Lets make this a regular thing, shall we?

Distance run: 2 miles
Time taken: 20:11

I'm not in the mood to write out a summary of my run and why I did/didn't do well. I ran, and I ran further than yesterday, so that's pretty good.

Looks like I have everything under control.

Well, at least I'm running again I guess...

Distance run: 1.5 miles
Time taken: 15:26

I'm such a loser. I haven't run for six days, and the best distance I can muster up is 1.5 miles.... Which is roughly 2.4k. I mean, I coulda gone for longer, but I just couldn't make myself stay on the treadmill.

I went to the gym fully intending on running 3 miles, and getting back on track, but I didn't. This half marathon is getting closer and closer. I'm just a little discouraged.

Try again tomorrow I guess.

Its getting closer and closer!

Distance run: One mile.
Time taken: 8:53
Also did an abs workout.

So today, I decided to challenge myself again. I have been doing that a lot on the shorter runs lately, and I am going to need all the challenges I can take because Saturday I am going to run FIVE MILES!

Anyway, I did a really really good mile, but still had juice afterward, so I did a quick abs workout, but nothing too intense. I added in some pushups too because I have been ignoring my upper body a lot lately. That is all for now.

Just squealing in.

Distance run: 4 miles
Time taken: 44:24     

So, my goal today was to try to keep on pace with ten minutes a mile, but at the very worst, to get in under 45 minutes. I had to slow down to a walk more than once on this run. I blame dehydration. I've been finding it a huge challenge to drink the amount of water that I'm supposed to, and honestly, I didn't drink water at work today at all, only coffee.

I take this run as a success though. My goal is just to finish the half marathon after all, so time is less of an issue than completion.

The photo is of some of the goodies I'd mentioned in earlier posts.

Today is St Patricks Day!!

I'm not going to be home tonight, so I'm also not going to the gym.

I had all these good intentions of doing an abs workout before I left for work today, but now with 20 minutes to go until I have to leave, and none of my holiday makeup on, I really doubt the chances of that.

I will do my best to be on very good behavior tonight, because I know that after work tomorrow I am first going to see the house I am house sitting soon, but then after that, I want to do a run, or at least a workout of some type. If I don't get a run in tomorrow, I'm going to have to suck it up and do it after work on Saturday before going out. Blehhh. I didn't think having a training schedule would be so much work.

If I could run.... One mile?

Distance run: 1 mile
Time taken: 9:40

Ugh... So I had a bad day today.

My plan was to wake up at 7am to give myself ample time to go to the gym and get a nice good run in. Of course, I didn't get out of bed until 7:45. I had to be on the bus by 9:50. Suffice to say, I didn't have a lot of time to run.

But, I did have some time. So, I ended up planning on going 2 miles and halfway through realizing I didn't have time, and picking up the pace lots. I wish that this would have been more distance, but that is okay. Friday will likely be my distance run, because I know for sure that I won't do it Saturday, and I know for sure that I won't do it tomorrow. So I'm saying if I don't do it Friday, it won't get done at all, which is a little scary!

Late night... Early morning.

Distance run: 2 miles
Time taken: 21:36

This is a photo of me from about a week ago. I took it so that at the end of my training, I can take another one, and see any changes that might have happened in my body. I think I look weird in this picture, but its the best one that I have right now.

Anyway, last night, I went and ran just two miles, because I KNEW that I had to do something, otherwise there was no way I'd be able to run my distance. I have decided the only day for that is Friday after work, or maybe Saturday, but I am busy that evening, so it would be a little difficult to fit it in.

Clearly, this was not my best run, but that isn't the point. The point was just to go out and do it, and I did. I am actually about to go and run again. I hate to space them so close together, but I don't see how its going to get done otherwise. I don't work until 1pm today, but I have to go meet with my LARP group to discuss the next game. This is what happens when I have too much going on.

Oh also, yesterday I went and got myself some more MTG cards, so soon I will be able to build more decks, and slay all of my enemies! I also got some groceries from the organic grocery store and also from this ethnic place... Overall, I would say it was a good trip.

As a teaser for later, here is my first photo! Its is of my shoes, obviously.

Distance Achieved

Distance run: 3 miles
Time taken: 31:58

So, obviously my pace was a little slower today. Three miles is the furthest I've managed to go so far in my training, and I did complete the entire distance. After two miles though, I really started to ease off the speed, and eventually at 2.75 miles, I had to take a quick walking break for about thirty seconds.

At the end though, I felt okay. So I think that my lesson was that even if I had to slow down, I probably didn't need the walking break. Learning experience I suppose. Anyway, I am proud of myself for having run so far, especially on a work day!

Rest Day.

Today my big plan was to do an abs workout after I got home from work. Then, I got invited to watch a two hour movie, and my shift was over at six.

Two hour movie turned into a several hour hangout, which was just as well, because I hadn't eaten supper yet anyway. We had a cheese soup, and also several snacks from my recent trip to the nearby organic grocery store. Let me tell you, these were some of the best snacks I've had in a long time, and will definitely be repeat buys. Definitely. In fact, lemme recommend to you Sahale Snacks "Soledad" nut blend. It blew my mind.

Anyway tomorrow is my distance run, which I plan to do before work. So, I figure that I can do a quick abs workout before I do my run. That should work out fine... I hope. I will strive to be at the gym at 10:30 or so, which should give me plenty of time to do any extra workout I want on top of my run. I'll let you know how it goes.

OH NO! I just realized I forgot my water bottle at my friend's apartment. Damn.

Success!

Distance run: 2 miles
Time taken: 19:42!

I have run two miles or more a few times now, and I know that I can run it comfortably at a pace of just over ten minutes a mile. Today, I challenged myself to try to run the same two miles in under twenty minutes. As you can see by my distance and time, I achieved my goal. I was super zapped afterward though and had to go lay spread out on a mat instead of doing a recovery walk. I'm glad the gym wasn't busier!

Going over my older posts, I can see that I beat my old best time by a whole minute! This is big news for me because now I have no excuse to let my pace fall below 10:20 (my usual pace) for longer runs, and I will keep this in mind on Thursday when I run my 3 miles!

Tomorrow is a rest day for me, but I have decided to do some ab workouts 3 times a week, and I'm going to try to fit those in on my rest days. It is nothing serious, just some quickies, and it won't interfere with my running at all. In fact, it will likely make it better.

P.S: I didn't get a stitch today when I was running! This is a very good sign!

Lazy running.

Distance run: 2 miles
Time taken: 22:06

Today it said to do 2 miles at an easy pace, so I was pretty lazy and set the speed to 2 notches slower than I usually go.

I've realized that I will have to just do workouts on days that are convenient for me, and that they will be different every week. The reason for this is that I have a very varied schedule and unfortunately it isn't realistic to do my long run on the same day every week. Still my plan will help me because it will give me an idea of what to do, even if it won't tell me what days.

Running and running and running.

Distance run: 2.5 miles
Time taken: 25:57

My abs are still sore from that workout I did the other day.

Anyway I managed to wake up, recover from a hangover, go to see Rango, clean my apartment, and get a run in today. Overall, I feel pretty accomplished.

Nothing crazy today, but the run was very difficult due to dehydration. I think it was half because of partying last night, and half because I didn't drink much water today. I was hoping to do 3 miles, but ended up stopping at 2.5 because of fatigue. I don't think it would have been much of an issue had I drank enough water today.

Also, I could probably avoid the stitch I got in my side about 2 minutes into the run. They go away after a while, but they aren't fun.

Today was supposed to be a rest day...

I don't know how far I ran, or how long it took, because I did things a little differently today.

My plan was to do five sets of running fast for a quarter mile, then recovering for one minute. Then, I was gonna follow the sets with one mile of running at an easy pace.

That didn't happen because I totally burnt myself out, thinking I was speedier than I actually was. I made it through three sets, then I gave up. Instead, I did an abs workout, because I didn't want the day to be a total failure.

Don't expect me to run tomorrow because I am going to a concert. That's why I gave up my rest day today! Now I know for next time that I am not Flash Woman (if she exists), even if I only have to keep it up for a few minutes.

Back on track!

Distance run: 2.5 miles.
Time taken: 25:24

After a hiatus of about four days, I am still a little sick, but I am definitely feeling well enough to run. So, today after work, I hit the gym. I decided I had better run at least 2.5 miles because I lost so much time to being either sick, or lazy, or both.

I didn't get to the gym at the time I wanted to because I forgot my gym bag at work and had to run back for it, causing me to miss the bus. It was a whole half hour til the next bus, but it could have been an hour, so I guess I'm lucky.

The extra half mile felt so long! I was sweating a lot by the time it was over, and breathing hard. But, I did it once and I know that I could do it again. I am more than confident I will be able to make my 3 mile run in a few days, and then a 4 mile one the week after. 5 miles still seems a long way off for me, but I know that I won't have to do that for a couple weeks yet.

As a treat, I have gotten myself some chocolate peanut butter cookies,  and also a savoury croissant from a bakery across the street from where I work. This croissant is unreal. It has spinach and feta and sundried tomatoes, and the pastry is soooooo light and yummy. It is the ultimate motivator for me. I also picked one up for my roommate, who is currently at the gym finishing her run for the day.

She is just starting to train now, so I don't think she will be running quite as far as I did today, but will probably catch up to me in a week or so.

Tomorrow I work the same shift, so I'll probably go to the gym again tomorrow to run the same distance, but hopefully in less time!