Some Runs Are Better Than Others

Today I ran a couple miles, but mostly I walked them. And I didn't really keep track of how far I exactly went and I definitely didn't keep track of my speed. 

I only even went out because I was stressed out. 

Today reminded me that I should always be planning for my next run. 

I should always be hydrating for my next run.

I should always be eating like I'm going for a run later.

I should always be staying warmed up by stretching throughout the day.

I didn't do any of those things today. 

I ate a big dinner. I didn't hydrate well today. I didn't stretch at all today. I didn't start out slowly. 

I made all of the mistakes I know better than to do. 

I paced way too quick at the beginning and burnt out. 

I kept trying to start again but maybe only ran half a mile in any given stretch. 

My calves and shins were super tight, too. 

I had a diet soda at dinner, which totally didn't help hydrate me. 

I know running when I'm stressed is helpful. It's really been nice in the past, and has totally helped me get my best pace and distance. I just have to remember that I'm living my life as a runner now. I need to make decisions based on being a runner! I celebrated my birthday, and with it, I celebrated my health! I am making so many healthy decisions all the time that I can't let unhealthy decisions hold me away from my goals. 

Today was a stepping stones, a learning requirement. 

Mistakes are only mistakes if you never learn from them.

More cliches.

Good luck to you all, don't let a bad day stop you!

How do you get past feeling discouraged?

The Best Way to Celebrate a Birthday!

I just got back from the best run!

But before I get to that I want to tell you about my first Tuesday running class! 

We got there and went around the circle and introduced ourselves and then we had a light warm-up run around the track. 

After that, we did a TIMED MILE!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!

I was super nervous, but like I said earlier, my goal was to be able to finish in under 12 minutes. 

Not only did I finish in 11:28 (WHAT?!), but I RAN THE ENTIRE TIME!!!

I think it's important to celebrate the things that you're proud of, even if it doesn't sound like much. 

This is especially true when it's a step towards your goal, because you need to be proud that your getting closer instead of unhappy that you haven't gotten there yet.

After my class I got froyo, where I did some much needed venting, and it was delicious, but something about the sugar and the emotions and the cold breeze had my nerves kind of shaken... eep.

Anyways, I was on my way home from getting froyo with a friend of mine, and I realized I still had some weird anxious nerves in me that I hadn't felt in a while... So I knocked on my neighbors door (she reads this blog and is gonna be tickled that I didn't think of a blog name for her, lol) and she happened to be going on a run. So being opportunistic, I totally went for a run with her! 

We did my best distance in a half hour thus far!

I was hoping to do 5k tomorrow just to feel confident in my ability to be ready for a real one in a few weeks, but after doing the math, it turns out that I did about 4 miles cumulatively today. 

If you don't know, that's about an entire MILE over a 5k!

What up!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Getting Inspired In Unexpected Places! (seriously a post worth reading)

Today I had my first group training session! It's set up to help people prepare to run the MOOnlight rac in July. I probably won't actually do the race, but I wanted a training group.
Here's a cute picture of the mascot:

 Anyways, the training group was really fun and BR2 showed up only a couple minutes after me so we started out together. 

I was really trying to push myself to go fast and have short walking intervals, but about halfway through, I realized that this was an opportunity to run with some new people!

Don't get me wrong, I love BR2 a ton, but I run with her all the time. 

So as I was turning to go back, I noticed somebody who had been going pretty slow, but was clearly pushing herself. Something in me said, "Don't make this run about you!" and so as I as going to pass her going the other way, I turned around and asked if I could jog with her the rest of the way. 

She said yes! And I had an awesome time!

It was her first time running in a looooong time, she said. But she ran most of it!

She was slow, but it was good for me to actually jog at a pace that didn't tire me out, so I could learn that pace for longer runs. And I really enjoyed talking to her! She was probably in her 40's, and she said she had a couple of kids, I think. I don't know, she just reminded a lot of my own mother. 

When I told her of my plans to run the Tinkerbell Half in January 14, she got really excited and said that that sounded like a goal she wants to add to her life! How cool?!

She kept telling me that she wouldn't mind if I went ahead and went faster to finish sooner. But it wasn't about that for me! I can go run faster later, but I really was inspired by her! It was like holding up a mirror to me a month ago during my first run and it made me realize that I've progressed so far in only a month! I'm even thinking about stepping on the scale again soon.

By the end she even said how nice it was to have somebody to keep up with. Haha.

Anyways, I had a seriously realization yesterday when I was trying to do my furthest distance so far.

I realized that I'm not running to lose weight anymore. I realized that it may have been the reason I started, but now, I run to be better. Like, I don't care anymore about how quickly the number on the scale drops. 

All I care about now, is getting to the end of a workout. 

Did I blow your mind? I hope I did. Haha.

What inspires you to keep going?
Have any of your goals changed lately?

Needing Some Inspiration

Sunset is in an hour!

For every comment I get by 7:30, I'll do a mile. 

So who's gonna help me out?

Comment! Comment! Comment!

Update: I did 2.8 miles, but it took a really long time! I got 2 miles in and had tummy problems...
...but it meant I got to watch Brave with BR2! Woo!

I HATE Drinking Water!!

I think water is boring. And plain. 

But that's not the only reason I'm on a water rage! 

I live in an area that uses well water, but it's an agricultural area, so the water's actually pretty gross.

Doctors tell pregnant women not to drink tap water here. No joke. \

But since this is an attempt at a fitness blog, I'll tell you what I do to make it bearable.

I love Crystal Light Energy! It's great in the morning, or especially in the afternoon when I hit that 4 o'clock lull... They have 4 flavors, but I love the peach mango the best!

I also am digging nuun! It's a great way to help hydrate, as it has tons of vitamins and good stuff. They can tell you all about it on their website. But there are a TON of flavors, and the ones that I've tried are super yummy. See for yourself!

I also do things like eat a lot of raw vegetables that have a high water content (CUCUMBERS ARE SO DELICIOUS!!), add extra water to smoothies and stuff, and I drink fat free milk. I love dairy. It's kind of embarrassing how much I try to eat cheese and yogurt. Haha.

Another trick is to get a water bottle. Nothing to flashy, this isn't something to splurge on. Trust me, I love spending money. Haha. I'll tell you when you can save so you can buy more later. Wooo!! 

But so you have the water bottle, and you should probably get a few, ALWAYS keep them full. When the water bottle is empty, you might not bother 

When there are full water bottles around, you can just curl up in bed with a bad movie and it'll be convenient to hydrate! Another reason to drink water? It helps with weight loss! I'm sold! 

What are your hydration tips?

My Event Schedule

So it's Salad Thurday! 

I was so excited to eat that I forgot to take pictures! But here's a fun picture for you:

That's my running spreadsheet of all the events I had an interest in. The purple ones are the ones I have a STRONG interest in, and the yellow ones I AM GOING TO!!! OR ELSE!!

I also ran a PR today! 2 miles down in 23 minutes. Today's motto was, "One more step. One more step. One more step closer to health." 

I like cheesey mottos.

But I also did a total of 3 miles today. Which is also awesome. So sore now, and I'm going to take a nice soak after my BR counterpart and I watch a movie!

Now to watch Because I Said So with my salad buddy! 

I definitely have a crush on Mandy Moore. Somebody PLEASE tell me she's a runner. And that she's cool enough to read this. 

Soreness, Cats, and Family Commitment

Good morning everyone!!

Today I woke up to a cat pawing me in the face. She's a pretty big, kind of lumbering, type of cat, so she doesn't move quickly at all. So when she manages to get up on my bed, she plants herself in one spot and only starts to move when she realizes that I'm asleep. When she was first getting to know me, she only tapped my arm, or back. Apparently she feels closer to me now, and will paw at my face instead. Such a sweetheart. 

Gahh, today I am very very sore. Yesterday I had a great day of working out! 

I did some cross training in the morning using my mystery box! I'll talk about that more another time, but it's amazing and makes getting a workout for my arms, abs, and legs more fun and easy. What could be better than that!?!

I also ran my personal best for distance in a half hour! 

I'm on week 4 of couch to 5k. I tried 4 times to do the week 4 workout, and I finally got it done yesterday! It's such a great feeling! 

...Except for how sore I am today. My bum is not so happy with me... Or it's really happy with me and has a very funny way of showing it.

My soreness solution: 

1 NO ALCOHOL: alcohol is dehydrating and you need to stay hydrated to be able to work out anyways, but things like "drinking the pain away" only make the hurt worse the next time you work that muscle group. 

2 ICE ICE BABY: and heat. I like to switch between ice packs, then stretches, then a warm bath. If it's extra sore, I use Epsom salts. I'm pretty sure that they're lit bits of magic. 

3 SUPPORT: If it seems like more than a sore muscle, and I might need support in the area the next time I run, I use KT tape. Like epsom salt, it's made of magic. Various websites that try to explain how it works say things like, "it adds an exterior support to interior weaknesses" or "it brings extra blood flow to a recovery muscle group" but really, I think it's just magic. 

4 MASSAGE: it's least painful to do this either immediately after icing or in warm water. Usually soreness is caused by lactic acid, so digging into the sore area can help break it up and relieve the pain. It kind of hurts to do it effectively, but it will lead to a faster recovery. There are also a TON of tools out there to help you reach all the potentially painful areas on your body. I prefer to use the boyfriend method of, "if you help my soreness go away I'll make dinner!" Haha.

5 GET MOVING: Many times, going out and being active again will help you get through minor soreness. My knees get sore if I do lunges or squats in the morning, but the ouch goes away after a little warm up to my jog, or even during a brisk walk. Just getting blood flow in the area can help break up the lactic acid that is a typical cause for soreness.

That all being said, I'm not a doctor. I just know what works for me. If you're experiencing pain that doesn't resolve itself, you should go see a doctor. Your primary care physician can recommend a sports medicine doctor if that seems like something you'll need. 

Have I mentioned that I'm horribly slow? I'm horribly slow. Like, embarrassingly slow. My mile pace, if I ran a mile straight, would be like, a 12 minute mile. No joke. But I keep going, hoping that one day I'll be a little bit faster, and sometimes I am!

My personal motto when running is:

"I may not be fast, I may even be as slow as a heard of snails through molasses, but I'm running."

And that's more than most people can say!

But family commitment:

I told my mom that for mother's day, I'd like to do a 5k with her.

This evolved into deciding to do the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in January 2014, and it's so motivating! I open the page every day to see the countdown. Right now, I haven't even done a full 5k, but I will run a half marathon. And in a year, hopefully a whole marathon.

It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

I talk to my mom a few times a week, using the excuse of wanting to stay motivated with her. In actuality, I just love my mother, and I love talking to her! She sees a personal trainer at the gym she was once really active at, and now (after a few years off) she's back working out with him!! I'm so proud of her!! She's my inspiration some days and others I'm her mentor, but I just can't believe that at 54 years ols, she's going to train for a half marathon. How freaking cool is that?!

I'm sure I'll have more to say later. Have a good day every body!