I did it!

I signed up for a 5K. It's not until September and Joe is running the half-marathon the same day. My goal is to run it in 30 minutes.

There's a local 5K in August that we both ran last year. I should probably sign up. We'll see. Oh and if you're following my progress, I've lost 15 entire pounds!

The results

The official times aren't posted yet but I think Joe and I came in at around 35 minutes. We looked at the clock when we crossed the finish line but it was counting the 10K time and not ours and we didn't know exactly when we took off after the 10K start. Sad!

Anyway, I wanted to run the entire thing but I broke down and walked for 30 seconds a few times... especially up the last hill. We did pass a few people here and there and even ran hard on the last stretch and crossed the finish line strong. I really held Joe back but we kept a reasonable pace and I don't feel terribly sore. All in all it was a success. And I got this awesome t-shirt. Too bad it's a youth-large size instead of the size I ordered. Stupid Run13 did not have enough t-shirts for all the competitors. You can imagine that Joe was thrilled when they gave him the same extra-small size shirt as I got. He'll look awesome in it.

Joe is already training for a half-marathon in September. This cartoon (sent to me by Hannah who saw it on Pedalingfast) pretty much sums up how I feel about that.


Incidentally, if you're anxiously counting down the days to the release of "Breaking Dawn", idle your time away with this awesome quiz by my friend Jenny. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I have NOT read the Twilight books yet. I have nothing against fantasy (I waited cheerfully in line with hundreds of other nerds for Deathly Hallows last summer). I don't necessarily dislike vampires and I love me a good romance but... I just can't get going on this one. My mother-in-law warned me that the poor quality of the writing would make me insane. So I cheated and read the Wiki-summary of the first three books to see if I was missing out on anything fantastic. Result: I rolled my eyes so hard I think I dislodged one of them.

Update: the official results were posted today


Your chip time is from when your shoe crosses the start line (you tie a timing chip to your shoe) to when it crosses the finish line, so it's your totally accurate time. Sooooo close to my original goal, I can't believe it! I'm really excited.

It's race day!

My first ever 5K is today. I am both excited and scared of being a wuss/looking like a moron. Have I mentioned that since I started running I've gained 8 entire pounds? If that's not motivating, I don't know what is. Keep those fingers crossed for me!

Destination... determination...

OK, it's official. We're registered for the July 24th 5K. I went to the website for the race yesterday only to find out that the first mile or so is uphill. Come on people! Give a girl a break!

So with one week to go, I'm trying to stay motivated, keep a positive attitude and tell myself that Joe is not going to run circles around me and leave me in the dust (it could happen).

Running update

3 - number of miles run (no walking!)
36 - minutes it took
1.5 - miles it takes before I quit hating it and wanting to stop
475 - calories burned
5.5 - speed I run on the treadmill
1 - speed that Minnie walks on the treadmill while I stretch
9 - days before our 5K

Running update

2 miles in 24 minutes!

Karma doesn't know jack

You may recall that a few weeks ago, I broke my husband's bike. Turns out that the loose chain got tangled in the spokes of the wheel and broke several of them, causing the tire to bend and twist-off center and become one with the brake pads. So yeah. Go me. Also he did not follow his own advice and hit the bike with a rock. He hit it with some tools instead. The result was the same: bike still broken.

Anyway, as a reward for not leaving the bike on the side of the road with a sign that said "Steal Me!" (only because I didn't have a Sharpie) Joe purchased me a brand-new bike.
Now, this is not a top-of-the-line, or even a reasonably-fancy bike. Joe is smart enough to know that I just don't care about those things. If a bike is as light as a paperclip, made from recycled lunar rovers or capable of breaking the sound barrier while simultaneously balancing your checkbook... I still don't care. Except for the "light as a paperclip" one. I would have made the kids carry the bike back home! Anyway, a wise man knows that if his wife had the money available to purchase a bike that could defy the laws of physics, she'd probably rather pay for a nice massage. Or a maid service.

This is pretty much the cheapest, boringest, base-model bike that WalMart had to offer. However it does have a suspension, comfy seat and (lest we forget) pink shocks. What more could we ask for?

The REAL question here is this: have I been mysteriously rewarded for essentially breaking one of his toys, or bribed to stay away from them in the future? In either case, what would happen if I were to, say, remove all four tires from his beater truck?

Hmmmm? I don't know. I'll keep you posted.

happy trails, etc...

jeri

Still running

1 week down and I'm still going strong with the Couch to 5K program. I can run one entire mile at a time (woo hoo!) but my 5K time is still 39 minutes. That would pretty much having me finish ahead of one-legged pirates (Avast, ye dastardly marathon!) and the elderly. Not the Physically Fit Elderly who speed walk and carry weights and do other things that are rad, but rather the ones with walkers and canes. Nevertheless... I would finish. Here are a few things that have helped me immensely.

1. Good running shoes - if you're serious about running a 5K, break down and get some good shoes. Running shoes are lighter than cross-trainers or all-terrains and have good arch support. They don't need to be The Most Expensive, just ones that fit your foot well and are comfy. These aren't my shoes... I just wish they were.

2. Water bottle - I just recycle a favorite sport-cap water bottle... if I can keep it away from my kids! They love it.

3. Music - I {heart} my iPod nano. I created a playlist of songs for when I run. Mostly I want songs that motivate me to keep moving - no relaxing tunes here! Here's what I have going this week:


Get it Started - Black Eyed Peas
Move Along - All American Rejects
Juicy - Better Than Ezra
CrushCrushCrush - Paramore
Mercy - Duffy
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Hey Mama - Black Eyed Peas
I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry
Pain - Jimmy Eat World
American Girl - Tom Petty
Kill - Jimmy Eat World
Geek in the Pink - Jason Mraz
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
How Far We've Come - Matchbox Twenty

Have some great tips? Let's hear them!

love, etc...

jeri