Lemmings

I live in Jersey and work in New York. Every morning I am rushing out the door, dropping my son to daycare and then commuting to the city. Every morning, Hubby and I are in a rush. Every morning, I get mad that my son wants more than 10 minutes of my time because I have to get ready. I'm not happy about it. I live for relaxed mornings with my family. I live for the mornings we bring Little Beast into our bed and cuddle. This past week was extremely stressful work wise and I worked a lot more hours than I usually do. I felt like I didn't get enough time with Hubby and Little Beast and I was really upset about it. That said, I enjoyed every single minute of my weekend and am spending all day with Little Beast on this rainy Monday.

So Lemmings? Where did that come from? For as long as I can remember, I've said I don't want to be a lemming, a follower, one who boards the train in a line during rush hour and stands in line to get off the train and go to work. I'm not one of those people, I'm not a lemming. But the truth is, as much as I hate to admit it, that I am a lemming. I commute to the city at least 4 days a week (because bills need to be paid after all) and I spend most of my commute complaining, to myself or to Hubby. The good part of the commute is that Hubby is there to complain with me. Is that the way to live life? I really hope not. Hubby is going to make a change soon enough and after he gets settled in his new career, I plan on making a change as well. I refuse to be a lemming all my life. I'm not a follower.

I've been having second thoughts with regard to my career and I've realized, last week made it official, that I'm not going to spend the rest of my life being a so-called Lemming. I'm going to do something I'm passionate about. Of course I need to pay my bills and save for Little Beast's college so I'll have to figure out a way to do all of the above.

With working so much last week, I didn't get much time at all to run or go to the gym. I worked on speed yesterday and ended up running my fastest mile to date - 8:30 min/mile! Woohoo! Hubby was my motivation since he is training to run his first 5K with me on May 19 and wants to complete it in under 27 minutes. Since we'll be running it together, I want to improve my time as well, and to be honest, I want to beat him! :) He is a lot faster than me so that's going to be really tough but I'll be happy with anything under 28 minutes. My first 5K last month was 30:44 so anything under that is perfectly okay with me.

In case you're interested, the shirts that Moms RUN This Town designed (as shown in my previous post) raised $28,000 for the victims of the Boston Marathon! I'm extremely proud of this. I'm still working on recruiting members in Edison NJ. Please reach out to me if you're in the area and want to be part of the group!

I have the next appointment with Trainer on Wednesday and then again on Friday morning. Starting next week, I will be meeting with her 3 times a week. In terms of running, I'm going to work on my 5K time for now so I don't envision too many long runs. After my next 5K, I will go return to my much loved long distance runs. Surprisingly, I felt more tired after running 2 miles at 8:30 min/mile than I did after running 6 miles at 10:00 min/mile! 

Until my next non lemming event,

Renita

My First 5K

On Sunday I ran my first official 5K. I woke up feeling nervous and excited. I got up extra early so I could have a couple coffees and have time to drop Little Beast to my parents since it was a frigid 30 degrees out! The time on the race website said 8:45 for the 5K so I figured we should get there by 8:15. What I didn't realize was that the race actually started at 9:45! Hubby and I were standing in the cold for a long time! I am especially thankful for how supportive he was. Not only did he help me warm up (which I have to admit, I'm not very good at), but he also put the chip on my sneaker and put my bib on. I don't know what I would do without him. I was so nervous, I could barely do anything!

Smiling before the race

After a LONG time, the race was about to begin. I stood towards the back so I could work on my pace. I usually run with an arm band and my Nike app on but this time I decided to go "naked". I didn't want to distract others with the Nike app. I started off slow and picked up my pace around 1 mile. By 2 miles, I was tired but knew I would make it to the end. When I saw the 1/2 mile left sign, I picked up my pace again. I assumed I would finish in around 28 minutes but my final time was 30:44.

Smiling as I'm finishing

Woohoo! I ran my first 5K!

When I finished, hubby ran towards me screaming and lifted my arm up. I am very lucky to have such a supportive husband. The poor man had to stand outside in the cold for an hour and a half before the race and then a half hour while I ran the race and he was still smiling! Thank you Michael, you're the best husband ever!

As far as my feelings post race, I was happy I ran the entire time. I lost a lot of training time because I was sick the entire month of February. I only had the chance to run 4 times before the race and the farthest I ran was 2.34 miles. So yes, I was happy I ran the entire 3.1. However, I can't say I wasn't disappointed that I didn't come in under 30 minutes. When I was actively training, I ran 3.18 miles in 29:56 (or something close to that) and I guess part of me assumed I would do the same during the race. I do know that I took it easy and just had fun with it. Overall, I think I have a good baseline time and am looking forward to improving it on my next 5K. There will definitely be plenty more! Another factor that threw me off were the hills on the course. I don't usually train on hills, I run around my house and it's mostly flat.

My overall race stats:
 - 101 out of 190
 - 14 out of 31 for my age group (30-39)

Right now, my goals are to work on my speed and train on hills. I would love to run my next 5K in 28 minutes or under. Hubby has decided to do the next one with me and we are thinking about running the Hair of the Dog 5K at Silver Decoy Winery.

I'm happy I have one 5K under my belt and am looking forward to many more. This summer I will also run at least one 10K prior to my half marathon in August. That's a lot of goals for the year but I'm determined.

Until my next run,
Renita

On the way to my First 5K!

Well what do you know? The title actually rhymes! If you know anything about me, you know I love rhyming. I write poems every chance I get - to my husband in his Valentine's day card, for my best friend's baby shower invitation, etc. Now I'm rhyming with running. Yes I'm a nerd, but I'm a happy rhyming nerd so that makes everything better.

My first 5K is in two days and I have to say I'm a little nervous. I lost a lot of time, basically the entire month of February, because of being sick, so I haven't trained as much as I would have liked. It took me a while to get to the 3 mile mark and after being sick for roughly a month, I found it difficult to get through 2 miles. It's only been about two weeks that I've been back to running and I ran over 2 miles today, 2.34 to be exact. I'm happy with it and while I know Sunday's 3.1 miles will be tough, I know that I will finish the race. I may finish slow but I will finish with a smile on my face.

I googled training for your first 5K and came across this article (can't find it at the moment) that said you should volunteer for a race before you run one so you know what to expect. While I think I would be slightly less nervous had I done that, I'm glad I didn't. The newness of it all is exciting and I wouldn't want to lose my initial excitement because I'm overly concerned about what to expect. I'm also looking at this race as my baseline. I can only get better from here on out. If I get really tired, I can slow down. If something hurts, I can stop. I'm putting absolutely no pressure on myself - except to finish the race. I hope I don't finish walking but I'll be proud of myself regardless.

Until my first 5K!
Renita

Lost Time

February was a very tough month in my house. Little Beast got sick, hubby was sick, then I was sick, and just when I thought I was better, I got Strep throat.

I finally went back to the doctor last week and said something didn't feel right. I'm on my (hopefully) last dose of antibiotics this year. This is the 3rd time I'm on antibiotics in 2 months! Let's hope this sickness is on its way out and I can return to focusing on my goals.

Last Saturday was the first time I went for a run in over 3 weeks. Needless to say, it was really tough for me. I did 2 miles in just under 20 minutes. My pace was off and I was exhausted. I also realized that the running shoes I bought recently were way too big. The salesman said to buy a shoe that's a 1/2 size bigger. Turns out the shoes I got were actually a full size bigger and just felt way too loose. We returned to the store Saturday and I was able to exchange my shoes for an 8 and 1/2 and they are perfect! The color also matches my running attire (yes I'm one of those girls) so it all worked out. 

My husband recently joined the gym again so I went with him on Sunday. I'm planning to join soon as well since I realize the combination of running and strength training is important. To be honest, I am very intimated by weight lifting, I don't know what to do nor how much to do and I always question my form. I'm clumsy, lanky and sit at a desk all day so posture and form have always been a struggle for me. Thankfully, hubby's a trainer (certified and planning on working as one later this year - if you're in Central Jersey and looking for one, let me know. Sorry for the sales pitch). He walked me through some strength training. After that I got on the treadmill for a 3 mile run. I stopped after 2 miles bored to death.  I have no idea how anyone can do half marathons and marathons on the treadmill. I'm serious, people actually do this. It's just so much nicer to be outside enjoying the fresh air. Next time I have no choice but to do a treadmill workout, I'm going to work on speed or intervals instead of just running. I spend my days bored at work so I absolutely refuse to have a boring workout.

In terms of goals, my first 5K is this Sunday. I haven't run as much as I wanted to so I'm sure my time will suffer. Luckily this is still my first 5K so I can use it as a baseline and work on improving my time. We all have to start somewhere. And remember that Bikram challenge I mentioned a while ago? Well...I didn't even go once! Between being sick and going through some personal things this past month, I just couldn't go. Which brings me to my next point. I think it's really important to spend time thinking of realistic goals. I'm a working mother who enjoys spending time with my family, two chubby dogs and alone time with my husband. Running 3 to 4 times a week is manageable. Strength training a couple times a week is also manageable. Attending a yoga class that is 30 minutes away for 90 minutes multiple times a week is not realistic. I could probably make it happen but life is short and I want to suck up as much of my son's air as possible! So I'm keeping the goals realistic from this point forward.

My plan is to run two more times before my 5K and I'm hoping to make 3 miles on my next run. 

Until then,

Renita

The Running Dead

This past weekend was relatively low key. Hubby and I had plans Saturday night for our belated Valentine's Day so Little Beast was with his grandparents. Sunday we caught up on house chores (fun!) and relaxed. I ran my first 5K on Saturday. It wasn't an official race but I ran 3.18 miles in 29:58 minutes. After I ran, my legs were killing me! I've been debating getting new running shoes - well running shoes in general considering I am using my everyday sneakers for running - but I told myself I would only get running sneakers after I could run 3 miles. So Saturday's run earned me a new pair of sneakers! We went to the local Run store in town - Runner's High and after trying on numerous shoes I decided on the overly cushy Brooks Ghost Sneakers. 

My Running Shoes

Sunday was my rest day, which equated to house work, planning meals for the week and organizing. If you think I do this every Sunday, you are VERY mistaken. My house is a happy mess. I'm not the neatest person out there but I definitely appreciate an organized house. I'm trying my best. I actually find that running helps me organize the rest of my life. How's that possible? Well because I take the time to schedule my runs and plan my routes, I have now found the time to plan other things. It's a win win situation. It's funny how you can actually make time when you once thought you have none.

Every Sunday night is the new episode of The Walking Dead. If you're laughing at me for watching it, you really should watch a show. It's not entirely about zombies. The show is brilliant with multiple plots and actually pretty emotional. Zombies are just the backdrop, or the icing on the cake - depending on how you look at it. Since the show is on at 9 pm and that's way too late for hubby and I, we DVR it every Sunday. We're both home today and caught up on it this morning. Wow! That's all I have to say. I'm not going to ruin it for those that haven't caught up yet but this episode was great! In fact, all I was thinking about on my run was zombies and running from them. Laugh all you want! It's freezing out today, with the windchill, it's around 13 degrees. I didn't go very fast and in all reality, a zombie probably could have gotten me (who am I kidding, there is NO way that would have happened) but I did go out there and run a 3 miler. My second one! My pace was 9:45 min/mile so I'm not too happy about that but I'll take it.

The other day, when I was researching things to do for Hubby and I on our 3rd anniversary in May, I came across a Zombie Run. It looked awesome. A mud race with zombies running after you! I'd be scared for days. Hubby and I are still thinking about it, it ain't cheap, but after my run this morning, we might just have to.

In other non zombie related news, it's less than a month until my first official 5K. Initially, my goal was to run it in under 30 minutes. Since that's attainable now, my new goal is to run it in 27 minutes or less. I am confident that I can make that happen.

Until my next 3.something miles,
Renita