28° this morning. Sunny and a little breezy. So what does any normal person do before they head out of town for a work conference for 8 days? Do they sleep in? Nope. They go for a run!
2.05 miles in 21:16. A pretty great run. The cold air felt great on my lungs and I was pretty good about staying around a 10:31 pace.
Now to shower and get ready to head to Denver for my first conference (that we put on! I’m a bit nervous!)
Happy weekend friends!
Friday Five, The Gun Show Edition!!
Happy Friday Friends!!
On Sunday, I ran my 10th Half Marathon in Omaha. (There were countless other runs that were at least that long during training runs, but these were the ones that I paid for and got medals for!) So I decided to make a fun little collage to commemorate the milestone! Here are my efforts.
It has my Full Marathon and the Beat The Blerch, which I don’t count as #11 because I ran 1 race and got 2 medals, because that’s how I roll.
Things of note: I really like that blue jacket. And my sweet white sweat bands. And bright colors. Yikes!
Anyway, just wanted this to live here forever to remind me of all of the hard work and dedication that it took to do it!
Me, Today.
My legs are a little tight today, but not too bad. I am sore though!
You really do have to forget the pain of the last race before you’re willing to do another. Seeing as the Omaha Half was just yesterday, I’m not ready to forget that pain yet. Sometimes I think, maybe I should do another Full Marathon. Then I think, LOLZ, NOPE, and I’m happy with halfs and shorter races. So is my knee.
I got my first paycheck Friday and immediately went out and bought these beautiful things.
Brooks Ghost 7’s. With my frequent buyer discount they were $50 off! They feel sublime.
Excuse me while I go #RunHappy.
What’s that I see? Are those Melissa’s legs in SHORTS for an outside run for the first time in forever?
Why yes, yes they are! It is so nice outside. I wanted to run 13 miles, but woke up too late for that. I then decided I could run 7, but cut it down to 5 when I realized my cold was still kicking my butt.
I’m not complaining, but you guys! It was almost humid out! I am not acclimated to the warm weather yet. They’re forecasting thunderstorms possibly tonight, so that explains the humidity and warmth. It was a rough, rough run. 5 miles//12:07 pace. So slow for me.
There were a few houses with their sprinklers on. I was a fan, especially when the wind caught the water and I got a cool, wet breeze. I was HOT!
And, some trees are blooming. Hooray for spring!
I’m going to hit the showers and get ready to head to Corky this afternoon.
Happy Weekend friends!
The mind is a funny thing.
On a daily basis, I don’t know if I actually SEE myself. Know what I mean? David recently wrote a post about this.
Sure, I look in the mirror and get ready for work each day, but there are the moments when I walk by my full length mirror and I’m taken aback. When I don’t know who that person in mirror is.
I’ve lost 150 pounds. That’s a person! That’s another me! But I just don’t always see it. I don’t see myself as the girl on the left anymore. I’m not sure if I even recognize her. But to be honest with you, I don’t see myself as the girl on the right most days. I’m somwhere inbetween. It’s funny how your brain gets stuck thinking you look one way, when you’ve completely changed.
I’m too hard on myself. Too critical. My stomach isn’t flat, my thighs are too big, etc. I’ve spent so many years focused on what is wrong with my body that I don’t always see what’s RIGHT with it.
This morning, after I got done with my run, I was changing to hop in the shower. When I saw myself in the mirror I was surprised. Surprised at how strong I’ve become, how lean. How my body looks in and out of clothes. It was a “Come-To-Jesus-Moment” if I’ve ever had one. Clarity. Peace. I finally SAW myself. Saw the power in my legs, not the fat. Saw the strength in my core and stomach–not the fact that it isn’t flat yet. Saw muscles and cellulite…things that make me, me.
And that was powerful.
Stunning realizations for a Friday morning.
It was 11 degrees with wind chills below zero for this run today. I half hoped they would cancel it. But no, it was on! I dressed in many layers and we were off! I hoped to PR this race, I have been doing speed work the last 3 weeks during my Half-marathon training and I hoped it would help.
Ooh boy! Did it ever!
I ran the first mile at a 9:45 pace, my best pace was a 6:57 minute pace! Who is this girl? The one that can run pretty fast? Whoever she is, I like her! 🙂
I ended up PRing–32:50. 10:23pace. I even had to walk a bit because the bitter cold was making my lungs and throat hurt. So this race gives me great hope for what I can accomplish in the next 3 months before the half, and the months leading up to the Chicago full.
Cold weather running is kind of gross: my scarf was soaked from my breathing and my left eye was watering so much it looked like I was crying.
When you consider that I ran my very first 5k in 39:17, this seems pretty incredible!
Have a fantastic weekend friends!
Runnin' Down a Dream 