Lazy Sunday

Do you ever have do absolutely nothing days?

Today is one of those days for me. The last few months have been good, but incredibly busy and I am tired!

Yesterday we spent the day at Epcot (side note: we aren't doing an actual go somewhere vacation this year, but Disney offered a GREAT deal for Florida residents so we'll be spending a few days there the next couple of months :-) ) and had a great day. Of course it was very active, and according to my FitBit we walked just under 20,000 steps.

So with everything that's gone on today I decided would be a complete lazy day. Wearing my PJs all day, playing on the computer, catching up on DVR shows and catching up on some reading

 

 

Yes, I am waaaaayyyyy behind on my magzine reading :-)

 

What are your thoughts on having totally lazy days?

 

Do they make you feel guilty? For me there is no guilt. I do it so rarely and I know at times I need to just relax and do nothing for my mental and physical health.

 

Are you like me, do you think lazy days are a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle?

 

And with that, I am off to chill...happy Sunday, and enjoy whatever you have planned for today :-)

Run #2 - Iron Girl 5K

Yesteray was my 2nd Run 50 By 50 race, the Iron Girl 5K in Clearwater, FL.

I was really excited to do this race because it was the first race I ran back in 2006 when I first started running.

The day started out very early, getting up at 3:30am. With all the traveling I've done recently for work I did not want to spend another night away from home and in a hotel, so I decided to make it a day trip. I told Tim he didn't have to come with me, but being the great guy he is, he did come with me because he didn't want me driving alone that early in the morning.

We left at 4:30 and arrived about 6:15. Which was pretty good since I find driving around Tampa and Clearwater to be very confusing and we made a couple of wrong turns, even with using GPS.

Once we arrived I went to find where I could go get my number and chip. It was crowded but not a total madhouse.

 

 

We hung out, mostly in the port-o-potty line, it was long and moved slow, but chatted with some nice people. Then we went on the hunt for water since I hadn't drank any yet that morning. To my surprise they were not giving out food to athletes pre-race, although we did find a water station with small cups and water.

 

While we were hanging out the half marathon kicked started. It was fun cheering them on and really looking at the bridge we all had to cross.

 

 

 

Since I had run this race before I knew what to expect for the bridge but it surprised Tim.

 

Then it was time to line up. The excitement was kicking in. I am happy I have virtual run options to complete my 50 By 50, but there is nothing like an in person race to get the adrenaline pumping.

 

 

 

 

And then we were off. First street was uphill already. Then it flattened out until we hit the bridge. Going up the bridge the first time wasn't bad, and of course the scenery was beautiful.

 







Hit mile 1 at the top of the bridge, and then I really got to speed up going down the bridge. Got to the water stop, grabbed a cup and then arrived at the turn around. Unfortunately going back the other way we only had one lane to run in, the other lane was open to traffic. And a LOT of people were not following good race etquiette (another blog on that one coming soon!).

Going back up was tougher, I think it was longer going up the second time and I was going really slow. But eventually I reached the top and then it literally was all down hill from there :-)

Crossing the finish line, as always was awesome. Then the usual line for water, medal, and chip removal. One of the things they did that I LOVED was to give everyone a sponge soaked in cold water. That felt AMAZING!

Final time was 40:06, slightly slower than the last time I ran it, but this time I knew I wasn't going to PR and I just enjoyed it, even stopping to take pictures.

After looking around at the vendors for a couple of minutes we went for our traditional post-race breakfast at Perkins. Then off to the Gun Show in Tampa so Tim could have some fun too.

Overall a great day. I love that race, even with the bridge and am excited to do it again next year.

Why I Run

Wanted to get this posted sooner but have been traveling for work a bunch. Got a few more ideas brewing, so more blogs will soon follow.

Anyway, I thought a post about why I run would be good as I start this blog.

The simple answer is because I love it.

You probably want more than that, right?

I've been running on and off for about 6 - 7 years. I started when I lived a few blocks from the beach. Running on the beach in the mornings was awesome and i think that helped cement my love. How can you not love something when you can do it and watch the sunrise over the ocean and dolphins playing.

I guess I started because I was trying to lose weight and one of my good friends was a runner.

Really I don't remember thinking any specific reason, just that I wanted to run and be a runner.

And I fell in love. In love with (in no particular order):
- the feeling of accomplishment when I am done, especially after a hard run
- the improvements I see in my fitness
- my legs looking great; I had a co-worker who called me Legs because they look so good (RIP Fred, you are missed)
- the running community, everyone is so supportive no matter how fast or far you go
- the time I get to think & process; I run alone and I like that, I refer to my running time as my meditation time
- racing! I love the excitement, the bling & swag, the sense of pride when I cross the finish line, especially if I set a PR
- being outside

If I really dug in and thought harder about it I could probably come up with a dozen more.

I love running!

What do you love about running?  Or your favorite activity.

A pain in the neck...

...and no, I'm not talking about Tim :-)

Last week I was traveling for work. When I travel I try hard to stick to my workout routine, so I bring my running clothes and I bring workout DVDs for my cross training/strength days. Unfortunately the DVD I brought last week was an older one and it wouldn't play in my newer laptop. Instead I went with plan B which was to go to the facility fitness room and use the weight machine there. I had never used it before and thought I did ok with it.

But, later that afternoon my neck started to get stiff and sore and by bedtime that night I was in a lot of pain. Luckily the next day was our last day so I was heading home. By the time my flight landed at 11pm that night I was in so much pain that I called Tim and told him as soon as I got home we were going to the ER. Turns out I had pulled a muscle in my neck which then cause muscle spasms.

I spent the next 3 days spaced out on pain killers and muscle relaxers...not a feeling I enjoy.

Today I am feeling much better, and finally went back to working out. Went for a nice, slow run, and I can tell I haven't been active for about a week and a half, but overall it was great to be out there again.

Traveling again the next two weeks, but this time I'll test my DVDs before I leave so I don't have to use unfamiliar equipment.

On the 50 by 50 front I've been having fun looking for races to do. The Iron Girl 5K is coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm really excited for that one. I can't wait to run it again, bridges and all.

There are so many virtual runs with cool medals available I need to be careful and not sign up for too many - LOL. I'm sticking to one per month, and if there is an in person race avaialbe I'll do that vs. virtual. I like the concept of virtual, I like helping out charities and getting the swag, but I also love the excitment of an in person race.

Happy weekend!

Getting Started

Here we go...

Earlier this month I turned 46 and decided that it would be awesome to run 50 races by my 50th birthday. Hence this goal, FB page and blog were created.

Guess I should start at the beginning...well, not the total beginning, that was 46 years ago :-)

As I was approaching 40 I began to take control of my health. I joined Weight Watchers and started working out and found a love of running.

As often happens lots of life changes occured and I got off track and gained weight back. I also started getting headaches and found out I got exercise induced migraines.

Fast forward to January 2012 and I decided it was time to get serious again about my health. I went back to Weight Watchers with full committment and started exercising again regularly.

May 2012 I started running again and this time was determined to keep running and meet my goal of running a half marathon. Two things helped me greatly with running longer distances and avoiding migraines.

First, I take magnesium each day, it works much better at controling the migraines than any perscription meds my doctor had me try.

Second, I started following Jeff Galloway's run/walkmethod. I run 2 minutes and walk 1 minute. And it's been great for me.

Since last May I ran a 10K, a couple of 5Ks and this past February I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I had hoped to finish in 3:30 (even with run/walk I'm still a slow runner, and I'm ok with that) and I actually finished in 3:25. Considering it was hot and HUMID I was very proud of that finish time.

And now this new challenge has been born. I love to run, but having a race coming up makes it even better, so I'll be set for the next four years.

Yesterday was officially run #1 for Run 50 By 50. It was a local St. Paddy's Day race and I set a 5K PR finishing in 35:41 :-)
 
The 50th race will be the weekend before/after my 50th birthday in some fabulous destination where the man, Tim, and I can have a great vacation.
 
So that's the background for this blog. While it was born out of a running goal chances are really good that I'll end up talking about a lot more than running here.
 
I think this is going to be an amazing journey and I'm excited to live it and share it.