On Sunday March 15th I participated in my first community run. There were four people in our group my fiancé, my sister, a good friend of the family and myself. Our day started pretty early my fiancé and I got up at 6:45am and had to be out the door by 7am. When we got downtown the streets were packed with runners. It was amazing to see how many runners there are in Portland!
We got there about 5 minutes before it was our time to run. We all four lined up with hundreds of other people and as soon as the horn blew we were off! Our group chose to run the 5k. I must say the 5k races is a perfect distance for my very first time running in a community setting. About half way through the run I started to get a really bad side ache and had to walk a little, the good news is for the most part are whole group stuck together! We each took our turn where we needed a little bit of walking time, but we all crossed the finish line together, which in my opinion was the best part!
My wedding is 4 and half months away and I really want to stay focused! I am currently training for a half marathon in June. I do not know how I would do with a half marathon but I am willing to give it a try. My training will start tomorrow. I will keep you posted on how my training goes!
Have you ever had an injured toe? I never knew how valuable my toe was until I recently sprained and bruised it! The first question you are probably wondering is how do you sprain and bruise a toe? Well the way I hurt my toe I am sure could happen to anyone!
My fiancé and I had some friends over for dinner and I was putting away the left over food. When I opened the refrigerator a thick glass bottle that was on the very top of our refrigerator dropped and fell directly on my second toe.
Let me tell you is very painful to bruise and sprain a toe! The next day I could hardly walk and I had to keep it elevated and iced all day! My toe turned purple and was more swollen then I have ever seen it.
The pain, swelling and coloring lasted for a few days. After the first rough couple of days I started to feel more comfortable and was able to move around more. It has been two weeks tomorrow since the accident and I am still in pain! I have not been able to run yet and the race is right around the corner 
With the Shamrock run only being a month away it is very important to stay consistent with my training. I have been running 3 miles a day 3 times a week and I am getting very comfortable with this pace. My goal was to run the 8k for the Shamrock run but I am starting to think that a 5k might be a better idea for my first run.
You have to remember that I started running back in November so it has only been right around 4 months since I started training. I was doing really well with my best run being 4 miles at a pace of 9 minutes a mile, but I took about a week off and it really through my running schedule off. When I tried to run again after taking the time off I could hardly do my regular 3 miles. Since struggling I am really trying to not take any significant length of time off again.
I am excited for my run tonight because I think that I am finally getting back to the pace I was at before I took the time off. Hopefully my fiancé will go to the gym as well. Sometimes I have to drag him kicking and screaming and other times he is happy to go.
Last Sunday I decided that I was going to push myself to run 4 miles. If you would have told me three months ago that I would be able to run 4 miles I would have laughed at you. As you can see three months later this is an attainable goal. I decided to do the run on a Sunday because I am not as pressed for time as I am during the week. Well not only did I accomplish running 4 miles but I did it at a pace of 9.30, which for me is a very good pace.
I have had this last week off from the gym and I could not be more excited to get back to it. Due to some medications I am on I was forced to take the week off but I should be able to get back into the gym in the next couple of days.
My fiancé and I are only about six months away from our wedding date so it is time to really start pushing our self’s. We both have a goal to get into the gym three days a week. I usually go four days a week because I enjoy running on the weekends. But we are doing well if we go to they gym three days during the week together. He is a great workout partner and we both have some pretty good goals for the wedding. I will keep you all posted on how we are doing, as the wedding gets closer.
I have been running for almost 3 months and I am finally getting to the point where I don’t need to walk and rest in the middle of a run as much. I wanted to see how long and far I could run before needing to rest so I tested myself. I decided that I was going to run at a steady pace for as long as I could. I ended up being able to run for 25 minutes and I ran a little under three miles. This was a big step for me but now at least I know what I can do.
My goals from here on out are going to be bigger and better then before. This week has been kind of a crazy week and so far I have not made it to the gym. I really need to get in there so I will probably go tonight. I find it is easier for me to work out in the morning but sometimes I have a really hard time getting out of bed. I am sure you all know how that goes. Tonight my goal is to do a solid 3-mile run and then this weekend I would like to run 5 miles and see how I do.
My fiancé and I have been staying on track and getting to the gym 3 times a week and I want to continue with our routine.
This is what Darcy had to say about the Nike plus! Thanks for the information Darcy! You rock!!!!
Hey alyssa,
When I first got my Nike+ I had the same reaction. Bruno told me that out of the package it is 80% accurate, and a much better tracker then when you are on the treadmill. The most important thing about the Nike+ is that you need to calibrate it. Which means that you need to go to a track, like gresham High Schools, which you know to be a fourth of a mile and run that with the Nike+ in calibration mode, set at .25 miles. you can do this once in running mode, and once walking. This will give it a much higher accuracy percentage. Also remember that how Nike+ works is that it tracks your foot steps, so if you end up running with a longer pace one day then you did the previous it again wont be as accurate.
Dont get me wrong, I LOVE Nike+, it is a great tool for keeping track of your runs, graphing them, and seeing your progress. Congrats on your ongoing running!
Have you ever wondered what tracked more accurately a Nike plus or the treadmill? When I first started running I would track my time by writing down all of the stats the treadmill gave me after a workout. When looking at the numbers I thought the numbers were a little off, was I really only running at a 10 min pace mile? So I decided to use my Nike plus and compare it to the treadmill information. To my surprise the treadmill was off by .25 a mile! Now that is a lot to be off by! Yesterday when I used my Nike plus I ran 3 miles and it paced me at 9.5 a mile. Those numbers made me feel really good. I am running under a 10-minute mile! From now on I am only going to use my Nike plus. Also the great thing about the Nike plus is it keeps track of all of your past times so I don’t have to write anything down after a work out. If you are a runner and don’t have a Nike plus you need to get one! They are the best investment ever!
Hey everyone! So on Saturday I joined Nike’s running group in NYC. They have on in every major city so I encourage you all to look into it. And did I tell you . . its FREE! And did I also tell you that they provide healthy snacks after?!?. So far I have run with the group on Saturday, Tuesday, and tonight (Thursday). This week I have been so good, The only day that I took off was Sunday. I will say I am a little exhausted. Both yesterday and today in the morning I kept saying to myself “I need a day off.” But the funny thing is, about halfway through the day I can’t wait to get to the gym, or out to the park and run. I absolutely LOVE my gym, we have been rated to have the best trainers in the city for the past few years. (David Barton Gym (new Location in Seattle coming soon!)) One of the trainers once said to me that when you get to the point where you are feeling really challenged, and you want to stop or give up, that is the time to push on just a little longer, (also known your threshold) and that pushing beyond that point is what ends up bring results to people that are truly committed to working out and challenging themselves. Anyways, i like to think about that whenever I get to that point in my running sessions.
On that same note, when I went to run with the nike group on Tuesday I was a little bumbed out after, because I felt like I pushed my self way too hard, and that at the end I was thinking to myself, “I cannot run any further!” I made it, but I was utterly exhausted. Tonight when I ran I made sure to run with the 7.5 minute mile pacer instead of the 7 minute pacer, and enjoyed my run so much better (even though it was pouring down rain the entire time!) While I was jogging back I got stuck in between traffic with this other guy. He asks if I went on tuesday, and then tells me that he cant remember the last time he worked out as hard as he did that night. That made me feel better because I knew I want the only one, and all of these experiences can only make me a better runner. Which is probably the best part of this group, I dont feel like im on my own when I am running, and there are others there to talk about the run, and give each other pointers. I was never on track in high school, and almost think this is the next best thing!
On Sunday according to my training coach I was scheduled to run 4 miles. Now I cannot run 4 miles with out a few walking brakes involved. By three males I was right around my usual time of 34 minutes. The 4th mile was by far the hardest mile but once I made 4 miles I was so proud of my accomplishment. My goal this week is to be able to run 3 miles under 34 minutes. I keep trying to increase my speed each run and so far that method seems to be working pretty well. I can’t wait until I no longer have to take brakes but I have a feeling it is going to be a while before that happens. My training coach has me slowly increasing distance over time to reach my final goal of the 8k races I am training for.
When I woke up this morning I was so sore I could hardly walk! I talked to Misty and she said that it is normal to be sore and that it just means I trained harder then my body is used to. We also talked about warming up, cooling down and stretching after a run. These steps are very important and help prevent injury.
Those pictures are awesome Darcy! I wish I had a paved trail like that I felt comfortable running on at dark. There is not a lot of options here in the dark so I have been limited to running in the gym, which gets really boring. This week it doesn’t matter becuase I am just recovering from Sunday, but in the coming weeks I’m going to have to figure something else out.
Alyssa, nice blog about organic food!
I’m am feeling pretty crappy so I’m going home to relax and get cozy in my bed.