Corktown St. Patrick 5K

Well I did it! I ran in my first race since my half marathon in 2008. And it felt great!!!! It was exactly what I needed :)

The weather all week was beautiful! Than the weekend came and the rain started. Bleh. The day of the race was exactly that. Cold, wet, and windy! All the elements you dont want. But I didnt let it stop me, I still headed downtown. I got there a little early so just chilled in my car for a bit. Entertained myself with some bejeweled blitz. Im so addicted to that! About 45 minutes before the race started I ventured out. I tried to find my friend, Lynette, but didnt have much luck.

When everyone started to line up it was a bit of a cluster. I ended up about 3/4 back which is a perfect spot for me. I bounced in spot for awhile as I froze my butt off. My hands were numb with gloves on! I started to get a little anxious for those 10 minutes before the race started. Next thing I knew we were off. It took me a few minutes to get across the start line....I think there was around 4000 runners/walkers. I got a little excited in the moment and started off to fast. I could feel it about a quarter mile in. Oops! I adjusted after that, and felt like I fell into a good stride. Shortly after that I really started to sweat it out. So I attempted to take off my jacket, but than realized my iphone was zipped in my coat pocket and it pulled out my head phones. I fought with my jacket for a bit and than gave in and just had one head phone in. lol Than I ran into quite a few walkers that must have started in the middle of the pack. That was a bit annoying because I had to stop and walk to get around them. I wish they would of stayed to the side. There were also a few people running with big dogs and really big strollers. So that was a bit of an obstacle to. I just weaved in and out where I could, but was careful of the uneven road. The last thing I needed was a sprained ankle!

I reached the halfway point at a pace that Ive been managing the last couple months, so was pretty happy with that, considering the weather conditions! When the buildings got sparse I could start to feel the wind more. Speaking of weather conditions, I than realized it wasn't raining anymore :) The turn around point was really small, it could only fit about 5 people wide, so it could a bit congested. Im not sure if it was the turn around or the runners though... After the turn around I just took everything in. The race, the people, the costumes, the crowd, the sights, the energy! I love running in races. I was getting a bit winded, and had a really bad side stitch, so focused a bit on my breathing for the last mile. I rounded the last corner with a second wind, and crossed the finish line around 34 minutes. I wanted to come in under 35 so was pretty excited :)

A few minutes later I ran into Grants coworker, so chatted with her a bit. Than grabbed some water, which was a short line since everyone was in line for a beer. Ha! I went back to wait for Lynette to come across the finish line. I saw her after the turn around so knew she wasnt that far behind me. Ended up that I missed her. LOL But we met up at the results board. I was so proud of her! It was her first 5k, and she did awesome!

I checked the board and my time was 31:17! I was ecstatic! Only 3o seconds away from a PR. Not bad at all. My best 5k pace this year! It felt great to be around other runners, and definitely has me motivated to keep running. Even with the love/hate relationship I have with running, the feeling after a race is all worth it! To be accomplishing things I never thought I could is priceless.

I think Ill sign up for my next race in April. Maybe find one on my birthday :)

Doubts

I will admit that I dont have much self confidence. Its something I have always struggled with. That is why I love running...it gives me confidence. I can remember specific moments after a race where I literally felt on top of the world. It didnt matter what time I ran in, or what place I came in....just completing the race was enough for me. The self growth is amazing. At times when I feel like Im in situations where maybe I dont have complete faith in myself..Ill go back to those running moments. And think damn girl, if you could do that...than this is a cake walk!

Now with all that being said, Im going through a running rut. Ive been through these before, so I know its not forever. But its giving me doubts. Im not that confident that Ill be ready for a half marathon by May. For the last week Ive struggled to get through a 5k. I am just getting over a cold and still trying to get completely healthy again...so maybe I should cut myself a little bit of slack. But it still has lots of doubts in my head. Like maybe I need to give myself a little bit more time. Or maybe I should just aim to run a 10k rather than a half marathon.

Its just that I have been consistently running 3-4 days a week for 2 months now...and I just feel like 3 miles shouldnt be a struggle for me at this point. It really doesnt feel like the lower miles are getting any easier..and my pace has actually slowed down. But than maybe Im just having a bad week. I remember my 4 miler a two weekends ago was awesome! I think another thing is Im no where near the pace I use to run. So maybe that is putting some fears in my head. Like when I run my next half marathon I will be disappointed if I dont at least run it in the pace I did my last one. Im always so competitive and self critical of myself.

Another thing is Im having more physical issues this time around. My knees are achy, swollen and need to be iced often. I think this has to do with the fact that I have 35lbs more weight than I did last time. I also keep getting all kinds of blisters. Which is annoying, and a little painful!

Ugh. What to do? What to do? Am I throwing the towel in to early?

Ill let you in on a little insecurity Im having. I was planning on running the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. My friend lives there so I would crash with her. Well shes running a marathon the weekend before, so she said she would love to come down with me and run a few miles of the pig with me. She is fast, like under 10 minute miles...where I can barely push out a 12 minute mile. That makes me feel so insecure! Not that she would even care...but that would be like a walk for her. Geez am I ridiculous or what?

I need to make a decision soon. Especially since the rates are going up on the Flying Pig. Im running a St. Pattys 5k...so maybe I should just stop stressing till than. Maybe running in a race will help me make a decision. Or better yet...push away those doubts and realize I can do whatever I put my mind to :)

Goodbye February, Hello March

February was a pretty decent month for me, but I am glad to see it go. Only because it takes us one month closer to Spring! Im so over this winter. While we havent seen the amount of snow the east coast has...its been enough for me. Warmer temps, sunshine, melted snow, no ice...sounds just about perfect to me!

So want to hear some results on my fantastic February? Of course you do! Now exercise wise I had a fabulous month! I ended up with 24 workouts! Can I get a Woot! Woot! Here is the breakdown:

Not to shabby. I died out the last week due to these nasty sinus infection Ive been fighting. I felt it hitting on Tuesday night and Wednesday and Thursday I was down for the count. Friday I tried to pull it out and felt decent, but Saturday and today I felt like absolute crap while running! Im hoping that this is the last of it. I feel better...but its all that phlegm that is keeping me down!

Now for weight and measurements. I took them this morning...so here is my 30 day update:

Weight: Down 4.5 lbs
Waist: Down 0.5 inch
Mid Belly: Down 2 inches (this is where most of my weight is)
Bust: Down 0.5 inch
Under Bust: Down 1 inch

Am I happy with this? Im always happy with a loss. But its a little frustrating. If I had a healthy thyroid I have no doubt the numbers would have been a bit higher. But slow and steady wins the race I suppose. I just have to keep at it, and stay consistent. Eventually Ill get where I want to be. Now that I feel comfortable with my workout schedule, I will try more this month to work on the diet aspect. It can always use some work!

I am very happy with the way I feel these days. I feel strong again, fit, and my moods have been great. That alone is such an amazing thing!

So lets see what March brings. I know a St. Pattys 5k is on the agenda :)

Its All About Finding Something You Love

And I LOVE cycling class!!!! I would always hear people say, when you find an exercise you really love, than working out will be fun! I use to think that was to good to be true. :p

Ive been dealing with some difficult times at work, that have resulted in my stress levels being out of control. Ive heard some rumors that the 5:30 cycling class is more intense than the 6:45 class I currently attend. I was a little intimidated to try it, but after one of my oh so stressful days at work I decided I needed to get my ass kicked. And that I did! I have now moved this class up as a high priority on my weekly workout schedule :) So much I even got up at 8am on Saturday to go to this instructors class! Now that is really out of character for me. Who is this girl? And what did you do with Melissa? LOL

I really felt like I was going to keel over in this workout. This class is a whole different ballgame than what Im use to! At one point I thought to myself..I may need to walk out! But I took it one song at a time, and tried to keep up with the resistance she had us at. As challenging as that was! Now I may not as been as fast as everyone, but I did what I could. Definitely an A for effort, IMO! No worries though, Ill get there someday. We all need goals to strive for ;) I LOVED her song selections to. It really helps you get into the workout. The best part of the workout was the very end...right when I felt like I didnt have anything left in me. We were doing sprints to the song, Best of You by the Foo Fighters. This song was perfect for the work day I had. I closed my eyes, and just let the music sprint me away.





Dont you love moments like that? Its like that moment is just speaking to you and helping you push through one of the million things clouding up your head!

I really like the way she runs her class to. She pushes us with the moves rather than screaming in her headset. There would be a few times she would vocally push us but it always felt like it was right at the moment I needed it. I really prefer that. I hate being screamed at...it pierces my ears!

Im so excited, and looking forward to each class. I love being pushed to my limits, and have fun while doing it! I didnt think I would ever say that! Im loving the growth and changes Im making. LOVING IT!

Happy Valentines Day!

My day started off wonderful. I slept a good 10 hours! Grant got up with the dogs, and I got a few extra hours of beauty sleep. I guess I got my Valentines wish eh? LOL

We than exchanged our first Husband and Wife Valentines Day Cards. Awww, I love my husband. He picks out the sweetest, most perfect cards ever! Married life is wonderful!

Grant went to run some errands, so I went and got my run out of the way. Today on the training plan was 4 miles. I was a little worried about how the run would go because of how bad my knees have been aching. But I wore some nice cushion socks, and took my pace down a bit. Not the best time, but Im not so worried about time right now. More like just getting through the runs! My first week of half marathon training went pretty good. It feels great to be in a routine again. Something about training for an event really changes your outlooks on your workouts. I know there were a few days when I would of skipped the workout...but since Im training now it wasnt even a possibility to me. I cant believe Im in training again...and that Im going to run a half again. Exciting, and nerve wrecking at the same time! When I got back home I decided I would head out to the grocery store and pick up something to make for desert. Grant is cooking dinner and its half a surprise. So I wanted to make our desert a surprise to. We thought we would see if there was a movie we could rent while out, so stopped at the video store. But there wasnt anything we saw at the video store, so decided to come home and download a few episodes of Big Love. We only got through one episode since we lost track of time...so looking forward to catching up on more Big Love this week! Grant was on dinner duty, and boy did he bring it! I think he really outdid himself this time. It was absolutely delicious. We had steaks, redskin mashed potatoes, green beans w/ ham and garlic, and a very yummie arugla salad.
See Bandito trying to get my meal? Sneaky bastard! My belly is VERY full! Will we have room for my desert? Im sure we can make room for a small piece. I made peanut butter cheesecake...hope it turned out good!

Our first married Valentines has been fabulous! I hope your enjoying yours as well!

Happy Valentines Day!

Widgets Galore!

After Meg's suggestion on tracking my workouts on my blog, I decided to revisit a site where I use to do just that. I was pleasantly surprised by the makeover that daily mile had! Although I can say I enjoyed the site before the upgrades, and now its just an extra bonus!

When I started using the Run Keeper App on my phone I didnt really need to use daily mile anymore. So I thought. The run keeper can track runs and walks, but it didnt track other types of exercise. So I think Ill use both :) I added the "workouts", widget. This shows my latest workout, miles ran this week, and total miles ran. I wish I could start the counter back to zero for total miles ran. Id prefer to just track this year. But to do that I think I would have to delete my previous workouts, which I dont want to do. I did add a section to track my miles ran this year, along with my PR's. I started the yearly count from when I started using the run keeper app, which was mid January. I think most workouts done before that were just a mile here or there anyways. I figure losing 2 weeks in January isnt that many lost miles anyways. ;-) Guess this is where I learn my lesson of why I should of kept up with daily mile. LOL

There was this widget on daily mile that had a countdown to your race, but its in blue and I couldnt get the color changed..or get it to fit right on my blog. So I used the race schedule widget instead. Than I added a countdown, so two widgets in the place of what the one widget did. Im not to crazy about the orange on the daily mile widgets...but I cant change the color. And I need to stop being so anal. LOL

Than the most fun widget...the donut meter! Daily mile tracks the calories I burn, and it shows how many donuts Ive earned, or could of burned off with those calories! Love it!

Dont you just love widgets? I know I can be such a dork.

Hello Weekend!!!

The weekend is upon us again. Can I get a woooohooo?! Getting through the work week is always a challenge for me these days. So I fully embrace my weekends :) Even if its sitting in my recliner watching TV. Anything is better than being at my job these days!

Ive been really exhausted this week so thought maybe I would come home and take a nap. By the time Grant got home from work I could get a 1.5 hour nap in, and still get some stuff done. Well that didnt work out as planned. But does it ever? I started doing some things around the house, and before I knew it Grant was home. So much for that nap!

We were planning on going out tonight so I had to speed things up. I had to get my run in, stopped by the grocery store, and cook up some chili and corn muffins...all before going out! Phew! Never time to rest eh? My run was meh. I really need new shoes. I can feel it in my knees. I wont be able to get any for another week so wondering what I should do. I really dont know if my knees can handle another 3-4 mile run in these shoes. They are shot! When I got home I tried to multitask by watching Opening Ceremonies and cook up this chili, but it just seemed to take twice as long. So I had to DVR it, and am now catching up on Opening Ceremonies as I blog :) Always a multitasker. LOL

My chili doesnt look very chili like. Its for a soup kitchen that Im volunteering at tomorrow. Hopefully no one tells me its nasty...that would be a little embarrassing. I made corn muffins to...and I hope they are cooked all the way through. I couldnt really tell.....as you can Im a horrible cook. I really could use some lessons...I should look into that one day.

I feel so domesticated tonight! I cleaned the living room, vacuumed, got two loads of laundry done, dishes done, chili cooked, corn muffins baked, and even squeezed in a workout! I will admit Im exhausted now. I dont think I would of made it very long if we went out...and our friend called us to tell us it was cancelled anyways. They double booked the bar. Looks like Ill get to bed at a decent hour. Grant already fell asleep on the couch...does this mean he will get up with the dogs like he did last weekend? That was like heaven last weekend. I think it would be the best Valentines present ever this weekend...hint! hint! LOL

Happy Weekend Bloggers!