Found my running shoes (again)

A couple weeks ago some coworkers sent out an email about doing the Rugged Maniac 5K in April. It was one of those days where I thought, "Sure, that sounds like fun." I registered my boyfriend and I for the RM and decided I needed to get in better shape so I signed up for another NoBoundaries running group. Tonight was my first night and we did 1.4 miles. I tried to stay with the runners, but eventually found myself mixed in with run/walkers. Couldn't breathe early on, lots of room for improvement, but that's what this is all about. Improving fitness and having fun. More to come.

One year!

One year ago I ran the Susan G. Komen 5K for my first time. Since then I've ran (or ran/walked) two 10K's and another 5K. Last Saturday I ran my second Komen 5K. Feels good to have been doing this for (mostly) a solid year now. My time didn't improve (2 minutes slower) but I'm cutting myself some slack due to work and school commitments.

I could have cried when crossing the finish line - it does feel like an accomplishment, at least at the time.

To be honest, I run to eat... Had an amazing breakfast at Carolina Bagel Bakery with my running friends after the race. :) Yum, yum!

Runnin' & Walkin'

I didn't run the entire time but I did run the first mile without walking, the second mile was some of both. Even though I'm not a morning person I like the feeling of getting out in the fresh air and letting it fill my lungs.

Seven a.m.

7 a.m. comes super early, especially on Saturdays. But that's when the NoBo group meets. I think I'll go, I think I'll go.

My friend M wants me to run without stopping tomorrow. I always end up taking some walk periods. She says I need to set my mind to it and then just do it. We'll see. I'm not convinced.

Can I do this? Do I want to do this???

Back in the saddle

Ah, its been awhile since I posted. The last NoBo group finished up with a fantastic run at the Crawdads 5K.

Then, I took the summer off. Life got busy and I lost some motivation...

But I'm back! Ran about 2 miles Saturday with the NoBo group training for the Sugan G. Komen 5K. That was my very first 5K last year so it'll be fun to see the difference (hope there is some) between then and this years.

I'm going to try and put my running shoes on more consistently!

CRBR

Cooper River Bridge Run was an experience not to be forgotten! Over 40,000 people crossed the start/finish line on Saturday. Amazing! My official time was 1:22:12 (my first 10K was 1:22:05). Guess you could say I'm consistently slow. ;-) But I had an absolute blast!!! I loved the excitement that surrounded us! Music along the course was fun and the water stations came in handy. I think I doused my head with water at every station. Not sure why but it felt good and refreshing.

Charleston does a fantastic job of hosting the event! We felt welcomed everywhere we went and directions were clear. Besides, we found some delicious seafood... OMG I could go back for more! The city itself has so much to offer - we didn't even scratch the surface.

Running the bridge was... tough! 4% incline doesn't sound too bad until you're steadily going uphill for 1+ mile. Then it feels like the top will never ever come. But it does and you can run downhill for at least another mile. I loved entering the downtown district! I was zoned in on running but catching sight of the buildings and having so many people on the sidelines was fun. In fact, when I saw mile marker 5 I suddenly had a burst of energy. My running friend was like "Why are you running so fast?" "Because we just passed mile 5 I said." My answer didn't make much sense but I knew we were getting closer to the finish line. Oh, I love to start some enthusiasm so I started hollering, running with my hands in the air, etc. My friend was trying to shut me up but I was having a good time. Then my energy burst was gone and it was back to zoning in until we found the finish line.

I could go on, but instead I'll say that April 2, 2011 we have plans to be in Charleston again for the CRBR! And if you want to have a good time come run or walk it too!

NoBo is off and running!

It's been a few weeks since I posted so I'll bring you up to speed. We had several group runs canceled due to snow, but its melted and the sun is shining again. Woo-hoo! The group is doing great! Today we ran about 2.5 miles and they did extremely well.

Morgan and I are still trying to get in some extra mileage since we have a 10K in just 4 short weeks. We did 2.5 miles before the group run this morning so got in 5 miles. Speaking of Morgan, she talked me into going to the gym last night. What did we discover? Our legs are much stronger than our arms. Time to work on toning those up - more cross training is in order.

Overall, I feel great and love the feeling of a good cold run to start my Saturday off!

Thanks for reading. ;-)