Another 5K In the Books

On Sunday, April 22, 2012, I was able to partake in my 3rd 5K. I must say I really pushed myself on this one. I ran the entire race and felt great after it. The night before the race I was able to realize that I am starting to enter a comfort zone and that 3 miles is no longer a challenge for me. In no way, shape, or form did I have any pre-race jitters or experience any anxiety like I did with my first two races.
Another thing I was able to realize, is that I am becoming a serious and competitive runner. At the race the timing system they used did not track each runner's starting time, therefore there was no net time at the end of the race. This excuse my language, really pissed me off. I like to know how well I do in each race so I can track my progress, them not tracking me from the time I crossed the starting line is not helping this goal. Also the course was marked wrong, it was 3.25 miles instead of 3.1 so of course my time ended up being longer, uggggh! I really felt some kind of way after the race and I can say I wasn't really feeling accomplished, I was a little down because my recorded time was 35:02, that means I didn't beat my last PR, and I have a strong feeling that I did beat it when I hit 3.1 in the race. Next time I know to make sure I set RunKeeper and Endomondo to 3.1 when I start the race. I am slowly but surely starting to put the race behind me and continue to train for my 10K next month. As of now I plan on doing it on May 20th. Since 3.1 miles is no longer a challenge I decided to do something about it and step it up! I shall keep you posted on how that goes.

Motivation

You see those two beautiful young ladies to your left? Well, those are my linesisters Carmen & Kelle! First let me start off my saying, I love them dearly, no matter how much time we are apart and don't communicate that much, when we are around each other it's like we were never apart. I started running with Black Girls Run at the end of January because I was motivated by my fried Stephanie, and I knew I needed to be more concerned about my health. Never in a million years did I think that I would get a text one night from Carmen asking me about BGR and what to expect. In my head, I was thinking were my posts on Facebook and Twitter the spark that lit her fire and interest for joining BGR ( I'd like to think so). Never had I been so happy to share with Carmen all of the great benefits and MAJOR support she would receive by joining BGR. Like me Carmen was a bit nervous about getting out there and being among some of the seasoned members, I just knew I was going to feel like an outcast and they were going to leave me behind...I reassured her it was a go at your own pace and build yourself up type of deal and that "no woman is left behind" no matter what time you finish BGR will be there waiting for you. So it truly moved me when I got the notification on Twitter that Carmen was going out for her first BGR run!!! What was even better what the text she sent "I had fun, think I'm gonna get addicted"......
I love sharing my experiences I've had so far along the way and sharing tips to help make running a lot easier and fun.
Now Kelle's notification was bit different, one night I get notification from Facebook that Kelle has posted on my wall. I'm thinking oh maybe she tagged me in something or is sharing a post. Well, to my great surprise she wrote.. "Guess who joined BGR???? Gone twice so far". The fact that she felt the need to let me know shows she's been following my journey and was motivated (once again, at least I hope that's the case lol). Either way I have two more friends that are on this running journey with me who I can share stories with and support.

You never know who is watching you and just needs to see someone else go out and take a chance. Ladies I wish you the best of luck on this journey to a healthier life. I'm here if you need me even though we are far apart, maybe one day we can do a run together........

No Running for the Weary

I had my first involuntary week of rest from running. My body (knees) told me they needed some time off. That was the most nerve wrecking week for me. All I could think about was omg what happens if this pain and soreness doesn't go away and I have to go to the doctor and find out that I tore something. This moment let me know that I had really become serious about running, and that it is now my "drug". A whole bunch of thoughts ran through my head, what if I won't be able to run and train for my next 5K next month or worse be out of commission for a super long time like some of my fellow running mates who have recently succumb to injury. So I was not going to have another "after school special" moment so I rested, iced and elevated my knees and wore a brace on the one that was hurting the most. Well, Friday I woke up with a feeling that I was not use to.... I felt no pain! Lesson learned is take advantage of rest days, one day will not hurt your progress...listen to your body and you will be just fine!

Mile Challenge

So today, out of boredom at work I said "let me see how many miles I've ran/walked, since I started my journey". Well folks the numbers are in, and to date I have covered 47.02 miles. So the competitor in me now needs to set a goal on how many miles I want to do before the end of 2012. Considering I was able to cover this amount in about 3 months, I've averaged 15.6 miles a month so by Dec 31, 2012 I hope to cover 187 miles.....let the journey begin, very excited about conquering the pavement!!

WAKE UP!!!!

I participated in my first early morning run today, 5:45am to be exact. When I went to bed last night, all I was thinking was am I really going to get up and do this? It's sooo early and I'm on Spring Break. After going back and forth with myself I set my alarm and went to sleep, with thoughts of I'll do it, and just go back to sleep when I get home (which I DID do). Two others showed up, thank God because it was super dark out there because of the time change, and boy did we had a great time. Something about the morning air made my run a bit more enjoyable and I must say I've never felt so refreshed after a run. I now have something to think about once I return back to work, if I want to sacrifice some hours of sleep to get in a better run. I have to be to work at 8am daily and we were done with 4 miles before 7 am, so it is doable. Now it's time for me to see how serious I am about running and it's looking like I'm officially addicted because if my crew can do this at least two mornings each week, I'll be in! I also want to thank my friend Shashu Franklin (in the pic with me) for pushing me to go the extra mile literally. I usually stop at 3 and today we did 4, a little more each time and I'll definitely be ready for my half. That's it for today, hope this has inspired some of you who dread getting up early because you love sleep like me, to get up and give an early morning run a try.

Some Like it Hot!?!

Some like it HOT!?! Well, even though I live in S. FL I hate being hot! However, I am quick to check out the latest workout crazes I learn about, as I partake in my healthy journey to a new me. About 2 weeks ago I checked out Bikram Hot Yoga, oh boy, the longest and worst 90 minutes of my life. Oh Apryl, you are being so drastic, but hey it was just too damn hot! I found no pleasure in working out in a 105 + degree room. I found myself wiping away sweat and slipping and sliding from my own sweat then actually being able to get the correct forms. I can honestly say I didn't get much out that class. Just when I was going to throw the sweaty towel in and say down with Bikram hot yoga, some ladies in BGR suggested Sweaty Fusion Flow. It's a milder hot yoga; 75 minutes and the room is not 105 degrees.

Today I ventured out and went to Sweaty Fusion Flow yoga and I have three words after going "I'm in LOVE"! I don't know if it was the change of temperature (the room is still warm) or the time difference, or it could've been our great instructor Mara. I really felt I got all the benefits of yoga that people are always talking about. I can't wait for my next class on Monday night, I liked it so much I'm even going to rearrange my Monday training sessions with my trainer ( he will get over it). Now some like it hot, this girl likes it warm, but I say try Bikram and Sweaty Fusion Flow and see which kind of girl you are!

If you live in S. Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Weston, N. Miami area) I suggest checking out this class http://www.danieldavids.com/yoga.htm the first class is FREE and they are willing to give you a discount on the classes you attend if you are a member of a gym on your second visit. Check it out and let me know how it went!

After School Special- NO GOOD

So one of my sister's nickname for me is "After School Special" if you are old enough to remember this show, it came on every day "after school" and taught us some kind of lesson...well I have yet to learn my lesson of eating enough when training, working out, or running. Yesterday, I knew I hadn't had much to eat but felt fine. I was like let me just eat a greek yogurt before this run and I should be just fine. Well, if things turned out just fine, I would not be here writing about it. I did 3.7 miles in 46 minutes, during this run I cramped up on my right side, but I was like ohh yes this is runner's pain (yes, I'm crazy) and I can run through this... no pain no gain!!! Well, after my 3.7 miles I was feeling just fine and waiting for the others in BGR to finish their miles. So every Sunday after our group runs we do a mini boot camp in the parking lot before we go home, I made it halfway through the 2nd set and was like "oh boy" somethings is so not right with my body right now. I took a sip of water and sat out the end of the second set thinking of this will pass. Well me being superwoman had to do the last set I just had to I'm not a quitter, long story short, my body made me quit! It took all of me to sneak away from the group and make it to my car. I have yet to learn how to drop the "P" and ride and let others help me so I muster up enough energy to drive, well nobody but God took my wheel, as I'm driving my eyes start rolling I'm assuming because all I started seeing was a little bit of the road and a whole lot of white. Luckily, I made it to the gas station on the corner into a parking spot. I laid their for at least 10 minutes thinking, 1.) should I call someone to come get me, 2). will I be able to shake this off and make it to Panera (closest place to eat) and put something in my system. I chose option 2 after resting up and composing myself and of course thanking God for watching over this fool!

This time really did it for me, guess the third time really is a charm, so take the advice of this "After School Special" please be sure to eat and fully hydrate before taking part in any vigorous exercising!

Just one of the many obstacles I'll face on my journey to my half marathon, I pray that this series will be canceled and that there won't be a rerun of this episode.