Motivation gets you started, habit keeps u going

5a.m.-11 degrees (no wind chill!)

I'm late in putting this in. Crazy day. I did not bring the garmin with me today so I have no splits. This was a 1/2 smiley face run. My leg wasn't unbearable but it wasn't perfect either.

Two creepy things happened. Usually there are no walkers on the road. and I keep hearing about attacks...so when I saw someone walking towards me I crossed the street and ran on the other sid for a bit. Then as I was going up a hill a car slowed down and stopped. Again pitch black! It was my uncle. He wanted to make sure I was okay. I"m like um please don't stop all creeplily like that! I started walking and I guess he wanted to make sure I was okay. Where was he on Saturday for my 8 miler??? LOL

6:20 pm 11 minutes on the elliptical. Don't laugh...The SO tore the house up and the living room is taped up...He was sanding in prepartion of paint. The dogs were put in the basement with me and the one kept crying. I couldn't take it. So I finished up with the matrix and some ab stuff.

The alarm went off this morning at 5am. and I reset it for 6am, I was just too worn from yesterday and just decided to take advantage of being on a 4 days a week for running.

5:00am run 11 degrees with the windchill

I got new shoes. I had to try them out. I bought two of the riders. So HOpefully I won't have to buy new shoes for the next 6-12 months. I still have some gas left on the precisions I think and the ST3. So these may go back in the box till I really need them. We'll see. I"m not really good about deciding if I like a shoe. these didn't hurt my feet so I guess I will keep them.

Still having some IT band yuckness. I walked some and stretched.

5:00am run 20 degrees....no windchill

These runs seem hardly worth the effort of getting all bundled up. I keep repeating in my head--even low miles does a body/mind good. Stretching before the run helped. I didn't get any twinges till about 2.3 mark...and then I stopped and stretched. I felt it again about about mile 3...

Day off...it is snowing! Like crazy! This should be an interesting long run tomorrrow...

 I'm listening to a book in CD called 50 marathons in 50 days. It may just have 50/50 on the cover. Not sure. Any who it is pretty interesting. Also I'm reading Your Performing Edge. I like all the talk about positive self talk. A lot of it can be applied to real life in general. Also it is a good book if you have an injury and you are acting all Debbie Downer on yourself.

Also, SO finished the livingroom. It was 3 year project in the making. He finally finished the painting and it looks INCREDIBLE!

Happy super bowl weekend all!

8:00am run. I think it was 10 with the windchill. This run would have been awesome if not for the peanut butter prerun (what was I thinking?) and the wind while running north and east.

Ignoring those two things this was a good run. There were  a lot of hills! I ran a new route. Usually I take this route home when I coming from the University and I have always wanted to run it. Not sure why it has taken me so long. I looked at garmin connect and it said elevation gain was 574ft. I'm not sure what that means? I just wanted to see how hilly it was??

Okay and my IT band hurt. Even the butt part of the band was nagging me a little. No problem. I stopped and stretched. And pretty much had a schedule of walking every mile for .05 miles. Sometimes I walked more frequently due to the hills. For some reason my breathing was off. No biggie.

So while running east for a stretch it was terrible wind! Did I mention we got 2-4 inches of snow last nigh ttoo? So I"m going through all the wind and snow. I swear I was running in place when I hear a guy yell out "Dedication!" I"m like yeah!!!! So for the next quarter mile i'm singing my little Navy Motivation, Dedication song in my head. It irked me a bit to be short on the ten miler...but come on those hills and wind were tough! Here are my splits...

1: 10:49
2: 10:57
3: 11:24
4: 12:39
5: 11:41
6: 12:01
7: 11:52
8: 11:57
9: 11:51
.88: 11:26

My easy pace is an 11 minute mile. Not too shabby.

I came home and ate my fav yum treat..Eggs with salsa, peanut buttter on toast with fresh strawberries and some carrots. YUM!

Oh and I started reading Marathon Woman --I"m only about 15 in but it is pretty good so far!

7:30am run 12 degrees

I had to walk a lot today..and therefore I was cold...I'm having a discouraging day about my IT band.

Like should I stop running for a few days? Or should I take tomorrow off and ellip for a few days? I'm not sure where to go from here. Running two days in a row was definitely not a good idea. I want to keep up with my long runs. I can handle missing the full marathon. Or even bumping it down to a 1/2...but I realllllly want to do Indy. And I know I can do that mileage. ..but at what price? I need advice on where to go from here.

UPDATE: I miss yoga! I did 20 minutes of it today and I could hardly keep up! It was tough but felt sooo great!

5am elliptical.

I can't fit into my jeans...grrr...sooo that stinks a lot. and I know why...my eating meals time has changed in the last month and the quantity of food has not changed. I use to eat at 3pm for dinner and go to work. Now I eat at 6 and pretty much sit on my butt and do homework. The only real physical activity i partake in is running. Teaching is not a physical job. It is mentally exhausting. So I'm trying to think of other things I can do at night to get my heart moving...I wish there were mountains around here. I would take up skiiing! LOL

I just ate breakfast and hour ago and I"m hungry again. I hate my stomach! I need to trick it some how! LOL

I thought I was going to do an everyother day of running and elliptical. Due to weather conditions (12 inches of snow in the next 24 hours) I think I will stay inside and ellip. My IT Band doesn't feel yuck on the ellip. I'm stretching and doing strength exercises.

I did some of the Jillian Michaels DVD Kickboxing about 30 minutes. I skipped the cool down. And then did another 20 of yoga. This one is really tough. I looked at the description again and it is for intermediate. I'm like Yeah I probably could have finished it no problem a few years ago. So I"m on the hunt for another video on demand. I found one that is for runners. But I find the lady annoying and the beginners ones are lame!

Last night I FINALLY got a foam roller. I have to say it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would . I even rolled on my back and my quads. my IT band rolling hurt just as much on my right side as it did on the left. So either they both are messed up or I"m catching them in time? I dunno...b/c it really did not hurt (a girl at work said i would cry). I only did a few minutes, maybe that is why?

I was hoping for a snow day to catch up on school work. NO such luck. My university is closed...but not the elementary school. Figures!

4:45 wake up...9 degrees. out the door by 5

This run was cold. But my ITB didn't start to bug until about 2 miles in. Which is longer time than usual. And it didn't hurt too bad until mile 4. But by then I was almost done.

I came home--stretched, ate oatmael, shower, rolled my ITB, and soon I will be out the door.

I"m seriously considering doing 2 hours on the ellip tomorrow. That way i can get '10' miles in. I will definitely have to get that tv working if i'm going to do that.

9:00am elliptical. I wanted to do a full 2 hours but by ellip started to shake or jolt weirdly after about80 minutes. So I braved it out till 90. My ellip only does up tto 45 minute increments. I hope I didn't kill it. SO is going to look into it for me.

but on the bright side now that i'm done my legs feel great. Plus I got to watch an amazin movie! Invincible. If you are a Mark Wahlberg fan it is a must see...but I am a sucker for him and underdogs rising to the top movies.

ended with stretching and abs

Working tonight so I better get on some homework!

10am race start

My fiancee and I ran this one together. He is not a runner. I think he wanted to sign up to be sweet for V-day. And it was. When he needed to walk we held hands. It was cute. He ran straight for the first mile. It had a few pretty steep hills. It was kinda nice to have some one that I care so much about to run with.

Then he became a buttface and ran ahead of me at the last few hundred feet. Once he crossed the finish line (I was directly behind him) he turned and said , "Ha ha, I beat you." And now is telling all of our friends. I thought he was speeding ahead b/c as soon as he was done he wanted to go back outside to have a cigarette.

Next time I will leave him at the starting line--he can eat my dust. HAHAHAHA

Friends of our joined as a couple team and got 3rd place. NOw I want to see how we rank but they haven't posted the times yet. Also, I messed up and didn't hit stop on the Garmin. We started in the back of the pack sto 35 is only a guess b/c that is what the timer said when we ran up to it.

Happy Valentines all!

9:00am run AP 10:22

I re found a running route. I use to run this route often but stopped in preference for the more hillier routes. So I figure I would run this one. My ITB didn't start to bother me till mile 4. I'm very happy with this.

I'm off to rolling,stretching and then shopping/errands with my brother as soon as he shows up!

My SO bought me this gorgeous bag for school/work. So professional. He finally told me what he would like so I"m going to go pick that up.

5 am ellip and 20 minutes of yoga

I almost didn't wake up this morning. I just did not want to get out of bed. Weird b/c I went to be early and I got almost 8 hours of sleep. I still feel a little sleepy.

I think maybe I just don't want to go to work/school today b/c there is going to be a sub today and tomorrow...The kids act differently with the sub. I hope she isn't the one we had the last time. I would say no and the kids went to her b/c she would say yes. And she saw me say no. Which irritated me a lot!

Atleast today is a 1/2 day for the kids. Which makes it crazier. I have to shove all this stuff into the same 45 minute time frame! Yuck!

I hit the snooze so didn't get in a work out. I'm going to a bridal fair tonight with a friend. If I have energy after that I may write my philosophy of education.

5:05 am 29 degrees 22 with the windchill

Lately it seems that 7-8 hours of sleep is too much for me. Last night I laid in bed at 9;30 but didn't fall asleep till about 10:30...and then I was up before the alarm at 4:30. But I didn't get out of bed till 4:45. Weird?

Today's run was pretty good. A little ITB pain but not bad.

Should I be rolling and then stretching? Or stretching then rolling.

I remembered mid run that I didn't roll last night. OOps!

So I know that I went to a bridal fair last night and all but...I swear this wedding/reception is going to end up being in a VFW with lots beer and chicken. LOL and GREAT music. That is my dream...I think that way it won't break the bank. I went with a friend to the fair and she told me she spent 15,000 on her wedding. Greg and I definitely do not want to do that.

We want to move into a new home next spring, and go to Hawaii next summer.

if I had my way we would get married and go to a nice dinner with parents and close friends and then go dancing. Got to have dancing.

any who I'm glad I ran 6 today b/c I definitely overdid it on the candy and stuff. Last night was free pie night at Bakers Square. That was a mistake!

Oh but I am soda free for---today is day 5...LOL

Scheduled day off. I feel all bloated...I won a basket full of chocolates at that bridal fair...and then there is v-day chocolates in my teachers desk. I'm like grrr1 and I put pretzels in there so I wouldn't eat the chocolate. Now I just eat both.

9am ish run. 30 degrees there was a windchill but not sure what it was now. Maybe 25

I told myself that if I was hurting at mile 2.5 I would turn around and go back home and finish up on the elliptical. Well the pain didn't come till about mile 8. And really it wasn't pain it was more of a tightness in my ITB. I could feel it all along my leg.

I came home stretched, rolled, hot bath.

Note to self--do not roll in front of fiancee. he will stare! LOL

I would show my splits but I downloaded and now garminconnect isn't showing a run since Feb 6. I Do think that I ran this one faster than I ran that one on Feb 6 (9.66 miles)

the week never pans out very well when I skip a Sunday run. Some how that gets my momentum moving.

Any who--my leg was SORE. So I have been using the heating pad on it.

Fiancee and I decided to start on the kitchen. We got most of the walls sanded down (there was a weird texture on it). Hopefully tomorrow he can finish and start painting this week!

Any who I'm glad I didn't sit on the couch and do more homework all day b/c I think moving around helped my leg.

Oops forgot to put this one in...elliptical while watching Bruce Willis!

5am run. 30 degrees..nice light snow. I like snow when there is no breeze. Nice and peaceful.

Some ITB tightness/bothersomeness but seems the day off and ellip day has helped.

I was thinking my first 1/2 I only ran 3 days a week. And technically that is what I'm doing now b/c of my ITB. So I think I should be okay as long as I keep uping my miles and my crosstraining. right? I should be okay?

I am hoping that at some point I don't have to ellip as much...

Today is the day of the schools Black History Program. School rehearsal didn't go too well yesterday. So we practiced our part in the gym in the afternoon. That time went much better. I think they were nervous and then we added in microphones. Also, I will be very happy to be able to stop practicing this thing. I will be even happier when ISAT testing is over (my district does a thing called SAT 10 for second graders) it is sort of a prep for them. It doesn't count toward state funding but it does prepare them for 3rd grade when it DOES count.

30 minutes of weights and stretching and 36 minutes of elliptical with Bruce Willis

I think I can get this weight (not fitting in my jeans) stuff under control if I continue with no soda (I'm allowing one per week on Friday or Saturday). I honestly don't even crave it. I think it is b/c if I want one I know I have to wait till Friday. It has gotten rid of that all or nothing mentality.

Also, I'm going to be more diligent about weights. It feels soooo good! I miss it.

This week I"m going to focus on my posture. i have caught myself in the mirror while teaching and I"m all miss slouchy. That is fine for the bar (well not really--but needs to happen) but not for teaching. Looks terrible!

 Kitchen is still tore up. But we are done will all sanding so I starting the clean up yesterday. Dust is everywhere...wella thin layer. I would have hated to see what it would have looked like had we not taped off the kitchen doors. Hopefully paint will go up today. Thank goodness I have a luncheon today. I didn't have to try to make my lunch over plastic (all the cabinets and counters are covered)

in other wonderful news...My fiancee bowled his first 300 last night! I wish I could have been there but I was home cleaning all the mess. And my phone died so I never even got his text. It was funny how confused he was as to why I never texted him back last night. I"m so proud of him. BTW he is an awesome bowler, has several 299 under is belt (he has issues with the ten pin)

20 mins of abs and planks and all that good stuff.

I wanted to do yoga but ondemand was not working at 5:30. I guess it didn't want to wake up either!

7:00am run in Illinios with my brother. AP 11:40. felt like 7 degrees

We tried to run on the trails but we couldn't find the rest of them and kept feelign like we were going in circles. And the snow hadn't really melts so we said forget it and ran the grid. And I mean but this is is Chicagoland area is like a grid well we just kept running up and down the blocks in a snake like fashion. Got to see my grandpa's old house and how much it has changed and some other hang outs. What was most amazing was my old elementary school. They are doubling its size and they are astill working on it.

We tried to do 13 miles today but we were both pooped and i have a feeling Jeremy was mad at me b/c I told him we had to do atleast over 12! I think someone isn't keeping up with his mileage...that and most of his runs are on the TM. I imagine switching to outside has to be tough LOL

7:00am run 35 degrees 28 with the windchill

This run was AWESOME! I"m putting a big 'ol smiley face on my paper calendar! I just felt so great and I kept running and running. I wanted to do 7 and I felt like I actually could with out stopping. So cool!

splits-

1: 11:17
2: 10:23
3: 9:48
4: 9:39 (MP)
5: 9:01 (oops slow down almost at threshold)
6: 9:52 (oops too slow)
7: 9:14 (just about right)

I'm still keeping to the reletively flat areas which is sorta boring but obviously it is working so I will keep to it.

Happy running!