you get out of it what you put into it

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?) 

10 HOURS OF SLEEP!   Hallelujah!  I tend to sleep.... ummmm... not much at all.  5 hours is really good for me.  I've been trying to do better lately, but I still don't sleep much.  I just stare at the ceiling.  Being un-motivated to work on school work for finals week and not allowing myself to go out due to finals deadlines meant that I got in the bed early.  Since I ran 6 last night I slept in too and skipped my 6AM running group.  It was oh-so-lovely.

(note:  I used to complain about my 7AM running group on Saturday mornings.  It is now moved to 6AM for the hot summer months to avoid some of the heat.  Oh my.  Dear 7AM, I miss you...)

Basically, a crappy run.  I was very unmotivated.  I cut it short because I was running a little late for a Waffle House date with my wonderful mother.  I think we can all agree on which is more important on the running vs. Waffle House debate.  Duh, it is obviously Waffle House.  Wise choice, KP.  It was delicious.  I'm pretty sure I consumed about 1500 more calories than I had just burned running.