Route 66 Half Marathon - Check!

  I did it!  I finished the half marathon and survived!

  Sorry for taking so long to update - I'm currently on a much needed vacation and the internet isn't the best here.  And my computer is crap so the combination = not good. (and this update took 1.5 hours to get only up to the second set of pics).

  Anyway, on to my update...

  We went to the expo on Saturday while others were doing the 5k.  It was so much fun - we got sucked in for 2 hours and it felt like no time had passed!

  Eryn and I have been training for this weekend since July... it was so scary to realize it was finally happening.  She had her knee wrapped while we were there and I shopped a little (prices/deals were not as good as the Tulsa Run expo).

  I found a great sticker I wanted to buy this sticker for my best friend who finished his first full marathon the week prior...

  I bought a few stickers and some snacks for the race.  I wanted to get an "I run Tulsa" shirt but they were $10 and I had $9 cash on me so I didn't get it.  We picked up our tags

  My nerves kicked in big time when I walked out of my apartment earlier in the week and found this sign in front of my building... a sign that there was no turning back!

  This was that "make it or break it" moment for us.  And we made it! : )

  We were all praying for a no-rain/nice day.  We got half of what we wished for!  It didn't rain but it was freezing cold!  I originally figured I'd run with a hoodie and take it off and run in my thin hoodie or my tank top underneath.  Instead, I kept the hoodie on the whole run as well as my gloves!  I think the temp reached 46 degrees by the time we reached the finish line.

  I read in a few different places that as long as I slept well on Friday night I would be good.  Surprisingly, they were right.  I slept so well Friday night after having to stay up until 3am the night prior but suffered on Sat night.  Nerves kept me up until 1:30am and then I woke up an hour before planned - 5:30am.  I wished I could have slept longer but since I was wide awake, I figured I'd take advantage of it.

  I grabbed all my nicely laid out items from the night before...

  And checked my map again (we were the red route) so I knew where to go, where not to park and where I was going to finish.

  Getting up so early allowed me to actually enjoy my breakfast before a long run - something I never get to do.  I ate two pieces of toast smothered in chunky peanut butter and about 16oz of Gatorade.  I checked my email, sent some texts to friends, updated facebook and did some much-needed stretches before I left the house.  It was wonderful!

  When I arrived at the start line I walked around a little bit, checked my bag (I brought clean clothes for after just in case) and saw a few students who were also running.  Eventually I found Eryn and Erica and huddled in a building entrance trying desperately to stay warm until we had to line up in our corral.

  I copied some pics from the website at the event as well.  I'm thinking of buying one of the real ones but we'll see how Christmas goes first...

  When we got into our corral I started to realize it was really happening.  I was about to run over 13 miles.  Everyone else was bursting with excitement and I was just there.  Usually I'm nervous/excited/freaking out.  Not this time - I didn't even have a nightmare the night before which is unheard of for me!  It was very surreal.

Then we hit 8am and didn't move.  At all.  Then 8.05 and 8.10.  Finally we started shuffling forward a little after 8.10 and made our way to the starting line around 8.15am.  Now I was nervous/excited.  I was ready to put all that I could into it and go.  The gun went off and we hit the ground running.  I stayed with Eryn and Erica for the first quarter mile and then set off on my own.

  Part of the course was one I had run for Tulsa Run as well as trained on so I knew where the first few mile markers were.  It both helped and hindered me - I tend to prefer racing without knowing where my stops are but I pushed through with flying colors (I kept under a 10min/mile my first 2+ miles!) and beat those huge hills at the start.

  Somehow my iPhone knew exactly what songs I needed to push me through as well!  I hit shuffle and it played every song I use to keep myself going when I am struggling.  I was beyond happy and made it to mile 6 before I had to skip a song!  That always makes me happy.

  This one made me laugh because I was in the middle of singing "Transform Ya" and they snapped me.  I hadn't hit mile 2 yet.


  Eryn gave me great advice before we started the race - imagine running each mile for someone in your life.  That way you won't want to let them down.  It worked - I didn't slow down until around mile 8 when I knew Ashlie and my godchildren would be ok with me walking for a minute.  I made it that far before I had to stop and stretch/walk it out.  In total I believe I walked less than a mile which is totally fine with me!

  My soft goal was a 2:30 and my hard goal was sub-2:45 and I came close to my soft goal!  I pushed super hard on the last mile and crossed at 2:30:50.  Can't beat that!  I was so happy. : )

Can you tell I was a little proud?  My momma made me bring it with me on vacation so she could see it in person and then made sure to tell all of our relatives about my race.  Made me laugh each time.



It's so weird after months and months of training to realize you have a life again.  Eryn has mentioned a full marathon but I have no desire to do that.  I like my half.  There is a quarter marathon I learned about today that is in Feb. - I may consider that one.  I'm still debating about doing the OKC half.  I want to but am still exhausted from training so much.  We'll see.

  For now, I'm happy to go back to 5k's and work on getting my time faster.

Helloween weekend...

  Yeah, the title pretty much sums up my weekend.  It was hell.  But, I learned the lesson that every runner must learn to fully understand... don't change your diet before a race!

  As I mentioned many times, the Tulsa Run (our local 9.3 mile race) was this past Saturday.  I was beyond psyched to run it and set my first PR for a 15k race!  But, that didn't happen as planned.

  I have been told (and read) many, many times to always stay with what you know the night before a race.  Don't change your diet, don't change your routine.  It causes stress on your body and may result in not favorable outcomes.  Well, I didn't listen.  On Friday campus only had cold food at the caf so we trekked across campus to the Union Center to get lunch.  I hadn't had Subway in a while so I went there to get what I would have gotten in the caf - tuna on wheat with a ton of veggies.  Ate it with staff and walked back to my office.

  Left work and Eryn and I headed off to the Expo to pick up our race packets and look at what everyone was selling.  I made some super awesome purchases - totaling under $30 in all!  These shirts and some stinger supplies...

  Needless to say, I was on cloud nine when I left and feeling great.  Sadly, that didn't last long.

  We were both starving so we decided to go to a local pizza joint in town.  Put in our order (exactly the same thing) and sat down to eat.  The food was amazing but about half way through I started having stomach pain.  I thought that was odd but figured it would pass.

  Got home that night and watched some tv to relax before going to bed.  Stomach started really hurting - like something was just sitting in there and not happy.  Figured I'd do what I usually do - go to bed early and then when I wake up it will be gone.  No worries.

  Went to bed at 9pm, fell asleep right away and woke up around 7.30am and the pain was worse.  I felt nauseous and didn't really want to even walk but I told myself "you are going to do this! You paid $40 and you promised Eryn you'd be there."  So I got up, dressed and went out the door to meet her so we could meet everyone for the race.

  Eryn wanted to warm up for the race by jogging the five blocks to the site from where we parked.  As soon as I started I thought I was going to throw up.  Not a good sign before a race.  I kept it together and let her know that we'd be running the race separately so I didn't keep her from a good time.

  We started out and I began with a 10 minute mile pace.  Made it just past 1 mile and a bit and couldn't do it -  which depressed me even more because it was the same course we did the previous weekend and I rocked that!  I ended up running maybe 3 miles total and walked the rest as fast as I could.  Sadly, I spent most of the "race" doing my best to not throw up and keep moving.  I just wanted to cross the finish line and not feel like a complete failure.

  I finished around the 2 hour mark.  I still haven't looked up my official time - too embarrassing.  After the race we went to the massage booth and I asked them to look at my legs.  They said my calves were extremely tight and were surprised by that.

  I went straight home and ended up sleeping for about 14 hours on and off for the rest of the weekend.  By Sunday I realized I was for sure sick - food poisoning we suspect (from Subway since Eryn never got sick).  I am just now starting to feel human again.  Last night was my first attempt at eating more than cereal for a meal.

  Of course people have yelled at me for being so "stupid" for attempting the race but when you put your mind to something like that, the last thing you want to do is give up before you even try.  Yes, me attempting was probably not the smartest thing in the world and it more than likely made me even more sick, but at the end of the day, I did it.  I crossed the finish line and finished the race.  Just not at a time I am happy with.

  All I can do at this point is learn from my weekend (and missing Halloween sadly) and go back to what works for races.  This weekend will hopefully get me back on track.  We have a "mock marathon" for training - we pay $5 and they give us a sneak peak at what we'll be running in 3 weeks on race day.  Hopefully by then I'll be back to normal and can achieve a decent PR for my first marathon.

  Wish me luck!

Back to the Grind!

  I haven't blogged in a while because I've been slacking on my running routine due to work and didn't want to actually see it in print.
  I'm supposed to be running 19-22 miles a week and with my current schedule and working the last 2 weekends straight I've been averaging about 5-8 miles a week.  Not good.  This past week I managed to somehow only get 2.5 miles in before my long run.
   I'm happy to say that even with all that time off, I was proud of myself.  I managed to get 7.05 miles in staying close and under 10 minutes the entire time.  I ended up losing the running group on Riverside and cut my run a little under a mile short while I later learned that Eryn ended up running 2 extra miles because she also got lost.
 

  The weather was perfect - I'm hoping it's that nice next week when we run the Tulsa Run.  The only downside was that since I arrived 40 minutes earlier than Eryn to the finish line, I was freezing while waiting for her.  Sweat and cold weather don't go very well together.
  I've been needing to get new sneakers for a while now.  I've had my old pair since the summer started and they are finally starting to die on me.  That, and along with the fact that the arch isn't very high and they cause shooting pains in my arch when I run more than 8 miles or run more than two days straight.
  I had originally planned to just swing by Fleet Feet and talk to them about my arch and try on some shoes. Instead I ended up buying a pair on sight and getting better arch support.
  The shoes only cost $100 (better deal than Foot Locker) and although they didn't have more than one color, I couldn't say no.

 

  The arch was sized for my shoe - and I can take it out and change it in the others if needed.  It cost $45 and is supposed to help my running.  She said to wear it 2-4-6 hours in the first week.  I'm excited to break them in on a few long runs before the Half Marathon.

  I'll let you know how it feels.  Probably not going to use them during the Tulsa Run just because I don't want to have any issues on a race, but I will definitely try them out the week after on our 12 mile run.

  Very excited to start getting back into training mode, working out regularly outside of my classes, adding more miles and bringing weights back into my workouts.  I have tended to not push myself on Tues and Thursday but I need to work on it.  I need to stop slacking - not good!!

  So last week was not good for running - at all!  I can't lie - I was no where near where I should have been or wanted to be for training for our half.

  Part of it is my schedule this semester - it's insane, and part of it was I was being lazy and just couldn't do it.  My nights have become lost to meetings.  I try to get 2-3 miles in before Zumba at 5.30pm and then run home an hour later for a quick dinner before running to my 9pm meeting which ends around 10.30pm and then bed.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are the attempt after work to run and do weights (Eryn and I have cancelled on one another every time for the past 3 weeks due to meetings and things) and yoga from 8-9.15pm, then home and bed shortly after.  Wednesday is pretty much my only weeknight off right now so I try to spend it relaxing and working on early Christmas presents.  Thursdays this semester we have our weekly events so depending on when they start, I can't do the gym or I have to skip yoga so my Thursdays are all over the place right now.  And I can't go out Friday nights due to early training on Saturdays.

  Needless to say, life is crazy.  This week was my final "on-duty" week until 2012!  So exciting!  That means no more carrying my phone to yoga class or Zumba class and no more worrying about getting coverage for my Saturday runs!  That makes my life a little more mine, which is always nice.

  I didn't do the long run this past Saturday because they were going to the next town over and I didn't remember to ask someone to cover for me so I set my alarm for 6am and figured I'd run 8-9 miles around town by myself and do what I could.  That... didn't happen.  Got a 3am duty call and when I woke up to my alarm 2 hours later... I couldn't do it.

  Thankfully Eryn wanted to run after she got home from NYC so we hit the gym before my meetings tonight.  I was so happy to be back in there - and did a very nice, strong 3 mile run around 28 minutes.  We also realized Eryn's Nike+ is way off.  We ran 3 miles (she ran possibly less since she ended up behind me) and her gps said she did 3.44 and mine said 3.01 so I felt better that all the miles she'd been hitting may not have been right (I was feeling like a failure lately ha ha).  We're going to calibrate it to the track tomorrow so we're more in sync.

  I am hoping life calms down this month although I'm not expecting it.  I leave for a conference in AR this weekend with some of my staff and the weekend after I will be in Philly for a wedding of a dear friend from my undergrad.  Not sure how much running I will be able to get in being out of town two weekends in a row but I'm hoping to do as much as I can before I go.  Hopefully Sarah will be willing to run with me at least 3 miles on Sat before the wedding (hint! hint!). ; )

Seven mile "short run"

  So Saturday didn't quite go as planned but it ended up better than expected which is always nice!

  I have training runs with my running group every Saturday morning at 6am.  I knew my running partner would not be there this week - against my advice she ran 15 miles in less than 2 days and messed up her knees this week and then had to drive over 10 hours in 2 days and it took more out of her than she expected.  So I was going to brave it alone.

  I went to bed at my usual time - 10pm with the plans of unwinding and being asleep by 11 and waking up at 5 to get dressed and head out the door.

  Instead of the usual Friday night, my body decided to not go to sleep until 1am and when that alarm hit at 5am I just couldn't do it.  As a runner we are constantly told to "listen to our bodies" rather than listening to our minds and pushing too hard.  My body told me that if I did the run that morning it was not going to be good.  So I listened to it and went back to bed.  Sadly, my body also didn't want to go back to sleep so I laid in bed for another hour cursing myself for not running but also knowing that I needed the break - especially after being so sick.

  It wasn't too disappointing though - to be honest. I enjoy running with the group each Saturday but we're not half way into our runs and not one person knows who I am or really talks to me.  They talk to my running buddy all the time and when she refers to me by name she always gets "who's that?" as a response which annoys her a lot.  It bothered me at first because I really joined the group to meet new people and make friends but I've come to the realization that I'll be leaving (hopefully) in less than a year so there's really no point in getting too invested at this point.  Just waiting until I make my next move and settle somewhere new and start fresh.

  Anyway, about the run!  I ended up texting Eryn and we made plans to run our old route by the river around 11am to get our 7 miles in.  We parked where we park in the mornings for our group run and ran to the river, up and down the path and back to the car.  All in all we finished in 1 hour and 24 minutes.  Eryn had a few cramps along the way and had to walk but I pushed super hard and only ended up walking less than a half mile at one point (around mile 5.5) to stretch my legs. 

  It amazes me every time we have a long run - I look at my iPhone and smile because I remember the days I couldn't imagine running a total of 3 miles or over 20 minutes.  Now I'm running 6-8 miles pretty easily and running well over an hour every weekend.  Blows my mind.

  I'm still extremely nervous about the Half Marathon but also excited to have the experience.  I feel like once it's done I'll know what it's like and can then decide if I want to try it again.  My goal is to do at least 3 - I'd like to do the Route 66, the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon and possibly one in my hometown of Philly.  I'm not sure if I will have the time to do the Half Marathon in OKC this spring.  We'll see how my job search is going at that point and how busy I am as the semester comes to a close!

  First, I apologize for not updating in what seems like forever.  I was hit with horrible allergies 2 weeks ago and it took me out for most of the past 2 weeks - to the point I wasn't even working out because I couldn't breathe or sleep.  I thought it was the flu but thankfully I was wrong.

  So to play catch up, things have been super busy with work on top of everything else!  Never ends in my field but that's why I love it. : )

  Keeping up with my miles was very difficult while I was sick and I can't lie - I did fail at times.  I had to skip a zumba class and 2 yoga classes due to work and illness.  Depressing but I'm sure my body appreciated the time off.

  To try to work with both of our busy schedules, my running partner and I have been doing the occasional morning run.  I have to admit, I'm not a morning person.  I hate waking up before 8am but nothing is more magical than seeing this when you hit the top of a hard hill (ours is 3 to 6 miles in depending on what route we run).

  As I'm sure you can imagine, it's even more beautiful in person.  My iPhone did not do the sunrise justice!  To me, there is nothing more beautiful than coming to the end of your run and seeing such a wonderful sight - it always makes me want to push just a little bit harder and that's usually needed at the end of a run.

  I was nervous during my sick time because we had a very important upcoming race on Saturday - the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and I was actually running for someone!  The race was something my running partner had worked on the advertisements for so she really wanted to run it as our first race of the "new year."  I am lucky in the sense that no one close to me has ever had to fight any type of cancer (with the exception of a non-blood uncle) so I wanted to be able to run for someone during the race.

  As it turned out, my co-worker's mother had been diagnosed before which is why she is so passionate about the cause.  She asked if I'd run for her mother and I was honored.  My co-worker is a huge scrapbooker so she took a wonderful photo of us with the creation she made of my bib.

  Can you see the HUGE rings under my eyes... that was a few days before the race when I still felt like crap and hadn't been on meds yet.  Now I feel and look much, much better thanfully!

  Here's a close-up of her creation.  Can you tell she likes pink?

  She said our male co-worker made all the spirals so I'll include his photo too as a "thanks" for the entirely too much pink I wore (not a fan of the color).

  The race itself was amazing and I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it.  There were so many people - easily the largest race I had ever been to before.  I almost felt like it was giving me a taste of what to expect at the Route 66 Half Marathon in a little over 2 months.

  My running partner and I have both decided to have fun at the half marathon - we are planning on tutu's or something along those lines so we stand out and hopefully (finally!) get photos taken while we are running.

  The race course was a good one - not too many hills and the hills we did have were not nearly as steep as what we've been doing on our training runs lately so it was pretty easy.  I shot off as soon as I heard the gun and crossed the finish line at 28:48.  That's my 3rd best time yet so I was very happy.  I did an average 5:46 km and an average 9:17 mile.  The system messed up with groups so they said they'd have those stats to us by the end of the week.  Can't wait to see where I stand with those.

  My running group ran 3 miles to the race, ran the race and then ran 4 miles back to get their 10 miles in.  I was on duty that week and received a 3:30am call that morning so I only did the race - I didn't want to push myself and then have an accident/injury.

  Before the race....

  After I got home...

  The shirts this year are super cute as well - looking forward to adding it to the collection I've been growing since I started racing in Tulsa.

  Now just looking forward to the next few races before our half - Oktoberfest Lederhosen 4 mile race, the Tulsa Run 15k and maybe a quick 5k somewhere in there as well.  I love this time of year!! : )

Soda... bye bye

I've been trying to cut down on soda until I can finally cut it out of my life forever. I tend to give it up for Lent and then pick it up again shortly after as it's quick, easy and no calories. I know it dehydrates me and the caffeine makes me sleepy so as a runner I don't need either of these but at times, I settle because it's there. I found this today and I wanted to share it. I think I may print it out and stick it on my fridge so I can remind myself that I need to stop drinking it!!


Via: Term Life Insurance

First weekend off in forever!!

  So Eryn is going out of town this weekend and I suck at long runs by myself so we decided to allow ourselves a nice, relaxing weekend and got up at 6am to do our long run today. I honestly figured I'd do 5 miles and make up the other 4 later tonight before I go out.

  Nope.  Not quite.

  We decided to run town  because I've found (at least for me) that when I run in town I run farther because I have to get home so it's not like I can just quit - I have to finish. : )  Ways I trick my mind and body...

  We decided to start on Harvard and work our way down to Utica.  As we ran we started talking about adding some extra miles.  I suggested going down Cherry Street (it has a huge hill) and then back up on 11th.  We pushed and pushed and made that goal.  Then Eryn realized we'd hit construction if we ran down to 11th so we took 14th back home - which meant we ran up the Cherry Street hill one street over.  I know Eryn wasn't happy but I felt so good making it up that hill - knowing I was at least 5 miles in by then and not stopping.  I had no issues climbing it and made it up with relative ease.  We kept pushing through and made it back to my apartment in 1 hour and 13 minutes with 6.75 miles under our belt.  We figured we might as well finish to 9 miles so we grabbed our keys, ids, etc and walked to the gym.

  We did some intense stretching and then set to work - finishing the last 2.25 miles (or in Eryn's case - over 2.5 miles).  I stopped at 8.5 miles total and walked the last 4 laps to hit my 9 miles.  My knees were getting wobbly and my left foot was starting to hurt each time I hit the ground (time for new shoes??).

  I still can't believe we did 9 miles today!  When I checked my Nike+ I found that I cut 10 minutes off my run a few weeks ago and I only ran 7.61 then!  I even set a new 10k PR on my phone.  Pretty intense.  It blows my mind to see that I ran over 1.5 hours!!  Didn't seem like it was that long at all -  maybe an hour at most.

  I am paying for it now though - don't let me fool you.  My abs are screaming in pain and I am pooped but I have to make it through the day so I can celebrate some amazing women's birthdays tonight.  Gonna definitely take a nap after work!!

  Hope your day and weekend are as eventful as mine have already been today! ; )

Overdue update!

  My apologies for not updating as I promised - things have finally started to calm down.  To the point I even had a chance to clean a few rooms in my apartment!  Such a great feeling!

  I was able to take part in Banana Republic's 50% off family and friends sale as well as a few other sales over the month.  Figured I'd share some of my new purchases. : )

  If you couldn't tell already, I have an obsession with BR.  But, as I've learned from a good friend, when you spend the little extra for good clothing and take good care of it, your clothes will last a lot longer than something you pick up at Target or Old Navy.

  Anyway, on to the running!!

  We received our team shirts.  I didn't want a tank at first but after receiving it and wearing it on Thursday for our morning run, I really like it.  Here's a look at 6am...

  It's very fitting, light and breathable which is exactly what I want in a tank top when I am running long distances.  I will have to wear my white bra and sports bra underneath but that's fine.  Eryn and I felt "hard core" when we wore them for our run that day (not planned) with our matching water bottles.

  The water bottles were one of the best investments I've made since we started training!  It cost under $30 with tax and holds a good amount of water.  It took about 30 minutes to get used to and now I use it every run - not matter how long we go.  The non-id side has a pocket which I tend to carry a G2 packet and a granola bar in case I get hungry or need some extra umph during my run.  If you run and you don't have something like this - you need to invest in one!!  They also have sets where it's a bottle in a hand carrier if you prefer that more.

  

   Now on to the runs!  Last week we had an 8 mile run. Eryn kicked butt and ran 98% of it.  I ran about 95% of it but I am not going to lie - I struggled!  I had to walk a few short bits but I am proud to say I made it up and down every single hill (and believe me when I say there were many, many tough hills on this run!) so at the end of the day, that made me happy with my final turnout.  I ran 7.61 miles in 1:38:04 which blew me away.  I couldn't believe that I'd managed to make it that far - I wasn't expecting to run past 6 miles but somehow I pulled it out and did it.

  We ran our Monday and Tuesday miles in the gym.  My Tuesday run didn't record on my iPhone (still learning this app) so I was disappointed but I know that I made my 3 miles so I was good.  We decided to run Thursday early morning as neither of us would have time Thursday evening to do the run.  It was wonderful - a breezy morning in the mid-70's - couldn't ask for a better day!

  Today we had a step back long run - 6 miles.  I set my personal goal to achieve this run (without walking) and make it back under 1:15:00.  I did it!! I finished today's 6 miles in 1:05:29!!  I was so proud of myself.  There were some decent sized hills but nothing like last week so it was a nice break.  Above is what I've run since I started keeping it on my phone.  Eryn's is a little more up to where we really are - she is at almost 200 miles on her phone and since we run together almost every time, I know I'm close to her numbers.

  Best part of today - was enjoying my first bagel in forever after as well as some delicious watermelon!!  We treated ourselves for our hard work and enjoyed some delicious Panera.

  I guess when I finally leave my job I'm going to have to break down and invest in a iTouch so I can keep running and tracking it.  I don't want to switch to iPhone (don't like them very much) but want to keep using the app because I really do like it and prefer using it over iMap My Run.

  In other news, we're gearing up for some super fun races soon.  Eryn and I will be running the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure 5k on September 17th together.  After that I am hoping to run the Tulsa Zoo Run on October 1st with some of my wonderful staff members and the Tulsa Run 15k (my longest race yet!) with Eryn before we finish our training with the Route 66 Half Marathon on November 20th.

  It's kinda overwhelming to see the distances becoming greater and greater - I think the random 5k's will help.  I am also considering adding the Oktoberfest Lederhosen 5k on October 18th - haven't made my final decision on that one yet.  I'll have to talk to Eryn.  The nice thing is if I register I get free entrance to Oktoberfest which I'll definitely be going to anyway. : )  The only sad thing is I can't do the Skirt Chasers 5k again since it's the same day and time as the Race for the Cure and I promised Eryn we'd do that one instead.

  It's definitely going to be a very costly few months but I just paid off a huge credit card I've been working on  so the money I used for that each month can now go towards my races for the next few months.  Pretty excited about that.  Not to mention the fact that because of all of my running and gym time I got the 50% discount on our gym so only $75 will be pulled from my paycheck this year for my membership.  AND my awesome big boss gave me a free pass to a gym class so I used it for a $50 yoga class and only had to pay for my $45 Zumba class.  Between running/training, Zumba, Yoga and cross-training during the week I'm going to be SO fit it's gonna be unbelievable!!  I'll just have to work as hard when I am done training.  I'm hoping Yoga makes me more flexible and helps me work on my stretching as well as making me more relaxed during the week.

  Cross training has been a slow process - being out of the gym for 3 weeks has been hard and I'm feeling the pain today.  I did some machines yesterday as well as free weights for my arms and some free weights with crunches on the balance board and I can feel it in my abs when I move.  But, no pain no gain so I'm just gonna keep on moving because I know what I want my end result to be.  And it will be worth it!!

More training x 2

  We are not almost a week into RA training and I'm making it!

  It hit me this morning that my students are moving in within 2 days and although I know we are prepared for the most part (minus the copier being broken this week - yeah SA people, you read that right!!) and we'll be great for opening.

  The start of the week and getting used to late night runs along with long training days really wiped me out but I think my body is finally getting back on schedule.

  Last night Eryn and I had an epic run - one I had to blog about just because I'm so proud of myself (and Eryn) and were else can I promote myself but here? : )

  We are not doing morning runs this week 1) because I'd die with training starting at 8am most days and 2) because it's been raining all day all week so by nighttime it is cooler and not raining.  Last night I asked that we meet up at 8.15pm because I figured we'd be doing 4 miles and that usually lasts about an hour with stretching beforehand.  We ran a little late (due to me) and started our run around 8.35pm or so.

  We decided to run our latest route backwards just to get a change of pace, try new hills and trick our body/mind.  It worked!  The weather was amazing - a cool 76 degrees with a slight breeze.  After running in 104 degrees lately, this was heaven on earth for us!!

  Before we knew it, we were up to 3 miles.  My goal for the night was 3.5 straight.  We hit just over 3 and agreed to keep pushing since we were near a local mall.  While Eryn stopped in Starbucks I did an extra lap and get a few more steps in.

  After we met up again we continued running and kept going and going.  Before we knew it, we were up to 6 miles before walking!  I was blown away - I still can't believe we made it that far!  We added time as we went, which was fine, but it was such a great feeling starting with a 9'50 mile and ending on just a little over an 11' mile.

  The funniest part was we were honked numerous times, screamed at a few times and almost caused an accident on Utica when the guy almost hit the curb on the corner because he was checking us out.  I laughed really hard over that one.

  Since we made 1 mile short of our Sat run I feel more comfortable taking that morning off so I'm ready for training and making up my mileage that evening so I can get a good nights sleep before my freshmen move in on Sunday.  I'm also very lucky to have such a supportive staff who have been able to keep up with their work while I've been doing my mileage this week.

  Finally, exciting news - we picked our October run - Tulsa Run 2011!!  Eryn has talked me into a 15k as a practice run before our half marathon in November.  Nervous, but now knowing I can do 6 miles somewhat easily, I am feeling more ok with an almost 10 mile run by then.  Wish me luck!! 

7 Miles and then some

  So this past week Eryn and I have run the most we have together ever.  I ran 16.11 miles this week.  I'm still amazed when I see that number... I never thought I'd get past 10 miles a week but the number keeps growing, which is both scary and exciting.

  Yesterday we went to a speaker to hear about eating better while training.  Thankfully I already knew a lot of what she shared with us and am practicing it.  She did encourage us to drink more Gatorade so I went out last night and bought a few bottles for quick gulps after the longer runs.  She also reminded us that even though we are running longer distances we shouldn't up the junk food intake.  That's always hard for me - especially during opening because it's just so easy to reach for that candy bar for some quick sugar rather than a piece of fruit.

  She gave us some helpful information to prevent "digestive issues" during and after a race.  Pretty sure most runners have had those problems.  Definitely will use that advice in the future.  I'm really glad we went to her.  And most importantly she said to follow my life rule "if you crave it, have it."  No reason to deny yourself as long as you aren't going too crazy with the junk food.

  The seven mile run wasn't as bad as I expected and it's allowed me to set a goal for this weekend.  I paused my Nike app each time I walked so I could get a real read of what I was actually running.  I did better than I expected - I ran 5.9 out of 7 miles.  My goal for this week will be at least 6 out of 7 miles.  What's going to be even harder is as soon as we finish I have to rush home, shower and be ready for training!  Whew!

  The run was also fun because it took us all through downtown.  I never knew just how small our downtown really was - when I can run all over it in about 5 miles - pretty crazy!  But nice to see new things I've never seen before and new ways of getting to places.

  I was supposed to start morning runs with Eryn this morning but I think my body and mind weren't cooperating with my plans.  I didn't fall asleep until after 12.30am last night and apparently 1) set my alarm incorrectly and 2) left my phone "on" so it was lit all night so the battery died before I had to get up.  I've been sleeping with my work phone on silent since the school year hasn't started yet and forgot it in the living room so even that wasn't going to wake me up.  I sat up at 7.30am and realized what happened and was so disappointed in myself.  I'll have to figure out a way to make those 3 miles up - maybe tomorrow night if it cools down.

  I'm also keeping the weight off, which is nice.  I'm down to 142.0 which I'm pretty proud of.  My wii however felt the need to tell me that my "ideal weight" would be 126.0 and I should work towards that goal.  Seriously... way to be supportive wii.  I can't and should never get down that far - I would look terrible and sickly.  Just more reason to hate the unreasonable and irresponsible BMI chart.  I don't believe that I would be "at my healthiest" at that weight, as my wii says I would be.  I already take in less than 1500 calories on a non-workout day - I can't even imagine taking in less to hit my "ideal weight" - no desire to go down that path again!

  Hopefully I'll be able to keep everything together this week between training and RA training.  I'm going to do my best as both my job and my training are the most important things to me right now.  I'll do my best to update and keep you in the loop to how I'm managing! : )

First purchase of furniture!!

  So this isn't really running related but exciting for me in a dorky way.

  I bought my first ever piece of real furniture today!  Found it at a random thrift store my staff took me to last night.  I took a friend back with me today and had her test it out and she agreed it was good and just needed a little work.

  So, my first new addition to my future house/apartment... a rocking chair that looks like one my grams kept in her house.

  Please ignore the explosion on the futon behind the chair.  I am cleaning it in my office and then plan on moving it into my apartment once it's completely clean.  : )

  This is my happy purchase for the weekend.

Running like a crazy woman!

  After a wonderful conference and an even better weekend with great friends, I'm trying desperately to catch up on everything I've put off (or forgotten) before I lose my life to training/move-in/opening.  Welcome to the life of a college professional!!

  One thing I haven't lost this week - my will and desire to run!  Now that my running buddy is back I am in full gear and ready to run!  I pulled out and dusted off my running log and have been keeping better record of my mileage.  I haven't been so good tracking it on the iPhone as my arm band sucks and is now ripping so I'm waiting for a new one from ebay to arrive soon.

  This week we are completely on target for our runs but I'm still scared out of my mind for this weekend.  We started Monday with a goal of 4 miles.  We did end up breaking it down (for a pee break) but did 2 straight 2 mile sets in 42 minutes.

  Our next run was a bit harder run since Monday was in the nice air-conditioned gym and Tuesday was outside.  Eryn works later on Tuesday nights so it plays with our schedule since the gym's summer hours end at 7pm.  We ventured out at 9pm in hopes of a less hot night - it was 114 degrees earlier in the day.  Yes, you read that correctly.

  We made our mileage but I honestly feel I pushed myself a little too hard.  We ran three very hard and somewhat hilly miles and ended up walking about another mile so I could literally uncurl my body from the running position.  After that run we decided that until the gym is open for academic hours we are doing morning runs when it's cooler.

  So today we ran at 6am.  Let me tell you, it's amazing to run in 80 degree weather when you are used to running in the 100's all summer.  Total and complete bliss!!  It was so amazing we ran 3.21 miles before we even considered walking!  Then we knew we wanted to go further so we walked an additional 2 miles before heading home to start our day!  The whole 5+ mile loop only took us an hour - 37 minutes of running and the rest walking.  I felt so energized and relaxed when we finished and we kept saying "remember when we had to stop here last time we did this loop?" as we kept running further and further.

  The interesting part is that for once I'm focusing on my distance rather than my pace.  I think I'm finally to a point where I know I can run a 5k in under 28 if I really push it.  Now I just want to keep gaining distance and not worry about speed.  I know a year ago I would have been so disappointed about running a 5k in over 40 minutes but now for me it's about conquering the hills, keeping my pace steady and not pushing so hard I want to die before I finish.  It's been a mind game most of the time - trying to not let the mental blocks stop me but I'm slowly getting there.
 
  I have to admit I'm very proud of us for keeping up with our weekly goals so far.  It's been tough with both of us taking vacations (and slacking on them at times!) but we're back on track and doing great. At the same time, a 7 mile course this weekend is so daunting!  I know I can do 4 to 5 miles if I push myself - I'm just not sure about adding another 3 miles on top of that.  Eryn can run up to 6 miles when she pushes herself.  I told her my goal for this weekend is running a total of at least 5 miles - even if it's broken up.  I just want to run as much as I can and walk as little as I have to.  We'll see how it goes!!

Nike + GPS

  So Eryn talked me in to getting the Nike + GPS on my phone and all I can say is...
  I wish I'd listened to her sooner!  And damn I'm gonna miss my iPhone in a year when I leave here!!  It is definitely worth the $1.99 I paid for it (she got it for free during runner's month).

  Because it's a GPS it works so much better than my Nike + iPod (my shoe insert doesn't measure correctly).  I also like that it's just a fun app!  I can challenge myself and "tag" my friends to see which of us can run the longest/fastest.  I told Eryn we're going to have to start doing that when we are away and can't train together.  Will keep me in gear since I slacked all last week!

  I have been keeping up with training this week and am feeling sore but better than expected after a week off (if you don't count the crappy 2 mile treadmill run I did).  I had to get in 2 3 mile runs Monday and Tuesday, which I was able to do.  My run says 3.20 but it missed my first two laps somehow so my total does equal my needed 6 miles for the week so far.

  Today I hit the gym to do a little cross training.  Unfortunately I was only able to get 30 minutes in - I wanted to do more but every machine I went to was out of order!  Two of my favorites were missing their seats and they still haven't fixed my ab crunch machine.  I'm guessing since they close for the semester on Friday they'll be fixing everything and I'll be good to go on August 21st when they re-open.

  Sadly, that means Eryn and I will be doing 3 works of long runs in the horrid heat!!  It was 108 today so I promise you, it's hot!!  But I can't complain too much because after the humidity in Indiana, I'm thankful it's just hot here.

  This weekend is another long run without Eryn - 6 miles.  I'm nervous because last time I barely squeezed out 4 of the 5 I had to do.  I'm going to push myself really hard this week though - new headphones, charged shuffle, I'm hoping to be good to go!

  I'll keep you posted on the results - if I remember to take my iPhone. : )