Butterfly 5K

Today was the Butterfly 5K. The forecast called for cloudy with showers. It was a beautiful sunny day which made the run brutal. It was hot, really hot. And although it is billed as a net downhill race, it sure as hell didn't feel like a net downhill. Lots of walking was needed to get through it, but I started running and finished running and listened to my body and all is well. There was a lot for the kids to do and they had kids races after the main race, so although I added 4 minutes to my last 5k time, it was a successful day.

Enjoying a banana while the kids get ready to race

Go Kevin!!!

Go Brian!!!

Partners in Crime

Yay! It's over!

Next Race and Other Thoughts

I am taking tomorrow and Saturday off, and running a 5k on Sunday. Yesterday we did some fun speed work at the track, yes I said fun, and today I did a run walk with the newest member of our running group who is working on the couch to 5k program. That was a nice change of pace, I have to say. Very chatty group this morning and it was nice to feel like I was going to make it through that run without question. I do have to say that the running is feeling good. It has been pretty hot and humid, so it's been difficult, but I feel good after the runs. TKD has been ramping up the challenges which is good too. Though I was almost in tears from the across the floor wheelbarrow pushups last night. Not pleased with my work on those.

I am finally starting to take my eating seriously. It is going to take a while to have it all make sense and for me to stop craving the crap I so love. I went through yesterday with no refined carbs, such as crackers or bread or anything like that. That is HUGE for me since I have often gone for entire weeks with no fruits or vegetables. I tried Amazing Super Meal in my smoothie this morning, and it wasn't bad. I was educated on the evils of creamer by JRTRUNR, so I think that the cup of coffee in front of me, may just be the last with creamer. Maybe I can just get rid of it altogether. I've cut out the caffeine already, it's just for the taste of it now. So what's the point? I've cut out soda. Now it's juts the rest of the crap that I always feel so entitled to. I am taking my boys to the movies tomorrow. Do I get popcorn? Maybe I just need to buckle down and say no. We also are having my nephew's birthday party. I'm going to try to make side salads from vegetables more than pasta and have fruit and veggies out in addition to the crap everyone else wants. In another thought, has anyone tried coconut water?

I see a lot of people posting everything they eat in their blogs. I'm not thinking that that is what I want to do here, but if it helps, I may end up doing it just to keep myself honest

Oh and in a I can't believe how crazy my kids are side note: the first Christmas list of 2009 is officially sitting by the fireplace. Lord help me.

Four!

Today had a few firsts for me.

I ran alone for the first time today,

I ran four miles in a training run for the first time,

I ran without music (which, ok, I've done that before, but not alone, so that's a first of sorts).

I walked in the two hills in the run, in miles two and three, and I am ok with that. I ran very slow ( I actually have no idea how long it took me), and I am ok with that. I felt like I may pass out when I got home, and I was kind of ok with that. I took a cold shower that didn't take, I know that because I was sweating well after I dried off, that annoyed me but made me laugh at how gross it was. I discovered that I can do anything with gum. Without gum I feel like my mouth is full of sandpaper, which is awfully distracting. So I make sure I have some gum. I learned today that anything more than four miles is going to need a replacement piece of gum. I learned that I can say some nice encouraging things to myself when I am running, I can also be pretty awful, it depends on how the run is going.

I don't time myself, I don't pace myself. I map a run, do my best, slow down as much as I need and aim to at least start and finish the run, running. If I have to walk a little, I'm ok with that. Who am I chasing? Who am I competing with? Myself. And the myself of a year ago couldn't even think about what I did today. I did something today that a year ago I would have laughed at the mere thought of doing. So I'm good. I had a great run today. I have a race next Sunday and I will not be crazy about it, I will start it running, I will finish it running and what happens in between will be fine.

Working it

So our run yesterday ended up being our usual 2.75. We had a nice easy run and are going to complement it with another nice easy run today.

Our fearless leader sent this message out.

Wednesday we will meet at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet (Shriners Parking lot). This will be a hill repeat workout. The plan is to head out toward Narragansett Blvd and weave our way up and down each street between the Blvd and Broad Street. The hills are very short and the flats are long. It shouldn't be too hard a run and if you get burned out you can easily cut back to Rhodes.

Brace yourselves, it might bring out more crying.

On a different note, I have been inspired to start paying more attention to what I eat. My shorts and pants aren't fitting quite as well as I would like them too. So it's time to buckle down. It's only a few pounds, but those are sometimes the hardest. So hopefully I can keep myself honest here. I rarely weigh myself. I tend to go by my clothes. So here's to my pants fitting better!!

A Little Background

So, let's just get a little background on me. I am 37 (ugh), I have two boys ages 8 and 9 (362 days apart, can you say crazy?). I also have an almost 17 year old nephew who lives with us. My husband is awesome, a better housewife than I am. And we have a fish, a hamster and two greyhounds. I have never been interested in running, per se. Every once in a while I would try it, hate it and stop (mostly in a turnover period of about 24 hours). Most recently I started in order to prepare for a belt test for Tae Kwon Do. I know how much I dislike running, so I knew that I would have to take my time working into it. I have another post that goes a little into how I started running, so I will keep more to the process to date.

We started the Couch Potato to 5K in January with a goal to run a race in June. May I say, the creator of that program is a genius. If you asked me a year ago if I would consider running a 5k, my answer would have been "never". I laughed at runners. Idiots, who actually enjoys that kind of thing? But dig me, I did it. I didn't do it on my own, and I have the utmost respect for people that can decide to do this on their own and do it. We have a good sized group of people run together and without them, I'd not be writing this little background. I ran the race on my own, but the only thing that gets me up to run at 6:00 is the fact that there are people waiting for me to meet them.

I've struggled with the running. I have a lot of problems breathing, and I had/have a lot of problems with my legs. I have very flat feet, which in turn throws the rest of my body out of alignment. I see a chiropractor weekly and we decided that I should try stabilizers in my shoes. So I had a fancy pair made just for me and lo and behold, my legs don't hurt anymore. My knees which always hurt, don't hurt near as much. Holy Moly. Now I can work on my breathing. Which I have finally figured out.

I always snickered at the thought that you should be able to have a conversation while you are running. That means you are at a good pace. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Who on Earth could have a conversation and run at the same time. Well guess what. I can!! This is the first week that I have been able to do it. My pace sits at about a 12:00 mile, which is fine. I don't care. I'm running and talking and starting to enjoy it. I get it. I have finally conquered breathing at a good pace.

Now my next task is distance. I have done two miles without stopping to walk. So now I am working on increasing that. It's a little bit at a time. And with the help of our fearless leader, we all do speedwork once a week.

So that's me in a nut shell. You can visit my other blog to see more about me.

And the first week is done

So I ran 3.2 today and it felt good. Wow. I felt like I could have gone further, but I want to go slow so I don't end up hurt! Resting on the weekend and back on Monday!!

Off Day

Or rather...day off!! No running, no TKD and I am very very happy about that, though I feel like I should be doing something, but the day is almost over, so I'll get over that quickly. Speedwork in the am and then running stairs at night make for a very tired me. SO....the plan is four miles tomorrow morning, though if it rains, I'm sleeping in and doing it Saturday. And that will end my first week of serious training for The Amica Marathon Relay.

Meanwhile, day off!!!!