6 Miles Strong

I don’t know about your part of the country but here in central Virginia we are being spoiled with some amazing weather this week. Today, I left work and walked out into a gorgeous sunny evening complete with blue skies and a gentle breeze.

I thought it would be the perfect excuse to ditch the gym, visit the trail, and work on my speed and intervals for the upcoming Beauty and The Beast 5K I have coming up at Disney. I texted a pal earlier to chat about my feelings surrounding this year’s Princess weekend at Disney. I truly thought I would feel more disappointed about not running the ½ marathon this year but after today’s run I know I did the right thing by focusing on health and weight loss this year versus training for events. During my run tonight I had some time to reflect.

I know that I am a pretty slow runner and that tonight’s accomplishment might not seem like much to some. However, for me it was huge. I ran a solid 6 miles (and change) while keeping a 12-13 minute mile pace the entire run. I would love to one day run/walk at a 9-10 minute pace but for me today was a victory. I am not even sure how it happened exactly. I hopped off road and ran my usual loop. Instead of taking the short paved path (1/2 mile or so) back to the car I just turned around and re-ran my loop in the other direction.

I will admit that the second loop was mostly downhill as the first loop was mostly uphill. I was able to gain a lot of speed during the second loop (and confidence) and found that I continued to run at a greater speed not only downhill but also on the flat surfaces as well as the inclines. I listened to some cheesy old school jams (Ice Ice Baby, Pump Up the Jam, Can’t Touch This and other fabulous lame early 90s tunes) and sort of zoned out. If the sun hadn’t threatened to set on me I might have even attempted to do both loops a second time. It’s one of my goals for the future for sure. When I finally made it back to the car I felt incredibly tired, content, and accomplished. I can honestly say, I think, it may have been the best run I have ever been on.

I know that my co-workers, especially my very patient boss and my across the hall pal, are probably sick of hearing me sing the praises of Bikram yoga every single day but I am fully crediting those classes for my new found running ability. I used to write a lot about how my legs were willing to carry me but my breathing was “spazzy” and all over the place. I feel like I have more control over my lungs, breathing, and just my body overall. This revelation makes me so incredibly excited to continue running and practicing yoga.

After this epic (well epic for me) run I was pretty much starving. I came home and made one of the hub’s faves, cashew chicken and brown rice. I am finally settling in to finish up some school work and bond with my TIVO.

What does your weekly workout routine look like?

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Run On

Saturday Morning and its beautiful here in Virginia! The hubs and I woke up for the first time in at least a month with NO alarm clock. It was so nice just to ‘sleep in’.  I cant really call it sleeping in because we are pretty much always up by 8:30 these days. That is one of the major things that changed after moving in with the hubs. I used to be a super late sleeper.  But we were up and Bry asked to join me on my run. I love running with the hubs but it was just too hard to get our schedules synced during the week. Sooo, I was pretty jazzed for this morning’s run.

Before heading out Bryan suggested some high fiber oatmeal, bananas, and honey. It is easy for the body to break down, has potassium from the banana, and natural sugar from the honey. It was filling, yummy, and comfy on the stomach during the run. Nothing is worse than eating something and having it feel like rocks in your belly during a workout. This was great.

We went right to the trail where it was already starting to get a little too warm for my liking. We started on the pavement. This is where I normally run so I was in my comfort zone. Bryan said my pace was “really motivating” him to “kick it up” so I was feeling pretty good.

A couple weeks ago I showed you pictures from my paved trail run so today I thought I would show you my little off road adventure with the hubs.

This is one of my favorite runs because of just how beautiful it is. It is one of my least favorite runs because it is crazy hilly. When the hubs and I started running this together months ago we were walking most of it, gasping for air, and generally worn out.  It’s crazy how things have changed. I was still gasping for air, but let me explain.

As you know my hubs is doing the p90x program. I don’t know if it is him getting stronger or just more accustomed to working out but he was out of control today. Bryan does like to coach me a little when we are working out. He biked the MS 150 a few years back and gets really dedicated to his fitness programs. Instead of just jogging today he had me jogging, running, sprinting, marching, stretching, and lunging in intervals during our run.  I am not going to lie it was rough. I was pouring sweat and gasping for air but at the same time it was kind of awesome as well. Id never have pushed to quite that extent on my own.

One of my favorite parts of the run is getting next to the water. Of course this part of the trail is flat so Bryan used this as a reason to torture me push me a little harder!

I am working hard in these pictures so we just wont judge the pained expression on my face. 😉 PS Can I just say I love that the hubs stops mid run to remember pictures for my blog!

The hubs on the other hand was pretty much bouncing off the trees and hopping and running circles around me. In my defense I am not a “nature” girl so its much harder for me to navigate the terrain. But I am getting a lot better. I can honestly say I enjoy it a lot and soon I’ll be smoking him. 😉 (Ok maybe not smoking but definitely improved!!)

What goes down must go back up so we had to climb some pretty steep hills to get out of the trail. Bryan encouraged me to run a couple of them. I felt like I was going to throw up a couple of times but I felt good. I felt proud when it was done.

We did 4 miles and I did not keep track of the time. I guess I need to start doing that but today it didnt matter. I worked hard, pushed myself to my limit, and I am probably just a little stronger for it. It was the kind of run that makes you want to run again! The hubs went to play some golf with the boys and then we are off to buy yoga mats and have some other casual nowhere to be Saturday fun.  Run on friends!! Have a Happy and Healthy Saturday.

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