Running Post!

No seriously. I really did go running this week! So I thought I'd tell you all about my attempts to get back at it. My plan this week was to run Tues and Thurs morning. Well best laid plans and all... I wound up running Tues and Thurs evenings. But hey, better late than never right?!
I've been using a little bit of a run/walk plan because, let's face it, I'm out of shape. Like, VERY out of shape. (Unless you count round... Round is a shape. But not the one I'm after.) I already told you about running Sunday. I did a 3 miler, and let myself walk for a bit after each mile was complete.

Tuesday I made myself wear the Garmin. I paused it during walk breaks though, because I really wanted to actually run 3 miles. For this run, I required myself to run the first half without a break. So 1.5, then a little stroll. Then finish it up. Again, best laid plans and all.... As I was nearly done (about 2.6 or so) I ran smack into a COLONY of noseeums. Or at least I think that's what they are. Teeny tiny flying insects. And they love to dive bomb all the orifices in your face. I'm talking eye, nose, ears mouth. ALL OF THEM. Normally they travel in little packs, but this was CRAZY. After breathing one in and nearly gagging, I had to take a quick walk break to regain my composure. Ugh. Bugs. Ew. I finished it up though, and stayed under 10 minute miles (just barely). I wasn't ecstatic about my run, but considering my extreme lack of fitness, it was decent!

Thursday's goal was to run 2 miles before break time (still pausing the garmin during walks). Again best laid plans... I encountered these guys at 1.45:

Hard to see in the pic, but there were about four of these geese in the road, and they were NOT interested in letting me pass them. Every time I started to, the leader hissed at me. Needless to say, I had to stop and wait for them to get to their destination. Once past them though, I ran until mile 2, then took a short walk break. I made myself finish that last mile strong, with some sprints. Unfortunately for me, I should have looked at my watch before starting those sprints, as it seemed to take forever to get to mile 3!

Best part about my Thursday evening run? There was a triathlon finishing up and my normal 3 mile lakeside run is part of their running route. People were actually cheering me on! Which was a bit awkward... The race volunteer in charge of the turnaround point actually stopped me thinking I was just a really slow triathlete. Sorry for confusing you, nice sir!

I was pretty excited to see such an improvement in my time Thursday even just versus Tuesday's run. Of course the sprints at the end had a lot to do with it. However, Tuesday I couldn't even consider sprinting at the end, so that's an improvement all on it's own!

This sunset was a pretty way to finish up too!

I signed up to run a 4 miler this Saturday morning near my house. While I'm still not terribly fit for it, my plan is to walk at all the water stops and just get through it nice and slow. It's perfect timing if I want to run the half in September. 4 miles this weekend, and add one mile every week until the race. That will have me running 11 the week before the half, or I can taper and have run 10 prior to the race. Perfect! My last two half marathons I did not plan ahead for and was having to add 1.5-2 miles each week. And still only getting to 10 miles prior to race day. So this should be an improvement as long as I stick with the plan.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you runners a page called Outrun 38. They have a Facebook page as well. It's a community of runners who share their mileage to help find a cure for CF. It was started as a tribute by a woman who wanted to support her friend fighting the CF battle. Both ladies are runners and happen to live locally to where I reside. I've never seen so much support from strangers! Runners from anywhere in the world can log their miles and help put an end to CF.

How have your runs been going? Any races in your near future?

Wait.... how is it already Monday afternoon?

It makes me really sad how quickly this summer is just flying by! I feel like it just started but already it's the later half of July. Ugh! Slow down life! I had one of those weekends with nothing planned, yet somehow tons to do. I actually kind of like those weekends because I feel so accomplished at the end.

Friday evening after riding Jampy, I decided I really needed to set a new jump course in the ring. I had the jumps in the same spot since last fall, and it was time for a change! My plan originally was to do that over the weekend, but I realized I'd fall short on time, so Friday was the day.

old course

New Course!

I finished around 9:30, so that was pretty much the highlight of my Friday night. I hung out with the pugs for awhile then headed off to dreamland.

I was up at 7 on Saturday to do barn chores and work the horses by 1:00. I really wanted to jump Jampy around the new course. He was perfect! He used to get really nervous any time I changed anything in the ring. But this year he's been so much more relaxed about everything. He jumped around like it had been this way for months. GOOD PONY! I put the magnetic sheet on him and let him eat some grass for awhile afterward.

I gave Rio a little lunge too. I'm curious to see if a little work is helpful for him. I'm hoping it is. I would think like anyone else, it would do him some good to move around a bit and develop some fitness. Hopefully I'm right! He had some grass and time in the magnetic sheet after too.

So why did I need to be done by 1 you ask? Because I had a 2 pm hair appointment! FINALLY! My age has been showing all over the place, and I really needed some pigment put back in my head! I went a little bold this time:

A coppery red with some highlights thrown in! I love getting my hair done! The best part is, my hair dresser is also a very good friend of mine, so post hairdo we went for a frozen margarita and some nachos. That my friends is a quality Saturday afternoon! After playtime, I went home and vacuumed the house and started some laundry. Glorious right? Hey, someone has to do it! And then it was pug time followed by bedtime.

Sunday was a day off for the ponies, so I decided to try and get barn chores done early. I figured that way, I'd have a whole day off too! Win! The boys were particularly adorable though, so I did waste some time taking cute photos of them playing:

As planned, I was done by 11 and went off to spend embarrassing amounts of money on cheese farm fresh goodies. My town's farmer's market is the best: live music and dog friendly!

I really stocked up this week:

5 kinds of cheese (I know, I have a problem), carrots for the ponies, lettuce, mint, plums, blueberries, a baguette, a loaf of date & oat bread, pickles, a cucumber, and of course 2 cupcakes. SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! The best part is, I need very little at the store this week. Fresh from the farm food is soooo much better than the stuff sitting in the grocery store. SO MUCH BETTER! I think next week I'll try some of the fish and meats too. That will force me to actually cook a little...

After the market, I ran a few errands including picking up some new jump flowers. I had one flower box with no flowers, so I figured I'd fill that up:

So pretty! We'll see if Jamp agrees later this week. I was actually done earlier than I thought with errands, and got to hang out with the puggies at the pool for 2 whole hours! No swimming since I just had my hair dyed though.

The last few things on my list included walking the dogs and running. I've been full of great excuses not to go, and the time to end that was Sunday evening! (It got pretty warm out, so I wanted to wait until it cooled off some. Chubby out of shape girls + super hot days does not = happy running!) I went out for my run, and though I did take a couple walk breaks, it was nice to be back out there. I didn't bring a watch, I didn't want to know how slow I was! But I used my charity miles app to be sure of my distance. After my run, I grabbed the dogs and took them for a stroll. What chaos! Artie wants to run ahead, P drags behind... It's a good thing they're adorable!

After all that, we were all pooped! Perfect way to end a weekend!
How was your weekend? Do anything fun and exciting? Did you fit in a run or some other physical activity?

You're not gonna believe this...

But I've actually gone running TWICE this week! I know. I swear I'm not lying. To prove it, I will show you some photos and tell you allllll about my runs. (So if you're not into that, no need to keep reading. No hard feelings.)

Monday evening I was all, it's kind of hot... maybe I should wait until the morning. But then I saw the morning wasn't going to be much cooler. So after this:

I headed out for a 3 mile run. I don't know about you, but I'm always making up rules. Today's rule was "No walking." I wanted to make sure I ran the hills and the entire three miles without pausing. But I was ok with it being slow. Fair is fair. I'm happy to report I followed the rules, and survived the three non-stop miles. (How sad is it that I ran a half marathon in March, and now in June am so happy to finish 3... sigh.) As I figured, it was slow. But slow miles are better than no miles. One goal at a time folks!

I was happy to have my rest day Tuesday. I took both boys out for grass, ran some errands, packed for the horse show, and played with the pugs (and also our guest Morkie Juno).

As per the norm, I hit the snooze button about 800 times this morning. But finally I made myself get up and out the door. The first mile I was thinking, maybe I'll just run 2 today since I'm so late. And then decided no, I need to do 3 miles. I did allow two very short up hill walks though, as it was already quite warm, and VERY humid. I know asthma isn't a reason not to run, but humid days do have a big impact on breathing. Could I have pushed through? Probably. But since I'm just starting back, I prefer the safe, slow, and steady approach. I paused my watch during the walks though, so I was sure to get 3 miles of running in.

I run a lot faster when I don't time the uphills! Haha, yeah yeah, I'm a cheater. I saw some more ducks out there, and the lake was gorgeous this morning:

Having pretty things to look at really helps the run go by. It's nice to get back out there! Honestly, as much as I don't want to admit it, I feel so much more energetic during the day after a morning workout.

Have you been getting some runs in? What's your favorite morning workout?