Wednesday, May 8, 2013

New Training Plan

Well Monday I was excited to really start running again after about a month off of doing nothing. I think the break was much needed, but I was ready to start again seeing as I have a hopefully packed second half of the year.

I was planning on going out for an easy 3 miles to see what I could do. After mile 1 I was feeling great. This was until I managed to trip over a ginormous partially eaten apple and I went tumbling to the ground. So my run abruptly ended at 1.11 miles with pretty decent wounds on my right hand and knee, and some pain in my left ankle.

By the end of the night, my ankle was the size of a softball. Yay! What a fantastic start to my summer and to my training. Right now I'm doing everything I can to stay off of it and just rest. It's not very fun, but I'd rather do that than hurt myself further.

I'll save you from the grusome pictures of my injuries. Hopefully I'll have some more training updates and life updates soon.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Goals for Summer

This summer and fall will be the first time I will have had a busy race schedule planned out. This isn't a huge surprise considering I've only been running a year, but it will include some experimenting with training plans.

During the first half of the summer I'm hoping to just sort of wing it with mileage. This week I'm hoping to make a plan of my own until I can start my marathon training for this December. I figure if I'm going to start planning my miles I should probably have some goals in mind.


Summer Goals:

1. Do more cross training.
I would really like to have some more yoga, swimming, cycling, and weight training during my running schedules. I'm looking to be as well rounded of an athlete as I possibly can.

2. Work on speed.
After my surprising half marathon finish time, I would really like to boost my speed workouts and become faster this year.

3. Stretch and foam roll more often
I still have a bit of an issue with tight IT bands and I know foam rolling and stretching will definitely help lessen this problem.

4. Enjoy my rest days.
I definitely enjoy my rest days now, but seeing as this summer might be the last one before I get a big kid job, I want to take as many adventures as possible and really work on crossing things off my bucket list!

Hopefully I can use my summer to my full advantage and get better as an athlete and as a runner!

Until next time!

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Florida hot

I LOVE hot weather! Growing up in Michigan my summers were definitely still full of 80 degree days, but the weeks we came to Disney World were another level of hot. There's a big difference in 85 degrees for each place, to say the least.

I still love it though. I would much rather be hot than cold. However, I have no idea how people can run at noon on any day above 70ish in Florida. Are you crazy?? How are you not dying of heat exhaustion??

Apparently my body doesn't do well like this. "But you'll sweat," they say!. "It'll be great," they say! Oh yes, until my pace drops to a jog of a 25 minute mile pace and I'm keeling over to die.



Needless to say I do not enjoy running I'm the heat. I would much rather run in the evening. The sun is going down, it's getting cooler, there are less people out, the sky is beautiful, and oh yeah, it's not HOT!!

You'll have to forgive my extreme opinion on the matter and I really do think people who run during the middle of the hot Florida sunshine are nutso, but if you aren't passing out and dying, all the more power to ya.

Thoughts on running in the heat?

Until next time!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I am Boston

Yesterday was extremely devastating to me. The events at Boston were so horrific and they hit so close to home. I think anyone who has ever run a race or seen one in progress understands what I mean.

That could have been me. That could have been my family, my boyfriend, or my friends. While I may not know anyone directly affected, they are my family and friends. I am a runner. I am what happened at Boston. It will forever be a part of who I am as an athlete. I may never qualify or run Boston, but I was a part of this years race. Everyone in the running community was.

We must stand together and be the fighters each one of us is. We will move past this terrible event and we will grow stronger.

My thoughts go out to everyone in Boston and anyone affected by this tragedy. You are so incredibly strong.



Monday, April 15, 2013

My Race Calendar

I'm finally starting to plan out my race calendar for the year. I realize most people do this in January, but I was so focused on the Tour de Pain: Extreme that I didn't really look at anything else.

I'm hoping to get at least one run in every month after August. While I've only signed up for 1 race this fall, here are the plans I'm hoping go through!

August: Tour de Pain in Jacksonville, FL



September: ? I'm hoping for a 10k, but I would be ok with a few 5k's

October: Marine Corp Half in Jacksonville



November: Disney's Wine and Dine Half in Orlando, Fl. I have signed up for this one!



December: Space Coast Marathon in Cocoa, Fl



Better late than never right?

Also, Good Luck to everyone running Boston today!! What an exciting day of racing!!


Until Next time!!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Post Race Blues

Two weeks after my amazing weekend of races (recaps herehere, and here), I have been struggling with the post race blues. I took an entire week of running after the race to do nothing but stretch and relax. This week I have spent every day since Tuesday doing some form of cross training.

School offers so many different group fitness classes that I figured if I could find a friend or two to join me, I would have a better chance of going. This week I attended a total body class, a core class, a cycling class, and a total body adventure class. I also ran (this is a loose term) 2 miles and went to the gym where I did 2 miles on the treadmill and some weights.



I loved the total body class. This kicked my butt and made me realize how much I want to be a more well rounded athlete. I was sore for days!!

I also greatly enjoyed my core class and the total body adventure class I took. Core was basic. 30 minutes and a great workout with a great teacher. TBA was taken outside and we did circuits for most of it. I LOVED this. It was definitely hard, but I enjoyed every minute of it. And we saw a lady with her huge bunny outside. Did you know bunnies get that big??

Not the same bunny, but still huge!
On to the gym day with my boyfriend. Again, I just haven't really had the motivation to do much running. The 2 miles on the treadmill were killer. My body was fine, but my mind won and I got off at 2. Here's the really cool thing. I walked over to Tim, who had been benching on the bench machine, and he caught me staring at the regular bench. "Want to try?" I have no idea why this response came out of my mouth "Yeah," but it did. First time benching. It was HARD!! He had me do 10 with just the bar, 8 with 50lbs, and 6 with 55lbs. Those were the hardest. But hey! I did it!! Who would have thought?? Not me, that's for sure.



I'm really looking forward to testing my body and pushing it to it's limits and becoming a better runner and better athlete!!

Until next time!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Tour de Pain: Extreme 5k

After my amazing half marathon that Saturday morning, Tim and I went back the hotel to rest and shower and stretch. Side note, the race had physical therapy students from the University of North Florida there to stretch people out. My amazing boyfriend observed exactly how they stretched my IT bands and surprised me by stretching them for me later that day. How great is he??

Jaguar's Stadium

Anyways, after we checked out we headed to the beach. I've never been to Jacksonville before this so it was exciting to cross another beach off my list. It was gorgeous out. We didn't have swimsuits, but walking with our feet in the ice cold water was still very fun. It was a beautiful day, but the beach wasn't terribly crowded so this made it amazing.




After our lovely walk, we headed to Tim's friend's house to chill until we all had to go back for the 5k. I'm not going to lie I enjoyed doing nothing and relaxing for the afternoon.

We all headed back around 5 so we had time to be there and get situated before the 6pm 5k began. I have to tell you that after running a 10k and a half marathon in less than 24 hours, a 5k is the last thing you'd like to do.

The 5k had a similar course to the other races, but obviously shorter. My body hated this race. I must have walked close to half of it. I would have walked across the finish line if a lovely woman hadn't said "Come on girl, you can do it!" about .25 before the finish. Thank you random stranger! You are awesome!!

Struggle Bus to the finish

I still finished in 33:57. Not my best 5k ever, but I can't really complain for how much I had put my body through already.

New friends and our new medals!

Overall, this was a fantastic weekend. I greatly enjoyed getting to know Tim's old friends better, seeing new places, going to the beach, spending time with my man, and running some great races. I'm not sure if I would do this one again, but you can bet I'll be doing the regular Tour de Pain come August!!

Until Next Time!!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Tour de Pain: Extreme Half Marathon

Walking into the half marathon Saturday morning at 7am I had hoped to run in under 2:30 and was actually hoping to maybe get closer to 2 hours and 20 minutes if i was really feeling good. Either way I would be besting my previous PR by about 26 minutes and that is something to be proud of.

Tim in 2 hats and my sunglasses around his neck! Silly goose!
The morning of, Tim and I got there early and met up with his 2 friends who live there now and chatted a bit to waste time. It definitely helped calm my nerves. The weather was nice, but a little chilly and while everyone else was taking off their long sleeves I kept mine on. (I would later regret this and ran 12.1 of my miles with it off.) Before we knew it we were lining up at the line and ready to go.


This course also included the big blue bridge in the beginning and my first mile came out to 10 something. At mile 2 I watched the sunrise here. It was breathtaking. After that I got a sort of push and was teetering just under 10 minute pace.

Ran this quite a few times over the 3 races! 

Sunrise over the bridge above. 
By mile 4 I had started to follow this girl who was pushing low to mid 9 pace and I kept with her until about mile 9.5. I really credit this girl with helping push me through. After that I started to drop off severely. My pace dropped and I needed fuel. Which I got at mile 10 thank goodness, but my pace still suffered. I went from pacing in the 9's to high to low 11 at the finish.

Booking it to the finish

None of this seemed to matter though because that 2:20? Yeah. I blew it out of the water. I ran my half marathon in 2:11:40. Talk about success!! I got a PR and bested my last time by about 45 minutes! Now I hadn't run a half marathon in just over a year, but that's quite an accomplishment. I have to say that I never thought that was possible. It made this race so special and I was so proud of what I had done.

I am a champion. I am an athlete. I am a runner.

Until next time!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Tour de Pain: Extreme 10k

The amazing tour de pain: extreme series in Jacksonville started with a 10k at 7pm last Friday night. I have to preface this with the fact that I had never run a 10k before!! I was nervous and very excited about the new distance and an automatic personal record. This race wasn't too big and I was happy it wasn't going to be super crowded.

T and I got there early so I could do a little warm up and get my time chip. We did some exploring and then I kissed him goodbye as I headed towards the starting line. I knew I didn't want to go all out on this race and tried to keep it as easy of a pace as possible, knowing I still had 2 races to go!



The 10k course was a down and around that included both bridges near the Jacksonville landing, an overpass, and a pedestrian bridge. Having looked briefly at the course before hand, I hadn't noticed this at all. Oh well. All the more challenge for me!


big bridge and sunset!

I got some great sunset pictures though! It was nice to not have to worry too much about the timing and just really enjoy the course. And I did, as I suffered running over the big bridges. One, I might add, that didn't have a solid bottom so you could just look down and see the water! This part boggled my mind a little bit.



Overall, I finished in 1:04:10. I was extremely happy with this time. Like I said before, I wasn't really racing it and I got some great pictures in the mean time! And who doesn't love running by and over the water?? This was a very fun race.

Look out for my half marathon update tomorrow!!

Until next time!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

It's been awhile..

It has definitely been awhile since I've given an update and I've been busy and not busy. If that makes any sense.

Last week I did whole lot of nothing leading up to my race weekend. This is not what I had in mind for a taper week, but laziness set in and took control. It was definitely a nice break.

Then of course last weekend was the Tour de Pain: Extreme. 22.4 miles of craziness!! Update coming soon!



This week I have yet to run due to sore calves which I'm using as an excuse to take another week break.

The orange and blue football game was today and I greatly enjoyed watching the pieces of it that I did.


The NEDA walk in Gainesville is tomorrow.

Monday I get to start running again and with another partner!! I'm excited about this one because she is a faster runner by a lot! Maybe another half marathon PR is in my reach!

I'm also starting to look at my race calendar for the end of the year to see what I can come up with.

There will be a lengthy update on tdp in the next few days. Hopefully my blogging skills get better as well!

Until Next time!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Craziness

Well it's been quite a week!! I've not exactly had a bunch of free time, but it's Friday and now I have too much free time!

I've spent most of this week studying for 2 tests that were today and yesterday. Along with studying came study group and 2 meetings. I only got 2 runs done, but I figure it was a good week to let my body take a break because my mind was doing so much work!!

I am officially one week away from my race weekend!! I booked a hotel today! Yay!! I'll be staying about a mile away from the race due to the fact that the host hotel was much more expensive than this college girl can afford!! I'm getting very excited!!

The only thing that separates me from this race is a small paper, two 3 mile runs, a 2 mile walk, and a lot of stretching, foam rolling, and rest!! I'm really hoping for a PR in my half marathon and I'll be getting an automatic PR in my 10k because I've never run one!! I might just have fun with the 10k though and take pictures so my legs aren't too tired for my half less than 12 hours later. Yikes!!

I can't say that anything too exciting is going on right now other than my race and school. I have an 8 mile run this weekend and then I'll be doing a bunch of lounging.

I did go grocery shopping today though! I'm super excited to be trying a few new recipes and redoing a few we liked from the last round. This batch of recipes includes sweet potato burgers, zucchini fries, rice and bean burgers, turkey burgers, the lovely stuffed pepper recipe we had not too long ago, and a few others. As you might be able to tell, I've been craving burgers lately and I feel like these are much healthier options. Especially when you think about how to fuel the week before the race!

I think that's enough rambling for now!

Until Next Time!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

New Shoes!

If you read my last post  you know that I just got a new pair of running shoes!! I also purchased my first very nice pair of running socks.They were much needed and yesterday was the first day I got to take them out.


My run was just a 4 miler and I unfortunately I got a tad bit excited and raced the first 2 miles. Oops!! I went out way too fast, but even with the last 2 miles I stayed under 10 minutes with some stops and walking for a few seconds. It was a great run that I finished in under 39 minutes. I'm really proud of that. I know that this might be an anomaly, but I'm hoping that these new shoes will help free me enough to get some faster pacing in. 


These are my new socks. They were very interesting to try. They have great cushioning and of course the color is fantastic. If only they'd had orange.... Anyways. I'm looking forward to breaking these in a little bit and getting some mileage on them!! 

Overall, I am very happy with my new products and am looking forward to see how they hold up on me!! 

Also if you didn't notice, I took pictures of the funny ducks I pass on my route. I couldn't help it. I was enjoying every part of the experience!! 

Until Next Time!! 

QOTD: Have you ever taken pictures of something fun on your run???


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Weekend Review

It's been a bit of an exciting weekend here in my house.

 Friday was the first day that it was actually warm. I was so excited!! Finally some warm weather!! It's too bad it's the end of my spring break. I was hoping to get an adventure in over the weekend, but that was to no avail. Tim had some work stuff to deal with and it was dragged out far enough that a trip just wasn't possible. Oh well!! Sometime soon perhaps.

Saturday I had to drag myself out of bed for a run. I didn't even get up until after 9. This can be difficult when you have 12 miles and you know it will take you over 2 hours. Well, that didn't go so great for me. After another painful run after about 5 or 6 miles, I had had enough. At mile 7 I took off my shoes and called Tim to come get me. I proceeded to run an extra mile or so in just my socks. I have to say I loved it. Other than having to watch for acorns, sticks, and glass, I felt really good doing this.

 I knew my shoes were the problem. They have been fighting my natural stride and causing major problems on my long runs. Enough already!! I went home, showered, and headed straight to the mall. I ended up falling for 2 pairs of shoes. The Brooks Pure Flow 2 and the Newton Distance. In LOVE!!! I opted for the Pure Flow 2 because of the price and the fact that I have 3 weeks until my races and I need a training shoe. I'm thinking about going back for the Newton's before summer just to have it as a race shoe. The Flow 2's are perfect though. They have  4mm drop, they are a mid strike shoe, and they are exactly what I need for running on my toes already. I can't wait to try them out on my 4 mile run tomorrow. I'll have a review then!


While I was at the store, I grabbed a pair of Experia socks and a few new GU flavors I'm excited to try. 

In other news, today is Sunday and I plan on just doing a bit of stretching and foam rolling to help my hips. Nothing too exciting. Maybe attempting to get back in the swing of things for school tomorrow. We'll see what happens! 

Until Next Time! 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Ramblings of a College Student

I am currently on spring break. No, I'm not writing this is Cancun, my beach front hotel somewhere, the Keys, or my room on a cruise. I'm writing this in my cozy apartment in North Central Florida. I can say that the most exciting aspects of this week have been sleeping in past 7am, cooking new food, and going out to eat on a few occasions. I know, I know. Spring break only comes once a year, so I might as well go crazy.

Seriously though, I've had a pretty good week. I made 3 new recipes and we loved all 3!!! I made zucchini pizza sticks, spaghetti squash, and stuffed eggplant.


They were all extremely simple recipes and the only one that took a bit longer to make was the stuffed eggplant. 

For the zucchini rolls we cut zucchini in half length wise, scooped a little canyon into each half, put some spaghetti sauce in the crevice, added some cheese and baked at 350 until the zucchini was soft. You could really do a lot with this recipe. You could add toppings and different sauces and cook to different softness. It was really quite simple and we didn't go too crazy because we didn't have too much in the house. 

The spaghetti squash was another simple one. Cut the squash in half length wise and scoop the pumpkin like goop out of the center. Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour in a 375 degree oven. Ours were done about 45 minutes in. Then remove strands with a fork. We added a little bit of parm cheese and some pasta sauce and fell in love with this!! Neither of us had had spaghetti squash before so it was one we look forward to trying again. 

For the stuffed eggplant recipe we had to modify just a bit because we didn't have everything. It was still super simple and I was done cooking everything in about 30-45 minutes. We loved this one as well. Both of us have had eggplant Parmesan, but to just have the eggplant was new to us. The stuffing made it so flavorful and it's so healthy with the filling being mostly veggies and some ground turkey. 

Try these!!! They will not disappoint!! 

On a running note, I've had some rough runs this week that didn't get to the distance I wanted. I missed a 6 by .7 and a 4 by .25, but I'm taking today as a super rest day to stretch, foam roll, and relax before my 12 mile run tomorrow. It will be my last big run before I start to taper next week. I'm getting more excited every day for the races at the end of the month!! I can't wait!! 

From Here





Sorry for the long post today!! Until Next Time!!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Healthy Eating

I have to say that for a broke college student, finding recipes that are cheap, easy, healthy, and most importantly cheap are hard to find. A lot of recipes I find expect that your kitchen is stocked or have quite an ingredients list. It's very difficult to just find simple!

Enter Pinterest. The Mecca of recipes. I have been able to find so many and have successfully tried a few. The links to blogs and new things are endless!!

Because Friday was my 2 year anniversary with Tim and we weren't sure we wanted to go out, making dinner was a great option. I used this time to pick about 4 new recipes to make for the week and shopping we went!! I was so excited that we didn't spend much at all. And we got so much healthy stuff!! Not to mention a 9x13 pan I've been dying to get.

We ended up making stuffed peppers. It was so simple and took less than an hour to make. Here is where the recipe came from. It was so delicious and made my 11 mile run the next day feel amazing. Simple and small ingredient list made this a winner. I really can't wait to try it again. You should too!!


Hopefully I'll have some more amazing recipes and pictures as the week goes on! 

Until next time! 

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Progress

So I am officially signed up for the Tour de Pain: Extreme for March 29 and 30th!! I couldn't be more excited for these races. While the medals and tshirts help the cause, this is more about the challenge.

I'm sitting here on my couch next to my puppy in all of my race gear waiting to see if I have to run 11 miles by myself or with my running buddy. I don't know if you just read that, but I'm about to run 11 miles. 11 miles!!! Can you believe that??? Yes, I've run a half marathon already. No, I'm not new to the distance. This is different though. I feel like I'm training for the first time for real.

When I trained for the Princess Half marathon in 2012 I could probably use the term "train" loosely. Yes, I printed a plan, I gave myself a month to get up to running 3 miles, and I was as ready as a non runner could be to run. About a month before the race my schedule got crazy and I stopped training. The longest run I had before I stopped was 7 miles. This is still a good distance, but it is still 6 miles short of a half marathon. Needless to say, the half marathon was one of the hardest things I've ever done. My mile times were all over the place. When I started I was at low 11 and by the time I got to 7 or 8 I was getting up to 14, 15, and 16 minute paces. I was able to speed back up to about 12 or 13 for the last few miles, but it wasn't fun.

Ignore my messy desk!

I was not prepared!!! Preparation is key. If you're not ready you could really hurt yourself. I just wanted to run the race and get the medal. From then on I was hooked on Disney races and trying to better myself.

I did train for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 miler. I actually lost a bit of weight doing so. I stuck to my training and began to figure out my pacing. The race had other plans for me though. The humidity and the boring course had me at high 11 minute pace when I had been training at around a 10:30. It was very disappointing.



So this is my first chance to really prove myself. After coming off my injury I'm ready to do big things. I have my 2:30 goal for the half in mind and I couldn't be more excited. I've come so far since I started training for the first half and I have grown and become the athlete I once was. Running is my new best friend and I have a feeling we're going to go very far together.

Until next time!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

"Bad" food

While being an advocate for eating disorder awareness and it being National Eating Disorder Awareness week, I really shouldn't be putting this post in terms of "bad" food.

Let's just say for the past four or five days I've been eating a bit too much of the unhealthier stuff. I think it's absolutely ok to splurge and have the treat you want without punishing yourself, I did go a little overboard. My body told me that it wasn't exactly happy with me during my 4 mile run today. Now I've talked about my love/hate relationship with the four mile runs and this was no exception.

My run went great. I ran about a 10:31 pace which I believe is the fastest I've ever done 4 miles before with a time of 42:05, but my body felt awful. My stomach was cramping and after my workout yesterday and my long run Sunday, I wasn't feeling too great. I could feel that I was going at a good pace, but I didn't enjoy any of it.

It's so important to get the food that your body needs to function during workouts like this. I knew it wasn't going to be fun and I knew this from previous running and swimming experience. What you put in your body is directly correlated with how it functions! Starting with dinner tonight I plan on getting back on track so my body is ready for it's 5 miles tomorrow, 4 on Thursday, and 11 on Saturday.

Good food=Happy body

Until Next Time!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Weekend Review

I've been quite a busy bee this past week and it looks as though I'll have another busy one ahead. I do have time for a quick weekend review though.

Saturday I ran the 5k with Daisy. She absolutely loved every minute of it. My mapmyrun app says that we ran it in about 29 minutes, but we'll wait to see what the official times were. I loved this event and the goodies I got along with it. We received a very cute t shirt along with some coupons for free one night boarding. This might be nice for a getaway soon. I loved the photo booth set up for us and I'm excited to see how the pictures came out that weren't taken on my phone. The weather was hot, but it was a great route mostly along a trail downtown. It was quiet and there weren't crowds of people or cars. I also passed a quaint park while running that I'm looking forward to getting back to soon. Overall I thought that this 5k was set up beautifully and I would definitely do it again next year. Most of all, Daisy loved every second of being around other dog friends and running with them!!




Sunday was eventful as well. I moved my long run to this day seeing as Saturday after the 5k I needed a break. I ran 10 miles in about an hour and 57 minutes. Whoo! I bested my 10 mile time from the Twilight Zone 10 miler by about 10 minutes. It wasn't the easiest run I have ever done, but I did it and I ran 99% of it. I think this is a good sign although I would like to be a little faster to make my 2:30 goal for the half marathon at the end of March!! The weather being cloudy and humid definitely had an affect and the not so great diet for the weekend as well. I'm not complaining too much. It's an unofficial PR and I'll take it!

Other than that my life has been pretty uneventful. Studying and getting ready for spring break are the major things on my list!! This week I have 4, 5, 4 in miles and 11 for my long run. Hopefully they go swimmingly and I can go into spring break a happy girl!!

Until next time!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Weekend Review

I had a very exciting and mostly relaxing weekend!

Friday was my birthday! My first uneventful one age wise. It was still fun though. I got to eat out at a great Japanese place and got to spend some time with friends.

Saturday was of course Rugby day for T. The gloomy, yucky weather wasn't much fun to be in, but of course very worth it. Then in the evening was the epic 8 miles I ran with Anna. SO great! We took about 20 seconds off of our usual 10:45ish pace and ran them in 10:22. We were very excited and felt great. This is a really great time for us, especially considering I'm looking for something under 2:30 for my half. This was a good start!!

Sunday I slept in until about 10, stayed in bed until 11 and didn't do too much the rest of the day. I got to eat lunch out and I got a new car battery. Finally! My car has been dead for about a month or so. It will be nice not to have to share now. Although I'm with a great sharer. And then at night I was able to skype with someone that I grew up with and had lost touch with for about 2 years or more. We talked for almost 3 hours. It was so nice to catch up and see what was going on. Timing is everything and fate takes care of so much!! I'm definitely looking forward to rekindling this friendship!!

Well that was my exciting weekend. I'm getting ready for another very busy week with a lot of school and running!!

Until next time!!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentines Day

While I'm not typically a huge fan of Valentine's day, I am a huge fan of love and passion and sharing your life with someone. I'm pretty sure this is what V day started out as, but then morphed into a "buy me something!" holiday. I really really don't like that aspect of it. I believe that people should be grateful for what they have. So today I'm going to list a few of the things I'm grateful for this day of love.

1. My lover- He is just so supportive and so amazing.
2. My friends - Each and every one of them is so special in their own way.
3. My puppy Daisy! - my baby girl. Need I say more?
4. The University of Florida - My newest adventure! Giving me new pride and new purpose!
 -Should I add Albert? - who doesn't love Albert??
5. My strong legs! - They take quite a beating and they carry me anyway
6. Running - My strength, my passion, my goal, and my therapy
7. My daddy - He is always there for me no matter what.
8. The city I'm in - Smaller city, great people!
9. The people I meet - I'm such a chatty Kathy and if you give me the time, I love to hear about people's stories!
10. My health - This one I do my best to never look over. I'm so grateful for the amazing health I've been blessed with.

This list is in no particular order and one thing is not more important than the next or previous. I just think that it's great to make lists like this sometimes. There are so many great things in our lives and so many people don't stop and realize what we have. We all need to be more mindful of our surroundings. Pay more attention to others! I was astonished that I hadn't noticed there were berries growing on a tree outside of one of my classes until Tuesday. It's been 6 weeks of class!!

As I get off track, V day is a day for loving. So make sure everyone around you knows that you love them and how much they mean to you!!

Until Next Time!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lists and Rants

I always have plenty to do with school. Especially because I'm at a new one. I feel like I'm still getting into a routine that I can rely on. Currently my schedule is kind of a mess though and I should probably be doing hw or writing out another to do list, but I decided to write instead.

I'm not going to lie I had a hard first round of tests and I've vowed to do ten times better on everything else to come. I'm very nervous about not getting good grades and not getting into a graduate program that I want. I realize this is far enough in the future that I should just be worrying about what I'm doing right now, but it's hard for me sometimes. I feel like I have quite a plateful right now.

The good thing is, my birthday is on Friday!! Yay birthday!! I mean it's not anything too special considering I'll just be 22, but that's kind of exciting. 22. I feel a bit older. I mean 22 is when you're supposed to be graduating college and getting a job and all these other big kid things, but I still have at least 3 semesters of school left, so we'll go slow. During my 22nd year I would like to complete my first and second marathon, run a half marathon with Tim, accumulate at least a 3.8 GPA, and get some running PR's. Trivial I know. But that's ok. These are all just guidelines. I don't need a strict plan, just some ideas.

I'm getting super excited to run my 5k with Daisy on the 23rd. It'll definitely be interesting to say the least. I'm hoping she does stellar and doesn't get scared with all the noise. We'll see how it goes. Maybe we'll get a PR. Technically this will only be the second 5k I've ever run. The last one I ran was in 2009 and I'm not even sure what my time was. I just wanted to see if I could do it.

Because I've been sick, I haven't run since the middle of last week and tomorrow morning I'm running 5.5ish with Anna at 5:30am. That's right. AM!! It's my first early morning run that wasn't at the gym on a treadmill for 1 mile or less. I'm praying my lungs can handle it after the flu. If not, I may just have to take a break until our 8 mile run Saturday. I plan on making my way to the store for some gel and gummies for the long run!! Always need to be prepared!!

I color coded my calendar today per someone's suggestion in keeping me organized. I'm hoping it helps considering I feel like it gets more full every day. I may not be crazy busy, but I feel like I usually have at least a few things to do.

I'm doing my best to organize my life and get things together so I can be the best I can be. I just have to believe in myself and my intelligence. All I have to do is put in some elbow grease and make sure I stay on track. I can do anything I set my mind to.

"If you dream it, You can do it" Walt Disney

Hope you didn't get too bored reading this if you made it to the bottom!!

Until next time!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Sick!

I'm officially sick. All of my stress and lack of sleep has caught up to me as of yesterday. I've actually got a pretty nice 2 degree fever or so going. I don't think I've been this sick since I had mono my junior year of high school! T says I have "the flu", but I think that just makes me sound weak so we'll stick with a cold.

Needless to say I haven't run since my 4 mile on Wednesday. I canceled my 3 on Thursday hoping I just needed a bit of extra rest. This was not the case however, but the start of much worse. I will not be running my 6 mile long run this weekend. I'm taking the time to do homework and rest so hopefully I can get better before Monday!!

It's always rough being bed ridden, but I did manage to get some new green tea! I don't typically get any tea that has caffeine in it, but being sick I knew it was probably the only medicine I would be consuming. At least I could bank on it helping my headache and maybe some body aches. I tried this tea while studying with a friend Thursday night and fell in love. New tea is always exciting!! It seems to be the only good thing about this misery.

Hopefully all this rest will pay off and I'll be back to 100% before Wednesday! Friday will be here before I know it!

Until next time!

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Daisy

My puppy Daisy completed her first 4 mile run yesterday. While I didn't think she couldn't do it, I was worried considering 4's are always a problem for me.

Daisy did fantastic. I don't think she could have enjoyed it any more than she did. She kept ahead of me and Anna for the most part (sometimes the scents got the best of her), but she did a great job. I'm so very proud of her. I really can't wait to up her mileage as the year goes on.

My dog is my original running buddy. She is the one I started dragging on runs over a year ago and I think she'll always be my favorite one. We aren't really sure what she is mixed with, but there is for sure lab in her and we think greyhound. Either way, she's an athlete. She could go forever when it comes to running and she's fast.

I'm really looking forward to running our 5k together on Februrary 23rd. It'll be my first 5k since 2009 and her first 5k all together!! Hopefully she does well with all the other dogs and so much noise! She's a lover, but she's definitely still a bit of a baby. We'll see how it goes.

For now, I think my runs might be done until Saturday. I feel a cold sneaking up on me and with so much to do all the time, I think I'll be taking a bit of an extra rest today. I'm looking forward to 6 on Saturday though!!

Until next time!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Weekend!

My running buddy and I had quite a successful weekend when it comes to fitness. This weekend was very cold so I feel quite accomplished. Now there wasn't snow or ice on the ground, but for being in Florida, we were very bundled during both of our workouts. 

Saturday we got our first really good trail run in! We ran 5 miles in the 35 degree weather. The trail we went to was absolutely gorgeous. I neglected to take pictures, but I'll do better next weekend. We didn't come across anyone until we hit mile 4 and were almost back to our cars. It made this run extra nice with the quiet and the beauty of the path. We did however, come upon about 5-6 deer! 

Not the best picture and 3-4 of them ran off the second we came around the corner, but i did my best to get a picture of the 2 who stuck around for a moment more! It was a lovely surprise on such a cold morning! 

Sunday I did my first ever stadium workout! This was definitely hard for me. I felt very out of shape and I am very sore this morning! I tried new things and I'm definitely hoping that we make this a weekly event. 

So that was my weekend! I'll leave you with a fantastic picture of my amazing outfit I wore for our running Saturday in the cold! 


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

4 Miles

I'm not really sure what it is about 4 miles for me. These runs either go very well or very badly. It can really go either way, but mostly the later.

Tonight however, I had a fantastic 4 mile run. I had an amazing pace going and I felt great. I felt like I could have gone forever at that pace. I love when I settle into that. It's comforting and nothing can stop you. Which may include the treatorous winds we dealt with for a bit. I think I'd like to say that this was the first of many brilliant 4 mile runs I have ahead of me in weeks ahead. We were on a great path and I think it did something for me.


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Being Behind

I guess this one means a few things for me right now. It has context in school and my running.

In school, I'm a bit behind literally. I've been attempting to a play a little bit of catch up seeing as my admission and financial aid was a bit of a spur of the moment. I've been doing everything I can to get things done and work my schedule so everything gets equal value. I'm not going to lie, it's a bit rough right now. It's never fun going into a new semester at a new school and already being behind.

I'm finally getting into the swing of things though. I'm not as behind and by the end of the week (which finishes in a  test and a paper), I should be all set. It will be a very nice weekend in that way! I'm hoping to have an amazing semester and I'm doing my best not to let the stress get to me just yet.

As for my running, being behind doesn't have anything to do with my training. I'm actually right on track with my running buddy Anna. Let me just say again how lovely it is to have someone to hold you accountable and keep the runs entertaining. My behind is in the time. I have been struggling a bit with slower times due to the 3 month hiatus I took at the end of the year. I realize it will take me some time to build that speed again, but it's still a little frustrating.

For now, I'm doing everything that I can to focus on completing my mileage so I can have an amazing race at the end of March. Even though it is so far away, I'm getting a little more excited each day. I know that completing the mileage will be the most important goal in our training and we are doing a pretty fantastic job so far at it!!


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Rest Days

I have to say that at the end of a very long week my Sunday rest day is fantastic. This week I had 4 run days, 3 gym days, and my 2 a days for stretching. The latter of which is not really a workout, but I'll count it because it consumes 20 minutes of my day.

I'm hoping that I have done enough resting to start up a fantastic week of training. I have my 4 running days planned with hopefully 2 or 3 gym days to do some arm strengthening. We'll see how it goes.

My total weekly mileage from last week was 13 and this week it will be about 15. I'm hoping I can get it all in with the meetings and work schedule I have. I might have to maneuver a night run to a morning! Yikes! Hopefully I can work everything in to my very busy life.

For now, I rest on.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Busy Saturday

Today is, as the title suggests, a very busy day! On my list of things to do:

-run 4 miles (my first "long" run! Which will be run in the prarie. Pray I don't run into any gators!)
-see T play rugby! (Always a good time)
-study, study, study!! (This includes a lot of reading and note taking unfortunately)
-make more turkey burgers!*

*While on my run last night the only thing I decided I needed in my life was a burger. So much so that I was a bit of a diva at the grocery store. They didn't have premade burgers to cook and I didn't want frozen patties. Lucky for me the best of the best ground turkey was on sale. For just over 4 dollars for a pound of the organic, farm raised, stress free meat. I made 2 patties about 1/4 lb a piece and added a bit of Italian seasoning. I will never look at another turkey burger the same again! These were delicious beyond my wildest dreams!! I could tell the major differences between the regular ones and these natural ones. I think I found a new favorite!



Thursday, January 24, 2013

Planning, planning, planning

All of a sudden I'm back into running and just like that I'm attempting to plan a really nice race calendar for the year.

Feb 5k
Adventure at the end of March
September duathlon
November half and full marathon

Now, only the February 5k is set in stone, but I'm really starting to look for some good races.

I want the best race calendar I can get! I want to do big things this year! I need to keep it coming!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Getting on Track

It is so nice to be getting back into running and being on a plan again. I think running is my structure for all things. As long as I can run, everything else will fall into place. Currently I am relying on this for my homework that I am behind on. I have a lot to do, but making time for it and running has helped me start to organize my nights a little better. Considering I keep adding to my plate, organization is my life saver.

Running is for me:

My stress reliever;
My therapy;
My strength;
My plan;
My structure;
And one of my loves;

Running is the friend I never knew I had. Or maybe just the friend that I never expected or wanted anything to do with. The first thing I said when my friend Danielle said you should run a half marathon with me was, "I can't." For some reason though, as she continued talking about all that I would have to do and how far away it was, something in me stopped. I realized that the only thing holding me back from running a half marathon almost 4 months later, was me. The only thing that ever holds me back is me. For whatever reason, in that moment I made a decision that changed everything and set me on a path to greatness.

It may have taken a year, but I'm in the right spot. The things I want to accomplish this year are more than I ever thought I would be able to accomplish or even attempt. Yes, I was an athlete in high school. I was and still am very competitive. I wanted to achieve greatness and be the best I could be.

Running is different. I feel like it is more than anything I did in high school. I'm GOING to run a marathon this year. It's going to happen. I never thought I would say that in my  life. Well maybe I wanted to at some points, but I never thought twice about it or formulated any plan. It was always "one day". Then one day, with a little help from a friend, I seized hold of my life. I decided that "I can't" isn't in my vocabulary. I may be scared to try something, but I'm honest with myself about that fear.

I know I can accomplish more than I ever imagined and I'm on my way to accomplishing those things. I know wherever my dreams take me, that is where I was meant to be. This is my time and if it had been any other time it wouldn't be right. With everything falling into place, now is it.

Fate is my best friend.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

I have a plan

I officially have a race plan for my adventure at the end of March. I've decided that using a half marathon training plan will be my best bet. I found a quick 10 week plan from Marathon Rookie that I have technically already started.

I'm not going to lie I'm a little nervous jumping into a program like this so fast. I've been off for 3 months and then I had a 2 mile run and a few gym days before I ran my 3 miles Monday (which went swimmingly, although slow). I realize this might be a bit much to sink my teeth into, but I know I can always modify my training if I feel like I'm on the path to new or worsening injury.

I think this is going to be the best bet for me and hopefully it will work for Anna as well ( who is in quite a bit better shape than I am at the moment).

Again, I am so excited to have a running buddy! I just don't want to hold her back! That is never a beneficial partnership, but I think we'll make it work.

To a new training plan and new adventures!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Running Buddies

I am going to be running tonight for the first time with my new running buddy Anna. I am so excited to have someone else to pace with and push me. While I was running before, T would ride his bike behind me with our pup Daisy. This usually worked becuase I got words of encouragement, I wasn't alone, and Daisy got exercise. BUT now I have a brand new partner! This gives T the ability to do more in the gym that he wants and Daisy still gets to run her heart out with Anna's puppy Wednesday.

I think for me it will help the runs go by faster and we can discuss what's going on in our running, training, and lives. I'm really excited to have a race buddy as well. We are both very driven and I'm looking forward to seeing the times that we can help each other improve!!

Tonight will be a short 3 mile run that I hope will be the beginning of our training for a pretty hefty race at the end of March! More on that to come later! For now, run on!


Saturday, January 19, 2013

I'm Back!!

It's been a long three months. At the very end of September, a few days before I was to run the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 miler at Disney world, I injured my hip during a short taper run. It hurt so bad I almost cried and I cut my run short. I ran the race in a decent time considering the heat and humidity of the night. I had only run twice more in the three months before today and they didn't go well.

After a few people adivising me that it might be my hip flexor, I reluctantly scheduled a doctors appointment and went just a few days ago. I discovered that it was not in fact my hip flexor, but my IT band was tight. They are tight on both sides with a little bit of bursitis in my right knee (the injured side). My doctor advised me that with stretching, Tylenol, and easing into it, I was free to run.

FINALLY!!

So much time waiting and hoping that resting would fix the problem, logic won out and now I can get back on my road to great things. I have some big things planned for this year including a marathon and convincing my boyfriend to run a half with me just the week or two before.

This was the best thing I could ask for and I'm jumping right back on yhe road with a short 2 mile run. I'm ready for the year ahead and all that it will bring me. It is finally my new year.