Another month of mileage

Other month has come to end, which means it's time to total up the mileage. Now remember---mileage does not have to be running, so I add some biking and elliptical in there as well. It helps keep me going to the gym, and not get burnt out on running. I actually like doing two different cardio workouts when I go to the gym. Don't ask me why, I'm just crazy like that.

So here is where I stand:

• April-46.63 miles
• May-50.64 miles
• June-64.10 miles

I seem to be improving in the aspect of getting out and exercising, so YEAH ME!!! I have also accepted the fact that I will most likely not complete the entire 1,445 miles this exercise has set. But for now, I am happy that this motivates me and that I AM exercising. That's an improvement, right?

Am I ready?

I realized that my first 5k is coming up at the end of this week! This week! Five days away!!! Am I ready?? Oh heck no....I have taken some time off while Joel has been on vacation, and with the summer heat of the south, it seems the only REALLY good time to run when it's cool is...oh...about 3:30am. Yeah, not doing that. I feel like I have been studying to take an Algebra I test, but wake up to the realization that the test is really AP Calculus. And I have know about the higher level test, I have just failed to study (or train) for it properly.

So my goals for this first 5k are as follows:
1. Finish without dropped dead
2. Finish in under 40 minutes
3. Finish in under 35 minutes

I will be happy with #1, happier with #2, and over-the-moon happy if I accomplish #3. Hopefully I can get some early morning runs in later this week (outside as compared to the treadmill), but we'll see how our week goes around here.

An improvement in being tired

As I've said before, I have a hard time getting a good night's sleep. This past Saturday, Miles woke up at 0510, and the day was made longer by the American Cancer Society and their Relay for Life. I had volunteered with the Fort Campbell Family Housing community, and my shift was from 2100-2300. Ugh! What a long day.

I woke up on Sunday just dragging, but got through Father's Day with my parents and grandparents coming up for a visit. Early in the morning, I went to the gym to get some sort of exercise in, hoping that if my body got moving then maybe I could wake up a little more. I started the treadmill up and began going through the motions, but I just felt SO tired. Nothing was helping. I logged 1/2 miles, jumped off and started a lower body weight workout instead. At least I could sit down to do this.

When I returned home, I told Joel just how crummy I was feeling, and how it was the tired part of body that cut short my workout, instead of the running part of my body. He replied, "Well, at least it was not your endurance and lungs that ended the workout. See, it shows the improvement that you are making. A different part of your body gave out before your lungs and muscles did!"

Yeah! At least it's a different part of my body that makes my workouts end earlier than expected! That's good news, right?

Relay for Life

Today I will be participating in the Clarksville-Montgomery County chapter of the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. I am super pumped to help out, not only with the money I raised ($287.50---thanks everyone!), but also to walk the laps as well. As a cancer survivor, I know the trials that cancer patients go through. Our team captain noted how few people signed up for the team, and she thinks it is more important to sell the concessions to raise money as compared to ALWAYS having someone on the track to walk. I disagree to a point. I think the least we could do is have someone walking at all times. Many cancer patients cannot walk because of lack of energy and loss of muscle mass the cancer and drugs have taken on their bodies. Why can't we walk when we are fully healthy??

So, today I walk for myself, my friends whom have been taken by this terrible disease, my grandmother who lost her life to it, my father in law and grandmother in law who both beat it. I walk for all of those who can't walk.

How's the dust back there???

Oh yeah, I had a great run this morning! Let me tell you all about it!

Lately, I have not been sleeping well at night. I *go to sleep* fine, but wake up at various points throughout the night. And for the past few nights, Miles has been waking up SUPER early---0515 on Friday morning, and 0545 on Saturday morning. Needless to say, I, SuperMom, am the "Parent on Duty" during those early morning hours that only few people should ever have to see. And as one could image, my energy is drained by the end of the day, and therefore no workout was logged for those two long, energy drained days.

This morning, the midgets slept until after 7am! WAHOO!! And since I fell asleep last night at 2030, I felt well rested. Dreadmill, here I come!

I have to say that starting off with Miley Cyrus' "Can't be Tamed" is quite possibly the best decision I have made on my ipod. It's a hard-core beat, and I love running to it. So I set the pace on the treadmill to a quick 6.0. Last week I told Joel that at one point I felt this speed was a little too slow, but I am still too nervous to speed it up just yet.

My run felt great! I looked down at the distance counter and it read "0.25". Ok, I've been running this entire length, let me see if I can me it to 0.30 before I need to slow to a walk. Well, I made it to 0.3, then 0.4, then 0.5. I ran the first 0.75 mile before I slowed down to a quick walk (around a 4.7 speed on the treadmill or approx. a pace of 14:21), and back to 6.0. So far, no hard (or painful) breathing, no stitch in my side...wow, this is what a runner's high feels like! I punched the center button on my ipod so it would register my 1-mile marker...9:00! HOLY COW! That was me?? Running a 9-minute mile??? CRAZY!!!!

When I first set foot into the gym this morning, I had originally set a goal of running 1.5 miles. However, I felt that after such an AWESOME run, I wanted to end things on a high note. So I hit the "STOP" button when I reach 1.25 miles instead. Overall, my pace was 9:50, a new PR, and I felt great about how much I have progressed in only three months. For the first time, I can honestly say that I am excited about going to the gym tomorrow morning. Here's hoping I can calm down from this excitement to get some sleep.

Thou shalt not compare...

And I must remember this when comparing myself to my runner husband.

Joel is a runner, a good runner. And he has been running for many years. He ran on the cross country team in high school and college. He has competed in triathlons, half-marathons, and full marathons. He even rode in a 100-mile bike race FOR FUN! Running is part of his PT test for the Army.

Now that you have background, you understand why I shall not compare myself to Warrior Running Man. Joel and I had some "couple's time" this weekend. My parents watched the boys while Joel and I want to a movie and dinner afterwards. The next morning we got up before the boys and went for a short (for Joel) 2-mile run. Miley started off my playlist, and I was feeling good. I felt like maybe I could keep up with Joel.

*BLAM!* Hello, Wall, nice to see you again.

I was actually having a little trouble breathing, so I slowed down to a walk. Joel did not want to leave me, so he slowed down to a trot/fast walk. I felt so bad for him, but thankful that my loving husband would not abandon me for a quality run for himself. :) It was nice to have someone to run with, other than the TV to keep me company. But I hope to one day be able to run with my husband and to be able to keep pace with him.

A list of firsts

Wow, I have a lot of "first" things to update you all on. Some are exciting, some not so exciting, but here it goes.

1. My first blister--I knew it was going too well to not be broke at this point, and this weekend when I laced up my shoes, I noticed something was bothering me on the back of my right foot. I took my shoe off, shook it out, and tried again. Ouch! There is something STILL there. I repeated the process, and finally looked on the outside of my sock, then the inside. There it was, a tiny blister, just beginning to form. I was already in teh car, so I did not do anything until after my run. First thing I did was search for the band-aids and slapped one on that sore. Thankfully it is gone, and it did not grow into something larger and more painful.

2. My first injury--As I previously said, I knew something was wrong because I was still in great shape. But one day I started up on the dreadmill, and pain shot through my left ankle. It was unusual, and I almost felt like my ankle was going to collapse under me. My two runs for last weekend totaled about 1/2 miles. YUCK! Thankfully I was still able to get some miles in on the elpitical and the bike, which gave my ankle a nice rest, and I can now get back to running.

3. My first 75--According to my Nike+, and the video that popped up when I synced it up the other day, I have crossed the 75 mile marker in my running experience. YEAH!!! And that leads me to.....

4. My first 100 miles!!--Between running, biking, and the elpitical machine, I have crossed over the milestone of 100 miles. 101.2 miles to be exact. Now I only have to complete 1343.98 more miles by March 31, 2011. So keep your fingers crossed!