A busy weekend and a Tribute to Obsydian (aka Syd), my old dog

Friday Caitlin and I ran three miles, and I whined the entire time.  It was really cold and for some reason I have not been sleeping well. 

Mile 1:  12:06

Mile 2:  11:30

Mile 3:  11:29

Total:  Actually it was 3.15 miles with a total time of 36:44 and an average pace of 11:40. 

On Saturday I made a pretty good green monster smoothie.  I combined milk, spinach, flax, banana, strawberries, and kiwi.  I have to admit that the before picture looks better than the after blender picture.  It turned out a rather dull color, but it did taste okay.  I think it needed more kiwi.  I will definitely try it again.  

 

Today I bought ingredients to make a chocolate cherry smoothie that I read about on this Caitlin's blog.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Later on Saturday Chis and I went to that BBQ place that I love and I slipped my first "Operation Beautiful" note in with our check.  I had planned to post it in the bathroom, but it decided not to stick to the mirror.  On impulse I put it in with the check.  Who knows, maybe it will have made her day.  Worst case, she threw it out.  Then we headed on a wonderful quest.... to find a curtain!  I prefer to sleep in the DARK!  I don't even like an alarm clock light.  Since I have moved in with Chris, I have had to deal with the bedroom not being fully dark.  It used to not be an issue, until the street light outside was repaired.  We live on the third floor, and that light goes straight into the bedroom!  The blinds might as well not even be there, because so much light pours in.  I have had troubles sleeping and lately it has seemed to get worse.  We headed out to Target to buy these Eclipse curtains that Chris's friend told us about.  Putting up the curtain rod was a challenge... for Chris.  I just took pictures and said, "Good job Honey!"  

 Only after we put the curtain on, we realized it was too short.  Off we went to Target to switch them.  Then off we went to another Target to find one that was actually the length we needed.  Finally we ended up grabbing some dinner before heading home to see our finished product.  Ta-da!  A fabulous curtain! 

 

It is almost perfect... except that I picked out a curtain rod that is hung a little too far from the wall and still allows light to come in around the edges.  Oh well.  It's pretty, and there is a definite reduction in the amount of light in the bedroom.  Although I wouldn't mind if that street light broke again...

This morning Caitlin and I woke up at the crack of dawn to head to Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake.  We got there at 6:20 am.  The race didn't start until 7:30... well it was scheduled to start then but didn't really start until 7:45am.   You see, this race was put on by the conference that we are attending this week.  The e-mail nicely pointed out that we should be at one of the neighboring hotels in order to catch the buss at 6:30 which will take us to the park.  BOTH OF US read "be at the park" to catch the bus, because that clearly makes a lot of sense....  Needless to say we were there while they were still setting up for the race.  (Which left time for sunrise pictures!)

Since the weather "felt like 35" this morning, I was not about to wear my new running clothes and freeze.  I'm a Florida girl... I get cold when it's 70 outside.  So I rummaged through the closet to find a pair of sweatpants and a very big but very comfy sweatshirt.  Then I grabbed my silly hat.  This is my usual crack-of-dawn-I-would-not-be-caught-dead-in-public outfit.  While everyone else was in cute running clothes and freezing, I was at least more warm than they were.  (Prepare to laugh when you see the pictures below.) 

Oh and Anthony decided to join us, which was awesome!  He walked the race, but I think he had a good time.  Sadly we waited around for over an hour, and we were cold, and tired.  There were very few people at the race, and I did not get my usual pre-race adrenaline rush.  I was feeling pretty crappy since my speed right now would not allow me to make a PR.  Rather than disappointing myself with a lack of PR, I decided I'd run with Caitlin for the race. 

Mile 1:  10:27

Mile 2:  10:51

Mile 3 (actually .94):  10:40

Total 2.94 miles in 31:19 with an average pace of 10:39. 

It was definitely not my best time, but I think I helped push Caitlin.  She thinks it was her best time which is awesome.  I told Caitlin that I want to really train for a race that she wants to do in May, so that I can try to PR.  I will be happy that the weather will be warmer than too.  Oh, and I think Caitlin is finally convinced to but the Garmin Forerunner 305.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE mine, and she tested out Chris's during the race today and really liked it.  It actually worked out really well, because the  race was so unorganized that I did not see any mile markers.  I heard there was one at 2 miles, but never saw it.  Of course the entire run was short of 5K anyway.  Oh well.  It was still a nice run.  And we got cool shirts (I LOVE the name of the race!  The distance is what sold me!  I am such a dork!!!)

 

Today I tested out a recipe I read about on Kelly's site.  I put chicken in the crock pot with some salsa and let it sit all day.  I used my favorite peach salsa!  Then I added some bell pepper, onion, and half an apple (why not?).  It was quite delicious.  Then I tried those blue corn taco shells I keep reading about.  Yum!  Chris really enjoyed the chicken as well.  I might even try putting the left-overs on some rice tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I'm giving my very first talk at a conference and I'm mildly nervous right now.  I know I will be very nervous tomorrow, but luckily I'm the first talk so it will be done early.  I guess I should head to bed soon and get some good sleep (now that we have an awesome curtain!).

But before I head to bed, I wanted to make a tribute to my old dog.  A year ago today, I had to make a very difficult decision and put my dog to sleep.  It was time.  He was almost eleven years old and had a disease that slowly turned his spinal cord to mush.  I knew it was time when he could no longer use his back legs.  I miss him every day, but I know he is in a better place.  As morbid as it may sound to some, I like to think of him as playing ball with my dad in Heaven.  Below are some pictures of Syd.  To some he was just a dog, but he was my baby for many wonderful years.  At the very bottom is a painting that Chris's parents had made for me by a very talented artist.  She truly captured Syd's personality.  I thought I had posted it previously, but I cannot seem to find the post now.  Either way, it is beautiful and a wonderful way to remember him. 

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.  Have a really great week, and if you have a pet, be sure to give them an extra hug for me.

Another running skirt give away...

I so love the purple plaid running skirt, so I figured I'd try to win it.  You can too!  Check out the running skirt give-away at Endurance Isn't Only Physical!


I'll be updating about my run and day a little later.  I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!

Two miles (and justice is served)

Tutoring was canceled today since one of the girls is sick.  Instead of shopping, I came home and ran two miles.  

Mile 1:  9:29 minutes
Mile 2:  8:34 minutes
Total time:  18:08 for an average pace of 9:02 according to Garmy. (YAY!)

Caitlin and I have a three mile run planned for tomorrow morning. 

I'm making spaghetti for dinner and cannot wait for it to be dinner time!  I'm going to start cooking.


******

Warning... this next portion is nothing like my usual posts....

UCF student murder case: Jury deciding case of UCF student stabbed to death. - OrlandoSentinel.com

Today a man was found guilty of first degree murder and will be sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend who was one of my students back in 2006 when I was a teaching assistant.  I  will never ever forget the day that she did not show up for lab.  We had a break between lab sections, and when we came back the professor announced that she had been stabbed to death.  I will never forget the sound of one of my other students, her best friend, who screamed and cried hysterically.  I just heard about the verdict, and I am happy that he will no longer be free to hurt anyone else.  Anh was a wonderful girl and will forever be missed.  My prayers go out to her family.

Note:  The article does not yet say that he was found guilty, but I found out from people who were at the courthouse.

Blogger give-away over at RunToTheFinish

Have any of you used compression shorts?  I am very curious!  They are supposed to be really great for recovery.  If you would love a chance to win some, check out RunToTheFinish to enter the give-away.  The give-way includes:

1 Medium McDavid Sports Bra

1 Small McDavid Compression Short

1 Small Balega sock

3 WholeSoy coupons

1 ProBar

Hey, why not give it a shot?  (o:  Have a wonderful day all!

Sleep won today

I decided to sleep in this morning, and when I text message Caitlin she thought it was a good idea too.  We will run tomorrow.  Some days, you just need a little extra sleep!  After work tonight I am tutoring, then I need to go shopping for more dress pants for the conference next week.  I plan to leave a few Operation Beautiful notes in the dressing room.

I'm off to practice my presentation.  I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

Operation Beautiful Event

Tonight my friend Caitlin and I attended the Operation Beautiful event at our school where I got to meet the fabulous and gorgeous founder of Operation Beautiful, Caitlin (obviously a different Caitlin)!  It was like meeting a celebrity!  I didn't even have the guts to say hello until the end (pathetic, I know. LOL), but Caitlin was so very nice!  It was really a pleasure to get to say hello.  Sadly, I didn't think about asking to take a picture for my blog until I was driving home.  Oops.  The event was awesome!  We even got some cool loot!  I cannot wait to make my own Operation Beautiful Post-It notes to leave for people to find. 

Caitlin showed a video and there was quite a bit of discussing among the large group that attended.  While I have no problem rambling on my blog, and if you know me in real life I can talk your ear off, I'm terribly shy in front of people I don't know, so I didn't say anything.  If I was going to say something, it would have been about my amazing youngest sister, Clara (that would be the gorgeous redhead in the picture with myself and our little brother, Robert).  I told her about Operation Beautiful when I first found out about it.  Last night she sent me a text message with a picture of a Post-It that she put in the girls bathroom at her high school.  Someone had written back "thanks!" on it.  I think it is especially important to be a good role model and have a positive self image in front of younger siblings.  I am trying to make sure that I do just that.

Also, when I mentioned a couple days ago about negative fat talk, I said that I had improved a lot this year, which is quite true.  Several years ago I was pretty bad about it, and I found something that really helped me.  I started a journal where every night before going to bed I had to list 5 things that I liked about myself.  I didn't care how stupid they were (i.e. I like that my fingernails grow fast.), I had to come up with five different things.  I did that for a few weeks until eventually I didn't need to anymore.  I noticed that Caitlin had a blog that was similar recently and over at RuntoTheFinish Amanda posts a "Gratitude Journal" at the end of every blog.  Even tonight, at the Operation Beautiful event, we had to list three physical traits, three personality traits, and three things that we were proud of about ourselves (there were a couple other things too, but I'm totally blanking at the moment).  I recommend that anyone who reads this should make a list of five things that they love about themselves.  At the very least, you will smile.  Or to make someone else smile, maybe write five things you like about them and send them an e-mail or a little note, even a text message. 

Well on that note, I'm going to go tell Chris five wonderful things about him.  Then I'm going to pack my lunch and gym bag so I can meet Caitlin for our run in the morning.  I hope you all have had as wonderful of a night as I have!  And remember, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Awesome 3 mile run this morning!

Caitlin and I met at 6:30 this morning to do a comfortable three miles.  We ran the entire thing without stopping at a really easy pace (which included negative splits).  It felt great!  What a wonderful way to start my day!

Mile 1:  12:03
Mile 2:  11:54
Mile 3:  11:41

The pace really was nice for me this morning.  Last night I did not sleep well and was pretty exhausted when I woke up.  Since I went straight from my run, to the gym to shower, then to work, there was no time to make a smoothie (Chris would probably have my head if I tried making it before leaving to meet Caitlin.  He does not do mornings).  I missed my smoothie, but I still had a good breakfast.

This week is going to be great since half of the people in my lab are off at a conference, which means my office is sooooo quiet.  I Love It!  Well, I'm off to run an experiment then I have lunch with some friends and later tonight dinner with other friends (yay for fondue night!).  I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

Another wonderful day and three more miles logged!

Today has been a great day!  I was completely lazy this morning/early afternoon.  All I did was read blogs or magazines and relax (and enjoy that GM I made earlier).  Late in the afternoon Chris took a break from his homework and took  me out to one of my favorite places to eat!  I ordered my favorite wrap (chicken, poppy seed dressing and fruit), and we sat outside to enjoy the fresh air.  After we walked around a lake, roughly a mile and a half.  Once we came back, he helped convince me that I should go for a run.  (He really is the best!)  I did three miles and admittedly felt pretty tired during the second half.

Mile 1:  11:20
Mile 2:  10:35
Mile 3:  10:16

Overall time:  32:04 minutes

Hey, at least I had negative splits, right?

Chris decided he wanted me to make him a smoothie today... one that did not look green.  He has not fully come around to the spinach idea I guess.  I made one that turned out a lovely shade of purple (there's a portion of it above, in my favorite glass).  It had a banana, strawberries, blueberries, vanilla yogurt, milk and ice.  Again, it made wayyyyy too much and again I forgot the flax (I set the box out to remind me when I make one for breakfast in the morning... yes, I'm currently addicted, but it's better than eating Valentine's Day chocolate).  It was good, but I'm still going to make the pumpkin and spinach smoothie for breakfast.  That one was really good! 

 And finally, the babies looked sooo cute today!  Zack and Ashe relaxed in the recliner and were cleaning each other, while Kirby was curled up in the "kitty condo".

We ended the day with grocery shopping, left-overs, and an episode of Caprica.  The jury is still out on my opinion.  It's definitely no BSG, but I haven't given up on it yet.

Yummy Pumpkin Green Monster!

This morning I made a super delicious green monster (GM) smoothie!  I used a banana, some vanilla yogurt, a third of a can of pumpkin, cinnamon, a tiny bit of nutmeg, spinach, and a little milk.  Oh and a little sweetener.  It is sooooooo good! (Of course I do have a bit of an obsession for food containing pumpkin.)  This one also has an awesome green color!  I will definitely be making this flavor again very soon. ***I just realized I forgot to add flax.  Oops!***

Also, good luck to all of those running The Third Annual 26.2 with Donna The National Marathon To Finish Breast Cancer today!!!!  I will officially be running that in just less than a year now!  I am so excited!  What a wonderful cause!

Last night I was looking through ExerciseTV and found an ab work-out called "Bridal ABsession".  It was only a 10 minute work-out, so out of curiosity I tried it.  Believe it or not, the entire work-out was new to me.  Sure I've always done some other variation of each work-out, but I had not done the exact moves that were done in the video.  I followed that up with my favorite PM Yoga work-out called "Zen in the Den".  I am still feeling pretty sore from my run on Friday.  In fact quite sore.  I'm thinking I will stick to yoga today and do a run tomorrow.  Of course it looks like it is going to rain tomorrow, which means I'll be running inside.  Bleh.  I'll have to think about this.

I hope you all have a fantastic Sunday!

I'm baaaack! 6 miles and my first Green Monster Smoothie!

That's right, you read that title correctly... SIX MILES BABY!!!!  It was AMAZING!  I think the contributing factors to the great run were that I had 9 hours of sleep the night before (which was wonderful!), and  I met Chris for a delicious lunch at Ruby Tuesdays!  That was especially nice, since we do not often have a chance to meet up for lunch (which had me in a wonderful mood the entire day).  I had a delicious white bean and chicken chili and a wonderful salad that I made at the salad bar.  Oh and some strawberry tea.  Yum!!!  Lunch was really filling, so I did not have my usual afternoon snack of some fruit.  Instead I came home, had a few sips of that caffeinated strawberry energy mix, changed closed, played with cats, then headed out.  I set out really wanting to do 4 miles, but not sure if I could do it.  I made myself stay at a nice slow pace at the beginning (which I actually found to be a bit challenging).  When mile 2 started, I started to get a side stitch and slowed down a bit.  By the time I hit 3 I was feeling great.  The route I had planned would not get me home until roughly a half a mile after my 4 mile mark.  I had planned that half mile as a nice cool down.  But then I felt really good and decided to go for 5, which quickly became "Oh I know I can go around this block which will make it a total of 6 miles!"  The last two miles I sped up.  My last mile ended up being my fastest!  I felt like I could run forever!  I made myself stop at 6, because I did not want to get injured and it suddenly was pretty dark.  Man, I definitely felt a runner's high yesterday!!!!!!  I do not remember the last time I felt soooooo amazing!  Those last two miles I thought to myself, "And you're back!  This is what I remember!  Not wanting to cry or walk but feeling like my legs are flying over the sidewalk!"

Splits:
Mile 1:  10:54
Mile 2:  11:22
Mile 3:  10:49
Mile 4:  10:28
Mile 5:  10:03
Mile 6:  9:43
(and I actually just added a few seconds to that when I hit the "start time" button on Garmy by mistake.  Doh!  But the overall time (that I had written down before I messed up the Garmy was 1 hour and 3 minutes at an average 10:33 pace).



Now that I have that mental distance challenge out of the way, I think I may attempt that distance again on Monday.  I have a 5K this coming Sunday, so I need to do my longer run in the beginning of the week.  My hamstrings are definitely sore today.  I've been using the foam roller.  My back is also sore... which is a little weird.  Of course I do think I slept wrong a couple nights ago, but I do think this also has something to do with my run.  It doesn't hurt, it's just sore.  shrug.  All I know is that I have been floating on cloud nine since my run yesterday!  I had planned earlier in the week to run today as well so that I could log 4 days, but I figure since my legs are sore it would probably be best to just stick to to some nice yoga stretching today using my favorite video on ExerciseTV.

This now takes me to the last part of my super awesome Friday.  I have finally made my first Green Monster smoothie.  I have read in many other blogs about them, yet I was hesitant and well too lazy to try it.  I am now ADDICTED!  I made one last night and it was fantastic!  So good in fact that I had another one for breakfast!  I used some frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, a little skim milk, a ripe banana, two tablespoons of flax (I am embarrassed to say that I had to ask for help in finding it at the grocery store), and finally two handfuls of spinach (they're right, you really cannot taste it!).  Oh, I did add a very small amount of sweetener, but that was because I was craving something sweet last night.  I made one for Chris (I need to work on the proportions of ingredients as the smooties are coming out rather large).  Chris did like it.  He said it needed more strawberries.  You should have seen his face when I added more spinach! I am tempted to try one with canned pumpkin and some vanilla yogurt.  Maybe I will try that this week.  All I know is that I will be making a lot of smoothies in the near future.

My first Green Monster Smoothie (also featured in the background is our awesome indoor grill, the smoothie blender, and the cap for the canned cat food.)  My smoothie is not nearly as green as others out there in blogland, but it did taste good!

Do you remember me mentioning a running meet-up group?  Well they have a run this Sunday, and it's a little bit of a drive from where I am now, although not really that far.  I've decided not to go yet.  I'm kind of nervous, and to be honest I really want to build up my mileage a little bit more before going out and potentially making a fool out of myself.  I also think I'd like my first meet up to be somewhere a little closer to home.  So I decided not to go tomorrow, and next Sunday I have a 5K (woo-hoo!), but I think the Sunday after that I'm going to try and meet them wherever they are.  I'm excited and nervous (as silly as it sounds), but I'm mostly excited!

Happy Saturday all!

Let's be honest...

I just read Caitlin's other blog (Caitlin who is the owner of Operation Beautiful) and it made me realize that yes, what I do is considered "fat talk".  While I know very well that I am not fat, and I definitely do not need to lose weight... there are plenty of times when I look in the mirror and say to myself "my butt looks too jiggly", "my thighs are too big", or "I'm getting soft".  I know that these things are not really true, although I do want to be a bit more tone in the butt and thigh regions.  This can be done simply by continuing to run and work-out as well as not eating an excess of anything that is unhealthy (I don't believe in giving up anything completely). 

But to steal a quote from Caitlin (I hope it's ok!), "Fat Talk has almost NOTHING to do with how you look, what you eat, or what you do in the gym.  It has EVERYTHING to do with how you feel about yourself, your life, and your circumstances."

And she's totally right!  I guarantee you that over the course of two days my body does not change at all, and there will be days where I will feel 100% hott (that's right, with two t's!) and then the next I will feel completely dreadful.  The dreadful part needs to stop!  Like I stated with my New Year's Resolution, I am going to be more self confident, especially with my body image.  I have honestly been working at it this year, and I have noticed a huge improvement with myself.  Most times now, when I start to have a negative though, I replace it with a positive one.  Since this new year has started, there have been many less days that I have felt "dreadful", and I intend to keep it that way.

I hope you all continue to have a fabulous Friday and an even better weekend!
 

Operation Beautiful

The university is constantly sending e-mails about various events, speakers, get-togethers.  Yesterday I received an e-mail that caught my eye.  The event is titled "Operation Beautiful" and takes place next week.  A snippet of the e-mail says:  "Caitlin Boyle, founder and author of Operational Beautiful, will be presenting an interactive workshop to students about her mission:  To end self-hating fat talk.  The event is in recognition of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and topics such as how to combat fat talk, and creating a positive body image will be covered."  While I know I am not fat, I have been guilty of negative self-talk especially, about my body image.  This was one of the reasons for my New Year's Resolution:  "To be less critical of myself and more confident in myself."  I went to Caitlin's blog: Operational Beautiful  and found it to be truly inspirational!  (Note:  This is not the same Caitlin I work-out with, she just happens to spell her name the same way).  I've stolen a few pictures from the blog to illustrate the concept.  The idea is simple and brilliant.  You simply leave Post-It notes for people to find which reminds them that they are beautiful or loved.  This was one of my favorite blog entries on the site.  There is even a book coming out about Operation Beautiful. 

I was going to wait until next week to post this, after I check out the event, but I thought it was too good of an idea not to share right away.  Please pass it along.  Maybe even leave a Post-It with a positive message for someone else to find. 

In my own work-out related news, I did tutor last night so there was no time to run in the daylight.  I cooked a yummy dinner of pork chops with a side of onions, zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic.  Mmmm.  Tonight I plan to do a nice run by myself after work.  I'm really looking forward to it!  Hopefully the weather will warm up just a tad before I head out.  Then I think I'll do a yoga video from ExerciseTV.   (Did anyone else notice that I got a blog comment from who is supposedly the Marketing Coordinator of ExerciseTV??  He wants to ask me some questions... I hope it's real.  I'm wayyy excited!)

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!!! 

Reasons why I need to start doing push-ups again

1.  To be able to open pickle (jelly, etc.) by myself.  (I took the comic from Cranky Fitness.)  2. To be able to go bowling without having to only use the 6 pound ball and feeling like my arm is going to fall off during the second game.  and 3. To be able to remove the gas cylinder regulator by myself when at work!  I am sick of always having to find someone else.  (I've attached a picture of said gas cylinder regulator.)  I've also attached a picture of some super-scary-but-awesome warning labels on one of the new chemicals I will be using for a synthesis.  It's the little things in life that make me happy.

I canceled our run this morning.  With the wind chill it was in the upper 30s/lower 40s, I felt like staying in my warm bed.  Also, I really did not sleep well at all, and I was just plain exhausted.  I plan to do a run tomorrow (or tonight if I do not tutor) as well as Saturday.  Now back to my Starbucks to help me wake up and stay warm.

My new running attire!

Yesterday I went by Sports Authority and picked up another shirt and found this awesome Nike purple and white Dri-FIT hat on sale for just under $15!  Woo-hoo!  Last night Chris and I went for an easy two mile run (I had the worst side stitches last night!).  I completed it in 19:34 (9:45 pace).  It's hard to imagine that my best half marathon time was at that same pace.  I just need to keep reminding myself that I am building back up.  I can do it! 

This morning Caitlin and I ran outside in what I considered really cold weather (40s).  We did 2.10 miles in 24:46 minutes.  The run felt really good.  I didn't warm up until the end (where actually I think I went numb more than warmed-up), but we managed to pause only to tie a shoe.  No walk breaks today.  Yay!  Our plan is 3 miles on Thursday.  I'm tempted to run again tomorrow on my own to see if I can run 3 miles, but I'm thinking maybe I should take a break.  But then again, it's not like 2 and 3 miles are really long...  Remember I mentioned that I joined DailyMile.com?  Well it turns out that they e-mail you a weekly progress report.  Yesterday I received one saying I ran 7 miles last week...  Okay so I've been averaging 6 miles.  7 was actually a tiny increase.  But I remember back when 7 miles was one single run.  It's quite depressing really.  I know I need to get out of simply doing 2 miles.  Maybe I will run again tomorrow and aim for 3.  Hmmm...

Well back to work.  I hope you all are having a great week!

Running skirt give-away over at Endurance Isn't Only Physical...

Tricia over at Endurance Isn't Only Physical is having a running skirt give-away!  Check out the super-cute purple plaid skirt she is wearing!  I LOVE IT! 


While on the topic of running clothes... I got three pairs of Nike running shorts yesterday.  I'm actually thinking about going by Sports Authority today to buy one more shirt and a dri-FIT hat.  I really  need something to help block the sun when I run.  I'm planning on testing out all if not at least part of my new running clothes this evening (part only if I'm too cold).  I cannot wait!!! 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all!  Given that the temperature is in the low 40s, and I was an idiot who only packed shorts to run in, I will not be running today.  Instead, I will be purchasing more running attire.  My super awesome boyfriend, Chris, got me the perfect Valentine's gift this year... two Nike dry-fit running shirts and a gift card to Sports Authority!  He is the best!  He knew how much I have been wanting new clothes for running.  I've finally progressed past wearing just any old t-shirt (usually an old running shirt) and discovered how much the proper material makes a difference when it comes to the heat.  A few weeks ago, Jess over at 21 Days posted about a new shirt she found at Target.  I really liked the shirt, so I went to my Target to see what they had.  Sadly, they did not have that same shirt in my size (sorry for copying Jess, but I love it!) but I did find another one that I really liked.  I picked that up, and I will probably check out the Target by Chris's parents' house today to see if they have the other shirt.  Having new clothes and a race at the end of the month have added to my motivation.  I can't wait to run tomorrow (after we get back home and I have access to my warmer clothes)!

I'm off to go shopping and visit more with family (Chris's and my own aunt and uncle who are in town)!  YAY!!!!  As Chris likes to say, I hope you all have a Happy Hallmark Day!

Runs this week

On Tuesday, Caitlin and I had a really good run outside around campus.  We did 3.02 miles in 35:56 (according to Garmy).  We started with a nice slow 2 miles followed by a short walk then finished out the last mile. It was 6:30 am and we were pretty tired, but we both felt really good after the run. At least we made it to three!  Caitlin mentioned wanting to do interval training on Friday but only for a mile so that we would get to work early.  Since I've been running at least 2 miles per run for my three runs in a week, I decided to get another run in yesterday (Wednesday).  I went 2.01 in 20:04.  It felt wonderful.  It was nice and easy and did not include any walk breaks (yay!). 

Then today we were supposed to meet our friend at the gym.  She didn't make it, so we did an easy two miles indoors (we were not dressed for the 33 degree F weather outside since our friend does not like to run outside).  Today was Caitlin's turn to be plagued by side stitches, so we took a couple walk breaks and did the two miles in 24 minutes.  We both hate running on the track.  It takes 8 laps just to make a mile.  Not to mention ROTC was doing their PT on the track this morning.  My school is also hosting a "Biggest Loser"-type fitness program, and that group was on the track, which meant the track was very crowded this morning.  It was also way too hot for running.  Oh well, tomorrow we will hopefully be outdoors again.  I'm hoping to pick up my speed and do a run some time this weekend on my own or with Chris.  We are going out of town to visit family, so at least there would be a change of scenery. 

Does anyone have a running club I could join?

Tuesday I ran two miles on the treadmill at the gym at a 1% incline.  It was hot and tiring but felt pretty good.  Thursday I canceled my meet-up with the girls, because I really need to use an instrument at work before my co-worker came in for the day to use it.  So instead, we ran two miles on Friday.  My third run for the week was on Saturday (yesterday) and it was pretty awesome.  This was the first time I used my Serena Williams Spontaneous Speed iTunes interval training that I purchased at the end of December.  The weather was cold when I first walked out in shorts and a t-shirt, but felt wonderful for running!  It was a little bit too windy for my likely, but much better than not having a breeze.  I had to walk a couple of times, and I was constantly fighting off a side stitch, so I did not push nearly as hard as I could have.  I started running and the timer on Garmy when Serena said, "Go" and stopped when she ended with "good job" or whatever the closing was.  I timed that at 28:44.  My goal was 3 miles, which I reached at 31:29 for an overall average pace of 10:29 mi/min.  I am psyched!  It has been a while since I have run 3 miles.  If you recall, not so long ago I set out with a goal of 3 miles, barely made two and ended up in tears.  It was pathetic.  While 31:29 may not be fast, it is faster than I thought I was running and the finish felt great!  My goal is to complete 3 miles before the iTunes track runs out.  I also just downloaded some new music that I cannot wait to test out on my next run!

When I came back from my run, I saw that I had a comment from Mindy (it's nice to know someone is reading...yay!) who introduced me to dailymile.com.  It is a great place to log runs and communicate with others.  Steve in a Speedo?! recently reviewed the site, and he described is as twitter-like and good for people who only run.  He preferred other sites for those who would rather log a variety of training work-outs.  I joined dailymile, and I think it will help keep me motivated to run.  If anyone else cares to join, feel free to add me as a friend.

On Friday, my original running partner/old roommate was in town, and she looked wonderful!  We went to lunch, and she told me that she is training for a half marathon.  She moved last summer to NC and joined a running group.  They run four days a week.  I am jealous!  I mean insanely jealous!  I have been wanting to run with a running group... I even found a local Galloway training group, but my friend who agreed to do the marathon with me thinks that running at 4:45 am two days a week is too early (not that I completely disagree).  Although I have found in the past that doing early runs then taking a nap is my preferred method.  There is just something about that nap before work... amazing!  The long runs with that group take place on Saturday, and that was the deal-breaker for my friend, which I completely understand.  Her boyfriend lives a couple of hours away, so they only see each other on the weekends.  While I could join the group myself, that would eliminate me training with my friend, and where is the fun in that?  I have however been looking for some kind of group.  I want to meet some new people who will keep me motivated and challenge me to increase my pace.  Ideally, I would love to find a group that runs in the evenings on week days.  I have found a couple through Meetup.com that meet on weekends.  There is also a local running club that meets a few times a month for runs and dinner or coffee.  I'm thinking about joining that group to at least have something.  I'm not sure why I'm so dead-set on wanting to join a group.  I think it's mostly wanting to do something new that encourages me to keep running.  I also love to meet new people and find new places to run.  If there is anyone in the central Florida area who knows of a group, please let me know!

In non-running related business... Chris and I went to see the play Romeo & Juliet where one of the girls that I tutor was Juliet.  It was probably the best Romeo & Juliet play that I have seen.  There were only five people in the cast, so they played multiple roles.  A guy played Juliet's nurse, and he was HILARIOUS!  Juliet was breath-taking as always!  After the play, we went out for dinner which was really nice.  Today we went for a long walk, which we both enjoyed. 

In very exciting news... My best friends (you know, the awesome couple that have a son named Nick Danger!) are officially going to be foster/adoptive parents!  The paperwork was just finalized, and I am oh so very happy for them!  YAY!!!  They are seriously two of the most amazing people that I know!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!