Day 25: Ahhhh, much better

Good Day everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day thus far! The sun is shining, somewhat, and the weather is a little warmer! I'm hoping for some good weather tomorrow....its TAILGATING time! Haha its sad that we (WKU) refer to the football season home opener as the "First Tailgate" and not the first football game. Oh well, what do you expect us to say since we haven't been the greatest the last couple of years? BUT, after last weeks game, I feel like this year could be a little different.

Oh yea...random shout out to COBB last night....wow! BIG BLUE NATION!

Anyways, enough of the random chat, lets get to business. Yesterday was a much better day than the day before. I made it to 2.5 yesterday, with much more ease than the day before. I could have went 3 but I'm taking it slow and I lifted legs. I know it only took my about 24 minutes to run, according to the clock, bc for some reason my Speedometer app was saying I was running negative MPH yesterday lol. I ran on the track in the gym because the whole stationary running in place on a treadmill thing is terrible, and with this cold weather, I don't want to run outside quite yet still having chest congestion. I thought that for being sick that I ran at a decent pace. Granted I totally got lapped by some kid who was wearing a black shirt with navy shorts that had USA Hilfiger on the butt, but other than that it was good. I had to mention that because I hate it when guys do this. I hate black with navy...get with it, and white and gray...just can't stand it. But since it is the beginning of the school year you see a lot of characters at the gym attempting to workout. I mean I applaud their effort but a lot of these people need help. Half the girls are just sitting on the machines texting (annoying), there are people wearing swimming trunks, sandals...just all freaks me out. HAHA hopefully these people will flood out with weeks to come.

After my run (which I did with a cough drop in my mouth the whole time) I lifted legs. I did squats, leg press, leg curls, leg extension, hip adduction, and hip abduction. So lets just say I felt very productive yesterday. Proud of myself! I still plan on running today, tomorrow before tailgating hopefully, and on Sunday. I am going to shoot for 3 today. I think I can do it!

Well I hope everyone has a pleasant day and I hope your college football team wins this weekend whoever it may be. GO TOPS!!

Until tomorrow...Just keep running!

Day 9: Keep on Keepin' On

I have to say I am VERY proud of myself! First though, I can't walk. Literally, my legs are so sore, I can't touch my toes and I can barely walk! I knew I was going to be this sore. I am getting made fun of at work because of the way I am walking. BUT I'm so proud because I ran the whole 2.5 miles without walking at all! I know some of you are probably like "BIG DEAL" but I have been running for a week. I think that's pretty good and I'm building endurance quickly. I am fully confident now that I am going to be ready for the 5K when if comes time. But I am not confident if I am going to be able to cross-train for 40 minutes today. Thinking about it makes me hurt!

Anyways just a little recap of last night. Here is the route I chose. Its similar to the one I ran last Tuesday because I wanted to see if it had gotten easier.

I ran it in 30 minutes! I thought originally I had ran it in a slower time than last week but I got to looking at it and I was wrong. I shaved almost 2 minutes off of my time. I'm really not focused on my speed right now though. I am just worrying about building endurance and later on I will work on my speed. AND I'm not running this race to win it...lol these girls usually run the whole thing in 30 minutes...but I don't want to be last. While I was running I was afraid that it was going to be a hard run. I started psyching myself out mentally because my legs were tired from lifting the day before. I just kept pushing and finally got the negative thoughts out of my head. I hit the wall right at 1.3 miles and I kept telling myself ok when you get to 1.5 you can walk. Well by the time I got to 1.5 I was like ok, I'm not dead, so keep running. By the time I got to 2 miles I was cruising! I didn't feel the need to walk at all. Then I got to the house and finished the 2.5 and felt great. I did some stretching and felt fine so I took back off and kept running until I hit 3 miles! I am so proud of myself!! This is a big deal for me. Running and not hating it is a big deal. And actually sticking to a workout plan as well.

So I'm getting excited and now I'm even more excited because my work has agreed to sponsor me in the race. That's money I don't have to pay and I am going to be running advertisement! So now what do I have to lose?

7 Weeks
2 Days
19 hours

Until tomorrow....Just Keep Running

Day 8: Pumping that Iron

Hello All! Sorry this post is a little late. I have had the CRAZIEST morning at work. I'm a little mad about it! HAHA lets just say I have earned my keep this morning! I hope ya'll have had a better morning than me!

First off I am loving this weather!! Today the forecast says its suppose to be a high of 96, but it you look at the hourly forecast its only going to get 90. This would be amazing because that means at around 7 when I'm getting ready to run it will be in the low 80's! PERFECT.

Yesterday was my strength and stretch day. Well I finally renewed my gym membership and got back in. Lifting is one of my favorite things to do. I love the feeling I get because I know I am getting something out of it. I usually lift with the max weight that I can do but I did some reading and saw that its better for runners to do max reps and lower weight to increase muscle endurance verses focusing just on muscle strength. So this is what I did...and let me tell you...I was almost one of those people in the gym who scream while they lift! Just almost...but not quite. Below is my workout that I completed:

Squats: 3 sets of 12
Leg Curls: 3 sets of 15
Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 15
Leg press: 3 sets of 12
Calve Raises: 2 sets of 15
Hip Adduction: 3 sets of 20
Hip Abduction: 3 sets of 20

Stretch

This killed me! By the time I got to the leg press I was practically having to pick my legs up and put them on the machine. I'm feeling it this morning as well but not as bad as I thought. Usually my second day is my most sore day so I can't wait until tomorrow. Today I will be running 2.5 miles. I have not decided yet where I want to run this but it will more than likely be campus! I also want to do an intense ab workout. Not real sure what I am going to do yet, but I know your core is essential for running. So I guess I will see how it goes. I hope everyone has a great day!

Until Tomorrow....Just Keep Running!

Day 4, 5, 6, and 7 Sorry I'm Behind!

Hey guys! Sorry I fell a little behind. I had such a busy day at work on Friday I couldn't write, and Saturday I was in Lexington all day, then yesterday was probably the most productive day of my life! So I am just going to break each day down individually!

Day 4: Thursday

On this day I had to run 2 miles. It was a VERY hot day and my goal was not to walk any this day! Well I did it! Here is my route!

I ran 2 miles and it took me 22 minutes...which i feel like is an improvement in time. I had a little motivation because I had just put some potatoes in the oven at Matt's and I had to get my run done in enough time so that they wouldn't burn haha.  

Day 5: Rest

Friday was my rest day and boy did I need it! Friday was an exhausting day at work and I had to travel home and get in bed since the next morning I had to wake up at 4:30 am. I blame my sister for this!

Day 6: Cross-Training

This was my 40 minute cross training day. I feel terrible because I didn't not do anything! I traveled to Lexington for my sister's graduation. I am now the proud sister of Dr. Keishia Embry DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy). It was a great celebration and I did get a little workout in because I had to walk from Egypt because parking on UK's campus sucks! So yeah I felt terrible because I didn't workout this day. I was going to make it up on Sunday and run 3 miles and cross-train for 40 minutes but I read that you aren't suppose to make it up and double your days up. Today is a Stretch and Strength day so I may just do some strength and cross-train today. We will see.

Day 7: 3 mile Run

Yesterday was a terribly hot hot day! I waited all day for it to cool down and was very productive waiting for this. I woke up early and cleaned my whole apartment before it was even time for church. I got fully caught up on laundry as well. Then after I made dinner I decided that I might as well get on my treadmill and just run inside while watching Keeping up with the Kardashians! When I very first started running I tried to set my pace on the treadmill to match my average pace that my Speedometer app tells me I run in. It is usually around 4.8 mph. Well when I set this on the treadmill I felt like I was sprinting. My treadmill is a little old so I don't know if maybe this had something to do with it but it was terribly fast. So I set my pace a little slower and started running. I had two episodes to watch since apparently I missed last weeks and was not aware. I started running when I had an episode and a half left which is about 45 minutes. Well I finished the first episode without walking (because there were no commercials) and it went straight into the next episode and there was only one commercial break! I was struggling but I made it and only walked for one minute then kept going. I got a big burst of energy for the last half mile and was running it pretty fast. Its been forever since I have ran this distance and I actually did it. I ran this in 33 minutes. I really think if I did this outside it would be easier for some reason. The treadmill made me struggle.

I am starting to think I can actually do this! I am building endurance quickly and for the first time I am starting to enjoy running! This is something I am doing for MYSELF. I never do anything for myself and I think it is enjoyable because I am. I got my first week down and week two begins today! I am looking forward to it. I just wish that this weather would cool down and stay cool. I have 54 days to go until the big race! I am getting more excited, nervous, and confident as I go! I hope everyone has a great day. Get out and exercise!

Until Tomorrow...Just Keep Running