Blah.

Well, faithful readers, I've got nothing to report.

"WHAT THE...?!" you may ask? Well, you'd be right. It has taken me a bit longer than usual to shake this cold, so I'm all tired, and cranky, and grumpy. The crazy downpours this weekend didn't help. Don't get me wrong--I'm walking a lot. But that's just not gonna cut it, now is it?

However, things are looking up. Sun is shining, breezes are blowing, and I'm going to cross fingers that I feel good enough to suit up tomorrow.

Send some good vibes--I need 'em!

I said brr... it's cold out here!

There must be some running in the at-mosphere!

OK, I'm on a singing rampage today. What can I say.

Yesterday--long walk/run! I'm up to running a song, then walking a song or so, then running a song again... feeling great!

Otherwise, lots of walking this week. I'm getting over a fun little cold, so it's better safe then sorry.

Feeling much better now so... next week should be promising. Wish me luck! (and man... my legs are feeling tired but great!)

Welcome to Week Four!

Hello there everyone.

Well, I'll admit it has been a few days. Blame it on my fantastic friends in NYC, where I spent Thurs-Mon. Lots of walking, talking, shopping, dining... and one night of dancing around and ruling the beer pong table with the best team ever. That's cardio, right?

All in all, lots of fantastic quality time, but I guess I didn't make quite so much time for the running. Can you blame me?

Came back with a raging cold yesterday, and pretty much spent today on the couch...and then the cabin fever hit. I HAD to get out, whether or not I could breathe normally. And did I mention it is raining? Oh yes. Not the best outing I've ever had, but not the worst, either! More walking than running, but at least I got out there.

Any good motivating tips out there? I need to keep this up!!

With a little help from my friends...

Well hello all! On a roll this week, thanks to many of you...

Yesterday, a text from Miss Liz helped get me over the "well, I couuuld just stay home" hump, and I had a great outing to the park, then Pilates afterward. My core says "thanks!"

Today I headed off on my mini-spring break, to lovely New York City! My dear friends (and sisters) Ev and Ali created a circle of co-motivation to go for a walk/run on the East River Trail. Feelin' good. Woo.

Sometimes, the support system makes it so much more possible. I am a lucky gal.

Here I go, here I go, here I go again!

Such a good one today. Spring seems to have sprung, and others were out in force on the running paths at 5:30 this evening. It's strangely motivating.

I got a great email from the organizer of the CCFA Team Challenge today--she gave me the training schedule for this summer's half-marathons, which helps me get a sense of what I'm in for come August. I. Can. Do. This.

My running intervals are getting longer, and I actually didn't want to stop today. Jury's out on the new sneaks, but I think I love them (Bri, I will post pics soon), and my cool new running gear worked out great (big ups to the Nathan shoe pocket--so much better than trying to stash my keys strategically, or clip them to myself somehow.)

Came home and did Mari Winsor's 25-min Pilates, and now I think I deserve a Hello Cupcake.

(no, I'm not being paid for all of this linking!)

Slight hiatus...

And here's the culprit, at least for today:



The weekend was rainy and gross... but I managed to buy some new running sneakers (thanks, Fleet Feet) and some new running gear (thanks, Target).

Back at it tomorrow, once all of the Irish has worn off!

Wet rat.

That's what I resemble right now. But I got out there! Wooo!!

Tomorrow's supposed to be even more rainy and blustery, so we'll just see how I do. Perhaps some Pilates, indoors? Core work is important, right?!

Sometimes coziness just has to win over motivation... no?

Enjoy the Friday, folks.

Feelin' it.

Alright, y'all. I'm getting in to this.

Turns out rest days are actually really helpful! I had to take Tuesday off for personal reasons, and Wednesday I was still a little tuckered out from Tuesday, so I just did some crunches and weights. This morning, I finally dragged myself out, and I'm so glad I did! Gorgeous day (it's around 60 degrees... looove), sunny, and I found a great new path through the zoo that meets up with the regular path I like. I enjoy discovery. Starting to push the running intervals a little longer, and I'm cautiously optimistic. I need to keep being patient, which many of you know is not always my strongest suit. Self-improvement is a joy. (Did the sarcasm come through?)

Happy Thursday!

One week in!

Happy Monday, everyone!

It was tough to get up this morning. Is this a recurring theme? Mondays are always a bit difficult, but when you stay up too late on a Saturday night, it bites you in the tush on Monday. My 9th grade science teacher taught me that.

Thanks to mother nature and her 50-degree weather, however, I got out to the park and had a lovely jog altogether. I switched it up a little today and made the run/walk intervals a little longer. Something along the lines of 2 min/3 min. This was a suggestion from a very sweet employee at Fleet Feet, a locally-owned running store in my neighborhood. I stopped in there yesterday about 5 minutes before closing, and cannot wait to go back to load up on some new gear and get more helpful advice.

Today's 20 minute yoga warm-down was forward bends--might be the best so far, in terms of a post-run stretch. Great for the hamstrings. I'm lovin' it. (And does anyone else have that "give me back that filet-o-fish" song in their head? 'Cause I do. Gah.)

Saturday, in the park...

(thanks, Chicago... and sorry to reader NC who absolutely hates that song!)

It's a gorgeous day, and a Saturday to boot. What could be better? 50 degrees, sunny, and no plans til later this afternoon. Makes motivation so much easier. I went for a bit longer walk/run today, through the park near my house, and it was just packed with joggers, walkers, bikers and the like. Amazing what a little rise in temperature will do.

I know it's only been 6 days, but I'm already starting to feel more stamina. My pedometer tells me that I'm going a longer distance in the same amount of time, and I think it will just get better. I went out for about 50 mins today, then home to do some weights and a little 20-min yoga (hip openers--great post-jog stretch). All in all, today feels great so far.

Yesterday I had one of my dearest friends for a visit for most of the day, so no jogging for me. However, she was a great excuse to take a 5-mile or so walk around the city to see a few of the sights. Yay for friends.

Speaking of... another visitor arrives in about an hour and a half, so it's time to put some of this motivation towards swiffering and scrubbing bubbles. Woo!

Pigtails and Professors

Oh hey, blog readers! After my lovely "rest" day yesterday (complete with an insanely delicious breakfast with Mom and Dad at Founding Farmers and possibly one of the best class periods ever last night) I got back at it today. Took a little coaxing to get out of bed, but woo! Done!

Now, let me give you a visual: my hair is short enough now that the only way to keep it out of my face while jogging is to put it in pigtails. It's awfully cute, and quite functional. And I'm not a high-tech running gear gal yet. Mostly comfy exercise pants, old college long-sleeved T's (go Camels!) and an old fleece half-zip. I'm perfectly fine with this...

And then I rounded a corner and ran into one of my professors. I confess, he and I get along, and he's a pretty cool guy, but he's also a former Congressman and was dressed in work attire. So I felt a teensy bit awkward chatting about tonight's class while rocking the pigtails and still able to hear the faintest hint of Britney Spears coming from my iPod headphones. C'est la vie, I guess. I'll have to be extra-brilliant in class tonight.

Time to stretch! And off to work!

Just in case you thought I'd give up...

...day two went swimmingly! My legs are satisfyingly sore, and I like it. A midterm kept me up way too late last night, so my "get up bright and early for a run" plan had to be altered slightly. I instead had a repeated rendezvous with my snooze button at 7:15am, and it was worth it. Turns out walking/running is still totally valid at 5pm. And running in a light rain--not so bad!

Tomorrow I'll be sticking to Yoga, since Mom and Dad are here (yay), it is supposed to snow (brr), and I have work and class (nothing clever for these parentheses). Back at it Thursday!

Day one!

Never fear--I'm not going to post every day. However, I thought that today, being the beginning and all, merited a post.

Just the fact that I got out of bed nice and early was a great start. This grad student/part time workin' life has messed up my sleep schedule, so in addition to all of the wonderful things this running plan will do for my body, I'm hoping it will also help me get back on a more normal schedule. Not the easiest when you have class from 7-9 pm!

In any case--woke up at 7:15, was out the door by 8am. Thank you, Canadian Embassy, for giving me a free pedometer at the Olympics Opening Ceremonies fête. It came in very handy this morning with its stopwatch, km counter, and step counter.

The 38-degree, sunny weather was perfect to get this all started. I did 17 min walk, 15 min 30/30, and then 6 min walk. This will get easier. I have to say, the playlist kept me happy and motivated! When I got home, I popped in Rodney Yee's A.M. Yoga for your Week, which contains five 20-minute morning yoga practices. I did the "standing poses" program, which doubled as a lovely post-run stretch!

All in all, feeling very positive about this. We'll see how I feel when I wake up to snow in a few days, but... for now, one day down!