180 Degrees

Today was Week 7 day 2, and I had taken a few days off due to my work schedule, and I'm not a morning person so when I have to work the closing shift, I end up not running.  Today was my day off and it was gorgeous out, got some yard work done and when Rob got home we went running, not together but at the same time.  He was doing a 3 mile short run and I was focusing on making up for the awful run I had on Sunday.  It was amazing, I felt like I could run forever today when my trainer (couch to 5k app) told me to cool down I was relieved because it meant that I had run the entire 25 minute program for the day but I also felt sad that it was the end of my run.  I am trying to stick to the program so I don't injure myself or who knows what.  Most of my day off has been relaxing and doing a whole lot of nothing and sometimes you just need these days and it has been a good one with a good run.  All of this has taught me that one bad run doesn't equal bad runner because maybe you just need some time and then you can have one of those amazing runs. Maybe all my goodness for the day came from the Bulls ending the Heats winning streak last night.  I am not really a basketball fan, I mean I love the Chicago Bulls but it is because I grew up watching Michael Jordan and no one is better than him, so I have trouble watching the game but I did watch last night expecting D. Rose to make an appearance and although that didn't happen, it was an amazing game and fun to watch.

Bad Run

Well I officially started week 7 today it was just a bad running day.  I don't know if it's that I put it off for two days or if it really was just the weather.  It was a mild 80 degrees here in South Georgia and humid as can be.  It rained all day yesterday and was supposed to rain today, the rain stopped late last night but the humidity stuck around.  But I had an awful run today, one of the worst since I started.  My legs and feet didn't want to cooperate with my mind.  I wanted to keep going.  I only have 8 more runs in this program and right around that time will be my first 5k.  So i know I need to keep going.  Overnight though it is supposed to drop 20 degrees so tomorrow will hopefully be a much better run and will get me back on track. I don't ever want to take two days off again.  We were busy cleaning around the house since, the yard was flooded from the rain we couldn't get to clearing the rest of the trees we cut down last week.  Besides my bad run, it was a pretty relaxing Sunday, even with all the cleaning.  Has anyone else just had a bad running day, if you have please let me know, and maybe some motivational tips because I was so upset afterwards.

Walking Intervals, No More

Today was the last day with walking intervals included in my running program, and I am so excited.  It feels like such an accomplishment because apparently Week 6 is the one when most people give up.  As it says to register, I already have for the Color Me Rad and I now know more than ever that I can run the entire thing with out stopping.  I have 3 more weeks of the program and hopefully I'll be able to increase my pace because as of right now I sit around and 11 min/mile.  I know that's not awful but it is not where I want it to be.  Instead of this being a day of criticizing, I need to be celebrating the accomplishments that I have done to date.  I am so proud of how far I have come from barely running for a minute to being able to run for 20.  I am so excited to see where this journey takes me.  It helps that South Georgia has finally started to warm up and today was one of those amazing days to run in the evening. After my run, Rob and I went and got some sushi for dinner, and it was so good.  There are minimum places for sushi here in town and it is one of the things I miss most about being in England, and yes I know it is surprising but we had an amazing little sushi place near our house there.  But we have had a few busy days.  I had to work two overnight shifts this weekend so my circadian rhythm is very off.  I went to bed 13 hours ago, so I have a  feeling I am going to be up for awhile.  Hopefully my normal work routine will kick in and help me get back to sleeping normally.  Other than work and running we haven't really been doing much, with me sleeping during the day and working at night, the house has somehow gone to shambles, so I am trying to clean and still relax on this gorgeous evening.  I have never lived somewhere that in the middle of March I could have my windows open with fans on, I love it right now but give me two months and I will hate it again.  I am enjoying it for now though and it really is what is helping me stay motivated, it's too nice to sit inside on the couch all day when I can be out running or walking the dog.  

Still getting used to the blog!

One of the main streets in Subdivision

Although I did not go running today, I did yesterday and didn't post about it because I didn't want to post twice in a day and overkill it.  Yesterday was a good running day it was a walk for 5, run for 8, walk for 5, run for 8, walk for 5.  This means that for a 31 minute plan I am officially running more than half of it.  I wanted to share where I run so this is a picture of our neighborhood.  It is still new and we have two streets that don't have a single house on it.  I mostly run on the streets and occasionally I'll jump on the grass to get out of the way of cars. Although it looks like it can be monotonous running in the neighborhood you never know who you will see and the scenery is always changing based on what time of the day and who might be out of work or if the kids are out of school. 




The only issue I had with this run is that the other day I had rolled my ankle and my body is still recovering, I had to make sure to pay attention because my ankle kept wanting to push out but I kept it in line.  But it did make me appreciate my shoes.  I had recently made the switch from Mizuno's to the Brooks Pure Cadence.  They are completely different shoes and I still love them both and actually wear them both because they give me a different run.  

My amazing shoes and outfit for the day

As for the outfit, it was a whopping 64 degrees out and I was freezing so I wore my tights and long sleeved shirt. This is why I am training in South Georgia and actually believe that I will stick to it, it's warm most of the time.  

Some of the beers we tried

On a side note, my husband, friends and I all like to go out to dinner once a week just to get out of the normal routine of coming home and watching tv/cleaning.  Tonight we tried this restaurant call Two Friends.  It was amazing, they had different beer which after living overseas is something you look for because Bud Light and the normal stuff just doesn't cut it anymore.  Not only was the beer selection good, they food was absolutely amazing.  We all tried different things and none of us were let down.  If you are ever in the Valdosta, GA area I highly suggest this restaurant.  We will definitely be going back.  They have a spring roll of the day and today it was steak, some other stuff with a dijon mustard dipping sauce.  What a refreshing change of pace from the normal Asian spring rolls.  As for the beer the Menabrea Birra which is an Italian blonde beer was perfect and it is exactly the type of beer I go for when it comes to imports.  

My Relationship with Running

Running... something that most people hate, and I have a very difficult relationship with but we are getting closer and the relationship still needs lots of work.  We have tried it in the past and things get too hard and we don't put the work in to make it through the difficult times.  This is my second serious relationship, the last one was when my husband was deployed and I was living with a friend who was a runner.  We ran around beautiful Cambridge and we changed our route and always saw new things.  My husband while deployed was running half marathons almost everyday just for the hell of it.  Things were going good until he came home and she moved out.  We tried running together but it just didn't work, I was still learning and just trying to keep going without stopping, and he was trying to increase speed.  Shortly after that, my relationship with running ended.  This time around it's different, although my husband is still Running Man to me, I am setting personal goals and signing up for races to keep me motivated.  I have even joined a few groups to post my miles to have a cause to run for.  I am just starting out on this journey and wanted to really do this to share my progress.  I am registered for the Color Me Rad 5k in Jacksonville.  I can't wait and am hoping to be able to run 3.1 miles by then.  Right now I am working with the Couch-to-5k app for the iphone and I love it.  It gives me the same training plan as the couch to 5k but it has trainers that tell you when to run and walk so I don't have to pay attention to the time, I can just jam out to my music and focus on my breathing because that is one of the things I struggle with as a runner.  I am currently on Week 5 Day 2 of the program, which means I am officially half way through the 9 week program.  My little trainer at the bottom of the screen says that "The 5k is now closer than the couch." So I will take that as my motivation for the day.