Half Marathon #2-CHECK!

My goal for 2011 is to be more frequent with my posts. To help pass time, I've been keeping myself so busy. Almost to a fault. I'm a horrible fiance, the 3 months that my fiance has been overseas, I have sent him ONE care package...ONE! If there was an award for the crappiest fiance, I would definitely win hands down.

Anyway, this past weekend I ran the Haunted Hustle 1/2 Marathon in Middleton, WI with my friend, Marr. My goal for this race was to come in at 2:30. I came in at 2:27:23. So I'm very happy about that. I'd like to do the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon in February, but with the wedding coming up, financial it isn't feasible. But I will be there in 2012.
I went to church with my mom on Sunday and we found out that the pastor who is marrying us got a call for a church in AZ and he is taking it. He's a really good pastor and he will be missed dearly by my parents as well as many members of the congregation. As to whether or not he will be back to do our wedding, that still hasn't been discussed. I really hope so because I don't know who we'll have marry us otherwise! And so the stress of wedding planning begins!

Marrisa, My sister (and her sign) and Me! 2nd 1/2 marathon of the year!

Going the Distance

One of the reasons that I like participating in races is for the charity/organization in which I'm running for. The Chicago Rock N Roll 1/2 donated a portion of their proceeds to the American Cancer Society. This meant a lot to me because LC's grandpa died of cancer last year. It was the first time he and I had ever gone through something like that in our relationship.

So when I signed up for the race I'm running on Oct. 30th, I looked to see what charity the race would be sponsoring, and I couldn't find anything. I'm guessing this was more of a "fun run" as there is a Halloween costume division. Who can run 13.1 miles in a Halloween costume anyway? I found it really hard to stick to my training because I didn't feel like there was a purpose (besides creating a PR) for this run.

Until yesterday. I was on the University of Chicago Celiac Disease center website. I was looking at their events and fundraising page. They have a charity called, "Going the Distance". It's a DIY fundraiser going to benefit the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center and to raise money for education, research, and advocacy. I have never done a fundraiser on my own but I am sold. This will be what I am running for.

A few months ago, my mom was extremely ill. They thought she had MS and those tests thankfully came back negative, but her doctor could not find out what was wrong with her. Months went by and my mom's symptoms got worse. Finally, her doctor decided to do a simple blood test and test her for Celiac Disease. Sure enough, that's what she had. So I will be running this race in honor of my mom, who will be there to watch me cross the finish line.

What is Celiac Disease? It's an inherited autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person who has celiac disease eats gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, the individual's immune system responds by attacking the small intestine and inhibiting the absorption of important nutrients into the body.

I know I don't have a ton of readers, but I'm appreciative for all the ones that I do have! If you want to find out how you can help just e-mail me directly at brewcitybride@gmail.com.

xoxoxo,
Maria

Yesterday, The Donuts Won

This whole week has been super busy and I've been slacking on my 1/2 marathon training (yet again). I will give myself a pat on the back for running 7 miles on Sunday though. Well done, Maria! Anywho, yesterday I was scheduled to run 4.5 miles and do strength training. I was super excited and motivated, until I came in to work and saw that my manager bought us donuts and munchkins because it was the last day of the month. Pumpkin donuts. And muchkins. Right by my desk. Fail! Despite the fact I was broderline hyperglycemic, I still attempted to run and it did not go well at all. My legs kept cramping up and my feet felt like there were bricks in them. I did not make it 4.5 miles. Instead I did 2.5 and forced myself to do some speed work, so the workout wasn't a total bust. So yesterday, the donuts won and it definitely wasn't worth the defeat I felt. Next week I'll be back on track. 1/2 marathon in 4 weeks and this time I'm determined to beat my last 1/2 marathon time AND not feel like I"ve been hit by a truck. Side note, 9 months and 2 days before the wedding!

Weekend Recap

I haven't stayed in Chicago for the past 6 weeekends. For the past 6 weekends I have had something to do. In Wisconsin. This has been fun (weddings) and exhausting (drill!) at the same time. It has kept me busy since LC's been gone (we're almost at the 2 month mark!) but I have not had a moment to myself or a day to just breathe. So this weekend, I finally got to stay in my favorite city and my favorite lady came down to visit me (my mom).

She arrived on Saturday morning, via train, and we spent the day searching for a fabulous MOB dress, lunching, and discovered my new love...Sprinkles Cupcakes. We started out on Michigan Ave and searched every department store, high and low, and could not find anything that she LOVED but, she got some ideas of what she was looking for. I told her not to buy anything unless she loved it because the wedding is still 9-ish months away and I wouldn't want her to have buyer's remorse. After our failed shopping trip, we stopped and ate at Food Life in Water Tower place. About 6 weeks ago, my mom was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Long story short, she can't have anything with gluten in it or she gets very sick, and gluten is in EVERYTHING! So I was so happy that Food Life offered a list of gluten free foods that she was able to eat. After lunch, we walked around the Gold Coast area, looking for more stores that had MOB dresses. We didn't find anything, but instead stumbled upon Sprinkles. I've heard a lot about this place but wasn't sure where it was located. I came across it on accident so it was a MUST that we try it. I tried the banana cupcake...AMAZINGNESS. And my mom had the Red Velvet cupcake, gluten free of course.

Later that night, we enjoyed some sangria & mexi food at Zapatista. Although they didn't have a gluten free menu, the waiter was very knowledgable in what my mom could and couldn't eat.

Sunday morning, I got up and went for a run. Sunday was my "long day" in my 1/2 marathon training. Despite the windy conditions running north, I completed 7 miles in an hour and 10 minutes. Running back (with the wind) was a piece of cake. After my run, we went to Whole Foods to get things that we needed to make Chili for dinner. My mom had never been to a WF before and she was in heaven. They had tons of stuff that she could eat. It's too bad that the closest one is about 45 minutes away. I told her that she should franchise one, it would be really popular where they live. I spent the rest of the night studying, while my mom cooked me dinner and took care of Ollie. It was nice to have someone there to take care of me for a change! Next weekend, I will be heading back to Milwaukee for drill...bleh!

Here I go again!

A good friend of mine from high school, M, is getting married about a month before me. To get in shape for her wedding, she's been running. A lot. The other she posted on facebook that she was about to run 10 miles after work. Ugh!

After I ran my first 1/2 marathon, I've been lacking some serious motivation to go out and just run. It's easier for me to run when I have a goal or something to train for. You would think my wedding dress would be motivation enough. Not so much. So, last night I signed up for another 1/2 marathon that M talked me into running with her. Yes, even though I felt my body had been hit by a truck the following day, I am running another 1/2. I'm officially addicted.

The race is at the end of October, which gives me 6 1/2 weeks to train. I started running again this week and doing cross training. I WILL stick to a training plan and make it my top priority for the next 6 1/2 weeks. I made the mistake of not training properly the first time around and I have learned from my mistakes.

So here I go again, 1/2 marathon #2!

Run 1/2 Marathon...CHECK!

Well, I have one more thing to cross off of my bucket list. On Sunday, my sister and I ran our first 1/2 marathon together. It was by far the hardest thing my body has physically endured (and this includes basic training). I started training a few months ago for it, but because of my decision to take a summer class, time to train became less and less. My goal on Sunday was just to finish with my sister by my side and I did just that.

We started running her pace, she runs a little slower than me and it was really hard for me not to speed ahead. Almost painful. But I did my best to stay with her. Finally, by mile 5, she told me to just go ahead that she felt bad for holding me back and that I will meet her at the finish line. So I went, and by mile 6 I was feeling really great. Like I could do anything. The longest I have ever ran at this point was 6.2 miles so the fact that I could go further made me so proud. I had rediscovered my love of running. At mile 8 I was getting bored and I decided to stop and wait for my sister. I already wasn't going to get the time I wanted because I started out running her pace and not mine, so what difference does it make? She couldn't have been that far behind, right? I waited 15 minutes for that girl before I finally just said, "The heck with it" and I ran off. By mile 10 I wanted to die, and my love for running was gone. I pushed myself to keep going and I finished 13.1 miles...right behind my sister!! How and where did I miss her?! As I crossed the finish line I looked and I shouted, "Melissa!" She had a big grin on her face and we high-fived each other!


The last few races I've ran with people, it's really hard to stay together on the same pace especially when you're not training with them. So when she moves to Chicago (fingers-crossed) we will train for our next 1/2 together and run that thing side by side, start to finish.