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