running update

It has been a while since I updated y'all on how running is going. 

Well, it has been a while since I update y'all on anything! 

But let's stick to running for now. 

Saturday I completed my third 5k since I started running last year. 

And I finished in my best time yet! 

I finished 10 minutes faster than my last race! 

I cannot adequately express how good it felt to cross that finish line seeing that time on the clock. 

The elements could have contributed to the faster time Saturday. 

It was FLOODING and cold! 

All of my extremities were numb by the end of the race. 

I am still not the greatest "runner" in the world. 

I would definitely fit better into the jogger category. 

And I still cannot run the entire 3.2 miles straight. 

But my walking "breaks" are getting shorter and shorter!

Progress! 

I do not do these races to compete with other people. 

I just want to finish better than I did the last race. 

I may have set the bar a little too high with this one though!

My next 5k is coming up in 2 short weeks on March 9th 

and my sister wants to do another one on March 30th. 

I have not completely committed to the March 30th one though. 

That would be three 5ks in a little over a months time. 

However, she will probably convince me to do it. 

I am a sucker for the, 

"but I do not want to race by myself" argument. 

The things we do for family!

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via ae on Pinterest

c25k update

Source: google.com.au via liz on Pinterest

This week I started

week 6 of C25K.

I am continually amazing myself 

with this program. 

As y'all might remember

from my last update post, 

I was struggling a LITTLE bit

with running 90 seconds straight. 

Well, last Friday I ran (jogged)

20 minutes

IN. A. ROW!

I think this is some kind of

invasion of the body snatchers thing.

I have found that running

really is a mental thing for me. 

I know it may sound 

a tiny bit crazy

but I actually play mind games

with myself to just

keep my feet moving ;)

 My end goal is to complete a 5k

so I am trying not to 

focus on weight loss;

because I do not want to get discouraged.

So I have not weighed myself

since I started the program.

But I am measuring myself once a month.

And in the 1st month

I lost 

11 inches overall!

I was super excited about that. 

I will say that I still

loathe exercise

and I still struggle every

single time I run

but I am doing it and 

I am not giving up

even though I want to really 

bad sometimes.

Source: eat-sleep-run-repeat.tumblr.com via liz on Pinterest

i am not a runner . . .

or much of an exerciser for that matter.

I have never hid my loathing dislike of exercise. 

I am just not one of those people who feel good after exercise. 

Despite that I am training for a 5k. 

I am using the Couch to 5k (C25k) program.

So far, I am still alive!

Although, I have been at it 4 weeks and am only on week 2.

I have 3 friends who are doing the program with me. 

And 2 of us have not really exercised in years. 

So, we wanted to start slow.

We did week1 for 2 weeks for us beginners {me}.

Then I tweaked my knee somehow 

and I had to take a week off.

And tonight I will finally finish week 2!

To be honest, 

week 3 scares me to death.

I will have to run for 3 minutes straight

and 90 seconds is kicking my butt right now.

I know 90 seconds or even 3 minutes

 may not seem like a big deal to you runners out there

but just finishing one of those 90 second runs is a huge deal for me.

My birthday is at the beginning of August

and I want to be able to completely run a 5k by then.

That is my goal.

And so far I am SLOWLY completing it!

{click on pics for source}