This past week was kind of a very slacker week as far as running goes. Everything else was kind of crazy with a career fair, tests, the state fair, and my cousin coming from Pittsburgh (!!) so running kind of took a back seat. But, here's what I did manage to do...
Monday: rest, of course :)
Tuesday: 2 miles - 21:06 minutes. Ran outside and had a good run! No numb feet aaaannd I got to run with my new Garmin! And yes, I love it!! It makes such a difference and it's so much easier having that to keep track of my time/miles as opposed to trying to look at my big clunky iPhone when it's strapped to my arm. Speaking of which, I think I might look into getting an iPod shuffle to just put running music on so I don't have to take my phone with me anymore, it's kind of annoying..
Wednesday: A run didn't exactly happen. I was cramming all day for a test and had full intentions of squeezing in a run, but it didn't quite work out :(
Thursday: No run today either because I'm a BIG FAT SLACKER. Actually, by the time I was out of class there wasn't enough time because then my cousin was here! And we spent the afternoon at the lovely fair :)
Friday: Rest day (as if I really needed one?) aka drive to la playa with my cousin!
Saturday: Don't worry... I ran! I was at the beach and convinced myself to get up early (~7:15am) to go run on the treadmill at the gym. I didn't have much time, but overall it was a good run - 2 miles 20:43 mins. Realized that I'm not a fun of running on the treadmill though.
Sunday: Gorgeous run on the beach at 8:15am!
Ran 2.53 miles (ran out of time and plus my feet got numb, again...agh!) in 27:40 mins. This run was good, other than the whole feet getting numb thing. I tried stretching them out more often than usual and then even took off my shoes to try and run some, and they still stayed numb. So annoying!
So it wasn't a horrible week, I guess. But this coming up week I am going to be stretching like a mad woman (I want this numbness to go away!!) and running like crazy too! Time to get in shape and start to feel good about running this half marathon! :)
Oh and expect a Myrtle Beach update coming soon (hopefully)! If life ever slows down...
Week three, done! This week was an exciting yet frustrating week for all things related to running. I made some exciting purchases, realized a few things, and went my long distance so far (although I hardly survived...). But more on all of that in a minute. Here's how this week was...
Monday: Rest day! Slash I should probably do some strengthening stuff or stretching on these days, but I'm not sure what to actually do. Suggestions?
Tuesday: Ran 2 miles outside ~18 minutes. It was kind of raining outside the whole time I was running, but it was that spit kind of rain...where it's not really raining but it's enough to get you wet. Normally I hate that kind of rain, but it actually felt nice while I was running!
Wednesday: Ran 3.08 miles outside ~30 minutes. It was cloudy all morning and then the sun came out of no where and made it feel pretty hot while I was running which was no bueno. But overall it wasn't so bad, towards the end the toes on my right foot began to go numb though...anyone else have this problem or know how to make it go away?
Thursday: Ran 2 miles outside ~21 minutes. For some reason this run was no fun for me at all. It was relatively hot and my legs hurt. I'm not sure why they're all of a sudden hurting more...but my ankles/calves were really tight when I was running and that made them pretty sore while I was running. I felt like I just needed to really stretch them out or something. So I ended up walking for a bit during this run. BLAH.
Friday: REST DAY! Minus a little bit of tennis :) It was too gorgeous outside to not play!
Saturday: Ran 3 miles outside around the lake - 29:57 mins. This wasn't too bad of a run, there were lots of hills but it was easier than it was in the past! My knees started to hurt some in the beginning, especially as I went down hills, but then they got a bit better. However by the end of the race my ankles were SUPER tight and my feet were completely numb. Awesome.
Because of this numbness I decided that it was time I actually do something about it. So I went to a running place and talked to them and they looked at how I walked and they said that my feet could be going numb because my shoes are too small or laced too tight, or also because I'm wearing supported shoes when I really don't need the extra support, I just need neutral shoes. Sooo I tried on a variety of shoes and ended up buying some bigger Asics. Which leads me to Sunday...
Sunday: I was super excited to try out my new running shoes and run the 4 miles today with hopefully no numb feet! No such luck. Seriously, this was the most frustrating run/day yet! I got to about 2 1/2 miles and my feet started to go numb AGAIN! It couldn't have been my shoes because they weren't tight at all so I didn't understand why it was still bothering me...and so much sooner than before. So needless to say the rest of the run was really frustrating for me. I could have run it fine if it weren't for my numb feet, so it made me really mad! I finally finished it though and did 4.11 miles in ~49 minutes. Not so bad, but I'm still upset because I ended up having to stop like twice to sit down and rub out my foot to get rid of the numbness and I ended up walking quite a bit too. FJKLAJGLSDKGJS. That's how I feel today.
I did some googling though and found out that I might be running too hard and I should stretch out my calves more too, so I'm going to try and run a little lighter and stretch a lot more and we'll see what that does! And if it still doesn't work...I'll be off to the Doctor, wah!
Okay so anyway, now to the exciting new things from this week...
Purchase #1:
Brooks running shorts!
While I was at the mall on Thursday exchanging something I randomly stumbled across a Try Sports store. I had nooo idea they had one of those at the mall and so of course I had to check it out! And hooray, they were having a sale! I'm shocked that I was able to control myself and only walk away with one thing...
I tried the shorts on Saturday and overall I liked them. They're super light which is nice, but I felt like they rode up a lot and I was constantly pulling them down because I'm super self-conscious like that. I want to try out some other Brooks shorts too.
Purchase #2:
Garmin Forerunner 610, eeeeeek!!!
I've been thinking for a while about which Garmin to get to track my runs and I've had quite a few in mind. In fact, I wasn't even considering this one until one of my friends told me about it. But I knew that I def. wanted some kind of running watch, preferably a Garmin. The one is a bit more expensive than most of the others, but I was able to get 20% off so it turned out to not be that bad!
It hasn't come in the mail yet (I just ordered it Friday) but it will hopefully be here soon and once it is I will be sure to tell all about it! I can't wait to get it and go run! Geez, how's that for motivation?
Realization #1:
I looove running to Girl Talk.
All of the songs are so upbeat and they give me that extra boost I need to keep running. They have awesome beats that keep me energized and they're longer than most songs...which just keeps me going even farther! Although yeah, most of the songs are not the edited version so they can get kind of interesting sometimes...
BUT, regardless of the words, if you need a good beat to run to, Girl Talk all the way :)
Realization #2:
Running in the rain can actually be kind of fun. Of course, I didn't run in a downpour or anything, so maybe my thoughts would change if I had, but so far I like it! I'm definitely going to stick to my normal running plans regardless of whether it's raining or not... it's kind of refreshing to be in the rain :) And I have to include this, just because when I googled "running in the rain" this is one of the images that popped up...
Steelers forever <3 and did you see that win today?! ;)
No clue why that picture came up under running in the rain but whatever, I'll take it and put it on my blog even though it has nothing to do with anything.
Y'all may remember from this post just how much I love Nicholas Sparks and all of his books. So you can only imagine how excited I am that on Tuesday a new book of his came out!
In the spring of 1984,
high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in
love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one
another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental,
North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close,
unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically
divergent paths.
Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are
summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once
gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they
imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever
changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left
behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about
Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it
seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover
undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a
single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love
truly rewrite the past?
I'm so excited to read this! If it's anything like all of his other books I know that it will be amazing! I just ordered it from Amazon and can't wait for it to come in the mail :) I think I will be devastated when the day comes that he retires and stops writing books. Let's hope that's not for a while though...
In other completely unrelated news, I have been eating some yummy things this week...
Exhibit A:
Homemade Ribs! Sooooo good.
Exhibit B:
This was before it was baked. I'd never tried this before but it's brownie batter with chocolate chip cookie dough on top of it and let me just tell you...finished product = delicious!
Other than that I've just been eating a bunch of random stuff, none of which is really healthy. I need to start eating better things though, especially with all this training going on. Anyone have any suggestions for what to eat while training for a half marathon? I think I need to not be such a picky eater. Oh and it might also be good if I actually enjoyed cooking? Such problems.
I survived yet another week of training. It wasn't too bad, but I've kind of started to question why I signed up for this and just how I'm going to make it through 13.1 miles...
"My hope is in You, Lord
All the day long I won't be shaken by drought or storm"
...Oh yeah, but that's right, that's how I'm going to make it :) God is so good and I've been truly relying on Him and praying to Him to help me through these weeks of training! He's been so good and right when I feel like I can't do it anymore I turn to Him and feel so encouraged!
Here's a look at the past week...
Monday: day of rest!
Tuesday: 1 mile on the track at the gym - 8:43 mins. 1 mile on this cross ramp/elliptical thing - not actually sure what it was. Cross ramp was set at 8 and resistance was 6 - 10:04 minutes.
Wednesday: 2.11 miles outside on campus - 17:27 minutes. It felt nice outside, def. not as hot as last week. I'm loving running in this fall weather!
Thursday: 1.08 mile on treadmill - 11:39 mins. 2 miles on bike - 7:26 mins, my legs were so sore and tired while on the bike! Not the best of workouts, I had forgotten my hair tie AND bobby pins so my hair was all over the place. Blaaah.
Friday: rest!
Saturday: Went for an early morning run at my apartment gym! 2 miles on treadmill ~21 mins.
Sunday: Another early morning run, but this time outside around the lake :) Ran for 3 miles in about 28 minutes. There were SO MANY HILLS omgoodness. Glad I had someone to run with and encourage me and keep me going or else I would have probably given up...
Now it's off to tackle another week, I'm ready! :)
Happy Sunday,
B.Hines
P.S. - sorry for the lack of pictures, maybe this coming week I'll take some entertaining (and nasty) pictures of myself during/after runs to put in these training posts ;)
Anyone else think that today feels like Friday instead of Thursday? No? Just me? Maybe it's just because this is the beginning of my LAST fall break ever! Ohmygosh...
Okay well anyway, sometime last week I stumbled upon this blog(?) with some really awesome and artistic pictures of celebrities and I feel in looove with pretty much all of them. If you want to check it out you can here.
Anyyyway, while I was browsing I came across this beautiful picture of this beautiful man and I just can't not share it.
Seriously Chace Crawford, come to Raleigh right now.
So as soon as I found this picture I had to send an email to my roommate Hillary because I knew she would swoon over him just as much (if not more) as me. Which then in turn lead to this...
Yes, the subject is "can we just start a chace crawford email thread?" We did.
Unfortunately I can't save that flickr picture to put it on my blog, so you're just going to have to go check it out for yourselves here. But I will leave you with another gorgeous picture...
A few posts ago I briefly mentioned that my crazy self has decided to run a half marathon with a friend from Italy, Jasmine. Well, yea...y'all read that right. Quite honestly, I'm not so sure what I've just gotten myself into.
For a while now, I've really been wanting to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. It's basically a 13.1 mile run through Disney World, complete with characters all along the way motivating you! AND the medal is a tiara...helloooo, awesome!
So after trying to convince people to run the race with me, I finally talked to Jasmine and she said she'd love to do it! Her and I are in the same boat in that we've never run anything this long before, so it will be good to have each other to rely on! And so we've finally signed up and now it's on to training! Luckily the race isn't until February 26, 2012 so we have quite a lot of time to train. I created my own little training schedule to last through the 22 weeks and over that time I'm going to try and update my progress each week on my blog!
For the first week of training (aka this past week) I went really simple to get back into the hang of running and working out at least 5 times a week. My week looked a little like this...
Monday: Ran 1 mile, then biked for 3. Stupid me doesn't remember my time though, so whooops! I think total it was something around 22 minutes? It wasn't bad, I even proceeded to do some ab workouts once I got home...crazy!
Tuesday was a super busy day for me, so I took that as one of my rest days. (and yes, I realize for my first week I was a little off my training schedule. I haven't quite figured out if my class/work schedule will fit in with this one, so I may end up changing around Monday and Tuesday some)
Wednesday: Ran two miles outside in ~21 minutes and oh gosh was it hot! Recently I've just been running in the gym on a track, so to go from being inside on a flat area to outside where it is hot and hilly was a big difference! I may or may not have felt like death...and yes only after two miles! But hey, it can only get better right?
Thursday: Back inside in the gym! I had a quick work out with my mom before we went to dinner with the grandparents. Ran a mile - 11:13 minutes then biked for 3 miles - 8:09 minutes. And again, I squeezed in some ab work outs :)
Friday: another day of rest! Hooray :)
Saturday: Okay I'm just going to be honest, Saturday was basically another day of rest aka I did not run the 2 miles that I was supposed to :( But you see, Saturday was BUSY and I was exhausted! Pluuuus, we walked to and from the football game (~2 miles) and were on our feet the WHOLE time, so that's got to count for something, right?! If only State had actually won...
Sunday: 3 miles - about 30 minutes total. I stayed at home Saturday night so I woke up early before church and went for a run around my neighboorhood which is quite a lot of big hills. Also it was in the 50's outside and pretty cold and windy! Hello fall...I'm still undecided on how I feel about your presence.
Well, week one down, 21 more to go! Any advice/tips/whatever are very welcome!! I'm looking into buying a running watch to track my distance/time/pace/etc...anyone have any suggestions on what watches are best?
Also, I don't know if there are any runners out there reading this, but I'm on dailymile.com now, so find me! It's a fun little way for me to track my workouts and my training overall, I like it :)
