you get out of it what you put into it

85* when I ran... too hot!  I would definitely prefer to run in the cold temps than the hot.  

Ran with 2 good friends, Brooke and Justin, who are both top top top local runners.  Well, Justin hung with us for about .15 until we nearly got hit by a car and he said he was leaving us.  Thanks!  We ran very easy... especially for Brooke.  I'm sure she was so bored.  I definitely wasn't enjoying the heat.  Made me feel sick again.  My body needs to get used to it.

I was glad to get in a few miles since this wasn't planned until about 4:30 today and we ran at 6:00. 

Cut the run short due to a storm rolling in that had some significant lightning.

Went to Starbucks for a while and then volunteered over at a local 8k. 

Disclaimer:  A non-running related post. 

This isn't a running blog or anything, right?  I did get lots of walking in on Sunday afternoon...

I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter!  I had a wonderful weekend filled with family gatherings.

Here is what I wanted to share:

Sunday after church and a delicious lunch with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law, my mom and I went to the local Botanical Gardens to see the tulips, my favorite flower.  We go every year around this time.  Well, after the hard Alabama winter (all you Utah folks keep your comments to yourself...) the tulips were a bit late in blooming and most aren't ready yet.  I bet they'll be beautiful next weekend.  Moving on....

So Mom and I were a bit frustrated about the tulip situation and were walking around this large water feature/pond thing they have when Mom spotted a SNAKE in the water!  We stopped and took pictures of it, etc.  I thought it was cool!  We pointed it out to a little boy who thought it was neat and got excited about it and got loud.  Therefore lots of other people knew too.  Someone "reported it to the authorities" so they sent some 16-year old volunteer kid down to the pond to "handle the situation."  He and a young girl worked on trying to get the snake out of the water for at least 30 minutes.  Mom and I sat on a bench and watched and laughed hysterically at the situation... he was tricky to catch!  They finally caught him with a net and were trying to walk him to the woods to release him when he got out again.  So they pinned him down with the net and the boy grabbed him.  He was NOT a happy snake...

Snake in the water:

Snake out of the water.  He looks friendly:

Oh, and a pretty flower picture just for Burt:

Happy Easter!!!

Sorry for hijacking the running blog.  I just wanted to share my snake story.  I did walk several miles around the Botanical Gardens if that counts for anything... 

Training group.

Pretty boring.

They did run a sub-10 pace so I was pretty impressed considering they are training for their first 5k.  The heat in Alabama is already blistering hot...  85*.  I was sucking air, to say the least.  This group meets at 6pm every Monday.  It's too darn hot then.  I'm starting to prefer the early morning Saturday runs although I miss my sleep.

Today my mom (the most wonderful mom in the whole world!!) celebrated her 26th? birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom!  I bought her a new living room furniture set (couch, chair, and ottoman).  I can't wait for it to be delivered.  That new couch has my name written all over it!  

Today was my first cup of coffee in 41 days.  Lent.  Sigh... I missed you.  I limited myself to 8 cups today.  It was pure coffee bliss. 

I hate looking at peoples FRB pages that don't have pics or don't have real pics.  Although I love my Kim Possible pic, I decided I need to change it since I would greatly annoy myself if I were looking at my blog.  I can't ask of others (post a pic!) if I'm not willing to do it myself.  So, I'm trying to change my pic and I keep getting an error that it is too big and I need to compress it.  HELP.  What do I do? 

I live in the country.  In the country we don't have things called streetlights.  When a girl that is scared of the dark (me) decides to run at night in the country, it doesn't always go well.  I didn't run in a nearby neighborhood like I normally do on my solo runs from home (they don't happen often).  I ran backroads.  I didn't have any major problems.  It was just plain SCARY.  Thank goodness I had my headlamp, otherwise I would've had an accident when a herd of deer jumped out in front of me.  Holy moly that was frightening!  I screamed like a school girl.  Also in the country, houses tend to be spread out.  A rapist could've been hiding in the woods for all I know!  I am so paranoid.  I have run this route many times with my buddy Jonathan during the day.  He didn't feel like running tonight and it was very dark out...  Completely different scenario than I am used to!  I survived without running into (no pun intended) any rapists for the night.  This one goes down as a win in my book.

In other news, did y'all realize that we have a famous person blogging here at FRB?  Her profile says that she has 5 kids.  That's a lie; she really has 19.

today:

alarm before 6am (i miss sleeping in on saturdays...)

run 2 miles

volunteer at local race (working finish line is stressful!)

run 2 miles

push-mow my entire yard (it's big and hilly.  did i mention that i push-mowed it?  or that it was big?  or that it was hilly?)

run 2 miles

wash my car (fist time in probably 5 years that i've not paid someone to do it for me.  now i remember why i pay people to do it.  sheesh.)

run 2 miles

needless to say, i think i'll sleep good tonight.  what a GLORIOUS day!

(for you non-alabamians:  temps here are in the mid-70's; sun is shining bright; not a cloud in the sky.  it is a truly beautiful day.) 

"Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator."

Ran with a friend after church.  It was hot.  He isn't really a runner; I think I nearly killed him.  My quads hurt from push-mowing my very hilly yard on Saturday. 

Sleep is overrated.

I guess I like the number two.

Run was too easy.  I had too much going on to get any additional miles in; better than nothing, though.

Sacha's picture uploading restrictions are frustrating me.

arrrggggghhhhhhhhh...

No run tonight.  Didn't have time between school and a function at our local Fleet Feet store.  Oh yea... I got my second stats test back........ I made an 87%!!!!!  I seriously don't see how.  I almost cried I was so happy.  Hallelujah!  

I just wanted to share with y'all that determination DOES pay off.  This golf ball has been a pain in my you-know-what for years.  No one has ever been able to get it.  I have spent hours upon hours trying to get it to land on the tee.  Well, last night after playing with it for probably an hour or so, I GOT IT!  I screamed, I mean screamed I was so excited.  Then my hands started to shake and it almost fell off the tee.  I would've cried had that happened.  Literally. 

I know that to most of you this means absolutely nothing.  It wouldn't to me if I were reading this.  But, I took it as a small sign that my determination (some might say I'm a bit hard-headed) pays off sometimes.  It took me years and years, hours upon hours to make my goal - getting the ball on the tee.  I look at it like my running.  Hopefully it will not be years until I run the elusive marathon, but I know that it will be hours upon hours upon hours of training and hard work.  I just have to be as determined with my running as I was with this stupid ball.

Okay, enough blabbering from me for now... just wanted to share my thoughts.

Hope y'all are having a fabulous week! 

Hot.  hOt.  hoT.  HOt.  HOT.  HOTTTTTTTTT.

Stressful day at work; very, very stressful.  Darn volcanoes.  Running seemed to let me clear my mind a bit, which was nice.  I ran my same scary, rapist loop from last week.  This time the sun was setting though, so it wasn't dark.  I saw lots of people (okay, 3 couples.  that is a lot for the country) out walking.  I am probably the over-friendly runner when I meet people on the street.  I say hi to everyone and wave.  I ran past my normal running buddy, JP's, parents.  They got an even bigger hello than the others.  Since it wasn't dark, I wasn't worried about potential mass-murders lurking in the woods.  That was nice, as I tend to be a bit paranoid about those things typically.

When I get about .60 from home I cut through the corner of a cotton field and run the edge of it behind some peoples house to the road and then turn and head for home.  The people have definitely seen me running and we've said our hello's in the past, etc.  Well today the man and woman were outside doing something (I think working on their car??) and their dog that I haven't seen before was in the yard.  He didn't see me at first but when he did he was barking like crazy and charged at me.  I stopped running and tried to walk slowly past him.  If I looked at him he would back up a smidge but if I turned to start back running he came at me and barked more.  Meanwhile, the people are completely ignoring his barking!  This went on for at least a minute before they realized it and started yelling at him to leave me alone and come to them.  THANK YOU!  The man said that he was a nice dog and was "all talk," but considering he was like a pit bull looking dog, I don't know that I believe him.  That breed doesn't always have the best reputation.  I apologized to them when he told me that and they said it was okay.  I was on the property behind their house, disturbing them so I felt bad.  Anyways, I thought I'd ask more experienced runners...  In the future, should I say "excuse me, can you get your dog" or something to the people when he continues to bark?  Or should I do like I did tonight?  That would be where my shy side comes out and I don't want to bother people or interrupt what they're doing.  Hmmmmm... 

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Worked on my pu-pu-su challenge for the first time this week while watching Project Runway and chatting with my mom.  She didn't understand that I was having trouble conversing while getting a hernia, having a heart attack and trying to watch Heidi Klum critique the designers all at the same time.  Sheesh. 

Push-ups - 10, 25 girl ones, 10 

Pull-ups - yea right 

Sit-ups - 50, 50 

Girls trip this weekend.  I wasn't really planning on running.  But, when it was 6am and I had yet to go to bed (managed to last 41 hours without sleep this time) and the sunrise looked sooooooo beautiful, I couldn't resist.

My view while running:

Watching a beautiful sunrise over the lake while having a fabulous weekend with some of my very best friends.  Can life get any better? 

Now, back to reality.  I have a paper do at 10AM tomorrow and I haven't started it yet. 

Seriously an awesome run tonight.  I felt good the whole time.  Ran 2 with one of the girls that I'm coaching in the 5k training program after running 2 on my own.  She ran the whole time without stopping at a little over 10mm pace.  I was so proud!  It's fun to watch other people grow and develop as runners.  I know that I am certainly still at that point and have a very long ways to go.  It really motivates me to see other people reaching the goals they have set for themselves. 

Congrats to all you Boston runners.  I enjoyed keeping up with the race online this morning and can't wait to read all of your reports!  

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I did my pu pu su challenge tonight while getting a new air conditioner installed.  I'm sure the installation guys got a kick out of seeing me trying to do pathetic push-ups and sit-ups in the living room floor in my running skirt! 

pull-ups:  nope

push-ups:  15x5

sit-ups:  50x2, 25x2

Who wants to arm wrestle?  

(warning:  long and rambling)

slow as molasses.

ran the rapist loop (more on that later) with jonathan (jp) with a little bit added in to make it a full 5k.  i didn't get to stretch beforehand because he was ready to go when i got to his house.  excuse me for showing up at 7:31 when i said i'd be there at 7:30.  i can't help it that my speech class ran late because we got in an argument about corparal punishment.  sheesh.  anyways, my calves were hurting as they didn't get stretched.  i tend to think that stretching is overrated and don't really do much of it at all.  calves is the one thing that i try to get very quickly though... stupid, kp.  i know for next time.  i didn't stop and stretch them during the run.  i figured if i couldn't tough it out for 3 miles, i have no business being out there.  i was super slow but really picked it up the last .20 or so (in preparation for my dual with RAD).  i was at a 7:20ish pace for that and was pleased.  this loop has one nice downhill section that i somehow manage to run better than jp every time.  his long legs must slow him down???  because the rest of the time he is literally running circles around me (he'll run ahead and then run back to me and run a circle around me and then run back ahead.  jerk.)  we saw the biggest dog i've ever seen in my life on the run tonight.  this thing was massive!  i seriously wanted to stop and play with him.  he seemed like a sweetie.  thankfully, jp's lab, polo, didn't run with us tonight like he normally does.  he doesn't wear a leash and is quite hyper... those two would've been interesting.  oh yea, and we saw a coyote... i'm glad jp was there, otherwise i would have freaked!     

okay... the "rapist" loop: 

first of all, i didn't see the mean dog that barked at me last time.  we ran through the same cotton field, so i guess he must've been in the house.  jp said he has come across him before too... not a nice dog.  moving on - so i was telling jp about how i ran our loop by myself the other night at like 8:30pm.  it was definitely pitch black out other than my bobbing headlamp.  he absolutely could not believe i ran that alone at night... he doesn't even do that!  and, when he runs it alone during the day he always carries a pocket knife with him! i don't even own a pocket knife!!!  please understand that this is not a bad area in any way.  it is just in the country and one section of it is very secluded - no houses or street lights and it is heavily wooded on both sides of the road.  he was telling me that i definitely shouldn't run the loop alone at night, which i agree with.  but, i think it is still okay during the day.  jp was telling me about how he had seen trucks parked up there before doing who knows what (drug deals, killing people, i don't want to know...) so that is why he was apprehensive of me being up there alone.  he was running probably 30 or 40 feet in front of me when he suddenly turned around and ran back to me and then ran beside me the whole time.  there was a car on the secluded street!  (insert dramatic music here...) i thought it was very nice of him to be all protective of me; what a gentleman.  i told him that it was probably just some teenagers "parking" which then made him tell me a story about when he dated my good friend in high school and they went "parking" up there... ugh, i didn't want to know that!  anyways, nothing happened with the car.  i couldn't even see anyone in there although the sun was quickly setting and it was pretty much impossible to see anything at that point.  we made it home safe and sound.  he did manage to make me very nervous about running up there though.  thanks a lot...  

so now i need to buy pepper spray and a pocket knife.  this stuff is going to weigh me down y'all!

that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

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pu, pu,su challenge:

push-ups:  15x7

pull-ups:  nada

sit-ups:  50x2, 25x2

Didn't run a single step this weekend which was kinda depressing.  I was out of town visiting with friends and was just too busy.

Friday - Fight traffic heading south for 2+ hours.  A lot of idiots were headed to Talladega.  Eat a yummy dinner.

Saturday - I had planned to do a little 5k, but it was canceled due to the torrential rains.  I think that was a smart move.  That was the heaviest rain we've had in a very long time.  We went shopping instead.  Yummy breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Sunday - Went to a true "Southern Baptist" church with my friend.  I attend a Southern Baptist church at home, but it is nothing like this.  Honestly, it was like a culture shock.  But, I really did enjoy it and we had a great message in Sunday school and the regular service.  Yummy lunch.  Left Birmingham later than planned so I missed yoga at home.  No biggie; my prolonged visit was worth it.

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Ate a huge dinner at home about 9PM and then started on my pu, pu, su challenge immediately following since I missed it Friday.

pull-ups:  ha

push-ups:  30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 - all with a 1 minute break in between.

1 minute break

sit-ups:  50, 25, 25, 25, 25 - all with a 1 minute break in between.

I wasn't feeling the sit-ups tonight.  Slacker.

AM: 

My first sub-6am run EVER.  I didn't get to run any this weekend as I was so busy so I thought I'd give this early morning thing a try.  Shhhhh... Don't tell anyone, but I kinda liked it!

I had a goal of being in bed at 8pm because I was a) exhausted from a fantastic weekend out of town and b) a little apprehensive about this 5am crap and didn't know how it would go.  At 10:30ish I finally crawled in the bed but was wide awake, as I had just finished my pu, pu, su challenge and my heart was pounding.

5:05am alarm went off.  I stayed in bed for just a minute or two and then hopped up and got ready to go.  I was out the door by 5:12 wearing shorts, a s/s tech shirt with a l/s tech shirt over it.  My horses were surprised to see me this early and let it be known that they wanted to go for a run too.  Sorry guys!

I didn't run the rapist loop because it was dark outside.  (no, i haven't bought any pepper spray yet)  Although, I feel it would be safer to do at 5am than at 9pm.  I stuck to the neighborhood route that I have grown to despise as it can be quite boring.  Honestly, this was the most enjoyable the neighborhood loop has ever been.  I loved getting to watch the sky lighten as the sun prepared to rise over the nearby mountains.  The temps were absolutely perfect.  I tied my l/s shirt around my waist around mile 2.  I could've gone the whole run without it, but I'm glad I had it on at the beginning as it was quite windy this morning and it took me a moment to warm up.  I didn't take my iPod with me; it was just me and the birds singing and the crickets chirping.  Lovely.

I didn't hear nor see a single dog.  I saw no fellow crazy people out exercising.  I only passed about 5 cars and it was towards the end of the run.  I enjoyed having the roads to myself and actually getting to hear the sounds of my shoes hitting the pavement.  It was refreshing and just what I needed on this wonderful Monday morning.  I ran the entire time which is pretty much unheard of for me when I run alone.  I always stop to walk for a minute or tie my shoe or look at something or stretch this or that.  This is quite an accomplishment for me!

After my run, I sat outside on the back porch a few minutes cooling off.  Then I took a shower and went back to bed for 30 minutes until I had to get up for work.  The 30 minute "nap" was fantastic!

PM: 

After work and before my training group I ran 2 miles at 8:54 pace.  I didn't know I could hold a sub 10 pace!  Exciting!  I ran .50 of it at 7:30 pace (3rd out of 4 laps on a .50 parking lot).  I'm even more excited because I ran a 5k this morning so my legs were not really fresh. 

Training group ran 3 miles.  I ran with 2 girls who held a 10:10 pace the whole time.  I was so proud of them!  They definitely dragged me along as I was tired.  I figured that I could NOT stop and walk for a minute since I am a "coach" and all.  I'm glad I got in all those miles today.  Good day for KP. 

I think I might "officially" start a marathon training plan.  YIKES.  The one I found is "easy" and 18 weeks long and for beginners.  We shall see if I stick with it in the HOT Alabama summer.  It has 4 runs per week which is more than I normally do.  Like I said, we shall see.  I might just stick to running a few miles here and there like I have been.  I'm nervous to officially start a training plan.  If I don't make it, I will be so upset with myself.  

I had every intention of getting up at 5am again this morning and getting in my 3 miles. When the alarm went off, I knew that wasn't happening. It was COLD outside. I'm talking in the high 30's in Alabama in late April... what is going on? My bed was entirely too comfortable and too warm for me to do something crazy like give up an additional hour of sleep.

I ran around my work campus at lunch. I thought it would still be cold, so I brought shorts and a l/s tech shirt to wear with a workout tank to go underneath it. Well, it's like an absolutely beautiful perfect wonderful 70 degree afternoon now. What is up with this weather? I was dying the moment I stepped outside, so when I got away from the main part of campus I took off the l/s shirt and tied it around my waist. That felt much better! I was really dragging and my hip was hurting me today. Argh. I wanted to run 3 but got back to my starting point at 2.46 and decided to just make it an even 2.5 and I'd be happy.

I am on a lose-10-pounds-before-vacation-next-month-diet. I did pretty well with it last week (my first week). I sucked horribly over the weekend. I ate anything and everything in sight. Now I am doing better about my meals but have had a major sweet tooth; I had THREE cupcakes yesterday! Anyways, I weighed myself today... I've lost 2 lbs. Whoop! Whoop! Now I just need that other 8 to drop magically.

I was also going to attempt to do a pull-up for the first time today for the little challenge some of us are doing. I had every intention of trying. Well, when I got back from running, there were like 5 guys over in the pull-up area working out. They were lifting weights and being serious body-builder guys. So, I decided that I didn't want to embarrass myself and just took another 0 for the pull-up portion. I know, I suck.

Slow.  HOT.  Ran the Railroad Track Trail with Jonathan.  I asked him last night if he had any trail shoes.  He said no.  I told him to run in old tennis shoes.  He said he would "figure something out," so I left it at that.  I got to his house today and he is running in his vibram five fingers.  I realize that people run in these all the time.  But, they generally start out with like a mile at a time and build up to higher mileage.  He had never run a single step in them and had only bought them for a mission trip to Nicaragua last fall.  His feet were killing him; can't wait to see how they feel tomorrow.  He ran 5.4 while I ran 6.5.  It was 80 degrees out.  Whew... and humid!  And, the bugs were out in full force.  Did you know that the mosquito is the state bird of Alabama?  I'm glad to have this one over with.  I am not a fan of the heat.  Can we go back to 50 degree days, pretty please?

After my run I saw this little guy.  Yep, I definitely need to buy some pepper spray.  Although he was nice, not all dogs are.  A mean dog his size could literally kill me.  He was just walking down the middle of the road on a route that I really plan to run when I start upping my mileage some.  He was HUGE.  A total sweetie too.  I love big dogs.  Love 'em!  

(please notice all the lush greenery.  snow?  what is snow, utah friends?)