I DID IT!!! Thanks to you all!

After my blog post yesterday about being a total couch potato I got many responses on facebook and dailymile with ideas on how to get me motivated and get my booty out there and run. I am happy to report that I woke up today and went for an 8mile run. On the down side this was the hardest run I have had in a very long time.


One of my running mama’s Jimmi told me that I should post what I am going to do and be accountable for it that way everyone could kick my butt if I did not do it. So last night I decided to post that I planned to run 8 miles today and posted it on facebook. Man I wish I had not done that. I was not feeling this run today, my legs hurt my feet hurt everything in me was yelling STOP go crawl back in bed! But I just kept thinking that there was no way I could go back home and post that I did not make the 8 miles, so I kept pushing on. I also was virtually running with two other of my running mama’s Anna and Jill (the three of us ran the Princess ½ together) so I knew they were counting on me to run today. I really wish we could have actually run together today though I really could have used them to help keep my mind off the pain today. Hopefully there runs went better than mine!

I also had the brilliant idea to run with my compression socks on today, thinking that it would help my shin splints. Well let me just say THAT WAS A DUMB IDEA!!!! Not even 1 mile in to the run I plopped my butt on the ground and ripped those suckers off. Man they hurt my calves it was such a relief to get those suckers off. This just goes under the Tracey’s list of how to make a bad run worse. After I got those suckers off and the pressure on my calves was relieved the run did not go much better. I was just tired and my body hurt. I did an out and back so I had no choice but to finish, I will say that every mile I would think I could turn around now and just do 4, four is good but then I would think about everyone who was counting on me to do this. At about mile six I really wanted it to just be over and I was really kicking myself for doing the out and back, then I thought about my friend Cathy who ran her first Marathon last week and starting having a hard time at 6miles but pushed through and ran another 20 miles, if she could do that I surely could do 2 more miles right? As soon as Garmin beeped that I was at 8miles I stopped and walked the rest of the way to the car. I was so glad it was over.

As bad as this run was, I am so glad I did it. I feel so much better having gotten out there and ran. And I know that my next run will not be as bad, this one just sucked because I had not run in a while. Thanks to everyone who pushed me and kicked my tushy to get me out the door to get this run in! And remember you will never regret running but you WILL regret it if you don’t.

Just a Lazy Couch Potato

Since I ran my first ½ Marathon on March 7th, my running has well… I am not running. I feel like such a slacker. Not only have I not been running, but I am not working out at all. I have always been one of those people who gets up every morning at 4:30 am to hit the gym (well lately it has been the basement for P90X). I have now passed the point of feeling like working out to feeling like just wanting to sit around and be a total couch potato. I know that if I could just make myself get up and do it I would feel better but the motivation is just not there. Today I was really thinking about a nice long run (those are my favorite kinds of runs) and then I look outside and it is cold, rainy, and windy who wants to go out in that? Then when the weather has been nice I have had so much to do I could not get out. I know this all sounds like a bunch of excuses (even to me) but between my life being busy and my drive being gone I have not run more than 4 miles at a time in over 2 weeks. That is just sad.

I need your help to kick my lazy butt in gear! What do you all do when you have lost the motivation to just get up and get out there for a run?

My Running Shoe Search

As most of you know and for those that don’t go here, I suffer from Shin issues. I have tried resting; changing my stride, getting new shoes, and even barefoot running (don’t try this if you have shin splints…OUCH!). After three months of pain and having to severely limit my running, I am desperate for a solution. So last Thursday I decided to go and get fitted for a new pair of shoes in the chance that the ones I was wearing were the problem. So I headed over to one of my local running stores and we went through the process of my fitting.


The first thing that surprised me was that Caleb (the guy who fitted me) said my feet were not wide. The last time I got fitted for shoes I was told I had wide feet and was given an Extra Wide shoe. When I expressed my shock and disbelief at the fact that my feet were a normal width (I have thought for a couple of years now that I had freakishly wide feet) Caleb put me back on the scale and showed me again. WOW! My feet measured normal, ha I do not have troll feet!!! This made me very happy and opened a lot of shoe doors for me, but I am still a skeptic and wonder if this could be really true. After I ran barefoot on the treadmill to check out my gait I started trying on several shoes and running in them. I was a little concerned that they all felt a little tight. Caleb assured me that they fit and I was just use to swimming in my other shoes, which was most likley the cause of my blisters too. I finally decided on a pair and then was talked into getting some inserts for my arch that apparently rolls in and could be the cause of my shin splints. Caleb showed me the video of me running and explained how the way I was landing could cause my shin splints, and like I said I am desperate at this point and will try anything so I took them.

Later that day I went for a run in my new kicks (Brooks Ariel Medium Width). After about 2 miles my right foot started to hurt so I loosened up the shoe as much as I could and pushed through to 2.5 miles. At this point I was back to my car so I left the park and was very disappointed in my new shoes. On the drive home I decided that I really did not give them a chance and then hit the treadmill for another 2 miles when I got home. They really did not bother me much on the treadmill so I decided to try them out one more time before I took them back. The next planned run was an 8 miler and I thought that would be a great distance to try out the shoes. Well I got sick this weekend and never did get my long run in so I tried them out today. I planned to do a 5 mile run so I went to the park and took off. About 2 miles in to the run my feet were killing me, I mean really killing me and not just one both. I stopped to walk a bit then tried to run again, they hurt so bad I ended up limping back to the car. So these shoes are a flop, I am going to get them in a wider width and see how they work, and I may just take those inserts out too.

Why does finding my perfect running shoe have to be so hard? Is it too much to ask for a shoe that fits, and does not hurt my feet or give me blisters?

The Miami Runners Club – the one good thing left in Miami

During my vacation I headed down to Miami, Florida for a week after the Princess half Marathon. I am from Miami and could not wait to see all my family, friends, and enjoy that weather that Miami is famous for. And of course I could not pass up an opportunity to go for a run in my summer running gear, who knows when summer will finally arrive in Kansas and I will have another chance to wear it all.

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed in the place where I grew up. I have always heard people from other places complain about the people in Miami and I never understood it. Now that I am living in the Midwest I am starting to see what all the complaining was about. Within minutes of us landing we headed out to get some lunch with my dear friend Sandi who picked us up from the airport. After lunch we were leaving the restaurant and I was holding my daughter and a women coming in lets the door go so it about hit my daughter and I. I was shocked, this would never happen in Kansas. In Kansas the women would not have even tried to come in to the restaurant till I was out the door and she would have held the door for me since my hands were full with a 33 pound toddler. But I forget that in Miami it is all about ME. This seems to be the big thing in big cities; you see no one gives a crap about the person next to them. Everyone seems to think they are better than everyone else and you should bow down and kiss their feet. Needless to say I never noticed this while I was growing up because it is all I ever knew and that is just how things were. And I am sure I was just as guilty as everyone else of having this mentality, I am so glad that I have changed though.

I am sure you all are now wondering what this has to do with running, well be patient I am getting to that. My sister and her husband have joined a running group called “Miami Runners Club” I wanted to go for their weekly Wednesday night run with them to spend some more time with my sister and check out the group. I was not really expecting much, I have run in Miami before and when I say hi to other runners I always get a look like ‘whatever’ coming from them. So we headed out to the meet up spot where we met up with Rony (my brother-in-law) and the Miami Runner Club. I was surprised right away when everyone greeted me kindly and we even laughed and joked a bit. Then it was time for the run, I stayed with my sister for the run and everyone kind of took off. We expected this, so that was okay, most of the runners in the group are seasoned runners and my sister is still pretty new to the sport. Needless to say I was really shocked when one of the other runners Wayne came back to check on us and then stayed and chatted with my sister and I for the rest of the run. Wayne is an Ultra Marathoner; he has already done one 50miler and is planning on doing a 100 soon, so needless to say our pace was much slower than his but he still stayed to chat. I was glad Wayne stayed with us; I really enjoyed running with him and talking about my favorite thing which is running.

When we were done with the three miles, Wayne took off at his normal fast pace to do a quick additional two miles while my sister and I went over to talk to a couple other runners from the group who had finished already. Everyone in the group was super nice and very accepting of this new person who just popped in for a run. When we left for the night I felt sad that I did not have this group in Kansas. I really enjoyed running with others and loved the fact that they all loved running as much as I do. After this I talked my husband into staying another day so that I could go on the group’s long run Saturday morning. I went out with Rony and we met the group at 6am (it gets very hot in Miami so you have to start early). There were many runners that were not at the Wednesday night run here on Saturday. Wayne’s wife Sheryl greeted Rony and I and gave us the low down on the run. Most of the group was doing 14 and since I had just run 13.1 the week before and the fact that Rony had only done 6 up to this point I decided that 8 was a good number for the day. Sheryl gave us directions and told us exactly where the the 4mile turn around would be. Then we all took off, we ran with Andy for a while then he took off at his own pace. When we got to a part in the path where we could go the wrong way, Andy who was running with Wayne and Sherryl waited to make sure we knew where to go and gave us directions again and told us where our turn around would be. He stayed with us for a little while again just to chat and make sure we knew the way. We then caught up with Tom who is back from being sick and doing a run/walk program so we ran with him for a while before we made our turnaround to head back to the car.

I have to say that I LOVE this group. The people were so nice and helpful; they were all very encouraging to me and to both my Sister and Brother-in-law. They took time out of there run to make sure we did not get lost and to just chat with us. After this run and we got cleaned up we went to The Runners High (the running store that the group is based out of) where Able (one of the group members who were out on Wednesday night) helped Laura (my sister) and Rony get some new shoes. Able took his time and watched them run in several shoes on the treadmill before he was satisfied that he fit them in the right ones. Nothing about this group was anything like what I was expecting from my new view of Miami. If you are ever in Miami I would highly recommend checking out this group and joining them for a run, you won’t regret it.

And I also have to give a shot out to Rony who did his longest run ever on Saturday with me. I am so proud of him and my sister, they both and turning in to great runners. In a few weeks they will both be running their first 10k, and at this rate I am sure a ½ marathon is in their future!

Plane hits runner and runner is to blame?

I am so sick of people blaming runners for getting hit by cars or in this case hit by a plane because they listen to their iPod. I understand that listening to music does prevent you from hearing some things, but does that really make it your fault when a plane falls out of the sky and kills you? Is it your fault then when a driver is talking on their cell phone and not paying attention and then hit you? Why is it that so many people blame the runner?


I heard this story on the news tonight about a small plane that lost its propeller and glided to the ground and in the process hit and killed Robert G. Jones who was running on the beach. I was sad and felt very bad for the man and even the pilot of the plane who I am sure feels bad about killing another man. Then I log in to check my facebook page and Runners World posted the story on their page. What happens everyone starts talking about how the guy was listening to his iPod and it must have been his fault. I was just shocked and frankly pissed off. I cannot even believe that people are blaming the poor runner who was out for a nice run and a freaking plane kills him. HOW IS IT HIS FAULT? If these people actually read the whole article instead of the first sentence that stated that the runner was listening to his iPod (like it is even relevant) they would have seen that the propeller fell off the plane which means it was SILENT. Even if Robert G. Jones was not listening to his iPod he would not have heard the plane, and I can attest that if the propeller had not fallen off and he would have heard the plane no matter how loud his music was (I know this as a fact since I fly in a small aircraft all the time, my husband is a pilot).

I think what bugs me the most is that other runners were putting the blame on this victim (because that is what Robert G. Jones is) only because he was wearing an iPod. I understand that there is a big controversy about music and running; some think you are not a true runner if you listen to music (I don’t get that, you are still running either way). I personally do both, I will listen to my music on some runs and not listen to it on others. People need to look at the whole picture before they blame someone for the simple fact that they were listening to music. I do get that in some cases it may be the runner’s fault, if they are not paying attention and run out in front of a car and get hit. My issue is that if you run and listen to music then no matter what happens (even a plane falling from the sky) it is automatically your fault if you are hurt or killed. I don’t care what your take is on the whole iPod debate, it should not matter when someone is killed they should not automatically be blamed for the sole purpose that they were listing to music. If this was the case then all car accidents should be blamed on the driver that was listening to the radio and I am willing to bet just about everyone does.

Here is a link to the article if you are interested in reading it http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100316/ap_on_re_us/us_plane_kills_beachgoer

The Disney Princess Half Marathon 2010

This race started for me in April 2009 when the decision was made in my Running Mom’s group to do a race together and we all voted for this on (I mean what better race for a bunch of running moms right). Not all of us were able to make it due to different reasons, other races, family, finances, the kiddos, etc. But the ones of us that did make it tried to have a great time for all the running moms, and the ones who could not be there were sorely missed.

Friday night we had our official Running Moms meet up. We all met in one of the hotels and then headed out to the bar for a drink (well all except for Bethany, she is prego so no boose for her). We all quickly learned that most of us get pretty drunk off of one drink except for Jill that is, she really knows her beer. I had such a great time with the girls that I did not even think about how cold it was and we were all sitting outside. These women whom I have considered my friends for over two years now and have never actually met in person are the sweetest, kindest, most running addicted women that I just love to death. I can not even describe how totally excited I was about going to this race and meeting these ladies. My only regret is that I never did get to see Bethany or Heather again after Friday night, next time we will have to plan better.

Here is a shot of some of the group on Firday, now on to the race, I can talk about how awesome my running mom’s are all day so I will just cut my self off now.

After a very long Saturday (see details here), I woke up at 2:45 with only about 4 hours of sleep and sore feet. I quickly got ready, and headed over to meet Anna and Jill so we could all go to the race together. When I got to the lobby of the hotel I was excited to see Michelle another running mom had decided to join us for the race. We all got on the bus and went to the start. It was so cold that as soon as we got to the race area we headed over to get some coffee then waited inside a tent to keep a little warm before going to our corral (which was the last one so we had a LOT of time)

We were in corral E was the last one and that ment we started the race 30min after the first group started. It was a little sad watching the fireworks go off and hearing the cheers to just stand around in the cold an wait our turn. But once it was our turn the excitement was over the top. We could not wait to get moving and see what Disney had instore for us. We quickly relised that Michelle was much faster than the rest of us so we asked if she would mind staying with us till mile one to get a group shot, she did and here we are. Then Michelle took off, she is one speedy lady. The rest of us just ran slowly along taking picutes and chatting. It was soon after the first mile that we saw Captin Jack, there was no discussing it we just all ran over to get a picture. This is about how the rest of the race went, the three of us were just out to enjoy this 13 miles so nothing mattered but having a good time. I am a slow runner and I was so surprised that the three of us really did run well together. We all run at the same pace and it was just so awesome to run with someone else. The miles of the race just flew by, I can not even count how many time we would be runnign and see another mile marker and be shocked because we had just seen one about a minuet ago (well not really but it sure felt like it).

I have to say that Disney does not disapoint in there races. I knew we would see charetores along the way, but I just kinda expected the Princess and that would be it. They had charetores from almost every story they have, the only bad thing about it was that the lines to get some of the pictures was just so long that we really did waste a lot of time getting pictures…. But I would do it the same way again if I ever have the chance.

The race went from Epcot to the Magic Kindom, and there is not a lot of anything inbetween the two. Disney did make the effort to have some charetors along the way, but it could have made for a very boring run with not much to see. I was so greatfull that I had Jill and Anna, I never did get board and just so enjoyed the company and conversations. I never knew how much we all had in common and am just so thankfull to have had the chance to meet the two of them and share this experence with them.

As far as my shins and my sore feet went it was not too bad. My shins did not really bother me at all duing the race but after they complained a little. My feet hurt so bad by the end of the race but I truly believe it was from the previous days events. I personally felt great during the whole race, I never got tired or sore. We did walk about three miles of the race which was fine by me, I knew this was not the race for a good time and I just enjoyed the company too much to run ahead. I am signing up for another half in two weeks here at home just so that I could see if I can do it with out all the photo opts. I feel very confedent that I can, but am sad that I will have to run it alone. I will be thinking about Disney and my running mama’s the whole race and wishing that all my races could be as fun as this one was.  If you are thinking about running this race I say do it, but do it for fun and with friends. 

After getting back from the race my wonderfull husband showed me again why I love him so much. This was my first half marthon and he had a trophy made for me. The trophy reads “Congratulations on completing your first Half Marathon. Your loving husband” How totally seet is that, I have the best husband ever!

Disney Royal Family Kids Race

After the 5k my sister and I hurried back to the hotel where our husbands (who ran much faster than us were) my mother and my daughter waited for us. We did not have enough time to really get cleaned up, so we just changed clothes and got my daughter dressed in her cute little running skirt. Once we were changed we headed over to the Wide World of Sports Complex where my daughter could make her racing debut.

On the bus ride to the race I kept asking my daughter if she wanted to race and her reply every time was “YEAH” and she kept asking if she would get a medal too (she saw the one we all got for the 5k) I told her she would and that seemed to really get her excited. I guess my daughter likes her BLING!

Once we got to the race we had to find our start position and wait. There were several different kids races going on so there were a TON of people there. I ended up lining up with my daughter in our section while my mom and sister went to the finish to try and get some pictures. For some reason that I will never understand Disney decided to start the races with the 1mile kids run. This was the race with the oldest kids in it. I was lined up with a 2 ½ yr old waiting till this was over. I must say none of the little ones we were with took the extra waiting well. It is very hard to keep a toddler entertained while standing in a crowed spot for 30+ minuets. Next year Disney please start with the youngest kids first.

After about 5 min of waiting my daughter was ready to go. I kept reminding her about the BLING she would get and that seemed to calm her down for a little. After about 15 min the BLING no longer mattered to her, she needed to move and play and standing around waiting with a bunch of strangers was just not her idea of fun, she was done. So I did what any parent would do in this situation and told her that once she crossed the finish line she would get CANDY! This worked, but she kept telling me “NOW MOMMY, LETS RUN NOW!” I just kept reminding her that it was not time yet and she would get her candy soon.

When it was finally our turn to run, my daughter grabbed my arm with both of her hands and we took off. Okay she is two we did not really take off, but she started to run. I finally got her to let go of my arm and just hold my hand and she ran her 100 meters with a huge smile on her face. When we crossed the finish I picked her up and told her she did it and gave her a big hug and kiss. Then we headed over to get her BLING, she was so excited when they put the finishers medal on her. (note she wears the backback everywhere, she is a huge Dora fan and Dora always has her back pack so my daughter has to have hers too.  There was no taking it off for the race)

Now we had to go find my sister and my mom then go get some lunch and then off to Disney World to meet Mickey Mouse. This weekend sure was packed, I was not even thinking about the fact that I had to run 13.1 the next day. I must say by the end of the day I was exhausted. My daughter refused to sit in the stroller at Disney World so I had to carry an extra 33 pounds around for several hours so my feet were dead at the end of the day. Once we were back in our hotel for the night I really started to wonder how I was going to do a half marathon in a few hours when my feel felt like they were going to fall off.

The Disney Princess ½ Marathon report coming next!

Disney’s Royal Family 5k

The race story must begin at 3:45 when the alarm went off. For some reason Disney requires us racers to get up several hours before the race to go stand around and freeze till the race start. And yes people it was freezing. I have been getting use to the cold weather living out in Kansas and normally I would not call 40 degrees freezing anymore, but when you are just standing around for a few hours in it, it is COLD.

My sister, brother in-law, and husband all joined me for the 5k so I did not have to freeze alone. We were on the first buss to the race from our hotel and were very excited to see when we got to the start that they were selling coffee, Disney thinks of everything. We all got a cup of Joe, well not my husband he hates coffee (I know he is not normal) he got hot coco, and then waited for the race. Disney had a great DJ at the race who kept us all moving and grooving to some awesome tunes while we waited. My sister and I had a great time singing and dancing while our husbands tried to act like they were not really with us.

As the race time got closer we all split up, my sister and I were going slower than the guys so we headed to the back while they headed up to the front. When they counted down the start and fireworks went off we were so very excited. Of course like any other race we started at a slow shuffle then a walk then a little bit faster walk and so on. Once we finally got to run we started to warm up and really enjoy the fact that we were at Disney.

For the first mile we ran through the parking lot at Epcot, and then we headed in to go around the world. I have to say when we finally ran into Epcot I was so excited and giddy, I mean come on running in a Disney park who gets to do this (besides the other thousand people doing it with me)? The very first character we saw was Mulan, we stopped to get a picture and this started the trend for the rest of the race. My sister had a time goal for the race and we quickly figured out that we were not going to make it. With the very slow start then all the characters we HAD to get pictures with it just was not going to happen. Luckily we both agreed that this race was more about fun than time so we just decided to have a good time and forget all about a PR.

As we were running around the countries at Epcot there were characters all over to stop and get pictures with. We stopped at most of them and when we were not stopped at all the photo opts we were singing and dancing while running of course. There were also a ton of volunteers along the course just cheering us all on. When we finally were approaching the end of the race I was very disappointed. I wanted to keep going it was so much fun and I felt great why could I not just run around Epcot all day? We ran through the finish and got our finishers medal then headed back to our hotel. After all my daughter still had her race to do in a couple hours and we had to get ready for that.

And the Countdown Begins

Only four days till we arrive in Orlando, Florida. And let me tell you, the excitement is building. There are so many things about this trip that have me excited I can hardly stand it, here is a list.


1) I get to meet some of the running moms who have help to make me the runner I am today.

2) I get to run in my first ½ marathon

3) I get to run in not one but two Disney races

4) I will run a 5k with my sister who is aiming to run the whole 5k for her first time ever

5) My daughter is running in the Disney kids races

6) My daughter gets to meet Mickey Mouse for the first time

7) I can get out of this winter hell for a week and defrost

8) I will get to visit family and friends in Miami for a week after the Disney festivities are over

Can you all see why I am so excited? I have already packed up my daughters things for the trip and have a mental note of what I am packing for myself, I am sure I will start the actual packing tomorrow.

With all the excitement of the trip I have not had much time to totally freak-out about the half marathon. Don’t get me wrong I am freaking out a little just not a total freak-out. I know I have done the miles and can run this, but my last long run went bad. I set out to do 8 miles and ended up at three. Not exactly as planned, but I know we all have bad runs right? My two long runs before that went so well I felt like I could do anything so this one bad one should not get me down or make me panic thinking that I am going to bonk at three miles. This is what I keep telling myself, and then that other little voice in my head says this was a sign, you did not train properly and those two great runs were just a fluke you can’t run 13 miles. I am wondering if this is how all runners start to feel before a race at a distance they have not done yet.

I guess with all the stuff going on and all the planning to try and see as many friends and family as I can in one little week, my head is just spinning and it should not surprise me I am a little worried about my race. I do feel better knowing that a couple of my running mama’s Anna and Jill will be running with me which really makes me feel much better about it. I know they will keep my spirits up and my legs moving.

I am curious though do you get like this; you know second guessing yourself before a big race? Or do you feel confident in your training and know you will Rock it?