Firsts.

Today was a day of firsts for me:

• First run over 16 miles.
• First official half-marathon finish, which means personal record!
• First time hitting mileage in the twenties, 20.15 to be exact!
  

Today was the Wichita Half-Marathon. I signed up to run it with the TNT group knowing that just running the half-marathon was not going to satisfy the mileage our training schedule called for (which was 20 miles). Soo.. Hannah, Yvette, Jen, and I decided to meet before the race to run 7 miles. We had a lot of people ask why not just run the 7 miles after the race... we were hosting a fundraiser at a local sports bar following the race, the 2nd Annual Half-Marathon Victory Celebration.

Back to the running...All in all, wasn't so bad! I'm not gonna lie though, it was definitely tough...probably the toughest run for me so far. The 7 miles before wasn't so bad, but as soon as we hit the race and we saw the mile markers that only said 2, 3, 4.... we were like holy moly only 2 miles?! So we quickly decided that we were going to say 9, 10, 11... heck we had already ran 7, why not add it to the mile markers! This helped regain my mental focus tremendously. I'm just amazed how time seems to fly when running such long distances. Thinking back to the race.. I don't really remember a whole lot. I do, but I don't. I guess I was kind of just in a fog, focused on finishing. My official race time was 2:18:40 (10:35 pace). Personal record, woot! Definitely satisfied with my time, especially considering the 7 miles we ran before.

To promote our fundraiser, Hannah made signs for our backs...

(Come to Heroes, 12:30-4:00, 1/2 Price Burgers)
Madison also wore "With a $5 Donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society"
but this was after she took off... great job Madi!

Maybe I was a little too excited? Nah.

Almost done!!

All smiles after the race! Good thing my face doesn't show the pain my legs were feeling.

All in all, a great Sunday. Thank you to everyone who cheered us on during the race, to my mom and dad for taking such great race pictures, to my team for keeping me going even when my legs were sure to fall off, and to everyone who came out to Heroes for half-priced burgers. You all are awesome!

Lockdown

For the past few days and probably for the next week or so, my social life has been put on halt. The end of the semester is upon us... my absolute favorite time of the year. Sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.

Luckily I live right across the street from a huge Barnes & Noble, so I can just walk over here and get to work. I've found that if I stay at my apartment and attempt to study nothing gets accomplished. I will clean, cook, reorganize, sleep....anything to get out of studying! This place has pretty much become my second home...


There's that freak girl that spends her whole life at Barnes & Noble. Seriously though, the people that work here probably think I'm some total nerd/loner/freak who has no life. Eh, oh well.

Due to my overloaded schedule of papers, presentations, and tests, it hasn't been the greatest week for running.

Monday: Had a 5am 6-miler on the schedule with Madison... didn't happen. Stayed up way too late finishing a paper and knew I needed the extra rest for the rest of the week. Sorry Madison for bailing!

Tuesday: Actually turned out to have a really good workout. Ran 3 miles on the treadmill at an average of 9:06 pace with 1o minutes of it on an incline. After that, lifted legs, did abs, and got out of there to hit the books.

I should probably mention that I had an 8-10 page paper due Tuesday by 5:30. Thank goodness I was off work Tuesday...because I started it Tuesday morning. Got to work on it at about 9:00am and was done by 1! I'm actually really happy with how it turned out too... quality. Crunch time is always when I seem to be able to write my best papers.

This morning: Met with the ladies for an 8-mile jog that was cut back to about 6. Eh... although we didn't do the planned 8, I'm happy with the 6. Especially since my legs were sore from lifting on Tuesday, which I totally didn't expect. Sheesh, maybe I should be lifting more often?

What kind of weight training do you incorporate into your weekly routine? I have a hard time finding time to do both weights and get in my miles. Also, I'm always scared to do too much because I don't want to be too sore for my runs!

Blogging counts as studying right?

Another day another success.

Last week I thought going for a run at 4:30am was insane. Try...3:15am!!...this is was a few minutes after I woke up, didn't actually start running until 4:00. I woke up thinking that we have completely lost our minds. But I think this was seriously the most fun I have had on a run... ever. Yvette, Hannah, Madison, Sonya, and I started at 4...then Krystal, Jennifer, and Pavlov (Jennifer and Scott's dog) joined us at 5...then we met with the Team at 7. It worked out great. Your probably wondering why in the world we started so early? Well... we all had different reasons, but most of it consisted of work, fundraising events, and other events we were participating in. Definitely not going to let those things get in the way of our Saturday long run! I don't know about the other ladies, but I felt like the time flew by. The entire 16 miles we talked, laughed, and just had a blast. Seriously, what better things would you be doing at 4am?!

Another thing that worked out perfectly was this bad boy...
Thanks for all your suggestions on the post where I asked for advice on handheld water bottles. I ended up ordering this guy online and it turned out to be exactly what I wanted! Worked like a charm. Yeah, I was driving while I took this picture...I was so excited I got it only 2 days after placing the order that I just couldn't wait to take a picture! Also, notice the bracelet I am wearing... Hannah got me this. I loveeee it. It has such a great meaning, I wear it all the time now. It has a little charm on it that says "Blessed". I am so blessed. Thank you Hannah!!

Another thing that turned out great was our tshirts...
Madison and I teamed up and created this tshirt to sell as a fundraiser. It turned out to be a huge success. I expected to sell maybe 50 tshirts...but we ended up selling 97! I'm very pleased with how the design turned out... short, sweet, and to the point. Thank you to everyone who purchased one of these, we hope you like them!

Hope you all have had a successful weekend as well!

Quick Thoughts.

After my 16.25 miles (woo!) on Friday morning, I knew it was going to be a great weekend. And it was. Had some time with the books, family, new friends, old friends, and myself. Perfect.

(Me, Kooper, and Kimberlin after a night on the town)

Thinking back to last week, I'm almost convinced it was my best week so far as a runner. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, but I really felt stronger? maybe? I don't know if stronger is the right word. I ran the same mileage as normal and of course I still got tired, but something was different. Maybe all these miles are really doing me some good?! Maybe it's just that I'm coming to the realization that I am really doing this. I really did run over 33 miles in a week, I really do wake up in the mornings and run, I really will be running a marathon in a little over two months... ah!! So excited. Even if this is all just a bunch of stuff I'm making up in my head... I'll take it. Makes me feel confident in what I am doing. Now.. hopefully I didn't just jinx myself by saying all this.

I have to fill you in on my weekend biking adventure...
Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day so I took advantage of it and went out for a nice bike ride. I have a little car with no bike rack, so normally I can't really go too far away from my apartment. Well... my parents happened to be in town with their Explorer, so I had a grand idea to ask them to take me and my bike down to the river, drop me off, and I could ride around the river then just ride bike. I have been dying to go ride along the river, but have been too scared that it's too far away to ride there and back (I still don't know how many miles it is, should probably look that up huh?). On the drive there, I started to think this wasn't such a great idea... it seemed to be way further than I expected. But it turned out to be a great idea! Such a great idea, that next time the weather is nice and I have time I plan to ride there, ride around, and ride back. Sure, I'd have to allot a pretty big chunk of time to do it but I think I could do it. I enjoy riding my bike so much. Last year, I debated foreverrrr if I wanted to buy a bike. SO glad I did.

Anyway, back to the homework I put off all weekend...

16 miles...check!

I did it!! Not only did I run 16 miles... I ran 16.25 miles!!! A personal distance record. Basically, every weekend is turning out to be a distance record for me, since I am training for my first marathon. But WOOOO! I love it.

4:30 am really wasn't as bad as I expected. Except for the fact that I frantically woke up at 1:3o and again at 3:00 wide-eyed and totally freaking out because I thought I was late. My mind must of been racing the entire time I was asleep... that whole 5 whopping hours. No worries though, I don't have to be at work till late this morning so already snuck in a quick nap.

Two other crazies (Madison and Krystal) decided to join Scott, Jennifer (Scott's wife), their dog, and I. It was a beautiful morning to run. A little on the chilly side, but not windy at all! Our plan walking out the door was basically the same as I thought last night: 8 miles with Scott, then 8 miles with his wife. This worked out perfectly so we had a bathroom break at mile 8.

Scott let me try out one of his hand held water bottles, the ones that you just slide your hand in and go. At first, it was a little heavy and my arm got tired...but after a mile or two I really liked it! I'm thinking I might have to invest in one of these. I think it would be more comfortable to carry my water like that, than have water in a belt. I really want an insulated one and am thinking I will have to order it online. Suggestions?

I am so excited to already have my long run in for the weekend! Not gonna lie, 16 miles was tough... but I did it and now I feel great. Okay, my legs are aching... but that's beside the point.

(Me, Jennifer, Madison, Krystal, and superdog after our run)

Have a great start to the weekend!

Time is flying.

Last night, I received my Recommitment Papers from the Team in Training office. AHHH!!! I got nervous, excited, anxious, and even a little bit scared all at the same time. I feel like just yesterday, I was sitting at an information meeting about Team in Training thinking how cool it would be to actually do something like this.

And here I am... in the middle of it all. Running more than I ever have, raising more money that I ever have, and learning more about myself than I ever have. I'm sure no one wants to hear me get all sappy, so I will just say.... I am thankful.

In other news, this week has been one hundred million times better than last week! My runs this week have been great:

Monday: 6 miles. Remember last week when I said Monday has been conquering me? Nope, not anymore.
Tuesday: 3 miles + weights.
Wednesday: 8 miles. I always look forward to Wednesdays, it's turned out to be kind of another unofficial TNT group run. And this week.. we had a fellow blogger join us! It was very cool to run with her and hear her story. I'm all about learning everything I can from anyone who is willing to tell me their advice!
Today: Off. Let me explain...

Saturday is our regular TNT group long run. Unfortunately, I have to work this Saturday and will miss it and was definitely not looking forward to trucking out 16 miles by myself! I found out that one of my coaches will be out of town Saturday running a marathon, but is planning on doing an easy long run Friday morning (because his dog needs the miles! Yep. This dog is crazy!).

So... our grand plan... I am going to meet him at 4:30am Friday morning (holy moly) and run 10 miles with him and his dog, then he is going to trade off with his wife (who is training for a half-marathon) and she will run the remaining 6 miles with me and their dog. Not gonna lie, I am pretty nervous about this. Reason number one, 4:30 am. Reason number two, I'm kind of shy and have never met his wife. Reason number three, 16 miles.... without my TNT group pushing me through it. Aside from these reasons, I can't wait to do it and be able to tell people all day that I ran 16 miles!! Why wouldn't I be proud?! Last year at this time I could barely run 2!!

Wish me luck.

Spare change changes lives!

What a day...wow I am exhausted!

Today started out with my first 10k (Easter Sunrun)! It was sooo much fun. Met with a group of TNT ladies (and Nickki!) and rode there together. If you live in the Wichita area, I would definitely recommend this race. The atmosphere was perfect. There were TONS of people cheering around every turn, plenty of water stops, good trail, and even a live band!! I don't know about you guys, but having a band there really pumped me up! My unofficial race time was 59:10. A personal record!! (however, it was my first official 10k). 9:32 pace...definitely okay with that.

(Before the race)

After the race, we had a boot to block! 5 TNT ladies and our volunteers took over a corner in Wichita and collected money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Definitely awkward at first, but after getting comfortable waving at people and getting turned down, it was a good time! We made signs, tshirts, had beads, and some pretty rockin donation jars.

(Got change? Change lives!)

The boot block was a definite eye opener. The people who were willing to give money versus those who sat there pretending not to see us absolutely blew my mind. I am so thankful for all that drove by and gave us any change they had. I definitely have a new found respect for those that have stood on a corner collecting money for a charity. I will no longer be the person that who pretends not to see you!

Thank you to all who donated and to all who volunteered to stand on the corner with us begging for change!!

Looking forward to get this week started off great... Happy Easter everyone!

Not my week.

...but it's getting better.

The week started off rough for a number of reasons:

1. Missed my run Monday. Definitely should of went, but managed to find a way to talk myself out of it. Legs hurt, tired, no one to run with, need to study...excuses. Pretty much bummed me out the rest of the day. For some reason, the past couple Monday's I have found it so hard to get out and get a good run in. I don't know what it is. I'm sure everyone has off days...but the same off day every week?! No...not next week, Monday will not overcome me!

2. Tuesday night I had a test in one of my classes that I slaved over for ohhhh only about 13 hours (crammed into 2 days), no big deal. Anddd guess what? ... I ACED IT! Yeyuhhhh!!

3. Wednesday started out with a great 8 mile run with some of my TNT group (have I mentioned that I absolutely love this whole TNT thing? well...just so you know, I do). The rest of Wednesday...deathly ill. Okay, maybe not deathly ill, but I seriously felt awful...nausea, stomach pains, body aches, hot flashes, you name it...

4. Woke up Thursday morning (this morning) and still felt sick! I had plans to run with Madison at 5am and had to cancel. Which, after being bummed out about missing Monday's run, bummed me to the max.

So... this is when I decided I must turn my bad week around.

While sitting at work, I decided I was going to find a way to get my run in that I missed this morning. Today's schedule was super crammed with work, class, review session, poster making...but... I managed to in an awesome early afternoon 6 mile run!

Who doesn't take pictures of themselves after they run?!

I was very pleased with my run. It was SUUUUPER windy today, so was not expecting to have that great of run. I ended up finishing 6 miles at an average pace of 9:42! Okay, that may seem slow to some of you...but that's pretty good for me, especially with the 80 mph winds! Also.. notice the top. A tank!! Woooo. I'm pretty sure it hit 80 degrees today. Yessss!

Advice: (now that I have some followers, hopefully I can get some advice!)
I have been reading some fellow runners blogs and have decided that I need to incorporate "tempo runs" into my week. Still being new to running, I don't really know how to start out with tempo runs or what to do really. How do you recommend starting out with tempo runs? What is a good "tempo run" workout?