Happy Mother’s Day to all the rockin mom’s! My boys were super nice to me today – so nice that I don’t really want the day to end. It was kinda nice being queen for the day.

My day started with a nice run with Team Challenge (where we had awesome weather!) and came home to a little scavenger hunt organized by the boys:

You know you’re a runner when you get new running shoes for Mother’s Day (and don’t even have to ask for them!).

The rest of the day was spent spending time with my own mom. I can’t say enough about her – she’s truly one of my best friends (now that I’ve grown up). It’s taken us awhile to get to this point in our relationship and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m so grateful to have her in my life.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from when I was little:

For some reason my mom always dressed me like a boy (which was weird because I had no hair – you’d think she’d dress me all girly!).

My mom, sis, and me. This was my MOST FAVORITE outfit ever. I remember thinking the lace on top of the shirt was so cool (it was, right?).

And my most favorite photo of all:

I must have had a thing for purple. Check out those ribbons in my hair! The baskets on the bikes are pretty sweet, too. (Sidenote: maybe I was the favorite daughter since my sis isn’t wearing a helmet?? Hehe – how times have changed!)

I hope all you Moms out there had a fantastic day. I think this one was my favorite yet.

Does a specific Mother’s Day stick out to you (for you or for your mom)??

You know, I wish I had a good reason for not blogging yesterday, but can’t say I do. After Team Challenge training and C’s soccer game J and I spent the majority of the day on the couch watching Season 4 of Dexter (which is ridiculously intense!!), went out for dinner, and then planted our butts back on the couch to watch The Fighter.

I really had planned on getting on the computer after the movie, but then this happened:

I mean, really, could you leave that spot?? I didn’t think so.

Anyways, you’re never gonna believe what I got to do today!

Oh, how I’ve missed you, running shoes!!!

Per the PT, I’m allowed to run 1 mile 2x this week. Of course, I’m not even allowed to run the full mile, it’s run .10, walk .10, run .10, walk, .10. I know it sounds so lame – and I know it’s only a mile, BUT I did it with NO PAIN and loved every minute of it.

I then hopped on the bike to get my sweat on.

Did you know to get the most out of a stretch that you must stretch that muscle for at least one minute, twice a day? I had no idea – that’s a long time! My PT told me that my calves are abnormally tight and that I need to stretch them more often and gave me this little tidbit. So I did some of this after my “run”:

I’m off to stretch some more, do my PT exercises, and then finish off with some push ups before I collapse on the couch for some mindless tv. Sounds like an exciting night, right?

Do you stretch often? I admit, I’m really bad about stretching except for my IT band which I’m OCD about.

Man, we just can’t seem to catch a break with training this season. The weather does NOT want to cooperate! We got so lucky with training for the Vegas season that this season has been a mess so far. Not fair….

So, if you don’t live in a climate where it snows, let me show you what we’ve been dealing with:

Hmmmmm…….just a little different than when we were training for the Vegas half:

So sad. We even had to run in a single file line so we could stay on the packed snow!

I was surprised, though, because we were not the only runners out there on the trail. We passed some hard core runners and some others just out for a stroll – but there were a lot more people out than I thought we’d see. I liked it!

Even with the snow, our 40 minute run went pretty well. Let me tell you, if you ever want your run to fly by, run in snow. You’ll be so busy concentrating on not falling and where you’re stepping that the run will be over before you know it!

I’m proud of my Team – they really rocked it out this past Sunday. They’re total bad azz runners for showing up in this snow and getting the job DONE.

(lots of iphone photos this week – J and I didn’t know our camera battery was dead until we got there!)

I sure hope the weather is nice wherever you are — please send some warm weather my way, K??

I can’t believe this Sunday is going to be the 3rd week of training with Team Challenge already!! A new season brings a whole new group of people, but a majority of us were all out on Sunday morning in the freezing cold ready to run. And I use the term “ready” loosely.

We discussed the importance of pacing and leaving some gas in the tank for the end of the run.

The first week of training 75% of people went out too fast and were dying at the end. I explained how good it feels at the end of a race when you’ve still got some kick and you’re able to pass other racers instead of being the one getting passed!

I hope that if I keep reminding them of this they’ll finally listen to me.

I was impressed with everyone’s enthusiasm this past Sunday, though, and other than my knee hurting, the run went great!

In other related running news, what do you guys think of the Boston Marathon’s new qualifying times and registration procedures?

Obviously, the new times don’t affect me because I’ll never qualify for Boston. BUT I personally don’t really have a problem with it. Boston is an elite event for elite athletes, and should be treated as such. There are a million other fantastic marathons in the world that don’t require qualifying, so those of us who can’t qualify for Boston should cheer on those who do and be inspired by their ridiculously speedy legs! Heck, I’m inspired by anyone who runs a marathon period!

I know some other people have posted about this Adidas ad that ran a few years back, but I couldn’t not post this picture:

I can totally relate. Hehe. (you can see more pictures here)

Hope everyone’s having a great Wednesday!!

So, I feel like the blog has been focused on the “and more” part of my life than the “mile 26″ part lately. This is because I haven’t been straight up honest with you guys lately. Yeah, the mile 26 part? Not gonna happen. Not this Spring at least. After my 12 mile run 2 weeks ago my right knee/leg was a mess. I haven’t run since and have decided not to run the Ann Arbor Trail Marathon on May 1st.

This was a hard decision. I’ve never been hurt before – it was really hard to take a step back and realize that it’s OK not to train right now and to wait until I’m back to 100% before I get into it hard core again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still be teaching (except the past 2 weeks I’ve had lots of subs!), but I’m taking it easy. I haven’t been using weights for the legs tracks in Group Power and I’m taking it easy during Group Step. I’m making a conscious effort to get better.

However, I’m seriously dying for more cardio!! So, I made a decision on my drive home from Pittsburgh on Sunday to get this:

I was totally crazy to buy this while J wasn’t in town. You should have seen me and C trying to get this monster heavy box in the house Sunday night!

And if that wasn’t bad enough, then I saw this:

I texted J this picture and he wrote back “I dare you”.

I’ve never been known to back down from a dare.

So I got to work.

I couldn’t have done it without C’s help to be honest. He was the greatest helper ever (and photographer!).

This is what I look like after a long weekend in Pittsburgh, a 3 hour drive home, working at the office for 3 hours in the afternoon, and then assembling a bike for 2 hours:

Not so glamorous. Though, I feel like most of the pictures I post on here are pretty much this way. I should probably work on that……. (total tangent, I know)

But despite being tired, I made it happen.

Success!

I rode it for 15 minutes Sunday night just to test it out and my butt and inner thighs were SORE the next morning. —–> Loves it

Tonight I rode for 45 minutes and my leg/knee doesn’t hurt one bit. It feels so good to work hard and not feel any pain!!!

I need to get my butt in gear because this Sunday starts training with Team Challenge. Luckily it’s a beginner training program and I can ease back into it with the Team!

I’m disappointed about the marathon, but I still have the half marathon in Virginia to look forward to. Better to be smart than sorry…….. (and it totally sux getting older and having to make adult decisions, btw……)

So, my goal is to keep the blog a good balance between some running, biking, weight training, core work, friends, fun, and definitely family!

How do you bounce back from a disappointment? Do you focus on the future, or reflect on the past?

Time for the new season of Team Challenge to start!

Tonight was one of the couple informational meetings for the spring season. We will be participating in the Wine Country Virginia Half Marathon on June 4th.

According to the race website:

The newest Wine Country Half course is destined to be a favorite and one of the most scenic half marathons anywhere. The race starts amongst the vineyards at Breaux Vineyards and takes runners on a scenic journey past hillside vineyards, expansive horse farms, and historic estates. Runners will enjoy a fast and peaceful 13.1 course on winding country roads often covered by canopy trees. The finish takes runners past historic Hillsboro and into Doukenie Winery where the celebration begins at the post-race Wine & Music Festival featuring local vintners, brewers and culinary delights.

Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it?? Hey, I’m all for a race that offers wine before and afterwards!

It was the first meeting J and I attended together.

It was definitely a lot different (but good!).

We both got up in front of the potential participants and spoke about our experiences with Team Challenge and what to expect during training. I was definitely a lot more confident this time around (compared to my first meeting!).

But, it was especially nice seeing my friends from last season. I’ve missed them!!!!!

Training for the half marathon begins February 13th. I’m taking it easy on my leg until then – I want/need to be 100% for the Team. I’ll have more information and details about my knee/leg after my next doctor appointment this Friday. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Tell me – what are you looking forward to this weekend? I’m looking forward to sleeping in on Sunday and having a nice brunch with some of my favorites blogging besties……

If you are in the NorthEast Ohio area and are interested in joining the Team this season, shoot me an email and I’ll send you the information!

……..my new partner in crime:

J has been hired by Team Challenge!!!!! I’m so excited!

Let me give you a little background: the NorthEast Ohio chapter of Team Challenge was dwindling a year ago and was almost about to be cut from the program since it hadn’t been very successful. Well, a new endurance manager was hired the season I came on board and miraculously brought the program back to life. Normally, each chapter has 2 coaches – a run coach and a walk coach. But last season there was only me because they weren’t sure what was going to happen.

Well, since we were so successful in meeting our goals we get to have both coaches this season. When Ryan (my endurance mgr) asked if I knew of anyone who would be interested in the position I immediately thought of J. He comes to mostly all the training runs, plays soccer, goes to Spinning regularly, and runs races with the family. He’s the fittest he’s ever been and 100% qualified for the job.

It took a little convincing, but he finally realized this was our chance to work together and be a “team” (hehe, get it? Team Challenge?).

He’s going to be my partner and get those walkers to the finish line!

I’m so excited for the new season to start next month and training for the Virginia Half Marathon. If it’s anything like Vegas, this season is going to be AMAZING with J on board.

This will be our first time “working” together. I’m excited, but also nervous. Do you work with your spouse? Do you love it or hate it?

Wow, thank you for all the nice comments on my last post! You guys sure know how to make a girl blush….

Like I mentioned at the end of my post, I had no idea what I was in for on Sunday. It started off like any other race morning and then the whole Team met in the lobby of the hotel.

It was nice to get to see everyone and pump them up/calm their nerves. And after a big pep talk , I told everyone Good Luck, let them know they were on their own once we hit the street, and that I’d see them on the course! Since I was the coach I got to start in any corral and could move up and down the course as I pleased (love the special treatment, btw).

So here was the plan:

Nick was my asst coach so he took off with our speedy runner and basically ran with her to the finish. I started in Corral 12 with the next 4 fastest runners. I was going to run with them to mile 6, turn around and head back until I saw the next runner come through, run with him or her for 2 miles or so, turn around and head back for the next runner, etc, etc. Then Nick was going to catch them as they reached mile 12 and encourage them to the finish line. We did this until every single one of our 25 participants were done.

The plan worked beautifully.

You couldn’t ask for better scenery:

The guys always find it so funny that I run with my camera.

The first 6 miles were pretty speedy (2 of those miles clocked in at 8:45!) – and I was feeling great when I split from the guys to find my next victim. Hehe.

The orange jerseys made it easy to find Team Challenge participants and I had a good idea of when I’d see people come through so it worked out real well!

By the time I crossed the finish line, it was 4 hours later and I had covered almost 20 miles!!!!! I had guessed I would run about 17 miles since I was going back and forth so I was surprised when I saw 19.79 on my Garmin!

Every single participant finished the race, and that’s what matters. Not their time, not what place they finished in, but that they did it. For most of the people on my team, this was their first time running a race EVER. They were seriously incredible. And the money they raised (over $116,000 from my team alone!) is even more incredible. These people deserve more than just a race medal for everything they did this season. They really made a HUGE impact on my life, and I just hope I did the same for them.

After I was sure my whole team had checked in after the race, we made our way back up to the hotel room for some much needed showers and naps! Our day was not over……….

We had a celebration to get to!!!!!!!!!!!

Recap coming tomorrow.

Good night, guys!!

Have you had a coach or mentor that made a huge impact on your life?

Hey guys!! I’ve missed you!!! It feels like I’ve been gone forever!

I feel like I’m so behind in blogs (350+ in my google reader!), Twitter, and Facebook. Has anything exciting been happening??

My weekend was a life-changing experience.

I never knew how rewarding coaching could be. What a weekend. In order to avoid boring you to death with a super long post I figured I’d break it up a bit.

Friday was great. After checking in and sight seeing (i.e. shopping!), the night started with dinner at a mexican restaurant in Mandalay Bay. I’ve never been a fan of guacamole, but the gauc this place had was amazing. I think it changed my opinion guacamole forever! Add that to the 2 pomegranate margaritas I had, and I was one happy girl when we left the restaurant.

Nikki and I thought there was no way we’d be able to stay up and have some drinks, but we were troopers and ended up having a great time!

Which led to this on Saturday morning:

Hehe.

But I still managed to get up for our 7:00 Team Challenge easy run. Every chapter from across the country met Saturday morning for an easy 2 mile (or less) run or walk to just get our legs moving. I couldn’t miss it. And then after the run I had to be at a Coach/Staff meeting at 9:00 for an hour or so. I had a busy morning because then my Team was meeting at 11:00 to head over to the expo together!

One of the highlights of my weekend happened when we were walking out to the shuttle to take us to the expo. There was another bus when we walked out of the hotel and WuTang was standing right there!!!! My sis noticed them first (and we knew they had been performing at the hotel) so I couldn’t let the opportunity pass without asking for a picture.

Ummmmm…….hello, Method Man!!!! OMG, how freakin cool. The guy taking our picture loved my peace sign and then Method Man and I fist bumped (and exploded!!) before I had to get on the shuttle to go to the expo. So random, and so totally fun!

The expo was good, but just so crowded. They did provide some fun photo opportunities, though:

We didn’t stay at the expo too long, though. It was seriously insanely crowded. I felt like there was so much more to see and do but the crowds were just overwhelming.

Saturday night was the Team Challenge pasta party, which was so inspirational. I won’t go into all the details, but what an event! It was so well organized and with almost 1,800 people there was hardly a wait for the buffet lines or any confusion as to which table you were sitting at. It was quite impressive.

Typical Heather style:

Before we left, my sis, Nikki, and I had to stop and get a picture with Ali and Roberto from the Bachelorette:

My excitement from meeting Method Man equaled my sister’s excitement from meeting Ali and Roberto! She’s a total Bachelorette junky! Ali’s sister and brother both suffer from colitis so this event is near and dear to her.

Being celebrity stalkers really takes a lot out of you. We were glad to get back to our room that night.

We set out our gear:

And crashed:

Sunday was about to be one of the longest days of my life. I had no idea.

Would you have gone up and asked for a picture with a celebrity like I did? Or just have taken the picture from afar??

What a week, guys!! I can’t say I’ll be sorry when this week(end) is over. I am EXHAUSTED. I know that sounds so dramatic, but it’s the best word I can think of to describe how I’m feeling (yeah, I don’t sugarcoat things).

Would you know, that the morning after I returned the Traverse, it was the coldest day it’s been in CLE yet this Fall?? Go figure. No heated seats, no remote start…….blah. My car barely puttered on (I hadn’t started it in over a week!) and the gas light was on, too! Geez, welcome back to the real world, Heather.

And then on my way to work, this happened:

100,000 miles!!!!!! I was hoping to keep this car til it died. I think that may happen sooner than later….

But enough about my car. Last night we had Team Challenge over to our house for a pizza/jersey decorating party. It was fun to hang out with everyone outside of training!

We don’t mess around. This is serious business.

See me in the middle with my head down??? Yeah, that’s how I write, too. I can’t help it – I’ve always written that way and still get made fun of for it, too. Love who you are, right? Hehe.

But what I found AWESOME is that Cindy (to my left in the above picture) actually convinced her husband to decorate hers!!

LOVE.IT.

So, this is it. We leave for Vegas tomorrow morning. I’ve done everything I can to help prepare my Team for Sunday. I still can’t believe the season is almost over – it went quick! I plan on recapping my worries, struggles, and successes as the Team’s coach next week. It’s been quite the experience!

Have a great weekend everyone, wish us luck!!!