It's the weekend!

The lack of blogging this week is due to work overload. The lack of running this week is due to the evil Arizona sun.

Yesterday I foolishly tried to run at 8 AM, when it was already in the 80's. I got one mile in and decided it wasn't worth it. Today I went out for a run at 5:30 AM, and got in a great three miles. Still pretty warm, but I didn't have to deal with too much sun.

I refuse to let the sun keep me from running. I've already googled a calendar of sunrise times from now until September, so I know exactly when to run before the heat sets in. I'm not looking forward to running at 4:30 AM, but don't we all do crazy things just to get in a run?




I have no knitting pics to post. I'm currently knitting a gift for my friend's birthday, and since she reads this blog, pics will have to wait. But I did knit up another wee tiny sock for a swap that I'm doing. This time I put it on a tiny sock blocker key chain.





Anyone up for a weight loss challenge? Go here to join the Independence Weight Loss Challenge! The awesome Viv and Karen are holding a weight loss challenge for June, and there are PRIZES involved! Are you in? Hurry and sign up before June 1st, and let's cheer each other on!




Hope everyone has a great weekend and good luck to everyone racing. For Nancy, Viv, and Anna - I know you will run like the wind at your races! Go! Go! Go!

Cool weather + AWESOME running buddies = A NEW PR!

It's been unseasonably cool and rainy here the past few days. It's usually triple digit heat by this time of the year, so I was thankful that it was cloudy and cool this morning for my 5K.

Funny how a 5K race doesn't require any big prep work anymore. The race didn't start until 7:30, so I took my time with breakfast before getting into the car to get to the race.

I met up with Karen and Lisa in the parking lot and we went to go pick up our timing chips and numbers. If you think these ladies' posts are funny, try hanging out with them and not laughing. It can't be done. I think at one point my abs hurt from laughing so much.

After putting our numbers and chips on, we made our way to the start area. This race was handicapped by age and gender, so it was a little chaotic at the start line. We finally got to the front and off we went.

My pace was A LOT faster than my training runs. I didn't really pay attention to my split times. I knew a PR was in sight, but it wasn't until afterwards, when I looked up my previous 5K time, that I realized how fast I had run.

5K
Official chip time: 34:19 A new PR! (previous time was 39:09!!!)
10:58 min./mile

Me, Karen, and Lisa after the race
They ran out of water, so we were forced to drink soda!

Thank you and congrats to Karen and Lisa who also PR'd today! A great run with amazing running buddies and a PR! What more could a runner ask for!

And she's back!

Thank you for everyone's get well soon wishes. My stomach is back to normal, and I think I gained back those two pounds I lost while having the stomach flu, but oh, well.

Yesterday I went out for a 3 mile run, and it was a great run. The rest really did me some good because it was my fastest 3 miles so far.

Tomorrow I'm running a 5K with Karen and Lisa. Hopefully I'll have a new PR to report back to you.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. To Kai, Nat, and Amy - You gals will rock this weekend and I can't wait to read your race reports!

M.I.A.

I've been MIA for a little while. We were in Boston over the weekend for my cousin's graduation, and wouldn't you know, I caught a stomach virus while we were out there. I did manage to get in a 3 mile run before the virus hit, but our grand plan to run 6 miles along the Charles River did not happen.

My stomach is just now getting back to normal. That paired with jet lag just wouldn't let me get out of bed this morning to get to boot camp. So I haven't done any running or workouts in five days. I hate feeling this way but I suppose if I don't listen to my body now, it will probably just take even longer for me to get back to 100%.

I did loose two pounds and got to eat Maine lobster, so the weekend was not all that bad.

While we were in Boston, (and before the stomach virus hit me), we went to Finale for dessert. If you are ever in Boston, this is one place you MUST go to. We ordered the Whole Nine Yards and it was so yummy.


These are the socks I knit up for my mom for Mother's Day. I used Flat Feet yarn from Conjoined Creations, and just did a simple 3 by 1 ribbing. I think any other pattern probably wouldn't look right because the colors were just so rich and bright.


Hope everyone is having a great week!

6 is the magic number!

Quick post -

6 is the number of miles I ran on Sunday (actually 6.2).

I went shopping today for new pants. Can you guess what size I ended up buying? Can you guess what size actually FIT me? Yes, that's right...SIZE 6! It took me a few minutes in the fitting room to realize that I was wearing the smallest size I can ever remember wearing. I at first thought it was a fluke, because you know brands tend to run differently - until I went to another store and the size 6 from there fit me as well!

We're off to visit family so happy weekend everyone!
Oh, and good luck to everyone racing this weekend. Java - I know you will ROCK!

10K on the 10th

Plan A was to meet with Karen yesterday and do our virtual club run. But that was before the stomach flu got a hold of Karen. My hamstrings were sore from boot camp this week, so I made Saturday a rest day and went on to Plan B - run the 10K race today. Hopefully the race director, Nancy, won't mind. She's cool like that.

So I got up at 4 AM, ate two pieces of peanut butter toast, and was out on the road by 5:45 AM. I knew right away that this would be a difficult race for me. My hamstrings were still tight, and at times my legs felt SO HEAVY. The evil sun was already out. But I was determined to finish.

I chose a flat course this time, and after a couple of miles, I found my groove. I stopped to stretch a couple of times, and before I knew it, I was at the 5 mile mark.

Now, I've never hit "the wall" so I don't really know what that's like, but I think I hit it today. Once I hit that 5 mile mark, all of a sudden I felt like I just didn't have any more energy to finish. I'm not sure if it was my sore hamstrings, or if I just ran out of gas. I started telling myself "You are going to finish!" I walked a little more, and kept going.

Running is always a mental game for me, but even more so today. The mind prevailed over the body again, and I finished at 1:19, which is a NEW PR for me!

Special thank you to Nancy - our awesome motivator and race director.

Hope everyone has a great week, and happy mother's day to all the moms out there!

A Run in the Desert

Today I went for a run and decided to take some pics along the way.

Saguaro Cactus

Going up the long hill

Cholla Cactus (also known as Jumping Cholla Cactus)

Still going up that hill...

Prickly Pear Cactus

After 1.75 miles, I finally get to the top of the hill.

I went around a 4 mile loop, so of course, after going down the hill, I had to run back up to get to my goal of 5.5 miles. It was a little warm (65 degrees) but still a great run.

I am just about finished knitting another pair of socks and will have pics tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great week!