Category Archives: My Life

Disneyland Half Marathon Wrap Up

Well I made it through another half marathon!

Overall, I feel great about my body, great about my finish, and loved every minute of this race. One unusual thing about this race was that I got very nervous prior to the race. It was hot, crowded, and there were lots of other runners all trying to funnel through a small area. My brother came to cheer me on and be my pit crew, which was very helpful but not quite as comforting as when my mom is there to take care of me.

The Disneyland Half was the best I have run so far, proving to myself that I can run for time and can continue to PR if I push myself. In fact, I am finding it hard NOT to push myself for time. While I would like to take my time and enjoy the festivities on the course, I can’t seem to get over the fact that I am running fast and keeping a good pace.

Throughout the race, my per mile pace hovered right around 11:31 per mile, and my finish time was almost exactly 15 minutes faster than my last half. I finished at 2:30:56, and am sure that I could finish in under 2:30 in my next one.

it was really a great race, and a great course. I am excited to do more half in the near future, as well as this race again. I just can’t explain how special Disney races are. I wouldn’t be a runner if I hadn’t run my first marathon at Disney.

 

So Close, Yet So Far Away

Well it is the last day of August, and since my disappointing 4th of July showing, lots of things have changed in my life.

1. I got engaged!!!! It only took 6.5 years.
2. My brother moved into me. It is just till December, but it is quite a change, since I am so used to living by myself.
3. I have been training my butt off for a half marathon that I am running first thing tomorrow morning. Again my passion for Disney and running collide as I run the Disneyland Half Marathon.
4. My workload has nearly quadrupled. I’ve always been busy, but this is a different kind of busy.

Is that enough for you?

Anyway, I am sitting in my hotel, just waiting for my alarm to go off tomorrow morning. I am so excited to run a race again, and I am convinced that I have to run more, which shouldn’t be a problems since I have the Dopey coming up in January.

Hoping to post again this weekend, after the race with my results. Attempting to beat my PR of 2:43:05. Keep your fingers crossed!

Disappointment

6aabc67294ffc8340787ba5e8ca77022Well, 2 days ago was supposed to be my big Swagtastic Half Marathon. I was so excited about it. I ate very well the 2 days before the race. I hydrated. I laid out my clothing the night before and placed my gels in my running belt. I was ready to go.

Wednesday morning the alarm went off at 5:00 am, and the coffee maker started running. I got all ready, had a small cup of coffee and an english muffin with peanut butter, and while I didn’t feel great, I was still excited to get moving. I started out fast, keeping my miles under 12 minutes, which is a record for me. Mile one went by, mile two was ok, but by the time I got to mile three, I felt extremely winded, exhausted and started chilled. By 3.5 miles, I was shaking so back that I wasn’t running in a straight line. I stopped at mile four.

I am so disappointed in myself, but the truth of the matter is that I have been very sick. I had a fever most of the 4th of July, lots of chest congestion and a bad cough. The worst part is that I was on pace to beat my half marathon PR by 10 minutes.

Oh well… Life goes on, and so does my training. I hope to get back on the road by the first of the week, and we will try again on Labor Day.

A Good End to a Challenging Week

I had a rough week. You could probably tell by my last post. But fortunately it has ended better than it began. I feel like I have really gotten my running on track this week, which is good, because I have a half marathon on Thursday. I am very excited about it actually, and I am working on my game plan to make sure I am prepared. I am hoping to finish in under 2:42:15, as that was my time at the Disney World Marathon… I finished in 2:45:05 for the Half Marathon, and then ran faster the next day… oddly enough.

I’ll keep you updated on this week’s progress…

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

I have tried 8 times now to put into words on this page what I am trying to say. Over the last 4 weeks I have had no luck. I am lost, and really do feel like I am having a nervous breakdown. I can’t seem to keep concentration on anything. I have started stuttering like a fool. And worst of all, I know something is wrong, and I can’t figure out what it is or how to fix it. Nothing helps.

And just when I felt like I was at the edge of the cliff, a co-worker of mine decides that I am the reason he is miserable and decides to treat me like the mean, popular girl in high school. Well I tell you what, he can shove it. I am done with it all.

So here’s to letting the nervous breakdown begin, and hoping I make it through…

Podcasts, Plants, Parental Control

Well, I am three podcasts in now, and I am pretty sure that I am the only one that has downloaded them… But then again, I don’t think anyone reads this blog either, which is perfectly fine with me. I have a lot of things to say about myself and my life, and just saying them out loud helps me as much as saying them to a live human person. I always look weird recording on my runs, but it helps me maintain a good pace. Recording in my car is the most fun. It takes my mind off the awful traffic, and I seem to be able to get into deep thought better when I am driving. I love recording, and talking about my goals as a woman, marketing director and runner. I am going to keep moving forward, keep getting better, and hopefully keep recording and writing, because it seems like a good outlet for me.

Item number 2 on the agenda tonight is that I am considering getting a plant. Big step, right?

So I take these 2 little girls to school every morning. They live right around the corner from me. I go to their house every morning at 7, pack their lunches, get them dressed, do their hair, feed them breakfast, and walk them to school. Many days when I arrive, I am frustrated to find that much of the work is already done, and so I spend an hour sitting there just waiting, when I know I could be at home getting other things done. Today, the 5 year old got smart with me while the mom was standing there, and the mom just laughed. I was in complete shock. If I had acted like that when I was her age, my parents would have beaten my behind. So I am now to the point where I don’t feel like being harassed by a 5 year old, especially when the parents allow it. If I am lucky enough to able to have children some day, I PROMISE they will be more respectful and well behaved than these children…

Ok, enough for now, but I am updating my racing page, so check that out to see what I have coming up…

Podcast Numbero Uno

Sooooooo…. I had an interesting idea the other day. I realized how much I miss listening to podcast from running while they are running. That sounds dumb, but some of my favorite podcasts were from people like the 4 feet running gang, Gordon Harvey (This Running Life and Running to Disney) and Megan Storms (Run, Vegan, Run). After speaking with both of them, via Twitter, over the past month, I decided that maybe I should try it myself! Why not right?

So last night, I recorded the first episode. It’s long, probably boring, and noisy (because I ran during evening traffic), but I did it. I am going to attempt to put it up on the web, and will post again when it is live on iTunes…

State of the Jennifer Address

I’ve been working a lot lately, and by a lot and I mean from approximately 4:30 AM to, well, the current time, which is 8:22 PM. Days have been long but productive in the world of Prep2Prep and the future of this business is very bright at this point. I’m excited to be a part of this organization and to be at the bottom working to build the company to what someday will hopefully be an empire in the world of  high school sports. But this job is definitely taking a toll on my sanity. I’m gonna have days when I completely feel like I’m losing my mind, then there are days like today. I can’t take it sometimes though. I can’t take the loneliness of the job, as I am by myself a lot of the day. I know hard work pays off. Sometimes it just takes a long time.

Someday I’ll be the Vice President of Marketing or the CMO if that’s possible position. I just want to know that people appreciate the hard work that we put in on a daily basis. There are days when it seems like no one does and days when we can’t get information up quick enough. They need the content. They appreciate all the hard work that has gone into make the stories, photos, video content, and special features great. I have amazing bosses that have given me an amazing opportunity in this position I still consider myself a kid but they treat me like an adult who has a strong mind and great creative ideas. I never thought that I would be not only taken seriously, but in a position where I have such creative control over an entity like Prep2Prep.

California’s amazing place I understand why people came looking for a better life, because I did the same. My world is definitely different on the West Coast than it was in the Midwest. I love every minute of it, but it is still extremely taxing. My job in Kansas last year was so incredibly stressful.  But this job is a different kind of stressful.

I miss a lot of things out here. My family is number one, my dog is included in that. I miss her every single day. I know she would love California, going to the beach, taking walks around the nice neighborhood I live in, and being with her mom 24/7. She’s such a sweet dog, and I hope to have her out here sometime soon. While I am able to telecommute, I’m hoping that I am only out here for approximately one more year and then can move wherever I would like, possibly back to Kansas, down to Florida, or even back to Ohio. But the best part of that is I can be anywhere and do what I love and that is work for Prep2Prep. I’m in such a great position right now and so thankful for everything that has been brought to me over the past nine months I’m so excited to continue this journey with Prep2Prep and continue to grow at what I do so well.

Thank God for Freedom of Speech…

I know… I’m very punny. (Review the title of this post after you read it and you will understand) I need to rant a little bit about what has unfolded this week. I know I will probably offend some people with this post, but it is what it is.

The world has elected a new Pope. I couldn’t care less. The Catholic Church, in my opinion, is a travesty to the world. There are approximately 1.2 billion people in this world that support an ancient ceremony that allows grown men to sweep immediate and pertinent world issues under the rug. 1.2 billion world citizens support the molestation of children. It continues to happen, it continues to be hidden, and it continues to be okay with people. I DON’T UNDERSTAND THIS!!!!! What if it was your child that had been molested? Would you feel the same? How can this be okay in the modern day? Yet 1.2 billion people still support the Catholic Church.

I am calling bull shit. I don’t have kids, but if I did, and this happened to one of them, I would kill a priest. I may go to hell, but so should he. Why are these people not standing up for what is wrong with this world? Child molestation is never okay. In no situation should this be going on in 2013. These priests that engage in this activity should be thrown in a cell and  stay there for the remainder of their days. So should the people that have swept this under the rug for so many years now.

We put the Pope and these Cardinals on pedestals, kiss their hands, and obey their commands…. are you kidding me? These people are criminals! Group thinking is absolutely dangerous. Catholics recite what they are told, walk through the church the way they are told, and go back to a place week after week, tithing and supporting a group of CROOKS!

Please don’t mistake my rant as a hatred of religion. That is not what this is. But I do have a problem with a group that is supposed to be teaching the world and their followers good moral values when they are going against everything they are feeding these people. Stand up for yourselves. If you truly think that this is okay, then keep going to Mass every Sunday and continue to drink their Kool-Aid. Because that’s what it is, in my opinion, a death sentence. You can’t convince me that God thinks this is ok, and if he does, he’s not my God.