One Tough Mother Runner Virtual 5k

It’s been a bit of a lazy May so I decided to kick June off a week early and get a run under my belt. It was slow going and a sweaty affair but I got it done:). The cause for this race was the Family Lives On Foundation who provide support to children who have lost one or both parents. 

Only a month or two until we move again so it’s key to lock in some good habits now. I have big plans for June!

Run Like The Wind Virtual 5K

Finally! A Team Daaaaamn! reunion! We all met at Lu's house at the weekend to complete our first 5K together in a long time. The weather was kind and we had a really nice morning:)

The charitable cause this time was for Donate Life America - a foundation focused on increasing the number of donated organs, eyes and tissue available to save and heal lives through transplantation while developing a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility. On average, 22 people die each day because the organ they need is not donated in time. If you are not already an organ donor, you can become one at RegisterMe.org.

Superhero Virtual 5k

I did my 5K today and Mike ran 5 miles! We have been running and doing weights at the apartment gym for the last few weeks and it's starting to pay off! The charity I picked for this month supports abused children. The medal was super cute:)

I ran 4:1s for the first 25 minutes and then just did the best I could for the remainder of the distance. The weather was perfect and I was shooting to finish in under 38 so I was really happy to break 37 minutes! For April, I am shooting for an in person race and under 36. I can do this!

Solving the Puzzle Virtual 5K

If I do an event every month (and a couple extra:)) I should be able to complete 50 before I’m 50! Now that’s a motivating thought! We didn’t get time to do much of anything during the move in January but now we are in an apartment until we can move into our destination home so we have plenty of time to work out:). We started going to the gym a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been working really hard:)

So tonight I did a Virtual 5K for the first time in a while:). I ran the first 10 minutes and then walked/ran the rest. The goal was to finish under 40 minutes so I was really happy to finish just over 39 minutes! I did the race for autism in honor of my adorable nephews who I love so dearly.

The medal was very cool - you could remove the puzzle pieces to see the inscription below. Some of the medals had prizes hidden underneath too!

I have a long way to go!

Beagle Rescue 5k

It was a slow, hot and sweaty night but sticking to the 3 runs a week is really helping and now I've done 6 virtual 5Ks for some really great causes this year! I'm finally starting to get faster and can run for longer without walking now. Hopefully the weather will let up soon:)

Family Lives On Virtual 5K

A Service Dog for J Virtual 5K

For my virtual 5K this month I really liked this cause. Instead of a big charity, the proceeds went directly to one family so that they can get a service dog for their son Jameson, who has autism.

I was two days late for my April run but I still got it done! My time has really suffered so I need to work on that this month and stay focused especially as it gets even hotter....

Heart of Gold Virtual 5K

For my event this month I signed up for the Heart of Gold virtual 5K to benefit the Joyful Heart Foundation at virtualstrides.com. This charity was created by Mariska Hargitay who plays Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The content of the scripts, the work she did to prepare for the role, and the letters she received from her viewers opened her eyes to the epidemics of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. Sadly:

One in three women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend

Every two minutes in the United States, someone is sexually assaulted

More than five children die every day in this country as a result of child abuse and neglect and up to 15 million children witness domestic violence in their homes each year

The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation is to transform society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse, support survivors’ healing, and end this violence forever. A worthy cause indeed...

The medal was a box of chocolates containing 11 removable chocolate charms. Some medals contained special prizes too (but not mine!). My goal was to break 37 minutes this month which I managed to do. I was especially happy that I motivated myself to complete it on a workday morning as well!

So I've managed a 5K each month now for the last 4 months which I'm really proud of. Now to book next month's challenge...;)

Run for the Rescues Virtual 5K

For my event this month I found another virtual race on Flex It Pink's Facebook page benefiting Marley's Mutts - a dog rescue organization. I picked a great day - it was perfect weather for a run!

Despite the lovely conditions, I haven't been running much this month so I found it really difficult and my time was about 10 seconds slower than last month. Regardless, I did it which I'm really happy about (since that's 3 5Ks in the last 3 months!) but I do need to start training if I'm going to be able to continue through our hot and sticky summer months:)

Puppy Rescue Mission Virtual 5K

For 2017 my goal is to complete at least one event per month. I also want to align my activity with causes that I'm passionate about. I saw this virtual run for Puppy Rescue Mission (sign up here!) and thought it would be a perfect way to start out the year!

The Puppy Rescue Mission helps deployed soldiers adopt stray dogs of war. Animals rescued by and bonded with soldiers overseas are often logistically difficult to bring home. This organization assists with the process to enable soldiers to bring home their companion animals from war.

My senior puppies had no interest in joining me but I could feel them rooting for me from their couch:)

My time was over a minute faster than December which I was really happy with since it was my first run this year! The medal was also adorable and says "Soldiers savings Puppies and Puppies saving Soldiers" at the bottom. There are still medals left so you can still sign up and choose any distance too!

Making progress finally!

I pulled off a virtual 5K today for diabetes on the treadmill at lunchtime! It was tough and slow but I am so stinking proud of myself that I got it done!

 

 

So that's 3 races out of the 14 that I had planned done so far for this year - I think I'll sign up for another one and see if I can make some more progress:)

My new plan

The year is flying by and I have made little progress with my 2014 health goals:(. I've been wondering how to get back on track and whether or not these goals are even relevant to me any more? It feels so strange but I just haven't felt motivated to race lately and I'm not even sure if I ever want to get back to running at all. I have been dabbling with it the past few weeks on the treadmill for a couple of miles a couple of times a week but that is all. I don't have the confidence for an in-person 5K right now but I don't feel ready to throw in the towel yet either. I think I'll have a last 'push' and then decide if I want to continue with running or try something else completely. So here are my original goals and a new plan:):

1. Work out more often (3 times a week at least) - I'm doing much better here lately:). I am still walking regularly and even managed to hit the work gym for a run at lunchtime this week. Working a midday run in twice a week when my energy levels are goo will really help me fit in my activity more regularly.
2 14 in-person events in 2014 (one each month and a couple of extras). I think it's unlikely at this point that I'll get this done if they are all in-person :(. So rather than give up, I'm going to sign up for a virtual event so that I can still align with a good cause, have accountability to record my time, and share the experience with other runners, albeit electronically:).
3. Any three of the following: 10K, sprint tri, bike 25 miles. I need to get started here - Biking once a week shouldn't be that much to ask surely!
4. Either PR or complete a 5K in under 30 minutes during an event. I'm not even going to think about this one for now...let's see how I feel after a month.
5. Lose 15 lbs! So I am about 2 lbs down. Eating clean and staying active is the right way so I need to knuckle down and get it done!

2014 has been an amazing year so far with a fantastic new career start for me! I would love to end the year re-energized physically as well and there's still much of the year left. Rebuilding the habit will be tough but I know I will feel great and I have done it before so I know it's possible!

Janathon is here!

I so needed a brand new year with new goals and new challenges:). 2012 has been exhausting and I'm totally ready to hit the ground running (literally) in 2013!! I feel really motivated and positive about my new goals and losing some weight:). And I can't think of a better way to start the year than by signing up for Janathon (link here)!!!

Janathon is a virtual event organized by a group of runners in the UK. Basically it's a challenge - you have to run (or do some other form of exercise) and blog about it every day for a month! I did the same challenge in June last year and despite some rule bending here and there, I did it and the results were amazing (link here)! Here goes...:)

Day 1: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

This one was huge for me today for a number of reasons:

1. I have been really lazy lately

2. Things have a tendency to stay in their boxes in my house if they don't get opened and assembled in about a week. I didn't want my new bike trainer to become one of them!

3. I haven't ridden my bike since we moved in October so now the tires are inflated again and I have located all my biking paraphernalia I have no excuses!!

4. I need to have some way to exercise indoors that does not involve a DVD. I would rather sell an organ than do a DVD. Unless its the Thriller dance. Which is really good exercise so it counts;)

Anyway, after a frustrating hour putting it together and some help from Mike my new bike trainer works!!! And it feels a lot like real biking. And it's sweaty :)

Day 2: Bike trainer, 20 minutes

I rescheduled tonight's planned run for tomorrow so I figured I'd do the trainer again. This time I pimped it up with a special towel cover that has a remote control holder. It's actually called a bike thong which made me giggle :). Day 2 done!!

Day 3: Run, 35 minutes, 3 miles

Lu's back!!! Ebaaaaa!

Day 4: Nothing
Day 5: Nothing :(
Day 6: Run 75 minutes-ish, 6 miles
Day 7: Bike trainer 20 minutes
Day 8: Nothing
Day 9: Nothing
Day 10: Run 35 minutes-ish, 3 miles

OK it's officially over. I have too many days to catch up. Janathon - you have gotten the better of me! See you in June when I'll be ready for you. Grrrrr!!!

Juneathon is here!

So it's June 1st and this is the month that I traditionally slack off a bit (OK a lot) from running. Thanks to Denise at Run DMT, this year I've found Juneathon (see link on RHS) - a virtual, international network of people who are committed to working out (and blogging about it to stay accountable) every day for the whole month of June! This is exactly what I need, particularly now that Lu is not in town for a month and I feel lost without her all of a sudden! I'm prepared to commit to a minimum of 20 minutes a day (with longer sessions for training days) - and while I'm in the spirit of making commitments I'm going to shoot for eating 'clean' for a whole month too after reading this inspirational book:

I'm still going to shoot for running 3 times a week - but hopefully the regular, daily workout will help me stay motivated overall. I may even get used to the heat a little? I wonder how I'll feel in a whole month's time?? Wish me luck!!

Day 1: Ran 4:2 Sprints: 2.5 miles, 24:00 mins

Day 2: Weights: 20 mins

Day 3: Ran: 3.0 miles, 32:09 mins

Insanely hot. But totally my fault - I had to run in the evening since I didn't get my arse out of bed this morning at 6 liked I'd planned after staying up chit-chatting until nearly 2 a.m. But still - crazy hot. But I'm not whining. Because nobody likes a whiner. Not even other whiners...

Day 4: Bike: 8.0 miles, 48:58 mins
Day 5: Ran Treadmill: 4.4 miles, 40:00 mins, Weights: 20 mins
Day 6: Bike: 10.40 miles, 49:36 mins

Had a bit of a slip on the clean eating front today and had two (yep that would be two) protein bars and a piece of cake today. I had a ton of 'safety fruit' to hand so I have absolutely no excuses. I can't even say that I didn't enjoy it or felt guilty:)

Day 7: Gym Bike: ?? miles, 45:00 mins

Very lame workout after a horrendous eating day too. I can't seem to decide on my next event or which training to focus on. Feeling lost to be honest. A good night's sleep will help for sure...

Day 8: Nothing
Day 9: Nothing
Day 10: Nothing

Oops :). Well it looks like pesky Juneathon has gotten the better of me after only 7 days! This weekend was horrendously busy and I have been so exhausted. I feel like I've been lurching from one place I had to be or task I had to do to the next. In short, life got in the way. And I let it happen :(...So what now? Well, I was thinking that maybe I can rewrite the rules a bit and give myself credit for 'doubling' up sessions? So basically I can 'buy back' a missed day if I do two different activities on one day?? It's worth a shot...now I really want to see if I can do that! And there's that 'eating clean' thing that I haven't stuck to...Juneathon - I'm coming BACK!

Day 11: Swim: 11.5 laps, 20:00 mins, Ran Treadmill: ?? miles, 25:00 mins

Great workout and one session bought back. Two more to get back on track...:)

Day 12: Gym Bike: ?? miles, 40:00 mins
Day 13: Nothing :(
Day 14: Gym Bike: ?? miles, 45:00 mins

OK so I'm still 3 sessions behind so I'm going to need to step this up if I'm going to be able to claim victory over Juneathon!! I have nothing major scheduled for this weekend so I have a perfect opportunity to catch up completely if I can just stay motivated! This 'daily' thing is so much tougher than I thought:).

Day 15: Ran 5:1 Intervals: 6 miles, 1:06:06 mins

I was totally dreading tonight since I haven't ran 6 miles on my own for a very long time and I've really been struggling to stay on track. It's often on nights like this that the Running Gods intervene and I see something really special and tonight was no exception. I've lived in Florida for nearly 15 years but I've never seen a Scarlet Kingsnake before...

OK so that's not my picture but mine looked exactly the same! I nearly stepped on him and for a second I wondered if I would be able to run to the hospital before certain death. Then I remembered 'If red touches yellow, it can kill a fellow. If red touches black, it is a friend of Jack' and realized he was harmless. And he didn't bite me anyway :). About 10 minutes later I caught the Epcot fireworks too. Florida is certainly hot but you get to see some amazing things when you're out for a run. Lucky me..:)

Day 16: Swim: 19.5 laps, 35:00 mins, Bike: 8.1 miles, 38:46 mins
Day 17: Swim: 13 laps, 20:00 mins, Ran Treadmill: ?? miles, 25:00 mins
Day 18: Swim: 13.5 laps, 20:00 mins, Bike: 7.5 miles, 33:18 mins

All caught up now:)

Day 19: Swim: 18.0 laps, 30:00 mins
Day 20: Run: 5.0 miles, 54:11 mins

Virtual run tonight for Emmett Sebright - a little boy with Craniosynostosis, a defect of the skull that inhibits brain growth. On June 20, 15 month old Emmett had his scheduled surgery - a cranial vault reconstruction. During the 7 to 8 hour surgery, his mother, Kathy planned to run on the treadmill at the hospital the entire time Emmett was in surgery. She pledged that she would not stop until he was out - even if it took the full 8 hours. Emmett's (virtual) Endurance Event was organized on Facebook as a show of solidarity and support.

Day 21: Nothing

Day 22: Gym Bike: ?? miles, 45:00 mins
Day 23: Swim: 15 laps, 25:00 mins

Just one more week to go and one session to catch up!

Day 24: Nothing
Day 25: Ran Treadmill: ?? miles, 45:00 mins

Great run tonight after a lethargic weekend. Feeling really motivated to catch up the two sessions I've fallen behind on and end the week strong :).

Day 26: Swim: 13 laps, 20:00 mins, Gym Bike: ?? miles, 30:00 mins

Just one more session to catch up and 4 days to go :)

Day 27: Ran: 3.0 miles, 32:25 mins
Day 28: Nothing :(

Day 29: Ran: 7.0 miles, 1:19:68 mins
Day 30: Swim: 12.5 laps, 20:00 mins, Ran: ?? miles, 20 mins, Gym Bike: ?? miles, 25:00 mins

All done...Juneathon verdict to follow...!

Jelly Bean Virtual 10K

Luciana and I were particularly proud that we managed to pull out a 10K on a Monday night after a long day at work at 9pm for the annual Jelly Bean Virtual 10K! I really wasn't feeling it but together, we made it happen!

Now the tough part - to stay "10K-ready" through summer in Florida...:)

Cupcake Virtual Race

I did The Cupcake Challenge in October - a virtual run for Jess (blog here), one of my favorite bloggers. She has been such an inspiration to me! Part of the challenge was to have your post-race pic taken with a cupcake. I got creative since I can't be trusted with the real thing :)

Jelly Bean Race - Virtual 10K

There are just tons of 'virtual' races on various running blogs to sign up for. Some are designed to raise money for different causes and some, like this one, are just for fun! In general, for these types of races awards are given based on drawings from all participants and some offer some really cool prizes too! This one looked like fun so me and Mike signed up for the Jelly Bean virtual 10K...

Mike did his first and ran an extra mile too - show off...

I did mine in the morning and it was hot, hot hot :)

A new 10K PR for me and I won a prize too! (Winners Announcement). How cool is this? I love it!

We ran for Japan!

The massive earthquake, the seventh largest recorded in history, that struck the east coast of Japan on Friday, 11th March, 2011 measured 9.0 on the Richter scale, and triggered a tsunami which hit the east coast of Japan with 7-metre-high waves, leaving a trail of massive destruction. With a death toll in the thousands, an economic cost in the billions, and the threat of nuclear meltdown imminent, the people of Japan face their greatest disaster for decades.

Run for Japan is an international fundraising campaign that is bringing together the worldwide running community to show their solidarity and support through dedicating runs around the World to the people of Japan. The challenge...to cover 24,901 miles (right around the world) in 28 days with at least one run dedicated from every country. To achieve this runners around the globe are being asked to dedicate just one run to the people of Japan and donate at least one unit of their home currency per mile run.

Mike and I ran 9 miles this morning (which is my longest run to date:)) and dedicated our run to the cause by sending in a photo (in red and white), tribute message and making a donation!

So slow...but I did it!!

So, how can YOU Run for Japan?
•Choose which of your runs you will dedicate to the people of Japan
•Take a photo of yourself on that run (optional)
•Upload that photo (with a caption) here
•Donate the relevant amount via here
•Download your 'I ran for Japan' artwork from here
•Spread the word!

Further details about the fundraising challenge and how you can participate can be found at http://www.runforjapan.com/.

We Ran for Christchurch!!

This weekend was the worldwide, virtual Run for Christchurch. Here we are in our red and black showing the love for the families impacted by the tragic earthquake in New Zealand a couple of weeks ago. It goes without saying that our thoughts and prayers are also with our brothers and sisters in Japan at this time...

Janie, Travis and family ran a 5K in Bootleg Canyon, NV!!

Scott ran the Celebrate Life Half Marathon in NY!!

Sharon ran a 10K in FL!!

Emily ran for Christchurch in Tampa, FL!!

Mike ran his first half marathon in New Port Richey, FL!! Video (Here!)

I ran 3 miles on Saturday night bringing my total miles for the week above 15 for the first time!

And our little Madison did her first ever run :)

Thank you so much for your awesome spirit and participation!!

Run for Christchurch - virtual race!

I'm running for Christchurch - and you can too!

Here are the details on this worldwide, virtual event! Click here!

As you may know, New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch, was devastated by a 6.3 earthquake at lunchtime on Tuesday, 22 February 2011. There have been at least 166 fatalities and days later many people are still missing.

New Zealanders from Christchurch and people around the world want to know how they can help, and the answer’s short. With money. But we all want to feel like we’re doing more than just typing our credit card numbers into a box and clicking submit. So we thought we’d go for a run. Wearing red and black, to show the people of Canterbury we love them. And we’d like you to join us for a virtual run. Wherever you are.

If you’d like to participate, just follow these easy steps:

* Donate to the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Fund for as little as $5 here at our fundraising page

* Follow us on twitter!

* Email us run4chch@gmail.com
* Tell the world you’re in. Share the love on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, whatever.
* On the 12th or 13th of March, put your red and black on, and hit the streets, or the pavements, or the trails, or wherever it is that you run.
* Send us a link to your race report, and we’ll post it on the website.
We’re hoping to get 100 runners, so please share this with everyone you know!
Thanks,
The Run for Christchurch Team