The new plan

Sorry guys, still no pictures...they're on Andrew's camera and I haven't had the chance to get them from him. Andrew, if you're reading this, SEND ME PICTURES. :P

So Monday morning I sparked Natalie and told her I needed a maintenance plan so that I would continue to have a schedule and actually keep up my workouts. She asked me what my goals were, and what I wanted to ultimately accomplish, and I told her I wanted to actually run an entire 5k, and maybe to do longer races later. So now I'm doing a 5k on May 7 (the day before Mothers Day) and a 5 mile race on June 19 (Fathers Day). The one on May 7 is a fundraiser for breast cancer, and if you would like to help me reach my fundraising goal, you can go to my personal page at kintera.org. Andrew, if you're reading this, DONATE. :P

So my running schedule has a lot of constant runs, starting with 3-3.5 miles this week all the way up to 6-6.5 miles a few weeks before the 5 mile run. I can't really describe just how intimidated I am by the last few weeks of my schedule, but when I think about how much I accomplished in 5 weeks, 2 months seems like plenty of time (sort of). On Monday I jogged 2 miles straight, then conditioning Tuesday. My right ankle has been bugging me since the 5k last Saturday, so I decided to rest and ice it for two days. Then on Friday I did 4 miles (FOUR MILES) jogging for 4 min. and walking for 1 min. I only had to rest for 1.5 min. twice and 2 min. once, and I made it through the whole thing. FOUR MILES. Saturday was a conditioning day, and then Sunday I tried for 3 miles, though I had to stop and walk several times so I didn't make it constantly running. But it's a good start.

My aunt Charlene and cousin Tonya were here this weekend, and I was sleeping on my sofa bed, so today I'm just kind of wiped out. And I asked Natalie about my ankle, and she said I should switch out a few runs with swimming this week, so that will start tomorrow probably. For some reason I feel really guilty or lazy or something about not doing a workout today, but when you think about it I've worked out 5 out of the last 7 days, and the total distance was something like 11-12 miles total. I should deserve a break, right? If only to catch up on sleep and let my body chill out for a day? Maybe I'm just rationalizing, but hopefully I can jump right back into it tomorrow, either conditioning or swimming, maybe in the morning.

So that's my long-winded update...wish me luck, donate to my May 7 5k if you want to, and look forward to pictures of my April 9 5k eventually. :D Love you all!

Mission accomplished!

As you well know, my first real 5k was Saturday, and I blew my goal away! My official time was 38:49, which was well under the 45 minute goal I set for myself. I couldn't have done it without my personal cheering squad: Charity, Andy and Stephanie all ran right along with me and pushed me to run even when I was tired, and Natalie met me about half a mile before the end and ran along with me with her "Run Liz Run!" sign, which was great. Andrew was the official photographer, and I'm hoping to post some of the pics later this week when I get them from him. I am so grateful to all of them; they definitely helped me have a successful first run!

My plan from here is to run another 5k on May 7, the CT Race in the Park, which raises money for breast cancer research. I already donated $10 in honor of my mom, a breast cancer survivor for 10 years now. If you'd like to donate, you can visit my personal page HERE. My goal for that race is to beat my other time, potentially getting under the 30 minute mark, but I'm not sure yet.

The bigger thing I'm training for is a 5 mile (not kilometer, mile) run June 19 in Branford. I figured that's a nice in-between run, longer than 5k but shorter than 10k. Natalie asked me today what my ultimate training goal is, whether that's a marathon or half marathon or something else. I told her I would just take it one step at a time, and those are my next two steps. So, after a very short break, I'm back in training again. I'll keep you all posted.

T minus 4 days

Yes, that's right: the 5k is this Saturday. My ankle's pretty much better after I rested it for a week or so, and the last two Sundays I've been outside with Natalie doing about 3 miles. It's a lot more difficult to actually jog/run outside, especially when it's cold...I haven't been able to jog that much at all, but I'm still wiped by the time I'm done. I do better at the gym, but I'm still not up to running/jogging an entire three miles.

So here's my goal: finish the 5k in under 45 minutes, any way I can. I'm going to try and jog as much as I can, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I have to slow it down and fast-walk for a while. Several people have told me that adrenaline during the race will help me move faster anyway, and the weather is supposed to be rainy but fairly warm, so I can definitely do this.

Natalie promised to teach Andrew some cheers, so that'll be fun. :) Charity will actually be running the race now (she got talked into it today), so she won't be on the sidelines, but I know she'll be cheering me on at the end.

So, one more run Thursday and then the big event at 9 am Saturday! Hopefully I'll get some pics to post!