We did it!

We did it!  My dad had a goal of finishing his first 5k under 40 minutes and I'm PROUD to say we did it!  His official time was 39:32!  He did great and I'm SO proud of him!

A funny thing happened a few feet from the finish line.  My dad had started to walk and I told him, "Dad, you can't walk - we're almost there and you'll come in under 40!"  So I started jogging in front of him instead of beside him (to motivate).  Well, Dad decided to sprint in and hubs decided to grab the back of my shirt and hold me back so that Dad could pass me.  I promise I wasn't going to finish in front of him, but hubs had to make sure!

One more side note - my dad placed 6th out of 10 in his age group!  GO DAD!!!

I'll post pictures and more details tomorrow.  :) 

P.S.  They didn't call with my sister's scan results on Friday.  We're calling them today.

Happy Monday, Ya'll!

TGIF

I went for a short 1.5 mile run last night.  It was a beautiful day and I wanted to get in a short run before tomorrow's 5k.  I did pretty well and felt pretty good, too.  It was just what I needed.

1.5 Miles  17:10  (11:26 pace)

I'm going to pick up the race packets after work today (before going the other direction for dinner with the FIL).  I'm really excited and nervous for my dad!!!  I know he would LOVE to run his first 5k under 40 minutes and I'm really hoping we can pull it off, but a lot of that depends on how fast he flies through his first mile and how humid it is in the morning.  My dad FLIES his first mile and I've been telling him all along that he's using all of the gas in his tank and that's why he is left energy less the last 2 miles.  We'll see if he listens!

I'll take a few pictures tomorrow :)  Promise!

Please remember that today is my sister's scan!  We're hoping for great results. 

Also, I really, really need to find time to finish my paper sometime tomorrow.... let's hope that this doesn't stress me out too much and make me unbearable to be around! ha!

Track Tuesday

Last night was the running clinic.  We had an awesome speaker and then my group headed out for a run off the track.  Let me start off by saying it was a very windy day.  I started to look at my phone to see what the wind gusts were, but knew that would only put more negative thoughts in my head.  Instead, I decided to just man up and run with the group for 2.5 miles.  Afterwards, I decided to keep running to make it a nice 3.1 miles.  So, I hit up the track.

Unfortunately, my time wasn't where I wanted it to be.  It was 38:53 for the 5k distance.  My PR is currently 34:47.  I'd love to be somewhere close to that right now.  I'm not giving up hope though; I know I run MUCH better in the mornings vs the evenings AND on non-windy days.  :)

3 Things Thursday

1. I'm reading The Thirteenth Tale right now.  It's a really good book so far.  I'm about mid way through it.  Grad school reading takes up way too much time though and so I'm slowly getting through this one.  Seriously, I had to read about 45-50 pages this week for class last night.  It's one thing to read them, it's another thing to read and comprehend it!
2. I have run clinic tonight!  We're going off track for about 3 miles.  I'm pumped and ready to run!  Btw, a little update on my dad and his running.  He's doing excellent!!  He's lost a little over 30 pounds so far and can run a mile straight now in about 12 minutes.  Go dad!  He's so funny though, he has made our celebration 5k on April 30th into a challenge and we keep telling him that we are running WITH him - no matter the pace or if he walks the entire way.  But instead of actually hearing that, he keeps insisting that he will beat us even if it kills him... Oh lord... We have a little competitor on our hands!  Now I know where I get it! ha!
3. I stepped on the scale this morning and I've lost a pound this week so far!  Woohoo!  Hello, 141 pounds.  It's so nice to see you again.  Where is your friend 139 at?  ha!

Speed Work

Last night was my group's speed work night. 
Here's a breakdown of what we did:

.25 warm up walk
.50 warm up jog
6 x 200's sprints
.25 cool down jog

For a total of 2.50 miles.  I wrote down my splits on dailymile, but I can't remember them to put them here (and I'm being lazy).  But, they were all from 1:02 to 1:10.  I was pretty consistent, so I was pretty proud of myself.  Plus it was freaking cold and windy out!  :)

Today I'm DRAINED.  I didn't get hardly any sleep Saturday night and I think my body is still paying for it.  I could use a giant Coke Zero and about 12 Twix Bars please.  But, I'm refraining.  Those aren't on the diet.  Plus, I've already had my 12 oz Diet Mtn Dew that I've allowed myself.  Darn it. 

Tonight's agenda will be house cleaning and catching up on homework (since school resumes tomorrow night).  Fun stuff, right?  Blah!

And That's How You ROCK Hill Repeats

We ran a mile over, did our repeats, and ran a mile back!  3 miles total!  I can't tell ya'll the time, because I left my watch running for a long time!  But those repeats....oh how I ROCKED those hill repeats!!!


The hill was .10 long and a steady climb.  The goal was to hit it between :55 and 1:05 and to stay consistent.

Climb 1:  1:01
Climb 2:  1:02
Climb 3:  1:03
Climb 4:  1:03
Climb 5:  1:07   <--I was tired and they said we didn't have to rock this one, we just had to get over the hill to start our mile back to our cars.

I was/am so happy with myself!  My mojo is returning!!!!

Happy Friday, ya'll!  I'm hoping to get another run and maybe a bike ride in over the weekend!

A Great Run!

Yesterday we had another house showing so I had to be out of the house for a while.  So, I decided to go run a couple of miles.  I'm glad that I did!  I had the BEST run that I've had in a long time!

I did 2 miles in 23:04 WITHOUT STOPPING!!!!  I haven't been able to do that in quite some time.  I'm finally getting my running mojo back!  YAY! 

See?  This diet isn't hurting a thing!  LOL 

Tonight is a clinic night.  We're doing hill repeats.  I'm kinda excited!  :)

TGIF

Finally, it's FRIDAY!!

Once again, we have a busy weekend upon us!  :)

Last night our running group did 2.5 miles.  I started off really well - 11:45 pace for the first mile.  I felt really good at that pace and I could've pushed it more.  But after that mile, it's like all the energy was sucked right out of me by aliens.  LOL  I think it was the heat.  I know, I know, it's not even the summer yet.  But stick with me... Monday night it was 45-48degrees.  Last night it was 81 degrees.  It's gonna take my body a little bit to get back used to the warmer temps.   I know I'll get back used to it.  I also need to remember to hydrate better.  I need to start chugging some more water during the day, because I sweat a ton out there running!

Anyways, 2.5 miles in 31:39.  That's not my best, but it's not my worst.  So, I'll take it for now.  It's improvement from last week!

Happy Friday!

The Track

I'm loving speedwork right now.  I guess because I know that I've slowed down the past 6 months and I'm trying to get back to where I was last summer.  But, seriously, I love speedwork.  When I'm "flying" down the track, I feel like all of you speedy gals out there.

We did a half mile warm up, then did 4 x 200s (while walking the rest of the lap), and then another half mile cool down.  I watched my garmin during the 200s (I should've hit lap for all of those, but I wasn't thinking...) and I did a 8:29, 9:29, 9:59, and 10:00 on the sprints.  So, I really need to work on consistency!!  You can definitely tell that I got tired and slowed way down.  But, I still loved doing the speedwork and can't wait until next Monday night.  This Thursday my group is doing our run off the track.  I believe we're going 2.5-3 miles.  I'm pretty excited, except for the fact that I'll be towards the back and I just hope I'm not way behind.  We have some speedy ladies in our group this year!

As for tonight, there will be no running.  We're going over to hub's meemaw's house for dinner.  :) YUM!

3 Things Thursday

1. Went for a short 2 mile run yesterday.  Note to self:  Don't drink a protein shake before a run.  I felt like I was going to puke the entire time.  Not cool.  But, the best part of the run was that there was a group of middle school boys on the trail running their timed miles and there was one boy who was near the end of the pack and he was walking.  He looked defeated and just overall unhappy.  As I was jogging past him, I told him "Don't give up.  You've got this."  He smiled and started running again.  Made.My.Day.
2. I'm going to give that run another go round tonight at Women Can Run (a local running group).  I'm pretty excited, but we'll see what happens!  I'm gonna be running late, so I hope I make it there in time.
3. The two house showings didn't lead to any offers.  Darn.  But, honestly, I'm not bummed about it at all.  I fully trust God and His timing on this.  Now if I could work that into other areas of my life.

I'm Not A Biker...I'm A Runner

Remember when we bought those bike trainers?  Remember how we're signed up for our first bike race on June 4th?  I've been riding the bike trainer 10 miles about 4 times a week and no matter what I do to try to occupy myself, I still hate it. 

{Hubs, on the other hand, does 16 to 18 miles each morning and seems to love it.....}

I've played on Facebook.
I've played Words with Friends.
I've checked my email.
I've read a book.
I've read a chapter for class.
I've watched tv.
I've listened to music.
I've looked out the window.

I still hate it.  I'm hoping that once daylight savings time hits and it's still light outside in the evenings that I'll be able to ride outside and maybe I'll enjoy it.  Maybe. 

Next week Women Run Arkansas starts back up and I'm super excited.  I'll be running with a group again on Monday and Thursday nights!  I love running in a group on designated nights - it gives me something to look forward to while getting back into shape!  And here lately, it's been super hard for me to find motivation to exercise when it's dark outside by 5:30-6pm. 

3 Things Thursday

1. Yes, today is weigh-in day.  I weighed in at 143.  So, I've gained a pound back.  I'd like to thank Super Bowl Sunday and 6.5 inches of snow for that.  Argh.
2. I'm working from home again today due to said snow.  I really don't mind though.  Why?  I guess I'm just learning to deal with it.  I'll more than likely going to be here again tomorrow, too.  (btw, I have some snow pictures to upload, maybe we'll see those tomorrow.)
3. My first 5k of 2011 is Saturday.  Um, I've ran 3 miles since November.  And with 6.5 inches of snow on the ground, I can't run outside nor drive to the gym.  Such is life.  I'm hoping to get out tomorrow evening to get a new pair of running shoes.  Then, at least my knee wont be hurting due to old shoes.

1 Mile In The Books

I took the plunge yesterday.  I ran my first mile in 2011.  It was only 28 degrees and it only had a wind advisory out... ha!  But, I had cabin fever and I needed some type of release.  So, I layered up and went to run the half mile loop around my neighborhood.  I have to admit, it didn't feel that cold.  The tights that I have are really comfortable and warm.  However, I was bored out of my mind and the wind was blowing like crazy.  Plus, let's be honest here, it's been a while since I've really ran.  So, I decided that after a mile run, I was done.  But, you know what, it felt good to be out there again.  Even if it was a very short run.

So, with mile 1 in the books, I've decided that I'm pairing up with my friend Naomi and doing a 5k in February.  It's in another town and called The Valentines Day 5k.  It's on Feb 12th and I can't wait.  The really great thing is, they give out long sleeve technical tees for race shirts (or they have in past years)!  It will be my first time to run it, but I'm super excited - even if I will suck wind.  And yes, as my friend put it, we've become the girls who pick races based on the t-shirts! ha!