And we ran ...

Its good for the soul (and my sagging butt), its good for your mind (and my flabby belly), its good for your friendships (and my sanity) to spend time exercising with your fellow mommy friends.

It took me two days to walk straight after our not-that-long-of a run. I realized when I couldn't get off the couch because my legs hurt so bad that it has been nearly 1 entire year since I ran! Yikes! To think I ran a 1/2 marathon pregnant with Matine and a 2 mile run today nearly put me out for days. Oh how far we have fallen!

On the "To Do" list - more time running with my gals... Thanks ladies for a much needed mid-winter run!

Flashback . . . To 4 days ago.

Dennis sent me pics he took of the race. I have taken a small sabbatical from running this week. Planning on hitting it hard next week again. I still have a funky twitchy tendon thing going on with the top of my foot to my big toe.

Look at us go!

We Ran. We conquered.

Well, we did it. And we did it well! Christina and I both finished in faster time than our last races and we had a blast doing it. 2 hours, 9 minutes. That is roughly a 9:53 pace. Next time it WILL be done in under 2:00 hours...

Check out the race and our fun weekend in pictures at my picasa web album.

I was feeling so great at the end I have decided to go for a full marathon next year - Me, Christina, Clark - in San Diego - see you there.

Missoula was beautiful - we had great weather and air quality (trust me, a big deal for Missoula) the entire weekend.

We enjoyed the Farmer's Market and People's Market on Saturday. Found some fun finds and drank some yummy lemonade - people watched of course. We then walked all over town shopping, scoped out our route ahead of time - we were thrilled to discover that it was mostly down hill (a bit) and flat. NO uphill anywhere!

Saturday night we met our friend Vann and her friend Tony at Scotty's Table for a great dinner. Vann was in Missoula celebrating the fact that she just bought a HOUSE and passed her certified Dietitian exam! We all went to the Steve Earle and Allison Moorer concert at U of M. It was great. However, I had NO idea Steve E was so political. He has some strong opinions that man.

We got back at midnight and had to wake at 4:00am to catch the shuttle to the race start. Yikes. Our early rising allowed us to get a little breakfast, digest, and get ready for the big start. It was a big race, 511 1/2'ers and a few hundred full marathon racers. Running a race like this is the BEST people watching ever. You see all kinds - all ages - very amusing and inspiring too.

We loved it! We ran strong, happy and well the entire 13.1 miles. We ran into some other Livingston folk along the way, which was nice. We chatted with them and passed a few miles during those conversations.

After we finished the race at 8:09 am, we had a full day to do other fun Missoula stuff. We had a great breakfast at Rattlesnake Gardens, went with Christina's boyfriend Dennis and some other friends to Kootenei Canyon to climb. We thought we might climb too, but I soon realized I had NO interest in exerting myself anymore that day. So we just hiked in and sat in the shade and talked and hung out. It was perfect.

Then, a nice drive home... Lots of goal setting for the next race and catching up. It was a perfect weekend, filled with some fun accomplishments and memories for both of us.

Think of me . . . Think of me fondly . . . .

Peter and I have been waking every morning this week to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack. No real reason really. It is in my alarm clock that we just dug out of the closet and Peter likes it. I find myself singing the "Think of me fondly, remember me . . once in a while .... la la la ... " song all the live long day.

BUT, I really do need all of you out and in the open and secret stalker blogger fans thinking of Christina and I this weekend - fondly.


We will be running a 1/2 marathon in Missoula - The Missoula Marathon along with 509 other 1/2 marathoners. Should be a blast. We are making it an official "chick weekend" complete with early morning road trip on Saturday (I am equipping us with fruit smoothies for our 7am Saturday road trip start, Christina is in charge of coffee), Christina bought us some new cute running socks - special for the race, we plan on shopping, attending the Missoula Farmer's Market, and staying at a hotel, Steve Earle concert Saturday night, and I am certain, much, much more!

(running buddy Christina, after a running workout this winter)

Sunday we will wake bright and early and the 13.1 mile race begins at 7:00am in beautiful Missoula - my old stomping grounds. Ahh . . . The weather channel says it should be in the 50's when we start - perfect.

We will need the positive thoughts, as I did not train for this one as vigilantly as I did for the Lewis and Clark 1/2 back in September --(that's Laurie and I running our race below)


BUT, I feel I am in good enough shape for it and I know what to expect this time and I have committed to just "going with it." I figure - you can do anything for 13 miles, right?

Regardless - it's going to be a great time. We have our matching socks with pink Volkswagon buses on them, the pasta joints scouted out for Saturday's dinner, and a whole lot of fun ahead of us.

BACK IN THE GAME!!!

(this is me after running today!)

I finally got motivated to get back to running (with the help of my awesome friend Laurie who always motivates and supports a work out habit- thanks LLC).

After about 3-4 weeks of NO cardio excercise... I am ashamed, yes, we ran today and my throat felt like hamburger meat.

BUT, it is a start and I hope to get into running shape for a fun run on St. Patrick's Day.

Also, I plan on joining a fun new fitness challenge at the local kick-boxing studio. The rumor is that it will be modeled after the workout / diet program that the ripped actors from the movie "300" did to look like spartans!

Are you picturing me as a spartan woman or with hamburger lungs? You don't have to.

Oklahoma Update

I love the age of the digital camera and email. While I can't physically be in Oklahoma year round to see my friends and family in the southern land, they can electronically come to me... and let me tell you, it can sometimes be fun and suprising!
This weekend, Peter and I kept a pretty low profile. He got back Saturday night and on Sunday we joined his parents and cousins on a road trip to Dillon to see Amy and Eric Hoffmann (Pete's sister and brother in-law). It was a great day - we played Sequence, went for a walk with the dogs, and cooked a really great steak dinner. Perfect family day.
Back in Oklahoma my mother and Jim were apparently having fun dressing up as "crazy people?" and a very scary candy striper!
Clark ran a 13k run and did it REALLY fast and hosted a big Halloween blowout at this house. I have not heard the details yet, but I am sure they will trickle in. All I know about his costume is that he was "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and was attempting a beard for the role.
These are the pics I have so far, and will update as I can.

race pics

The Fan Club... Not sure who was #12?

Wow- we look so fast. I think we kicked that dudes a**

Giving a friendly hello to the fans.

Laurie crossing the finish line and Brooke
(I would be the white dot... I must have been running so fast that I became an actual blur)

Laurie and I tired, but looking completely glamorous... Just a few minutes before barfing.

Here are some pictures of the lewis and clark 1/2 marathon... just in case you need proof that I actually did do it. Also, because I know my brother will comment - Yes, I wore black ankle socks with white shoes and yes, I looked and felt very European!

The Race . . .

Ok, now in your head start singing "da da da da da.. da, da da da da da." Picture Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold running towards Wally World. OR, you can hear the Rocky theme song cresendoing in the background...

Either way, Laurie and I ROCKED our 1/2 marathon in Bozeman. It was on Sunday the 23rd... and it happened to also be Laurie's Birthday. What way to ring in another year of being a hot, cool, rockin woman! If you haven't see Laurie- you should - she's what we call a M.I.L.F.

The day started at 6am. I woke up early enough so I could have a little power snack, drink a lot of water and a little bit of coffee. Then of course, move around the house a bit and make sure I had enough time to "do my business." That was hands down my worst nightmare for the race... Didn't want any suprises on mile 8 if you know what I mean.

Laurie and I drove over to Bozeman where we met up with the 250 other runners. They shuttled us on buses to the starting line. We waited just long enough to get a bit nervous and anxious.
As I looked around I was amazed at the different profiles of people running! There were 75 year old men and women that looked amazing and they of course had on pins or shirts of other runs that they have done. I was sitting there hoping that in FIVE years I can do this again, not to mention 40! There were even some fairly large men that looked pregnant out there stretching and
warming up!

We started out great. We were weaving in and out of folks, passing people, feeling really good and energized. When we passed mile three I realized we were running a steady 8 minute mile...
Wow! Didn't expect that- we had been running a consistent 10 minute mile unless we were running downhill, and we were feeling good.

Laurie's husband Mike brought her 2 boys over to cheer us on at various parts of the course. They were so cute! I almost cried the first time we saw them. These boys have the sweetest, biggest, most sincere grins you've ever seen and when they saw their mom turn a corner and wave at them they started bouncing up and and down like little Bopples (remember those toys from the 80's?), anyways, their enthusiasm was great and after every 3rd mile or so, there they were, calling out "happy birthday mommy!" "way to go" "hi brooke, hi mom!" "good job." Caid even ran with us for a few minutes.

Now to back up, Laurie and I have been training for a while now and her boys always see us leave to go running and when we leave or sometimes during the day, they make beleive that they are "Brooke and Laurie" and they "run" for a game. They often switch off who gets to be Brooke and who gets to be Laurie... SO cute!

So, we were doing great, pacing ourselves, nothing hurt too bad, never felt too winded. At about mile 7 - 8 we felt like our legs weighed about 1,000lbs., but we pulled through, told a few funny stories to take our minds off the heavy legs and befor we knew it, we could see the MSU football stadium where the race was to end and I realized- WE HAD DONE IT! By the way, Mic- I borrowed the gatorade story - it seemed perfectly appropriate and worked like a charm.

Now to many, 13.1 miles is not that big of deal, especially when you live in the SW Montana region where every other person you see is hyper toned and beautiful, some super-athlete straight from some Iron Man competition, but to me it was a real and attainable goal that took discipline, mental and a bit of physical strength. I was beyond relieved to turn that last corner and see... Marni and Loni Waters, my future cousins-in-law. The sweethearts came out in the drizzling rain and cheered Laurie and I on to the finish line! That was the moment I really wanted to cry (and kind of did).

The most brutal part of the race was that you had to do 1 whole lap around the track before you finished, so you have to actually PASS the finish line and then run back to it again around the track. That last little bit you have to keep runnign while you are watching those who have finished eating their muffins and drinking their water.

So, we did it and we were tired, we took naps when we got home, soaked the creaking hips, knees and legs in the hot-tub (oh, and I barfed).

We are looking forward to keeping up the training and who knows a full 26 mile marathon? Not so sure... As Laurie said, that is like talking to woman that just gave birth if she would like to give birth to twins in a few months!
(as soon as I get pics, I will post them... )

Are you still singing Rocky? "You can throw Gatorade on me now, mom."