On Thursday morning Chris & I got up early…he worked on getting the turkey ready and I worked on waking up enough to run a 5k! Christy came to our house and the two of us took the light rail downtown to the start of the Turkey Day 5k.

The area around the Target Center was packed with people…seriously, the sea of people didn’t seem to end!

Some people got dressed up, and other’s wore turkey hats while a majority of people wore their Turkey Day 5k shirt (I saved mind for after the run).


The weather was hoovering right around freezing so we both decided that we weren’t interested in a personal best - just a finish! The route was pretty cool, through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, past the Guthrie, along the river and back to the Target Center and we finished right around 30:35…not too shabby if you ask me. Especially since we couldn’t feel our feet for the first mile or so!!

In the end, we were both happy we did it…and next year we’re hoping our guys will run with us! Seems like a tradition just waiting to happen.

Week 8 had a couple technical difficulties and one burnt out runner, but otherwise I think it went pretty well!

On Sunday (9/13) I was scheduled to run 5 miles but just as I was starting my run, my iPod decided to freak out. It would stay on for less than a minute and then restart. Grrr. Since I was already at the lake I decided to go for a run anyway and see how it went not having music. Thankfully, I was able to complete the 3 miles okay and now I know I can run without music (although I don’t prefer it).

Tuesday September 15 I got up before work and completed a 5 mile run, thankfully WITH my fully functioning iPod. It felt so great, which was awesome because I was looking at my longest run ever later in the week!

Friday, September 18 was THE day. On Friday morning I ran EIGHT (yes…8!!) miles without walking! Wow. I would have never thought this was possible back in April when I started running again. Amazing. I’m not going to lie and say it was easy, but I took my time, focused (as much as possible) on one mile at a time and did it. My legs were pretty sore, but a lunchtime walk helped ease the pain a bit.

Also, I joined a challenge with some runners from around the world. I came across Running with E through a food blog I have in my Reader and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to have some other people to run with.

And the miles just keep going up, up, UP!

This week included the Labor Day holiday and I took some liberties with my workouts. Workout 1 was on Sunday and it was a tough 5 miles. I couldn’t get a steady pace and I struggled through it. Workout 2 was supposed to be 3 miles on Monday, and (technically) I did go 3 miles except it was at walking pace. I convinced Chris to walk with me and we had a great time. Workout 3 was 6 miles on Tuesday morning and it felt MUCH better. I was even able to play kickball on Tuesday night!

Workout 4 was the longest yet…SEVEN MILES…and scheduled for Thursday. I had an appointment in the morning and dinner plans after work, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to fit it in. However, I did it on Friday evening and ran the whole way! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!! The first few miles were okay but when I got the “half done” notice I felt pretty crappy. I realized it was a mental road block I was experiencing and was able to get myself through the next 3.5 by breaking it down into smaller segments and reminding myself that I’ve already run 4, 5, 6 miles before. I’m SO proud of myself…and next week is the longest run of the program, 8 miles, so I’m glad this run went as well as it did!

Weeks 5 & 6 seemed to have flown by!
Week 5:
Sunday, I ran 5 miles after we got home from visiting Chris’s parents. It was warm out & for some reason I had a hard time breathing at the beginning. I actually took a small break at mile 4 where I walked up the hill at 50th because I physically couldn’t run up it. Sorta depressing, but this is an ongoing process and I know it will get better!

Monday morning I got up and ran 3 miles. I love those shorter runs…and I NEVER imagined I would think 3 miles was a short distance!

Tuesday I had to run after work due to rain in the morning. I was able to complete the 5 mile run this time which felt pretty good. It was also our first night of Kickball and thankfully the run didn’t affect my ability to play!

Thursday morning I ran 6 miles again and this time it felt GREAT! I got lots of sleep Wednesday night and I think that, along with having a small breakfast before the run, played a big role in the great run.

Week 6:
Sunday morning I had another great run! Five miles felt so easy and was done in 48 minutes…I hope this trend continues.

Monday morning continued the “easy 3 miles” trend which is awesome. The only problem is that it’s staying dark longer in the mornings…hopefully I can finish my 10k training outside!!

Tuesday was another 3 mile run according to the training program. That was strange, but okay with me.

Thursday my run jumped right back up to normal…6 miles. The run after work was tough, but I was able to keep it pretty steady, around the 10:00 mile mark which was good. Next week my long run jumps up to 7…YIKES!

Oh yea…also, I ran 15 times in August! That is definitely my most consistent running since high school and I’m VERY happy with it!

We were in Chicago two weeks ago and unfortunately I didn’t do my run on Sunday. I woke up at 8am and it was already 80 degrees out. The thought of running in downtown Chicago when it was already that hot made me go back to bed!

I did run two miles after we got back to Minnesota on Monday so that got me right back on track.

Tuesday I had probably the best run I’ve had since I started the 10k Training. I ran 4 miles and it felt GREAT! Now, I just can’t wait until my 5 mile runs feel like that!!

On Thursday I ran the farthest I think I ever have…6 miles. Unbelievable! It wasn’t easy, at all, but I did it and I’m very proud of that fact. And, once I was confident that I could do it…on Friday afternoon I registered for the Twin Cities 10k which is on Saturday October 3rd, so now this is it…it’s for real…I’m going to run a 10k!

On June 1 I completed the first 100 miles of training with my Nike+. It had taken me about a year to complete and I was hoping that I could do the next 100 quicker so I set up a challenge to complete 100 miles in 16 weeks. That would be just over 6 miles a week which is two of the C25k workouts…seemed very doable to me.

Well…today, August 20th, I ran the last 6 of my second 100! Eleven weeks. YAY!!

Yes, I see that I need .1 to be 100% complete but considering the fact that I haven’t been including my warm up or cool down since the beginning of August, I think it’s okay.

The weekend of August 7th we each had different things planned. Chris went with the guys to the Apple River (aka. Get Drunk Central) and I visited my sister and brother in law before enjoying a quiet night at home. I have yet to see any photos from the Apple River, but I do have some fun ones from Upsala!

I arrived in Upsala on Friday evening just in time for dinner. They had decided that we would have steak kebabs and they were YUMMY! We mostly just hung out that night. We did take a walk outside but it was misting & sorta icky so that was cut short. It was an early night which was nice since we had to be up at 7am to go check in for the 5k. I have always wanted to run a 5k in less than 30 minutes. In the past I haven’t really trained for it, but just figured that if I can run a 10 minute mile then I should be able to race 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. Well, that has always gotten away from me…usually I finish in 31 or 32 minutes which isn’t a bad time at all, but it didn’t meet my goal. FINALLY…running with my sister on a cool, damp morning in small town MN we did it! We finished in 29:04 and I am so, so, SO excited! Nathan finished a few minutes before us and we all actually placed 5th in our age bracket. YAY!

After the run we showered and got ready for an afternoon full of fun. First was the parade which we had to walk 3 blocks to get to (gotta love small towns!). There were lots of cool old cars in the parade…

…and lots of tractors (some newer than others).

We were busy running around picking up candy that was thrown from (literally, I think) EVERY vehicle that went by! I think that we ended up with 1/2 a plastic grocery bag full by the time we were done…yikes! One group also threw beads that went along with their “Go Green” theme & we wore ours proudly all day.

After the parade we walked over to the Borgstrom House which is part of the Upsala Historical Society and is only opened to the public this one weekend a year. It’s an old house that has lots of old stuff displayed in it, most items listing who donated them.

We saw things like old cameras, typewriters and even wedding dresses! One of the coolest things was a tool to help the man of the house get properly dressed. It is a tie rack with a tool on the top where you select the color of your tie and magically displayed are shirt and suit options!

After touring the house we sat outside for a while listening to some live music by local musicians that Becky & Nathan knew. It’s a father & daughter team with the father writing the songs, playing guitar and being the lead vocals with his daughter playing fiddle and backup vocals. They were really good! (unlike my picture)

Finally, it was time to Party in the Park! All the old cars from the parade, plus others, lined up and we were allowed to vote in the Peoples Choice category. Here’s my sister with her vote:

And this is the one I voted for…I mean, they were at the Drive-In!

And I believe this is the one Nathan voted for:

Unfortunately, I have no idea which one won! Oh well. It was fun to check them all out. We then found a burger stand that was raising money for the boy scouts so we had lunch. There was plenty to keep us busy for a few hours. Mostly, a temporary tattoo for Becky, a couple dunks at the dunk tank for some local kids courtesy of my lovely family…

…a kids tractor pull where they rode a tractor attached to a contraption that made it more difficult the further down the path they got. It was adorable watching the little 3 & 4 yr olds!

There was also a petting zoo…



…and a hilarious fireman’s challenge. The local volunteer departments competed to use the water pressure from the hose to push an empty keg along a wire and whoever got it to stay on the other teams side at the end of the event won. It. was. hilarious. So, they bring in two lift machines to be the ‘poles’ for the wire holding the keg:

Each team takes a side, the water is released to the hoses & they’re off:

And, this is so serious that they even have trophies! Check it out:

Here’s proof, in video format:

After all the excitement of the last challenge, I headed home and had an evening alone at home. I got some scrapbooking done and read a lot. It was fantastic!

These weeks usually start on a Sunday & because of that, I usually have a run scheduled. However, this week I went to visit my sister in Upsala and we ran a 5k on Saturday so rather than run 4 days in a row, I counted the 5k on Saturday as my Sunday (4mi) run and did a workout DVD on Sunday instead. I like having the training coach on Nike+, but I’m not going to let it run my life & I think that’s a good compromise. So, here goes.

I ran a 5k on Saturday, August 8 with my sister. She runs too & so we were able to run together for the whole race. Our family doesn’t have what most would call “quick” muscles, but for the longer distances we can prevail. I had mentioned that I’ve always wanted to run a 5k under thirty minutes but that if we didn’t do it that would be okay too. The weather wasn’t the best - in fact it poured about 15 minutes before we were supposed to start running - but it was cool and we felt good. I was planning on using my iPod for pacing help, but it turns out that when you choose a 5k run it automatically switches to meters which isn’t very helpful to me! So…we just ran, and ran, and ran, and in the end, our time was…drumroll please…29:03!!! WE DID IT!! And, the best part is we felt fine after our cool down walk. YAY!

The training program has added a run so I’ll be out four times a week going forward. On Monday, August 10 I was supposed to run for 2 miles. So, hoping to help increase my speed for the longer runs, I choose to run quicker than my normal pace. Hopefully this won’t hurt me when I have to run on Tuesday! I did manage to get a personal best for the mile at 9:27 minutes which I guess is nice. I do wonder how fast I could complete one mile if that was all I had to run. Definitely not the 6:40 or whatever I did one time in High School, but I guess I can just try to keep working at it.

Full disclosure…I didn’t run on Tuesday. I had a headache ALL day on Monday and when I woke up feeling okay on Tuesday I decided not to chance it. So, I slept in a bit & went for a 2 mile walk at lunch instead. I have no regrets because my legs were feeling sore & I just plain old wasn’t feeling up to it.

The morning of Thursday, August 13 it was HOT. 70 degrees at 5:30AM! And, it was still dark. Doh…finally feels like summer and we’re having significantly shorter days. Anyway, I had a 5 mile run to do and I knew it was going to be toasty warm out so I got up at 5:30 and I ran and ran and ran. I came home dripping in sweat, but I did it. 5 miles in 52 minutes. I know that my Nike+ is around .1mi off because I ran a 5k and the Nike+ said it was only 3 miles, but whatever. I’m just going to go with it to stay consistent.

We’re going to Chicago for the weekend so we’ll see if I can get my runs in Sunday & Monday. Hopefully!

On the morning of Sunday, August 2 (august, omg!) I woke up and was ready to run around 10am but we had company over & my workout clothes were under the bed they were sleeping in. Because of that, and the fact that the temperature got into the 80’s, my run happened after dinner. Let’s just say that it wasn’t easy. I ran the whole 4 miles but seriously contemplated stopping more than once. I somehow figured out how to slow my pace a bit and that helped. According to my iPod I was running a 10:02 average which is pretty darn good I think. I also did 2 dvd workouts in between the last run and this one and my whole body is a little sore, but it’s a good sore so I won’t complain!

I’m starting to think jumping from 3mi to 4mi wasn’t the best idea ever. These runs are TOUGH! I also have the small problem of not being able to pace myself…my average for the 4mile run on Tuesday, August 4 was 10:15/mi but I know there were times I was running 11 so that means I must have also been running in the 9’s. Oh well. I finished and that is what matters! Also, I’ve stopped tracking my warm up/cool down on my Nike+ because it is easier to let the iPod tell me my pace - but that also means it looks like I’m not doing as much. I think I’ve decided that it’s fine & those extra .5 miles are just bonus.

On the morning of Thursday, August 6 I had a dentist appointment at 8am which meant I had to do my 5 mile run in the evening. I was REALLY dreading it because it was going to be hot, but it turned out to be okay. It was warm, but not so hot that I couldn’t stand it. I ran a different route, thanks to MapMyRun.com which was recommended to me by a friend. I still started out the same way…towards & around Lake Nokomis…but after an almost complete lap around the lake I took off up the hill at 50th Street and ran the remaining few miles on side streets. It was really nice to mix it up a bit, so Thanks Becky!! That’s not to say I didn’t want to stop running at least a handful of times. I did. Want to, that is. But I managed to push through and finish the 5 miles which I’m still very proud of doing. When I started in April I was hoping to be able to run 3 miles & now I know I can do 5…pretty awesome!

Okay - to be honest, I’m not sure bigger is always better…but, since I just completed the Couch 2 5k training program, I decided to jump right into a 10k program to keep me out there running. I choose the beginner program that is available through Nike+ and I started on Sunday July 26. We’ll see how it goes. Depending on my success, I may register to run the 10k run that is associated with the Twin Cities Marathon the first weekend in October.

Workout 1: On Sunday, July 26 I ran my workout on a treadmill for the first time in a LONG time. Let’s just say that I am now, more than ever, appreciative of the fact that I have a beautiful lake to run around rather than having to run in a gym. Ick. I hated it. But, I did it…I completed the 3 mile run as my training program said I should!

Workout 2: On Tuesday, July 28 I ran another 3 mile workout. This time I was at home and ran around the lake. Unfortunately, it was 5:30 at night and H.O.T. outside! I am not sure why but I couldn’t slow my pace down even though I was really hurting at the end. I think I ended up stopping about .15 short of 3 miles, but I’m still going to count it because I was close & I really didn’t want to get sick! Sometime during that 3 mile run I completed my fastest 1 mile which meant that Lance Armstrong congratulated me at the end of my run. Weird, huh? Anyway, it was 9:31 which means I was really booking it during the beginning of this workout! I’m going to have to figure out a way to slow it down because as the miles start adding up I’m going to REALLY start hurting!

Workout 3: On Thursday, July 30 I ran the longest distance I’ve run…possibly since High School. 5 miles! I was hesitant as I started out, but I managed to keep my pace around 10:15 or so and I did it…I RAN 5 MILES! Wow. Thank goodness for cool weather & good music on my iPod. I don’t really know what to say except that I’m glad that the first week is complete and I’m looking forward to building on it as the weeks progress.