you get out of it what you put into it

A new 5k training group started tonight.  10 weeks until their 5k!  We ran 1 mile at an 11 min pace.  It was so hot out, that I was sweating at that pace.  Then when we were done I ran 1 mile faster on my own at a 9ish pace.  My legs felt dead. 

I love helping with these groups.  It is very rewarding.  I know that my own running suffers when I'm caught up in helping them, but I really do enjoy it.

Oh yea... I was late to the run (missed stretching).  I am dog sitting this week and I locked myself out of the people's house!  I was stuck outside in the brutal heat while the dogs were looking at me through the window enjoying the ac.  I was sooooo mad.  All because I was trying to water their stupid tomato plants that I told her I would probably kill anyways because I have a black thumb!  Anyways, I finally got in by scaling the house to a balcony on the second story.  The door happened to be unlocked and I was sooooooo happy!  I was so stressed... literally in tears because I absolutely refused to pay for a locksmith to come out!

Then it was back home to study for finals after my run.  One more week.  One more week.  One more week.  Then I have a break of about 10 days before fall semester starts back.  Wahoo!

Trails!

Last planned run up there for a while. Unfortunately.

Next week my friends and I are starting a much more serious half marathon training schedule. I'll be honest and tell y'all that my goal is to go sub-2. I don't think it will happen, but I'm going to work hard this summer/fall to see how close I can get. I know I'll get there one day, I just don't think it will be right now.

So this morning (Thursday) when I let the dogs out I turned on the hose to water the tomatoes and then went to get in the shower. My plan was to turn the hose off after I got out of the shower, giving them a good 15-20 minute soaking. Well, I FORGOT about them until I was leaving for work! So, that means that I watered them for like an hour! Ahhhhhh. Allie, are they going to die from getting too much water? Another funny thing is that the knob to turn the hose on is behind this rock feature water garden thing that I literally have to crawl up and over to get to it. So, I was doing that in a dress and heels this morning! Goodness I hope the neighbors weren't watching! These stupid tomatoes are going to be the death of me.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Half training has officially started!  Well, for me anyways.  It officially starts today (on Tuesday), but I have my last final (stats II) tonight, and will not be able to make our first run.  Therefore, I got in my 4 by myself.

Nothing too interesting other than I was running in the pouring down rain (and it felt great) and this creepy old man pulled up next to me in his truck and asked if I needed a ride.  NO THANK YOU!  I kindly told him that I was enjoying the rain and kept on moving.  Eeek.

I want to share with y'all a little funny that was a local story from my hometown.  It has made national news because... well, just watch.  It really is a serious and sad situation, but Antoine is so funny!

(Okay, I can't get the video in my entry, so follow the link)

Then they made a song out of it.  I can't get this out of my head:

Link to this one.

Laugh y'all.  It's funny!

6@6AM.  Easy on the dreadful greenway.

Then 6 mountain biking on the trails.  I wanted to do more, but my friend was hungover sooooo bad.  Haha.  He was not happy about our early start time, but I told him he should've thought about that before drinking so much the night before when we had already agreed upon our meeting time.  No sympathy here.

Last Sunday in church, my preacher said something that I can not get out of my head:

"One person you will never satisfy is yourself."

So true.  Run faster.  Make better grades.  Have a better job.  Read the Bible more.  Run longer distances.  Save more money.  I could go on and on.  I'm never satisfied, but I try to work towards my goals every single day.  Anyways, I thought I would share.

I hope y'all are all having a fantastic weekend!  

5k training group.  Slow.

13.1 group.  Speed work night.  8X400 with 3 minute slow jog recovery in between.

1 mile warmup. 

1:59, 2:07, 2:17, 2:24, 2:15, 2:15, 2:15, 1:50

1 mile cool down. 

I'm pleased with all of them except #4.  I don't race much at all so when our "coach" was putting together this schedule, she didn't really know what to put for me.  She had a goal of 2:20 down for these which I told her was too slow.  I really thought I would've been faster than this though.  Oh well.  By the way, it was by far the most humid run of my life.  I was literally dripping after our warmup.  Yet, I still drank nothing on the run.  I have issues.  

Okay, I believe Burt requested a funny story.  Lets see...  I am taking peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch this week (yum!), so on Monday when I went to get in my car, I dropped the bag of ingredients (bread, bananas, peanut butter).  I have some severely bruised bananas on my hands now.  The funny (not really) part was that the jar of peanut butter rolled right in the middle of the underside of my car.  So I was on the ground in a dress trying to reach for it.  NOT PRETTY.  Thank goodness I live in the country and don't have any neighbors that are too close by. 

Another one:  Monday at work (same day), I was walking down the hall to wash out my coffee cup and I tripped and fell over my own feet and spilt coffee all over my Lilly dress.  Not happy.  At all.  If my dress wasn't ruined from crawling on the ground, it definitely is from that darn coffee.  

Tempo run. I hate tempos. Hate. I am too slow for this to really do me any good, in my opinion.

1 mile warm-up + 3 mile tempo + 1 mile cool-down.

Kill me!

Did a little sprint tri as part of a team.  I was slow.  The course sucks.

I was supposed to go run about 10 miles on the trails after, but my tri partner suggested we go to Waffle House instead.  I couldn't turn him down.  It was delicious.  After that I went home and took a 4-hour nap.  It was great, but I felt like a slacker when I woke up.  Oh well.

Then one of my very best friends growing up got married.  Of my close friends, she is the first to tie the knot.  I had a blast, but it made me kinda sad; we are officially growing up and it sucks.

"Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach." 

-  Dr. George Sheehan, M.D.

Easy run for my 13.1 group.  I ran with a friend and we kept a pretty good pace (around 10:00 or so), but then she wanted to stop and walk twice on the last half.  I was in the groove but stopped with her.  She is having a slight emotional crisis right now and her running is suffering.  She is definitely a better runner than me, but I felt like I was pushing the pace with her tonight.  We had a nice chat and even went and got Starbucks and pedicures after we were done.  Those poor people having to touch our nasty feet...

I'm leaving for Vegas this weekend for a week.  I'll be there for a conference.  I packed some running clothes, but I seriously doubt I'll log any miles.  I'm hopeful, but I know we have long hours every day.  We shall see.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

I was up this morning earlier than I am during the week to catch my flight to Vegas. I'm sleepy. No run.

I only wanted to post this recent pic.

Burt, this is for you:

I guess I'm no longer FRB's "southern belle" when you see me with real ones.  

Sad day.  Very sad day.