Death would have been simpler

I didn't.
Unfortunately.
I thought I was going to pass out there close to the end, but I survived. Barely.
Right now, I'm finishing up my dinner before I go run myself ANOTHER hot bath. I have a few tips for all of you who are visiting because you searched "for couch to 5K" ... do NOT wait six months and then have the first run you do be a full 3 miles. [insert exceptions to rule here]
Its not smart, and the end results = very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very,very, very sore legs. Did I mention your legs would be sore?

After running Color Me Rad (not to be confused with The Color Run, which is only half as cool) in October, we had such a blast when we heard they'd be back in April my girls and I all signed up to run and volunteer. (read:cheaper registration)

However, I'd started a new job just six days before our run of color in October and didn't realize what my schedule was going to look like over the next little bit and how little time (or energy) I would have to spend running.

Not to mention... I don't really "LIKE" running that much. Still.
"So why did you...?" 
I know what you're thinking. Shut up.

Fast forward six month, and suddenly I realize this 5K I've committed to run in, is in five days and I haven't run a single step. It was a disconcerting moment. Its only three miles, I told myself, how much could I have lost in six months? Its new a route, full of color and fun; mind over matter. I got this. 

And to be honest, all things considering, I did fairly well. Keeping up an 11:09 minute mile, and even the parts I walked, I st

ill finished in about 35-40 minutes. There was a moment near the finish line when I thought I might pass out, I was hoping my darling family (who abandoned me five minutes into the race .. *COUGH*KRISTEN*COUGH*) would stand near the finish line closest to where we turned into. They didn't. They stood all.the.way.by.the.stupid.ballon forcing me to hold myself to my promise to run all the way to the end.

Huge props to my sister Autumn for completing her SECOND 5K at 10! 

I made it, and immediately had to grab something to support myself, as my legs gave out on me. #firsthint
After chugging warmed water, and fruit snacks we gathered by the stage for the infamous color bombing/RAD after party. The MC was cracking me up, as he'd apparently did his research on Knoxville, and played Rocky Top as well as brought up our football rivals in Alabama & Florida.

Then came time for the Bombing. It looks much cooler on the outside, than it really was on the inside. On the count of 5, everyone throws their color packets in the air,  and the sun disappears in a cloud of choking colored corn starch. Seriously puts a damper on things like breathing, and seeing. But once it cleared and we were all covered in color again, it was fun again. :)

After that, my sisters and I lined up for our "pro" photo op and signed in for our volunteer shift. Fast forward 4 hours, I've been on my feet since 8:30AM and am dying to go home and chillllllll. When we finally had everything cleaned up, packed up, inventory counted, pizza eaten, etc..etc.. I drove home, looking forward to enjoying the amazing weather with my animals.

I spent another half and hour on my feet while the dogs played outside, before grabbing my laptop and chilling on my bed. Thirty minutes later, I stood up to let my needy "child" outside for the second time, and nearly fell on the floor.

MA LEGS?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MA LEGS!? 

They no longer moved as fluidly as they normally did, each step sent a wave of discomfort shooting through my thighs. I spent the rest of the day hobbling around like a person twice ...er... triple... lets quadruple that to be safe.. my age.

Did I think to soak? OF COURSE I DID. But that would have meant getting up again and starting bath water. My laziness is too my own detriment at times.

I'd hoped this morning would be better. But it weren't, weren't weren't weren't (wasn't). [props if you can identify which Veggie Tales song that is!]

I'm the main pianist at our church, so you can imagine how much fun it was to hobble back and forth during the worship part of service.

Child: Why did you just say ow? Me: "What? Doesn't everyone say "Ow" when they walk down stairs?" - What I should've said 

I took a short bath this afternoon, and while I thought I was good when I got out, it was but a few minutes before I was back to my crab legged walking.

My misery is boundless.

Lessoned Learned.
Stretch before and after run. Work your way GRADUALLY back into running, if you've taken a break. 

That being said I'm going to go soak now.

Ta- Ta!

P.S. (They'll be back in K-Town in August... should I.. shouldn't I... hmmm)


ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Owie. MOOOOM. Oh wait. I'm on my own. [insert sob here]

Five Things Tuesday

1.) S i c k i e s 

In light of those with terminal/chronic/life long conditions, I feel great. In light of my current state of health (which has been rapidly declining due to my eating habits) I feel horrid. My teeth are killing me, making my ear hurt, not to mention my sore throat and cough I've been battling ... I've been sipping Garlic Tea like its going out of style, I know what you're thinking, and its really not that bad. As long as you dose it with honey. The water dilutes a lot of the strength AND it makes your sore throat disappear in like days! However, you have to make sure you continue drinking water and reducing your sugar intake or the next day it will be back. Sugar cuts your immune system in half... or so I've heard. And with the amount of sugar I consume on a daily basis its amazing I'm not sick all the time. 

Today's Consumtion of sugar: 1 Root Beer, 2 Handfuls of Jelly Beans - Wow ... I did pretty good for once! Something about the immediate throat ache eating sugar causes. 

2.) 5 K 

I'm sure you've noticed that lack of 5K/running posts around here. That's because I've fallen of the exercise bandwagon. Thank you new job with wacky hours! I'll admit I miss the healthy feeling I had knowing I was eating right, and doing something good for myself. However I'll really be missing it when I'm attempting to pound out 3 miles this Saturday for a race I have NOT prepared for at all. Its stupid really, how I've let myself go, and the only reason I'm going to continue my attempt to do this, is to teach myself a lesson. Just Do It Erin! Hopefully it won't be tooooo painful. I mean all I've got to do is move my feet and breath right, right? I've done this before... I can do it agan ... and I have some pretty cool new shoes! Color Run x2 Here. We. Come!!

3.) H e a l t h y  E a t i n g 

In an attempt to help my "lesson learning" be less painful, I'm trying to infuse my current diet of Junk, junk and more junk with some healthy things like salads, veggies, real foods vs. fast foods. Today's meal was Pizza, Soda and a Salad. This is an improvement because ordinarily it would have been Pizza, Soda and lots of Candy. So we're working in the right direction. 

4. B i r  d s  I n  T h e  H o u s e 
I think I've mentioned a time or two regarding the many birds that have terrorized my house? I have since discovered how they are getting in, and have duct taped that opening shut. However. This has not deterred the birds, they have decided to set up "house keeping" in this new little hovel.

Which also happens to be the fan to my stove. Stove top fan.
The only reason I know they are setting up shop, is because I woke up this morning to a stove covered in bits of trees and leaves and such like. I stared at it for quite sometime before shaking my head and walking away.

Its the lazy thing to do after all.

I came home tonight and stared at it some more, then got up the nerve to lift away the duct tape a bit to see if my suspicions were correct. They were.

Now I've got to figure how to get them of there, and return said fan back to its original use... not that I used it muuuch, but the last thing I is for some unsuspecting house guest to murder a bird family where I prepare my food... not to mention something more horrific ...

BED BUGS!

5. B o o o o o o k s 
I am so behind on my book reviews its not even funny, so I'll apologize now for the inundation of them, that is to come. However I have discovered a sad fact. I "can't" read paper back books any more. Like literally. I've tried and failed. They just don't hold my attention like they used to and it makes me so very sad.  I trust this is just a phase, as for a while my Kindle sat neglected for months on end ...

C25K - Week 6

Excuse me while I take a moment to proud of myself, for running 25 minutes straight.

[basks in self praise] 

Ok I'm done.

But fur real guys, six weeks ago I was having a hard time running in 1:00 minute increments and now I ran 2.5 miles? Five more minutes and I would have officially completed my 5K distance!

What? 

When I got up this morning, my goal was to run 12 minutes straight before walking again. However when we got to the track, and I realized we'd run a mile already, I knew my goal was going to run 1.5 miles, then 2 miles. Then 2.5 miles.. and next thing I know "Good job! Now cool down".

Today's stats were: 3.06 miles @ 11:22 per mile, Warming up for 5 minutes, and jogging 25 mins.

Other Stats:  

Week 6 Day 1  

5 minute warm-up, Jog for 5 minutes, Walk for 3 minutes, Jog for 8 minutes, Walk for 3 minutes, Jog for 5 minutes
2.65 miles @ 12:59 per mile 

Week 6 Day 2  

5 minute warm-up, Jog for 10 minutes, Walk for 3 minutes, Jog for 10 minutes
2.62 miles @ 12:37 per mile 

What are our 5-K plans at this point? We're hoping to run the Butterfly run in *gulp* two weeks, and the color run in October. 

You CAN pretty much do anything you set your mind too! Who knew! 

Have you done something that you thought you never thought you could do?

Mission Accomplished.

Couch to 5k week 5 is officially on the books, and ladies I must say I am LOVING working out in the morning! While my spurts of energy after workouts aren't lasting as long as I would like (perhaps because I am not eating right, or perhaps because I go and sit for five hours straight) but its so nice to have my evenings free, and to be ABLE to go to bed at a reasonable time. Not that that has happened, but the potential is there you know?

Its so nice to get to work feeling refreshed though! :)

Weekly Stats: 

Day 1  
5 minute warm-up, Jog for 5 mins, Walk for 3 mins, Jog for 5 mins, Walk for 3 mins, Jog for 5 minutes
2.46 miles @ 12:31 per mile  


Day 2 
5 minute warm-up, Jog for 8 mins, Walk for 5 mins, Jog for 8 mins
2.43 miles @ 12:34 per mile  


Day 3 
5 minute warm-up, Jog for 20 mins
2.59 miles @ 11:33 per mile 


At this point, I want to publicly apologize to all those joggers I made fun of over the years, for going so slowly, for not really working out, etc.. I was wrong. Way wrong. I was naive, I had no idea how hard it really is. Please except my humble apologies and I bow to your greatness.

We have a couple more days of interval training then they are sending us out to pound pavement for the full time. I didn't even run the whole 20 minutes this morning, throwing in two minutes of walking before jogging the remaining time. For the first time in.. ever.. I actually felt I was going to throw up right before it told us to walk again. Guess that will teach me not to eat/drink anything (little) before I dash out of the house!

This week I really want to focus on eating a more balanced diet. I believe I've blogged about my sporadic eating habits before, now adding a calorie burning, exercise and my bad habits are catching up with me. More veggies (gag), more fruit less processed. No soda.

Wish me luck?

I'll need it!

The Goal: Morning Runs

Week Six of our Couch to 5K training. According to our app we're just starting week five, which is due to us repeating week four twice. With all of our traveling and what not, I worked out once during the first week of July, and then last week we scrambled and got three days in, doing two days back to back. 

This week we're changing things up a bit, despite the fact that neither Rebekah and I are morning persons people tomorrow we're going to try excersising before work. I'm actually happy about this, as I have begun to dread our night time runs.

Those of you who have been exercising a while, know that exercise gives you more energy, which is the LAST thing you want right before bed! Needless to say my late nights have been catching up with me, and I was super happy when my dear friend finally got my hints about "how nice it was to exercise in the middle of the day and have your evening free" etc.. etc..

We'll let her think it was her idea ok? :)
Cause she doesn't read my blog at all, and will "never" know! 
The world needs more friends like me. I know. 

 So tomorrow morning at 6:45AM I will haul my backside out of bed, throw on my workout clothes, consider running a brush through my hair, grab some water, crate the dogs and head out to run. My mental self is happy about that prospect while my physical self is already lamenting the loss of an hours worth of sleep. 

However this will be good for me in the long run I think. I hope. My life would be much smoother should I actually be able to be productive in the mornings! 

C25K - Week 3-4

Week four is completed as of yesterday. This has been my hardest week yet, and I've found myself on more than one occasion dreading getting out there and running. Tuesday was hard because we upped our running time from 1/5-3 minutes to 5 minutes. Thursday I felt icky and just walked, then Sunday still felt bad but pushed through the pain and ran anyway. This coming week will be brutal since my running partner and I will have to do at least 1-2 workouts alone. Something that's going to be difficult for me to follow through, I'm not going lie. My job has a workout room which I hope to put to use this week. I'm a little self conscious about running in a skirt, in front of people but, as Kelly Clarkston says "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" and this isn't about them, and there thoughts. SO.

[Week 3] 

1. I just finished WEEK 3 DAY 1 going 1.96 miles at 09:57 per mile.
2. I just finished WEEK 3 DAY 2 going 2.05 miles at 13:33 per mile.
3. I just finished WEEK 3 DAY 3 going 2.04 miles at 13:43 per mile.

[Week 4]

1. I just finished WEEK 4 DAY1 going 2.56 miles [app didn't record time per mile]
2. I just finished WEEK 4 DAY 2 going 1.83 miles at 16:43 per mile
3. I just finished WEEK 4 DAY 3 going 2.58 miles at 12:11 per mile.

C25K- Week 2 [COMPLETE]

via

Wooo! Week 2 is on the books people, as hard as the last run was, I'm really happy to have completed two weeks of this. This week, we had more life obstacles to navigate around, our church's VBS was all week, which meant our runs were later, we had to change days twice, and we even added another person to our group. 
This week, I was able to force myself into bed quicker, but still found myself wide awake (...♫ ♬ yeah I was in the dark, and i was falling hard, wtih an open heart....♫ ♬) around 1AM. I wish I were up to running in the morning. Maybe this week we can try a "bit" earlier in the day. Maybe running buddy?? 



Week 2 
Brisk 5 minute warm-up walk. Alternate 1 1/2 minutes of jogging and 2 minutes of walking for a total of 21 minutes.


Week 2 Day 1 - Walk/Run

Duration00:31:00Pace00:13:49  Distance 2.22 miles 

Great run. Back at my parents house, added a friend for this one, so we weren't going as fast. 

Week 2 Day 2 - Walk/ Run 

Duration00:31:00Pace00:13:49  Distance 2.22 miles 

Recently we had a veteran's cemetery built about a mile down the road, So my amazing friend(s) thought, flat paved area = great running place. I don't get spooked easily about things, but I can admit running at 10:30PM in a cemetery didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Sure there were four of us in all but.. Anywho. I felt really good after this run, despite being sore from sprinting around BARE FOOT during a game of capture the flag at VBS the previous day. I can honestly say, running shoes are worth their weight in gold.  

Week 2 Day 3 - Walk/Run

Duration 00:31:00   Pace 00:13:21  Distance 2.29 miles 

Horrible horrible run. I don't know if its because we ate right before running, or what but jogging/running was incredibly difficult this night. I felt as if I'd never run anywhere before, gasping for breath, cramping 

This week we learned: 

• Never eat more than an hour before a run !! 
• Have things lined up to get in bed immediately upon returning home.
• Perhaps find some exercise to do on off days.

Weekly Recap

This [Past] Week Categorized: 

Good

1. Making plans to see Rei and her partner this summer!! 
2. Finishing the first week of the Couch to 5K plan 
3. Trying new recipes 
4. Finding out two friends are expecting babies :) 
5. Meeting the cutest beagle mix puppy ever
6. Planning and making dinner/snacks ahead for the coming week 
7. Trips to the Library 

Bad 

1. Starting a fire in my stove
2. Finding a dead bird in my bedroom 
3. Finding out I may need to get screened/assessed for dyslexia 
4. Staying up 'till 4AM and subsequently being late for church
5. Finding out I need to update my car's registration $60 !! >:-(

Ugly 

1. PMS
2. Cutting myself with a butter knife
3. Watching my dachshund eat a baby-rabbit 

At the very least the good out weighed the bad right? :)

C25K - Week 1 [COMPLETE]

Week One in our couch to 5K training is complete.
In some ways I can't believe I actually did it.

The lazy person in my mind, is screaming at me to stop. I think even she's surprised I've gotten up off the couch (or computer chair in my case) and am actually working out. She really doesn't believe that I can keep this up, but that's the exact reason I have a running partner.

Week 1 Day 2

2.08 miles @ 14:20 per mile
Walk/Ran in my parents neighborhood. Was such a nice change from lapping our cul-de-sac. I don't know if we'll ever be able to run here at home, unless we have absolutely no time.

Week 1 Day 3

2.23miles @ 13:23 per mile
Walk/Ran at a local soccor field w/track it was ridiculously humid tonight and very hard to breathe.. not to mention the bugs that can running into us. NOT fun at all, but still felt fine afterwards.

Major Lesson Learned this week?

Never run in the daytime.
Also don't look ahead in your training regime, that 20 minute run in three weeks, might be enough to convince you to stop. You can't stop Erin. You're seeing this one 'til the end. 
Also find some sort of exercise to do on the off days.
Work on eating more "good foods".

 

Back in Shape

"I want you whipped into shape 

When I say jump, say "How high?" 

You'll know you're doing it right 

When you start to cry 

If you don't look like you should 

You've got to whip it, whip it, whip it good 

I'm sorry, ladies, no escape 

Til you're whipped into shape!"

- Whipped into Shape 

[Legally Blonde the Musical]

 Guys, I'm about to do something I've never done before.

Now I've always been classified as "skinny". However, I will be the first to tell you skinny does not equal in shape. High Metabolism? A lack in the food department? Yep. But Not "fit". I liked to think I was, and for a while I worked jobs were I had to be very active, so I could do..a bit more than your average couch potato. I used to walk 9 flights of stairs.. for fun! If I needed to get anywhere on campus, this girl would opt to walk faster than ride.

However, since I "dropped out" of school, in December I have embraced the title of couch potato. The only reason I haven't picked up major weight (I've put on a few more pounds than I have in the last couple of years combined), is due to my eating habits, which are spotty at best.

Seriously people? Eating is expensive! Not to mention time consuming! 

It wasn't until I was walking up the TWO FLIGHTS of stairs to our parking garage, that I suddenly realized I was.. winded? I literally stopped walking as I tried to catch my breath. Honestly!? What in the world has happened too me?
At that point, I knew I had to do something, I just didn't know what.

Sometime over the last couple of weeks or so, I? mentioned the couch-to-5k to Rebekah as something I'd thought about doing, when another friend urged us on, we decided we'd do this thing together. I'd wanted to do it earlier in the year, but once again, it was one of those things I pushed off to do.... later.

However, doing this with a friend, we are accountable to each other.. which is good for me..

Last night we both "officially" started the training program. We'd both "tested" it out the week before, but this was the week we'd set for our official start date. I, personally, was proud of us for actually starting and not pushing it off.

So our plan is to run the Butterfly Fund 5k to benefit East Tennessee Children's Hospital on August 21st. I'm excited!

Week 1 Day 1 - Stats
Last night I did 1.93 miles in 15:38 minutes a mile.
I actually felt pretty good, and wasn't gasping for breath as I'd been the first time I attempted this.
However more concerning (for me) was the calories I burned during that... 403. I can't burn that much? I barely consumed that much food yesterday, so obviously I'm going to have to do something about that.

Once I pay my bills.

....

#grownupproblems