Thursday, July 28, 2016

That was a New Experience



My BRF is out of town so I wasn't really sure if I was going to long run this past weekend. I still have flexibility in my schedule that I can skip a week here or there if I need to. I knew I was running a 5k on Sunday and really wanted to "try hard" for this so I didn't want to over do it on Saturday. I figured an easy 6 miles would be ok.
My newest running friend actually had asked me to join her if I wanted which thrilled me to death!! (My running friends are numbered as some still don't like me!!) She is a very SERIOUS runner/trainer (actually she does personal training in her home!) and follows a schedule like you are suppose to! I may try that one of these days LOL!  Anyway she said she was doing 14 miles @ 11:15- 11:30 pace run/walk 3/1....that sounded perfect for my easy run. Unfortunately when Saturday came her back was messed up and wasn't sure if she could run but would try. Yeah we made it about 20 steps and she was in pain but she still wanted to walk. Sure I will walk too that's no problem with me!! Well she trains with "power walking" during her training just in case she needs to do it in a race. I am NOT experienced in power walking and barely experienced in running. I almost had to slow jog at times to keep up! She kept telling me I could go on and run but I enjoyed walking and talking and learning things about each other since we have just began running together! I still got in my 6 miles power walking (she completed her 14 power walking!!) with a 14 min overall pace! **Bad blogger moment- I meant to take our selfie and forgot!!**
Later that afternoon the hubs and I went to Sams Club just to have something to do that was cool and inside since it was 100° out. While we was in there I noticed that my legs was a little sore mostly in my upper thighs hamstrings and lower butt. Sunday morning I had a 5k to run.....OMG I was so sore I could barely get out of bed!! From power walking??!! Maybe I need to do that more often! The 5k wasn't so well for me but I was still ok with my time considering my soreness and how crazy humid it was (Sunday was the hottest day of the year thus far!!). First mile was the best and way to fast and in the last mile I just kinda gave up and didn't care anymore I did find two little girls to finish with they was cute and funny! 3.12 mi 31:44

For whatever reason this week I have done NOTHING for exercise! I am really trying not to stress over it and enjoy a short little break like I feel like my body is telling me I need!!
How do YOU take breaks from exercise/running? Do you feel like it HELPS?

RUN HAPPY :)

Mindy & I
#RaceDaySelfie

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

The Long Runs


Last year was such a terrible year for me with running I just never got anywhere with it and got worse and worse as the year went on. The beginning of this year started that way until I decided it was time for a change! Granted I had trouble last year and early this year with my feet and legs but a few months ago I could tell that all of that was getting better that's when I decided it was time to change. Now I am back to normal running aches and pains you know the ones that daily ibuprofen fixes :) I have seen so much improvement in both my short and long runs and I am so excited about it!! Actually loving to run again!!!

Here's how my last three long (ish) runs have gone-

July 2- this was my first long run that was all by myself it has been a VERY LONG time since I have ran alone. I really thought I'd be terrible as I have a hard time pacing myself or making myself run any kind of speed I do so much better with a partner. But on this day I dragged my feet on getting up and getting ready so by the time I finally started running I was on a time schedule of having to take our daughter to work. I think that helped me have a much speedier run than I expected!
8 mi 1:19:38 9:56 overall pace


July 10-Thankfully this week my wonderful BRF(best running friend) was able to join me and thankfully it wasn't crazy humid and we slept in an hour longer (YAY!!!) David my BRF was really jealous of my 'fast' pace from the previous week but I told him I thought it was a fluke and on this day we was not stressing over pace. We had 8 miles on our schedule again at mile 5 it had warmed up more than we expected it to and was contemplating if we wanted to run 7 and walk 1 or what our pace was great hovering right around 10:15 and we didn't want to lose that. At the end of mile 7 we got the pace down to 10:05 and that tickled David to death!! SO we decided to run the last mile and run it as fast as we could! We ended up having to break it up into a few segments since we was sprinting I had to stop and catch my breath a couple of times BUT we knocked our overall average to 9:59!!! My watch didn't say the 9:59 overall but I had a little more distance than him however I will say this run was 8 mi with an overall pace of 9:59

July 16-After having several great runs I was afraid of this one. This entire week I felt exhausted and run down and just knew this would be a terrible run. I told myself to wash those thoughts out of my mind and just roll with it thankfully David wasn't feeling too speedy either. However we ended up not being to much slower than we have been we kept telling each other that we needed to slow down so we wouldn't skip out on some distance as we had 10 on schedule. We ran into our newest running buddy about mile 4 she was doing 18 miles and was doing run/walk 3/1, since we was starting to go downhill and wishing the run was over we decided to join her for a few miles thinking it would be a little easier with the 3/1. OMG that ended up being way harder on us than we ever imagined and WHY???  We went from running 10:30's to 11:30 to 12:30 I didn't think that last mile was ever going to be end!! Very thankful we made the whole distance we set our for and didn't back down!
10 mi 1:55:12 11:31 overall pace

What are YOU training for?  I am hoping for at least one decent Fall Half surely all this summer HOT training will pay off this Fall!

RUN HAPPY ;)

Friday, July 15, 2016

Have You Seen - Skinny & Co






I was recently introduced to Skinny & Co and I can NOT wait to try out their products! I am more and more becoming a believer in pure and natural products and love finding new ones to try out!

Here is a little info I have learned so far about Skinny & Co:
Skinny & Co. sources 100% of their coconut oil from their own factory 
Skinny & Co. coconut oil boosts metabolism, supports thyroid function, supplies energy to insulin-resistant cells, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and promotes oral health when used in oil pulling 
Skinny & Co coconut oil can be used as a one-for-one replacement for butter when baking, grilling, or cooking 
Skinny & Co. coconut oil is pesticide free and handpicked from the jungles of Vietnam
● Skinny Coconut Oil will last for at least 15 months, but could last up to 3 years if stored properly 





And look at the cute gift pack available

Again I can NOT wait to try some of these products out and share with you MORE about them and how wonderfully they are! 


Triple the Racing Fun- What a Weekend

So this was suppose to be a Three Things Thursday post but yeah well Friday works too :)


It has been a while since I have ran 3 races in one weekend or 2 in one day.  I was really curious as to how I would do especially since I feel like I am seeing improvement in my running.

First up was the  Bill Pollom Memorial Father's Day 5K   on Saturday June 18. This was held at our local Millennium Park. (Which is not an easy run but not so terrible do able run) My last 3 5k's have fairly  been consistent on time being 30:31, 31:39 & 30:38 so I was really hoping to break 30 even if it was 29:59. My first mile was way way too fast (8:43) as I was trying to be smarter and go out a little slower and not be dead for the finish but once I took off and was going I felt too good and couldn't slow myself down until after the first mile of course. I tried holding that pace or close to it until I hit the big hill, that is the only spot that I walked more than I really wanted to but that hill is a booger! (I will conquer it though!!) I knew I was slower in mile 2 (9:34) & mile 3 (9:58) but I ran most of them and if I walked I only took a few steps. I had no pacing whatsoever I was all over the place I kept hoping/thinking someone I knew would get up beside me that I could pace with but that never happend. I was totally THRILLED & SHOCKED when I finished with a 28:33!! I think it shocked my friends too :) And I was 2nd in the age group!!
Right at the end of the 'toofast' first mile!
Cruising into the finish




Second was the  Saturday June 19 
Last year this was a really fun but extremely HOT night, this year they had it a month earlier and started 30 mins later. All of that was a tons better!! I am not really sure why but the crowd was lots smaller this year for this race. My #BRF David said we had to do better than last year (10:55) so he wanted 10:30 or less for an overall pace. I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to do that since I ran so well that morning. However it was easier than I thought it was going to be I still struggled a bit in places but overall I was happy with both of us and how we ran. And what do you know we averaged 10:21 by my watch but David had 10:18!! Our finish time was 37:52





Last but not least for this racing/running weekend was the 
 Father's Day 5K Run For Prostate Cancer
Why in the world they would have this race in summertime in the middle of the day is way beyond me, in fact they would probably get more registrants if they changed things up a little. But anyway there was only 19 people pre registered for this one and I think they ended up with about 25 finishers. I told myself before I even got there to not worry about my time/pace since it was my 3rd race for the weekend and I am just now starting to run decent again. My first mile was a little too fast for me with the heat and my legs was tired in the second mile. In the last ½ mile a lady with a stroller passed me I again told myself its ok I am on my 3rd race of the weekend, its HOT, my legs are tired and there is only about 25 people. Well that thought lasted until I could see the finish line and I decided I wasn't going out like that and I sprinted as fast as I could and passed her of course. I about paid for it too as I felt very ill and almost had to puke....love it that shows how much effort I put in :) Come to find out it didn't really matter anyway (except for my own well being) because they didn't do awards. This one was a little bit slower than I really wanted but I will still take it 31:11 since I was still under a 10 min pace!

Geez that was a HOT run! 

What is on YOUR training schedule? I am currently training for the KY History Half in September!

RUN HAPPY ;)

Monday, July 11, 2016

Another Week(or 2 or 3) Gone....



Can anyone else believe how crazy fast this year has gone by?!?!?!! Goodness we are already half way through 2016 and it seems like it just began yesterday!
So I told myself I was going to keep up with this whole blogging thing and here I am behind again. I (think) have a few pretty good excuses to be behind though.

Here's what has been keeping me busy the last few weeks:
On June 20 our youngest daughter FINALLY went for her drivers' permit! Our oldest daughter (22 years old)doesn't drive and to be truthful it's probably a good thing!

This one though.......she is going to be Hell on Wheels (sorry for the language!!)! She has probably been ready to drive since she was born! Its funny how your kids can be so different! I was worried about her passing the written part testing just isn't her thing
                                                                    BUT.....
                                                     YEP she PASSED!!
And the girl can drive pretty darn good!! She has been working at a local Marina since she was 14 and they have golf carts & ATV's that she has been driving since then so technically she has been practicing for a while now. Now she just has to wait 6 months and get her full license.....Watch Out Streets!!!


Then on June 23 we had a terrible evening thunderstorm. We heard a fairly loud noise and one (out of 4) of our cats kept on meowing like crazy. Didn't really think much about it. Then I went to try and get the outside cat in (she's usually under the truck right by the door) and I had to do a double take.....
There was a tree in my driveway!! Guess the cat was trying to tell us what was going on and we just wasn't paying attention!

 Needless to say that was a weekend worth of work! The funny but not so funny thing when we saw the tree in the driveway it knocked down our cable line and my husband said "WOW we still have cable though!" About that very same moment.......Zap there went our power!!! I looked at him and said "But we still have cable LOL!!" We ended up not having power all night and half the next day GRRR!!



How are things in YOUR neck of the Woods??

RUN HAPPY ;)