Woohoo!

First of all...Happy 4th of July! Thank you to all our soldiers who are fighting for our freedom that we are so blessed to have!


Days like today are the reason I keep running. I ran the annual Alliant Energy 8K race this morning and it went well. This was my 6th time running this particular race AND the fastest I've ever run it or any other 8K! Let me give you my history at this race...


2004: First time running it, 45:56. I probably would have run under 45, but I got a horrible blister on my heel in the FIRST mile. It was very painful and I was glad to finish.
2005: Ran a good race in 43:34, was happy about it.
2006: Wanted to BEAT that 43:34 time. Guess what? I didn't beat it, I just got EXACTLY the same time AGAIN! I was not happy! I mean, couldn't I have run it in 43:32 at least?
2007: Ran it in 42:39 and was over the moon! I was so pumped to have broken 43 minutes!
2008: I had just run a 40:38 at a previous 8K, so I wanted to run somewhere close to that time. I ran a 40:55 and was happy with it...considering I had run an 18 miler the day before. (But, that's not much of an excuse, considering my friend Carrie had also run 18 miles and rocked a great race!)
2009: I wanted to break 40 minutes. If that meant crossing the finish line in 39:59, I would have been overjoyed. I ran it in 39:24! It was the best feeling seeing the clock and knowing I was going to bust through 40 minutes.


I went to bed ready for a good race... I woke up to rainy, depressing weather. Yuck! Now, I know there are many of you who just LOVE running in the rain. While the temperature was good for running, I am NOT a fan of being wet and running around in sloshy shoes. Also, if you've met me, you know I have about 10 pounds of hair on my head. Imagine running with 10 pounds of WET hair, no fun!


As I approached the start line, I was still hoping to break 40, but I'll admit, I was ready with my excuses if I didn't... "I ran 12 miles yesterday," "I'm tired," "It was rainy..." Blah, blah, blah!


I took off at what felt like the right pace. I hit mile 1 just over 8 minutes. Mile 2 must have been fast as the clock showed 15 something. Mile 3 in this race is difficult as you are headed uphill and then around the curve in a park. As you exit the park, it's uphill and you are just waiting for the long downhill. I kept my focus and tried to run strong. I hit 4 miles in just under 32 minutes, so I knew it was still possible to break 40 minutes.


But, I'd have to really bust out this last mile. It's a long straight away and I was tired. I was really tired... I started telling myself it would be ok if I hit around 40, I'd still PR.


As I passed a guy holding an "800 meters to go" sign, I thought, "I can do this!" Once I could see the clock and that there were no 4's on it, I kicked in as much as I could. Woohoo!


So, back to my point, about days like today being why I keep running. I love meeting goals and seeing improvement! Two of my running goals this year were to break 25:00 in the 5K and break 40:00 in the 8K. My new 5K PR is 24:25 and for the 8K, 39:24!


If you had told me 5 years ago that I'd be running sub 8:00s in ANY distance, I would have laughed you out of the room! It's not that I wasn't confident, it's that I thought I knew my pace and that that was it. Our bodies are amazing and running proves it!


I realize sub-8:00s is not break-neck speed for many people, but it IS for me. If I can be faster 5 years later, what will I be able to do in 5 more years? You never know! Maybe breaking 40 minutes in the 8K is good luck for me to break 4 HOURS in my next marathon? Here's hoping!

Jesus Boost!

This past weekend was the commemoration of the massive floods that raged through Cedar Rapids last year. The city had several events planned, including a flood run, Floodstock celebration, and the Healing the Heartland festival/concerts.

I ran the 7 mile Flood Run and it was awesome! I will say that I wasn't so sure it would be awesome at the start. When I saw it was raining (thus no IPOD tunes or Garmin for me), I was a bit disappointed. More importantly, I thought it was sad it was rainy and gloomy on the very day we were to run through the neighborhoods that were flooded one year ago.

My ultimate goal was to set a PR, but I also wanted to just enjoy the run and take notice of these neighborhoods. I must admit, it was very emotional. The affected neighborhoods are just bare and still look like war zones. The few people there were so kind and upbeat. They were yelling, "Welcome to our neighborhood, thanks for running..." As I looked at them and clapped back, my eyes welled up with tears. I helped a friend's friend do post-flood clean up last year and you can't imagine how horrible an ordeal like this is. My heart goes out to all those who were affected and I hope they know that it WILL get better (I have to believe that!). (By the way, I did set a PR and felt great the whole race!)

So, later that night, Carrie, Kim, and I went to a free concert with a few of my favorite Christian bands, BarlowGirl & Newsboys. We caught the tail end of BarlowGirl and saw ALL of Newsboys. It was AWESOME!!! We went up to the front, near the stage, for the Newsboys. We were jumping, clapping, screaming, and singing along with the whole crowd. I turned around several times to see an amazing crowd of people there, just worshipping God. What a life affirming thing to witness!

This brings me to the title of this blog entry, "Jesus Boost!" I've always been a Christian and loved worshipping the Lord, but that concert brought me back to high school and college. When I was in high school/college, there were so many opportunities to worship like that. We went to church camp and the Caravan trip and had these awesome experiences. In college, we had worship 5 times a week in addition to so many other opportunities.

I think, as an adult, I've forgotten or lost a bit of that. We have jobs, bills to pay, and just LIFE to take care of. This concert brought it back to me in a huge way. Don't misunderstand me, it's not that I love Jesus less now as an adult. But, I think my "fire" for worshipping was dimming a bit. I want to feel like I did at that concert, ALL the time! For any of you needing your spark lit, check out Life 101.9 FM. I switched to this station a year or so ago and absolutely love it. I just FEEL better listening to that than anything else!

Vacation!!!

I know, it's been a while since I've posted...I'm sure you've all been wondering, "What's going on with Mariah?" Wait, you haven't been wondering? Well, too bad, I'll tell ya anyway...

So, after my disappointing marathon, I had a new thing to focus on - VACATION!!! I went on a 3 day Bahamas cruise with a good friend of mine. Then I headed to Delray Beach, Florida for some more R&R. Some of you may be thinking, "Sounds like a good vacation, what's the big deal?"

You have to understand what I've called "vacation" the last few years. Basically, I go visit family, run a marathon, or visit friends with their kids. While those are all fun things to do, I was told by numerous people that they aren't "real" vacation. So, this year, I decided to just do it - go on a real vacation.

My vacation didn't start the best...my first flight was late arriving in Atlanta, so I missed my connecting flight. The next flight they put me on would have made me miss my cruise! So, after a very stressful day rearranging flights, luggage, etc...I arrived on the ship with my friend. Once we confirmed my luggage arrived on the ship, we had a BLAST!

If you've never been on a cruise, you need to know something. There is FOOD everywhere, all the time. If you like to eat, the cruise is for you! You can order as many items as you want. So, we did just that. I think I ordered 2 desserts every night at dinner. Then, I ordered multiple breakfast items...and I'm not even a huge breakfast person!

We had fun laying out in Cococay and just relaxing. We shopped, we chatted, we ate, and we even had some drinks. Yes, folks, Mariah does have a drink from time to time!

When our cruise docked in Miami, I was headed to Delray to stay at my uncle's house. Here is the view from Uncle John's...

We literally could walk out the back door to the ocean! My friend Tina met me in Florida and we had the best time. Our goal was to have zero plans, to just do whatever we felt like, whenever we felt like it.

We had the place to ourselves. Our days consisted of the following: sleeping in, swimming in the ocean, laying out, shopping, swimming some more, eating, drinking, soaking in the hot tub, and staying up late watching whatever was on tv. Rough, huh?

Oh, I managed to squeeze in 1 run, while on vacation for a total of 10 days. Shocking, I know!

I can't remember the last time I had a vacation like this! It was just what I needed after a jam packed, super busy year. Here are a few more pics of our fun!

I plan to do this whole "vacation" thing on a regular basis now! Back to the real world, though. Back to NOT eating 17 meals a day and laying around all day. I'm running again and back in the swing!

Marathon #5 - Complete

It's official, I am now a 5 time marathoner. Unfortunately, this past weekend didn't go as I had hoped. As many of you know, I've been trying to break the 4 hour mark for a while. The closest I've come was in Green Bay last year - 4:05. So, it's not as if it's not possible...

I feel like I did all the pre-race stuff right - made sure I drank plenty of water, got plenty of rest, and ate a good meal.

The morning of the race went smoothly as well. My friends, Carrie & Andy, and I made it to the start with no issues. The weather was gorgeous too! All of us felt good and were ready to have a good race.

I started the race feeling good and running right on pace. While my pace slowed a bit by mile 3, I wasn't worried. I figured I was just settling into my groove. By mile 6, I was feeling intense pain in my lower back. I've never had this happen to me during a run, so I had hoped it would sort of just go away. (I know, wishful thinking) Well, it did NOT go away. In fact, it just kept getting worse.

Some of you may be doing the math already... If my back hurts at mile 6 and makes it difficult to run at at all...then I have 20.2 MORE miles left to run!

I decided to trudge onward (knowing in my gut I wasn't going to hit my goal) and run for as long as I could, at a slower pace. I was doing low 9:00s until about the halfway point. That's when my back said, "Hey, seriously, knock it off!" Surprisingly, I reached the halfway point in about 2 hours - SHOCKING! But, there was absolutely no way I could continue like that for 13.1 more miles.

So, my new plan was to do a combination of walking and running. The funny thing is that my legs were completely FINE for the whole race! They never cramped or complained to me once! But, whenever I'd try to run for an extended period, my back would hurt worse, probably because it couldn't handle the constant pounding.

Your mind can play funny tricks on you. I could have sworn I walked a ton more than I ran in the second half, but my mile splits don't lie. Don't get me wrong, they're not impressive, but they tell me that I was obviously spending most of the time running. All of my second half splits were in the 10:00 to 11:00 range. If I was running 9:20s before, I can't have been walking too much to keep this pace. I tried to run through areas where there was good crowd support and then take walking breaks in between.

By the time I could see the University of Illinois, I just wanted it to be over. At this point, I had considered quitting twice. Just my luck, there were no sag wagons near me either time. Once I entered the football field, I ran as hard as I could to the finish at the 50 yard line.

I hadn't looked at my watch much over the second half because I KNEW I was well past my goal. So, when I saw my final time on the clock as I finished, the disappointment was HUGE!

I wanted a minute to myself to just "be" and to get a bit of my anger out. Unfortunately for my friend Carrie, who is awesome, she was right there to give me a hug. My response? "Carrie, I need a minute, seriously..." Poor girl, what can I say? I was mad and didn't really want to talk to anyone at that moment! By the way, Carrie and Andy both had awesome races and PR'd!

It's only been a few days, so I wouldn't say I'm over the disappointment yet. It would be different if I thought under 4 hours wasn't attainable, but I know it is. Both of my 20 mile runs were under 3 hours, so the goal was in sight.

The hardest part is knowing I put all this work in over the last 4 1/2 months, only to NOT meet my goal. While I'm happy for all who raced well, I had hoped I'd have the same experience. I definitely feel beaten down and unsure of whether I even want to try another marathon. I know, I probably sound like I'm being dramatic, but it's just how I'm feeling right now.

I've done my best to find some positives:

1) I have now run 5 marathons in the last 2 1/2 years - it all started with wanting to run 1!

2) I still finished the race, no matter how much pain I was in. My mental and physical strength were definitely pushed to the limit.

3) I had a great time with my friends and all from the running club who ran.

NKOTB are back!

In case you haven't heard, NKOTB, otherwise known as New Kids On The Block, are back! Oh yes, it's true folks! I realize not many can say this, but I have the privelage of having seen them TWICE in my lifetime.

I was a big fan of the New Kids back when I was a crazy junior high teenager. I'll admit it, Joey was my fave, he was just SO dreamy! I honestly thought Joey and I would end up together...somehow.

My friend Carly had to review the concert and was kind enough to invite me along. For those of you who had lost respect for me, thinking I ordered and PAID for tickets, please know, they were FREE! This was purely for the entertainment factor and boy, was I entertained! Thanks Carly!

We had a great group of 4 fantastic girls and we headed to Moline to see NKOTB at the I Wireless Center.

I don't know how else to describe the whole thing - it was CRAZY! You would not believe how many people were decked out in their 80's gear and rockin' NKOTB clothes, buttons, dolls... The 4 of us apparently didn't get the memo...we wore NORMAL clothing.

All 5 guys appeared from a cloud of smoke and began the concert rockin' their vintage material. Let's just say they rocked the same dance moves as well. It was hilarious, but I don't think it was supposed to be funny. It's a little weird to watch Joey sing "Please Don't Go Girl" in his adult mature voice.

Apparently, Jordan and Joey both had solo careers? I was unaware (yes, Jen, I know my mom gave me Joey's solo CD for a Christmas prank gift). But, I really didn't know those two went solo...or I blocked it out. So, part of the concert paid homage to their super awesome solo albums. The high point of Jordan's performance was unbuttoned white shirt blowing open to reveal his bare chest. Wow...very exciting stuff.

My favorite part of the concert was when Donnie came out... I was nervous, because I knew for sure he hadn't done a solo album. Well, he wanted to sing "Cover Girl" by himself, to all the single ladies in the audience. Do you know why? It's because HE hasn't found HIS cover girl yet, ladies! So, if any of you want some Donnie W. (Jen), he's still available! After "Cover Girl," Donnie planted a big disgusting kiss on some woman in the front row. She about passed out, I'm fairly certain I would have slugged him. The other awesome Donnie moment came at the end of the show. Donnie held up a huge white banner that said, "Go Green. Save a John Deere, ride a Wahlberg!" Gross!

Carly and I held our breath the whole concert, fearing they'd never perform "Hangin' Tough" & "Step By Step." But, NKOTB never disappoint, they closed the show with them!

While I knew NONE of their current "hits," I did find myself remembering the choruses from the oldies. I also figured out that it was ridiculous for me to ever like the New Kids. Here are a few reasons why:

1) I only liked ONE member, Joey. I honestly couldn't stand the rest of them. Why would I buy their junk for one guy? (Remember those big buttons? I had several!)

2) They weren't any good! Oh my gosh, how I wish I would have seen/heard how bad they were and been cool enough not to succumb to them!

Please enjoy the pics, I took way more than I'd like to admit, but come on, who knows if there will ever be another NKOTB reunion? :-)

Marathon #5 Is Just Around The Corner...

It's official, in less than 2 weeks I will have completed my 5th marathon. Right now, I have mixed emotions about how this one is going to go. My goal is to finally break the big 4 hour barrier (well, it's big to ME). While most of my training would lead me to believe it's going to happen, you never know what race day will bring. In addition to that, my legs have been unbelievably uncooperative the last several weeks.


Basically, this is the conversation lately between me and my legs:


Me: "Hey Legs, let's go for a run, ok?"
Legs: "Ya know, we're just not feeling it today, can we skip?"
Me: "No, we don't skip, we stick to the plan!"
Legs: "Yah, you and your plan are kind of annoying us right now. We'd rather go home, lay on the couch, and have some Cadbury Eggs."
Me: "Well, that's too bad, because we're going on a run whether you like it or not! We can eat Cadbury Eggs afterward!"
Legs: "Fine, we can go for a run, but we're not going to promise it will go well."


My legs have not been lying. Every run lately, no matter how short or long, has been a chore. I miss the runs where I just enjoy it and when I'm done I wonder, "Oh, it's over?" I am finding 4 mile runs to feel a lot like 15 mile runs...ugh!


I ran my last 12 this past Saturday, and while technically it was still just below (barely) my marathon goal pace, I know I can run much faster than that. This obviously concerns me with the marathon only days away.

Everyone says, "You're just tired, the taper is going to help, you'll be fine!" Well, I'm not quite there yet. I don't want to put undue pressure on myself, but I just really want to meet this goal!

I need to focus on getting my sleep in the next few weeks and on getting my mental attitude on the positive. Maybe then my legs will be back on board!

I can't blame them though, I mean, they're probably just thinking about my upcoming vacation to the Bahamas/Florida in the next 5 weeks, where eating and laying around will be the primary activities.

Winding down...

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post, so I figured it was high time I post an update. Not that anything too exciting has been going on lately.

My schedule has been pretty much insane for the last 7 or so months. I came out of retirement to coach 5th grade basketball (this is my last year, I swear!). I work part-time (for fun) at Running Wild, and I picked up a voice student. Oh yeah, I also work full time and am training for a marathon. Basically, I'm never home before 8:00 pm on any given week-night and I haven't really had a free weekend since...hmm...I can't remember.

It's not that life's not good, I'm loving life right now! It's just that I miss having the option to just relax and maybe even, dare I say it, be a bit lazy? I love the girls I coach, they are a lot of fun, but the time commitment is a little much. I have weird work hours, 6:30-4, so you can imagine I'm not getting nearly enough sleep. I'm pretty much a zombie lately. There have been times on the treadmill when I've wondered if I might fall asleep while running. Not good, not good at all.

Basketball ends in the next few weeks, so that should free up some of my time. It will be nice to not feel like I'm literally running from place to place!

The biggest lesson I need to learn right now (I've been working on this for about 25 years) is to say, "NO," sometimes. I've always known it's ok to say no, but yet, I'm still not very good at doing it.

I do have some fun and exciting stuff coming up that will make all of my crazy busy-ness worth it! I'm going to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical" in DM with my friend Tina this Friday. My 5th marathon is on April 11 and I'm super pumped to have a great race and fun with friends. Then, I'm off for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with a friend of mine. I'm headed to West Palm Beach, FL after that, to continue the relaxation process. I can't wait to just "be" and not HAVE to be anywhere doing anything. I'm pretty sure it will be awesome!