run it faster

Tonight I went out for an easier run because my legs were a little tired from Saturday's run and then last night's two hour Zumbathon.  I ended up doing 2.24 miles in 28:00.  I managed to run my first mile in 10:29 and I ran every step of it!  This is the fastest mile I have completed outside of a race.  It's amazing how the pressure and excitement of a race can make me move faster than I thought I could. 

For the first time I was able to run around the track two and a quarter times before I stopped to take my first walk break.  The local park is my new favorite place to run because I can run until I can't run any more and I don't have to worry about trying to get back home.  It's also helping me to see just how far I have come in my training when I make it further and further around the track before I have to walk.  

Last night's zumbathon also showed me how far I have come in my fitness journey.  The first zumba class that I took last summer wiped me out so much I felt like I couldn't move for a couple of days.  I was able to keep my hips shaking for two straight hours last night and felt like I could probably keep going!  It's an amazing feeling to see the process that I have made so far and I can't wait to see where else my journey towards fitness takes me!

new milestones

Today I went out for a run with the intention of running four to five miles.  I headed out to the park in town so that I could just run circles around the track until my legs were good and sore!  I wanted to run for an hour and see how much distance I could cover.  The last time I ran at the park, I could barely run a third of the half mile track loop, and this time I ran the entire loop plus some before I had to stop to take a walk break.  This really showed me how far I have come in my running endurance.  Back in October or November I never could have imagined accomplishing that.

The first mile went well and I ran it under my 12:00/mile goal race pace.  At about a mile and a half however, I started having some pain in my hip.  It started hurting really bad, so I took a break to stop and stretch before getting back on the track.  I also decided that I would walk the rest of my time.  I really didn't want to walk the rest of it because I was going for the most mileage I could accomplish in an hour, but I knew if I pushed it, I could end up seriously hurting myself.  Plus, I have a 2-hour Zumbathon tomorrow night, so I need my hips in working order :-)

I kept walking the track for a while until RunKeeper told me that I had been going for 50 minutes and had gone 3.33 miles.  At that point, my hip was feeling good, so I picked up the pace and managed to complete 4.18 miles in 59:45.  While it wasn't quite what I was hoping to accomplish when I went out this morning, it is the longest run I have done so far, so that's an accomplishment in my book!  Only .82 miles away from five!  That 5 mile race is four weeks from tomorrow!

In the world of Weight Watchers this week I hit another milestone.  This week I hit 26 pounds lost!  When I stepped on the scale for my weigh-in (in my bathroom, I only do online, not meetings) I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had exceeded my goal of hitting the 25 pound mark.  I am now about 10 pounds from my goal and it's really exciting and motivating to be this close to my goal.

Also this week, I made my decision on what will be my first half marathon.  On January 20, 2013 I will be competing in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.  I am so excited but I really realize how much work I am going to have to do to get myself up to being able to complete 13.1 miles.  Having a half marathon on the horizon is going to be a huge motivator to get me out on the road and start logging more miles.  I can't wait to complete the B.A.A. 10K (which I will register for on Wednesday) so that I will have a time to put in when I register for Tink.  I also managed to convince my roommate to run this with me, so we will be taking on our first half, and first 10K, together!

PR and it feels so good

This morning I ran the Race Against Extinction 5K race in Boston and I set a personal record that I can hardly believe! I ran my 3.1 miles in 34 minutes and 42 seconds, beating the time in which I ran my first 5K in November by FOUR minutes!

The race was at 11:00 am at Artesani Park in Boston with proceeds going to environmental organizations because after all, today was Earth Day!  A looming rain storm had us a little nervous that the day may become a mud run, but mother nature held out and there were no drops felt as we ran through the park.  Bib pick-up was quick and easy and we were surprised to also get a free WWF water bottle with our registration.  We always love the freebies!  There were not many participants, maybe around 200 people participating, but that meant that it was not crowded.  People were also encouraged to run with dogs and strollers, so there were lots of dogs hanging around the course!

We took off at 11:00 am started our run through the park.  Kristin yelled back to us "Meet you at the finish!" before she took off out on the course.  Patty and I decided to keep pace with each other and we were each other's motivation to keep running harder and longer.  I had RunKeeper going tracking the run,  and when the 10 minute audio cue came up I could hardly believe that I had almost run a mile!  We completed our first mile in only 10:11!  It was great motivation to keep us going at that point.  Patty and I kept up our run/walk pace and managed to average a 10:52 minutes per mile pace.

Overall, it was a great run and the weather held out for us, which was the best.  People cheering us on towards the end (including Kristin who finished in an awesome 25:48) helped us keep up our run to the finish line.

This week was also another great accomplishment in the world of my Weight Watchers adventure.  I needed to buy a dress for a wedding in two weeks and I have been putting it off to make sure that it'll fit on the day of, and Thursday night I bought a wicked cute polka dot dress... in a size SIX!  Last year I started Weight Watchers the week of my birthday and the dress I bought to wear for my birthday celebration was a 10.  All my efforts have resulted in two dropped dress sizes.

This has certainly been a great week for new personal records.  I can't wait until my next run where I can try to set another :-)

slowly getting back in the game

Unfortunately I haven't really been able to run the past two weeks due to a case of bronchitis.  But today I was able to get back out on the road and attempt a run.  It wasn't the easiest, and it involved a lot of walking and a lot of coughing!  Since the Run Against Extinction 5K is coming up in just a week, I am determined to get some mileage in these next few days.  For today's run I was able to manage 2.32 miles in 33:25 for an average pace of 14:25 minutes per mile.  Definitely not my best and not anywhere close to what I would like to accomplish next weekend at the race.  However, I know that after two weeks of no running and getting over being sick, that it's going to take a little time to get back to my 12:00 miles.

As far as my Weight Watchers adventure goes, this week I have hit 22.2 pounds lost and it feels great.  I'm hoping to be able to post a loss this week as well, but lots of treats and drinks at a bachelorette party yesterday may have derailed that.  I'll just have to be extra good with my eating the next few days and resist the urge to eat the junk food!  Luckily the bag of chocolate chip cookies is gone (they were so good).

My goal is to get at least two more runs in this week and attempt to get my speed up a little so that on Sunday I can run the 5K in at least 38:00.  I'll make sure to have a full race recap next weekend!

4.03

Today I accomplished 4.03 miles in 58:41.  I walked most of it because today's goal was distance, not speed.  For my first mile, I kept up with my goal pace of 12:00 minutes per mile, which is the pace at which I would like to run my next couple races.

I have never done more than a 5K and the looming 5 miler has been making me a little nervous.  So when I tied my running shoes this afternoon I decided that I would do 4 miles in under an hour, which I succeeded in with more than a minute to spare!  Now I just need to work on fitting an extra mile into that time frame, but I have almost two months to work up to that goal.

I have the Run Against Extinction 5K in Boston three weeks from today and I'm so excited!  It'll be fun to run with my roommate (for her first 5K) and my friend who ran the Princess Half.

Today's run/walk showed me just how much work I have left to do if I'm going to do a half marathon in the next year and a half, but rather than it being a downer, it was motivational.  After all, half marathons have awesome medals, and I run for the bling. :-)