I'm still here!

Sorry for my absence...i had been in Arkansas visiting family and it was great. (Minus the snafu of my flight being cancelled and having to wait until the following day to get another flight. :P )

I was pretty lazy...i only ran once (3 miles) and did the elliptical once (30 minutes.) Oh well - i am still going to be attending our group run on Saturday & it's time for tapering! I think we are only running 7 or 8 miles. (Ha - i just said "only".)

I will be back within the next couple of days with a longer post and pictures! I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years!!

Need a challenge for 2010?

If you are looking for a new challenge in 2010, my blogger friend Kayte has a great idea on her blog: run 1,010 miles in 2010! She would like a lot of bloggers to participate & keep each other accountable, so head on over to her blog!

That seems like sooooo many miles, doesn't it?? I will definitely give it an honest try. :)

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On a different note, has anyone ever tried Weight Watchers? Debating giving the program a go...

One Mile Virtual Race

How's this for a cool idea?!

I almost talked myself out of running tonight. Almost. But then i realized what a wuss i was being and told myself i can run one measly mile!

So i did. About a little over one mile and called it a day. Ha.

We had a storm blow through Phoenix earlier, so it was kinda chilly when i was running (53 degrees) and windy. Not a particularly fun combo. I ran faster than i normally do, seeing as how i knew i was only going to do a mile and some change. The legs starting cramping up at the end too. Blah.

But my one mile time? 10:16, according to Nike+. Take that with a grain of salt. :)

Navy capris and black calf compression wraps...cringe!!

Nike+ stats.

12 Miles - Reflections

Well, i have survived! Saturday marked our longest group run (and longest run i have ever done) - 12 miles. I knew if i was able to make it through this run, i would be a lot more confident about the 1/2 marathon.

I had my fuel pack loaded with water & shot blocks, and had downloaded a few new songs for my workout playlist. I kept a positive mind, and it was off to the canal i went. It was still dark when we started and cool, but it felt good once we got going. My legs gave me no problems, which was an amazing relief. And when i stopped to meet Coach Dave at the 4-mile mark, i felt great!

It was off to the Arcadia district, an area with nicer homes which was fun to look around. I started to take some more frequent walk breaks here, as the shot blocks hadn't quite kicked in and i was losing steam. Once i got some energy back, i had a pretty strong run to Coach again, and then it was back out to the canal to finish the last 4 miles.

Here's where i seemed to hit some sort of wall. After mile 9, i stopped to use the bathroom. i think that was the kicker - those last 3 miles were killer!!! I could barely manage to run 10 minutes, before i'd need to take another walk break.

But you know what? I did it. I finished the run - and finished with a smile on my face. Even though i didn't straight on run the full 12 miles, i still did the distance and felt good afterwards!

Just thinking back to when i started training and how I thought i would never, ever be able to do this - it's cool to think about how far i've come.

PF Chang's Rock & Roll Half Marathon - bring it.

PS. Good God was i sore the next day!!

So Blessed.

I HAVE MET MY FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR BIG BROTHERS/BIG SISTERS!!!

Ya'll, i am so excited. And so blessed to have so many friends and family that helped me out. I just got an email the other day saying our group has raised $50,000 so far, which will fund BB/BS services for 50 "littles"! So freaking awesome.

So, with that goal out of the way, my next hurdle is: the half marathon. ONE. MONTH. FROM. TODAY. I'm not nervous yet, but i can't believe it's so close. Stay tuned for my recap of how my 12 mile group run goes this Saturday. This will be the longest distance i have ever, ever run (and walked). Insanity!!

My run last night was really good. I felt strong and the legs gave me few problems. They are sore today, so i may hop on the elliptical tonight instead of running so they will be nice & refreshed for Saturday...

On my run last night, i started thinking about racing & port-a-potties (random? yes.) So, question for you seasoned racers out there:

What are your thoughts about pit stops during the race?

I mean, yes, i realize: if you gotta go, you gotta go. But how do you factor that into your racing time? I'm slow enough as it is, and hate to think about "wasting" (ha) 5 or so minutes waiting in line and using the bathroom. How do you guys feel?

Good thoughts

Ok, i promise this post won't be negative! Thanks for the advice ladies - i constantly need to be reminded to keep a positive outlook; i wasn't nicknamed "Eeyore" growing up for nothing!

Saturday afternoon/evening, i organized an Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl for my friends as a way to raise money for BB/BS. I'm happy to report i am now only $100 away from my goal!!!! I can't tell you how excited this makes me - my friends truly came through for me. I've posted a couple of pics at the end of this post. :)

I missed our group run on Saturday morning, since Tom's office holiday party was the night before. BUT i am happy to report i made up the 10 miles yesterday! Boy, let me tell you - after a weekend full of drinking and eating fried food, a 10 mile run is ROUGH. The first half wasn't that bad, but by the time i hit mile 9 i was completely out of energy, i barely had anything left. But the weather conditions were perfect - overcast, light sprinkle, i ran in new neighborhoods for different scenery AND my legs/calves gave me no problems! Woo!

This Saturday, our group run is TWELVE miles. I'm nervous, but excited to try the distance. I know there will be many walk breaks ahead, but as long as i can make it though, the 1/2 marathon should be no problem. (Famous last words.)

Have you ever seen such festive sweaters? (Note: i'm wearing my "Believe 13.1" necklace!)

The group at the last bar; good times!

Fail.

This sums up how i've been feeling lately:

These last couple of weeks, my heart & head has been all over the place. Don't know if it's the "winter blues" or just life getting crazy at the end of the year, but i find myself exhausted every single day.

I know i sound like a broken record, but i don't feel prepared for the half. My calves still occassionally give me problems and my energy has been zapped. I'm missing our group run tomorrow morning, but (God-willing) i will run the 10 miles on Sunday. I'm terrified of January 17th - i don't want to be terrified, i want to be excited!

Fail. That's all i can say.

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On a much, MUCH brighter note:  a HUGE thank you to my friend Ben who made an amazing donation to BB/BS.

I've organized an Ugly Sweater Pub Crawl tomorrow to raise money - so far, only a few people who said they are attending have donated. Eh, here's hoping they all come in tomorrow. Check back for pictures later this weekend...

Go away sickness!

I will not get sick...i will not get sick...i will not get sick.

I've been fighting this for about a week now - start of a sore throat, feeling icky....i refuse to let it take over my body!!

My 3 mile run last night was kinda blah. My legs felt super heavy, so i decided to alternate walking and sprinting, to do some sort of make-shift speed work. :) It wasn't too bad, and i got off work early last night so i was able to run while the sun was still shining!

Have you heard of the website Lift Your Sole? It's a super cute site, and i just bought myself a motivational piece for the half marathon. I plan to wear it everyday up until the race.

Fiesta Bowl 5k

This morning was the Fiesta Bowl 5k & 1/2 Marathon! Coach Dave had the half marathoners run the 5k and the full marathoners run the half. I was thankful for this break.

Woke up not feeling too hot, but knew I wanted to get out there and run anyways. Here is me bright & early at 5:45am. Ugh!

It was coooold out this morning, especially for Arizona standards. I was glad i went out last night & bought a long sleeve running shirt.

Lots of people running, as expected. I ran the race last year, so it was nice to be familiar with the route. However, this year a group called "Girls on the Run" were running. I would say there were a few hundred of them.

It was a cute idea - seemed to be like a mom/daughter type thing, or little girl/mentor. There were several, several little girls around ages 7-12 and then an older person running with them. Kinda cool.

However, i wanted to kill them by the end of the race. Evidently no one had talked to them about race ettiquette. They would sprint as hard as they could, cut people off, and of course have to slow down to walk two minutes later. And when they were walking, they wouldnt move out of the way for the runners - which makes a small width course (sidewalk & one lane of traffic) very difficult. I thought for sure their parents/mentors would tell them to get out of the way, but they were just as bad!! I got really frustrated.

Anyways, i felt really good during the race. No calf pain, woot! i only slowed to walk to grab a water at the water station & then back to running. But i didn't meet my time goal. :( I wanted to finish in around 36 minutes, but my posted time was 38:52 - which is funny, that is a full minute to the second faster than last year's time. (39:52)

Oh well, guess i just have to face it that i am always going to run at a turtle's pace!

Hope everyone who ran the CIM did well this weekend!

Owww.

Silly, silly legs. Why must you bog me down so?

Last night's run was ROUGH. The calves started doing their "i'm-going-to-cramp-up-and-make-this-impossible" around the end of mile one, forcing me to walk/hobble the next mile & a half. On top of that,  i had to pee suuuuuuper bad & of course i was running around a residential-only area. Not my finest hour.

Tonight i got back out there and completed my 3 mile run. I did have to stop twice and stretch out the cranky calves, but i completed the run without having to walk! My legs are none too happy with me right now and they better be feeling fresh come Sunday! (That's the Fiesta Bowl 5k)

The Fiesta Bowl 5k was the first race i ever ran, so running it again is going to be kinda special to me. I have a secret time-goal that i am going to keep locked away until results are posted. I'll let you know if i make it. (Fingers crossed!!)

Check it Out!

So, my first bloggy friend made a donation! Thanks so much, Katye! She is also training and raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - an amazing cause.

I encourage you to check out her blog, she is very inspiring! Also, if you're looking for some Christmas gift ideas, consider getting a magazine subscription - and 40% of the profits will go to her fundraising! Get the details here. :)

Getting there!

Another big THANK YOU to my friends Chris and Connie! They each made a donation and i now only have $350 until i make my goal!

So, i don't know about you, but one of the reasons i started running was to lose weight. Unfortunatley this time around, i haven't noticed much of a difference! I just downloaded the "Lose it!" application on my iPhone and let me tell you: i had no idea how many calories i ate in one day! Good Lord, no wonder i'm still a fatty.

So i made a plan to lose 12 pounds and if i stick to my caloric limit for the day, the app says i SHOULD lose it by January 27. Check back to see if that's true. :)

(This is not mine, just an example of the app.)

I've always struggled with my weight...i've never been "obese" but i always feel like there are those 10 - 15 pounds i could stand to lose. And good thing i didnt watch the Victoria Secret Runway show last night like the rest of the world  - that is not a self esteem booster!

3 mile run tonight - wish me luck!