Running Update

Laura & I are doing great!! We are officially starting week 6 on Thursday! There is 9 weeks in the program, however we repeated week 3 a couple of times. We've stayed so committed to this program and we are SO proud of ourselves for it!!!! I have to say laura is an amazing neighbor to have. I'm so lucky to have found a friend in her. Not so sure if she's as lucky, as she puts up a lot with my complaining!
When we started the program I couldn't IMAGINE running for 3 minutes.
well TONIGHT we ran 20 minutes STRAIGHT. that's on average about 2 miles. I've never run so far in my life. and for no reason! ha!
this is for a great reason really. Even with running over the holidays, unfortunately I discovered Starbucks 'Caramel Brulee Latte'....well...so i might have had a few a week and drank those burned calories. bad bad bad. so i lost 3 lbs before the holidays...stayed about the same, maybe put 2 lbs back on DURING the holidays, and since i boycotted Starbucks for taking away my favorite drink right about New Years time, i've dropped 3 lbs again. the scale is SLOWLY going down thankfully! I have been noticing my clothes fitting better. That's my main motivation is dropping weight. and really accomplishing something I never expected myself to be able to do. I cannot wait to cross that finish line at the 5K and check out my runtime.

This past Saturday Laura & I signed up for our first 'practice' 5K. The "JiggleButt Run" 5K was in Arlington at UTA & I had the idea it might be fun to try that day's training AT the 5k. So we got a feel for how the race would be set up, the pace with everyone else , etc. It went great, it was cold but we did it. we did not run the entire 5K because we're not at that point yet in our training, but we did run about a mile & 1/2!

Funny thing, some friends of mine have recently started the Couch to 5K program as well (which I'm loving to see the progress!!!) and all are doing it inside on a treadmill. I still give them props for doing the program, but I feel like we're really accomplishing more than just running. we're also dealing with the elements. the warmest it's been while running for us has been in the mid 60's (the few days before a serious cold front hit on Christmas eve) and the COLDEST we've run in was 18 degrees! for someone to get out and RUN in 18 degrees weather is committed. or just crazy. not sure which. I've had a few people ask me "isn't it FREEZING?" well...yes it is, but anything under 40 degrees is cold anyway & we tend to bundle up. COLD IS COLD. one night last week it was in the upper 20's when we ran, but there was a cold wind and it just really chilled you to the core. thankfully this past saturday we didn't have that wind so the 18 degrees wasn't THAT bad. leggings under my pants was definitely a smart choice. i wore some tight fitting long sleeved under my running jacket (a windproof type jacket i found that i LOOOOVE), a head wrap that covers my ears, gloves and a big scarf. the scarf really kept me warm at first, but i was really fighting with it toward the end. I'm glad we did it and it was GREAT motivation for our upcoming race!!!

We have 6 weeks or so now until the cowtown 5K (February 27th!) and I'm nervous and excited all at the same time! Laura & I have started doing Bikram Yoga (Hot room yoga) on Sunday nights now and just after the first class I've seen how it's going to really help with the running. So stay tuned for future updates!!!!

My view at the starting Line


Laura & I at the finish line