New Year Resolutions

In 2014 I have a plan to turn my lifestyle into a healthy one. I'm starting the year with a whole30 straight out of the gate. This is going to be really tough for me but I think I can do it, I know I can if I really focus on it. I have a 3 month goal to lose 20 pounds. I hope will make this happen because there is a reward waiting for me at the end of that tunnel. I have no clue what the reward is, but I really want to find out.

I want to stop talking about how I am going to achieve my goals and starting acting on them. I started my running goals in 2013 but just getting 13 races in. Now I want to work on my times for different distances. I am going to first focus on getting my 5k time at 35 minutes or less. Once I hit that goal I will start to focus on my 10k time, and so on. I did a half-marathon this year and it was exciting, but now I want to sign up for that race when I know I am going to have a good time.

I want to declutter my house. I want to get rid of things we no longer use, empty boxes, just junk really. I think I am going to clean out my closet first. It has too many clothes that either don't fit or I don't like on me at all. I should just get rid of them.

I want to read more. Over the past three months or so I have really started reading for pleasure and I like it. I am currently reading The Clash of Kings from the Song of Fire and Ice Series. I can't wait to finish this series! It keeps me on the edge of my chair the entire time I am reading. I have so many books on my to-read list on goodreads.com that I want to read them all! I am a slow reader when it comes to books so I don't want to set out a number of books I want to read this year, I am more comfortable with the general read more goal.

This is the year that I am probably going to really focus on making myself a better person. I am going to be selfish this year. I already know it. I am going to make time to go on a three mile run because it will only take me an hour to get it done. I would love to do that three time a week and then have a longer run of 6 to 10 miles on the weekend. I am going to be weighing myself every Wednesday to make sure I am losing the weight I need to.

App Review: FitSnap

I was approached by the creator of the app FitSnap to ask if I would like to review their application for them. I am the type of person who loves apps. The idea of the app is that you can take your pictures from your race event or exercise that you participated in (if you took some pictures) and add a nice text overlay with a brief description about what you did. For example, if I did a race and I took a picture during it, I could then add how many miles I ran, my official time and the app would automatically add my pace onto the image.

If you are interested in downloading the app feel free to click here where it will take you to iTunes where you can download it. 

Goals and Rewards

Something I decided to try is something I am really excited about. I wrote down a goal of losing 30 pounds by March 31st on the envelope. Then I asked my husband to write down some kind of reward he and I can enjoy when I reach my goal that is set on the envelope. I decided to give this a try because I have no idea what that reward is going to be. I promise I won't peek until I reach my goal. 

I have been finding it difficult to keep motivated to lose weight. With this surprise at the end I am hoping to keep going to I can get whatever is inside. Is it bad that I am hoping he will buy me a new book to read?! LOL. That is all I have been wanting to do recently. Read, read and read. 

Dear Allie, 01

It has been a long time since you've written yourself one of these letters but it is about to become a weekly thing again. Since your last letter you have gotten a hair cut, started a new job, completed many races and ran many miles.

The hair cut; it is an asymmetrical pixie cut that was executed by a good friend of yours. You absolutely love it but are finding it difficult to style daily. Your husband is getting used to it and everyone else loves it.
Your job is amazing. You work with some great kids everyday and love helping them out, even though they can be a bit difficult to work with (ESE) you are adjusting well. 

This year you have started 15 races, completed 14 of them and completed a half-marathon. Holy cow how did you have time to do anything at all?! You initially set a weight loss goal to lose 35 pounds but you failed to even try to lose any at all. You've been focusing on your running so much but not changing your diet. With 2014 right around the corner you should focus on changing your dietary habits. You've been reading all about the Whole30 experience, why not give it a shot? What could be the harm in it? Nothing, just get through these holidays without going crazy. This year, 2014, will be the year that you should focus on your health, losing the excess weight, keeping up with your running and being the adult that you've wanted to be all along.
One of your goals that will be tranfering to 2014 is to work on getting your 5k time down to around 38 minutes. I am not signing up for the half-marathon this year because I don't want to focus on anything over 5k or 10k right now. I will be signing up for the Springtime 10k and will join the training group for it again. You plan to reach a goal of 14 races in 2014 but will gladly welcome more races.
As for now, enjoy the holidays with your family members. Get excited that you will be visiting with family from far away.

Turkey Trot 2k13

The Turkey Trot this year was going to be a chilly one but I don't think I anticipated how cold it would actually be. In Florida it was 30 degrees for Thanksgiving and that is one heck of a morning to try and run a 5k.

Flat Mama for the race

My race time wasn't very good based on how I have been running but that is ok. I am still working to be able to just run a 5k without stopping. Slow and steady. I don't know when I will be able to do more than a 5k right now but my focus is on running a 5k without stopping.

After completing the 5k

It was so nice to spend some time with family on Thanksgiving. I never really say it a lot but I am truly grateful that I live so close to all my family and can spend time with them. I know that I am a lucky person to have them around. They are so caring and loving no matter what.  Ryker is going learn to be grateful for being with his family all the time one day too.

Madison Social 5k Trough Run

Today was the Madison Social 5k Trough Run. I woke up dreading this run for some reason. I just think I was very tired before the race and was not wanting to do much exercise today. I am so glad that I did this race though. I was having some anxiety about the race because I never saw the route before hand so the first time I heard about it was at the start line.

MRTT Mom's after the race

I am happy to say that I did my best mile so far at 13:33 and I was so happy with that I didn't care if I was coming in last place. 

Happiness for getting a PR 

One thing that upset me a little bit about this race was that is was only 2.75 miles. That isn't anywhere close to a 5k and I was hoping to get an actual 5k in today. I am so happy to be apart of such a great running community though. The MRTT Mom's are great. I love seeing them at every race. I don't get the chance to run with this during the week any longer. 

Races completed: 12
Races to go: 1

Marathon Challenge on PBS

I just watched this film and it is truly inspiring to see that 12 novice runners can finish a full marathon. This makes me want to kick up my training a notch and really get some miles behind me. I do have a dream of running a marathon, maybe not the Boston Marathon but I would love to one day do one. I have done a half marathon.

Getting Organized

I have been getting all my race stuff together since I started this whole race journey. I saved all my bibs and have all my official times written down. I just found these things by Becky Huggins called Project Life which has made my life so much simpler. I am able to buy the page protecters for my pictures, then I decide which core kit to use and viola, I put everything in a binder. It is perfection for my crazy life right now. I will never be able to sit down and actually scrapbook like some people so this is perfect for me.

The Honey Edition Core Kit

I cannot wait to finish putting my binder together and have it be presentable. I know I will constantly fill it up with races as I continue to run them. I will show you an update on the album once I finish the year out.

Tower of Terror 10-miler disaster

Disney has many races all year long. I decided to sign up for the Tower of Terror 10 miler because it looked like you get the best race, mile wise, for you dollars. It was still an expensive race though. I signed up for it as soon as I was able to. I knew all summer that I needed to train for this race. It was so hot this summer in Florida that I didn’t have the motivation to run outdoors. I tried several times to get on the treadmill but I can’t ever get more than a mile or two on there, ever. 

Day of the race:

I drove down there the morning of the race. I went to the expo and was so excited to see all the vendors and everything. I wanted to keep it low key at the hotel pool before my race at 10. I didn’t get that relaxing plan I had in my mind though. We had friends come over from Sarasota to hang out with. We went to dinner around 5:30 maybe. I has some wings and fully loaded mashed potatoes. It was good but I was ready to get to the park and ready for the race.

Race Time:

I had planned to go to the MRTT meet up before the race but because of dinner I was late for it. About 30 minutes late for it. When I got to the park where we get on the buses I was on one of the last few buses. I got to Hollywood Studios with about 30 minutes to sit and relax before the shuffled us into the corrals. I had to wait, standing in my corral for almost an hour and a half before we began the race. It was miserable. The humidity seemed to be intensified from 1,000-1,500 people in the corral with me. Once we started moving, slowly, it took us about 30 minutes before our corral was even able to see the starting area. It was a miserable wait and it made everything worse from there.

Racing:

Once I started moving I thought I was pretty good to go. I was energized, I had my GU packed, water on my back so I wouldn’t have to really stop, phone, no music though. We come out under the Hollywood Studios sign and immediately went up an interstate ramp. This was the worse angle I had ever ran on. It was completely miserable. This was the point where my buddy I was running with took a huge lead ahead of me. I was hurting coming around that ramp. Not to mention to huge balls of fire that were exploding from the holding pond in the center of the ramp. Hot Hot Hot. After I got across the bridge I was excited to see the potties, boy did I have to go. When I was getting out I saw the pacers jog right past me. At that moment I knew I was going to get swept up but I had to keep going. I wanted to see how far they would let us stay behind. They got us at mile 3 by the way. I was at least hoping they’d let us get to mile 5 or even 6 before picking us up. I was devastated. 

I know what I need to do to keep going in a race like this. I have to push myself no matter what the conditions and get all my training in. Next time Disney…I will complete the race. 

An Open Letter to Chris Powell

I was watching the latest episode of Extreme Make Over Weight loss Edition with Mike. Some things really hit home with me during this episode. I wanted to make a video and try out for the show but I don’t have more than a hundred pounds to lose. I would not get chosen for the show at all. 

Watching the struggles that Mike was faced with in regards to food addiction are what hit close to home for me. I know I have an addiction to food, it isn’t an addiction to healthy food because all you have to do is look at me and know that fact. I am also afraid to ask for medical help with my addiction. Many times food addiction is met with skepticism in the medical field. I would like to think I could fix my addiction on my own but deep down I know I probably won’t be able to. I will also be pretty embarrassed to go to my doctor to tell her I have an addiction to food and all she wants to do is tell me I need to watch what I eat and exercise. 

I wanted to try out for your show so badly but I am still able to see my weight on a normal scale. I decided not to put myself through the effort of making a video or going to a casting call when I knew you wouldn’t choose me at all because I don’t have enough weight to lose to be on the show. It wouldn’t make for a good tv show either. 

I read your first book Choose to Lose and I have to be honest, I did not implement the carb cycling into my life. I wanted to so terribly bad but I just wasn’t able to do it all on my own for my family. It is difficult to tell your family that you want them to help you out but they aren’t willing to change their lifestyle at the same time. I find it difficult to cook at home, not because I can’t cook but because I am really bad about cleaning up my kitchen. I know that is the worst excuse ever but it is the truth. I have your follow up book as well, I am currently mapping out my meals for the week. I will need to go to the grocery store tomorrow and clean out my pantry and fridge to fill it with yummy foods for this new lifestyle I want to do.

I am going to try my hardest to do the carb cycling lifestyle. I can’t make any promises that I won’t fall off the wagon because I know that I will some times but I am going to try my hardest not to allow it to over power everything else that I am trying to achieve. I am starting to get back into running now that the majority of Florida’s summer heat is going to be slowly disappearing.

Here’s to transforming my life in the next 365 days. I don’t know what my first 90 days goal should be but I am going to hope for 30 pounds but we will see where I am in 90 days.  

Throwback Thursday 03

Junior year homecoming dance. I loved this dress out of all my homecoming and prom dresses. I hope to either make one or find another one like it when I reach my goal weight. This dress gave me a little extra sass when I was out on the dance floor with my friends.

I remember being a normal weight. This was me probably at the top of the normal weight of the BMI chart. I want to get back there so bad. Hard work and dedication are what works.

Recap of my first half marathon

Before it began:
My cousin and race partner picked me up from my house that morning. I knew I wasn't going to be able to walk let alone drive myself home. It was pretty chilly because of the wind.  We got there with about 15 minutes before the race was to start and we still needed to stand in line for the restroom. We made it to the back of the group while the national anthem was playing and I was beginning to be really nervous. The tutus were a huge hit among the race already at this point!
So it begins:
At the beginning of the run Brad had me running 4 minutes and walking 2 minutes. I think this lasted for 2-3 miles before we had to drop it to 3 on 3 off. After a few more miles we dropped to 2 on 2 off.
Halfway point:
As we ran up to the halfway point I saw the cutest little boy in the prettiest little tutu supporting his momma. It brought tears to my eyes and maybe it pushed me to run a little harder.

Tallahassee Democrat Online

Slammed into the wall:
I couldn't run anymore past mile 10.5 I wore my Vibram Fivefingers for this race which I fully regret my stupidity already. I won't be doing another race like this in those shoes. At this point my feet were in so much pain. I was walking on grass when there was grass on the sides of the route. At mile 11.5 my left foot was on fire. I knew I was hurting but I knew who was waiting for me at the finish line so I had to push through it.
The end is near:
At about mile 13 we were back to the crowds and the finish line was visible (sort of). My son was there on the side of the route. My cousin ran up to grab him and I began to run again. That energy and strength came from thin air or something. I ran all the way across the finish line with my son.

Running across the finish line.

Overall thoughts:
I was really happy with my end results for the race. I finished in 3:48:23 which may seem like walking to most people but this was pushing it the whole time for me. I trained for this race in only a month, think about what I could have done if I had longer to train. This is one of the best experiences I have had recently. I can't wait to get back to training and work towards finishing my first marathon.

My medal, it was half of the marathon medal. 

Letter to Myself, Ep 12

You had one of your biggest accomplishments this weekend. You ran your first half marathon. You trained all month for your big race and you smashed your goal time by a lot. 3:48:23 was your official time. Congrats on that girl.

Not only did you do great on your half, you lost 3.5 pounds for this weigh in. That is awesome. Back to where you started and you are going to continue to go down now. Great job these last two weeks.

You are getting new running shoes this week. Saturday is your next 5k and you will do great. Just try to recover most of this week and then get back to training next week for the Springtime 10k.

Tallahassee Half Marathon

Pace: 17’23 avg.

Distance: 13.23 miles

Monthly Total: 15.23 miles

Yearly Total: 65.18 miles

Splits

Mile 1: 14’07

Mile 2: 15’13

Mile 3: 16’11

Mile 4: 16’04

Mile 5: 15’48

Mile 6: 15’22

Mile 7: 16’24

Mile 8: 17’20

Mile 9: 16’34

Mile 10: 19’05

Mile 11: 21’54

Mile 12: 22’21

Mile 13: 19’43

Mile .23: 17’23

My official BIB time was 3:48:23 when I guessed I'd get done in 4:45:00

Running movies I've watched as of late

Spirit of the Marathon (2007)

The first ever feature-length film to capture the essence, drama and unique spectacle of the famed 26.2-mile race, the production features five runners - three amateurs and two elites - as they train for and ultimately run the Chicago Marathon. 

My Run (2009)

After tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, real life super hero and modern day Forrest Gump, Terry Hitchcock seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families. He ran in spite of freezing rain and unbearable heat, in spite of chest pains and bone fractures that wracked his 57-year-old body. He just kept running - each day, every day - strengthening an unbreakable bond between father and son--- not stopping until he broke the finish line tape in Atlanta. MY RUN is more than a film about a guy running multiple marathons; it's a film about the daily marathons we all run in life. 

30 for 30: Into the Wind (2012)

Story about Terry Fox

Running the Sahara (2007)

Three men attempt to become the first humans to run coast to coast across the Sahara Desert.

Dreadmill Run

Pace: 18’59

Weather: Warm inside the gym

Distance: 2 miles

Monthly Total: 51.95 miles

I do not like running at the gym. UGH. I want to get a strength training program going again but I will not run on the dreadmill again at the gym. It was brutal and boring. nope. nope. nope. 

Springtime Tally 10k Training Group Run

Pace: 15’11

Weather: HOT

Distance: 2.27 Miles

Monthly Total: 49.95

This was my fastest mile, and i even walked a little of it. OMG. There is a goal smashed into the ground as I run all over it. 

Split:

Mile 1: 14:22

Mile 2: 16:15

Mile .27: 14:15

Letter to Myself E.11

You have been slacking this last week on your runs. You tried to get out and do them, just not hard enough. You are going to have to rely on other people to watch Ryker so that he isn’t stuck in a stroller the whole time that you have to run. You are excited to start a training program with the Gulfwinds Track Club this week.  

You got a new fridge this weekend. That is one way you know you are an adult, excitement over new appliances. You have lots of healthy foods in there now. It is a great way to start your healthy, vegan lifestyle.

I’m so proud of you for telling Trav about you dietary choice. He only made one joke last night about where you are going to get protein from. Maybe you can make a list and put it on the new fridge. You brought this up in an adult manner instead of telling him how things are going to happen. You told him this is a choice you are making for yourself and he can join you or not. If he is going to want meant at dinner then he is going to have to make it. He sounded ok about making vegan dinners for your family. It will be nice for everyone to eat more veggies during the day. 

Plans for the week:

• begin training for the 10k
• plan out dinners for the week
• pick up packet (Saturday)
• get enough sleep (Saturday night)
• Race time (Sunday morning)

Why Vegan?

Many people are wondering why have I decided to go vegan. This is where I am going to explain it to you. I am currently in a weight loss journey. I have done so many different diet and none of them have really kept the weight off. Yes, I did lose some here and there but I regained it back plus some once I stopped doing that diet. I have been reading a book called Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman M.D. which has shed some light on why I should go vegan. He talks about all the things that meat does to the inside of your body. It all sounded really bad and I am worried that I may not have changed my lifestyle in time to completely eliminate those disease from me. I am mostly vegan for the health reasons but the cruelty to animals has also been shown to me in the true light. I watch a video on youtube by Gary Yourofsky where he gives his speech about being vegan. It was very empowering and made a lot of sense to me.

I want to lose weight in a healthy manner while eating the most nutrients that I can. A vegan diet is going to allow me to get all of my nutrients that we as a human species are designed to. I am not here to preach to you about how you should go vegan. You can scan the rest of the internet to look for that. I am hear to give you insight into my journey to go vegan and living in a house divided; meaning my husband and son are not vegan.

Dinner Experiment

I did an experiment at dinner tonight. I did it because I mostly haven't told my husband I have gone vegan and because I actually wanted to see how meat, cheese and even ice cream made me feel after I ate them.

The Little Things V.1

This is the first time I have done this installment of my blog. I am trying to get my week wrapped up in this post. I hope to do these every week now. It is where I will post the instagram pictures that I want to share with you guys. Once Ryker really starts talking I will probably add some of his quotes. I might talk about the things we did that didn’t really get some talk in during the week.

This week has been amazing. We have had a few good nights where we can just sit as a family together. Here is a picture of us watching the Goodnight Show on Sprout. He always seem to have a good time together as a family. Ryker is talking so much now that we have started speech therapy. I am excited to get this cleft palate surgery past us and move on with everything.
He is starting to interact more with technology and games. He has a few games on the iPad that he can comprehend but there isn’t a ton of them. H really likes to sit with his puppy dog in the morning. He thinks they are best friends, she has other opinions.

Throwback Thursday 02

I was Columbia for a friends halloween birthday party in 2006. Her party theme was Rocky Horror Picture Show. My mom made my entire outfit. 

My Dinner; First Vegan Dinner

• Whole Grain Brown Rice

• Chick Peas cooked in a curry spice mix

• Sautéd brussels sprouts

Dinner was absolutely delicious. Travis didn’t even care that there wasn’t any meat. Ryker, on the other hand, didn’t care to much for it all and ate blueberries instead. 

Finally made a appointment for my yearly physical

I haven’t had a physical since I gave birth to Ryker almost 2 years ago! I have lots of things to discuss with her at this appointment too. 

• diet change

• exercise plans (running)

• emotions

• anger issues

Half W3D3 Training: Long Run

Pace: 20:12

Distance: 8.92 Mi

Weather: sunny

Monthly Total: 47.23 miles

Splits:

Mile 1: 19:33

Mile 2: 18:30

Mile 3: 19:03

Mile 4: 21:12

Mile 5: 21:12

Mile 6: 21:34

Mile 7: 20:42

Mile 8: 20:45

Mile .92: 19:13

Feel the Burn; Long run down the St. Marks Trail

This weeks weigh-in was short and sweet. Just mom and I because almost everyone else was out of town. My mom lost 10 pounds over these last two weeks and she looks amazing. I was to try and show you a before and after/during of her. I, on the other hand, gained 4 pounds. It didn’t help that I ate lunch before weighing in, plus the fact that Flo has come for a visit this week. UGH.

After the weigh-in I invited mom to go do my miles with me. I needed to get 9 in and she thought she’d only be able to manage 2. Uh, my mom is a badass because she stomped out 6 miles. 

My friend KT, http://puhpuhprinceharry.tumblr.com/, joined me though. You’ve seen a lot of her because we are going through our running journeys together. I think we did a really awesome job with out run. I know I am proud of us!

Letter to Myself E.10

You have been doing amazing as you train for your half marathon. Especially since you just began your training at the beginning of the month. You are going to finish your first half marathon strong. Hopefully you will have all of your family and support there to cheer you on.

I'm so proud of you for deciding to turn your health around and make it a habit to eat healthy, nutritious foods. You may not have had a great weigh in this week but it you can stick with your new habits and lifestyle the weight will begin to melt away.

Something that you struggle with is keeping up with your home. You need to set goals to get things done around the house. It isn't fair that you get to stay home all day while your husband works. You have to get Ryker to somehow play by himself either in the living room or his bedroom.

Just keep up the amazing work you are doing now.

I weighed in today

I gained about 4 pounds but Flo has come around so there is that. I was proud of my mom though, she lost 10 pounds in two weeks. GO MOM! I think I will have a better weight drop at the next weigh in because Flo wont be around. 

After we weighed in, we drove to a trail that is popular in town and walked down it. I did my 9 miles today and my mom did 6 miles! Wahoo. Mom is on a roll now. 

My feet are killing me right now. While I was walking the mid-part of my foot was hurting a lot. Not quite to the ball of my foot and not at the arch either. 

Starting my new habits tomorrow. I am going to keep track of everything on MFP and with what I’ve been tracking recently I am going to be under my calories most of the time I think. 

If you have any advice on getting through the withdraws I will be experiencing this week send them my way or just some kinds words would be great!

Throwback Thursday 01

Here is a picture from high school, 10th grade to be exact. This is me posing with a cousin in Atlanta at a cheerleading competition. At this point I was driving and my mom didn’t really have a control in what I was eating. That is kind of where food became and addiction. I miss cheering tumbling. I was really good at it too. I was able to do a full before I decided to not try out for my senior year of high school. I always wonder how different things would be if I had stuck with cheering my senior year and conquered more of my tumbling dreams. 

Half W3D2 Training-NSV

Today was really amazing. As you may know I hit a fitness goal today of running a whole mile without stopping. Yep, this is one happy girl right now. 

1. Pace: 18:35
2. Weather: WINDY
3. Distance: 5.36 miles
4. Monthly total: 38.21 miles

My Splits:

• Mile 1: 14:37
• Mile 2: 22:06
• Mile 3: 18:45
• Mile 4: 19:24
• Mile 5: 17:44
• Mile .36: 19:35

Half W3D1 training

1. Pace: 20’11
2. Weather: 71 degrees and cloudy
3. Distance: 3.5 Miles
4. Monthly total: 32.85 Miles

This went really great. I started out running down my moms street and I usually can’t make it all the way down. I went all the way down her road and halfway down the next road without stopping. I was trying to go for a while mile but I was about 1/4 of a mile shy of not running. I have to stop at the 1/2 mile mark but then I ended my first mile strong. 

• Mile 1: 17:32
• Mile 2: 23:12
• Mile 3: 20:30
• Mile .5: 18:49

I had to stop in my moms house and use the bathroom during my run. While I was there I realized that I am chaffing pretty badly. I put baby powder on it and went on trucking. When I got back around to her street I realized I couldn’t keep going with how bad I was chaffing. I was a mile short of my goal miles for due to my lack of proper shorts for fat girls. 

Half W2D3 Training

1. Pace: 19’35
2. Weather: warm but not too warm.
3. Distance: 8.14 miles
4. Monthly Total: 29.35 miles

I got up on time and was pretty nervous about this run because once I got to a specific road there really wasn’t going back. just after mile 1 I started to get some really back shin splints. I almost turned around, actually I did and walked a couple steps but those steps down hill felt great. I knew I only have a few more up hill struggles but everything else would be mostly down hill. I am so glad that I kept on going. 

• Mile 1: 19’33
• Mile 2: 22:26
• Mile 3: 19:30
• Mile 4: 20:23
• Miles 5: 18’01 (my fastest mile on this route!)
• Mile 6: 19’10
• Mile 7: 18’48
• Mile 8: 18’38

after mile 6 things were so much better even though I was going through hills. I kept getting faster faster. I was pushing myself harder and harder. It felt really good. I am now excited about my half marathon and my time goal is to finish in 4 and a half hours. I just have to keep a 3 mph pace and I will be good for that!

Half W2D2

1. Pace: 20’
2. Distance: 2.5 mi
3. Weather: 75 degrees
4. Weekly Total: 13.66 miles
5. Monthly Total: 21.21 miles

This was a really bad run for me. I did however run all the way down a road that I have never been able to. So, that is a NSV!

Half W2D1

1. Pace: 18’57
2. Distance: 4.14 mi
3. Weather: 64 degrees
4. Weekly Total: 4.14 miles
5. Monthly Total: 18.71 miles

I met up with my friend at her apartment for this run. We even had two more girls run with us. It was good at first, we did half a mile without stopping. After that we did more walking than running but my pace was in the normal range for when I do my runs. I am so happy to have friends who are running with me. It makes me work harder then I would if I were to do a run solo. 

Half W1D1

1. Pace: 18’57
2. Distance: 4.14 mi
3. Weather: 64 degrees
4. Weekly Total: 4.14 miles
5. Monthly Total: 18.71 miles

I met up with my friend at her apartment for this run. We even had two more girls run with us. It was good at first, we did half a mile without stopping. After that we did more walking than running but my pace was in the normal range for when I do my runs. I am so happy to have friends who are running with me. It makes me work harder then I would if I were to do a run solo. 

Letter to Myself E.09

You did amazing this past week. You completed your training runs for the Half marathon. When you couldn’t get all the miles in one day you made sure to make them up. You did 7 miles yesterday. 7 miles. that is the furthest you have ever run. Look at all you’ve accomplished this week. You are doing so great. Starting off the year in the right mind set and going to have so much happen this year that you have no idea how excited you are going to get. You have found something that you can truly say you enjoy. I am already so proud of you that you are just going to sky rocket off the proud charts!

Half W1D3: Long Run

Ran 7 miles today. I was worried about my time being slower than the last 7 I did but I keep telling myself not to care about that. I am really excited about this half marathon that I am training for. I am just going to go out there and run. I hope to forget that I am in a race but instead out for a fun run with my cousin. I am truly finding out how far I can push myself. 

1. Pace: 19’10
2. Weather: cloudy and cold
3. Distance: 7.02 miles
4. Weekly Total: 7.02 Miles
5. Monthly Total:  14.57 Miles

2013 Goals

Personal

• don’t get angry so easily
• laugh more
• learn self control

Health

• run 365 miles in 365 days
• lose 50 pounds by my birthday (Oct. 18)
• become flexible again through Yoga