Three Things Thursday.

1. I started running at the gym at lunch and it may be a really bad idea.  Because you see, when I run ... I RUN ... and I sweat and I turn bright red ... and then I have to go back to the office.  The other day our VP of Payroll said "you look hot" ... yeah I was.  BUT, I feel like that is the only way I will get my run in because by the time 5:30 rolls around all I want to do is go home, eat dinner, and then lay around.  Laying around does not equal active.  And, my parents are coming in town today till next week sometime and that means working out will be hard unless I do it at lunch... so sweaty lunchtime runs it is. :o)
2. So after one Blast900 class the instructor was talking about heart rate monitors and seeing how many calories were burned (and we all know, I'm not really burning 900 calories) so my interest was perked.  And then there was a guest blogger on Blast900's blog last week who was talking about how it felt like she was dying but by looking at her HR monitor she knew she could push harder and not die.  I really want a HR monitor - but I don't want to buy one because the Garmin I want has a HR monitor as part of it.  But with that said, I don't want to shell out all that money for a new Garmin.  But then I was at Blast Monday and running on the treadmill Tuesday and my mind kept going to a HR Monitor. I wish I had done more research when I bought my 1st Garmin and I could have gotten on with one, but back then I didn't understand/realize/know how helpful and awesome they could be. I mean I could buy the new one (and I have a REI dividend), sell the old one and put that money to the new one... but what if I cannot sell the old one.

3.  My friend Lydia and I went to spin class together yesterday and it was by far the worst spin class I have ever been too. And Lyd agreed.  We actually left 30 minutes in because it was so bad.  She didn't crank the music up, she had zero energy (very blah) and there was nothing happening that made you want to work and want to be there. so we left. yeah, we're slackers.  BUT we both did 15 minutes on the treadmill prior to spin... so that is 45 minutes of work.  makes up for it right?!

Weekly Work Out Round Up (vol. 2)

and. how did this week go? cliff notes version: still a little lazy.


monday: nothing. nada. lazy.
tuesday: lazy. nothing again. thought about it, but then went for mexican to gain weight rather than lose it.
wednesday: pure barre. 55 minutes. still sore from boot camp it seemed. but the core work is getting easier which means, i am building a core. now, if the extra skin on my stomach would go away.
thursday: nothing. (oi this is getting embarrassing)
friday: i was gonna run, but i didn't get home in time to miss the rain. but rejoined LA Fitness.
saturday: run in the neighborhood. only .98 miles - my allergies or something made it hard. but i think this will be my "monday mile" run, if i can find .02 to add. i skipped mitzi's boot camp, but i will go back next week.  ohhhh and i did a 30 minute dog walk with the dog.
sunday: pure barre with afton and lyd again. =)  and another 30 minute dog walk with the pup.


miles ran this week: .98 -- pa-thet-ic.
                                                                                                                          

And in other news... As you know I have dropped out of Ragnar. And really, I am okay with it. My heart wasn't in it, nor was I athletically in shape for it. With that.... the team is on the hunt to fill up a few legs and I am going to *at least* try and help! 

In Van 1:

Runner 2: Leg 2 (4.5miles), Leg 14 (4.5miles), Leg 26 (6.8miles): 15.8 miles
Runner 5: Leg 5 (6.3miles), Leg 17 (3.2miles), Leg 29 (2.9miles): 12.4 miles

In Van 2:
Runner 7: Leg 7 (4.7miles), Leg 19 (3.7miles), Leg 31 (4.9miles): 13.3 miles
Runner 11: Leg 11 (5.5miles), Leg 23 (4miles), Leg 35 (8.3miles): 17.8 miles

Please keep a couple things in mind:

• You'll probably need to take Thursday June 9th off of work for travel to Wisconsin and definitely Friday June 10th since the race starts that morning.
• Registration: $90
• Hotel room in Madison, WI Thursday night before the race: $35
• Van rental: $35
• Gas for Van: $??
• Food: ??
• If you are coming from out of state, airfare: $200++

Now if you're interested and this sounds doable for you, please e-mail Courtney ASAP at wannaberunnergirl@gmail.com

First Swim.

I survived my first swim since I was like in high school not that I was actually scared that I would drown, but I knew it would be a challenge.  I had heard that swimming is great for runners – easier on the joints, helps build endurance, blah blah blah so I thought what the heck and gave it a whirl.  Honestly, it wasn’t bad – hard – but not bad.  I think I shall make it my Saturday workout and every week shoot for more laps than the week before.  …you know make me work harder and get better… kinda like running.

I will have to say that I feel there should be some unspoken rule that you do not speak to others in the gym pool.  There I was in my one piece bathing suit like a 4th grader who’s parents won’t let her wear a 2 piece just yet and my bright purple goggles chugging alone, trying not to sink or swallow water and there was two different fellas who wanted to chat it up.  I wanted to swim, they wanted to learn about Barbie, I wanted to tell them to shut up but I am too nice and talked back … which killed my workout because I wanted to swim for 30 minutes and get in 30 laps (1 lap = down & back).  Well I hit the 30 minute mark and had only done 16 laps.  no biggie… but next time I hope the chitter chatter does not happen.  OR I could just save my pennies and invest in a H2Audio (if i really make swimming a weekly thing).

If you swim … has it benefited you?!

In other news, Kyle & I are on a pretty set schedule when it comes to work outs.  He goes to the gym Monday & Friday, I go Tuesday & Thursday.  He asked me to flip flop Thursday & Friday so I would go on Friday instead.  Being the nice person I am, I agreed and I am actually pretty excited because I have been wanting to give this Bootcamp class a try and it is only on Fridays.  So, now I will have Tuesday Spin & Friday bootcamp with runs during work hours on Mondays & Wednesdays.  I also think I am going to take my dog on “mini runs” instead of walks because it will use up more energy, I will get more miles in, and I really do want to make my pup pup a running buddy. …I will report back on how that works out.

That is all.

big peach 5k race.ARPRIL is gone

I decided at the last minute (on 4.24) that I wanted to run the Big Peach 5k. My reasoning: I could ride the Marta to the start – run 3.1 and then run myself home. I have been needing to get in the miles in preparation for Marine Corp and with Big Peach being about 3 or so miles from my apartment, I said WHY NOT! Plus. it benefited the Leukemia & Lymphoma society and if a race is attached to that organization 9 times out of 10 I am in. I did not know anything about the race so I checked out the course map and realized that it was roads that I run every now and then while taking breaks from work so other than the hill heading up Roxboro I thought it should be a fairly easy race… then this past Monday I ran the course backwards and realized it may be a little bit harder than I initially thought so I kinda went into the race siked out which is never a good thing. Then for the past 3 or so days I have been all out of sorts, body rejecting food, crazy tired, achy legs even though all I do is climb stairs and look for my lost car in the parking garage ….. On top of all that, Erin and I went out for a much needed happy hour/dinner so after margaritas and tacos I was not quite sure if I was even going to make it to the starting line & I thought that even if I skipped it my race entry went to an amazing cause. Before going to bed I checked the weather and there was like a 30% chance of thunderstorms (with lightening) from 6am – 11 am (prime racing hours) so I turned on “Lovely Bones”, set my alarm, and said lets play this by ear…. and if I do not run I WILL get 6 miles in this weekend at some point – whether is was pavement or treadmill.

SO. Race Day: I flaked out and stayed in bed and slept some much needed zzz’s. I took the dog on 2 long walks to make up for it and Sunday I had this great big plan to hit LA Fitness and knock out 6 miles on the treadmill and call it a day. Well, the treadmills decided to be difficult and 2.42 miles later I was calling it a day. Long story short it is common knowledge that I would rather hit the pavement than step onto a treadmill. But with this heat (84 degrees feels like 95) and the humidity, I had to take it inside. Well I was flying high, I got into a groove on the dreadmill, was rocking and rolling and them bam I read “belt stopping” at .83 miles. WTF?! So I started it back up again… same thing but at .26 miles the belt stopped. So, I moved 1 machine over and could not get back in the groove. I was hot, sweaty, annoyed, and then BAM at 1.33 miles – belt stops. I decided to call it quits and just head home. THAT IS WHY I LIKE RUNNING OUTSIDE THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP ME .83 miles in or .26 or 1.33

April is OVER! Thank God. Where in the world is 2010 going?! April was a fairly unproductive month for me in regards to running, work has been so busy and I fear with my new role it is only going to be busier so it will be a true test of learning to balance life.  I even titled this entry “big peach 5k race.march is over” to start with and started this paragraph saying “march is over” – that is how fried my brain is and has been.  I need a vacation. I ran 26.47 miles which is much less than my 50 some last month and my 50+ goal for the month. Why do I always seem to have low miles the month after a BIG race. I did not hit my 50 mile mark, but for me to get as high as I did, I am surprised. I did a 5k (and PR’d). I got a rocking free sample of Body Glide (remember, you can win a free stick). The pollen was (and still is) outrageous and makes it really hard to breathe. For the most part I slaved in the office, spent a lot of quality time with my dog and kyle, and just tried to enjoy life.

Here is hoping April is full of miles and I am really stoked about a friendship that was so unlikely but is becoming awesome with one of my fellow Nike Team in Training Gals. We’re talking about treking to Nashville together in September to run The Women’s Half as training for Marine Corp for me and her first full at the Nike Women’s Marathon! I love friendships that come out of no where!!!

Don’t forget about my FREE Bodyglide giveaway.