I didn't run away

I have just not been blogging!

Brief update:

Finished the Bagelfest 5K in under an hour. Goal: accomplished! (52 min to be exact)

After that race (July) it was WAY TOO HOT to keep running.
BUT- now (yes, it's September) I've gotten back into the routine. I am signed up to do another 5k in Indy with my sister. November...here we come! And I anticipate a much cooler temp for this one!

Thats all for now

More updates to come!

Hi Mom!

Good morning, world.

Well my mom said that NEITHER of her daughter's blogs had been updated recently so here it is mom...an update!

Went out with Sasha this morning- did about 4 miles I'd say walking to running was about 70/30.
Not too bad.

I had been doing really well getting out and walking/running, but then I had a bit of a lag around Memorial day weekend. Lots of yard work getting done, running around the county being a musician, and then the parade-that all wore me out, but I think I am finally recovered from that! (Hope so..it's been almost a week)

Things are going back on track-been out the last 3 days now.
Signing up to walk another 5K in June with some ladies from school. They keep giving me a hard time because I will want to RUN while they walk, but I think I will just walk with them and get one under my belt.

Well have a great day- the weather outside is GORGEOUS!

Rain!

Well loyal followers, I have not run off the face of the earth, though it has been over a week since my last posting. A lot has happened since then, but rest assured I've been out pounding the pavement among all the craziness.

This weekend I discovered that my Nike iPod sensor has stopped working. I've tried all the FAQ suggestions, but since the thing only has one moving part (the reset button) and that hasn't worked, I'm assuming its shot. Doesn't that just suck? Luckily they're not terribly expensive, so perhaps I will replace it. I really liked using it-made the run/walks more interesting when I could have that little voice tell me my progress! (Yolanda liked it too-she'd always ask...how far now?!)

Well its our last full week of school, and I'm looking forward to having lots of free time on my hands for training! Lets just hope that the rain ends for a while. It has been wet for over a week- and it started drizzling Saturday morning, and basically didn't stop until Monday night! Sheesh-enough already!

Until we blog again...

Stop and smell the flowers

Or at least that is Sasha's philosophy.
Smell the flowers, sniff the grass, chase the animals, pee on everything.

She has trouble sticking to just one philosophy I guess.

This morning, Sasha, Yolanda, and I went out to Ballard's and walked 3.5 miles! For you metric junkies out there, yes...that is 5K! (Actually just a little longer than that, as 5K=3.1 miles)

I'm very happy to say that I'm not passed out on the ground, I'm not gasping for oxygen, and I actually enjoyed it! I feel great! Sasha, on the other hand, is sound asleep at my feet. Thats ok though- she was just over stimulated! I'm glad we walked that far (though we didn't plan it) because now I have an idea of just how far it is. Its TOTALLY do-able! We jogged a bit, but certainly not that much. Yolanda did discover just how good of a trainer Sasha can be though-she took the leash for a while, and found out just how much Sasha pulls you right along!
Wish I could take her with me to the actual race in July!

Well I'm off to run some errands now- yes I still have enough energy to run errands! Whee!

Signing off with my first real step 'off the couch'!

iWalk

Well my Nike+ iPod sensor is here, and it's super cool!

I don't have the pouch to attach it to my shoe yet, but that hasn't stopped me from shoving it in my shoe and taking it for a spin. It's pretty cool! There are built in workouts, or you can just do an open ended workout. I did the latter, and it keeps track of your distance, time, and pace. When you want, you can hear a voice tell you your progress, your favorite playlist is playing in the background while you walk too. Pretty nifty. It also works in concert with the 5K app I downloaded, so it will be interesting to see how they all work together.

Walked a mile this morning with miss Sasha! I'm waiting until my concerts and things are over before I start training too hard...so still just walking now. But, dare I say, I am anxious to start running?! Who would have thought, right?!

May flowers

Well we had a few left over April showers so far this May, and that always makes for an interesting walk. Got up a bit earlier than usual, but then took my time waking apparently because I got home later than usual. Go figure.

Well after dodging low-hanging branch showers, and watching Sasha slip around in the wet grass, it was a good walk. Funny story- there was a bunny along our walk today, and Sasha was quite concerned with it. The bunny was in a fenced in area, and naturally Sasha couldn't get to him (that and that pesky leash I keep her on) Well needless to say, we had to leave the bunny behind, but Sasha proceeded to check EVERY bush along the rest of the way home to find that bunny. Too cute...and slightly annoying. Ha!

For those of you keeping track-my entire walk route with Sasha clocked in at just about 1.5 miles. Just a lap around the park is a little less than 1/4 mile, so at least I know our walks are actually doing me some good!

Techy update- iPod sensor should be here tomorrow, and the pouch soon after. I also downloaded the couch to 5k app for my iPod. Looking forward to using them all together!

Happy Sunday

What a nice weekend I've had!
Saturday started out with a trip to Ballard's with Yolanda. (Sasha didn't get to go because it had been raining.) and we walked at least a mile-maybe a little more. We didn't really keep track too well! It's nice out there, I can't believe I've lived in this town for as long as I have and I hadn't been out there before! Crazy!

After getting cleaned up from that and spending a couple hours up at school, I headed North to visit my friend Bobbi, and my folks. (PS-Bobbi is healing like a champ-she's so awesome!)

Now I'm back home-after stopping at Kohl's to get some new socks and a couple of pairs of shorts to jog in. I also got online and ordered the Nike+ iPod sensor for my iPod touch. If you know me, you know I'm a tech-junkie. I thought this thing looked pretty cool-and I already own the iPod touch that is compatible, and I also ordered a little pouch so you don't have to buy the Nike+ shoes with the built in sensor-this will just attach to any shoe!

If you don't know, its supposed to keep track of your distance, pace, etc, as well as communicate with your iPod playlist and it might keep my hydrated, cure cancer, and unlock my front door when I get home too.

Excited for that to come in the mail- I figure something techy will keep me motivated :-D

Planning on taking Sasha out this afternoon too-and if I think about it, I need to 'clock' the distance of my regular walking route with Sasha...maybe I'll do that right now!

Friday

Short day at school today, leading to a short post.

Took Sasha out early this morning for about a 30 minute walk. It was SO nice out when we went, and then once I was back and cleaned up ready for school, it was quite gray out for the rest of the day. It still hasn't rained, but looks like it will be here any time now.

Thinking about hitting the trails at Ballard's this weekend...if it isn't raining.

Guess I'll see what happens!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Sasha: You will take me running, and you will do it now.
Me: Alright, alright, just give me a minute.
Sasha: ... ready yet?

Am I 5k-razy?

First of all, allow me to apologize. It is semi-well known fact that my sister and I can't stand it when 'reputable' establishments purposely spell their store names, etc incorrectly. For example, if a hair place spells it 'kutz' we just won't go there. If you can't spell what you do, then how do I know you can DO what you do?

Alright that disclaimer aside, clearly you see that I've not only spelled a word incorrectly, but also used an unnecessary hyphen. This just goes to show that I must be a little crazy to make the following statement.

I've decided I want to train and run a 5K this summer.

Alright-done laughing now? For those of you with my mother on speed dial, she doesn't get home until after 6, so you'll just have to call back.

Seriously-I've contemplated it before, and I've decided this is the time to do it. My most recent inspiration has been my cousin Maggie's family. They all ran a 5K together this weekend, and little Jack came in at the top of his age group. PS- he's 6. How cool is that!? Go Jack-and all of the Elms clan! Woot!

I feel as if I have always been an athletic person stuck in a fat person's body. I'm not sure if that was so HS coaches would 'force' me to choose band over volleyball-hence leading me to my successful career in music, or what. But I do know this-I've always enjoyed sports, and I've always been slightly more then mediocre at them. So I want to give this a shot.

I haven't started training yet, but I've been reading up on the internet, and I found some good sites-one that talks about training "from couch to 5K". Sounds like me!

So in true 21st century form, I thought I would blog about this experience, on the off chance that anyone would want to read my daily/weekly/monthly blathering about running. I've never really blogged before, so this will be another first for me! (I love multi-tasking)

Though I haven't asked her, I'm certain Sasha will be on board as my training partner. (If you don't know, Sasha is my 55lb red husky complete with 2 different colored eyes...she's so cliche)
She is always willing to drag me up and down the sidewalks, and LOVES LOVES LOVES it if I indulge her by jogging on the straight-aways.

So there it is. My goal is to run the 5K at the Bagelfest in Mattoon in July. It is recommended to train for about 8 weeks, so that puts my 'official training' starting in May. But I figure it's never to early to start blogging about it, right?

Signing off...from the couch.