Friday 5: 4th of July Weekend

Happy 4th of July!  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!  I plan on enjoying this weekend to the fullest!  Make sure to check out how everyone on the Friday Five link up is celebrating by joining Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney!

1. Spending time with my pup.  Last weekend I had to go without him for DAYS because I traveled for the wedding and we have a couple other separations coming up.  I bought somebody some Frosty Paws as a peace offering.  Speaking of peace offering...

2. Maddux got a sister!  At least for the weekend.  Check out this sweet girl who is crashing with Maddux and me this weekend.  She is hilarious.  I don't think I've ever seen such a clumsy dog.  If you are looking for lots of smiles check out how to adopt Cream here.

She is obsessed with hiding in the blinds.  

3. Getting ready for my next adventure!  I get to see my sister so soon, but lots of laundry and cleaning have to be done first.  I HATE coming home to a messy house, and with two dogs it's been a little hard keeping things tidy.  Cream really loves pulling every toy (and Maddux has A LOT of toys) out of the basket and hiding them around the house.  I'm telling you, never a dull moment.

She kept running in and out of my room. I walk in to find this dog with a bed full of toys.

4. Checking off a 6 miler.  This weekend is supposed to be really nice!  I'm a little worried about my  IT band since it was giving me some issues on my 5 miler the other day, but hopefully it was just one of those off days.

5. Finishing the running streak!  It is officially over!  I am very excited to take a day completely off tomorrow.

Happy 4th!  How are you celebrating?

Week 3 Craziness

Week 3 seems like it was SO long ago.  I've been going and going and somehow have managed to get most of my plan done.  All I can say is thank goodness the Runner's World Run Streak is almost over.  My legs are really feeling it, BUT I've been a pro using the stick and my foam roller and it's gone by fast.

Tuesday and Wednesday: 4 miles on the treadmill followed by one mile outside.  Both of those runs felt really good.  The AC in the gym was much appreciated.

Friday: I had planned on running 6 miles at the park before heading out for my college roommate's wedding weekend, but only 4.25 happened.  I know I'll have to make adjustments based on how my body is feeling, but I couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.  I went through my training plan and knocked a mile off each of my long runs to help with the heat factor this summer.  Like I said, I'm ready for the streak to be over!  These legs of mine are tired!

Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday:  1 mile for the streak.

Total Mileage for the Week: 18.25ish.
Total Training Plan Mileage: 51.25

Over all it was a good week.  I managed to balance lots of travel and fun filled days with my plan and I have high hopes that I'll be able to continue to do so as the summer progresses.  As I've said before, I love running, but it's not always my number one priority.  This week being able to be there for my beautiful roommate as she tied the knot was the most important thing to me, so I'm glad that running was able to work itself around it.  The wedding was amazing and it was so much fun seeing some of my old friends (the bride and I went to both high school and college together!).

Who needs two straps on your dress when you have an awesome running line?

The day after the wedding my nice friend and I took a quick walk on the Noland Trail, my favorite place to run in college, before heading back home.  It was so nice to be back at my old stomping grounds for a few days!

How did your week in training go?  Been back to visit any of your old running spots recently?

5 Ways I've Embraced the Morning Run

Happy Friday!  I'm linking up with Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for the Friday Five!  Make sure to give them (and all the incredible blogs linking up!) some love!

Lately I've been getting up (in my opinion) insanely early to get my running streak mile in.  If you know me, you know that I am not a morning runner.  Yes, I get up fairly early on the weekends because I hate wasting a day, but I rarely am out the door for a run before 10am.  As much as I've dreaded hearing the alarm, I've actually come to not mind the runs so much.  Here are my five ways I've come to at least get my butt out the door!

1.  It's only a mile.  Some mornings it feels like it takes a long time, but in reality it doesn't.

2. It is SO nice to get it out of the way.  On Wednesday I had to run 5 miles and there was no way I was getting up in the 4 o clock hour.  When I left work I was so sad when I remembered my run wasn't done yet.  I've loved having the evenings free.

3. It has been really hot this week.  Running when it's 65 or 70 degrees has been much more appealing than the 90-100 we've had this week.

4. It helps wake me up.  Not gonna lie, I'm on autopilot in the mornings.  I literally lay out all my clothes (socks already apart, shoes out, Garmin where it picks up satellites quickly) put them on and get out the door.  Yeah, it probably isn't the best strategy to give your body minimal time to warm up, but sometimes I have to get out the door before my body realizes what's happening.  By the time my run is over I'm wide awake and ready to conquer the day.

5. This face.  Guys, Maddux is the sweetest dog ever.  He stays in bed when I get up to run, but when I get back that sweet boy is waiting at the door for me.  Seriously, the best way to start the day.

Ok, this picture is of him at class, but how cute is he in it?!

How do you get out the door for a run?  I find the best way is to not let myself make excuses and go.

Happy National Running Day!

I hope everyone got in a nice, sweaty run to celebrate!  I ran 3 miles and was a sweaty beast after, but I think I'm slowly getting back into shape!  That's good news because next week I start training for my next half marathon!

In honor of National Running Day I thought I'd share a few of my running goals for summer.

1. Run in 5 states other than my own.  This should be easy because I have lots of travel planned for this summer.  All I need to do is get my running shoes on and make it out the door!

I have a visit to my sister planned and I cannot wait!

2. Finish the Runner's World Summer Run Streak.  I've done it two years in a row, so I know I can do it.  It always feels good to finish it!

3. Check off all my training plan runs.  The beautiful thing about summer is that I get to be a little more flexible with my schedule.  I'm so excited about my next half.  I'm doing my first challenge (5k on Saturday and half on Sunday) and I'm looking forward to having something to work towards again.

What are your summer running goals?  Any races coming up?  Mine's not until October, but it never hurts to start early!

**Make sure to check out the National Running Day Link Up with Olive to Run! :-)  So many people celebrating!

End of the Summer Running Streak

The past week or so I've unplugged a little and escaped to sunny San Diego.  My nice friend and I had planned a get away and I had been looking forward to it for weeks.  My parents are the best ever and I was able to convince them to watch Maddux for the week and take us to the airport.  Our timing was perfect and we ended up being at my parents' house at the same as my sister, aunt, and grandpa.  It was so nice getting to hang out with the family and it was the perfect way to start the summer.

After a very early start to our day, my nice friend and I arrived in San Diego early Tuesday afternoon.  I had such a fun time over the week going to a baseball game, a couple of breweries, the famous zoo, Sea World, beaches, and a fun event at the House of Blues where we got to drink local beer (San Diego is the craft beer capital of the US) and listen to local bands.  Some highlights of the trip:

I was a little nervous about getting my runs in since I knew we were going to be so busy.  Once we got there and I saw where I got to run I realized it wasn't going to be so bad after all.  The weather was amazing and the scenery was gorgeous.  Think high 60s and by the water.

They call this "June Gloom."  I will still take it. 

One of the days my nice friend suggested we switch it up and go to Mission Bay Park.  I had a great run and loved the trail.  The week went by way too fast!  I was definitely spoiled by the perfect running conditions and had a great running partner for most of the days.  I ended up running my fastest miles of the summer.  I'm going to look for a fall 5k so that I can hopefully keep up the momentum!

Now that the Runner's World Summer Running Streak is over I'm going to try to mix up my workouts a little.  I was definitely proud of myself for finishing the streak even when I was traveling, but I gotta say it was nice giving the legs a little break today.  I have some spin classes coming up and I couldn't be more excited to give it another go!  

Happy weekend!

Early Mornings

On a normal day my alarm goes off at 5:30.  I find this to be repulsive, but after a while I guess you get used to it.  On Tuesday I heard that it was supposed to rain all afternoon on Wednesday.  I know myself well enough to know that I would have an incredibly hard time convincing myself to get out the door for my mile in the pouring rain.  I figured I'd set my alarm a few minutes early and get it over with before work.

When my alarm went off I dragged my butt out of bed, put on the clothes I had so thoughtfully laid out the night before and headed out the door after a quick sip of water.  My Garmin decided to take forever to get satellites and when it finally did, I got the worst side cramp ever.  It was a slow, painful mile.  I decided that perhaps morning running was not for me.  As it turned out, the sun was shining all afternoon.  It was nice to have my mile over with, but I was kind of mad that I woke up early for that.

Then yesterday the news kept talking about the terrible storm that was coming.  I decided that waking up early again was better than running in torrential downpours, gusting winds, and possible tornadoes.  So, once again, I laid out my clothes, set my alarm and woke up early.  It seemed like it was going to go well.  My Garmin gained satellites quickly and I didn't have a side cramp.  Life seemed ok.  Then after about 4 minutes I looked down and while the time had started somehow the mileage hadn't?  So weird.  It had never done that before.  Maybe it was mad at me for waking it up early two days in a row.  (Just a side note, the weather was terrible on my way home from work, but shortly after way sunshine and happiness.)

Tomorrow I will be sleeping in (ha) so that I can run at least 3 miles.  I really don't want to wake up in the 4 o' clock hour so I will be running after work.  As fun as it is being able to say that I'm running every day, I really am running way less than I should be.  I've been taking the easy way out and pretty much only running a mile.  I've gotten in some decent strength moves (think random crunches, push ups, squats, etc), but I need to be building up some mileage so I can start thinking about that November half!

Hope everyone's having a happy (storm free!) week!

For any other runners setting their alarms early check out this story from Runner's World :-)  Drink up!

Happy National Running Day!

Just thought I would pop in to say Happy National Running Day!  We really couldn't have gotten more perfect weather for it and I ran 2 miles around my neighborhood in honor of the holiday.

So far the Runner's World Summer Running Streak has been going really well.  I actually ran the day before the streak started, so I have been running for 11 days straight for a total of 21.44 miles.  My legs have been feeling really good, and honestly, I've been taking it pretty easy most of the days.  So far so good!

I swear Maddux knows what I mean when I say "dog jog" now.  As we headed out the door today I asked him if we were going on a dog jog and he took off as soon as we hit the sidewalk.  While it didn't last long (sniffing trees appealed to him more than the actually running) it was nice to know that my pup got to celebrate for a minute or two!

Either he is tired from his 2 minute jog, or didn't want to be near my sweaty self.  Who knows.

I hope everyone has had some happy miles today!  If you are on Twitter or Instagram make sure to use #IMARUNNER.  Timex is donating $5 per entry to the One Fund Boston up to $15,000.  For more information on this and other National Running Day news click HERE.

Happy running!

Zooma Annapolis 10k Recap

I can finally say I'm getting in some consistent miles again!  The Runner's World Summer Running Streak started up on Monday so every day I'll be getting in at least a mile until July 4.  The first mile on Monday was ridiculously tough.  I kind of regretted committing since my running has been so subpar lately, but so far the rest of the days have been going really well.

Thanks to Pavement Runner for the pic!  Grab it HERE!

On Friday I headed to Annapolis to pick up my race number.  I hadn't gotten any emails full of information which made me a little nervous.  I know a lot of the emails are completely unnecessary, but I love feeling prepared and like I know every single little detail.  The expo was easy to get to and there was a parking garage a block away.  Picking up my number was simple and they had samples of Luna Bars and Honest Tea.  After giving the volunteer my name she put a number and tech shirt in a cute bag and sent me on my way.  Once again, I got nervous when I found there was no additional information in my bag.  I guess they figured since everything you possibly needed to know was on the website they didn't need to waste paper giving us the same information, which I respect, but the crazy detail obsessed lady in me hated it a little.

When I got home, I had a Racer 5 IPA (the racer part made it seem right), laid out everything I would need for my race, and got ready for an early bed time.  When my alarm went off at 4:45 the next morning I quickly got ready and was out the door by 5:15.  Maddux was not pleased with the wake up call, but seemed to forgive me after I gave him breakfast and let him get back in bed.

I got to the race in plenty of time.  The parking was super easy (yes, parking at a DC area race!  Right next to the start!) and there was a nice long line of porta potties.  There was plenty of time before the race started and I ended up getting to meet a fellow SPA, Lisa!  She was so sweet and has been totally killing it at her races lately.  You can check out her blog here!

Lining up for the race went smoothly.  They didn't have corrals, but had pace per mile signs on the fence so you could line up appropriately.  I couldn't hear the announcements very well, but I did notice that they encouraged walkers to go to the back which was nice.  The race started and wound around the  Navy Stadium.  I was in a weird mood at the start of the race and had a hard time getting into it, but once we got to the downtown part of the race I started thinking about the day date my nice friend and I had back in January.  Remembering our fun day put me in a much better mindset and the miles started flying by.  That is, until the bridge.  At first I was happy to see the bridge because there was a much needed water stop.  Then I realized how uphill and sunny it was.  It was absolutely brutal going up, but going down was glorious.  After a brief struggle right after the bridge I ended up finishing up strong.  The race wasn't a full 10k, but I didn't really have a problem with it since it was rather hot outside.

After crossing the finish line I stood in line to receive my finisher's necklace, water bottle, yoga mat, and snack box (hummus!  Odd post race snack, but delicious!).  Thinking back, I probably should have ran to put stuff in the car before grabbing my snack box since they didn't have anything to keep all the goodies in, but after some readjusting I made it back without dropping everything.  I ended up getting home right before 9 which was awesome and had a nice chill day full of naps with my pup and pool time with my nice friend.

Overall I have mixed feelings about this race.  I loved how it was capped to 4,000.  It was nice being in a smaller setting than most DC area races and you got a lot of amazing stuff with your entry fee.  I think probably most of the indifference toward it comes from my weird mood.  I had a good time, I just wasn't my typical "YEAH RACE DAY!" self.   Who knows.  Congrats to all those who raced Zooma yesterday, ESPECIALLY the half marathoners!  You guys are amazing for rocking it in that heat!

Doggin' Maryland

While it's been a running around crazy week, it hasn't been a successful running week.  Remember how I was planning on running intervals the other day?  That didn't happen.  I felt terrible once I started going and opted for the bike instead.  I don't know what was going on, but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry.  I ended up doing a 10k on the bike and feeling absolutely miserable for the rest of the night.  Luckily after a good night's sleep I was able to tackle the rest of the week.

This week has really been all about my pup.  On Wednesday Maddux graduated from his manners class and then on Thursday we were back at the training facility for a tricks workshop.  I had so much fun with my boy and he came away learning how to wave goodbye and is able to jump through a hoola hoop.  We got the foundations for a few other tricks, too, so maybe we'll have to have some videos on the blog soon ;-)

One of my cousins came to visit this weekend and we decided to visit one of the parks from the book Doggin' Maryland that my sister got me for Christmas.  The book is really great and lists how the trails are marked (paved/unpaved, signs/unnamed, etc).  I searched through the pages and tried to find one that I would be less willing to explore by myself.  I'm all for going to new places, but I also want to be careful.  I don't want to be in a super secluded area or find myself lost on an unmarked trail.  We got a gorgeous day for an adventure and headed to Little Bennett Regional Park.  I had a great time hiking through the woods to the old schoolhouse.  Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the swinging bridge I was so excited about is gone.  It looks like there are a lot of other things to see, so I guess it's ok.  The part of the park that the schoolhouse is near has a really wide, clear trail.  I'm not sure I would do the other trails we hiked on today by myself, but this one was right up my alley.  As much as I love the more rugged trails,  I'm all for easy paths when Mad Dog and I are on our own.

After about three hours of hiking we decided to call it a day and now I have one tired pup.  I'm really looking forward to checking out more trails from the book this summer!  

Speaking of summer, the Runner's World Summer Running Streak is starting back up again on Monday.  Last year I did it and secretly kind of loved it.  I feel like I really have no good excuse not to try again this year...Anybody else streaking this summer?!  (Haha, I know, I'm so mature.)

 

Priorities

The past week has been another whirlwind, but I've enjoyed every minute of it!  On Thursday my sister came down to visit.  Her best friend was going to be in the area for a conference so we made plans to spend as much time with him as possible before he had to head home.  Apart from eating some great food, I also got to show them some of the highlights of DC.

I love Zoo Lights!  And donkeys.

We definitely were on the go a lot, and honestly, it's been really hard to get some decent runs in.  I made the decision to push my training plan back a month and sadly, the Runner's World holiday streak has come to an end for this girl.  When I started my training plan, it was the week of Thanksgiving.  It worked out ok because my family is really understanding when I need to head out for a little bit for a run and I had quite a few days to spend with them.  Coming home from Thanksgiving I started to get stressed.  I got really anxious thinking of how I was going to get everything done and I realized I wasn't going to be able to enjoy anything if I was constantly stressing over the holiday season.  The holidays are a time where you should enjoy your family and not worry so much over other aspects of life.  Now that I don't see my family that often, I wanted to make sure I was enjoying every second I could with them, not sitting there figuring out when I can squeeze a run in.  

Yesterday my sister and I woke up early for one last breakfast with her friend and then my parents and nice friend came to head over to the Flying Dog Brewery for a tour.  Could I have woken up earlier to get a run in?  Sure.  Could I have left my parents for a few minutes to get my running streak mile in? Yeah, I could have.  It all comes down to priorities and spending as much time as possible with the family came first.  Ultimately, I'm feeling good about my decision to enjoy my holiday running when I can and then really hitting the ground running (see what I did there?) in January.     

I still plan to try to get some more consistent running in so when I do officially start my plan back up again it's not a complete shock to my body.  I also plan to embrace this time of year (even when it means curling up in bed with a book and hot chocolate when it gets dark at 5:00 instead of hitting the treadmill).  I'm feeling refreshed and ready to end 2012 right. 

November Celebrations

The past few days have been fantastic.  I got to go home for Thanksgiving for a few days and it was so nice getting to hang out with the family again.  I hadn't seen them since AUGUST and that really wasn't working for me.

I got home Thursday afternoon and my sister was excited to share her dog's agility tunnel with Maddux!  We had a lot of fun watching the dogs go through the tunnels.  Maddux wasn't quite sure how he felt about it, but once he got the hang of it he really seemed to have a good time!

After playing so hard in the back yard we were ready for our Thanksgiving dinner.  It was really nice all being together.  I always laugh a lot when I'm with my family and I honestly didn't even think about all the stresses I currently have in life.  I pretty much disconnected from life and just relaxed.

What's more relaxing than petting your dog by a lake with a big pipe sticking out of it?

The Runner's World holiday running streak started on Thanksgiving, so I convinced my brother to head out on a mile run around the neighborhood after dinner.  It was a lot easier than I had anticipated a run being after a huge (delicious!) meal and it was nice getting to catch up with my little bro for a few minutes. 

Friday the weather was looking like it was going to get a little nastier than I wanted to run in so I started getting ready to get it over with.  My dad surprised me by coming downstairs in running clothes!  I haven't gotten a chance to run with my dad in months, and it was nice having my favorite running partner back!  We ran a couple miles on a nearby trail and then I finished up my 45 minute run with some neighborhood hills.  Yep, the 45 minute runs are back!  I'll give you a training plan update soon!

On Saturday I had yet another running partner.  Barley joined me on a mile run around the neighborhood.  Although we got off to kind of a rough start when we came across an old lady and her little fluffy white dog (NONE of our family dogs seem to do well with those breeds!), she pulled it together quickly and we had a nice run together.  She didn't make nearly as many stops as Maddux does when we run together.  Our record is .25 miles without stopping for a pee break!  Hopefully he will be cleared to run soon though because watching him run makes me smile!

Bar ran MUCH faster through the tunnel than she did with me...Look at that blur!

Sadly, I had to make the drive home today.  Visits with my family are always too short.  I ended up getting a much later start than I had originally planned, so I decided just to reschedule my training plan run and knock out my RW streak mile on the 'mill instead.  It was the worst mile I think I have ever run.  I have the world's weakest bladder, so I tend to dehydrate myself before longer car rides (smart, I know) and as soon as I had unpacked my car I jumped on the treadmill without stopping to really get ready at all.  I had the worst cramps ever!  I actually stopped the treadmill after a couple minute to take a sip from the water fountain which helped a little, but man.  Lesson learned.  Drink more water.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving!  The holiday season is officially here!

Vacations > Running

It's been a busy past couple of weeks.  A couple of weeks ago there was a crazy storm and we lost power for a few days.  It wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that we were in a middle of a heat wave and it was brutal.  Luckily, my cousin was flying back into the country after a year in Spain and my aunt and uncle had to drive by my house to pick her up.  They offered to take Maddux and me in for the weekend and we gratefully accepted their invitation to escape sweltering temperatures.

I'm ready, Mom!  Are you?

It was great to spend some time with my family and I definitely ate better than I would have had I stayed at home.  Since we lacked power I was planning to live off peanut butter, chocolate chips, and my homemade granola!  We went enough days without power that my fridge food couldn't be saved. :-(

About 50% of the time I manage to include my finger in the pic.  You know, gotta be the center of attention.  

Just FYI, the granola turned out to be really good and really simple to make, but you really do have to make sure to stir constantly so it doesn't get quite as crispy as my corners did.  By the time I got home power was restored and I was feeling pretty good about life. 

I officially completed the Runner's World Summer Running Streak on July 4 and it felt oh so good.  Truthfully, I enjoyed running the mile (almost) every day and it's kind of funny how since that's been over my running has taken a downhill slide.  My nice friend and I took Maddux to Pittsburgh for the 4th of July week to visit my parents and my sister.  I thought more about baseball and beer than running.

We had to take the non-Pittsburgher to Church.  You may not know this, but on the 8th day of the creation story, man made beer.  Not sure why they would leave that out...

In the short time we were there we got a lot done.  We went on the Mount Washington Incline to show my friend the city and then walked (through a storm...) to Fat Heads.  My family will do a lot for beer.  I'm not sure my friend will ever go back to the 'burgh with me, because I'm pretty sure he is even more convinced that I am crazy, but at least he ate and drank well while he was with me, even if I made him work for it.  By the time we were done with our beer, we walked back to watch the fireworks from one of Pittsburgh's bridges.  My sister takes better pictures than I do so I am using hers.  Also, I was scared that I would drop my phone into the water because I am clumsy and I trust her more than I trust myself. 

Oooh...Ahh...

Thursday we got to see a Pirates win (in the best park in the world...PNC park) and then the next day my friend and I headed to Kennywood.  From the Rapids ride we spied a haunted house ride and I was super excited because Halloween is my favorite holiday ever and it was like a sneak peek into October. Even better than the fact it was a haunted house, it also let you SHOOT GHOSTS.  The buggy had a laser gun and you got to shoot at targets the whole time.  We may have gone on that ride 3 times...we're both really competitive and had to beat our scores.  Saturday, it was time to go back south, but we got a nice walk in with my parents and our pups.

Sunday, I managed to run again.  It was not pretty.  I did 8.5 miles in about 81 minutes, but man it was tough.   My IT band started being a b again so I've been upping my time with my BFF the foam roller.  Monday I was still hurting going down the stairs, so I figured I would mostly foam roll and relax.  Tuesday I was feeling a little off, but usually I end up feeling better after a run.  Not true in this case.  I will spare you the details, but it was not pretty.  I finished my 5 miles, but then passed out on the couch for the rest of the day.  Today I think will be a rest day to make sure this bug or whatever it is that's ailing me is officially gone so that tomorrow I can champion through.  Happy running! :-)

One Mile Madness

Sometimes I'm a little confused about how tough a mile can feel.  I get that my miles have been outside and there are slight inclines throughout my neighborhood, but really?  I mean I'm running for 10 minutes.  It shouldn't feel so crappy.  I've been going through the reasons (it's morning and I'm still sleepy and not quite loosened up, the only thing I've had to drink is coffee, etc, etc) but nothing really seems to be a valid reason.  Seven miles should not feel easier than one mile, period.  Maybe it's my mentality or maybe I'm just bored doing basically the same run on my mile days.  It just seems kind of silly to drive out to the trail to do a mile run.  Who knows.  Maybe one day I will come up with the reason.

On the plus side, I am coming close to a milestone in my running for the year.  By the end of June I will have run over 80 miles.  I get that a lot of runners run about that in a week.  I have no idea how.  I love to run (most of the time) but I also love a lot of other aspects of my life.  At this point, I have run about 50 hours this month.  I'm kind of addicted to looking at the graphs on the Nike website.

As you can see, April and May were not so hot.  

Granted, the runners who are doing high mileage are not nearly as slow as I am, but whoa that's a big chunk of time!  I guess you prioritize and make time for things you care about.  Maybe one day I'll get this guy a nanny (or a baby jogger...hehe kidding) and I, too, will join the high mile crowd.

On my awesome ten minute run today, I debated whether or not my training plan is going to be effective.  I guess at this point I am a month in and I know my fitness level is improving, but I have also been doing my miles in between.  Is running 3 days a week really going to be the best plan?  Yes, when I get back to work it will be nice to only HAVE to do 3 days, but over the summer I have more time to dedicate to getting in shape.  All the runners I read about got better by....are you ready for this.....running.  I suppose if I keep doing my strength moves (abs, arms, butt) and do some other cross training in the mean time I will be ok.  Lately cross training has been the dance game for Wii.  I'm practicing my Party Rock skills for my reunion with my sister on the 4th of July.  She better watch out.  I probably shouldn't change a plan until I see how it works on race day I suppose.  I'm just a little worried about the looming high mile runs and "speed work" coming up in the near future.

Because I have had a lot of unexpected expenses (grown up life can be so fun sometimes) I have been on a saving money kick and trying to use what I have and stick to buying essentials for my fridge (I'm pretty sure wine counts..).  On that note, I am off to attempt to make my own granola!  Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out as well as I hope it will.  I have to improvise a little bit, but I think it will turn out ok...

Summer Vacation Rocks

I love summer.  I wish I loved to get up early (ha, kind of kidding) because I had a hot, hot run the other day.  On Thursday I had to run my 45 minutes.  I'm not worrying too much about the "magic mile"  because I am doing all the other miles in between training days and some of them have been fast.  Also, my watch isn't really calibrated so I don't actually know what pace I would be running.  Even if it was correct, I'm not sure how you stay on pace without looking at your watch the whole time.  Yes, I am new to running and technology.  My Nike sportsband is just fine with me and its noncomplexities. I set my alarm for 6:30 and then hit the snooze button until I finally just turned it off altogether.  I got to the trail and began running at 10:00.

Highlights of the run?  There is now a portapotty in the parking lot.  I hope it sticks around.  Obviously, with the insane heat I had to hydrate and I may have been a little overzealous.  I also have a very weak bladder.  Regardless, it was clean and it had a foot pedal to flush.  A clear winner in my book.  I should have taken a picture.  Other than that, there wasn't much good about the run other than I finished it.  I kept the run between the car and the water fountain about a mile and a half away which worked ok, but I think I may have been too over cautious.  Perhaps this has to do with the fact that my mom's words to me as I went out the door were "Don't die of heat stroke."  Even though I'm technically an adult, I still try to not get on that lady's bad side.

Other than that, running hasn't been too remarkable.  The best run of the week was with my favorite running buddy!  Maddux woke me up incredibly too early for a Saturday, but my dad was downstairs getting ready for a run.  By the time I was ready, there was a towel for my sweat (my dad knows me so well) and a Gatorade waiting in the truck.  I am NOT a morning runner as mentioned above.  Everything feels stiff and I feel like it takes me a while to get going (especially pre-coffee!!!!), but I was so excited to be on a run with my dad again.  I did run a strong 7 miles on the treadmill on Sunday.  I had to rearrange my running again this week because of traveling, but I think being flexible has helped me stay more mentally in the game.  While the last couple miles were tough (my butt and thighs were feelin' it big time) I overall felt proud of the effort.  I also had a guy cheering for me at the gym.  As he left he clapped and said "Keep running, girl!" in a non creepy way.  It was nice to have some friendly gym going support, especially since I was dripping with sweat.

Today is day 29 of the Runner's World Summer Run Streak!  Only a week a couple days left! At first I thought it was going to be sucky and hard, but it turns out that running at least a mile a day isn't so bad.  The first month of it has actually gone by really fast.  Yay running!

I was totally going to add some pictures in here for viewing pleasure, however, that would require a little more effort than I am willing to put in at the moment and The Bachelorette will be on soon (hurray!).

Happy Summer! :)

Lindsey Sucks at Posting

As was seen from past blog activity, I suck at posting consistently.  I am glad I don't have any readers relying on me for inspiration, because I have had to adopt a new running blog to read when I need a kick out the door because not one, but TWO of my favorites have been slacking on the blog front, too.

Anyway, some updates from life:

Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in March: Goal met?  Oh no, no, no.  In fact it was significantly (as in way, way, way, way) over where I wanted to be.  You know what though?  I had a lot of fun.  Running through the city was amazing and I got to see lots of sights that normally I miss because I am driving and cursing traffic.  After thinking a lot (way too much) about this race, I realized that I couldn't  have expected this run to go well.  I didn't put forth the work that I needed to, and as you can see from the majority of the posts I actually got around to writing, I ate like crap.  I let myself off way too easily. You live you learn I suppose.

New Year's Resolutions: So far, only one is officially met.  This little guy made it to dog school!  I am proud to say that he graduated and is ready for the next step up.  He is doing so much better on walks.

Despite what you may think, no, you have not seen a cuter dog than this.

I am also signed up for my second half marathon of the year!  It will be an October race and I am BEYOND excited!  It's also put on by one of my favorite racing companies, J&A Racing!  I have been following a training plan for a few weeks now that has been going really well.  I am slowly building mileage in, and I am even going to attempt to add speed work.  That will be an interesting part of the plan.  Basically, the plan goes twice a week running 45 minutes, then once a week a long run or speed work.  The 45 minute runs are considered "maintenance runs" and have a few minutes to a mile of "race pace"but I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that should be.  I've realized I'm not a very confident runner.  I need to work on that.  For example, yesterday was BEAUTIFUL out.  But, thanks to my friend's wedding, I was feeling reaalllly stiff and tired from a night of dancing and drinking.  I decided to stick to the 'mill because obviously it was going to be a hard run and I just knew I was going to have to stop for water every two seconds.  Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty great run.  Nothing spectacular, but I ended up running my 6 miles in 56:05.  I had set the treadmill timer for 62 min.  See where I'm going with the confidence thing?  On the flip side, I know I push myself harder on the treadmill.  I think part of it is secretly knowing I can stop and get water whenever I want.  I have also determined that because the bride of the wedding is a triathlete it must mean you can party all night with her and you are destined to have a good run.  She is amazing by the way.

On another running note, I am doing the Runner's World Summer Running Streak.  I was a little apprehensive because I have never run every day before.  I asked friends and my ultimate running advice go to (my dad!) how this was going to work out.  I was reassured several times that yes, I can do it.  No, running a mile isn't going to wear my body down.  I'm twenty something days in now, and have found that my legs have been a lot fresher because of it.  I would definitely do this again, although there has been a lot of laundry.  I'm an avid sweater and the majority of my clothes I have not been able to re-wear.  Speaking of sweating, I am excited because my favorite blogger, Ali,  is selling I <3 Sweat shirts to benefit the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.  I had been thinking of getting one for a while, but I finally made the plunge today.  I mean, who doesn't love a good sweat.  When I finish the streak, I am thinking of getting myself a "yay, I did it!" prize.  I know it's just a mile a day, but running 38 days in a row is a pretty big deal.  Not gonna lie, I have definitely written every single workout, but RW streak wise and training plan in my planner.  It feels good to check them off and has kept me on track.  I am thinking of buying the Nike running watch with the GPS in it.  I am obsessed with my Nike+ sportsband, but now that my runs are going to be getting a lot longer I think it would be nice to have a more accurate read.  I'm pretty sure it can still upload to my Nike running account, so I can still have all my information up there to see.  I love being able to look at my mileage, pace, and overall comments.  The new and improved website is pretty cool, too, now that I'm getting used to it.

Ok, this is getting to be a really long post.  I guess it was only right, seeing that I have months to make up.  Have a happy Monday! :-)