NSV Thursday!

Only shot we've seen from the race - kinda blurry but I love that we are all in sync!

Hello!  It's NSV Thursday!

Last week was insane and so I didn't get a chance to post - this week, I have just one big NSV:  I ran my Blood and Guts Obstacle Race and it was AMAZING!

The race consisted of a 5K and 11 different obstacles.  I was more antsy about the running part because I HATE cross country and that was probably the hardest part for me.  Even though I run, I am a very mental runner and it's very difficult for me to run in a group.  But my team was wonderful, these girls have my heart; they have been with me training side by side for four months.  They are both faster runners than me but they stayed with me the whole time.  I loved that we got over and through every obstacle together!  The obstacles were fun:  hay bales, walls, mudslides, pits of gook, tires (which I completely bit in on - smack down on my face - nice!  Hubs said, "Guess you're not trying out to be a running back anytime soon..."), more walls, lots of mud, zombies...The worst obstacle was actually the cargo net...that sucker was probably 20 feet high and I crawled up without any issues...but when I got to the top, I was terrified.  I could NOT fathom how I would swing my leg over the top and crawl back down on the other side!!  I froze!  The cargo net was not the most secure, and everyone that was climbing up was on the same net; so it was all wiggly...But my buddy talked me through it and I held my breath and did it!  I was shaking by the time I got to the bottom and ready to cry from relief but there was no time!

We finished in under an hour and I cannot say it enough but it was truly a super fun experience and one I would absolutely do again.  Even though I think we were ready physically, I am still bruised and sore almost a week later.  The weird thing:  I don't bruise easily so I'm pointing these suckers out to anyone who will look at them - my badges of honor!

Here are some pics, but we are still waiting for action shots to be posted on the site - that part is annoying...

After the race, we hit a great restaurant and celebrated with pumpkin ale - best beer I've ever had, lol...coulda had something to do with the fact that I needed that sucker badly, but it sure tasted good...

If you have a chance to hit up an obstacle run, I highly recommend it.  Very fun, and challenging and such a sense of accomplishment!  I can't wait to do another one.

Have a great week, everyone!

Oh!  And Happy Halloween!  Our race costumes are doubling as our Halloween costumes, today and we are Zombie Slayers!

My First 5K

Well, I did it.

9 weeks of training and I actually did it.

I ran my first 5K.

And I'm here to tell you it was the worst and one of the most amazing experiences of my life at the very same time.

The weather leading up to the race last week was STIFLING...it was in the 90s and SO humid, we were completely dreading the run.  The only good thing was that the race started at 8:00am and it wasn't going to get any cooler than that so we sucked it up.

My buddy, Roslyn and I got to Registration early and since it was our first time, it was great to not feel rushed about picking up our packets and goodies.  We had my veteran running friend Missy there to guide us along the way.  She even brought bug spray - so smart, that girl!  We bug sprayed ourselves and drank a little bit of water and warmed up. 

Pre Race Photo Op - We're all still pretty...

My nerves at that point were completely rattled.  The race was put on by the company I work for which meant that I knew a lot of the runners as well as the spectators.  I wasn't expecting that I'd feel so anxious about that, but I definitely was.  

We made sure to hit up the potty room right before the race and as we were walking back, our families and friends got there and it made me so happy to see their faces that I started to cry a little bit.  They even made a great sign for us - that meant so much!

Cutest Cheerleaders EVER - right???!

The race folks called us to the start line and my heart began to beat really, really fast.  I remember looking down and seeing that it was at about 136...then they blew the starting horn and we were off.  I had my music going, and my handy RunKeeper running...I knew I could do this.  I began running and was doing okay, except that my nerves were still completely out of whack...I kept trying to calm myself down but it was not working.  I was excited because my friends were doing so great, I could see them ahead of me and I was so proud!  This was a first for us!  Then, at about the 1/2 mile mark, my new handy dandy arm band holding my iPhone began to hit the start button which triggered the music to stop and start and the Siri beeps to begin...I swear to GAWD it did that the whole rest of the race...

So, I live in a part of the country that is very hilly...and I mean, you can't go 20 yards without there being some sort of hill.  But that's okay because my training is on hills, so I was alright.  However, at about mile 1 my heart rate was so high and I was so hot from said hills that I literally had to stop running and walk a little bit.  My heart rate monitor said my heart rate was at 189.  That is high.  Like way high...my usual high HR is about 178...that's when I know I need to slow my pace down.  Well, there was no slowing this pace down.  So I had to do exactly what I didn't want to do and that I swore I would NOT do:  I had to walk.  I cannot tell you the disappointment that I felt at that moment.  Everything that I had envisioned for this race went out the window.  I was defeated...I realized that I was last...I wanted to cry...and I was M. A. D.  You cannot imagine the thoughts that ran through my head.  I was mean.

When I could, I began running again and as I came around the turn for the first lap, my dear, sweet husband was waiting for me with water and a cool towel.  I just jogged up to him as he ran along side of me and I said, "I'm last...and I had to walk."  He said "Who cares, you are doing great, you keep going."  So I did...I kept going, and I ran for most of the way but by the time I got to the 2nd lap, I still could not get my heart rate down...I was dying...And at that moment, I honest to goodness thought about quitting.  You don't know me, but I am competitive...I am not a quitter...but I wanted to walk to my car and drive away.  I started to cry thinking about how far I still had to go...and then I saw my husband again and he knew exactly what it had taken me to get to this point and he just said it again..."Keep going, Jenn...You got this."  So, I did...I kept going and as I rounded the last bend, my buddy Roslyn (who had finished and was waiting for me), and another co-worker came to finish with me.  I finished at 44:46.

I ran across the finish line and apparently the words that I uttered were:  "I'm never fu$#%ing doing that again."  I say apparently because I truly and honestly do not remember saying that, but about 10 witnesses have confirmed.

Last Runner In :)

Anyway, that's the description of the "worst" part about it.  I've had time to think about things and go over what went wrong and what I did not anticipate was that my nerves would get the best of me.  I'm so upset with myself about that.  I had run almost 4 miles so many times without needing to stop and walk and I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to do it at the race.  That was the most disappointing part about it...

But here's the "amazing" part about it.  I am so stinking proud of myself.  I ran a FREAKING 5K...and no I didn't run the whole thing, but I estimated that I walked for about 5 minutes total...that's nothing!  And afterwards, my friends and I all just spent hours talking about how much it sucked...how hard it was for all of us (even experienced runners!)...how each one of us was feeling at any given moment during the race...what we felt like when we got to certain points in the race...and I loved every single moment of that bonding experience. 

We did it!  And look, I'm smiling....

Anddd...I can't wait to do it again.

Even though it sucked...even though it was hard...I cannot wait to do it again.  Next time, I'm gonna own that bitch.

I'm a runner ya'll.

5K Linkup - May 28, 2013

 

Wow...it's our last official linkup before the big day!!  I can't believe that June 1st will be here so soon!

 

I remember thinking that I had so much time to train and yet, here we are - 5K day is on SATURDAY!  I am so mixed with emotions, going back and forth between being excited and scared s*&%less...for the next few nights, I'm hoping I don't think about it because every time I do, my stomach does flip flops and my heart races a bit.

 

I know that I am ready...I've trained so hard to do this...I just wonder how I'll actually be on Race Day.  Everyone who has done this before says that Race Day is fun and exciting and that I'm stressing for nothing - I am completely banking on that being true!  I also hope that I'm hooked on 5K's after Saturday because I honestly have truly enjoyed becoming a runner.  I love that I get to say that I'm a runner.

 

Laura from Simply Healthy Mama posted this last week about Running Your First Race and it was so helpful!  Thank you, Laura!  Check out her blog if you get the chance, I love it!

 

The time has come to wish all of my 5K Linkup friends all the luck in the world!  I have greatly enjoyed this journey to the big day with you all - you have inspired me and kept me going the entire time and I'm so blessed to have "met" so many supportive people!  We can do this!!

 

I can't wait to report (and read all of your posts!!) about Saturday's race!

 

 

5K Linkup May 21, 2013

 

 

Hiya!  It's time for our Spring Training Linkup with Katie and Kim!

 

Whelp, now we are LESS than TWO weeks away from race day - GAH!

 

Last week I was freaking out a little, I'm a little better now, but I still get all butterflyish when I think about it.  I can't believe how close it is!  I'm still a little nervous that the entire course is on grass - I really, REALLY hope they mow it down as low as they can for us, but I'll have to prepare myself if that's not the case.  I haven't been back to run the course, but I have been training a lot this last week and I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to do the entire thing running (...she says over and over and over to herself...)

 

I have worked in sprints twice this week, including one extremely, horribly HOT and I mean H.A.W.T day...it was just awful and I had to stop, I couldn't do the whole thing and it made me so mad!  I got angry hot...like, um, mean.  Apparently, this gal is a much nicer runner/person when she has a nice cool breeze blowing on her...'cuz the 91 degree heat unleashed this angry bitchy chick and she wasn't pretty...

 

I ran 10.54 miles in the last week.  Wow, I just added that up and I'm pretty impressed with myself!  That equates to three runs, so I'm averaging 3.5miles a run.  Two of the runs, I was able to do the whole thing.  Those are the ones that are making me feel better about the race.  I've run a few full 5ks since I've been training but these newest ones are making me more confident about the fact that the race is A. Week. From. Saturday.

 

If anyone is interested, I found this article online about how to get ready right before the race and it was pretty interesting to read:

 

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/What-to-Do-Before-Your-5K

 

Oh, and this made me laugh so I had to share:

 

Google Images

And today is my honey's birthday - Love him!

 

 

5K Linkup - May 14, 2013

Well, Hello!!

It's time for our 5K Linkup with Katy and Kim!

Soooo, yesterday I got to thinking....UMmmm...my race is only 3 weeks away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm sorta freaking out a little LOT.

Am I ready??

Oh sweet Mary, I don't know if I am!???  I thought that when I actually completed a few 5Ks on my own I would feel better, but I don't.  I don't AT. ALL.

The weather has been awful here so for the past week I've been having to do other workouts (elliptical, treadmill) and even though I'm keeping my training going, those machines don't prepare you for running outside.

Yesterday we finally had a day that wasn't raining so I was able to run outside.  A few of my training buddies and I left directly from work and headed through the little town we work in to the city park.  It has a great paved track around it and I thought, "This is perfect!"  Well, it was really...BUT, this little track has HILLS...I mean it literally takes you up and down and around continuously.  There are very few recovery stretches.  The track is also slightly tilted because the park really kind of sits inside this little tiny valley sort of thing.  The track runs all along the outside and it tilts downward into the park.  I'm definitely feeling it today...

So, we ran once around it (about 7/10s of a mile), then did some circuit training after the first lap.  Then we headed out and ran the track twice and came back to do more circuit training.  Afterwards, we took the longer way back to the office and I ran the whole way.  All in all, I ran 3.45 miles, but it wasn't continuously since we took the two circuit training breaks.  We decided that next time we really need to work on doing the whole thing from start to finish - the few of us who haven't run a race need to know we can sustain our energy.  That park will be the true test because I'm telling you, it's HARD.  A few of the inclines almost stopped me in my tracks because they are so steep!  At one point my heart rate was upwards of 180 - yikes!

I'm so nervous thinking that the race is only a short time away - I just want to be able to do it!  I want to be able to run the whole thing.

Question:  When you run with a buddy, do you stay together or do you go at your own pace?  I've figured out that I need to get into my zone and don't do well with distractions...in other words, I do better when I'm running alone.  Not that I don't mind running with someone, but I concentrate on my breathing more when I'm focused and I can pace myself really well.  I wonder how things will be at the race...OMG, the race!!!  Did I mention it's just THREE. WEEKS. AWAY????????????????????

5K Linkup May 7, 2013

'Allo, Loves!

It's 5K Linkup time!

My running buddy and I got a copy of the map of the race course for our 5K so we took the opportunity to go out and run it.  You'll recall how I'm a planner and I've had some anxiety about the race for lots of reasons but mainly because I had no idea what I was up against.  We had high hopes but were a little disappointed because the map wasn't that clear and we sort of meandered the first go round.  We finally figured out the course and we were able to run the 2nd lap.  I have to admit, even though I have now seen the course, I'm nervous as HAY-AL about the race.  The course is very hilly, which isn't a super huge issue because my neighborhood is all hills so I'm used to running them, but the course is ALL grass.  As in not, even a trail.  On Saturday we went at about the same time the actual race will be and the grass was wet.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am clum-sy...with a capital CLUM.  So I'm looking forward to wet grass, hills, mounds and divots...please dear God, don't let me fall on race day, please don't let me fall...

I felt pretty good running it - even if it was slow to keep from twisting an ankle - but when I got to the end, I was dying...and I don't know why because I'm usually very good about pacing myself and/or slowing down when I need to.  I hope that won't be an issue on race day.

The other training we did was sprints.  And I have to admit, I think I like them better than running long distance.  Makes sense since in high school I ran the 100m.  We found some pretty flat ground (again, hard to do in my area) and we walked, jogged and sprinted for a full 3.5 miles.  This week, we are shooting for 4 miles.  It was great and a really great cardio workout!  Supposedly, it'll help us with speed.  Although, I really don't care about speed for this particular race.  My goal is to be in a running/jogging motion for the whole thing.  That's it, even if I'm just making the motions and moving at 3mph.

How was your training this week??

5K Linkup April 30, 2013

Good morning, friends!

It's time for an update on the 5K Spring Training Challenge!

Unfortunately, my update is that I got hurt, boo.  I'm pretty sure it happened last Tuesday when I was doing my butt exercises and I guess I got a little butt crazy because I woke up on Wednesday morning and my inner thigh/groin area was in a lot of pain.  I just thought it was from the squat challenge and that it was a sore muscle or something from working it.

So, that morning, I got up, got ready and I went out and ran 2.6 miles and it seemed like the pain went away.  I was so excited that I had the time to run and that I could go...I felt like a real runner.  I guess I still get excited about that.  Anyway, I went about my day afterwards, was a little sore, but actually ran that night, too and even ran in the rain!  When I woke up on Thursday morning, I could barely walk.  Again, I just thought it was sore muscles not an actual injury.  By the end of that night, I was in a WHOLE LOTTA pain and I finally accepted that I had actually hurt myself.  I was warned by my friend, Missy that I was to REST for a few days and take it easy.

Do you know what I do when someone tells me that I should rest?  I want to NOT rest.  So, I asked her, "What exactly does that mean?  No running?" and she said, "It means rest...as in try not to do much at all." and I said, "Like, not even walk??" and finally she conceded that easy walking might be okay.

Well...on Friday, I went out for my walk and I quickly realized that it was a BAD idea...and the worst part is that I didn't fully admit it to myself until I was about a mile out...which meant, I had to walk about a mile back...I'm obviously stubborn and can't admit weakness...is that a bad thing??  I know, I know, better to rest than to suffer a severe injury down the road.

SO, I had my first injury...and it sucked...and it sidelined me for the weekend and I still haven't run this week yet.  I plan to, though, tomorrow.  I feel great and I hope that I've given myself enough time to fully heal and that this little injury is behind me.  Because I have a race to train for!

Tomorrow, my buddy and I are going to do some sprint training.  Has anyone does this?  Apparently, it can really help when you're training.  Basically, you warm up for about 5-10 minutes with a jog, then alternate for 30 minutes of sprinting then jogging, then a 5-10 minute cool down.

I'll let you know how it goes!  Hope everyone has a great, injury-free, week!

5K Linkup - April 23, 2013

 

Hello lovelies!!  It's time for the 5K Challenge Linkup with Katie and Kim!  I'd like to thank them both for encouraging all of us to do this little thing because it has honestly changed me so much.

 

Well, it's official:  yesterday, I registered for my race - AHHHH!!  Sh*% just got real.  I think I was actually the first person to register; I guess I'm THAT excited to do this.  Even though every time I think about it, my tummy does a little lurch.

 

I also have another accomplishment from training this past week.  On Friday, I ran 3.8 miles in 48 minutes!  I really don't care about my time at this point because my goal is really just to run the whole thing so having two of my own 5K's under my belt is really beginning to boost my confidence.

 

When I started off on Friday, I just gave myself permission to do whatever I felt like doing.  In other words, didn't go with the mindset that I was going to run 1 mile, 2 miles or 3 miles; I was just going to run.  So that's what I did.  One of the things I've learned about myself during my training is that I am a morning runner.  I have tried numerous times to get some distance in an after work run and I just haven't been able to do it.  At about 1 mile, I just peter out.  So, it was a beautiful morning, kind of cool so I just went out.  I did a quick warm up of about .3 miles and then started running in my neighborhood with no real plan about where to go.  I have a lot of hills in my 'hood so I sort of tried to avoid those, but when it was inevitable, I just took them...sloooowlllyy.  My phone gives me updates at every half mile and I was a little surprised that it said that I was averaging 4 mph because that used to be my fast run; I thought that was kind of cool.  

 

I do have to admit, though, that at about mile 1.5, my little RunKeeper chick came on to tell me how far I'd gone and I thought to myself..."This succcckkkksss..."  I couldn't believe that I had been running for 17 minutes or so and I still had halfway to go.  I wasn't in pain, nor did I feel like I needed to stop so the only thing I had to keep doing was to keep running.  And that just made it suck more.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that in that moment, I honest to goodness just thought, "How in the HELL do people run a marathon or even a half marathon??  It takes for - e - ver!"  But, I sucked it up and stomped that whiny puss down and just kept on going...and I did it, I ran past my 5K mark and by that time, I wasn't at my house, so I just kept on running 'til I got home.  And when I looked at my phone and saw that it was 3.8 miles, I literally laughed out loud.  I mean, how in the heck does a chubby chick like me run 3.8 miles without dying?  Well, I've lived to tell about it so it can be done.

 

When I was done, I felt amazing.  I burst into my house and yelled to my dear Hubs:  "THREE POINT EIGHT, BABY!"  What I'm about to describe to you became my A-HA moment of the week.  I felt as good about that run as I do when I see a loss on my scale.  Honest to goodness feeling of euphoria.

 

YES, it was that good.  And that is why I made a huge decision (for me, because I'm addicted) about the scale that day which I will expound upon on Non-Scale Victory Thursday...so check back!

 

 

 

5K Linkup, April 16, 2013

Hi everyone,

This seems an obviously fitting time to say how sad I am for the folks of Boston and those lives that were lost.  What a terrible, horrible thing to have happened at a such a wonderful event.  The timing, the cowardice of those who are responsible - it just breaks my heart.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost and with the people of that great city.

With that, I'm dedicating today's 5K Linkup post to them.  Last night when I ran, I ran for those spectators and the marathon runners and everyone involved. I left my house with tears in my eyes and as I walked and ran, I did it with sadness in my heart but as a tribute to them.  Through strength and coming together good things will rise, I believe that truly.

This past weekend was a big one for me.

I have some huge news to share and I'm just going to get right into it.  I ran my own 5K.  I did it, I did it, I really, really did it!!

I started out with the plan to just try to get to two miles since last week I was able to complete 1.6 miles.  So my buddy and I did our thing and we were running along and then we decided to take a different route through this quarry area near our houses.  Well, it lead us back into a different part of our neighborhood which was kind of cool because we tend to stick to a set area.  And when I looked at my Runkeeper, I realized that all of a sudden, we had hit 2 miles - of course, I was very excited about that and we even high-fived!  Technically, I could have stopped there, right??  But it was on a decline and I thought to myself "Why stop now when I'm running downhill??  That's my favorite kind of running!"  So, we kept running and had a plan to stop at a point that would have brought us to about 2.5 miles.  But that put us at the bottom of a hill so we went the opposite way and by that point we had to go back through that quarry.  I just kept saying to myself, "Um, you planned to TRY to get to 2 miles and look at you, you're almost at 3 miles now - DON'T stop!  You could freaking ass do this, Jenn!!"  So, I did it...we got back to my house and I had run 3.35 miles in 49:35.

It was pretty awesome.

A cool part about it was that I didn't even feel like I NEEDED to stop while we were out!  I even ran a little faster than I have been averaging - I guess I was just so excited??

But the greatest part???  When I was much heavier - and back then my thinking about running was that it was the stupidest thing EVER - I used to have these very vivid dreams of just running.  Not running FROM anything or TO anywhere, just running and loving it.  Very Forrest Gump-y, right? That's the feeling that I felt on Saturday...an honest-to-goodness dream come true...I was runn-ing.

And it was amazing.  Today, I'm proud to say, "I'm a runner."

5K Linkup April 9, 2013

It's 5K Challenge time!

I was worried about this post this week...the reason being is that it's been quite a struggle for me to improve the past few times out and I was getting discouraged.  And I mean, pissed off-crying-discouraged.  I am in Week 5 of the C25K, and it was kicking my ass.  I could not do it and it made me angry.

I had no idea what kind of a competitor I am and it's not that I want to beat anyone else...I want to beat ME.  I have found this inner beast within myself since I began my journey and I can't believe how strong she is.  Mentally and physically I am not the same person that I was when I began 17 months ago.

Then came this challenge...if you ever want to know what you're capable of, begin running.  Is that weird to say??  Honest to goodness, in my case, it is true.  In the past, if anyone asked me if I wanted to run, I would recoil violently and squish up my face in disgust and say, "NO!!  Why in the HELL would I EVER want to do that??  Have you ever actually looked at a runner??  No runner EVER looks like they are having fun!!"  And following those statements, I would go on a rant about how bad I'VE HEARD running could be for your body - your joints get all jacked up and seriously, WHY would anyone want to just RUN?!!

Now?  Well, I'm a runner.  I can officially say this because just last night, I ran a WHOLE mile straight...in fact, I ran 1.1 miles, thankyouverymuch.

But here's the cool thing...I was getting discouraged this last week because I was trying to do too much too fast.  Instead of staying on my C25K path, I decided that I could just do what I wanted to and even though I didn't have any distance under my belt, somehow I thought it would be pretty badass to try to shave off some time.  THIS was a bad idea.  I mean B.A.D.  I couldn't do it.  I was dying after just a little distance.  My heart rate was so high that I couldn't catch my breath and it was awful, I HATED it.  I seriously began doubting if I'd be ready for my June 1st race.

Then, one of my training buddies sent me this great article from RunnersWorld(dot)com and it MAGICALLY changed things!!  Basically, what the article states is that if you are running, you should be running at only 55-65% of your maximum heart rate.  And I wasn't...I was running very damn NEAR my maximum heart rate and that's why it was so hard.  What did all of this mean for me?  I had to slow things down.  If you have been following my 5K Challenge journey, you know that I like to call what I do "wogging" - a combo of walking & jogging because I'm not at all fast.  NOW, I had to go even SLOWER.  But guess what?  It freaking worked.

So for the next few weeks, I'm going to work my training this way.  And THEN I'll see if I can work on shaving some time off - right now, I'm not going to worry about how long it's going to take.  My whole plan all along was just to be able to run the whole thing - I have no idea where I got it up my butt to try to do it fast.  But let me tell you, I have tossed that idea right out the window.

BTW - that mile felt amazing - my first runner's high - yayyyyy!

I love this quote; it's SO me and damn if I'm not proud to shout it to the world:

5K Linkup April 2, 2013

Time for this week's Spring Training 5K Challenge with Katie and Kim!

Wow...what a difference a week makes!  You may recall that last week's Week 4 of C25K required me to run for two 5-minute sessions - I'm happy to say that I completed Week 4 and I'm here to report about it!

But guess what I did this weekend??  My race buddy challenged me and instead of running when someone else told me to, she said to try to just run until I just had to stop.  In other words, don't look at my heart rate monitor, don't listen for my the nice C25K lady to say, "Begin walking", just run until I can't do it anymore and let's see where we get!  I have to admit, I was scared.  She had just run excitedly to my house not a few hours before to say that she ran a whole mile without stopping.  This is the same girl who hates working out, and has never even WALKED a 5K let alone run one.  How in the world was I going to do this??  I almost wanted to cry from the challenge to tell you the truth.  Here I was moving on to Week 5 in my training and I hadn't even run longer than 5 minutes straight...and THAT was hard!  I didn't even think about how long it would take me to run one mile.  The thing about my race buddy is that she is SO supportive...she's been supportive throughout my whole entire journey...and she was willing for me to set the pace, and we'd do whatever I could do; no pressure for me to keep up with her (clearly she was the expert having just run it!).

So, we set out...and I started wogging...and then I kept on wogging...and wogging...

I didn't look at my monitor, I didn't listen for the nice lady, I just found a comfortable pace and I ran.  I felt so good!  I didn't feel like I needed to stop and even when I hit a little incline, I slowed my pace (*cough cough* if you can call it a pace...) and kept on going.  My buddy said to me at one point, "How are you doing?  You good??"  I can only grunt and make guttural noises when I wog, so I grunted an affirmative.  As we rounded a bit in our track, my buddy said, "Let's just go to this stop sign up here and then we'll stop....how are you feeling?  You feeling good?"  Another grunt from me.  Then she said, "Jenn, I can't wait for you to see where you are when you finish....you are going to be so happy with yourself."  Well, that just made me want to get to that damn stop sign!!  SO, I did...I got to the stop sign...and then she said, "LOOK at your phone!!  See how far you went!!!"  SO, I looked...and wouldn't you know, the dang phone said that I had run .9 miles in 11mins 30secs...?!?  What??!!!  Then my buddy said, "A mile would just be up this little hill...you almost ran a MILE!"  In truth, I don't feel like I could have run up the little hill, even as excited as I was to have run as far as I did...I was dying by the time I got to the stop sign!  But still - the feeling was amazing...and my buddy, she was so proud of me!

So of course when you've accomplished something so huge, you want more, right?  Last night, I set out to do the exact same thing as well as add a little bit more of a challenge.  Strangely, I couldn't do the whole first .9 miles like I did on Saturday - I'm wondering if any of my blog friends know if that's normal?  I just couldn't catch my breath and it was HARD.  However, I did run/walk for a total of 4.2miles....and at the end of it I received this from my handy Nike+Running App...it feels sorta like a little medal of honor:

So my goal for this week:  I'm going to get to 1 mile - I can just taste it!

How did my fellow Spring Challenge buddies do this week?

Be sure to stop by my recipe blog, A Healthy Makeover, and follow me there, too!  Yesterday's recipe is below:

Thanks for stopping by!

5K Linkup March 19, 2013

I did it!  I finished Week 3 and I'm moving on to Week 4!  You may recall that last week I was completely stressing about how HARD that extra 30 seconds is...well, I'm here to tell you that it got easier...SO much easier!  And in Week 3, I had to run 3 minutes.  The first time, it was hard...but I did it.  I even got a little bit crazy and pushed myself on Day 2 to 3:30...and guess what?  I didn't die; that's pretty cool, right??

I actually ran for FOUR minutes last night.  I figured something out:  you have to find a sweet spot.  A speed in which you can sustain the longer period of time.  That speed for me is 4mph...laugh, I know, it's slow...but it's 1mph faster than my fast-ish walk, so that's pretty significant, right?  Short-stumpy legs, what can I say :)

I wasn't able to do any part of Week 3 outside, so I wonder if I can do the same thing off the treadmill; I'll have to see this week.

So, here's what I have to say to whomever is listening - this C25K thing?  It works.  I've heard from SOO many people that it does, but you really don't know until you do it yourself.  If you're thinking about it, try it!