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...

New Running Friends and Update on my Hip

The last part of April and beginning of May, I decided to start moving up to 6 miles for my weekend long runs. My weekday 5Ks were getting a tad bit slower, from averaging in the 29 minutes to now back to the 30 minute range. It's getting hotter so I wasn't too worried.

During this time, I ran many 2012 PRs (thus far):
6.2 miles at 01:04:32
4 miles at 38:34
(non-race) 3.1 miles at 29:06
and 1 mile at 8:40 (listed below as 8:35, but it was also short according to my watch, so we will go with 8:40)

Hip Update:
During my last 4.25 mile run, I seriously felt pain after the 4 mile mark - it was supposed to be a 6+ mile run, but I had to end it early. I guess all the running on the bum hip caught up with me and it just flared up on me at that point. It sucked. I had to walk back home.

I went to an orthopedist the week before who referred me to a Physical Therapist who told me that my hip injury was due to a tweak during a treadmill run... I knew those things were EVIL!! He recommended rest and very light, non-repetitive activity (including running and even elliptical) for 2 weeks. It would probably need a full 4-6 weeks to heal. He wasn't able to pinpoint exactly what was causing my strain, and also told me take Ibuprofen twice a day for 2 weeks - which sounded crazy. So at the advice of my new friend Jennifer (read on below), I went to see another trusted PT, who runs marathons. He told me that it was my IT band. He pretty much said to take it easy, do other forms of cardio in the meantime, but it would take about a month to heal. He told me to use a foam roller on it, which we have, and to do a few of the same stretches that the other PT told me to do. I also got a chance to try out the Alter-G treadmill which takes off some/most of your body weight so it doesn't impact your joints when you run. It was awesome.

So for now, I'm going to try to give it a rest for maybe a week or two more and slowly get back into running. I want to join the RnR Half training group soon!!!

Let me tell you, it SUCKS not being able to run, especially after I meet some new awesome running buddies!!

My first new friend I met through Dailymile.com. Cori lives quite a way from me, but luckily she was willing to drive 40+ minutes to meet me at Tom Triplett Park one morning to do a 5 miler. It was nice to have someone to run with that is around my pace. Chatting away while running makes the time go faster and more enjoyable! She has a blog, Workin' on my Fitness, which I will be adding to a blog list on the side of this blog soon...

Cori then introduced me to a Savannah Mothers Running group on FB (momsrunthistown.com Savannah Chapter), where I met a few more awesome potential running buddies. Hope to have another meetup again soon!

Jennifer and I after the Savannah Mile

Through this group, I met Jennifer, who just so happens to be my 2 doors down NEIGHBOR!! LOL She has a 12 year old who runs as well - and is quite FAST! We did the Savannah Mile on Saturday, and I hope to do some runs with her as soon as my hip is healed. She has a blog too: Running, Our Way.

So even though I can't or shouldn't run for a while, I really can't wait to get back into it. These girls are really motivating and supportive. I just wish I could get out there dammit!

For now, I am going to try to work on my strength (full body), make my hips stronger, continue to go to Bikram (just have to save up for another month session) and MAYBE start working on my diet... I also need to break out the rowing machine at some point. Just have to clean out that damn garage first!!! :)

Happy belated Memorial Day!

Getting Faster

So the screencap above are my latest runs from March up until my last run a couple days ago. The two runs at the top (my last two) are starred because those are my fastest paces for 4 miles (9:37 pace) and 3.1 miles (9:24) for the year!! It seems like after I broke my 30 minute 5k time, I have been keeping up with it! It's a good feeling. I am trying to increase my distance slowly - by adding a few more 4 milers in during the week (although doing 4 around the 'hood is one of the most boring runs EVAR!). I was going to do my usual 5k lunchtime run today, which I was seriously going back and forth multiple times as to whether I would go or not... I was about to put on my running gear when I changed my mind at the last second NOT to go. My left shin has been a little achy and my right hip (which has been bothering me for the past 3 weeks) is still tight and sore. I'm not running a race any time soon, so I decided that I need to give my body a rest and NOT push it today. Plus it's over 80 degrees out there. Ugh.


I want to calculate my month to month progress (average pace) and report it here. Garmin's website does it, but it doesn't show the time, it shows the average speed (like 6.0 mph, etc). For my purpose, I will need to break out the calculator! I'll try to do it on my next post.

I also want to schedule a physical therapist consult to see if they can help me with my hip issue. I don't want to make it any worse. Icing helps, but it comes right back.

I signed up for another 10 classes of Bikram (which I have to use in 30 days). I went yesterday and I will probably go tomorrow night. I also got one of my friends to do the other yoga classes with me! We will go to that one every Saturday morning (if our schedules and families allow). I went for the first time in over a month and even though the poses were not as physically demanding as Bikram, I still got a great stretch. And it's more fun with a buddy!

I REALLY need to start working on strength training. So far, the yoga has DEFINITELY helped with running and knee pains. So I am sure that with the extra strength training, I will reap more benefits. I really need to work out my core and flabby arms. Once we get our home gym set up in the garage (Our shed will be built this month - come hell or highwater!!! The shed is where everything in the garage will eventually be stored), I will be able to cross train on my rowing machine and use Joel's weight bench. Then maybe after I get the strength training down, I will finally work more on my diet!! One step at a time!!! :)

Gulfstream 5k: sub-30 5k GOAL!

I have not updated in a while. I have lots of running logs to update/post but, if you really want to see my progress, just check out my dailymile.com profile: here

I've been out of town a lot in the past 2 weeks so keeping up with my running and Bikram has been tough. I've been tried and drained. What I did manage to do while I was away was OK. My first Bikram class after over a week was TOUGH. I felt like collapsing ON THE FIRST POSE. A simple side bend. OMG. I was dizzy and lightheaded and close to blacking out for the first half of the class (the standing poses). I managed to not keel over, at least. The Savasana pose (corpse/relaxation pose) was my savior. The 2nd half of the class (floor poses) was fine. I am going back tomorrow night.

In running news, I FINALLY did a 5k in under 30 minutes! It was the Gulfstream 5k. It was one of the coolest courses I've ever run! For those that don't know, Gulfstream is one of the largest companies in the area - they make business/luxury jets. Joel's dad and bro work there, as well as a few of our friends. The 5k was pretty much an employee and family ONLY race. Joel's dad decided not to run this year, so we had to pretend to be "cousins" with one of our friends to get registered into this super-VIP 5k race.

The first part of the race was ON A RUNWAY!! A plane actually took off while we were running (in the next runway over)! So awesome! Then the course weaved through parts of the huge campus and the last yards before the finish line took us though a hanger where people were working on planes... a pretty cool way to end the run (and it was closed off from the sun, haha).

As I got near the finish line, I was so STOKED to see the clock say 28:XX... it certainly motivated me to kick harder on those last few strides. I completed the race in 29:05 (according to my watch)!!! Go me!!

My previous fastest 5k time this year was 30:05 (Shamrock Run)... a full minute faster!

Wait on Weight Loss

Regarding weight loss... It hasn't been happening for me. I admit, I am not really watching what I am eating. I eat what I want, when I want. Dieting hasn't ever been my thing. But at the same time, I do feel guilty when I do eat crap food... Honestly, I can't put it down (as in consume mass quantities) like I used to, so that's good. I do have a little bit more control with not stuffing myself. But one day we were so hungry and had no food at home, so we caved and got some McDonalds. I got a double cheeseburger meal. I ate it ALL! (Well, excluding the pickles) But that night, my body got upset - literally - and I had to pop three Tums at bedtime.

I do turn away from a lot of greasy food now, it just makes me feel ill looking at it. We go to Chik-Fil-A about once a week. It's Liam's favorite! They have healthy choices there... instead of nuggets, which I used to get, I opt for the grilled nuggets (I like to call them "naked nuggets"). They are pretty good: basically a seasoned chicken breast cut up into 8 pieces. I'm sure there's a bunch of salt on it though. Oh well. Better than deep fried goodness... er I mean, grossness. I still tear up those waffle fries though!!! haha

Weight-wise, I am back up to hovering between the high 130s and 140. Still pretty high for my height - I am only a little over 5 feet tall. I should probably be in the 110s-120s... LOL I haven't been that weight since middle school! I know most of the weight I have gained back is muscle. I actually do look a lot more fit than I did before I started my regular running at the start of 2012. I am actually fitting into size SMALL shirts and shorts now. My normal pants I wear when I run are getting loose in the waist and start falling off when I run in them. It's definitely a good feeling.

(TMI alert?) With the good comes the bad: My boobs are shrinking. I went from a B cup, pre-preggo, up to an E during pregnancy, then to a D post partum, then C, but now my C-cup bras are getting a little roomy. I also still have my preggo pooch that I am pretty sure is not going anywhere unless I get a tummy tuck. Kinda sucks, but that's what happens with some women. Unfortunately. :( Maybe I can get myself a tummy tuck as a "reward" for sticking with a fitness plan at the end of the year?

I would like to think that with my increased running and maybe starting weight training (at some point), I will lose more, and by the time I run the half-marathon in November, I will be a lean, mean running machine! I hope to one day post an awesome before and after photo to show everyone! :)