I ran seven miles today...wooohooo. It kinda dragged on because I did it on the tm, but all in all it wasn't a bad run. I had to cover up the digital clocks and distance meter with my sweatshirt because I kept looking at them. I hate when I watch the mileage creep by a hundreth of a mile at a time. I tried to distract myself with the tv in the gym and my tunes, but it was a very hard run. I was definitely glad when it was over! I need to get some new tunes on my ipod and create a playlist for running. There is nothing more annoying than having to skip through five hundred songs to get to one you can run to. Blah!

Trail Running

Today Suzanne and I headed out for the trails at our college. They have three different paths ranging from .5, 1.5, and 2.5 miles with a beautiful lake at the end of the course. I don't do much trail running, but I would like to start.

I remember the first time I went, I was by myself and it started getting dark and I had no idea where I was at on the path...needless to say, I was freaking out. I promised I would never go back by myself. Today was different though; we went late in the morning and it was the perfect temperature through the wooded trails. I left the ipod in the car as did my partner and we headed off down the 2.5 mile path. We talked about all kinds of things on our run, including tripping on the tree stumps and roots along the path, which my partner and I had both done at least once in the history of our trail runs. Luckily, we were never injured beyond a quick pain that would subside within a couple minutes. After completing the 2.5 mile trail we felt adventurous and decided to do the 1.5 mile trail. Just at the end of it I tripped on a root and stumpled forward a few yards trying to keep my balance from shifting to my knees...that attempt was a failure and down I went. It was rather humorous, I must admit. I got up and finished the trail (the one hundred feet left of it). On a side note, I haven't had scabbed knees since I was six! lol.

Flashcards and Elliptical

Today I did the elliptical for 45 minutes without music (the battery on my ipod died). Instead I went through my flashcards for the medical college admissions test which made me feel doubly productive. Surprisingly, I really wasn't tired afterwards or even during and I kept it at the same intensity and speed as last time. This just goes to show I am building my endurance and can still function without the motivation of my music.

Ortega Run

I ran the five mile Ortega run today and beat the goal I had set for myself. I finished at 45.07, a 9 minute mile pace. Overall, I placed 197, in the top 25 percent. For my age category 20-24 I placed 12 out of 45 runners. Not too shabby for my first run in over three years. I remember the third lap being the worst of them all...the hot Florida sun was beaming down as I was pushing it over a bridge wishing I had drank the water from the last free stand. I missed the three mile marker so it felt like forever and when I had reached the fourth mile marker with the time I thought I was at the third and assumed I had been going uber slow. To my surprise and momentary relief it was the fourth mile marker and not the third.

The day before Ortega

Today was very uneventful. I had a day of relaxation and decided not to do much in the way of exercise since I will be running a race tomorrow. I am excited as this is the first race I have run since 2002. My goal for tomorrow is to get through the race without getting sick and to have a time somewhere around 53-54 minutes.

Today I started off not knowing what kind of workout I was going to do...I just knew I had a little over an hour to do it in. I started on the tm and did exactly 2.1 miles and finished off running around my university for a total of 4 miles. I felt great afterwards and was ready to do some abs. I have been working on my abs about four times a week in hopes of a six pack by August. Think it's possible? As long as I continue to remove the fatty tissue from my abdominal wall there is a good chance my abdominal muscles can show through. lol. I guess we'll see in due time. I registered for the Ortega River Run today. It is a five mile run in Jax by the river. I believe I am going with a running club here in Jacksonville, but I have not confirmed that yet.

My shoe experience...

When I started getting minor ankle pains during running, I decided it was time to cash in my old running shoes and take it up a notch. I went to a professional running shoe store for the first time and was pleased with the experience. They looked thoroughly at my old running shoes to see the pattern of ware and they measured my foot and examined my gait. Through all of this they determined I have a normal arch, slight overpronation and I had been wearing the wrong size shoe for a while. I needed to go up about half a size to leave myself some room during running. After going through about six pairs of shoes perfect for my gait, I had it narrowed down to two pair: the Mizuno's inspire and Nike Air Structure Triax 10. I went with the Nike's, but returned them a couple days later after walking around the house in them. They had started bothering the top of my right foot for some reason. The Mizuno's are perfect though...I couldn't have asked for a better running shoe.

Catch Up

Okay...I started getting back into running last month and I couldn't be happier. I love the feeling of satisfaction it provides, not to mention the transformation of my body. There are sooo many benefits...why didn't I start earlier? So far since January 8th, I have lost twelve pounds (146 to 134) and roughly thirteen inches off my body, mainly in the midsection.

I have been training to do the Gate River Run, courtesy of my friend and running partner Suzanne. My longest run thus far has been seven miles at 1:10. I started out huffing and puffing running one to two miles. My first mistake was going too fast and rushing into it. The second was not wearing good running shoes. I quickly resolved both these issues and added in a new ipod for bonus. There is nothing like pushing it to your favorite song.