Done being sick, just in time for my next race

...tomorrow.  The words hooray! and help! immediately come to mind.  I'm extremely excited to be in the race atmosphere again, but I'm also anxious/curious about running this particular course.  I won't be trying to PR {set a personal record}, so I'm not worried about my time...but I've never done a trail race before!  There are more rules {i.e. if you wear headphones, you can only have one ear in and if you drop trash outside aid stations, you're DQ'd} and runner etiquette {you have to run single-file for a lot of the race and have to say "on your left" when you pass} to remember, there are no bathrooms on the course {only at the start/finish lines}, it is easy to get 'lost' or off course if you're not paying attention to the markers, and you have to watch out for wildlife and environmental hazards {potholes, fallen trees, branches, cliffs--jk}.  All this focus and concentration on 8 millions things besides running could either work for me or against me.  Let's hope it's all team Natalie and I don't stress myself out.  I do that?  Also, the weather forecast says 'blazing hot'.  Yeah, it's supposed to get well into the 90s, what the what.    

The week started out rough and yesterday I felt the closest to normal I've felt since Sunday.  Saturday I noticed I felt more tired than I should've, especially for getting enough sleep most of the week.  Sunday I felt extremely tired the entire day and then Monday and Tuesday were spent throwing up {and the joke is, I never get sick, so I was pretty disappointed and totally blind-sided by it}.  

It was unexpected and I think I was most disappointed when I realized I wouldn't be running those days.  When I woke up Monday, I immediately put my running clothes on and noticed feeling pretty dizzy doing so.  Then I grabbed the dog to let her out, and while waiting for her to do her business, I had that 'oh my gosh I need a toilet to throw up in' feeling.  Worst feeling ever.  My plan was a 5-mile on Monday, 10-mile on Tuesday, 6-mile on Wednesday, 3-mile on Thursday, a 2-mile walk on Friday, and a 13.1 mile race on Saturday.  

But instead, this is how my Monday was spent:  fruit/vegetable juice, water, gatorade, and saltines while sitting on the couch, unless I was taking a trip to the bathroom to vomit.  Gross.  Tuesday, graham crackers and half an apple were added to my menu, but my booty was still planted on the couch whenever possible to avoid dizziness and nausea.

Wednesday, I was bound and determined to go for a run.  I had to wait a few hours after being awake for my stomach and bowels to chill out, but after eating and patiently waiting, I finally got to run.  It was warm and my body had to work harder, but it felt awesome to run again--I hadn't run since Friday.   Although I was wearing my garmin, I avoided checking my pace so I would run strictly according to how my body felt.  I finished 5.1 miles and was pretty hot and kind of weak by the end, but my legs felt real good.  My average and max heart rate during the run were 20 beats higher than normal, but that was to be expected after being sick.  Once I got home and cooled down with water, gatorade, and standing in front of our window unit, I felt better.  I was also determined to eat more than saltines and graham crackers this day.  I was so happy my stomach didn't have any complaints about my chocolate/banana/peanut butter/protein shake as my post-run 'refuel'.  

I think I'm officially done being sick and am getting my strength back.  Yesterday I only ran a few miles before realizing I started my run much too late into the day to be  hero and run in the heat.  I felt parched after 2 miles and then admitted to myself that an 8-mile wouldn't be such a great idea.  And now today, I'm about to take Tina on a long walk to keep my legs loose and put a couple more miles on them.  Wish me luck on my race tomorrow and I'll try to keep myself as hydrated as possible today.  And I'll start memorizing the course map so I don't get lost and accidentally run into a bear cave.  

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Who else hates 24/48 hour stomach bugs?  Hopefully everyone I am sure.  

Do saltines help your stomach?  What are your stomach bug remedies?

Six Saturdays

Yesterday I told Z that I was so excited to run the next morning I couldn't take it.  I told him I wanted to run real hard and be begging to stop by the end of our run.  He just laughed and said "cool baby".  In his mind I bet he was thinking about how we would be running together and how he wasn't sure if he was as ready to push himself as hard as I was.  You see, since our road races in Texas (it's been four weeks), this run will be his fourth time running.  Which, shouldn't really matter for him since he didn't have any intentions of running another race for a while...  Funny how things change.

Two nights ago, we registered for our next race.  We had both already been planning on running this race, but Z had been thinking he'd stick with the 5K while I ran the half-marathon.  But when we registered two nights ago, we both registered for the half-marathon.  This is a dream come true to run a road race with my man, especially this distance.  I will keep my dreams of an even further distance for us to race together to myself, otherwise it'll be 'too much too fast' for Z and he'll become uninterested.

So this brings me to the title of the post.  Our race is Saturday, May 5th -- the Provo City Half-Marathon.  Including tomorrow, race day is in six Saturdays.  This is really exciting for me and a tad intimidating and tiring for Zuriel.  We had an easy 5-mile run this morning instead of a begging-to-stop-by-the-end-of-our-run kind of run.  Unfortunately.  Z was pushing himself pretty hard, but I've been running much more frequently since our last race so it was a relaxed pace for me {but I still enjoyed every minute}.  Tomorrow will be a 7-mile at the same pace.  

After drinking my routine post-run shake, stretching, showering, and cleaning, I'm hungry again.  Naturally.  I always am.  I'm a good eater, don't you worry about that.  I couldn't decide what to eat, so I've resorted to left over salad, original sun chips, and an apple.  Almonds are sounding good about now too.  We'll see.  Now off to have our fabulous day of errands and chillin.  Like villans.

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-Have you ever run a race {or participated in some important event/accomplishment} with your significant other?  Was it everything you hoped for and more?

-Do you like almonds?  And if you do, how do you take your almonds?

This is going to make me sound boring, but, I just like plain raw almonds.  I know, this girl needs to add some spice to her life.

Pre-race

Yesterday Z and I flew into Houston, TX and we felt the humidity the second we stepped off the plane.  It was bittersweet {and I was so tempted to type 'bittersweat'...I'm so funny...}.  

Today consisted of lots of food, water, gatorade, the race expo, a few errands, and now it's bedtime.  

I have my race day outfit laying out, ready to be worn and sweated in tomorrow.  Pre-race jitters are present, but miniscule compared to the jitters I felt before my first marathon.  

More than anything, I'm excited for the memory I'll have of me and my dad running our first road race together.  Bring it on!

Four more days

We enjoyed a weekend of the 'official' final hockey game of the season {in an indoor hockey rink that was just as cold as the outdoor rink}, a good run on Saturday, movie time, and yummy food, all while Z's sister was in town visiting--it was fabulous.  We also got to meet her boyfriend, who was perfectly kind, funny, and easy going.  We approve.

Today began with a visit to the chiropractor.  I am a big fan of chiropractors.  Sometimes I wish my husband was a construction man and a chiropractor...it would really save us some money and be extremely convenient {c'mon hun, it's a good idea}.  Lucky for me, my chiropractor doubles as a running mentor.  He is a sports chiropractor and helps keep me on track with my training, heals my IT band when it acts up, and heals other injuries and discomforts that inevitably arise.

In other news, there are only four more days until the big day.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh........       

The big day of 26.2 miles.

That 'ah' was a mix of excitement and anxiety all rolled up into one big, mexican burrito.  With extra excitement on top.  Did that make sense?  Hope so.  I'm waiting for a crock pot full of tortilla soup to finish cooking, so I have mexican food on my mind {my excuse for the burrito comparison}.

Have I mentioned Z is running a half-marathon when I run my full marathon?  My dad and I are running the full, my mom and Z are running the half, and my two youngest brothers are running the 5k.  This means it'll be a very memorable day.  This also means we are flying to Texas to run our races!  We fly out Thursday morning and I am so excited.  

The team before their final game

A smile on his face while waiting out his 2 minutes in the penalty box...

Way to finish the season with a victory boys!