Niki's Neverending Adventure

First off, I want ya’ll to go check out the awesome giveaway the Chic Runner is having! All you runners will love it!

I decided it would be fun to share my running story, how I got into it, etc. So here it goes! Sorry, it’s kinda long!

I was always very athletic growing up. I played soccer and softball since I was 4 years old until I started college. But, I didn’t like to run at all! I never saw that as a very fun sport. It just seemed so boring. After I started college and wasn’t playing any sports, I could tell I was getting a little bored. I am super competitive and need that in my life! One summer, 2005 I believe it was, I was at the lake with my cousin who is 3 years younger than me. She has always been into cross country and track so we decided one day to run those marvelous hills the lake has to offer! Well of course she did awesome but it was super hard for me! Probably didn’t even make it a mile or so! So being the competitive person I am, I decided this is something I want to be good at! So from there I started running 5-6 days a week trying to improve my mileage. Now it probably wasn’t the best time to start since it was in the middle of the summer but I was bound and determined!! I found a women’s only 5k in September that I decided to train for.

Once I did my first 5k, I was addicted. I did multiple 5ks and a 10k that fall and then decided that I wanted to do a local spring half marathon. So I started training. I was just amazed at how far I could run! It’s such an achievement when you hit those certain mileage milestones! So I trained really hard, ran about 6 days a week for months getting ready for this race. I was so determined to do well! So I ran the race, it was awesome and tough at the same time but I loved it. I don’t remember my exact time but it was 2:09:XX and I was proud of myself for going under 2:10!!

After this, I guess I was just burnt out. I took too much time off after the half and once I started to run again it was hard. And that was very discouraging. So over the next 3 years (Wow! I can’t believe it’s been that long!) I just ran on and off never really running more than 6 milers. I did a handful of 5ks but ended up being disappointed even more because my times weren’t what they were when I was really training hard.

This brings me to this past fall, 2008. I started really getting back into my running groove. I was running 3-4 times a week. I had a running partner who was super fast so she really pushed me. I think I was up to about a 7 or 8 mile run and was considering running the St. Jude half in December. I started playing soccer also in the fall, which I think was really a motivator for me to keep up on my running! Unfortunately, at the beginning of December, I rolled my ankle playing my first indoor game of the season and tore a bunch of ligaments in my left ankle. I was lucky I didn’t have to have surgery, only a cast and the boot. But it did put me out of commission for soccer and running. It was so frustrating because I was doing so well with my mileage and was back into my running groove and then all of a sudden this stupid injury sidelines me and I had to start over from scratch!

Well I was off for about 3 months with my injury so starting in March, I decided to run again. It was hard to start from nothing. I could barely run 2 miles! There is nothing worse than knowing how far you used to run and not being able to run half that. So it’s been a slow process building my mileage back up but I am so proud of myself that I running 6 milers now! My ankle still bothers me from time to time but luckily I’ve been able to increase my mileage without too much trouble. Unfortunately though, I am much slower than I used to be. This is the hard part. One part of me wants to start entering 5ks and 10ks because it’s fun and that’s the part of running I enjoy. But the other part of me doesn’t because I know my times are so slow and I will just be disappointed. It’s a tough battle! I am just hoping with more training and speed work, I can get back to the pace I was running 3 years ago.

I know that I am now into running for the long term. I feel so much better when I’m running and it’s something I really love. I am planning a few half's and possibly a full marathon in the upcoming year and I am very excited about that! Thanks for reading this very long post and thanks for all ya’lls comments and support! The blog world is a great outlet and an awesome way to hold myself accountable! You bloggies are awesome!!

Please feel free to share your running stories also! I love hearing how ya’ll got into the sport!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at at 6:01 PM 3 comments    

Happy Tuesday everyone! How is everyone’s morning going so far? Mine is GREAT!!

I woke up at 5:30am and headed out to my parents house to do my long run. I just love the trails out there, it’s worth waking up a little early and driving there. Anyway, I ran 6 miles this morning like I had planned. I stuck to my usual hilly route and it was tough. I stopped at the water fountain at 4.4 miles just for the magic 3 sips of water and was back off again. I get so thirsty towards the last half of my run which is a new thing for me. However, I have never really trained during the summer so maybe this could be why I’m so freaking thirsty on my runs! Thank goodness for the water fountains! The last mile was tough but I just kept pushing and was so glad I did! I made sure to start off slower than I did last week so I could make the whole 6 miles and it worked! My legs are super sore now, they were sore when I started too, not really sure from what! Anyway, I am proud that I just keep pushing myself along with these longer runs! Now I just need to get a little faster! Hopefully in time:)

I am about to take Sadie for a nice relaxing walk and then head out shopping! Got to buy a laptop case and new school clothes! And yes, I really do need school clothes because we have to dress up everyday for class, like no jeans! So new clothes are in order! Hope everyone has a fabulous rest of the day!

Posted in: on at at 9:18 AM 7 comments    

Our soccer game yesterday was fun! We won 3-2, I think it was. Of course it was hot but since it’s Summer Soccer, we play 7 vs. 7 and it’s only half of the field size. But, that doesn’t mean your still not running alot! Luckily we had a lot of girl subs, 8! So I was able to chat alot with my team mates when I wasn’t playing! Our team has 1 co-ed and 2 men’s teams so I stayed for the first men’s game to root my guys on! They did great! It brings back memories of being at the soccer field all weekend for soccer tournaments when I was younger! I love it!

So today I am trying to be productive. I let myself sleep in until about 7:45 then headed out for a 3 miler. It was HOT! Check out how sweaty I look!

It always feels so great when you come back all hot and sweaty! What an awesome workout! Tomorrow is my scheduled long run, 6 miles. I am working on a pre-training plan to get me ready to start my half marathon training in about 5 weeks. So I will post that soon when I get it finished. After my run I took Sadie for about a mile walk and she was pooped when we got back! I also did an ab workout.

The rest of the day includes going to the grocery store, cleaning my house, killing some weeds in my flower beds, organizing my desk, and going to eat dinner at Bonefish with a friend! Hope everyone is having a fabulous day!

For those of you who have run half marathon’s before, what are your favorite training plans? I’m still trying to find one that I like best!

Posted in: on Monday, June 29, 2009 at at 11:32 AM 9 comments    

Today was my last day of work in the PICU before I start school. I will NOT be working at all when school starts in a few weeks. It’s that intense! My last day went well, although I am going to miss everyone! They surprised me and brought food and an ice cream cake!! Of course I forgot my camera so no pics:( I also got to go home early because a bunch of pts got transferred to the floor! Wohoo! Great way to end your last shift!!

No running today, it is a scheduled off day. Tomorrow starts summer soccer. Yes, it will be in the heat. But will be so worth it! Tomorrow our game is at 5pm. It’s gonna be a scorcher but I am so looking forward to it! Hopefully I will get to work on making myself a training plan sometime soon! I need organization!

Al and I went to see Transformers 2 yesterday and it was awesome! I totally recommend it! It was so real I actually felt like I was there in the movie! And who can pass up Shia LeBeouf and Josh Duhamel??

Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!

Posted in: on Saturday, June 27, 2009 at at 5:31 PM 8 comments    

I had every intention of getting up around 6am this morning and doing my speed workout either outside or on the treadmill. Well that being said, I had a little too much fun with the girls last night and consumed one too many glasses of wine! Ha! So I ended up sleeping in until 8:30 and still kinda have a headache:( Oh well, it was a lot of fun last night! So needless to say, it’s too HOT outside now to do it and I am really not feeling the treadmill. I even jumped on it and ran for like 3 minutes before I decided I was OVER it. So now I feel like a slacker. I have been doing so well waking up at the crack of dawn everyday to run and now today I’m disappointed in myself:( Do ya’ll ever feel this way when missing a workout?

I do have a little back up plan though. After I mow my yard I plan to go to my parents house to layout by the pool. So there I can swim some laps and then add in a strength routine/abs. I think this plan sounds good.

I have layed out at the lake or by the pool everyday for one week straight! Ha! I never do that! I am a very fair skinned person and probably have not been this tan ever! LOL. The only reason I am able to lay out everyday is that I have been off work for 12 days because I am trying to use up my vacation time before I quit for school! And tomorrow would be my last day of work! I am secretly hoping I am cancelled! It will be a bittersweet day though, I love all my co workers. Luckily we all see each other outside of work so it’s not like I will not see them at all!!

What’s everyone’s plans for the weekend?? Off to mow the yard!

Posted in: on Friday, June 26, 2009 at at 9:13 AM 6 comments    

So I know I said I was going on a run this morning, but last night I decided to cross train today and run tomorrow so my legs could have a day off from running. So this morning I got up at 6:30 and headed out for a bike ride. And wouldn’t you know, it actually felt slightly cooler this morning! Go figure, I am up and hour later and not running so of course it’s gonna feel cooler! Anyway, I normally ride my mountain bike, which I’ve had since like 5th grade. But this morning I decided to take out my dad’s road bike! Now, this bike is old, like older than me but it still works great! Didn’t get too much use over the years I guess! It’s on the small side so it seemed to fit me well. I LOVED riding this bike! Road bikes give a much better ride and I went so much faster! At one point, I got a bee in my shorts!! Yikes! Bet that was a funny sight to see! I was jumping around trying to get the bee out probably flashing my butt to the world! Ha! Speaking of butts, mine is so sore! Definitely need to invest in some padded shorts! I will definitely be doing more riding!! So here’s my stats from my ride:

Time:51:02

Distance:10.26miles

Max Speed: 18mph!!

Calories Burned: 394

Thought I did pretty well!! Ok, so I have some running and cycling questions for ya’ll.

1. Do ya’ll ride on the streets? I rode on some trails today but at some points there was a choice between a side walk and street. I chose the side walk because I’m still nervous to be on the road but I didn’t know what the right thing would be.

2. Speed work question: I don’t have access to a track so do ya’ll think it would be better to do my speed work outside on some flat ground or on the treadmill? I know either would work but what do ya’ll do/ prefer??

Ok off to wait on the plumber than back to lay out in the afternoon! Hope ya’ll have a wonderful day!!

Posted in: on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at at 8:12 AM 4 comments    

Ok I think I finally got my Twitter account working!! I was having issues following ya’ll and vice versa! So if you tired to follow me earlier on in the day make sure it worked!! It’s kinda addicting! Ha! Check out my cute little Twitter Button on my sidebar. Just click there to follow!!

So the plumbers couldn’t come today because they are all booked so my time frame tomorrow is from 9-12. Not too bad, just ready for my toilets to be fixed so I can stay at my house! So the workout plan for tomorrow is another run, hopefully 4 miles if my legs are up for it. I’m a little wary because of how tired they were this morning but we shall see!

I got a bunch of pics from my mom’s camera from this winter so I leave you with a very cute pic of Sadie in the snow!

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at at 8:11 PM 4 comments    

Ok I did it! Finally joined Twitter. For my username I decided on NikiRuns. Simple but perfect!! So come follow me! I still really don't know what I'm doing and when I try to follow some of ya'll it won't show up under my "follow" thing on my page so I'm not sure what's up. I will work on it though!!

Posted in: on at at 12:17 PM 7 comments    

Good Morning friends!! How is everyone's morning going? Mine is good so far! I was super tired when my alarm went off at 5:30 but I made myself get up to run. I was out the door around 5:45. I hadn't really planned out a specific number of miles, was just gonna see how I felt and decide from there. The verdict? Legs felt VERY sore and tired so I just busted out a slow 3 mile recovery run. It was nice and flat but definitely slow and steady! I really need to set myself up a training schedule so I have a more laid out pan of my workouts! Maybe I will work on that today!!

After my run, I took Sadie for a 1 mile walk and she was nearly attacked by a huge, mean dog! Not sure what kind of dog it was or where it came from but it ran up to us and was snarling and biting at her. Poor Sadie. No wonder she is such a scardy cat! Finally after I kept telling the do "NO" and to "Go Away", it did. Crisis averted!

I am currently still at my parents house waiting for the plumbers to call me and set up a time to come fix my toilets! I am not going to my house until I know they are coming because I know I will more than likely have to pee when I get there! Ha!!

Not sure if I will get to lay out today:( Depends on the plumbers. Also, who knew you where supposed to change the air filters in your Ac every couple months?? Not me! How was I supposed to know! I mentioned to my dad yesterday that my AC was having a hard time cooling my house down only during the day and he asked me when the last time I changed my AC filter. And my reply was "Never". Ha! So he is hopefully gonna come over after he gets back in town to check this situation out! Hopefully that easy fix will make my AC work at bit better!

I am hopefully gonna set up my Twitter account today so be looking for me! I will let ya'll know what I decide on for my username! Any more suggestions on this would be great too! Hope everyone has a GREAT Wednesday!

Posted in: on at at 8:20 AM 7 comments    

So I've decided to finally join Twitter and see what all the fuss is about!! But I need a username and I want something fun. I do want it to atleast have my first name in it but other than that have no idea! I will throw a couple out there that I've come up with but not sure if they are dorky or not:)
1. NikiDRunner
2. RunnerNiki

That's all I've come up with! haha Any idea would be greatly appreciated!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at at 8:07 PM 4 comments    

I've been in my house about a year and haven't had too many issues. The only thing that keeps messing up are my toilets. For some reason they like to backup constantly, and randomly. Not stop up like I flushed too much TP or something but like completely randomly decide to stop up and not flush at all, without being provoked. And today was the day they decided to do it again. Ugh. This just happened 2 months ago! Something is definitely wrong with my pipes! It started with the toilet in my master bath. It was looking funny, the water looked extra high in the bowl when I was cleaning up my bathroom so I decided to test it and flushed. It proceeded to try to overflow. By now I am an expert on turning off the water knob behind the toilet so that's what I did so I didn't have a sopping wet floor. Then, knowing what I was about to walk into in the guest bathroom, I prepared myself. I flushed the guest toilet and of course it starts to over flow and leak out from the base of the toilet. Just perfect. And this always happens when I have to pee. Luckily, I just renewed my Home Warranty so this will be covered. I called the Home Warranty company up and put in a service request so hopefully they will be fixed tomorrow. Well, knowing I can't stay there without a toilet I packed some stuff and headed back to my parents house to stay another night. Ugh. I hate toilets.

Posted in: on at at 5:58 PM 2 comments    

Like I said yesterday, I had a 6 miler planned for this morning. I got up at 5:45 and was out the door by 6. I stepped outside and thought, "You have got to be kidding!" It was so hot and humid already! Guess that's why we have a heat advisory today. So I sucked it up and started my run. Unfortunately I haven't been home yet to recharge my Garmie so I had not watch to run with. But luckily I was doing a route I new was 6 miles so it wasn't really an issue. It was hot. And humid. And miserable. Think I started out a little too fast because by the 3rd mile I was tired. So I slowed down a bit and kept on. This route is hilly too with not much shade which is not too fun either. All I could think about was water. I was so freakin thirsty! Guess I didn't hydrate as well as I thought I did yesterday!! I knew of a water fountain at about 4.5 miles so I just kept telling myself, get to the water! Ha! It worked! I stopped and had my magical 3 sips and was back on. Unfortunately I was exhausted and hot. I started getting chills which really freaks me out so I told my self 5 miles would be sufficient and I could walk the last mile home. Well after about 2 minutes of walking all I could think about was how thirsty I was! Like I have NEVER been this thirsty before. I just kept saying, "water, water, water!" again and again in my head. So I decided running would get me to water a lot faster than walking so I ended up running the majority of the last mile! So all in all I did get a 6 miler in, just needed short walk break:) And I got home and chugged some water!




I was really craving a Green Monster and of course my parents don't have a blender:( So I decided to hit up smoothie king and find the healthiest smoothie they offer! I ended up getting a small mangofest which had mango, pineapple, and OJ. No added sugar! It was yummy and 285 calories! Not too shabby!!

Haha, love the writing on the cup. "Chewing is over-rated!" This made me so full and took me about an hour to drink! I got it and then went to get my oil changed so it was a great snack to have while I sat there an waited!!

Now I am off to lay by the pool and work on my tan!! Just started a new book, The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I am a sucker for his books! Anyone ever read this one??

What are ya'll reading right now?

Posted in: on at at 10:07 AM 7 comments    

We got home pretty early today so I could have lunch with my BFF! It was so yummy!! I spent the rest of the day laying out by the pool working on my tan:) I am planning on being by the pool everyday until school starts!! Ha!

So here are some pics from the lake!

This is where we parked our boat quite often this weekend! Such a pretty waterfall!

Haha look at my face!! I must have been a little nervous about this one!!

Chillin in the boat working on my tan!!

I like the background on this one! The lake is so pretty!!

Love this pic! I look so relaxed! Ha... And the water is perfect, like glass!!

Haha, goin down!! Lol, thought this was funny!

Gettin some air!! This is my FAVORITE!! I was working on this all weekend!!

Thanks for bearing with all the pics!! Obviously I had a GREAT time! Kinda sad to be home. Luckily I will get to go back for The 4th Of July! Yay!!

No running today... just alot of being lazy in the pool!! Tomorrow I have another 6 miler panned so I gotta get up really early! Yikes! Hope everyone had a fun weekend!!

Posted in: on Monday, June 22, 2009 at at 5:42 PM 9 comments    

Happy Father's Day to all of ya'lls daddys!! Don't forget to tell him you love him! We spent the day on the lake again. We set out extra early, around 9am so I could get some good water to wakeboard on before all the other boats got out. And the water was awesome!! Like glass! I got a lot of time in and was actually getting some air when jumping the wake! Yea!! Love it! I am going to be SUPER sore tomorrow. I just didn't want to stop, I kept going and going! Ha!! Around lunch time we decided to go back up to Lee's Ford Marina and eat. It was getting pretty cloudy so we thought it would be a good time to eat. I had the grouper sandwich again. It's so yummy! When we got finished it was looking kinda stormy so we decided to close up the boat and head on home. I did end up getting a little burned today because I forgot to put sunscreen on. I was in the water for hours!! It's not too bad though. Tonight we are just relaxing and having breakfast for dinner. I am really craving french toast but have no syrup to out on it. Any suggestions about what else I can use?? We are heading home tomorrow and I am having lunch with my BFF! Yay!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful sunday and Father's Day!

Posted in: on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at at 3:32 PM 1 comments    

Is it possible to be this sore?? I knew I would be sore from wakeboarding but man I feel like and old lady!! I can barely bend over! Ha! It's mostly my back, triceps, and hamstrings. But my neck muscles are also really sore, I'm guessing from some of the crashes I did:) Anyway, I still went for a run this morning but I decided 2 miles on the hill route was plenty. I also walked 2 more miles with my parents. And of course I didn't let my soreness stop me from wakeboarding today!! The lake was a lot busier, making the water kinda rough, so I didn't get to wakeboard as much as yesterday. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a little less crowded. We are going out much earlier so I can get some better water too!

I love being here, wish I could live at the lake! I'm pretty proud of myself for not getting too sunburned so far! I am so bad about reapplying sunscreen but have really kept up with it the last 2 days. Plus I've been using spf 50.

We are also planning on boating to The Old Mill tomorrow so I will make sure and get some pics!! Tonight is steak night and my dad is grilling us some filets! Yum!! I only eat steak when he makes it! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Posted in: on Saturday, June 20, 2009 at at 3:59 PM 3 comments    

I got up this morning at 7am thinking "I better get up and run now before it gets crazy hot"!! And if ya'll remember from the last time I was here, the running route I do is all hills, LITERALLY. There is no flat road whatsoever!! So it makes for a great, hard, hilly run! Unfortunately my Garmie's batteries died like 2 minutes into my run so I don't know my pace but luckily I already know the mileage distance. So I ran 3 miles total and felt great after, nice and sweaty and breathing hard! Then I went with my parents on a 2 mile walk on the same hilly route! So I felt like I got a good morning workout!!

The lake was beautiful today!! Today was supposed to be the hottest day of the weekend, 95 degrees, but there was a very nice breeze! I wakeboarded a lot today and am sure I'm gonna be sore! I LOVE wakeboarding! If I could be a professional wakeboarder I totally would! Wish I would have picked this sport up a long time ago!! I got some fun pics with my mom's camera but unfortunately I can't post them until I get home because my dad doesn't have a USB cable with his laptop here:(

We ate lunch at Lee's Ford Marina and as usual it was very good!! My favorite drink there is the Lake Tea. It's basically iced tea and lemonade mixed together!! Sometimes I can tell that they use sweet tea and other times unsweet tea but both ways are great!! For lunch I ate the grilled, blackened grouper sandwich! Amazing!! Shared half with my dad and ate some of his grouper fingers too!! Think we are planning on going back for Father's Day dinner on Sunday night!

Sadie is loving being here at the lake! She loves sniffing outside and barking on the deck at all the animals! Ha! Tomorrow we are planning more lake fun!! Not sure if I will be able to run in the morning or not due to how sore I know I'm gonna be from wakeboarding today!! It uses so many muscles I never use!! Guess we will see!! Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!! Any fun weekend plans??

Posted in: on Friday, June 19, 2009 at at 6:26 PM 1 comments    

Hey ya'll!! Hope everyone is having a GREAT Thursday morning!! I was up at 5:30 am to get an early run in before it got too hot! I drove to my parents house and was off on my 4 miler around 6:30. I could definitely tell at BIG difference in the temps today vs. what it was Tuesday! So much more hot and humid today! YUCK! It's supposed to get to a heat index of 110 degrees today!! Glad I will be on my way to the lake!! The run went great. I ran another hilly route and really tried to push myself harder and harder at the end. It worked because my negative splits are awesome! Here's my stats:
Avg. Pace: 10:06
Mile 1: 10:26
Mile2:10:16
Mile 3:10:00
Mile 4: 9:42

I feel great about this run and I was sweating like crazy when I got home! Love that feeling!! Well we are off to the lake, I promise to get pics this time!! Hope everyone has a great day and don't worry, I will be able to blog from the lake:)

Happy Birthday to my love!

Posted in: on Thursday, June 18, 2009 at at 8:21 AM 5 comments    

As of sometime tomorrow, I will be in Kentucky at our lake house!! Yea!! I love vacations!! I am so ready to get my wakeboard on!! The only bad thing is Al can’t come because he has to work and tomorrow is his bday:( Luckily, he doesn’t mind if we celebrate it tonight!! I made him an awesome Butterfinger Bday Cake!! I got the recipe from here. The only difference is I used Dark Chocolate Fudge cake instead of plain old white cake! Here are some pics of the yumminess I created.

This is right after I poked a bunch of holes in the cake and poured the condensed milk/caramel mixture over it. Then sprinkled crushed Butterfinger on top of that. It had to cool in the fridge before I could put the cool whip on top!!

The finished product with cool whip and more crushed Butterfinger!! Can’t wait to dig into this tonight!!

Mmmm looks so gooey!! This was the easiest cake to make too!!

Ok moving on… No run today, thought I would give myself a day off after my 6 miler yesterday. Plus I had to go to an early PALS renewal class this morning then go get my ID badge made for school. Busy busy!! Now I am working on packing and cleaning my house up before I leave tomorrow! I am planning on going over to my parents house early again so I can get a 4 miler in before we leave! Looking forward to running those humongous hills in KY!!

Any fun plans for ya’ll this weekend?? Yes, I realize it’s only Wednesday but hey, I’m on vacation!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at at 5:31 PM 8 comments    

I did it!! I finally tackled the hilly route by my parents house that I’ve been working on for about a week and a half now! It ended up being 6 miles and I felt great the entire time!! I woke up at 5:30 am and was at my parents house, heading out for my run at 6:30am. I think this played an important part into how good I was feeling. It definitely wasn’t as hot and the sun didn’t start beating down on me until about the last mile and a half. I also tried to slow it down a bit more than usual so I could go the entire route. This helped too. I felt like I was going ALOT slower when actually I wasn’t!! I think that’s pretty awesome! I also made sure to really hydrate yesterday and didn’t eat anything before my run. My stomach was MUCH happier running on empty. Weird right?? I will definitely be getting up early like this to do my long runs all summer!! Here are my stats for the run:

Avg Pace: 10:30- Not that much slower than usual! Thought I was going so much slower than this!!

Mile1: 10:35

Mile 2: 10:25

Mile 3: 10:22

Mile 4: 10:37

Mile 5: 10:53

Mile 6: 10:11- I feel like I always must finish off strong!

I’m super excited that I made it 6 miles. I thought I was going to be stuck at 5 miles FOREVER because it still seemed tough!! The rest of my day is going to consist of taking Sadie for a walk, mowing my yard, studying for my PALS class tomorrow, and spending time with Al tonight!! Hope everyone has a great day!!

What do you think the biggest factor is that makes you feel GREAT on your long runs?? Weather, hydration, pace, music, fueling, etc…

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at at 9:33 AM 6 comments    

Hey there everyone! Hope ya’ll have been having a GREAT Monday!! I think it’s fixing to storm here AGAIN, hopefully this time won’t bee so bad! Anyway, I decided not to do a long run today and wait until tomorrow for 3 reasons.

1. It was supposed to be kinda stormy today so I would rather not run in lightning! Haha

2. I am still really sore from all the lunges I did Saturday night! Like it hurts to walk! Ha!

3. I was so tired from working this weekend that I didn’t want to get up early again! 12 hour shifts really wear me out! I am still so tired today!!

So I just took Sadie on a walk today and rested! I had lunch plans with a friend from work and we ate Sushi! YUM!! She is in the CRNA program I’m fixin to start so she was psyching me up for it!! I only have 1 more day of work left and then it’s all school! That’s so crazy to me!! It’s going to be so weird to not be working and to be back in school! I’m still not sure if I will be working PRN or not. For those of you who aren’t nurses, PRN is basically where you only have to work 2 shifts a month and you can pick when you want to work. My director said he has to get a position approved for me so it’s still up in the air if I will be working at all or not. I don’t really care either way. I mainly want to work so I can see all my friends and co-workers! Ha!

This afternoon I got into a baking mood. I saw on Kristin’s blog, Iowa Girl Eats, that she made some yummy looking almond biscotti so that sounded like the perfect thing to make!!

It was a very easy recipe to make!!

Of course I had to sample one and it was SO GOOD!! Great recipe Kristin!!

I also needed to make some more sweet tea because I ran out. And I ALWAYS have sweet tea in my refrigerator!!

Not sure what I will be having for dinner, either a summer salad and sweet potato fries or oatmeal since I didn’t get any for breakfast. Can’t decide… I also bought some more ice cream when I was grocery shopping today. GASP!! I know! I couldn’t help myself. At least it’s the slow churned lower fat version! But cookie and cream will definitely be calling my name later!!

Question: What time to ya’ll eat dinner?? Early or late, and is there any reason?? I always seem to be eating late, like 7 or 8ish.

Posted in: on Monday, June 15, 2009 at at 6:29 PM 8 comments    

Today has been the LONGEST day!! Slow days at work make for a very long 12 hours!! Anyway, I ended up NOT getting up at 4am to do my workout. I decided an hour extra sleep would be better! And I decided this while I was half asleep at like 3ish! Ha! So I did my workout when I got home tonight. I basically did the strength workout I posted the other day, but only did 2 sets instead of 3 and added in a bunch of lunges and squats!! It’s kinda fun to squat or sit in a lunge when doing arm exercises! Makes your legs feel VERY shaky!! Learned this trick from Jillian Michaels!! So I felt like I got a pretty good workout in 20 mins while my dinner was cooking. Tonight I had sweet potato fries, a leftover turkey burger with no bun, a tomato, and some roasted broccoli and cauliflower leftover from yesterdays dinner. And for dessert a couple dark chocolate squares! YUM! Sorry no pics, I’m lazy tonight:)

I am already dreaming of tomorrows breakfast. It has something to do with yogurt, fruit, and PB for sure!! Hope everyone has a GREAT Sunday!!

Posted in: on Saturday, June 13, 2009 at at 9:29 PM 1 comments    

There was a VERY bad storm that passed through tonight. Tornado warnings and all! I am happy to report that all my tree and plants are still standing and I am glad I was smart enough to put all my potted plants up against my house so they didn’t topple over!! Needless to say, Sadie and I spent some quality time in my closet together tonight!! I wish I had brought my camera in there with me but I forgot it and was too scared to venture out!! Ha, it’s not fun being all alone in a storm!

Anyway, on to other subjects. I have been like a bottomless pit today! I just can’t seem to get full. I have snacked and snacked all day long! Even dinner didn’t really fill me up. And I just came to the realization that I am probably semi dehydrated and need to drink some water!! Maybe that will fill me up!!

Well ya’ll I am super tired for some reason and am about to go get some sleep. I am getting up around 4am to workout before work tomorrow. I am planning on doing my strength routine that I posted yesterday but I might throw in some leg stuff!! Hope everyone has a fun Friday night and GREAT weekend!!

Posted in: on Friday, June 12, 2009 at at 8:44 PM 3 comments    

Sadie woke me up at 6:15 am this morning which was a little later than normal. I got up, fed her and let her out, then ate 1/2 WW bun with PB and half a glass of H20. I was back in bed by 6:25! I got back up around 7:30, got all my running gear and headed out to my parents house. It’s about 30 mins to my parents so I got there at 8am and immediately headed out. The sun was so bright and there were no clouds. SUCK. I was attempting my hilly route from Monday but doing it backwards for a little change. But half way through I was so HOT and the sun was just beating on me. So I decided to detour from this route and go on a shaded trail. MUCH BETTER IDEA. The trail doesn’t have as many hills but still has a few. It’s amazing how the sun really sucks energy out of you. I just kept telling myself, get to the 4 mile mark. Then I remembered right around 4 miles there is a water fountain! MY SAVING GRACE!! So I stopped for about 30 seconds, got 3 sips of water(that’s my magic number for sips of water at a time, haha) and decided I could definitely make it to 5 miles. The last mile was pretty flat but was back out in the scorching sun. I made it though! Yea!! It was tough but I’m glad I kept pushing on. Here are my stats:

Avg Pace: 10:19min/mile

Mile1: 10:21

Mile2: 10:17

Mile3: 10:26

Mile4: 10:29

Mile5: 10:03

I feel pretty good about this! I walked about 0.6 mile home and then walked Sadie about a mile then walked another mile on my treadmill while reading. My legs were so happy to finally sit down and rest!!

I had a GREAT lunch today!! I definitely didn’t want something heavy so I decided to make a yogurt parfait!!

This included:

1 container of Chobani Greek Yogurt with Peach

huge handful of blueberries

1 nectarine

1/2 banana

1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch

1 TBSP Naturally More PB

This mix was AMAZING!! And got me pretty full! I am curious how long it will hold me over!! I love summer fruits! That nectarine was awesome! I am definitely picking more up at the store today! I’ve also realized I am addicted to Naturally More PB. I just can’t get enough! It’s great on everything!! Not sure what to make for dinner… something easy and summery for sure! Any suggestions??

Posted in: on at at 12:38 PM 7 comments    

I forgot to tell ya’ll just how much walking I did today! I walked Sadie about a mile and then walked 5 miles on my treadmill while reading a book for school. It’s amazing how time flies when your mind it occupied on something other than the time and distance! Ha!

I am planning a longer run tomorrow as long as weather permits. Ya’ll know I can’t run long on the treadmill, I don’t have a good enough attention span! Anyway, I am going to try to conquer the route I did on Monday. Wish me luck!!

I am also going to work on finding the morning food routine that works for me before my longer runs. Last time, I ate an hour before and definitely needed more time to digest!! This time I am going to try to give myself at least 2 hours. Sadie likes to wake me up every morning at 5:30ish so she can eat so I guess I will eat something then and go back to bed for a little while after that!

So here is what I had for dinner tonight:

Leftover Turkey Burger from last night and grapes! Love Turkey Burgers!!

I also had some Annie’s Chunky Tomato Bisque Soup!! Yum-o!!

And of course I had to have dessert:

Edy’s light Vanilla ice cream with some caramel topping. Once I eat the rest of this, I am not buying anymore ice cream! I just end up eating it all!

And here is a pic of my sweet Sadie resting after barking at cats outside for the last hour! She wore herself out!!

Do ya’ll have any fun plans for the weekend??

Posted in: on Thursday, June 11, 2009 at at 9:34 PM 3 comments    

Hey ya’ll! Hope everyone is having a great day! I kinda have a lot to say in this post so stay with me!

I decided to work out a strength routine today for arms and abs and this is what I came up with(I probably just made up some of these names so ask if you have a question):

3 X15 Shoulder Press- 5lb weights 

3X15 Tricep Backs- 5lb weight

3X15 Back Flys- 5lb weights

3X15 Front Raises- 5lb weights

3X15 Tricep dips

3X15 Bicep Curls- 8lb weights

2X15 Bench Press- 55 lbs I think

3X15 Hammer Curls- 8lb weights

20(each leg) V-crunch

20 Reverse Crunches

20 Double Crunches

40 Bicycle Crunches

45 sec. plank

2 30 sec. side planks( 1 on each side)

I felt pretty tired after this so I think it is an effective plan. Question: How long do ya’ll stay with a specific strength routine before changing it up?? And for you runners, do you also do leg strength stuff like lunges, squats, etc??

On to my next topic… I received my package from my partner in The Simple Life Challenge and it’s awesome!! Check out all my goodies!!

In the package was a ton of stuff from Trader Joes which I was SO EXCITED about because we don’t have one here!! My package included: TJ’S Organic Dark Chocolate Bar, 2 TJS Fiberful fruit bars, 2 Nutz Over Choc. Luna Bars, Apple Pie Larabar, Choc. Brownie Zbar, Coconut Macadamia Nut Butter Ball, Banana Nut Bread Cliff Bar, Honey Graham Zbar, Cherry Cashew PURE Bar, 2 TJ’S Organic Fruits wraps, TJ’S Chewy Crisp Tom Yum Cashews, and TJ’S Dried Tropical Mangosteen.

Wow!! I hit the jackpot!! Thanks so much to my partner Allison!! You really outdid yourself:)

And lastly what I had for lunch today. It’s very similar to yesterday’s lunch!

Summer Salad that included spinach, cucumbers, tomato, red onion, grapes, and a little feta cheese with raspberry walnut dressing. Holy Yum!!

And to go along with that a toasted WW bun with melted cheese and a nectarine! Great lunch!

Thanks for making it all the way down this LONG post!! What is your favorite summer food??

Posted in: on at at 1:29 PM 2 comments    

I really look forward to my off days from running for 2 reasons.

1. I get to sleep in until whenever I want! No need to wake up early to get my run in before the scorching heat!! However, I always end up sleeping in not very late, my body always wakes up early on my off days. Go figure…

2. I get to get up and eat breakfast and relax before I do anything! I love this! Normally I have to wait until my workout is complete to have breakfast, but not today!!

So this is my oatmeal creation that I had for brekkie today.

1/3 cup H2O

1/3 cup skin milk

1/3 cup oats

1 banana

vanilla extract and cinnamon

tons of blueberries on top

a spoonful of Naturally More PB

And of course my morning coffee!! I am still working of my pound of Spring Blend from Fresh Market. It’s oh so good!!

I was at Wal-Mart yesterday picking up a few things I needed for dinner and I discovered that they carry my FAVORITE PB!!

I absolutely LOVE this stuff and thought I was only able to find it at Whole Foods which is a long drive that I don’t make very often. I have been missing it for about a month now until I made this awesome discovery!! Thank you Wal-Mart!!

What does everyone have planned for the day?? I am taking Sadie for a walk in a little bit then doing some strength training. Then who knows!!

I want to send a shout out to Lauren!! It’s her 25th birthday today!! Happy Birthday girl!! You are such an awesome friend!! Ya’ll should check out her blog if you haven’t already. She is so inspiring!

Posted in: on at at 9:06 AM 4 comments    

So like I said in my last post, I need to post some more pics to make my blog more exciting!! So I will start with my yummy lunch today.

A yummy salad that included spinach, cucumber, red onion, pinto beans, gorgonzola cheese, and a little Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing.

With my salad I had a piece of WW toast with PB and some grapes! I ended up tossing most of the grapes in my salad. I am just loving fruit in my salads these days!! Everything was very yummy!!

Question: How do ya’ll stop yourself from eating dessert?? I literally eat it every night and want to STOP!! Even if I’m not hungry I still want dessert. I need some helpful hints in stopping my habit!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at at 1:56 PM 2 comments    

I woke up at 8am this morning not really feeling a run but knowing that I needed to. I decided to run today, take tomorrow off, and do another longer run on Friday. I wanted Thursday off because it’s always nice to have a day off before a longer run so your legs feel good and also it’s supposed to rain tomorrow! So I got out and did a fast(for me) 2 miler. I started off with my legs feeling tight and sore and it took about a half mile for them to feel good. And after that I was going fast and it was tough!! Here’s my stats:

Avg. Pace: 9:00 min/mile

Mile 1: 9:38

Mile 2: 8:22!! Yay!!!

So I pretty much smoked it after mile 1!! And I felt like I was flying! Wish I could run that fast for longer than a mile or 2! I got home and took Sadie for about a 1 mile walk and the sky turned black. It started thundering as we were walking but luckily we made it home just in time. And they sky opened up! It poured and thundered and lightninged(is that even a word??) I do like a good thunderstorm once and a while!!

I did week 2 day 2 of the 100 push up challenge. It’s definitely getting tougher!! I can really feel my abs working when I do my push ups! That’s kinda weird I thought but fine with me!! I also did some lunges and squats before I was ready to eat my breakfast!! I need to add more pics to my posts! Maybe I will start to take food pics more often! Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday!

Posted in: on at at 10:30 AM 2 comments    

I got cancelled again from work today! Yay!! Since I am a weekender, this is my extra shift so I was first on the list to be cancelled! Guess the unit is still slow!!

I decided to go for a hilly run this morning. There are a lot more hills by my house than at my parents house so I actually ran from home today. I was making up a new route so I wasn’t exactly sure how long it would be. It ended up being 3 miles, so I was happy about that. These hills are killing me!! So here are my stats:

Avg. Pace: 10:11

Mile 1: 10:26

Mile 2: 10:13

Mile 3: 9:54!!

Glad I was able to get below 10:00min/mile pace on that 3rd mile! The past 2 runs I’ve been getting this weird taste in my mouth, kinda tastes like metal. Anyone else ever experience this??

So onto my running plans for this year. I am not currently training for anything right now. I am planning to do the St. Jude Half Marathon here in Memphis at the beginning of December. And as long as everything goes ok with that, I would love to train for a full Spring marathon, probably the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, just because it’s close!! So until then I am just going to continue to build my base. Most importantly I would love to get my long runs back down to a 9:45ish pace. That’s the pace I ran my half in, in 2006. So I know that speed just comes with time so I am hoping by September (when training would start) I am a bit faster. I really have only been back into running for 3 or 4 months since my injury so I feel I’m doing ok! I’m not going to worry too much about extending my long run farther than 6 or 7 miles until training starts. It will be interesting to see how I will work running into my life when I stop working and am in school full time again starting July 13th! I am thinking it will be a lot easier to run more during the week because I won’t be at work for 12 hours, 3 days a week. Right now, there is now way I could run before or after I work 12 hours so that’s 3 days of no running for sure. I would like to be able to run 5 days a week once school starts! So that’s my plan as of now, I’m sure I will throw some 5k’s in there some where!!

What are ya’lls running plans for the rest of the year??

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at at 12:11 PM 7 comments    

I LOVE this Blackberry Cobbler! It is awesome and so simple!!

Blackberry Cobbler

4 cups blackberries (2 small containers)

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

6 TBSP melted butter

Preheat oven to 375. Place blackberries in greased 8 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with 1 TBSP lemon juice. Stir egg, flour, and sugar in bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over blackberries. Drizzle melted butter over topping. Bake 35 minutes until light golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

I serve it with low fat vanilla ice cream and it is divine!! I’ve also made it using peaches, blueberries, and raspberries. They all are VERY good! Hope ya’ll enjoy :)

Posted in: on Monday, June 8, 2009 at at 6:50 PM 4 comments    

I hope everyone is having a GREAT Monday!! The weather is really nice here, sun and clouds, about 90 degrees. A little hot I guess. Anyway, I got up early, around 7:30 to run. I decided to try to eat a little something about an hour before I started my run to see how it would make me feel. I normally do not eat ANYTHING before morning runs and this is probably not a good idea once I start getting into higher mileages so I decided to perfect my routine now! So I ate half of a piece of WW bread with PB and half a glass of H20. I started my run about 8:45ish. I was running a loop around town and I wasn’t exactly sure how far it would be, at least 5 miles for sure. There was a few things that made this run not so fun:

1. The hills- This route was very hilly and I felt like there was minimal downhills for all the uphills I was doing!! I haven’t been doing my longer runs on hilly routes so I wasn’t used to this!

2. I decided I was just gonna run at a pace that felt great and not not make myself slow down, well now looking at my times I probably could have held back a little more so I could have gone farther.

3. The bread and PB were not a good idea! I kept burping PB! YUCK. And I was getting awful side stitches which I don’t normally get if I don’t eat before a run. I am still gonna work on this though, I think I just need to give myself more time after I eat and before I run. I am going to try for 2 hours or longer next time!

So basically I was dying and really pushing myself at 4 miles so I just decided to stop there. Well after I walked about 5 minutes and my side stitch went away, I decided to try to run a little more and ended up doing 1 more mile for a total of 5. I walked the rest of the way home to cool down and that ended up being about .85. Here are my stats from my Garmin:

Avg Pace: 10:14min/mile

Mile 1: 10:22 min/mile

Mile 2: 10:19 min/mile

Mile 3: 10:06 min/mile

Mile 4: 10:09 min/mile

Mile 5: 10:10 min/mile

So I am proud of myself for going faster but man it was tough!! Hopefully I can tackle that route later on in the week and complete the whole thing!

I am now on Week 2 Day 1 of the 100 Push Up Challenge. It is definitely getting harder but so far so good! I was able to complete all the sets today. I am feeling a little skeptical about being able to do 100 push ups in a row after 6 weeks but I guess we will see!!

After I did all this, my mom and I took the dogs for a walk (I ran around by their house like always!) and I got a mosquito bite right on my back that is really driving me crazy!! I am trying not to scratch it but it’s so hard! That’s one thing I hate about summer in the south!! Do ya’ll have mosquitoes where you live??

Posted in: on at at 3:02 PM 3 comments    

**Warning*** This post my include a little TMI on tummy issues related to running so if you don’t want to read about it move on!!

Anyway, I decided to go out and do 5 miles again today!! I knew when I went to bed last night that I should wake up early and go since it will be hot again. Well, I didn’t and I woke up at 8 thinking I was in for a very hot and humid run!! Much to my surprise, it was actually very nice out! Guess all that rain yesterday cooled things down. I went to a park around my parents house and started there. For some reason I like to run all of the routes I used to run when living at my parents house and training for my first half marathon. That is why I am always driving out there to run!! The run was good, my legs wanted to go very fast at the beginning so I had to keep slowing down knowing that if I went to fast I would be dying at the end. There were a lot of people out today, guess no one works Fridays! Haha. The last mile was probably the hardest but I just kept pushing. Here are my stats:

Avg Pace- 10:27min/mile

Mile 1- 10:41min/mile

Mile2- 10:36min/mile

Mile 3- 10:24min/mile

Mile 4-10:22min/mile

Mile 5- 10:14 min/mile

Calories burned- 544!!

Like always, look at those negative splits!! Yay!! I made sure to stretch good after but my calves are still tight and my back is too. Anyone else get a sore and tight back from running?? I wore a pair of my new running shorts today and loved them!! Yay for short shorts!! Ha!

On to the TMI topic- So I didn’t eat anything before I ran, never do unless I am running later on. Right after I finished and stretched I really had to GO!! Luckily my parents live like 2 mins away so I went there, pottied, and was on my way. Well My stomach still didn’t feel good and I have had to go #2 like 3 times since!! It was so hard to force my lunch down, 2 hours after my run, because my stomach kept cramping. It feels much better now after all the bathroom trips! I notice this happens when I start increasing my mileage. Does this happen to anyone else?? Sorry again if it’s TMI!!

Onto the 100 Push Up Challenge. I am on week 1 day 3 today and it was the hardest day so far!! My arms just were shaking so bad by the last set! But I finished!! Maybe it was because I am so tired from my long run?? Anyway, looking forward to week 2 of the 100 push up challenge next week!!

Anyone doing anything fun tonight or this weekend?? I will be at work:( But at least I’m in charge, usually makes for a busy day! Ha.

Posted in: on Friday, June 5, 2009 at at 2:16 PM 8 comments    

Soccer game recap- I’m going to start off by saying that we played the team who won our division and they are pretty darn good! We have played them 3 times this season and last season and have tied them once and lost twice but it is always a very close game. We started off the first half really strong and were leading 2-0 at halftime. Unfortunately the second half didn’t go so well and they ended up scoring 3 goals, leaving the final score 3-2. We played hard and did great! I know I’m happy with how I played! And we only had 4 girls there last night so that meant we all played the WHOLE game, 90 mins of straight running! I was exhausted!! Unfortunately I had a guys cleats come across the side of my leg and slice it and then land directly on the top of my foot. OUCH!! I have a nice bruise and scrape on my leg and my foot is so sore! Even hurts to walk! I think it’s just bruised though, no worries!! Of course we went out after the game to East End Grill and had some drinks! It’s a must after running for 90 mins!! I am so excited for summer league to start up in a few weeks!!

I had planned on running today but when I got up and could barely walk on the foot that got stomped last night, I decided I better not. But believe me, I tired! I went out to see how it felt and decided that shooting pains up my leg would not make for a very fun run!! So luckily I was at my parents house and I opted to take a bike ride instead. I went 6.38 miles in 34:58. Don’t know if that’s good or not but my Garmin told me I burned 241 calories so I’m happy with that! My legs were sure working hard!!

After that, I came home and mowed my backyard. I did Day 2 of the One Hundred Push-up Challenge. So far so good!! We’ll see how sore I am tomorrow! I also did some other arm and back strength moves. Now it’s raining so I’m glad I already walked Sadie and got all my outside work done for the day!! I am going to dinner with a good friend from High School at Bonefish tonight. I have been craving that place! Can’t wait!!

Question for runners: I am not sure what to count my soccer running as. Obviously I don’t know the exact mileage I’m running so it’s hard to count it in my weekly totals but I don’t consider it a cross training day either since I’m actually running the whole time. I guess it’s more like speed work but how would ya’ll fit it into a training schedule? It just bothers me that I don’t have a number of miles from that to add into my week total!! Any suggestions would be great!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at at 12:11 PM 7 comments    

I am excited about today for a couple reasons. First, I am going to get Sushi for lunch with my friend Katie and some of our old co-workers! I love Sushi!! And second, I have my last soccer game of the season tonight and it’s the final game in our tournament!! Woohoo!! No matter if we win or lose I am predicting some major partying after! :) But our summer league starts in 2 weeks so it’s not like I will be missing these guys for long! Ha!

I woke up at 7:15 this morning all on my own. Now, why can’t I do this on mornings I need to get up early and run!?! I am taking the day off from running since I have soccer tonight. I found this to be the best thing for my playing! Anyway, I decided to take Sadie on a walk before it gets scorching hot!! And after we got back I did some ab work. Nothing too exciting to report. I am sore from doing my push ups yesterday!! Mostly my sides, like at the top of my ribs and my back. Guess I don’t use those muscles very much!

I am totally in love with the running clothes I got yesterday at Sports Authority so I’m gonna post some pics from their website!!

I got this shirt in hot pick and bright blue! It is so lightweight and long! I love it! For some reason I really don’t like the shirts with the built in sports bras. I would rather have a sports bra and a shirt. Anyone else feel this way??

I got this pair of shorts also! I have been self conscious about wearing these spandex type shorts all by themselves. But I decided to suck it up because I look good in them and they are super comfy!! Ha! I got another pair similar to this but the website doesn’t show them:( But I am super happy with the deal I got on these and can’t wait to run in them!!

Hope everyone has a GREAT Tuesday!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at at 10:48 AM 11 comments    

Note to self... Do not attempt to run a long distance at 9:30am or after in 90+ degree weather with 100% humidity in Memphis. This was a BAD idea!! I will be forced to get up VERY early and be out the door by 7ish to run from now on! I headed out to my parents house because they have good running paths right by their house. I was out the door around 9:30am for a 5 miler. It was HOT! There were no clouds and the sun was beating right on me. I tired to run in some shady areas but there was still not very much of it. I am so glad I remembered to put sunscreen on before I left the house!! I was doing well until a little after the half way point. Then I began to get really tired and chills and decided I better stop soon or I could overheat! Of course I didn't bring water with me because I don't usually need water on runs shorter than 6 miles. I told myself I could stop at 4 miles and call it a day. So I did, and walked the last mile home. But all I wanted was some water on that last mile!! So here's my stats for my 4 miles:

Avg Pace: 10:24
Mile 1 :10:38
Mile2: 10:34
Mile 3: 10:21
Mile 4: 10:04

So each mile I did a little better, which is how I normally am. At least my pace was right on!! Anyway, I made it through and moved on to the One Hundred Push Up Challenge Day 1. Let's back up, I did my initial test and only could do 10 push ups! How awful is that?!? And I am doing full on push ups, not the ones on your knees. So Day 1 makes you do 5 sets:
1st: 6 push ups
2nd: 6 push ups
3rd: 4 push ups
4th: 4 push ups
5th: 5 push ups or max you can do

It wasn't too bad, I got through this one! Looking forward to Wednesday to see how day 2 is! Can't wait to have really awesome arm and chest muscles from this!!

After my workout, I layed out by my parents pool for a bit then went shopping. I went to Sports Authority and got a BUNCH of new running clothes!! If I had my camera I would take pics but it's still in my friend Katie's purse:( Hopefully I will get that back tomorrow!! Now I am just relaxing! Excited for The Bachelorette tonight! Hope everyone is having a good Monday!!

Posted in: on Monday, June 1, 2009 at at 4:22 PM 6 comments