Time to tame the beast...

This was me before my quest for today

This was my Quest....

Home bleachers Fischer Field

And Bob and I were successful in the quest. We went up all 98 steps 5 times, and went up half of them 5 times. Every other time was all the way to the top. I was excited to see Bob and excited to run these steps with him. He always has words of wisdom for me, and today was no exception. It is great to feel like I belong somewhere, BCR is like a family, and Bob is someone who I believe truly wants me to succeed in running and really is concerned about my well being.   I love doing steps with him. Yes, I actually said it, I LOVE STEPS! I am proud of how I just took this on like it is nothing. Like it is a walk in the park. It is not, but I will continue to conquer this quest if it kills me. It won't, it will make me that much stronger. My running will only get better. Which, obviously is my goal.


Me, post steps



Sorry for the face, I don't really know how to take a picture of myself.   Well, it was a beautiful day, and I was glad to have gotten outside to enjoy it. While I cursed the steps for the 30 minutes I ran them, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do them and glad that I was able to #SweatPink.  I am also thankful that God has blessed me with the ability to run. I won't ever take that for granted.




What dreams may come...

from pinterest.com

So, as you may recall, this past weekend a friend of mine asked me to help her get running. Well, today was our first run together, and she did awesome! I think she was nervous at first, like I still get before a race.  It was nice. In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect. She told me that she had never run before, so I thought it would be nice if she was able to go a mile. We started with a brisk walk, and then started to run. Slow and steady for 3 minutes...she needed to walk, so we did. 30 seconds later, she wanted to run again, so we did. We did that for a mile. She was so EXCITED!! I asked her if she wanted to go a little further, we continued with the walk/run combo for 1.25 miles. Then we turned back. I didn't want us to get too far out and then realize she wouldn't be able to make it back. I let her dictate how far we went. At 1.25 miles she stated that 3 minutes was too long of a run period, we backed it down to 2 minutes, but kept it at 30 seconds of walking. At 1.5 miles she was beyond happy. She was like I can do this! I knew she can. We continued, and at 2 miles I congratulated her with high fives and hugs! She did it! She didn't even think she could have done it. At the end of 2 miles she stated how much fun she had. How it was fun to have someone to run with. I was so and am so proud of her. She even wants to join the running club on Saturday, I believe I even talked her into doing TheColorRun NJ in Sept, 

from pinterest.com

but not for a time, but just for pure entertainment. I am so excited to do this run! Anyone else wanna join?!?
I have to admit, I really thoroughly enjoyed the 2 mile run with her. It was nice to go out and just run, not worry about time, to spend some time outside of work together while working on getting healthy. It was weird for me to be giving her advice, on strides, on what to wear, to buy bodyglide. I still don't consider myself a runner, is that normal? When did you consider yourself a runner?
Well, I better get to bed, I have steps to do tomorrow. I hope you all had a great day! What did you do to #SweatPink today?

Oh what a feeling!

Yesterday, I woke up at 445 and headed to the gym. While I was groggy at first and cursed myself for losing sleep to go, when I got there I was re energized by the atmosphere. What a feeling it was to be back in the swing of things. I am going to be realistic here. I can't go from not going to the gym to expect to go every day. No, instead, I am only planning on going twice a week (M and F). What a way to book end the work week.  It will be interesting here to see how this will work out once I know what Joe's work schedule will be and with my schedule changing to 10 hour days, but I can only change what I can change and therefore there is no reason to stress over things.  At the gym I first did some ab work (I need to find some more to do) and then hit the elliptical for 10 minutes on level 3. I am still doing the things the Physical Therapist had told me to do, and since I was MIA from the gym for the while, I thought it was best to stick to it.  Once the elliptical was over, I went and hit the weights for my legs and even did some exercises using just body weight. I like to think that it is making me stronger, and hopefully it really is, but only time will tell me.  It is a good sign that I was able to run 5 miles on Saturday pain-free, and I am going to continually to slowly increase my mileage. I am not worried about not getting the mileage up to where I want it, I am more worried about getting it to stay pain free. It was great to get back into the gym, and oddly, I am really excited that I got myself there yesterday!
Today, I am going to introduce my friend to the world of running. I word it this way, because this said friend just completed the Spartan Race without training for it or anything, and she said that even her best friends thought she would have dropped out right away. But sheer determination, she finished the race. I don't know if she is proud of herself or not, but she should be. Anyway, I recommended that she head over to our local running store to get a pair of shoes that is fitted for her to provide her the best support and will do what she wants it to do.  So, today is the day. We will be meeting up and going running. My plan is to do a modified couch to 5K program with her. I told her she needed to be accountable on the days she doesn't run with me, and she agreed to do just that. So, I will run with her today, and when she is done, I may or may not go for more mileage. It all depends on how long her session is. One short run isn't going to kill me, actually, my legs may appreciate the rest since tomorrow is steps day!
My sister J made my day yesterday.  I randomly received this message via twitter and it made me smile. She somehow seems to always know what I need.

Feelings, nothing more than feelings

     Last week, an awesome thing happened to me. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and I think that when this thing happened last week,  it was what I needed at the time. The awesome thing was that these awesome ladies over at FitApproach, Jamie and Alyse thought I had what it takes to be a SweatPink Ambassador. I talked about it in my post on Monday, it means that I get to encourage other women to put themselves first and help them reach a healthy goal, whatever that healthy goal is. It is also an opportunity for us Ambassadors to get together and know that there is a group of ladies joined together with something common to continually encourage each other in achieving our goal, no matter what fitness goal that is. Because of this awesome title, I will be going to Bryant Park and we are doing a meet-up of all local SweatPink Ambassadors. I am excited. I have read blogs of some of these women, and they seem awesome. I cannot wait to continue to learn from them and continue to help others achieve whatever fitness goals they have.
   I never considered myself one who would be inspiring others. I sometimes I have doubts in my own mind, that I am doing the right thing. That I AM a runner. On Saturdays, I usually run with a group of friends known as Breakfast Club Runners. If anyone is in the area and wants to run with a group of awesome runners (all abilities, all speeds, all various mileage) please look us up on Facebook and join the fun! Our location changes week to week, and it is always posted by Thursday where we are going. I promise, you won't be disappointed.  The best part of it all, we go to BREAKFAST as a group together!! Even if you aren't local, I recommend that you try to find a running club in your area.  I wish I would have known about this club before I ran my first 5K last November.  Looking back, and moving forward, I recommend to people to run with a group of people for a number of reasons.

1. You will get used to running with someone other than yourself
2. You will get used to running with people faster and slower than yourself
3. You will get used to running with people who are running at you in the same space that you are running
4. You will meet a lot of other runners and these runners can teach you things that they have learned that will help your running.

I always tell people to try it.  Even if they wait until the month before their race, it is important to get used to running with other people.  My first race, I hadn't met BCR yet. I remember standing in the pack of runners almost ready to cry.  I was invading other people's space, they were invading mine. The gun went off and I had to dodge people, go around slower runners, stuff like that, all kinds of stuff that was foreign to me.  I had to learn how to pace myself (I SO TOTALLY BLEW THIS ONE!!) I did not enjoy the experience as I wish I would have. Now, knowing what I do now, I really stress running with others before your race.
  Yesterday, I was asked to pace someone. ME!?!?! I pace my good friend Stef as she is now a running addict, but by pacing her, I am pushing myself, and making me a stronger runner.  I am kinda slower right now than I was in April because I am coming back from an IT Band injury and never thought I would pace an experienced runner from this group and I did just that. I was flattered and humbled all at the same time. I guess my hard work is paying off! Because of pacing, I was able to go the distance I had originally wanted, and didn't let myself settle for a comfort distance. I got to learn more about this person, and I made sure he (HI Frank!) wasn't pushing himself so he can get back to racing.  I know he misses it, and we miss having him at the races.  Later in the day, I received a text from a very good friend of mine.  She is not a runner at all. She will be the first to admit it.  However, last weekend she did the Spartan race, and while she would be the first to admit that she wasn't prepared, she was determined to finish it. AND she did!! She texted me and asked me to help her get ready for a half marathon in 6 weeks.  I texted back saying that I really didn't think that was a good goal.  I told her that it took me 12 weeks to prepare for my half marathon, and that I was already running before I started training.  So I told her that we should pick one in Oct or Nov and that I would try to get her ready for that.  I then also told her that in the meantime we will start doing other races, starting with 5Ks, and build up the races before the half.  I think that it is very important to set realistic goals, and if you don't run at all, going from nothing to 13.1 miles is hard, not impossible, hard, but that doing it in 6 weeks might mean failure.  I do not believe in letting my friends do things that are not realistic.  If I allow that, what kind of friend am I? I am supposed to support them and help them, wouldn't I be doing the opposite of just that if I had let her sign up for a half marathon with inadequate time to train?!?! What did I hope she gained from our conversation...

1. Dream big, but dream realistically.  If you dream you want to do a half marathon, let's do it, but let's make sure we have enough time so that you don't injure yourself
2. Don't rush the process. Rome wasn't built in a day, you can't expect to become a runner overnight.  Good things come to those who wait.
3. Enjoy every moment.  If you don't enjoy what you are doing, you won't do it.  If you don't enjoy running, there is no way you will do it for 3.1 miles, let alone 13.1.
4. Friendship brings people together.  Being some one's friend is awesome. Having them come to you for help is very humbling, but you also sometimes have to be their brain.  Dreams clog their thinking (in a good way) so sometimes you have to take their enthusiasm and just portray it a different way.
5. Don't tell them they cannot do something. Tell them they can, just not to expect instant results. (See #2).

I am very humbled by the support I am getting from my family and friends, and now by the support I am giving them. I never thought I would be one for them to come too for running guidance, and now as a SweatPink Ambassador I believe I will be able to help many others. I needed this "title" if you will. It put the wind back in my sail.  It helped me get rid of the cobwebs of doubt that built up from 6 weeks of not being able to run.  It has helped me love running again, and hopefully, I will be able to help others start running and love running like I do.  If you need any help, know someone who you think would love running or just want me to run a race with you, you know you can always count on me!

copied from Pintrest

Happy Running!

Down and out...

Lately I have been in a funk. Really, a deep down dirty funk. I really felt like no matter what I did, I wasn't going to see results. Heck, I don't see the results that I have managed to accomplish. I felt like no matter how hard I trained it wouldn't make any difference in my running. Really, I think that is why I haven't gone to the gym, why I gave up on the race on Saturday before it even started. (It was tough, but nothing like the Quadzilla race my friends just ran). Well, then I saw my sister J. She has no idea that I am writing this (she is at the airport waiting to go home to Chicago) and hopefully she will not get mad at me for being honest.

J, I want to thank you and your husband for your compliments. Thank you for noticing the difference in my appearance and how my hard work is paying off. Thank you! It means a lot to me that someone who doesn't see me often notices the differences and I hope to never let you down. Thank you for accepting me for me, and encouraging me to keep on keeping on. I really want to make you guys proud of me, and hopefully one of these times I will be running with you in Chicago.  Having you be proud of me has reignited the flame that was lit, but that was close to being extinguished. I love you!

To my fellow SweatPink Ambassadors,
Through think and thin and when we believe and then doubt in ourselves, let us strive to help each and every one of us love us for us and for believing that raising our bar is what makes us who we are. Together we will help others #SweatPink and believe in themselves and one person at a time help to make everyone healthier and make Sweating Pink the next big thing.

I have also decided to take a break from running races. Don't worry, I will be back at it next weekend, but this weekend I am going to run with my friends and fall back in love with running. Racing all the time takes its toll on my self esteem and therefore drains me from my love. Racing as we all know, gets to be expensive, so I need to be a little more selective. So, instead of racing this weekend, I am going to run with my friends and then heading over to Volunteer at one of the Lehigh Valle Road Runners Kids Series Events. If you are in the area, why don't you try to stop by and offer some help and help children find their love of exercise and running. I will be there, will you?

I may be down, but I am not out. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I will be running at 8pm with a young lady I met at orientation. Hopefully we will survive the hills we have planned and I will be able to blog about it.

Happy Monday!

Over the river and through the woods...

Yesterday was the Quiet Valley Rooster Run. My friend Stef and I signed up for it without really knowing anything about it. Once we got there, we found out that the run benefits Quiet Valley Farm.  Read all about the farm here.  I do have to admit, it was a challenging course.  Let's just say, the course started with a hill that was approximately 1/4 mile long straight through the woods. I admit, I thought I was prepared since I used to run at Jacobsburg, but like I said, "used to."  I really need to look into changing that. Just like Jacobsburg, there were inclines, declines, flat areas, rolling hills, steep pitched hills, even a bridge to run over.  While I was not prepared for the run, I do have to say how beautiful the run itself was.  The race started in a field (not sure if it is associated with the farm) and then traversed over the river and through the woods. Do I have any complaints about this course, no, just that I wish I was more prepared for the hilly terrain.  There were even piles of horse manure you needed to navigate around, all in a days work, right? My friend Stef developed some pain, so when running it became tougher for her, I told her our objective was just to finish it. When she needed to walk, I walked with her. When she could run, I ran with her. I did not and would never leave her behind, that is not what friends do. We signed up together, there is no way we wouldn't finish together.  Would I run this race again, possibly, depending on what races I find this time next year, and what else we have going on. I believe that there was something after the race where we could tour the farm.  Maybe Makayla would be interested in that, but we will see what next year brings.
My sister J and her entire family are in from Chicago. This is a BIG deal to me because yesterday I got to meet my nephew Jacob for the first time. He is absolutely adorable. He is tiny, and I don't ever remember Makayla being that little. He is so long, and so precious, I couldn't wait to hold him. However, Makayla is not yet used to me holding other babies, so I had to wait to hold him.  Later we went to my cousin Kim and Phil's. They were having a meet and greet of their sweet baby girl Stella. Stella was born a month early and she is doing great! Holding her is like holding nothing, but she is so awesome. At this meet and greet, I got to hold Jacob. He is the sweetest little boy with the deepest blue eyes. I am sad that my sister and her family live so far away, but hopefully, now that things are changing around here (the hubs finally got a job after 2 months of not working) M and I will be able to make trips out there. I believe they are doing something around Joey's birthday for both his birthday and Jacob's baptism, so if that stays as planned, we will be going out to Chicago then. And then we will be able to plan trips hopefully more frequently.
Hey...did you see the new badge on my page?!? I am now a Sweat Pink Ambassador. Their mission

"We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick."

I believe I will be able to live this mission as it is my mission to push myself and yet give myself a break. In the days to come, I will be learning more about what this means and will be sharing that with you.

Things around here are starting to look up, thank you for sticking around, I promise it will be an interesting adventure.

What doesn't kill you...

Makes you stronger.  The Kelly Clarkson song Stronger, while is not about being this kind of strong, fits completely. " What doesn't kill you makes you stronger/ Stand a little taller/ Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone/ What doesn't kill you makes you fighter" So, today, 2 days later I am finally feeling the affects of the steps.  I am not complaining, it actually feels good to know that something is working on making me a better, stronger runner.   I found this picture today, and thought it was perfect..

http://www.positivequotes.us/

I will have to remember that when I hit the steps again next week.  I know that these steps will help me in the long run and while I was disappointed I couldn't run all of the steps 10 times, I did take that first step and I did run them 10 times. That is huge for me. And crazy me, is looking forward to doing it again next week. I had every intention of going to the gym this morning, but Makayla had other plans. I went to kiss her goodbye and she said "Hi, Mommy!" She wanted nothing to do with me leaving so instead I just held her and we nuzzled and hung out. I made breakfast, she wanted breakfast. She wanted my cereal with milk, so I gave her cereal with milk.  I have to say, I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together this morning even though it meant I didn't get to go to the gym. I am sure there are going to be days when she wants nothing to do with me, so I will hold onto these moments forever.  While I am hoping the pain in my calves is only temporary, since I have a 5K tomorrow. It is the Quiet Valley Rooster Run. From what I read, it is mixed terrain and cross country. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow, but with a name like Quiet Valley Rooster Run, it has to be fun right. Stick around tomorrow, I will sure to tell you all about it.

Speaking of tomorrow, my sister J and her family is coming in from Chicago tonight, er um tomorrow for the weekend. I am finally going to meet my month old nephew for the first time. I am sure the kids are going to be up to no good, and I cannot wait! Have a great Friday!

I feel good..

Yesterday, I did a double workout. Today, I feel good. A little sore, but after I tell you what I did, I think you will agree that it is acceptable. On Saturday while running with Bob from Breakfast Club Runners, we talked about running stadium stairs at Lafayette later in the week. Well, yesterday was the day. Of course, I was running late, but I made it anyway. Of course, I brought my entourage, but it was good to have Makayla there for these steps. Anyway, Bob didn't wait for me (thankfully) and Brian (I was just meeting him for the first time) was already doing the steps. So, I had asked Bob how many of these things he does...10. OK, I will shoot for that number. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY STEPS THERE ARE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STADIUM TO THE TOP?!?! I will tell you A LOT!! Check out Brian's website for a picture of these steps. Anyway, I ran up the steps all the way to the top and back down. Then did crunches. Then all the way up again and back down. This repeated one more time, and realized that I didn't want to overdue it. The next 4 times I only ran up to the tunnel and then finally for the last one all the way back up and down again. Between each run, I was greeted by this kid...


Next week, Bob will not be joining me at the stairs, he has the nerve to go on vacation (just kidding) but I know I will DEFINITELY be back at them again.



After the 10 reps of stairs, I was worried that my IT band would hurt, but it didn't. That is good because after that I knew I had another date with another running friend Holly. Off to a LVRR FREE 5K. What's better than free running and free food and running with awesome friends?!  Brian, who I had met earlier in the day, was there, and he captured as much of the run as he could. I word it that way because this particular race we were able to run in 2 different directions, makes it harder for the photographer to capture the race.  Anyway, I didn't know much about this course, so I was really just running it to stretch out my legs since I hadn't run since Saturday. I am so glad that I went. I ran all of the hilly course except for one hill, and my IT band didn't hurt at all. I didn't care for my time so much, but again I was just running it to run, and while my legs felt great, my cardiovascular and lung capacity is still terrible. I NEED to get out and run more. 

Today, my legs are just a little sore. A LOT less sore than I was planning and that makes me happy. I think today I am going to keep it light, stretch and relax it today, and tomorrow head back to the gym. Sat, I have another 5K, this time it is a cross country course which will remind me of Jacobsburg. Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone is up to running that again?!? Hmm.

Happy Thursday!What did you do this week so far?

Post race day

Yesterday was hot! I hope you all stayed hydrated and still enjoyed the weather. After the Firecracker 4 miler I could feel  muscle soreness in my right leg, and I knew it wasn't the same as the pain I had before therapy so I believe it definitely was soreness from not having run that far in so long. Anyway, I made sure to rest it by swimming in a pool and taking 2 aleve. It felt much better after the Aleve, so it gives me hope that I really am on the path to healing.
The race wasn't my best, (I did walk up the hill at mile 2) but I am relieved to make it through the race pain free. Gives me hope that I will be able to do half marathons again! After the race I was able to talk to a super awesome lady and hopefully a friend and she offered to do speed work with me (something I have been contemplating just never knew how to go about it). So, hopefully that will help me break my 30 minute time for my 5k and help me improve running overall.  I am hoping to get back to where I left off, and also do better on at least one of my half marathons this year. I really want to know what I can do without pain. I am also going to be smart, and only do the 10% rule  when it comes to increasing my distance, and I am going to still go to the gym and do the workouts they gave me at physical therapy, hopefully be able to do something like cross fit and improve my overall fitness.

Sorry for the rambling. There will be pictures later that my mom took yesterday of the babe, but for now, try to enjoy Thursday, it looks like it will be a warm one again.

Running

I am slowly returning to the running world. I ran 5 miles pain free on Sat, and I only have 2 more scheduled visits of physical therapy. Hopefully things are still healing well, I miss running. I will have to figure out how to run before work, although right now getting up at 430 is really early. Looks like it is heating up quickly and running in the afternoon is starting to get not safe.  When I go to my 10 hour shifts, looks like I will be utilizing the jogging stroller, I just hope Makayla enjoys it as well. I will be taking my bike to get serviced, hopefully this weekend, so I can start training for a triathlon. But back to running. Remember when I won the contest to have a professional run any race with me (she ran my half with  me), well part of the requirements were that I was to get friends to run.   Well, since my half, I have introduced running to 2 friends, one of which I believe I got addicted. ;) She loves it so much, she is even already planning a 10K race, and talked about running a half with me. I am currently cheering on 2 more friends who are getting ready to run their first 5Ks and I have another acquaintance, whom I just met, who wants to run 5 miles with me on Sat so she can see how it goes and decide if she wants to run a half with me.  I am humbled by the people who tell me that I inspire them, I just have to find that spark again in me. I am missing running, it is hard to not run, but I also know that I need to do this slowly in order to stay healthy and be able to accomplish all the things on my bucket list for this year. I love how running makes me feel, and right now I am missing those feelings, but I know that as soon as I am cleared to, I will be running at least 3 days a week and that those feelings will get better and I will start too see the weight loss kick back in.  I also have to make sure that while it is awesome to introduce all of these people to running, that I start to push myself, I NEED to get stronger...I have a time goal I need to beat for my next half.

Happy Wednesday! I hope every one has a great hump day!

Race Recap

I am by no means a race expert, so I probably shouldn't be doing a race recap. However, since this was my first time doing The Pumpkin Pie 5 K I think that I can tell my perspective of the race. First off, wow! I didn't expect that many people. There were over 1000 people running or walking this race.  When you first got there to check in they had you go to one section to get your race bib and goodie bag. Then you had to go another section to get your timing chip and then you had to figure out how to attach the running chip to shoe which looked way more difficult then it turned out to be.
The race started promptly and went directly up a hill, but it started on a normally busy street where the residents who live there did not move their cars. So you have 1000+ people trying to run up a hill and you have to dodge parked cars.  They did have the walkers take a different path so that was nice, at least we didn't have to dodge walkers the entire run.  There were a lot of hills! I mean a lot. You can check for yourself here. Every time I thought we had reached the peak, it felt like there was another. I ran hills for as part of my training, so I knew that I could handle them.  But back to the race.  They did have someone at the first and second mile mark telling you your times, and I thought the second mile seemed to past much faster than the first. I guess that could be due to the fact that while I did not want to start off too fast, I think I did. After the 2nd mile marker, I just kept following the crowd through the neighborhoods.  Some where around mile 3, the walkers shoot back onto the same path as the runners and how the enter the race path, it felt like as a runner I had to dodge them. Oh wait, and more parked cars. At the final turn, there were lots of fans to get your blood pumping, and seeing them and my cheering section allowed me to turn up the heat. I did want to turn it up sooner, but as I previously said I had to dodge the walkers. Anyway, onto that final stretch with everyone cheering you on and seeing that finish line I just had to push harder! I sprinted and even heard a fellow runner (someone who finished way before me) cheer me on for turning on the heat at the end.
Overall it was a good race. I don't know if I would say it was a fun race, maybe if I had someone to run it with it would have been more fun, but it definitely was a race of the mind.It looked like they had a lot of refreshments at the end, but I didn't wait to check them out. Maybe next race I will make sure to see the vendor section! All in all I am glad that I did the race and I am looking forward to doing some more. I am proud of how far I came in 11 short weeks and look forward to whatever running adventures come by way.
I never thought I would like running, but today, I felt like a runner!

5 K

I ran my first 5K today. I RAN the entire thing, even the hills. I will post more tomorrow, for now, here is a picture of me before the race!

Until then, have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I have a lot to be thankful this year!

Pre Race Gitters

This is it! This is the day I have been waiting for. No, wait, that will be tomorrow. Today is the eve of the day I have been training for thus far. Tomorrow is my first 5K race! I don't know all the particulars of what people do before the race, but I do know this. My clothes will be picked out tonight, my pre-race meal will be planned tonight. I will have pasta for dinner tonight (possibly lunch too).  I am trying not to let myself get to nervous about the race, I know that I can do it. I have been running 4 miles up to this week, so 3.1 should be easy, but I know how I get. I start to tell myself that I can't do it, that I haven't trained long enough. But, I KNOW I can do this. I know that it is normal to feel nervous about my first race, but I won't let it hold me back. I won't let it keep me from the goal! I can't believe how far I have come in 12 weeks. 12 weeks ago I started the couch to 5k program and could barely run 30 seconds, and now I run 4 miles. Other races are starting to peak on the horizon, and I can't wait to see me conquer those goals as well. Who would have thought that I would be a runner? I can honestly say I never saw this coming. But, I am so glad it did.  You never know what God has planned, but when you are patient and listen to Him, He will allow greatness into your life. I know that I won't win any prizes at my race tomorrow, but the best prize that I can win and will win is FINISHING the 5K and knowing that I put it all on tthe line.

Fitness Goals...

As you know, I have starting grabbing the proverbial bull by its horns. 11 weeks ago I started running, I have my first 5K in 2 days. 10 weeks ago I started going to the gym to cross train. On those days I do cardio, upper body, cardio, lower body, and some more cardio.  I didn't think that I would stick to any goal, let alone running and the gym. My work reimburses me when I go to the gym at least 8 times/month. That was originally my goal, just go 8 times/month. Well, after seeing this...

I am rejuvinated and know that it is all worth it! In all, with running, working out and utilizing the program LoseIt, since May I am down 38 pounds! Right now I am one pound from my original goal, but that will be reassessed once I reach that.

As you may or may not know, I also signed up for my first 10K! That is Superbowl Sunday. I am so excited. I never thought I would really enjoy running, and now that I do, I can't get enough. I just might have to change my schedule and instead of having a rest day, I will make tthat another run day so that I am running 4 days a week! Who would have thought I would just say that!

Enough about me, here is a video of Makayla walking away!



Races..

Now that I am back in the saddle again with running, I thought that it was important to pick out some races as goals. I am trying to enter one race a month from May until the end of the year. My big race is in Sept, but other than that, mostly 5Ks or one 10K race. Let me know if you want to join.
First race: May 1, 2010 First Annual Run for Rich 5 K race then...
May 8, 2010 May Day Run/Walk 5K and 10K in Williamsport then...
June 5, 2010 Balloon Chasers' 5 K and 1 mile fun run/walk in Hershey Park (maybe we can go to the park after the race?) *sorry that I don't have a link for the race, it wasn't loading.
I haven't found a race for July yet, but I did find one for August...
Aug 29th is the 2nd Annual Run Wild at the Lehigh Valley Zoo 5k
Sept 19th is the Rock n Roll half marathon in Philadelphia and finally
I have penciled in ...
November 21st, the Coney Island Boardwalk 5K Turkey Trot

Hopefully I will be able to participate in all of these races. Wait, scratch that, I know I will. Now that I have a GOAL... I know I CAN do it!

It's Time to Start Training

Yep, that means me. As you may or may not know, I joined a gym. I came up with lots of excuses not too, but honestly, I needed to. Anyway, today in the mail I got this magazine that is from where I work. I don't usually read it, but today I did. Am I glad. See, in the Check Up Magazine they talk about a Marathon sponsored by where I work. No, I don't plan on running the marathon, but they also offer a 5K walk. That is what I want to do. Going to the gym has some added bonus. On top of that, I also received another magazine from where I work (yes, I usually throw this one out too) and in it is a class call First Strides. The purpose of this group is to get women to start fitness walking or running with the ultimate goal of participating in a women's 5K. I DO eventually want to be able to run in a 5K, but if I start my goals off with walking in one at least I know I am going in the right steps. Now, First Strides does not start until the end of March, but in the mean time, I can use my gym time to get started on training. Hopefully, this is one thing I will follow through on. Now, if only I knew someone that could help me find proper shoes?!