Tag Archives: run

empty the skies out/bringing me one step closer to you

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Hi chickens. I have been away, and for that I apologize. There have been a lot of things going on here that I am not quite ready to talk about yet, but they are all good and happy, albeit busy.

In the meantime, days of this summer have been hot and long, and in the throes of the dog days Jeff and I both started new jobs and laid low, seeking air conditioning and relaxation. Through it all I have tried to keep up the blog at GMS, our house, friendships, etc., and also keep up on my running schedule.

We are running a half marathon in December, and though that’s now in only three months, I can say I don’t feel overwhelmed like I did when I agreed to do it. Be warned: I feel overwhelmed, for sure, but less so. I have been running, putting one foot in front of the other, all summer, taking off only when I had to for travel (or a sprained wrist) and when it just didn’t feel quite right. I’ve been trying to listen to my body, and I think that’s serving me well.

I’m headed out tonight for my first official half-marathon training run, and I am feeling tired of running at night already. I don’t know what the solution is (OK I do it’s run before work but I just don’t know if I can get organized to do that in the next few weeks) but for now that means 10 pm runs and eating light dinners so I can go out and pound pavement.

I miss this space, and I want to be around more to let you guys know what’s going on, and probably will be ramping up my posts now that I crave an outlet for running talk (especially since I haven’t done a ton of yoga since I injured my wrist!) so in advance, sorry/notsorry about all the running talk.

In the meantime – can you guys send me jams? I am SEVERELY lacking in tunes I love, and I have been listening to podcasts when I run, which is fine for long runs, but sometimes I need some serious motivation. I also need to really connect with a song to find it motivational, so this is sometimes exhausting.

Favorite running songs? Titanium, by Sia/David Guetta; Gone, by Kelly Clarkson; Maybe They’re On To Us, by Needtobreathe; Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo – if you can find the theme in these, and come up with a playlist for me, I swear to the earth I will make you dinner for a month.

In the meantime, I’m off to bang out three miles. Sleep well, chicks.

run right into you

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Hello everyone! I just got back from running my first mile of the year.

Confession: I hadn’t run since April of last year. Since I got hired at my new (now not-so-new) job, I hadn’t set foot to the pavement. I have recommitted to tons and tons of yoga, stretching and bending and breathing and relaxing, but for several reasons (read: excuses) I hadn’t been running, I realized in almost nine months.

This morning, I woke up early on the dot (is this how not being able to sleep in on the weekends starts!?) and figured that I should exercise somehow before diving in to my day – I am trying to learn how to slow down and take time for me before moving on to the household, the blog, etc. But I went to yoga on Friday and stupidly hurt my shoulders, so I didn’t want to push myself through too much yoga.

Jeff got me a new arm band when I got my new iPhone, and it was sitting in my side table still in the box. So I took it out, grabbed my headphones, sneakers, and changed and headed outside. It was the perfect temperature – about 65 – so I knew I had no excuses but to run.

I only ran a mile, because I wasn’t sure if I could even do that without stopping. In my stride, I had run a 10k, but that was more than a year ago. Normally, I could run about two miles without stopping, and my route was three miles, which meant one or two walking breaks.

But I ran my whole mile, you guys. One thing I have learned in running is that I am pretty good at setting my pace, knowing from the get-go how fast I should run in order to keep pace my whole run. So I ran the mile block around my house. And I ran the whole thing (even the leg of it that is uphill.) I didn’t die, I was out of breath but not wheezing, and my legs and feet and body really doesn’t feel any worse for the wear.

Here’s to many, many more miles this year. It always starts with one, right?

oh i love your every color

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Today we ran the LA Color Run 5k. The general idea is an untimed race where you run 5 (ish) kilometers, and at each kilometer, someone throws corn-starchy color at you. Simple, right? Fun? Definitely. It was Debby’s first 5K, which was exciting, and we had a big team (Color Us Bad.)

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Here’s the crew, pre-race.

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 After a handful of photos, we lined up and got ready to run!

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At the finish, we found each other again and opened up our color packets we were given at the start.

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Then we were REALLY covered in color.

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All in all, despite the fact that this race wasn’t quite a 5k (and also wasn’t timed), we had a great time! Sometimes when racing, it’s fun to remember that exercise doesn’t have to be awful, it can be a super-fun crazy morning of throwing colored corn starch at your beloved friends! And, the race was mostly uphill, so that must count for something, right?

Did anyone else do the color run? Is anyone in LA running a race soon?

i would steal enough to make my way into the night

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Running Mix, 11/12/12

Blow Me (One Last Kiss)/P!nk
Barton Hollow/The Civil Wars
Never Gonna Leave This Bed/5 Maroon 5
For The First Time/The Script
22/Taylor Swift
Runaway Run/Hanson
Uncharted/Sara Bareilles
Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)/The Script
Faster/Matt Nathanson
When You Feel It/Brett Dennen
We Are Never Getting Back Together/Taylor Swift
I’ve Been Down/Hanson
Sydney (I’ll Come Running)/Brett Dennen
We Could Run Away/Needtobreathe
Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby/Counting Crows
Say You’re Sorry/Sara Bareilles
Come Around/Marc Broussard
Who We Are/Lifehouse
If Only/Hanson
Valley of Tomorrow/Needtobreathe
If I Am/Nine Days
Lost Without Each Other/Hanson
Devil’s Been Talkin’/Needtobreathe
Stay (Wasting Time)/Dave Matthews Band Love
The Way You Lie/Eminem Ft. Rihanna
Doin’ Dirt/Maroon 5
Watch Over Me/Hanson
Fortune Teller/Maroon 5
She’s On Fire/Train
Beating My Heart/Jon McLaughlin

two minutes, fifteen seconds.

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So today Ellen, Jeff, and I completed our 80s-themed 5k.

It was Ellen and Jeff’s first competitive race, and my second, and we all managed personal bests! For me, I ran two minutes, fifteen seconds faster than my race last year with my sister. For that race, I trained for five and a half weeks, taking nearly two weeks off during training for when I was traveling across country with Corelyn.

This year, I trained for eight weeks, missing only one training day, despite making two cross-country trips during those eight weeks. (And, it should be noted, that running and I took a break between the two trainings – I ran maybe five times between the two trainings.)

I think my dedication to racing paid off, and gave me the desire to (gulp! I never thought I’d say this) run another race! Even though it was 85 degrees when we finished and we were all hot, exhausted, and sweaty, we all managed to discuss another race (maybe in the spring?) before heading home.

The race being 80s themed helped – lots of people dressed up, ready to race in tutus and leotards and pink tights. It also helped to have two novice runners with me instead of one experience runner (sorry Nik, but you’re a speed-demon) and it helped that instead of 40 degrees and sleeting, it was 80 degrees, sunny, with a slight breeze. And, there was no looping — one large loop (instead of 2.5 smaller ones at the Ann Arbor race.)

Here we are at the finish of the race!

I had a blast running with Ellen and Jeff, and know they had fun too — and I am proud of myself for running in sub-40, and beating my time from last race AND last weekend when I ran my practice 5k around the course at the Rose Bowl.

Here are the medals we got at the finish!

Next up, maybe we’ll run an 8k or 10k…the sky’s the limit, folks! Until then, I am spending the rest of the day preparing for an amazing long weekend, proud that our team finished strong.