My worst 5K ever and bedazzled wine

Yesterday started off not so great. I had a horrible night of sleep on Friday night, which really messed with my mentality since I had Race Against Breast Cancer on my campus the next morning. But I woke up and decided to do my best. My ZTA sister Ali Berg was supposed to run with me, but she got really sick the night before. So my other friend and ZTA sister Maddie Williams ran it with me! 

The race itself was probably my worst 5K I've ever ran in my entire life. Though I have been training, I arrived at the starting line feeling tired and sore. I also had to pee really bad but figured I would be done in less than a half hour so I would hold it. BAD IDEA.

Somewhere along the 5K course, a car was parked in the way of racers. So the race was delayed until that person realized it was their car and proceeded to move it. The race, in total, was delayed 20 minutes. 

So, my entire race was uncomfortable and jarring my bladder. But I finished.

Reason enough to finish a race: the food

This particular 5K was near and dear to my heart because I know so many folks affected by breast cancer. Seeing everyone dressed up in their pink kept the race from being dull. My favorite walker was this old guy, in his pink leather chaps and cowboy boots.

"Get at me"

After the race, Maddie and I sat on the back porch of our house and watched people cross the finish line. Our house mom, Linda, is a survivor of breast cancer. She was so proud to see us participating in this event!

Maddie, Mom Linda, and me!

Of course the first step to race recovery is refuel! However, I have this thing where I think I can just eat anything and everything because I've "earned" it. Not the case, but I did it anyways. Maddie and I joined several of my friends at IHOP for a post-race meal of pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and hot chocolate.

I felt kind of silly wearing my race clothes to the restaurant, but it turns out that hundreds of other people had the same idea! So many purple RABC shirts spanned across the restaurant. It was truly a cool thing to see.

My good friends Jerik and Olivia visited me after lunch and brought me the sweetest birthday gift. Literally. A bedazzled bottle of wine!

That little problem I talked about earlier? Yeah. Went to Target yesterday, and got a monster cookie and a cherry Icee. I went back to Bobby's place and we made spaghetti and French bread and I ate lots. Then we went to Dairy Queen and took advantage of the Buy One Blizzard, Get One 99 cents deal. I'm a very very bad person, I know, but Bobby is on a health kick so when it is his idea to indulge, I feel compelled to go along.

Today will be a day of relaxing, enjoying the weather, recovering. And not ingesting as many calories as I did yesterday. 

RP3 and things to look forward to

Good morning! How was your week?!

My week has been pretty great but I know it's time for the weekend. 

I ran 4 miles this morning in the glorious 60 degree weather, as opposed to the recent triple digit weather.

I woke up, ate a bowl of Cheerio's and hit the road. After returning, I ate my favorite post-run snack:
Every runner is different in the matter of what refuels them after a run. Some runners cringe at the thought of eating after a run, others can't stuff down calories fast enough. As mentioned in an early post, the hour or so after a run (long runs especially), is a critical period for nutrition and hydration. Meaning: your body desperately needs calories to refuel it and to help repair the muscles and tendons you did a number on while running.

My post-workout snack of choice right now is a banana, a tall glass of chocolate milk, and a scoop of crunchy peanut butter. It's the best. What's your post-workout snack of choice?

While I love to run just for fun, it's fun to run with a purpose. Running with a purpose gives your mind a place to wander to during your workout. Right now there are three things I'm focusing on when running:

1. Race Against Breast Cancer - next Saturday 9/21. I'm running this with a good friend of mine.
2. Intramural volleyball - I'm playing on a Co-ed Zeta Tau Alpha/Kappa Sigma team plus my boyfriend
3. PowderPuff football - I've always loved football and have never really got the chance to play outside of PE, but no longer. I'm in a tournament with my ZTA sisters against other sororities. Sooooo stoked.

Have a fantastic weekend bloggies, thanks for reading.

Run Post 2 - and I love America

Good afternoon friends!

Today I broke my week-long break from the gym. Kind of. I went on what was supposed to be a 5mi run but ended up being in the neighborhood of 7.5mi because I got lost. Topeka streets don't always run from one end of town to the other, so sometimes you turn right to run up a hilly street, only to find that you haven't paid attention and now you're much farther south than you ever planned on running. Or maybe just I do that.

As aforementioned, I found a street this morning with rolling hills. I have a love/hate relationship with hills from my marathon training. We did a hill workout about every 2-3 weeks and they always hurt while you're doing them, but feel good later (like most fitness moves!). There are 3 ways to go up hills. One is to skip. Yes, skip! Another is to do the "high knees" motion that you may have learned in high school. The other is to make long bounds so that your feet spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. Today I elected to try the high knees motion. My legs are super short so I hope you can imagine with humor what they look like making small steps forward but big motions upward.

Thankfully I completed the hills sector of my workout before getting lost and running in an aimless square around a group of churches. 

I don't honestly regret taking the week-long break because I was able to have extra energy for all the fun things that come with sorority Bid day!

This morning's run was rough on more than one count. One being that I got lost. Another being that this weekend was my 21st birthday! I will not even pretend that I don't look forward to my birthday all year round. 

Alas, while this morning's run wasn't the easiest, it gave me some quality thinking time.

Today is a day that will forever live in the hearts and minds of Americans. Being a firefighter's daughter, today carries some extra weight on my heart as I remember and appreciate those men and women who went into those buildings with the odds stacked against them. Everyone in their collective efforts to try to cushion the blow of that day on our country are very much appreciated and prayed for. God bless the USA.

My favorite firefighter, my father.

Life Post 2

Good morning friends!

This week has been nuts I tell you. Sorority recruitment is a wonderful and exhausting thing! However it is my favorite time of year to be a sorority woman because I get to spend almost every minute of every day for a week with the wonderful women I get to call my sisters!

This is my 'Big', Shelbie!

And my Little, Haley!

So with this week being as crazy as it's been, I've decided to take about a 5 day break from working out completely. My legs are itching for a run but there's not enough time in the day to fit in a good night's sleep, work, class, sorority recruitment, and a run. So, I'll be eager to go back when this week concludes. 

I've been super stressed lately because my classes this semester are actually hard (to me). The problem is, I'm really dramatic when it comes to my grades. So, a couple bad grades on homework and I'm already mourning the loss of my four semester run at straight A's. 

But, TGIF I suppose. I would like to leave you with this picture of my sisters and I after recruitment, eating 33 McChickens and 33 McDoubles. Because I think it is hilarious. And I think Hungry Runner Girl would approve and I think she is the coolest.

Anti-stereotypical sorority picture, gotta love it.

What are your plans this weekend?

What's the hardest class you've ever taken?

Running Post 1

Hello! How is your week going? 
Mine is crazy hectic, but I've turned to the two kinds of therapy that help me most. 

Caffeine and running!

This week is sorority recruitment week which, unless you went through it yourself, is really hard to put into words. It takes a toll on the body, mentally and physically. So in order to get through the late nights and short days with as little conflict as possible, I've tried really hard to get my fair share of endorphins everyday. 

Yesterday, it was only 82 degrees out. Which as compared to lately, was a welcome cool front. However, as a rule I learned in Marathon Training class; add 20 degrees to the temperature outside for a good estimate of what it will feel like to you while running.

Thus, yesterday was still a '102 degree' run. So I went out with the distance in mind: I wanted to complete 5K before I ventured back to the house to get ready and look presentable for the evening.

So in 102 degree runs, one must stay cool. I chose a sleeveless running top and my traditional Nike tempo shorts but I also donned a white running hat. This was probably the best decision of the day because not only did it keep my head cool, but it also prevented me from squinting into the sun. Squinting takes a great deal of energy out of you when your body is running. 

Rarely will I take pictures of myself ESPECIALLY after a run, but I wanted you to see my outfit!

Living in Topeka is a total advantage to runners because streets and sidewalks are lined with big, old trees. So I found some shady residential streets to run on and explore.

See how shady the sidewalk becomes with the help of some old oak trees?

The combination of my correct running attire and the shade that the canopy of trees created over the sidewalks made for a solid afternoon run. I completed 3.25 miles in about 35 minutes.

The hour after your run is a critical period of nutrition and hydration. The body needs calories and water, stat. A habit I started six months ago is taking my water bottle (in yesterday's case, Gatorade) in the shower with me. That way, while I rinse off in the cool water, I can still be hydrating too. It's easy to forget when you're busy with other things (like showering). If you ever complete a grueling workout (running or otherwise!) and you're in a pinch, try my tip!

Well that's all for now. Have a wonderful rest of your day!