Run Like a Fool 5k

And that is exactly what I did this morning!

Amy @Pumpkin to Princess sent me an event request on Facebook for this 5k run to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It's a virtual 5k so i got to run it this morning around my neighborhood- and I get a snazzy medal to go with it! Woohoo! I managed to finish in about 43 minutes. Maybe it was because I know the area well, or the fact that I was excited about my new shoes, but it was a great run!

My new shoes are the Saucony Powergrid Cortana.

They are heavier than my Kinvaras and have more cushioning, but I like them better. I also got them a half size bigger than normal and I'm glad I did. Maybe my feet grew since I got my Kinvaras but lately my toes have been smushing into the front of my sneakers and I lost part of a toe nail after my 5k last Saturday. Boo!!

Last night, besides being a giddy school girl and opening my new shoes, I was graced with another awesome surprise. I was lying in bed, relaxing and watching Netflix when my mom came in to talk to me. She pointed to the vase I keep on my dresser (which usually has one fake flower in it that my boyfriend gave to me) and asked where all the flowers had come from. I looked up and realized my vase was full of pink roses! I was so confused! At first I thought her and my dad had gotten them for me, but she assured me that was not the case. Then, it dawned on me- my boyfriend! He had texted me earlier saying that he wanted to know what time I was working til so he could drop off my mom's charm book I had left in his truck. DEVIOUS! He didn't want to drop off the book, he was delivering flowers for me! It all came together (after I called him up and asked if he had given me the flowers- at first, he denied it, but then finally gave in and said they were from him). On the phone he told me he had wanted to surprise me and make me smile because he knew we both were running around crazy lately with our work schedules. Isn't he just the sweetest thing ever?!

Okay, enough gushing over that- I was perusing the blog world today, when I stumbled upon (Just) Trying is for Little Girl's most recent post. She was talking about how she had kind of lost her mojo and was advised to find her running identity. It made me realize that I need to sit down and really try and find my running identity. I want to run for fun and I try to do this as best I can but, it's hard to keep my competitive side out of it. I feel like I need to do better and get faster and be more like all of my friends and bloggers who run 8 or 9 min miles. I think I really just need to come to the conclusion that I am a slow runner and that that is okay! Not everyone needs to be fast, right? I want to solely run to enjoy myself and destress and have fun.

Motivational Running

I didn't think I had it in me this morning to get up and run, but I did.

What motivated me as I lay there in my bed? Well, I saw this on my phone (one of my facebook friends posted it)

I like that a lot... especially because I know I've been super busy lately. Just goes to show I have no excuse!

And, I started thinking back to how much weight I lost last year, how far I had come in my running and how I don't want to stop my training. All of those thoughts gave me the strength to pull my lazy butt out of bed and strap on my running shoes. I felt groggy and sluggish but I made myself run anyway. Instead of doing a longer distance, I opted to do a speed run- shorter distance, shorter time, still a great workout. I opted to run half a mile from my house and back again at a "faster than race pace". The first half mile wasn't bad because most of it was downhill. Coming back was not as much fun- the two hills I had run down, I now needed to go back up them. (Go figure, right?)

Remember before when I used to be scared of running up hills? It was not my thing- at all. Today, I tackled both hills (mind you, still at a faster than normal pace) and I didn't stop running even after I made it to the top of both of them. I'm actually feeling kind of proud of me for that. Yes, I did have to slow my pace some in order to make it up the hills, but the point of the matter is I MADE IT UP THE HILLS WITHOUT STOPPING. HOORAY!! I am currently celebrating with a greek yogurt, a scoop of peanut butter, and some glutten free granola- YUMMM!

My plan is to do a tempo run tomorrow (if my legs cooperate). I am hoping for 3 miles, if not a little more than that. I mean, I have a couple of parties with my man coming up and I want to look good. Here's hoping I can keep the motivation going, right?... Little Black Dress, Little Black Dress, Little Black Dress.

Run, Run, Run As fast As You Can- You Cant' Catch Me.....

.... Well, You probably can. 

I'm effing slow!

But, I did a 4 mile yesterday and it felt really good. I didn't walk too much. When I got tired, I just slowed my pace down as much as I could without walking (you know, that weird fake run/trot people do when they are crossing the street in front of your car? That's the pace I was going at some points). However, I finished the 4.08 miles in 58:38, which is amazing because it's under an hour. WOOHOO!

Source

Take THAT Gingerbread man!

I am feeling better about my running because my last two have gone pretty well. I was kind of down and out after the Torch run because I didn't do as well in the heat as I had anticipated. But, as many people have told me, not every run is going to be an amazing one, so I'm dealing with it.

I wish I had more exciting things to update you all on, but today is a short post. It is my rest day, which is good because I have a friend's birthday tonight. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! (He probably won't read this, but I figured I would post it anyway.) Anyone have any fun plans for the weekend? I have a birthday, a recital and Father's day celebrations. Going to be getting my party on haha!

Happy and healthy weekend everyone!

Oh Poo (and I Don't Mean the Bear)!

I had a really good short run tonight. I'm actually rather proud. I managed to run 1.4 miles before I had to stop and walk. Hooray! I don't know if it's because I'm still on a "I'm-so-proud-of-myself" high from Saturday's race or if it's because I'm well rested or because I was just in a running mood- whatever the reason I managed to maintain a nice steady pace for almost 1.5 miles. Holler! According to my iTouch, the first mile was a 13:25 and the second mile was a 14:30. Not too bad at all, in my opinion.

Perhaps I ran faster because I had a rather upset tummy.

 

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About 0.75 miles in, my stomach started giving me that "I'm SO not happy with you" feeling. I refused to stop running and pushed through it. I didn't want to have to turn around to use the bathroom so early into my run (I can be stubborn when I want to). As Watch Me Go Run found out HERE, running whilst clenching one's butt muscles is a rather difficult endeavor. However, I do think it made me run a little bit fast during that second mile because I didn't want to waste anymore time getting back to the potty. (TMI?) Considering how upset my stomach was, I only actually walked 7-8 minutes of the 32 minutes I ran. That's awesomeness! So excited!

I'm also excited because a friend is going to come over tomorrow morning to go running with me. I love running with new people- it pushes me to do better (I mean, I don't want to look like a complete fail in front of my friends and family, do I? haha). Tomorrow's training run has to be 40 minutes long. I'm hoping to get in 3 miles, if not a whole 5k. I'm ambitious, I know. It also depends on how hot it is (we have FINALLY hit a warm weather patch) and what sort of pace E is comfortable running. We shall see how it goes, but as of right now, I have a positive look on things. :)

Also, found this quote today and it sort of inspired me:

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”