First 5K and I had my first stumble off the bandwagon...

Week Five:
Tuesday 9/22-3.2
Thursday 9/24-3.2
 Saturday 9/26- 3.2
Sunday 9/27-5.4

Week Six/Seven:
Wednesday 9/30-3.4
Saturday 10/3 -3.1 Wobtoberfest 5K
                         1.0 Beer Fun Run
Sunday 10/4- 3.4\
I was really bad and skipped a week :(
Monday 10/12-5.8 which I accidentally ran a 6.2

I finally ran my first ever 5K! It was awesome.

Here is my placement and pacing information. I was really proud of myself. I haven't ran that fast in a really long time. I finished at 27:12. I was shooting for 28 minutes being my ideal goal. So, when I saw that I had done almost a whole minutes better than my goal, I was ecstatic. I did my best to keep up with Adrian during the race, but eventually I had to let him go on without me. He finished at 26:22. I'm so proud of the both of us. The best part was passing people at the finish. I missed that from running track. After we finished, we got to run a one mile beer fun run. We had to run a quarter mile, and then chug a beer. I bet Adrian on this one. :P

I was really bad and skipped a week. I had a lot of grading to do for school and I brought work home with me instead of going running...

I got back into it yesterday when I accidentally ran 6.2 miles instead of 5.8. It felt really good to run that far, and I kept thinking to myself that I ran a 5K not too long ago, and then a 10K yesterday.

Here's to trying to be better about staying on schedule, regardless of how busy I am...
-Laura

<-- I'm in the corner over here!

Here is a shot of Adrian's and my back during the Beer Fun Run.

Finished out my first month!

Week Four!

Tuesday-3 miles

Wednesday-3 miles 

Thursday- 3 miles 

Monday- 5 miles 

Total - 14 miles 

This is where I start to get lazy and not be as committed as I was in the beginning. For example, my ideal run week is my short runs on Mon, Wed, Fri, and then my long run on Sun. As you can see, that didn't happen. 

I asked Adrian to run with me to keep me motivated, and he said he would. However, when it came to actually running with me today, he bailed on me. We are going to run that 5K next weekend, so I'm hoping that will pressure him into running with me at least this or next week. 

Running Wild is having a running forum on Thur, and I still don't know if I'm going to go. I just wish that it wasn't in Pensacola. I think I am going to go, because I have a lot of questions to ask. I also like their shop, and would love to buy some more running gear. I really want to invest in the trigger point roller. My muscles are getting really sore, and I would love to have something to help relieve the pain. 

Here's to pushing myself to keep up another month of running! 

Thanks for reading,

Laura 

Week Three Has Me Worried About My Knee

I messed up my times this week. I was supposed to do 2.4 miles for my short runs and intervals, but did 2.6 instead. Oh, well!

Week 3=12.6

Wed-2.6 (Intervals)
Thur-2.6
Friday-2.6 (Intervals)
Sunday-4.8

First, let me say how wonderful my new shoes are! I have never have had such supportive shoes (or at least can't remember the last time that I did). I am also so happy with my purchase of my tomtom watch. It makes running my intervals SO much easier. It vibrates when its time for me to run and rest. I don't even need to look at anything now.

This week reminded me what it was like to be a runner When I hit 4.8 miles, I was ready to keep going. I can't remember the last time that I had a runner's high. It was so wonderful.

I'm starting to experience some shin pains, and some knee pains. I hope it doesn't get too much worse. I'm wondering if I should invest in a knee brace. However, I'm not sure if I really need one. I never needed one when I ran in high school, but that last thing I want to do is hurt myself.

I'm debating going to a running clinic the 24th of next week in Pensacola. I really just wish that I didn't live so far away, because I would prefer not to spend over 12 hours away from home. I really believe that I could benefit from the information though...

Adrian and I signed up for a 5K in October. It's going to be the first 5K race that I've ever run before. I'm pretty pumped. Adrian said our goal should be 28 minutes. Right now, at a steady slow running pace I'm averaging 11 minute miles. So my goal is to keep working and get it to 10 before the race.

Another thing that I need to do is join a gym. I really want to join a place that does fitness classes as well. I especially want to be a part of a yoga class. I miss going, and I think that stretching would be really good for my body. It's just hard to find a gym that is in my area, or even in Pensacola that I'd be okay with joining, and won't charge me an arm and a leg.

Here's to another completed week!
Laura

I put some new shoes on, and suddenly everything is right

WEEK TWO=11 miles.

Monday 8/31- 2.2 miles
Wednesday 9/2 -2.2 miles
Friday 9/4 2.2 miles
Monday 9/7 4.4 miles

This week was difficult with it being Labor Day weekend, and having Adrian come home and his parents and sister come visit. However, minus that I'm going to have to shift my Monday run for week three, it all worked out.

Two of my 2.2 mile runs this week were interval runs. I thought this would be a lot easier, but I was wrong. For my intervals, I did .1 mile walking, then .1 mile jogging, and then .2 mile sprinting. My first set went well, but then my "sprint" turned into more of a fast jog by the time I was done. It was also really difficult to do intervals using my phone, which is what I have been using to keep track of my mileage. I have an arm band, and put the arm band on my wrist. The screen would go black at all the wrong times, and I would start walking sooner than I was supposed to.

My other 2.2 mile was a jog, and I think that will be how I will do my short runs from now on.

Because Adrian's parents were in town this weekend, I didn't do my long run yesterday, and had to push it to today. The 4.4 miles didn't go by as hard as the 4 miles last week, until I got to the last quarter mile, then I wanted it to end more than anything.

On the bright side, because it was Labor Day and there were a bunch of sales going on, Adrian and I went shopping. Adrian bought my a pair of brand new running shoes, and I bought myself a TomTom Running watch, I'm hoping the watch will make my interval training easier to do. So I will let ya'll know how it goes.

The lady who sold us our new shoes said she has a running clinic once a month that is free to go to, so I'm going to try to see if I can go and get some more information about proper training.

Here's to another successful week!
Thanks for reading,
Laura

Baby Steps

Hello!

I recently decided to start training for a future marathon, more specifically the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend (click the link to learn more if you are interested). I used to run track in High School, but I was never very good. I only really did it to keep in shape, because they would let anyone on the team. I love jogging, and running around to clear my mind. My biggest hurdle, however, is my motivation. I get into a routine, and it dies after a couple of months (especially around the holidays and the summer).

So, in order to keep me going, I'm setting a huge goal for myself. I want to be able to complete the whole weekend. This means the 5K on Thursday, the 10K on Friday, the Half on Saturday, and the Marathon on Sunday. This coming January is sold out, so I'm giving myself well over a year to train. At the current moment, there would be high hopes that I could even finish the half.

In order to keep me on task, I also decided to start this blog. I honestly don't even care if anyone reads it, but if I keep it up, it will help to keep me motivated and on track! However, if you are interested in joining me on this journey, lets get moving!

This was my first week, and I'm trying to make sure I do as much research as possible on training so that I don't hurt myself. From what I have seen, it is necessary to do a lot a small runs through the week, working on intervals, or strengthening your pace. Then you need to do one larger run every 7 to 10 days. Then you increase your runs around 10% each week.

So this week, I decided to make my small runs around 2 miles each (only because I've been running lately, and know that I could run 2 miles no problem). My large run, to make things easy, I just doubled my small run to 4 miles. I am proud to say that I ran 3 small runs and my one large run this week. That gives me a total of 10 miles. I just jogged my 2 mile runs this week, so I need to make sure I start working on my strength in my future small runs. My 4 mile run today was very difficult, mainly because I don't think I hydrated enough for the run.

For the days off, they suggest that you do some gym work, and I'm going to start to look into getting a membership of some kind down here. I'm still not too used to Florida, and the heat makes running the day really difficult. However, with Fall around the corner, the weather should start to cool down and make it a lot easier.

For now, I am proud of myself. I hope to continue my journey and work toward not only being able to run a marathon, but also to live a healthier life.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Laura