Guts

Heather sent this to me today...

"Some think guts is sprinting at the end of a race. But guts is what got you there to begin with. Guts start back in the hills with 6 miles to go and you're thinking of how you can get out of this race without anyone noticing. Guts begin when you still have forty minutes of torture left and you're already hurting more than you ever remember."- George Sheehan

I thought it was quite fitting.

Don't worry, I have pictures and updates for you, but the holidays are here...time is hard to come by :)

3 Races, 1 Month

Yes, you read that title correctly, and now the million dollar question...

What is wrong with me?!?!

I'm not sure, maybe I've caught the bug, maybe I just want more bibs to hang up on display in my garage, maybe I'm addicted to the t-shirts that only the runners get, or maybe I'm actually starting to like this sport.

I don't know what it is, but whatever it is has possessed me to sign up for 3 races this month and drag my family into participating in one too.

My first one is this weekend. It's a 5k in Reston again and it's an out an back course, meaning while I'm dying to get to the 2 mile mark all of the real runners will be passing me on their way back to the finish line...sweet! I'm hoping that helps push me through.

The next one is in 2 weeks at a park by my house. I've run the course for it before, and have to say, I'm not a huge fan. BUT, that's no reason not to give it a try right? Right (I think).

The last one is on Thanksgiving day. I'm giving myself a break and only doing a 2k, but this time Dave and Kaitlyn are going to do it with me. We're going to run as a family and I'm so excited!

So that's the layout for the next couple of weeks. Pray for me, I think I know what I'm doing :-)

Following the Plan

This past week I was supposed to do my two weekday workouts and then a 2.5 mile run on Saturday...I did them all. Yay! It felt good to know I had a plan and to actually stick to it, and now I'm looking forward to starting all over again tomorrow.

The Saturday runs are the hardest for me to get motivated for. There's nothing like knowing I have a day to sleep in, but yet I need to get up and run, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that. So, I didn't wake up early on Saturday, and in fact, actually got to sleep in until 8:30! I think with it still being dark outside till almost 8:00 that makes it easier for Kaitlyn to sleep in longer, (which reminds me, I really need to get those black out shades!). So, I got up at 8:30 with her, got her situated and then left. I had no idea where I was going to run to. I had thought about running around the lake but then decided not to because I was not in the mood for the ridiculous hills that are involved in that path so instead I went on my regular route through the neighborhood. I ended up doing 4 laps, and according to my ipod that was about 2.4 miles. On the first lap I made it the whole way around...that has NEVER happened! It was so cool to know where I usually stop and slow down and this time I ran right past that point and kept going. The 2nd and 3rd laps were a little harder but I made it through and on the 4th lap I went almost the whole way around again. It took just about 30 min for all 4 laps which is pretty slow, but that's ok. I'm just glad I was able to run farther than I usually do.

I can't wait to see how far I'll be able to go tomorrow!

Here We Go Again!

I'm all signed up for my next race...who knew this running thing would be so addictive. I'm not sure if it's the actual running, or getting the race bibs to hang up in my garage and T-shirt to prove that I did it. Whatever it is, I don't care, I'm loving it!

My next 5k is on Saturday, Nov.6 which is less than 2 weeks away!

I'm ok though, I've done one so I know I can do it, but the pressure is on to beat my time from the last one.

I had a really good run yesterday. I know, yesterday was Wednesday and not a 'training day' according to my plan, but I didn't get to run on Tuesday because of a previous commitment and I had to miss yoga because of an all day meeting, so I HAD to do something. I did a short run, just a mile because today is an official training day and I want to make good use of it. I did my mile in 14 min and felt really good about it. Hopefully today I can finish it a little faster.

There's two more holiday runs that I have my eyes on. On on Thanksgiving weekend and one on New Year's Eve. The one on Thanksgiving weekend has a kids fun run included, so I think I may sign Kaitlyn up for that, how cute would that be?! The one on NYE is a 10k...that means 6.2 miles...can I do it? I think so, just have to keep on keeping on!

Another Day, Another Run

Yesterday was Thursday which meant another run according to my training plan. It was an easy 30 min, no mile set run which was nice. I ended up only going 2 miles again but my longest point in the run was 3/4 of a mile...an improvement from Tuesday and it felt great! My first mile was done in 13.4 min so I took the second one a bit slower which was fine, I still felt like I was improving, and that's what counts now.

I also had some nice entertainment. Since I'm running without an ipod, I have to have something to look at. Tae-bo guy was there and just when I was thinking to myself 'I need to give this guy a high five for having the guts to come in here and do this all while looking like a giant ape', and then he started moaning, and I decided the high five was no longer called for. It was then I wished I had my ipod. I know I shouldn't bash someone else for working out, and I'm not trying to bash him, just describe what I was so amused by, but when he started doing his pull ups I almost fell off the treadmill. Who does pull ups, but uses their feet to push themselves up...isn't that defeating the purpose? Ok, enough ranting about this guy.

On another note, I've been looking in the brochures from our local rec centers to see if I can find a swim class for little Miss to take during the winter and stumbled upon a Zumba class that meets during the week at 7:30 - perfect time for me to take it. I'm also thinking about taking a class at a pole dancing studio! Get your mind out of the gutter...it's strictly for fitness! Heather and I may take a stab at our pole dancing skills and see if we can't tone up some of our extremities, I'll let you know how it goes!

A New Training Plan, A New Game Plan

I know, you're probably thinking this is a joke, how many training plans can she go through!? I don't know, I'll go through as many as I want until I find one that's right for me, but I think this might be it.

This new plan consists of only 3 runs a week...that's it, just 3! Tuesday and Thursday I'm supposed to run for 30 min and then Saturdays are the long run days starting at 3 miles the first week then 4 then 5 all the way up to 14 and then begin to taper off a few weeks before the big race.

Yesterday was a bit of a dreary day with rain and chilly weather (at least it was at 6:30 in the morning when I was packing my gym bag). So, since it was Tuesday and I HAD to get a run in I mentally preparred myself for going to the gym and using the dreadmill. I had a pretty good run/jog/walk. In 30 min with a 5 min slow warm up and a 3 min slow cool down I went 2 miles. I don't really care what my final distance was since I was able to actually run for longer periods of time during those 2 miles, and that's where the progress is being made. There was not one point yesterday when I felt like my lungs were going to explode out of my chest, woo hooo! My longest stint was a little over a half of a mile, which is an improvement so I'm happy about that. I also noticed that it was much easier to pace myself on the dreadmill, and without my ipod. Once you set the machine at 5.2 that's as fast (or as slow) as you're going to go, making the pacing part much easier. I've noticed that when I run at home, throughout the neighborhood I go a bit to fast, get winded much easier, and don't make it nearly as far as I'd like, plus, if I have my ipod on and the song is a fast one, which most of them are, forget it, I run to the beat of the music (guess that's the dancer in me creeping back out).

So, now I'm faced with which means of running to use, outside enjoying the scenery, or inside where I can have a machine pace me and I don't have to think about it. I'm not sure, but luckily for me Mother Nature may be the one making that decision since it's almost November and about to get pretty cold here.

I Did It!!!

I did it! I ran my first 5k and accomplished all 3 of my goals...

1. Cross the finish line
2. Cross the finish line with a smile on my face
3. Don't be the last person across the finish line

Heather was an awesome running partner, even though she could have finished in half the time it took me, she stayed at my pace and helped me through. I'm sure if I was doing it by myself I probably would have quit halfway through, I'm so glad she was there with me, Thanks Heather!!!
This was before the race while we were waiting to start...notice the cool headband I'm sporting, Heather brought it back for me from the Disney Wine and Dine. If you can't tell, it says "Run Like A Mother", I love it!

Mile 1 DONE!

Mile 2 Done...almost there! These pictures were also my excuse to stop and stretch for a quick min :-)

On my way up the home stretch, can you see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

My two favorite cheerleaders were there waiting for me right before the finish line to give me a high five and the little extra boost that I needed to make it across.

Here we come...to the FINISH!

A big hug for Mommy!

Family Shot.

Super happy to be done!

So, how was it? It was fun! Will I do another, YES! In fact, Thanksgiving is coming up, which means...Turkey Trots. We've already decided which one we're going to do and I'm also going to sign Kaitlyn up for a kids run. I forgot to mention there were kids out there running with us, I got passed by 3!!!

I'm going to rest for the rest of the weekend, but on Monday I'll be back out there with more of a fire under me now that I know how much fun these can be!