Squeezing it all in

Even though school is over, I am still having these issues of squeezing everything in. Being a home owner, in and of itself, is one of the most difficult, scariest things. I hadn't expected to be doing it on my own and there are moments when I think "what if I just couldn't afford it anymore?" I don't have someone to lean on or help keep up things if I start slacking. I constantly am thinking of what needs to be cleaned, what should be fixed, what bills still need to pay, and most importantly, how the hell do I minimize my debt? These are the daily stresses that I am sure every adult goes through but my 27 year old brain still tries to scream out, "You're not an adult yet! You're young and should be carefree and enjoy only having to be concerned about yourself!" Well half of that is true. I am young but I am still an adult, as much as I want to fight it. I have been since I was probably even too young to be. I have always taken care of myself since I was 18 but something about owning property is scary! I know right now I am only taking care of myself. I make dinner when I want it and eat left overs for days because I am one person and I am not picky. I can work out for hours at a time, and know I don't need to rush home for anything. Still though, it would be nice to have something to rush home to. I guess on either side of the fence, there are the good and negative aspects and I need to just enjoy what it is I have now. 

Throwing myself into working out and making myself healthier is a nice distraction from these daily stresses. However, being stress free contributes to a healthy self. So round and round it goes. Yesterday, I was so exhausted that I took a nap on the couch, skipped my run, and then ordered pizza while watching So You Think You Can Dance. That sounds amazing, right? And it should be! I only let myself half enjoy these things though because it's "off my schedule." I was supposed to run and that pizza didn't fit into my calorie counting for the week. These thoughts make me think "Do I have OCD?" I slightly freak out when things do not go according to schedule and it's getting worse as I get older. I would love to change this about myself, especially before I start needing to take care of others besides me. So I constantly told myself last night that I would not let myself feel guilty for it. Instead, I made up for it by running to the gym tonight, doing body pump, and running home. I'm not gonna lie, I am freaking exhausted right now. 

Tomorrow I have a break and then on Saturday I am doing my second 10k (this time in Beaumont). I would like to beat my Run Through Redlands time of 1:09, even if by a minute. After the run, I am going to the Hangar 24 AirFest and am going to enjoy the hell out of it. They have shuttles picking up people in downtown Redlands throughout the day, and since I live very close to downtown, my friends and I can drink safely. It will definitely be a day of libations that are totally deserved after a run :) Then Sunday I am going to a spa with my boyfriend's mom and getting my second massage ever in my life! I gotta say, it may be the thing I am looking forward to most. Monday should bring a very relaxed Jenny to work... or exhausted, we'll see. 

Miles to date: 185.20 (ahead of schedule for my goal!)

Catch me if you can...

Well I found what I can fill a lot of my time with! Working out, some more working out, and then working out after my workout. Ok, I am not really doing that much but man do I feel like I am. I started back at body pump twice a week and have managed to do that for 3 weeks now. Since body pump isn't until 6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I decided to do the cardio classes before hand on well. On Tuesday, I am doing the step class at 5:30, and Thursdays the kickboxing class at 5:30. So far I really like the step class and will continue that schedule but am still getting used to the kickboxing class. Don't get me wrong, my heart rate goes way up and I feel like I get a good workout but because we don't have punching bags and doing the whole routine on the ground, I feel a bit ridiculous. Maybe I will learn better form as time goes on but right now I look like I am randomly flailing my arms and legs around and, I gotta say, it is NOT cute (but very funny!). 

When I am not doing a structured class, I am still running running running. I made it to 7 miles a couple weeks ago and was on a complete high after. I was seriously giddy the whole day and hadn't been more proud of myself until that moment. In regards to the races I have set up, I completed the Angels 5k at a slower pace than last year but I was still happy with it. I also did the Run Through Redlands in 1:09:24. That was probably one of the most difficult races, if not the most difficult, that I have ever done. The hills in the middle of it are killer. Next up... another 10k but this time in Beaumont. Since this one is supposed to be pretty flat, I expect my time to be a little better. 

Other than working out, I started reading a little. Currently I am in the middle of Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros, which is entertaining and proving to be an easy enough read. The bonus part is that I get to refresh some of my Spanish skills with the small phrases and references she uses. I had a couple friends send me a list of what I have been missing out on and plan to add those to my personal reading list (and, no, not Fifty Shades of Grey :P). Hopefully the coming weeks will allow me to continue doing these things that I love!

Now What?

Well, school is done. Like, done done. I mean, I still want/need to get my credentials/masters but my undergrad is done. I kind of can't believe it. This was a 9.5 year degree in the making. Yes, it took me way too long but I have been putting work before school since I was 17. It wasn't until about 3 years ago, that I decided that school needed to be done and I worked toward it much more aggressively. Now the big question is- what next? Well, I am going to give myself a year before beginning the next degree. Until then though, I think I have a lot of me time that I need to take advantage of. 

• I want to work out, push myself to the limits, and become as strong (mentally and physically) than I have ever been.
• Painting. My amazing boyfriend bought me a beautiful easel when I started this hobby and I haven't gotten much use out of it. 
• Organizing. The house can always use this, as can the garage. 
• Catching up with friends. I can't believe how much I have put this off. Life seems to fly by when all of your time is accounted for. 
• Relax. Now that my time is not so occupied, I need to learn to not cram everything in all the time. I need to just. chill. 
• Read! I can read non-school related books (I can very excited about this). 

Running has been amazing and I am up to 5 miles right now. I am right on track for the Redlands on April 1st. To re-evaluate my goals, I re-posted the runs I had in mind below:

• Run Through Mesa view Middle School 5k (done!) 
• Angels Baseball 5k- this is on Saturday and I think I am more than ready for it. 
• Run Through Redlands 10k- I just signed up today.
• Survivor Mud Run in Sept- I have signed up for this already as well. 
• Rock 'n Roll half in Las Vegas- this is the only one left for me to sign up for. Hopefully I can do that once I get my tax return.

Last year I was able to do the Angels 5k at 32:08. I must have been much faster than I am now, which is a little disappointing because I am not sure I can beat that. I will try, but not be upset if I don't. I am also right on track for my 365 miles in 365 days goal. To date, I should have at least 84 miles under my belt and as of today (after my 4 mile run), I am at 88.61.

Yay for miles

Since it is spring break for Kale's kids, we get to run in Redlands this week. Not only does that mean I get a little break from driving to Yucaipa, but I get a break from running hills! Today we did amazing and it was one of those runs that just pumped me up and made me have the biggest runner's high. We were able to do 4.75 at 11:30 minute miles. We could have made it to 5, but I think we underestimated the sun today. Since the weather likes to change drastically every week now, we weren't sure how hot it would be today. It wasn't too bad but my mouth was extremely dry and I needed water BAD. After we hit about 3.5 miles, it just continued to get worse. I licked my lips, I cleared my throat, I tried conjuring up any saliva I could, but it just made my mouth even worse. We stopped a little shy of my house, walking the remainder and then downed water as soon as we got inside. 

These (minus the lack of water) are the types of runs I love. When the sun is beating on my shoulders and I am running with ease and can control my breathing, it makes the run so relaxing and wonderful. I know this time will be limited because once it really starts heating up, the dry mouth issue gets bad before I hit even mile one. Kale and I even played with the idea of doing 5am runs this summer. Ask me again in a couple months though. Obviously, easier said than done. 

Wednesday we will try this again and hope to hit the 5 mile mark, which means we are well on our way! April is the RTR (run through Redlands), which I need to sign up for next pay period and I think I will be more than ready for just over 6 miles. 

I guess another big thing I should bring up, is that I am done with school in one week. I am one week away from having my Bachelor's, a degree I worked on for almost 10 years. I should be ecstatic and part of me is, but mostly, I am terrified. I have no idea what's to come but I think I have made up mind (90% sure) that I will not start a Master's program or Master's/credentials program for a year. I think I deserve one year off and, hopefully, I can concentrate on the things that make me truly happy (like running, reading, painting). It will be nice to only have to worry about a full time job and I hope I will be in that mind set in a week, instead of fearing the future. At least I know that I have exercise and other things that I am not afraid of and can continue to improve myself that way. So next time I post, I will be an educated, Bachelor's-holding blogger!

Miles to date: 63.53

9 seconds

Wednesday the 20th : Since it was rainy, Kale and I skipped our usual run. Instead, I got home, and because I couldn't help it, I went for one quick mile. My mile was 9 seconds shorter than my last! Again, this is only based on one mile, but it still feels good. After that, I headed over to a yoga class at the Yoga Room which is a little over an hour. I definitely got an amazing workout and was sore the next day.

Thursday the 21st: I wanted to try another mile again and since it was starting to get dark after I got home from class, one mile was exactly what I did. Funny thing is, I cut another 9 seconds off that mile! That would make it a 10:38 mile, which isn't amazing but a huge improvement. Since I am starting to get into that freakish, addictive workout mode, I came inside and did my Wii Zumba video.

Friday the 22nd- Today we had a new friend join us on our run and we bumped it up to 3.5 miles. We did great! It felt good to start the weekend off like this and I am confident we are on a good stride right now.

Sunday the 24th- After a weekend of too much food and drinks, I managed to do an afternoon run. The sun felt so good on my shoulders and because Redlands isn't nearly as hilly as Yucaipa, I managed to do 3.6 miles at 11:47 a mile, with plenty of energy left over.

Wednesday the 27th- Today Kale and I bumped it up to 4 miles and it was everything but easy. We tried a route where we went downhill first before going uphill. I think this may have made it more difficult because I was so out of energy and out of breath for about half of it. I should have known it would be difficult because I was tired going into it and I had a kind of off day as far as schedules go. When we finished and I saw we had managed an 11:53 minute mile, I knew we had pushed ourselves harder than I had anticipated. The good thing is that we made it but the scary thing is that we are trying another 4 miles tomorrow. Tomorrow we will tackle that uphill portion first and see how that goes.

Miles to date: 47.28 miles

Hills and Hills and Hills... Oh My!

Saturday's run went really well but it was hard as hell. It was all hill, all the time. Yucaipa is full of them. How you are able to run a circle where it seems you are just going uphill the whole time, is beyond me. It's like an episode of the Twilight Zone or a Shel Silverstein poem. Even with all the hills though, Kale and I were able to finish not only running the entire thing but finishing with about an 11 minute mile, average. I am more than ok with this since we just started again a couple weeks ago. After the run, Nicholas and I went home and had a great day which consisted of relaxing, homework, lunch, bowling, and hanging with friends. I would like to point out on this public blog that I was pretty much a professional at bowling. Ok, maybe not a professional but a 138 score is the best score I have gotten since grade school. Ego boost!

Beyond happy to be done.

Today, Kale and I took advantage of our day off work (yay President's Day!) and woke up early and went on another run. This one started off difficult because 1. I was still sore from hill day; 2. I was even MORE sore because we decided to try and dig up the jungle that is my backyard the day prior; and 3. It was damn early to be getting off on my day off. I got to Kale's house around 8am and we set out on a slightly longer run (trying 3.5 miles this week), along with her brother, Matt. I felt good after I got home as I sat on the couch eating cereal and drinking a very large cup of coffee, feeling all the aches in my thighs. I love the idea of starting my day off with a run and only wish it was something I could do every day. However, since I work at 6am, trying to run before then would require a gallon of coffee and night vision goggles. 


Miles to date: 34.17

Love is in the Air

My friend Kale and I have gotten into a routine where we are running Mondays and Wednesdays. Each time we do our loop in Yucaipa, we are able to do just a little more. Last Monday, we completed 2.75 miles straight. Today, we did the same thing but made it a total of 3 miles. This Saturday we have our 5k in Yucaipa and I am confident I will be able to run the whole thing. I am really glad that I am getting back into this and will soon be where I was before. The little improvements I am seeing each time keeps me motivated.

Also, I have been wanting to put up some of the recipes that I have tried from Pinterest or other sites. One of my recent favorites that I have made twice now is a warm lettuce wrap. I made a couple revisions to what the recipe called for but this is what I ended with:

Warm Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• 2 pears
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small head radicchio
• 2 small shallots
• 1 red onion
• 2 large carrots cut into matchsticks (I buy them already cut because it’s just easier)
• 2-3 cups of shredded chicken or turkey (depending on how much you want)
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 4 teaspoons Dijon
• 6 tablespoons sherry vinegar

First I poach the chicken, shred it and set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the pears until they brown just a little. Then remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Heat up the onion, shallots, dijon, and sherry, in the pan for a couple minutes. Add the radicchio (coarsely chopped), along with the carrots and chicken.

Lastly add the pepper and pears back into the mixture.

I serve mine on butter lettuce or romaine (romaine is cheaper) and top with gorgonzola crumbles. I recently tried avocado on top as well and that was delicious. The bitterness of the radicchio, sweetness of the pears, and the tangy-ness of the cheese make them such an interesting and fun meal! This whole recipe serves me lunch all week long and I never get sick of it!

*The recipe also calls for walnuts and fennel and ¼ teaspoon of salt. I leave these things out, but those who like it could easily add them as well.

I thought I would also share what I did for my boyfriend for Valentine’s day. I made him a man-bouquet (pictured below) with miniature alcohol bottles and beef jerky, served in a beer mug. It didn't come out nearly as crafty as I had envisioned, but I am sure he will like it nonetheless. I also made him some chocolate sugar cookies that came out really well! With half of them, I tried an orange cream (orange zest, heavy cream, cream cheese, powdered sugar) sandwiched in between them and the other half, I decorated with royal frosting. I hope he likes it!

 Miles to date: 25.78

Hungover and Tired

Trying to get your butt up and run after a night of drinking is difficult but almost needed more than on a non-hungover day. It helps me push past the icky-ness and feel like a real human again. Nicholas was kind enough to join me this morning and although our run was very slow and kind of short (2.2 miles), it was still a run and I feel a lot better having had done it.

I am looking forward to the weather getting a little warmer and not having these rainstorms every couple weeks. Yesterday was pouring, and even snowing in some neighboring towns. Because of this, I skipped my run and did an hour of Zumba in my living room instead. My Wii reminded me that I hadn't done Zumba since November (thanks, Wii). It's nice to know that even my game systems keep me in check. After doing my ridiculous Zumba moves, I did a 5 minute ab workout. I could feel the workouts I had been doing these past couple weeks on my body by about 6pm last night. This morning, I could feel it even more. Walking up the stairs, I feel the burn in my ass from running and squats. Re-positioning in bed, I can feel the soreness in my arms from the weights I have done. I love it. All of it. I love that the reason I am in pain is because my body is getting stronger and I have done this to myself. I did some weights for my back and arms after our short run this morning, so I am sure to feel that by tonight as well.

On Thursday after class, I had wanted to squeeze in a quick one mile run before eating dinner and getting ready for bed. I did increments of 45 seconds of my standard running pace, followed by 15 seconds of a sprinting pace. It was exhausting, but I managed to do a 10:55 mile! That may not seem that fast, but it is the fastest mile I have done in a very long time and being able to do that only a week back into it, makes me pretty darn proud of myself.

Now I am off to enjoy a beautiful Saturday with my amazing man, visit some family this afternoon, and then spend some time with great friends tonight. Good day, all!

Miles to date: 22.2.

Sometimes it's just plain hard.

The end of 2012 proved difficult as far as eating habits go. The beginning of 2013 proved difficult because of this damn cold that did not want to leave my body. I was sick of feeling like a blubber face and (more importantly) my clothes fitting way too tight. Although I couldn't work out, I knew eating healthy would help alleviate some of these problems. I started watching what I was eating again and being very strict during the week and letting myself indulge a little on the weekends. It worked a little. My clothes are starting to fit better, but I am still not allowing myself to step a foot on the scale. I have a love/hate relationship with that scale. Well, more like 5% love, 95% hate, but still...All of this is fine and dandy except for one huge factor: I COULD NOT WORK OUT. 

There is nothing more frustrating to me than wanting so badly to get in shape and continue my running, than to have my body completely betray me. I fought the cold as much as possible: eating healthy, drinking orange juice, taking vitamins, cold medication, sleeping a lot. After about 2 weeks or so, I thought I was starting to feel a little better, so I figured I could work out some. It started off by me trying a couple runs here and there. They were only a couple miles each but very difficult. It was incredibly hard for me to breathe and my nose just wouldn't stop running. Then I tried a yoga class. I was doing fine until about 45 minutes into it. I started to feel dizzy and thought I would pass out right there in the studio! I positioned myself in child's pose for the remainder of the class and went straight home after. I chalked it up to my body still trying to recover (although it was clearly giving me warning signs to completely stop). Then that Sunday, Nicholas and I took a hike. It was a relatively easy hike in Yucaipa and we walked 3 miles, ran 3 miles. The second we were done, I knew I had pushed myself too far. I felt like crap from the moment we returned home and then the coughing began... This continued on for another 2 weeks. I knew better this time not to push myself, so I haven't worked out. I have just been waiting for my body to decide to be nice again. Well this week I am feeling like myself again. The cough lingers a little, as does the runny nose, but minimal compared to what it was. That, and I have a lot of my energy back. Which brings me to my running goals:

This is going to be my year. I am saying it now. I do not normally make New Years resolutions but I thought this one was fun and was shared with me by a friend last year. I am going to run 365 miles this year. A mile for every day. Now obviously I will not be running one mile every day but a couple miles at a time, multiple days a week, should do it. I ran on Monday this week and again today. So far this year (due to my hiatus), I have accomplished 17 miles. I am confident I will reach my goal this year. Another big goal I have is to complete a half marathon by the end of the year. 

Needless to say, I have a lot of runs I am planning on doing and can't wait to do all of them. The soreness I have felt this week from running has been such a motivating, amazing feeling. I am feeling like myself again, which is completely uplifting. The tentative schedule thus far is:

Mesa View Middle School 5k next Saturday (already signed up)
Angels Baseball 5k at the end of March
Run through Redlands 10k in April
Survivor Mud Run in Sept- 9 miles (already signed up)
Rock 'n Roll half marathon in November (mere days before my birthday!)

*Due to budgetary reasons, I couldn't sign up for all of these at once, but I will be signing up for the Angels run soon. 

I hope to keep track of my goals here now that I am actually able to exercise and meet those goals :P I hope to try and record some healthy recipes that I try as well. Tonight, for example, I made skinny chicken enchiladas and they were delicious! Pics to come soon...

Loving your workout

Because I had skipped body pump on Tuesday, and I was starting to feel better by yesterday, I thought “I could still get a body pump in tonight at Thursday’s class.” I also had strayed away from any other workouts this week, so I wanted this one to be worth it. The weather was beautiful- nice and chilly and sprinkling just a little. I haven’t ran on wet pavement in over 6 months, so I had forgotten how refreshing it is. I knew I could save a little money by not driving to the gym and get an extra running work out in, so why not just run to the gym for body pump and back? I could feel every bit of the run: my feet as they hit the pavement and make a splashing noise, the cold air as it rushes past my arms, neck and face, and my numb hands as they try to circulate blood to keep warm. Because there is no music to listen to, the only rhythmic noise is my steady breathing and, soon, that is all I am concentrating on. I love every bit of it. These feelings are why I continue to run and have ran for the past couple years. This is why I have accomplished four 5ks, one 10k, and three mud runs.

I ran to the gym for 1.64 miles at 12.04/mile. This is not as long as my run home because I needed to warm up a little by walking some of the distance there. Once I got to body pump, the room looked different. Finally, 24 hours fitness saw how sad our gym is and were finally painting the room and getting new weights. Right now, I use these sand weights for body pump mostly because all the iron weights are taken first. Since they are now getting rid of the sand weights, I need convert from the kilograms I am used to, to pounds. Bare with me as I calculate this out loud- one kilogram is 2.2 pounds (roughly). If I have one 2.5 kg weight, one 1 kg weight on each side of the bar, that would be equivalent to 5.5 pounds plus 2.2 pounds, which is 7.7 pounds. That is warm up weight- I add one more kg after that, which would make my heavier weight at 9.9 pounds. Good to know, so I know what I am working with. I spoke to my friend, Kathleen, and asked her if she noticed results faster when she was going twice a week. After a couple texts back and forth with her (and how amazing she looks), I decided I was going to give that a shot. So starting next week, I will try and do body pump Tues and Thurs. This will not only be beneficial because I will be lifting twice a week but both nights are taught by someone different, so it will switch it up just a tad.

My run home was more enjoyable than the run there because my muscles were nice and warmed up and it helped that none of it was uphill J This made it possible to shave 40 seconds off each mile and do 1.83 miles at 11.36/mile. After an hour and 40 minute workout, I felt amazing. Even this morning I still feel amazing because I know I gave a great workout the effort and drive it needed. I will give my boy a rest today, but Saturday morning will be the day I do a longer run. I need to start tacking on more and getting my mileage back up, so I figured bumping it up to 4 miles would be sufficient.

Run there: 1.64 miles at 12.04/mile

Run home: 1.83 miles at 11.36/mile

Believe Walk 2012

The Believe walk was more than I had expected. The streets downtown were shut down and filled with thousands of people, sporting the breast cancer color of pink. People's dogs were dyed pink and wearing tutus, grown men had pink wigs on, and even the kids were getting in on the fun. I felt honored to be among all these people supporting and raising awareness to such a giant cause.

I was not feeling well when I got there but I was too determined to run to let that deter me, so I popped in a cough drop and went on my way. Somehow, I even managed to do my best 5k time yet- just under 32 minutes! This isn't too far off from what I was doing a couple months ago, but for how hilly it was and me not feeling good, I was ok with it. I recorded my times I could find for the 5ks I have done thus far... I still REALLY want to get to my goal of 30 minutes before the end of the year.

April 2012- 32 min, 8 sec
November 2011-  34 min, 35 sec
June 2011- 37 min, 37 sec

Sometimes.

Some days I just don't want to go to the gym. Sometimes, I am so exhausted that all I want to do is lie in bed. It's these same days that I know I have to go. Tuesday was long and exhausting and the last thing I wanted to do was workout. I knew I didn't want to skip a week doing body pump, because it's even harder to pick up the next week. So I dragged my lazy ass there, moping and pouting the whole time. As soon as that class started though, I was fully focused and gave it all I had. It paid off and will continue to pay off. I was sore yesterday and still am a little today and feel myself getting stronger each time.

I am making it official. Next month my birthday gift for myself will be going to the running center and buying new shoes. I am way overdue but this month's bills/activities won't allow for such a purchase. I may try and find a type of runner's utility belt. I swore I didn't want to run with my gigantic smart phone but I finally gave the Map My Run app a chance. I love it. It's accurate, it stores all my runs, and keeps track of the routes I do. Last week I ran a little over 3 miles and saw I was still at my same running average- 12 min miles. I ran with Nicholas Sunday morning and we added sprints and were able to get those miles down to a little over 11 min. Granted, when I do the sprints, my runs become shorter because I wear myself out faster.

Below is a picture from last year's Survivor mud run along with a picture of this year's. It's nice to see how far along I have come. 

This year.

Last year. 

Time to Run Again

The weather is still hot, but it's just starting to cool down enough later in the day for me to run outside. I haven't done a good run outside in months,  so when I got a small taste of it at the Survivor mud run on Saturday, I wanted more.

I have appeared nonexistent on here but I assure you,  I have been alive and well. During the summer, I was working out or doing some kind of active sport about 5 times a week. I would love to be able to boast that I have completely transformed my body; slimmed down and toned up. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The past couple months, I have remained the exact same size and shape. I can feel the muscles and I feel stronger but it's all remaining under this shell of fat, so to speak. To keep myself from going insane, I've simply chosen to not step on the scale. I wish this was good enough, but what's really bringing me down is my lack of energy. I want to sleep all the time and there are moments in my day that I have found myself completely checked out, going through the motions but having no real excitement or feelings for it is I am experiencing. 

This is why I finally made a dr appointment. I went in today and he said I should do some blood work. I hope I can get that done soon and figure out what the heck is wrong with me. Even if I don't start loosing weight, I just want to have energy and feel alive again. 

So tired and much homework to do, so I shall post more later in regards to pictures from the mud run and (possibly?) results from the blood work. 

Til then...

Update on the 10k

So I made a decision not to do the Run through Redlands because a more exciting (at least I think so) opportunity presented itself. I received an email from Angels Baseball about their 5k. The race included a shirt, a free ticket to a game, and most importantly, the chance to run on the field! Since I hadn’t signed up for the 10k Run Through Redlands yet, this was perfect. It was like everything was set just right for me to do the Angels run. The only thing was that the Angels run was only a 5k and I still wanted to prove to myself that I could do a 10k.

So on Saturday the 14^th, I routed out what the Run Through Redlands would entail and… I ran it. I ran the whole way and I felt really good until about the last mile or so. I started to get tired (and a little bored, I have to say). I decided to run past where the finish line would be and continued home, making the total run about 6.5 miles. The longest run I have done yet! Not to mention, this accomplishes one of my goals for the year. The next day, however, I was having a little pain in my hips. The next Monday I was sick, but feeling antsy at night, so I did some squats. I was starting to really feel my right hip by then. The rest of that week, I took a break from running so that I could be prepared for the 5k on Sunday. All the way up until the race my leg (I discovered the pain wasn’t actually coming from my hip), was still there. I ran through it and as soon as I was done, I knew that maybe running wasn’t the best idea.

I am still in pain and still taking a break. I hope to be back to normal soon, because I really want to focus in on one of my other goals, and that was to do a 5k in 30 minutes. My time on this one was 32.08, which is pretty decent, considering where I started. On April 4^th of last year, I had recorded that my fastest 5k was 37 minutes (and some-odd seconds), so I have shaved over 5 minutes off! Keeping my fingers crossed that this recovery time is speedy.

Until then!

Feels Like I am Starting From Scratch

The Run Through Redlands is quickly approaching. I have wanted to do the 10k for the last couple months now, but got side tracked with other obligations and responsibilities (and well, laziness). Now it is about 3 weeks away and I need to get on it. I ran with Kale on Monday for 3 miles and I struggled the whole way. Getting back into running is not easy, but luckily the miles add up fairly quickly. I ran yesterday too and that was more work. With an insane work/school schedule, just finding the energy to expend is difficult enough. Every minute of my day is accounted for and it’s these school quarters where my planner quickly fills up with things to do. Finding the time for exercise is not an option though; I have to keep it a priority like I do with work and school.

In order to “train” for this run, I am going to have Nicholas help me with running 6 miles this Saturday and next Saturday. If I can accomplish it by next Saturday, then I should be good to go on the 22^nd  (day of the run). We used to be able to run about 5 miles and if I would have kept on that pace, this would be a piece of cake but we all know that other things get in the way. To be honest, I started doing other exercises besides running and with all my daylight being used at work and school the last couple months, I didn’t try to run in the dark. Instead, I went to the gym and started doing the elliptical and bike (and weights). Running on a treadmill is always a choice but it’s awfully boring. I can only make it a couple miles on the treadmill before I get bored and move on.

I will try not to put too much pressure on myself, because running should still be fun for me and it is, as long as I don’t stress myself out about it. I would like to do this 10k and be able to consistently run 6 miles. In a couple months, once I have that down, I will start on my speedwork for a 5k. This will come in perfect time for the hot weather that is approaching. If I am only running 5ks and working to increase my speed, then I won’t be out in the sun as long. See, it’s a win/win situation!

More to come later (including pictures) about the recent mud run I did.

Another Year, Another Competition

It’s the beginning of the year, so people like to make new years resolutions and start fresh with a clean slate. Many people have a common goal of wanting to get in shape and/or lose weight during the new year. This is no different at work, so we have decided to do another “Biggest Loser” competition. This one will be slightly shorter (6 weeks rather than 8), from Jan 3^rd to Feb 14^th. I made it through the holidays without gaining weight, so now I will jumpstart the new year with a good kick in the butt from my competitive side. Without the temptations from all the good foods that the holidays bring, this should make it a little easier to eat better.

Because I set my health goals last year, I would like to do a re-cap of those and see where I am at and make new ones or extend the goals I had previously.

Previous Goals:

-          Lose 30 pounds (done and done! I have lost 55 so far)

-          Run a full mile (the most I have ran without stopping is about 5 miles)

-          Try a new healthy recipe at least once a month (this was very difficult to maintain due to lack of time.)

-          Activate Gym membership (done!)

-          Get magazine and start taking advantage of the great tips they have to offer. (done but I could probably read this magazine a little more)

-          Continue to do my work-out video on Thursdays and find new ones (I believe this was a video I found on Netflix. I did not continue that one but I have found lots of other work-outs, including games on my Wii console)

-          Look at getting new running shoes (this has been done and I love them. However, with how much I run, I will probably need new ones in a couple months)

-          Buy an alarm clock (this is done but I think the purpose of this was to get up in the morning to run. This has proven to be difficult because the sun isn’t rising early enough for me to run. I might need to come up with another game plan for morning work-outs).

New Goals:

-          Lose 35 pounds by the end of the year

-          For Distance- be able to run a 10k without stopping.

-          For Speed- be able to run a 5k in 30 minutes

-          Try a new healthy recipe once a month (I am putting this one back on here and hope I can do it this time)

-          Get new running shoes by June 1^st

-          Schedule and accomplish 4 races (either a 5k, 10k, or mud run. I am doing a mud run at the end of March so far)

I think these are all doable and I am proud that I accomplished and exceeded most of my goals last year. 2012 is going to be just as good, if not better, than 2011!

Wrapping up 2011

My favorite thing about running is that there isn’t anyone or anything around to judge me. Not that I am paranoid and people are staring at me or anything, but running is the most selfish, raw form of workout. It is just me and the street and nothing else. I don’t have to worry about waiting for a treadmill or some kind of machine to do my work out; no numbers staring me in the face on screen, tracking every move I make. Running doesn’t require me to have music in my ears to keep me distracted. The sound of my feet against the pavement and my panting (I mean, heavy breathing :P), is enough to create a kind of music of my own. The visual stimuli can keep me entertained forever, as long as I keep moving and changing my scenery. The soreness in my legs after a run is testament to myself that I will continue to challenge my body and mold it into a healthier me. Although the holidays have been a challenge as far as my diet goes, my exercising has not ceased and that is something I am more than happy to celebrate.

This year has been quite a success for me, health wise. I have lost 55 pounds, am able to run more than 3 miles at a time, and have consumed more healthy foods than ever before. I have gained so much more respect for myself and my body. I am more excited about my future and happy to live a healthy life. I hope to build upon my goals in 2012 but more importantly, continue to carry the things I have learned this year.

Goals Being Met and Moving Forward

I knew I wouldn’t be able to update this very much since school started, but I had to take the time to do so after this weekend. I will first give an update from about a month ago:

I was running around the block and after getting past the first mile I thought I could keep going and so I was able to run 2 miles. I slowed down to a walk but I felt good and I wasn’t completely out of breath like I have been before. After the weather started getting more drizzly and it got darker after my classes let out, I had to start running more at the gym on the treadmill. A couple weeks ago I finally was able to run 3.1 miles straight on the treadmill. Being able to run the full 5k straight, has been a goal of mine for a long time so I knew starting it on the treadmill was one step closer. I only did that twice on the treadmill before the Lighting the Way run I did Sunday in Redlands.

The run started at 8am and all I wanted from it was to be able to run the full thing. I didn’t care how long it would take me; I didn’t even care if it took me longer than my first 5k (37 min 37 sec). The race started and everyone seemed to bolt off. That was the first mistake I was not going to make- not to start off too fast and tire myself out. I tried to keep a nice, slow pace and as I did so, many people passed me. Every bit of me wanted to go faster and get in front of people, but I knew what my ultimate goal was and I had to keep focused on that. At around mile 1, I saw my friend Tory right next to me and she indicated that it had only been 10 minutes. A 10 minute mile!? I couldn’t believe with how slow I felt like I was going, I had just finished my fastest mile to date. It started to also make more sense why that first mile seemed so difficult to get through. Things only got easier and more empowering from there on out, though. Not only did I start to pass up all those people who outran me in the beginning, but I felt amazing. My breath had steadied and I had a nice pace going. It was extremely cold outside so as I ran, my body started to warm up and the only indication that it was cold was the breath I could see right in front of me and the tips of my fingers feeling like ice. They didn’t have the second mile marker out, so I wasn’t sure how long we had gone until I met back up with Tory at around 30 minutes. When she told me it had been 30 minutes, I knew we hadn’t only passed mile two, but we were getting close to the end. Sure enough, around the corner, I could see a crowd of people and balloons with the finish line. I thought “you just have to sprint this last part and you will be done!” As I went to sprint, I quickly noticed that the last stretch was a hill. Sprinting up that hill was one of the most exhausting things ever and I thought for sure I was going to puke if I didn’t focus on the ground in front of me. One step at a time, I thought.

My time ended up being 34 minutes and 45 seconds. I didn’t just meet my goal of running the entire thing in under 40, but I surpassed it and ran it even faster than my first 5k! The inspiration I get from other people, is the greatest motivator ever. Being able to run it in with one of my best friends, Tory, and seeing how excited she was as well, motivated me to continue doing these runs with her. Seeing my friend Kale do the 10k and how hard she pushed to run the whole thing, was inspiring and just plain incredible. Having my amazing boyfriend there to kiss me and tell me what a great job I did, made me glow with excitement and having Kale’s entire family there to support her and to even have them give me words of encouragement was extremely touching. The whole experience was moving and I couldn’t be happier as we stood there, having had our amazing results, while waiting for Kale to rock our socks off with her sprint to the end as well.

I cannot wait for the next run and I know I will only do even better. My love for running, especially outside in the cold, was definitely renewed that day.

Endurance vs Speed

I decided to take a step back and re-evaluate what I want with my running. I enjoy doing 5Ks and mud runs and little activities that make me push myself but what I want most during these activities is to last through the whole thing. I would love to be able to run a full 5K straight through. Once I am able to do something like that, I will then focus on my speed and improve my time. With this in mind, I went running last Tuesday (since my professor lets us out late, I may not be able to do body pump on these days anymore), and was able to run a mile and a half without stopping. Even when I stopped to take a break and walk, I only did so because I wanted to cool down before going inside. Since my days are so long now, I cannot do 3 mile runs as often because of the time it takes up that I now lack. I was stoked about the distance. It was a very slow run and I probably averaged a 12-13 mile but I didn't let that bother me because I need to keep my main goal in focus now. On Friday I woke up early to do another quick 2 mile run and, this time, I was able to go 1.75 miles! I thought, "oh I will be at 2 miles in no time."

Tonight, I went with Kale and we ran about 1.5 miles and most of that is up-hill and by far the most difficult part. After we got to a corner before turning, we had to stop for a couple seconds to drink some water. After maybe 7 seconds of stopping, we continued on for about another mile. Besides that 7 seconds or so, we ran almost 2.5 miles. I couldn't believe it. I felt fantastic and I tried to keep my breath steady the whole time and not make myself sick or anything too intense. It was just a steady, nice, cool run. Absolutely perfect.

I believe that by Nov 6th, I will be able to run my whole 5K. I don't think I mentioned that before but there is another 5K in Redlands on that date that I would like to sign up for. So that is my newest goal- run the whole 5K without stopping. I will not worry too much about my time, but I am thinking that if I am able to run at a slow speed, that I still may beat my first time of 37 minutes and 37 seconds. Even if I don't though, I will still be able to say that I ran the whole thing and that alone will be amazing.

Mud Run

School has started, so posts will probably be even more infrequent but I wanted to document my first mud run!

As I said before, it was in Lake Elsinore, so Nicholas and I woke up early to get there in plenty of time to pick up our bibs. We met up with my friend Kale but, sadly, were never able to find Tory. The run started off and I tried to keep a steady pace with both Nicholas and Kale. The beginning was the worst because it was hot as hell , it took a while to actually get to any obstacles to cool ourselves off with mud, and I forgot to drink water that day (whoops!).

The first obstacle was hurdling over concrete barriers, which wasn't too bad (especially since it was the first one). We then came to a hill with tires that we had to run up and that was a tad tricky since I wasn't sure whether to put my foot in the hole of the tire or step directly on them. I tried both ways and neither one was easy.

We had another long run (at least a half mile) and we came to a pyramid of haystacks which, again, were not bad. We ran more. You're probably thinking, "where the hell is the mud?" Trust me, I was thinking the same thing. We then rounded a corner and came to some wooden walls that came up to about my chest. These were by far the hardest obstacle. I didn't think I could get my large body over them but I did! I took a running start at each one, used my arms to lift myself up, and swung my right leg over, and jumped down (I have bruises on the inside of my thigh to prove this). There were four of these walls and I miraculously got over them but was completely exhausted and it was still just the beginning.

We then just went through back to back obstacles, mostly mud pits. The first time I stepped into the mud pit, my foot got stuck. I had no clue how fast my shoes would fill with mud and how heavy they would become. Did I also mention that most of the running portion was in sand? Running in sand with shoes filled with mud is not the easiest feat. We continued on to some other obstacles and then came to the BEST one. An inflatable water slide that leads you into a lake! We all jumped in headfirst and it was the greatest relief ever. We were able to clean off some of the mud and cool down.

After some more obstacles, and continued support from Kale and Nicholas, we came to the finally stretch. The first portion of this stretch was a web of bungy cords. It took every last bit of my energy to get through this web. By this time, I was dragging myself to the high net that we had to climb up and down (which wasn't as bad as I thought it was), ran through some more tires, went in another mud pit, and tip toed past the finish line (I was afraid of sliding and falling in the slippery mud in front of a huge crowd), so there was no running for me in that section!

Some pics are below. Mud runs rock. Can't wait to do one again. Specials thanks to my dear friend Kale and my wonderful boyfriend for motivating me the entire way. They could have finished far ahead of me, but stuck by me the whole time <3 I couldn't have asked for a more perfect first mud run.