Starting all over or just picking it back up!

 

So since I have last posted things have been absolutely crazy and exciting and I have done things I didn't thing I'd be able to do and I have pushed myself far beyond what I ever thought I could do which is why I love this sport so much to begin with.  It pushes you and makes you stronger and not just physically, but emotionally.  Running has become something that without, I don't feel like myself and yet I go days and weeks without it sometimes and every time I go for a run after that lull, all I want to do is run.  I know life and work get in the way and we all have our days where running jut won't fit in, but I don't have many days where I realistically I can't fit in a 30 minute run here or there.  What I think my biggest struggle with running is, my diet.  I have a hard time sticking to a diet that is beneficial to me and my running.  My husband and I both work full time and we work 1st, 2nd and 3rd shifts depending on the week and the day.  We have a tendency to eat out more than either of us like to admit and more than either of us likes.  We do ok for a little bit and then don't have the time to run to the grocery store and then we get off track with eating which is when we get off track with running.  I love working out and the feeling it gives me but I also love to sit on the couch and watch tv. What I need to learn to do is balance the two.  This is hard when you are gone for more than 12 hours of the day and still haven't eaten dinner.  So what I am asking each and everyone of you is how do you do it.  How do you fit everything in and not feel totally wiped by the end of the day? Or is that the point? Live life to the fullest everyday and just try our best to recover each night! 

Runniversary

Today is my 1 year runniversary or at least 1 year ago is when I decided I was going to lace up my shoes and start training.  It was an awful run; cold, windy, and rainy.  I didn't have much winter stuff to run in but I got out there and I felt good afterwards.  It is hard writing this today knowing that I can't go out and run due to my shins.  I just want to celebrate that this is something that has made it a year, that is far more than habit and I can't wait to get healthy so I can be out on the pavement again, especially because the weather is starting to warm up.  There are so many reasons I love running but most importantly it has truly made me love and appreciate my body and has changed my body in so many ways.  Because of running I am stronger, more patient, and tougher than I ever thought I was.  The bonus of all of this stuff is that MRM totally understands and having someone there to support you even on your bad run days is amazing.  

Since I have been not running this week or for the past 2 weeks, I am focusing on yoga and strength.  Yoga has been so fun, and I have been seeing the changes in my body from doing it.  

Me wearing the workout shirt I made, Louis watching the Olympics and me and Kora after yoga!

 The second day I did yoga it was so nice out that I decided to take it outside and get a little sun on my stems and play frisbee with my pup since we still aren't running but she is getting her exercise still.

We brought yoga back into the house the rest of the week since the weather got a bit chilly but this is usually how I am interrupted by my sweet girl just wanting to sit with me.  She will also bring toys to me or lay them on my back during upward dog.  

So besides yoga I have been doing the Bring Sally Up Challenge. I am just doing squats to it without the weight but I still have not been able to make it through the song.  I am hoping in the next day or two I should be able to complete the song.  


To end the night and since it seems so appropriate that it is Valentine's day and that I have been doing yoga all week! Have a good night and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Been focusing on Yoga this week, this picture felt appropriate!

Hot Chocolate 15k

On Sunday January 26th, I ran the farthest distance I have ever run.  Everything about this race was new to me but it was such a learning experience and it was a lot of fun.  The week leading up to the race was everything you don't want a week to be.

On the 20th, I celebrated my birthday by running 4.2 miles.  I wanted to hit at least 4.5 but my shin just hurt and I headed home.  My goal was 4.5 because I knew that if I hit that in a training run without too much pain I could run the 15k no problem, I just hadn't really run since my last race and I was getting nervous.  That night I went out to dinner with some friends and MRM surprised me with a Garmin Forerunner 220.  It is beautiful and I love it, I only wish I had it earlier in the day to use for my run.

I waited until Thursday to get my last run in before the 15k, I was nervous that I would hurt myself and I'd have to back out and I just didn't want to do that, it was a race I have been looking forward too for a long time.  I did a 30 minute interval run of 3:1, run 3 minutes walk 1 minute.  I did this because I had read that it helps with speed and injury.  I ran harder than I should have but I was just so excited to use my watch and I had new clothes from Christmas that I hadn't really worn because of my shin splints and trying to take it easy before this race.


My neighbours and I decided to carpool up to Atlanta for the race and headed up on Saturday so we could go to the expo.  It was my first time going to a race expo and it was fun, they had chocolate samples and tons of different running stores from the area were there.  After the expo we headed to hotel and it took everything in my being to not take a nap.  I was so exhausted but I knew that if I took a nap, I'd be up all night and we were going to leave early the next day.  I went to dinner at the sports bar of the hotel and watched some Chicago basketball.  After dinner I went back to my room and did some Yoga X just to get a good stretch in before the big day.  It was exhilarating doing yoga again, it has been such a long time and I used to love it.  I have vowed to start doing it more.

Race day was upon me and I was so excited and nervous, my neighbour who was running was in the first corral for the 15k and I was in the last so I knew him and his wife would be waiting awhile for me.  I made the decision to run in my Mizuno Wave Inspire's, the ones with the most miles on them for extra comfort and knowing they have gotten me through some great runs. Right at the beginning of the race I met some wonderful ladies and we all decided to stick together and do the 3:1 because they haven't ran in awhile and I was scared to injure myself, I couldn't help but start the race smiling.  The first thing I didn't know about Atlanta was how hilly it is not only compared to Valdosta but just really hilly in general.  I knew instantly that the 3:1 that I chose to do was the right choice because I have never run somewhere so hilly.  At the 5k spot we were all on track and averaging just under a 12 minute mile which is faster than I run normally but with the walk breaks it felt great.  At the 10k spot, I had a new PR for 10k time and I was so excited to only have another 5k left.The last 3.1 miles of this race seemed to be the longest, the 3:1 wasn't really happening on the hills, I just knew I had to make it in under 2 hours, that was my goal and I wanted so badly to do it.  We ran under the Olympic Rings that are in Atlanta and it was incredible and so much fun, once we hit the 9 mile marker I promised myself I would run the remaining .3 miles but just couldn't do it but made sure to push as hard as I could once I saw that finish line in sight.  My garmin says my time was 1:59:23 and I was so happy and could not wait to get some hot chocolate and fondue, I was starving.  My shins finally started hurting since they went numb at about mile 4.  I slept part of the car ride home and my shins were killing me so once I got home, I iced them and just relaxed.  Being on my couch was the best feeling ever.  


I just want to say thank you to those three women who helped me cross the finish line in just under my goal time and if it wasn't for them I don't think I would have hit my goal. 

Wordless Wednesday!

I thought everyone could use the same motivation that I need today!

Hotcake Hustle

        So just about 2 weeks ago I was preparing for a 5k in Dallas called the Hotcake Hustle.  I was so excited to be running in a different state but also excited because for the first time I has a spectator in the crowd.  My mom came to watch me run, normally me and MRM run the races together which is always great and I love it but to know that someone was waiting at the finish line for me made me very emotional.  I even teared up a bit.  This only means one thing, I am definitely crying when I finish my half marathon.  While in Dallas we celebrated a late Christmas with my brother, sister-in-law and kids and my parents.  It was fun to all be together even if it was 3 weeks after the actual date.  Since being home I have gotten back to work and back to trying to get the house together.  I am loving having a few more days off of work right now due to hours being cut since it isn't holiday and I need the days off to clean and get my life organized again.  Since before Thanksgiving I have not had a normal routine for anything, let alone running.  Well I was overcoming shin splints which I am still dealing with but they only hurt when I run now which is a huge deal compared to walking around work, limping.  I am loving being able to focus on training and my eating habits again and focus on saving some money.  
        The Hotcake Hustle was a great experience for me and it was hard not having a running partner, normally I have MRM or I have my furbaby running with me.  I didn't PR but it was a nice run for a 5k, the 10k would have been hard as you looped around and did the same course again and I am glad I didn't do the 10k.  What I also loved about this race is how many kids I saw running.  I love it and it gives me such hope for when I have kids that I can keep going with my running journey and share this with them.  Running is something that has brought me and MRM together and gives us a common goal to work towards together outside of the stressors of work and all the other things that we deal with as a married couple.  I have been slacking on taking pictures but I am getting better the more I am starting to feel like myself.  
        While I love having these days off when I sit at home in the evening, eating dinner and watching tv and just enjoying the quiet and comforts of our house is when I miss MRM the most. We talk a lot but it just isn't the same as sitting here cuddling and icing our joints together.  I know we are in the home stretch in the long run of things and I know time has a tendency to fly by as long as I keep busy but I miss him.

2013 in Review!

So I have been MIA for quite a few months, but I have been running, and staying ridiculously busy at work! The joy of working retail at the holidays.  I am officially on vacation for a week and I am in Texas visiting family.  I finished the year kind of on a high.  I had a relatively good year, and if what you do on New Years Eve is what is in store for you for the year to come means I am going to be with good friends, good drinks, and lots of laughs and memories.  Although I did not compete in a half marathon for the year of 2013, I have already registered for 2 in 2014.  My final numbers for 2013 are 245 miles ran, which is huge considering I stopped running due to injuries twice this year.  My goal for 2014 is 500 miles.  I ended the year with shin splints, but I have found compression sleeves, compression socks and foam rolling.  All have been helping but so has icing and just resting.  I am getting back out on the pavement due to my goals for the year plus I have a race in 2 days and then another one in 2 weeks.  I am so excited for both as I will be doing them by myself.  One of the highlights of 2013 in regards to running was doing a virtual 10k that MRM and I got to run "together". He is deployed and I am in Georgia and the original race was in Cleveland.  It was fun and meant so much to do that distance "with" him.  I need to be going to bed, but I am excited to use this as my journal and stick to it this year.  Also I want feedback, what do you guys want from me this year.