uhhhh

Hey, remember that time I used to blog and exercise and eat well? Yeah, me too. Things have been hectic. I moved 10 hours away and started a new job in the middle of nowhere, Texas. Fort Davis, to be exact. Population: 1,000. I couldn't ask for better weather compared to the sticky coast, but my skin is drier than, well, something very dry.

I've been walking and hiking, but not as much as I should be. I might start writing in this thing again, but it will be difficult considering my computer is no longer functioning.

But for now, just know I am alive.

God there's nothing like trying on an old pair of pants to make you feel like complete shit. I've got to get my shit together. It was a reality check to try to wiggle into those pants and find that they barely go up over my (now) giant ass. I don't even want to step on the scale. So I won't. But I am going to start counting calories I think, as a means to just keep track of what I'm eating. I'm not so much worried about a number, but more about the quality of food items that I'm putting into my body. I am going to try out more new Paleo recipes and I'll share them here as I make my attempts, bad or good. 

I just want to be able to wear my pants again. Working out starts September 1st, but for now I have a seven day stretch at work that is sucking the life out me. I plan on fitting in at least 20 minutes of walking my little Dottie at least every other day for now.

i suck.

I haven't worked out in two weeks. I have been so unbelievably stressed out. I've been having nightmares, I missed my period (NOT pregnant, no worries), and my body just is exhausted. It sucks. My eating has been pretty great, though. Stickin' to Paleo for the most part.

I've decided to (probably) opt out of the Rock 'N Roll San Antonio half marathon. I'm not where I need to be in terms of my starting point, I don't have enough time to safely get there, and I'm realizing that endurance running, at least this distance, isn't really my thing. Especially right now at this point in my life, I just don't have the time or energy to put toward months of training. I'm still planning on aiming for the 10K in October, though. I hate to feel like I've failed by giving up on my other half, but I just don't see it happening... Ideally I am going to just devote more time to lifting heavy things and dancing and running shorter distances without having to feel completely obliged to not miss a single run or else risk not being ready for some stinky old half marathon. BLECH.

I won a thingymabob from my work that you can wear on your arm and it calculates how many calories you burn throughout the day and shit. I'm curious to give it a whirl. I feel like I burned a bajillion calories at work today.

And I'll leave you with a recipe for the delicious Paleo dinner that I gorged myself on tonight.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of lean ground beef (or turkey! you pick!)
• one jar of organic pasta sauce (check the label for shitty ingredients)
• 2 cups of spinach (and/or any other vegetables you want to add to the sauce)
• four zucchinis
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced 

1.  Pour 1 tbsp. of olive into large sauce pan. Add half of the garlic to the oil and brown.
2. Add whatever ground meat you choose. Cook until browned.
3. Meanwhile, rinse your zucchini and peel each one down, leaving the seedy middle.
4. Add the other tbsp. of olive oil to another pan and brown the remaining garlic in that.
5. Add the thin zucchini slices do the olive oil and sautee until cooked.
6. When the meat is browned, add the pasta sauce, spinach, and whatever else you decide (get creative!) and simmer for a few minutes 'till it's all cooked down and bubbly and delicious.
7. Use the zucchini peels as spaghetti, serve the sauce on top, and voila! Paleo pasta!

Serves 4. Or in my case two because I am a fatty and ate two zucchini's worth of peels. Not a single fuck is given, except that I have a food baby.

and so training season begins again...

Last week was a pretty damn good week. I worked out almost every day. Heeeeeeeeere's the breakdown:

• Monday - Zumba
• Tuesday - full body strength training, 2.5 mile run
• Wednesday - Zumba
• Thursday - full body strength training
• Friday - 3 mile run, zumba

I missed my Saturday Body Pump plans. I was a little disappointed but I needed the rest. The running has been tough this week. Especially that 3 mile one. It took me about 35 minutes to run a 5K. That seems a little pathetic for me. I guess I can't expect to be kicking ass right from the get go, but it's so disheartening to see (and feel) how much endurance I've lost. I used to run 4 miles a few times a week, no problem. I've gotta get back to that point!

This week is going to be a little off since I'm traveling out of town for a job interview mid-week. This is my tentative plan:

• Sunday - full body strength training
• Monday - 4 mile run in the AM before work
• Tuesday - full body strength training in AM before hitting the road
• Wednesday - walking
• Thursday - Zumba
• Friday - 3 mile run and/or Zumba
• Saturday - Body Pump, 4 mile run (first run of half marathon training!)

I've gotta get my fill of Studio Vida! Zumba while I'm home. I sure do love that place.

I can't believe my fall half marathon training is already starting. Fuck, I am not ready.

falling behind, trying to catch up.

Been kickin' some ass this week so far.

My Tuesday run was HARD. Like... I was huffing and puffing the whole way through. It was my first outdoor run since Beach to Bay in May. Between the heat, the wind, and the variations in incline, it was a challenge. I did 2.48 miles in 26:30, which put me at about a 10:40 min/mile pace. Not too bad, but for the effort... well I've got some improving to do. I'm planning on running three miles today, but I think I will slow the pace down to around 11 min/mile for this one.

As far as training for my upcoming races goes, I should be running 4 miles by early August. I am not sure that's going to happen. I'll have to alter my half marathon training schedule as needed, I guess. I have my 10k in October, which I'm not worried about being ready for. I have plenty of time to get up to 6 miles before then. But that half marathon... I shouldn't have been slacking on my running as much as I have been. Way to go, Nina.

I am contemplating registering to the Rock 'N' Roll New Orleans half marathon again. Two of my buddies are signing up for it. It's hard to turn down a road trip/race/buddy run event. I'll have to think on it and figure out what I can manage in terms of money, time off, and time invested in training. I have until October to decide, luckily.

Anyways, this morning I woke up and went to the gym before work again. Here's how it went:

• 3x15 deadlifts 30 lbs. (lowered weight to work on my form)
• 3x15 squats 40 lbs
• 3x15 upright rows 30 lbs
• 3x12 overhead press 30 lbs.
• 3x20 side bends 25 lbs.
• 3x15 bent rows 50 lbs.

Yep.

Last week was a pretty big bust. I only did zumba twice, I think. That was it. I can chalk it up to it being my birthday week and wanting to celebrate, but the fact of the matter is - I was being lazy. 100% lazy (well, maybe 90% since I did go to zumba twice). But I'm getting my shit back into gear with my eating and working out. Here's the plan for another fun-filled week:

• Monday - Zumba
• Tuesday - strength training in AM, 2.5 mile run PM
• Wednesday - Zumba
• Thursday - strength training in AM, 3 mile run PM
• Friday - Zumba
• Saturday - Body Pump

No excuses this week, damnit.

This morning I got up at 6AM and headed to the gym for a 30 minute lifting session. It has been about two weeks since I went and lifted (not counting Body Pump, which wasn't so much heavy lifting but lots of repititions - it still kicked my ass, though). This morning consisted of:

• 3x15 squats - 40 lbs. barbell
• 3x14 lunges - 30 lbs. dumbells
• 3x15 overhead press - 30 lbs. barbell
• 2x12 tricep kickback - 10 lbs. dumbell
• 3x15 bent row - 40 lbs. barbell

Isn't that so interesting? I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat.

whaaaat?

It's already been nine days since I posted?! Damn, time flies. I have been keeping up with my workouts for the most part... my mom came to visit last weekend so my eating wasn't the best, but I stuck with working out. Hmmm, let me see if I can remember how last week went...

• Sunday - full body strength training
• Monday - 2.5 mile run
• Tuesday - full body strength training
• Wednesday - Zumba
• Thursday -2.5 mile run
• Friday - rested
• Saturday - Body Pump

Dude. Body Pump. It was freaking awesome and HARD. I was sore for three days afterward. Seriously.

Here's what this week has been/will be...ish:

• Sunday - zumba
• Monday - rest
• Tuesday - rest
• Wednesday - zumba
• Thursday - full body strength training, 2 mile run
• Friday - zumba
• Saturday - MY BIRTHDAAAAAAY! 5K birthday run, full body strength training

So yeah. My food has sucked for the most part the past few days. I've had a slice of cake for dinner three nights in a row. I'm going to get back onto my fairly rigid paleo diet. I think I'd like to have seafood for my birthday, so I'm sure I can still stick to the paleo pretty well even with going out to eat. I will probably have a few glasses of wine, too... I know, I know. But it's my birthday!

I don't want to overdo it, though, because I have plans for Sunday to get shit done, seeing as it's my only day off. I want to make pickles.

Training has to start for my upcoming races soon... crazy!

blurg.

I could go on a lengthy rant about work right now, buuuuut I'll spare you. Just know, I am frustrated.

On a happier note, I actually woke up at the ass crack of dawn and worked out like I said I would. It was tough, and I almost bailed, but I did it! My alarm went off around 6AM and I resigned myself to hitting snooze and sleeping through it. But when it beeped again 15 minutes later, I thought to myself "...I could not go to the gym, get an extra half hour of sleep, and then end up not going at all today OR I could just get up and go." I believe I made the right choice.

I didn't do a whole lot today since I was on a slight time crunch. I did three sets each of:

• deadlifts (60 lbs)
• squats (50 lbs)
• shoulder press (20 lbs)
• bent rows (40 lbs)

That's it. Yeah, pretty measly but I figure it's better than nothing. Right? RIGHT?! Yep, I'm right. I should probably start keeping track of how much weight I'm using on these so I can track my progress... adding that right meow. I definitely could have done more weight on the bent rows, so I'll be upping that to 50 lbs. next time I go. I want to lift heavy, but I am going to keep it reasonable until I really perfect my form, on the deadlifts and squats especially. I do not need to get hurt being an idiot.

Tonight I have some pals coming into town so we are all going to go to Sensational Seafood tonight! Sensational Seafood is a program that we have here at the aquarium every month. A different chef comes in each time and cooks up a seafood dish, while employees chat about sustainability and how to make educated, environmentally friendly decisions about what you put on your plate. The food is always delicious... and the CHEESE. Oh lord, there is always so much cheese. I will do my best to avoid it, but it calls to me sometimes. And then I will regret it when I'm doubled over in stomach pain later.

It is drizzly and overcast outside and I am sipping a hot coffee inside. Today is my kind of day.

WWS (a little late)

Last week was most excellent in terms of working out. I rested on Saturday and enjoyed a leisurely day of grilling, followed by a disco party. Here's what this week looks like:

• Sunday - full body strength training (DONE)
• Monday - 2.5 mile run (DONE - did some hard ass intervals every .25 miles)
• Tuesday - full body strength training
• Wednesday - Zumba
• Thursday -2.5 mile run
• Friday - full body strength training
• Saturday - Body Pump or Zumba

I am pooped. I have decided to really give up drinking. I had a discussion with an old friend who has done it and he basically said it was one of the best decisions he ever made in terms of his quality of life. He's sleeping better, has more energy, and is more productive. I want to be all of those things! It is going to be hard as shit to say goodbye to my delicious, delicious beer. But I want to do it for a while and I will do it. I feel confident that I can accomplish this goal. I'd like to quit smoking cigarettes simultaneously but I feel like it will be a little overwhelming doing it all at once so I'm just going to really, really cut back. I tend to only smoke when I drink anyways so it shouldn't be too hard.

So now that it's out there for the internet to read, there is no going back. Daunting. 

I ate some wings for dinner tonight. The roommates and some pals went out for pizza. Well, pizza does not really bode well with how I'm trying to eat (dairy + bread = farts like you would not even want to imagine). So I opted for the chicken wings, thinking it was a better choice. HAH. Silly me. I looked up nutrition information for chicken wings when I got home and HOLY HELL - like 55g of fat. That's an entire day's worth of fat. In six chicken wings. They were delicious but I don't believe I will be having them again for quite some time. 

I'm going to try to get up early and get my lifting done before work tomorrow so that means that I should have been asleep... an hour ago. Tata, friends.

oh hunger, where art thou?

I woke up at 7AM this morning, my day off, thanks to my dog. She's lucky she's cute. She wakes me up in the best way - cuddling. She jumps in my bed and wiggles in next to me and at the first sign of movement, she moves in for the kisses. She also likes to hit me in the face sometimes. Bitch. Literally.

Anyways, grocery shopping was the first thing I did today. Even before breakfast. That's impressive. I spent $100 dollars on groceries. I felt like a hypocrite at the check-out line, though, because I piled up all my health food onto the belt and at the end... I bought a pack of cigarettes. I will quit soon. It's hard, though. Don't judge.

I got home and threw some pork and cauliflower paleo stuff into the crockpot to cook throughout the day. Around 3PM I went to the gym to lift. I didn't do anything too much today. Now I will detail it, because I know you're so interested. 3 sets each of:

• deadlifts
• squats
• curls
• bent rows
• overhead extensions
• side bends
• shoulder press

That's about it. I spent 25 minutes on weights, then walked ten minutes at a snail's pace to cool down. 

Now, the past few days I really have not been hungry at all. Like... only eating 700 calories a day not hungry. And I've been working out! I don't get it. Since July 4th's beer and sweet potato fries, I have not had any serious urges to eat. I'm sure it will all catch up to me at some point and I will gorge myself on the pumpkin seeds and pork roast that I obtained today. I look forward to that day.

Tomorrow's Body Pump plans are being replaced by the farmer's market in the morning and grilling and watching Ted later in the day. Rest day it is.

PHWEW.

After a long week at work, I am pooped. Yesterday after work, I went to the gym before the 4th of July festivities. Zumba got cancelled because of the holiday, so I switched my Thursday run to Wednesday. Instead of doing two miles I ended up doing 2.5. I did intervals every .25 mile and finished the run in 25:28. Then I showered and went to the beach, drank a few beers, and ate some sweet potato fries. Yum.

Today I went to Zumba and it was a pretty great class. I really liked the instructor. You could tell she was an actual dancer. 50 minutes of zumba, 515 calories torched. I came home and scrounged around the kitchen for food that won't be there until tomorrow (payday!) so I just ate some watermelon for dinner. Lame. Good thing I'm (somehow?!) not even hungry. But I am going to make a paleo crockpot pork rump roast and rice tomorrow and I am so excited about it that it's sad. The rice is not rice at all.... but cauliflower! Oh man, my stomach just grumbled. Time for bed. Number one on my list of things to do tomorrow is grocery shop. Number two? Lift. Duh.

it is past my bedtime.

Quick update before bed. I spent a good chunk of my day looking up paleo recipes on www.paleomg.com. Let me tell ya, I've got some good ones in store. I'm also planning to make a trip out to Alice very soon to buy some grass fed goodies. I'm going to order some kangaroo meat online, as well. I know, I know, they're cute. But damn they are tasty. 

Today was a full body strength day. Here's the breakdown - 3 sets each of:

• deadlifts
• squats
• lunges
• calf raises
• curls
• shoulder press
• shrugs
• overhead tricep extensions
• side bends

 'Twas a good day. My body is tired. I'm broke until payday on Friday so my dinner was pretty simple. A big can of tuna fish, an ounce of almonds, some watermelon, and three delectable Dove dark chocolate squares to top it off.

It's weird when your heart is beating so loudly in your head that every time the blood pumps through it temporarily mutes sounds, like the hum of my air conditioner por ejemple.

PS - FAIL.

Also, I had my heart rate monitor in my gym bag ready for this afternoon's run. I left my gym bag in the car while I was at work. In the summer Texas heat. For nine hours. When I put it on at the gym, the little computer thingy that attaches to the chest strap wasn't picking up my heart rate. I think the heat fucked it up. I hope it's not ridiculously expensive to replace.

Today was another delightful paleo day! I'm really enjoying the paleo eating so far. I feel more energetic and cleaner. I have eaten non-paleo things (ie: drunk whataburger... and alcohol...) but I'm trying to cut more and more of those things out. After my hell of a hangover on Friday I have zero desire to drink again anytime soon. Here's what my food day looked like:

• breakfast - two eggs scrambled with spinach, onion, and broccoli
• lunch - shredded crock pot chicken meat on a bed of romaine lettuce
• dinner - four slices of extra lean turkey bacon with half a bundle of asparagus cooked in olive oil, three Dove dark chocolate squares (not paleo but a perfect dessert)
• snacks throughout the day - pineapple, cherries, carrots and homemade guacamole, an ounce of walnuts

I don't feel hungry when I eat this way. I also don't get my typical midday tiredness at work, I've noticed. Delightful!

After work I went to the gym to do my planned two miles. I did a five minute warm up walk then ran for 22 minutes at an 10:54 min/mile pace. The workout the treadmill set me on was 30 minutes, so I lowered the pace a bit and ran the last three minutes at 5MPH, or a 12 min/mile pace. Then I walked for five minutes as my cool down. I have decided to run a 5K on my birthday, so I've got to get back up into the longer runs.

It is 9:01PM and I am in bed. I like this.

Today's workout was good. I almost bailed because I am exhausted but I forced myself. Today I did two sets each of squats, deadlifts, lunges, shoulder presses, curls, kickbacks, and lat pulldowns. Then I did 20 minutes on the elliptical just to kill some more time before leaving. I am tired so I will read and then sleep soon. Bye bye.

WWS

Here is my WWS for this week:

• Sunday - full body strength training
• Monday - two mile run
• Tuesday - full body strength training
• Wednesday - zumba
• Thursday - full body strength training
• Friday - zumba
• Saturday - body pump

restrestrest

Monday I made it to the gym for my leg workout. I'm pretty clueless and don't know a whole hell of a lot of exercises to do, so I just did three sets each of squats, lunges, leg extensions, and I threw a few little ab things in between. I'm going to look up more exercises so I can have a better variety and longer workout. Even so, though, I am sore from what I did! After I lifted I did 10 minutes of pretty intense intervals on the stationary bike, followed by a three minute cool down.

Yesterday I was absolutely, 100% exhausted. I planned on going to the gym right after work but I left work a little early and headed home for a quick nap. Well, that quick nap turned into 15 hours. I woke up a few times here and there to go to the bathroom and let the dog in and what not, but for the most part it was a good solid sleep. I needed it, I guess. So yesterday there was no upper body strength training and no 2.5 mile run.

My back is still hurting. It is more uncomfortable today than it was yesterday. It's weird but I really think that going to the gym helps it rather than aggravates it. So I'm going to try to fit the gym in at some point today. I'm working an after hours event so we'll see when, but it's nice having a gym that's open 24 hours. I'll do full body since I missed upper body yesterday, but I think I am going to pass on the run for now. My left ankle kind of hurts, as well. I'm falling apartttttt.

WWS.

Well, my back is still kind of achy, but I made my way to the gym after work yesterday anyways. I'm just taking Excedrin to take the edge off. Yesterday was just a running day so I did a total of 30 minutes on the treadmill. I did my scheduled two miles in 20:34. Averaged at a 10:16 min/mile pace or something like that. Not too shabby. The whole run was a sort of Fartlek style run, I just went up or down with the speed as I saw fit.

I am registering for another 10K that is in October. It's at Sea World. I need to have more runs in my future to keep me up, running, motivated, and accountable. I'm probably going to look for some other races going on between now and then, as well.

Here's the plan for this week:

• Sunday - two mile run
• Monday - legs
• Tuesday - upper body, run 2.5 miles
• Wednesday - legs (might not happen, working late that night..)
• Thursday - upper body (if Wednesday doesn't happen, full body)
• Friday - Zumba
• Saturday - Body Pump

oww.

So for the past two weeks or so I've had a twinge in my lower back. I thought I just slept on it wrong, but then with the move I think it got aggravated even more. It's been hurting every now and then, usually just went I bend over at a certain angle, but it's been really sucking today and I can feel it when I sit, stand, and walk. It's not unbearably painful but it does hurt. So I'm taking today as a rest day instead of going to the gym. Hopefully this goes away soon.

I didn't do a whole hell of a lot today. I guess my errands will be done tomorrow. I woke up and had leftover fish tacos for lunch, took a nap, watched South Park, and then went to zumba. It was a class with different instructors than the last one I went to. They were fairly good. Nothing really can compare to Studio Vida's instructors, though. Missin' those Mario zumba classes. But I burned about 650 calories and I had a good time so we'll call it a win. I came home, showered, and ate a Mexican type salad with chicken, black beans, green leaf lettuce, avocado, and pico de gallo. It was reaaaaally filling and tasty.

I planned on trying out Body Pump tomorrow morning but they are cancelling classes for a fundraiser they're holding. So instead I may just hit the gym for full body strength training and maybe some time on the stationary bike or something.

good day.

Today was a good day. I ate mostly well at work, minus some french fries with lunch, but that was surrounded by healthy protein and lots of produce. After work, I went to the gym and did full body strength training. I did curls, rows, kickbacks, pull downs, squats, lunges, aaaand some other stuff that I don't really remember. Then I hopped on the treadmill and ran two miles, as promised. I did 2.07 in 23 minutes. It was a little tough but by the time the two miles was over, I felt I could have gone for a 5K. I walked for five minutes then left.

I ate some leftover fish tacos when I got home. I know corn tortillas aren't 'paleo' but fuck it. It was tasty. Two corn tortillas with tilapia, homemade pico de gallo (with homegrown tomato and onion!), and chopped avocado. Deeeeeelish. Now I'm going to spend my evening playing guitar.  Zumba toning tomorrow morning!

i'm back!

After too long of a hiatus from exercise and all things healthy, I'm getting back into the game for real. I joined a gym and I've been eating (mostly) well. Let's talk fitness first.

So I bought that Groupon for the pilates studio and I went to their Zumba Toning class. I liked it, but it wasn't as great as normal zumba at Studio Vida. Buuuuut I will definitely return to check out other classes and instructors. Especially because I have those discounted passes. Friday mornings will be Zumba, Saturday mornings are going to be Body Pump. I've never done Body Pump so I'm pretty excited to check it out.

I also joined Freedom Fitness here in town. My pal goes there, too, and the price is right - only ten dollars a month. I've been with her a few times and she's taught me some new strength training stuff. Once I learn my way around the weight room, I'm going to start going in the mornings before work. Mondays and Wednesdays I'm focusing on legs, Tuesdays and Thursdays are upper body days. I'll probably throw in one or two runs on those days, as well.

Speaking of running, I ran for the first time since Beach to Bay on Monday. I went to the gym with my mom while I was home and after I lifted I hopped on the treadmill and waited for her to finish. I decided to just run and see what happened. I kept it nice and easy, around 11 min/mile, and I was surprised to find out that I felt pretty great! I wasn't huffing and puffing like I thought I would be. I ran for twenty minutes, a little less than two miles. Not terrible for the first time back. Then I decided to be real crazy and doubled up my workout for the day by going to zumba in the evening. I had to get my Mario fix. HRM told me I burned 735 calories in the hour. Chyeaaaah! So Monday was intense - lifting, run, zumba.

Tuesday I woke up early and went to the gym with momma again. Focused on arms and did rows, curls, kick backs, etc. My arms are so weak, it's pathetic. I've gotta work towards changing that. I headed back to CC and got another semi-workout by unpacking and putting together my new room. Hey, I worked up a sweat so it counts!

Okay, so that's the fitness front. I'm feeling pretty confident and excited about keeping it up. So now for food. I've been loosely following the 'paleo' diet, which essentially is you eating like a caveman. Meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts. I'm not being ridiculously strict with it, but I feel pretty good so far cutting out almost all of my dairy and grains. The dairy needed to go anyways, I think I'm slightly lactose intolerant. And I don't eat a hell of a lot of grains anyways. But... you're not supposed to eat beans. Beans are going to be hard to let go so I'm sure I'll still eat them every now and then. I'm not going to even give it a second thought.

Okaaaay, so that's my plan. Build muscles, eat real food. And I'll leave this with this week's WWS:

• Sunday - swam, some lifting at home
• Monday - legs, ran 20 minutes on treadmill, Zumba
• Tuesday - upper body
• Wednesday - legs (maybe... having dinner at the house tonight and might not have time)
• Thursday - upper body (full body if legs don't happen tonight), run two miles
• Friday - Zumba
• Saturday - Body Pump

Just have time for a quick post, but I've been getting back into moving around lately. I went to zumba, joined a gym, and I actually ran this morning for the first time since Beach to Bay. Only for twenty minutes, but I felt great. Much better than I thought I would feel. All is not lost.

More details about shit later.

national running day

It seems like an appropriate day to get my ass running again. I am going to try to do two miles after work. I have a feeling it's going to be brutal. With my inactivity plus the amount that I've been smoking lately...it's not going to be pretty. But I've got to do it. Because if I don't, it's just going to get worse and worse.

I'm going to try to lose twenty pounds by September. I need to start eating cleaner and drinking less beer. I'm also going to attempt to quit smoking. We'll see what happens...

yuck.

I haven't run or done anything physical since Beach to Bay. Over two weeks. Of sitting. And drinking beer. And eating. Gross.

I bought a groupon for some fitness classes at a studio. They offer zumba and Body Pump and stuff so I'm eager to try it out this week. Over the weekend I guess I did get some exercise walking around at a music festival, though.

I swear I'll be back on this thing more often. I just need to find motivation to get my ass up and moving again.

WWS

This is the first weekly workout schedule I'm making that doesn't have to include running! Funnily enough, that makes me want to add it in. Oh mind, you work in funny ways. Here's the plan, stan:

• Monday - strength training, leisurely bike ride around the neighborhood
• Tuesday - 2 mile morning run
• Wednesday - strength training
• Thursday - zumba
• Friday - strength training, 2 mile walk with Dottie
• Saturday - 4 mile run

Quite ambitious, but I feel motivated.

Last week was a decent work out week. I missed the Wednesday run I had planned but oh well. Thursday I got up at 6:30AM and went running before work. I did 2.5 miles and it was so pleasant! I am going to start doing that more often. It's a million times better than waiting 'till the hot, humid afternoons to run. Blech! Friday I did full body strength training, and then Saturday was the race. Not too shabby.

Beach to Bay 2012

My first Beach to Bay experience was definitely a positive one. I was running the last leg and I knew I wouldn't be starting until later in the morning but for whatever reason I decided to get to my exchange point at 7:30AM. I just walked there from my house, it was close enough. I made a friend as soon as I got to the park and we hung out and talked for a good chunk of the morning. Luckily enough, he also had some sunscreen that he offered me. I slathered some on my arms and legs, apparently missing my shoulders and chest. More on that later...

The first runners came through our chute around 8:45AM. These people are fast. Like... really fast. I don't understand how it's humanly possible to sustain what I see as a sprint for 4+ miles. Then again, I'm a little overweight and I have short stubby legs so it may just be humanly impossible for me. Either way, these runners are impressive.

A handful of men came through, followed by the first female runner. Let me tell you, this girl didn't look too good. As she was coming through the chute she started walking and veering off to the right. You could tell she was having a hard time functioning physically. Her teammate grabbed the baton and the girl almost immediately just kind of collapsed. Race workers had to carry her to the first aid tent to cool down. It was a very, very hot day. Multiple runners went down from heat exhaustion. I heard teammates handing off the baton and telling the next runners to be careful of the heat. It was then that I decided I was not running for speed. I was going to take my time and enjoy the race and not end up in a first aid tent.

After about four hours of hanging out at the exchange point drinking water and watching runners coming through, I finally heard my bib number get called. So I hopped in the chute and waited for Josh. Finally I saw him, grabbed the baton, and was off!

The run was more pleasant than I expected with the heat. The water stations were plentiful. Every time I hit on, I slowed to a walk, drank a cup, then poured another cup over my head. There were also people with water guns squirting runners, which I appreciated thoroughly. Some people who live along the race course were even out front with their garden hoses spraying runners. I found that this was the only way for me to keep my body temperature down. Especially because there was little to no shade on the course for relief from the sun.

So on I went, drinking and dousing, drinking and dousing, through all 4.89 miles. Finally I saw the finish line in the distant so I pushed through. The time on the clock was 5:09 and some change. Not the best time, not the worst. After looking at the results, I'd say we were in the 3rd quartile of teams. I think a lot of what slowed us down was the fact that one of our runners accidently ran two legs. That's over eight miles of running. In the heat. And the sun. A very impressive accident, if I do say so myself.

After the race, I realized I had gotten a lot of sun. My shoulders and chest are pretty red. As I'm typing this at work, I can feel them burning. I need to buy some sport sunscreen pronto.

So there it is, Beach to Bay 2012. I think it will be an annual tradition from here on out.

WWS

This week is probably going to be a little light. Here's what I've tentatively got planned.

• Wednesday - 2 miles
• Thursday - 2.5 miles
• Friday - walk 2 miles with the dog/maybe zumba?
• Saturday - Beach to Bay! (leg #6, 4.89 miles)

I am excited about Beach to Bay. I just hope it's not too damn hot. Especially because I'm doing the last leg and it's also the longest.

Last week I did great staying active while I was on my vacation. I went to the gym with my mom twice (and I actually lifted! This is a big deal for me). I did some lifting at home, as well. I would like to get a nice weight area set up there for myself. We've got all the bars and weights that I would need to do some good squats and deadlifts. I did zumba twice and it kicked my ass and I loved it.

Buuuuut, I still ate a lot. No amount of exercise can really cancel out the beer and the goldfish. I think I'm going to start tracking what I eat to stay accountable to myself and make sure I'm eating well and keeping my nutrition nice and balanced and healthy. I'd like to lose twenty-ish pounds over the next few months or so. I'm tired of feeling gross all the time.

This week wasn't exactly as planned but I've been keeping active while I've been home. Here's how it looked:

• Thursday - 3 mile fartlek run on the treadmill at the gym in 29:34
• Friday - swimming + an hour of zumba 
• Sunday - full body strength training and 15 minutes on the elliptical at the gym

I ended up not running the Race for the Cure for a few reasons. Reason #1 - not gonna lie, I was hungover from my brother's graduation party and didn't get nearly enough sleep. Reason #2 - I was (and still am) sore as hell from zumba. 

WWS

This week is going to be a little different since I'm traveling. I'm nixing the 7MM on Wednesday (not that I would do it anyway) since I'm leaving for home right after work.

• Tuesday - 3 miles
• Thursday - 2.5 miles
• Friday - zumba (?)
• Saturday - Race for the Cure 10K

I'm a little hesitant about doing zumba the day before the race because I bet I'll be sore. Buuuut that's okay. I'm not really looking to race too hard anyways.

After I got home from work yesterday, I slept for about 12 hours. It was glorious.

struggling.

I am struggling to find motivation these days. I haven't stopped running, but I am only doing about half of my runs that I plan out. This is what this week consisted of:

• Tuesday - 2.69 miles in 25:30 (9:28 pace)
• Saturday - 6.04 miles in 1:07:41 (11:12 pace)

Maybe I need to take a different approach to my running or something. Switch things up, get me motivated again. Or maybe I just need a little break. I'll get it soon, after these two upcoming races. I've got the Race for the Cure 10K in a week and Beach to Bay a week later. Maybe I'll take a week off after that. 

It's getting hot and humid, summer is coming. It's too hot for running in the summer. I should join a gym. 

WWS

Well, last week was another down week for running. I seem to alternate. One week I get pretty much all my runs done, the next I only do two, and then repeat. My whole 7MM challenge has been a bust so far, I'd say. I've only done it like.. twice. Uggggggggggh. So here was my pathetic last week:

• Monday: 3.07 miles in 30:02 (9:46 pace)
• Saturday: Kare to Excel 8K race 5.02 miles in 50:27 (10:02 pace)

....aaaand that's about about it. Like I said, it was a down week. I've got to get out of this funk I'm in.

Here's the schedule for this week. We'll see how much I follow it.

• Monday: 2.5 miles
• Wednesday: 7MM
• Friday: 3 miles
• Saturday: 6 miles

I've started formulating a training plan for the San Antonio Rock N Roll half, training will start at the beginning of September, so I've still got quite a bit of time before I have to start worrying about that.

I get to go home in a week and a half. I can't wait.

Kare to Excel 8K recap

I'm pooped from getting up at 5:30AM but here's a quick recap of this morning's race.

I woke up bright and early, headed to my house to grab a quick pre-race snack, then made my way to campus. The race started promptly at 7AM. Josh left me pretty much as soon as the race started to keep his own pace, and I kept nice and steady at mine. 

It was an out and back course that was mostly along Ocean Drive. The wind wasn't horrible today, thank god. This run was pretty tough, considering that I haven't run five miles since the half marathon back in March. I managed to maintain a fairly constant pace. My first mile was definitely a little speedy, around 9:43, but I slowed down after that and my average pace was 10:02 min/mile. Excellent for me, especially maintaining it for five miles. I'm happy with the way things went. My final time was 50:27. Josh finished in about 48 minutes, so I wasn't too far behind him.

I chugged water and ate a banana while we waited for the awards and raffle give aways. They finally got to the 8K awards and did the men first. Josh got third in his age group, yeaaaaah Josh! Then they got to the women's, and the announcer totally skipped over my age group. I was like "say whaaaaat?!" So I went up to him afterward and asked him about it and it turned out he accidentally skipped over it because, well, I was the only one in my age group. So, I got first place by default! Hahahah, ain't no shame. I'm reppin' for the 20-24 year old ladies. I'm really surprised that no one else around my age was running! What gives?! 

I guess there's really not a whole lot more to say about the race. It was tough, and I missed my goal  of 50 minutes by 27 seconds, but it went well, and I got a gold medal, and now I am going to take a well deserved nap.

HALF MARATHON - TAKE TWO!

I am officially registered for my second half marathon! Rock 'N Roll San Antonio in November 2012. I'm pretty stoked. Training will most likely begin in September. It will be nice not starting from scratch for training. It will take a lot less time and be less difficult, I imagine. Assuming I keep up my fitness levels until then.. but I feel confident that I will! 

Right now I am setting a goal to complete it in less than two and a half hours. That's only shaving about four minutes off of my first one. I think I can do it. I just need to remember to hold back in the beginning and not tire myself out. Also - GELS. Why have I not been using gels at all for my long runs?!

WWS

Here is my weekly workout schedule for this week.

• Monday - 3 miles
• Tuesday - 2.5 miles
• Wednesday - 7MM
• Saturday - Kare to Excel 8K

We'll see how this turns out... I woke up drenched in sweat this morning and I feel really run down. Hopefully I can muster the energy to get my runs done. I better not be getting sick.

My mom is coming into town to visit this weekend and she's going to come see my race! I'm excited. Josh and I have a set a goal of 50 minutes. I'm not sure I can sustain a 10:00 min/mile pace for five miles, but I'm going to do my damndest. It better not be a windy repeat of the 10K...

phwew.

Ended the week strong. 

• Thursday - 3.11 miles in 35:00 (11:15 pace)
• Friday - 2.05 miles in 19:05 (9:18 pace)
• Saturday - 4.65 miles in 51:22 (11:02 pace)

I'll post this week's schedule tomorrow. I'm hungry and tired right now.

hard times, bad breaks.

It's been hard to do much of anything lately. I haven't run since Saturday. I've been sleeping a lot. Things have been weighing me down. Dealing with the loss of our dolphin, DJ, has been really, really tough and then having to say goodbye to one of the most amazing trainers we've got... it's just been a lot all at once. There have been a lot of tears. I've cried just about every day.

But I'm going to try to push myself out of it. I will run tomorrow, Tuesday's three miles. No 7MM this week... again. Then I'll finish my Friday and Saturday runs as planned (hopefully). I need to get my life in order and get things figured out... I have a feeling my life is going to be changing in the near future. It's got to, I just can't stay where I am.

another race!

..and I've pretty much met my goal of four races during the year. I just registered for the 2012 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10k! It's in San Antonio on May 12th, and I planned on being home that weekend for my brother's graduation and Mother's Day anyways! So why not run a 10K? I'm trying to get my mom to walk the 5K, too

So with that and the Kare to Excel 8K on April 28th, that makes four races. And then Beach to Bay is the weekend after the Race for the Cure. These races keep me motivated and accountable to keep up with my running.

WWS

Last week was kind of a bust. It was a tough week in a lot of aspects. I only ran twice, missed my two mid-week runs.

• Monday - 3.63 miles in 36:20 (10:00 pace)
• Saturday - 4.07 miles in 44:19 (10:53 pace)

This week looks something like this:

• Monday - gym for lifting
• Tuesday - 3 miles
• Wednesday - 7MM week 4 (or should it be week 3 since I missed last week?)
• Friday - 2 miles
• Saturday - 4.5 miles

I registered for that 8K yesterday, so that's on my schedule for next Saturday.

race on the horizon.

Once I get paid on Friday, I am going to be registering for the Kare to Excel 8k race on April 28th. I'm scheduled to run 5 miles that day, anyways. Might as well make it a race. It's only $25, too. Josh is going to do it with me. It's nice and close, right on campus!

WWS

Last week's run were all completed successfully!

• Tuesday - 3.11 miles in 34:02 (10:56 pace)
• Wednesday - 7MM in 8:17, half mile warm up and cool down
• Thursday - 2.04 miles in 20:39 (10:07 pace)
• Sunday - 4 miles in 42:06 (10:31 pace)

I ran Saturday's run on Sunday due to a pretty serious hangover. It was a stressful weekend.

Here's what this week looks like:

• Monday - 3.5 miles
• Wednesday - 7MM week 4
• Thursday - 2.5 miles
• Saturday - 4 miles

I need to start incorporating sprints into my workouts to help get my mile time down! Maybe I'll turn one run a week into a fartlek. Heh, fart.

7MM - week 3.

Well, not as good as week one, but still pretty good for me. I ran the mile in 8:17. It probably didn't help that I ran right after waking up from a nap.

I think in order to get faster, I have to do more interval workouts. I'll get on that, stat.

Last week was an off week in terms of running. I still got a ton of exercise, just not as much running as I had planned. This week I'm aiming for four runs. Tomorrow will be the first, running three miles with Boyfriend.

I planned out a little training schedule to keep me on track for Beach to Bay, which is in about six weeks. It's nothing compared to half marathon training, I love it. Lots of nice, short runs. It's funny that short runs are anything less than five miles to me now.

Here's my week:

• Tuesday - 3 miles
  
• Wednesday - 7MM week 3 (hopefully this goes better than week 2)
• Thursday - 2 miles
• Saturday - 4 miles

I may mix in some lifting sessions at the gym if my pal and I can sync up our schedules, too.

7MM - week 2 fail.

Well, this week's 7MM was a complete bust. I went to the gym with a pal and we lifted for about half an hour, doing upper body. I guess I didn't anticipate how tiring it was going to be, and also how hard of a time I would have running fast on a treadmill. It turned out to be a short 12 minute interval workout, essentially. I walked for about a quarter of a mile, did my fast section for about .4 miles, then jogged for the rest of the way, slowing down little by little.

Whatever, I got a killer upper body workout so I'll just try again next week, back on the road.

Monday I ended up taking as a rest day because my ankle was feeling a little sore. I'm not going to worry about it because it's only the second rest day I've had since last Sunday. I don't think I'm overdoing it, either, because the mileage is still fairly low.

It was right back on the bandwagon yesterday, though. Boyfriend & I ran 2.57 miles around the neighborhood, it took us about 28 minutes. We sat at around a 10:56 pace, much better than last week's 11:27. It feels good to run with him.

Today is week 2 of 7MM. We'll see how it goes. I think this week may be completed on a treadmill. A pal of mine is bringing me to her gym, I'm thinking about joining. I'll check back in with a recap.

sunday funday.

Except NOT. Work was long, I was hungover, it kind of sucked. I survived, though. After I got off, all I wanted to do was come home and nap but that couldn't happen. I had way too much to do around the house in terms of cleaning. Clothes that needed to be put away, dishes that needed to be washed, floors that needed to be swept, sheets that needed changing... so I sucked it up and did everything I needed to.

After an hour and a half of cleaning, I went for the day's run. 2.05 miles in 20:02. Still sitting at a sub-10:00 min/mile pace which is awesome.

weekly workout schedule (WWS)!

Every Sunday I'm going to plan my runs and workouts for the week. Here's what I've got for this week:

• Sunday - 2 miles
• Monday - 3.5 miles
• Tuesday - 2.5 miles
• Wednesday - 7MM week 2
• Thursday - 4 miles
• Friday - diving
• Saturday - diving

Yep, should be a good week.

damn you, texas.

Yesterday I set out to do my 3.5 mile run around 5PM. Big freakin' mistake. It was so hot outside (at least it felt that way, apparently it was only 80) and the sun was beating down on me. The route I mapped out was a little over four miles and was around campus on the path by the bay. I made it through the outbound and was on my way back home and I just couldn't do it. It was too hot, I was dehydrated, and I had to stop.

This is very much not like me. I have only stopped a run a handful of times, I can count them on one hand. I push myself. It's why I love running. But I knew that it was absolutely not smart to push myself this time. I should have brought my running belt with water, but I didn't. I should have worn a hat but I didn't. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Next time I'll know better.

I stopped at 3.2 miles and walked the rest of the way home. It took my heart rate about half an hour to drop back to normal. Water has never tasted so sweet.

Since we are getting into the heat of summer here in Texas, my running is going to have to adapt. Early morning or late evening runs will be ideal. Make sure to stay hydrated. Bring water on runs, even if it is only three miles. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Be safe, y'all!

As the week is finishing out, I have met all of my goals! I did all my runs, with the exception of today's 3.5 miles which hasn't happened yet but it absolutely will.

Thursday's run was 2.77 miles, completed in a little over 26 minutes. I was sitting at a 9:34 minute/mile pace. Doing speed work has been awesome. It hasn't felt too awesome all the time, it's definitely hard but it's nice to be challenged and to switch it up.

Friday's dive was a damn good work out, as well. I was scrubbing the walls and boy, was it tough. My legs were getting worked from kicking to keep myself up to scrub the upper wall area, my arms were worked from scrubbing the shit off. My core was definitely getting worked out, too.

So cheers to the end of a great week of runs!

7MM - week one.

Not too bad for my first week. In fact, I'd say it was great (minus the fact that it was a little toasty outside for my liking). Here's the breakdown:

• warm up - .5 mile jog, 5:14, 10:28 min/mile pace
• mile run (which ended up a tad longer due to an accidental err in my planned route) - 1.08 miles, 8:43, 8:04 min/mile pace
• cool down - .5 mile jog, 5:13, 10:28 min/mile pace followed by a quick walk around the block

Dude. 8:04. That is my fastest mile in my life I think. It was hard. Especially with the heat. But I did it. Wee! Now to just shave 1:04 off...

in the zone.

Tonight's run was fantastic. I ran with the man friend and we set out to do three miles. We kept a nice, slow, steady pace throughout. The weather was perfect, too. My breathing was totally controlled and I felt nice and strong. I think the small amount of speed work I've been doing is going to help my running overall.

I've never run with someone I'm 'dating'. It was kind of nice. It's a great way to spend time with each other and share the joy (hah) of running. Get those endorphins pumpin' together! We are going to try to make Mondays and/or Tuesdays our running days. We've got to get prepped for the relay in May!

So 3.07 miles under the belt, finished in 35:12, setting us at a 11:30ish min/mile pace. I felt like I could have gone forever. My heart rate dropped back to normal at a great rate, as well.

Then we came home and ate soup.

I managed to run again tonight. I'm going to try to get a run in every day this week, except maybe Friday. I'm diving at work that day and it's a workout in itself. Tentatively, I have this planned:

• Tuesday - three miles with the man, followed by dinner
• Wednesday - my first 7MM one mile run
• Thursday - 2.5 miles
• Saturday - 3.5 miles

So all fairly short runs, but still getting a semi-decent amount of weekly miles in.

I did two 1.22 mile loops around the neighborhood tonight. It was really windy and spooky outside, so I brought a canine unit for backup. Thanks to him, my pace for the first loop was kickass. It took me 10:57, setting me at an 8:58 min/mile pace! Holy cow, that is terrific for me! The second loop I slowed down for and made it in 13:17 (10:53 min/mile pace), setting me an overall workout time of about 25 minutes and an average pace of 9:58.

I'm glad I went. I napped on the couch when I got home, which is something I seem to do almost every day lately. When I woke up I ate leftover fried fish and it was at that point that I decided I should go get moving for a bit.

When I got home, both my pup and I got bathed and now we are in bed. Glorious.

back in the game.

I ran again this evening after work and I feel a million times better about where I'm at. I set out to do a two mile run through the neighborhood that I had mapped out beforehand. Roommate decided to come last minute. Since it was only a two mile run, I decided to pump up the pace a bit. It was tough, but I wouldn't say it was any tougher than the slower run I had done on Friday.

During the run, I completely forgot what my planned route was so I just winged it, hoping that I would come in around two miles. I just set a goal of 23 minutes, just to be on the safe side. Maintaing the pace was hard, but I kept telling myself that it was only two miles. That's it. And I was able to push through and kick my own ass. More proof than running is at least (if not more) as mental as it is physical.

After finishing up and cooling down, I came in to map out the route I had taken. Turned out to be 2.34 miles and I ran it in 22:23. That set me at a 9:34 min/mile average pace. Not too shabby at all! I'm proud of the run, especially because I was super exhausted after work but I still pushed myself out the door with no hesitation.

This week begins my journey towards a seven minute mile, which will be referred to as 7MM from here on out (not to be confused with 7 millimeters). This will be me attempting to consistently improve my one mile time little by little. My goal is to reach seven minutes or less by the end of the year. I feel like that's plenty of time to achieve it. Wednesday is my very first mile, so I'll check back in with a starting point later this week!

After catching up on The Walking Dead tonight and hanging out with the man, I am ready for bed. Goodnight, internet.

working my way back up.

So I finally got a run in on Friday, my first since the race. I decided to stick with the easy, short 5K neighborhood route that I frequented during training. It was strange running it, knowing that the half marathon had already come and gone. But I was glad to be getting back out there after almost two weeks of resting my foot.

It is insane how much fitness can be lost so quickly. This run was quite hard. It doesn't help that I've been smoking more lately (blech). I wanted to quit a few times during the run. I couldn't believe that I was having such a hard time when just two weeks ago I ran 13.1 miles fairly easily. Oh well, I'll just have to get back to that point. I can't imagine it'll take that long since I'm not really starting from scratch.

But the positive note to the run was that I had no foot pain, during or after. So I'll be sticking with 3-4 mile runs mostly for now, just to make sure nothing pops up.

Next scheduled race: Beach to Bay marathon relay in May. I'm in the process of organizing my team.

Over a week has passed since the race and my foot STILL hurts. I'm going to try to get to the doctor this weekend to get it looked at. It sucks. I want to run. I have been walking, though. But it's just not the same.

I want to be comfortable again!

ouch.

Peroneal tendonitis. I believe I may have this. The soreness in my legs has faded, but the sharp pain in my right foot has not. I've been limping around since the race. I had to come back to work today and it's been rough. I've almost been brought to tears multiple times. I've got an ace bandage wrapped around my ankle, holding an ice pack up to it. Hopefully a week of rest will fix the problem..

I don't even care though. I ran a freakin' half marathon.

rockin' and rollin' in nawlins.

Well, it's all over and we did it! This is going to be a lengthy post so bear with me.

For starters, I ended up not running at all the week of the race. It just didn't happen, don't judge. I wasn't sure if it would help me or hurt me, but there was no going back so I was stuck in my position.

We left on Friday afternoon with two of our pals and started the 9-10 hour drive to the Big Easy. It was a long drive, but with good company it was bearable. We passed the time listening to Disney music, talking and laughing, and those bastards watched a movie while I was stuck driving. We finally arrived at our hotel at around 2:30AM. We were hungry and restless. So some food and beer was acquired and we each had one or two. And... I am not proud of this... but I ate Taco Bell for the first (and last) time. Oh, the things you'll eat when hungry. With stomachs full of crap food and Sam Adams, we finally fell asleep around 4:30AM.

I awoke first the next morning. Not surprising since I had a lot of anxiety about something going wrong on the trip. Waking up too late and missing the expo, leaving too late on race day and getting stuck in traffic and missing it... you name it I was probably worried about it. It was my first race, give me a break! After a little printing fiasco with Roommate's confirmation page, we finally made it to the expo and got our swag bag, bibs, shirts, and all of that good stuff. I really like the shirt, and I'm so glad it is made of a workout fabric and not cotton!

We didn't spend much time at the expo, seeing as it was already 3PM and we hadn't eaten yet. This, my friends, is where the trouble started. We went to grab lunch and we had some beers with it. Well, no food and minimal sleep combined with two beers apparently has significant effects on us. After lunch, we were going to walk around the French Quarter, and of course, we found another bar to go to. We played a few games of pool and had a few more beers. When we left there, we walked to the water for the view and then our plan was to head back to the car. Somehow we ended up on Bourbon street. You can guess what ensued. Now, I know this probably wasn't the best idea before a big race, but (as I kept saying during the race "NO REGRETS") I wasn't too worried. I mean, we were in New Orleans for less than 48 hours, it was still early (we were back at the hotel by 7 or 8PM), and I've done many a long run after a few drink the previous night. Had I truly been racing, I would have opted out of the drinks, but I just wanted to finish in no particular time and I knew that I could complete my goal. So pass that drink over this way!

Now, not only did we drink, but then we ordered pizza and I ate probably five slices. Now that, I regret slightly. Because what goes in must come out, and it didn't want to come out before the race so I raced with intestines full of pizza. It made for some slight discomfort near the end...

But okay, let's get into the actual reason for this post: the race. We woke up (probably too) early on race day and got there (probably too) early. We wandered around, got some water, and used the port-o-potties. Finally we started to line up in our corral, which was one of the last ones! We are some slow mutha fuckas. Granted, we did finish 30 minutes before our estimated corral time. It took about forty minutes for all the waves to pass before it was our turn. And off we went!



This run was fun. It was gorgeous outside, the music made me smile, and the excitement of the crowd definitely rubbed off on me. The route took us all around the city, which is so vibrant and beautiful. Up until mile ten was a breeze, which is pretty surprising. There were supporters lining the streets, many of which were cancer survivors. I saw a woman pushing who I assumed was a family member in a wheelchair for the first few miles. It was really amazing. As for Roommate and I, we just talked and laughed and ran and drank water and Gatorade and ate pocket bagel. The bands were pumping us up and we counted high fives.

After sailing through the first nine and a half miles with zero problems, fatigue began to set in. I was tired, my legs hurt, and I could feel a blister forming on my foot. But what do you do in those situations? You fucking march on.

Mile eleven was when the pizza was ready to come out. But I clenched and kept running. I know, I know, probably more than you needed to know. But I've got no shame so deal with it. This happened sporadically (thanks, Clueless!) until the end of the race. The last mile was the real bitch. It felt like it dragged on and on and on. Especially when we got to the park and I was so sure we were done, but we still had half a mile. So on we ran.

Let me tell you, when I saw that finish line, it was the most beautiful thing I could have seen. So we kicked it up a notch and we were finished! We were half marathoners! Our finish time was 2:33:50, setting us at an 11:44 min/mile pace. My tentative goal had been 2:30, but this was definitely close enough for me to be happy. Especially because we ran the entire thing, no walk breaks at all. Plus, we had gone out on the town the night before. It all ended up working out great in the end.

We got our medals and photos taken, and got all sorts of treats to refuel our bodies. Bananas, protein bars, chocolate milk, Gatorade, water. I felt like ass. I forced some food down, fighting nausea, and we walked around and tried to loosen our tight legs up. Somehow, Roommate didn't feel as bad as I did. I spent four months training for this race, he squished most of his training into the last two weeks and ended up with an easier aftermath. That's life for you!

After grabbing jazz brunch (yes, it was as awesome as it sounds) at an amazing cafe, we hit the road. Folks, I do not recommend sitting in a car for nine hours after running 13 miles. It hurts, to say the least. I'm still hurting today, but I'm sure it's nothing a week of rest won't fix up. Overall, the trip was absolutely terrific and I had such a good time. Pictures to come.

I am already planning on running the Rock and Roll San Antonio half marathon in November. I do believe I'm addicted to these things.

7 days...

...and only two more measly three milers 'till the big day. I am so stoked.

winding down, down, down..

And I am officially in taper mode. I successfully completed all of my runs last week, which was a nice change from that previous week where I was just feeling off. Thursday I did a nice four miles in the neighborhood. I took a half day to keep an eye on my little Dottie (who just got spayed Wednesday) so I was able to get my run done earlier than anticipated. I was sitting around the 43 minute mark. Also, I don't think I've mentioned Dottie at all, but she's my new dog! I love her little muppet face.

Anyways, Saturday was the big one. The final long run. The first time hitting double digits. I was hesitant (and when Saturday morning rolled around jeez was I lazy!) but I forced myself out by telling myself that this was the last time I had to do this. Out the door I went! Around mile one I found a soggy ten dollar bill that had been lost on the bridge to campus. I picked it up, lucky me, and told myself that I had to earn each one of those dollars with each mile I ran. Ten miles, ten dollars. Thank you to whoever lost that bill, it helped me get through the run.

I cruised all along my route, waving hello at the triatheletes that were in the biking portion of their race as they zoomed by me. Before I knew it, I was in the home stretch so I kept my head in the game aaaaand... Ten miles. I did it. 1:54 and some change. Only three minutes longer than my 9.5 miles two weeks ago. I'd say that's a win and I am really, really proud of myself.

I celebrated the winding down of training and the badassness of the fact that I ran ten miles by having one of the best days off I've had in a while. Mexican food lunch, beach, moscato, beautiful weather, sunset, friends, fire, music, and boy.

Life is sa-weeeet. T minus fourteen days 'till NOLA.

building momentum again.

I finally got off my ass and ran yesterday. Instead of doing my planned 4 miles, I swapped for my Thursday 3 miles for time. I had some friends in town so the shorter run was better. I did this run on the treadmill - three miles in 29 minutes. Not too shabby. No knee pain, no soreness today.

That's all I've really got for today.

an off week, trying to adapt.

Want to know how many runs I did last week? ZERO. NONE. Ugh. I know I needed to cut back a bit because of the knee issues that I had after last week's 9.5 miles, but seriously, Nina? No runs at all? I could have at least done one three or four miler. Buuuuut I didn't, and while I don't think it was totally necessary to have taken the whole week off, I feel that I kind of needed it mentally. I'm on the verge of getting burnt out and I am so looking forward to this half marathon being over so that running becomes something enjoyable again, and not something that I have to do, with all my runs planned out months in advance. I want to be able to lace up and just go, without any set distance, route, or time in mind.

But I will not let my lazy week get me down, I've come too far to give up now. I'm going to pick myself back up and move on. Only three more weeks 'till NOLA and this is what it's going to look like in running:

This week: Mon - 4 miles, Thurs - 3 miles, Saturday - 10 miles (last long run of training)

Next week: Tues - 3 miles, Thurs - 3.5 miles, Saturday - 4 miles

Last week of training (!!): Tues - eeeeaaaassy 3 miles, Fri - travel to NOLA, Sun - 13.1 miles, baby.

And then I will sleep for a week straight.

change of plans.

There are going to be some slight adjustments to the remainder of my training schedule. Right now I've got two more long runs, planned to be an 11 miler and a 12 miler. Not. Going. To. Happen.

After the way my knees were feeling after last week's 9.5 miles, I don't think it's wise. My right knee was pain free after a day, but today my left knee has started to twinge. SO... the plan is to do ten miles this weekend and be done with it - on to tapering. Even if I just do the 9.5 again I think I'd be okay. I don't want to push too much.

Following the last long run, I'll have two weeks to keep up my shorter runs, varying from 3-5 miles, and then the last few days before the race I'll totally ease up.

I'm not sure if I will do my planned run tonight if my knee keeps tweaking today. Only three miles on the schedule but I'd rather miss it and take a needed rest than do it and have my knee explode.

ouch.

Another week down in training. Thursday I came very close to skipping my run in lieu of cleaning the house, but I decided to man up and just DO IT. I did this run on the treadmill. I really kind of appreciate my treadmill runs, they aren't so bad. I like that I can keep track of my speed easily. My 3.5 miles went like this:

warm up walk
1st mile - 6mph
2nd mile - 6.5mph
3rd mile - 7mph (!! one of my fastest miles yet)
last .5 mile - 6.5mph, then 6mph
cool down

It was a good run, I felt strong. Not so much can be said for my long run this week. Well, I guess that's a lie, I felt pretty good during the run. It's the aftermath that is unpleasant. I had 9.5 miles on my plate yesterday and I conquered them. Totally annihilated. When I hit the seven mile marker I couldn't believe how good I still felt. Same with mile eight. I definitely had to dig deep for the last half mile, but I think that was more mental than physical. I knew I was almost done and that made my mind turn itself off.

After the run, I was obviously tired, especially my legs. But I noticed a clicking in my knee, accompanied by slight pain. I'm hesitant to even call it pain, maybe just discomfort. I iced and stretch but it lingered throughout most of the day. I can feel it today, the following day, but mostly only when I go down or up stairs. My legs are just sore, overall. This is the first time I've been sore from a run in a while! I'm hoping a few days of rest will clear the whole thing up. It makes me nervous, though.

After all of this training, I'm really not sure how I feel about distance running. I feel like it gets to a point where it's not even that enjoyable anymore (I usually hit this around mile 7). It hurts. It's hard. The main redeeming value of these long runs is the satisfacting and feeling of accomplishment when I successfully complete the miles. After New Orleans, I might stick to 10ks. That is, if my knee doesn't go out on me.

February goals

My goals for February are:

• complete all of my training runs
• stretch more after runs, long runs especially
• do more things for myself and stop focusing on what other people want from me
• do zumba at least twice (I miss shaking my ass)
• less TV, more reading
  
• cook and bake more and experiment with new recipes

last run of the month.

And it was a good one. I decided to switch things up and run downtown today instead of sticking to the normal neighborhood route I do. I packed my running stuff this morning and brought it to work with me so I could fit the run in before I went home. I ran the entire seawall and up and down one of the T-heads. It was about 4.5 miles run in 48:09. I felt pretty good and peppy the whole time, plus it was beauuuutiful today. The weather was in the sixties and there was a nice breeze as I headed south, but not too windy to be unpleasant (like the race).

Heading into my last month of training, weeee! My 9.5 mile route is already mapped out for Saturday. Going all the way back to my house is 10 miles, so I have the option of stopping at 9.5 if I feel like death, or just finishing up the last half mile. We'll see how it goes! I have gummy bears ready to be consumed.

January goals revisited

My goals were as follows:

• complete all of my training runs I missed one training run because I was sick, but I'd say that's not too shabby. With an extra run from the beginning of the month, I still hit my 13 runs for the month.
• run the Surf N Turf 10K in less than 69 minutes (maintaing at least an 11 min/mile pace) 1:07:25! Definitely rocked this one, and got third place in my age group! SUCCESS!
• eat 6+ servings of fruits and vegetables every day I would say I did this at least 2/3 of the time, but definitely stopped keeping track after two weeks.
• get at least 7 hours of sleep every night Same as above, probably about 2/3 of the time.
• no booze, no cigarettes FAIL.

first race recap!

My first real race, the 2012 Surf N Turf 10k, is OVER! And let me tell you, it was a doozy. I was a bit concerned about it before hand, not because of the distance but because of the sand. I had never run on sand before and I wasn't sure what the beach was going to be like on race day. It turned out to be perfect. Lots of hard packed, flat sand for everyone to run on.

We got there nice and early to get a decent parking spot and we enjoyed some tunes while I sipped a cup of coffee and had a couple of pre-race jitter bathroom breaks. Finally, the runners started to line up. Half marathoners went first, promptly at 9AM, and us 10k-ers started two minutes after. The first leg of the race was a little disheartening. The wind was strong and people were passing us left and right. We ended up being at the end of the pack of 10k runners. Then 5k people started passing us. Well, it proves that slow and steady wins the race because we soon began to pass a ton the 10k runners that had passed us initially.

The first 4 miles of the race were divine. The beach was beautiful, the weather was PERFECT, and even though there were six year old children passing me I didn't care. My pace felt good and peppy and we even started to pick up beach garbage while we ran. According to Josh's GPS, our first three miles were paced something like 10:20, 9:54, and 10:15. Oh yes, it was lovely.

Until the turn around. Holy god, the turn around. Until then we had been running with the wind. All of a sudden, after already running four miles, I was expected to run into winds of who knows how fast. Our pace dropped to more than a 12 minute mile. Unbelievable. I was jogging, just trying to keep up momentum, and I was going as fast as people that were walking. I wanted to cry at a few points because it was the toughest running that I have ever, ever, ever done. But I pushed on, cursing occasionally, and after 2 miles we were back on the pavement facing a sign that so joyously stated '0.9 miles left!' We were now running in a different direction and the wind lessened a bit.

Those two miles took so much out of me and we were getting dangerously close to our goal time of 69 minutes. I didn't think I was going to make it and at that point I didn't really care. I just wanted it to be over. Finally, the finish line was in sight and that's when my nausea hit. After pushing so hard on the beach with the wind, and then trying to pick up the slack once we hit pavement again, I was at my maximum. I told Josh I thought I was going to throw up and he simply told me "Wait 'till the end." So I did. We rounded the corner and sprinted to the finish line. Final time: 1:07:25. I made my goal, with a few minutes to spare.

Once we started walking, I started gagging. I didn't reaaaaally throw up but a little bit of Gatorade came up, I'll admit. After a few minutes of walking I was right back to normal and jogged around the parking lot a little. We bided our time while waiting for the results to post by eating bananas, downing cups of water, and stretching. And finally, the 10k results were up... and....

I GOT THIRD PLACE IN MY AGE GROUP! Not even out of three! There were five runners in my group. And I didn't place last. It was the best feeling in the world. I won a medal and got to stand on one of those special 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place podium things and get my picture taken. After the hardest run of my life, and my first true race ever, I actually placed. It ruled, and I am officially addicted to races. Also, I won a free dinner for two in the door prize drawing. Overall, a total win.


I've got five weeks until my half marathon and I am feeling good about it. I can totally fucking do this.

I'm still not feeling 100% but I'm doing my three mile run today, anyways. I feel much better than I did the previous two days. I've been getting enough sleep and eating really, really well and it's making me think... why don't I do this all the time?! I'm going to spend the rest of the month focusing on eating good, delicious, healthy foods and getting enough sleep and treating my body nicely. I think it's especially critical, now that I'm getting into the most intense part of my half marathon training. It's the last six weeks, the last thing I need is to be tired and improperly fueled.

Also, lately I've been thinking I want to shed some of these pounds. I didn't start running with that intention, it was mostly to feel better and test myself with a goal that seemed impossible but I knew was achievable (yet challenging). I know now, just over halfway through training, that I am capable of much more than I ever gave myself credit for. Now that I'm there mentally, I'd like to make things easier physically by losing some of my fluff. My tentative goal is to lose 15-20 pounds over the course of the next 'X' amount of time. Definitely by next year, but that's giving myself a lot of leeway.

The notion of losing weight isn't so much for vanity. I'm content with the way I look and I know that I'm strong and fit because, well fuck, I don't know a whole lot of people that run more than two miles. Mostly I just want to treat my body better and feed it with quality foods and incorporate exercise into my daily life, not just for training purposes. I know that I will feel better mentally and physically, and when you feel good the world is just a brighter place.

stuffy nose, stuffy weather.

I woke up Tuesday with congestion from hell and an irritated throat. I stayed home from work and, obviously, opted out of my three mile run. I've got my 10K on Saturday, anyways, so I know it's not going to hurt to taper a little bit, even if it is a shorter race. Hopefully I'll be feeling up to running tomorrow. It does suck, though, because I had set a goal for myself to not miss any training runs this month and now I have missed one.

I've armed myself for battle today, though. Yesterday I spent all day resting on the couch. Today I brought healthy food to work (soup, carrots, apple slices, an orange, strawberries, and oatmeal for breakfast), I'm staying hydrated with lots of water and hot tea, and I've got cough drops and Emergen-C, along with Mucinex and Excedrin already in my system. Hopefully with another good night's sleep I'll have kicked whatever this is.

brief, tired.

Saturday's eight miles... oh boy. It was tough. I was at a slower pace than I've been in a while but I don't give a shit because I still ran eight miles. It took me an hour and a half. Over an 11:00 min/mile pace. Whatevz.

Running my first official 10K this weekend! It'll be nice to have an easier long run day (although the race is on the beach, which may prove more difficult than I'm anticipating). I'm going to enjoy the mileage cut back because the following week is 9.5 miles. HOLY. SHIT. How am I going to do it? My brain is my worst enemy on these runs. Boredom is brutal. Must find entertainment. But even though it seems unfathomable, I know I'll manage, even if I want to die and sleep in a lawn before finishing.

Early to bed tonight and for the rest of the week. I've got some serious sleep to catch up on.

i'm back!

I feel like I haven't posted here in forever, but it turns out it's only been a week. Since my last post, I've been keeping up with my runs and on Saturday I ran the longest run I have ever run in my entire life - 7.17 miles. I seriously feel like such a badass. Me? Run 7 miles? Straight? Yep, that's right. I celebrated the achievement thoroughly at our homemade pizza party that night. Now every Saturday is going to boost my confidence even more as I continue to beat my own records.

Today for my 4 mile run, I ran a route that I used when I had my four mile 'long' run. I remember running it back then and stopping RIGHT when I hit the four mile mark, even though I usually just make it back to the house before stopping, regardless of if I go a little over on the scheduled miles. That day, though, I didn't even make it back to the house. I did what I had to do and not a bit more. I basically gave up. Today I made it back to the house and felt good. It totaled 4.32 miles and I ran it in 46:27. My progress is clear and it is awesome.

My mood has been a little weird lately. I've been feeling a little out of place in my world. Running is my therapy.

keeping momentum.

I switched my Tuesday run to yesterday since I had the offer of company! A pal of mine rode a bike with me while I did my four miles. It was nice to have someone there to chat with and definitely made the run more bearable. I only checked my time once as I was in the home stretch, just to see where I was sitting with my time. Right on schedule - I was at a 10:40 min/mile pace and finished the run in 43:19.

I'm glad I have a few days off before my next run, my legs are tired today!

This week will also mark the longest run I have for sure ever done in my entire life - seven miles. I feel 100% confident. From here on out, every week will be a new record for me. I am entering unknown territory and it feels awesome.

feelin' like a badass.

Not gonna lie, this morning has been pretty awesome. My alarm went off at 6:45AM, and I'll admit I hit snooze once or twice, but I was out of bed by 7AM. I grabbed a pre-run snack, got dressed, and started my run. Six miles. One of the longest runs, if not THE longest run, I've done in my life. With the way my 5.5 mile run went last week, I was a bit concerned, but holy shit this run was amazing. I felt strong the whole time. I did 6.04 miles in 63:29. So I'm still keeping a sub-11:00 min/mile pace. According to the HRM, I burned 857 calories. Daaaaaaaaaamn. I'm ready to eat pasta tonight!

I bought a new pair of running shoes and a running belt yesterday. The shoes are the Mizuno Wave Runners. I'm not sure how I feel about them yet. I took them for a short test run yesterday and I felt like my legs were tweaking a little more than normal, but if I remember correctly my old Asics did the same when I first got them and now I love them. They have certainly been good to me. I'll keep them around for the long runs until I break in the new shoes with the short runs. I wore the running belt for the first time today and I kind of love it. It wasn't remotely uncomfortable and I liked being able to carry the water bottles around and stay hydrated during the run. I feel like that may have been a contributing factor to my terrific run today.

The folks are coming into town soon. Our pasta dinner will be made with homemade tomato sauce (from homegrown tomatoes) and homegrown eggplant. Did I mention I can't wait to eat pasta?