Pride and Running

I am kind of proud of me, if I do say so myself. 

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And I do.

I had a very long day running programs with all ages of kids today and it was gross outside. I mean, sticky, hot, walking through a wet blanket, gross. I got home and sat down on the couch, knowing that that was the wrong thing to do because I had to get in a run today. I sat there for an hour, talking with my mom while my brother made dinner, then I got off my butt and went to the gym. (Considering how hot it was, I decided a treadmill run would be best for my sanity.) I didn't want to go, but I made myself do it anyway. Hooray for NOT giving into temptation and getting my butt in gear.

The gym was pretty packed, but I managed to snag a treadmill and started my 3.1 mile run. Instead of doing just 30min. like I have scheduled on my training plan, I decided to sneak in the Firecracker Virtual 5k I had to do. Needless to say, I finished in 46:03. Not too bad. I was hoping to stay with a 15min/mile, but considering how tired I was, anything under 47min was okay by me.

My plan of action for this week is a 30min run on Wednesday and then doing my 8miles on Friday before work or Saturday early morning (depending upon weather and such). That will put me at about 13.1 miles total for this week. I gave myself a goal of 50 miles and then I would treat myself to a massage. As of right now, I am 19miles away from that. By the end of this week, I will be 9miles away!

Also, I haven't officially registered yet (I will when I get my next paycheck), however-  

 Source

I will be doing the Princess Half in Feb 2013!!. 

My boyfriend and I put deposits down on a Disney cruise for Feb. 17-21st and the race is on Feb. 24th, so we are going to stay at the Disney Caribbean resort after we get off the ship until it's time for me to race. I'm SUPER excited! I can't wait! Only about 214 days until I get to sail away! WOOHOO!!

 Anyone have any fun runs coming up?

Running Skirt... My New BFF

So, I finally caved in the other day and bought a running skirt.

I'd been contemplating getting one for awhile now. After reading multiple reviews y'all have posted (almost all of which RAVED about them), my interest was piqued.

When I was shopping at Old Navy, I came across a cute charcoal running skirt with bright pink stripes down the side. And it was on sale. I knew it was a sign that I had to get it and finally try out a running skirt for myself. Normally, I'm not a fan of wearing skirts or dresses- I'm a bigger girl and, well, my thighs touch. I mean, they touch even when I don't want them to, like, when I'm standing still. It's not flattering when walking and things shorts start to ride up because of one's thighs rubbing together and it's definitely a rough case of chaffing waiting to happen. I usually wear men's long compression shorts under my running shorts because it cuts down on the chaffing and if my running shorts ride up then I don't really care as much. These were some of my concerns as to why wearing a skirt to run in didn't seem like the best of ideas for yours truly. But, I opted to give the skirt a fair try and see if I liked it.

This afternoon my family and I were invited to a 4th of July picnic. The house was only about 2.5 miles from where I live, so I figured what better time to get in a run and test drive the new skirt? I set out at about 12:20pm (probably not the best time to go running in the sun, but whatever) and made it to the house by 1pm. It was a good run, even though I had to tackle a monster hill (I don't know if you have realized it yet, but I live in a very hilly town). The first thing I noticed about the skirt was that I didn't feel nearly as constricted, like I had a wider range of motion. Maybe it's because I'm wearing compression shorts most of the time, but my legs often feel like sausage in a wrapper. The skirt made me feel looser and I very much enjoyed that. There are built in running shorts in the skirt which took care of my chaffing concern (and they didn't ride up at all!), so another point to the skirt. While I was running I got 3 compliments on my skirt, and when I got to the picnic, everyone thought it was adorable. I guess the running skirt is as amazing as everyone makes it seem. Honest. So, it didn't increase my speed or anything but I didn't feel as self conscious while running and was able to enjoy myself more. Plus, it did make me feel kind of pretty while running- and that's always a nice bonus (cause goodness knows I'm nowhere near a pretty runner).

Also, I have to mention some more interesting stuff I saw while on my run today:

1. An ant carrying a dead worm. How did I happen to spot this? Well, it was during one of my walk breaks, I happened to look down and saw this curled up worm moving (rather rapidly) across the sidewalk. A closer look showed me that an ant was actually carrying the worm. Circle of life at it's finest.

2. A dead bass or some kind of medium sized fish on the side of the road. Remember how I just mentioned that I live in a rather hilly area? That area is nowhere near ANY bodies of water. I'm not sure where the fish came from... or for that matter, where it was going to, but it didn't make it. Poor fish.

I'm considering starting a separate page on here for all of the weird stuff I see while running (remember the guy on a pedal bike carrying an AC unit? Priceless.)

What're some of the oddest things you've ever seen?