19 through 27! DANG

So it has been a while, but the challenge is still going STRONG. Running, hiking, speed walking - all have been apart of my life this past week. RAIN or SHINE. Mostly rain, which in the summer I was looking forward to. But now, it is kinda yucky. 

Last Saturday, my two best friends and I celebrated Anna's Birthday! Potter painting and this then happened... no, no tattoos this time, but we did get piercings! Hey, I mean 26 is still young enough to do some crazy things right??!! RIGHT. 

After the piercings were good and calmed down... HAH I could barely smile after it was done because the awkwardness of something in my nose and the pain were all I could think of. SO WORTH IT. Call us crazy, we love them!

ANYWAY - back to the running/hiking/walking LYFE - This Thanksgiving, Rick and I woke up at 4AM to hike five miles in the mountains. Time for a RUNNING break - I thought a hike would be good on the joints. Joined by my brother, his fiancé, her family and my bro's best friend - it was quite a group! Headlamps on, fleece leggings ready we hiked. Pitch black - we were climbing to see the sun rise. We had an hour or so to make it to the top and man, the view was SO worth it. 

EDITED PIC OBVI. But still you get the idea. BEAUTIFUL. 

Rick and I after making it to the top! Aren't we just the cutest? :) He rocks. Especially in those socks. 

The top of this hike is the jump off of all the hang gliders in the area. We stayed up there for a good 20 minutes before our bodies stared to cool down and we realized it was REALLY cold! Back down we went. Five miles total and I made it up in lighting speed! 

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving week! I am so thankful for family and friends that encourage me, legs that can climb mountains, air in my lungs and a God who blesses us with views like that one above.

13-18 - Imma Get This DONE

YES - 48 degrees... THANK YOU GOD! Trust me, this spike in temp made my night SO much better. Then, bring in the strained ankle and WHALA! Barely and running for Megan. Anna and I ran around Lakeland tonight but soon after we got 1.5 miles in, the ankle was like "HEY - you! Um STOP this madness!" Okay. okay... so we listened. But that didn't stop us from getting 3.4 miles in of speed walking the rest.

Miles 13-15 were OH SO difficult. Cold weather, terrible breathing, maybe eating too much pizza on Friday night and just being plain ol' lazy. But despite the minor hiccups, I am on track, actually ahead of the game by 3-ish miles! WOO!

Look at me GO! Just for you all know, Mrs. Anna Gardner is doing this challenge right along with me! Her and I are both on track and are going to make it! This has been a great motivator to get us off  our butts and get moving! Check her out at the link above - Ragamuffin! 

Winter RUNNER. Miles 9-12

Okay..... so. it is COLD. Goodness, where did this come from??? Usually we have time to enjoy sweaters, leggings and cute light scarfs for a couple months. BUT NO - break out the wool coats, bean boots and wool socks! I actually needed a heated blanket!

 

So this challenge is being tested. Since it is SO cold, I am SO not wanting to be outside. Wednesday was a mile and some change. One loop before it got too dark to be out in my neighborhood alone. I am still laughing from this evening experience - I thought I could still wear capri workout pants and still be okay. BOY was I wrong. I got about 0.25 miles away from my house and lost it. Every swear word you could think of was coming out of my mouth. REGRET. Capris are now being tucked away for the winter. NEVER AGAIN.

 

Thursday was 3 miles - HOORAA! It was super cold and my muscles were not wanting to move (because of my previous two evenings of circuit trainings). But I got to use my new jacket! It comes down over the hands to keep secure under my gloves :)

 

Still on target for the challenge. I have to saw, running more miles in an evening than just one is more exhilarating - knowing you have more to run keeps my thoughts in check. I am thinking this 3 mile loop will become a trend.

 

Friday will be a break day for me - After work I am going to spend the evening quilting, sipping tea and enjoying my family.

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

 

 

Miles 7-8

I have weak ankles. This is what I have been told this weekend when I found myself limping around my condo. Weak ankles? Never even thought! Am I really at that age?? Hah - well, 26 is still young, but geesh, things are starting to not be as easy as it was when I was 18!

 

So I took a break on Saturday to rest these weaklings. Then up Sunday for a run with my soon-to-be sister-in-law. 1 mile on the track of the JR High we both attended at some point. Felt great to be in the rain and wind - NOT. Hah... once it started to let up, it felt great to be out in the cool forested air. An running on a track was difficult yet FUN. I mean, difficult as in you can see your ending point and knowing when you need to stop sometimes mentally messes you up. But running with a friend makes it easier. I had a small ankle brace on and it seemed to help. Calf raises and other ankle exercises are in my NEAR future!

 

Monday was tough - this getting dark at 4:30PM is really killing me. I mean, I can't go out alone running in the pitch dark. So last night, with no one able to run with me, I made two and a half loops of my small neighborhood to cap it at 1 mile. SO COLD. I was all bundled and totally out of it. I wasn't in the right mind set and kept looking at my mileage hoping it would be over. Bad mindset to be in!

 

Today (Tuesday) I will hopefully bank a couple more miles as I have a friend to run with!

I am still ahead of schedule with my miles and am excited to continue this challenge!

 

Check out this new REFLECTIVE GEAR! This is what I look like when a car drives by - aint gonna miss me now! PS - That shirt ISN'T originally white - it is actually Blue!

Also, new beats for my runs. Slower in pace but total album is a success! LOVE ME SOME YELLOWCARD.

 

Any tips for my running in the cold? Let me know!

Miles 4-6!

Past couple days, we have ran 1 and then 2 more miles! It varies from day to day - how I feel about the weather, life and health. Somedays I am like "LETS DO THIS" and sometimes I am like "No, please not today!" 

Today was a new location - a sort of CONGRATS you finished a long week of work. BEST. REWARD. EVER. I never thought I would be excited for a Friday night run. Look at that SUNSET. Seattle sunsets in the Fall are just lovely!

Tonight, I learned that I am no longer a "beginner runner." I. AM. A. RUNNER. No more excuses. I CAN do this. I am able to pick up my feet, breathe gently and count the miles. I am still going for distance and speed, but I am doing it. I feel my muscles in my legs getting stronger and noticing my stomach getting tighter. My body is becoming more adapt to the strides and actually craving the movement.

These past couple months have been a big awakening for me. I have begun to LISTEN to my body. I can tell when it is needing nutrients, what it is lacking and when it needs movement. Just today, my back was flaring, my shoulders were tight and I was on the brink of a migraine. TIME. TO. RUN.

After, I felt refreshed, wanting clean eats and wasn't in any pain. For a brief 30 minutes, I was back to me. Feeling alive and happy. Today, I am going to strive for better. The bad food, the bad habits and bad routines need to be altered.

Who knew that simply picking up my feet and moving would be life-changing. This has been the best thing I have ever done for myself and my life.

Two more miles down. Happy happy day. 

3 miles DONE.

Miles 1-3! Got those done in ONE rainy and dark evening! So Anna came over and it was dark - real dark. But with the little street lights and our bright outfits, we thought, THATS OKAY. We are going to get this run in!

 

Rain Rain Rain - but I have to tell you, running in the rain was AMAZING. We started off running and kept going and going and going! I have ran further (without stopping) last night than I ever have! Must have ran around a half mile without stopping! Now, for some of you that is a piece of cake. But for a girl who has only taken up running in her 26th year of living, that is a HUGE accomplishment.

 

After about 1.8 miles (one loop around my neighborhood), Anna was like "Wanna do another loop?" WHY NOT? So my coat was dropped off at the house, and back to the pavement we went. After another 20+ minutes we finished loop 2! Three miles PEOPLE! In night one! So, I am predicting those 50 miles will be done sooner than Christmas. If that is the case, I will be running through Christmas.

 

Per Anna, this is our SUPER-CREEPY-BLAIR-WITCH-PROJECT-PHOTO. First photo of our AWESOME Challenge.

Here is my CHECKSHEET. Three miles DONE! And man, it wasn't too hard to do! I am actually EXCITED for Thursday's run! Hoping to at least get one mile in!

Have a happy day and rest of your week!

 

 

50 Miles till Christmas!

HELLO ALL! It has been a few weeks and MAN did I miss the daily runs. So here is what you missed!

1. I am MARRIED! Yay!

2. I now have a permanent BOY roommate (husband) and so far, boy roommates ROCK! 

3. Had an eight day vacation to Maui and OH MAN, it was SO relaxing. Just what I needed!

4. TIME FOR A NEW CHALLENGE

So, I got out of running for a bit with all the wedding shenanigans, but now that we are back to normal schedules, I thought a new challenge was best into getting me back on track.

50 Miles till Christmas! My bestie Anna is going to join me. Everyday, until Christmas, we are going to run at least one mile. Starting Wednesday 11/5, we will have exactly 50 days until Christmas! If we skip a day because of LIFE getting in the way, we can make it up by running two or more another day. My goal is to make that one mile mark EVERYDAY.

Can I do this? I think I can get pretty close. Back in August I ran everyday for 31 days, and BOY it was SO amazing to get into that groove. It was something by day 10-15 that I was actually looking forward to accomplishing.

So here we go - Posting as I run. Anna will be joining me, as I said before, in this challenge and will appear in the posts as we go!

Join us for the challenge or for a few days - trust me - nothing beats getting your feet on the pavement and feeling your body move the way it was meant to! After a long day at the office, it is just what my body craves - outdoors, crisp air and the cold pavement beneath my feet.

Cheers and follow the journey!