Just a taste...

Well, today I have to eat a little bit of humble pie.  Last week I was thinking about my running, and how I haven't had any injuries so far and and never missed a planned run.  Man I felt good.  I even had the thought, "You are doing good!  You'll never have an injury or have to take a rest."  Yeah, today I am eating those words.  While I'm not really "injured" (translation, no professional has told me I am,) my left knee and ankle have been extra sore.  Hard to go from sitting to standing sore.  And so today, I must take a break.  I don't want to really hurt myself so instead of my planned 35 minute run, I am sitting at home with a plan to ice my knee and use my new Pro-Tec massager to *hopefully* work out some of the kinks.  If all goes well, that will be all I need and I'll be back on the road Thursday.  If it doesn't, well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Source

In other news, we bought Big D a new pair of running shoes today.  For some reason the $20 discount store shoes just weren't cutting it.  He fought me on it a bit, but today I managed to drag him into the local running store (I had to get my new massager, right?) First thing I did was make him sit down with the employer.  It didn't take long for Big D to agree that this was a good idea.  Twenty minutes, and several pairs of shoes later, he found the perfect match.   As we walked out the door, he says, "I'm really excited to run my 5k!"  Yeah, that's the first time I've heard those words.  He said he'd run with me, but had basically been talking himself out of it since day one of training.  It's amazing what a new pair of REAL running shoes will do.  If anyone out there has debated the money, and whether they really are THAT different than any old athletic shoe I just have to say: They are soooo worth it.  Not only do you save yourself on some aches and pains(not all, but some), but you may find that you truly enjoy running!

Entering New Territory

Well, this was it.  Today was the very last of my short runs on weekends.  I went 3 miles today but next week I'm entering the unknown.  Next week will be a four mile run for the First. Time. EVER.  I am more than just a little nervous.  I have only been running for three months and I'm about to push my limits again.  I have such mixed feelings about my goals. On the one hand, I am scared to death to even attempt a 10k.  One sentence crosses my mind over and over again, "What was I thinking?"  Yet, on the other hand, I have absolutly SHOCKED myself these past three months.  I went from barely being able to eek out a mile it a 16:00/mile pace to running 3 at a 14:00/mile pace. Just going for three miles, walking or running, used to seem impossible to me.  How could I do it?  But I did.  I completed a 5k when I thought I couldn't and I will complete the 10k as well.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.  Yes, four miles seems daunting.  So do five and six, but if I focus on one week at a time I can do it.  I guess I really am okay with crossing this threshold.  Moving on to an unknown is exciting.  I get to see what else I can do.
When I left the house this morning, I wasn't sure I could do it.  I haven't run three mile for over a month and I was nervous.  I did make the big mistake of not eating before I left.  I was going at a decent speed but halfway through I could feel my energy slipping.  I will say one really wonderful thing I've learned from running is how to listen to my body.  I knew I couldn't keep pushing at the pace I was going.  If I did, I would pass out.  My body told me to walk and save a bit of energy to finish.  I walked for about four minutes before I felt recovered.  After that, I picked up the pace I was able to run the rest of my splits.  I didn't pass out, I didn't even feel shaky.  I just listened to what my body told me and I was able to keep a decent pace and finish.  I hope that I can do that during all my races.  I hope that I can keep being in tune with how much I can push myself.  I love that when it comes to keeping myself from injury, I can listen to what my body has to say.  Now if I could only figure out what it's saying when it comes to nutrition....

Stats:

Distance 3.00 Mi.

Duration 42:13

Avg. Pace 14:04

Avg Speed 4.26 mph

Splits

Intervals	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
5:00 (fast)	13:38	-1
1:00 (slow)	14:14	1
5:00 (fast)	13:41	3
1:00 (slow)	15:51	1
5:00 (fast)	13:47	5
1:00 (slow)	15:34	1
5:00 (fast)	14:24	3
1:00 (slow)	16:04	-1
5:00 (fast)	13:43	-9
1:00 (slow)	19:01	-1
5:00 (fast)	13:46	0
1:00 (slow)	15:31	-0
5:00 (fast)	13:48	-3
1:00 (slow)	14:06	2
5:00 (fast)	15:51	1

5k number three, coming up!

First I have to give a shout out to my niece.  She ran a 5k yesterday in 35:02! Awesome by itself, but she lived in the east and it was 93 degrees!  Way too hot for me.  Congratulations Squidlet!

One of our engagement pictures
I can't wait to run together!

Now, to the news at hand...My husband and I have been planning to run a 5k together at the end of July.  My community is one with many small town celebrations all summer long and with those come quite a few 5k races.  I recently found out that the 5k in my town is FREE!  Yes!!!!  I love free, especially when there are two of us entering.  Another plus, the race starts about a block away from my house and the route runs literally right past my door!  The plan right now is to have my parent come stay with us and watch the girls.  They will be able to get some great race pictures and the girls can stay in their jammies!  I'm so excited, Big D and I both ran yesterday and it looks like our paces won't be too far off from each other.  We may be able to literally run the race together! (Can you tell I'm excited?)

Stats:

Distance 2.67 Mi.

Duration 38:00

Avg. Pace 14:16

Avg Speed 4.21 mph

Intervals	Pace (min/mi)	Elevation (ft)
5:00 (warmup)	14:47	2
6:00 (fast)	12:47	1
1:00 (slow)	15:58	-1
6:00 (fast)	13:34	10
1:00 (slow)	16:54	-1
6:00 (fast)	14:05	-4
1:00 (slow)	15:18	0
6:00 (fast)	13:59	-5
1:00 (slow)	16:08	0
5:00 (cooldown)	15:40	-3