Prepping for the Half Marathon

Hello My Lovelies and Gents,

Well it's been a wild weekend...an awesome weekend.  But, it's been awhile and there's lots to catch up on.

Thursday night was the Turn the Riverfront Pink Breast Cancer 5K in Wilmington. My pal Severina had signed up to do it with me.  We were both heading over early to warm up. But, alas I could not find her in the sea of pink until it was time to head to the starting line.

I stayed in one spot hoping to see her and got out my Anatomy app on my phone to do a little studying.  I was getting choked up seeing all of the survivors and those going through chemo with their scarves on their heads. It's a fun night for a serious cause.

Sev and I found each other just as the mass of pink started heading to the start line...well pink and blue. The shirts for the night were blue with pink...haven't figured that out.  Nor the red lipstick and nail polish in our goodie bags. We'll let it go though.

It was a gorgeous night and Ms. Sev was itching to get started. We hadn't done a 5k since that fateful HOT HOT day in July.  You know, the one that made me swear off events in July and August for the rest of my life.  She's been walking and jogging since then and was ready to go.

We had only done 5ks there during the morning.  It's a happening riverfront on Thursday nights. Lots of bars with outside happy hours.  I just wanted to make it a light walk since I had the Half coming up on Sunday, but I said we could run on the boardwalk. Right before we were getting ready to run we saw the guys...it was a women only 5k and our cheerleaders were shirtless men with pink bow ties. That was awesome.  And they got cuter closer to the finish line.

So we ran for a little bit, but then we were on the sidewalk soon and my rule is "No Running on the Sidewalk".  It's the worst surface for your knees.  So we were walking.  But, Sev started jogging next to me which made me walk faster. It's all good.

During the last stretch I promised her that I would run.  It wasn't hard as the stretch came with some garbage stench..ick. So we kicked it into high gear and tore off for the finish line. And then right to the food table.

Big shout out to Sev for besting her time. We finished 10 minutes faster than her last one.

It was a lot of fun hanging out and dancing with all of the ladies, but I had to get home and shower. Luckily I had already planned to go to Subway for lunch with FCANR the next day. So I didn't have to worry about packing my lunch.

I'm not sure why I didn't take Friday off. I was so tired from the night before and so pumped for the weekend to come. We decided to go to the mall a little early for lunch and hit the sporting goods store before Subway.  FCANR needed to get a shirt for Sunday's race. And I had a $20 reward certificate to use. When I signed up for the rewards card 5 years ago I just assumed that I would use it on a Phillies shirt or Eagles hat or something. But, the new me used it on some running clothes. I found a cute top and bottom on sale for $10 each.  I even found a top that would match my shorts for Sunday in case I decided not to go with the tank top. The new sports bra that I got is purple and that would show under the white tank top that I would be wearing under the grey tank.  FCANR found his sleeveless shirt and we were off to Subway.

I had the buy one get one free coupons. Mr. Thing eats a footlong subway for lunch so he just got his two 6 inches for lunch.  I got one for lunch and the other for dinner. 1-Turkey, honey mustard, spinach, tomato and cucumber. 2- Grilled chicken, honey mustard, spinach, tomato and cucumber.

As we were walking away he asked me what I got on mine. When I said I had honey mustard he said that he thought it was Ranch and he was ready to give me a bunch of crap for it. haha. Give me credit mister!

Shout out to FCANR who had his fasted 5k time earlier in the week. 

I somehow made it through the rest of the afternoon and soon it was time to head to the gym.  I hit a lot of traffic and got there really late.  I wasn't planning on much since I was super tired and I didn't want to overdo it. So I walked for thirty minutes. Then I went over to the stretching area and stretched for 15 minutes.  Before I left I hit the massage chair for 10 minutes.  Ahhh....

I wanted to go home and just relax, but I wanted to make a quick stop. So I ran to Walmart for a throw away shirt. I was worried about being chilly in the morning if I was wearing a tank top so I needed to grab something that I could wear and throw off (they collect the clothes on the course, clean them, and give them to shelters).

So Saturday rolled around and I had a plan: head in to the Expo to pick up my race packet, Hydrate, Nap, and carb load.  That was the plan.

Sev and her boyfriend wanted to come in to the Expo and then hang out in Philly for the day. Plus my friend Danielle wanted to come in to.  So I would pick her up and then meet them there.  Sounds good.

We got there and picked up my packet and then it was time to shop and hit the vendors.  I found a long sleeve shirt that I fell in love with so I treated myself (future uniform for work :-)  and a pair of socks.  So we're walking around trying to find Severina and it's practically impossible. We came in at different entrances and it's a maze of people and booths...and there's a delay between texts. haha. 

I signed up for Women's Runner magazine. It's full of great tips and recipes.  Plus I got a free Brooks shirt. I was starving and Danielle went over to some yogurt give away while I was signing up. She brought me a pretty large sample of yogurt and granola. YEAH!  It's a start.  Next to the Magazine set up was the Larabar exhibit. Free samples! YEAH!  Then right next to that was an organic cereal table. Free samples. YEAH!  And right next to that was a rice chip table. Free samples. YEAH!

There was a large exhibit for the Rock'n'Roll series. You could sign up for any race around the world and get a discount. If I had the money I would have paid for my DC race next March and next year's Philly. I did get to spin the wheel and win some beads...woo woo...and I didn't even need to show my boobs! Next up was the rock'n'roll picture.  You could dress up like a rock star and get your picture taken. Cute.

And then I found Severina! WOO WOO. They were at a table for a heating pad type thing. Pretty cool, but I have plenty of stuff like that. I saw some shirts and headed over. Lots of cute phrases. I found the new sticker for my car "Will Run for Margaritas".  I also got "You don't have to go fast, you just have to go."  But, the big find there was the running fanny pack that I have been looking for.  I needed something for my phone, keys, ID, and chapstick. Not all of the packs are big enough.  And some are way too big. This was perfect and only $20. YEAH.

On my way back to find everyone I heard "Jennifer Henderson!" When I turned around it was my friend Melissa from high school. What an expected surprise!  We swapped numbers, corral numbers, and took a picture. YEAH!  Loved that.

Soon I was starting to lose it. My sugar was so low and I was way off schedule. I had not had any water in two hours and I was overdo for lunch. You know I can't make decisions when I'm hungry. Right across from the Convention Center is the Reading Terminal.  It's a giant market with lots of places to eat. I can't think when I'm in that environment. I wanted to start carb loading and I couldn't think.  I just wanted food.  I eventually found a Dutch place for french toast and turkey bacon. I inhaled my food. Seriously, I'm not sure I even chewed.

I needed to take Danielle home and then get back to my place. Dinner was cancelled and I needed to get ready. I made a little pasta and started drinking water like there was no tomorrow. I got my outfit ready, packed my bag for the car and put away all of my new finds from the day.

Danielle came over and massaged my calves and feet.  Little tip: if you are going to have a cheerleader, make sure she's a massage therapist :-)  My legs were tight and she wanted to relax me without relieving all of the tension. It was nice.

Now the problem was that when I was laying down for bed I had to pee all night. BAH!  So I only got 4 hours of sleep in before my alarm went off in the morning.

My prepping plan got all thrown off. I'm okay with it. My friends are all motivated for healthy changes. Well worth the sacrifice. 

****Please note****

If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.

jhendersonfit@gmail.com