almost there

okay girls, we're so close! RLAG is just 6 days away....i know you're getting ready and getting excited!

fiona and i ran a 6 mile loop on the trail at glendoveer yesterday. it was rough, i won't lie. but we finished, and so now i know that at the very least, i'll cross the finish line! i'm sore today, but not as bad as i thought i'd be.

so, just wanted to chime in with some encouragement (more for myself, really) that our goal is around the corner, and whatever happens that day, we're going to feel great and have fun (and have a SPECTACULAR breakfast once it's over!) it's a great way to celebrate my 27th birthday!

looking forward to seeing you there!

my first 5k

it's 10:40 and i just finished my first 5k- the Twinkling Star 5k.

There was no finish line, no one cheering me as i crossed such an important milestone. no cute t-shirts or prizes. there were no snacks or fun booths to visit.

in fact, no one was even awake at home to cheer for me.

but i did it. i REALLY did it. i, breanna, ran a 5k-without stopping. it's true.

and, even though i LOVE the cute tshirts and thunderous applause of a bona fide race, it was just fantastic. as i reached the last few steps, i raised my arms into the air and cheered for myself. and i haven't stopped smiling since.

i decided that there should be SOMETHING to mark such a wonderous occurance, so the first thing i did when i stepped back into my house (once i realized everyone was sleeping) was to make myself a racing bib, complete with my own made-up title of the race, and snap a pic of myself with it. it's humble, i look ridiculous. and i don't care.

just wanted to share it with all of you.

so, next year on June 18th, wanna join me for the 2nd annual Twinkling Star 5k? I'll even make t-shirts!

locked in

well friends, it's officially official. i'm registered for RLAG. paid and shirt size ordered. no refunds, no exchanges, no turning back.



i'm excited actually. excited with a side of completely nervous! but i'm looking forward to it. i've been moving forward with my training...2.5 mile run is checked off the list, and the 2.75 mile run is on the agenda tomorrow morning. by the end of this week i'll be at the 5k mark. from there, i'll spend the rest of my weeks getting ready for 6.2 miles of intervals. it won't be easy, but it will feel so good to cross the finish line!!



here's what i need from you:



registration closes july 7th...completely closes. no day of registration or anything. so, once you've registered, please let me know ASAP cause i've got something up my sleeve for you, but it's going to take me time, so i need you to tell me as soon as you have fully committed!

here's who i know is IN IT for sure:
Rachel
Fiona
Christa
Breanna

i'll be quite glad to add your name to the list!

secondly, i need your creative brains to come up with a team name...here are some options rachel and i came up with the other night...but we're not in love with any of them yet...so PLEASE leave a comment with your submissions!

*Rhinestone racers
*rhinestone runners
*fabulous finishers (cause really, that's all i'm aiming to do at this point!)
*dashing divas

so...there it is...see why we need your help?

ready............GO!

officially unsure

get this. rachel did a little looking around, and it turns out that run like a girl is a 10k. did you hear me?

TEEEEEEEEEEN KKKKKKKKKKKKK

that's two more k's than i was already nervous about. what is going on?!?

let's gather the current facts:

1. despite starting QUITE early, i'm just finishing week 5 of c25k
2. there are only 6 weeks until the 10k
3. 10k is two times a 5k
4. a 5k which i'm not currently capable of

see what i'm saying??

is this realistic? honestly? that in 6 weeks i'll go from running about 1k (last night) without stopping to running TEN TIMES THAT MUCH???

i did check out the website, and it said that they have an "early start" for people not wanting to be timed (aka very slow people like me). i was glad to see this. just not sure if it's enough.

what do you think? also, THANK YOU JASON for your comment on the last post. that was exactly what i needed to plant into my brain. it has totally helped my perspective!

W5D1

ladies, i'm getting nervous....i did w5d1 yesterday. and maybe it's partially because of the unexpected heat, but it was HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD. (also, it's completely puzzling to me that when i ran tuesday i wore a sweatshirt and ear warmer thingies, and yesterday i was dripping sweat.)

this is really freaking me out presently. see, yesterday was three 5 minute runs with three minutes walking in between. THAT'S IT. and two months from now i'm supposed to be able to do an 8k without stopping?!?!?!?! see what i'm saying?!?!?

i'm just at a place where i'm not so sure it's going to happen.

monday will be my first 20 minute non-stop run...maybe that will help? all i know is that about one minute into the third 5 minute run i desperately wanted to stop; it was the first time i really thought i wouldn't make it to the end. and that was just five minutes...i came home saying "oh no oh no oh no!!"

so, i mean, is it REALLY feasible for me to run an 8k eight weeks from now based on where i am today???

on the road again

at long last, today was beautiful and sunny and clear, and i was able to get back out there and pound some pavement.

it was an unintentional 10 day hiatus, which would be about 4 runs. i was surprised and very frustrated to find that in just 10 days i had lost some momentum and progress. my breathing was a bit more labored, my shins were achy. the mental part was tougher too.

so i've got to get my head (and legs) back in the game. i've got to get back into my routine, the one where i don't think, i just run. i'm going to do a full week 4 now, even though i had already started it before the break. i may do a few extra days of week 4 too, depending on how it goes (am i just putting off the 20 minute run in week5??)

now, time for some celebrating!! HOORAY for RACHEL for getting started on her c25k!!! so exciting! i keep telling her she's going to be running laps around me in no time at all.

and, if i've got it straight, AMANDA's been running a couple times a week too...YIPPEE!

have i missed anyone?

the first bump in my road

grrr. a teensy set back. i'm frustrated, but honestly i knew well enough to expect that SOMETHING would happen, and i kindof expected it sooner.

so, sweet baby has pneumonia. this has been hard and miserable. and it has now been exactly one week since i've run. i know this isn't the worst thing, and not a major setback, but i'm frustrated. i had really been excited to have stayed on track so far. it's not like me to really stay committed all by myself.

anyway. my main fear at this point is that i'll lose that "thing" i had going where i would go run on my run days without even thinking about it...just go. is that motivation? commitment? i dunno.

so, for all of you who keep trying to say that my being a few weeks ahead is a good excuse...this is your chance to get caught up! and who knows...maybe in a few days one of you will be kicking my tush to get going again...

end of week 3

i'm a day behind schedule, so i just finished week 3 last night. I was supposed to do it sunday, but honestly, the rain was just pouring down and i didn't have it in me. anyway, i'm running today and to get myself back on track. i may regret this slightly, since you're supposed to leave a day between runs for recovery...and today, with the start of week 4, the runs increase from 1.5 and 3 minutes to 3 and 5 minutes. we'll see how i feel tonight!

my last week3 run went really well actually. my knees hurt a bit at the beginning, which i hadn't felt before. but at the end i definately felt like i could at least do another round of running, and the last 3 minutes went by quite quickly. and i'm really liking the longer intervals because it makes the 30 minutes go so much more quickly than zillions of short intervals.

christa had a BRILLIANT idea that will be fun for you and much more affordable for me: anyone who wants to run the 8k in july with me will get a tiara to run in!!! you all know how much i LOOOOVE tiaras!! so that will be so great and fun! thanks christa!! i'll do some trial runs as we get closer to see if the tiara should be just in our hair, or if we should maybe pin it to a hat or something. i'm so excited!

making my own playlist continues to be so helpful! i love running to music i love! some people on the c25k message board i frequent are fancy enough to make their own ullry-style podcast with their favorite music but still the verbal cues when to run...i have no clue how to do this! so i'm just going to stick with picking songs that are the right length to match the intervals. it's working so far.

a few questions: do you have particular things that must be in place for the run? for example, i HAVE to make sure to apply chapstick and a fresh piece of chewing gum. that and i have to be intentional about which underwear i have on...matters more than i would have guessed!

oh, and i've temporarily solved the pant-dilemma. it's a bit unique and somewhat embarrassing solution...when i was pregnant i got this "bella band" that is designed to allow you to wear non-maternity clothes longer by keeping your pants unbuttoned or wearing maternity gear earlier by keeping them more snug...does this make sense? it's this stretch fabric tube that you wear around your waistband. anyway, i wore that with my running pants and VIOLA, no sliding down! hopefully as my body becomes more of a "runners body" this will be less of a problem. if not, i'll always have the bella band!

some of you haven't started yet....i just really want to encourage you to get going! it's way easier to start than you're telling yourself! and if you're like me, your brain is making it worse than it really is...just go out, do week1day1 and you'll see! this is the most overused phrase on earth, but honestly, if i can do it, you certainly can!

since i LOVE giving prizes to motivate people, let's do this: if you have yet to start and you DO start this week and complete week 1, i'll take you to coffee!! hooray! just leave a note letting me know...

for the more seasoned runners...are you feeling left out? i don't know what kind of blog candy to offer you, but i'm happy to do it if you'll give me some ideas! are the seasoned runners currently running regularly? maybe you need a good motivation to get BACK out there!

so much to say

i just finished my 2nd week of c25k. it was more difficult this week schedule wise to make sure i got all the sessions in, but i did it! tonight felt great, not like super duper easy, but it felt good and i really enjoyed it.

as much as i totally appreciate the c25k podcast, i'm so picky about music that it really started to be distracting. this will likely not be an issue for most other people, but it was really getting to me. my solution (this is brilliant): i opened my itunes, and clicked the box that organizes the songs by length. then i just went through and picked songs that were exactly (or quite near) the length of each interval. so for this week, a 5 minute song for warm up, then alternating 90 second songs and 2 minute songs to run/walk, then a 5 minute song for cool down. this was the BEST THING EVER! i had so much fun! it was dark out, and i went to run by our lake. it was so beautiful, and the songs were so perfect because they were all MY songs...i was even like snapping and doing funny arm movements while i ran. i was singing along while i walked too. i probably would not have done that in the daylight! anyway, it was so fun, so i've determined to do this from now on. with over 4 thousand songs currently in my itunes, shouldn't be too hard! when i ran out of options that were the exact time, i would err on the side of a few seconds longer for runs and a few seconds shorter for walks. it was awesome.

i'm worried it may be to early to say this, but i'm really enjoying the training. it's nice to get some time to myself and to feel like i'm accomplishing something important to me. i know that it's surely going to get more challenging, but i'm begining to think that "challenging" doesn't have to mean "unpleasant."

next topic: a WINNER! i put all the comments onto one page, and told the baby to point at a winner. it's very scientific. we do this with a lot of things. that's another story though. anyway, all by herself, kaia pointed right to her auntie stephanie! so steph, you've got a little prize coming your way...but to secure it, you have to comment here to prove you read this!

for the sake of full disclosure: i had a fairly difficult week, emotionally speaking. we've all had them, we'll all have them again, i don't need any sympathy (unless you REALLY feel like giving it to me...) anyway. it was a tough week and i chose not to exercise any self control and went a little nuts with food consumption. i take full responsibility. i was talking to myself as it was happening "you realize you're trying to feel better by eating, right? this isn't going to work." so, i'm glad i was at least fully aware and honest with myself, but it didn't exactly change the behavior. i'm starting a bible study next week that's designed to help me deal with the reasons i eat...i've done a similar program before and was moderately successful. i've never been as successful as i was on weight watchers. i can't currently afford to go to ww, although if i really tried i could go it alone. but i figure it's a good time to deal with the cause and not just the symptoms.

i'm debating whether or not to bring back the "weekly weigh in" side bar to this blog. it's pretty humiliating, but a good accountability measure. although it's only effective accountability if i know people are reading, and at this point i can't be sure!

i'm considering posting a challenge to all of you new runners...i'm trying to put together all the details in my brain to make it work. i'm thinking something like anyone who is a first timer that completes training and is ready to run the 8k in july will have their entry fee paid...but if lots of you find motivation and stick with it...well i don't know how i'd explain that to the mister! we're living on 1.3 incomes at this point, and i'm not sure that would be realistic, as much as i'd love to do it. i guess let's start with this: if you're seriously considering training and running the 8k, leave a comment, and i'll go from there.

one last thing, hopefully for the seasoned runners: i'm having an interesting wardrobe problem. see, i don't have the typical female body where the hips are wider than the waist. my hips are quite a bit smaller than my waist, so it's proving to be really difficult (nearly impossible) to find pants that will STAY UP while i run. several times i've found myself running and hold them up. this is true even for pants with drawstrings. see, if they start sliding, there's nothing to stop them. women who have that beautiful hourglass figure don't have to worry about this because their hips catch their pants. i'm not sure if any of you will have any experience with this, but maybe you can use your brilliance to come up with a solution? do i have to resolve to duct tape?

i told you there was so much to say....

checking in

well i've finished the entirety of c25k week 1, and have started week 2. it's going well so far. i haven't struggled to feel motivated to get out and do it, and it hasn't been miserable or anything! dare i say, i'm enjoying it so far. but i can also see that it will be challenging in the not too distant future!

i decided that i'm officially "a runner" on friday. until then, i always hesitated to say anything like that, i'd lean towards "i'm training for an 8k" or "i'm trying to be a runner."

but friday, it was cold, and rainy and inconvenient, and i still laced up and went out, and i didn't cut a single corner. and as i came back home, soaking wet and quite chilled, i said outloud "it's offical. i am a runner now." ben laughed, but whatever. he can't 'get it' because he's ALWAYS been athletic and good at sporty things and it comes so easily to him. but i definately got it. i am a runner.

so how is everyone else doing? i'm waiting just another day or so to try and get more comments from which to choose a winner...but if there are no more, then the couple of you have a GREAT CHANCE of winning!

oh, and also! thanks to ben's good buddy Bless (you know who) we went to the adidas outlet over here by our house and got all kinds of great deals. so now i'm running in style! why is it that cute running threads make me even more glad to hit the road?

yet another new start for this blog

if you're here, i'm assuming it's because you got the email i sent inviting you. see, i've finally started (like really and officially started) my quest to become a runner. specifically, i'm training for an 8k in july called "run like a girl." AN 8K!!! that is 8 more k's than i've ever run before. i'll also likely do at least one 5k sometime in may or june. i'm excited and nervous and in need of some place to keep track of things and feel some sort of accountability to report my progress. best thing i could come up with was to blog about it.

plus, i've been talking to a lot of you about potentially joining me in the training, so i thought this could be a great way for us to check in with each other, share tips and get advice and support! i'll keep a good list of helpful links going, and please join in and comment with how you're doing and any other running related thing you'd like to share!

here's a great way to start, leave a comment telling me if you're signing up for "run like a girl" with me this year (sunday july 13th {happy bday amanda!}) or what you're training for. i'll pick one comment at random to win a little prize to help with your training!