Hiatus

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know Im taking a hiatus from the blogging world for awhile. Didn't want to disappear for awhile and have ya'll think Im one of those F.A.T.er lost in cyber world ;)

My dad passed away early Monday morning from a heart attack. So my life has defintely been flipped upside down. So taking some time to grieve, figure things out, support the family, etc.

Stay Strong Fat. Ill be in touch.

Flying Pig Half Marathon

I did it! I completed my first half marathon. And I beat my goal by 5 minutes!!! This may be long, so hope you can stick out the read. ;)

The weather was absolutely perfect. Temps were in the lower 60's, and the sun was shining. Perfect day for a race! We got down to the start around 6am, and I lined up at the 2:30 pace and Alli went and lined up at the 4:00 pace.

The 6:30 start came, and nothing was starting. We all were squeezed in like sardines, and were all glancing at our watches. Than a girl in front of me told me how there was a fire and the race was starting 15 minutes late. So we stood around, and I started to get really antsy.

6:45 I hear the gunshot, and we were off. I started off slow, and had to remind myself to stay slow. The first leg we ran over two bridges connecting between Ohio and Kentucky. I started to peel off one of my layers, and I could definitely feel the sweat building up from those hills. I could hear Allis dad in my head from dinner the night before, Take your time with those hills, your in this race for you, Just Take It Slow :) Alli's family is from Michigan, so he knew that our hills were like dirt piles compared to the hills in Cincinnati! I knew that these little rolling hills were nothing compared to what was ahead. So took it slow and took some good deep breaths. The scenery on these bridges was just awesome. And on one of the bridges a guy next to me saw we taking pictures of the scenery and offered to take my picture while I ran. :) Only I would be running and taking pictures right? lol

They had hydration stops every mile, but it was after mile 3 when I took my first water station, so I walked through that since Im not coordinated enough to run and drink. And off I went again. Around Mile 5 there was TONS of fans. It felt like the 3 day! I thought our friend Adriena was there somewhere but I had no idea what she looked like. (we have met online) lol People were yelling Go Melissa! since I had my name on my bib. So I knew Id never figure out who she was. But enjoyed the encouragement from everyone else :) The crowd support was absolutely AMAZING!

I hit another water station after that and shot blocked with that, and than came upon Mile 6. I thought theres your 10k, only 7 miles to go. This was also where "the Climb started". I could feel a small pain in my foot, but just ignored it, and focused on what looked like the hill from hell. I looked up and said, holy shit.

2.5-3 miles all uphill, about a 300 ft incline. Yeah.

It was like you got to what you thought was the the top, and than it went to your right, and up, than to the top of that, and than you went left and up even more. But I ran up the whole thing, and felt pretty amazing when I got up it! I slowed down a bit to catch my breath, but thought damn melissa, look at you go! Near the top, we were at Eden Park , and it was quite a beautiful scenery especially with the sun shining. I stopped and took a few pictures. :)

And I took full advantage of walking through the water stops between the bottom of the climb and the top of it. I Gatorade and watered. I was feeling good hydration wise. While others around me did not look so great. :(

Before I realized it, I saw the sign, Half Marathon to the left, Full Marathon to the Right. Im at mile 9. Look at that. Only 4 miles to go! And I have to say it did feel like a great run. Just as my last 10 mile training run went. But shortly after that thought, is when I had to really play the mental game. While I enjoyed the neighborhood we ran through, I was starting to struggle mentally. It was like one minute I was like sweet, this is great. And than next minute I was thinking, this is the longest mile ever, what did I get myself into! This part started downhill so I had to remember to not get carried away or knew Id start to have knee pain. I felt two blisters forming, one on each foot, right on the ball. Ironically, Alli just asked me the night before how my feet did in training, and I said great! Apparently the buddha wasnt on my side on that one, was he? lol So to keep my mind off the negative critical talk, I searched for the Newton Faulkner tracks. Dream Catch Me - it felt like Grant was with me, and than People Should Smile More, which is my favorite song.

The songs definitely helped! During Mile 9-12, I took each mile by mile and utilized every water station I hit. I said, your at 10 girl. Keep it going. Mile 11, you have never ran this far yet! All these miles were still downhill, and sometimes you wonder if thats better or worse! Than we ran out to which felt the wrong direction, but than did another turn around, and I knew we were coming close to an end. So than I saw the sign, I hit mile 12. I said 1 more mile...you got this! This was the longest mile ever, but I also got a second wind at this point. My legs felt strong, and my body felt great! We rounded a corner and I thought is this it? Than I could hear announcers. And than I saw the gates on the sides. It was divided into two, one side for half, and one side for the full. And I could see the Mile 13 sign. At that point I lost it. The last 6 months was played back in my head, and the tears started. I remember that first day I started the Couch to 5K program, and all the races Ive ran since than. Than I heard, GO MELISSA!!!!! I looked and knew it was Adrienne. I waved and ran right across the finish feeling stronger than ever.

2:25:47

Amazing.

What a great experience. Im so glad I did it, and picked such a challenging course as my first half. The hills just made it so much more rewarding. I only walked through the water stations, and was able to conquer those hills! And still come in under 2.5 hours. Such an empowering feeling. I cant wait till my next one :)

I still cant believe it, I ran my first half marathon :) Running was one of the best things Ive ever decided to do in my life. Hands Down.

Exciting Things Happening

Life is so good right now. Each day is bringing on a new adventure, and I am truly blessed with everything. First why am I up at 7am?Because I couldnt sleep due to the excitement. Im running in my first half marathon tomorrow! Im heading out in a few hours to Cincinnati. Unfortunately, Grant is not able to go down with me. Im really bummed about it, but trying to make the best of the situation. Im staying with my friend Alli, who is running the full. So I know we will still have a blast. Grants hooked up with the text messages of my progress during the race though :)

Is it possible to be so excited that you feel like you might puke at any moment? Im pretty much at that point. I feel as ready as Im going to be, but am freaking a little bit about the challenging course. Which is hills, hills, hills. Ill reach the highest part of the hills around mile 10. Than its downhill. Maybe Ill just roll into the finish line. LOL All I have to keep remembering is that Im running this race for ME, and ME only. My goal is to finish, and most importantly HAVE FUN!

We had an awesome vacation in Arizona two weeks ago. It was just what I needed! It was my birthday, so it was like a week long birthday vacation. What more can you ask for? We stayed at this amazing resort, in Carefree, AZ. We went on a hot air balloon ride, got massages, hiking, shopping, relaxing by the pool, and horseback riding. I want to go back..better yet move there! Its so much more laid back, and beautiful! How can you be grumpy when walking out your front door and seeing mountains! The hiking is awesome....and what a great place to live to maintain an active lifestyle :)

In other news, on the night we got back from Arizona we had a concert to go to at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. We were going to see Newton Faulkner. Great show by the way :) St. Andrews Hall was the first place Grant told me he loved me about 7 years ago. During one of the romantic songs, Dream Catch Me, he asked me to sit down with him, and than he gave a wonderful
speech about how romantic of a week it had been, and now we are at the first place he said he loved me. And than down on one knee he went, and asked me to marry him!!!!!! I didnt see that coming at all! Everything about that proposal was absolutely perfect. A perfect ending to a pretty perfect week.

I couldn't be happier to spend the rest of my life with this man. Our relationship had evolved into such a beautiful thing, and it just keeps growing so much stronger. I cant wait to see what the future brings us!

Exciting stuff going on in my life :) Well I have to shower and hit the road. Stay tuned for the race report when I get back.