I haven't posted for over a month. Bad Blogger! During that month, I've run a 10k, a couple of 4- and 5-mile runs, and today, 7 miles. Seriously - 7 miles!

After my run earlier in the week, I posted on Facebook about the donkey and the goat at the top of the dirt hill. My animal adventures continued today.

Since I ran 3.5 miles down a canal path and back, I passed many farm properties. There were dogs, horses, cows and donkeys. Even one pony. As I ran, I also saw a LOT of ducks, usually in pairs - the males had green heads and black/grey/white bodies and tails, and the females were brown all over. Toward the end of my first mile, I saw a huge flock of ducks (more than I've ever seen in one place at one time), near a farm that had several llamas. I thought that was going to be the highlight of my day, but I was wrong.

A little further down, I saw geese flying in a V-formation. Except that the formation was more like a backwards check mark.

I also saw some young bulls wearing what I can only describe as "bovine orthodontia" - they were all wearing some type of head gear around their small horns, seemingly to make sure that they grew uniformly and symmetrically.

And then my favorite - the "family" of five ducks. There were two males, one female, and one that had a green head, a black/grey/white tail, and a brown body. Not sure which side of the fence he/she was on, but the rest of the family didn't seem to care! :)

And yes, through all that, I ran 7 miles. Further then I've ever run, but barely halfway to the big goal.

Time to keep at it! :)

This one is for Moxie...

Ok, first my brags: I've done 5 miles (twice) and 5.5. I am ready for the 10k. My new shoes aren't great, but Roadrunner has a great return policy, so I'm covered.

So the other day, I was about 1.5 miles into the 5.5, running around a lake (pond) in a nice residential neighborhood. I came around a curve and found myself about 10 feet away from a bird. A large bird. A ginormous grey crane that stared me down as I ran past. He was probably wondering what MY drumsticks tasted like. Ok, no biggie - I'm not afraid of birds.

So then about 4 miles in, I was running along a canal path and I looked up at the overhanging electrical wires and I saw buzzards (or vultures - I'm not really sure which). But I know there were at least 20 of them, watching me. Maybe hoping I'd collapse from exhaustion? Still not afraid of birds, but seriously - buzzards?!

I've been running, I promise! I just haven't been writing about it.

Ok, the bullet points over the past couple of weeks:

Race for the Cure 5k - 39 minutes
Chandler Challenge 5k - 40 minutes

Longest run so far - 4.75 miles

Good news - I found a belt that fits. And the pocket is big enough for my phone (which will make Mr. Sweet Buns happy).

Bad news -I already need new shoes. And those suckers aren't cheap!

Worse news - Jet is sidelined for a while. She's going to have to sit out a couple weeks to let her tendonitis and plantar fascitis heal. And then she'll be back to running circles around me.

Best news - I am still loving the running (even when I am hating it)!

Remember when a 5k seemed SO far?!

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt like you could just run forever? Me either. But I ran 3.5 miles today, and I could have kept going if I'd had to. That's good, because it only gets longer from here! :)

The big day!

After a grueling three-plus months, the day finally arrived - Race Judicata, my first official 5k. My time was not anything to brag about (41 minutes), but I ran the whole thing with no walks. I wasn't prepared for the hills, but all in all, I felt good the whole time. KBB ran with me - I'm sure I slowed her down, but having her there motivated me to keep moving. Next time I run in the daylight, I need sunglasses!

Next week starts the 10k training. Bring it on! :)

Nice, strong end to the week!

Yay - Jet is back on the road with me! And as usual, she ran circles around me!

Yesterday, we did an "easy" 2 miles. We talked the whole time - talk about huffing and puffing! Today was 3.5 miles. I think the idea of it was worse than the actual run. We did chat for the first couple of miles, and then when we hit about the 2.5 mark, I was winded and needed a bit of a walk-break. Over those 90 seconds, Jet go so far ahead of me, I could barely see her in the distance! But she circled back to me for my last .25 miles or so. All in all, I felt good afterwards. And ready for a long nap!

Off to a good start this week

According to my 5k program, I was supposed to run 3.25 miles yesterday. I went to mapmyrun.com and found a route that fit the bill. I ran for about 41 minutes (though 1 minute of that was a short catch-my-breath walking break), and when I got home, I checked the map again. It turns out the maps pre-date the completion of the subdivision I ran through. I knew I was supposed to run to the "end" of the road on the map, but in real life, the road goes farther than the map, so I actually ran closer to 3.5 miles. Yay me! :)

Today was an "easy" day on the schedule - only 2 miles. I am amazed that I can run 2 miles at all, let alone as an "easy" day in the middle of the training!

Change of plans...

I didn't get to run the 5k on Saturday. It's all good- I got to spend a "bonus" night with my girls. But it did throw off my training schedule for the week, since I only ran Tuesday and Thursday in anticipation of the race.

This morning, I was already out the door when I realized that the battery my iPod (a necessary accessory!) was so low that the sound was distorted. I turned back to grab my husband's iPod, but his charge was also extremely low. I ended up using my youngest daughter's iPod which, fortunately, nearly mimicked my own play list.

My route was 3 miles, but I struggled a bit and had to take a couple of short walking breaks. I've decided that 3 runs in one week isn't enough to maintain my schedule. Time to get back on track!

So close, and still so far (that's a good thing!)

I've gotten used to running 5 days a week. Today was my second run of the week, and I only have one to go, but it's a milestone.

Tuesday, Jet and I were going to do our first 3-mile continuous run. Unfortunately, Jet has an injury, and even though she fought her way through the pain, we agreed after 2 miles to walk the last mile home. I really hope this isn't a season-ending injury for her - I am so much more motivated when I'm trying to catch up!

Today, I mapped out a 3 mile run. Along the way, I made a minor adjustment because of some construction and figured that as long as I ran for as long as 3 miles should take (at my pace), I'd be good. I ran for 36 minutes (yes, I am the slowest runner ever!) and ended up within a block of home, so I used that one block as my cool-down. When I got home, I used mapmyrun.com (thanks, Jet!!) to chart the route, and it turned out to be "only" 2.92 miles. That's close enough, right?

By the way - my one more run this week is a real 5k. :)

I didn't write much this week, but I have been running. In fact, I'm about finished with the first week of the 5k training program.

I ran with Jet on Wednesday - good run, but still about .25mi. longer than we intended. I was on my own on Friday. The run was pretty solid, but the humidity was a killer. I'm ready for my training to NOT include days that reach over 100 degrees or any type of humidity!

I went today as well. I felt like I needed to do two days in a row, not just to make sure I did enough runs this week, but to make sure I can push myself without a day of rest in between. I was off to a good start, but the not-so-distant thunder and lightning caused me to cut my run short - only 1 mile today. I guess that means I get to try again tomorrow!

Back on track!

Much better run this morning - Jet and I went 2.5 miles without stopping. And I didn't even feel like I was going to die afterward! Runs like this give me the confidence that I'll be able to push just a little further to make that first goal (5k) and keep improving even after that. The idea of going 13.1 miles still scares the crap out of me, but I know it's do-able, and I'm going to do it!

I should have stayed in bed this morning...

Have you ever had one of those days where you knew, just knew, that you didn't have "it"? That was me today. I woke up early as always, dressed in my customary jog clothes, and headed out before the sun was even hinting. But as soon as I started, I could feel that it was off. My legs were heavy and the road felt like sand. I went for a mile (no stops, thank you very much) and then passed one of those digital signs that shows the time and the temperature. It was 87 degrees at 5:45 am. That sucked the wind right out of my sails.

I started walking, rationalizing that if I just got myself home today, I'd have more energy to "start over" tomorrow when Jet and I start the 5k program. Then my Internal Athlete (I didn't even know I had one of those!) reminded me that my first race is 2 weeks away, and it's entirely possible that it will be 87 degrees and that my legs will be heavy. So I started running again. That lasted for another few minutes, then my External Wimp took over and I walked the rest of the way.

Grrr - no french toast for me today!

I earned my French Toast!

This morning, I ran two miles without stopping. It took me a really long time, and I let myself do a 5-minute cool-down walk afterward, but hey, that's 2/3 of a 5k! 1/3 of a 10k!

So I celebrated with yummy French Toast for lunch. :)

Almost not a "beginner" anymore!

Great run this morning - the 30-second breaks are already starting to feel unnecessary, and I had no problem extending a couple of the jogs to 7 and 8 minutes. Jet says that this is the last week we time ourselves, and starting next week, we measure by distance. Then she said that it's almost time to phase in 10-mile runs. Ex-squeeze me?! Aside from the sheer intimidation factor, I'm a little worried about finding the time to run that long, even if it's only once a week (especially at my pace). But hey, if I can run 10 miles, then 13.1 will be no biggie!

On the downside, I got a migraine about half an hour after I finished running, but I refuse to believe that the two are related. As soon as my head stops throbbing, I'll be itching to lace up for tomorrow morning!

Watch out, Granny!

Solo today - not so bad, but I'm always more motivated when I run with a partner.

I did manage to convince myself to move forward in the program: 30-second walks between the five-minute jogs. Not so bad, right? Ok, well there was the one time I lost track of the clock and ended up walking for about 1 minute, ten seconds. Oops!

I fully admit that my struggle of the moment is not my stamina, but my speed. This morning, I was in the middle of one of the jogs (I think it was the 4th), and I noticed an older woman walking on the other side of the road, going the same direction as me. At first, it seemed like she was walking faster than I was jogging, but I quickly came to realize that it was just a trick being played by my oxygen-deprived imagination. Before long, I left her in the dust. Still not sure it's something to be proud of, but I'll take it!

Shameless, as usual

In my typical "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" way, I am (of course) starting my blog on a day that I had a GREAT run. I promise I'll include struggles and off-days too, but for now, I'm starting on a high note.

I jogged 3 miles this morning. To be fair, I took 1-minute walking breaks every 5 minutes, but I still finished in 40 minutes. Now I have a "time to beat" when I do my first official 5k in about a month. By then, there won't be any walking breaks and I'm sure "Jet" will keep me in line! I'm a little more sore than normal, but this was my 5th run for the week, and I didn't feel like I was dying when I finished. Big improvement from early June!

I'm on my way!

Ten weeks ago, I would have said, "I'm not a runner. I've never been a runner, I'll never be a runner, and the only way you'll see me run is if someone is chasing me."

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a complete slug. Every now and then I'd take a long walk around my neighborhood, sometimes with my dog, sometimes with my husband, sometimes all by myself. I thought I was cool when I was going for one-mile walks two or three times a week.

Then my friend (let's call her "Jet") asked me if I wanted to do a beginners running program with her. She was already about a month into the program, but she was willing to "start over" with me so we could be on the same pace. I took a look at the program, got completely intimidated by what would be expected of me over the eight weeks of the training and was about to tell "Jet" that I wasn't into it. Then I looked at what would be expected of me during the first week - "Walk for 30 minutes at a comfortable pace," then "Walk for 5 minutes, jog for 30 seconds." Heck, even I can do that! So I told her I'd do it.

We live in Arizona. We had the brilliant idea to start this program in the middle of the summer. Therefore, we start between 5:15 am and 5:30 am. Most days, I get to see the sun come up. I love it!

I try to run five times per week. "Jet" and I usually do three or four days together, and then I run on my own on the other days. We've repeated a couple of the weeks of the program, but we're nearly at the end of the beginners training. Starting next week, we jog for 5 minutes and walk for 30 seconds. That gets us about 2.5 miles in our 30 minutes. After that, we run for 30 minutes with no breaks.

We're planning on doing a half-marathon in January. If I think about it, I still get intimidated, so I'm just focusing on what I'm doing now. I guess I am a runner after all!

Wish me luck!