Sunday Runday!

This past weekend I changed things up a bit and ran my long run on Sunday. It was actually because I wanted Jenny to run with me and she was leaving super early Saturday morning to go to the beach and watch the Blue Angels fly. So we decided to run on Sunday morning!

I wanted to run 6 miles. It has been awhile since I've run that distance. And that's the base I want to keep for the summer.

I met Jenny at her house to run so it would be a different route for me. We basically ran an out and back route which I like so much better than running in neighborhoods.

The weather that morning was super hot and humid. But that's just the way it is here on the Gulf Coast and I have to deal with it.

I got to see the sunrise as I was driving to Jenny's house! It was gorgeous rising up over the corn field!

We started our run and it was hot! My legs were heavy. And it was hard to breathe. But I knew I wouldn't quit! And having Jenny there with me makes it so much easier to endure the struggle!

I loved the route we ran! It is in the country and so pretty! We tried to take more pictures of the sun rising but for some reason it kept looking like a lemon in the sky! Lol!

We talked to some cows on the run! They didn't talk back but looked at us like we were crazy!

We talked and talked and talked! Before I knew it we were at our halfway point and it was time to turn around!

About a mile after we turned around we heard and saw a little white dog. He was running up his driveway towards us. Jenny said he was right on his hubby's ankles when they were running the other day. Scary! She used her mean voice and told him, "NO!" and he left us alone thank goodness.

The rest of the run was pretty uneventful after that! Before long we were done! Not a bad pace for a super hot and humid morning!

We planned it so we would have a nice little walk afterwards. While we were walking and cooling down we saw Jenny's husband Eric running towards us! We made him stop for a quick selfie before finishing his run. ;-)

I always love running with my friend Jenny! We both talk so much and it keeps us from noticing the miles! And it makes it go by fast! So much fun!!!

QOTD: Do you prefer running with music or with a friend?

6.2 Miles Full of Adventure!

Ahhh! Another long run just for fun! Since I'm not training for any races at the moment it is nice to just enjoy the long run.

Saturday I had plans to run a 10K with Andria again! We decided to run the same route again since it is convenient and our favorite.

I walked outside that morning to super humid conditions. I knew the run wasn't going to be easy in the heat and humidity. But that's the life in the summer time here on the Gulf Coast.

We started the run nice and easy. I love running with friends! The conversation makes the run go by so fast! But right away we heard thunder in the distance. Uh oh! There was rain in the forecast but it wasn't supposed to happen until after our run. We decided to monitor it and keep going since it was still a long ways off.

We hit mile 1.5 and Andria yelled out at me. There was a snake in the road right in front of me! I screamed and ran way around it. I wasn't sure if it was dead or alive. It wasn't squished and I could see the roundness of its body so I just assumed it was alive. But I didn't stop to find out.

That made us run faster for sure! We made it to the downtown area in no time! Right before our turn around a little bunny rabbit darted out from the bushes in front of me. I could tell he panicked because he darted out in front of me, stopped, and then turned around and headed back for the bushes. He was so cute and I was sorry I scared him.

We made it to our turn around and stopped for a quick drink. It was so hot! We were both dripping what seemed like buckets of sweat!

Before getting serious again we had a little fun. I bought my first Lululemon skirt and was wearing it that day. Andria took a few pictures of me running in my new skirt. I LOVE the ruffles in the back!

After our fun we headed back home. We decided that on the way back we were going to see if the snake was still there. If he was then I was going to take a picture for my boys. They always want to see pictures when I tell them I saw a snake. But this mama ONLY takes pictures of the dead ones. I don't get close enough to take a picture if they are alive...yikes!

So the next few miles were spent focusing on finding that snake. Kept my mind off the run...and made me super aware of any other critters lol!

Finally (after thinking he must have been alive and slithered away) we found him. And dead he was. The hubby later told me it was a rat snake and harmless. Still! :-(

After the snake picture we only had a little over a mile left in our run. We were running on the street that always has lots of traffic. But for some reason, that morning there was barely any traffic. We turned onto my everyday route and were in the home stretch.

Boom! We had done it! It was a hard run in the heat and humidity. But that didn't stop us!

We had just finished running and then it started sprinkling! We had missed the rain...but we both said the rain would have felt nice when we were running!

I'm always so very thankful that God has given me the ability to run and friends to run with! I'm so very blessed! :-)

QOTD: Do you see lots of snakes while running in the summer?

10K Fun Run!

I am officially not training for a race! It is too hot for racing now on the Gulf Coast. So now I get to run just to run. No races to train for. No distances that MUST be done on the weekend. I can run whatever mileage I please. I can run for ME! That feels good!

The only running goal I currently have is to make my year goal of my running streak. And I will meet that at the end of the month. :-)

My summer running goal is to try to run a long run every weekend. I hope to run at least 5-6 miles each weekend. I'm going to Disney this summer so I know that week I probably won't get in that long run and that's ok.

So this past Saturday was the first weekend that I wasn't training or didn't have a race to run in a long time. I decided I wanted to run a 10K. My friend Andria and I were finally able to get on the same page in our schedules and run together! It's been a long time since we've run together and I was so excited to see her!

We ran our favorite route that takes us downtown. Both of us prefer to run a little later so we met at my house around 6:30 AM.

The run started out great! I hadn't seen Andria in so long that I talked her ear off lol! Before I knew it we had made it to mile 3 and it was time to turn around and head back!

Andria was carrying her hydration belt with two bottles of Gatorade...one for her and one for me! We stopped real quick to refuel and then we were on our way again!

Around mile 4 we made it to City Hall and stopped for my traditional mid-run picture! ;-)

Then it was time to get going again! The last mile was the toughest. We were running on a very busy road and we had to really watch the traffic. We needed a little bit of motivation so I turned the music on on my phone and blared it! It seemed to help!

Before long we had made it back to my house...and we had run those 6.2 miles!

This run wasn't my fastest by any means. I didn't have to push it. I wasn't racing. I was just enjoying the run and enjoying being with my friend. It was a great run!!!

And I love this girl!!! Hopefully our schedules will allow us to run many more times together this summer! :-)

QOTD: What are your running goals in the summertime? 

10K After the Rain!

It seems like so many of my long runs this summer have been after a thunderstorm or between thunderstorms! This past weekend was another one of those instances. I woke to really loud thunder and horrible lightning. It was so bad that several houses in the neighborhood next to me got struck by lightning and lost a lot of their electronics.

When my alarm went off it was still raining pretty bad. I had several texts from my friend Paige who was checking the radar and hour by hour. The only problem....the same rain cell had been sitting on top of us for about 2 hours! We were already experiencing some flooding due to getting about 2 inches a rain in such a little amount of time. But it looked like the rain would clear about an hour after our scheduled run time.

We went ahead and met at our scheduled start time of 6AM. It was POURING! So I hopped in the car with Paige (and a few of our other friends hopped in too) and we decided what to do. After about 45 minutes of waiting the rain had stopped but there was still some lightning in the distance. I said out loud, "God give us a sign! Should we go ahead and run?" Then the coolest thing happened! I looked out the side window and saw a rainbow in the sky!!! God sent us our sign!!! :-)

So we got out of the car and began our run! The rain had cooled it off a little bit so that was really nice! We got to about mile one and we were about to turn into a neighborhood. All of a sudden I saw something in the ditch. It looked like a poor puppy stuck in the rushing water! We immediately stopped to check it out. If it was a dog I was ready to jump in and save him! But as we got closer we saw that it was just a statue. I'm not sure how it got in the ditch (several of the ladies said it was probably a cruel joke by some teenagers). But it looked so real! I'm glad it wasn't real though.

It had been an eventful run so far! Luckily the rest of the run wasn't as eventful! I felt amazing the entire run! It wasn't as hot as it had been although the humidity was still pretty high. I was able to pick it up at the end and finish strong! I'm hoping I'm going to feel this way at my next half marathon next month! :-)

I was soooo close to a sub 1 10K!!!!

I enjoyed running with my friend Andria! It had been a few weeks since we had run together!

Me and my awesome friend Paigey! It's been awhile since we've taken a picture together!

It was a great run! It started out with horrible weather...we were worried we wouldn't get to run at all. But at the end of our run the sun was shining bright...and so were we!

QOTD: Has God ever given you a sign in your life? Do you wait on rain to pass so you can run or do you just give up and plan to run another time?

Farewell Run!

Saturday morning's long run was the last group run that my friend Katrina would run with us. She is moving this week. It wasn't a goodbye run...because we already have plans to run a race in her new town. But it was bittersweet knowing it would be her last run with us here.

I wasn't real happy with our start time of 5 AM. We were also running about 15 minutes away so that put my wake up time at 4:20 AM. Yikes! I am so not a morning person lol! And I do NOT like running in the dark during the summertime. I've seen way too many snakes and I want to be able to see where I'm running for that reason. But I also didn't want to miss out on Katrina's last group run with us. So I sucked it up and went! And I'm glad I did!

The run started out great. It was awesome to run a route that I hadn't run in a while. Around the first mile we saw something on the sidewalk...and it looked like a snake! I almost stepped on it! Ugh! Before I could warn the ladies behind me I heard their screams lol!

Our route was an out and back. We ran 3 miles, stopped for a quick water stop, and then ran 3 miles back to our car. The first 3 miles were great for me! The ladies I was running with were complaining about the heat but I think I'm pretty used to it since I normally run at a later time. Of course by the time we reached the water stop I was dripping with sweat and ready for water!

Some of our ladies coming in for water!

After water we began running back. I felt great the entire time! I just love long runs! The course was for 6 miles but I had already decided to make it a 10K. How can I not when I'm so close? ;-)

When we got to the spot where we saw the snake earlier I was on the lookout for it. Well...it turns out it was a piece of rope on the sidewalk lol! It wasn't a snake after all but in the dark it sure looked like one!

I finished the run strong! I love that feeling right after you finish a strong run!

After the run we said our goodbye's to Katrina. There were some tears. We were definitely going to miss her! She is the leader of our Sole2Soul Sisters. It is hard letting her go.

She has inspired so many women to get out there and run. She has inspired so many by her Christian faith. She is such a strong woman and I'm so glad she is my friend! I know this isn't goodbye forever. We will see each other again...most likely at a race! ;-)

QOTD: Have you ever had to say goodbye to a friend moving away?

A Hilly 10K!

Last week's long run was done on Friday instead of Saturday. My hubby was going out of town for the weekend so he wouldn't be there to watch my boys while I ran Saturday morning. So I decided to run Friday morning while the boys were in school instead. I thought I would have to run this one solo but luckily my friend Andria was off work and came to run with me! It's always more fun to do long runs with friends!

Our route was one I haven't run in a while. It involved several hills so I knew I would have to slow down some. But I was ready!

Normally I fuel for a run the night before with pizza. But the night before this run was Sawyer's gymnastics extravaganza and we went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant with my in-laws after the show. So I was worried about not being fueled properly.

The first 2 miles of the run were mostly flat. There was an incline at the beginning. But once we hit mile 2 the hills began! Luckily, I was feeling strong. I got tired on the hills but pushed through. It helped having Andria there with me. Otherwise I might have given in to my head telling me to walk lol! But we didn't. We ran the entire run!

This route is very pretty. We even got to run on a few wooden bridges. Sorry about the blurry picture...I was running lol!

Once we turned around (this was an out and back course) the hills were tougher. I didn't realize we had several downhills in the first half. But I really felt them that second time!

Once we got close to our planned 6 miles we decided to go ahead and make it a 10K. It's hard not to when you're so close lol! It ended up being a really great run! I ran strong and apparently my taco from the night before fueled me well! ;-)

And after running hills I always feel like a beast! Love that feeling of accomplishment!!! :-)

Even better was the fact that this hilly run was only 3 seconds slower than last week's 98% flat 10K! :-)

After our run was done, Andria and I stood in the parking lot and talked for about 30 minutes. As if we didn't get enough talking in for 6 miles lol! You'd think we wouldn't have anything left to talk about lol! This was a great start to my weekend!!!

QOTD: Do you like to run hills? Do you prefer to run alone, with one friend, or with a group?

10K By the Bay!

For last weekend's long run the plan was to run in the next town, down by the bay, and with several friends! I think there were about 15 of us running. I love this route because it's super pretty running by the bay. It's also a straight out and back. And there's a sidewalk the entire route (and some of the sidewalk is asphalt so it's really nice). The only downside to this route is the last half a mile is uphill. If you're already having a tough run, adding a hill at the end is torture.

Because of the hill at the end....it makes the start of the run downhill which results in me always going out too fast. I tell myself to slow down every time but sometimes my legs don't listen very well!

So at 5:50 AM Holly picked me up and we headed to meet our Sole2Soul Sisters to run! We were actually early getting there...which never happens to me on a morning run lol! I hadn't seen some of these ladies in awhile and it was so good to see them! Plus I got tons of compliments about how skinny I was (I LOVED that)!!! :-)

The run started out great! We were running slower and that was perfect for my plan to not bonk at the end of the run. For the majority of the run I ran with Holly, Andria, and Kim. We enjoyed chit chatting while running! That's what I love the most about running with a group...you get to talk and catch up the entire time! It's girl time!

At the halfway mark one of our sisters had put a water cooler out for us. It was awesome! The temperature was in the 60's so it wasn't too hot but the humidity was pretty high and I was sweating buckets! It was nice having water! We put our water cooler in a gazebo that is across from The Grand Hotel. Just to be sure (because yes I've had my water stolen and poured out before) there was a note saying who the water was for and that it would be picked up.

To my amazement we were the fastest runners out there! I'm usually somewhere in the middle so it was fun being in the lead!

The entire run I felt great! I started out slow and then got faster as the run went on. Gotta love those negative splits! And my scenery on the run was gorgeous! Have I mentioned that I love where I live??? ;-)

Of course I had to take a quick picture by the bay!

I was pretty happy with my time! This is one of my faster 10K times but not a PR. I was pleased with how strong I felt the entire run...even on that hill at the end! :-)

Running with friends is so much fun!!!

QOTD: Do you have a favorite long run route? Do you have water stops on your long runs?

Virtual Races for Everyone!

Disclaimer: I am a Jost Running Blogger. I have been given free entry into the virtual races. I have received no other compensation. All the opinions are mine and mine alone!

Do you like to run like me? Do you like to race but are too busy or the races don't ever fit your schedule? Well I have the perfect solution for you....Jost Running Virtual Races!

What exactly is a virtual race? Cynthia, one of the founders of Jost Running sums it up below:

"A virtual race is a race that runners, or walkers, can participate in no matter where they are located on the globe. The way it works is that each runner registers at www.JostRunning.com, we email them a custom racing bib, he/she runs during their selected race week, emails us their finish time, and we send them a finishers medal in the mail.What sets us apart from other virtual races is that everyone who submits a time to us will see that time represented on the results page of our website where they can check their ranking if the competition aspect is important to them, or feel a sense of community from their solo run by seeing the other runners names and times."

Since I've been dealing with a knee and hip injury the past 2 months, I've really missed racing. Virtual races are awesome for those recovering from injury but not ready to enter the racing scene quite yet. They can also be used in training to challenge yourself with a certain distance.

Another great aspect of virtual racing is that they can be run any time at any location. My friend Stephanie moved to the other side of the United States from me and I miss racing with her. But...we can sign up for a virtual race, run it at the same time in our different locations, and it can feel like we are doing it together!

When you sign up you even get your own personalized race bib!

The best part of Jost Running Virtual Races is the BLING!!! Just look at these medals for the Running is a Winter Sport Race that is going on this month! These medals are heavy and high quality!

Every Jost Running Virtual Race is run for a good cause. This month the race benefits the Central Virginia Food Bank. Next month's race benefits The Disabled Athlete Sports Association.

I hope you will join me in some of these virtual races! These races are really going to help me with my running goal to run 14 races in 2014!

You can still register for the Running is a Winter Sport race.

Or you can register for January's virtual race...In With the New Year! What better way to start off the New Year than with a virtual race? Use the coupon code COUNTDOWN to receive 10% off any of the In With the New Year races!

QOTD: Do you ever run virtual races?