Exciting News!

  So I was one of the first 50 people to register for an online and in person physical at work.  I haven't had a true physical in probably well over 3 years, if not more.  But... I am happy to say that I passed the online part with flying colors!  I only need to work on handling stress (no one who knows me will be shocked by that statement...).
  Best part:

Your choice of health practices, to a large degree, determines how fast you will age. In a study of some 6,900 people followed for 15 years they found 7 health practices to be good predictors of longevity. Your health practices are compared to this study population to determine your "Health Age." Current Age 33 years (based on your number of birthdays) Health Age 29.9 years (based on your health practices) Potential Health Age 28.2 years (This is your potential if you were following all 7 of the good health practices.) Years of added life 1.7 years (This is how many years you can add to your life expectancy by following all 7 of the good health practices. More importantly, you can add life to your years.)

New title, new things... Good Day.

  This week has been a great week.  I've had a smile on my face all week and I love it.  My running is constantly improving and I'm feeling a little more prepared for the October race with each passing week.
  I looked in my running journal yesterday and since I started in on May 3rd, I've run a total of 80.875 miles.  It's kinda nice to see where I fall behind with my running, where I've excelled and where I manage to maintain.  The next few weeks are going to be tricky as we are going into full training with our staff to prepare for the buildings to open.  That means many, many straight days of 8am-9pm nights of work.  I'm going to work very hard on still getting a run - even if it's just the 2 miles around campus.
  I weighed myself this morning and almost scared the crap out of myself.  I usually weigh on my wii after my workout.  Some may say that's cheating because I've just ran 2plus miles but I usually drink 20oz on my walk home so I figure it balances out.  Anyway, when I got on the scale I was in my yoga pants and my sports bra.  I hear a sound outside of my window and realize a gardener is outside my window and could see me perfectly.  I ran into my bedroom to throw on a shirt (still not comfortable in just the sports bra) and then weight myself again.
  Despite the near embarrassment, I was happy to see that I've lost an additional 1.1lbs.  I'm now down to 147 on the dot.  I'm still amazed by this since I've not been in the gym (outside of running class) in probably at least 2 months.  I miss the gym but with summer hours - it just doesn't happen right now.  Thankfully the fall semester will bring back weekend hours and I can get back into going on Saturday mornings (my favorite time!) and after work to run.
  I've also tried some new things in the kitchen.  I've been pre-packing my breakfast for 4 of the 5 weekdays.  That way I can just grab it and go straight to work.  Since doing this, I get to my office 20 minutes earlier which I like - gives me down time.  That's been really helpful this week.
  Last night I made the Wanchai Ferry Cashew Chicken.  I used two breasts and only needed about a breast and a half.  I put the other half in bbq sauce and cooked it up so I could use it later to make my favorite wrap - coleslaw, chicken and a little lettuce.  So good!
  I've also been having an all veggie lunch at least once a week which I enjoy.  I fill my plate with veggies first and if there's room, I'll add meat.  If not, I don't go back for it.  Cuts down the calories and I actually feel more full which is nice.  I am also craving salads a lot lately.  After my run on Sunday night all I wanted was a salad so I made a basic roman lettuce salad, threw in some carrots, sliced up peperoni and some American cheese and then a few squirts of raspberry vinaigrette.  I never liked that before but a friend introduced me to it a few years ago on another amazing this - an all veggie sandwich.  I use wheat bread, cucumbers, lettuce, green peppers and cheese.  Yum!
  I've also changed the title to my blog (if you didn't notice).  One thing my girls and I are working on this year are to erase or tone down the use of the word "fat" in our daily language.  It's going to take a lot, but I think we can do it and hopefully our girls will work with us to help.  I'm going to encourage the girls to use operation beautiful which I learned about from my favorite blogger Meganerd.  This will be our goal for the year and I figured I'd start it by changing my blog.  My old weight was not fat - it wasn't healthy for my body, but it was not fat so I won't be using that word.
  Hope everyone else is having a wonderful week and enjoying the start of end of summer. :)
 

  Been continuing to work on increasing my speed and endurance.
  I've dropped down my nights and am trying very hard to follow my training schedule.  I've been good on doing my Monday, Wed and Thursday runs.  It's the weekends I have been not so good with.  I tend to allow the heat to dictate my runs and that's not what I should do  - I know this.  But when it's been 100 degrees (or higher) it's really hard to find the desire to run in that.
  Other than my runs, I've learned the fun of Wii Fit Plus last night.  OMG - so much fun!  I knew there were games but I never knew how to find them... until last night.  I had so much fun playing them (by myself) for a few hours.  And they (along with my run) helped me to be so exhausted that I slept wonderful.
  I'm also happy to say that I've been able to keep my weight at a healthy level.  I've been under 150lbs for almost a month.  I haven't been close to that weight since I moved here almost a year ago.  Although my goal hasn't been achieved as quickly as I'd hoped, I am achieving it and that's what matters.
  We took some photos a few weeks ago - this is one of my faves. :)

  That's me on the left.  All that running is finally paying off.  So proud of myself!!

Runner's High

  Ever have one of those days from hell when all you want to do is run forever?
  When I lived in NC, I had those days more times than I care to admit (especially to myself) due to things I had control over but chose not to.  I would run the 3+ miles around my campus and then save the epic hill until last.  Every time I would get to the top of that hill, I'd have such a runner's high and everything in the world would fall away and I'd focus only on that accomplishment for the rest of the night.
  Sadly, last night I didn't achieve my runner's high, but I was definitely able to let the day fall away behind me.
  I asked a friend to hold the work phone (I'm on duty this week) for me so I could run at my favorite place right now - by the river.  I needed to let some personal stuff go that day as well as a ton of work related crap I'd been dealing with (on top of getting pink eye from work).  It was definitely "one of those days" and I needed an escape.
  As I was driving to the river, I glanced in my rear-view mirror and noticed that the clouds behind me were getting horribly dark and ominous.  I almost turned back but I needed the run THAT bad so I kept driving.  Parked my car (and pissed someone off when I took the spot... oh well), stretched against my car and ran.
  Thankfully it was an "easy" run night of only 1.5miles so I started with a nice 11min pace on the first mile.  Then the wind picked up and started blowing the cut grass (which I'm allergic to) in my face/eyes/mouth.  But, I kept going and pushed my speed up a notch.  Made the first mile, walked about 20 seconds, turned around and ran the last 1/2 mile back towards my car.
  At that point I just canceled everything out and focused on my breathing and my music.  I made it to the .5 mile marker and walked the last .5 mile back to my car.
  On the way back I realized my former residents Eryn (who I run with sometimes) and Erica were standing near the entrance to the park.  I went over to chat with them for a few minutes and then noticed my instructor and his fiancee pass and stretch to go for their run.
  At this point the sky was very dark and it was lightening (I was so in the zone I didn't see or hear any of this during my run!) so I jumped in my car and headed to Whole Foods to treat myself to a pure black tea (iced) and a Luna "Nuts Over Chocolate" bar.  Then I got into my pj's and went to visit a co-worker to watch a movie, which ended up turning into her watching the movie and my senior RA and I talking behind the desk about staff development for the year.
  Thank God for running - I really don't know how I would have survived days like yesterday if I didn't have that outlet.  I pity the people who can't release their tension through exercise and keep it bottled up - I couldn't even imagine.

Working Hard

  So I've been pushing myself this week.

I am working very hard on following my training schedule. On Monday night I ran about 2.5miles. I circled 3/4 of campus, turned around and re-ran it so I got the hills done twice. Felt pretty good about myself after that. Well... that and the fact that by the end of the night I had over 15,000 steps in for one day. :) I usually shoot for at least 10,000 so that was a great way to start my week!

I had class this morning. Can you tell from the photo of my shoes that I shouldn't get dressed in the dark at 6am?



Yes, those are two different shoes.  The left is my second pair I ever ran in and the right is the "newer" pair I bought last summer and am finally breaking out of (notice my trouble area - my pinky toes!).
  No one noticed but me - and I only realized when I was stretching.  Oh well.  Lesson learned. :)
  Today we did 4x4laps.  Each lap we had to run faster so that was a challenge.  We were supposed to start with a  6min pace but it ended up being under that.  The second and third set Mary kept me on my toes - she was kicking butt!  I kept teasing her that she was the Jeff of the day since he always does that to me.  We made under a 5 min pace both times easily.  After the 3rd set Mary thought she was going to throw up so she took the last set slow.  Mel ran the last set with me and kept pushing me to go faster.  I didn't think I could do it,  but I ended up doing super close to a 4min pace.  It was an amazing feeling to finish all 4 laps when everyone else was just finishing their 3rd.
  While we were running Mel kept telling me how far I've come and how much I've impressed her.  That made me feel really good - I wouldn't be where I am now without her and Eddie's help.  They have been so great about making me do timed runs, fartleks and pushing myself harder and faster each class.  And it's obviously starting to pay off.
  I am hoping to get a little time off so I can race in August.  I'm definitely running a race in September just to prepare and then we have the 10k at the end of October.  Still nervous because that's going to be almost a full hour of running and I'm not quite there yet but I'm hoping to get as close to under an hour on that as possible.  I'll also have to update my song list for the race.  I have enough to get to my PR and the walk afterwards but I'll need to add a few more and figure out some power songs for when I get close to the finish line to keep me going.  That'll be the hard part.
  Might do another run with Eryn tonight - something to keep my miles up.  Also planning a run tomorrow night and hopefully I can hit the river this weekend to pick up some miles.

New Run

  So I have to admit, I'm always a little nervous/stressed when I run with someone for the first time.  Will they be faster than me?  What if they are too fast and I have to stop or slow down?  Will they judge me for that?  It's worse than a first date for me.
  Tonight I ran with our new RD.  He and his girlfriend trained for a 1/2 marathon a little while ago so I was extremely nervous to run with him.  I usually run a 10min/mile by myself and when I'm with others, I usually drop down to around a 12min/mile so it's comfortable.  I'm not sure how I did tonight - I actually didn't time it, but I was so stressed over it I developed a neck cramp about a mile in.  Not good.  But I received some good advice on how to prevent/reduce them in the future so I'm going to try it and see if it works.
  I also haven't run outside in about a week so I ended up having to walk about a minute more than I wanted.  When Eryn and I ran, we got a little over a mile in, walked a few seconds (at most, maybe 30) and then ran the final mile straight.  Tonight I was dealing with the neck pain at first and then got a stitch in my side and had to walk a little to get rid of it.  But, I am pretty sure I walked less than a quarter mile so it's all good.
  I'm also realizing how much I miss running with Catherine (my ex-roommate) when I run with other people.  She and I used to do about a 3 mile loop and most nights I could only do it because of our conversations and her telling me "girl, you have no choice, you HAVE to do this!" and I really do miss that.  Having someone better than you makes you want to be better.  I'm hoping that through working with different runners outside of class will help me continue to do more - mileage and time wise and help me come that much closer to my goal of the 10k in October.
  And I finally realized if I run campus at least once a week, I can add some hills into my routine which will help my running and build my endurance again.  Always looking on the bright side! :)

So sorry...

  My apologies for the delay/absence in writing.  After my last race I was so exhausted and dehydrated it took me almost a week to recover.  And that is not an exaggeration.  I learned very quickly that, although I cannot hydrate during a race (it bothers my stomach), I have to change my schedule pre-race to allow myself enough time to drink some type of powerade/Gatorade drink and allow it to settle before I run in hopes that it will help.
  I also had to re-arrange my goal for races these two summer months.  I wasn't able to do the July 3rd run due to the rain and the fact that I pre-celebrated my birthday the night before so I am thinking of postponing the July race to September and doing one then.
  I also spoke to my instructor and he has me on a training regamine for a race in August.  However, sadly, I am not sure if I will be able to hit that race as it may interfere with training for my staff.  Either way, it is my hope that just having that schedule will help me become a better and longer runner.
  One of my former students has agreed to run with me on Thursday nights and I am happy to report that we ran over 1 mile straight without any issue, walked for less than 30 seconds and finished the final mile with no problem.  And there were hills!  I was never so happy to be able to run hills.  They really make me feel like I accomplished something in my run.
  In class yesterday we did some strength/speed work.  Not as hard as fartleks but something to push us a little faster.  Since Jeff wasn't in class, I was the first one to finish which was nice.  We had to push hard on the straight ways and slowly jog the ends.  We started with a half mile of those, ran a full mile and then ended with another half mile of the speed work.  I was so happy to be able to say to my instructor that when I finished, aside from being out of breath, I was good!  First time I tried to do similar training I wanted to throw up after one lap.  I really am getting better.  I ran about a 10 minute mile and my last half mile was clocked at less than 4.30!  That made me very happy.
  So, I am going to work on blogging more regularly on this again and try to add photos so you can see my progress.  And along with progress, I'm also happy to say that I've dropped another few pounds and am under 150!  I'm still 8lbs from my goal but it isn't as far away as it was so that makes me extremely happy.
  Hope everyone reading is having a wonderful day!