That Running High!

I must say, I am incredibly proud of myself today! I haven't had a good long run in about a week because of various events that got in my way, so today's run I jumped from an 11 minute run to a 14 minute run! A cold front came though so the weather got a little chilly, plus I had just eaten a large-ish dinner and had a fully belly, and my gym buddy bailed so I had a bit less motivation. None of that stopped me though! I ended up doing a 17 minute run and I felt fantastic, I even considered going a little bit longer but I didn't want to get too far ahead of myself. 

It say's 20, but that's because it
includes a couple minutes
of walking before I remembered
to turn it off.

Rather than the cooler weather making it harder to breath, it actually just felt fantastic! I am getting better about breathing the right way so I'm not huffing and puffing 3 minutes in, so that may have helped too. This makes me really excited about the 5k being in December! In the daylight I assume the December weather will be much like tonight's weather and it felt amazing the whole time. The only problem tonight was the wind; I use MapMyRun to track my speed and distance and I noticed my over all speed was about 4 mph rather than my usual 5 - 5.5 mph (I know I'm slow, but I'm getting there!) and I think it was because for about half of the run I was going against the wind.

When I got home from my run I was on a total running high! I felt awesome...better than awesome! I ripped through my circuit workout and I planned on vacuuming my room when I got back... which turned into cleaning my entire apartment! I didn't want to loose my high by sitting at my computer (like right now...) so I just decided to go, go, go and put my energy to good use. It's funny to think that about an hour before I ran I was considering not running because I was so tired, and then I stayed up even longer for spontaneous cleaning. All in all, this was a very successful run! I hope I will get some more like this and the weather will stay beautiful for me to take advantage of it! 

        

Night Running

My plan was to go to the gym to run again because of how dark it would be at 8 o'clock at this time of year, but my gym buddy didn't feel go so we decided not to go. For a brief moment I thought, "Yes, Excuse not to run!" Then I quickly realized that I would just be letting myself down. So instead I ran outside, despite the darkness. 

Much to my surprise, it was actually quite pleasant running at night with just the street lights and my little flash light. I still ran with music, but without the distraction of the busy world it really gave me a chance to enjoy the run and clear my mind. Not to mention the lack of heat and humidity now that the weather is starting to cool off, so the night breeze felt fantastic. I'm really glad I didn't fall into the temptation and not run, because it ended up being a very satisfying. I'm realizing the all the right muscles are still there, it's just a matter of waking them up. I was really worried about being sore after the first run, but I wasn't at all and the second run felt even better. 

Tomorrow is a 10 minute run which will hopefully come easy to me again, but I really don't know what to expect. What I do know is  that I am REALLY looking forward to the color run and this training will all be worth it on that day! 

Count down to the Color Run: 57 Days!   



Random side note: I finally got on an intramural volleyball team! I am so excited to start playing again. I have a class until 8:30 on Monday nights and I have to be at the gym for volleyball at 9:30 so it conveniently gives me plenty of time to go right after class and finish my run before playing. Yay!   

Back in the Game

So it's been a while...life has been a bit busy and some how running became less and less of a priority. The good news is I'm back in the game! With my 5k in just a couple months I decided it was time to get serious again. Rather than starting at square one with a 2 minute jog I started at a 9 minute jog, which was not as easy as I thought it would be, but I still completed it making it a successful starting point.I put the run times in my calender again so I would have a reminder to run and feel more guilty if I skipped one. For what ever reason having it in my calender makes it more serious to me and having a schedule to follow helps me continue to push myself. Anytime I randomly ran without a timer during the break I took I found myself giving up too soon, which was disappointing and prevented progress.

I ran with my roommate so we ran on the treadmills at the gym, but I didn't want to let myself off too easy so I set it on an incline. When I finished the 9 minute run I did a power walk with various inclines for about 20 minutes to help build up my endurance again. Eventually, I plan to get back into the circuit workouts too, but that will probably be when I start running outside again so I can do them as soon as I come back in.

But, I'm back in the game and hopefully I will hold myself accountable for a successful 5k! I think I will finish the training this time knowing that the 5k is just a couple months away.

Count Down to Race Day: 61 Days

Falling Behind, but NOT Quitting

   Last time I hadn't blogged in a while it was because I was running, but didn't have the time to blog. Since that blog... I just haven't ran, sort of (I'll explain later). I've been falling way behind on this training schedule because I've picked up some side jobs dog sitting and babysitting and what not and it's thrown my entire schedule off. It really sucks because I know getting back into it is going to be difficult. My biggest road block is finding out I couldn't use my school's indoor track over the summer semester and it's kind of put a damper on my plans. I wish I could keep going to my friends gym, but I think after a couple weeks they wouldn't consider me a "guest" anymore, and I don't want to buy a membership.

   I'm still working to keep in shape though!! I may not be able to use an actual gym, run at night, or run 2 miles in the heat of the day, BUT I got an offer yesterday to join a friend of mine with a trainer they've been working with. Best of all it's FREE! Way better than a gym member ship and I'm probably going to make more progress doing this then those 2 minute circuit work outs. I feel like this opportunity is God's way of saying "Don't you dare give up! Just try something new for now!" I'm not doing the distance as much, but I decided I can pick back up with that once I can get on the indoor track and then in November, when it's cooler I'll start training long distance outside again. 

   Now there's only one downfall to this trainer, we workout outside, in the HEAT. You know... what I've been trying to avoid. So you're probably thinking, if you're willing to do that in the heat then why not just suck it up and run, what's the difference? Well, there's two big differences for me:

1. I feel like I haven't built up the endurance to run long distance in the heat, and with this trainer everything is done in intervals and we switch back and forth between cardio and strength each for about a minute at a time  and supposedly we'll gradually increase our time for each a little bit at a time. We also get 30 second breaks after cardio to catch our breath and grab some water. It also lasts about an hour and a half so it's a longer, but less intense.

2. I'm doing this with a friend. Having someone commit to it with me makes me more accountable. Once I tell her I'm going with her, I'm much more likely to actually do it. I wont make excuses for myself. Also having someone else to work out with takes your mind off of how much it sucks working out in the heat. 

    Hopefully this works out for me I'd really like to stick with it and then add the running back in as I tone up and increase my endurance. I'm technically still running, it's just for shorter amounts of time in warm ups, and suicide sprints. I'm interested in seeing how much of a difference it will make. Strength wise I'm really not looking to get "ripped" doing this.. because I personally think that looks gross on females, but to get a toned body can't hurt right? At the very least it'll keep me from gaining any extra flab. We shall see :) 

P.S.- Shout out to Meagan for inviting me to work out with her family's trainer, thanks girlie! :D 

Past 2 Runs

I seem to be "running" a bit behind on blogging, but I am still doing my best to keep up with my runs. 


So first I have a little bit of a funny story to share. I'm just warning you before you get let down, that you probably wont be rolling-on-the-floor-laughing-your-butt-off (also know as ROFLMBO), but it's likely you'll give a little chuckle at the irony. Anyway, when I ran on Wednesday I got impatient waiting for 8:30pm so I decided that 7:45pm was close enough and I went ahead and ran. It was cooler outside, but still pretty sticky so about 10 minutes into my run I really wanted to just quit, but I kept telling myself I'll never improve if I don't keep pushing myself. I  kept setting goals to go a little bit further for a little bit longer (this corner, that sign, one more song, etc.). My last goal was to make it to the corner before turning on to my street. It was my last two minute push when I was so ready to be done. Then, like a God send with the most perfect timing ever "The Final Count Down" started playing. It felt like the most epic end to a run ever! The only thing that could have made it any better is if "I Made It" played after. I am so glad I stuck it out through that run just to feel that awesome at the end. It was a 16 minute run and I ran about a mile and a half so I was pretty impressed with myself. While I'm running I'm always thinking "Why do I even do this!?" but then I finish and I'm like "THAT'S WHY!" 


Now, on to my more recent run. I was determined to go to the gym to squeeze in a mid day run just to get it out of the way since I knew I'd be busy in the evening and too tired in the morning. My first plan was to ask a friend to go with me, because I knew I was more likely to go if I made a commitment to go with someone else, otherwise I'd say 'oh it can wait'and further behind I'd fall. So I got a friend to go with me and it was all fine and dandy until I tried to get into my schools gym and they told me if I wasn't taking any classes over the summer semester then my membership was inactive. (Stupid. As if I don't pay enough in the fall and spring -_-) Luckily the friend I was with also had a shapes membership so we decided to try going in there and she'd use a guest pass. She didn't have any, but they were much nicer there and let me in anyway. The only bummer is that they only have treadmills, no indoor track. So it was probably the easiest mile and a half I've ever ran, I was even able to hold a conversation with my friend the entire 17 minute run. I'm actually really glad that when I started running I started on pavement, because if I trained for a 5k on a treadmill, I would have been in for a rude awaking on race day!      

Great Run!

   FINALLY! I had another run that made me feel fantastic when I finished. I ran around 8:30pm after it rained on and off all day so it was nice and cool outside and I think I've gotten back into my normal rhythm after skipping so many runs. I even felt incredible doing the circuits and then the much needed shower was fantastic. 
  My run today was a great reminder of why I run. Even though some times it can really suck and I feel like I can't do it, the runs that make me feel fantastic are what makes the hard days worth it. My only issue with today's run was a tight cramp, but I assume it's from running about an hour after a big meal. I pushed though it though and stretched it out while I walked. 
   All in all no real complaints today, hopefully the next run will be the same! ...wow this is a short blog when I have nothing to complain about ;) 

Too HOT!

   So my last run SUCKED! I lost track of time on Friday and before I knew it to was too dark to run. I decided, so I don't further put myself behind, I would get up at 8 this morning and run. I forgot how hot it already was as early as 8am! Now I remember why I started running in the evenings. If anything, how I felt running in the heat was an incentive not to take a week off, but I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the heat than my endurance. It wasn't so bad in the shade, but once I was in the sun I thought I was going to die! I'm a little worried because my 5k is at 9am, it's in December so it SHOULD be cooler, but that means nothing in Florida. 
   I'm thinking I might start spoiling myself during this training period and running in the gym on the indoor track at least until the weather cools down a little more. For tomorrows run I plan to run at night around the neighborhood, but if I ever miss a night run again and decide to make it up the next morning, I'm going to the gym, it's just too hot!  
   On a much better note, yesterday I looked at a picture of me in a bathing suit before I started running and then a recent one. The results are already showing in the mid section! I didn't even realize it from looking day to day, but after comparing the two pictures there is definitely a difference. I have a feeling combining the circuit work out with running is whats really helping tone my mid section. It was a fantastic incentive to see some results! It's nothing drastic, but definitely looks nice.