Yesterday was mothers day and my initial plan was to wake up before church and go for a run. That thought ended almost as soon as it had started when I received a phone call from a friend at church. Tandy and myself are the Sunday School teachers and she had called to inform me that she was not going to be at church in the morning and that she had all the supplies for the Mothers Day craft but there was some cutting out do be done along with searching for a bible verse. That's when I knew I had to get to church early and unless I woke up at the butt crack of dawn, which should NEVER happen on mothers day, I was going to have to forgo the morning run.
After church I came home cleaned the bathroom, kitchen and rewashed the kitchen floor. I was annoyed because I had already washed the kitchen and bathroom less then 48 hrs prior. Ryan decided for Mothers Day he should take the kids to the park and leave me home alone to do whatever. So I sat on the couch and found a movie on tv. There was only an hr left in the movie so once it was done I knew I had plenty of time to do something else before they got home. So I chose to run. I got all ready and then called my husband and told him to not leave the park because I was going to run up there and I would need a ride home.
Running to the park is a route I had never run before and was excited to try it out. I had no interest in going out to be fast or anything of that nature. I just wanted a nice relaxing run. The first part is pavement. The second part of the run is dirt rode. I generally like running on dirt but I found it to be kinda challenging this time. The road had just been graded and it was not only very bumpy it was duuuusty! Whenever a car would pass I would get lost in a huge cloud of dust. It was crazy! The third part of the run was through a grassy field. I hate hate hate running on terrain like this because there are a lot of hidden bumps, holes, and even muddy spots. Fortunately that part did not last long and I walked part of it. There was a family in the field out flying kites too so it was fun to be able to watch them as I made my way through this. Then lastly I was back onto a dirt road until I came to a ball field that had all my men on it! It was awesome!
I have to say that run and then hanging out with my boys at the park was great... just what this mama needed for Mothers Day!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
WILDCAT 5K
Wooo woooo here comes the full report of my first 5k of the season. As I posted in my last blog post I spent the night before getting prepped for the event. Clothing laid out, mp3 player charged, children's clothing laid out, and I even purchased breakfast for the children so I would not have to scramble to cook something in the morning. (doughnuts, which made me the coolest mom ever) I had accounted for everything and was all set to go...
I arrived there with my friend Stacey and quickly went to pick up our race packets. Once that was done we had about 30 min to pin on our bibs, warm up, hit the rest rooms and of course get a pre race pic. of ourselves taken.
I found out about the race through my physical therapist. She too ran it along with a whole slew of other staff members from my physical therapy place. I was also approached by a woman named Laura who recognized me from a mutual friend. I was already super nervous and knowing so many people there made the nervousness 10 times worse. Kinda reminded me of how much I like to sing and how I have no problem singing in front of strangers but if you ask me to sign in front of people I know... I get all freaked out. Standing at the starting line I felt like I was standing in front of family and friends with a microphone in my hand.
The guy who was in charge of starting the race had no gun so he yelled POW and we were off. I started off in the middle of the pack but it did not take long before I was in the back of the pack. I have been following the Jeff Galloway run/walk program so I kept close eye on my watch and planned on walking 1 min. for every 6 min of running. The first walk break came and I was actually in need of it. I was kinda out of breath at this point already which told me I was running faster then I should have been. When I started back up again I tried to slow down a bit but seeing the gap between myself and the people in front of me grow larger and larger made me question my pace and I started to run faster. There was supposed to be someone at what I thought was the 1mile and 2 mile mark telling you what your pace was. I got to the first person and they shouted out 7minuets (I do not remember what the seconds count was). I knew there was no possible way that I could be running at that pace. I have only run a mile in under 8 min once and that was because I was acting overly competitive. I ran it on the treadmill and I had to hold on to the bars for dear life, if I had accidentally let go I would have gone flying off. hahah Trust me when I say there was no possible way for me to do that again without the aid of the treadmill. So once I hear the 7 min call my mind starts to wonder a bit... what? Where am I, was that not the one mile mark? Wait my watch says it has been 10 min. but still I do not run 10 min miles either. Crap how far have I run? Having never run the course before I just had to try to clear my mind and not worry about how far I had run or how far I had to go. I did find comfort though in the fact that although she was quite a distance ahead of me I could still see Stacey and she seemed to be doing well!
The first part of the course took us through a neighborhood and that was kinda fun because there were several people standing outside in their drive ways to watch us. The second part was down a sidewalk which was right between the main rd and a lake. I focused on looking straight ahead but I made sure to take in some of the view of the lake too. I finally came to the second person who was shouting out times and was told I was at 21something. At this point in time I am feeling confident that, that was in fact the 2 mile mark. Which meant that I was trucking! Only at this point in time I could not think about that. I had to focus now on how much I was walking because unfortunately at this point in time I was needing to walk every 4 to 5 min instead of 6. There was a couple that had been running near me the whole race and we were kinda laughing at each other because I would run while they were walking and pass them then when I would walk they would run past me. We leap frogged the whole race.
The last stretch of the race was the drive way to the middle school and onto the middle school's brand new track. Right when I saw that track I knew this was it I was in the home stretch. Only one lap around the track and boom the race would be over. My adrenaline started pumping and I started to push it into gear. I got onto that track and I instantly could smell the rubber or whatever it is made out of. It reminded me of getting a new car and how much you enjoy that new car smell, not so much because of how good the smell is but because of what it represents... the shinny, clean, new car! I enjoyed the smell of the track not because I like to sniff rubber but because it meant I had done it and was just about to cross the finish line. I got half way around that track when the sent was no longer a thought in my mind, all I could think about was I can't breath! I wanted so bad to sprint the whole way around the track but I just was not able to do it. I had to slow down and then eventually walk at which time the couple I had been leap frogging passed me. Feeling a little defeated and upset with myself, a friend from my running moms group on facebook came into my head. Although I have never met Denise nor do I know her that well at all she came into my mind at that moment. I thought about how Denise who started running at 39 years old, she has CLL and was running her first marathon at the same time that I was walking on this track. The words, Denise is running right now, if she can run a marathon I can at least run the rest of this track, popped into my head. (It was not until after I started this blog post that I realized that not only had Denise ran her marathon and completed it she had undergone chemo just 4 days prior to the race... she is amazing and inspirational!) Thinking about Denise was all the motivation I needed I then picked up my feet and ran as fast as I could around the rest of that track. I proudly crossed that finish line in the back of the pack in 88th place with the most amazing time I have ever seen out of myself on a 5k. 32:55 over three and a half min. faster then my previous PR. Even though there were not to many people to cross that finish line behind me I was elated.
I completely out of breath walked up to the equally out of breath couple and gave them a high five and a congrats on a job well done. It was fun having them to go back and forth with the whole race. Then I was off to find Stacey who had crossed the finish line so much farther ahead of me that she already had her breathing regulated and was no longer out of breath. ahahahh She did amazing. While waiting for the results I congratulated some of the staff from Health Quest (my physical therapy place) They all did so well and the majority of them got medals too. This race was amazing and I am already looking forward to doing it again next yr.
I arrived there with my friend Stacey and quickly went to pick up our race packets. Once that was done we had about 30 min to pin on our bibs, warm up, hit the rest rooms and of course get a pre race pic. of ourselves taken.
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| Stacey and myself before the race |
The guy who was in charge of starting the race had no gun so he yelled POW and we were off. I started off in the middle of the pack but it did not take long before I was in the back of the pack. I have been following the Jeff Galloway run/walk program so I kept close eye on my watch and planned on walking 1 min. for every 6 min of running. The first walk break came and I was actually in need of it. I was kinda out of breath at this point already which told me I was running faster then I should have been. When I started back up again I tried to slow down a bit but seeing the gap between myself and the people in front of me grow larger and larger made me question my pace and I started to run faster. There was supposed to be someone at what I thought was the 1mile and 2 mile mark telling you what your pace was. I got to the first person and they shouted out 7minuets (I do not remember what the seconds count was). I knew there was no possible way that I could be running at that pace. I have only run a mile in under 8 min once and that was because I was acting overly competitive. I ran it on the treadmill and I had to hold on to the bars for dear life, if I had accidentally let go I would have gone flying off. hahah Trust me when I say there was no possible way for me to do that again without the aid of the treadmill. So once I hear the 7 min call my mind starts to wonder a bit... what? Where am I, was that not the one mile mark? Wait my watch says it has been 10 min. but still I do not run 10 min miles either. Crap how far have I run? Having never run the course before I just had to try to clear my mind and not worry about how far I had run or how far I had to go. I did find comfort though in the fact that although she was quite a distance ahead of me I could still see Stacey and she seemed to be doing well!
The first part of the course took us through a neighborhood and that was kinda fun because there were several people standing outside in their drive ways to watch us. The second part was down a sidewalk which was right between the main rd and a lake. I focused on looking straight ahead but I made sure to take in some of the view of the lake too. I finally came to the second person who was shouting out times and was told I was at 21something. At this point in time I am feeling confident that, that was in fact the 2 mile mark. Which meant that I was trucking! Only at this point in time I could not think about that. I had to focus now on how much I was walking because unfortunately at this point in time I was needing to walk every 4 to 5 min instead of 6. There was a couple that had been running near me the whole race and we were kinda laughing at each other because I would run while they were walking and pass them then when I would walk they would run past me. We leap frogged the whole race.
The last stretch of the race was the drive way to the middle school and onto the middle school's brand new track. Right when I saw that track I knew this was it I was in the home stretch. Only one lap around the track and boom the race would be over. My adrenaline started pumping and I started to push it into gear. I got onto that track and I instantly could smell the rubber or whatever it is made out of. It reminded me of getting a new car and how much you enjoy that new car smell, not so much because of how good the smell is but because of what it represents... the shinny, clean, new car! I enjoyed the smell of the track not because I like to sniff rubber but because it meant I had done it and was just about to cross the finish line. I got half way around that track when the sent was no longer a thought in my mind, all I could think about was I can't breath! I wanted so bad to sprint the whole way around the track but I just was not able to do it. I had to slow down and then eventually walk at which time the couple I had been leap frogging passed me. Feeling a little defeated and upset with myself, a friend from my running moms group on facebook came into my head. Although I have never met Denise nor do I know her that well at all she came into my mind at that moment. I thought about how Denise who started running at 39 years old, she has CLL and was running her first marathon at the same time that I was walking on this track. The words, Denise is running right now, if she can run a marathon I can at least run the rest of this track, popped into my head. (It was not until after I started this blog post that I realized that not only had Denise ran her marathon and completed it she had undergone chemo just 4 days prior to the race... she is amazing and inspirational!) Thinking about Denise was all the motivation I needed I then picked up my feet and ran as fast as I could around the rest of that track. I proudly crossed that finish line in the back of the pack in 88th place with the most amazing time I have ever seen out of myself on a 5k. 32:55 over three and a half min. faster then my previous PR. Even though there were not to many people to cross that finish line behind me I was elated.
I completely out of breath walked up to the equally out of breath couple and gave them a high five and a congrats on a job well done. It was fun having them to go back and forth with the whole race. Then I was off to find Stacey who had crossed the finish line so much farther ahead of me that she already had her breathing regulated and was no longer out of breath. ahahahh She did amazing. While waiting for the results I congratulated some of the staff from Health Quest (my physical therapy place) They all did so well and the majority of them got medals too. This race was amazing and I am already looking forward to doing it again next yr.
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| Me and Stacey after the Wildcat 5k |
Friday, April 29, 2011
Getting ready for race day
Tomorrow I have my first race of the season... The Wildcat 5k! I am so very excited! The Wildcat 5k will officially be the 4th 5k I have participated in and I will not lie I want to set a PR on this one. My fastest 5k so far has been a virtual 5k that raised money for ST. Jude. I ran it on my treadmill in 36:33. I have always had much faster times on my treadmill. Tomorrow will be different. I will not be able to push a button to force my legs to speed up. I have put in the effort, logged the miles, did my cross training and now I am excited to see it all pay off! I hope to to pull this 5k off in at least 36:30... well to be honest what I really want is a 35:59 but I will be happy with anything under a 36:30.
Physically training for a race might be tough but I tell you what getting ready the day before a race is tough too. There are so many logistics to plan out when you have a family. Ryan has school tomorrow which means not only can he not watch the race, or the kids, he can not help get the kids ready. Two of my three kids are going off with their Papa to a MI State game while the youngest is going to his friends soccer game to cheer on his buddy. I have to make sure I have EVERYTHING all planned out, laid out, and figured out tonight so that tomorrow morning is smooth sailing. With three boys something stupid is bound to come up tomorrow that will put me in a state of panic... but right now I am feeling confident despite the pre race jitters I have. I can not wait to give you a full race report tomorrow! Wish me luck!
Physically training for a race might be tough but I tell you what getting ready the day before a race is tough too. There are so many logistics to plan out when you have a family. Ryan has school tomorrow which means not only can he not watch the race, or the kids, he can not help get the kids ready. Two of my three kids are going off with their Papa to a MI State game while the youngest is going to his friends soccer game to cheer on his buddy. I have to make sure I have EVERYTHING all planned out, laid out, and figured out tonight so that tomorrow morning is smooth sailing. With three boys something stupid is bound to come up tomorrow that will put me in a state of panic... but right now I am feeling confident despite the pre race jitters I have. I can not wait to give you a full race report tomorrow! Wish me luck!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
got gas?
Sitting approximately 12.5 miles away from my house is my local YMCA. I drive to this Y 5 days a week. Now I do know that there are several gyms within a 5 mile radius of my house that I could have joined but none had the vast amenities of the Y. Most importantly the child watch and pool. There is one place with the fancy pool and childcare slightly closer but it was 30 bucks a month more and well I was not willing to dig any deeper into my pockets. The drive has never kept me away from the gym though, in fact I like the 20 min. of wake up time the drive provides me in the early morning. I started hitting the Y routinely after my treadmill died a few months back. Sure sure there were days that I could not go to the Y due to a typical MI winter but for the most part once that treadmill died I was there religiously. That is until now... Today I did not hit that local gym, sadly I did not get to hear all the "good mornings" or see all the smiling faces that I have grown so used to seeing early in the morning, I did not drive in the rain to get my workout on. Instead I set out this morning in the cold and rain to run outside. Sadly I was about 5 steps into my run when a huge gust of cold wind hit me and I was second guessing my decision to not drive to the gym. Why when someone who does not mind the drive, enjoys the people, has the time, etc would they choose to run in the cold, rainy weather? Sticker shock people! I would rather run in the cold rainy weather then to pass out from the sticker shock I would get at the pump. What the hell is going on with these gas prices? My word this price hike is outrageous! The 25 mile round trip visit to my local Y each morning could potentially dry out this stay at home moms pocket book. As a SHAM I already feel bad spending 80 bucks a month on a gym membership let alone spending over 200 a month to get there. I figure if I can cut back on the gym 2 or three days a week (running days) then I should be able to save at least $100.00per month. I know every mom needs to do a little something for herself but I also know that every mom wants nothing more then to be able to give back to her family and that's what I am going to do. There is a disclaimer in this statement though... if by chance it snows again (don't hhhmmph me this is MI people stranger things have happened) or if the temp goes below 50* or of course if it is pouring. Light rain is as far as I go. Other then that I am running outside!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
When the legs feel like brick
Ok so I know my posts have been few and far between lately but that's just because nothing exciting has been going on. Plagued by a shoulder injury, the last few weeks have just kinda been blah. I have been keeping up with all my workouts but to be honest my runs although not bad, have not been great either. I think that every runner has those days when they get up all pumped up to run only to find out that their legs just were not as pumped as their mind was. I had a day like that on Tuesday, before I even had one lap around the track in I was thinking what the hell is wrong with the legs today? I feel like I am running in wet cement. For the next two miles nothing changed and the same frustrating thoughts were going through my head. I was happy as hell when I finally gave myself permission to stop running. For a runner days like these are frustrating as hell and you just pray that they never happen on a race day.
I have my first 5k of the season next Saturday and Tuesdays run had left a bad taste in my mouth. So today when I set out to the gym I had Tuesdays run on my mind and I knew I had to do better then that. I got there and walked a quarter mile to warm up. I was feeling great until... I started running! Legs felt like bricks again! Frustration mixed with a bit of nervousness started to set in as several times I thought my legs were going to give out. I pressed on and finally I had a half mile in. Over the winter I started following the Geff Galloway's run/walk method of running. So typically I would have run another lap or two and then walked a lap but today, since I was having so much trouble, I decided to walk every half mile. Once the walk lap was over I set out to just finish a mile. The second half went NO better then the first and the whole time I was running all I could think about was only 5, 4, 3, 2, and then 1 more lap until I can walk again. At 1 mile I thought oh man this is ridiculous. I have been running for almost a yr now there is no way in hell I will settle for two runs in a row being crap. Determined to do better I pressed on. After my walk break at 1.5 my legs started to feel a little lighter like someone had taken weights off my ankles. The fear that my legs were going to just give out was now gone allowing me a little freedom from all the thinking and negativity going on in my mind. I stopped thinking about running and just started listening to my music. That is until I was one lap from the 2 mile mark when I looked at the time and thought OMG what the hell?!? I have been running for 30 min and I have not quite made 2 miles yet. My mind was like a whirl wind of thoughts again, 30 min that can not be right, uggg I need to run faster, the walkers at the race on Sat are going to beat me, I can not come in last at this race, I am slower then a turtle I am a fricken sloth, I have to step this up, 30 min... seriously that can not be right it just can not be right... is that right?! All these thoughts and a million more took over my mind for the next mile. By the time mile 3 hit I had realized two things. 1. My legs were feeling good now 2. I need to go back to 3rd grade because I can not tell time. LOL what I thought was 30 min was actually only 25 min. I did not stop running when I hit mile 3, I figured I would just continue on until I got in a full 5k. The only thing is my legs were now feeling good I mean real good I hit the 5k point and felt no need to stop so I told myself just make it an even 3 and a quarter. Only once I hit that I still felt good. Ok 3.5 I told myself. I got there no problem. Ok 3.75 then! once I got to 3.75 are you kidding me only 4 more laps until I get in 4 miles. I got this easy! One lap before 4 miles I glance at the clock again. (this time reading it correctly) and realized ok wether or not I can go any farther I have to stop and get home so Ryan can get to work. So I sprinted the last lap. Finishing my last mile and a half with no walk breaks, and the full 4 miles in just 45 min. Which happens to be an amazing pace for me.
I am not sure how a run with such an awful negative start ended up being one of my best runs I have ever had but I am very happy about it. Infact I think that last mile I ran gave me what is known as a runners high. Could it be?!?! What I do know is I feel a whole lot more confident going into next weeks 5k knowing that there is a possibility that I could potentially pull of a pace under a 12 min. mile. ~It still shocks me that less then a yr ago I could not run around the block and now... WOW!
I have my first 5k of the season next Saturday and Tuesdays run had left a bad taste in my mouth. So today when I set out to the gym I had Tuesdays run on my mind and I knew I had to do better then that. I got there and walked a quarter mile to warm up. I was feeling great until... I started running! Legs felt like bricks again! Frustration mixed with a bit of nervousness started to set in as several times I thought my legs were going to give out. I pressed on and finally I had a half mile in. Over the winter I started following the Geff Galloway's run/walk method of running. So typically I would have run another lap or two and then walked a lap but today, since I was having so much trouble, I decided to walk every half mile. Once the walk lap was over I set out to just finish a mile. The second half went NO better then the first and the whole time I was running all I could think about was only 5, 4, 3, 2, and then 1 more lap until I can walk again. At 1 mile I thought oh man this is ridiculous. I have been running for almost a yr now there is no way in hell I will settle for two runs in a row being crap. Determined to do better I pressed on. After my walk break at 1.5 my legs started to feel a little lighter like someone had taken weights off my ankles. The fear that my legs were going to just give out was now gone allowing me a little freedom from all the thinking and negativity going on in my mind. I stopped thinking about running and just started listening to my music. That is until I was one lap from the 2 mile mark when I looked at the time and thought OMG what the hell?!? I have been running for 30 min and I have not quite made 2 miles yet. My mind was like a whirl wind of thoughts again, 30 min that can not be right, uggg I need to run faster, the walkers at the race on Sat are going to beat me, I can not come in last at this race, I am slower then a turtle I am a fricken sloth, I have to step this up, 30 min... seriously that can not be right it just can not be right... is that right?! All these thoughts and a million more took over my mind for the next mile. By the time mile 3 hit I had realized two things. 1. My legs were feeling good now 2. I need to go back to 3rd grade because I can not tell time. LOL what I thought was 30 min was actually only 25 min. I did not stop running when I hit mile 3, I figured I would just continue on until I got in a full 5k. The only thing is my legs were now feeling good I mean real good I hit the 5k point and felt no need to stop so I told myself just make it an even 3 and a quarter. Only once I hit that I still felt good. Ok 3.5 I told myself. I got there no problem. Ok 3.75 then! once I got to 3.75 are you kidding me only 4 more laps until I get in 4 miles. I got this easy! One lap before 4 miles I glance at the clock again. (this time reading it correctly) and realized ok wether or not I can go any farther I have to stop and get home so Ryan can get to work. So I sprinted the last lap. Finishing my last mile and a half with no walk breaks, and the full 4 miles in just 45 min. Which happens to be an amazing pace for me.
I am not sure how a run with such an awful negative start ended up being one of my best runs I have ever had but I am very happy about it. Infact I think that last mile I ran gave me what is known as a runners high. Could it be?!?! What I do know is I feel a whole lot more confident going into next weeks 5k knowing that there is a possibility that I could potentially pull of a pace under a 12 min. mile. ~It still shocks me that less then a yr ago I could not run around the block and now... WOW!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
I am so happy to say... I have missed you!
When I first started running I hated to run outside. The reason I had for hating running outside is actually quite sad. I was so self conscious about how heavy I was that it was keeping me from what I needed to do, lose weight. Every time I ran out of steam and would have to walk the thought of omg if anyone sees me walking right now they are going to think that I am to fat to run. Anytime I saw someone looking at me I would think I bet they are thinking that girl NEEDS to walk. I would run in the neighborhood at night so that way when people looked out their windows they would not know it was me out there trying to get into shape. Plain and simple I was embarrassed of myself. I now see that these fears I had were irrational. That's not to say that I don't still get those thoughts here and there but I now know to not listen to them. In fact what I have learned is that a good majority of people I talk to are impressed with what I can do they say things to me like I am not sure if I could run around the block let alone a 5k ~good job! The running community has helped me out tremendously as well. The support that runners give each other is amazing! My friends in my FB running moms group, CM running group and dailymile are some of the most amazing people I have never met. ahahahhah I know my husband thinks I am crazy for having so many friends that I do not actually know, but without them... I would probably still be running in the dark! I now know that when I am out running most people who drive past me are A. not paying attention and don't even notice me or B. think damn I wish I were out running right now.
Living in MI we have nasty winters and one thing that I can say is although I am no longer embarrassed to run outside I am to chicken shit to run outside when it is cold. I learned this last Nov. when I ran my second ever 5k and it was cold, very cold. I ran my 5k with a time over 42 min. (it took me less time to run 3.5 today) I coughed for hours after the race and I felt like I had just chain smoked a pack of cigs. It was not fun and I did not like the way I felt after so that day said no more outdoor running when it is cold. After 6 months of running inside on the treadmill or the YMCA track (except of course my 5k on New Years Day) I was ready to get my butt outside. Sunday was that day! It was warm in the 70's! I brought my 8 yr old son Cooper with me, he rode his bike. I found myself almost a little sad that I wasted so much time on being embarrassed and self conscious while outdoors. My run was great and not because I had a good pace going in fact quite the opposite. After running on a flat track all the little hills I came across seemed like mountains and I did have to walk a lot more then normal. But feeling the wind on my face, smelling the fresh air, saying hi to all the other people that were out enjoying the finally nice weather... I felt alive, not embarrassed! I just enjoyed myself and being with my son. Apparently I missed running outside, which is a very good thing!
Living in MI we have nasty winters and one thing that I can say is although I am no longer embarrassed to run outside I am to chicken shit to run outside when it is cold. I learned this last Nov. when I ran my second ever 5k and it was cold, very cold. I ran my 5k with a time over 42 min. (it took me less time to run 3.5 today) I coughed for hours after the race and I felt like I had just chain smoked a pack of cigs. It was not fun and I did not like the way I felt after so that day said no more outdoor running when it is cold. After 6 months of running inside on the treadmill or the YMCA track (except of course my 5k on New Years Day) I was ready to get my butt outside. Sunday was that day! It was warm in the 70's! I brought my 8 yr old son Cooper with me, he rode his bike. I found myself almost a little sad that I wasted so much time on being embarrassed and self conscious while outdoors. My run was great and not because I had a good pace going in fact quite the opposite. After running on a flat track all the little hills I came across seemed like mountains and I did have to walk a lot more then normal. But feeling the wind on my face, smelling the fresh air, saying hi to all the other people that were out enjoying the finally nice weather... I felt alive, not embarrassed! I just enjoyed myself and being with my son. Apparently I missed running outside, which is a very good thing!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Yay I signed up for the Warrior Dash 2011
Wow it has been a long time since I have posted anything. Where on earth does the time go?
I am a very happy girl right now. I convinced my husband to do the warrior dash with me. For those of you who do not know what the warrior dash is, this is how they explain it on their website... It is a mud crawling, fire leaping, extreme run from hell. This fierce running series is held on the most challenging and rugged terrain across the globe. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits and celebrate with kick ass music, beer and of course warrior helmets. My husband is not and never has been a runner so time to get him (and myself training) I just printed off the couch to 5k program for him and he started last week. We have plenty of time though, the race here in MI is not until the end of July. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. Running 3.3 miles, I got that no problem but I am not sure how my upper body strength is going to hold up through all the obstacles. I am thinking I should be picking up the little heavier weights in my total body workout classes now ~lol.
On a side note... I have continued to get my butt to the gym 5 days a week and all is going well. I actually look forward to my morning workouts and seeing all the familiar faces at the gym. Every day it is the same people and although I do not know most of their names we all talk. One guy just got back from a week long biking trip in Arizona. Two of the girls I now know are training for a 5k while another is training for a half. I have heard the stories of a recent 5k in Detroit in which everyone running were freezing their butts off. Each day there are 5-10 people in the army who come and work out, always the same 5-10 people dressed in their camo kicking ass working out on the gym floor. The track is upstairs over looking the gym and run after run lap after lap I find them extremely motivating. Looking down at them while they are doing push up after push up knowing that they are working their asses off to not only stay in shape for themselves but for all of us Americans makes me want to run that much harder, that much farther. I have never had a conversation with any of those guys but a week or so ago one of those guys came upstairs gave me a high 5 and said nice job. He probably thought I had run miles upon miles upon miles because I was on that track for such a long time but in all honesty I only ran 4 miles. lol I love the morning crew at the gym and have found waking up at 4:45am is less daunting knowing that when I walk through the doors at 5:30 am I will be greeted by all the same familiar faces. Ryan (my husband) who is not a morning person and never has been went to the gym today before work and when he was done he sent me a text that said. "the place was kinda busy but the people are much more friendly in the morning." I could have told him that :)
I am a very happy girl right now. I convinced my husband to do the warrior dash with me. For those of you who do not know what the warrior dash is, this is how they explain it on their website... It is a mud crawling, fire leaping, extreme run from hell. This fierce running series is held on the most challenging and rugged terrain across the globe. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits and celebrate with kick ass music, beer and of course warrior helmets. My husband is not and never has been a runner so time to get him (and myself training) I just printed off the couch to 5k program for him and he started last week. We have plenty of time though, the race here in MI is not until the end of July. I would be lying if I said I was not nervous. Running 3.3 miles, I got that no problem but I am not sure how my upper body strength is going to hold up through all the obstacles. I am thinking I should be picking up the little heavier weights in my total body workout classes now ~lol.
On a side note... I have continued to get my butt to the gym 5 days a week and all is going well. I actually look forward to my morning workouts and seeing all the familiar faces at the gym. Every day it is the same people and although I do not know most of their names we all talk. One guy just got back from a week long biking trip in Arizona. Two of the girls I now know are training for a 5k while another is training for a half. I have heard the stories of a recent 5k in Detroit in which everyone running were freezing their butts off. Each day there are 5-10 people in the army who come and work out, always the same 5-10 people dressed in their camo kicking ass working out on the gym floor. The track is upstairs over looking the gym and run after run lap after lap I find them extremely motivating. Looking down at them while they are doing push up after push up knowing that they are working their asses off to not only stay in shape for themselves but for all of us Americans makes me want to run that much harder, that much farther. I have never had a conversation with any of those guys but a week or so ago one of those guys came upstairs gave me a high 5 and said nice job. He probably thought I had run miles upon miles upon miles because I was on that track for such a long time but in all honesty I only ran 4 miles. lol I love the morning crew at the gym and have found waking up at 4:45am is less daunting knowing that when I walk through the doors at 5:30 am I will be greeted by all the same familiar faces. Ryan (my husband) who is not a morning person and never has been went to the gym today before work and when he was done he sent me a text that said. "the place was kinda busy but the people are much more friendly in the morning." I could have told him that :)
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