Week 4

Wekk 4 went great the weather was perfect and it just felt good. It left me feeling happy and confident that I could do this. I finished stations 6 and 7 of We Get LOST in Running during week 4. I am very close to finishing the We Get Lost in Running Series which means I am going to need some more virtual runs/races to enter. Virtual races for me are like setting goals. Though there is no one else there to run with me it is my way of setting a distance goal and a training period to meet said goal. i have also found that in my line of work doing big races in person is almost impossible because I very rarely know where I am going to be for an extended period of time.

I started week 5 today and will be starting it again on Wednesday. It didn't go well so I am going to try Week 5 Day 1 all over again. I had to walk the last running section because I was feeling over heated and like a hunk of metal instead of a person. But this will not get me down I am determined to finish Couch to 5k before I leave California for the summer!

Well time to shower and head to the beach! I hope everyone has a lovely Monday.

-Felicia

Only Time Will Tell

I have been away for a while I know the third year of graduate school was killer! But it is over and I can happily say that I now have 2 MFA degrees one in lighting design and one in scenic design! However I can also say that I am not the 9 mile runner I was before year three started, which is a little sad but sometimes you have to postpone one goal to reach another. Now that graduate school is over I am on to my next grand adventure and right now that means living in California.

Let me tell you if you have not ran in a long time California is the place to start over! The weather is always amazing you don't have to deal with those 100 degree days or the fact that it has rained 12 days in a row. I have been here since the middle of May and can tell you it has not rained one time since I have been here and that it has been 65-70 degree and sunny every day! (I am getting spoiled) I have decided to start over from my beginning which was the couch to 5k app back in 2011. I chose this path to start over because it worked so well for me the first time. Couch to 5k for me was an easy increase in time and distance that led me to being a 9 mile runner.

My goal for the summer is to finish the couch to 5k program as well as to get a  full running 5k back under my belt. Right now I just finished Week 3 Day 3 of an 8 week program so I am well on my way. My next goal following the running a full 5k is to get said 5k under 40:00 this is something I want to do more than I can explain.

I will say life is tough right now I live in a three hour time difference from all of my family and my other half which means talking to people is almost impossible on a regular basis. I also have found that the only time I really find me is when I am running all the rest the time I am worrying about how my relationships are holding up in this weird time warp I feel like I live in.

I don't think I will be an every day blogger again for a while but I will try and post at least once a week about my runs and the cool things I get to do in California!

-Felicia 

Coming back

I have been gone for a long period of time from this whole writing thing. I have also been gone from the healthy eating and running thing...This month marks my 2 year anniversary of running!

Two years ago someone told me that I was getting fat and I needed to do something about it before they left...so I did. I started running I found a home and friends in the running community. That person is now gone from life and I still am a runner. I run now because it helps to keep me sane and to help me feel better about myself. I have been out of running for a few months due to injury, ice, and thesis graduation, but all of those things will be done and over on Friday...MEANING I GET TO START RUNNING AGAIN ON SUNDAY!!!! Ok lets be real it will be Monday, i will take the weekend to sleep and catch up on the mountain of homework I am behind on...But still excitement is upon us!

-Felicia

2014 Goals

I have been putting off writing this post for the last 7 days...and here is why it is yet again another new year which means another set of new goals...and lets be honest most people don't stick to there New Years Resolution. But I shall write them any ways and ask that you guys help to keep me on track.

Goals:
1) Run my first half marathon
2) Loose the extra weight...close to 20-25lbs.
3) Graduate with my MFA
4) Write more meaningful posts
5) Finish 14 in 2014
6) Learn more about plant based eating and what works for my body to feel/work it's best

As of today I weigh 161lbs and by this time next year I would like to weigh 135-140lbs. Also as of today I am on regular 2 mile runs and as you can see I would like to run a half this year...I need to find one that I like/will be around to do and register because then I will do the correct training to make this goal possible.
This year I finished 13 in 2013 and loved every second of it and this year I am registered for 14 in 2014...I will be doing mostly virtual races due to the fact I move around so much right now it is hard to know if I will be around the time of a race happening.


I hope every one had a lovely holiday season and hit the ground running!

-Felicia

A Year this Weekend

This weekend marks one year since I ran my first race. Yep that was the coolest feeling in the world. However in the last year I have had some peaks and valleys in my running. Peaks include completing my goal of 13 in 2013. This means that between January 1 and December 31 I have run at least 13 virtual or registered races. The valleys have been sickness, and a knee injury keeping me off the road.

One of my favorite things I started this year is the Get LOST in Running series. I have earned the medals for the first 3 stations which hang in my house. These 3 medals are a total of 16.8 miles! This series for me has been a great reason to stay motivated. These three medal where each one race for me so one day I completed the 4K, one day I finished the 8K, and one day at the end of the summer I ran the 15K.

 

In continuation in this series I have one medal sitting on my dresser that I want to take out of the package so bad! It is a 16K which is a total of 10 miles! I am so far from being able to run 10 miles at one time right now coming out of this valley I am in. So my plan for this medal is to make it my training medal. This means that as I build in my miles on my weekly runs they will add up to the 10 miles. and help me get to the ability to run the full distance at one time for station 5.

To finish out the original series I have to finish stations 5 and 6. Station 5 is a 14. 3 mile run. My goal is to make this my first half! I want to make station 6 which is 26.1 miles break into 2 half's. Upon finishing the original 6 stations means that I have earned the series medal, however Joe added the last 4 stations from the show

into the series so for me until I finish the last original 3 stations and the added on 4 stations will I truly have earned the series medal.

When all is said and done this series will equal a total of 88.3 miles! This series allowed me 3 races (maybe 4) virtual races in 13 in 2013 and will give me 6 races (maybe 7) in 14 in 2014. Oh right my goal for next year is to run 14 in 2014 like I did in 2013! My other goal is to run my first half marathon before next November, and to break my PR of 39:00 minutes on my 5K. With goals in hand, which I will elaborate on more in a different post, I am ready to start my second year in racing.

-Felicia

Well here we go.

It's been a while since I have been here I have missed my digital running family a great deal, however I had some things to sort out and am happy to say I am back. I spent the summer running, running, running, on ground and in swimming pools as well as lifting light weights and core work. I had lost 15lbs since April-August and was feeling strong and confident in my body.
When I got back to school all those things went down the drain! We are 7 weeks in and I (till yesterday) had not run in 3 weeks! 3 WEEKS! That is ridiculous!!! I was choosing sleep over running with how crazy my schedule had gotten trying to design 2 thesis, be a student, run the electrics shop, and have a social life I chose sleep. And I believe most people would be behind me all the way on that decision. However in choosing sleep I have gained 5lbs back (the ice cream and beer might be helping) and lost a great deal of confidence I had built. So Sunday night I decided I was going to get up Monday and run 1 mile that is all I needed to do 1 mile...and I did: 

Is it record breaking...nope but it made me feel better and right now that is the only thing that matters to be honest. Also it made me decide that I wanted to run 25 mile minimum this month. For some of you that is a days worth of running, for some of you that is a weeks worth of runs, but for me this month it's a months worth of running and I am ok with that. My body is kind of starting over and I don't want to push it to hard to fast and end up laid up on the couch with an injury.
So the goal is a mile a day for a month. That means at least a 7:30am wake up call on week days and weekends (which is way later than it was this time last year) which isn't that bad. The other goal for this month is to post about my runs and let you know how my body is feeling, how my spirit is developing, and how my confidence is growing...hopefully all of those things will be true.

 Today is Tuesday which means run 2 happened this morning yep that's right I am 2 for 2 woohoo! This mornings run was faster than yesterday, I didn't really push for it to be that way, however it was colder this morning so maybe that's why. Some where around the 3/4 mile mark I started to notice my legs getting tired which is great! Yep sounds crazy but it is nice to know they are still down there. As the day progresses I am sure I will find my quads to be a little sore which maybe a consistent thing for the rest of the month. My spirit and willingness are good and ready to tackle as much of this challenge my body will let me tackle.

However this challenge is going to mean more laundry for me...because I only have 5 pairs of running clothes :( Wish me luck and I will see you tomorrow!
-Felicia

UGH!

So not having a goal, a running partner, accountability person has made me LAZY! When I started running a year ago and  for almost the entire first year of running I had a person to compete with, someone to talk to about the failed runs and the successful ones. Someone who understood what it meant to cover a new distance or beat a time record. It has been almost 4 months since said person chose to walk out on this responsibility.
Since then I  have hard a terrible time in working out how to get back on my running/nutrition feet. With that being said it is time to get back up and dust myself off and start all over again. It is time to get up with the sun and get my runs in while it is cooler outside...if I can train while working full time or being in school full time there is no reason why I can't do it during the summer when I have hardly nothing going on. Lazy is not my style but pushing through and conquering things is so here we go today's run is the last of the Lazy kid runs.

I ran the 1st mile, walked mile 2, and ran/walked the 3rd. Well not a great day or great run/walk. It will however count as 3 or 9 miles for station 3 the 15K in the We get LOST in running. I was aiming to do this station in one run but till I get my running legs back under me for real I will be breaking them up.  How are things going out there in running cyber world?

-Felicia