Alice is a Runner!

I Love Running Outside!!!!!!!  And I love to use exclamation points!!!!!!!

I was worried that this run would make Hammy(my injured hamstring) angry at me.  I made sure I did a good warm up and paused a few times along the way to stretch Hammy. He is not angry at me tonight, which is a great sign.  On the other hand, my side is killing me. Ultrasound tomorrow to see if there is anything amiss.  Crazy.  

I took a different route from the usual and was very happy I did.  I was reminded again how changing it up makes me have an easier time running.  I ran past the Provo Tabernacle, one of my old apartments, and one of the softball fields I have played on many times.  It was like running through one of the many slices of my life.  It was nice.  

Did a real good cool down and stretch.  Now I am just being a couch potato and watching TV and finishing my book on my nook.  That is just fun to say.  I am hoping the weather continues to be semi-warm this week so I can get out and run some more! :)

Oh...and I bought a new pair of running shoes today.  It will be my third pair.  I am thinking I need them to be able to run back to back days.  My first good pair is actually almost due to be retired.  Weird to think I have been a runner for almost a year now.  Crazy! 

"Not One Thing Can Bring Me Down"

"Felt the sun shining on my face
It became so clear to me that everything is going my way 
I feel like there's no limit to what I can see
Got rid of fears that were holding me
My endless possibilities has the whole world opened for me
That's why I'm feeling...

CHORUS: 
I'm feeling so good
I knew I would be taking care of myself
Like I should 
'Cause not one thing can bring me down
Nothing in this world gonna turn me round..."

*From Jennifer Lopez's "Feelin' So Good"

 This song was playing during part of my run today and it felt so appropriate.  Running in a little warmer weather with the sun shining on my face just made my day.  It was a good run. I felt like I was running faster and wasn't stopping as much as I sometimes do.   I am thinking of adding more days but in the past when I have, I get hurt.  I am thinking I will start adding a Saturday run.  It will be short at first and then I will add a bit each week.  I think that would be a good start.  If it is warm tomorrow, and "Hammy" is feeling okay still, I might sneak in a mile or two.  I just can't resist when the weather is nice! :) 

January Thaw is My Favorite!!!!

 Cute little run.  I wanted to get out and run in the sun again and I know I will probably skip tomorrow because I will have a friend visiting from out of town.  Gotta get in what you can right.  It felt good to run two days in a row.  I went a little bit less today to try it out.  I think I will be adding a Tuesday or a Thursday run these days.  Or I have also thought that Saturday will be an add on too.  Whenever I get the chance I guess I will be adding the fourth run.  

 It was a Paramore kind of run.  I love them.  They get me excited to run.  Music is critical to my success, if you haven't noticed on the past few posts.  I smiled a few times during the run.  Once was when I was running past the old apartment of a friend who now lives in Logan.  The song blaring in my ears was something about everything changing.  Life totally changes in five years, doesn't it.  This friend is having an awesome life right now and it made me smile to think about her and how she is finding happiness on her journey.  I also smiled when I saw a man walking with a cane, but actually not using it and kinda stumbling along.  It reminded me of the man who finished just after me on the Run for Red 5k last year.  Even with the disability he was out there racing and not quitting.  The man today seemed to have that same attitude.  A limp wasn't going to keep him from walking around and enjoying the pretty day.  I like it; it makes me smile because if people in that situation don't give up and keep moving, so will I!!!

 It is late.  I should be sleeping. 

The Long Run!

So, I have decided to add a saturday run.  I figured that because I had a day off on Friday, I could add a four miler and be okay.  During the run, I totally thought this could have been a bad idea, but I ran through the wanting to vomit feeling and stomach squishy and it actually turned out to be a great run.  Today I am feeling good and that is the true test.   

I guess eating a pie shake and sweet potato fries is really not the best choice for a pre-run meal!  Even after digesting for two hours, I felt a bit sluggish and I do believe this is why I felt horrible between miles 2 and 3.   Next time, I will plan a bit better, but I had a friend in town and wanted to show her Sammy's, a really cool diner here in Provo!

It was pretty chilly on the run.  I really wasn't bothered too much by it.  Amazing how you don't get cold as long as you are moving.  I think it was good motivation to keep me moving. I am finding that I am walking less and less and running more and more and faster.  My regular tempo is now what my fast tempo was.  If I am running slower than 12 mph, I feel like a slacker.  Progress is great!  Most of the run I was at about a 10:40 mile.  Sometimes I checked and I was in the eleven minute range(mainly during the feeling like vomiting moments).  I am excited to see what a race day will do for my speed. :)  I am hoping to blow my PR out of the water come March 5 and the Run for The Red. At the end of the run, I actually thought that I could go longer.  That 10k is looking more and more like a reality.  And who knows, maybe a 13.1 run can be done! :)  It is crazy to think that at one time a mile was something that made me go: "I don't know if I can do that."  I am starting to believe that I actually can do anything!  That could be dangerous!  Watch out world, here comes Alice and she is a runner!!!