Just.....weird.

I don't recommend running the Monday after a totally exhausting Vocare weekend. My body just couldn't handle it haha. My legs immediately felt like dead weight so I ended up only going a little over a mile. I need to remember this for the future - no running after exhausting, exhilarating, tons o' fun weekends.

Yesterday's run wasn't too bad, but it was kinda weird. It's like my brain couldn't communicate with my legs very well. For some reason I had a problem regulating my pace. I've started wearing a knee & ankle brace on my right leg, so that's taken a little bit to get used to. The knee brace is really retraining my leg muscles, so my calves are needing a stretch quite a bit during the run. But for some reason the ankle brace is really not as comfortable as it is on the other foot, so I stopped and took it off for a bit. Then my ankle needed it again and I finished out the run with it on. Which wasn't too terrible.

But yeah, so I really couldn't get my speed going at a regular pace this whole run. It was just really weird.....I was going a lot faster than normal (usually a 13/13:30 minute mile to a 12:00 minute mile) and I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. But no joke, I couldn't slow down! Goodness it was just strange. And when I tried to slow down, my stride was all wacky. Weird! I ended up going 3 miles, so that's positive. I'm going for 4 either Thursday or Friday, so let's hope that works out hah.

Only three weeks left - ahhh! HONK!

Bad and AWESOME.

I ran kinda yesterday. I went to the gym to get on the treadmill since it was so freaking cold outside. It didn't go very well. I could barely make it to a mile. My shins were in so much pain that I couldn't even fight through it. My foot hurt a little bit, but not nearly as bad as my shins. I was so mad at myself and the fact that my body wouldn't let me accomplish what I wanted to do. Last week I finished the week going 1.75 miles straight and all I wanted to do was make the 2 mile mark. Hence the major reason I was so mad.

Now to today's run. I decided that I was going to run outside since the treadmill and I didn't get along so well the day before. But first I had to go get a new ankle brace because mine was shot. Let me just tell you how much of an improvement my new ankle brace made. My foot felt so much better than it has in a while and that was already an improvement when I started out today. Now, I said that I would never run in the freezing cold again, but......I did. And let me just tell you that one of the first thoughts in my head was when your parents joke with you that "Watch out, your face might freeze like that." And I totally thought my face was going to freeze with the "Oh my freaking gosh it's sooooooo cold!" expression on my face. It was so freaking cold. That wind was just so intense - it could just cut you in half. Goodness gracious I'm not cut out for cold weather.

But I digress.....

So my goal today was to get that 2 mile mark, and if I was lucky, 2.25. I start on my way and I'm getting to the 2 mile mark and I'm totally excited. I'm feeling pretty good so I think "Oh well let's see if I can add on another quarter of a mile." I totally get through that. So that puts me at 2.25 miles. I start to think I could keep going. I add on another .25 of a mile. Which makes 2.5 miles. I'm feeling pretty good and I think that maybe I could keep going. I add on another .25. I am now at 2.75. At this point in my run I'm at the crosswalk to start the last leg of my run toward my house. And without thinking, I start running. And then it hits me, "Am I really going to do this?!" So no joke, I stop for a minute and take a deep breath and answer myself (this was all totally out loud), "Yeah, I think I am!" I do a couple of chugs like a train, take a deep breath, gear myself up, and I'm off! I hit the 3 mile mark before I got home and I was like "I always run down to the mailboxes - today isn't going to be any different. Can I add it on?" So I go up and down the little inlets at my little neighborhood, to the mailboxes, and back up to my house. I ran 3.25 MILES STRAIGHT!!!!! Say WHHHAAATTTT??!!! I know, right? Just plain freaking CRAZY. I got inside my house and I looked at my mom and told her what I did and told her that if I could do a happy dance I'd totally do it. My mom did the happy dance for me. :)

I stopped a couple of times before I hit the 2 mile mark to stretch out my calves, but it really was only twice. Which is a lot better than normal. My shins felt better, as well as my ankle and that really helped. The whole idea today was to keep a little slower pace than normal since I was wanting to add on more distance. Apparently it worked! Once I got past the 2.25 mark, I had to really push through the tired muscles and the pain that comes on with pushing your body to a new level. But it didn't last long and the rest of the run went pretty well, just like the first part. My body was on autopilot today. It was like it knew what to do and just did it. It was really awesome. I still can't believe that I did that. Heck freaking YES!

I think today was really a breakthrough for me. I know what my body is capable of and I know that I can push myself to new levels. And I'm able to do that. I think that was a big realization for me today - I can push myself and I'm not going to die doing it. It was just a really awesome moment each time I accomplished another quarter of a mile. :)

Alright, that's enough from me. We're totally gonna be awesome at the 15k! HONK!

Kids, don't try this at home.

I ran in 28 degree weather yesterday. It started out pretty well running 1 1/4 mile the first go round, but then the second round didn't go as well. The cold just really affected me and I wasn't expecting it. I stretched a lot the whole time though. My calves have been really tight after each run so I've had to stretch a lot. Which is really good, but it would be better if my calves weren't so tight to begin with haha. So I stopped a few times during the run to stretch out my legs. But let me tell you, the second time around, my legs were NOT happy. My chest was starting to feel the affects of breathing in cold air pretty heavily so yeah, my body was just not happy about running in 28 degrees. On the up side, it was 33 by the time I got back home! If I can help it, no more running in the freezing weather.

Today's run went pretty well actually. I went to the gym, so there's a step up right at the beginning. :) I stopped a little less to stretch so that was good, too. I did a short run because goodness gracious I had to go to the little girl's room so badly! My bladder was yelling at me....a lot. So I only did 2 miles, which is shorter than normal, but guess what?! I only walked 1/4 of that! I ran 1.75 miles straight today. :) I was planning on just doing a mile and a half, but I decided to push it and see if I could tack on the other 1/4 mile. I'm pretty proud of myself. This means that maybe by the end of next week I'll be close to 3 miles of straight running. So crazy!

I think this cycle of running I'm taking a little more seriously. I mean, I took it seriously when we started this whole process, but now I think it's more than just me doing this with my friends. I think now the end goal is me being a healthier person, while also enjoying it like before. I mean, at the beginning, yeah the healthy part was just an added bonus, but now it's more of a focus than a plus. If that makes any sense haha. So yeah......hah.

I'm really proud of us continuing on with our handy dandy little project. HONK!!

My legs, my legs!

Today was Calibration Tuesday! Except that it didn't like the mile that I walked. But the mile I ran went well haha. I ran yesterday and I was pretty proud of myself. :) I did a mile straight at a time with only a quarter mile walk in between. My legs started to feel like jelly toward the end, but goodness gracious I was determined to make it! I was definitely sore once I was done, but I was hoping that it wouldn't be too bad today. Except that I was still sore when I got up this morning to run. So yeah, my one mile calibration was pretty intense because my legs were just not happy. I was having a few shin issues both yesterday and today, but I just ignored it and pushed through it - no pain, no gain! Let's just say that I'm glad tomorrow is a rest day! Maybe this week I'll actually get in my four runs that I wanted to do from the get go. I can say that it's a good soreness though - makes me feel like I've accomplished something. Plus it means that I gave my legs a good workout/run. Yay!

I'm still hoping to get my mileage up enough in time for the race, which may be a pretty optimistic hope, but hey - ya never know! :) I'm still pretty excited about our race - it's gonna be pretty awesome!

HONK!

Dude I'm totally on it.

I ran on Thursday and I ran today. My times for each are a little longer than before, but it's not too bad. I'm okay with it. :)

I decided today to try for a straight mile, even though I really wasn't going to try until Monday, but I decided to go for it. And I totally did it! I even felt like I could make it a while longer, but I didn't want to push it. I walked for a little bit and then ran again for about half a mile before I quit because of time. Just as a bit of background, I was in Savannah this weekend for the Diocese of Georgia's convention, so I just ran around Becca's neighborhood. It started sprinkling/raining while running, but it wasn't too bad.

I'm planning on calibrating my nike+ on Monday, so I'll walk a mile and then run a mile. But hopefully next week will be the start of running a mile or more at a time. I'm excited.:) And I am officially committed to running the marathon at Disney World next January. Matt has said that he would run and there's a possibility that Liz B will run.....so we'll see. :) I'm just excited that my friend Jody brought it up. It'll be awesome! But first I need to get through this 15k haha.

Anyway, so far so good - let's keep it up! HONK!

i'm hardcore.

Finally!! A successful run!

I set out today, with Sean's tips for not getting a side stitch, and the expectation of taking it slowly.

Weirdly, my heel started hurting almost immediately after I left the house, and then I looked down and my ipod was so nearly dead. However, I didn't let that stop me. Also, let me remind you that it was abooouuuut 35 degrees at this point (I wore a LOT of layers). But I started out, and only ran for maybe a minute or two, and made myself pause for a bit, and then got back to the running. I started alternating running 4-6 minutes and walking a couple, and I continued in that manner for almost an hour!! I also got further than I ever have thusfar. So yeah, I am still pretty proud.

On the downside, BOTH my IT bands are really in pain. But I'm hoping to start actually stretching consistently to take care of it.

Another link!

this one is thanks to sean, and explains the cause and remedy for side stitches:

http://www.makeithappen.com/wis/readings/sidest.html

"You grew it, you move it!"

My college band director, Dr. O, used to tell us that all the time. I think it's pretty appropriate haha.

My run times per mile are getting better each time I run, so that's positive. The running four times a week hasn't really happened yet, but I'm trying! My current plan is to bump up my mileage each week. So far I've gone up a quarter of a mile at a time so right now I'm at 3/4 mile and next week I'll be up to a mile at a time. At that point, hopefully I can go up a half mile at a time. Hopefully haha. My run today went pretty well and just proved that I'm on the right track. It got pretty uncomfortable closer to the 3/4 mark, which meant that I was training my body in a pretty good way. So yay!

On a side note, it's been freaking COLD. I bought a Nike thermal shirt on sale a couple of weeks ago and bought another one (still on sale) today. Those things are just freaking comfortable as all get out, and once you get warmed up, it's not overpowering like other thermal wear gets. If that makes any sense haha. Basically it means that when I get warmed up, the thermal doesn't automatically put my body in to "I'm gonna heat up lots and lots!" mode haha.

Okay, anyway, enough about the comfy thermals.....

I'm really hoping that I can get my mileage up before the race. If I can get up to 8 miles in one run, actually running, then I'll be good.

Here's to hoping! HONK!