those two weeks.

Focus more on my spirituality.  I have dropped the ball big time with my devotions and Bible reading in the past few months.  Instead of getting up and getting into His word, I find myself jumping onto the computer to check the blog/social media/my favorite bloggers.  My priorities definitely need re-arranging.

• D.  Once again, I let this goal slide by me.

Now for my April goals:

Prioritize my spirituality.  I’m making this my number #1 goal this month.

Don’t die in CrossFit.  Ha! I’m loving crossfit so far but I really need to make the most of it with learning proper technique.  Right now, running is on the back burner as I attempt to increase my overall strength.  I’m still doing two short weekly runs and one long{ish} weekend run but I’m not logging my usual miles this month.

Maintain a mostly Paleo diet.  When in crossfit, do as they do, right? My instructor encouraged/challenged us to try going Paleo so I’m going to give it my best shot.  I’ll share some more thoughts on it in a later post.

Complete my first mud run / obstacle race.  I’m signed up for the Warrior Dash on April 20th and am completely stoked to run it.

Haven’t joined the #GoalGetter2013 challenge yet? It’s never too late to get started working towards a better you.  Check out this introduction post and then join some of my favorite blends (bloggers + friends = blends) as we work toward achieving our 2013 goals!  This is your #GoalGetter2013 team:

• Abby from Back at Square Zero (IG: backatsquare0)
• Kat from Sneakers and Fingerpaints (IG: katsnf)
• Kate from Run With Kate (IG: runwithkate)
• Mindy from Mindy’s Fitness Journey (IG: mindyartze)
• Mindy from Road Runner Girl (IG: roadrunnergirl)
• Rebecca from Rebecca Roams (IG: RebeccaRoams)
• Sarah from Mom Running On Empty (IG: momonempty)
• And meeeeeee! Gina from Noshing on Asphalt (IG AsphaltNosher)

Question:  How are you coming with your goals? What are you wanting to accomplish in April?

Viking 1/2 Marathon Recap

Crossfit, crossfit, crossfit. I haven’t been in this much continuous pain in a long time and I am loving it! Last night we worked on deadlifts and push presses.  I have really bad form with a lot of different things we’ve done but I’m totally cool with that.  It just means I have room to improve and makes me want to try harder.

Alright, now that I have procrastinated enough on putting up my latest race recap.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure…. Last Saturday Karla, one of my running friends, and I ran the Viking ½ Marathon.  I went through a few different emotions with this race.  I was on the fence about it when I registered, then I became really apathetic about it and could have cared less to run it, and finally got excited about it the week of the race.  Sheesh, all those emotions for one darn race!

Friday, Karla and I made the roughly 5 hour drive to Greenwood, Mississippi, for packet pickup.  Greenwood is in the part of Mississippi that’s known as the Delta.  It has incredibly flat lands which was one of the big selling features of the race.  Another selling feature {for me} at least was the fact that the race was offering a free make your own trail mix bar for the runners.  Unfortunately, when we got to the ‘expo’ (it was actually just a packet pickup location), there wasn’t even a stray piece of granola signifying the bar even existed.  I’m assuming that they ran out of stuff. *sigh* I was disappointed.  Anyways, we grabbed our bibs, shirts and some information about the town and headed to our hotel.

Disappointing race shirt; the bib was cool though.

I just have to take a minute to brag on the hotel we stayed at, the Hampton Inn.  Their staff was out of this world friendly and the hotel actually opened up the continental breakfast an hour early just for the runners.  In all the races I’ve traveled to, that’s never happened.  After getting a recommendation from the hotel clerk we headed to eat at a place called Websters.

How cute is this place?

It was SUPER cute and once again, the staff was incredibly friendly.  Southern hospitality at it’s finest, I tell ya.  Not to mention it was absolutely delish!  I ordered a grilled chicken gyro with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and feta complete with a plain baked potato and fried dill pickles.  Don’t judge.

Whole lotta noms on that plate.

6:30 Saturday morning my alarm went off; it was super nice getting to sleep so late.  I grabbed my clothes that I prepped the night before and went in search of food.  Usually I eat my own food but I knew that I could get my hands on freshly made waffle from the hotel.  It didn’t disappoint.

Side note – I ate terrible those two days… But it was good!

Karla and I got to the race, snapped a few pictures and looked for a the portopotties.  I didn’t find any. Fabulous, I love starting a race having to go pee. Whatever, time to line up. Since this was such a small race there were no corrals, just go where ever you wanted.  I had a good laugh at the guy on the loudspeaker because he was giving instructions for the fast people  to be in front (duh), average in the middle, and “if you ain’t ever ran a ½ marathon and don’t know your pace, just go ahead and get in the back.” Well ok.

The National Athem was sung and before I knew it, we were off.  The downtown roads of Greenwood are really pretty brick pavers which is great if you’re not running on them.  The unevenness of the pavers coupled with the fact that they were wet from the rain kept me guessing how long it would be until I tripped (which thankfully never happened). Did I mention it rained/sprinkled the entire time we were there?

Anyways, I had previously decided not to race this and just enjoy the run which is exactly what I did.  I was bummed that there weren’t a lot of course spectators but the ones that were there were great.  The other thing I was bummed about was that the course had so many turns I couldn’t really enjoy the scenery.  Seriously, we made a turn on average every .25 miles. I joked to someone that I felt like Alice in Wonderland; I kept waiting for the Cheshire Cat to make an appearance.

Mile 3 I stopped for a potty break, mile 6 I rocked out to some AC/DC, mile 7 I did a little dance knowing I was over ½ way done.  I was having fun just letting my body run it’s happy pace (somewhere around 9:30ish).  Mile Everything was going great until mile 11.25 where I got a shooting pain under my left knee cap.  It felt like someone had stabbed me with a knife and I almost crumpled to the ground.  But as quick as it came, it was gone.  Very bizarre.  That same shooting pain would happen two more times before the finish. It didn’t slow me down, just scared me a bit.  At one point towards the end of the race we were actually sharing a lane with traffic; there was less than a foot between myself and very large vehicles.  That was TERRIBLE planning and incredibly dangerous.

Finally, mile 13 came and I knew I was in the home stretch.  I entered the finisher’s chute and heard someone scream my name.  At first I thought there was another Gina (I’m in a strange town, far from home) but I looked any way and saw my friend Karla! 🙂 I was completely confused but found out later she was having foot pain and decided not to push herself through to the finish.  (She’s a smart cookie.)

I dig the medal.

We headed over to the finisher’s fest,  grabbed some water and pizza and then listened to the band for a little bit before heading back to the hotel.  My final time was 2:05:31; not too bad for just having fun.

Only the finish was chip timed (not the start) so I’m going with my Garmin on this one.  Overall, I enjoyed the race.  Although, I’m not sure if I’ll make the drive back up here again next year or not.  The hospitality was amazing but the race itself wasn’t.

Question:  Have you ever felt unsafe during a race?

It’s Not Always About the PR

Happy Easter weekend y’all! The older I get the more and more I realize that Easter’s not just about colorful eggs and tons of candy.  Easter weekend is the cornerstone of my faith; a reminder of the price that was …

Looking Ahead

I hope y’all had a lovely Valentine’s Day! Hubby and I aren’t really into such a commercialized holiday so we kept it low key and enjoyed some wine and fantastic steaks.  I married a man that can throw down on the grill.

I did get some really beautiful roses. ❤

I can’t believe it but tomorrow is my last long(ish) run before Rock-n-Roll New Orleans – EEK!  I say long(ish) because it’s only 10 miles.  I know the people who came up with tapering know what they’re talking about but I get a bit nervous that my legs are going to go dumb and forget how to run.

Also, during taper, I find myself with lots of extra time which leads to looking to the future and planning more things to do.  {side note: There are a TON of cool races out there.}  I’m what I like to call a spontaneous planner.  I really love having races on my calendar (gives me something to look ahead to) but I also am guilty of spur of the moment or impulse registering.

Case in point, last week I added two new events to my race calendar and have a third event in the works.  To remind myself that money doesn’t grow on trees, I thought it would be good to look at what I have coming up next month and also what I goals I plan to conquer.

These are the two major goals I want to accomplish in March & April:

1. Go to an actual crossfit class.
2. Take swimming lessons.

I have been wanting to try crossfit for awhile now but didn’t want to risk injury during marathon training.  Now that I don’t have that excuse, bring on the pain!

My newest fitness items. Weight lifting gloves and a jump rope.

As for the swimming lessons, in order to even consider a triathlon I need to be able to do more then doggie paddle or float while holding a drink with a little umbrella in it.  I can swim, but not proficiently.  I have a small, very small, triathlon that I’ve been eyeballing for May but I’m not registered for it yet.

And these are the events that I’m looking forward to:

2/24 Rock-n-Roll Marathon (full), New Orleans, LA.   This will be my last marathon until November.  Apparently I’m a masochist because I’m really going to miss training.

3/30 Viking 1/2 Marathon, Greenwood, MS.  The same event company that put on last week’s half in Greenville is doing this one.  I have high hope for this half to be just as amazing!

4/6 Zombie Run, Gulfport, MS.  Oooooooh yes! I will be in full zombie costume (clothes & makeup) chasing runners.  This is just going to be way too much fun! Proceeds go to benefit the smile train which helps children with cleft paletes.

4/13 Yoga for Nonviolence, Ocean Springs, MS.  It will be interesting going from being a violent zombie one weekend to a peaceful yogi the next.  I will be doing 108 Sun Salutations (YIKES!) in observation of nonviolence.

4/20 Warrior Dash, Jackson, MS.  This is the last event I’m registered for and most likely will be the last big event until fall.  By the beginning of May, the heat is already so hot in South Mississippi that racing season is basically over.  I know I’ll want to move to Antarctica.  Call me crazy but I’m looking forward to jumping over fire and getting my fuzzy, horned hat.

So that’s everything, minus a few local races that I’m undecided about.  I’m hoping that I can just pull this post up whenever I get the itch to register for something new…Here’s hoping my logic works.

Oh, and I just have to show you one picture from the half marathon last week.  (Of course the professional pictures came out the day that I released my post…)  The picture was taken right before crossing the finish line and I think my smile says it all.  I rarely buy a professional race pic but this was such a special race that I think I might just get this one.

Question:  What events do you have coming up that you’re excited about?