A month away!

A month from now, I will have completed a half marathon.  I'm still shocked that I've been able to adjust to a healthy lifestyle, exercise, and become a runner in one year!  It was another busy week, as usual.  Ran a long run on Sunday of 9 miles.  J managed to run 2.5 miles with me, rested on Monday and Tuesday, ran 2.78 hard miles in the DARK on Wednesday, rested on Thursday, ran 5.1 moderate miles on Friday, and ran 2 easy miles on Saturday.  This rounded out as a 22 mile week - not too bad.  Tomorrow's another day of long run - first double digit run. 

It's Friday!

Short work weeks have never seemed short, but this time it did.  I suppose it was a combination of the beginning of the semester and family visiting for the week.  We have this weekend to get ourselves back into a routine, after a month of visiting, vacations, and visitors.  I'm on the hunt for a bed for T.  I think it's time to move him out of his toddler bed.  I'm running another 5k tomorrow -- hopefully I can do better than last week.  If so, this will be my last 5k until my half marathon next month.  I also need to put in a 9 mile run on Sunday.  There is a Tot Trot at the race tomorrow, so T is going to run.  He's pretty excited to race by himself.  His races usually involve cruising in a stroller and telling his Daddy to go faster. 

Back to Running

After my 5k yesterday, I wasn't so sure I'd be able to get in a longer run today.  I woke up pretty sure (not sure why), but with quite a bit of determination.  Off to the trail I went and I managed to crank out 8 miles.  It's been two weeks since I've run more than 3 miles at a time.  My hip was a little sore, but nothing debilitating.  I did manage to venture to a spa to pick up some biofreeze.  Hopefully I'm back to running a regular schedule and will be able to run my half without walking.

Busy, Busy

Of all the time I have to read blogs, I certainly thought I'd have time to write a few words every few days.  This week was the first full week of the spring semester and it was a busy and eventful one.  My Mom came to visit for a week, while J and T were visiting family in NM.  It was great having her here.  Woo took a major turn for the worst this week.  He had been wobbly at the beginning of the week, which progressed to not being able to get around at all.  It might just be a waiting game for him at this point.  He's on medicine, laser therapy treatment, and frequent visits to the vet.  With complete bladder and bowel loss, it doesn't look good.  I keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.
My Mom went back home on Friday morning and later that day, WB and K arrived.  It is nice to have family visiting.  We went to the Salvador Dali Museum after their arrival.  Boy, that was some interesting art.  The building is gorgeous. 
Today, I raced in the Hope for Haiti 5K.  I've been battling two injuries for the past two weeks (knee and hip).  I've run twice in the last two weeks, for a whopping 4.1 miles.  I honestly had no idea how I'd do.  I was hoping to decrease my time, as I'd run 8 miles exactly two weeks ago.  The rest for my hip and knee was good.  I'm thinking it was the adrenaline that kept me pain free throughout the race.  However, I'm feeling it now.  Regardless, I managed to finish 73rd out of 250.  Not bad for very little running in the last two weeks, but certainly not where I wanted to be. 
After plenty of icing and Ibuprofen, I'm hoping to get on with the training this week...especially since I have 13.1 miles to run in 41 days. 

A New Year, A New Blog

I'm sitting here on a Sunday night with a sudden desire to create a blog.  I completed more in the field of running in 2010, than I ever could have imagined.  My New Year's resolution for 2010 was to lose weight and get back in shape.  Without any specific goal weight in mind, I managed to lose over 40 pounds from eating healthy and walking 3 miles most evenings.  In May, I wanted to increase my fitness, so I started the couch to 5k.  In September, I completed my first unofficial 5k.  In October, I completed my first 5K in just over 30 minutes.  I knew I could do better, so I signed up for another 5k in November.  This time, I managed to complete the race in just over 28 minutes.  Still yearning for better times, I completed another 5k in December, with a race time of 27:59.  Somehow, these races inspired me to train for a half marathon.  I'm currently seven weeks away from my first half.  I've created this blog as a way for me to keep track of my running.
A couple of goals for 2011:
- 5k race in under 26 minutes
- finish a half marathon in under 2:30
- finish a full marathon
- run 1102 miles