Sunday I went running again—actually i wouldn’t quite call what i do running—probably more like jogging! :)  

We just recently moved, and I am not used to running around this area.  It is in a neighborhood area, and I am not used to the elevation changing much. Last summer, I pretty much ran on flat ground.  There was very little change in elevation and no hills at all.  Running around the city I live in and neighborhood here is much different, it is not flat, and I can really feel the difference as far as effort goes!

So, Sunday, after a small breakfast I told myself I was going to run for 30 minutes straight.  I ran around the neighborhood and then went into town and ran on main street and I thought I had gone forever! Like more than 3 miles, because I ran clear across town—Just about! (our town is really small) and then Iooked down at my phone and It was only over 2 miles.  It started to get extremely windy and I didn’t make a loop-like a normal person would so they could get back home, I just ran away from home and figured I could call my husband and tell him to come get me at the mcdonalds.  Well, after about 8 phone calls he never picked up and so I started back home—but I walked.  So in all I ran/walked over 4 miles on Sunday! 

It wasn’t horrible, and I wan’t even sore the next day.  I really need to pick up my pace though.  Last year I was between a 10-12 minute pace. So I really want to get back to that! 

I also ended up injuring myself last year because I wasn’t very smart about taking days off of running.  I ran almost every day last summer, but this time I am playing it smart and trying to let my body heal a day after each run, so that I don’t injure myself this time around.  I also have already noticed how much better I feel after I run.  I really have missed that feeling so I am glad I hopped back into the saddle and started running again! :) 

A New Beginning.

I stopped running after my 10k.  I can tell you a million and one excuses why I stopped, but they all seem unimportant and really just that--excuses. 

Last December, my husband signed us both up for a half marathon. 

It's been in the back of my mind since then, but I have yet to start training. Again, I have hundreds of excuses.

Now the race is 11 weeks out and I am scared out of my mind.

In fact, I have real anxiety over it.  

I went for my first run, for like 7 months the other day and it was horrible. 

Every. single. minute. was horrible.  It was cold, windy, and my body was just screaming at me--wondering what in the heck I was doing.   I have been a couch potato for the past 7 months, and my body was shocked that I was actually running again.

The past two days, I have been telling my husband that there is no way I can do this. I am not ready at all and that I should change my race to the 5k.  

I fully intended to switch it over, but I feel like I need to do this. I need to prove to myself that I can indeed do HARD things.   I remember last year that I thought running a mile straight was seriously a miracle in itself.  So I know I can do this.  The only thing stopping me is myself.  More specifically my brain--it keeps telling me--there is no way I can do this.  I might as well not do it, to save myself from failing at something. 

Well, starting today--I am changing my attitude and perspective.  I am doing this for me. I am doing this to prove myself wrong. I am doing this because I AM STRONG.  I am doing this because I remember how awesome I felt all last summer when I was running.  I literally felt like I was on top of the world!  I want that feeling back, because I know I have lost it within the last 7 months.  It has slowly diminished over the course of all these months.  

Last year it was about losing a few pounds, well this time--it's not about the weight.  I am still the same weight I was when I stopped (miraculously enough) I am not going to worry about counting calories, but I am going to eat better.  I am going to try and fill my meals with more vegetables and add in healthier carbs when I can. 

I am keeping this blog as sort of a journal of my progress, and to keep myself motivated.  There are going to be hard days, when those negative thoughts creep back into my brain, and that's when I can come back here and look at how far I've come and can continue to go! 

This is the program I am going to do to help me achieve the half marathon:

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Midway Swiss Days 10k Recap

Last Saturday was my first 10k.

I was extremely nervous that I wouldn't be able to finish the race for a couple of reasons:

1. Avie (my 1 year old) dropped our ipad right on my big toe a week prior to the race and bruised the crap out of my toe.  I could hardly bend it.

2. Because of above reason I didn't run for a whole week! 

I didn't feel ready at all, and I was really nervous that my toe was going to give me lots of problems. 

My husband ran the race with me and it was actually his first ever race.  So that was exciting, even though we didn't run together, he was running it with me.  

So the race: 

On the website it describes the course and it says that the first 2.5 miles is a slight incline.  There was no slight about some of those inclines.  That was running up a hill!  I had to actually walk up one of the hills.  I also later learned that my husband also had to walk up the same hill, so then I didn't feel too bad that I couldn't run the whole way! 

By the time I got to mile three, my mind was telling me that I was done.  I was already exhausted.  I didn't know how I could possibly go another 3.2 miles.  I changed my way of thinking and just kept repeating that this was just another 5k, I could do this, I was strong enough.  

I did do it, I was strong enough, and now I am more sore than I have ever been before in my life. 

It feels so great to accomplish something you never thought possible.   My goal was to finish it in less than an hour and 15 minutes.  I did it in 1 hour 12 minutes.  Although it was the hardest physical thing I have ever done in my life, it was worth it.  :)

(My dad was there to support us as well as take our pictures, unfortunately when Brandon crossed the finish line he accidentally forgot to turn the camera on! So we didn't get any shots of him running in his race)

Here are my splits:

Here are Brandon's Splits

I'm still running....and I almost died.

I am still running. 

I haven't posted in a while because I have been busy with my new obsession. Quilting.  Out of all the hobbies in the universe, I chose a really time consuming and expensive one.  :) 

Onto my run:

I did my longest run to date on Sunday morning.  5 miles.  I almost died. 

No joke.

Not because of the run, but because a killer bird was trying to get me.

Here's the story:

I wanted to try a loop on this run since it was so long.  So I went down a new road that I have never been on. I knew the road went all the way through, so I turned on the road and about half way down the road a bird came at me.  I mean it came at me and I had to freaking duck in order for it to miss my face! I flew away and then it CAME BACK! It came back for round two.  It was aiming for my head again and so I ducked really low so it would miss me.  I almost peed my pants.  I was that scared!

I ran like hell until I felt I was safe again!  I kept looking back to make sure it wasn't coming in for round three. 

Lesson learned. 

Never run on that road again. 

The overall run was great.  I felt pretty good the entire time. The last mile was hard, I'm not going to lie.   It seemed like it was lasting forever! I got through it and wasn't completely dead after. I got home and ate an amazing breakfast that my man cooked and chilled the rest of the day. I was really sore on Monday, but today hasn't been so bad. 

The big race is a week from Saturday.  I'm feeling a little nervous, but mostly excited.  :)

2 mile run and I'm ready for fall.

My run yesterday didn't suck as much as I thought it would.  Well besides the fact that I got eaten alive by mosquitos.   When I stopped at two miles I felt something on my leg and I look down and my legs are literally covered with mosquitos.  I started to freak out.  We have a really bad mosquito problem where we live and you really can't go outside without getting eaten alive.  This morning the bumps all showed up on my legs and I counted about ten of them, just from my run yesterday. 

Other than that small detail, my run went really well.  My knees didn't give me much trouble and I didn't feel like I was going to die by the time I reached two miles.  I actually felt like I could have easily ran double that yesterday, but I didn't want to get a ahead of myself.   

Life has kind of slowed down, which has made me really happy. 

I am ready for fall.

It's my favorite time of year. 

I love summer, but there is just something about fall that I really enjoy. 

The changing leaves

Cuddling on the couch watching football with my husband

Long naps on the weekends

Taking Sunday drives with the kids to see the colorful leaves

Decorating my house with Halloween decorations (my favorite holiday to decorate for)

Making yummy fall food like soups and homemade bread

Going to the pumpkin patch with the kids

Watching television series on Netflix (need to finish up Dexter)

Wearing flannel pajamas and hooded sweatshirts

I'm pretty sure I could go on and on...

I am really going to enjoy fall this year because next fall we will be living in St. George and I know it will definitely be different there as far the seasons go.  :)

Off the bandwagon..

I fell off the bandwagon this past week.  

It all started on Thursday.  I was supposed to run two miles.  I made it 1.5 miles, then I just had to walk to the rest of the way home.  My knees were hurting so badly.  I didn't want to injure myself any further, so I just walked home and iced my knees and took ibuprofen.    

 We had to make an unplanned trip up north to attend my husband's grandpa's funeral so we just barely got back yesterday. The whole time we were up there my knees hurt. They just ache.  I really don't want to make them worse, but I really need to get running again so that I'm prepared for my 10k that's in just a few weeks.  To make things worse, I have been getting really bad headaches for the past three days.  I rarely get headaches, and for some reason every single day at around the same time it hits me.  I've been trying to drink more water and all that, but nothing seems to be working. 

Anyways, I'm done complaining for now.   :)

While we were up north I made some blueberry zucchini bread.  I figured since it had zucchini in it, it was healthy. :) We completely devoured a whole loaf in less than 5 minutes. It was really yummy. 

My newest addiction. I ate a whole bag on the way home yesterday.  They are addicting.

We came home to a ton of cucumbers in our garden so my husband and I canned some pickles yesterday.  I can't wait for them to be ready to eat!

I started a new sewing project today.  I gathered all of our kids' baby blankets and cut them up for a big blanket.  I'm about half way done.....

 I didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight,  so I just kept it simple and made apple walnut oatmeal.  It was really good. :)

Tonight I am going to try to run and see how my knees feel.  They still hurt, but not as bad.  I guess we'll see how it goes!  

A series of arguments...

I don't know what it is, but I felt great on my run tonight.  My legs didn't feel like lead when I started and I was below a 12 minute pace.  I'm slow :)  

However, my knees do not seem to be getting better.  I have been stretching right after I run and icing my knees because they are hurting more than usual.  I hope I'm just being overly dramatic and that it's really nothing. :)

Saw this on Pinterest and thought it described how I feel when I'm running perfectly. 

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