I ran a half marathon!

...in the course of one week! :) It's a record for me, anyway. 13.6 miles to be exact (really more like 14 miles - see below), from Sunday to Saturday.

I'm excited to have started my official RnR half training with the Fleet Feet CREW Training Group! I had my first run with them last Saturday morning, which was a 3.75 mile course though some neighborhoods in Pooler. There was a little confusion as to which way the course was headed. I thought I studied the course pretty well before I left, but I ended up following the 2 leaders (maybe about 1 minute behind them) and they seemed to get a bit lost! I caught up with them for a while and we realized that we were off course and already reached 3.75 miles with a little more back to the start! I decided to break off and stop my watch at 4, and just slow to a jog to cool down instead of going with then to the end. I was probably pushing myself harder than I should have to keep up with them, coming off of my injury. That's one of my weaknesses... pushing myself too hard. I'm too stubborn and I think I can get back to my 9-10 minute/mile pace right off the bat. 2-3 weeks off from running really regresses the training. :(

Anyway, the course we ended up doing was a total of 4.44 miles! Next run is Tuesday for 2. Then Thursday for 3 and the long run on Saturday for 4 miles. I hope I stick with the course this time!

image via This Princess Runs

In other news, I found an awesome etsy shop that makes running costumes! This Princess Runs makes custom running costumes out of Under Armour... I ordered myself a Wonder Woman one! I love a good running costume and I plan to wear it for the RnR in November! And maybe again for the bridge Run in Dec. She is a fellow mother runner who mainly makes princess costumes - I think she started by making herself a princess costume for the Disney Princess Half. Check out the other costumes she has made!I am pretty darn excited about mine!

(Cheap) Summer Races

I am totally back! Not quite where I was before I tweaked my hip, but I am working back up to it. I'm taking my runs slowly now, gradually increasing distance. And stretching and IT-band-rolling and icing for hours after workouts (spread out). It is definitely helping, thank goodness.

I'm excited to finally sign up for the Fleet Feet CREW RnR Half Training program tomorrow! And my first run with them should be a "long" one for 3.75 miles downtown on Saturday morning. This half is in November (my first), so I have plenty of time to work up to that distance and work on speed, so I can achieve my sub 2:30 goal. But really, I secretly want to do it in sub 2:20 because that was my little sister's time of her first half last year, which also happened to be the Rock and Roll half (the one held in San Antonio the week after the one in Savannah).  :)

In the midst of all this summer training, I signed up/plan to sign up for a few races in the next month:

The first one is next week, as a celebration of the first week of summer: The Welcome to Summer Virtual Run 5K/10K, hosted by Toni at www.runninglovingliving.com. It's FREE and open to anyone that would like to do it! Plus she is giving out prizes just for participating. Since it's a virtual race, you can participate from anywhere in the world! I highly suggest this one. Plus you have a week span to do it (6/18 to 6/25) and you can choose either the 5K, 10K or both. I'm sticking with the 5K for now. I think 6 miles would be pushing it at this point. 

The next one will be a "destination" race for me... I put that in quotes because it's only in Atlanta and I'll be going up there for work that week, so it's not really for pleasure. :) This one is the 2012 Decatur-DeKalb YMCA 4-Miler on July 14. I'm going to be running in it with my coworker who is also an avid runner, but waaay faster than me. Plus there are hills so I am sure those will kick my butt too.

The following Saturday, July 28, a few of my buddies from the Moms Run This Town Savannah chapter and I will be participating in the Hot Mama Half Marathon and Half Relay. Another virtual one where we get to do this on our own. I am running the relay with Cori! I can't wait! This one should be good. We get some medals (aka" bling" – ugh, I hate that word!) for this too!

Then that is all for the summer, until fall comes. Then there may be some local races here that I may want to do, given I can afford it. haha The 3 races listed above cost me a total of about $21!! Woohoo!

Oh, there is also going to be a Watermelon Crawl on July 4th, but it's not really a race, just an excuse to get out of the house early and run a 6'er or an 8'er with a group of running fools on Independence day! There'll be watermelon at the end, so that's a plus :) This one is also FREE!!

Happy running!

Back on Track... hopefully

First: 

Happy National Running Day!!

Second: 

Great news, the PT cleared me for running again, but with caution, easing back into it and definitely lots of deep stretching afterwards. I'm taking all precautions here because I don't want any more setbacks.

I did a quickie 2 miler with Jenn last night using her run:walk method (run for 4 minutes, walk for 1), which I never thought I'd do, but with the easing back into things, thought it could work for me. It actually isn't too bad. I may stick with this for a while, especially if it doesn't aggravate my hip! I also read up more on the Jeff Galloway running method (who utilizes the run:walk method in his training programs). At first, the idea of walking during a run seemed silly (to an impatient runner like me), but from what he says here (regarding walk breaks), it can actually help you with recovery, injury prevention and does not take much away from your time:

"When you walk fast for a minute, most runners will lose about 15 seconds over running at their regular pace. But if you walk slowly, you'll have lost only about 20 seconds."

Anyway, when I got back home from the run, I made sure to stretch out everything and I even iced and foam rolled my IT band - both sides. This morning, my hip feels a tiny bit tender, but I am not limping, so that is great news. I'm going to get some more stretching and rolling in tonight, after boot camp.

Third:

This month I am making a conscious effort to watch my food intake and strengthen up! I started a Jillian Michaels DVD, which is a 30 day routine. There's a blog I read: Mama Laughlin, who is hilarious! She documents her weight loss journey after years of having a couple kids. Presently she looks AMAZING... This is the link to her before and after pics from doing a Jillian Michaels DVD (but not the same one I have). I hope to achieve the same type of results. I want to get rid of my pooch!

I took my own "before" photos on my phone, but I will post them only if I get some good results at the end of the month. :P I also need to remember to take my measurements...