8 is great!!

after a week of birthday binge - i up early for a 6 mile run to get back on my training schedule.

this morning i took my first trip over the bridge onto the beachside and ran down the hollywood broadwalk (not boardwalk). there were tons of people out at 7am with me running, biking, walking, beaching, i felt like i had my own running group. definitley was a great motivator to have all those people around. and the view was fantastic. sun was shining and the weather was prob about 65 degrees. a-maaaaaa- zing.

but due to lack of road signs i ended up running about 8 miles in an 1 hour and 21 minutes! when i was done running my lil nike ipod thingy had a little message from lance armstrong saying "great job this is your longest work out yet" boy did i feel special... haha.. of course the damn thing didnt save to work out. go figure.

but break that down and you got about a 10 min miles pace. the best part was the when i got home i knew i could have kept on going - but my knees were starting to ask for a break. my feet did do the whole lets fall asleep thing btu after an hour it went away. so i have just have had to become mentally tough and run thru it- but i am def going to look into some support inserts for the already expensive Cadillacs i got on my feet

but now i am afraid im going to have to buy some fanny-packesque carrier for some h20 and gels now that im over an hour. totally running hotness.

santigolds "unstoppbale" came on right after my work out ended for the victory stretch.

27 and counting

yesterday i turned 27 and never in my life have i been in such great shape. i think just aobut every year i have some goal (to be thinner, more in shape, etc....) by my birthday and never seem to really get there. but this year i can say i did. and a lot of it has to do with my training. i'm in all of my college skinny pants (wooo!), got some new abs, and can run my butt all around town with ease!

but this week was all birthday celebration and i let myself off the hook with my a lighter workout routine and also let my inner fat kid out - caaaaaaaake!

but now the party is OVER and after this weekend I am back on track for that 10k in two weeks.

but in other news my back MRI was NORMAL. i'm relieved that everything is fine. but now what? contemplating going to the sports med dr- but not looking forward to the $$$ of more medical bills.

but at least for now i can hit the road without worrying about damage.

phew!

for the record

getting an MRI is like being at a shooting range in a coffin.

ick.

messing with my mojo

now that mindy is back it seems i am having a bit of a funk of my own. and it totally took a toll on today's work out. some funny some not so funny.

1. i wore the wrong underwear. let's just say my comfy ones don't belong running sprints on the treadmill. i could feel them slowly falling down my pants.. haha. (total learning moment)

2. the man who got on the treadmill after i started SMELLED LIKE AWFUL BO! you could tell he was the type that NEVER wore it.. and i didn't want to move because it would have messed up my whole run- and i couldn't hold my nose as i usually do in smelly situations- but at that time i really needed all my oxygen. i was PISSED -- i felt the rage like that new mexico college soccer player-- i wanted to takeTAKE HIM DOWN and tell him to TAKE A DAMN SHOWER!

3. i have my MRI today for my back. I am still getting tingly feet when I run which mostly means there is some muscle nerve issues going on. so i think i will have a new doc with some physical therapy in my future.

i just hope hope hope i am not benched for this . cause no matter how poopy i get during training i really really wanna run!

will get results on friday... keep your fingers CROSSED !

Hydration

Am I really supposed to run with a water belt?

I don't know if I can be that nerdy!

and I'm back!

Whew! 3 intense weeks of full time school, working on my days off and half-marathon training makes for one pooped girl! After nearly half a dozen bad runs, I was oh-so-close to giving up on the training; I felt heavy, slow, and awkward. My erratic schedule coupled with the time change amplified my feelings of defeat.

But, I'm no quitter. I put on my Mizunos and hit the road. I decided part of my frustration was running the same streets in my neighborhood week in and week out. I headed over to campus for my 4 miler. And it was spectacular! I'm re-invigorated with running; I believe I can do this half marathon. I may not be in the front of the pack, but I will cross that finish line with a smile on my face.

the first 5k

This past Halloween morning I ran my first 5k race since training began. Wasn't anxious at all- and just tried to focus on pacing and posture.

I met by goal by crossing the finish at 29:45 - my last 5k time was 31 minutes... my goal was to get around 30.

When I went to look at the results I was shocked to see that I was 4th in my age group- out of about 20, 25-29 year olds.

I did it all at a 9:37 pace - my pace during my last 5k was about a 10 minute mile pace. So a new Katie record. I had a good time and met a trainer with the local running club- so I think after the next few weeks I will join it for the long runs over 6 miles.

Woo!