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.

I Hate Arachnids.... and Hills

So, my intent was to do some hill sprints yesterday afternoon once I got home from work. That did not happen, however. I spotted a weird looking bump(what I thought was a pimple) on my right shoulder. I did what any other person would do.... I popped it. Turns out it was a spider bite and popping those are a big NO NO. My entire shoulder started to swell up. It was gross. I put some cortisone cream on it, a cold compress to bring down the swelling and took some Benadryl  to help with the venom. And then I promptly knocked out for about 2-3 hours. Hooray.

 I imagine that this is what bit me.... I am sufficiently creeped out.

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Since I have to work until about 7 tonight, I'm going to attempt to do my hill sprints later tonight (even if that means hopping on the treadmill at the gym and doing a mile on an intense incline). I feel gross and lazy on days when I don't run. I don't know why, I know I need to rest, but resting makes me feel lazy. I don't like that feeling.

Also, I looked at the route for the Special Olympics run... it's all hills (hence why I am intent on doing hill sprints this week). It's also supposed to be about 100 degrees with humidity on Thursday. And when are we running? Around noon, which is the PERFECT time to be out in the heat *grumble grumble*. There is a chance of rain though, so I'm hoping that will happen solely to cool things off while I'm dying up a hill.

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Wish me luck y'all! I'm SO gonna need it.