Three mile

They say you should finish your run and still feel as though you could run another mile. I only ran 3 miles today, but I still could have gone on. I wasn't completely out of breath, and my legs weren't tired. My lower legs stopped hurting (or I just got used to the feeling) after about a mile and a half.

OOOOooo!!!!! I also got a very spiffy Hydration Belt by Amphipod. I tried several within the past week, and I think this will work the best for me! It even has a little pocket where I can put a key, my iPod and even a gel! AND that means I can return my iPod arm runny thing and get some money back!!! Woo hoo!

Also, the August issue of Albuquerque the Magazine hit the stands yesterday, so run out and get your copy while it's hot! Better yet, ask me for a subscription - I can hook you up to get 11 issues for only $12. That's cheap, folks, real cheap. Not to mention you get to stay up-to-date with all the latest and greatest in the 'Burque!

I'm also thinking about starting yoga. This place is supposed to be pretty good...I just honestly don't know how much more sweating my body can handle. They keep their room set at 105 degrees and the humidity is something ridiculous like that too. But, it's supposed to have all sorts of benefits and be really good for your body. Plus, I need to work on my stretching; it's not near where it should be.

Hokay...I've gotta get this day started. Thanks for reading!

Frozen watery lunch in a box

I'm taking a break from my running log to jot down a few rants about frozen meals.

Yesterday I had a really tasty frozen meal from Lean Cuisine. I felt like one of those commercials where the ladies are sitting in an office talking about their boring lunches and then one lady pipes up about how delicious hers is. There wasn't a circle of girls talking about our food yesterday, but mind was good! I had this tasty Grilled Chicken Primavera. It was good. Like home-cooked, good.

So today I brought another Lean Cuisine. I popped it in the microwave and took it out 4 minutes later only to be greeted with the frozen left over juices. It was not appealing, let alone appetizing. It LOOKed like this. Consider this my warning. I have about 5 more of these lovely meals to try. My mom went on a frozen meal shopping spree a few months ago because she had a coupon for a whole .50 cents off if you buy l0. Woo. Hoo.

....by the way. I couldn't even finish the second meal, I went across the street and bought a delicious sandwich.

Tuesday Trashy Two

In my neck of the woods, Tuesday is trash day, and that is NOT a happy thing to run through in the morning. Besides the lack of roses in the air, the run this morning was pretty nice. I went a little later than usual, but it wasn't as hot as it could've been. I even felt like I could have gone longer when I finished - granted 2 miles is the least I do. My lower legs were still giving me problems, but i just ran through it. As soon as I finished I popped some Ibuprofen and iced...now I feel fine.

On my way to work I thought I had a bunch of energy, and I got excited that maybe running is actually giving me energy. Not true. I'm tired. Sleepy, actually. I need a large dose of caffeine. STAT.

Sunday four miles

I got up this morning with the goal of running 4 miles with the team. I started out and immediately my calves/shins (still don't know what it's called where it hurts) started hurting. I ended up walking a good mile of the 'run'. I'd rather make sure I don't injure myself, than push myself to do the entire thing. This is an endurance run - not a race. They keep telling us that. I'm taking it easy, and I'm icing and stretching.

Before we started the run this morning we had an 'honorary teammate' speak. I think her name is Mindy - but I could be wrong. She told us that when she was 18 she was diagnosed with Leukemia. For 2 1/2 years she went through chemo treatments. She lost her hair, a lot of weight and energy, and was in the hospital for three years. She says the only reason she's alive (besides prayers) is because of the research clinical she went through. She beat Leukemia and now she's out running a marathon and raising money for other people to survive. She was able to finish high school on time, and went to college to become a nurse. Last week she started as an oncology nurse -HOW COOL IS THAT!? She's 25 now and is running with my team.

It's stories like these that keep me going. A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed towards my fundraising goal, and for your encouragement! It means so much to me.

Also, check this out:

***SOUTHWEST AIRLINES RAFFLE*****
Team in Training is raffling off two (2) round-trip airline tickets from Southwest Airlines on July 15, 2007.

Tickets are $5 each, or 5 for $20 - and ALL the money goes straight towards my fundraising goal/Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

I'll have them with me till July 12, so let me know if you want one/some and I can meet you, or run it over to you!

eh....

I got new shoes again yesterday. I took the ones I had back to Fleet Feet and they told me the shoes they gave me may have been OVER stabilizing my feet. Great. So, now I have some new shoes, but my legs/calfs/shins (I don't know what it's called where it hurts) were still hurting when I got up. So, instead of running the three miles I was supposed to log today, I stretched and iced. I'm going to ice them at lunch too, and hopefully I can get to at least walk or maybe run the three later tonight - may have to go to the gym though cause it was pretty gross outside yesterday evening.

THANK YOU to everyone who is donating and sending me your encouragement - it means SO MUCH to me knowing that this money is going to help so many other people. THANK YOU!!!!!

Also, if you've been keeping up with these blogs, let me know! It's always nice to know that I'm not just writing to nobody. Believe it or not, keeping a daily log of what's going on gets touch when you don't get any feedback. It's kinda like talking to a blank wall... some people probably wouldn't mind it, but I would get lonely/bored. So...send some comments! How about this - what's your favorite song to work out to? I'm starting to get bored with the music I have. Let me know!!!

a tight two miles

I ran two miles this morning. And by "ran" I mean "walked too much of it." Ever since I bought my new shoes, the part in between my shin and my calf on the inside hurts. Today it hurt a lot. I stretched yesterday twice and this morning before I ran, but once I got a mile in, it hurt too much and I had to walk. I took some Tylenol and iced it and it felt better after that... I'm just gonna ice it again when I get home and stretch it some more. I don't run again until Thursday, so hopefully it'll be better by then.

Five or Seven?? Hmm... SEVEN!

Today was the long run with the team. Half marathoners training were to run 5 miles, and those training for the full marathon were up to 7 miles. I woke up and felt pretty refreshed so I drove out towards the Sunport to meet with the team. I got there, stretched a little and found someone to run with... then started the run.

I got to the turn-around point and instead of turning back, I felt really good so I decided to keep going to the full marathoners turn-around point. Wow. In all actuality, I probably walked about a good mile - there was a hill that was unbelievably long and gradually got steeper. My legs and body (ok, and lungs and feet and arms and EVERYTHING) just wanted to stop, so instead of stopping I walked. I ran to the 3.5 mark where there was water and Gatorade waiting. We had ran to the northeast side of the Journal Pavilion. Amazing.

The run back wasn't as hard (mostly because I could run down the ridiculous hill, but it was still hard. I was really proud of myself for finishing it. My legs and arms feel like Jello, and I would like nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the day.

I may attempt to start training like I was going to run the full marathon. If I decide to change back to a half, I can do it up until the morning of the marathon. Who knows. It's all up in the air.

Three musical miles

Yesterday I woke up bright and really early (6 am) to go for my three mile run. It was SO nice and fresh outside at that time. I finally bought myself the armband for my iPod, so I had company singing in my ear this run. Nothing too exciting besides the fact that I finished the run and for the first time felt as though I could go a little more. And by a little more, I mean I could have made it to the end of my block and then walked back.

In other news................... :)

As of Monday (7/18) I will officially be an Assistant Editor for Albuquerque the Magazine!!! That's right! Six months after graduating college I have a real job in the profession that I wanted to be in. Amazing. It's going to be a tough job, but I couldn't be happier. I get to write for a magazine and get paid for it. It doesn't hurt that everyone I work with is awesome and I like everything I'm writing about. WOOHOO!!!!!

Just wanted to share my good news with everyone!

two miles down

I am not a fast runner. That's what I was telling myself as I was taking what felt like baby steps this morning. I am getting faster, though. What used to be 15 minute miles are now 11 minute miles. Granted, I'm only running two miles here, and three miles there - with the occasional 5 miles thrown in (I may die doing that this Sunday....). It seemed a little easier today. A little. My legs didn't hurt as much, and when they did I think it's just the shoe correcting my stride. The hardest part for me always seems to be that last half mile, and it doesn't help that it's usually uphill.

During the last part this morning I thought about the cancer patients getting pumped with drugs that are literally sucking every ounce of energy out of their life. That pushed me a little bit - knowing that I have the energy to finish. Hopefully I can keep that motivation up for the next several months!

I remember watching a Sex and the City episode when Samantha was going through chemo. It really made me mad because she would 'go get chemo' and then go out that night to some promotional thing. It drove me crazy and really made me lose respect (I realize it's just a TV show) for the creators. You don't have the energy to do anything!! Sorry, I was just thinking about that....

Today I think I'll pick up the iPod runny thingy for sure - I don't want to just listen to the constant rhythm of my breathing, or the pitter-patter of my shoes on the road.

Shout outs: A HUGE thank you to my parents, for putting out the first donation, and to Brandon for the second donation and encouragement. Matt Akers, thank you for the e-mail you sent me...it's a huge motivator!

Two miles to Wyoming

Apparently I live in a convenient area for running because from my house to Wyoming (the street, obviously) is 1 mile. To Academy is 3 miles. Each stop light in between is about .5 of a mile. It's nice. I only ran two miles today, but it seemed to be the hardest run so far. I don't know if it's because I got new shoes and I'm working them in, or because at 9:30 in the morning it was already hot, and i was running up hill on the way back. I don't know. Every time I run I feel different muscles being used, and today they were in my feet and calves - I'm hoping that was from the new shoes straightening out my stride. I have five more miles to go this week and then Sunday's run is either a 5 or 6 mile run...I think.

I need to get my an iPod runny thing. Yup. "iPod runny thing" is the official word for the thing that goes on your arm so you can listen to music while running.

In other news, yesterday was my last day at Flying Star. They have a tradition there for anyone's last day...they whip cream you. I'm not talking about a little squirt of whipped cream. No. I'm talking about a showering of the sweet stuff from head to toe. I was taking out the trash and the next thing I knew I was literally covered in whip cream. Jen and Nichole both got me with the canisters, and the two chiefs smashed whip cream pies in my face. My shoes, jeans, shirt, hair, glasses, face, everything was completely covered. I ended up changing into a chef's coat to get out of my gross t-shirt. I'll miss the people there, but I'm moving on to bigger and better things! The girls are supposed to send me more pictures, so I'll post them as I get them.

Oh! Also, the other day I was at Albertson's with my mom and I saw this girl steal a bottle of alcohol! I've never actually seen anyone steal something before, so my eyes didn't really believe it. I told a worker, but the girl was already out the door. Oh well.

Day three/four - three miles

Yesterday there was an awesome thunderstorm in the afternoon. I laced up my running shoes and hit the pavement for a run after the rain. It turns out that from my house to Academy is exactly 3 miles. It seems like more. It felt like more. The wind during the run was the hardest thing to overcome; it never even considered letting up. I felt fine after the run except for my feet. My feet were ridiculously sore.

This morning I woke up and went to the Dinosaur by Riverpoint and ran another three miles. I can't get over how nice everybody on the team is. Emilie, my mentor, ran with me today. We're supposed to run at a conversational pace - HAHAHAHAHAHA - so she did most of the talking while I added filler comments. I really appreciated a faster runner taking the time to run with me, it was nice.

After the run my feet hurt again. They really hurt. I have three blisters on my feet; two on each pinky toe and one beneath my big toe...it sucks. So, about an hour ago I went out and bought me some running shoes from Fleet Feet. These should be good for me, so I'm excited to run in them.

It's time for a nap.

Day Two - Two miles

I realize I'm a little late with my second day of running, but let me try to explain. I ran with TNT on Sunday, May 20, and then that Thursday I flew to Florida. Yeah, I should have ran sometime that week, or while I was in Florida, but I didn't. Ok, so I got back to Albuquerque and landed with a cold - just my luck. I had planned on going running with TNT on the 3rd, but my little cough had turned into me hacking up a lung...or two. I was even sent home from Flying Star one night because they didn't want me coughing on people. Long story short (sorry, too late for that!), today was the first day I felt up for it and the first day we didn't have 50 mph winds.

I just ran 2 miles at the gym on the treadmill - I didn't think I liked them, but I didn't mind it all that much. I realize it's only two miles and I should have done more, but I didn't want to overdo it. As of right now I'm planning on running again tomorrow and will hopefully hit 3 miles - that's what I'm going to push for. I need to figure out some routes around my house so I can go running outside in the morning.

Pretty soon, once I get a decent running schedule down, I'm going to start doing Yoga with a girl from work. I think it'll be good for me.

Time for bed. More running to come.