And the countdown begins...

The Disney Princess Half marathon is in 24 days! Do I feel in anyway ready for this race? No. Hmm, wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's been so unbelievably cold outside that only a crazy person would go for a run in this! I've been trying to stay on top of my training but it's really hard to stay motivated when it's freezing out and the only thing you want to do after a long day at work is curl up inside where it's warm. I'm hoping the weather lets up this weekend so I can get my 12 mile run in. I have to do this last run before the race so that I know that I can finish. They say if you can run 10 miles, you can do the half. I did my 10 miles but would feel much better if I actually ran closer to the race distance. I'm have tempted to keep running past the 12 and 13.1 mile marks just to say to myself that I've gone farther than the race distance and therefore it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I'm psyched about the race though and can't wait to have a time that I can start working towards beating.

I'm going to continue running long distances after the race in preparation for any other races that I sign up for. I definitely want to work on my pace though. I have some times for some 5Ks that I want to get lower and maybe even cut in half but that's a pretty high goal to reach. I may look around to see about joining a running club to work on that. I would love to have a 7 minute mile or faster.

Competitive Running

I bought a book yesterday that is the women's complete book of running. I can't remember the specific title but that comes close enough. I've read a lot of it so far which is a nice break from studying ethics, Erickson, DSM-IV-TR diagnoses, and other random stuff.

I'm psyched about running and cannot wait to move. I've already looked up running clubs in the area. Currently, I'm having to enjoy running from the sidelines as I got my first running injury while I was in Florida. I think it's a stress fracture in my foot but I can't confirm because that would require a trip to the doctor. So I'm taking the rest of the month off.

But come August 2, it's on. I start my first training program to get ready for a half marathon. Totally psyched! I hope to eventually do a whole marathon but that's for down the road.

And I can't wait to go get my next pair of running shoes. So excited!

Watermelon Run 5K

I'm currently in Winter Park, Florida, a tiny little town on the outskirts of Orlando. I'm dogsitting for a family that I know and will be here a total of 11 days. When I got here, the mom let me know that there was going to be a 5K on July 4th. She and I run together when she's back in Baton Rouge and I will be returning here in February to compete in a half marathon. I figured why not? I need practice and don't really have anything else to do.

Oh gosh, Florida humidity + race = brutal. Parts of me that I didn't know sweat were sweating. It was nasty. My time was 34:57 which isn't my best time but I finished! And I finished in both the top third and was one of the first 3000 people to cross the finish line so I got a nice little souvenir cup.

There are parts of this race that I liked a lot better than the Race for the Cure in Waco.

1) Pace signs - All of us got to run according to what pace we could do. This really helped out with the start of the race as the people with 10+ pace and walkers were to line up in the back so I didn't have to dodge them. However, it also seems some people were a little too confident in their pace but at least it wasn't a lot of them.

2) Time clocks - At the 1, 2, and 3 mile marks, they had time clocks up so you could see how you were doing. The only downside to this is that not all of us started at 0:00:00 seeing as how the start corral was pretty deep. It helped to know that I started around the 1 minute mark.

3) Star Spangled Banner - A trumpeter came out to play this before the race and I realized that we don't hear this song enough ... especially on the 4th of July. Francis Scott Key really captured the fight in Americans' hearts to be independent and free.

4) Watermelon - oh gosh, out of everything at the end of the race that they had to help hydrate us, the watermelon was by far the best. It's 92% water. I think this should be an option at the end of all races.

There were also things I didn't like ...

1) No warm up - Now I didn't like that there wasn't an organized warm up like Race for the Cure had. Granted, these were all pretty serious runners and we all warmed up on our own. I just think that a group warm up would have helped pass the time.

2) Tshirts - Both races had race tshirts but I learned on this one that you don't have to wear it to the race. And if I do another hot race like this, it's time to put aside my modesty and just run in a sports bra and shorts. I haven't run in a tshirt since Race for the Cure and have been fine in a tank top but I was dying out there. The only downside would be I need something to wipe my face.

3) Running alone - I mentioned this before but it's still true. I would much rather have someone there with me although now it doesn't have to be someone running. There were over 3000 runners there today .... aka strangers. Before the race, I was starting to get really anxious about this and knew that if it didn't get better, I would have gone back to the car and left. I think if someone had been there with me and we were chatting, it would have been much better.

But I finished and survived and had a really strong finish - a faster pace from 2.8 on and then sprinting the last tenth. Gotta finish strong. And now I'm off for a pedicure and some self care before Zeus and I head out to the lake tonight to watch some fireworks :-)

First Race

Today was my first 5K. I didn't get up early enough for the group warm up before hand but did get out there on time for the race.

I have learned next time ....

register for the timed race instead of untimed - it was so aggravating when the race started to try and weave my way through the walkers trying to get to the front to run. And then there were three boys probably no older than 12 or 13 that thought it was really funny to run in front of the people running and then stop. They did this to me and I almost fell onto the two little ones but had to side step in between them and ended up knocking into the third. I was not happy with them at all.

show up super early - the line for the timed runners to pick up their chips was incredibly long. I'll need to make sure that I do show up early next time so that I don't have to wait as long.

have someone there to cheer me on/run with - this one is merely preference. I think I would be more motivated to keep running if I know that somewhere along the route is going to be someone I know. This would also work if I had someone to run with.

don't schedule anything to do right after - immense hunger set in about three hours after the race. And the exhaustion. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap and still feel drained.

for longer races, schedule a massage - my legs were so sore and walking helps but after rest, they're stiff again. It would be so nice to have someone work out the kinks for me.

So the race itself was pretty good. I have mixed feelings about not knowing the route before I ran. I like the fact that I didn't know where the turning point but I think that could go against me too. I started off running and once I got past the walkers, I kept up a pretty good pace. I got to a point where very few people were passing me but I was still passing others. And I was determined to not walk at all. The last part was running across the Waco Suspension Bridge. I thought that it was going to be fun. I had never been across it before and then the moment I started across it, it wasn't fun anymore. There was a strong crosswind that made it difficult to run. I finished by sprinting the very, very last part. It felt good. I finished in 30:15 with an average pace of 9:26 which is just awesome.

I'm psyched about my next race :-)

Stranger Danger!

So I've been thinking a little bit today ... I didn't have my iPod with me when I ran so I thought for 2.31 miles.

Mostly about my aversion to social situations.

And how I keep thinking Stranger Danger! when put in situations where I don't know anyone.

I'm not sure that people quite understand how bad this is. I don't go anywhere alone, and I won't go places where I won't know anyone. I have driven up to places before, parked my car, thought about going in, and then driven away again. It's bad. Last year at the SW Family Dinner, I didn't know anyone at my table. I left. Seriously people, it's that bad. I hate to admit it but I have also passed on hanging out with friends if I know that I am going to have to walk into a room full of people alone. I really need to work on this, I know I do.

So then I started thinking about my lack of a love life. This resulted in several amusing conversations today. Just in case you heard ... no, I'm not really looking for a sugardaddy. I think the fact that I don't talk to strangers and won't go to places where I don't know people or where I have to show up alone is quite a hindrance. Thinking back the last five guys I have dated were all guys that worked at the same place I did. Obviously it worked out well .... not. Maybe I need to actually start going out with friends and be more willing to talk to strangers ... and I mean strangers in the sense of people that my friends know.

I was told today that I'm mysterious in my blogs. I don't mean to be and it's not that I want to sound all secretive. I think it's best for the person that I'm talking about's privacy to not say their name. This mainly pertains to children and if I happen to be dating anyone. When things get serious, I'll definitely say their name but, until then, I think nicknames will do. And if you really want to know, ask. I'm seriously not keeping any secrets and most likely have no idea that I come across that way.

Speaking of, I have been keeping up a correspondence with a certain Mr. Darcy (yes, Patty, I totally stole the name from Pride and Prejudice). I like to call him my pen pal because essentially that is what we are. We've been writing back and forth since the beginning of February and I have to say, I really enjoy it. I think the art of letter writing as been lost so this is nice and refreshing. I feel very old school.

Tomorrow is my first 5K. You might be thinking this is a sudden random change of topic but it's not. Not only does my first 5K mean that I am having to run early in the morning but I have to run with tons of other people. STRANGERS. Normally, this wouldn't be too bad but I have to sign in at the registration table. I have to walk around the strangers and possibly talk to them. Awkward. I'll be honest, it wouldn't be the end of the world if I just happened to sleep through my alarm. But I need to go. I need to get out of my comfort zone and do this. Mainly because of graduation on May 16th. I don't know who else is going to the main ceremony but it's going to be a lot of strangers in a confined space. STRANGERS + CLAUSTROPHOBIA = ANXIETY ATTACK. Uh oh.

Self Care

My research project has pretty much been freaking me out and causing me to have anxiety attacks. Not cool at all. The need for self care has increased. I thought that everything was already figured out given the sobriety of my internship but apparently not. So this week I started running.

I love running. I love the high that you get when you just finished running a distance you didn't think possible or the good kind of soreness you feel afterward. I love being out alone with my thoughts and some good running music. In April 2007, I had quite a health scare where I honestly thought that my days of being able to even walk were numbered. The pain and frustration that I experienced cannot be verbalized. I've slowly been recovering and despite my doctor's orders to give up running, I can't. I love it too much. I don't know if I'm putting myself on a fast track to new hips/knees/whatever but I can't have someone tell me I can't do something that I want to anymore. Now granted, I'm not being stupid and taking it easy. Today was day 3 and is my endurance running day. K joined me and we went for 45 minutes of nonstop running followed by a 15 minute cool down. I didn't really break a sweat and was never out of breath. It didn't even feel like a workout. But it felt good. I loved being able to run for that long.

Last night, I met up with a social work intern from the hospital for dinner. I felt so bad because I thought it was a group of us and when I got stuck at work talking to a patient, I didn't think too much about being late cause I thought I was meeting up with a group. Oops. So we ate at Pazo and then RA Sushi. Oh my. I love sushi. Waco is not the town for sushi lovers. I love to eat. Being back in a metropolitan area has been great for my appetite! It was so good to spend time outside of work and outside of the house. I needed it. But it made me miss all my friends back in Waco so much more. I'm definitely ready to settle down into an area for a good long time.

Day 2

So I lied.

I didn't run yesterday.

I was going to but then I started reading online about running and it said to start off with twice a week. I was aiming for five times. So I decided not to run yesterday. But I also decided not to listen to the internet and start off with three times a week.

So I ran today. I did a little more than half of what I did on Monday but managed to do it in 15 minutes which is half the time of Monday. I had a lot of excuses not to do it but I knew that if I skipped today, it would be just as easy to skip Saturday. K needed me to watch the kids while she went to the food co-op and sorted produce. It was also sprinkling. I didn't mind the shorter run.

I need to figure out how to run with something over my mouth. I hate cold weather running because it almost burns when you breathe. Not fun at all. I don't know how to solve this problem.

I also realize I should invest in another hoodie. I only have one right now which will probably start to smell real good if I don't wash it soon. I think next time I run, I'll break out the iPod shuffle. It helps to have music. Plus on Saturday I plan on running further than I did on Monday.

Fun times.

I hope that by the time I get back to Waco, I'm running daily and around the Bear Trail. I also want to supplement it with kayaking and biking. I love the high I get after running. Oh, how I have missed those endorphins.

Day 1

Since today is March 1, I decided it was a good day to start running again.

It was 39 degrees outside.

I looked like this:

Except I was in all black with a shiny reflector belt.

And I got to wear my new shoes:

I managed to not trip.

Did I mention it was 39 degrees?

I thought my lungs were going to leap out of my chest and beat me to death.

The North has hills.

Hills = a whole lot more work.

But I did it.

And tomorrow I get to do it again.