New Rec Center, some baseball and I'm off to Wales!

I went to the rec center Friday to run on the treadmill. It went well, except for the knee pain. I'll have to look into that pain. Maybe a certain stretch will help me out there? Any ideas??


The facilities are really nice! It was just built!

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In other news...
I recently went to a baseball game with Chance and a few friends!  Just wanted to share, because I had a great time. I love getting together with friends.  :)

It was pouring rain the entire time (well, almost, there was a break from time to time...)! So that's why we look wet and weird. It was pretty much awesome! :)

Oops, I forgot we had a photo bomber!

Just kidding, that's our friend Johnny.
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Lastly,

I'm going to Wales/Scotland tomorrow!

This is what I'm told it looks like from Google image. I sure hope so!! 

Naturally, I'll be doing some training over there. I'll try to write my runs/experiences down in a notebook so that I'll be able to update everyone when I get back.

See you all later and happy running!!!

Yay, New Stuff!

Yup. That's right. I got new stuff! :)

New Shoes! Mizuno Wave Inspire 6. Very comfy and stable, so far. Also helps keep my feet cool. (Very important, as my feet always seem to heat up fast, making some runs quite uncomfortable.) I'm very excited to be training in these shoes. Soon, I'll be able to do some sort of a review. 

Also, I bought some compression socks to wear on the plane and in the car around Wales. I thought they would be a good idea because I will be sitting for long periods of time and then suddenly running. I'll do a review for these as well, sometime after I get back from Great Britain.

I wanted to apologize for the awful rant about treadmills last week. I was hurting and upset. But get this...I'm going to give it another try tomorrow night at the U of A gym. It's a different atmosphere and the equipment will be better (hopefully). We'll see. *crosses fingers* :)


I hope all is well in the world of running! Have a great week!!

Oh treadmill…how I loathe thee…

The late afternoon of Monday August 9^th, I decided to go for a run. However, it was way too early/too hot to run outside. So, I decided to go to the fitness room and try out the treadmill, for the first time. Well, I’ve been on a mill before, but only for a few seconds because…get ready for it…I got bored. This time it was for 30 minutes and I was going to do it no matter what. The fitness room is a small room at our apartment complex, with no more than four different machines; One of them being the treadmill. The room has a large mirror that takes up one wall (perfect for checking form) and a small TV (unfortunately, it faces the back of the treadmill, not very helpful).  I walked in, glad to find no one occupying it (can you say awkward?). I had to run 30 minutes, so I hopped on the mill and got started. I was having fun for the 1^st 30 seconds, watching the seconds go by and my pace go up. It wasn’t until the 2 minute mark that I realized the worst…I was completely BORED. I knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t know when. But 2 minutes….REALLY?!?

I swear, it was the longest run of my life! And, of course, the room was hot and stuffy. BLECH. Oh, and then the lights in the room turned off because it was a motion sensor. To top it all off, my knees were hurting so badly when I finally finished. And guess what? They still hurt, 3 days later. That’s definitely telling me something: No more treadmill running. :P

It was pretty awful. I know, I’m whining. But let me have my moment. I know I said no more running on the mill, but I’m also telling myself to not give up on it. There will be days in which there is no possible way for me to go outside. The heat is a very good reason to not run. The cold, maybe not so much, but it’s a possibility. I just wish I didn’t have such an awful experience with the treadmill. Why oh why?

Does anyone else hate the treadmill as much as I do?



In marathon training news….
Starting with Monday, I’ve run everything I am scheduled to run this week! So far, so good! I’m trying really, really hard to stick to this schedule because when I go to Wales I’ll have to force myself to run (either early morning, or really late at night so I won’t mess with anyone’s travel itinerary). If I keep doing that now, it’ll be easier (I hope). It’s going to be hectic. I have never traveled while training before. This will definitely be a learning experience. I’ll have another post about this trip soon.

Sorry about the rant. :( I felt it needed to be said.
Happy Thursday...night! :)

Marathon Training: Week 1 Thus Far...

Week 1- DONE AND DONE!
I’m doing pretty well. Sure, it’s only been a week, but I have to stay positive, right?
I’m just starting out, so a missed day here and there doesn’t hurt. I’ve heard that if I stick to at least 90% of my training I’ll be okay come race day. I just need to print out my calendar and stick it on the fridge! So far, I missed one easy run because I read the schedule wrong. I’m going off an old schedule, so I got the days mixed up, silly me.  The other run I didn’t miss completely, I just couldn’t finish it. I was supposed to do my long run (3 miles, so I didn’t miss much) on Saturday. And I did…for the most part. I got about a mile and a half in. The lightning was what got me to go inside; otherwise, I would have finished it. Trust me. :)

In honor of my 1^st week completed, I bought a little something for myself...

I thought it would make running a little easier. Now, I don’t have to throw my water bottle from hand to hand when one gets tired of holding it. Sweet! Next week: maybe new shoes? I probably shouldn’t get in the habit of buying myself new gear every week of marathon training…but it’s so much fun getting new stuff! :D Plus, it motivates me to work harder the next week for something new. Does anybody else do this (or something else less expensive)  to push themselves during training?

Don’t worry, I won’t be working as much as I am now which means no moolah. *sigh* And that means I’ll have to buy other things to survive…like food. Oh well, I guess food is pretty good too. Thus is the life of a college student.

Have a great week! :D

The Start of Training, A New Book and the Hunt for New Shoes!

Yesterday was my official first day of marathon training!!!! I'm very excited/anxious about the upcoming semester. It's going to be tough and a lot of work...but...I'm willing to go though that to run this marathon. I plan on registering for the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona (YAY!!!) before 9/15 for two reasons. 1.) If I register now, I will definitely be running it (no ifs, ands or buts) because I'm not paying $105 for nothing. This will push me to train harder.
2.) If I register after 9/15, the price goes up to $130. Ouch.

I definitely know I want to run it, so after I get back from Wales (by the way, I'm going to Wales, I'll tell you about that later...) I'm buying my ticket to the race! :)

I have a schedule for my marathon training, of course. With help from my lovely sister. Thank you Joann! I'll write more about this later...it may take up a whole blog post...

For my 1st training run, I was supposed to run for 20 to 30 minutes.
Time: 23:51
Miles: 2.49
Avg. Pace: 9'34"

More to come!!

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I'm trying to start on my goal list early! I was browsing Bookman's when I stumbled upon this book about running (one of my goals is to read a running book, for fun). :D 
From what I understood on the back cover and online descriptions, the book examines human evolution with a focus on running. It discusses endurance and how/why we run like we do. It's written by a nature writer/biologist/ultra-marathoner. It should be interesting. :) I haven't got a chance to sit down a start it, but I will soon. It sounds good, and I hope to learn a thing or two from it. I will let you know what I think when I finish!! But be patient...books take a while for me to get through, especially when school starts up. I tend to savor every detail when reading...which is not the fastest way to read.

Lastly, I need running shoes. I haven't had a new pair of shoes for quite awhile now. It's been years. Seriously. So, I'm on the hunt to get me some new ones! I plan on splurging on good shoes at my local running store. :)

These are my sad, sad current shoes. They really do look sad. The green ones are losing the bottom heel part, but the blue ones seem to be holding up pretty well, considering how long I've had them. Reminder: I bought these shoes for cross country in high school, so they were probably on sale. Not the best quality. 

If anyone thinks there is a shoe I MUST HAVE, please let me know. I will definitely look into it! I'm researching like crazy. :)

Hope you all had a great Monday (Or a better than the usual Monday...)!

a run in the rain

I decided to go for a run last night. And it happened to be a wonderful idea! And sort of horrible at the same time…but only slightly horrible. I don’t usually go running after work because it’s too hot at that time of day, but yesterday was something special, especially for the southwest. It was raining! 

It was so beautiful outside with the clouds and thunder and rain that I just had to get out there and run! So, I drove over to Reid Park and began to make my way around the course. It was a soft drizzle the whole time (soooo nice to run in) and there was only one problem: the lightning. I don’t believe I have ever run that fast to get from one covered spot to another. But believe me, I did. I got to one nicely covered corner and waited for a few minutes. It really felt like no one was out on the course except me. But then this macho runner came speeding by and I did a stupid thing and told myself to suck it up like him and get out there. Ugh. Why do I constantly try and compete with others? 

So I ran.
And the lightning continued.
And I ran faster.
And this continued on for about another 15 minutes until  the  weather settled down. I made my way around to my car in about 30 or so minutes and decided I didn’t want to stop. So, I made another lap around the Park. It felt great! I love pushing myself. My legs ache so badly today, but it was well worth it. :)

Total Miles: 5.87
Time: 1:00:39
Avg. Pace: 10'20"

I didn’t get a chance to do my postrun stretching. That’s something I plan to work on. Which actually brings me to something else: my goals. I made  a list of nonspecific goals for this next semester. I feel, just with my past experience, that goals are super important with a sport as challenging as running. It’s challenging because you don’t have a team to help you out with training and whatnot (usually). That’s where I’m at anyway. I have yet o join a running group and so I am doing this all by myself. Which is very hard for me to do, obviously (see previous post…).

I plan on doing a lot of things with my running this coming semester. I have a marathon to train for, I have groups to join, and I have a lot of training to do; training I’m not used to. One of my future posts will be this list excepted revised and more specific. Call this a rough draft. So, here they are:

*Run the Rock ‘n’ Roll Phoenix Marathon in January. (woohoo!!! my first one!!!)
*Run a half Marathon before that. (for kicks)
*Drink more water
*Stretch more (after every run)
*Warm up! (I’m really bad at this one. I usually just jump into a run)
*Join a running group! (whether it’s  with my school or a group around town, but it should be organized, so no groups of friends…we’ll get nothing done!)
*Read a running book or two (another just for kicks) :)

That’s about it for now, goal-wise. I’ll definitely revise this, and perhaps add some more. There’s always room for improvement, right? :) I'm always searching other runners blogs looking for good goal ideas. If you have any goals that stand out,I love to hear about them! :)

I’m back! And new rule, effective immediately.

I don’t even know where to start. I’ve been gone for far too long. That’s what happens when “hiatuses” happen. So, here’s my new rule:

NO MORE HIATUSES…EVER…AGAIN.

I’m serious. I will find a way to get to a computer and update my life, running, whatever …even if I am in the middle of nowhere. There’s usually a way. Because you know what happens when I take “hiatuses” from my running blog??? The answer: I don’t run. :(

Totally lame, but a fact of life. I got in about 2 WHOLE RUNS during my original 2 week break.  But that was mainly due to the uneven jeep trails that tore up my ankle (sad day). The two weeks after that I have no excuse. I didn’t run or train at all. So that meant I couldn’t run the 5-miler (my own punishment for myself).

Last week, I went back to camp as a counselor (on Mount Lemmon!) and decided I only had a few weeks until I needed to start training for the marathon in January. I decided to run on my breaks and do hill workouts (what else is there to do on a mountain??).  I felt really good about those runs despite the fact I had left my Nike + at home. But, in a way, it felt really good to not be constantly looking at the time and my mileage. I did have my IPod, so I didn’t go crazy, but it felt really weird without my Nike +. I’m just saying. It’s not like I’m one of those “naked” runners. :) 

So, moral of the story (and the past 5 weeks) is that I wasn’t doing what I should have been doing. BUT…there’s a lesson in this ( No worries, I DID learn something people. J).  I learned that I need a  schedule.  What an important, must-have item for all runners. And I didn’t realize it until now. I was running with the idea of running on certain days, but obviously, that didn’t work. SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE, SCHEDULE! Super important.

I didn’t get a chance to run since I got back on Friday because I have to be to work at 7:30 AM everyday and waking up earlier is difficult to do. My solution to this is to either wake up at 5:30 and run, or run at night, despite the intense heat. Whatever I decide, I need to decide soon, because training is approaching and I still need to find a group to run with. My next post will be on my goals for the upcoming semester and hopefully *crosses fingers* an idea of a training plan. I want to get out of the apartment and run around Reid Park tonight. Hold me to it! :)