Blessed...

I thought of many different titles for this post...but none of them seemed as fitting as "blessed" because that is exactly how I feel!

I am so unbelievably blessed to have some amazing friends.  Megan and Jenn got up before the butt crack before dawn to come and cheer me on at my race!

So many people left encouraging and supporting messages for me on facebook. 

And really, I am just so thankful that the Lord has given me the ability to run.  I am not fast.  I can't run amazingly long distances.  But I feel that I am using some of the talents that He gave me.  Whether it be solely for my own therapeutic purposes or in ways that I don't even know...I am his masterpiece =)

With that being said, let me tell you a little bit about the race.  This was the first race I have ever ran in my whole entire life.  I never even "ran" the mile in high school.  I walked it.  Every.  Single.  Time.  My thoughts regarding the race were this: 1) I just want to finish.  2) If nothing else the race was held on a cool date - 9/10/11. 

Amazingly enough, I wasn't that nervous leading up to the race.  About a half an hour before "take off" is when the nerves kicked in.  I remember looking at my watch and telling Megan and Jenn that my heart rate was 130 bpm and I hadn't even started running yet!  Here is a pre-race photo with my cheering section!

Funny story.  We were standing here chatting and a man came up to me and asked me if I knew where the 10K starting line was.  I, of course, said I had no idea!  He replied with...well, doesn't your shirt say "STAFF" on it?!  Um, yeah.  Maybe, a poor t-shirt choice but it's comfy and in my defense all the staff were wearing red t-shirts.  Well, Jenn and Meg took a liking to this man and took some very nice pics of him for me while I was running.  Enjoy.

Bahaha!  Creepy, right?!  He was skin and bones...probably weighed 85lbs. soaking wet!  But I have to give him props, he found the starting line and he runs faster than I do =)
So, the race began.  Everyone ran really fast.  I was definitely in the back of the pack.  We hit the mile 1 marker and my watch said 6:50.  Not going to lie, they probably needed to remeasure their distance because there is no way on God's green earth I ran a mile in under 7 minutes.  The mile markers were interesting...there would be a huge sign saying "Mile 3" and then 400 yards later there would be spray paint on the ground that said "Mile 3"!  What is a girl with out a garmin supposed to think?!

The path was well marked and the there were cops at intersections to direct traffic.  When the 10K and 5Kers split, I could see a girl in front of me and it was my goal to catch her.  I finally did.  She was doing the run for a certain amount of time and then walk for a certain amount of time method.  I gained some ground while she was walking...but then she would come zooming out of nowhere and run for awhile.  Eventually, she petered out and I didn't see her until after I had finished.  It was fun to run with her for awhile even if she wasn't that friendly.  I tried smiling at her and got nothing.  Sheesh!  I figure misery loves company...but apparently she didn't like my company. 

I felt pretty good until probably around mile 5.5.  Who really knows with their funky markers!  The last mile was a mental struggle.  At this point it was hot.  The sun had been shining down on me for most of the race.  I had hit up all the water stations but definitely think that if I race again I would consider carrying my own water bottle. 

This pic was the home stretch.  I definitely picked up speed once I could see the finish line.  I also took my ear buds out so I could hear the cheering.  It was pretty cool considering I was the only person about to finish.  I look like I'm sleeping and doing something crazy with my lips...that's determination, ladies and gentlemen, pure determination!

Stupid guy was standing in front of the clock!  My final time was 1:17:45.  Which is a 12:31 pace.  I was pretty happy with that.  My goal was 1:15:00, so I'll take it!  I think I could have done a little better if it had been cooler out. 

This is my "thumbs up, I didn't die picture".  Megan pointed out that I wasn't even out of breath...hmm maybe could have pushed harder?  I'll just go with, "I have a great recovery time". 

Final pic, I promise.  My cheering section.  They have starbucks...I have oranges and water.  A good morning had by all =) 

Will I race again?

I dunno.  I think it would be a lot more fun to run with people who run my pace.  The majority of the race I ran alone.  I was afraid I was going to get lost and it didn't really feel like a race running alone...just like any other morning run.  So, I either need to get some speed or find some people who run nice and slow like me!  My trainer seems to think I should train for a half marathon.  I think that sounds like A LOT of work. 

I do think I picked a good race for my first one.  It wasn't huge but it wasn't tiny either.  I'm not going to lie.  It was intimidating seeing people walk around that looked super fit.

The moral of the story is: I came, I saw, and I conquered.  That translates into: I started, finished, and wasn't dead last.  Second to last, thank you very much.  Oh, and I didn't walk at all.  So... hooray!  Ok, I am very impressed if you read all of this and am so very sorry that it became long winded.  I promise I'm done now =)

Jica...What?!?!

Dear Blog World,

For those of you who know me...which is probably all of you.  You know that I MAYBE eat 3 vegetables all together.  Well, I have been working with the trainer (envision her talking at me and me giving her a lot of eye rolls) on eating properly.  First of all, I just want to say eating healthy is not fun, it's expensive, and kind of time consuming.  One of her goals for me is to eat more vegetables, which means I have to TRY more vegetables.  BLECH! 

She insisted that I try a Jicama.  She said it's sweeter like an apple.  I don't know what kind of apple she is eating but I disagree.  Anyway, she said you just peel it, cut it up, and eat it.  And if I didn't like it I could dip it in peanut butter, hummus, or something like that.  So, I figured what do I have to lose?! 

Ok, so I finally worked up the courage to try it with moral support from a friend.  I started to peel it only to realize that our potato peeler sucked and that wasn't going to do the job.  So I got a paring knife.  Unfortunately, since I never cook I have no business using a paring knife and was almost certain I was going to cut off a finger trying to peel this baby.  Luckily, my friend was all over that.  The Jicama was peeled before I knew it and I was putting a piece of that potato looking veggie in my mouth. 

It really doesn't have that much flavor and was kind of boring to eat by itself.  So, I promptly got out the peanut butter which made everything better.  I'll chalk this one up as a win.  It didn't make me gag and it's supposedly good for me.  So I bought another one.  Any suggestions on what I should try next?

In Case You Were Wondering...

• My race is in 5 days...Holy Crap!  5 DAYS!

• I ran 7 miles the other night in 1:26:47.  I only stopped at stop lights and didn't walk at all.  If my race could be like this, I would be a happy girl.

• I think I'm going to love fall running. 

• School starts back up again on Wednesday.  I'm pretty sure I'm already behind.  They should have never given me a 2 1/2 week break because all I did was hone my lazy skills.

• It's getting darker earlier...I hate that.

• I REALLY need to pick a topic for my Thesis or what I shall refer to as my 682 project.  The first part of it is due on Thursday.  Details...

• I'm broke.  Like, hard core broke.  Haven't been this poor since my undergrad...maybe not even then because I had a job, le sigh. 

• I miss my friends.

Sprinting...

I have a love/hate relationship with sprints.  When running outside it is so much work to look at your watch to see if you can walk again...and 15 seconds goes way faster than you would ever imagine.  But the glorious thing about sprints is that it is a short workout.  15 minutes today and that included warm up and cool down.  It's pure torture...don't get me wrong...but supposedly it is supposed to make me faster. 

Anywho, this is a new tank top.  I broke down and bought some wick away material tanks because my skin is not loving this run in 80 degree heat in an old t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up stuff.  Now I need to buy a hand held water bottle.  I finally made myself run with water the other day.  It definitely helped the end of my run but took some getting used to.  I just held a 16.9 oz water bottle awkwardly throughout my run...but I think it would be more pleasant if I bought this one...which I may have my eye on. 

19 days!!!!!!!!!



Note to Self...

Food is fuel, not comfort. 

Boo-ya!

5.14 miles.  57:20.  Look out 10K I'm coming to get you!

I Almost Died This Week...

Ok, slight exaggeration...but it sure felt like it!  My gym was closed for cleaning this week...lame, trust me, I know!  We were eligible to go to other clubs but that would require more driving and I'm a semi-busy girl ;)  So, unfortunately not doing anything wasn't an option.  I really, really wish it had been but since my race is just a little over a month away (Eeek!) I came up with a plan.  It went a little like this:

Do every single run outside this month so you do not die on race day!

 Well, I am happy to report that I have logged 5 runs outside and about 17 miles...still here, still kickin it.  Let me tell you, I thought running was hard in general but running outside is a whole new ball game.  Here are some issues/barriers/challenges I met along the way:

1)  The ground is not flat.  Sidewalks disappear.
2)  The sun is hot and humidity is not my friend.
3)  Hated the wind at first since I was running against it...then realized it was really a blessing in disguise keeping me cool.
4)  People make cat calls and stare as you "run" by...YUCK!
5)  If someone wanted to abduct me it wouldn't be hard cause I'm already running as fast as I can!
6)  I hate running with stuff in my hands therefore I have not had water with me...I might have to suck it up and by one of those belt thingies.  I can make it about 45 minutes but anything beyond that I realized I NEED the water!
7)  There isn't a lovely display screen in front of me telling me how long I have been running for and what mile I'm on.  I do have my watch on but its hard work to lift that arm when all you're trying to do is put one foot in front of the other!
8)  Pacing...what's that?!
9)  Luckily I haven't had any bathroom issues yet...
10)  You get rained on.

So, yeah, I e-mailed my trainer to let her in on my plan and she acted all surprised that I hadn't been running outside.  Psh, AC, fans, water, mile counter, moving platform...why the heck would I run outside?!  She informed me that from now on rain, shine, or humidity, I would be doing my runs outside.  SUPER. 

Another thing I  have noticed is that running outside is brutal on my body.  My hips hurt...well, I just kind of hurt all over.  I started sleeping like crap again...trainer attributes this to the extra stress on my body.  I'm meeting with her on Monday, so we shall see if she cuts back on my mileage or is just going to torture me with no sleep.  Speaking of sleep...I'm going to bed.  Sorry for this really boring, pictureless post.

XOXO,
     NMO