Rain Rain GO AWAY!!!!

Yep...no long run today. I am sooo disappointed. But at 4:30 AM there was thunder booming. So we had to cancel our run. I was sooo looking forward to conquering that 7-8 miles! I am a little frustrated...every time we plan a long run something happens...this is the second time we've been rained out! AND this week there is rain in the forecast every day! Ugh! Doesn't the weather know that I NEED to run????

3 miles...+ 2!!!

I ran with Katrina, Laura, Christina, and Jennifer this morning. We met up at the track at 5 AM so we could run before the group run with the Sole2Soul Sisters. We ran in the neighborhood Canterbury Place...and it was slightly hilly. Those hills are good for us though since our half marathon route will have some hills. We ran 3 miles in 33 minutes and 9 seconds at an average pace of 11:03!

Then I ran another slow (about a 13 minute per mile pace) 2 miles with the Sole2Soul Sisters at the track! They are all doing so well with their training! I am so proud of them and sooo excited to be part of this group!

The plan is to do a long run on Monday morning (Memorial Day) at 5 AM with all my running girls! I think Katrina has about a 7 mile route planned for me...they are all doing 12 miles. One day I will be running that far with them!!!

Bondi Bands!

Look what I found in my mailbox today!!! Bondi Bands!


These headbands are awesome! Since it has gotten so hot I have been sweating like crazy while I run. The sweat drips in my eyes and it burns sooo bad! My friend Christina wears these and let me try one of hers...it was instant love! The band catches all the sweat and keeps it from running in my eyes! So I had to order my own...and there was a coupon for five so of course I had to use it lol!

Pretty cute huh?!

3 Miles!!!

Ran with Katrina in her neighborhood again this morning. It was a beautiful run! The moon was almost full when we first started running. Then we got to watch the beautiful sunrise towards the end of our run! Have I mentioned that I just LOVE running in the mornings now? Never thought this night owl girl would be excited about getting up around 4:30 in the morning! But I guess I would do just about anything to get in a good run lol! We ran 3 miles in 30 minutes and 30 seconds at an average pace of 10:09! We beat our time from Tuesday!

3 miles!

This morning I met Laura and Katrina at Katrina's house to run. All of us did NOT want to get out of bed this morning! But we did and I am so glad! I always feel better after I have run in the mornings...it is my new favorite time to run! We ran 3 miles in 31:08 at an average pace of 10:22! Today is the last day of school...about to head to the park for the end of the year party! Then tonight is movie night with my best friend Rhonda! Summer is finally here!!!

4.11 miles!!!

I had a GREAT weekend with my honey! We shopped, we ate (too much), we went to the movies and to the beach! AND he even woke up early and ran with me this morning!!! The girls couldn't run but I knew I needed to run today to make my 3 time a week goal. Andy bought new shoes Friday night so he was ready! We ran down Whispering Pines Road, turned onto County Road 13, ran in the French Settlement subdivision, and then headed back. Andy did so well! He ran the first mile which led us to the French Settlement then he stopped to walk. He ran a little in the subdivision and then ran all the way home! So he ran about 2.5 miles! I was sooo proud of him! I ran the whole 4.11 miles! I ran it in 42 minutes and 32 seconds which was an average pace of 10:20! Felt awesome! I LOVE running! And Andy said he really enjoyed it too!

3.15 miles!

Ran the hills again this morning with Laura and Christina! My legs were really tight starting out but after about 1.5 miles they were fine! We conquered those hills again! We did it in about 35 minutes!

I am looking forward to this weekend...Andy and I are going to celebrate our 9 year anniversary! The boys are staying at Grandma and Papa's house all weekend and we are going to spend the weekend together doing all the things we can't do when we have the boys with us! So excited...but I know I will miss my boys as soon as I drop them off lol!

Hoping to still do a long run Sunday morning!

3.07 miles!!!

Got up early this morning to run! I met Christina, Laura, Katrina, and Jennifer at Christina's house and we ran from her house down Whispering Pines Road. Whispering Pines Road is hilly...and I am not talking about a steep it's going to be over quick hill. These hills are gradual and LONG! I was real nervous about running these hills! But I DID IT!!! And it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be!!! The run this morning actually felt really great! Here's the stats: 3.07 miles in 33:54 at a pace of 11:02. Our pace was slower than normal but I will take it! I wanted to be slower or I knew I would not make it! I can't imagine running those hills at a 10 minute pace!!!

No run today...

About 3 AM this morning I was awakened by booming thunder and flashes of lightning. That meant no early morning run for me. I was a little sad because I really wanted to feel that runner's high from accomplishing 6-7 miles! But in a way I think it was good we didn't get to run this morning because I think my shins would have gotten very angry at me for running two days in a row. So we will just have to attempt that long run next weekend!

Stargazer 5K!!!

I had so much fun today! This race was a smaller race but that made it sooo much fun! My friends Paige and Lauren ran it with me! I started out a little slow with them but then they wanted to walk some so I went on ahead. I finished in 32:10! Not as good as my last 5K but that's ok...I was just doing this one for fun anyway! And another cool thing is we got to meet Ali Vincent, the first female winner of the TV show The Biggest Loser...she lost over 100 pounds on the show! She was super sweet!

Here we are before the race!




After the race...in front of the Running Wild bus...a great store!


Me with Ali Vincent!




It was a GREAT day! And tomorrow I will be waking up early for a long run again...about 6-7 miles! A little scary! I am hoping my shins won't be too sore from running two days in a row!

New Goal!!!

Ok I have committed to a new goal! Katrina emailed us a bunch of upcoming races and wanted us to pick the ones we planned on doing. Well, I have already set a long term goal to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in March 2011. My new goal is to run the Pensacola Half Marathon on November 14th of this year! That's 13.1 miles...yikes!!! Katrina, Laura, and Christina are going to run the full marathon...definitely not ready for that...and not sure if I ever want to do a full marathon (26.2 miles). But I am all for the half marathon...gotta train, train, train! Katrina swears I am ready for it...I hope she is right! Should be fun regardless!!! And I LOVE having a goal to strive for!

3 Miles!!!

I met Laura and Katrina tonight to run. We did 3 miles! It seemed pretty hard at first...I asked Katrina what our mileage was at one point and she said 1.5 and we were all like really? It seemed like we had ran farther than that already. I think the fact that it was hot and humid didn't help our run! But by the time we reached 2.5 miles I was in a good rhythm and felt pretty good! Here's the stats from the run: 3 miles in 30 minutes and 30 seconds, average pace of 10:09!!!

My shins were pretty sore by the time I got home though...I ran yesterday morning and then ran tonight. I usually have a rest day in between runs. I am going to have to stick to that I think...otherwise I am scared the shin splints will return!

This Saturday I am running another 5K race! It is for the March of Dimes and is at The Wharf in Orange Beach! It is called the Stargazer 5K! I am excited about it! I am running it with my friend Paige. She is hoping to run the whole race...she's never ran a full 5K before. I think I might run at a slower pace so I can stay with her during the race. Besides I am sooo happy about my 31:32 time at the Fiesta Race and don't have any goals to beat that time. So I think I am just going to have fun with this race!

2 miles....HARD!!!

This morning I went to run with Katrina, Laura, and Jennifer. The plan was to run 2 miles at a faster pace. The first mile we ran about a 9 minute mile! We were all pretty tired and decided to slow down some after that first mile. But then we decided to do some interval training. We slowed down and then would pick up our pace and then slow down again to recover. We did this a few times....it was MISERABLE for me!!! I could barely breathe and that wasn't just from the humidity! The very last fast pace interval I bailed out on and kept my slower pace...I just couldn't make myself do it. The other 3 girls took off and did great! Looking back, I am sooo disappointed in myself for not pushing myself on that last stretch! It was all mental and I should have fought it and RAN! Oh well...lesson learned! I will say that I enjoy running much more at my slower pace...I am completely happy with a 10 and 11 minute mile!!! But I also know it is good to push myself and make my body work! But I don't have to like it lol!

Anyway, we completed those 2 miles in about 18 minutes and 30 seconds! That's an average pace of 9:15! That's pretty cool to think if we had done a 5K we would have finished in under 30 minutes with those numbers! But we all said we didn't think we could have gone another mile!!!

5 Miles!!!!!

I did it!!!! I ran 5 miles this morning! And it felt GREAT! I actually felt like I could have kept going! And although 4 AM came really early, it was so nice running that early in the morning! The moon was out, the air was cool, and the weather was PERFECT for running! We even saw a shooting star! And we also got to see the sunrise! We ran past cows, a cemetery, through several neighborhoods, and even on a major highway! And running with the girls was so much fun!

My Nike+ said I ran 5.78 miles in 1 hour, 6 minutes and 12 seconds at an average pace of 11:26...I know the mileage is incorrect because the other girls left me at the entrance to the neighborhood so they could keep running and I could finish my run by running to my car. When they left me their GPS watches said the mileage was at 4.8. I ran a little past my car just to make sure I got the full 5 miles in. I actually sprinted a little at the very end. What is so weird to me is that I felt like I could have kept running! It was actually hard to stop...I wanted to keep going. But I know I have to ease into that increase in distance to keep from getting injured. But I am sooo proud of myself! A couple of weeks ago I thought I would NOT ever be able to run a 10K race....but I ran 5 miles today...another 1.2 miles should be no problem!!!

Early Morning Run....

Well I have committed to meeting Katrina, Laura, Jennifer, and Christina at 4:30 AM tomorrow to run! Am I CRAZY???? I think I am! And they want me to run 5 miles!!!! Oh my! Katrina assures me that I am ready and can do it if I go at a slower pace. They planned out the route so that we will be back at her house around 5 miles...they are running 10 miles. I am soooo nervous! I have major butterflies in my tummy right now! I am worried that #1: I won't have the energy to run that early and #2: I won't be able to run 5 miles. I am also excited at the same time! Because if I DO run 5 miles I will be sooo proud of myself!

And my hubby is so sweet and supportive...I told him how nervous I was and that I didn't know if I would be able to run 5 miles and he said, "You can do it!"

So as of now, I am going to try to calm my nerves down and plan on being in bed early so I will have plenty of rest!

3.56 Miles!!!

Tonight I met my friend Laura and we ran in one of our other friend's neighborhoods. We had planned on running about 3 miles but ran a little more! It was great running with her...we had some great conversation and that really helps take your mind off how much longer you have to run! We had a little scare though...it's quite funny! We had just stopped running and were walking to cool down when we heard a man holler. It freaked us out because we didn't know where it came from. Then a few seconds later Laura screamed and that made me scream! Turns out that Laura saw a shadow from behind running towards us and it freaked her out! It was Amanda...one of the girls I ran with Tuesday night...and she was running. I think we scared her to death when we screamed like that lol! We felt silly afterwards!

Anyway here are the stats from the run:
3.56 miles in 37 minutes and 23 seconds! An average pace of 10:28!

Week 9...

Week 9??? After this week I will have officially graduated from the Couch 2 5K program!!! Woo hoo! I actually got through the program sooner than the 9 weeks but have still been counting. And for those that want to know, week 9's schedule is this:

Run for 30 minutes all 3 days!

Tonight I went running with my friends Jennifer and Amanda. We ran in Jen's neighborhood. We ran at a little faster pace than the last time we all ran together but a little slower than what I have been running on my own. That's ok though...it is so much more enjoyable running with friends! We ran 2.67 miles in 27:34! That's an average pace of 10:20! And I felt great the whole run...I could have kept going!

Have I said that I am totally addicted to this running thing??? :-)

Fiesta of Five Flags 5K!!!!

The alarm clock went off at 4:30 this morning and I thought to myself, "You must be crazy getting up this early to go run!" But I got out of the bed anyway! Jennifer, LeAnn and I left my house around 5:30 this morning to head to Pensacola. We needed to get there no later than 6:45 because that was the last shuttle bus that would be leaving to take you to the start line. We had an eventful drive...I absolutely could not make it another mile because I had to pee sooo bad...we had to stop at the Florida Welcome Center. I obviously did not drink my coffee early enough to dispose of it before the hour long drive lol! Then we made it back on the road again and were in Pensacola when we had to pass by a horrific car wreck that had occurred...bless that family because there is NO way there were survivors in that wreck...it was horrible and something I wish I had never had to see. Finally we made it to our destination and found a parking stop very quickly. We took a quick picture with Jennifer before we went to our separate buses...Jennifer was running the 10K and LeAnn and I were running the 5K. We made it to the start line with about 40 minutes until start time. The weather was VERY muggy and cloudy and a tad windy at times...but at least it wasn't blazing hot! Finally at 7:30 AM we started running! It was really neat running in Pensacola because I am from Milton so I was real familiar with the area. We even ran down Cervantes St. for about a mile and that brought back a lot of memories for me of taking that road to get to the beach as a teenager! We encountered a few hills...but they weren't that bad. Jennifer's 10K course had a horrible hill according to her at the beginning of the race...she saw several people throwing up from running that hill! Glad I wasn't one of those! Anyway, the first mile and a half was pretty tough for me...I kept telling myself to keep going. Around mile 2 I was doing fairly well. But probably the last half mile I was getting tired and it felt like the finish line was never going to be in sight! But finally I saw it! I made it in between the barricades and they called my name out as I ran through the finish line!!! That was so cool hearing my name! I finished in 31:32!!! I am VERY proud of that time!!! And I am very happy that I RAN the ENTIRE time!!! No walking at all!!! That was my main goal...to run the whole time! Yep...I think this running thing is a serious addiction of mine lol! I LOVE it!

LeAnn, Me, and Jennifer before we got on the buses! I wish this pic wasn't so blurry. :-(


LeAnn and me before the race!


Yep we are silly!


Our feet are on the pavement...ready to RUN!


After the race! Success is so sweet!