Ugh!

Man... when did running get hard all of a sudden?

Our first mile was through Genesse Park. I took a goo shot at the beginning of the run...

not my favorite. I think there's something about the consistency of goo when you're participating in a physical activity.

Mile 2:
I was running with a couple other girls, and it seemed like we were running pretty fast for me... but I was able to keep up. Running along Lake Washington Blvd, was awesome. The houses are beautiful and you're right on the water.

Mile 3:
We arrived at Seward Park, also beautiful. We stay on the path around the outside of the park along the water. I'm starting to feel the urge to slow down, but we're running together in a group of 3 and I feel the pressure to maintain the pace.

Mile 4:
We take a shot block and I'm hoping it will kick in ASAP, because I feel myself kind of lagging. Christi comes to run with us and I feel myself falling back, but trying to keep up.

Mile 5:
I ask how far we've come at 5.6 miles and knowing that we have about one and a half miles left both brings some comfort and some pain. I'm definitely ready to slow down, but I know there's 15 more minutes, max! One of the gals picks up her pace and moves forward. I also picked up my pace, hoping that the end of the run will come sooner than I run out of mustard... no luck...

Mile 6:
I slow down again, and Chris and I finish the final mile together. It's definitely better to be running with someone. If I talk I don't pay as much attention to what I'm doing. We finally see the other gals stretching and Chris and I pick up our pace. I'm really greatful she was there to push me when I was ready to stop.

Finished!
It couldn't have come any sooner! That was one of the harder runs for me. Chris said we did closer to 7 and a half miles. We were stretching for a few minutes and I saw Deb coming down to do her 8 mile run on the same course. I was actually able to jog over to her and run with her for a bit!

I think if I had stopped for a few seconds, that last mile (or two) wouldn't have been so hard. I came to a realization: I need to stop viewing the Saturday runs as tests and more like homework, like the weekday workouts.

Obviously, I want to do well on the Saturday runs, but I also shouldn't be afraid to try things. Yesterday I ran the whole way because the group I was running with did. I need to stop for a second around the halfway point, then I'll have more energy to finish out strong.

Even though I can see definite improvements in my running abilities, I don't feel like I'm progressing as much as the other gals in the group. I know we'll all get there at our own pace, but I'm really wanting a run that I can totally nail...

I guess I'll just push as hard as I can on my weekday workouts and hope for the best next Saturday!

Pillow Fight!

Ha! If only the Northwest Woman's show was so sexy... :)

It was such an interesting mix of women, and vendors... tea parties with psychics, or window installation... I had access to information on it all.

What we did find were these amazing bras! Their slogan was to "quit sagging and start bragging!" They had you put stickers on where your nipples naturally fall in your current bra. Then you try on one of theirs and there was seriously like an inch or two difference! And the straps weren't huge! I didn't get one, yet... but I will once I'm at a size I'm maintaining.

AND, I got tested for all the grown-up things like cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc... and

I'M HEALTHY!

I have good blood pressure and blood sugar, my bad cholesterol is really low, and my good cholesterol is a little low. So I really do need to start incorporating more healthy oils into the diet.

It was kind of funny, the nurse was going over ways to get your good cholesterol up and one thing she mentioned was maybe intensifying my work outs... hahaha... I ran almost 8 miles yesterday, lady! Then I got up and ran two more :) But it was good to see the benefits to having healthy oils in your diet.

All in all, a nice morning out with Amanda and Leanne. I haven't even sorted through all the pamphlets yet... I'll add more info if I find anything totally great :)

Oh, in other "yay me" news, they were giving out free mint n' chip dreyers ice cream! Northwest Woman's Show you know the way to my heart! I didn't, however, partake. I can't be so frivolous with my points anymore! There will be another time that I can have mint n' chip ice cream, it doesn't have to be today.

I'm 25 and own a fanny pack

Because it takes slow runners, like myself, over an hour to run 6 miles, it was advised that we get hydration packs.

They might as well call them geek packs. I went to REI the night before our run looking for the coolest hydration pack I could find.

What I ended up with was a fanny pack that holds a water bottle.

Poor Matt is such a trooper, our pre-shopping conversation should have gone something like this:

W: Hey, even though it's Friday night, do you want to go to a store that you're mildly interested in to help me look for the least dorky looking fanny pack? Just as a heads up, I'm already pretty insecure about my running gear, so I'm going to be impossible to please."

M: Sigh, "OK"

It was pretty funny, once I was running along Burke Gilman I realized 90% of runners out on the trail had hydration packs... not to mention the other 10 gals I was running with.

So I guess it's cool to wear hydration packs, but I think I'm going to get a new one because mine only holds one bottle and it's pretty heavy. I might need the one with little bottles... I'll have to go shopping again :)


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Our run started at Gasworks Park and we were supposed to run to where our run began the week before then turn around and come back. The run was mostly flat. We started at a pretty fast pace for me, but most of us stayed together in a group. I think we did the first mile in about 11 minutes. Which is pretty fast for me. My heart rate was hovering around 170, which can be a little uncomfortable.

Around mile two I decided to slow down a little, I knew I still had a long ways to go. I ran mile two and three alone. Which was fine, I felt like my pace was maintable and I wasn't too tired, my hear rate stayed around 160. When I was about to hit the turn around point a couple of gals had caught up to me, so we ran together. I had the cliff shot blocks with me, so we took one at this time.

By mile 4 the blocks had kicked in and this seemed almost easy. My heart rate was still at 170, but it definitely took less energy.

Once mile 5 hit, I really felt a burst of energy and was able to really pick up the pace for the last mile.

I was super stoked that I finished on such a high note! It felt great to have run so far. I can't believe in 4 weeks I've already doubled the distance I'm able to run.

A couple of the girls and I were talking about how walking effects distance running. The whole point is to build your endurance, so is it better to run the whole thing, even when your pace is really slow? Or is it better to stop and walk for a second?

This round we had a couple stop lights and opportunities to stop for a few seconds, and I felt energetic by the end. I finished in an hour and 15 minutes. Which isn't too bad.

**It turns out this run was actually closer to 6 and a half miles.

I'm not Irish, kiss me anyway!

Our long run this weekend started at Cafe Zoka behind U-Village, then we ran into Ravenna park (trail running is the bomb!), then up into UW, then down to the Burke-Gilman trail, and we followed that along until we got back to Zoka.

I couldn't believe how far we got after only running for 50 minutes or so. I did stop and walk 3 times, but for no more than 30 seconds each time. The first two were as a result of running up a hill. But when i finished the run, I still had energy left. I think I could have kept going...

So maybe that's the answer? A little walking never hurt anybody, right?

My HRM said I burned 783 calories after that jaunt... not too shabby!

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Ask anybody, the St. Patty's Day Dash was a blast! It was pretty awesome to have Deb show up at my apartment at 7 in the morning where the exact same shirt I was. Great minds think alike! :)

Here's Deb and me at the start:













Here's a pic of Matt and me at start:














and here is Matt's recap of the run

3.58

He has more to say on the topic... my general disposition is:

woo hoo! We got to run through the city and on the viaduct! Here's a pic from Deb:












Pretty sweet, right?

The difference a year makes...

So I recently came across pictures of Matt and I at a St. Patty's Day Party, and we've come a really long way!

Here's a glimpse:

Gasworks

Gasworks offers a fantastic view of the Seattle skyline, and I had always known it was on the Burke Gilman trail, but I met Deb after work here for a light 30 minute run (oh, and my interval run), and it is really a perfect place to run!

I had gotten super sick Tuesday, so today was my first day back in the exercise world. Even though I had hardly eaten anything, I was really jonesing for a good run.

It's totally flat, and very scenic. Our warm up run was perfect. A good pace, a nice conversation... then I had to do my intervals. We're supposed to run your hardest for 45 seconds 4 times. It's hard, but I'm starting to enjoy it. I can feel myself getting stronger.

I felt really strong after this run... and I'm looking forward to Saturday's run!

Week 2 - 4 mile Hill Run

Wow! I ran 4 miles! It was surprisingly not much different from running 3 miles... except for that hill part in the beginning. I found that I had pushed way too hard in the beginning, so I was out of mustard by mile 3. I slowed down quite a bit for the last mile. I'm starting to wonder if I had just stopped and walked for 30 seconds if I would have been able to conserve enough enegery to run the rest of the way at a quicker pace? Something to try during my training runs this week :)

I came home, iced my legs, then went for a 2+ mile run with Matt and Jason along Alki. Although this sort of behavior is border-line obsessive, I was fascinated to find that it was more painful for me to walk than to run.

After our run we grabbed some lunch, did some wine tasting, then I was pretty much worthless the rest of the day :)

Cardio Cross-Training

My friend Holly turned me onto a boxing class at our gym. I was, of course, intimidating by the shouts echoing throughout the gym while I would be chugging along on the treadmill. Holly arranged to get me some gloves, so I was free to try it with nothing to lose...

Oh man! What a workout! Even though it was really hard, I was really proud that I was able to keep up and, frankly, survive. Even more exciting was even though we did a million lunges and other leg work, my legs weren't sore!

I am a machine!

Healthy Goddess Half Marathon Training

So... I think I'm crazy. The furthest I've ever run has been 3.1 miles, which was the exact distance of our first long run. We'll be adding a mile a week from here. This is going to be insane.

We'll be working out 6 days a week. We run twice during the week, alternating between intervals and hills. I'll also be doing a yoga for runners class, cardio cross-training and strength training for the next two months.

I was relieved that my running pace put me in the middle of the group. I've been running for a few months now, so I think I've built up enough endurance to run three miles at about an 12 min/mile pace. At my last 5K I averaged about 11.5 min/mile, which is pretty great considering I weigh 230 pounds.

Although I am officially scared for our next long run (which consists of hill training and will be 4 miles long), I'm excited to feel like an athlete again... it's like being in high school... only I'm making less mistakes and have less homework to do :)