Half Marathon

This past weekend I completed one of my goals for the year; a half marathon. It was everything I thought it would be, scary, nerve racking, hard, tiring, exciting and so on. Six months ago when I began running I NEVER would have thought I would have this goal. I joined the running group because other friends were and thought it would be fun to have “girl time” on a Wednesday nights never thinking that I would enjoy it as much as I did. My goals kept getting bigger and bigger and by the time I knew it I wanted to do a ½ marathon.

I was nervous all day on Saturday. Hoping I didn’t over eat or eat the wrong thing because when you are a runner your stomach can do some weird things. The last thing I wanted during the race was to have to a) use a port a potty and b) use a port a potty to go #2! Saturday night I began to get all my stuff ready which made more nervous. I got in bed around 8 because I wanted to get plenty of rest. My alarm clock went off at 6am Sunday morning and I jumped out of bed ready. I was SO ready for this race. I am a true believer of the power of positive thinking. To me the race was mind of matter and I was 100% sure in my mind that I could do it. I got to the racing grounds about 30 minutes before so I could stretch really well. The most I had run was 10 miles so I wanted to make sure that extra 3 wouldn’t kill me. They asked us to start lining up, I seemed to be the only one without a partner but I wasn’t worried about it, I was ready. I plugged in my ear phones, turned up the music and began to run. I ran and ran my heart out. I didn’t stop once which was another goal of mine, I didn’t want to walk. Mile 12 came and I was totally exhausted, how my legs kept going I still don’t know but I got to the finish line with my mom and Kaela cheering me on and I did it! It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment, one that I will never forgot.

My stats aren’t the best but I didn’t run the race to be the best, I ran the race to prove to myself that I could do it. Here are my stats:

Ryan Flores's personal results:
Gun time: 2:32:36.7
Chip time: of 2:32:12.2
Pace per mile(based on chip time): 11:39
Age Group total finishers: 20
Age group place: 15
Age group percentile: 75
Total finishers: 355
Your place among total finishers: 308
Overall percentile: 87

Will I do another ½ marathon absolutely; maybe I can even beat my own time next time around. Now on to a bigger decision, to train for a full marathon or not to train for a full marathon?!

Moving along

I was told today by a friend who reads this blog that I haven’t updated lately. I haven’t, I haven’t had too much to say I guess. Our year started out crazy. The first month Carlos lost two grandparents, 29 days apart. But his grandparents have been reunited once again and that it is pretty amazing.

I have been “training” for my half marathon. Basically training consists of short runs during the week and a long run on the weekend. Last weekend I did 10 miles. It was hard, I will not lie but I think I can do it. I am supposed to do 12 this weekend but I have been trying to get over a cold so I am not 100% sure it will happen. I am ready mentally though for the 13 miles. I do have to go get some energy snacks to carry along with me during my journey to 13.1 miles. I am excited and ready, ready to mark it off my list of “to do’s”.

My little boy turned 8 in January. We had a small celebration at home. He got a cool bike and a sharp knife. The knife is for the country, when he goes hunting with daddy. He was very excited to get both. Baseball season is right around the corner. Carlos is going to be the assistant coach this year and is pretty revved up for it. He has been at the park on most pretty days with the kids practicing.

Kaela starts softball in the next couple of weeks. I think she is nervous. She has never played before but is a great catcher and she can hit the ball as well. I know she will do great and I cannot wait to watch her play! My favorite sports are always the ones my kids play.

Spring break is coming up and the kids are ready for a break. We have no plans of going out of town. Kaela and I are going to see the Black Eyed Peas in concert so I am pretty excited about that. I LOVE concerts and her and I have been going to them since she was about 2. I also have my first photo shoot at a wedding. I am SO nervous but really exciting for the experience. I have been on a million wedding websites getting ideas and I just hope everything turns out well.

Miss T this update was for you! I have lots of pictures to share and belated birthdays to post so that will be next!

Faces of Leni

Lennon is my neice and I thought these pictures were too cute. They were from my dad birthday and she LOVES cake!