Let's see.... my last 2 runs... Keith travelled last Tuesday thru Thursday, so Thursday after he returned home, I went to the gym to do my miles. Ah, the gym... a place I've only seen 2X in the last 6 months. :-p I was kinda sorta shooting for 3.5 miles, but gave in (due to extreme displeasure of being forced to run on the wretched treadmill), and did 3 miles in 30 minutes. Saturday morning I got up at 7am, fed the baby and went for my run outside at about 7:45. It was already scorching hot by the time I finished! I ran 35 minutes, not sure of the exact distance, as I didn't run around the "track" (2 undeveloped blocks in our neighborhood that is exactly 1/2 mile around). Assuming I was at my tried and true 10 min. mile pace, I know I ran at least 3.5 miles if not more. Tomorrow I begin my 10K training program and on July 4th, I will run my first 5K!

Hip hip hooray! I'm officially finished with the couch to 5K program and I am happy to announce that I can now run 3 miles, just 2 short months after I began running again! My last day of the program was this past Saturday. I have had a hard time keeping up with my blog lately. I've been trying to stay off the computer because I feel as if I've been unintentionally spending too much time online. I get on for a very specific reason (to look up a recipe or communicate with a specific friend or family member) and then I wind up getting side-tracked. Anyways, I'll try to pick up where I left off last. We went to West Texas the weekend of the 13th to visit family and I ran on the treadmill at the hotel we stayed at. It was not a good time; I was cramped in a hot, tiny workout room with a low ceiling and a light about 8 inches from my head. I did 2.75 miles and it seemed to take FOREVER! It made me realize how much I have been enjoying running outside. Despite all that, I was happy to have a place to run. More than that though, I was happy I actually got up and did it. It is so easy to "forget" about working out when you're on vacation or out of town. Each of my workouts is crucial though; I am learning to seize the moment and just get it done and over with, especially with 2 kids.... you never know what the day will hold! Keith and I ran together on Monday evening and Wednesday evening. It was nice to have a running partner, even though I don't especially like running at night. Monday was pretty special for me-- I hit my goal--3 miles! So was Wednesday, as was my last run, on Saturday morning. I did a Jillian Michael's workout + an extra ab workout on Friday and was SOOOOO sore on Saturday I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it. But, it was my last day of c25K and it was going to take more than Jillian to keep me from finishing! Also, one reason I did the Jillian workout is because I have GOT to start cross training and strength training. Running every other day is getting the job done I suppose, but I know I need more. My baby weight is off. I weighed 113 the other day, which was my pre-prego weight. This postpartum body is carrying 113 so differently than before I had Lizzie! I'm in some major need of some muscle and I still have alot of belly flab to get rid of so I can see my beautiful abs again. :) Anyhow, running lately has been ok. The ankle problem is completely resolved, thanks to my new shoes. I've not yet had a problem with my shins hurting, and I contribute that to my awesome Mizunos as well. I still get side stiches though; which, unfortunately my shoes cannot fix. I've only had one really debilitating side stitch; the others, which have occured on all my runs (except tonight-more on that later!), I've been able to keep at bay through a variety of different techniques, mostly mind over matter, lol, because they hurt! :(

Anyways, so tonight started my "down" week, which isn't really down time at all, it's just a week that I don't have a set workout schedule. I ran 3.5 AMAZING miles tonight in 32:44. For some strange reason, I did not get a side stitch! It made all the difference in the quality of my run. I really enjoyed it tonight and am thoroughly convinced I could've gone another couple of miles if time would've allowed. Yes, that's how GREAT I felt. Next week, I start Hal Higdon's 10K training program. It's 8 weeks long, which means I'll be done with that on August 23rd. On August 24th, I start my official 1/2 Marathon training. It is 12 weeks long, and the last day of training is actually the race!!!

Keith and I are going to do this on July 4th, and I would really like to do this in August after my training for the 10K is complete.

Well, I think that's about all for now. oh yeah... One thing I am not proud of tonight: I topped my wonderful, awesome run off with leftover chicken fried steak, a biscuit, and a small sliver of pecan pie and a scoop of ice cream. Why, oh WHY THE HELL do I do things like that? YUCK! I made chicken fried steak and the whole 9 yards for Father's Day yesterday. I've been doing decent lately. Honestly, I still pretty much eat what I want to, but I try to fill up on veggies, fruits, healthy carbs, yogurt, cottage cheese, lean meats, etc so I stay away from the junk. I love summertime--the produce section of the grocery store is so beautiful and bountiful. Soooooooooooo delicious!

hooray. was up at 5:52am this morning, nursed the baby, was out to run by 6:30. i had a decent run today. 2.75 miles in 28 minutes. had a slight side-stitch, but it wasn't horrible like the other day. that's all for today. :)

ugh, i've been slacking with my blog... i guess i'll try to pick up where i left off. so, i ran last weekend, and my training was supposed to be 2 1/4 miles or 25 minutes. my pace is almost a dead-set 10 min. mile, so technically, 2 1/2 miles for me would have been 22 1/2 minutes. i made a deal with myself... if i reached 2 1/2 miles before 25 minutes, and i wasn't just DYING, i would run till 25. phew. i did it! i wasn't exactly dying, but i was probably pretty close. i kept looking at the stopwatch and was really ready to stop at about 23 minutes, but i forced the last 2 minutes out somehow. it felt great.

keith had to be in tennessee last week, and week 7 of the couch to 5K was "run 2.5 miles, or 25 minutes" EVERYDAY. (or technically every other day which is how often i'm running). so, i knew in order for this to happen, i would need to be strong and get out there early. it's really heating up during the day. if i don't get out early, i have to wait until late in the evening. that's exactly what happened on monday (6/1); lizzie had her 4 mo. checkup appt. at 11 so i drank my coffee and we got ready for that instead of doing an early morning run. :) we went about 7:45 that evening and i did 2.5 miles in 25:30, stroller and all! i was pretty proud of myself. i felt good that day though.... no aches and pains, no side stitch, etc. i got into my pace pretty good that day and didn't feel that compulsive urge to check the stopwatch every minute. wednesday was a different story though... we went early in the morning, which was nice. it was really tough running with the stroller and the kids 2 times in a row for that distance. i did get a slight side-stitch that day, but was able to keep it together. i finished my 2.5 miles in 26 minutes. i ate a salad later that day from Target and wound up getting an upset stomach on Thursday. it wasn't full blown food poisoning, thank goodness, but it sure made me feel terrible. i skipped running on friday, because i could tell i was weak from not eating and/or drinking much on thursday when i was sick. i did my last run of the week yesterday and UUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH. IT WAS HARD. i didn't have to take the kids because keith was home, and i sort of in my head thought it was be a good time and day to speed run, trying to improve my overall pace. i finished my 2.5 miles in 23 minutes. decent time, but i sure paid for it! i got the worst side stitch i've had since starting running again. the kind you get and it's so deep and painful it stays that way AFTER the run is over. the kind where when you take a deep breath it feels like a knife slicing your side. it feels a little better today, but like it could come back tomorrow when i run. i'm going to try to get up early and go before keith leaves for work so i don't have to take the kids and stroller. i enjoy going with them, and i'm sure pushing that stroller is making me stronger, but it's alot of work! this last week of training has been the hardest week of the whole c25K program. only 2 more weeks to go. i need to find a good training schedule for when this is over. i'm not entirely sure what i'm going to do after this.