It's Hot! Duh, It's Summer in the South.

Well, it's no secret it's hot outside. Yesterday's run, for a minuscule second, almost didn't happen. And even when I did get out there, I started running and said to myself, I'm stopping at 2 miles. Well, I had to push through what was a mental barrier and slowly got a 5k done. I couldn't give up on the FIRST workout day of the week.

I found this Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad recipe on Pinterest a few weeks ago. Instead of making my own vinaigrette, I used Italian dressing. Really, surprisingly good to me. Never would've thought I'd willingly eat raw squash OR zucchini! It was good though.

Bow tie pasta with fresh broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, red onion, & roma tomato

Today's Workout

Tuesday is my cross training day, so I chose to do Insanity's Plyometric Cardio Circuit after a very loooong hiatus. I'm going to be honest and say that I half-assed it. Matter of fact, I did the first 20 minutes and cut the crap off. I'm switching back to my Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred for next week. Yup, #thatisall.

Race Week To Do's

It looks like I may have to halt my Nike 10k training for this week.  I have a 5k race on Saturday evening (my first night race) and I really, really want to PR. I'm going for sub-29.  My 10k training program scheduled me to do 5, 2, 4, and 6 mile runs this week.  Instead here's how this week will go for me:


Sunday - rest
Monday - 5 mile easy run
Tuesday - Insanity's Cardio Abs
Wednesday - 4 mile run
Thursday - 2 mile run, Insanity's resistance (or Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred)
Friday - rest
Saturday - *Race Day* - Firefly 5k (3.1) Run


I've tweeted about going to track workouts one day a week to work on my speed to improve my 5k time.  That has shaved seconds off of my time, but I think the type of speed training that has really worked better for me is Fartlek training.  Fartlek training is just casual speed work where you run fast and then at your normal pace for intervals.  I've been very consistent with running each week, but what I hadn't done was push myself out of my comfort zone. Why did it take so long? Because it is uncomfortable!  But, you can't expect different results by doing the same thing.  So far by doing this I've been able to conquer hills like no other and last week I ran at 9 minute and some second mile paces consistently.  No, 9, 10, 11 minute miles...all 9's.  I think I have a pretty good chance of at least beating my last time and finishing at sub-30 if not sub 29 anyways.  Wish me luck :)


I'll be trying to eat as clean as possible, significantly increase my water intake (I've been slacking), and get at least 8 hrs of sleep at least the 2 days before the race.

My last run before this morning's 5 mile easy run was another 5 miler on Saturday.  Although I rested on Sunday, I think me running that 5 miles on Saturday was the reason I felt a little something in my shins and below my knee.  I haven't felt pain in either places in a while.  I've read that's one of the signs you'll encounter when increasing your mileage.  Or maybe I shouldn't have run two long runs so close together?  After the second mile, my legs started to feel fine which led me to believe all I needed was a proper warm-up.  Through trial and error, I will eventually figure it out without injuring myself too badly.  I made sure not to forget to stretch and iced all areas I felt a little pain in afterwards.

How do you prepare the week of a race?

Quest to Rid of this PUDGE!

Last Friday I went bathing suit shopping for the first time in 5 years.  It's our 3-year anniversary on the 15th, so we decided to go on a quick getaway.  I don't know how to swim and just sitting splashing in the water becomes boring after a while, so I had no real reason to buy one.  Oh, and having zero body confidence at the time played a major role as well.  I was pretty nervous about how things would turn out and whether this would be an ALL day thing.  Fortunately, I found what I needed in store #2.  It's the end of the season, so Target had a few pieces I was surprisingly happy with on the clearance rack.  (My confidence is SO much higher now, I can just tell).  I really went looking for a nice one-piece because my stomach is no where near where I'd like for it to be, but I decided to get the two-piece anyway because I could always a) hold my pudge in (haha) or b) wear a tank over it.  

I will admit when trying it on, I was still pretty proud. I didn't look horrendous and I really felt like all of my hard work over the past 2 years has paid off, I just need to keep pushing it if I ever want to lose the gut.  We ended up not going to our original destination, Florida, due to a rain forecast (& I don't even think it rained down there) and the hotel we did stay in didn't have the Jacuzzi we hoped for, so I didn't even get to wear it.  Not to fret though, I just have more time to get it right!  

I opted in YumYucky's Finish What You Started Challenge to tame the pudge, but it's going on 3 weeks and I still don't have the motivation.  Last week I scored 22 points.  My exercise was on point, but my eating habits fell by the wayside.  Week 2 was worst. I scored 13 points. I'm so ashamed to say that all I've eaten for my dinners since Thursday night has been fast food. *hangs head in shame*.

Now, going into week 3, I have a new plan.  I need something new. After months of watching others, contemplating, and nagging the husband (lol), I got Insanity.  I get bored, and I think this will get me out of the rut.  I'm still in pretty good shape (check my last 5k time lol), so this is why I decided on Insanity versus P90X.  I hear that Insanity is for those that are already in shape.  I need SOMETHING that will get rid of this belly! I know abs are made in the kitchen, but I feel like adding this extra intensity to my running routine instead of the circuit trainings (sorry, Jillian, but anytime you start to memorize the script of a workout DVD, it might be time to let it go lol) as well as not allowing slip-ups on my "diet" so much will make it better.

Enjoy a few pictures from the beautiful Appalachian Mountains...

I may be prissy, but I still like nature "stuff" lol

I was obviously not dressed for a hike, but this was a spur of the moment, walk and talk kinda thing. The exercise nerd in me, turned on my iMapMyRun app so it was a little over a 1 mile 'hike" around this state park.