Love my New Plan & Trail Running

So I feel a lot better with my new focus on mileage and following my new training plan! It is easier for me to watch my mileage increase on the treadmill than watching and focusing on the amount of  time it is taking me. I was also more motivated to amp up my pace to get to that 3 miles faster!

Happy After Running 3 Miles

I have decided to volunteer at this upcoming race:

It is not a race I am ready to do, but I wanted to help out and see what it is all about so I can participate next year. I just don't feel ready to run to the top of the mountain quite yet!! I am going to be running a few trail run 5k races in the upcoming months. One is in August and one is in September. I love the idea of running in the mountains...I can't wait!!

My Weekend:

It was the sweetie's birthday on Saturday and we spent the day at a car show and a rodeo! It was pretty darn hot, but it was a fun family day!

So cute as they share a love of cool old cars!

My little pouting...she had "tired legs"...I joined in and pouted too :)

My cute cowgirl enjoying the rodeo!

• Do you do any trail running?
• Have you done a 5k race in the mountain?

Changing my Training Focus

I have been using a training plan application on my phone that has been focusing more on the time I run instead of distance. I have signed up for another 5k and even signed up for a 15k (this one isn't until March 2014). 

I think it is time to start working on increasing my mileage...not too fast too soon of course! I found a 10k training plan online and printed a copy that I have put up in my office. I wanted to be able to physically cross off my training days. I start school again in just a few short weeks and nursing school is crazy busy. I need all the motivation I can get to keep my running up. This is why I signed up for a race that is 8 months out. Last semester I joined the gym since we get an amazing discount ($25 for 4 months) and the first day I went to the gym was the last day of the semester when I got serious about running! Walking all day in the hospital as a student nurse is better exercise than sitting in the classroom, but I needed more. 

 My new plan:

Yesterday my lil one and I went to visit some friends who live in a tiny town about 1.5 hours away. I love going to visit in summer since we go to the town pool and there are only 10 people there. Life of a small town is so different than a big city. I lived in a small town for many years and I'm just not a small town girl. I prefer the larger city...not too big though :)

Hope you have a great weekend!

* Do you follow a training plan for your running?

My First 5k!

Last Saturday I completed my first 5k in over 4 years. I did a few 5k fun runs back in the day, but I never did them as a runner. This race started at 7:20am and was a half marathon and 5k. As soon as I got out of the truck to walk over to the pack of people, I felt so out of place. The women were obviously runners and had been running for a lot longer than my short 8 weeks. I started the comparison game and knew I needed to stop. I realized that those runner ladies I was scoping out were there for the 13.1 miles!

The course was pretty flat and the weather was beautiful. I finished the race in 37 minutes. I was 6th out of 13 women in my age category (I'm 35). I felt so good after the race that I went home and signed up for my next one...a 5k trail run up in the mountains in September. I caught the race bug and am even hoping to sign up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Seattle next March. I have to check my school schedule before I sign up for that though. My little one had to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle once, so this race raises money for them...it is close to my heart!

All this excitement and then I got an email with my race day photos...and I couldn't believe I looked like that. Needless to say, I didn't place an order for these photos! I had been hoping that running would help me with losing the 20 lbs I have put on since starting nursing school. When I saw the picture, it confirmed that just because I run now, I can't expect to eat crappy and lose the weight. I have gained muscle for sure as my legs are a lot more toned than before, but those extra lbs can only melt away if I start to make good food choices. I felt a little disappointed for a day, but felt renewed as I reminded myself that just 9 weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch with no energy, wondering how I would ever get into shape. Now, I wake up with energy and the desire to run and let my body move.

Comparing ourselves to others just brings us down. Learning to listen to my body and being happy with where I am right here right now is what I get to focus on to be happy. Upward and onward as one of my professors loves to say... for today is a new day full of opportunities to make good choices!

The course for the race followed the Spokane River!

• Do you have a race that you are wanting to sign up for?

Spinning in circles

I think I am officially addicted to Spin class! I went to the gym yesterday to run, and after I ran 2 miles, I was pooped. I wasn't just physically drained, I was emotionally drained. A previous friend of mine decided to send a nasty message to me and it hurt me to my core. It was so hard to stay focused during my run and I ended up just getting off the treadmill feeling defeated.

I knew that there was a Spin class (they call it a cycle class at my gym) at 12 and I wasn't ready to completely give up on my exercise for the day. So, I went home, grabbed my cycle shoes I wear when I mountain bike, put on my padded bike shorts and went back to the gym. The instructor pushed us so hard and I gave it my all for the whole 60 minutes. It was amazing to focus my hurt onto the pedals of that stationary bike as the music was blaring. 

So, after I got home with a renewed focus, I wrote that friend a message back. I let them know that I was sad that they said hurtful things, but that I still thought they were a great person and I valued the time we shared as friends. My heart and my body felt better...life is such a process of learning...a journey of ups and downs!

Me after class with a clear mind and one sweaty shirt!

My great Saucony running shoes and little Buck

Here are my mountain bike shoes that clip in and work with the Spin bikes. They are a bit different than the road shoes, but provide a sturdy platform and gave me much needed support for my poor hurting heel!

• How do you handle rude people
• Have you ever done a Triathalon? I am thinking this might be fun down the road after I get a few running races under my belt!

My First 5K!!

So I signed up for my first race! I will be running my first 5k next Saturday morning...a race called Negative Split. I had no clue what this meant, but on their site it says: "Running a "negative split" means to run the second half of a race faster than the first half." 

I have been training to run a 5k since the first week of May. I am now running for 30-33 minutes at the gym and feel ready to start running in 5K races. I also started taking two spin classes during the week for some cross-training. Holy workout!! I have never sweated so much in my life and I love it. I wore my running shoes to class the first my first couple spin classes, but my right heel hurt like the dickens, so I am going to start wearing my bike shoes to class and see if that helps. They are mountain biking shoes, but the guy at the bike store said to try them before investing in road bike shoes!

 The little helping to make a healthy smoothie!

 The new puppy...introducing our little boy, Buck!

Buck all tuckered out on the deck

Our garden is doing pretty good & we are already eating lettuce and spinich from it...yummo!

• What was your first race?
• Have you taken Spin classes...and did your heels hurt?

Just a day...just an ordinary rainy day

Today it is raining...again. It is also in the 50's which is quite cold for this time of year. I am thankful I bought my summer gym membership since on days like this I know I would be convincing myself it is too yucky outside to get exercise!

Here I am a few weeks ago with my sweetie Charles at a local air show. We have known each other since 10th grade when we met and started dating. We dated until right before the end of 11th grade when my family moved to Utah for a few years. Years...lots of years later we got back in touch and here we are today...thankful he accepts me for who I am and I love that he supports my quest to become a runner!

So this is what I do to keep myself motivated to hit the gym in the morning. I set out my clothes, shoes and gym towel each night so I am ready to jump out of bed...ok crawl out of bed & get ready. 

I bought a few of these magazines...one before I actually started running to keep me inspired. There is an Ipod there, but I don't use that right now. I use my iPhone and listen to Spotify radio during my runs.

Since I am still working on getting my out of shape legs toned, I was getting tired of them rubbing against each other...I found this stuff and thought I'd give it a try. It works pretty good. I tend to get down about my poor untoned legs, but I can see the changes already & that is keeping me going!!

My buddy, Nala, she is the most flexible thing...I am pretty jealous :) 

Tomorrow I will begin week 9 of my couch to 10K program....40 minutes of running. I have never run that long in one day...ever. This is pretty exciting for me to know that I am making my body do things it has never done before :) 

Rest Days

Me and the kiddo enjoying our day!

Today is a rest day for me. Now that I have been consistent with working out and running, rest days have become harder than I expected. It is almost like I feel guilty for taking a day off, but know my body needs to rest. I don't want to push it and get burnt out, or injure myself so early on in my journey.

Tomorrow's run will be my first at 30 minutes. I am a super slow runner at this point, but have been reading up on doing speed work and other exercises to do during the week so I can get a bit faster. I have been incorporating weights, the eliptical, and the bike into my workouts to change things up a bit so I am not only running.

I had no idea there was so much to learn about running. There are tons of blogs out there, advice columns and of course runners magazines. For now it is one day at a time for me...taking it at my own pace!