What's Up Wednesday!

Well... There's not much to talk about today, cause there's just not that much happening up here. It's been cloudy and rainy all week, which I can't complain too much about since it's raining and not snowing. So that part is lovely-ish.

The horses are all good. I think they're already bored with winter, so hopefully things will thaw out and dry up enough for us to do some work at some point soon. Hahaha! Maybe? In the meantime, Rio and Jamp have been enjoying lots of grooming, while Romey has decided that is some kind of horrible torture. Poor Romey. We haven't taken any selfies, but maybe we will this weekend just so you don't forget what my horses look like.

There's a new barn that was just completed and moved into about ten minutes up the road from me. It has a nice sized indoor and the trainer is friends with my trainer. My trainer's baby horse was born there. He's out of the mare I got to show a couple years ago at WEF, Candy. Here they are enjoying a not too cold winter day in the paddock:

 I stopped over on Sunday finally to say hello and get the grand tour. I decided to schedule a lesson for this week so I can remember how to jump before I head back to Florida in February. If it goes well, I'll take a few more. I need all the practice! ALL OF IT! My lesson is tonight, so maybe I'll have something to talk about next week!

Because I'm full of great ideas, I decided to attend our company workout class last night after work. I mean it's a great plan to get physically tortured the day before my first riding lesson in forever right? Sure, totally good idea. The class wasn't terrible, but I had thought it might be more fun. I know, how could exercise be fun? I dunno, I was just hopeful. We did butt kicks and high knees, squats and wall sits, crunches and planks, plus some other stuff I don't know the name of. I had trouble with wall sits, oddly because I've done them before without issue. But I am super out of shape I guess. Today my legs are sore, but my abs and arms are in pretty good shape. I guess I know what needs work! Thankfully I have no media from class. Maybe some other time. If I go back. Ha.

Have you guys heard of the website Used Horse Stuff? It works like ThredUp, which is a consignment clothing site. You request a clean out bag, and they send you a good sized sturdy bag you can fill with your stuff you don't want. It has a label on it already, so just leave it for the mail carrier, and it heads back to Used Horse Stuff. They then price and list your stuff for you on their site. I believe if it sells you get 60%. I'm not sure if it's a great deal, but I had a ton of jackets and random stuff I wasn't using and have been too lazy to sell or donate on my own. So I packed up a bag and sent it in this weekend. We'll see if anything sells! If you're interested in trying it out, use this link to request a bag. Please put my name in the referral blank, and I'll get a $10 credit if you send your bag back to be sold. Or you could buy my stuff, that would be better. I think they list new things on Fridays, so my items aren't going to be up there just yet.

It's a good sized bag, Pia for size reference

Seriously, that's all I have for today. Winter is boring. Have you done anything fun or exciting this week? Do you do workout classes? Have anything else we can chat about? Talk to me in the comments! I shall leave you with some sleeping Pugs.

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession is all about my complete and utter lack of fitness. Kind of. As you may have noticed, I haven't been running. I found my non-functioning thyroid to be a pretty decent excuse to skip out on hitting the pavement (or treadmill). It was a pretty reasonable excuse of course, but boy did I milk that one dry! I have lots of tricks to try to motivate myself: new sneakers, a new running outfit, checking race schedules for something fun to get ready for... None of it worked. So then I thought well maybe if I spend a bunch of money on running stuff, maybe THAT will get me out the door. So I signed up for the Adidas Avenue A box. That sucker is $150! (Confession A: purchasing the Avenue A box.) I was SO EXCITED for my first box to arrive (it ships quarterly, so that was an early September arrival). I thought for sure I'd be throwing on that new outfit and shoes for my fastest 5k ever a nice slow 2 miler to get back into the groove. Alas, I was not yet prescribed my magic thyroid pills when it got here. I just could NOT bring myself to get out there. (The contents were awesome by the way: sneakers, capri tights, sports bra, tank, and a hoodie!)
Let's fast forward to this weekend (about a month after my fancy box arrived). When I got the mail on Saturday, my medal for the virtual Pug Run had arrived! AND I'm happily medicated. It was time my friends. Sunday night, I laced up my fancy new sneakers and climbed aboard the dreadmill (thanks for all the rain ALL weekend hurricane Matthew).

my fancy new Adidas outfit minus the hoodie

I set the dreadmill for turtle pace and off I went. My plan was to keep it at Turtle for 3.12 miles and only walk once at the halfway point for some water. It went pretty well, I ran bounced along slowly for the first 1.5 miles, then stopped for a little water break. But taking a walk break on the treadmill is like opening a bag of potato chips. Once you have have one, you want more. I took two more breaks the second half of my run. It wasn't pretty guys:

That's an almost 40 minute 5K! (Confession B: a FORTY MINUTE 5k.) Ugh. But I did it! I'm not counting this run for my virtual Pug Run. I'm going to get a couple more in and make it official next weekend. At least that's the plan.

Do you have any confessions to share today? Let's talk about it in the comments!

Global Running Day!

I picked the right week to get back to running! Today is global running day! In observance, I ran 1.25 miles this morning... It was supposed to be three, but I hit the snooze button 5 or 6 times too many. My bad. Hey, 1.25 is better than 0.0, am I right? Yes. Yes I am.
I was recently contacted by Eventbrite to write up a post about my most memorable race experiences. I figured Global Running Day is the perfect time to do just that! It's impossible to pick really, but let's see if I can try and keep this from getting too long...
Obviously your very first 5K is memorable! Unfortunately, I have no media from that big day. I can still talk about it though. I got into running because I had turned 29 and I was getting chubby. Many of my friends were avid runners and I felt some pangs of jealousy when I saw all those happy race photos on Facebook. So I secretly started the couch to 5K program and it culminated with me running the 5K at the Hartford Marathon. Go big or go home right?! It went great, and I finished just over 30 minutes. Not bad for the first time! And I ran the WHOLE THING! Nice work self.

I was much leaner then...

After not dying in my first 5K I decided to keep at it. I ran the Turkey Trot that November which is a 5 mile race, and then just kept on running races.
My next most memorable race was something I really never imagined I'd do. Along with my sister-in-law and a close friend, I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon. The first half for all three of us!

That was such an amazing race! There are photo ops every mile, sometimes with princes, some with characters, you name it! There is a boring stretch of pavement when you're running from one park to the other, but since it's Disney they think of everything! They parked some rather attractive firemen up on a bill board. They were waving to us and cheering us on! We stayed at a Disney hotel because they had a shuttle to and from the race. Upon our return back to the hotel, the entire lobby stopped what they were doing and cheered for us. It was crazy! Seriously, that trip is one of my most favorite memories. Great times with great women!
I think the race that was the most emotional for me was my most recent half. (Notice I didn't use the word last ;)) I ran the Outrun 38 half marathon, almost exactly one year ago today. I've posted about Outrun 38 a few times here on the blog, and I encourage you to visit their website, but especially their Facebook page. It's an amazing group doing wonderful things for Cystic Fibrosis research. And I've never encountered more uplifting people in my life. I wrote an entire post about it last year, which you should also read because shameless plug...

But to summarize:
My very best friend since we were little girls ran this race with me. She's ten times the runner I'll ever be, but she shuffled along next to me, despite my needing to walk probably 40% of it. She never complained, she just stayed by my side and supported me the whole way through. It meant the world to me then, and probably even more now.
All of these things are awesome, but the most memorable moment came a little bit after we finally finished. Because just a few minutes behind us was the face of the Outrun 38 group. Her name is Liz and she's 39 years old living with CF. Yes living with CF at the age of 39. That is impressive in itself. But there she was at the finish line, after running the ENTIRE HALF MARATHON! At 39. Battling CF. Amazeballs my friends. Even my cold little heart shed a tear.

I would say these are my top three memories. BUT, I also have a few memories that weren't so great... I PR'd at the NYC Half Marathon a few years ago with a time of 2:09. That should be why it's memorable, but it's not. It's memorable for a couple of reasons. First, my dad arranged for a black car to take us to the race in the morning since we had to be there at 4 am. Our driver didn't know where Central Park was! Really. My family's apartment is literally 3 blocks away. So there was that. On top of that silliness, it was about 15 degrees when we arrived at our corrals. I had brought a bagel to eat while I waited but it actually froze solid before I could get to it. Yep. 13.1 miles on an empty belly. Awesome. My toes froze before I actually crossed the start line and I had to run on ice blocks for the first 3 miles. Seriously, despite getting a PR, it was the worst race ever! You can tell because again, I have no media.
Another not so great race memory that stands out comes from the 5K they hold the day before the Boston Marathon. Fun fact: we get to finish at the same finish line! So it was REALLY crowded as you'd expect. I was running with my friends from the Princess half above. My sister-in-law led us up onto a sidewalk to try and get around a large group of runners. On my way back off the side walk, I supermanned onto the pavement. I think it looked painful because I heard, "Oh..OH!" Yeah, the second oh was when I bounced. I'm so graceful. Despite some bloody knees and elbows though, I finished that race strong!

But we cropped my knees out of the finish photos...

Of course you never forget the races where you wear ridiculous outfits, or jump over fire then get covered in mud, or the ones when you place in your age group, or the one where you get your step mom to run her first race...

I'm so glad Eventbrite approached me to write this post! It was really fun to look back at all the races I've done. While running isn't my favorite thing to do, it's given me the most amazing memories. Not to mention the friendships! Oh running... I hate to think I owe you. But clearly I do. It's definitely time to get back at it.

Eventbrite is a great resource to find local races and events near you. You can also use their website to promote your own event and even sell tickets to your own event!

What are your favorite race memories? Or the worst ones? Have you ever dressed up to run? Let's talk about running in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

Ok... are you all sitting down? No? Ok, I'll wait....


How about now? Are you sitting? Ok good. I can tell you then. I am lacing up my sneakers and getting back to running. No really! I am! Or at least, I'm trying to. I signed up again this year for the Stridebox Two Week Virtual Marathon, and I'm committed to getting it done. Even if I have to walk some of the miles.
The Stridebox Virtual (2 week) Marathon runs fromMay 30th and goes through June 13th. Runners can log their miles in anyway they wish within that two week period. The proceeds benefit Warfighter Sports, so aside from getting me fit, it's also a great cause!
To help me get started, I got a couple of new pairs of Mizunos. Hey, Zulilly had them on sale and they were practically two for one. Plus I love the Wave Sayonara models, and they're a little harder to find sometimes. Gotta stock up while you can! Here they are:

I wanted to take full advantage of the day off work to get a jump start on my 26.2. So after doing barn chores, many loads of laundry, and straightening up the house, I hopped on the treadmill. I opted to stay indoors because the humidity outside was oppressive and it was getting late. I did a modified version of the first week of couch to 5K. I wanted to start easy because I haven't run in so long, and also because my room was 78 degrees. The first week of couch to 5K has you alternating between running and walking every 60 seconds. I decided to walk for 1 minute and run for 2 instead. It went great! I kept it very slow, and I'm happy to report I made it to 3 miles and nobody died! 

That's a win! Three miles down, 23.2 to go! Let's hope I can make this happen.

Have you been getting any exercise in? Have anything on the horizon you'd like to participate in? Or do you need to confess your lack of exercise (like I normally do)?

Truthful Tuesday

Today's confession should come as no surprise... And it is that I can't remember the last time I went for a run. It was a REALLY long time ago. And here's why that's a problem (other than the fact that I'm gaining weight!): I have a bunch of 5K's coming up that I really want to participate in, and I'm completely unfit. COMPLETELY!
I was determined to get up early today and get at least a couple of miles in. I set the alarm for 6:15. And then I hit snooze until it was way too late to run. Story of my life! I'm going to maybe try and hop on the ole' treadmill tonight after riding though.
Do you think it will actually happen? How do you get back out there after a long hiatus?

Truthful Tuesday

So on Tuesdays I tell the truth. And this week I'm telling you...

I am out of shape. SO VERY OUT OF SHAPE. Here's how I know.

First, I went to that horse show on Sunday which you can read about here. And yesterday... Holy COW, I was sore. Not just I need to stretch this out sore, but real life someone carry me to work sore. Ugh.

So last night I decided no more excuses. I MUST get back to running regularly. And the only way to get started on that is to, well, just do it. (Nike really is on to something with that slogan.) So this morning, I hit snooze a few times. Obviously. That's what slackers do. But finally I dragged myself out of bed, let the pugs out, and put on some running clothes. Which leads to confession number two:

I did not actually run 3 full miles this morning. Due to my still sore legs from Sunday, my many snooze button hittings, and my slackerdom I did not have the gumption, motivation, nor time to get the 3 miles of running done. I started out with plenty of time. But I walked just after mile 1 up a baby hill that seemed huge (note: I'm not fit evidence #2).  At the peak of the mountain ant hill, I picked up the pace again and got back to my run. I turned around at 1.5 miles and oddly enough, did you know, that hill I had walked up and run down was still there?! Shocking. So I did what any slacker would do. Walked it again. Yep it happened. And then I told my lazy self no more breaks finish this thing! So I did. But I was running out of time and just approaching 2.5 miles. I decided to call it a day there.

I have some weird need to only track my running, so I pause my Garmin during the walk breaks. The good thing here is that I wind up traveling more distance at least, which I think helps a little with fitness. More so than sitting on my butt anyway! So here are my results:

Running only:

The whole thing, including the walk breaks:

That second photo is a screen shot from Charity Miles. I highly recommend that app to anyone who likes to walk, run, or bike. For each mile you cover, partners of Charity Miles will make donations to the charity of your choice. They do have a list, so it's possible your favorite charity isn't offered, but it's expanding all the time. I normally run for Stand Up to Cancer, though if I take the dogs for a walk, we support the ASPCA. If you're interested in downloading the app click here!

For my little run/walk today my impact was $0.81 for cancer research. Is that an impressive amount of money? Not really, but it's something. And I contributed by doing something I needed to do anyway. I think that's a great thing!

Just to let you know, Charity Miles in no way compensates me, nor are they aware I'm singing their praises. I just think they're cool, so wanted to share with you readers!