Tuesday, September 28, 2010

One sick run!

Since my run on Sunday I've felt sick. I thought it was because I had slept with the windows open on Sunday night and the temperature dropped into the low 40's. Breathing all that cold air must have caused that sore throat I had....But this feel just won't shake. I always get sick around this time of year with the changing of the seasons. I attribute it to undiagnosed allergies and SAD.

In an attempt to try and shake this feeling I decided to go for a run after school today. Bentley wanted to go with and I decided to let him be my pace buddy. Great decision! Check out my stats courtesy of Pedro:

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 19:26 (umm...yea...that's a total PR in my world!!!)
Pace: 9:42
mile 1: 10:12
mile 2: 9:13

Bentley was pulling like crazy and since there was no one on the trail we were running, I decided to tuck his leash into his jacket and just let him go. He stayed just a few paces in front of me and pushed me to keep up. I was surprised with my pace and time when I would glance down at Pedro. For someone who "felt" sick, I was flying!!! I'm pretty sure Bentley could run at 9:00 mile if given the chance :)

Unfortunately...I'm kinda regretting this running decision right now. I'm running a low-grade fever and have the sick-aches all over :( Boo! Hopefully it passes. Preparing for a sub is more work that actually going to school.

On the plus side, I haven't dragged my butt out of bed before the crack-of-dawn, but I did get a run in! How are things working out for you?


***I almost forgot!!!***

Check out Tall Mom's super awesome Giveaway here! It's a big bucket of awesome from Outside PR including a Road ID, Ryders eyewear, Sugio Moxie shirt, and much more! Go check it out!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

New week

I'm taking Jill's advice and starting a new week. Deep breath. Go for it.

Today started with sleeping in and then a run with Mr. Bentley. Apparently I went out for this run at his optimal temperature and time of day because he was super fast! He was pulling so hard that I dropped the leash when we weren't near houses or cars so he would stop choking himself.

Distance: 2.19 miles
Time: 22:46.78

Pedro says my splits were:
mile 1: 10:28
mile 2: 10:29
Overall pace:10:24 (because I kicked it for the last .19 with a pace of 9:41)

I left Benelty in a ditch "on a buisiness call" so I beat him across the finish-crack-in-the-road. I cheered him on to the finish though :) He was sprinting pretty hard. I had to yell for him to slow down and stop or he would have sprinted off toward the house!

My goal for this week:
Get up early 2 days this week and run.

Friday, September 24, 2010

so mad

I'm so mad right now.

Mad that I didn't get any runs in this week. (except a 5:00 AM on Monday with Husband)

Mad that I didn't make any effort to run this week. (other than the 5:00 AM on Monday)

Mad that I'm still behind on school work.

Mad that I can't "walk away" from my job at 3:00 like everyone else.

Mad that I'm the only one that notices how dirty our house is.

Mad that I'm the only person in my state that can obey traffic laws on the highway! When traffic is stopped that doesn't give you a free pass to drive down the shoulder! That is ILLEGAL!!! Had I had the number for the state police I would have reported all of those suckers! ARGH!

Mad that I let some jerks on the highway ruin my night.

Mad that it's Friday night and I'm home alone with my dog and about to go to bed.

Mad that I'm mad.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Freak Out!

The Story:
It was a September Sunday evening last year when I realized I had a problem. I was attempting to get things ready for school the next day and was trying to put together an outfit. After 10 minutes of sucking-it-in, I finally got my khaki pants buttoned. I went to take a step forward and could barely separate my legs. That's when my husband says to me, "Are you wearing those tomorrow?"

Not anymore......it was official, my pants were so tight that even my husband noticed how inappropriate they looked.

I cried. How had I let this happen?!?!?

I solved the problem then by heading to Kohl's at 9:30 at night to purchase 4 new pairs of pants. I actually liked them! They served me well for the school year and brought a small amount of comfort. The "old" pants went into the "donate" pile.

This school year, I tried those "new" pants on and stood their wondering why I looked like I was drowning in my pants. What they hell had happened? I guess that's what you get for buying "cheap" pants. They fabric just can't hold its shape and it "gives out" after a while.

The moment:
I was putting away some summer clothes and taking out some fall/winter clothes when I found the "old" pants. I had though I bagged them up last month for the clothing drive. Guess not. Just for shits and giggles I tried them on...

...THEY FIT!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it. I ran down stairs so fast that my husband actually looked away from the football games he's been glued to all day to ask what was wrong! When I asked them if they looked too tight, he said no and wanted to know if I had gone shopping today.

I almost cried! They fit! My "old" pants fit!

I owe my success to running. If it wasn't for the being bitten by the running bug last November, I wouldn't have lost the weight. I honestly don't feel like I have lost any weight. I honestly don't look like I have lost any weight. But....pants don't lie.

Running has totally changed my life, and my waistline too! When I told some of you that I run so that my pants will fit.....I wasn't lying :)

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Tough Cookie Trail Run race report.......Finally!!!

Ok....this week has been totally nuts! I haven't felt like I've "had it together" since the race last Saturday. So I apologize for being a neglectful blogger :(

The Race:

I woke up dark-and-early at 5:00 AM to get ready for this race. I had not laid out my outfit the night before because I wasn't sure if it would be raining or not. Well....it was raining. I chose my capris, a tech tee, and my jacket. I had packed a bag the night before so all I needed to do was eat a small breakfast and wait for the Brown Monster to make its move.

It took me about 45 minutes to reach the Girl Scout camp that this race was being held at, and I had to drive through a part of town that I'd never been through before. After running 1 red light and blowing a stop sign because I was desperately searching for street signs, I decided that I should just relax. The last thing I needed was a conversation with a police officer attempting to explain that I've never driven through "this part" of town before :( It was really creepy on a Saturday morning!!!

Once I got there, I changed my clothes in the parking lot 3 times. It wasn't raining as hard by the time I got there. It was also a little bit warmer. I didn't want to "run hot" in my jacket and really didn't want to run cold either. I settled on wearing the tech t with a long-sleeved tech shirt over the top. No jacket. Husband was even nice enough to let me bring Pedro because he couldn't come himself. I didn't look fantastic, but I was comfortable.

I was also doing this race by myself so I have absolutely no pictures :( Well.....I might have had a picture or two if I had met the Dailymile friends I was hoping to! But, sadly, I had no idea who I was looking for! It wasn't until I got home and they posted a picture on Dailymile that I realized that I started the race right next to them and walked past them to get my water at the end!!! Ah! Total missed opportunity!

When the race started, we were all just in one big group. It was a trail race that was supposed to run the perimeter of the Girl Scout camp. I only know this because I caught a glimpse of a small race map posted in a corner of the registration area! No one really knew what the course was supposed to look like! The man explaining the course was using a small kereoke machine that kept cutting out so no one really heard what he was saying. We all just hoped it was well marked. Unfortuneately, the lead runners took a wrong turn that lead all of us on to the 2-mile Family Fun Run course (a race that was supposed to start at 9:00 AM) instead of the 4-mile trail course. Oops! Luckily, I had Pedro and he was beeping off the miles as we passed them. I knew something was wrong when I could see the finish line and Pedro only said 2 miles. The "officials" told us we needed to do another lap because of a wrong turn at the beginning. The lead runners actually ended up running 5 miles because they actually got lost before they realized their mistake. Pedro said I only rain 3.5 miles instead of 4. Someone told me that the trees sometimes mess with Garmin signals......hmmm.....whatever. The lead runners were really pissed that things were messed up, but I was just happy I finished the two laps without walking :)

I have never run a trail race before and felt I did rather well on the trails themselves. I didn't stop or slow down too much. Having Pedro keep my pace times for me was helpful. I managed to run a 10:30-something pace the whole race.....awesome for me! I knew I wasn't going to win or even place, but I wanted to PR. And I did!

"Official" time was 36:44.
7th place in age group.

The race was fun and I want to do it again next year. There were Thin Mints at the end that I brought home for Husband to eat. I'm trying to "behave" on my GF diet :)

I'm still trying to choose an October race. There is a 5K that takes place 5 minutes from my house and it's the first year it's being run. I don't think there is a shirt :( But it's only 5 minutes from my house!

Decisions...decisions.

***Edit***
Just read about the "Clydesdale" and "Athena" categories available for the Green Bay Half Marathon I'm thinking of running next year. Apparently the "Clydesdale" category is for men weighing 200+ lbs and the "Athena" category is for women weighing 160+ lbs. Along with age groups, it seems like you can also run in a weight class for this race. Has anyone heard of these categories before? Or is Green Bay just "special" like that?

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Real Runner

I guess I'm a real runner now. I'm up at O'dark-thirty to run ridiculously far in a race that will take place even though it's raining outside. Wow! And I'm all by myself! All family members are either "busy" today or backed out on me. Guess that makes me real :)

(ps....iPod post. Excuse spelling errors.)

expect report later this weekend!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Stuff in list form

- Today was my first day with a substitute in my classroom. I was in an RtI meeting all day. Very productive day :)

- I finally got the lap top I need to run my SMART board!

- I ran 3 miles when I got home tonight in 31:46. A 10:36 pace!! Wahoo!! (Times courtesy of Pedro, Husband's Garmin.)

- Bentley got a bath a daycare. The groomer told me that he refused to go into the grooming room and that they had to carry him. He's pushing 90lbs now! My baby boy is afraid of water and hates baths. Too funny!

- I spent the first 15 minutes of my run helping 4 neighbor kids wrangle their pet chihuahua, Princess. She escaped from them and took off down the street. I asked them if they needed help and they said yes. They were about a quarter mile from their house when I found them. Princess can run!!!

- Made an awesome dinner.

- My cat just jumped 5 feet, straight up, and caught a fly. She's awesome like that.

- I'm totally ready for this race on Saturday!

- I'm totally not looking forward to waking up at 5:00 on Saturday in order to make it to the race on time!!! Yawn!!

- I've finally broke 200 miles for the year! I've logged 240 since I started running last November :)

- I need to go buy new pants! My "old" ones don't fit.

- Today was just a good day!

Monday, September 6, 2010

A few days with running shoes on

I have spent the past few days with my running shoes on.

It all started Friday morning. During the school year, Friday is know around here as "no shower Friday." Husband and I usually sleep in and then throw on our jeans and spirit wear to head in to school. I broke that tradition by waking up at 4:50 AM to head out for a run. This was going to be my first pre-dawn run. Surprisingly, I actually woke up when the alarm went off. I had set out my clothes the night before, so getting dressed was a snap in the dark. Bentley knows what it means when my shoes go on, so he was dancing around too. Husband was still snoring away when I kissed his forehead and told him I was going for a run.

When I got down stairs, I grabbed a drink of water and got Bentley dressed. If you're new to this blog, check out my Doggie Gear post to see Bentley's "business suit." I also put on my reflective ankle bands and grabbed a flashlight. I don't have a headlamp or a reflective vest, so I wore my neon yellow t-shirt.

I was still dark when we headed out and the constellations were still visible. It was so quiet and kinda creepy. I switched on the flashlight so that any passing cars could see it shining on the ground. If they didn't look like they were moving over, I simply shined it at their windshield. That seemed to work well for the one car that caused problems. The two other cars we saw saw us and moved over.

My pace was really fast, probably because the dark made me nervous! I was surprised with my time! 2.7 miles in 25:34! That's crazy fast for me!



I took two days off because of my husband's birthday and family celebrations over the weekend.


But this morning I woke up and did 3 more miles with Bentley and Pedro! My overall time was great 30:56. But my pace times were pretty inconsistent:

Mile 1: 9:22
Mile 2: 10:14
Mile 3: 11:19
Average: 10:18

Thanks to Pedro, I can give you all these beautiful numbers. Hopefully he will help me figure out what a pace feels like.

Pedro? Who is Pedro? Pedro is Husband's Garmin Forerunner 405!!!!! We are the proud parents of a Garmin! He got this little guy yesterday for his birthday. I'm pretty sure we aren't supposed to share the little guy, but since Husband is so busy with football and will then be so busy with wrestling, Pedro won't be used by him until the spring. I just can't let the little guy go unused for that long! I'm going to give him all the attention he deserves :)

I'm hoping to do another run on Wednesday morning before school. I also have a race on Saturday (4 miles).

Happy running!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Garmin

Husband just got a Garmin for his birthday. (From his parents, I'm too broke to buy one.)

These things aren't one-owner only, are they? I'm so totally jelous and want to borrow it! Can I do that or does it only recognize him?

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Bloggy Award :)


Katye from Long Legs on the Loose awarded me the Cherry on Top Award this week. Thanks Katye!!

The Rules:

1. Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

2. The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.

3. The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.


So.....here it goes:

In my world, the phrase "hindsight is 20/20" is pretty much my unofficial motto. After something happens I can always think of a million ways I would change it, say something different, do something different, etc. But, I wouldn't be the person I am today if I had a do-over button on my life.

That being said, I would like to change one thing. I would have liked to keep in touch with my high school friends more. After we graduated, there were those summer months where we pledged to be friends forever and never be apart. Sadly, we drifted away and stopped talking to each other. I am an out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of person and honestly forgot about most of them. Now we're at the point where most of us are married and about to start our own families. It would be nice if we could get together for "play-dates" or something when the time comes. But, now I just feel awkward contacting them. I feel like, "Hey! We haven't even thought about one another for almost 10 years now. Let's start talking again!" That just seems weird to me. If it weren't for Facebook, I don't think we'd be "friends" at all anymore.

OK....kinda sad. I know. But that's really what I would change if given the chance.


Now for the tags. I'll try my best to choose people that haven't received this award before. But if you have, consider yourself blessed :)

1. Jill....Life in Charleston

2. Jill....Finishing is Winning

3. AJH....Age Groups Rock

4. Christina....Lazy Bones Running

5. Lisa....Lisa runs? Wait...what?

6. Mellisa....Crazy or Determined?


Well, there you have it! I'll let you know some time next week that you've received this award if you haven't commented on here to let me know you saw your tag.

There is a slight chance that I will run before school tomorrow. But I do have miles planned for this weekend. My 4-mile race is 1 week away!!!