Who Me? Yay You! Couldn't Be... Than Who!

Well Amanda from 5 Miles Past Empty thinks I’ve got a super stylish Blog! No I am not blushing... the sun is bringing out my freckles!  I have never won anything on a blog before!  I feel all so special!!!

Thanks again Amanda!! I am more than honored!! I need the love to get more followers! Followers are a magical entity that motivate me to keep going strong! So if you haven't checked out Amanda's blog do so, she is awesome (Click Here).

Here are the rules.
1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
3.  Award 7 other bloggers.   Sorry, gone with 6….
4.  Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

So Here is goes…

Thing 1

I ran my first Marathon last weekend (Rock'n'Roll Arizona Marathon)!  It is an accomplishment that I am so000 proud of.  It feels great to officially be in the "club"... the Marathoners Club.  I was having knee problems (possibly a torn meniscus) so I ran it under trained and in pain... but I finished.  It felt awesome to cross the finish line but I couldn't walk for the next two days. I think I am going to focus on 1/2 Marathons and Sprint Triathlons for awhile. 

Thing 2

I am an Army Veteran!  I served 5 years active duty and deployed twice. I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, running kept me from going insane over there.  I ran my first 10 Miler and 1/2 Marathon while deployed.  

Thing 3

I am a nursing student... hopefully.  I will find out for sure if I got a spot doing my clinical requirements here at ASU in a few months.  Cross your fingers! 

Thing 4

I secretly want to be a cop... and not the  skanky type that comes out in October!  A real life police woman that gets to carry a gun and catch bad guys.  I want to taser someone make the world a better, a safer place, I want to make a difference! 

Thing 5

I got a sick road bike for Christmas!  Timmy got it for me, and my brother Andy got me areo-bars for it! I love love love it!  It is the most awesome bike ever.  I still need to name it but I want to get a few more miles on it first.  I need to FEEL the name, get a connection before I name it.  I might spin off of Amanda's idea to have followers name it (with my final approval of course)!

Thing 6

I love quilting!  Looking at the finished product makes me feel accomplished.  Some people watch TV or take naps in their free time, not me, I quilt!  I have something to show for my wasted time!  Then... I give them away which gives me the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with making someones day, week, month, year, lifetime... 

Thing 7 

I miss Washington but would settle for anywhere in the PNW!  I miss the green landscape.  I miss snow capped mountains. I miss clean rivers and lakes. I miss my family and friends.  But mostly I miss the girl I was when I left... It's crazy how long I have been gone. 


And the Award goes to...


1.) Our Love On The Run: I absolutely love reading their blog.  They inspire me to just have fun with my blog, my running and my love... Hopefully I can get Timmy to start running so we can blog our adventures too!


2.) I am Boring: Now this is one funny dude! He makes blogging fun!  He also has inspired me to rock out the Rock'n'Roll series too.  Maybe next year! 


3.) Grand Adventures of Michaela: She motivates me to finish school and become a nurse!  Plus she is just and awesome woman! 


4.) Keep on Keeping on: Now thats a title to keep you running! She is such a sweetheart and is super positive and motivating! 


5.) The Running Diva: She an Army wife and a rockstar!  We have the same camera but she takes way better pictures than me! Thanks for all you do for our country! 


6.) Silly Girl Running: Because we are both silly and who doesn't love silly people!  :) 

I can move my legs again!

So, I was a little sore the past few days... I couldn't really move my legs Monday or Tuesday but Wednesday was promising!  And today--- like brand new legs (minus the new knees)! I have the itch to start working out hard again but I know I shouldn't so I will resist the temptation.  I am still waiting on the doctors word to see whats up with my knee. I am hoping for good news so I can start training for a triathlon!  

So other than Swimming, Biking and Running in my set of training I am also going to complete P90X... For those of you who don't know what it is, its a hardcore full body workout to strengthen your whole body!  I feel as if I strengthen my whole body I will be less prone to injury!  Fingers crossed! I hope to be getting the green light soon!

Happy Training!

-Kristal

Rock'nRoll Marathon- 0, Kristal Reszler- 1

Race Report!

Injured and ill prepared, Kristal still finished the P.F. Chnag's Rock'n'Roll Arizona FULL MARATHON! 

Pre-Race Photo OP

Beautiful Arizona sunrise to start the race!

Kristal is ready, ready to run! Bring It!

I am officially a "marathoner", Whoop, Whoop!! I knew there was no way I would be holding the pace I was running before the knee injury but I was gonna go out guns smokin'... I decided 8:30-ish would be a good starting point.  I totally lost that pace and by the time I was finishing up, crawling was looking like an option! Here is how it all went down....

Splits/Graph (click to enlarge)

Race Photos By Tim!

Mile 5, still looking fresh! 21 miles to go...

Me holding up the 1-1, represent! (Mile 11)

Trying to smile... A quick stop in mile 19 to put one the knee brace!

Coming into the Finish! Hurting Bad!!

Smile for the Finish!

My BLING!

Ice and ready to GO HOME!

If... I don't fall over!

So what are my excuses for running slow why was this Marathon challenging?

• Mile 7 was slow due to a emergency pit stop (Power Poo).  
• Mile 16 was me hitting the "WALL"... Note that 16 miles was my longest training run due to the knee injury! So I just told myself, hold 9:30-ish for as long as you can, keep on keeping on!
• Mile 19 was a pit stop to put on my knee brace. At this point I thought my knee was going to fall off.
• Mile 21 and on was me hanging on wishing I hadn't been injured and been able to train more!
• Mile 25 I really felt like walking, crawling, anything but "running", well actually it was more like a jog but still sucked!

Overall it was a success because I finished.  So, will I do another one? Right now... NO WAY! Maybe you should ask me again in a few months.  I have an MRI/x-ray on Tuesday.  I think I am going to focus on a Triathlon! And I really love 1/2 Marathons, maybe I will just stick to those for awhile.

P.S. I love my husband, thanks for the support!

-Kristal OUT

What the torn meniscus is going on here...

I went to see my PA today. Drum roll please! The bad news is that she thinks I have a torn meniscus! Oh wow! Really? An x-ray and MRI is to be scheduled for confirmation.  So here is the plan-- well not really a plan but the scoop/the down low... I have been "resting" my knee so much lately that I haven't been putting in the miles. I have gone on a few bike rides here and there but definitely not sticking to any training plan WHAT-SO-EVER. The big race is Sunday... I have decided to change my goal from completing it without walking to just completing it!  The doc gave me a knee brace and told me to listen to my body during the race. She didn't say I couldn't do the race, she didn't even say that I had to walk! The only thing she said could possibly happen by running on this is the torn cartilage, depending on how it is torn, could flip/flop and catch on the surrounding ligaments. So bring on the miles and pain meds! Marathon, here I come! It might not be fast but I WILL FINISH! I am gonna go out strong and hold it for as long as I can... slow down if I need to and walk if I must! One way or another I am crossing that finish line!  :)  

Yours Truly- Silly Kristal 

It's been too long...

So here is my story.  I ran 11 miles on 12/18 and a 4 miler on 12/20.  Then I headed out on a ROAD TRIP north!  I went home to Washington for my Christmas vacation.  Surprisingly it wasn't that fun to drive 25 hrs, it's just too far/long.  I also found out that sitting in a vehicle hurts my knee... OH NO, not good!  So I decided to give it a little rest, plus I didn't feel like running in the snow!  This Arizona runner brought shorts and t-shirts north to run in, Silly-Silly-Kristal.  So after taking almost 2 weeks off... yesterday, I hit the road for a "long" run.  (Sad Face Here)  I only made it 3 1/2 miles before I called it quits.  The knee just doesn't want to work right.  And for the bomb shell news----- I called the doctor as soon as I got back from walking home, I was about 2 miles from the house when I stopped running.  The P.F. Changs Rock'n'Roll Marathon is the 16th and I will be seeing the doc the 11th.  Looks like I might be walking my first Marathon.  On a more positive note, next time I do a marathon, it will for sure be another PR!!  I guess this is just the way life goes sometimes but I will keep pushing on and someday I will RUN a marathon.  Today I am going to take my new fancy road bike out for a long spin to boost my spirits, as long as my knee holds out, I will be going strong.  The bike is way less impact so I hope to get some good miles in! 

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and I hope the new year brings great things for everyone!  

-Kristal

Getting my run on!

Finally getting to put some miles behind me!  The knee is holding in there but just doesn't feel great.  Yesterday I set out for a 13 mile run, I completed 11.  I could feel my knee tightening up somewhere around mile 5, I knew I wasn't going to make the 13.  I told my self that I will stop on an odd number... 7, 9, 11 or 13.  After hitting each milestone I would reassess my knee. At the 7 mile marker the knee felt off but not really hurting, so I pushed on to mile 9.  I could feel that when I started to slack on my stride it ached a little.  As I was finishing up mile 10, the aching seemed to be a little more sporadic.  I knew fo-sho somewhere between mile 10 and 11, that 11 was going to be my magic number!  I am very pleased with 11 miles.  It is a little depressing when I look at my original training program... Yesterday was supposed to be my first 18 mile training run!  I will just have to keep on doing what I can and try not to push myself past the breaking point again!  

On a positive note!!  I love, love, love the road bike.  I can definitely see a triathlon in the near future!  I am also done with school until January 18th!  By the start of next semester I will officially be a "MARATHONER".  Thursday morning we are taking off to drive up to Washington to see my folks!  YEAH!!!  A plus to this- My little brother Danny is coming with!!!!  The holiday spirit is slowly creeping up on me and I am feeling great.  Next week while Timmy is at school, I will be baking!  So if anyone has any great recipes that they wouldn't mind sharing with me, that would be greatly appreciated!!  

Happy Holidays!!!

-Kristal

I'm back... kinda sorta!

It was a rainy mess out there today!  Reminded me of home, OH how I miss Washington.  But who really wants to go running in that crap?  NOT ME... so I kept pushing the run off until the rain finally subsided and I had no excuse.  Unfortunately, it was until 4:30 or so, which didn't give me much daylight.  I set out for 9 miles... at mile 5 my knee started to ache.  I decided to call it quits and head home.  I only finished 6 miles and at a relatively slow pace.  My knee feels a little off now.  I have a 10 mile bike ride planned for tomorrow, we will see how that goes, I might need a day off.  I am being very cautious with the old knee, better to be safe than sorry. The plus side to my run- A beautiful scene! The sunset was amazing today, I pulled out my my iphone to snap a picture but definitely didn't give it justice. 

Happy Running!

**-KRISTAL-**

Merry Christmas to Kristal

WHAT???  Is that a road bike I see... Why, yes it is!  Timmy got it for me for Christmas, I think he wants a wife that will be able to walk in 20 years!  The knees need a sport with a little less impact.  Triathlon... here I come!

I am finally coming off "resting".... I ran 3 miles yesterday and it kicked my butt.  It felt really good though. I have a short bike ride planned for today and 9 mile run planned for tomorrow. Now I have to play catch up without getting hurt again!

Happy Holidays
-Kristal

A sad sad day...

For the first time ever... I called it quits mid run!  I can't believe it.  My knee wasn't hurting bad but it still just didn't feel right.  So before I let it start hurting real bad, I turned around and jogged back to the house.  This week was planned for a 5 + 8 + 5 + 16 = 34.  Doesn't look like I am gonna make my 153 miles in December... I already cut 20 last week and today I cut another 3 (I only made it 2 miles today). I just have to keep my goal in mind--- Finish (without walking). I HAVE to be injury free to be successful. After I got back to the house, the 2 mile jog stiffened up my knee, so the resting continues!  BOOOO!!  I will keep you posted but I think I might have to cut my 8 miles tomorrow... :( 

-Kristal

Slacking vs. Resting

I am resting I swear...  My knee is definitely bum!  It is soooooo hard for me to "rest", I just feel like I am slacking, being lazy! My only goal for this whole process is to be able, come Marathon day, run 26.2 miles without stopping.  This goal can not be reached if I am injured.  I must rest and recover from this little mishap so I can finish strong!  The words from my wise and very old brother... "Good thing this thing [injury] happened now and not a week before the race."  I would have rather it not happed at all but he is right!  So, for now, I rest... I went for a walk today with the dogs and the knee tweaked a little bit.  I was going to try a short run this weekend but after the walk I am nixing that idea.  I am now shooting for Monday, 5 miles... Don't know if my knee will be ready but I am optimistic. 

Tim and I attempted to take some photos today for Christmas cards.  We didn't use either of these photos but I thought they were cute! We ended up using a photo of just us two and left the animals out!

The Zoo...

The pups and me!

The exciting news on the home-front... Kristal might be getting a road bike for X-Mas!  Cross your fingers!  They are pricey but will be way less of an impact on my body so I can do this physical working out stuff forever!!  :)  

-Kristal