8 Mile

Isn't that the title of Eminem's movie?

I secretly really like Eminem, especially his new stuff coming out.

Who knows, maybe after I become a broadway star

I will become a rapper.

HA! That's just ridiculous.

Today's run freaking rocked!

I wound up and down, in and out of Palo Alto.

The sun and trees were always in perfect spots,

and my body felt good.

It's the biggest high to finish these longer runs and

to know that you conquered it.

This motivates me and inspires me for all the training I have.

It helps keep in perspective the sweets and not good foods

to not put in my mouth or some serious problems happen while running. :)

Now I can enjoy my Saturday night and Sunday resting.

Relaxing and enjoying the total of 18 miles I ran this week.

A runners life isn't too shabby after all.

6 miles down...

Or I hope to be saying in 15 weeks,

6 miles to go!!

Saturday I set out and tried to do my 6 miler.

It was a bit traumatic and made me doubt my ability as a runner.

I mean I have some races on my feet,

but for some reason I always re-start my brain for each race.

I train as though I never have run.

Who knows if that is smart or not.

Today I had the chance to fit in the 6 miler

and when I was done I did a big WOO-HOO!!

The run felt so freaking awesome.

I only had to stop once for a stop light.

And I could have gone further.

It gives me high hopes for my 8 miler on Saturday.

But I do understand you have good runs and bad runs.

So I hope that with sticking to my training plan that soon enough

my muscle memory will pull me along and my mind will push me further.

My own plan

I don't even dare say it out loud,

but I am running a marathon in October.

I should be further along in my running training for this event,

but I still have high hopes for myself to finish.

That's all my goal is for this marathon,

to finish with my head held high.

I want to be able to run the whole thing.

I know I can.

I know I will do my best.

I'm going to start just pushing myself and making myself stronger.

To make sure I get in the short runs, the long runs, AND strength training.

I feel better running after I have done some strength workouts.

The muscles respond to the lifting weights and seem to enjoy the freedom

that comes when I run.

So here is to announcing to myself on this running blog

that I am going to run a marathon.

The funniest part about this post was I was so scared to admit it out loud.

But the funnier part is no one reads this blog.

Well here is to running!! Just do it!

Mental or Physical?

Running to me at the beginning was all physical.

Keep up the endurance push my muscles further.

But as time has gone on and I have read tidbits here and there,

I changed to more of a mental state.

I wish I hadn't.

Lately I have been mentally spent,

so it's been harder to get out and run.

I want to switch back to the physical run,

and hopefully in turn my mental toughness will become,

well... more tough.

Which reminds me,

have you seen Alice in Wonderland?

I love how the Mad Hatter says,

"You've lost your muchiness".

I want much more muchiness!

The Dish

We have an area close by that is called The Dish.

It is on Stanford campus and is called the Dish due to the extra large

satellite dishes they have on the land.

It's great to run on because of the hills you run up and down,

hard to find when you live at sea level.

I took the nanny girls today to get us out of the house,

and to help me get some running in.

I give it up to the momma's who use jogging strollers.

Pushing the six year old up and down those hills was intense.

Hard and slow going up,

and super fast going down.

But I realized something when the run was done,

it just feels good to go out and run.

To push yourself physically and mentally past the barrier you put on yourself.

That's why I am going to accomplish that 6 mile run I tried on Saturday.

I had a few complications that I am determined to overcome.

I hope to stay this active all through when I finally have children,

and when the kids are older.

Not only for my own sanity but for the example and

hopefully my kids will catch the bug and want to be healthy and fit too!

4.13

The last time I ran 4.13 miles was so long ago.

Long as in over 6 months ago.

I was nervous as a wee little one to do this run.

I do 3 mile runs.

I do workout videos.

But the longer distance runs sure do get inside my head sometimes.

Surprisingly to myself I did it.

And I felt good.

My mind was strong, my lungs felt good, no sore muscles.

WOW!!

You actually can get stronger and truly enjoy a good run!

Now I can enjoy my Friday night knowing that I just

beat another little wall down.

Booyah!

Running

I am about to start working on a huge goal.

A goal I never thought I would get to.

I am scared.

I am excited.

Bring it on!!

Talk about tough

I am super dooper lucky with my job.
I have a six hour break in my day to do what I want.
So it's awesome to get my good workouts in.

But boy oh boy I am going to have to figure something
out for this coming Summer.
It was rough trying to workout after being with the girls
for 12 hours straight.
Hats off to the momma's who work out and have
kiddos with them 24/7.

So I only got 3 workouts in.
But I got 3 workouts in.
That's a good thing.
Any workout is a workout.
And knowing I put in some extra effort to get those
in feels extremelly good.

I have high hopes for this next week.
Trying to get myself up to a comfortable 3 miles,
but in a quicker time than I usually run.
Why?
Well ultimately I want to run a half in under 2 hours.
And may as well start now getting my strength,
endurance, and quickness up while I am starting anew.

First week

The week is not quite over yet.

But how did you do?

I did good!

I feel good about myself for completing most of the week

and am excited to start next week.

Next week will be more difficult because

my nanny girls are on Spring Break

but I will make the time.

Cause when I make time to work out

and take care of myself it just feels great!

My 60 Day Plan

Why not 30 Day?

Well it's quite simple... I want something to be long lasting.

I know it's 21 days to form a new habit, but I want this to last.

I love working out and working towards goals

and I feel it is more effective to have a bit of a bigger goal.

I am also doing this all without going to the gym.

I wish we had a gym membership,

but sadly they are pricey here in California.

So here is to making a plan and sticking to it!

The Plan:

- Make a calendar you can cross off every day

{if you miss a day, don't feel bad, but circle it. It helps you see what days it's harder for you to achieve that days goals}

- Get your favorite workouts lined up

Mine?

Jillian 30 Day Shred and Turbo Jam 5 Disc DVD set.

and of course.... running.

- Write down your goals

I want to be lean. I want to be stronger.

I want to be able to run 4 or 5 miles as my usual run.

Day 1:

Today rocked.

I started Jillian Level 1 and will continue to do that all this week.

I also ran 2 miles.

It was hard while doing the workouts,

eating junk and not running for awhile will tend to do that to you.

But once completed it felt great to have accomplished the feat.

The DVDs I am using.