Tempo Turned Fartlek & Sigvaris Review

Well I have a 5k race this Saturday so I was trying to figure out how to move my training schedule around so that I wasn't doing my long run on Friday! I decided I would just move everything up a day and move my long run to Wednesday... which meant I have to run on Monday which is usually a rest day because I am never very motivated on Mondays (surprise, surprise!)

Training Schedule as planned:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 7mi tempo run @9:42 (5mi w/ wu and cd)
Wednesday: 2mi easy run
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 9mi long run @11:08
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 2mi easy run

New Revised Training Schedule:
Monday: 7mi tempo run @9:42 (5mi w/wu and cd)
Tuesday: 2mi easy run
Wednesday: 9mi long run@ 11:08
Thursday: Rest/XT
Friday: 2mi easy run
Saturday: 5k race

So, yesterday I was all excited and psyching myself up to get out and run my tempo run and was pretty excited til I remembered the stupid dogs that always run after me and try to bite me at the end of my road. I didn't let that get me down, I came up with a plan to drive my car down the road and park a little ways down the intersecting road (no big deal)... then I stepped outside!! WOW!! I had completely forgot to check the weather and did not think it would be 95 degrees especially since it had been so cool we had turned the AC off for an ENTIRE WEEK!! lol... I didn't let that get me down either... "I have plenty of water and I've ran in the heat before!!" So off I went for my 1 mile warmup, 5 mile tempo @9:42, and 1 mile cooldown.

I did the warmup up pretty good and 1 mile of the tempo run I was going faster than the 9:42 pace, not a lot faster... but there were times when I was in the 8's... I'm not a very good pacer i guess lol... but soon after the first mile of the tempo run, i definitely started feeling the heat!!
That's when I knew I wouldn't make the whole 7 miles and that I knew I had to slow down... I ended up walking then running fast to the next shade spot, then walking in the shade, and running to the next shade.... it was actually quite pathetic! I felt so ashamed of myself and disappointed! I turned around 2.5 miles in and kept running/walking the rest of the way home for a total of 5.05 miles, as you can see for yourself...

Runs like yesterdays are the times when I start doubting myself and that I can run a half marathon ... days like yesterday make me think "what are you doing?! You're not a runner!! You're just a wannabe!!" And this makes me sad because I am trying... I really am... just sometimes it seems like its not good enough! After especially hard training days like yesterday, I look forward to an ice bath and some chocolate milk!! In addition to those two treats, I also LOVE pulling on my Sigvaris Recovery Socks!

I have worn my Sigvaris Recovery Socks that I received from Erica (HERE) so many times that I have now lost count! My favorite thing to do is take a nice ice bath, shower, then pull on my Sigvaris recovery socks and lay on the couch after those tough runs because even though I'm feeling down on myself and have a negative attitude for a little while afterwards, the compression recovery socks ALWAYS make my legs feel great!! You can feel the sock actually squeezing (not too tightly) the calf muscles that always feel tired and sore on me, and it feels GREAT!

This is what the Sigvaris website says about their recovery socks:


Introducing the SIGVARIS Athletic Recovery Sock

SIGVARIS, the global leader in graduated compression garments, introduces the first product of the Active Therapy collection: The Athletic Recovery Sock. The Athletic Recovery sock helps to flush out the lactic acid built up in the leg during exercise, relieving tired, aching legs and exercise-induced muscle soreness.

Athletic Recovery Sock Benefits:

•Promotes lactic acid flush-out and relieves delayed onset muscle soreness!
•Superior Athletic Sizing Assortment and comfort & fit with 50+ years of graduated compression expertise!
•Patented Drirelease® and latex-free yarns with an embedded Freshguard® treatment that virtually eliminates odors!
•True Graduated Compression from the global leader of graduated compression socks!


I know that a lot of times, people say to not dry your compression socks, but I am a person who loves the convenience of the dryer and every time I wash my socks, I throw them into the dryer. They may have shrunk a little bit, but not enough to really notice, and definitely not enough to make them ineffective! Even after all the washing they've been through, they are not worn out in the least and are just as soft as they were when I first wore them! They always make my muscles feel better after a run! I have even worn them once during a run and they felt fabulous as well! So, either way you wear them, I definitely recommend Sigvaris Recovery Socks! I definitely love mine and will definitely be wearing them after my long run tomorrow!!

**Sigvaris in no way endorsed me for this review, I just wanted to share a product with the rest of you that I have really come to love and enjoy!

If you have a product you want me to review, or you want to host a giveaway on my blog, please feel free to email me. My email address is superwoman_4002@yahoo.com

Week in Review (8/23-8/29)

What my schedule said to do ----- What I actually did

Monday: Rext/XT -- Rest

Tuesday: 6 mi Tempo Run w/ 4mi @ 9:37 -- 5.37 miles @9:57 (inc warmup and cooldown)

Wednesday: 2mi easy run @11:08 -- 2.31 miles @10:57 LLL &hardCORE

Thursday: Rest/XT -- Rest (worked on my feet all day) hardCORE

Friday: 8 mi Long Run @ 11:08 -- 7.03 miles @9:48 and 2.26 miles @10:37=9.29 mi@ 10:01

Saturday: Rest/XT -- Rest, LLL &hardCORE

Sunday: 3mi easy run @11:08 -- Rest

Total: 19 miles ----- 16.97 miles (2.03 miles short)

I didn't have the best week of running, but my long run was fantastic!! I also got new running shirts in the mail from nike that I had ordered that were on sale!! I usually dont like pink, but I thought it was a pretty cool looking shirt! :)

I also won a giveaway for WIN laundry detergent from Jill over at Running to Sanity!! If you haven't already, go check out my sidebar and all the giveaways going on around the blogging universe right now! :D I hope everyone had a great weekend!! I know I did, had a much needed long talk with my best friend on Sunday (which is why I didn't really get anything done) Goodnight everyone!!

I'M OFFICIALLY GRADUATED!!!

I did it!! I turned in my last big internship paper today and now I am officially graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Communications!! :D My plan is to go back to a different school in the spring to finish up my sign language interpreting degree which will take 2 years or less! I am so excited to move on to what I actually want to do with my life, but for now I am content with just relaxing, working, and enjoying my next 2 quarters off! :D This is a picture from the spring commencement that I got to walk in even though I wasn't going to graduate til this summer:

WOOHOO!! Anyways... on to my long run recap! I got all my stuff out the night before because yes, meeting someone at 7:45am is early for me, especially since I was up past midnight working on my paper!

And yes... that envelope is a race registration, thanks for asking! ;) I sent in my registration for the Sweetcorn Festival 5k today. The race is on September 4th at 9am... races always make me nervous, but a good nervous.

I woke up this morning at 6:30am and ate 1 1/2 pieces of peanut butter toast and got dressed and checked the weather.. 59 degrees?!! I wore long sleeves for the first time running today! It felt so nice though! I headed out the door around 7:30 and met Jess at her place at 7:45am... right on time! As soon as I walked in, she was beaming and told me she just got of the phone and got the job she's been wanting!! Congrats Jess!! God knew you are perfect for that job!! After saying congrats and smiling ALOT, we headed out the door and she asked me "do you want to do a flat course, or hills?" Well, not being one to back down from a challenge I said "hills for sure!" We started out at a nice crisp pace, I really didn't pay attention because I was having too much fun talking to her... she's such a lovely person!! We did about a mile and then comes the "hill" part... I'm telling you, this was not a hill, it was a mountain!!! seriously... it was the steepest, longest hill I have run to date!! I felt like walking or crying, or both! Jess just kept saying "you can do it!" "you're almost there" "its downhill once we reach the top" Thank you Jess for encouraging me because I'm pretty sure thats the only thing that got me up that crazy hill! lol Well, that and my legs were completely numb by the time we hit 1.4 miles of our 7 mile run!

After that our run felt really good... I felt like she was pushing me, and she felt like I was pushing her... and pretty soon we were back to where we started 7.03 miles and 1 hr and 9 minutes earlier! Let me tell you, I am so proud of that run!! Our average pace was 9:48 min/mile and it felt great!! Jess had to go to work, but I left with promises on both ends that we would definitely run together more often! We both had a blast! I headed over to the park to continue my run... I didn't really tighten up yet because its less than a minute from her house. I did a couple loops around the park for a total of 2.26 miles in an average pace of 10:37 min/mile which is still faster than i had expected!! TOTALLY AWESOME!! Today was one of those days where everything goes well and the run is fun and better than you had hoped and everything just clicks!!

Long Run Total: 9.29 miles (longest run to date)

I then went and stretched beside the pond and believe me, my legs were dead!! (still are) I finished stretching and headed to kroger on my way home to pick up some chocolate milk and ice and when I got home I had me one of these:

First one in about 1 1/2 years (since college basketball training) it felt so good to submerge my dead tired screaming legs into the frigid water!! Then after soaking a bit I got a shower and pulled on my Sigvaris recovery socks!! I love these socks!! Thanks to Erica at I Run Because I Can for having the giveaway that I won!! These socks ROCK!! **Review to come in the next week**

And yes, my dog likes the Sigvaris socks too! :D Speaking of giveaways there are quite a few going on out there right now... check out my sidebar!

Countdown til my first half marathon: 28 days 7 hours and some odd minutes and seconds... less than a month!!

What are some great recipes for runners? Carb loading recipes, pre race recipes, post race recipes... I'm wanting to try some new recipes out so if you have any good ones please share!

Three Things Thursday - Jumping on the Bandwagon

So, I've been around the blogging world for a couple Thursdays now and keep seeing "Three Things Thursday" ... interesting and kind of cool that everyone does it... Thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and try it out tonight because I'm exhausted!

1.My whole body is tired right now... I ran a 5.5 mile tempo run on Tuesday on the treadmill after getting home from work at 10pm and did a little core workout. Wednesday, I ran 2.3 recovery miles and did core and lunges holding my medicine ball above my head... my arms, legs, core, and now feet (from working on my feet all day today) are screaming at me!! But I am glad that I am keeping to my schedule this week so far :)

2. I joined the 100 day challenge over at Run, Courtney, Run and I know I already told you that, but I wanted to share my goals... they may seem silly or dumb or whatever... but they're MY goals, not yours... so get over it!! ;) As posted on Courtney's blog:

Zaneta
http://zanetaruns.blogspot.com/
twitter.com/superwoman4002
superwoman_4002@yahoo.com
Goals: Read Gone with the Wind (I've been wanting to for the last year), Run a 5k in less than 25 minutes, Run my first half marathon in under 2:30:00, become a substitute teacher, eat more fruits and veggies

I shall do a progress report in the near future :D

3. I am meeting up with another friend tomorrow to go running... I haven't seen her for nearly a year so it'll be fun... and she's about my pace or a little faster :D We have 7 miles planned together but if you remember I have 9 or 10 miles planned for my long run, so I'll be running 2 or 3 miles by myself after we run together tomorrow :D We're meeting at 7:45am... unlike all of you hardcore toughies out there... I do not like getting up so early if i dont have to lol... i'd rather run in the middle of the day or the evening ;) lol... so this shall be interesting!!

Sorry this is a boring post... just wanted to check in... I'm still writing my internship paper which is due tomorrow night... but I'm almost done :D And... my mind is also a muscle that is tired... its telling me to go to sleep... So, I think one more page and then i'm gonna call it quits...

What do you usally do if your running buddy can only run 3 miles less than you planned? and how long between running with your buddy and completing your run?

Long Weekend and First Blog Award!

It's been a really busy, hectic, crazy weekend!!! Friday morning, I ended up getting up at 6am to help pack my little sister's stuff into 2 cars to take her to college. We left around 8am for a 3 hour drive and ended up waiting another hour in line to park to unload her stuff. She seemed indifferent to be moving in to college for the first time. I think she was just nervous and had mixed emotions... nervous, excited, scared, missing home... I'll spare you all the details of the day but we got her moved in and took her out to eat and then she didn't want us to leave because she didn't know anyone and her roomate had left with her parents for the evening so we stayed a little longer and left to come home... we got home a little after midnight. It was a LONG day!!

Needless to say, I haven't run since last week. I completely missed my long run on friday. I was going to make it up on saturday or sunday, but didn't feel well at all so stayed in bed drinking fluids and took care of some things on Sunday. I decided to just count it at a loss and continue with my training as scheduled. This week I have:

Tuesday: 6 mile tempo run inc 1 mile warmup, 4 miles @ 9:37, 1 mile cooldown

Wednesday: 2 mile recovery @ 11:08

Thursday: Rest/XT

Friday: 9 or 10 mile long run @11:08

Saturday: 2 mile recovery @11:08

Sunday: Rest/XT

TOTAL: 19 or 20 miles

I actually dont have my training plan with me right now because I'm at work so I just guessed at the paces lol and I may add 1 mile to the recovery runs just to add some mileage to make up for the crappy week of running/exercise I had last week!

Some fun things in bloggy world...

I joined the Distance Dreamers over at Higher Miles

I also joined the 100 Day Challenge to a better you over at Run, Courtney, Run

~100 days to fulfil some of your goals and your goals can be anything, not just running related!

And last but not least... Adam over at I am Boring tagged me with a little award of sorts. It's the Cherry On Top Award.

THE RULES:

#1: Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

#2: The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.

#3: The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.

MY ANSWERS:

#1: I'm actually answering like Adam... I dont think I would change a thing! Everything I've done, everything that has happened to me... it all has a purpose and has brought me to where I am today.... It's made me who I am and I'm really happy with where I am in life right now and where God has led me so far! I've learned a lot of lessons along the way and have truly become stronger because of different things... so no, i wouldn't change anything! :D

#2: Wow, 6 people to whom I give the award... this is a tough choice because all the blogs I read are awesome!

- Christina over at Making Healthy the Norm

- Dawn over at Running: the Dawn

- Alanna over at Running 42km

- Stacie at Impossible is Nothing

- Bethany and Ryan over at Our Love on the Run

- Laurie at The (Mis)Adventures of a Jogging Stroller Mom

#3: Thanks Adam for tagging me with the award!! I'll get to making that poncho, sweat wicking, wearable blanket in the non-existant future ;) lol... Also, I do not think your blog is boring... just sayin' ;)

Well, I'm going to get back to writing my last paper of my degree!! I'm hoping to turn it in by tonight or tomorrow morning! I'm working all day today so will get to my tempo run tonight around 9:30 or 10pm... therefore on the treadmill! Does anyone else have to run on the treadmill after working all day long?

Random Thursday - My Thoughts Are a Bit Jumbled

1. I ended up meeting up with M on Saturday to run... she just started getting into running... I got there at 9am. I had a sad face cuz she wasn't there yet... she didn't show up til 9:30 and we headed out and she ended up wanting to do more walking than anything but it was still fun none-the-less... we got to catch up on life since I haven't seen her in ooo... 6 years lol. We ended up running less than 1 mile and walking about 7 lol.

2. I'm drinking 7up right now... does that make me a bad person since I normally only drink water or gatorade?

3. My youngest sister is going off to college for the first time tomorrow... I made her a fleece blanket to take with her... it'll be like a big hug waiting for her whenever she needs it :)

4. Said youngest sister had a going away party with a few friends a few nights ago and someone wore these!! First time i've seen them in person, they are pretty sweet... im now intrigued haha... I restrained myself from trying them on for a few obvious reasons lol ;) (mainly cuz I didn't know the person and because they look pretty used tehe)

5. My boyfriend agreed to do a track workout with me so we headed to the track yesterday after we took care of some college things (which took longer than they needed to) my plan was to do 7 miles of a speedworkout but it was so stinkin hot... i ran in my sports bra which is major since i have some body image issues... especially in front of my boyfriend lol... I just couldn't take it anymore and neither could he so we only ended up doing about 4.5 miles

6. Challenge update: I've done lunges twice and hardcore stuff once... I'm planning on doing hardcore stuff tonight and then lunges and hardcore after my recovery run on saturday

7. I have a long run planned for tomorrow... my training plan says 8... but i kind of want to do 9... i ran 8 two weeks ago... should i go with 8 or 9? I may have to make saturday my long run day this weekend because i may have to drive some of youngest sisters things to her school for her.

8. I have exactly one week tomorrow to finish up my big paper so I can graduate... so far I have 2 pages lol...

9. Im starting to get excited for my half marathon!! :D Only 36 days left!! I'm starting to think about what i'll need to take for my mini vacation but especially for my race and what songs I want on my playlist.... any suggestions?

10. I keep getting emails saying "you won a $500 walmart giftcard" "pick up your $1000 walmart giftcard today" and while i want them to be real... they just aren't!

11. I won 2 blog giveaways!! I won sigvaris compression recovery socks from Erica at I Run Because... I Can and a Salonpas water bottle, pain relief patches, pedometer, and towel from Beth at Shut up & Run! :D

12. I was looking to get another part-time job (probably minimum wage paying) when I realized that I will officially have a BACHELORS degree in a week... so i decided to do something a bit more ambitious... I'm thinking about substitute teaching... maybe :)

13. Also, I am getting tired of getting almost bit, snarled at, chased after, and scared enough to pee down my leg by the dogs at the end of my road... I started carrying a long stick to beat them with if they dare try to bite me again... maybe I should call someone about them? They are allowed to just run around outside (all 4 of them) while their owner isn't home... and I feel very much threatened by them everytime I put my running shoes on... stupid dogs!

Well, I'm going to bed... tomorrow could be a very long day for me... we shall see! By the way... does anyone else really really really look forward to their long run days? (I do)

Let the Challenges Begin!

While reading through other blogs I follow I've noticed a reoccurring theme.... NOT BEING MOTIVATED MONDAY! I have not felt good all day so the most I have done is take a shower and read a few blogs. Good thing today was a scheduled off day! whew! ;) Well... remembering that I joined 2, yes TWO, bloggy challenges put the motivation back into the day and made me feel a tad better!


CHALLENGE #1: The HardCORE Club over at Last Mile Lounge by Jamoosh

Jamoosh actually started a seperate blog for the club and can be found HERE. The challenge is a 13 week journey to a stronger core and all you have to do is do the workout 2-3 times a week. That's it ;) lol... I decided to take "before pictures" because I got motivated afterall... Since I've become a "serious" runner, i've kinda let my other muscles go lol... sorry ex 6-pack!

DATES: August 15th - November 13th

Before #1

Before #2

CHALLENGE #2: The Legs Love Lunges Challenge over at 5 Miles Past Empty

This challenge is almost as simple as the first... do lunges at least 3 times a week... oh yeah, and take pictures of your legs if you so choose to accept her challenge. This challenge was supposed to go from August 10 thru September 10th but I pushed it back a tad since I joined late and now its going to coincide with the HardCORE Club start date: This past Sunday, August 15th

DATES: August 15th - September 15th

Before #1



Before #2 (hopefully my butt will love lunges)



Before #3 (yes, i have a big butt...)

You can still join both if you'd like! It will be so much fun... I promise!! Now, lets get fit and motivated people!!!

Long Run Recap!

Well I know you all have been just dying to read about my long run last weekend haven't you?! It was my longest run to date in my half marathon training... 8 miles!! :D I had bought a couple of powerbar gel packets at my local GNC store because that was the only gel I could find and I wanted to see if it actually helped or not. The week before that I did 7 miles and felt like I was going to die. So, I ate one about 15 minutes before my run, it was vanilla and it actually tasted pretty good! I then proceeded to loosen up and stretch a little and headed out the door with my Ipod.

I ditched my shirt around mile 1, left it on a fence post for pick up on my way back… I was feeling pretty good... like nothing could stop me. I even forgot about my ankle, which I had managed to hit with a softball bat the day before… it was just one of those days lol… then i took another gel packet around mile 4. I dont recommend the strawberry/banana in the powerbar gels, i dont know about other gels but… i gagged and almost threw up in the middle of the road lol… I kept expecting to hit a wall and mile 5 passed and mile 6 passed and i felt better than ever… im pretty sure i was even smiling lol… i even belted out a chorus of a song that was playing on my ipod haha… yeah, i’m a dork… i got back to my shirt and threw it around my neck and just kept running… i felt so alive! :D i picked up the pace the last 800 meters or so just cuz it felt good… I got home and realized that i didn’t even stop once to walk up any hills lol. IT WAS A FABULOUS RUN!!! I did drink the whole 16.9 ounces of water I had been carrying with me though.

Long Run Stats:

Date: 8/6/10
Time: 12:28pm
Temperature: 93 degrees

Goal Distance: 8 miles
Goal Pace: 11:14 min/mile

Actual Distance: 8.02 miles
Actual Pace: 10:27 min/mile
Actual Time: 1 hour 23 min

Elevation Minimum: 860 feet
Elevation Maximum: 1020 feet
Ascent: 312 feet
Descent: -312 feet

I really think the Powerbar Gel worked!! :D It was a great run... I love great runs because they really boost my confidence for my first half marathon! :D I have heard a lot about GU in the blogging world; a lot of people giving it away, talking about it, eating it like candy... so I looked it up on the internet. I then thought "I wonder why that's the only gel I ever really hear about? Why don't people blog about powerbar gel?" So I decided to contact GU to see if there was anyway possible they could send me a sample packet to test out and I told them I would gladly do a blog review about it. They sent me 4 packets of gel in the flavors that I picked out!! So I am really excited to see what all the hype is about! So look for a product review in a couple weeks!

Well, I'm gonna crochet for a little bit and head to bed because a friend of mine from high school contacted me and said that she just got into running and signed up for her first 5k in September!! How cool is that?! So I am going running with her tomorrow!! She has 3 miles planned for a run/walk so i'm gonna see if she'll go 1 more mile so i can get in my last 4 miles for my cutback week...lol ;) I'll probably take pictures before... maybe during... it's in a new place... a state park so it shall probably be pretty! :D

What's your preferred GEL? Do you have a favorite flavor?

Trashed Shoes

Well, I would NOT recommend working 9 hours on your feet in a bad pair of shoes!! I've been wearing the same pair of shoes to work for the past 2 years and before I started wearing them to work, they were running/working out/playing basketball/everyday shoes. The bottoms of them are completely smooth and I am 100% certain there is no support in them anymore. I came home from working 8am-5:15pm and immediately took them off and threw them in the trash!! They made everything on my lower body hurt: feet (for sure!), shins, calves, knees, quads, and hip flexors. It was terrible! I definitely didn't feel like running tonight after all of my suffering!

I decided that I needed wanted to run so I changed into my running clothes and went to grab my ipod only to find that I had misplaced the strap that holds it onto my arm! GRR!!! I spent 15 minutes looking everywhere for that thing and finally found it downstairs by the treadmill... DUH! I ran on the treadmill last! Silly girl!

I finally got outside in the 90 degree weather to run my easy 4 miles on my training plan. My goal pace was 11:08 (or so says my training plan I got from Runners World) I decided to take a hilly route to make it a bit more exciting... I don't konw why I did that since I was already in pain, but I did lol. It actually wasn't a bad run once I hit the 1.5mile mark. That's when my hip flexor stopped acting up. Instead of taking shorter quicker steps to get up the hills, I decided to try to use my glute muscles (my big butt) to power my way up them... I don't know if there is a proper way of running up hills, i'm kind of new to taking running seriously remember?
Is there a better way to run hills? How do you run hills?
Anyways, here is the elevation chart for my run:

Elevation Min 873 ft

Elevation Max 1020 ft

Ascent 164 ft

Descent -164ft

Looking at it like that makes it seem like it's not very hilly, but it is!! I promise I'm not lying!! lol

Run started at 6:16PM
Distance 4.02 miles
Time 42:42 minutes
Pace 10:36 min/mile
Temperature 90 degrees

Whoops, I went faster than i was supposed to! lol... I guess hills make me have an urge to run faster? Interesting.

I got home and stretched while drinking a nice cold glass of chocolate milk. I don't think my shirt could have held anymore sweat! Gross! Then I had dinner about an hour after I got back from my run. I ate tacos with my mom and dad... it hit the spot! My hip flexor is still bothering me, but I am definitely wearing a different pair of shoes to work tomorrow!!

Goodies!! Race Report too! (finally)

Well, after signing up for my first half marathon in mid-July I had a sudden urge to buy running gear lol ;) I knew that I would NEED new running shoes lol ;) and decided to buy running compression shorts (no idea why I felt that need because i HATE my butt!! I think it is too big), and a running hat as well because I always end up with sweat in my eyes and then I'm running half squinting, half crying the rest of the way home lol... Of course, I ordered from Nike! I like love am obsessed with Nike for some reason! (Nike, if you see this just know that I would GLADLY take a sponsorship from you and wear free Nike gear even if I am just starting out in my running journey tehe)

Anyways... I finally received my packages in the mail and could hardly contain my excitement!!

Here are all of my goodies

My lovely shoes

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE my shoes :)



I haven't run in them yet because I don't want to wear them out too much before my Half Marathon on September 25th lol... Aren't they awesome? They're the new Nike LunarGlide+ 2

I am thinking about getting a fuelbelt... has anyone had any experience with one? I dont know if I should get the 2 or 4 bottle belt. But I do not like carrying a water bottle in my hand because once my hands get sweaty it starts slipping and I would like to take my camera or phone along in case I get the urge to take some pictures :D What would you guys recommend?

On July 31st I ran the Festival 5k here in the town I live in... Registration was from 7-8 and the race started at 8:30am…

I woke up around 6:30 and ate a piece of peanut butter toast and drank some water. I decided to wear my new nike compression running shorts and my new nike running hat (LOVE THEM BOTH!!) :D I arrived downtown around 7:40am and didn’t have to wait in line for registration, I just went up and told them I had pre-registered and they grabbed my shirt, tag (yes a tag, not a bib) lol, and a coupon for a free real-fruit smoothie from McDonalds. I went and put everything in my car, took a pit stop at a porta pot, and headed back to the race start area… Some random guy asked me "What time do you expect to finish it in?" I replied "um... I'm not sure, maybe 28-30 minutes" I really dont have a lot of confidence in myself in running yet, but i figure it'll come with more experience... I started stretching and realized that I still had a while before the race started so i did a little jog around the block and then started stretching again. Sometimes I wish that I had someone to run these things with instead of going by myself…

Anyways, We started lining up and I managed to start out in the middle of the pack instead of the back. (There was about 300 people) I told myself to not start out too fast cuz i didn’t want to run out of steam and i was kind of nervous because i really wanted to beat my PR by atleast 1 second! lol (my current PR is 27:27) The horn went off and I started out pretty good. I told myself that my pace for the first mile had to be atleast 8:15 and I would be happy. I started getting really thirsty before I even hit the 1 mile mark but I kept going at a comfortable “fast” (to me) pace. I hit the one mile mark and looked down at my watch to see that I had run it in 8:10! :D YAY ME!! Well that gave me a boost to keep going! :D I saw someone I knew up in front of me so I picked up my pace a little to catch up to her and i ran with her for a while.

We got to about mile 2 (at which time i was thinking i was going to die if i didn’t get water soon) and finally!!! a water station! lol… I slowed down considerably to try to get some water down my throat but soon picked up the pace. I encouraged the girl I had been running with from around mile one and told her I was going to try to pick up the pace. I was feeling good and didn’t want to look at my watch (hadn’t looked at it since mile 1) I now had about a little more than 1200m to go and it was a straight stretch from where i was to the finish. I saw about 4 people in front of me that i could easily pass so i picked it up and passed them.. then there was about 3 more people spread throughout the last 400m that i targeted and picked off the first girl, gained and passed the 2nd person and then with 10 feet left, pushed through and passed the guy right at the finish! haha, it was AWESOMELY FUN!!! :D

I always forget to stop my watch until after i give my tag to the people at the finish and take a drink of water so when i finally remembered to stop it, my watch read “26:04” i was like “what in the world?! it has to be broken!!” lol… Well the results came out a few days after the race and I beat my PR by more than 2 minutes!! my final time was 25:26! :D new PR!! lol… I was so pumped!! BTW, "haha" random guy! I tricked you! Then I got giddy when i thought what my time would have been if it would have been chip timed.. ahh! lol… overall it was a quick, relatively flat, and fun race. I really enjoyed it! I’m proud of myself! lol (is that too egotistical? lol) But, my improvement gave me a renewed confidence and enthusiasm for my first half marathon in September! :D

In training, this week is a cutback week and my schedule has me running an easy 4 miles 3 times this week... 1 down, 2 to go! Coming up soon look for a recap of my long run this past weekend and some exciting stuff! :D Thank you everyone for following my blog and for the wonderful encouragement you have shared with me!

The Beginning of a New Love

Hello and welcome to my new blog! :D I created this blog for a few reasons 1) to keep track of my running 2) for some support from other runners since i dont really have any running friends and 3) motivation as I am training for my first half marathon in September (as you can see in the right sidebar) First things first, I would like to introduce myself:

INTRODUCTION

My name is Zaneta. It's pronounced like Zuh-net (like a basketball net)-uh... a lot of people say it like Zuh-neet-uh or other random, totally wrong, not even close ways to say my name. I am a 23 year old Christian gal who is working on finishing up my internship to complete my Bachelors degree in Organizational Communications. I plan to go back in the spring to a different college to complete my Sign Language Interpreting degree. I am still living at home while going to school because my parents are awesome and let me live there (here) for free so they are saving me a TON of money! Living in my house currently are my mom and dad, me and my twin (fraternal girl who is younger than me), my brother, and a sister. I have a wonderful boyfriend of 3 1/2 years and am so blessed that God allowed us to meet! I fall more and more in love everyday and yes, marriage is in the future, but no engagement ring yet! I enjoy reading, knitting and crocheting (I have a knitting/crocheting/life blog HERE), obviously running ;), working out, and food lol...Well, now that you kind of know me (without knowing too much) I will proceed to tell you about my running background... since that is the main reason for this blog. ;)

RUNNING BACKGROUND

I have always been active growing up... it started with soccer and gymnastics and 1 year of tee ball in elementary school. I then decided that gymnastics was fun and all, but a little too girly for me so i started playing basketball. I played basketball 4th-10th grade and then played for 4 years in college and also played softball for 4 years in college. My 4 years of track in high school consisted of high jump, 200, 400, 4x400, and sometimes the occasional long jump. Well, enter my 5th year of college after the sports eligibility ran out... I was taking the max amount of credit hours you were allowed to take and driving 40 minutes away for half of my classes, working 2 part-time jobs, and working an internship... life was so stressful and busy that I stopped exercising completely (and no, to me, walking the stairs to get to class does not count as exercise) I really missed it and knew I would probably feel better if I got back into shape so I decided to start running again in April. I've always heard about these 5k races and wanted to run one so I just started making myself run 3 miles... it wasn't very fun at the beginning. I remember wanting to stop and walk or just stop completely, but i kept at it and ran my first 5k on April 24, 2010! Since then I have kept running and have ran a total of 5 or 6 5k races! :D

THE DREAM

Well, I wanted to push myself because I have grown very fond (in love with maybe?) of running. The feeling of accomplishment, the sun and heat (or rain and snow) beating down on your body, the energy and refreshness (a word?) it gives you, the blisters that pop up on your toes, the peaceful alone time you get to yourself to think, pray, or listen to music, the insatiable feeling of hunger that training leaves you with... ok, yeah, its a love/hate relationship lol... BUT it's GREAT!! So... earlier this month I decided I wanted to run a half marathon and actually have a training plan. I signed up for the Women's Magazine Half Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee on September 25th! lol... 2 months to train... am I CRAZY or DETERMINED? haha... you can decide ;) So, myself and my parents are going to make this trip (about a 6 1/2 hour road trip) a mini vacation. Orignially my boyfriend was going to go too... but he has class on saturday this quarter and wont be able to join us. It shall be fun. The training has been fun so far and I am really noticing some progress.


So this blog is going to help keep me motivated and focused on my training for my first ever half marathon! I am so excited! I hope to meet more runners and gain insight from you all into this wonderful world of running (and blogging)! :D