A New Way to Increase Miles

I have discovered a new way to turn short runs into long runs: get lost. I was bored with my regular weekend run, so I thought I would try running in a different neighborhood. It's just across the street from my neighborhood, but the street I have to cross is pretty busy, so I had not been to the neighborhood before. I scoped out my route the night before, and I found that I would have to run on a two lane road. I didn't think it would be that busy during my 6:30 a.m. run, so I went for it only to find that it was very busy in the morning. Instead of cutting my run short, I thought I would take a different way home. This "way home" turned into a 5.5 mile run. I was a little tired when I was finished, as I had not prepared myself for such a long run, but I was happy that I went that far.

I'm hoping to get lost on some of my future runs as well. I enjoyed exploring a new neighborhood; I saw beautiful homes and landscaping, and I was able to challenge myself with some great hills. I look forward to doing it again.

Happy running!

The Great Week Continues!

I've had a great week! I was able to run 3 days, totalling about 7 miles. I also used the eliptical one night and plan on using it tonight as well. Most importantly, I found out that I dropped three minutes off my two mile run! It felt great to hit the pavement this morning; I am much more energized when I can run outside rather than on the treadmill. I think the route I took helped me stay energized as well. It's the same route that I have always taken in the past, but I did it backwards today.

I asked my five year old to go on my run with me this morning. I think he would have enjoyed it, but it's probably a good thing he turned me down. I need to keep my running time to myself. It's my chance to be alone without having to worry about anyone else. However, I am anxious for the day that we run our first race together!!

I am ending this week feeling great about what I have done, and I'm looking for another wonderful week to come.

Happy running!

Start of a Great Week

I see I have more followers...Welcome!! I hope you join with me in my running journey!

This week has started out great! It feels good to be back on track. I ran 2.5 miles yesterday. I could definately tell that I had not ran that hard in a few weeks. It felt terrific to get in a good work out! Best of all, I'm looking forward to another good run tomorrow.

I try to run every other day, and I want to get back in the habit of alternating my running days with another activity. I used to do yoga on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I'm having a lot of trouble fitting the class into my day. Also, I have an eliptical at home, but I find it hard to motivate myself to use it, as I tend to get really bored. I don't have a TV or anything else in the room with it, and I find it a little difficult to read and get in a good work out at the same time. I'm downloading an audiobook on my iPod now, and I hope that holds my attention for an hour or so this evening.

On a different note, my eating habits are also better this week; however, I think my stomach grew last week with all the snacks that I had. I'm fighting the sugar cravings, but it should only be a few more sugar-less days before I stop craving it.

Happy running!

Not A Good Day

Today wasn't such a good day. I missed my 3:00 run due to needs at work and had trouble fitting it in later. I felt really drained by the end of the day, and I think it was due not only to missing my run but also to the way I ate today. I had quite a few sweets today, and I'm finding that sugar doesn't help my motivation too much. In addition, my asthma has been acting up all day; I needed to use my fast acting inhaler three times. Using it this often tends to make me a bit shakey.

I am hoping to turn things around tomorrow. My eating habits can't get much worse than they were today, and I am going to try as hard as I can to fit in a run. I'm ending the day with hopeful thoughts of a very healthy day tomorrow!

Good Run Today

I had a good run/walk today. I alternated 1.25 minutes runing and 1 minute walking. While running, I kept a 9.5 mile per minute pace, which is a tad bit faster than I have been going over the past few weeks. I was also able to keep up a conversation while I was running. I was pretty happy that I wasn't too winded.

I also went back to the diet I was on while I was training for the 10K...5 small meals per day. I cheated a bit with some chocolate as well, but I can really feel the difference in my energy level with 5 meals compared to one.

It was a good day!

Just Starting Out

I ran in Richmond, Virginia's Monument Avenue 10K about a month ago, and I've been pretty lazy since. I'm doing about 5 miles per week right now and hope to pick it up a bit this week. I'm finding that my speed and endurance have reduced dramatically in the last month, as has my motivation; however, I'm hopeful that blogging will help motivate me to do better. After all, I think that most people (myself included) try a bit harder when others may be watching!

I'm running in Richmond's half marathon in November and will officially begin training in late July, but I'd like to work on speeding up until then. I'll run 30 minutes twice a week during the work week, then I'll do 2-3 miles on the weekends. I'll keep it short so I can really concentrate on my pace. I'll start this schedule tomorrow!