Battle of Mobile Bay Race!

January 30, 2010
Well the time has come in my training schedule, that I register to race my 1st 5K race since March 2004.....Lets see...thats 6 freaking years ago!! I looked online and saw that there was one about an 30 mins (or so I thought it was 30 mins. from my house)! I talked my husband into running it with me and we were off! I found out the night before that the race was ALL the way out in Dauphin Island, which is WAY out in WEST Mobile...about an hour from my house! Good thing the race started at 9 am, so we decided to leave the house at 7:15 am Saturday morning! My goal was to finish in 29 mins. My husband has not ran EVER, but is a true athlete and can pretty much do anything he puts his mind to with ease! I really had this big plan that I was going to have to encourage him throughout the race to keep up with me, so I was pretty PUMPED! He always beats me in everything, with little effort, so I was certain this was MY time to SHINE...lol We got there and checked in and got ready.....living on the coast, our temps usually do not get too cold, but for some ungodly reason the temp was about 46 degrees....thats well near FREEZING to us! Much to my surprise there was about 350 people down there! I was amazed at how may 50+ runners were down there....I was thinking I was in pretty good shape until I saw them...I can only hope I look that like in 25 years! We got all lined up and the cannon went off and we were OFF! I felt really good plus I had my best friend and biggest supporter (my wonderful husband) right by me! The scenery was beautiful, running a long the bay really made for a nice run! Unfortunately my plans of leaving my husband behind did not happen and he stayed with me the entire way and he LET me cross the finish line before him so that I "beat" him! My time was 31.15.....not what I had hoped for, but on the bright side, I did do my 10 min. a mile pace I was shooting for, so I was happy about that! After the race, they had a nice after party with hotdogs and beer! We enjoyed that before we headed home!!

The week's are FLYING By....

Well now let me flash forward to where I am at right now...I am in week 8 of my 12 week training! To take a look back, this is what I have done so far to prepare...I started off by buying a new pair of running shoes! I went to a local store, McCoy's, and got fitted for a new pair of shoes, the people there were SOOOO helpful and they put me in the right shoes for my feet....a pair of Acis. The only problem was...I BEGGED, no pleaded for a IPod Touch for Christmas so that I could get the Nike+Sports kit to help me with my running...in order to use the kit, you were supposed to have Nike Shoes...but to my surprise someone has invented a little pouch to put on the outside of your shoe laces so that you can still wear the sensor that goes with the kit! I also download the C25k (couch to 5K) app for my ipod touch. The first few weeks of training (the 1st of December 2009) I started my running using that app. Although its a 8 week training program, I was able to complete it in about 4 weeks! It basically gets you to a point where you are able to run for 30-45 mins without stopping! I would say that app is a GREAT starting point for ANYONE interested in beginning to run...its very basic and VERY effective! The last week of December I decided I was ready to start the half marathon training program..well at least I thought I was! The 1st 2 weeks were brutal....I pretty much had my mind made up that I was going to give-up and stop after week 2....but I had already paid for my Disney Princess Half Marathon Registration ($150) and promised my kids a trip to Disney, so I told myself...I had to push through it! It was not until week 4 that I realized that if I was going to do this....MY MIND HAD TO BE STRONGER THAN MY BODY!!!! I took 4 days off of running and decided to make up some rules for myself...

• Rule 1- My MIND must be stronger than my BODY


• Rule 2- Don't Cheat on MYSELF


• Rule 3- Stay Focused and keep my eyes open


• Rule 4- Stay Positive...not everyday can be an "A" day


• Rule 5- Don't get discouraged

After my break and some retail therpy, I decided to go into week 5 with a new attitude and better appreciation for my accomplishments....6 months ago I could not even run to my mailbox...ha! So now I am at week 8 feeling better than I have felt in 10 years! I can run for 7 miles without stopping and keeping a pace of about 9 mins. a mile! Each week I am improving my speed and my distance. This saturday will be my 1st 5K race in 6 years...I'm a little nervous, but very excited to get that "running race" feel again! From here on out, I will post updates of my running progress!

What have I got myself into?

Well I decided a few months ago after having my 2 miscarriages in 3 months, that I needed to find a new hobby....after having 3 very normal and healthy pregnancies (besides my last baby being born at 33 weeks) I was no longer able to carry another baby. The news was heart breaking, I am only 28.....It wasn't a total shock though, I was diagnosed with stage 4 endrotimious and a bicornate uterus 15 years earlier, so it was a miracle that I even had the 3 beautiful babies I had. Speaking of that, let me tell you a little bit about me...I'm Jennifer, an average 28 year old mother of 3 and wife of the most wonderful man in the world. I have to say God has been very generous to me, even though I know I am not worthy! I live in Daphne, AL and my husband and I own a roller skating rink. Although I love roller skating, I have always had a passion for running! I started running at age 10, and boy did I run. My mom was my inspiration, she would take me to the local track almost every night and I would watch her run. She made it look so easy. When I started middle school I joined the track team...there I found my niche...the LONG distances..I always ran the mile and 2 mile event...I loved it, I went on to run in high school, but after my junior year I decided to hang up my acis! Now lets fast forward 14 years later....I'm now 28 and have had 3 kids in 3 years...that's right...my oldest Sweet Miss Kamden just turned 5, my middle son Maddox (who is a carbon copy of me) is 3 years old and my Baby Bryant, he is 22 months old now! My husband and I wanted to big family so despite the odds against us, we tried for a 4th baby and BAM....we were pregnant right away! After 9 weeks, I had a miscarriage and was devastated...I had never had one before and could not phantom how this could happen to me!! So after seeing the dr. and being told my rather HIGH risk (for the 100 time) we decided that Terry (my wonderful husband) should get a vasectomy...that he did...however we decided to go to Las Vegas for one last hoo-raw a week before the procedure and little did we know, we would be coming back with a little souvenir! A few weeks after Terry's "procedure" we found out that I was 7 weeks pregnant! BIG SURPRISE, but we were thrilled...I just knew that God had wanted me to have 4 kids after all! When I went in for my 10 week appt. there was NO heart beat.....DEVASTATED beyond words, (and even tht is an understatment)! I could not figure out why my faith was being tested and my spirit was broken? While in the Dr.'s office I was reading a magazine and saw an ad for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. The race was just days after my first due date, I instantly told myself....I have to do this race. Even though I have not ran in over a decade, I had to do something to get my mind off of everything. Running was the one thing that kept me occupied during my parents divorce as a child and I knew that running could be the healing power that I needed to get me through this too! That afternoon I came home and looked up half marathon training schedules and printed out best one I could find. I decided to go with Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training Program. So here is where my running journey begins....