Never Underestimate Seniors– Letter to Norma

Oh Norma. At first glance I knew you were unlike the other fitness instructors at the gym, and I really thought that I was going to be let off easy the day you subbed for the Core in Motion instructor. Little did I know that a 60 year old body could lift that much weight, doing that many reps. I should have guessed it from your zero precent body fat and those veins coursing though your biceps. I kept up. I did my best. I have never held on to hand weights for a half hour straight before, but that has now changed, and you still had a half hour left in the class to make my abs feel like they were ripping apart. I will never judge an instructor as I did you again. I had difficulty blow drying my hair this morning. But I will be back!

Heat wave has finally lapsed– for a little while. I'm breaking free from the gym today and running in the park after work. At least the lower half of my body is somewhat stable after getting my ass kicked by Norma last night...

Cool Shoe, Even Cooler Promo

Final Countdown

It's been insane lately! I think I picked the wrong week to start training. I'm glad that I have ample time to get ready for the big race but I thought that I would be further along than I am now. School has been turning my world upside down lately with all of the papers and books that I have to read. I should be reading right now actually. I'm on three hours sleep and have class until 10 tonight. I can't wait for this class to be over with, then it's on to the next one. I wish I could get a run in this weekend but unfortunately I was busy working on papers and presentations. I did get a 4 mi. run in on Wednesday and I made to the class at the gym on Thursday. The same class that set me back two days in a row the previous week. I have never done so many lunges in my life!! Walking the rest of the weekend was a major challenge. Can't wait until I get back on a normal training schedule again. I'm looking forward to The Twilight Trek on June 19! Running, scavenger hunt, booze. What more could you ask for in a race?! After tonight, two more weeks of this class left, then a week off! 

Not a Morning Person

I got a late start today. I didn't make it out of the house until 5:45. Had to cut it short to make it on time for work. I realized that if I want to continue running in the morning, I'm going to have to leave earlier to accommodate longer distances. I'm going to have to find an alternative when that happens. 5:30 is already painful enough. Next week I'm supposed to be moving up to 4 mile runs and that seems like a huge step in such a short amount of time. We'll see how it goes. Tomorrow is a rest or cross training day. I think I'm going to take a "muscle works" class at the gym, it's always torture the next day.

Distance: 2.7 Mi.
Time: 24:51
Thought during run: Why the eff does this neighborhood have so many hills.

My First Early Morning Run (outside)

After a long weekend of indulging in birthday and graduation parties, I finally decide that I needed to get back on track. It's been really hot lately (in the 90's) and I'm not a big fan of running in the heat, so I figured an early morning run would would be perfect. I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and was surprised how easy it was today. I did it twice last week, and it seemed much more difficult. It rained a lot last week so I was mainly in the gym, and I never look forward to going to the gym, especially to run. Running on treadmills sucks! That's probably why it was easier to get out of bed. I'm trying to follow a training plan but it's been really hard trying to fit everything in with school.

So this morning my only goal was to get up and run 5k. Not too focused on time, just wanted to get it in. I'm still REALLY slow and trying to build my stamina, so I was happy with what I accomplished this morning. The next few weeks are going to be crazy with school. I have two presentations and four papers due in the next two weeks, one of those papers being a monster, so I need to stay motivated.

Over all the run was good. The first part went by fast since I was still half asleep. It was really humid, but it could have been a lot worse.

Distance: 3.1 Mi.

Time: 32:46

Thought during run: Where the hell did all those bunnies come from?

Below is the playlist that I used this morning.

Where Do I begin...

Signing up for the first half marathon of my life. On October 3rd I will be attempting to run in the Lewis and Clark marathon. I'm only entering in the half. Very ambitious considering at this point I have only ran in two races, both 5Ks. The first was called the first was called "The Fast and the Furriest." It was for the APA and although it was for a good cause, it was cold, rainy and there was gum balls all over the course from a crazy storm the night before. It was a good experience in the event I ever have to run on marbles. I didn't twist my ankle and got in at 34:41. The second was a fun run called "Karen for a Kause" although I did a lot better on this one, I don't know my official time, but I know it was under 31 minutes and I'm happy with that. The amazing part is that just a few months ago I couldn't run a mile without stopping. Still a LONG way from 13.1...