Back to the gym

Today's workout: 30 minutes on this boring machine.

Strength training via a Shape Magazine article and a few extras I threw in.

Gym, grocery, library, gas station all before 8:30a.m.! Another productive day off topped off with relaxing at the pool.

The day flew by and now it's time to start getting ready to watch the US take on Brazil tonight!

Extra Long Weekend

Today's workout: 3.2 miles. Really. Boring. Miles.

I was happy to get it in though. I ran in the middle of the afternoon - about 2:00. My morning run was canceled due to a storm and typically if I don't run in the morning, it's really hard for me to get myself motivated later in the day. I had the whole day off work though, so I really had no excuse not to run.


To help make the 4 loops around my neighborhood not so boring I made myself run faster each loop. I started out rather slow, but then took 15-20 seconds per mile off each loop. 

Not great, not too bad. At least I did it. Hopefully I'll sneak in some weight training later tonight.

Memorial Day Weekend

I think this weekend was the perfect mix of relaxation and fun activities. 


Friday night we went to the Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson The Immortal tour. I didn't take any pictures, but we really enjoyed it. It was very different from other Cirque shows, but still very entertaining and enough jaw dropping acrobatics to satisfy me! However, I don't think anyone told the ladies in front of us that Michael Jackson really wasn't there.


Saturday was a nice veg day - running errands, napping, movie watching, making homemade pizza and watching the Men's national team beat Scotland 5-1!

Sunday morning we headed to Indy to take in the Indy 500. It was super hot, but there was a nice breeze which made it much more bearable than I anticipated. We also took a break under this tree.

I really enjoyed the race even though it was a little boring until the last 40 laps or so when the leader changes started occurring almost every lap. 

I cheered for the Target cars...because I LOVE Target. I had no other criteria to go by and it worked - they came in 1st and 2nd!


Monday was a fun little pool party with my friends then an evening of relaxation!


Please don't notice that there were no work outs this weekend.

Hot Day, Cool Treat

Thursday's Work out: Lay by the pool, nap, run 3 miles.

My 7th anniversary with my company is next week! I can't believe it's been soooo long. I had some extra vacation time I had to use up, so I only worked a few hours yesterday then got to hang out with my roommate for a few hours. We spent a little too much time by the pool. 

Then I took a nap.

The nap made me late for my running date with Erin. Luckily she still waited for me! We had a nice short 3 mile run then a cool treat afterwards. 

Via

Erin introduced me to a new ice cream place, Twist, I forgot to take a pic of my ice cream cone, but trust me it was delicious. I can't wait to go back, I already know what I am going to order next time!

A Friendly Reminder

Via

Via

Wear your seatbelt and eat your vegetables too!

Happy Hump Day!

Monday's workout: A variety of at home exercises via my friend Pinterest.

 

Tuesday's workout: 4.5 mile run.

I have decided for the month of May (which I realize will be over as soon as I blink) I am leaving my Garmin at home. I don't want to be obsessed checking my pace, I just want to get some miles in.

I got to run with my friend Kelly on Tuesday and Thursday I have a run planned with another friend. What a great week!

Tuesday's dinner was both roommate and boyfriend approved! Chicken mini meatloaves - recipe adapted from Cook Yourself Thin. I make mine in a muffin tin and actually doubled the recipe using ground chicken this time. I doubled the recipe so there would be leftovers for lunch for all three of us. Yum!

To Be Chipped

I went for it.

I was chipped.

And I actually impressed myself.

TIME:   24:23
PLACE:    24
PACE:  7:51
DIVISION: F3039  
ENTRANTS IN DIVISION:    33
PLACE IN DIVISION: 2    
GENDER: F
ENTRANTS IN SAME GENDER:    72
PLACE IN GENDER:     4 

Not my best race, but given the past several months, I am happy with it. Thanks for encouraging me to wear my chip and be proud.

To Be Chipped...or Not?

I saw this on my way to work:

Sorry for the not so good "I'm stopped at a stop light and trying to take a picture of the car in front of me cell phone picture". If you can't read it, it says "Nobody cares about your stick figure family". While I am not a fan of stick figure families I found this mildly disturbing. But I still laughed. Alone in my car.

So, this brings me to my question. If you do a race every year...and usually do fairly well, would you do it when you knew you weren't going to do very well?

I feel a lot of pressure at this race every year. It's the most nervous I get before a race - and it's just a 5K. I think the nerves stem from doing something I love in my personal life in front of my co-workers.

Race day is tomorrow. So I must decide before 1:00 tomorrow if I am going to wear my chip or not! What would you do?

Weekend Wrap-up (better late than never)

This weekend was a blur! Thankfully it was a FUN blur!


Cheers to Art:

GOTR 5K:

Birthday party at River Downs:

It was quite a whirlwind of meeting people and celebrations!

I finally went to the doctor yesterday after having a headache for 11 days. Darn sinus infection. I finally feel much more myself - it's amazing what the right meds can do!

A lesson in sass

Lakeview GOTR team showing their sass!

Obviously, I've had to rethink my goals recently.


At the beginning of the year I was planning to run a 50K in June. It is May 11th and running a 5K is not that fun (or fast) for me at this point.


I was hoping to run 4 marathons this year and so far have not run a single one.


It's time to focus on the future and forget about the past. Here is what I DO have planned:

1. GOTR 5K race is this weekend! Who woldn't want to run with these amazing girls pictured above?

2. Mudathlon in August

3. Air Force Half Marathon in September. I was fortunate enough to receive a free entry from a friend on the day after it sold out! 

Many other plans are in the works, but these are a few set plans that will (hopefully) help me stay on track and stay motivated.

The month of May will be dedicated to rebuilding my base. I want 3 miles to feel like a waste of changing my clothes, not hard like it felt this week.


It's time to learn a lesson from my GOTR girls and be sassy and confident while I run. And maybe I'll still do a 50K in 2012.

Back Up And Running

There has been a lot of change going on around here! 

How do you like the new home of RunnerB? I was blessed to have won a blog design from this amazing lady via a giveaway over at Story of My Life. She did an amazing job and I am so happy to have this fresh start. I think it's just what the doctor ordered!

May 2011 to April 2012 has been a year of constant change. I don't think anything is the same - new family dynamics, new job, new apartment, new roommate, new relationship. Thankfully, my friends have been a constant and unwavering form of support. Thank you.

And now, after a 3 month running hiatus, it is time to get back to it. Back to running and back to blogging! I am excited to once again share my running and life adventures with you!
 
Enjoy the ride!