50/50

Well i did manage to get up Saturday morning & go for a 3.3 mile run.

Ok, that run actually turned into a walk.

Even though i was out the door by 7:15am, it was pretty hot. And for whatever reason, i just could not catch my breath. My lungs were acting like i had just run a marathon when in reality i had only gone half a mile. So i pretty much just walked the rest. Meh.

But today i got out there earlier & it was much cooler, which made for a much more pleasant experience. Still some walking, but much much less than on Saturday.

Hope everyone had a safe & fun Memorial Day weekend! Mine was spent mostly by the pool. Oh, and watching my new most favorite show ever:

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

Ya'll. This shit is unreal. I can't even think of words to describe my fascination with the gypsy wedding culture. You must watch. TLC. Set your DVR now.

PS. Official half marathon #3 training starts June 13. Color me scared/nervous/anxious/unsure

On the mend

Whew, i think i'm finally back. Granted, I'm still all stopped up but i no longer have the cough or horrible sinus headache. I consider these a success. (But now Tom is feeling bad. Oops...)

Wednesday night, my lil' sis Princess graduated from High School. I'm so proud of her! She is part of the reason I did my first half marathon.

Last night I wanted to run, but it was blazing hot. (hello, 100 degrees) I did the Ripped in 30 instead. I think it's time to suck it up & join a gym so i can train this summer. That's my goal for this weekend.

Since i can somewhat breathe again, I plan on getting up early tomorrow and getting in a 3 mile run. Here's hoping the week off hasn't done too much damage. ;)

Yup.

So you might have guessed by my absence that I've been sick - again. Before the plague completely struck me down, i went for a 3.3 mile run on Saturday morning. It would have been a GREAT run - if my throat and lungs weren't on fire. :P

Then Saturday night happened.

And i was knocked out for the rest of the night, all day Sunday and all day yesterday. I'm still not 100%, but I'm feeling a bit better.

Hopefully will be back in the week with some updates on running/catching up on your blogs!

Friiiiiiiiiiiiday!

Thanks for all the feedback on my last post! I think I'm going to attempt another 1/2 marathon...or die trying. ;) I'll start my schedule June 1st. (I have a couple of trips scheduled in June, so this should make things more interesting.) I'm aiming to do the Women's 1/2 in November...so here goes nothing!

(Disclaimer: i haven't registered for the race yet. I think i will give it a month or so to see how my training goes before i bite the bullet.)

I have a wretched cough again. I can't believe this marks the 4th time this year i have been sick. This is so, SO rare for me - i never used to get sick and then this year comes along and knocks me on my ass. Hopefully it's nothing serious.

Should make tonight and tomorrow' run a bit more challenging - hoping i can power through!

Oh, and look what i got in my hair last night. :)

Feathers!

Tom is awesome.

I asked Tom what i should blog about tonight and the title of this post was his response.

Moving on.

I'm not sure what's up with me, but my after work runs are always so much better than  my early morning runs. Last week i had two solid 2.5 mile runs. Sunday morning i did 3.25 miles - and it was not pretty. And then tonight i did another solid 2.5 miles. I guess I'm not joking when i say i'm not a morning person...

New favorite song to run to? Beastie Boys "Make Some Noise"

Ok, as i toy with the idea for signing up for another 1/2 marathon, here are my top contenders:

1. Women's Half Marathon - November 6
Pros:

• Women only
• Cool medal!
• Course doesn't seem too difficult

Cons:

• Training will need to begin asap
• Might still be on the warm side in November

2.  Runner's Den/Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - December 4

Pros:

• I've run the 5k twice, it'd be cool to do the 1/2 course
• Little more time to train
• Temps will be much cooler

Cons:

• Temps might be a little too cool. I was cooold last year.
• Course has some hills, which could slow my time down

3. Lost Dutchman Half Marathon - February 20

Pros:

• Lots more time to train!
• Have heard nothing but good things about this race
• Most likely the best weather conditions

Cons:

• Not familiar with the course - looks pretty hilly
• Race destination is about an hour from where i live

So...i don't know. I'm still kinda terrified to sign up for another half. I want a sub 3 so badly and am worried i just don't have it in me. Decisions, decisions! 

Three Things Thursday

1. Despite feeling like a stuffed sausage during last night's run (damn compression shorts) & the temperature being 15 degrees warmer, i had another solid run! In fact, i was about 30 seconds faster than Tuesday night's run...progress!

Don't be jealous of my MS Paint skills.

2. Mentioning heat, Running in Reese's did a great post about how to handle running in heat. Even though i live in the seventh layer of Hell (hello 120 degrees during the summer), I am lucky enough to not have to deal with humidity. Cely lives in the great state of Texas - home of big hair & 95% humidity. Yech.

3. I'm still torn on signing up for another half marathon. My new strategy seems to be: train for a half, as long as it takes to feel confident, and then sign up for one on a whim. I dunno, the idea of committing to a race when i know that will add extra pressure to my training makes me nervous. Do you guys like to have a race in mind, or just train until you feel ready?

Solid.

You know how sometimes before you start a run, you just have a feeling it's going to be a good one? That was tonight's run for me. I almost talked myself out of it - but the weather was perfect and i just had a feeling it was going to be a good one.

I kept it short, but it felt good. My breathing was steady, legs felt ok, it was good. I finished two miles in 24:40 and lightly jogged another 0.5 miles.

Now, if only all my runs could be like that! Someday I'll get there. :)

I moved up to Week 3 of Ripped in 30 last week. Good God - each time i think Jillian can't get any crazier, she totally proves me wrong. Try 3 solid minutes of bear crawling & duck walks - quads. screaming.

I've made it a goal to work out at least 5 times this week. So far, 2 for 2!

RunEMZ!

You guys might have heard, but in case not....

You have to check out www.runemz.com. This is a fellow Arizona runner who just logged TWENTY FOUR HOURS on a treadmill to raise funds for the Sojourner Center.

TWENTY. FOUR. HOURS.

This woman is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Check out her finishing video on her blog. If it doesn't give you chills, i don't know what will!

"Speed"work

Erm, i thought speed work was supposed to be...speedy?

Tonight i set out to try speedy work. I found a flat stretch & proceeded to run faster for .20 miles & recover/walk for .08 miles. For a total of 2 miles.

Good & dandy, but my overall time was pretty much on par with what my overall time would be if i jogged the full two miles. Ha. I guess i definitely need to work on my speed.

Don't get me wrong - halfway through i kinda wanted to puke. I was running at a much faster pace than normal. I just kinda wish i was faster. (Story of my running life!)

How often do you guys do speed work? Do you think it helps?

And once again - let me just say to you runners out there that pull out 7, 8, 9, 10 minute miles:

I AM SO NOT WORTHY!!

Warrior Dash 2011

We came, we saw, we left picking mud out of our nose and ears.

And everywhere else.

Warrior Dash was a blast!! I was worried we were going to have really warm weather, but it was perfect. Picture heavy post, so i hope you enjoy!

So the Warrior Dash is a 3.4 mile course, with about 10 or so obstacles set up. The end being a jump over fire and army crawling through a huge mud pit.

Our team, the Office Warriors! That's my co-worker Matus, Tom & me.

Waiting around for our wave to start. This is me telling the guys that we are "not in it to win it".

First obstacle! You had to hop over a wall, then crawl under a beam - about six times.

Proof that we did run - some. :)

One of my favorites - when else do you get to climb over cars??

This one wasn't too bad, a small wall you had to repel up & over.

Supposedly this pit was full of sand the day before, but for some reason on Sunday it was a muddy river? This is right before Tom faceplanted...hahaha. :)

Matus conquering the huge haystack!

I thought i was going to have trouble with the cargo net, seeing as how i have no upper body strength. But it wasn't bad at all really.

One of the easier ones - as long as you have good balance!

Shortly after this picture, a guy came barreling across the top & almost killed me.

Fire leap! Look, Tom is looking back to make sure i didn't catch fire. :)

And this is what you look like after the mud pit.

Mud EVERYWHERE.

But we survived!

Best part? The fuzzy viking helmet!! (and the free beer after the race)

A few battle scars from the day (the mud pit was full of rocks on the bottom, my knees & hands are tore up).

If you ever get a chance, i definitely recommend this race. It's a freaking blast & more fun when you have a group of friends. Typically I'm not one to do things like this, but i surprised myself & had a really great time.