1/2 Marathon Update

My third 1/2 marathon medal now hangs with the others!

So, of course... I have to show the picture of all my race clothing laid out. I'm oddly organized when it comes to running.


Ahhh....yes. So now you all know that I'm a shameless dork at 5:30am.


This is my dear friend "J" that I've been buddies with since elementary school. She is super awesome and a great runner! She was a great support and we had a fabulous time!

Hubby didn't have the camera quite ready as I crossed the finish line, so I turned around after finally crossing to give him a kodak moment shot!

Here we are! Hoorah we finished!

Copyright? What copyright??

So, here is a little rant on my part about copyrighted images...

I did an engagement session for a friend of mine a couple of months ago. We had such a great time and they were such a great couple to work with! For their wedding gift, I gave them the full CD session of all their photos to allow them to print/reprint as much as they desired!

My dad who owns his own CD duplication business was kind enough to provide me with my own professional logo and personalized discs/jewel cases. They look awesome! On the bottom of the CD in huge print it states the following, "Copyright 2008..... All rights reserved".

My friend took the CD to a printer and the employee saw that it was a protected disc and asked for the copyright waiver (which I had failed to give her). She explained to the lady that she didn't have one and the lady said to her, "Well, we'll go ahead and do it just this one time."

Now, granted- she's a friend and it was a gift...I absolutely wanted her to make all the copies of the disc that she wanted to. But, I was shocked about the lack of law abiding behavior on the part of the photo lab employee. I shouldn't be amazed, but I am.

Ummm, copyright? What copyright?

Improvising

Today I decided to improvise with a white backdrop that I just got. I'm doing a shoot tomorrow at a friend's home and wanted to see what I was up against. I thought this one turned out pretty good. I'm currently bidding on ebay for some lighting options.

My little guy enjoyed showing off his shooting skills for this one with his handmade wooden gun from Great Grandpa "N".

Four Days Remain!

Well, only about four days remain until I run my third 1/2 marathon. Part of me is really looking forward to it and the other part of me is asking why I am doing this again. A good friend from high school (also the maid of honor in my wedding) has agreed to run with me! We used to do crazy trips together and random fun outings- so this one is long overdue! Pictures & details of the event to come! Hope everyone has a great week!

Angelena

Our day at the pumpkin farm!

We first waited in line for the hayride that would take us out to the pumpkin patch. And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, it arrived and off we went!

My youngest reaches up for daddy's hand to get up an enormous bale of hay. There was nothing graceful about walking in this hay barn...the first step down I took had me landing right on my bum. And I wasn't even wearing my trendy little heels!

Part of the ticket price included a homemade doughnut and apple juice. My youngest went to aboslute pieces when part of his fell on the ground in a grand escape from the attacking bees.

We all sit to pose on some major big pumpkins on a photo op wagon.

On the hayride...
A large pumpkin amidst some hearty mums!

Little one lays an egg...err pumpkin.

My little pumpkins.

Yes, I'm a dork. Hubby picked a flower for me out in the pumpkin patch, so I just had to pose for a quick pic for him!

You can't tell, but the boys are quite high up in the hay barn at this point. There were slides that started at the top loft area and landed them in huge piles of hay at the bottom of the barn.


Another enjoyable shot of the pumpkin patch. Probably my favorite...

The boys and I coming out of the hay barn.

Could he have picked a bigger pumpkin?

Oldest called me over and said that I should take his picture while he was good n' ready. (He usually despises pics and I apparently needed to take advantage of this photo opportunity)

Little one found a piece of broken pumpkin stem and it was the joy of the day!

Ask Angelena

I received the following question from a fellow blogger and thought I'd post the answer for all those inquiring minds that want to know. :)

Q: "This summer, I started a walking program with a few friends, mainly to try and develop a healthier lifestyle and shed some pounds. Every once in a while, we'd run about 1/3 of the track, and then we'd have to quit because our lungs were burning. Now that I walk at home on the treadmill, I try to jog a little, just to get my heart rate up, and then go back to my normal 3.0 mph. How long does it take to develop a love for jogging? And for your lungs to stop burning? And to quit feeling panicked because you can't get a deep breath? How does a jogger prepare for a 5K? Can it be done on a treadmill?"

A: Well, first let me just say that I'm honored by your question! I'm am hardly an authority on running, but I will give you opinion based on my personal experience- keeping in mind that it differs for each individual person. This is my rags to running story...

A little over two years ago I decided that I was done living my sedintary lifestyle and wanted to change things up a little. I have absolutely ZERO coordination, so aerobics was totally out; I'm too old to start up gymnastics and too busy to join a competitive sports team. We joined our local YMCA and I had two options that looked appealing to me; play basketball by myself and/or run on the dreadmill...err treadmill. Yes, you can train on a treadmill, but I would encourage you to get outside and run in the open air too. I, personally, prefer running outdoors if you can, but I've run many miles on the treadmill and that's great!

The first time I got on the treadmill with a serious will to acheive greatness- I ran for a total of three minutes and thought I was going to die. Honestly. I had visions of flying off the back of the belt into the wall or on top of some poor unsuspecting person walking by. So, the next time I pushed it and went a whole four minutes. Now, granted- I wasn't running as fast as my legs could carry me... but it was enough. I started off running for 2 minutes and walking for 3 minutes; each day I would increase my total time and over the weeks I'd run more and walk less.

I didn't love running then, but kept it up and slowly increased my time and speed because my goal was a 50 pound weight loss. As I continued to run and maintain a regular regiment of excersize, the burning in my lungs and lack of breath slowly lessened. Little by little I started to enjoy running. You have to push past the point of panic; I find that music can be helpful in stimulating my adreniline to get past the pain. Usually, when I'm running long distance my first 3-4 miles is the hardest and then it eases up for me quite a bit.

A friend of mine suggested that I might enjoy running a marathon and that ANYBODY could do it. The idea was so crazy and so far out from my normal train of thinking that I actually started to consider it. I thought it would make for good conversation and give me a goal. I had never participated in a 5K or even ran much in elementary gym class, but I liked the idea of a challenge. I had lost a little over 45 pounds at the time and wanted to celebrate it with something outrageous.

One thing I would encourage you to do- if you are serious about running- is to find a group of runners in your area that participate regularly in group training runs and events. They don't have to be super elite and hardcore, but if they have the goal to achieve- that will be a great help to you! It's awesome to have friends that you enjoy spending time with walking and conversing with around the track, but if you don't have someone pushing you past your pain point- it's going to be harder to get there. The first time I went out with my running group I had only actually run for one mile straight (an 11 minute mile) at the time. However, with their cheering and coaching along the way, I did a 9 miler that morning! Some of it was running and some walking, but I kept up with the pace and it felt great!

Be careful to avoid injury by not overtraining, but taking it one day at a time. A 5K is a great first time race to train for and it's usually for a great cause! Don't be concerned with your time- just look forward to crossing that finish line! I'm cheering for you!

Angelena

The Bonfire

My parents invited us to a great bonfire cookout the other night! My son's best buddy joined us for hot dogs and smores! It was such a great time!
Thanks mom & dad!

Pride goes before the fall... revisited

Remember those trendy little black heels from this post? Well, I should have known all the troubles that are caused when I wear them...but I too quickly forgot.

Last night I had my first meeting with a wedding client who was interested in obtaining my photography services for her reception. And yes- I wore those trendy little heels along with my favorite jeans and my big red leather purse filled with my folders, samples and portfolio. It's a rare night indeed when I go out into the evening kid-free with my hair washed and an actual hint of makeup. Yes sir, I was feelin' good and professional.

The consult went great and they ended up booking me on the spot. Feeling quite accomplished, I went to the grocery store afterwards and continued to strut around in my heels through the produce...past the deli...and around the bakery. I felt like everyone was looking and saying to themselves, "There is a lady that has it all together".

Yep, pride goes before the fall. The Lord even brought that to my attention as I was leaving the grocery. Are you wondering what's going to happen? Wait for it...

So, I headed over to my parents house to say 'hello' and spend a few minutes with them. Then I went home- unloaded all the groceries and headed up for bed. I went right into our bathroom and flipped on the light...and to my horror I saw something in the mirror that will haunt me for the rest of my days...

A huge (no exaggeration) glob of bright blue-green toothpaste was stuck to the side of my head and all over the stem of my glasses. Ugh. Apparently, prior to my quick departure out of the house earlier on in the evening, I had set my glasses down on the sink's edge (where the uncapped toothpaste was) and put them back on without even considering they might be marinating in minty freshness!

Oh, those trendy heels. Oh, my heart of pride. When will I learn? The Lord is good and always keeps my spirit humble... Praise Him- even for toothpaste!

Photography Contest

Last weekend I had the opportunity to work with one of my friend's daughters on a photography shoot. She is super sweet and adorable!

One of the photo blogs that I follow is participating in an amateur picture contest by phototrade.com. The theme of submission is "portraits". I've entered in this photo and would love to win!

So, if you would be so kind... my bloggy friends- please click on this picture in my sidebar to the right and hit "vote". I'd be much obliged! The contest ends on 10/31/08 and the winner will receive a great camera!

Thanks in advance!

Fall is in the Air...

We went to one of our local metro parks this past weekend and had such a lovely time. It was so cool and crisp and with every crunch in the leaves my heart got a little more excited for Fall. I took a few pictures of the boys in their element... Enjoy!

One year anniversary

This September marks the one year anniversary of my first ever race! I ran a 5K downtown on my birthday and had so much fun! My whole family came as well as some dear friends from my highschool! So, about two weeks ago I ran that same race again and beat my time by almost three minutes! Out of 500 runners, I came in 95th overall. Hoorah!

I started thinking about all the races that I've participated in over the past year and decided to put in a diary of pictures on the blog today. Happy running anniversary everybody! (The pictures are totally out of order and a few are missing..., but you get the idea!)



Half Marathon #2 (April 2008) 13.1 miles

First race ever! Downtown 9/2007 (5K)

Christmas Race 12/2007 (Freezing cold! Brrr!) 5K


Half Marathon #1 (13.1 miles)

Thanksgiving 4 miler (11/2007)

First Triathlon 6/2008 5K

Hubby & me! His first 5K 8/2008

Downtown 5K Night race 9/2008

Suitcases

My boys informed me yesterday that they were going to have a sack race using their "suitcases"! (Look closely friends, we would usually call those pillow cases...") Ha!

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I just heard an awesome sermon on this topic this afternoon. And do you know what the gist of it was? Bad things don't happen to good people...bad things happen to bad people. There is us. Then there is God. He is the only one that is good. Pretty simple, huh.

Collide

My friends and I (the aforementioned 'running buddies') were out for a long run early this morning. Yes, friends who want to stink with me! (Please read the prior post to catch up, if you have not already done so). Anyway, on the last turn of the final stretch I decided to plug in to my MP3. I get really "in the zone" when I plug in and during that last mile or so I really like that extra adrenaline. I've heard all the stories from the elite runners that wearing music makes you less of a runner or something ridiculous like that. I've also heard that it's dangerous. Sure, danger! danger! Humph.

So, here I am...all plugged in and totally focused on the road ahead. Not really thinking about the road behind. Not really at all. Occasionally checking to my left side to make sure running friends L & S were still there. Totally focused on how 'not dangerous' I am. Totally forgetting to take one of my earplugs out at the crossing of the road (which I usually always do).

All of a sudden as we crossed the last main road and turned to finish on the trail (on the left side of the road) I lost track of L & S out of my peripheral vision and realized something was wrong. And then I saw them. Lots of them. Cyclists.

Has any one ever played dominoes? Uh-huh. In a nutshell... lots of male bicyclists in a pile. The first guy thought I was going to turn in front of them so he threw on the brakes. I quickly jumped off the path into some bushes; the guy behind the braking guy was watching me dive into the foliage and didn't see all that braking action and 'boom'! Right into him. Down. Hard.

The guy after him avoided it and about joined me in the bushes. The fourth guy was on a recumbent bike and looked really annoyed as he tried to get out of the main road and back onto the trail. Seriously! I'd be annoyed. Stupid blonde girl with earplugs on. Dangerous earplugs.

I apologized all over myself and kept asking if everyone was okay. They were so super nice and I think the one guy was just more embarrassed than hurt. Thankfully, we had just crossed a main road and they had slowed down to basically nothing- so they weren't going very fast. Honestly, they could have been really hurt. Praise the Lord- He is truly sovereign and is aware of our need for help- even we we are totally unaware of it.


So, lesson learned. Still gonna wear the dangerous earplugs, but maybe just one ear at a time...and definitely going to look out for bicycles. You'd think I'd be more careful, right?! Being the famous triathlete I am. :)

Solo

Last year at this time I had a band of friends that I called 'running buddies'. I honestly couldn't do without them. They encourage me to press on at mile ten...eleven...and twelve when I'm exhausted and want to plunge into the nearest river.

Since our maiden voyage (aka: 1/2 marathon) one year ago, I've had the privilege of running in two 1/2 marathons, one triathlon and half a dozen smaller foot races. At least one or two of these dear friends have always been by my side...either cheering from the side-line or pulling me to the finish-line.

Currently, I'm training for another Half and have just found out today that I'm going solo. Due to injury and schedule conflicts, most of the group has decided to hold off until the Spring Half. Why is it that only AFTER I sign up and shell out nearly $80 that I find out I'm alone! I'll be okay in the race, but it's all the training that I'm dreading! All the lonely weekday runs and weekend long-runs by myself. Me. Alone. Aargh.

I'm determined (selfishly, of course) to find a friend. Someone who has the same drive and passion to get up before the sunrise and run until you stink. Oh, where are you, determined runner friend?