My Journey Through Running

A productive week (well, for me at least!)

2008-03-21T19:47:00.002-05:00

I ran 3 times this week, totaling 8.7 miles. Now I know this may not seem like much of an accomplishment to most runners but it has been more than I have done in a while! My runs were 2.7 miles, 4, and 2. The 4 mile run was by far my best and favorite, it felt awesome. Today for my 2 miles my legs were somewhat heavy but I got out there regardless, having to talk myself into it. Next week calls for 4, 3, and 5 miles. I may try to throw in a 2 miler for speed work...maybe.

Tomorrow starts 33 hours of weekend hell. I am going to prepare some healthy alternatives to the food work offers me. I end up eating 6-carb and fat loaded meals there a weekend (breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus various crappy snacks). I will pack some Special K cereal, banana, yogurt, hummus, applesauce, tuna on a wrap, stirfry, and light popcorn.

Yummy. Happy running everyone and a happy Easter too!

It is so much easier to plan than to do!!

2008-03-13T21:38:00.002-05:00

This week has been my spring break from graduate school. This week was to be so productive when in actuality I have done nothing but sit on my butt! I had a week of health planned, 4 days of running, 3 days of strength training, hiking, yoga, eating healthy, well you get the idea.

NONE of that happened. I sat around, doing even less than nothing. I didn't even fold laundry! A few things have inspired me to get a move on, but maybe this is like what my title says...it is so much easier to plan what I want to do and it is so damn difficult to actually carry it out.

So here is my list of motivating "things"....and mind you, I say that very loosely:

1. Getting a subscription to "Runner's World" magazine
2. Set up an actual goal for 2008; 500 miles
3. Decided to use www.sparkpeople.com again to help count calories and plan nutritous meals
4. I am going to make a set weekly schedule (with room for flexibility) so I can build it into my day.
5. I may make some inspirational posters for myself to hang up around the house.

Now I can't promise myself that these things just won't be things I am merely writing in my blog but I am going to try my damn hardest!

I think all of this stems from a small, or rather large desire, to Boston Quaify. Hysterical thought, I know. That is why I wrote it so tiny, so not too many people will pee their pants laughing. This is with their best intersest in mind.

Oh, and I ran a whopping .33 miles today. Yup, 1/3 of a mile. My motivation didn't hit until after I was back inside.

Not sure if I am giving it my all...

2008-03-05T11:27:00.002-05:00

2 miles for me today in 21:35. Not bad, something like a 10:48 pace. Side stitches were still there but not nearly as bad, did some ab workouts yesterday too. I ran 10 minutes, walked 2, and then walked again for 1 minute at minute 18:00. Not sure if I am pushing myself as hard as I could but I still got out there and hit the road!

Wil ran with me today too, well not really. He left me after about 1 minute, apparently I am way too slow for him. Stupid man. I am accepting the fact that I will never be speedy or be able to keep up with him but I am up for the challenge of trying!

I also got off to a really great start today with a healthy breakfast (Special K with o.j.), ran, ate a yogurt...so far so good!

Life is too busy

2008-03-04T10:15:00.002-05:00

In my last entry I stated I would run the following day, that did not happen but I did run 1.66 miles on the 29th in 18 and change. That was pretty sweet, my pace was just over 10 minutes.

I also ran today, 3 VERY slow miles. It took me 39:56 minutes!!! I used a 5/2 split but had to walk from 26 minutes until the end due to horrible side cramps. I have got to work on building my ab muscles. Also, I must better hydrate myself, I was salting as opposed to sweating. Though I stink just the same. :)

It is starting to get pretty warm here and humid too, it was 70* at 9am, which wasn't too bad but the humidity kills me. Can't wait to move!

So as I was saying, life is too busy. I am constantly on the go and can't seem to figure out where I can cut corners. I work full time + overtime and am in graduate school full time. Neither can be shortened. Then I have a marriage that needs attention, a puppy who is almost a year, so he is full of energy. Forget about me time! Squeezing runs in to my week is imperative but at times, that is an added stress too.

This summer worries me, I will still be working, taking classes, PLUS have internship for 40 hours/week. How I am going to do all of this without losing my running time, I have no clue. I may just go insane.

Running seems to = productivity

2008-02-27T18:01:00.002-05:00

Last week was my "triumphant" return to running. I had said in my previous post that I would run the very next day, nope it was a week later that I finally got out there. I allowed for glitches in my schedule to completely throw off my plans. It rained, I had to go to the grocery store, my husband skipped class so now we could hang out, etc. Lesson learned.

I am going to make every effort to get out and run first thing in the morning so it is done and over with, allowing for Murphy's Law to occur during any part of the rest of the day that it desires. I won't care because the run will be done.

Today I got out there in the glorious 50* that Florida rarely sees. I loved it! I did 3.1 miles in just under 38:00 minutes, certainly nothing to brag about but I will brag nonetheless. That is over 4 minutes slower than my best 5k time but I could give a shit, I ran.

For my first run back last week, I did 3/2 and 5/2 running/walking splits, today I only did 5/2 splits and actually ran for the full last 9:53 minutes. Pretty sweet. This run helped me accomplish many things off my list that I had not previously had the energy to do. Dare I say that I was entering a period of depression? Hopefully some activity in my life will help me to feel better. I also threw in some abs work and attempted some push-ups.

Tomorrow I will run again, not sure if I want 3.1 again, or a slower 4 miles...

Trying Again

2008-02-21T17:06:00.002-05:00

Yup. That is what I am doing, trying this "running thing" again. I woke up yesterday morning and finally had a real desire to put on my running sneakers. I didn't allow myself to second guess this weird and wild concept, I just got dressed and went out. The run was ok, 2.5 miles in a little over 31:00 minutes, no where close to ever qualifying for Boston, but one day at a time, right?

So I fell off of the running wagon sometime late last summer, probably July or August was the end of my commitment to running, to my health, to my sanity. It was much easier to believe the excuses that my mind created than to push through the pain and soreness that comes with logging miles. Running Disney slipped away and I felt guilt almost everyday for letting that happen.

My confidence and self-esteem decreased and my overall belief in myself and more importantly, my love for myself was gone. It took me months to realize what I had to do but here I am, hoping that I get a second chance. When I ran, I felt beautiful, strong, and peaceful and I long to feel that again. Plus hitting a size 8 sucked as well. Somehow I am a 4 right now...not sure how that happened...anywhoo...

A 30 to 40 minute run is planned for tomorrow! Peace my peeps!

Silly puppy doesn't sleep very long!

2007-06-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

My husband and I got our very first puppy a week ago. He is as cute as can be and we lucked out with him, he is very smart! He has only had about 5-6 accidents in the week we have had him and he can already understand "Sit" and plays fetch. His name is Miles (after Miles Davis), he is 11 weeks old and is a Boxer/Lab mix. Too cute.

How does this correlate with my runs you ask? Well apparently having a puppy is somewhat like having a baby, he is whiny and sleeps only about 5 hours during the night. Because of this I missed BOTH my track workout on Tuesday morning and my tempo run on Thursday. The funny part of it is that I actually got up, dressed, drove to the track, AND PARKED on Tuesday before I decided I was too tired and went back home. There was an hour of wasted sleep time. I should have pulled my lazy butt out of the car and ran!

Yesterday was our long, slow distance run of 6 miles. I ran with my new best running buds, Andrea, Courtney, and Krista. I think we make a great little running group! Our pace group was running at about 11:30 with 5/1 walking splits. It was a really nice run but humid as hell. When I got home, I took the time I ran the 6 miles and figured that if I had used the 5/1 split during the Minnie Marathon, my time would have been about 10 minutes faster! Walking breaks are so wonderful, in so many ways.

On Friday, Wil (my husband) and I are heading up to a cabin in Tennessee for about 4 days for our 2 year anniversary (it isn't until July 30 though). I can't wait, I am not bringing a single book for school, I am not thinking about work either. I am just going to chill and reread the Harry Potter Series for the 7th time, since the 7th book comes out in 25 days!!! Miles may or may not be with us for the trip, not sure yet. Anywho, the trip will mean I miss my long run on Saturday (8miles) and my track work on Tuesday. I am going to definitely try to get those 8 miles in, though they may be spread out over 2 days or so.

So tired. So very tired

2007-06-14T07:43:00.000-05:00

Today I will tell you about both Tuesday and today's runs. Good times. On Tuesday it was speed work on the beloved track (please note the sarcasm in my internet voice). We did 4 sets of 800's with a recovery break in between each one. A comfortable challenge. I feel like I am stuck in the middle. The group I am with is a bit too easy at times but the next fastest one is still a bit too much. I am hoping that within a month or so I will move up. We shall see.

Today was a VERY easy tempo run of 2 miles, with a 4 minute walking recovery right after mile 1. We kept about a 11:30 pace, which seemed very slow today but I am sure will seem very fast at mile 25 of my marathon. Saturday's long run is only 4 miles since it is a cutback week. This will be my longest run of the program (but not my personal longest distance), since I did not run 6 miles while away last weekend. Oh well, 4 miles is easy anyways. If you had told me I would be saying 4 miles is easy 1 year ago, I would have laughed and then perhaps slapped you.

After this past weekend's food fiasco (see Monday's entry), I have gained 3 pounds but the good news is that I am getting back on track and in control. I ate pretty healthy yesterday with 2 slip-ups of a poptart and a chocolate chip cookie. So worth it though, the cookie, not the poptart.

And I am exhausted. Getting so little sleep is catching up with me. I will have to find ways to get more rest. Suggestions are welcome (keep in mind, I work 7:30am-4:30pm, Mon-Fri, and have class from 6pm to 9:30pm, Mon, Wed, and Thurs.)!

Food. I love it! Wonderful food.

2007-06-11T17:53:00.000-05:00

Tuna melt. French fries. Pasta. Baked Fish. Bread. Coke. English muffin with butter, cream cheese, and jelly. Banana. Chicken salad sandwich. Coke. Brownie. Grilled chicken. Peas. Carrots with ranch dressing. Rice. Milk. Strawberry shortcake. Gatorade. Bagel with butter, cream cheese, and jelly. Orange juice. Chicken salad sandwich. Chips and salsa. Cheese and crackers. Pasta salad. Tortellini salad. Potato salad. Salad. Pickles. Chocolate cake. Mocha chocolate chip icecream with chocolate jimmies. Bagel with butter, cream cheese, and jelly. Pretzels. Sprite. Graham crackers. Chicken parm with pasta. Sprite.

Yup, that is everything I ate during my weekend at home with family up in Massachusetts. I estimate that is 1,984,687 calories. Maybe even a bazillion calories. Who really knows. Track run tomorrow morning, bright and early. That should get me right back on track.

Hey! from Massachusetts!!

2007-06-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

I am enjoying a lovely weekend back home in Massachusetts. It is so wonderful to be with family, talking Red Sox, and eating calzones!!! I have obviously missed my lsd with my running group this morning, being 2,000 miles away and all, so I planned to run this morning (6 miles) but actually slept until 9am. No regrets though, my body wicked needed the rest. Tomorrow I will be sure to get up and out for that run.

On Thursday, my running group had a tempo run of 3 miles. I really am getting use to waking up and getting out for a very early morning run. I joined up with a little bit of a slower running pace, since I had been discouraged previously with the faster pace group. We ran an 11:38 pace and I stayed up front the whole time. I was sometimes even leading the group! Dare I say this run was easy?? Don't want to get ahead of myself! Felt really good though.

Track run = no fun!!

2007-06-06T18:44:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was speedwork on the track as part of the marathon training. We had to be there at the God-awful time of 4:45am and somehow I got up and out and there on time!! I am quite proud of myself for showing that much dedication so far. Yes, I know it was only day #2 of training. Bet you were sleeping! Lucky you. So anywho...out I went and got to the track.

I found the pace group I was with on Saturday and we were told to do 6 400's, with a recovery break of 60 seconds in between each one. No problem I think to myself, an easy 1.5 miles. Um, no. We ran each 400 at a pace about 3 and half minutes faster than our normal speed. It sucked. By the third lap I was seriously questioning why I thought I was strong enough to do this crap. But I kept pushing. For the 5th lap I joined up with a pace group that was one level slower. It was easier for me but still a challenge. I was pretty discouraged and cheated myself out of the 6th lap and skipped it. I am still mad at myself for not pushing harder.

Thanks to the mind of a much wiser and more experienced runner, I realized that though my pace may be at 10:15-10:45 for a 5k or 10k, my marathon time will be closer to 12:00 or so. There is no way in hell I can keep up 10:30 for 26.2 consecutive miles. So I have come to accept the fact that I may not finish this marathon in under 5 hours and my goal for my first is just to finish, preferably with no to very little walking. My first marathon (January 13, 2008) will be for fun and the experience of running Disney.

After that, I can begin to consider qualifying for Boston. Yeah, right.

Long time no blog!

2007-06-03T13:32:00.000-05:00

I haven't written anything since March, just haven't been in much of the writing mood plus that thing called life keeps getting in the way. I will try to play a short game of catch-up for anyone who may be reading this. For the tangents I may go on, I apologize.

I think I left off while training for the Minnie Marathon that began at Animal Kingdom and ended in Epcot. It was a 15k race (9.3 miles) and I used Hal Higdon's training program. The runs were going well enough, with my long distance runs on the weekend. The program also called for 2 runs during the week, usually 3 or 4 miles. Sometimes I did those, sometimes not, it depended on my level of tiredness and motivation. Unfortunately, I saw how important it was not to skip those runs when race time came. So, as I was saying, the long runs were going well enough, I had much trouble on my first 5 mile run, I had to walk TONS. This made me very discouraged. Thanks to a pal on runnersworld, Terry, I gave a walking strategy a try for my next long run. I ran 10 minutes and walked 1 minute. This made my following long runs of 6, 7, and 8 miles much easier and actually, dare I say, fun?

May 3 comes, 3 days before the race, and I feel absolutely horrible, very achy, high fever, etc. After about 24 hours it seems to have passed (oh, how fooled I was!). My mom and I go to the race expo to pick up my packet and this being my first expo, I was pretty excited. I bought a cute little "running girl" bumper sticker for my car and have yet to put it on...

May 6th: the big race is here. At 4am, I set off for Animal Kingdom and my husband is still sleeping soundly in bed. Lucky bastard. I meet up with Krista and we get in the giant line for the porta potties. I did not want to have to stop along the race route. We head over to the starting line and Minnie and Mickey Mouse were up on stage and got us started with fireworks. It was pretty sweet. I keep a steady pace, not wanted to start off too fast. I used my 10/1 walking strategy for the first 5 miles. Took a squirt of gu at mile 5 as well. Running through the parks was very nice and got me excited for the Disney Marathon in January. Mile 7 meant the worst side stitches I had ever felt and I had to walk almost the entire way to mile 8. I am hurting that last 1.5 miles and I knew had I done my mid-week runs, it wouldn't have been so bad. Lesson learned. I finish by giving Mickey a hi-five at the finish line and I did not make my goal of under 1 hour and 45 minutes (see race section on the right for times). Oh well. It was fun times and I got a sweet medal, along with everyone else.

The whole rest of the week I felt like poop. May 12th came and I was registered for a 5k (3.1 miles). I trek out there and run along with pretty much zero energy. I beat my first 5k time but I knew that I should have beat it by much more.

The following day I am hit with a fever of 103.4 and I miss work on Monday. Tuesday I go to the doctor's, having also skipped work that day as well. Turns out I have had the flu and bronchitis since May 3 and had since competed in two races. Smart Jessica. Real smart. Apparently by running I hadn't allowed my body to realize that it was sick and that only made it worse. I was sick and out of running for 26 days. That is right, over 3 weeks. It sucked.

The question I had to answer was "did I still want to get out there and train for Disney when I had been set so far back?". Running for a mile hurt. How the hell was I suppose to be able to run 26. 2 miles? My energy had been zapped and being sick had set me back physically and mentally. But this past Friday, I went to the Track Shack and registered for Marathonfest, their marathon training program. I will do this.

New Journey:
1st day of marathon training-
Yesterday was the first run of marathon training, 1 day done out of 7 months of training. Good times. I had to be at the park for 5:30am, I got up at 4:30am and had to shut the demons in my head up because they kept telling me to just lay back down. No. No way in hell. Then I hear the pouring rain, courtesy of Tropical Storm Barry. Whatever, I am a trooper, no excuses.

When I get there I was really quite amazed at how many people turned out in the storm. I go to the pace group that is running 11:00-11:40 minute miles for long distances. Normally I am faster than that but I figured since I was out sick for 3-plus weeks, I better not start off too fast. It was a good thing too, I thought I was going to die and yesterday was only 3 miles! Hopefully I will bounce back to form soon enough.

Oh, and I am officially a runner. After the Minnie Marathon, my toenail turned purple and then black. It is now dead and should be falling off soon. I will be without a toenail. I am a runner.

2007-03-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't felt much like writing, not really sure why. Up until today, I hadn't run in 6 days. For the last 5 days I was in Atlanta participating in destructive behavior that my body now hates me for. Good times with friends though. If I want to get ready for the 15k coming up at the start of May, I have to get serious. I know I sound repetitive. But it is my blog, so I can keep saying it all I want!

Today I ran 3 miles in 34:55. I walked twice, once for 2 minutes at 1 mile and again for 2 minutes at 2 miles. My breathing was not as controlled as I would have liked but I assume that is because I had sat on my butt for the last 6 days! I have a 2 mile scheduled for Friday and 4 miles for Sunday, which will be my longest run ever!

Run:
3 miles-34:55

Need Stronger Willpower!!

2007-03-05T21:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a 3 mile run, it felt really good and I didn't walk. Don't feel like writing much today, pretty tired and stressed out. Went to the gym today, briefly, just to introduce myself to the machines. I also ran a half mile just for fun. Yup, I ran for fun. Never thought I would say that. I have decided to do Hal Higdon's training program for a 15k. 9.3 miles baby! There is a 15k at Disney in the beginning of May, so it is perfect timing.

Ok, I am done for now. Sleepy.

Oh and the willpower part is still my weakness for late night snacking...

I may just break my goal time

2007-03-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

2 miles for me today. And again it was hot and nasty outside, I ran at about 3:00pm. I was very surprised at my pace to start, it was about 10:10 or so and the first .5 miles were uphill. I had to walk at 1.25 miles because my throat was so dry, but i only walked for .15 of a mile. I am a bit frustrated at still walking every now and then. Sunday's run calls for 3 miles straight. I will do it without walking.

I have a 2 mile road race coming up in about 3 weeks and I wanted to complete it in less than 22:00. Today, with walking, my time was 22:23, so in 3 more weeks, I think I will more than beat my goal! Maybe even break 20:00!!!

Run & Food
2 miles, 22:23minutes
Breakfast: bagel w/ pb, orange juice
Snack: 94% fat free kettle korn popcorn
Lunch: Meal replacement bar
Snack: green apple w/ pb
Dinner: vegetarian lasagna
Snack: 94% fat free popcorn, 2 snack wells cookies

-I stayed within all of my ranges for fat, calories, protein, and carbs!

2007-02-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to check in to post my food intake for the day, today was a rest day from running. This is the 2nd day that I went over my allotted calories (I was at about 1700 and I was allowed 1550). It is the snacks that I eat when I get home from class that always seem to put me over. For those who are curious, I track my food through www.sparkpeople.com. It is a really great tool for accountability.

I think I need to step up my exercise/workout schedule for more effective results. My running days are Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday (longer run). I am going to add:
Monday & Wednesday: strength training and elliptical or stair master
Saturday: Yoga

That will give me 5 days of cardio (3 of which are running), 2 weight days, and 1 mind/body/stretching day. Also, Friday will be a full rest day.

Food:
Breakfast: carnation instant breakfast/milk
Snack: south beach oatmeal raisin bar
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, 100 calorie pack
Snack: green apple w/ pb, pita w/ hummus
Dinner: chicken teriyaki stir-fry
Snack: 94% fat free kettle korn popcorn, crunch bar :(

Damn freshly baked late night cookies!

2007-02-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

It is February. Let's say that again, it is F-e-b-r-u-a-r-y! That means it is winter. I don't care where you are in the United States- it is WINTER!! I was scheduled for, what I thought was a 2 mile run. I was already not thrilled about this because it was so disgustingly hot. I get home and see that it is actually 2.5 miles and I am already making excuses in my mind as to why I should ditch my run. But I convinced myself that the more I sweat during the run, the more calories that are killed.

One foot in front of the other. In the heat. In the 85* humidity. I kept pushing and kept telling myself to slow my pace but that actually hurt more. Plus I had to pee really badly so I wanted to get back home. The sweat was everywhere! And I forgot to take my makeup off before my run so my mascara was sweating into my eyes. Not cool. I had to walk for .15 miles at both the 1 mile mark and the 1.88 mark, for a total of .3 miles of walking. I'll take it.

Run & Food
2.5 miles in 29:38
Breakfast: bagel w/ pb, orange juice
Snack: Pita bread w/ hummus
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich, 100 calorie snack pack
Pre-run: gatorade
Dinner: South Beach Chx. Parm w/ penne
Snack: South Beach Oatmeal/Choc. chip cookies
Dessert: stupid freshly baked cookies, my downfall

Water, Peeing, & a 16 year-old sister

2007-02-25T19:41:00.000-05:00

Today was a rest day for me. After the beach yesterday my body was pretty relaxed and slightly burned so I did nothing today, though I should have been doing school work. Since I tend to "salt" and not sweat when I run, I figure I need more water. I use to drink only about 0-24 ounces a day. I slowly progressed in my intake and last week was 50 ozs. a day. Today was my first day at 3 Liters, which is 100 ozs! I am almost there, with about 2 hours left until I go to bed, I have about 20 more ounces to go! Almost there! But damn, I can not stop peeing! It is so worth it, healthier body, healthier skin!

I was somewhat stumped on where to take my training since I finished the "Couch 2 5k" program. I have chosen Hal Higdon's 10k training program, it has a nice progression from my current 3 mile run to the 6.2 miles, it will take about 6 weeks, not bad! I love watching my progress.

Now onto the "sister" part of my title. My sister (16, 4 months from 17) will be staying home alone for 5 days while my mom is away visiting her boyfriend. Sister has an 18 year old boyfriend who dropped out of high school. Put 2 and 2 together. It is driving me nuts! I said to my mom, "Mom, I will come and stay with her for the time you are away (I live 45 minutes away)." She says "I don't think your sister would like that very much." WHAT?!?!?! She is frickin' 16 years old! I don't give a rat's a** if she likes it or not! Oh my God! Why can't my mother act like a responsible mother?!?! She has never been able to and I guess she never will. I love my mother to death but I am so happy that my sister is almost out of the house and my mom can be done "raising" kids!

Run & Food
rest day today, next run on Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 scrammbled eggs w/ cheese, 1/2 a bagel w/ cream cheese and jelly, orange juice
Lunch: 1 vegetarian spring roll
Snack: dark chocolate rasinettes, pickle
Dinner: chicken alfredo, 1 piece of garlic bread
Dessert: chocolate chip cookies :(

2007-02-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was a rough run for me, I know now that it was because I did not give myself the proper amount of rest after my first 5k and because I had pushed so hard during that race. For my next run, I made sure my body was definitely rested up! After almost 4 days, I headed back out.

This morning I ran 3miles with no walking! My 3 mile time was slower than my 3.1 mile time but I don't care. It is just nice to know that I am out of my first slump and back at it. For a bit of encouragement, I looked back in my running log and got a good laugh at my beginning entries. My first runs were fairly difficult and they were 60 second run/90 second walk intervals! I remember thinking I would never be able to run 10 minutes straight, let alone 3 miles! Watching progress is awesome! I can't wait to hit 4 and then 5 miles!

I have got to change my eating habits though. They are absolutely horrible. Pizza last night, left over pizza tonight, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. No more talking about, I am hitting the grocery store tomorrow and doing something about it.

My husband and I hit the beach today because it was absolutely gorgeous today...I forgot to put lotion on the top of my feet! OUCH! Never forget your feet or your ears.
Run:
3 miles, 34:57

2007-02-22T21:50:00.000-05:00

I didn't post yesterday because my day was crazy-busy, I didn't run and I had nothing of interest to say but I know I should have at least still posted my food intake since I can't remember it now. It has been getting worse I think. No planning and no time to make meals mean bad eating habits!

I took today off from work because I had a crazy midterm tonight in my Family Therapy class. Listen to this! The class was given 90 topics/concepts to study and those were then broken down into 30 multiple choice, 30 true/false, and 30 short answer questions. The midterm was then an oral exam for the WHOLE class, meaning we each only had to answer 1 question from each category (m.c., t/f, short answer). You would think "oh this is pretty sweet, I only have to answer 3 questions out of 90". But no! Talk about the stress and anxiety! The whole class is responsible for your grade and you for theirs! Now, I have a 4.0 GPA and I didn't want anyone messin' with my chances of getting into a Ph.D program, so I was not thrilled about this setup! But when all was said and done the class pulled through and we got a 100%. There was one student who got ALL three of her questions wrong, it was so obvious she didn't study and people were giving her looks. Thanks to some bonus questions, we pulled back on top! She best not do that one the final! Not cool!

Tomorrow is back at running. I am really psyched and am scheduled for a 3miler after giving my legs, mind, and body a full 72 hour rest! I also chose a whole bunch of races to keep my motivation up, now all I have to do is register and pay for them!

Food
Breakfast: bagel w/ peanut butter, orange juice
Snack: 94% fat free kettle korn popcorn
Lunch: stupid Burger King (veggie burger w/ fries, coke)
Dinner: veggies w/ dip, pita bread w/ humus
Dessert: a giant cookie with vanilla ice cream on top, chocolate chips, and hot fudge...

I am bad, yes I know...

Lazy, lazy, unproductive day

2007-02-20T22:05:00.000-05:00

I had today off of work, so naturally I made a wonderful "to-do list", of which I got 2.5 items crossed off (there were 9 things on there to do). But whatever, right? Today I had planned a 3 mile run for the treadmill at the gym. I was also going to go to a Yoga class. I never made it to the gym.

At about 3:00pm, I headed outside for my run and was only able to complete 2.5 miles of it, half of which I walked. It was a really horrible run. I had no energy, no motivation, and my body wasn't happy with me. It was also pretty warm here in Florida, 72*, with a very sunny sky. I hate warm weather, especially when I am exercising. I am a snow girl, trapped in Florida. So needless to say, I came in from my run very discouraged.

I can always count on my peeps from Runner's World to lift my spirits. They assured me that I did not already reach my running climax and that there were many, many, many more happy runs to come. I just have to give my body a few more days to recover from Saturday's race. Will do!

Run & Food
2.5 miles, 32.31mintues
Breakfast: bagel w/ peanut butter, orange juice
Lunch: grilled cheese, pickle, pita chips
Snack: Strawberries on shortcake
Dinner: Healthy Choice Chicken Alfredo (completey tasteless & unfulfilling)
Snack: veggies w/ dip
Dessert: stupid Swiss Rolls and 1 Milano cookie

Late-night-dessert-time seems to be my downfall...a plan of attack needs to be implemented!

Procrastination is so wrong, yet I can't stop.

2007-02-19T21:17:00.000-05:00

I had today off from work and it was a rest day, no run for me. Tomorrow I am lucky enough to have off too so I am going to go to a Yoga class, which I NEVER get to do and I will do 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym as well. I have never done a run for more than 10 minutes on a treadmill, so we'll see how it goes. The idea of running and watching t.v. at the same times seems pretty cool!

Procrastination. It gets me every semester and every semester I swear to myself I will change and I never do. It struck again today. For my techniques class I had to sit and transcribe a tape of a counseling session I had done. Mind you, the actual taping took place about 2 weeks ago but I chose to wait until the day it was due to do the self-evaluation and transcription. It took hours!! Play, listen, write what I heard, rewind, play, over and over again. I got it done about 30 minutes before class began. Oh wait and the best part was that the VHS player decided to eat one of my tapes, luckily my professor was ok with me only turning in one copy even though there was suppose to be two. Tomorrow I have a presentation due for Play Therapy, nope haven't worked on that yet and then there is my Family midterm Thursday night...have yet to start studying for that one.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I know procrastination is so dangerously wrong for me but I can't begin working when I am not against a deadline. The stress that it causes me is unreal but I can't stop. I have to find a way to trick my mind into thinking that assignments are due earlier then they are...

Run & Food
-rest day today
-Breakfast: 2 waffles, orange juice
-Snack: Oatmeal cookies
-Lunch: chicken salad sandwich, french fries
-Snack: veggies w/ dip
-Dinner: 1 slice of cheese pizza, pasta salad
-Dessert: 3 maybe 4 chocolate chip cookies, milk

Today was a really bad day for dieting, a major setback in losing weight but tomorrow is tomorrow, not today, so it is a new start!

I hate buying new pants

2007-02-18T15:07:00.000-05:00

Today was my first day of running for distance as opposed to running for time. After my first 5k yesterday, with it being my longest run, I wanted to run a bit just to keep my legs from getting tight. My husband and I went out to Blanchard Park for, what was suppose to be a 2 mile run but ended up being 1.5 miles. It was pretty chilly, it was 48* with a nasty wind, so that is why we cut it short. He doesn't run, so he had to stop a few times but it was awesome to have him out there with me. I have no doubts that he will be outrunning me soon enough. Him being with me though made my pace about 30 seconds quicker which was pretty sweet.

We went to Old Navy today to buy a few things, I needed pants for work that were actually comfortable and not busting at the seems. That was one of the many reasons I started running, to lose the chub around my waist and hips. 6 weeks of running and it is still there. I guess since it took a couple of years to get there, I shouldn't expect it to go away in such a short amount of time. I will try to be patient.

Run & Food
1.5 miles in 16:06 (9.7miles on the week)
Breakfast: 2 scrammbled eggs with cheese, toast, orange juice
Snack: pickle
Lunch: tuna sandwhich, pita chips
Snack: corn muffin
Dinner: bbq chicken, carrots, broccoli, a few potato wedges

First ever race report!

2007-02-17T10:10:00.000-05:00

I apologize ahead of time if my thoughts are all over the place. I am still "high" from the race! So let me start from last night. I went to bed at 9pm and slept better than I thought I would but I did wake up several times to see how much more time I had to sleep. I hate when i do that. I got up at 5:45 and got dressed and did a long stretch. It felt like Christmas morning!

I had no trouble, thankfully, getting my husband out of bed, he was awesome all morning, even though I know he wished he were back home in bed. It was a very chilly 32*, so we stopped at Dunkin Donuts so he could get a coffee to keep him warm and then we were off to the races!

There were so many people! About 1400 or so was the "official" estimate. A lot of people were doing warm up runs which really discouraged me because I was thinking to myself if I had done a warm up run, I would be too tired already! I stretch again, quickly, and take my place towards the back of the pack since I am pretty slow. Nice conversations back there.

The blow horn thingy went off and it was another 45 seconds until I crossed the start line. i remembered the advice all of you had given me and started off at my normal pace of about 11:30, give or take 15 seconds. My legs were numb and so were my fingers. I wore shorts with a long-sleeved tech shirt, a vest and a snow cap (New England Patriots of course).

Anywhoo...I hit mile 1 at their 12:00 point, my 11:15. Then during mile 2 I find myself occassionally at 12:50-13:00, damn, why did I slow down? Then there was the water station and I walked for a brief 15 seconds so I could drink and I felt bad throwing my cup on the ground but the water lady assured me it was ok. I hate littering! I don't know what it was but that last mile I was easily doing a 9:50-10:30 pace and felt awesome!

I had 2 goals, to finish without walking and finish in under 35:00 minutes. I accomplished both!! I did walk a the water station, but I am not counting that. and "my" Garmin time was 34:15! I will definitely post the "official" time when the Track Shack posts them on the web.

Oh, and this was a costume race, though not may people did that. The theme was "you are what you eat". I passed a bunch of purple grapes but got passed by a hot dog and a bottle of beer. Go figure. I thought the healthier foods would have passed me, not the bad stuff!

Thanks to all for your support and encouragement!

I am officially addicted! Oh and lastly, my longest run was only 2.65 miles, so running 3.1 was not only my first 5k but my longest run to date!

Run & Food

Run: 5k- 34:19
Breakfast: gatorade, Clif bar, banana
Lunch: turkey and cheese sub w/ a little mayo, pita chips
Snack: 94% fat free kettle korn popcorn
Dinner: chicken, baked potato (a little butter & shredded cheese), corn
Dessert: chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered pretzels (hmm....)

I need to learn to listen to my body!

2007-02-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

I am posting for yesterday and today as well. Yesterday was a super long day and I had no time to hit the computer!! After work, I decided to do one more run before my race tomorrow. I was going to go for 30 minutes.

My legs were sore and my body wasn't too thrilled about going out there and running, it just wanted to sit around until class. But I went out anyway and it was a horrible run. I mean horrible. I ran at about a 12:30 pace and had to walk at 20 minutes, again at 23:00 and just didn't run again from there.

Now, today my body and mind are tired and my achilles tendon, closer to the inside of my ankle is sore but not swollen, luckily. Tonight calls for some serious resting and relaxing. My awesome husband is going to make me a belated Valentine's pasta dinner, so I will have some good carbs in me and I am hoping I can get a nice muscle massage out of him!

I can't wait to post after the race tomorrow, I hope it will be a good one!!

Part II

Will my race tomorrow be as exciting as picking up my race packet?!?! I am not even kidding! It was so awesomely exciting! Tons of people were at the Track Shack picking up their numbers and other supplies. Everyone was talking about tomorrow and everyone was so friendly and upbeat.

A few people were asking if the race was going to be cancelled tomorrow because it will be so cold at the start (32*, remember it IS Florida, that is cold for most people down here!)I am so excited! I hope I can sleep tonight! Oh and my new favorite number is 854, that is my very first running bib! I am going to frame it...am I a dork?

Run & Food
Run: 2/16/2007- 2.43miles in 30 minutes, several walking intervals

Breakfast: 2/16/2007: Carnation Instant Breakfast drink, banana
Snack: South Beach Snack Bar
Lunch: South Beach Meal Replacement bar
Dinner: Weight Watcher's Southern Chicken with potatos and vegetable medley
Snack: 94% fat free kettle korn popcorn, veggies w/ dip, hot chocolate

Brekfast: bagel w/ peanut butter, orange juice
Snack: Oatmeal cookie
Lunch: South Beach Meal Replacement Bar
Dinner: pasta w/ sauce, 1 slice of garlic bread

Can't think of a title today

2007-02-14T19:35:00.000-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!

Today I will write in red, red for love. Even if you don't have a "romantic Valentine", there is always someone who loves you and who you can love. I love you!

Anywho...3 days and counting until the big day. My first 5k (that rhymes). Today's run was 30 minutes, with a one minute walk at the 15 minute mark. My pace was 11'28, which wasn't horrible but at 30 minutes, I was still only at 2.62 miles. I figure that will put me at a 36 minute or so 5k. I am really hoping I break 35 minutes, I would LOVE to do it in 33 minutes though. We shall see.

I also ran without music for the first time today. I wanted to give it a try since I won't be running with my I-pod in the race. It was actually kind of nice, I got to run with my own thoughts.

It is scheduled to be 32* on Saturday morning. Florida = cold.

Run & Food
-30 minutes for 2.62 miles
-Breakfast: bagel with peanut butter, orange juice
-Lunch: South Beach Seasame Chicken Wraps, 100 Calorie Chocolate Chip Cookie pack
-Snack: strawberries, South Beach snack bar
-Dinner: Lean Cuisine Alfredo Pizza, gatorade
-Dessert: Flipz pretzels, bad, I know

I just want to run! No more obstacles!

2007-02-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

I had a lovely 30 minute run planned today that I was really looking forward to. It was the first of two before my race on Saturday. I have to bag it today, no run for me.

You, see, living in Florida means dealing with horrific thunder and lightning storms. That is what Orlando is having right now, along with a blinding downpour. I was excited to run in the rain, I think it would be fun, but with the sky streaking electricity, I would rather skip it.

Now I am going to have to challenge myself. I can not afford not to run within the next 24 hours. This means that I am going to have to get up and do my run before work. I wouldn't have to get up really early, only about 6:15 or so. I think it is shear madness that some people get up at 3am to do their runs. Um, 3am? No, definitely not for me. I am all for setting the alarm and getting out there but I seem to have no control over my hand in the morning when it comes to that snooze button. It just hits it automatically. And the sun won't be up yet, I haven't done runs in the dark, I am a bit scared! I HAVE TO GET UP TOMORROW!!

Any thoughts on how to ensure I get out of bed in time for a run tomorrow?

Run & Food for Today
-skipped the run (see above)
-Breakfast: Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink
-Snack: South Beach snack bar
-Lunch: Meal replacement bar, carrots
-Snack: green apple w/ peanut butter
-Dinner: pasta with vodka sauce
-Dessert: Kettle Korn 94% fat free popcorn

Lesson Learned Today: don't let myself go hungry!

2007-02-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Long day today and I am exhausted. I will be going to sleep soon but not until after I complete my project for my Play Therapy class tomorrow night. So anywho...my day was long but I thought I was well prepared in terms of meals and whatnot. Meals and snacks ready to go! And than I am tested. And I fail.

I head over to campus after I run home from work to change my clothes quickly. Plan was to be on campus to study and grab a nutritous bite to eat (veggies with dip and pita bread with hummus), study a bit and then head over to my classroom. My belly starts rumbling and I am in line to pay for my food.

AHHH! My wallet is at home! I am starving! So off to class with an empty belly. Luckily my professor lets us out an hour early so she can make it home in time for "24". I get home at about 8pm and am beyond vamished. I may actually start to eat my insides. And that is when the binging began...

Moral of my story: Eat before the hunger comes on...

Run & Diet

-rest day today

-Breakfast: a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and jelly, orange juice
-Snack: South Beach peanut butter snack bar
-Lunch: South Beach Chicken Ceasar Wrap, South Beach Oatmeal cookies
-Snack: Snack Well cookies (2)
-Dinner: honey bbq chicken nuggets, french fries
-Dinner: fudge round

An Uphill Battle

2007-02-11T14:34:00.000-05:00

I was so happy to get out and running today. That is until I was out there actually running. No fun at all, nope, not at all. My race is in 6 days and I should be running at least 30 minutes straight by now. But due to stress and sickness, I am a bit behind.

I ran for 28:51 minutes and had to walk for 5 of those minutes (it was split in the run as 3 and 2 minutes walks). It was HARD! My pace was also about 2 minutes slower. I was only at about 70-75% today. At least I was able to get out there again.

I have two more scheduled runs before my race, I am hoping that those will much easier. I would love to run the 5k in 33minutes but will be happy as long as it is less than 35!

2.34 miles

Meals and Nutrition for Today:
-Breakfast: corn muffin (with butter), orange juice
-Snack: green apple with peanut butter, pickle
-Dinner: seasoned chicken, green beans, couscous
-Dessert: shortcake with fresh strawberries

I am working on getting more meals in and eating a bit better, but today was a start.

Itchin' to Run Again

2007-02-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

I have been working hard at getting ready for my 5k race that is coming up on the 17th. I was up to 25 straight minutes of running, averaging about 2.35 miles, and keeping a 11:07 minute mile pace and I was very pleased with this.

Then life kicked in. Hard. I fell behind in my graduate school work because of a new job I had started and the stress was really getting to me. There weren't enough hours in the day. Are there ever? I had to choose between preparing myself for class or getting my run in.

It was really a Catch 22. Becoming further and further behind in my studies was causing great stress and I knew running would help alleviate my stress but by sacrificing the books for a run would raise it. It was a lose/lose situation.

So I haven't run consistently in about 2 weeks, thanks also to a lovely respiratory infection that formed earlier this week. I have to take partial blame for that one though because I haven't been eating properly. I can't tell you the last time I ate a piece of fruit or had some nutritious vegetables.

I didn't sleep all day today like I had been, so I am assuming my body is getting over the illness. I went to the grocery store and stocked up on the fruits and veggies. Tomorrow I am putting on the running sneaks and Ipod and will hit the pavement. I will not get mad at myself if I have to add some walking intervals in there. I will be thankful just to be out and running again.

I love this addiction.