Double Header Weekend - Race Review!

Ran 1.5 Miles
Walked 1.5 Miles 

This weekend I had my first ever back to back 5Ks. Saturday was the Color Vibe. I was super excited for it because it was the first "fun" run that I've ever done. It was also the first race I'd ever run in the rain -- I've somehow managed to luck out. I actually enjoy running in the rain, it's the waiting around in the rain that I don't enjoy. I met up at Kelly's house at 8:30 and we were on track to be there for 9. The first wave started at 10 and they were planning to release waves every few minutes. We ended up getting stuck in traffic and getting there at almost 10. My mom met up with us when we got there and took some pictures. 

We parked in one of the furthest lots, and it was probably a mile walk to the start. I hadn't planned ahead of time and brought an umbrella or really anything to keep dry. I guess I figured since I was going to be running in the rain that it wouldn't be that bad. I should have brought an umbrella! After we got there, we got in line for a porta potty then headed over to get into the speedway. The speedway required that everybody who entered signed a waiver, so it was a little bottle necked trying to get into the speedway. Once we got in, it was like a huge party. There were people everywhere throwing color packets, and the music was blaring. I was super pumped for the start. 

I had originally decided that since this was a low pressure race (it's not even timed), and because I had another 5k the next day that I would run/walk it and not put pressure on myself to run the entire thing. Our wave took off at around 10:45. I was disappointed to see how small the color stations actually were. I guess I had a different picture in my head, but I hadn't realized that the "color stations" would be a few people throwing color at you. By the time we got to the later stations, they were out of color, or almost out of color. When we had gotten to pink, they told us that we needed to roll on the ground in order to get color. Kelly's daughter was super psyched to do this, but I was not.  

The course was super hilly. At the end of the course, you  had to run up this trail. It was muddy, but at that point, I didn't really care. I was disappointed to see that the course was not a full 5k. My GPS watch reported 2.94 miles. After the race, everybody was taking pictures, but I needed to head out because I had Savannah's daughter's first birthday party! I was super annoyed because it took us almost 2 and 1/2 hours to get out of the parking lot. We didn't even move for almost the first 45 minutes. Kelly, who left shortly after us, said that she didn't wait that long to get out, but she went out a different end. Also, those who had been there earlier, got closer parking and left earlier, so they also got out fairly easily. 

At first, I was pretty disappointed with this race and said that I wouldn't do it again. However, I think that I was looking at it the wrong way. I should have considered this as more of an "all day event", instead of trying to rush through it and then head somewhere else. The traffic would have still annoyed me, but it wouldn't have been so bad had I not had somewhere to be immediately after the event, or if I had carpooled with others (I hadn't since I needed to be somewhere after the race.) After I've been thinking about it, I decided that I will do it again, but will certainly change my approach. 

Yesterday was the Runner's Alley/Redhook 5k. Runner's Alley is the store that put on the half marathon training group that I did last fall. I absolutely love this store. I won't go anywhere else for my running needs, and am hoping to do the training group again this fall (dependent on my schedule). So, when I found out that they were sponsoring a 5k a few months ago, I immediately signed up. It certainly helped that it was also put on by Redhook Brewery (which I knew Sean would enjoy), and that it benefitted a charity. 

I was nervous about back to back 5ks, which is why I decided to take it easy at the Color Vibe. I really wanted to be able to run the entire 5k yesterday. I haven't been able to run an entire race since I started back running again after the stress fracture. I met up with Sarah and we ran into my cousin, Maria (sad I didn't get a picture of us together!) We then ran into Christina, who we went to high school with, and her friend Jaime. 

Shortly before the start, they led us in a warm up. 

I really loved the course. It was on Pease Airforce Base and was a big loop. I am not a huge fan of courses that are out and back. The course was fairly flat. I was happy because it warmed up. When I had woken up it was in the high 30's, so I had decided to wear my running pants instead of my long shorts. Thankfully, it wasn't super hot so I managed. My GPS watch wasn't working for some reason, so I wasn't able to wear it. I ended up having to carry my phone because I didn't bring my armband, as I don't run with music. There was a water station around mile 1.5. I walked through the water station, as I typically do. For some reason I just haven't mastered the art of sipping and running. As soon as I left the water station, I immediately started running again. I was determined to finish without walking, which is exactly what I did! I definitely took it easy since I had just ran the day before and I was nervous about going too fast and having to stop to walk. My gun time said that I finished in 38:54. 

 My Nike running app said that I did 3.29 miles. Since this is a certified course, I know that is not accurate. I'm wondering if it was because of weaving around others. The course was fairly congested, especially at the start. However, I am pretty positive that I couldn't have added almost two tenths of a mile onto my distance just by weaving. I'm wondering if it had anything to do with the fact that I was carrying my phone and not wearing it on my arm (maybe it didn't stay in the same position?). 

Once I turned the corner to go back into the brewery, I knew the finish line was there, so I started sprinting. Afterwards I had to walk for a few minutes, because I was so nauseous from sprinting. 

After the race, we took some pictures. 

Then we met up with Heather, Brandon and Allie who came to watch me finish! We ended up grabbing lunch at Redhook Brewery. I had a black bean burger with guacamole. It was pretty good!

I realized again this weekend just how blessed I am. I have a husband who comes to pretty much all of my races. My mom braved the rain on Saturday to come to the Color Vibe with me. And my sister, hopefully future brother in law, and niece came to see me on Sunday. It truly means so much to me to have all of this support. I'm also super excited because my sister Heather is going to do a 6k with me next weekend. I told her that I would do it with her, and we can run or walk it or whatever. I'm super super excited! Can't wait to report on that next weekend :) 

I started a challenge today. A blogger that I follow posted about a run at least a mile a day from Memorial Day to Independence Day. This is 39 days of running. I have been trying to do on my own, and have fallen off track a few times. However, I'm hopeful that because this is an official challenge, that I will be able to do it. We shall see :) 

Today was day 1. I met up with Tonya and did 1.5 miles of running. We ended up walking the last 1.5 miles back - I was pretty tight in my calves, so I wanted a slow, easy, short run. 

Anyways, this is long enough and it's time to head to bed. Waking up early to run with Danielle and Deb tomorrow! We're meeting at 6 am. The Vegan diet is going well so far.. Tomorrow is Day 7. I'll have a post tomorrow about my first week.

Going Vegan?

Recently I was talking to the instructor of the spin class that I go to, as well as somebody in the class, about the benefits of a vegan diet. I immediately had brushed the possibility off as crazy, but I have not been able to stop thinking about it since that class almost two weeks ago. 

I'm not sure if this is the best option for me. Everybody that I have talked to this about, and everything that I have read online, has only raved about the benefits they have seen. They lost weight, felt more energetic, felt great overall and improved their athletic capabilities. A few months ago, I started seeing a dietician. When I first saw her, she put me on a diet plan for thirty days that was mostly fruits and veggies with some lean meats. I felt fantastic. I went all out for those thirty days, and then immediately reverted once those 30 days were up. Now I'm back to feeling tired, sluggish and having a messed up digestive system. I don't think that 30 days was quite long enough for me to not have the desire to revert back to my old eating habits. 

I need to do something about my diet. I have been working out like crazy, but not seeing any improvements -- which I know is because of my diet.. My diet is HORRIBLE. especially this week, since I did not have time to go grocery shopping this weekend.. Whenever I don't go grocery shopping on the weekend, the following week is typically a disaster. 

So anyways, back to this whole vegan diet thing. I think I'm going to try it out for 60 days and then see how I feel. A common question (that I had as well) when somebody tells you that they are going vegetarian/vegan is to question how on earth said person will get their protein. Well, I've been doing a lot of research over the past few days, and it is a common misconception to think that you need WAY more protein that you actually do. As I am a runner, and swimmer, and cyclist, I will definitely need MORE protein than somebody of my weight who is not active, but I should be able to get all of it in through non-meat products.  I found a good blog here that gave me some good information. I'm going to read through some other sections on the blog.

I have a horrible addiction to food. Well, not really an addiction.. I just like eating really bad food. I'm a textbook emotional eater. I eat when I'm sad, I eat when I'm happy, celebrating, mad, upset.. I also like to justify my horrible eating habits because I "work out hard". But I know that even working out at my hardest does not afford me the calories to eat whatever I want. However, for some reason, even though I know this - I find myself justifying it. I also have a huge issue where I will wait to start a new diet until the following week. I found myself saying that now... I'll go shopping this weekend, and then start this new diet on Monday. But then I find myself eating whatever I want (like a Dominos pizza and bread bites) because, well on Monday, I'm not going to be able to eat this anymore. I'm sure that this is going to be a struggle, and I'm sure that I won't be perfect, but I am going to try this. I'm going swimming at the Y tonight and afterwards, I am going to the grocery store to pick up some things to start this

Thoughts? Is there anybody out there who has transitioned to a vegetarian or vegan diet? Was it tough to make the switch? What has been your experience?

Third Time is a Charm (Or So I hope)

Exercise:

05/14: Day 1 AGAIN! Ran 3 miles
05/15: Day 2 Ran (with a few walking breaks) 3.27 miles. Swam .5 miles. 45 min spin class
05/16: Day 3 Ran 1 mile. Walked 1.5 miles. Swam .58 miles
05/17: Day 4 Ran 1.79 miles, then ran/walked an additional 1.25 miles.
05/20: Day 1 AGAIN: Ran 3 miles, Swam .5 miles


Wow.. Have I seriously not posted in over a week? I cannot believe just how busy I have been. I ended up falling off the running every day wagon again LAST Sunday. It was just so crazy. My niece was over on Saturday night. We ended up eating at a Chinese Buffet and then going to Chuck E Cheese. We went grocery shopping and then went out for ice cream with the neighbors. After dinner, I tried to get some homework done while Sean and Eva watched a movie. I knew that I had two papers due by Sunday @ 11:59 pm, on top of my other homework for the week. To say that I was stressing out would be an understatement. By the time that Eva went to bed, I was trying to finish my philosophy paper. I was having a hard time understanding the concepts, so I ended up giving up and going to bed at 2 am.

As Sunday was Mother's Day, we made a plan to meet at 9 am at the Friendly's in my mother's town for breakfast. Sean and I live about an hour from there. So I ended up getting about 5 hours of sleep that night. After breakfast, we headed home, where I stayed to work on my papers a little and Sean headed over to his mom's house to start on the yard work with his siblings. I worked on my paper for a few hours and then headed over. Although I did not end up running on this day, I ended up getting a pretty good workout in. They were almost done the yard work, but still needed to spread the mulch. I ended up shoveling 3 yards of mulch into the wheelbarrow. Boy was I sore the next day. We had dinner and then celebrated Mike's 25th birthday! We ended up leaving at 9, as I still had to finish my homework and Sean needed to catch an early flight the next day.

Speaking of my papers -- I am so annoyed. I worked really hard on my Philosophy paper - seriously, the hardest I have EVER worked on a paper for school. I had Mike proof it (he's an English teacher) and I felt really confident with how I did. I ended up getting an 87 on it.. Seriously? Now I know that an 87 is NOT by any means a bad grade, I just typically do a lot better. I am currently earning an A- average. I really want to pull that up to an A by the end of the semester. Since I earned my Associate's degree and transferred for my Bachelor's degree, I have not earned less than a 4.0 in any course that I have taken.. I do NOT want to break that streak now.. What disappointed me the most was that she said that it was an excellent paper and very well written, but that I missed a concept that she wanted us to get out of the philosophical readings. UGH so frustrating!

Anyways, back to running. I was supposed to meet up with Tonya last Monday am to run, but I ended up cancelling. I stayed up until midnight the night before doing homework, then I had to get up at 3:45 to take Sean to the airport, and I did not fall back asleep easily when I got home.. So now here I was.. starting the challenge over AGAIN. I was disappointed, but not really - because I missed two days, and rest days are good - I just want to be able to complete this personal challenge.. So I started over again on Tuesday.

Tuesday I ran with Danielle. We ran the entire 3 miles and it felt amazing. We ended up running the last mile at an 11:23 minute per mile pace - which is the fastest that I've run in a long while. I like the route that we run because it's not very hilly, which I'm sure is why we ran the 11:23. Wednesday I ran with Vicki before work, and we ran some trails around a local park. Running here is nice, but in a different way. It's a trail so it's easier on my body, but it's pretty hilly -- which sucks because I'm not great with hills, but then again it's good, because I'm not great with hills. Thursday morning I ran with Danielle and Deb (same route as Tuesday) and I just felt miserable. My legs felt like led and for some reason I could not mentally push myself through it. I forced myself to run a very slow mile, and then we walked the second mile back. Friday I ended up doing a run/walk with 4 of the women from MRTT running group.

I ended up falling off track again this weekend. I keep jam packing my weekend and not leaving enough time or energy to get any activity in. Although I didn't get any exercise in, I did some prep work for my 5k this coming weekend. I ended up meeting up with Kelly and some of the members of her team, "Girls Gone Color Wild". We decorated some t.shirts.

This was my shirt before I smudged some of the paint.. whoops! At least I can take comfort knowing that I'm going to be blasted with color. I also made something else...  

A TUTU! 

I was surprised at just how easy this was to make. A little time consuming, but definitely easy and something I'm sure I will do in future fun races. 

Today I met up with Tonya and two of her friends. We ran a local bike path. We ran the most of the 3 miles that we did today. We also averaged a quicker pace as well. So excited to make improvements! Speaking of improvement - I went swimming with Dave again tonight. We did half a mile. I was excited because I did a few full laps, and my last two laps I did back to back as well. I can't wait to keep making improvements, and eventually swim the entire thing without stopping!

So You Fell Down...? Who Cares! Get Up and Try Again!

Day 3 of run every day challenge 05/09
Ran 2.5 miles, walked .5 miles
Arm exercises
Swam 2 laps
45 minute swim class

Day 4 of run every day challenge 05/10
Ran 2.65 miles
Swam .25 miles - 9 laps

Thursday was an amazing day exercise wise. I had banked on the fact that it was going to rain and I knew that Danielle and Deb would not be running if it rained. Because of this, I stayed up super late Wednesday night watching Nashville (and recovering from spin class earlier that night). I woke up at 3 am and was reassured because it was still raining; however, when I woke up at 5:15 am, it was not raining. The run was on. I had a hard time getting myself out of bed because I had it in my mind that I would be able to sleep in a little bit (side note: this is the LAST time I rely on the weather). I eventually managed to get myself out of bed and make my way to Derry. Although I went quite begrudgingly, I was happy that I went. Deb couldn't make it, so it was just Danielle and I. We ran 1.25 miles, walked for a couple of minutes, and then ran the rest of the way back. 

After I was done, I was exhausted. I went home and took a nap before I had to start work. I had previously proclaimed that I was going to make Thursday night a relaxing night with an early bed time.. HA! Throughout the day, I started thinking about how I might like to take another spin class that night, even though I had just taken one the night before. I ended up posting a status on Facebook, and Jesse responded that she'd like to join me at the gym. We ended up meeting and doing a weight circuit -- hers was more full body and mine was focused on arms. Where I get so much exercise with my legs, the dietician that I am seeing said that I can focus on arms with some body weight only exercises for my legs (squats, lunges, etc). After our workout, we headed to the pool, where we swam 4 laps.. Well technically 2.. I was just educated by somebody much smarter than I that a lap is one full out and back. Once we were done swimming laps, we got to spend some time in the pool and sauna just catching up. When Jesse left around 8, I decided to go to spinning class. 

I was about ten minutes into class when we were instructed to lower ourselves down and I'm not really quite sure what I did, but I like fell down. My feet were still strapped into the pedals and I couldn't move to lift myself up again. I.Was.Mortified!! Talk about embarrassing! A guy in the class had to come help me up, and when that didn't work, the instructor had to come over and help as well. Ugh! But, I got up, brushed myself off, got back on the bike and continued the rest of the class. Needless to say, for the rest of the class, whenever he told us to go down -- I stayed up. I'm going to try working towards going down like that -- but I'm just not there yet. 

This morning when it came time to get out of bed to meet up with a few ladies from the MRTT running group, I had a hard time getting up. I laid in bed for about ten minutes talking myself into going. Finally, I got out of bed and rushed around to make it on time. I was happy because this was Sully's first run with me all week. I missed my running partner!! We all started off together and the two Courtneys and Shannon ended up running just a bit ahead of Tonya and myself. We ran for about a mile before we took a walking break. It was nice because my legs were burning after last night's workout, and we both wanted to stop at about half a mile, however we made a goal to push it to .75 miles and then again to one. After we walked for a little while, we turned around and started running back. When we were almost back to the parking lot, we stopped and asked somebody to take a picture of us. 

MRTT Running Group

I had originally planned on this being a running only day. But, earlier this afternoon I got a text from Dave (said friend who was smarter than me about the laps), and he told me to meet him at the Y to swim laps with him. He told me that I was going to do 9 laps, which is 1/4 of a mile - 18 lengths of the pool. When he said this, I was like yeah, right. But, I did agree to meet him. After I got home from work, I headed to Target to buy some goggles and then met up with him for 8. We were a little early, so we hung out in the hot tub. Swimming the laps was just hard. It's funny because you can think that you're in shape because you run, walk, bike.. whatever, but when you do something new, you find out just how not in shape you really are. I struggled with finding a rhythm with my strokes and breathing. Typically the first part of the lap was the easiest. I would swim strong out there and then struggle on the way back, despite the fact that I took a moment to catch my breath before heading back. Even though it was hard, we did it. I swam 1/4 of a mile. It's funny because I equate 1/4 of a mile to running or walking 1/4 of a mile, but it was definitely much harder and longer than running or walking it. It has been nice branching out and trying all of these new things lately. Dave even put the bug in my ear about doing a triathlon. Apparently there's this one in the fall where you swim 1/2 of a mile, bike 20 miles and then run 3 miles. Me do a triathlon? Maybe! If you had asked me even 6 months ago if I would consider this, I would have absolutely said no... but with spinning and now trying out the swimming - I think it's a definite possibility. I still need to focus on my running time - trying to get to under a 10 minute mile right now. I'm not really letting myself train above 3 miles until I get my speed to where I want it to be.

I was excited because last week, I set some exercise goals for myself, and I did well with meeting them. So, I figured that I'm going to try again for the next week. Here's my plan: 

Saturday: Run and swim
Sunday: Run - This is technically a rest day, but since I'm doing the 30 day run every day challenge, I'm going to get out there and run a mile. 
Monday: Run. PM. Spin class. Weights. Possibly swim. 
Tuesday: Run. PM Spin class. 
Wednesday: Run. PM Spin class. Weights. 
Thursday: Run. 
Friday: Run. Weights. Swim. 

I also am going to start a daily squat and plank challenge. AND - I'm throwing away my scale.. well metaphorically speaking.. I've been jumping on the scale far too often lately. I did a 5 week no scale challenge last year, and I really enjoyed not hopping on the scale 1-2 times per day. So, I'm going off the scale for awhile starting Monday. I'm not sure for how long, but it will be a good few weeks. I'm thinking about weighing monthly, which is what I've read is all that you need to weigh yourself to check your progress. I want to use other measurements to track my progress.

Anyways - that was enough rambling for one day. I'm off to bed. I was supposed to do homework tonight, but I ended up hanging out at the Y with Dave and then him, Sean and I went to dinner. I also have my niece Eva overnight tomorrow, which I'm super excited about. But, I somehow have to fit in homework and a short paper in each of my two classes.. Ugh.. I should have done homework tonight!!

Oh. You Actually Exercise.

Day 2 of run every day challenge

Ran (with a couple of walking breaks) 3.1 miles
45 minute spin class

Tonight, despite being incredibly sore from Monday's spin class, I went to another class. It was the same instructor, and when he walked in he exclaimed "Oh. You actually exercise." I was very confused until he elaborated that apparently a lot of first timers claim to exercise, but really don't and because of this can't walk for 5 or 6 days. He said he wasn't expecting to see me back for at least a week. He was equally as surprised that I ran  yesterday and today -- I may be overweight, but I still work out! 

The class was a little easier today - but still hard. The first 10 minutes, I was so stiff and sore that I was regretting my decision to go tonight, but then my muscles loosened up and it got a little bit better. There are still a few moves that I struggle with, but I'm sure that with time, I'll get the hang of it. 

This morning I met up with Vicki to run at Livingston Park. Suzanne was supposed to join us - but she set her alarm clock to 6 pm, supposedly on accident (kidding), so she couldn't make it on time. We ended up doing 3.1 miles. It was hilly and I had to stop to walk for a  minute at the 1 mile mark and then a couple of times after. It was a beautiful morning, and it wasn't very crowded. I will definitely make it back there - especially to practice some hills.

 

Why Hello Muscles... Nice to Meet You

Day 1 of run every day challenge

Ran 1 mile
Walked .5 mile

Last night I went to my first ever spin class.. Oh my goodness.. can we say intense? I had thought it was going to be a challenge, but I didn't realize how hard it would be. The instructor was crazy. There were 4 hill songs where we were on max resistance, to the point where I could barely move the pedals. One song, the sprinting song, we were going so fast, alternating standing up and sitting down, that I thought I was going to fall off and need to use the emergency lever. We also did some jumping move that was sort of like moving forward and then going into a sort of push up move on the handlebars. I tried to do everything, but there were some moves that I couldn't do, and there were some times where I just had to stand in place and cycle that way. About halfway through the 45 minute class, I realized that I was going to be very sore the next day... well, that is the understatement of the year. My butt and leg muscles are so incredibly sore that it hurts to sit.. or lay down.. or stand.. or do anything. The instructor was very cruel. I developed a love/hate relationship with him during that 45 minute session. He was very nice and knew that it was my first session so he told me a few modified moves, but then he also knew when I could give a little more and didn't hesitate to tell me so. The real killer was at the end, when we were stretching. I thought that we were all done for the night; but at the last second before we left he made us do 30 squats... no big deal if it weren't for the fact that I already beat up those muscles in his class. Despite all of the pain, I got a great workout in to fun, upbeat music. Clearly these muscles needing to be worked, and let me tell you -- they were! I'm planning on going back tomorrow night.. am I insane? probably!

This morning I was disappointed because I wasn't able to run with Danielle and Deb. We had chatted last night and set a goal for 3 miles, which I was excited about. However, for the past couple of days, Sully has had pretty bad diarrhea. I was hoping that it would be gone by this morning, but it wasn't. Sean has had to take him out multiple times a night for the past two nights. I obviously couldn't take him running with me this morning like I usually do, but I was afraid of what I might come home to if I left him at home. So, I had to cancel at the last minute, which meant that I also had to do my run alone tonight after work. 

Thankfully, Sean was home when I got out of work, so I headed out on a run. I decided to just do a short recovery run, and ended up doing a mile. There were two hills on this run! I was excited because I got some hill practice in, which I mentioned in my last post that I clearly need. I actually really enjoyed the route that I ran tonight. It was the first time I ran in this area. I needed to pick up some groceries, so I parked at Shaws and ran in a local neighborhood near there. Since I didn't run through the entire neighborhood, and because I enjoyed it, I think that I will run it again.

The Route!

It was weird running solo. Every since I joined the MRTT group, I have run with at least one other person. While I prefer running with somebody else, it was nice to be out there running by myself. Because Sully was sick, I didn't even have him, which hasn't happened in I don't know how long. I have group runs the next three days, which I'm excited about. 

Other than that, we had a delicious dinner tonight. I made coconut crusted chicken tenders with a raspberry orange balsamic sauce. I served it with a side of dill carrots. Yumm. I also bought this new wine tonight. It is made by Barefoot. It's called Refresh and it is meant to be refreshing and drank over ice. It's delicious!




Dinner




Delicious Wine

I think that I'm finally ready to start my run everyday challenge again. I am planning to take a rest day on Sunday. Today is day one.. we'll see how this goes! 

Cinco De Mayo Race Recap

Yesterday was the Cinco De Mayo 5k. I was nervous because I had heard it was hilly.. and boy, I had reason to be nervous. It was hard!! I definitely need to get some hill practice in. 

I woke up feeling nauseous from all of the crap that I've eaten over the past few days. I got there a little after 8 and met up with Kelly. 

Kelly & I before the race

I went and got my bib # and free stuff! We got this really cool long sleeve shirt and a margarita glass.

Soo exhausted. Showing off my free shirt when I got home.

After I picked up the freebies, I ran into my brother in law Mike. This was his first 5k! He was running it with group of his friends.

Mike & I before the race

Mike's friends and coworkers who ran with him!

 
I was on my way to meet up with some of the women from the MRTT running group for a photo op when I ran into Vicki and Suzanne. We posed for a picture and then I headed over to the start to take a picture with the mom's group.

Vicki, Suz & I

MRTT Running Group

The race started at 9:30. I could not believe how many people there were - almost 1600. This was one of the largest races that I had ever done. 

All lined up

and we're off

I ran with Kelly at the beginning. I knew that this would be short lived since she has a faster pace than I do. At around 1/4 mile she started breaking away and I was on my own for a bit until Mike met up with me right before the half mile mark, and we ran together until almost the second mile, where I needed to walk and he went ahead. The course was insanely hilly. The first mile was a steady incline, then you came back down again, only to go up another hill, and another. When we were going up the second hill, somebody yelled out that it was "all downhill from there", which was a complete lie! I think that I got that stuck in my head, because when I rounded the corner and saw more hills, I had kind of checked out mentally. I had to stop and walk for a little while. The last half mile was amazing, it was all down hill and I was going so fast. I think I ran at a pace of 9 min/mile for that entire half mile.. Now if only the whole course was like that!

As I was finishing, I noticed that my SIL Marissa and her husband Justin had come out to see us. I had noticed that my MIL was there as well when the race first started. It was nice that everybody made it out to experience this race with us -- especially since it was Mike's first 5k! He ran the entire time and finished in about 37 minutes, I believe. I finished in around 40 because of my walking breaks. During the race I decided that I need more hill practice. I think it's great that I'm running on a more consistent basis now; however, I'm not progressing any -- which means that I have to change things up a little. I'm going to try and aim for 1-2 runs per week on a hill.

I have a love/hate relationship with this picture of me finishing. I hate it because it shows just how much weight I've gained back, and now need to lose... again, but it was a strong finish picture. Typically I look like I'm going to pass out when I finish, and I like the look of determination on my face. 
 

Post race was a little frustrating. It was put on by Millennium Running. I have run many of their events and am always satisfied with how well organized they are. This was an inaugural race though, so despite my frustrations, I think that I will try it again next year. With our race entry, we received a beer ticket and a margarita ticket. Typically I don't drink and give my beer tickets to my husband. However, with it being Cinco De Mayo, and the only race I've ever received a margarita ticket at, I decided that I would make an exception and partake in a little post race alcohol. After finishing, the alcohol tent was at capacity. Kelly and I went and stood in a huge line that was not moving at all. My family had wanted to eat lunch. We got our names on the list and had found out that we could use the drink tickets inside. As we were told it was only a 10 minute wait, Kelly and I left the alcohol tent line and went and stood inside. 25 minutes later, we found out that they never put us on the list for the dining room, they thought that we wanted to go into the bar. So they put us on the right list but said it could be 45-50 minutes before we were seated. Kelly had to leave so we ended up going back outside to get in line for the alcohol tent. At this point, the line was even longer than it was when we left, almost doubled in size and was not moving. Kelly left and gave me her margarita ticket. 

At that point, Sean's mom had decided that she had too much homework to be able to stay and she left as well. Sean and I broke off from the rest of the party and because we were now a party of two, we were seated within 10 minutes. I ordered my first margarita, which took about twenty minutes after I ordered it to get to me, and was filled with ice and was filled only about 1/2 way to the top of the cup. Other than this, the margarita was delicious, and the food was really good. We made sure to tip our waitress really well because originally we thought that they would make a ton of money in tips because of how busy the restaurant was; however, we heard that people were using the tables to redeem their drink tickets and eating chips and salsa (which is free) and not ordering any food. She was really attentive to us despite the fact that all of the tables in the restaurant were full. 

The route!

Other than this small snafu, I was happy with the race. Even with the hilly course, I actually enjoyed the course. I think that I will enjoy it more next year, when I train more on the hills! I actually may even try to run this course a few times as practice runs. It was also nice that so many of my runner friends were there as well. I will definitely do this race again next year.

I can't believe how busy of a weekend I had! Friday before work I met up with a few of the ladies from the Mom's Run This Town running group. We ran a local paved trail. It was a good run, but I was frustrated because I had to stop and walk a little bit. I really need to get to a place where I'm more consistent with my running. It was annoying to run 2.53 miles on Thursday then have to stop and walk during a 2.67 mile walk. Hopefully the fact that I've been running more frequently will help me improve. 

 

Friday's run

Saturday I met up with Tonya and her two kids. I had my niece Friday night, so we met up for a two mile walk through the park. The kids even got to play a little on the playground. We had a lot of fun, and I'm excited because she's going to join us on our run on Friday. 

 I'm excited because I'm finally trying a spinning class tonight. I had intended on going this morning, but woke up too late. Thankfully another local YMCA has a class tonight, and I can attend any "Y" in New England 
 

The Great Taco Debate

Ran 2.53 miles 31:28

Walked .5 miles (warm up/cool down)

I am beyond thrilled!! Today I met up with Danielle and Deb to run the trail and we did 2.53 miles of non stop running :) This is the most that I ran non-stop since the day of the Boston Bombings, when I ran 2.62 miles in memory of those who were at the Boston Marathon that day. Last night I set a goal to run 1.75 miles non stop (Tuesday we ran 1.5 and then stopped for a quick walking break). Well - we did it!! and then some!

When we got to the 1.25 mile running mark, we turned around. When we were close to the 1.75 mile mark, Danielle suggested that maybe we just keep running until we got to the hill right before the main road. When we were almost at the hill at the main road, I noticed that we were at 1.85 miles - so I suggested that we push it to 2 miles of running. When we were just about at 2 - Danielle noticed that she could see the cars down at the end of the road (the end of our trail) so she said - "why don't we try and make it all of the way". Well - we did it!! It felt amazing! Also - I'm not sure what it was - but I felt the best during the last half mile. Sully was pulling me ahead - so that may be it.. or maybe I was getting fueled by hitting goals. The last half mile was our fastest one! 

I'm meeting up with a few ladies from the Mom's Run This Town (MRTT) running group tomorrow morning. Super excited because we're running a trail that I haven't run since my half training group. I also have a 5k on Sunday for Cinco De Mayo. I'm really looking forward to this 5k for two reasons 1) I think that I can actually run the entire thing (though I have heard it is super hilly, and we all know hills are my nemesis) and 2) so many people that I know are doing this. I am running it with a woman from my work, but there are two more of my work friends that are running it, my brother in law is, my friend Jess is, and a bunch of ladies from MRTT are! Can't wait to run it with a bunch of people that I care about -- though I'm sure I won't be "with" them, I'm sure I'll be at the back of the pack - but that is okay! 

Anyways - onto my taco dilemma. So tonight, in celebration of Cinco De Mayo, 34 downtown Manchester restaurants are making their version of the taco. Each taco is $2. Our friend Jesse asked Sean and I to go with her. The downside to going is that I was planning on trying a spinning class tonight from 7-8 tonight (I had originally planned on going yesterday from 5:30-6:30 am.. but that didn't happen!). Taco night goes from 5-9 tonight, but I had figured that I should not load my belly with tacos before a spin class -- especially considering it would be my first time. I was excited though because spin class is downtown Manchester so I told Jesse that I would meet up with her and Sean after my spin class. Perfect plan, right? wrong. I noticed this morning that the spin class that I was taking is out of the Goffstown location. So, by the time I leave spin and head to Manchester, make my way through traffic, get parked and get to meet up with Sean and Jesse, it'd probably be 8:30. So anyways, now I need to make a decision -- and I'm torn. Here are my arguments for both sides. 

Skip Spinning and go to Taco Night: 

• I want to go
• Taco night is a once a year thing -- who knows if they will even have it next year?
• Social aspect - Sean and I don't get to do that many things together AND I love hanging out with Jesse.. we always have such a good time. 
• I did exercise this morning -- see above where I rocked a 2.53 mile run. I could also get a walk in with the dog before meeting up for Taco night. 
• I can go to a 5:30 am spin class tomorrow morning

Skip Taco Night and go to Spinning: 

• I want to go
• I should go
• I ate horribly yesterday -- like a whole big bag of Chex Mix and dinner from Friendlys.
• While spinning is not a once in a year thing - in the next couple of weeks a few of the classes that I'm able to attend will be cancelled for the summer. (apparently people don't workout in the summer?)
• I should not stuff my face with tacos, especially after a horrible night of eating.
• I probably will not wake up for tomorrow morning's spin class -- especially considering I am also planning to run tomorrow. 

Thoughts?

Here is my workout schedule for the rest of this week & next week. I'm hoping that if I post it, that I will stay committed to it. 

Friday: Spin class (maybe). Run with some fellow MRTTers

Saturday: Rest day. Walk with my niece and Sully

Sunday: 5k

Monday: Spin class. Gym for weights.

Tuesday: Run with Danielle and Deb

Wednesday: Early morning spin class. Run with Suzanne and Vicki (work friends). Gym for weights.

Thursday: Run with Danielle and Deb. Spin Class.

Friday: Run (not sure yet if group or solo run). Gym for weights. Possibly spin class.

Saturday: Spin Class. Yoga. - depending on how weekend plans work out.

Sunday: Rest - possible walk with dog.

Wow! that sounds like a lot when I type it up. But I really want to stick to it this week. I'm not super concerned about it because running to me isn't a chore. I'm hoping that I also love spinning so that I will feel good about doing that. My challenge is going to be with doing weights. I literally despise lifting weights. But it is important. The last time I met with my dietician, I had lost weight, but it was mostly muscle mass (which is common with runners). Thankfully she said I only need to do weights for my arms. Because I workout my legs so much when running, she said body weight exercises (squats and lunges) are sufficient workouts for my legs. I am going to be doing a month long squat challenge.. I'll post on here when I start it.