Run Those Canals, Girl (Win)

Today I was up on time, and out the door ten minutes before I was yesterday. It was warm, but not as warm as yesterday. I set out for a 3 1/2 mile run and went just a little over. I had a great run and a much better morning at work.

I also had a good morning at work and afternoon around town.  I am looking forward to continuing working on Killer Week tomorrow.

Tonight I am going to register for a few races:
Aloha 5K in San Diego
Yuma Neon Night Run 5K

Smucker Park [Attempted] Run (Loss)

Yesterday's run, July 30, was not fun. I didn't like it. I didn't have fun, I was tired and hot and it was humid. Yuck.

Try again tomorrow!

Welcome to Killer Week! (Win)

Yes, it is time for "Back To School."

Just kidding. Killer week is going to be a tough week of running during which I am seriously going to push myself to go farther and longer than I ever have before with my running.

This morning I set out run 4 1/2 miles on the first day of killer week. I mapped an extension to add to a run that I did previously, but it turns out that the route I had previously done wasn't as long as I thought it was, so adding on an extra mile did not make it long enough.  But, I ran so much of the overall distance of the run. Parts of it were slow, but I did it.

Endomondo shows an improvement of 1 minute, 15 seconds in my 5K distance! Yay!

No gym this afternoon. But I do need to go get started working in my classroom today. Tomorrow is a 3 1/2 mile run with cross-training in the afternoon.

Broken, But Still A Badass (Win)

I feel broken, but I am still badass!

"How can you be badass and broken at the same time?" one might ask (someone like my mom). It is residual badass-ness left over from last weekend.  I am still feeling awesome for completing the ropes course, but my body still hurts in weird places and my bruises are still tender. But today I pushed through it.

I set out to run Week 8, Day 3 of C25K at the gym. And about five minutes in I really wanted to take a walk break. But I didn't, and five minutes later I really, really wanted a walk break. So, I made a deal with myself: If I completed my 30 minutes of running without stopping I could go home and not do weights.  I had done enough and I was suffering through upper arm/shoulder pain and tension, hip pains and tender ankles; so why not treat myself to going home early. I did my run--the whole thirty minutes!

Then I did weights.

Yes, leg machines.  I had to do less weights on the machines so that I could actually do the exercises (for example, 70 pounds on the hip adductor instead of 115 pounds) and still did two sets of ten reps. I did one set of more painful than usual squats, and skipped the abs all together. It all worked out in the end. I had a good run and a good workout.

Today I am also feeing badass for meeting my first weight goal since I started running. Seventeen, yes 17, pounds GONE!  I like to say "gone" instead of "lost" because it wasn't like I woke up this morning and I couldn't find them. I worked really hard to shed those 17 pounds--so they are gone, not lost!  As my reward I finally ordered my Road ID bracelet similar to this one, but with all the correct personal information!  I can't wait to get it and wear it proudly--just like the id bracelet with my parents' phone number when I was a kid, in case I got lost or hurt. Hmmmm... This one is way cooler though!

Now, just trying to figure out when I have completed C25K so I know when to reward myself with new Birkenstocks. Is it when I can go 30 full minutes of running (on the road)? Or when I can go 3.1 miles no matter how long it takes me to run the full distance. Votes accepted in the comments below!

Ouch! Those runs hurt (Loss)

I tried. I did.

Last Friday, I went out in Flagstaff to run.  My mom and I went and we never get much running done when we go together.  At one point we split up and I went on ahead. I ran for a little bit, but not as much as I set out to.  I don't know how much the elevation was affecting me, but I didn't like the rocky trail I was running on.  Also, I had weird pains in my right calf (which I've never had while running before).  It just wasn't a good run. But we walked a nice distance on a beautiful morning.  

Me enjoying a ride on the trapeze. 

The next morning my family and I embarked on an adventure unlike anything we've ever done before. The Flagstaff Extreme Adventure Course at Fort Tuthill County Park was my mom's idea.  Holy crap--it was scary and awesome, thrilling and taxing, painful and empowering! I completed all four courses: green, blue, red and black! I didn't know how much I was going to be able to complete of the course, and only once did I think that I might not make it and that I would have to say the "magic" words to get a guide to come and rescue me. But I finished and made it down the last stupid wooden ladder!  And, today I am still feeling the effects of my time on the course.  Yes, I do still feel super awesome from finishing the challenge and going farther than I thought I would go. But, I am still sore--sore all over my body. My arms hurt, my back, chest, core, and legs hurt.  That doesn't include all the bruises that are tender.  I am sleeping better at night as my body does hurt less than it did on Sunday and Monday.

Today was my first trip back to the gym since the adventure course.  I made a call on Sunday that on Monday I would not be going to the gym. But today, there was less of an excuse not to go.  Yes, I still hurt, but I can't miss so many days in a row. Today's run at the gym did not go well. I was able to run for about ten minutes of the thirty minutes I was supposed to run.  I tried to then alternate running and walking based on the songs on my playlist. But then decided it was best if I just walked instead of possibly hurting myself further.  I was able to go 2.24 miles on the treadmill in 40 minutes.  I wish I could have gone farther, but I'll keep trying. Tomorrow I am going to try Week 8, Day 3 again and see how far I get.  I just need to keep running until I am back to where I was. 

28-Minutes of Winning (Win)

This afternoon I went on a run at the gym before the leg routine.  It was a good run, but not as easy as yesterday's run. I am ready for a rest day--actually a rest weekend.  Spending some time in Flagstaff this weekend with my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. And, a little adventure called Flagstaff Extreme! A ropes course up in the trees is going to be exciting!

I updated my "long run" playlist on my iPod before going to the gym today.  I really have been relying on music to get through my runs and to help me push myself a little harder.  It's hard to set up a playlist while sitting on the comfy couch at home. What sounds like it will be a good song to run to might not be once I hit the road or the treadmill.  It is harder on the treadmill to listen to music I don't really want to when I have fairly easy access to my iPod. On the road my iPod in in my waist pack and I can't easily change songs so I have to just listen to what ever plays.  

Here is some of the awesome songs that I have been listening to while I run:

Mumford & Sons -- Feel The Tide and Hold On To What You Believe (Live)

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones -- I Want My City Back and Riot On Broad Street

Of Monsters and Men -- Little Talks

Goldfinger -- Mable

Dropkick Murphys -- Captain Kelly's Kitchen and The Dirty Glass 

Flogging Molly -- What's Left Of The Flag and Tobacco Island

Jace Everett -- Bad Things

Da Vinci's Notebook -- Another Irish Drinking Song

Adele -- I Found A Boy

I'll just keep updating my music and adding to the playlist as my runs get longer. It keeps me going and keeps my mind off my legs, feet and lungs. I do allow my self to sing along when I am on the road, especially at the end of a great run during my cool down. But, at the gym sometimes I end up mouthing a few lines when I really need some motivation. 

Week 8, Day 1 Plus Two Minutes (Win)

Wow! I haven't blogged about my runs in over a week!  I mostly have been running at the gym instead of outside, but I've been doing well--except for the group run on Saturday the 13th.

I've been full of excuses lately.  That's part of the reason why I haven't been out running as much as I should be.  I have hit the "mid-summer slump," which makes it really hard to get anything done.  I was on such a good routine at the beginning of summer break and when I was teaching summer school, but now it has been a few weeks, with a couple more to go and it is really hard to get up before sunrise to run when I don't have any other reason to wake up so early.  "Tomorrow" hasn't really been my excuse, it really has become "later."  I go to the gym early to run before I do my regular workout. But it is really draining to do both.  I'll have to get myself into a good routine soon, since I return to work in a few weeks and will have to go back to working in my classroom even sooner!

Yesterday was a late afternoon run at the gym before my regular workout (and today will be the same because I really wanted to sleep in).  I was just starting Week 8 on C25K and it was a 28 minute run.  I was starting to get tired and I knew I was getting close to the end, but I didn't know how close I was.  The song "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men came on and I told myself that I would run until the end of the song and that would be it.  About half way through the song the C25K voice told me it was time to begin my cool down. Yesssss! But wait, I told myself I would go to the end of the song. Only two more minutes. I had it in me!  And, I did!  I went for a full thirty, yes 30, minutes yesterday.  When I started running at the beginning of May I was barely going for thirty minutes at a time with walk breaks that were longer than the running segments. Now, I am spending the whole thirty minutes running without walking breaks in between (but still with the five minute warm-ups and cool-downs).

So I will keep running. I will run when I can and where I can. A gym run on the treadmill is better than no run at all.  I will run by myself because I am too much of a social creature to run with others when I have an opportunity to walk and talk with them.  I will continue to push myself and reward myself for my hard work. I am making progress and becoming stronger than I have ever been and a better runner that I thought I would be.

I have only three more days left of the C25K program, and three more pounds to lose to hit my first weight goal.  I will wear my Road ID bracelet proudly as a reminder of the pounds I've dropped, and enjoy my new Birkenstock sandals as they comfort my tired feet.  I will continue to build speed and distance, muscle and stamina.  I will run races to help me maintain motivation and to have fun.

I will continue to run!

25 Minutes--NO Walking (Win)

YES!  Twenty five minutes of running this afternoon on the treadmill at the gym!  Week Seven, Day One is certainly a win!  I didn't think that I could do it, but I did!  A run did not happen this morning. I was tired and moody and just not into to.  I decided not to push my luck and wait until the afternoon to go when my mom and I had an extra day at the gym.  It was worth it.  Now, I just have to try to do it again on the road tomorrow.  But, no worries because I have three attempts during Week Seven to make it happen. I did not go the 2 1/2 miles that it suggested going during the 25 minutes, but I still went the whole time without even stopping for a walk break!

Week Six, Day Three (Win)

Motivation:

This morning I set out on a run that I didn't have much faith in. I was sleepy, my back kind of hurt, and I just wasn't feeling it.  I really wanted to be back home in bed. But, I got up, got dressed and hit the road!

I decided to take a route that would be longer than I needed, but I wanted to familiarize myself with it so I was comfortable with going on the canal path.  It was a nice run, and on the roads there were very few cars, and I saw only two other runners and two people on bikes on the canal.  The canal was full of water and luckily was in the shade the whole way!

Just before reaching the main road I saw there was a path that veers off from the canal that goes up through a medical offices complex.  I knew that if I continued going along the canal that when I reached the street I would be at the bottom of the big hill from yesterday. But, by taking the path I was able to have a more gradual incline on the way to the top of the hill.  It was cheating, a little, I know, but I got a little reward at the end.  As I rounded a corner near the end of the driveway I saw a baby owl run into a burrow in the ground.  The momma Burrowing Owl was not pleased to see me standing there watching them, or even taking a picture of her.  She was making false starts like she was going to come running at me. So I snapped my picture with my phone and continued on my way.  But alas, that cute picture has disappeared into cyberspace because I can't find it on my phone, or on Facebook or Endomondo.

Maybe tomorrow I'll run the same route in the hopes of seeing the baby and momma once again.

First Road Run (Win)

Motivation:

Saturday's run was my first road run since I moved to my new house. I decided that it was time to suck it up and get out in my new neighborhood or I was never going to become familiar with it and then never want to run outside.  I decided to make it a short run to my friend's apartment to pick up her car.  Kind of a lazy run. Running to pick up a car and drive it back home. But it had to be moved and it worked out pretty good.  I set a goal for myself that I would walk to the street light as a warm up, then run all the way across to the next street light and then would walk the rest of the way to her apartment as my cool down.  It turned out to be a good plan even though I fell a little short on the running part than I wanted.  But, I still had a new personal best one mile time of 11:34 which is a 25 second improvement!

One of the biggest challenges of the short run on Saturday was running down hill.  I've walked this hill, but never run it.  I felt like I was going to trip over my own feet--so luckily I was right in front of the hospital in case I fell and broke my leg.  But, I'll have to keep working at it; as well as working on running back up that same hill.

Treadmill Runs (Win)

I haven't been updating my blog lately about my runs because I have been busy moving and packing/unpacking. Actually, I have only been on a few runs since my last post because I've been busy moving and packing/unpacking. Also, there have been two "Severe Weather Alerts" about high temps and the morning temperatures have been outrageous and the humidity out of control.  But, now that I am more settled into my new place I should be back to a routine of running in the morning.

Yesterday I didn't run in the morning. It was hot and I didn't want to go. But in the afternoon I ran at the gym with my mom. Week Six, Day One again. It was a good, easy run and I even ran the first running AND walking segments for a total of almost 9 minutes.  It was a great way to jump back in after almost a week off due to moving and a group hike with some teachers from school. Yet, during my run I was very annoyed with the girl running on the treadmill to my left. First, she was there for a few minutes stretching on the machine. Then left, only to return and run with bad form, too fast, and spend most of her time holding on to the top of the dashboard or with one hand on the handlebar in front. What?!  Um, if you have to hold on while you are running you are running too fast. I really exhibited a lot of self control to not coach her on how to run better so as not to annoy me.

Today I was actually up about ten minutes before my 04:39 alarm. I was out the door at 05:05 to drive to the gym.  It was 48% humidity and only 82ºF outside. A cooler morning than it has been, but still not a great morning for a run outside.  There were more people at the gym than I expected so early in the morning, but I was able to find a machine in front of CNN and (gasp) Fox News. I survived the first ten minute running segment without any problems, but had to take a one minute walking break in the middle of the second ten minute segment.  One minute was better than giving up and actually gave me the strength to continue to the end.  It was right in the middle and I had only five minutes of running left and thought about ending my program early and using that last bit of time as my cool down. But, I am super glad that I decided to run out the last of it to finish Week Six, Day Two.

Gym this afternoon with my mom for weights and abs. Fireworks and dinner with Mom and Dad tonight.