Finally!

Well, I finally convinced Steve to let us unfreeze my account with 24 Hour Fitness and start up his account again last night. We went to the 24 hour near our house and signed up. Want to know the best part??? Besides that we both got "All-Club" access (except for one club in Murphy and one in Keller..that we'll never go to), Steve got me 3 personal training sessions for Christmas! How cool is that? Each session is an hour long and they'll give me a nutrition plan and set the plan toward my goals. I'm so excited!! I told the manager, "Can you give me someone like Jillian Michaels?" and he just smiled at me and said, "I've got a few people I can think of that would be good" haha I really want to take this seriously and I really want to better myself. Who knows, maybe after this I'll continue PT sessions every so often to keep me on track.

So this morning we woke up bright and early at 5:00 and were at the gym by 5:30. I tried to play it safe and was on the eliptical machine for 30 minutes. It didn't hurt my ankle to go forwards on the eliptical but when it asked me to go backwards, that's when I could feel pressure and it hurt a little. So apparently, I need to do more work in strengthening my ankle. After the cardio, I tried to do some ab work on the roman chair, but felt really winded and a little dizzy, so I decided I was done for the morning and Steve and I left. We were both kind of feeling the same way, so we figured we just need more time to get used to waking up so early in the morning and eat a little more before we go to the gym.

I'm so excited about finally working out again, though. I'm just really proud of us for going and I can't wait to go again. Tonight my friend Becca and I will go together. She needs someone to motivate her to go, so I'm going to be that person! Here's hoping we can keep up a routine and get back in shape!!

New Years Resolutions and Goals

So we're 22 days away from 2010 and I've decided to go ahead and set some goals for the new year and (hopefully) new me.

*Run a marathon.
- I'd like to participate in the White Rock Marathon next December since I've been injured and unable to participate in this years half. I'm pretty sure that if I allow myself to heal correctly, I'll be able to accomplish this goal with no major problems.

I'm going to start re-training hopefully by the end of next week. I'm still in my "boot" for the ankle injury that happened a few Monday's ago, so I'm taking it easy but I'm feeling antsy and need to get back on the road.

*Run 3-4 half marathons. In order to prep for my big goal, I'm going to need some help staying on track and signing up for some half marathons should be great. Plus, with each half marathon, I hope to improve my time. I'll get to that soon.

*Lose weight. My goal currently is 15 pounds, but 20 would be awesome. I've been tossing around the idea of joining Weight Watchers to help me get on track since it's worked so well for my sister and mother in law. I guess it depends on whether I can afford it! I do know that I'm rejoining my gym soon and I can't wait to get back on those cardio machines and back on the weight benches. Seriously, I'm starting to get anxious. By my 26th birthday (209 days from now or about 7 months), I'd love to be down to 135 and by the White Rock Marathon 130. If I even get close to either of those numbers, I'll be proud, so I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if I don't hit 135 exactly. I got down to 134 in HS my senior year, so it's been a long time since I've seen that number and I haven't seen 130 since probably 7th grade.

*A personal goal that would flippin' rock my world is if I could do any amount of pull ups by myself. I'm determined to get to at least 10 by the end of the year. My upper body has never been strong and I've always envied others who make it look so easy.

*As far as times realistically I'd be amazed if I ran a marathon in 5 1/2 hours. My dream is to run it in under 5 hours. Highly doubtful, but something that could be attainable whether it happens this year or next. For half marathons, I don't really care about the time of my first half. But I do have the goal of improving my time by 1 minute each race. A goal that I'd like to get to is a 10 minute mile pace for my half marathon by the end of the year. Before I hurt my ankle, I was at about a 12 minute mile pace...which was OK but not what I'd like to see later on down the road.

Unfitness related:
*I'd love to learn some new recipes and start thinking "outside box" for dinners. I'd like to incorporate my slow cooker more often since soon I'll be working out either early in the morning or after work.

*Call friends more often. I'm really bad about calling people. It would be one thing if I got off work about an hour sooner than I do. It's just so difficult for me to pick up the phone when I get home. I don't know why, but it is. I just find it to be personal time with my husband and I would rather sit and watch TV with him than pick up the phone and leave the room.

*Teaching. Please God just let me get a teaching job come this August. That's really the big one for me. Over running a marathon, over losing weight. I just want to teach. I could go on and on about how useless I feel in the position I hold right now, but most of my readers already know it!


As far as goals for this blog, I am hoping to find or buy an adapter for my camera so that I can start uploading pictures. My blog is so boring without them!! *here's hoping* I'll be more consistent and I'll definitely be tracking my progress more often. All these injuries leave me feeling like I have nothing to say, so hopefully in a few weeks, you'll see more posts coming.

Races in the Future

I decided today that instead of being complete down and out about not being able to run my first half marathon, that I'd look to the future and see what races will be around in the coming months. Here's a list of possible contenders that I'm contemplating signing up for to get me back on track after my unfortunate ankle sprain:

*Dallas Jingle Bell run on December 22nd. 5K 6:30 at the Hilton Anitole.

*Plano Pacers 8K Holiday run December 26th 8:00 am

*New Years Run January 1st 5M 10:00 am Norbuck/Flag Pole Hill

*DRC Frigid 5K/10K run January 2nd 8:00 am Winfrey Point

*Run On! Too Cold To Hold 5K/15K January 17th 8:30 am at Winfrey Point

*The Texas Half hosted by Run On! January 30th 8:00 Winfrey Point

*Cupid's Run 5K February 13th at 8:00 am White Rock Lake

*Cupid's Couple Race in McKinney 5K/10K February 14th McKinney,TX

*Cowtown Half Marathon February 27th, 7:30 am Sundance Square

*Rock 'n Roll Dallas Half Marathon March 14th Dallas City Hall (it would be amazing if the website would actually list the start time of the race. I'm going to assume 7:30-8:00)

*Big D Marathon April 11th, 8:00 am Cotton Bowl-26.2

Ok, so I may be ambitious to think that I could possibly complete a full marathon by April. But I've had my eye on that for at least a month and a half now. As of today I have 128 days until the full marathon. That's 4 months. Let's not forget that two weeks ago I was able to complete 13 miles. I think if I am able to train hard and heal properly that I can do this. I won't sign up for it yet. Nothing would suck more than to go ahead and pay for any of these races and then have to bow out because I didn't give myself enough time to heal. But I think this whole "not running" thing really puts me in a downer mood and I can't believe how much I've come to rely on the way I feel after a run to motivate me.

I'd really like to sign up for the races around the holidays because let's face it-I like to eat. I like to eat a lot. And not once did I feel guilty on Thanksgiving because I kept thinking, "I ran 8 miles today. I'm good". But I also didn't pig out either...so hoping that I have the will power to have small amounts of whatever I want and running on top of it, makes me think that possibly I'll lose weight (what, what???) and feel great during the holidays instead of lethargic and full like I normally am.

I think that's a pretty good assortment of races, don't you? I've got a few at the end of this month, a few in January, a few February, one big one in March, and an even bigger one in April.

The only thing that sucks about wanting to do these races is having to pay for them. It's hard to rationalize paying for a race that I could really run on my own if I wanted to. There's no comparison, though, when it actually comes down to running the race along fellow runners and athletes who are serious about the sport. It's the most amazing feeling and it's so motivating. We shall see.

Dallas Turkey Trot

Before my lovely accident, I was fortunate enough to be able to run the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in downtown Dallas. What an experience that was!

Steve and I got up early and headed out to ride the DART down to the race. I don't know what I was expecting as far as the DART was concerned. Space to sit? There certainly wasn't any. It was standing room only when we got on at Arapaho Station. I looked at Steve like, "What's going to happen at the next 8 stops?" People got on with strollers, one lady even got on with a big wagon for her kids! WTF? I really appreciate that you're bringing your kids along to this awesome, family event, but seriously, could you not have taken your car and not taken up the entire aisle? Seriously. Towards the end of our ride, it got more and more packed. I felt like a sardine. Normally, I'm not claustrophobic, but by the time the train hit the Convention Center station, I was ready to get off.

What was even more frustrating than the DART was probably the port-a-potty lines. Holy cow. Talk about not enough! Steve and I stood in line for at least 30 minutes waiting to use them. The race even started before we could get out of line.

Supposedly, there were over 37,000 racers at the Turkey Trot. That's more than the population of the town I'm from! How crazy is that? Once we were finally able to join the race, it took a good 2 miles before the road opened up and we were dodging people left and right. It was extremely frustrating to be around all the walkers and the dogs. I had one dog literally stop feet in front of us and begin pooping in the middle of the road. And Steve and I both almost ran into parking meters about 3 times.

Once the road cleared up though, everything was pretty smooth sailing. We ran around the JFK memorial, on into the Oak Cliff area. We ran over bridges, which was pretty freaking amazing, and around the now pile of steel that used to be Reunion Arena.

Seriously, it was great and I am proud of us. I hate to say it, but I owned Steve during the race. The whole time. And naturally, at the finish, he decided to kick it in gear and finish slightly ahead of me. Which is awesome since of course, that's where the cameras are. Whatever. I know the truth and I know that I had to stop on more than 3 occasions to search for him or walk with him. I don't know when I'll let him live that down.

But in all seriousness, it was a fun race. We ate some yogurt and drank lots of water and got back on the DART and actually got seats this time. And by the time we got home it was "feast" time. It was nice to be able to eat a little bit of everything and not feel guilty about it all day. I think this should become a tradition for us. It would be even more fun if we could get more of our family involved in the race, but I know that they'd probably only be willing to do the 5k and that we'd have to walk it and to me, I'd rather run so that I can eat more :)

To put me in the Christmas Spirit I'll also add a picture of my Christmas tree that I bought, put up, and decorated this past weekend:

Warning: Major Bummer Post

So, my quest to run a half marathon has been cut short. At least in time for the Dallas White Rock marathon on December 13th.

Monday night after work, I decided to go for a short 5k run. I knew the weather was going to be pretty nasty for the next couple of days and wanted to keep myself accountable for running.

Steve was running late from work, so I decided to head out by myself and get back before he got home. I put my brace on my right ankle, that still swells when I run from the previous ankle injury, grabbed a flashlight and was out the door. I felt great. I tried to pick up my pace and just focused on running and trying to land correctly on feet.

About a mile in (I'm guessing, it could have been a little more than that) I came across a section of sidewalk that had some leaves and acorns in a pile. I saw it, I expected it, I was ready. Then all of a sudden as my left foot hit the ground, it literally bent on it's side and down I went. How ironic that this would happen to the ankle that I hadn't injured before.

My heart sunk, I stifled a scream, and literally just turned right around and started hobbling home. It hurt. Like crazy. I forced myself not to cry and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I stopped my Pandora radio on my iPhone and dialed Steve, but he was on the DART and unreachable. I thought about calling Steve's parents but figured they were working late and didn't think about calling my friend and co-worker who also lives in the area until I was probably a few blocks from home. I was so angry. I wanted to throw my cell phone, I wanted to throw my flash light. I wanted to scream obscenities. I just knew this was the end of the road for my goal of running the half marathon at the White Rock race.

The farther I walked, the more painful it was. The pain was shooting up my leg and down my foot. I just knew I couldn't stop walking, I had to keep going until I got home. Once I got there, I sat down on the recliner and started bawling as I took off my shoes and socks to survey the damage. It was already starting to swell pretty nicely and after sitting, I could barely put any weight on it.

So I sat in the chair, crying my eyes out until I could compose myself enough to slowly and painfully hobble to the freezer and grab a baggie full of ice. Then I just waited for Steve to get home. I sat in the silence and just cried. Since July I've been working on this goal. I've had my eye on the prize and I was doing so well. Just a week and a half ago I ran 13 miles! 4 days ago I ran the 8 mile Turkey Trot in Dallas! I mean, seriously!

Once Steve got home he took care of me, he brought me some soup, and re-wrapped my ankle with more ice and saran wrap. Then at 8:30 we started seriously talking about heading the ER because I was concerned at how painful my ankle was. I can't remember it ever feeling that bad whenever I tried to put pressure on it.

So at 9:00 we got bundled up and headed over to the ER with books in hand, prepared for a long night. Luckily, the ER was completely empty and we got in really quickly. They put me in a wheelchair and when they took x-rays, kept me on the little gurney. It felt like a little bit of overkill to me, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get.

The doctor said it was just a bad sprain and to stay off of it for at least a week or two. I'm not taking any chances, so 2 weeks it is. I need to set up an appointment with an orthopedic doctor so he can check out my feet, but this just confirms that from now on I need to run with 2 braces :) I was given a prescription for some Motrin, a big boot for my ankle, and crutches and was sent on my way.

Here I am waiting in the ER.



We finally got back home around midnight and I promptly fell asleep. The past few days have really been exhausting. The crutches are friggin killing my underarms. And I can slowly walk with just my boot...but it's like I'm a slow 80 year old, so I prefer the pain of the crutches over the slowness of the boot.

This has been really hard for me. I'm usually an on the go person. My walking pace is like a speed walker, so if anyone knows me, they know this is extremely frustrating for me. I only know one speed and this one isn't working for me.

It's also embarrassing being at work and being like, "Hey, guys, can someone go grab me a coffee" because Lord knows how I'd get a hot beverage without a lid to my desk when I've got to hold on to a pair of crutches. Luckily, we have bottled water so that's been easy to get myself.

To give a comparison. This is what my ankle looked like before:


Here's a shot of my swollen right ankle the last time I sprained it. Ironically, the right one looks like my normal ankle right now and my left is as swollen as my right one was.



On the bright side of things, not being able to do this race will open up another opportunity for someone who was put on the wait list. So at least someone will get to run.

Mark my words, next year, I will be running the White Rock marathon. And instead of the half, I've got my eyes set on the full. I can do this and I will do this and I'll find a way to not hurt myself :) And from now on, I'll be running on a track or a treadmill or wide open trails. No more sidewalks and bumpy roads. Those are CLEARLY bad for me.

And that makes me the winner

So officially I've been out of the game for 5 weeks before I could finally start running again. Tuesday I ran 3 miles and Thursday I ran around 5. I was invited by my husband's old neighbor to go run with her and a group called, "Girls on the Run". I decided to try it out. She told me that they were intending on running 13 miles on Sunday and that there was no pressure to run that far, just to do what I could. So at 5:30 on Sunday, I woke up and got ready to go the distance!

It was a little intimidating to meet the women, they all looked so fit! And here I am, probably the heaviest of the bunch trying to keep up. We started at the White Rock Dog Park and ran off the trail/lake for 3 miles and then headed to the trails. I have to admit I couldn't believe how fast they were! I felt so slow compared to them. They were all talking and carrying on conversations pretty much the whole run and I'm just trying to remind myself to breathe! :0) I already felt pretty tired after 3 miles and tried to remind myself there wasn't any pressure to continue my run with them, but for some reason my mind just wouldn't let me give up on myself. I was pretty determined to just try to hang with them. Plus, once I got to a spot on the trail I was like, "Well, it would be pointless to turn back around and then I wouldn't know where to tell Steve to meet me so I guess I'm stuck". :) So of course I had to walk a little bit. I would say a grand total of a mile (it would be nice if it was less than that) and luckily the ladies stopped every so often at water fountains to recoup and stretch or take their gel shots or shot blocks.

At 10 and a half miles in they were like, "hey let's run up a hill" and not just any hill...but a hill that was crazy. Absolutely nuts and I just couldn't run up it. It was just too hard. Especially that late in the run. One of these days I'm going to conquer it though. I think that's a new goal I'm going to add to my run.

All in all, I completed 13 miles on the run. I was really proud of myself, but probably more exhausted than anything. I probably didn't feel recovered until about 6:00 that night. Hopefully, the recovery time will get better. And after running that far, I determined that the Turkey Trot on Thursday will be a piece of cake and that it will just be a pre-cursor to my half marathon in 3 weeks.

Today my legs are sore, but not as sore as I thought they'd be. I was pretty surprised when I could get out of bed this morning and not feel like my legs were going to give out on me. Today's my day off from running, but I plan on doing crunches and pushups tonight. Tuesday I want to run about 3-5 miles. Probably the same route Steve and I ran last Thursday. Then another day off...maybe take the dog for a walk..and then the 8 mile Turkey Trot. :) I'm pretty excied about the race.

I'm also really excited because Thursday I finally get to see my parents. They've been away for a month and I can't wait to see them.

20 Days until my first half marathon!!

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I'm finally back on my feet and running!

Last night after work I convinced Steve to go on a run with me. We went a little over 3 miles. It was about 50 degrees out, so I wore my long running pants and my longsleeve DRC half marathon shirt and my Nike jacket. I slipped on my brace and felt good to go. A few weeks ago I ordered an armband for my iPhone and decided to try it out last night. I thought it worked really well. The key holder felt a little loose, but other than that I had no problems. While we were running I played my Pandora radio so that we could listen to classic rock. I wish I could listen to music and also track my run at the same time. Unfortunately, I found out I couldn't which really disappointed me.

The run went really well. I felt strong the whole time and my ankle felt fine. Though towards the end it did start feeling a little stiff. Since it's dark out when we get home, I carried a small flashlight and Steve wore a red-bike light on his back so that people could see us. I really focused on the sidewalk with the flashlight. I didn't want to step on an acorn or not see a rise in the cement and re-injure myself.

It just felt so good to get back out there. Especially the way the weather felt. It's just refreshing. I'm really proud of myself for doing the 3 miles, especially considering I've basically been out of the game for about a month now. I'd like to run again tonight if I can...maybe drive up to the track and run on it for 4-5 miles or just run to it (if Steve would let me). We have a lot of chores to do around the house this week before Saturday, so I don't know if I'll be able to do it. But I really need the exercise and I only have 9 days until the 8 mile Turkey Trot. Also, I'd like to go run with a group on Saturday and I know that they ran 12 miles last weekend. I'd be really proud of myself if somehow I could get back up to at least 9 by this weekend. That would require daily running and I certainly need it.

Last night, I also managed to do some crunches. I felt so weak! I was really disappointed in myself. I remember when my friend Chavayee and I would do 10 sets of 30 crunches of all different kinds and then we started doing even more. I could do 10 minutes of ab work and not feel worn out. This will be remedied, for sure! I can't believe I let myself go like that. I used to do them while watching TV and I got out of the habit. Guess it's time to get back in it, huh?

So that's the update. 9 days until the turkey trot and 26 days until the half marathon!!

Staying Active and Motivated

It's hard to find motivation to do anything when you're injured. To me, having this sprained ankle is cutting into valuable training time and leaving me extremely frustrated. Wednesday my ankle was about three times the size it normally is. I kept it propped up at work and iced the whole day. Now it's starting to look more like normal. Still a little swollen, but I'm regaining movement and not limping near as much as last week.

My ankles have been the bane of my existence since forever. Honestly, when thinking back I'm surprised I didn't have more problems with them when I was in drill team. But then I think of all the stretching and simple exercises that we used to do and I was probably strengthening more ankles more than I realized. I got my weak ankles from my dad. When he was in high school he played football and he told me about how often he would hurt his ankles and how every game he'd have to shave his legs half way up his chins and then tape up his ankles because he was so prone to injuries. He then told me that his ankles used to look like mine (all swollen) and that they haven't looked like that in 30 years because "I stopped running". I don't want that to be an option for me. If I have to wear a brace every time I run, I'll do it. That's where I'm at now. Keeping it wrapped up in my ACE bandage and hoping that by this weekend I can go for a short 1-2 mile run and see how my ankle feels.

It seems I always injure myself when I'm trying to lose weight or have a specific goal in mind. After having the flu 2 weeks ago and finding out my weight at the doctor's office, I was pretty determined to lose 5-7 pounds before Thanksgiving. It probably won't happen now because of my injury-but I'm really trying to be mindful of how much I eat and what I eat.

This weekend was a testament to me trying not to let my injured ankle put me down and out. I went with my in laws to the Richardson Pet Day to get Anna micro chipped (for $15!!!!) and walked around. I almost turned my ankle again on the uneven gravel...I really think I should have been named "Grace"...Luckily, I was wearing my brace and I caught myself before I landed too hard on it. So I don't think it hurt it too much. We also painted our guest bathroom a charcoal grey color that while making the room look a tad bit smaller, really makes the white tile and brushed nickel accents pop. I really like it. I didn't do a stellar tape job though, and will have to go back in this week and do some touch up work. :( I also raked a crap ton of leaves, so that was a workout. Sunday I was constantly on the go. We woke up, went to my parents to rake leaves there since they're out of town, we went to the grocery store, I did a second coat of paint in the bathroom, I raked leaves in our front and back yard, I did laundry, cleaned the floors to the best of my ability (I think my swiffer is still at our apartment, so I could only sweep the kitchen and dining room), I took the tape down in the bathroom, we had dinner with Steve's parents, and then I made cookies and watched the Cowboys outplay the Eagles. It was a great weekend, one where I wish I could have added "I ran 13 miles" to, but that's just going to have to wait. I love having our home and being able to put things up and decorate and paint. It's just so much fun. Maybe I can convince my husband to let me paint some more this coming weekend :)

I'm so sore from raking! I hope to get some more workouts in by doing push ups, crunches, and maybe some squats. The squats all depend on whether or not my ankle will be up for it. I don't want to push myself too hard and then end up prolonging my recovery. I just can't wait to run again. Sometimes I feel like I'm going stir crazy by not being able to do cardio.

Turkey Trot 8 mile is in 17 days and my first half marathon is in 34 days.

You've Got to be Kidding

Today was my official, "getting back on the bandwagon" day. It fell a little flat.

I went to bed and set my alarm last night to wake me up at 5:00. I slept through the whole night, which is really unusual for me. When my alarm woke me up at 5:00, I wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but instead I got up and got around (ok, ok...so I might have laid in bed for another 15 minutes...but still...at least I finally got up). Steve and I got dressed and headed out the door.

Our trek was going to be pretty short since we hadn't really been running for a while because of injuries and sickness. We ran from our street to Custer, down through the Canyon Creek area and back. About a half mile in, the endorphins kicked in and I just felt amazing. It was cool out, I missed the wind in my face and I missed the way my heart and breathing felt as I ran. It was just great to finally be back out doing something I've really grown to love. We were literally a block from crossing back over Campbell when all of a sudden my ankle turned and my run was cut short. It took me so off guard that I almost plummeted to the ground, I couldn't breathe because I was almost hyperventilating, and then I got insanely dizzy. The pain was probably the worst thing I've felt come from my ankle in at least a year. After sitting on the ground for a few minutes, trying to gather myself and decide whether or not I wanted Steve to hurry and run home to get the car, I picked myself up and hobbled home.

I can feel the pain go from the top of my foot up to my knee it's that hurt. I'm not sure whether or not I want to get it x-rayed yet. I imagine I'm going to need to lay off of it for probably a few weeks. Naturally, this will not do. Seriously, I don't have a few weeks to lay off of it. I need to continue training. How? I'm not sure. I'm probably going to see if I can convince Steve to let me unfreeze my 24 Hour Fitness account so that I can do some form of cardio and weights to off set the damage I've done. Hopefully, it will clear up in the weeks that come and I'll be able to run the turkey trot on November 26th in Dallas. It's an 8 mile race that I've signed up for...and then 2 weeks after that is the 1/2 marathon I've been preparing for since July.

I'm not sure how I'll feel if all of this becomes not an option.

At least now I've learned that now I have no choice but to tape up my ankles every time I run. I won't let this ruin all my hard work!!

Falling Off the Wagon

Technically, I didn't "fall" off the wagon...it sort of rolled over my foot and then my whole body.

It's been a good three weeks since I ran 11 miles. I was ready for my 1/2 marathon...just waiting for November 1st to get here. Of course, the very end of that 11 miles I rolled my ankle which I decided to lay off of for a week. So that week I took it easy. I tried to focus on getting better and getting out of my apartment. We moved that next weekend into our home. Of course, the move was not exactly smooth. We were without a fridge for a week and Saturday night, while trying to move a dresser, it was dropped and naturally landed on my big toe. I was seriously worried I was going to lose my toenail. It was really painful. Luckily, I still have a toenail...though it looks rather damaged..but of course that set me for another week of not running. :( I was still pretty positive that I'd be able to run the 1/2 the next week. Until...last Sunday. I woke up feeling a bit under the weather but was still determined to finally go for my first run in 2 weeks and my first run in our new neighborhood. Steve used to run cross country in high school, so he showed me the trails they used to run. We ran around Canyon Creek. It was perfect training! Hilly, lots of turns, good sidewalks...We ran about 6.7 miles before I decided "Ok, I'm really not feeling so hot. I think I'm done". It was a slow run, but I was still proud of myself for getting out there and running when I wasn't feeling exactly "stellar". But the rest of the day my body continued to go down hill. Eventually by mid afternoon, I was laid up on the sofa watching the Cowboy game trying not to move. I found out a few days later I had the flu. Big time bummer. I decided not to risk relapsing and skipped out on the 1/2 marathon that happened on Sunday.

Thursday, Steve and I went to Run On! and picked up my race packet. It was so depressing. I got this awesome shirt and my bib even had my name on it! "Mariah" over my bib number...how cute is that? I was like, "Oh my gosh! What a bummer!" I did get some pretty awesome swag, even though I didn't get to run the race. We got a discounted rate to go to any Stars game during the month of November, a few bottled drinks, a packet of Clif bar Shot blocks, and coupons for Run On!. Still, it's so anti-climactic to get your bib and swag knowing you won't be able to run the race in a few days. I woke up Sunday a little down in the dumps knowing that I could be running my first half marathon, but instead I was at my house taking it easy...

Oh well...There's the one in December I'm highly looking forward to. I'm determined to finish strong. It's also inspired me to look into signing up for more races. If I can do this half marathon, I can do a full. I've also decided to get back on the "diet" wagon. When I went to the doctor I was pretty disappointed the number on the scale. I'd like to see that change a little bit before the Holiday season approaches.

I'm starting my training again hopefully tomorrow morning. I'd like to run 4.5 miles to start out. I think it's hilarious when I say "my short run is going to be 5 miles". Seriously? Remember in July when that was my "long" run? Yeah, I've come a long way. It's great to look back and feel like I'm accomplishing so much and really proving myself every time I get out there and hit the pavement. It's really empowering. It's also incredible to look back and think that before it was like pulling teeth to get out there and run and now I love it. It's a great way to start the day. The cool air in your face, the beating of your heart, the sound of your feet hitting the cement. I love it. I really do. And I really miss it. I can't wait to get back out there!

Don't let the man (or your ankle) get you down!

Ugh! Before I go into why my ankle's getting me down, I guess I'll start off talking about my week.

After my terrible speed session, I thought I'd go the distance (5 miles to be exact) on Wednesday. Since it was yucky and wet out, I decided the treadmill would have to do. I used to run on the treadmill all the time and have no problems. I could be on it for an hour and not think twice about it. But getting on there and running for 50 minutes was a constant battle. I hated it. The entire time I wanted to stop and just get on the elliptical machine since it was at least somewhat more fun than the treadmill. But I knew that if I did that, I wouldn't run anymore that week and my long run on Saturday would be a beating. So I stuck it out. My routine went like this:
2 minute warm up.
.25 miles 5.8
.25 miles 5.9
.25 miles 6.0 (equals a 10 minute mile pace)
.25 miles 6.1
.25 miles 6.2
.25 miles 6.2
.25 miles 6.1
.25 miles 6.0
.25 miles 5.9
.25 miles 5.8

Then I repeated the cycle. For some of it I had the incline at a 1 or a 2, and then about 2.5 miles in I didn't like the inclines anymore and just kept it at a 0. :) I think what made me feel like I was on it forever was the timer. When I'm running outside, I completely lose track of time and just enjoy the feeling of the wind in my face, the way my heartbeats in my chest, and the way the air fills my lungs. When I'm running, I feel free.

It was a pretty good run, though. After the run I did shoulders and chest and then decided I was done for the day.

Thursday we didn't get to work out. But Friday I hit the gym after work and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I should invest in an elliptical machine. It really is fun to do and I feel like I get a great workout out of it. After the elliptical I was going to do arms and back, but naturally in a small, limited gym that is my apartment gym, someone was on the back machine (I felt like he was on that for-ev-er) and then right when I was going to reach for the 10 lb hand weights (I know, I know..I'm a wuss...but I also just want to tone) an old man grabbed them. Oh well. I was hungry anyway :)

Saturday was my long run. I set out to do 11 miles. It was COLD Saturday morning. But I don't think I've ever been more excited and more nervous about setting out to do a run than I was that day. I think I get these mixed emotions of dread and nervousness and excitement to push myself farther than I've ever been.

The great thing about Saturday? I got to wear my running belt for the first time and my Clif bar shot blocks (in the flavorful black cherry). I decided to wear my long pants and my Nike jacket since it was pretty chilly and ended up wearing the jacket the whole time. While it was cold out, the wind kept me from sweating too much and the temperature was absolutely perfect for running. When we started our run, I don't think I was ready. My heart rate increased considerably and my legs felt like lead. This time it took me about 2 miles or so to finally hit my stride. I think doing the elliptical machine the night before didn't do me any favors... Steve and I kept a pretty good pace for the whole run. When we got all the way around, I turned back to go another 2 miles to complete my 11 mile goal and Steve went to go get Anna so we could take her on a walk. Here's where my problem occurred:
I was literally less than a quarter mile from the mile marker. I was so close to being done, I could taste it. And then all of a sudden I landed wrong on my foot and my ankle turned. Luckily, I was right by a tree where I could grab on and collect myself. I almost started to hyperventilate. The pain from it was probably not that bad, but I think I was caught off guard and also completely pissed at myself for not paying attention and running sloppy that while trying to catch my breath, I was freaking out. I could barely breathe and of course Steve was nowhere to be seen, which also worried me. I managed to continue walking/hobbling and finally I see Steve coming with Anna...Of course, we didn't really get to walk Anna at all, we just walked back to the apartment. I think it's a good sign I could walk on my ankle, but of course it really sucks that it happened...

I don't think I sprained my ankle. I think I just bruised it. I have limited use of it when I rotate it, but it's not painful to walk on anymore. So I just need to take it easy. Elliptical machine for the rest of the week, that's for sure.

On another topic, it looks like we're still set to close this Thursday on our home! Sunday we spent most of the day packing and getting things ready to go. I took Thursday and Friday off from work and I'm about to take Monday off as well to give us another day of rest/unpacking. I'm so excited to be getting out of our apartment and into something we can call our own. I really hope everything works out and that our closing is not delayed. I think I may cry if that happens! Keep your fingers crossed!!

Speed Session

So my initial goal yesterday was to make it to the gym to do some cross training, but that didn't really happen...here's why:
I got home from work yesterday and immediately got dressed to take the dog for a walk. I took her on a mile walk and then met up with Steve to go to the gym. I THOUGHT and I'm actually pretty positive that I DID tell Steve that I wanted to do 30 minutes of cardio and then do weights for my arms and chest. Upon walking into the gym, I decided, "You know what, I don't want to do the elliptical machine today, I want to do speed work". So I hopped up onto the treadmill and started my workout. About 20 minutes in, I see Steve staring me down. Why? Because he's done. So then I feel rushed to finish. I was hoping to go 5k in distance, but because of the impatient look on his face, I stopped just shy of 3 miles. I was still hoping to get to my arms and chest so instead of a cool down, I immediately started doing bicep curls. Steve motions to me when I start on my first rep for my left arm and says, "I'm done. You can do push ups at home". Ok, so that seriously pissed me off. Look, I don't know why he doesn't know this about me...maybe we haven't worked out together enough for him to realize this (not possible)...but when I'm in workout mode, do NOT mess with me and do NOT rush me. I'm in the zone. I put the weights back on the holder, grabbed my things, and walked out the doors.

Maybe I'm a little pissy right now in the first place, but I'm telling you what-last night, I was a force to be reckoned with. I was fighting mad that he rushed me though my workout and that I didn't get to do what I had set out to do last night. How do explain to my husband enough that I'm training for a flippin' half marathon-with a possible goal of running a full marathon in months to come? Seriously? I can't have my workouts cut short and he won't let me work out in our apartment gym by myself because he's "worried about me". Hopefully, after a few months when we move into this new house (::cross fingers::), I'll be able to afford going back to 24 Hour Fitness. I need my workouts. I need do to cardio AND weights. Not just one of the two. So frustrating. Someone out there has to know how I feel. I seriously hate being rushed, it just doesn't make me happy at all.

On the plus side, I managed to run a 9 minute mile. It took everything I had to finish it, but with some good tunes (Boston, Queen, The Beatles, Journey) I was able to keep on truckin'. I ran the rest, after some walking breaks, at about a 9.3 minute-9.45 minute mile. Not bad, not bad. I just need to keep that up. I also need to start doing some work on my legs with weights to help me get the speed up.

Today is supposed to be our 5 mile run. I'll be wearing my belt to try it out :) I'm pretty excited.

9.2 miles!

I'll admit it, I'm lazy. I'm a slacker. And I am not training like I should be. I should be running 3 days a week. Last week, I managed 2 runs. My Tuesday run of 3.2 miles and then my long run on Saturday.

Saturday morning was perfect. The weather was phenomenal, I felt great, and I was determined to run all the way around White Rock. Steve and I had breakfast, got dressed, and headed out the door (sans puppy-dog) to get our run on. I wore my Nike jacket to begin with since it was pretty cool outside, so it was great to see what it felt like to run with it on. I was hoping to get started around 7:30, but no sooner had we gotten down to the first gate, when Steve decided he wasn't ready yet and we had to go back up to the apartment. Ugh. I know it wasn't a big deal, but when I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go. You know what I mean? We finally headed back out a little after 7:45. And so began our trip. The Dallas Cross Country Club was having a 5k and a 15k race, so we had to avoid all the people around the quarter mile mark, but other than that it was a great day to run. It took me about a mile and a half to finally get in the swing of things. And about that long to warm up enough to be comfortable with taking off my jacket. I stopped only 2 times. Once about 3 miles in to grab a sip of water at a water fountain and the second time to get another sip of water about 6 miles in to get some water and walk for about 15 seconds. I'm not exactly sure how long and far I ran because my Nike iPod adapter is not working correctly and then my iPod died at the very end. But I'm thinking we ran the course in about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

I'm really proud of us. I honestly didn't feel like I struggled at all to continue running. My breathing was calm and my legs felt great up until about a mile left to go. At that last mile I knew if I stopped running, I wouldn't be able to start again. But to know that I can run 9 miles is so encouraging. I feel so confident that in 3 weeks I'll be able to run the half marathon.

Saturday, Steve even took me to Run On! in Richardson to get my first running belt!! I feel like a real runner!! I'm going to try it out some time this week, when we go for a run to see how it feels, but it's pretty cool :)



That's what I got. It holds 4 8 oz. bottles of water and has a tiny pouch for keys, food, etc. We also bought some Clif bar shots. I'll definitely need those about half way into my runs. They're 100 calories and they're equivalent to a cup of coffee. And hey, when has caffeine ever done me wrong? :)

I guess my goal for this week is to just work out more often. Tonight I want to do 30 minutes of cardio and some arm/chest weights. Tuesday, I'm hoping to run 4-5 miles at a faster pace. Wednesday is another cross training day. 30 minutes on the eliptical back and legs for weights. Thursday, I'd like to run a 5k at about a 9 minute mile pace. We'll see how that goes. Friday is either my day off or just a weights and cardio (probably bike). Saturday of course is my long run. Since I went over 9 miles Saturday, I'm hoping to run 10.5-11 miles.

You know what would be really nice? If I could stop eating a bunch of crap and start really losing some weight. I need to really start watching what I eat.

New Races!

So in a total attack of lunacy earlier this week, I signed up for 2 more races! I decided somehow I'd be able to complete the Dallas Running Club's Half Marathon on November 1st. EEEK! That's like 31 days from now!! Yikes!

The other run I signed up for was the 2009 Dallas Turkey Trot 8 mile run. I decided to do the unchipped run because I figured I'd just use my phone or some other device to calculate my total time. Plus, saving the $5 extra it costs for the chip, doesn't hurt either.


So now I've got these races:
1. DRC half marathon - November 1st.
2. Turkey Trot 8 mile- November 26th.
3. White Rock Marathon-half marathon- December 13th.

I'm contemplating doing the Race for the Cure 5k with a few girls from a message board I frequent in a few weeks. But it's the weekend of closing on our house, so I'm not sure if I want to commit myself to that. It's for a good cause though, so I'm definitely considering it. I keep looking at Luke's Locker and Run On! for more races and I want to sign up for everything! But it costs a lot of money to run these races, so I probably shouldn't. :)

So as for training-I'm a slacker. I should be doing cross training but I haven't been doing that at all. Tonight though, I'm going to run on the treadmill in our gym because it looks like it may be raining by the time the evening rolls around. I plan to go about 5-6 miles. Maybe do a little speed work. The other people in the gym are going to think I'm crazy...but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. I'd like to go to the gym again on Friday after work-but I know how I feel on a Friday after work, and I just don't see it happening.

Saturday I'm determined to run the whole way around White Rock Lake. That's a staggering 9 miles. Seriously. 9. Miles. 2 months ago I was running 3-4 miles and those were my "long" runs. I'm pretty proud of myself for being consistant and continuing to go farther than the weekend before.

That's it for now. I wish I could be this motivated in every area of my life!

All the Way Around!

Last week, after running my first 10k I was REALLY lazy. I'm talkin' laying around, watching episode after episode of Dexter, eating whatever I wanted, and going for a run twice. The first run was pretty decent. We went right after work on Tuesday and ran 4 miles. Thursday, though, was not great. About 1.25 miles in, I looked at Steve and was like, "I'm tired. I want to walk". I don't know why I just had no desire to run. So instead, we walked for a little bit. The good thing about our walk was that we could talk about our plans for the house and what we needed to do before closing (that's in 2 weeks!!!!). The bad thing was that I just felt terrible that I had no motivation to run.

Saturday, though, was my turnaround. We woke up at 6:30 (thanks to the dog and to my trusty alarm) and got ready for our long run. Knowing that we'd be going on a crazy long run, I knew we needed to eat something other than the usual few bites of a Clif bar. We both ate some cheerios and then went out to run. The weather outside on Saturday morning was INCREDIBLE. There was a slight chill in the air and it was nice and sunny. We started out a little after 7:30. We decided we'd go all the way around White Rock. When we started out running, it took us a little while to get in the groove, but about a 1/2 mile in I was feeling fabulous. My breathing was easy, my legs felt strong, and the wind was just right. All in all, I ran 7.5 miles. I did it in about 1 hour and 23 minutes, which equals out to about 11 minutes per mile (which is AWESOME-to me, at least). We walked the rest of the way to have a good cool down. Though our next run, we're going to need to wear a belt so that we can replenish ourselves. I know we were both feeling pretty hungry about halfway through the run.

I guess I'm just really excited again. After having my little "problem" for 2 weeks, I was feeling a little overwhelmed about whether or not I thought I could pull off running 13.1 miles in December. My feelings have certainly changed after my run on Saturday. Considering that the weather is only going to get cooler from here, I know that I'll be able to handle the longer runs. When it's hotter, the heat just zaps my energy and my will power. I'm also going to sign up to run the 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving! I've been wanting to run that race for at least a few years now. And before I was only going to run the 5k...but now I'm fully confident that I'll be able to run the 8 mile with no problems (considering the weather will hold up).

Now to get back on the healthy eating, drinking, working out wagon. I'm hoping to have some time to hit the gym tonight with Steve. We've been slacking when it comes to lifting weights...and I've been REALLY slacking when it comes to cross training and doing some ab work. I may have to start getting up early every single morning to get all the working out in that I need to, but I'm feeling empowered and motivated. Plus, I wanted to lose 13 lbs (more like 15 or more now) before my race in Dec. I've got 2 months and 2 weeks, so I think it's do-able.

So there you have it! That's what's been going on here. Get ready for posting of some pictures of the H-O-U-S-E that we're in the process of buying!!! I've been reluctant to post them because I was (and still am) afraid that things would fall through and that we wouldn't get the house-but so far, so good! If everything goes as planned, we should be closing on the house on Thursday, Oct. 15th!!

I Did It!!!

I ran my first 10k race on Saturday! I was pretty skeptical all week. I flipped flopped a few times every day last week thinking, "Oh, I probably should push myself. I should just rest" and then I'd get mad and go, "No way! I paid good money to run that race and I trained hard! I'm doing it!" So Friday was my official decision time. I decided to do it and I'm so glad I did!

I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning and started preparing for my run. I had some breakfast, washed my face, put my gear on. And then Steve, Anna, and I headed out the door. Since we live literally a mile from the Arboretum, we just walked the trails down to the race. I left Steve at a place where he could stand with Anna, while I walked on to where all the runners were piling up. I really wish he could have been with me on my run, I felt a little bit alone. But luckily I had my iPod, so I turned on some Randy Rogers and just tried to calm myself down (I was pretty anxious). I went and stood in the 10 minute + group and waited for the race to begin.

When the race started my heart started beating so fast. I watched as the faster runners went ahead and wished that someday that would be me up in the front of the pack. It felt like forever until we got to the start line. When I finally hit the start line, an overwhelming since of calm washed over me and I just started running. You wouldn't believe how much you have to concentrate and be aware of your surroundings at the beginning of the race. Everyone is just so packed up. It's like being in a sardine can. So you have to watch where you run, try not to trip over people's shoes or run into a runner, while trying to pass someone else. It was great to see Steve though. When I saw him I got a huge grin on my face. It's so encouraging to have him support me through this and let me do this on my own. Yes, I felt alone at the beginning of the race, but to know that this was MY thing, that he wanted me to have this experience on my own, was so amazing.

I started following these 2 ladies about 1/2 mile into the race. They were keeping a really good pace for me (not sure what it was-maybe an 11 minute mile pace) and so I focused on staying behind them until about 2.5 in. At that point, I decided I wanted to go a little bit faster and passed them. I think they may have been running the 20k anyway, so I'm glad I passed them when I did. By the time I got about 2 miles in I could see the first pack of runners already on their way back to the finish. I looked at them with longing. How can you run so fast? It must be incredible to have that kind of strength and energy!

There were 2 major hills in the course. There was the one I always encounter when I train on my long run days and then another one about .5 mile after that, which took us through a neighborhood for about a quarter of a mile. I made it up my first hill without having to walk, but that took all I had! Then when I saw the other hill, I got a little overwhelmed. I noticed a ton of people walking up the hill and about half way up decided I'd walk for a minute, too. I wish I hadn't. I probably could have paced it up the hill if I had just thought more positively. Oh well..what can you do? You live and you learn. I may be running that part of the race though more often...I think it's been really beneficial to run those hills when training instead of just staying on the main flat trail.

After those hills, I kept running. I can't tell you how good it felt to pass people. I know that sounds mean...but it just made me feel empowered. There were a few people I kept passing and then they'd pass me and we'd just do this merry-go-round. It was a little annoying with this one guy. He was sweating up a storm and he'd run really hard for a while and then the next thing I knew, I'd be passing him as he was walking. Then about 2 minutes later, he'd run past me again and I'd catch up to him not 2 minutes later-walking. Seriously, the guy was not pacing himself at all. There was also this other girl who kept the same pace as me. We'd pass each other a few times. I almost looked over and introduced myself and asked her if she ran around this area because she'd probably be fun to train with since we seemed to be at about the same level.

Towards the end I just kept focusing on how much farther I had left to go. I was most looking forward to seeing Steve again (since the race was a loop for the 10k-ers). And once I saw him again, it gave me even more strength to finish what I started! He told me later that I looked great and that I looked strong. That made me feel good. I can't remember exactly how I felt, but I remember thinking "I'm so tired. 5 more minutes, 5 more minutes" It was hard. But honestly, at about the last .15 of the race, I could see the finish and there were all these people around and I was determined to finish strong. So I did. It felt so good! I'm just really proud of myself.

A little over 2 months until my 1/2 marathon....so I really have to get on that. This next weekend, I'm pushing up the long run to 7.5 miles. Got to get the show back on the road! :)

Here is the result page:
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?posted_p=t&numPerPage=100&page=2&rsID=84236&eventClass=10K+Open&division=F+25-29&queryType=division&pubID=3

When Life Hands You Lemons...

You rest. For a long, long time.

I had a really rough couple of weeks. I mean, I was down. Trying to stick to my plan and our workout schedule, Steve and I went for a late evening run Thursday night (the 3rd). It was seriously the worst run of my life. I had eaten dinner earlier, but that just proved to be too much on me. I kept getting cramps and wanted to stop every couple of minutes. Steve thought I was a jackass for not stopping. I was determined to push through the pain and just finish our run. On top of that, we didn't get to go very far because it started raining and there was just a little too much lightening for comfort. I think we went about 2.5 miles. It was a pretty good run, though as far as time. I don't remember the time off the top of my head, but it was at least a 10 minute mile. I'll take that, even with the painful cramps.

My next run was Saturday the 5th. It was another crappy run. I was miserable the whole time. I think it was just a little too humid for me and maybe I didn't eat enough before I left to go run. I finished the 6.88 mile run in 1 hour and 20 minutes with an average pace of 12 minutes per mile. I was really disappointed in my run. I thought for sure I was doing better than that..oh well, I guess. At least I finished it right?

Afterwards, though, I hit a snag. A big one. A snag so big it left me laid up in bed for a week. I still haven't been able to run and I honestly think my first run back in the game will actually be the 10k on Saturday. I'm hoping that this snag will have gone away by then and that I'll be just fine. Honestly, if I have to walk some during my run, I'll do it. I just can't let it stop me anymore. I feel like my problem was affecting every single aspect of my life. I couldn't work. I couldn't do anything. I'm just tired of letting it run my life and affect my plans. Here's hoping that my run on Saturday will be flippin' amazing and I'll actually do better after a 2 week break! ::crosses fingers::

On the plus side of things, Steve and I went house hunting on Saturday. It was my first excursion out of the apartment since the week before. We found a house we really liked and put an offer down. Of course, the seller countered and we re-countered and finally---he accepted! Now I have to schedule an inspection, which I would like to be done ASAP and then the appraisal. I am really hoping this is the one. We both feel really good about the home. It's move in ready, updated, and perfect for what we need right now. So hopefully, on October 15th, Steve and I will be closing on our first home! :)

Getting Stronger

So this weekend was a success.

Saturday was my long run. The night before I set my goal, which I thought was a pretty lofty ambition itself, for 6 miles in 61 minutes. I didn't want to be too ambitious because I knew if I didn't make the time I'd be a little disappointed. But I thought I could do it. Steve and I set out on our run around 7:30 Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful. It almost reminded me of San Francisco. It started off pretty well. I kept looking down at our Nike iPod adapter and being shocked that we were coming in at under 10 minute a mile. The hardest part for me was when we hit the bridge by Mockingbird. I was really struggling. The sun was beating down on us and it was starting to get hotter. Eventually, we made it to the halfway point, grabbed a quick sip of water and continued on our way. But about 1/2 mile after the halfway point I was still out in the sun, and started to not be able to catch my breath. I was probably going a little too fast, but my legs just didn't want to slow down. Steve convinced me to walk for a minute, so that's what I did. I probably walked about 45 seconds and then decided "Ok, I've got it under control. I've got a goal to reach, let's go!" There's another hard part and that's the hill coming back from the 4 mile marker. Oh my gosh, that hill is a doozy. It kicks my butt every single time. But I pushed through it and continued running. After that hill, it's pretty "easy-breezy". As "easy-breezy" as a 6 mile run can get :) Only one other "hill" and it's just a gradual incline that takes a few minutes to get through. The last mile is probably the best because it starts off downhill, in the shade, and the rest of it is pretty flat or downhill. When we got closer to the apartment and the 6 mile marker I felt my lungs open up and I knew I had it. I kicked it into high gear and left Steve in the dust. :) I finished my run at a 7.5 minute mile (I held that for about a quarter mile).
All in all, we ran our 6 miles in 60 minutes and 2 seconds. An average pace of a 9.58 minute mile and we ran a total of 6.24 miles.

To say I'm not proud of myself would be a complete lie. I think I'm still reveling in that run. I can't believe how well I managed to run it. It's my longest run to date. The longest run of my life. :) And I am just so stoked that I finished under my goal. I'm also really excited to know that had I gone another .16 mile, I would have gone the distance of a 10k.

Sunday, I cleaned our apartment. I vacuumed. I dusted. I even cleaned the baseboards...they were FILTHY. I cleaned our bathtub and swept and swiffered the floors. Then I went to Marshalls and Ross. I bought myself some more athletic socks for $6 for 3 pairs, a really cute hot pink Nike jacket for colder weather running, and a fun white, pink, and green Nike windbreaker/rain jacket for when I want to run and it's raining out. I also got this cute hot pink Puma baseball cap for keeping the sweat out of my eyes. Those jackets were orginally $65+ and I got them for $20 a piece! Gah, I could shop all day in Ross and Marshalls. I'm pretty positive that's where I'm shopping when we buy our house. After I managed to do some damage to our bank account, I went home and hopped on the Wii Fit. I did some hula hooping for 15 minutes and then unlocked this "free step" where I can do "step aerobics" for 10-20 minutes but watch TV at the same time. So I did that for 30 minutes and burned some calories.

We didn't get to bed early enough Sunday night to feel good enough to wake up early and run Monday...but I'm kind of glad we didn't. My calves were killing me yesterday and it took me all day to figure out why! That stupid "free step" I did on the Wii! Seriously, I was massaging my calves all evening after work, they were so tense and sore.

We did manage to get up this morning and go for a 4.17 mile run. We ran that in 40.37 seconds with an average pace of 9.38 minute mile. Pretty good. Another great run. Another beautiful morning. My legs felt so powerful. It's the first time I was running and really started to notice how my legs felt. I just felt so strong and almost light. My breathing was amazing and I probably could have held a conversation the whole time.

As we were on our way back from the halfway point, two bicyclists came by and I heard one of them before they passed us say, "runners" to alert the guy behind her. I don't know what caused it but I started grinning from ear to ear. I'm a runner. Yes, I am. I guess I just still have that feeling of "oh, I just try to run" "oh I'm not that good" "Oh, I can't even run all that fast". Why the negative attitude? Why the mental block? I don't know. I'm sure part of it stems from a very unfortunate event that is burned into my mememory when I was about 8 or 9 years old running back from my neighbor's house. A car passed by and someone yelled out their window, "Run, fatty, run". I guess sometimes I still feel like that chubby little girl, who never really ran, who wasn't really into sports, who would rather spend all day on her swing set, than try to swing a baseball bat. I've just never been athletic and it's hard to look at myself and consider that maybe now I am. I still look in the mirror and I still see my stomach with zero definition (of course, actually doing crunches could remedy some of that), I still see big hips, and a jiggly butt. I guess I'm just going to have to realize that "athletic" comes in all shapes and sizes and that yes, I am athletic, even if I'm not a size 2 and even if I don't weigh 115 pounds!

5:30 AM Run

Well another log for me. Steve suggested I start logging every run and the times for it since it will help me put things in perspective when I look back on all that I've done.

Today we got up and ran 4.03 miles. We ran it in 40 minutes and 38 seconds, with an average pace of 10 minutes and 2 seconds.

Of course, the way we go on our early morning runs is primarily pretty flat so I think that helped with my time. We'll see how I do on Saturday when I do my long run and I go a different way on the trails with more hills.

I'm pretty proud of Steve. He's been dealing with a sinus infection for the past week or two, so him being able to keep up and even run the 4 miles with me was impressive. He told me later on when I was making us breakfast that he had said, "I think I need to stop" about half a mile from the end but kept going. That's really impressive! :) I'm kind of glad I didn't hear him when he told me because that probably would have encouraged him to stop.

Yesterday I took Anna on a 2 mile walk. We were going to go to the gym, but that didn't end up happening. We really need to work on that. It's not that hard to go down to the gym for 30 minutes...it's just really hard to motivate yourself to work out in the evening. Especially, when Steve comes home hungry and ready to eat. If I'm going to work out in the evening, I'd rather do it right when I get home, instead of waiting around. There's more chance of talking myself out of working out if I don't.

Wow!

So I got this e-mail in my gmail box last night right before I left work.
It was titled: Love the Half.

www.lovethehalf.com

I was intrigued so I opened it and 2 minutes before 5:30, I scrambled to search for the website to find out more about it.

I just started following the founders' blogs and so far I'm impressed. First of all, I think it takes so much dedication and passion to start up a running based club for people who want to stay active and achieve goals. Even from reading their blogs and their website, I can see it's not about being the fastest, it's not about bragging-it's about achieving the goals you set for yourself, to succeed, to be the best you can be, to just run and be happy.

So there's this challenge for them and I'm seriously considering joining them. I would love to be a part of something where I'm constantly challenging myself and continuing to do what I've been enjoying doing. So far for me, training has not been a burden. It's been a source of happiness for me. Every day I run, I feel amazing. Every time I improve on something that I have struggled with in the past, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride.

Anyway, I just wanted to say it makes me excited to see this and it makes me excited to think about all the things I'm capable of achieving if I put my mind to it.

When Procrastination Sets In...

We all have those mornings...the mornings where you wake up and you think "I'm going to get up...in...oohhh, 5 minutes." 10 minutes go by and you think it again, "I promise I'm going to get up in 2 more minutes..that's it! 2 more minutes". That's how I feel every. single. morning. It never fails. The trick is listening to that voice in my head or ignoring it. Lately...or for the past 25 years, I've listened to it more than ignore it. Today I decided to stop. Oh sure, it's not going to be a 100% turn around and I'll have the days when that little voice of procrastination wins over, but I'm just so tired of the excuses.

Last night around 8:15 (I kid you not) I fell asleep on the couch. So when I woke up around 8:45 I was like, "Dude, I'm going to bed and I'm going to wake up at 5:00 and go for a 4 miler". It felt great going to bed so early...but of course once I knew I was going to be waking up at 5:00 it took my mind about 45 minutes to quiet down enough for me to fall asleep. Then I woke up a few times completely drenched in sweat to the point that I almost thought I might be sick. My theory for this is that Steve likes it about 75-78 degrees in the house when he's sleeping. Whereas I can't sleep unless the thermostat is set to closer to 69-70 degrees. Naturally, since I went to bed so early, it was Steve's job to turn the thermostat down. So anyway, I woke up at 4:58. God, that's early. I quickly grabbed my phone, turned off the alarm, and laid back in bed deciding my next course of action.

Here were my thoughts (I am not crazy. I know you guys have the same quiet conversations with yourself when you're deciding to get up or to push snooze about 10 times, don't deny it):
"Do I get up? I could go back to sleep for another hour and a half. That would be nice. What if I am getting sick? Steve's been fighting something for a few weeks now. What if I got whatever he has? It might be better for me if I do rest...But I don't feel sick...Ok, ok...just think about it. Dude! You signed up for a friggin' 10k! Get your a$$ out of bed!! You're not doing yourself any favors by making excuses. Just get out of bed and put your workout clothes on, get your contacts put in, put your ipod on your arm, shoes on your feet and go! You'll feel so much better once you do".

This thought process lasted a whole 15, almost 20 minutes. Finally, I got up. I can't keep making excuses or I'll never get anywhere. I even left Steve in bed (since he's been sick) and went by myself (of course, I took Anna with me).

Basically, the point of this post is for me to see that I just LOVE to self sabotage. I did it with applying for a job at schools. I do it with working out. I do it with just about everything in my life. So what do I do to conquer that? First of all, I get up when I don't want to. Who LIKES getting up at 5:15 in the morning? I sure as heck don't. Who LIKES getting out of their comfy beds? Not me. Who LIKES or ENJOYS setting a goal and never achieving it? That's not my style.

So here I am. 4 miles later, as well as 4 hours later, proud of myself for getting my lazy a$$ out of bed and running when I really, really, really didn't want to. Naturally though, once I started running...ok, who am I kidding, about 1 mile into my run, I felt great. It took way too long to hit my stride and to not feel like turning around, but once I did I. was. running (said like Forrest Gump). I jammed out to whatever was playing on my iPod, I said "good morning" to fellow nutzo's out there also working out when the sun still hasn't touched the skyline.

I guess I'm also posting this for people who think it's not possible what I'm doing. I'm posting this because I know I can't be alone in my feelings of, "I could just put this workout off until..." and then that "until" never comes, or when it does it's 2 months later and you have to build back up to where you were in the first place. Seriously, my "until" has been practically my whole life. I'm tired of making the excuses. I'm tired of the self loathing that happens when I decide not to go for that run or not to go for a stupid little walk with my dog or not to go the FREE flippin' gym that's seriously a 2 minute walk from my apartment. There's no excuse for it. There's no excuse for letting myself go from an almost size 6 to a size 12. Luckily, it's whenever I hit this point that I re-evaluate where I'm at and decide to start working out again. Right now, I've made it back down to the 8...would be perfectly happy if that's where I stayed, but kind of hope with all this running that somehow my middle gets whittled down just a little bit.

When I have days like this, it makes me wonder why I couldn't be a good personal trainer. I think I could do it. I think I'd be really good at it, too. You know why? Because I know what it's like. I know what it's like to not be able to lift weights. I know what it's like to not be able to run a single flippin' lap around a track. I know what it's like to yo-yo diet/weight/motivation, I know what it's like to finish a workout and be on cloud 9 because oh. my. gosh. I just ran for 3 whole minutes on the treadmill! I mean, seriously. There are these people out there who are personal trainers who've never been there. They don't know what it's like to be unmotivated, to not know what's healthy to eat and what's not healthy. My momma wasn't raised to cook us healthy meals. All throughout my childhood I remember fish sticks, personal pot pies, huge hamburgers, big helpings of spaghetti, pancakes fried in oil. I think it's the people who can identify with others that are the most successful. So maybe that's a calling. It certainly isn't an unattainable goal.

5 miles!

Another weekend down...another week to go.

Friday night, I drove up to Denton to hang out with a few girlfriends. We had a good time. It was nice to get out and hang out with girls. :) Girl time is much needed.

Saturday, I went home and Steve had deep cleaned the whole apartment. I was really impressed. We hung out for a little while and then decided to go to the gym. I did 30 minutes on the eliptical machine. I think I went about 3.5 miles. It was a good workout. I was going to do some weights, but was pretty tired after doing that cardio and decided I was done. Saturday night Steve and I got Lover's Pizza and a tirimisu from Maggiano's. We drank some wine and by 9:45 were in bed dead tired. :) Yeah, we're getting old.

Sunday I woke up around 7:00 feeling great and decided it was time to go 5 miles. So Steve set up our Nike iPod adapter and off I went. I ran 5 miles in 53 minutes. I stopped for a quick sip of water only 2 times and I never walked. It was fabulous. I felt so good and I was so proud of myself. What's even better was that I finished my run at a 9.30 clip which was pretty impressive. My average time was a 10 minute 30 second mile, which was perfectly acceptable. Each weekend I'd like to shave about 10 seconds from that time and add 1/2 mile to a whole mile depending on how I feel.

Today is gym day. I'll probably do 30 minutes on the eliptical and then I'll do my best to do some bicep/tricep work.

Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early and do about 3.5 miles. That 10k will be here before I know it!

Let the Anxiety Set In...

So I just figured out how long I have until each race. After making some tickers for a signature on a message board I frequent, I realized I have 4 weeks and 2 days until my 10k race and 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days until my 1/2 marathon. How crazy is that? That really freaks me out!

Tonight is a 4 mile run. I won't go until probably 7:45 though. Give it a little time to cool off and the sun to go down. It will be hard and since it's so hot, it will probaby be a slow run..but at least I'm doing something.

I've also figured out that each week I need to increase my long runs by at least .5 miles. So Saturday or Sunday (whenever I choose to do my long run this weekend) I'll be running 4.5 miles. I'd like to go ahead and up it to 5 miles, but don't want to push myself too hard and risk injuring myself in the process.

Let's Get it Started!

I feel empowered this morning! I'm so ready to get in shape and to run farther than I've run before. I'm 25 and my goals for this year are the following:

1. Run 10K on Sept. 19th.
2. Run 1/2 marathon on Dec. 13th.
3. Get to my goal weight of 132.
4. Own my first home.
5. Find a job that leaves me fulfilled.

Saturday morning, bright and early was my "distance run". Steve and I ran 4 miles. I'm proud to say that I kicked Steve's butt and out ran him. :) I'll probably brag about that until the cows come home. After our run though my feet hurt so bad! It was definitely time for new shoes. So Sunday Steve and I went to Sports Authority and we both bought new shoes. We also bought a new Nike iPod adapter for calculating our runs.

This morning we got up and ran 3 miles. It felt so good to get up early and hit the pavement. My new shoes felt great and my lungs felt amazing! I told Steve towards the end of our run that I felt like I could keep going another mile. I take that as a good sign! The Tour des Fleurs is in 4 1/2 weeks, so I need to start going longer distances. I've already decided there will be no more 2 mile runs, only 3 and up.

I also got an iPhone this weekend! Now I can check my e-mail at work, which is SO nice.

I guess that's it! 33 days until my first 10K!!

2009 Tour des Fleurs

Today I signed up to run my first 10k. Nevermind the fact that as of right now, I can't run it (that I know of, but I haven't really been pushing myself when on runs)...but in 36 days I will! It's on September 19th and it's at the Arboretum.

Here's a link of the map:
http://www.tourdesfleurs.com/images/TourMap09.pdf

and here's the info on the race:
http://www.tourdesfleurs.com/race_info.php#jump

If any of you dear friends want to come and cheer me on, I'll be running around White Rock Lake early in the morning :) The part I'm running is in lined in grey (in case you were wondering). I'm so stoked! When I was running the relay last year at the White Rock Marathon it was incredible to run past people standing on the sides of the roads cheering you on, encouraging you to dig deep and push yourself. So it would be even MORE amazing if I actually knew some of the people cheering me on. If any of you want to know any more about the race or if you are so kind enough to come see me please let me know and I'll give you a good idea on where to park and give you info(you may want to just park in my apartment complex and use our gate code since parking will be scarce/annoying anywhere else).

This race is actually the day before our Anniversary! One year of marriage..time really flew by. I have really big plans that I'm not letting Steve know about :) So hopefully I can finish the race before it gets too late in the day because I've got a lot of errands to run to make sure it goes off without a hitch!

This 10k is actually my second race ever. My first one was last March when Steve and I ran the Camp John Marc 5k. It will be really cool to see how much I can push myself next month. Also, December 13th is the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I'll be running the 1/2. So yet another chance for me to do something I never thought possible. Like I said, my Senior year of high school I couldn't even run a whole lap around our track! Talk about improvement!

Preapproved!!

So, Steve and I got pre-approved yesterday to start the house hunting process! I am so, so, sooooooo excited! I feel like we're growing up and taking this huge step.

Now all I can think about is the decorations I want to put up and the furniture I want to buy. My first priority on the list is a bigger bed! :) Steve and I have been sleeping in a full size bed for the past 3 years and it's starting to get a little squished. I love my husband, but I need my space!

I am just so ready to be done with renting and to get out of our apartment complex. Yay for being an adult! :)

The Weekend Always Messes Things Up

So last week wasn't a really good week for running. But Friday, Steve and I did manage to wake up and go for a 2.5 mile run before we left for Austin for the weekend. We even walked around a lot in Austin, so I don't feel like the weekend was a complete waste.

Yesterday, we went to the gym. While Steve did weights I did 25 minutes on the eliptical machine. I did X-train aerobics. I LOVE that option. I really feel like I get something out of it. After that we took Anna on a mile walk and then I even did about 30 minutes on the Wii Fit. I finally opened up the boxing option, so I did that for about 15 minutes and my arms and back are feeling it today! I really enjoyed it.

I made this super easy dinner last night! Thought I would share it with people.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole.
Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts (I used 3)
3/4 cup long grain uncooked white rice
1 1/3 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/ teaspoon Onion Powder (I actually ended up chopping up 1/3 of an onion instead)
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup cheddar cheese

Mix the rice, water, onion, cream of chicken, vegetables, and pepper in a shallow baking dish. Place the chicken on top.
Cover and put in oven for 45 minutes

Once baked, take the foil off and place cheese on top.

Steve LOVED it. It was a super easy recipe and I'm pretty positive it's going to become a staple that I cook on a regular basis. I did leave out the vegetables. Though I don't know why...I don't even remember seeing it on the page of my recipe book. Honestly, I think it was perfect without the vegetables...but I'm sure it probably would have added more nutritional value had I put the veggies in.

What is the Point?

What is the point of ordering food for pickup online? Seriously? Every single time I've done this, I always end up waiting about the same amount of time as I would have had I just gotten in line and ordered in the store. Luckily today when waiting for my sandwich to be made a Potbelly's I got a free lemonade. I guess they're forgiven... :) I do love my lemonade. But I will say, the sandwich was delicious and was devoured in probably 5 minutes. But seriously guys, if you want me to continue being a happy customer (this goes for you, too, Chipotle!!) when I order online or fax over my info and say to have it ready by 1:40, can you please have my food ready? Thanks.

Weekend Craziness

I cannot tell you how awesome my weekend was. It was relaxing, it was fun, it was eventful.

Friday we took Anna on a short walk when we got home and then I cooked tacos. We watched some HP and relaxed. The storm also helped. I love when it rains...especially when it rains in July/August.

Saturday it rained some more and I was supposed to meet up with my friend/co-worker Becca to go shopping for going out clothes for her Bachelorette party this coming weekend!! Becca and her fiance just moved into a home in Richardson, so she invited us over. So while we went shopping at Northpark, Steve and Drew hung out. Becca and I had such a blast shopping together! We both got AMAZING deals on dresses at Macy's. Regularly priced dresses at $96...we got them for $20. We went to James Avery so that I could get my niece Rachel a bookmark for her first communion. And then we stopped in the Nine West store (I should NEVER go in there but once a year...I could spend all my money in that store). We found shoes to go with our dresses (also on sale-regular price $90-got them for $40) and then we headed back to her house to order pizza and play some games! We played Skip Bo and Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. Seriously, we had a great time and being in Becca and Drew's house finally got us back on the house hunt wagon.

Sunday we got up bright and early at 7:00 and went for a 3.3 (give or take a little) mile run. We picked up the pace from earlier in the week. Steve's starting to get back in the groove...it won't be long until I'm trailing behind him again I can already tell. :( After that we got ready and went to Denton to see Clara's baptism and Rachel's first communion. They are the sweetest things. I'm so glad we were able to be there for that!
Here's my niece, Rachel! She was so happy to take her first communion!


Here's the family (minus Avery). Clara got baptised.



This week is a short week for me! Steve and I are going to go to Austin on Friday and spend the night there and then Saturday he's going to go hang out with his brother and I'm going to go and hang out with Becca and her friends for her bachelorette party! It's going to be so much fun! I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully this week will go by faster than it usually does :)

Diet/Training Recharged!

Ok, so after my HORRIBLE diet day yesterday..God, I don't even want to know how many calories I enhaled...I went home and promptly took Anna on another run. I was going to just walk and then Steve was going to ride his bike and meet us somewhere on the trails since he gets home a little bit after me, but I decided walking just wouldn't do. I ran about 3 miles or so until Steve and I met up, and decided to walk the rest of the way, which was another mile (so 4 miles total). It was funny because Steve decided to run, too. So while I was running back I kept thinking to myself, "man, he should have caught up to us by now on his bike!" and then sure enough, I see him running up a hill to meet us.

I still made brats and mac and cheese for dinner. And had some, too. I figured "why starve myself at dinner? It will just come back to bite me in the butt tomorrow". Which has served me well. This morning both Steve and I woke up exhausted. Why? I don't know. Maybe with this working out we should start getting to bed a little sooner and also staying consistant with our vitamins.

Todays food is the following:
For breakfast I had my usual yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. Unfortunately, I'm out of flaxseed granola...
I'll have a cup of coffee here in a minute and right now I'm sipping on some grapefruit juice.
Lunch is a Lean Cuisine. I think it's chicken enchilada suiza. I've got watermelon and grapes to go with it. And for an afternoon snack I'll probably have a yoplait light yogurt.
Dinner is tacos, guacamole, and beer! :) Don't judge! I promise, I'll only be having one beer.

We're also going to take Anna on a walk. Probably another 2 miler.

As far as this weekend is concerned, I'm not sure what our plans are. I know that we need a rest day for real. I'm not sure if we'll either do it Saturday or Sunday. Sunday is my oldest niece, Rachel's first communion and my youngest nice, Clara's baptism. So that's a pretty big deal. We'll go out to Denton to witness that. But I do know that at one of the days is our long run. I'm pretty positive we'll do 4 miles. Looking forward to the weekend! It's almost here!

Diet FAIL!

Oh geez. What do you get when a girl eats well for 5 days and it's 2 co-workers birthday tomorrow? A hungry girl! The office ordered pizza from Carmine's and then of course, there are some awesome petit fours from the Casa Linda Bakery this afternoon. Not to mention, someone brought in bagels for breakfast, so naturally I had one of those! :( Ugh.

Diet Fail:
Breakfast: Yoplait light yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. A banana and one whole wheat bagel with some cream cheese smear. Yeah....

Lunch: 4. Count them. 4 slices of pizza. With a small salad on the side. Will also be having a petit four as soon as those become available.

Dinner: I'm making brats with mac and cheese. I'm pretty positive I should forgo the brats and mac and cheese and have a salad for dinner. Gah...way to go, Mariah.

Rest Days and Running Days

Steve and I feel pretty much the same about our "rest" days. While trying to build up our endurance and trying to train, we also know that sitting out the day of "rest" makes us a little stir crazy.

Tuesday was our "rest day" so we decided to go for a 2 mile walk instead. We walked a pretty fast pace for most of it, when we weren't trying to train Anna not to pull on her leash.

Yesterday was our 3 mile run day. I don't know how fast it was or anything considering we haven't invested in a good watch yet...and then there's Anna...and then there's Steve who hasn't been running in ooohhh 4-5 months. It was a really good run though. I felt great, I paced myself, I feel like I could have gone even further.

I am frustrated with the dog though. When it's just me and her it's OK, but when Steve is with us and one of us is either trailing behind or up ahead, Anna wants to be with us both. So while I was ahead of Steve, she'd keep looking back and try to stop to see him. That was really frustrating. And after running for a while, I'm hot and tired and I just want to let go of the leash and run by myself. At one point, Steve took her and I got to run without her and it was so liberating! :) I love my dog, but sometimes I wish I didn't have to worry about taking her with me on the runs. Maybe when we get a house I won't have to take her as much.

Today we were going to get up and go for a 2 mile walk since it's another rest day, but when our alarm went off at 5:50 I heard thunder outside and sprinkles on our window. Not another 10 minutes later the rain was pouring down, pounding on our window and the thunder and lightening was crazy. Hopefully this will all clear out and I can still take Anna on a walk when I get home from work. We'll be going to the gym this evening to do weights as well. So a busy evening lies ahead.

Book Review: Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

I love easy reads. I love them because while it is an easy read, I still get the chance to lose myself in the characters and the story line and just get away from everything for a while.

This book was no exception. We start off with Jane and Michael. Jane is 8, in a few days she will be 9. She's sitting in the Astor Court of the St. Regis hotel in New York. Eating an ice cream and also ordering another ice cream for her "friend" Michael. Michael is imaginary. They hold conversations, he helps her fight loneliness. Jane's mother is highly involved in Broadway productions and therefore rarely has time to dote on her daughter. Michael, naturally, fills that void. Her father also doesn't seem to have a lot of time for his daughter and has a girlfriend (Jane's parents are divorced) that he is preoccupied with.

On every Sunday, Jane and her mother go to the Astor Court and then afterwards go to Tiffany's. We get an idea for the relationship between mother and daughter and wonder how on earth a child could grow up without major self esteem issues stemming from her mother's harping.

On Jane's 9th birthday, Michael tells her his time as her friend is up and that she will be fine. He tells her that after he leaves she won't remember him and that she'll grow up to be a great woman. She is heartbroken and swears to him she'll never forget.

Fast forward 20 years. Sure enough, Jane hasn't forgotten. She works for her mother and has written a musical about a little girl and her imaginary friend that is hugely popular. Michael is still an imaginary friend to many different children and is "in between" jobs when one day he notices a girl who looks alarmingly familiar. He begins to follow her when he realizes it's Jane.

Basically, you should be able to figure out the rest just from that. It's a pretty predictable book with a few curve balls thrown in. For instance, why can Jane see Michael again? What is he supposed to help her through? Is she dieing? Does she have some kind of brain tumor? No, he's really there and other people see him, too.

The characters are well written and the description is just enough that I don't feel like it's too verbose.

I would definitely recommend this book if you like love stories and books about "fate". I enjoyed it and thought it was a sweet book.

Half Marathon Training Guides

Here are a few training guides that I'll probably be basing my workouts on:


http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/index.htm

I really enjoy this one and Steve actually used this as his training in preparation for the White Rock Marathon's Relay last December.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/half_marathon.html

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-258-6851-0,00.html

This one looks a little complicated. Lots of speed work and things that I'm not exactly interested in. I know it's going to take speed work to improve my time, but honestly, the only thing I'm really concerned about is finishing the 1/2 without having to walk and do it safely. Plus, I'm just not a fast runner. I have a feeling the fastest I'll ever get is about a 9.30 but even then I don't think I'd be running a 1/2 that fast.

I think the hardest thing for me is the "rest" days. I HATE resting. I feel like I need to work out in some way, shape, or form 5-6 days a week. So the in between days are probably going to be the hardest for me.

Today is my "rest" day. We kind of started on the wrong day for all of this training (a Sunday). Oh well, somehow I'll get on track.

Steve thinks we should do the intermediate 5k training to start out since we've both not been consistent with our runs. Though, I feel a little held back, it's probably best that we do take it slow in order to avoid burn out and injuries. We really should invest in a good watch to help us keep track of mileage/time/etc because of the drills. It's also going to be hard to do all this speed work when we don't know the distance. We may have to go to a school track to get that done.

Here's the 5k intermediate, as well as links to the beginners and advanced schedules:

http://www.halhigdon.com/5K%20Training/5-Kinter.htm

Honestly, I'm glad I'm taking a rest day. My legs were shot yesterday after running so much on Sunday and then busting major a$$ on the elliptical. I had every intention to take Anna on a walk, but since it rained most of the day it just didn't happen. I did do crunches, though (no push ups..I got lazy). I ended up taking a steamy hot bath around 8:30 to try to relieve my tight, achy legs. And also, my shoulders were so tense that Steve had to give me a massage. I have no idea why they were so tense, but it seriously hurts (even now, though not as much as yesterday) to lift my arms above my head.

Today Steve and I will take Anna on a 2 mile walk. It's our "rest" day, but we're still going to do that. Plus, we'll go to the gym and lift some weights. I'll probably just do our set of bicep curls and shoulder presses circuit that we got off of Men's Health. We were going to get up at 5:30 to do it, but the thought of getting up early 2 days in a row didn't appeal to me this morningh!