5k for Kenya

Today was the 5k for Kenya. We started at University Ridge downtown at 8:30 am. This race was special to me because the cause is so important. All of the proceeds go to the The Kenya Initiative which provides food, water and jobs to refugees in Kenya. It was a very small race and the first year it's ever happened, so operations were small. I would say 50 people ran and it was an out and back. My time was amazing, but I kind of think it may not have been quite a 5k. I have no way of knowing as I didn't bring my Garmin and my RunKeeper Pro lost signal halfway through the run.

5k for Kenya
time: 27:22
How i felt: my legs were on fire including my shins

I have taken too much time off after my half and now I'm paying the consequences. My legs are sore from running this week and I've only run 8 miles :(. I'm going to give myself a break and just allow myself some time to get back into it. Wednesday, all of us NYC Marathon lottery participants find out our fate!! In the meantime, here are some pics from the race:

Brian placed in his age group - and he's doing a funny pose

The top 3 females... my friend Holly is to the left in all black

There were lots of doggies...this one was cute

Race sign (kinda self explanatory) 

My running group!! Holly, Brian and Me. Um...ignore my terrible hair

Holly celebrating her medal 

pre-race Brian... very serious

On a side note... I spent some time with the Stick tonight to help my little calves... why oh why are they so so sore... hills much

Run #2

So yesterday was my second day in my PALA 10k Training Program . I decided to run at lunch because I am in this stage right now where I can NOT get up before 6:30 am. What I will say is that it was not fun, I didn't enjoy it, it was hot, it was muggy, pelham rd sucks to run on and my legs were on fire. This is what happens when I don't run for a long time. It's like I'm starting all over again. I was averaging between a 9:30-10:30 pace so I tried to slow down to accomodate for how I was feeling, but I had a hard time doing so. I was listening to the Boston station on Pandora which had some good music playing, but sometimes they throw in Bon Jovi or The Eagles and I'm like, bleh. Here was my nasty landscape on Pelham Rd

traffic, traffic, traffic... although this pic doesn't demonstrate that really

I did find a little neighborhood to run through which gave me a break from the noise of the cars and the trees gave me some shade.

One house had a pretty flower bed so I enjoyed that and took note for my own yard.

this pic doesn't do it justice

My final results:

3.54 miles

38:30 time (that includes a warm up and cool down but I would say I averaged a 10:30 pace)

In other news, I wanted to share this video because granddaddy is walking like a champ! The nurses can't believe how early he's walking!

this is my first time uploading a video, so I hope it works :)



Life is Full!!

So this week has been so good that I am having a hard time sitting here.

1) My job: it's kind of bitter sweet, my boss left :(, but I went to R4 which means no base salary but I'll make more in commissions. While that can be scary, the very next day, I made 3 placements, woot woot! I feel like God is just telling me I'm going to be ok. Money is everything, but what it does do is help me to finally take my trip to Kenya!! I need to probably write a blog about this, but I'd really like to travel to Kenya and help. I have been pulled to go to Kenya, specifically, and now I feel like it's time.

2) Granddaddy: HE IS WALKING!! Whenever we moved to the second floor, everything turned around. He became coherent, and just was back to his old self. He was moved to North Greenville for more treatment and rehab a couple of weeks ago, and he has improved ever since. He has a new set of antibiotics, but he is getting physical therapy. He's back to making jokes, laughing, cutting up with his family. He even told me what I needed to do for my garden this year. Everything I've learned about gardening and frying food has come from my granddaddy!! Yesterday, he walked in the walker about 27 steps. What an improvement! It lifted his spirits because I think sometimes, he's afraid he wont' be able to do the things that he did before but I believe he'll be back to his old self in no time.

3) Jeanne and Brian: This is their story to tell so I won't spend a lot of time on it, but they are making HUGE advances in their adoption and it looks like Noah could be coming home soon!! Yay!!

4) Carolina Tree Company: My husband's business, Carolina Tree Company, is doing really well. Almost too well because James is so busy, he doesn't get home until late and he has to leave early. I know he's tired but he's growing and that has to feel good for him. So many small businesses fail and he has done an EXCELLENT job in building this business.

So much is going on, I haven't had as much time for working out but this week, I started my PALA 10k training through active.com. I'll let you know how that goes as well!!!

What is going on in your that makes you happy??

What Do I Do Now?

If you have read any of my blog posts, you know that I operate best with a plan. If I have some kind of plan to follow, there is no room for willy nillyness (new word, I should let urban dictionary know). Every year, I go through a cycle:

1) I pick a major race, usually in the beginning of the year, the New Orleans half marathon in february, the Nashville half in april, etc.

2) I then spend 20 weeks training for that race.

3) I run the race

4) I am inconsistent, I do lots of whatever workouts that are random and have no thought behind them, then I realize in august that I need to run and I have to start all over.

My new plan is to pick a big race in the fall that I can train for in the summer. This year, it's going to either be the NYC Marathon (I'm still waiting) or the Rock'n'Roll Savannah in november. I won't know which one until april or may, so right now, you guessed it, I'm in willy nilly land. Add that to the fact that I'm visiting my grandfather in my spare time and working 45 hours a week, i'm not really doing anything. Over the past 3 weeks, I have run twice, gone to a couple of yoga classes, done a zumba class and body attack. I'm yearning for some structure.

I follow active.com on facebook and they had a new training plan called the PALA Beginner 10k Training Plan. Today was my first day and I had to do an easy 20 minute jog. It was a good way to get back into running since it's been a couple of weeks. I know it's for beginners, but I'm hoping that maybe it can help me get a little faster. I'll report back!!

In other news, I went to my favorite hot yoga place the other day, Southern Om.

Jac was the teacher and I LOVE HER!! The class is Vinyasa Flow and the room is heated to 90 degrees (it does usually get hotter). Her class makes me feel strong and I can usually get into a rhythm so when I'm done, I feel so relaxed. She sometimes puts lavender oil on your forehead at the end of class and I love that, today was not that day. It was still a great way to start the weekend.

We got to do crow pose, one of my favs

Lastly, I wanted to mention Body Attack, the class I took at sportsclub. We basically jumped, ran, did all kinds of crazy moves without stopping for an hour. I thought I was going into that class as an expert and that it would be easy... no no... it was not easy. I was ready for it to be over halfway through, but I just kept thinking about the fact that my mind is what's holding me back, not my body. At the end of the day, it was a lot of fun and a great cardiovascular workout. The teacher was singing and talking the whole time and I was amazed!!

That's EXACTLY what I looked like :)

and that's what my friend Jane looked like :)

But seriously, it was fun. I'm going to try to do lots of fun stuff like this because come marathon training time, it will be run, bike, run, yoga, run, bike, run, etc etc. no more fun zumba, body attack, blah blah.

As a more experience blogger who likes to use pics, I'm going to try my best to use more of my own pics (um, just need to remember to take them) vs having to use ones from the internet. That's my goal for next time!