3rd Runniversary!

Sooooo today marked my 3rd year since I began running, or my “runniversary” as I like to call it.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that snowy 3 mile run would lead me to where I’m at today.  I was NEVER a runner and I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did and still do to this day.

When I first started running three years ago I had a purpose and a reason– the Paris Marathon.  When marathon day arrived and even as I was completing the race I was thinking “this is it, once I’m done wit this I’m never running again!”  However, the more miserable I felt during the race, the more proud of myself I became for sticking with it and not giving up.  I also realized at that moment that I was doing this for me, not for anyone else and I think that’s one of the things that has made running such an important part of my life, even to this day.  After finishing that marathon I realized that I was capable of doing more than I ever thought, it’s partly what gave me the confidence to apply for the job in the N.I.C.U., where I still work.  I don’t think if I had pushed myself through that race I would’ve ever thought I could work in an environment like that or have the confidence to even apply.  Through running I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable- I have become more comfortable with feeling uncomfortable since that’s what running is kind of about (for me at least).

In a race I push myself harder than I do when I just go out and run, I may not feel great at first but if I want to try for a new PR then that’s what I have to do.  Lately with my training runs I’ve been adding speed work at least once a week to my routine (400 repeats and tempo runs for example) and when doing 400’s I run much faster than usual and it can be difficult to just let myself go and run the speed that I need to to get the most out of the workout.  Running a new distance in a new city also takes me out of my comfort zone.  The Chicago Marathon had me anxious because my training didn’t go the way I would’ve liked and because it had been over 2 years since I had completed this distance, but shortly after the race started I calmed down, settled in, and finished.

I guess what I’m getting at is that running has taught me a lot about myself and what I’m actually capable of as opposed to what I only think I can do.  For this I’m forever grateful.

I’m currently training for a purpose again which motivates me and keeps me accountable with my training!

 

 

I’ll be heading to back to Texas in March to run the Rock ‘N’ Roll Dallas 5K and half marathon!  Josh will be going with me of course (running both races too) and my sister and her boyfriend Moses are going to meet us too!!  She’s going to run both races and Moses is gonna get into it and run the 5K!!!!  Nothing I love more than hanging out with awesome people and running!!

Tomorrow will mark the start of week 4 of training.  It’s going well so far, I missed one run due to my work schedule but I’m not stressing over it. I’ve also incorporated Piyo into my workout routine.  It’s a really great blend of yoga and Pilates, low impact but boy oh boy do I sweat!!  I’ll be going into week 4 of doing Piyo and I can tell a difference in my flexibility and core strength (where I feel I need the most work) so I’m really jazzed about that!

I’m so excited for this year of running, I’ve got a lot planned and I hope it ends up being as great as I hope! : )  Thanks for reading!!

And this would be the post about my injury

Soooooooo I was running this past Thursday afternoon minding my own business, not running to fast, not running in a weird way, not running in a new way, and my left foot decided to say “Nope, you’re done for a while.”  I haven’t felt pain like that ever in my foot since I’ve started running 2 years ago, aaand when I started running 2 years ago I did it in a dumb way and increased my mileage waaaaay too quickly and I STILL never had foot pain like this.

I tried to walk around a bit and try to run again and it hurt just as bad.  No problem really, a foot injury isn’t the end of the world, but I was 2.5 miles away from my car and it was really cold and walking on my foot hurt pretty darn bad.  Luckily Josh was around so he came and picked me up and gave me a lift back to my car.  I tried to stay off of it for the rest of that day, but then I had to work the next day, and on Saturday it was worse than it had been, or so it seemed to me.  I ended up at Med Express that afternoon, sure I had myself a good ol’ stress fracture but some x-rays proved me wrong!  The doc said that he thought it was a sprain and gave me an ACE wrap, told me to ice it, elevate it when I can, and to not run for a while… he also said that I probably shouldnt’ go through with my half marathon on the 9th, so I said sure, if I need to rest it then I need to rest it!

So I plan on resting my foot until Wednesday.  Wednesday I will try to run and hopefully it won’t hurt.  In the meantime, I am keeping it wrapped with an ACE wrap, icing it when I can at home (I have a 12 hour shift today and tomorrow), keeping off of it, taking ibuprofen if necessary, and soaking it in epsom salts (mom’s order).  Oh, and of course I plan on proceeding with my half marathon on the 9th ; )

I do understand that I have an injury and need to give it time to heal so I don’t do further damage (the doc I saw yesterday seemed to think a stress fracture was in my near future), but I am going to do my absolute best to speed the process up as much as possible.  This is the worst possible timing for an injury like this, I have actually followed a training plan for the first time in my life before a big race (half or full), I normally start following one and do my own thing about a month in, but this time I listened!  I increased my mileage gradually, I did long runs slower than my goal pace, I did speed work for heaven’s sake!!  And this is what it gets me!  Oh well, like I said I know I’m not the only one, but I’m still bummed.

Have you ever had an injury hinder your training for a goal race or stop you from running in it altogether?  What did you do to heal?  Any advice for me?  Thanks for reading!!

Parent’s Place 5K

Sooooo this past Saturday I ran the Parent’s Place 5K in Star City, WV.  The weather was GORGEOUS for the race, and there were about 150 runners and walkers total for the event, which took place on the local rail trail and started and finished in Star City.  It’s not a major theme of the race, but runners were encouraged to dress as a super hero for the race (I dressed as myself for this one, I do however have a super hero outfit in mind for another race coming up this month).  I was happy that I had a couple of days off before this race so I wasn’t tired from work since I’ve been working a lot of night shifts lately and I kept my running schedule pretty regular this week.

As the race started, I felt like I was running SO slowly, when my watch alarmed at mile 1 however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was an almost 9 minute flat mile, the second was about the same.  To some, running 9 minute flat miles may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but I am very happy since even a year ago I wouldn’t have been running this well, it’s also validation that my half marathon training is working.  I ended up running the third mile in 8:44 and passed 2 more runners on my way to the finish (if you haven’t noticed yet I really like to pass people right close to the finish).  I couldn’t decide if the 2 girls in front of me were in my age group so to make it easier on myself I decided I would just pass them!

I ended up with a PR and 4th in my age group, just missed getting a medal, but I can’t be upset with that run one bit!  I felt good and I’ve got plenty more 5K’s coming up to keep running better and better!

 

Another post, finally!

Sooooo I’ve not posted anything since mid-march when I talked about my terrible eating habits.  I’m happy to report that my choices in food are much better than they used to be, but I’m not 100% where I want to eventually end up.  I’m much smarter about my choices but I definitely don’t deprive myself either.  I’m also trying new things!  Today I tried to make my own mayonnaise… I was SO excited!!  I got one of those stick blenders recently (for this particular occasion) and read up on all of the tips and tricks to make a good batch of mayo.  I got the consistency right which seems like the hard part for everyone to get (from what I read) but the taste is a bit off, I think this was due to the fact that I got “lighter” olive oil instead of “light” olive oil.  The instructions said to get light but all I could find was lighter and I just wanted to make the damn mayo already!!  I’ll try one more time, should I find the right olive oil, because I can make all kinds of dressings and sauces with this mayo as the base!

Enough about mayonnaise, I’ve been running races again and it’s finally gotten nice outside!!!!  I’m attempting to stay up late for night shift tomorrow and realized that I have been terrible about posting on here, so instead of writing one terribly long, boring, monotonous post about everything I decided that I’ll catch up on the basics and then write other posts about the races I’ve done.

I’m also still training for the Harper’s Ferry Half Marathon!  I’m very excited about this race!  Harper’s Ferry is such a neat place and the scenery is amazing!  My training has been going really well and so far I haven’t encountered any hiccups or injuries, my schedule has been erratic so I’ve had to do a lot of rearranging to fit in all of my runs but I have a feeling it’s going to pay off come race day!

My sister also recently got into running lately and decided to start a blog about all of the goings on down in Houston!  We have a goal race of running Rock n Roll San Antonio together this December!  Check out her blog here!

What have you all been up to lately?

Thanks for reading!!

Treadmills…

Sooooo I know, another post about treadmills and running in the winter.  I’ve really not had much going on with my running in February, except for trying to make the best of running on the treadmill and I need to post something, so this is it!

It’s been REALLY cold here lately, like sub zero cold (I know, it’s been REALLY cold everywhere else too, I’m not alone!) but it’s also snowy on the trails and I work until it’s dark out most of the time.

Luckily, I have a treadmill!  I really hate running on it, like really but it allows me to get my runs in when I wouldn’t be able to otherwise.  To make it through, I find fun things to watch on Netflix to keep me occupied!  It takes my mind off of how sucky running in place is, and I get to watch movies and shows that I meant to and never did or ones that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Lately my choices have consisted of Wayne’s World, The Naked Gun, Family Guy, Parks and Recreation, and the Office.  I love laughing and watching something fun while I run!

What do you do to make it through running on the treadmill?  Different strokes for different folks and I’m always up for new ideas and tricks!

I also started training for the Harper’s Ferry Half Marathon in May!  I’m so excited for this race!  Harper’s Ferry is such a neat place in West Virginia!  I was nervous to start this week since there was so much snow, but the treadmill has turned out to be my saving grace!  So I guess I really can’t say too many bad things about it after all : )

My 2nd Runniversary!

Sooo today marks 2 years since I began my relationship with running!  I said it last year and I’ll say it again this year but I NEVER saw myself as a runner, but I’m SO happy that I am!

This year in running was pretty good for me, the beginning of my running year started off kind of rough due to an extreme amount of snow the day we got back from Houston and it didn’t let up until late March… so that lead to a lot of treadmill running and days off = no good.

After I ran the Nike Women’s Half in D.C. in late April I got more on track with my running and started getting back to the consistency that I had before.  I also got married the day after I ran in D.C. to my amazing runner husband!

I ended up running 18 races since last January 17th, running at least one race in every month except for March.  I also totaled my mileage at: 872.07 from January 17, 2014 – January 17, 2015.  I definitely dipped from last year but like I said I took WAY too many days off in the beginning of the year but it’s not gonna happen again this year!

I feel like this was the year where I would have quit running if I were going to (I know crazy talk!) but I feel like since I made it through this second year and freaking love it even more that this is going to be a hobby that sticks for life!!!!

Goals for this running year:

One is the same as for my calendar year, to PR in 4 distances (5k, 10K, half marathon, and full)

Keep running!

Run more races than last year

at least have 1000 total miles by January 17, 2016

All of my running shirts from the races I ran this year!

How long have you been running?

What keeps you motivated?

Thanks for reading!!

Summer Runnin.. had me a blast!

Soooo Labor day happened, which basically means that summer is pretty much over.. EVEN THOUGH it has seemed way hotter outside lately, what’s up with that?!?  Anyway, I was sitting here reflecting on my summer and it wasn’t a totally terrible one!

For me, this was “the summer of the 5K” cause that’s pretty much the only kind of race that I ran with the exception of a 10K.  I started out the Summer in late May (I know, summer didn’t really start until June, so I ran an unofficial summer race I guess) at the Open Hearts 5K in Clarksburg, it rained and I do love running in the rain and I also won my age group, so great way to kick off my summer! Below is a pic of me, Josh, and cap waiting for the awards at the Open Hearts race (my actual race pictures were terrible haha)

 

In June I ran 2 races, the Cecil Jarvis Greater Clarksburg 10K in Clarksburg and the RDVIC Father’s Day 5K (the next day) in Morgantown.  The 10K was grueling and my first 10K in over a year.  I had trained and run a lot but didn’t hit my goal time and was slower than my previous PR, it was okay though I finished!  The father’s day race went much better, and for the day after a 10K race I felt really good running.  I almost placed in my age group, but for some reason this race had done my age group 14-25, but the next age group was 26-30… makes no sense!  Oh well!

I only ran one race in July, the Run to Read 5K in Fairmont.  Josh had a very successful go at this race, but me, I once again made it to the finish and that was about all I could say…  I had still been running very regularly and even starting to do longer runs once a week, but hilly Fairmont had other plans for me that day.

I ran a little more in August, just 2 races, the Rush Run 5K in morgantown and the Pet Door Rescue 5K in Buckhannon.  The rush run had an amazing turn out for the first time the event was run, the atmosphere was great and I was excited to run since this was the same course as the Father’s day run; with fresh legs I may be able to PR!  The course was flat and during the second half of the race I was passing people left and right, I felt really good!  I even raced one of the local weathermen (Jason Parrish from channel 12 news if you’re local) to the finish but he beat me by a split second! The picture below is us racing to the finish line.

 

Yes, the time on the clock is in the 27’s… BUT WHEN I LOOKED AT MY WATCH IT WASN’T EVEN AT 3 MILES!!!!  The race wasn’t even 3 miles long!!!  How does that get messed up?!?  I was just disappointed that I ran so well and of course that I paid for a 5K and it wasn’t even that… oh well, the weatherman won that day but I’ll get him next time!  The race in Buckhannon was beautiful and the weather was perfect!  The race started at a local college and wound through the streets and onto a river trail.  I really was feeling great this run and I finished and looked down at my watch and saw 27:45… and the race was actually 3.1 miles, a new PR!! And I ended up winning my age group!  For this being my last race before labor day, I would say it was an excellent way to unofficially end my summer running!

September is picking up for me as well, I’ve got 4 races scheduled (3 5K’s and 1 10K) and I started training for my second marathon!!!  The Houston Marathon in January!  I’m so excited to run another marathon and even more excited that I’ll actually be prepared to run this one!  One last super exciting announcement (for me at least) is that Josh and I signed up to do the Rock n Roll Series Las Vegas half marathon; I’M GONNA RUN DOWN THE VEGAS STRIP AT NIGHT!!!!  They also added a 5K the day before as part of the “Remix challenge” they started recently.

I love summer and everything but I cannot freaking wait for this fall!!!!

Do you have any exciting plans for this fall, running related or not I’d love to hear all about them!  Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

 

School’s Out!!

Sooooooo school’s out for me when it’s starting for everyone else… but I now have my BSN!!! (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)  I’m really excited to be done with this part of my schooling, I had to get this degree seeing as most hospitals only want to hire nurses with a bachelors degree and should I continue with school to get a masters degree (which I most likely will) a bachelors degree is essential.  The program was online through West Virginia University so I was able to work full time and complete the program.

The main reason I’m so happy that I’m finally done with school is so that I can use my free time to hang out with Josh and Captain and also get back into this blogging thing!  I have hardly talked about any running or well anything really, on here in months!  It’s so sad, but now I really have no excuse to not make at least one post a week.  So that is what I will commit to, posting one time per week.

I will make a post soon about a race I took place in last Friday, as well as a post about my thoughts on this summer (I’ve been thinking about the Summer one, well… all summer, but I just haven’t had the time to write it all down yet, soon I promise!

How has your all’s summer been?  Hopefully there are some of you out there who have gotten to slow down and enjoy your summer!  Thanks for reading!

Au Revoir, Paris! Bonjour, les États-Unis!

Sooooo it’s officially been one year since I’ve been back in the states.  On this day last year, Josh and I came back from France… for good… back to reality.  Paris was where I started running and fell in love with the sport.  I had all day to devote to it, with no job and no responsibilities, so it truly became my priority.  Another reason why this time is meaningful to me is because I ran my first ever 10K in June and my second where I PR’D; the day before we left to come home.

My first 10K was La Course du Château de Vincennes.  The start of the race was at the Château and we actually ran into the courtyard to the finish; it was amazing!  I did well for my first 10K, barely finishing over 1 hour, my goal time being under 1 hour.  The second 10K was L’Équipe 10K, the namesake is for a popular sports magazine in France.  This race was bigger than the first but I was determined to finish under an hour, and I did!! But barely!  I hadn’t run a 10K since… until last week.

The château where we finished our race

I ran the Cecil Jarvis 10K in Clarksburg on June 14th. I was so excited to run another 10K, mostly to see how much faster I could run it and PR again.  Boy oh boy did I pick the wrong race for that.  Clarksburg is nothing but rolling hills and a 2 lap course of the same hills you just ran up and down and up and down is not the best recipe for a PR.  I ended up finishing over an hour, slower than my first 10K I had ever run.  Kind of a bummer, but I was still glad to have done it and I cannot wait to run another 10K!  They don’t come around very often in this area, so being able to find one to run in is kind of a treat, for me at least!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

M.I.A.

Sooooo I kinda fell off the grid for a couple of months… oops.  Seriously, I hate that I haven’t posted anything since Valentine’s day and I will try to be better about it, promise!  I had a busy couple of months adjusting to my new work schedule (with shifts that change about as often as ), I’m still enrolled in school working toward my Bachelors in nursing (the semester just ended and I have a whole two weeks until I go back for more!), I started P90X3 (I WILL post about this), training for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in D.C., and making sure things were planned for my wedding!  So to sum it up, a lot of stuff going on all of the time, however, I really need to make this a priority this summer seeing as I love connecting with new people and reading new blogs!

Anyway, my running was totally sporadic thanks to all of the lovely snow and winter weather we had, living up a holler makes it hard to get anywhere to run, oh and having the rail trail covered in a foot and a half of snow makes it hard to run as well, so I had to form a relationship with my treadmill.  We’re sort of frienemies… Treadmill miles are way different than actual running-on-your-own miles, so getting back to doing all the work was a bit of a challenge.

By the end of March I was able to run outside regularly since snow had finally melted away!  I didn’t run nearly as many miles this winter as I should have to properly prepare for my half marathon however, so I was going in with a mindset of “just finish, don’t worry about running your best time or anything”.  So after having a stressful evening navigating the streets of D.C. the night before, I made it to the start line with 14000+ other gals and we began our run through D.C.!  I kept telling myself “you’re just on a jog with 14000 girls in D.C., that’s all, don’t stress about this”, and it actually worked cause I was so relaxed and felt the best I’ve ever felt running a half marathon!

(Above, me before the race)

(a picture during the run)

(One of my favorite pictures, the stand said “We Run” and it glowed, we were in a tunnel!)

I tweeted and tagged my instagram picture saying that I PR’d, and I honestly thought I did, but I forgot that I ran a 2:24 before, so my 2:26 will just have to take second place, but I was totally shocked with the results considering how training went!  Aaaaand I stopped to pee 1.3 miles in and the line was so long that I was stopped for about 6 minutes so maybe had I not stopped to pee I would have run a 2:20 and PR’D?  Who knows and who cares, in the end I got to the finish line and got my finisher’s necklace!!!

(I’m finishing in the purple shirt, Mr. Body finished just before me! haha)

(Me getting my necklace)

(the front of my finisher’s necklace)

(the back side of my necklace)

We had a very short visit to D.C. though since we left that night to go to Las Vegas (well, we were supposed to but our flight got delayed… long story) so we left on Monday, which is the day we were getting married in Vegas, and didn’t make it to Vegas until 2, didn’t get checked in the hotel until 4:45, and were getting married at 6, but even though it was rushed I ended up marrying my best friend, my running partner, and most importantly the love of my life, and that was by far the best moment of the weekend!  I don’t have any pictures because we weren’t allowed to take any in the chapel (they gotta make that dough I guess), but I will surely make a photo album of some pictures when I get them!

Like I said a lot going on, none of it was really super eventful until this past weekend so I didn’t want to bore you guys with some loooooooooooooong post about nothing ; )   I will post soon about P90X3 (this week is “Victory Week” and I’ll finish on Saturday!!) and I’ll try to post more frequently again!!

Thanks for reading!  I’ll have another post soon!

-Samantha