Running Update

A few people have asked how my running was going. 

New baby… stroller… is it all working?

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Learning to Run Again

Here we go again... learning to run for the third time in a couple of years. 

Every time starting back at ground zero. 

Run one minute. Walk two. Run one minute. Walk two. 

Is there such as thing as yo-yo running??

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6. Run Another 5K Race - Check!

I DID IT!!!!

I ran another 5K! 

Accomplishing another one of my  13 of 13 goals!!!

And this one was significantly harder than the last one!

I had less time to prepare this time, as you may have read about in this post. 

I still ran quite a bit though in the mornings. 

The course is what killed me - much harder!! 

This course went though our beautiful Muskoseepi Park in Grande Prairie, which also means it included a TON of little hills (and a few huge ones!). 

Much harder on the lungs! 

I did beat my personal goal though and I'm sure I'll try this race again. 

This whole running thing is a bit addictive if you ask me! 

I'm on a bit of a high right now - feeling great about my body, about life, about summer. 

I'm off to celebrate Mother's Day with my family now! 

Here are some pics that my amazing husband took while I was running -- he even drove around to the middle and took pics in the middle of the race! 

Enjoy!

Here I am, red-faced and sweaty at the end of the 5K. 

It was brutal! But it felt amazing to finish! 

Since it was Mother's Day, the organizers gave a flower to every lady that crossed the finish line. 

And then my wonderful husband bought me that bouquet as well :)
Well, that completes number 6 on my 13 of 13 goal list! 

ps - Happy Mother's Day to all the beautiful mother's and mothers-to-be!

{xoxo}

6. Run Another 5K Race

Running season is upon us again! Almost... still some snow on the ground...  Running is not a skill that comes naturally to me though. Nor is it a passion that comes naturally. After I run I always feel great! It feels great to run a new distance, and great to accomplish a new goal, but I always need a bit of a kick in the butt to get going right away.

So how do I motivate myself to keep running?

First - It's one of my 13 of 13 goals on my New Years Resolution list. I'm sure that you're not all sitting at home wondering if I'm accomplishing my goals... checking everyday to see... (although I'd be thrilled to find out that you are! lol), but I've put it out to the world that I'm going to accomplish this. So I have to.

Second - I'm motivated to keep fit. Running always results in me feeling better. Someone once said to me "You'll never regret exercising, but you will regret it if you don't exercise when you can." So far that's true. I've never regretted going for a run or a jog, but I have regretted it if I chose to sit at home instead and be lazy (although sometimes a movie and popcorn just sounds better! ...Slash all the time).

Third - There's no one to compete with except myself. This is the best thing about running to me. Although I wasn't keen on the thought of coming in last place when I did my 5K run last year (it's fine though - I was no where near the end! haha). The beauty of running is that you're only trying to meet your own goals. Beat your own best time. Beat your own distance. Beat your own speed. I feel like I'd be more intimidated if I really had to compete with others.

Let running season begin! There's a 5K in Grande Prairie on May 12, 2013. Less than one month away! I have barely run at all throughout the winter, and when I started up again this Spring, I couldn't even go 2K without a few walking breaks... doesn't seem likely that I can change that quickly, but it just may be the motivation I need to get out on the streets earlier this year!

Here's Daisy and I headed out for a Spring run:

And here's Joop... waiting sadly at home for Daisy and I to come back... 

He even lifted his little paw after a bit...
< That's his puppy way of saying "please" as in "Please, can I go too!" >

Running friends, what do you think? 

Is it possible for me to train for a 5K in a month?

{love life}

Run a 5K Race: Check!

I did it!!! Sept. 22, 2012 marks the first time that I completed a real road race. The 5K began at muskoseepi park in Grande Prairie. I originally wanted to run in the Press Run once (which is a run in the spring in GP), but I was never quite dedicated enough to train for it. Over the spring and summer this year, I've gradually been increasing my running distance and speed. I still consider myself quite a running amateur because I'm quite slow, but I'm getting better all the time :) 

My goal was simple: finish. My secondary goal was to run the race in 35 minutes. Results.... 35:07!!!! I was so pleased! My personal record before this was 37:26. Cutting two whole minutes off your time doesn't sound like much, but it really was quite hard! I think I was pushed a bit by some of the faster runners beside me during the race. I'm definitely feeling the pain in my legs hours later at home too - am obvious sign that I worked harder than normal. 

It was a great day though - perfect temperature in GP! I'm thrilled that I completed the race in one place.  Hopefully now I'll have the motivation to try again! 

Here are some pictures that my amazing supportive fiancé took of me before, during, and after the race. It felt so great to have someone meet me at the end and tell me they were proud of me :) 

Love you Mr. A! 

 I'm in the brown shirt in the middle - getting ready! 

 The pack of 170ish people that ran

 Starting the race! 

 YAY! I did it!!! 

Hot, sweaty, thirsty mess after the race ;)

Thanks for everyone's support as I was preparing! Special shout out to my bestie in Ontario, who supported me from far away and always continued to encourage me. 

Learn to Run 5K... Check!

I did it!!! I ran 5K this morning!! Actually 5.1.... but who's counting...

For those of you keeping track, this is pretty much the best month of my life (engagement, house, completing running goal). I'm really proud of myself actually. It took me 43 minutes to do 5.1K, which is probably horrifically long to some people, but I felt really good about it. I don't have a watch or anything to track my distance, so I just run for a while - or until I feel like falling over - and then I walk. I was hoping that I could do 5K today so I pushed myself a bit, but I'm so glad :)

Now the goal is to improve my time a bit before I get to Ontario for a run with my BFF.

Joop and I post-run.

Joop chilling out by my shoes. [side note: As I write this he is passed out and snoring on the couch beside me, lol. I think he was just as tuckered out from the run as I was!]

Running Update

I can actually say for the first time in my life that I went for a run outside and enjoyed it. I don't know if it was the actual act of running I enjoyed, or the triumph of having a minor success in my personal challenge, but that doesn't matter. Either way I felt great!

A few weeks ago I had taken a hiatus from running. I was sick for a while, and I got busy with all of my house-hunting. So running (not exactly a high priority) took a backseat. Turns out that in running terms, two weeks without training can be a long time. The longest I had ever ran before without stopping was just over 4K (that doesn't seem like much, but it was a huge success for me!). When I started again post-break, I could only do about 2K without wanting to die. Now, don't get me wrong, 2K is still a triumph for me, considering I use to want to give up after 30 seconds, but it was disappointing.

Well, realizing that gave me the motivation I needed to continue training. I run at a very slow pace, but I'm making progress and I'm proud of that. I ran on a track at the fitness centre and realized that I enjoyed that more than my go-to treadmill, and that I could still run the same distance. That got me thinking that maybe I would enjoy outdoor running, so I tried it and I did! About 2.5K at a very slow rate, but I did it!

Unfortunately, that was in Edmonton, and it's still a little snowy/icy for me to feel comfortable running outside in GP, but it's getting warmer outside. Let's hope this motivation stays with me!

Goal reminder: Be able to run 5K (with my best friend in Ontario in May!)

Fitness Schmitness

Oh the joys of running down the street on a sunny day with a light breeze blowing past you... not.

I really wish that I could be one of those people that enjoyed activities like running. I'm really not. Despite that I've set this goal for myself that I want to run a 5K! Some of you may recall that I set this goal last year as well... however, multiple wrist injuries prevented my training from getting too far. Also, some of you may think "push posh Lindi! That's so easy!". False. Actually not easy for me, lol.

Nevertheless, I'm trying to find my motivation again. I always think that it's motivating to have other people around you who are active and want to me active with you. My BFF is one of those types of people - she motivates me to stay on track with my goals and encourages my fitness by joining me when she can. Unfortunately she lives 3 provinces away now... not so easy to take fitness classes together. There's no one that I know out hear that is at my level that wants to be fit with me... or at least no one I can think of. So now my only option is to motivate my self. I find that particularly difficult for the following reasons:

1) I don't enjoy working out by myself

2) I don't have money for a gym membership

3) I like eating junk food

4) My boyfriend already thinks I'm hot

So I had to come up with a new plan of action to target each of these difficulties! Here goes...

1) I've been doing some fun active activities like bootcamp and dodgeball. They're also relatively cheap, so it's like win-win!

2) I'm motivated by my goal to run 5k (and hopefully will stay motivated!) which I can mostly do in my free gym (for now) and outside once the weather is nicer.

3) I've given up snacking for lent. This doesn't mean I have to give up all the foods I like if I eat them at appropriate times and in appropriate portions - but hopefully I won't snack unnecessarily. Lent is just added motivation to eat healthier :)

4) Well... there's not much I can do about this one... I'll just plan on looking even hotter :)

So that's the plan. Now it's everyone else's responsibility to make sure I keep up with it!

Wish me luck :)

The Running Game

Wow. It's been a longer than I thought. Sorry to my faithful follower. (That means you Nate)

Running sucks. Let's just say it how it is. I have friends that say they love to run, but in my head every time they say that I say "yeah, I'm sure you do. You probably love picking up dog poop too."

More than hating running, I hate training to run. Every other day on the treadmill. Working ever so hard to make it 1 minute past what I did the last time, or trying my hardest to run at 5.7 instead of 5.6, or trying desperately to make it to 2.6 km instead of 2.5.

ARGGGGG. Why am I doing this?!?

This truth is, deep down, l just wanna be hot. I wanna look and feel great about myself, so I'm torturing myself in hopes that I only have to do it temporarily.

The second truth is that I already feel better about myself. Every small accomplishment brings satisfaction and confidence with it. I'm proud of where I've come from and I'm proud of the 0.5 extra that I can run since a week ago. I'm hoping to join a free learn-to-run group that starts in a month. The idea is that at the end of it, everyone in the group will be able to run 10K. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that it can't hurt me to try. Who knows.. maybe I'll even like running at the end of all this!

Probably not.