My First Race and lots of CAPS LOCK

Hello friends! I apologize for the lack of content over the past week. Last week? Was INSANE. I was SO busy and SO stressed and a lot went down but it's all over now and it's a NEW WEEK and it's currently SEVENTY-ONE degrees outside (it was 57 when I left the house) and I feel like a NEW PERSON after a very releaxing weekend.

CAPS LOCK.

So, I want to talk about something really cool that happened yesterday, on Labor Day...

I RAN MY FIRST 5k!

It was the Labor of Love 1k, 5k and 10k races sponsored by Stonebridge Racers in McKinney, TX.  The lovely Sarah over at Sarah Snacks sponsored my entry fee (how awesome is THAT? she has met me ONE TIME), and it was just a really cool experience.  I'm feeling newly motivated after running yesterday, but more on that later.  Let's talk about the race!

The race was supposed to start at 8am, so my goal was to be there by 7am to get my registration and bib, stretch, and just kind of get myself in a good mental place.  So that meant leaving the house by 6:15am.  Here's a brief rundown of how the night/morning before went:

8:30pm -- took melatonin and drank a bottle of water and got into bed with a book guaranteed to not stimulate the mind too much (a biography of Mary Tudor, aka "Bloody Mary," if you're wondering).

9:00pm -- start falling asleep.  Put book down and turn off lights.  Say prayers.

10:30pm -- wake up after a nightmare that I broke an ankle.  Go to bathroom.  Go back to bed.

11:30pm -- wake up after nightmare that I ran the wrong course and got lost.  Go to bathroom.  Go back to bed.

12:30am -- wake up after nightmare that I overslept and missed the race.  Go to bathroom (water before bed may not have been the best idea).  Ask husband to please come to bed so he won't be a grouch in the morning. 

1:30am -- still awake.  Husband snoring.  Get up and go to couch.  Sleep on and off until 5am when alarm goes off. 

5:15am -- get up after updating Facebook status, go outside and nearly cry tears of joy that it's so beautifully cool outside.  Eat breakfast (Frosted Flakes with banana). 

5:30am -- wash face.  Wake up husband.  Tell him it's 60 degrees outside.  Why isn't he more excited to be awake?

5:35am -- stretch.  Watch ESPN while husband eats breakfast.  Try not to nag him to hurry up and go shower so we aren't late. 

5:50am -- physically turn off television and get reprimanded for turning off ESPN during baseball playoffs talk.  Give a Look.  Husband gets in shower. 

6:20am -- leave for the race!

7:00am -- arrive at race site. Get bib and spend at least 10 minutes getting it straight on my shirt.  Take obligatory self portrait:

Then take picture of sweet puppy who is being so good despite being SO EXCITED about seeing other people and other pups:

7:45am -- meet up with Laura (photographer, not pictured) and Sarah (right) and Laura's cousin Jennifer (center).  Take pre-race picture.  Start feeling super nervous.

7:59am -- head to starting line with Sarah (Jennifer would be starting the 10k a few minutes after the 5k started).  Take a quick picture of the lovely view around the Stonebridge Beach Club. (I didn't take pics during the race, even though there were a few LOVELY spots. More on that later).

8:02am -- start race! 

8:44am -- FINISH RACE. Laura takes the most epic finish line pic of me...which was inspired by Caitlin's blog about taking awesome race pics.  No, I didn't hurt myself.  Yes, I made one of the race volunteers laugh.

8:45am -- Find husband and pup (they'd been on a long walk, too).  Get water.  And watermelon!  Take pic together (note that both of our Red Sox hats are getting pretty gross.  I think that's the mark of a good hat.).

9:15am -- get in car.  Put on official race shirt and SMILE that I DID IT!

You guys! I ran a 5k!

Was it my best time ever?  Not hardly.  Was it hard?  At times, yes.  This course had some WICKED hills in it.  I'm not talking about "oh hey, this suddenly seems hard...I must be running uphill."  I'm talking "holy crap where did the runners in front of me go??" hills because they were so steep. 

Luckily I had a rockin' playlist that I custom-made based on previous runs and corresponding shuffles and how certain songs made me feel while running.  That helped a lot.

There was only one time where I got genuinely frustrated, and that was around the 2 mile mark, after all the worst of the hills.  I slowed down to a brisk walk at the water station and, after throwing away my cup, started back to running and immediately had to stop and walk again because I couldn't catch my breath.  I was wearing Laura's Garmin (AND NOW I WANT ONE) and I was frustrated that I was going more slowly than I'd hoped, and I did not want to be walking but I knew I needed to catch my breath if I didn't want to finish the race at a walk. 

Then I told myself to stop being crazy and just catch my breath and get over it and start running again when I was ready. 

My goals were to:

* Take pictures (check)
* Take some pictures along the route (NO check.  There was one point where I wanted to take a pic b/c the view was so pretty, but I was hitting my stride and didn't want to break it just for a picture.  I'm glad I listened to my gut.  Too bad there was nothing pretty to look at during the aforementioned unwanted walk break).
* Finish in under 45 minutes (check. According to my MapMyRun app I was at 42:00 exactly)
* Have a pace <14:00/mile (check.  13:17/mile according to MMR app)
* Get an awesome finish line pic (check)
* ENJOY MYSELF (CHECK!)

In the 24-ish hours since the race, I've done a lot of thinking.  I feel SO accomplished, and I'm anxious to run again tomorrow.  However, I looked at a couple of the professional pictures of me along the race and concluded the following:

* I really have let myself go a little with eating, and that's why, despite my run schedule of late, I'm still not losing weight in the areas I need/want to (stomach...)
* I have to start cross-training on non-running days again.  That's why my calves don't look as good as they did last summer, when I was doing yoga AND running AND elliptical-ing.  (I was also tapping during a show, but whatever).

Please be aware, I am not focusing on these more negative thoughts.  But shouldn't we learn some things after a race/event that we'd like to improve in our healthy living aspirations?  I think it's okay that, despite my thrill at having done the race, I have also found areas to improve upon. 

I'm excited and already starting to look towards running another race (or more!) this fall!  Thank you all for your support via Twitter, Facebook and emails yesterday!  You're awesome!

Fitness Friday -- First 5k Edition

Good morning, friends! (Don't you love how I only post a Fitness Friday when I'm not completely embarrassed about the last weeks' activities? Oh well, at least I can admit it, right? RIGHT?)

So it's FRIDAY,and I'm doing my best to wake up and get the day moving after staying up way, way too late last night.

But sleepy though I may be, I"m feeling pretty great this morning.  A little sore, but incredibly accomplished.  You see, yesterday, I had a really good run.  And I had a pretty good run on Monday, too!  Let's talk about Monday's first....

After last Thursday's quite grumpy post, I tried to get myself out of my funk by going for a treadmill run.  I left that run feeling even poopier because my pace SUCKED and it was really hard.  Just goes to show you that sometimes even exercise can't bust you out of your funk, and you just have to have a crappy day.  Well, on Monday I got on the treadmill again and thought, "Okay, treadmill...why should I let you slow me down??" 

So, instead of picking the speed I usually pick, I bumped it up until it showed me a speed that would give me a pace/mile similar to what I'd been achieving outside.  Then I covered up the display and decided to run for 30 minutes.  I actually ran for 32:39 because I wanted to finish a song.  I lifted up the towel and saw that I'd achieved 2.45 miles at a pace of 13:19/mile.  My fastest outside so far has been 13:06, so I was pretty pleased!

My plan was to run again on Wednesday, but we got invited to a Red Sox/Rangers game, so I decided I'd just go Thursday.

All day yesterday, I was waffling about whether or not I wanted to go run.  I was THIS CLOSE to just skipping it.  Then I got a series of messages from the amazing Sarah over at Sarah Snacks informing me that she'd just registered us for the Labor of Love race in McKinney, Texas on Labor Day (she's doing the 10k, I'm doing the 5k).  First of all, HOW AWESOME is Sarah for sponsoring me for my first 5k?!  Do me a favor and go visit her blog and tell her how awesome she is for doing that for me...

So....all thoughts of skipping my run flew immediately out the window since now I'm actually running a 5k for the first time ever in about a week.  Cue the butterflies in my tummy.  Eeeek!  I've already started formulating a plan (which may or may not include a LOT of googling about "tips for your first 5k") and I'm very excited to be participating with Sarah and having Laura along for the ride for support and photography.

I got to the gym yesterday intending to do a repeat of Monday's treadmill run, but since it was the first day of classes, the place was MOBBED, and no treadmills were available.  So I headed upstairs to the indoor track and decided I really oughta push myself past my typical 2.5-ish mile mark since I have to run 3.1 in a week.  A few things I did differently than usual as I ran in circles:

• I refused to look at the digital clock on each lap, so I wouldn't worry about time
• I counted DOWN the laps, instead of up.  This actually helped a LOT mentally...I was counting how many I had left, rather than how many I still had to go.  Plus I always lose count and err on the side of caution, so who knows if I actually even ran more than the 3.13 miles that 25 laps approximately equals.
• I stopped a couple of times to stretch/slow down/walk but not for long. I wanted to keep going...not to push my body too hard, but because I wanted to keep running.
• I made an effort to try to go a little faster when I felt good, but didn't try to maintain a ridiculous pace if I needed to catch my breath a little.

The result?  3.13 (ish) miles in 40:23 with an average pace of 12:54/mile!

Who's awesome? THIS GIRL

I was REALLY proud of myself and I felt really accomplished that I'd run a 5k (in circles, but still...) in less than 45 minutes. 

I also learned that I need to do this a few times next week to get my body used to it before I do it outdoors.  I felt great for the first 2 miles, started getting tired around 2.5, which is what my body is used to running, and really had to give myself some pep talks in those last 5 or 6 laps because my body was really getting tired.  In retrospect I suppose I could've stopped/slowed down to stretch and keep my body feeling good, but I was afraid I wouldn't start back up again.  Live and learn, right?

SO YEAH!  Good week!  Didn't run as MUCH as I would've liked, but it was a very accomplished week for me mentally and my pace/mile even improved a little bit. 

I've also found that having some good tunes can really pump me up in a run.  Here's what my iPod decided I should hear yesterday:

I'm not gonna lie...every time I hear "Club Can't Handle Me" on a run, I can't help but go a little faster and get excited.  That's one I'm gonna have to make SURE comes up on my playlist when I run on Labor Day! 

Sorry for such a LONG post, but I am very excited about my running right now, and I am really proud of this crazy body of mine for adapting to a spot where I can say things I never thought I'd say ("I miss running!"  "2 miles is easy!"  etc.).

Have a GREAT weekend!

Fitness Friday (I KNOW!)

So, remember how it's been WEEKS since I posted a Fitness Friday blog?  Yeah.  It's because I've been ASHAMED, people!  I haven't been completely lazy, but I've gotten about as close to doing nothing as possible.  I could blame the heat.  I could be REALLY lame and blame my period (ewwww! run away, boys!).  But I won't.  I've run a few times...walked the pup a few times...but I've been spending a LOT of time doing awesome things like coloring at coffee shops and getting my picture taken and sleeping.

Healthy LIVING, right? RIGHT.

ANYWHO.

I haven't been exactly active (exercise-wise, anyway) this week, either, but I did want to talk about a major accomplishment I felt yesterday.

As you may or may not know if you aren't living in Texas right now, yesterday ended a 40 day streak of days with temperatures at or above 100 degrees. Yes, it feels like the bowels of HELL.  I ran on Monday afternoon at the indoor track in the gym (which is boring) just because it's too hot to be outside after about 9am. Well, I packed my gym bag yesterday expecting to go run indoors again after work, because I was DYING to run again this week(I know...WHO HAVE I BECOME??).

However, around 1pm, something strange happened.  It got very cloudy outside...and dark...and the wind picked up...

Out of sheer curiosity, I logged on to weather.gov and saw that the current temperature was SEVENTY NINE DEGREES.  I immediately changed into my running clothes, grabbed my iPhone and took off outside. 

There were sprinkles of rain on my face!!  It was WINDY and the gusts were COOL!  Seriously, I was running with a giant smile on my face because it felt so great outside! Everyone I passed walking on campus smiled at me, people seemed to have a spring in their step....we so badly needed that brief reprieve from the heat! I couldn't help thinking about the way Phoebe runs on "Friends."

My iPod was rocking with me:

I stopped towards the end of my run to snap a picture of the clouds, just for evidence in case it doesn't happen again for months:

When I got back to my office, I checked my iMapMyRun app to save my workout and saw that I ran my best time per mile EVER.  Yes, I'm still slow, compared to most "real runners," but just some data for you...
I checked my past workouts and saw that on June 2nd I completed a 2.25 mile run at a pace of 16:26 per mile.  Yesterday I completed a 2.25 mile run at a pace of 13:06 per mile.

Boom. I was a happy girl.

Of course, after the rain passed, the clouds also disappeared and the temperature rose back up to a nasty and humid 97 degrees...but no matter, because I had jumped at the opportunity to get outside and feel a cool breeze on my face and feel strong and fast(er) and HAPPY!

HAPPY FRIDAY, FRIENDS!

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” — Vivian Greene

Fitness Friday!

(Don't you love how I'm suddenly assigning all these days? Tuesday Tunes...LWL Wednesday...now Fitness Friday?  Let's see how long any of them actually last.  But I do thrive on having structure, so maybe this is a good thing.  Anyway...)

Happy Friday, bloggers and readers!  How has your week been? 

Honestly, I feel like this week has kind of been a blur.  Some of you know about my...um...interesting Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, which included an unexpected 1am drive to downtown Dallas to make sure someone got home safely.  Guh.  Not the best thing to happen the very week I decide to start trying 6am workouts. 

But! I am happy to say that I did run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (Wednesday was rough!), and I did weight/cross-training on Tuesday and Thursday.  And I did make it to the gym at 6am on Monday, Thursday and today. 

Making sure that those little curve balls didn't throw off my goals was a pretty big step. And, even though I'm really worn out today, it's that productive, accomplished kind of tired. Woot!

I've been doing these early morning workouts with my Mom, who is kind of a beast.  She's never really considered herself a runner, though, so it's been something new and challenging for her, too (even though she still leaves me in her dust.  Darn long legs...which I did not inherit. How is that fair?).  Today she wanted to try an outside run, even though it was already 80 degrees at 6am and so humid it felt like we were drinking the air rather than breathing it.  But we did it!



It's hillier than I thought it was...so I'm glad that's why it felt hard and not because I was just struggling.  I was very proud of Mom, too!  I definitely earned that Starbucks skinny hazelnut latté I went and got after my run!

So! It's gonna be a good day.  I'm happy, I'm wearing green, and I'm excited about all the family time happening this Father's Day weekend. 

Have a great weekend!

Charity Case

Someone asked me the age-old question once: "What would you do if you didn't have to work?"  I thought for a few minutes...and the only answer I could come up with was "Volunteer."  It's always been a big fear of mine that I won't leave any mark on this world when my short time here is up.  I know that (or at least hope that) I make a difference on a small scale in some people's lives...but there's a part of me that wants to do more.  I want to help people.  I want to make sickness and cancer and autism and poverty and hunger go away.

Then I get overwhelmed. I can barely pay my own bills sometimes. I feel like I don't have enough money to donate and make a difference.  I can't settle on one organization because so many of them pull at my heartstrings.

I'm a bleeding heart.

I always have been.

There are so many charities and organizations that, had I the means, I would like to be involved with, but I want to choose ONE (or at the very least, one at a time) and make a difference for that one.

Last year, it was the Susan G. Komen foundation's 3-Day Walk. I've already decided that, for many reasons, I am not doing the 3-Day walk again this year, so I'll probably try for the 5k Race for the Cure happening in my hometown this fall.

Then I read something like this and all those feelings come back: I wanna help! What can I possibly do?!  Yes, I'm praying, but I want to DO something.  My heart swells up and feels painfully tight and I almost feel like I can't sit still.  But what can I do?  Where do I start?

Well...I think I started weeks ago, when I started running. I started running out of boredom with the elliptical, the need for some Zen me-time, and the desire to start building up my stamina. So, what can I do with that?

I can keep training. I can do the Relay for Life and the 5k Race for the Cure this year, and then...just maybe...the training for those races will build up my endurance and make me feel more confident about running enough that I can make even bigger goals and attend more races.

So, I think I am going to set a goal, right here and now, that 2012 will be the year that I raise money for Train4Autism. Maybe I'll still only be able to do a 5k or 10k, but just maybe I will be ready to start training for the half marathon I put on my 101 in 1001 list.

Long-time readers of this blog and my other blog know that I don't believe in coincidence.  I believe every tiny thing in my life, good and bad, is all part of God's master plan for my life. I don't think I "just started running" and started following runners on Twitter.  I think I needed to know about Sam and Tiffany and their precious children.  The pull I feel in my heart towards this family and their struggles with autism makes me want to do something.

Sure, it will be a drop in the bucket...but it's better than doing nothing -- which is absolutely not an option for me.

ETA: (Why do I always notice these things AFTER I hit "publish?") The title of this blog was in NO WAY meant to say any of the people I am running/walking/raising funds for are "charity cases" in a negative sense.  I just mean that, in this case, I am consumed with thoughts of doing something charitable and that I want to do something about it.

Running Playlist

Today Sam over at Operation Jack posted his running playlist.  I'm still fine-tuning mine, but I'll at least post what I got through yesterday on my very accomplished (for me) run.  Keep in mind this is not consistent, necesssarily, and it was fairly arbitrary since I just put a bunch of songs I like on a "Running" playlist and then put the playlist on Shuffle.  But, here's what I listened to:

Adam Lambert "If I Had You."  I. Love. This. Song.  It's even better on the elliptical, but it was a nice rockin' start to my run.

"A Thousand Angels" by my good friends in Manic Bloom.  Check these guys out...I love their sound and I predict they're gonna be HUGE some day.

"Death and Conversation," also by Manic Bloom (MUSIC VIDEO COMING SOON!)

"Everything" by Michael Buble.  I love this song b/c it reminds me of my wedding day.

"And So We Run" by David Usher (also the title of yesterday's blog post, for those of you paying attention). I'm kind of obssessed with David Usher right now, and this is one of my favorites.

"You've Got the Love" by Florence and the Machine.  Ain't nothin' on this album I DON'T love. 

"Club Can't Handle Me" by Flo Rida featuring David Guetta.  This one TOTALLY pumped me up as I was nearing the end of my route and feeling a little bedraggled.

"Disappear" by the Gabe Dixon Band.  This one came on in the home stretch of my run. I know and love this song so much that it made it very easy to finish. 

Now! What's on YOUR playlist?

And so we run

I've been staring at this blank, open blogger window for a few days now (on separate occasions of course...I have slept and worked and done other things of course) trying to think of how to just jump back into this non-theatre, non-devotional-inspired blogging.  I suppose I should just make it simple:

I've gained some weight back...only about 10-12 lbs or so of what I lost (of which I've re-lost about 5, so net gain is really about 5-7lbs).

I've decided not to attempt the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure again this year.  My teammates and I agree we may try it again next year, but a year off seemed to fit our current lifestyles/schedules.  I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we each realized the other was thinking the same thing.

This has left me feeling...unsettled.  Lazy. Unmotivated. Bummed out.  ROUND AND SOFT.

I can't even tell you when I decided, "You know what? Maybe I'll try running."  Maybe it was when I realized that running three times a week and drastically counting calories again would be the best way to jump start my weight loss again.  Maybe it was because I ended up following some Twitter people who are running for one reason or another (for themselves, for weight loss, for therapy/alone time, for a cause, etc.) and I thought "they really seem to enjoy this -- I wonder if I would?"

Turns out? I kinda do.  Like, a lot.

I'm slow. I can't run very far without feeling like dying.  I get winded quickly.  Old ladies with walkers pass me (okay that's not true). 

But I'm doing it.  I'm going three times a week.  I recently discovered that I enjoy running outside more than running on a treadmill going nowhere.  Until today, I was running two miles, three times a week...mostly without stopping.

Today, I decided to push myself a little.  I mapped out a new route and I ran 2.61 miles in beautiful weather.  While I struggled with my rhythm and my stride at times, I never stopped to walk. I always regained a breathing pattern that I could maintain. 

I'm not doing Couch to 5k.  I'm not quite sure what I'm doing.  I don't have special shoes or gel packs or special methods.  I'm just out on the pavement...taking measured breaths every few strides, in and out, and reaching small goals at a time.

It calms me. It gives me time to think and to breathe and to leave all the stress I may have been building up on the pavement.  It leaves me with a feeling of breathless accomplishment every time I push myself a little further.

I am a goal-oriented person.  I need something to work for.  Right now? It's being able to run 5k without stopping. After that?  Actually register for and run a 5k....and then some 5ks.  After that? Who knows...I just know that I've found an activity that's mine and mine alone.  No teammates.  No fellow actors.  Just a network of people congratulating me and encouraging me...but the action alone is mine. 

I didn't realize how badly I needed just that.