Hilly Miles and Hurting Back...Ugh!

My back is killing me! I am not sure if I injured it when I fell the other night or what. I've been having some mild back pain for a couple of weeks...but it never hurt while I was running. This morning it was hurting while I ran...especially when I tried to increase my pace. I am really frustrated and depressed about this. Why can't I just run...with nothing on my body hurting? It seems like something is always hurting...shins, knees, now my back! Ugh! On a positive note, there was a nice breeze this morning...I guess from the Tropical Storm in the Gulf. We ran 3.96 miles in about 46 minutes so an average pace of 11:36. I am planning on taking a few days off to see if this pain gets better. I have a long run (about 11-12 miles) planned for Sunday so I am hoping I will be all healed up by then.

4 Miler...With My First Battle Wound!

Decided last minute to run 4 miles with my girls tonight. Not sure if that was the right decision or not because I experienced my first battle wound! We were off roading it to dodge a car and I fell on some loose rocks. It happened before I knew it! I landed on my right side and caught myself with my hand. Ouch! I got right up and continued my run...I wasn't going to let a little road rash ruin my run! Even though my hand was stinging and throbbing the rest of the run...I made it! And it was a pretty good run...we ran 4 miles in 43 minutes and 1 second which was an average pace of 10:45! My hip is definitely bruised and my hand hurts so bad...but I tried to be a big girl while my hubby helped clean my wounds!

Ouch!


Do I look sad? I promise...it hurts really bad!

Bushwacker 5K!!!

This race was sooo much fun! I was looking forward to it since it was near my hometown! I spent many of my childhood days on Pensacola Beach! The route was nice and a little challenging. It started out in a neighborhood and then we ended up running on the Bob Sikes bridge (this is the toll bridge that takes you to the beach). Yep...that bridge had a huge hill! I made it though! Ran the whole way! The downhill part of the bridge was really nice! I decided before I started running this race that I was going to take it easy...I had a goal to finish in about 33 minutes. So I took my time...or what I thought was taking my time. I ended up finishing with a time of 31:45! I was very pleased!!!

Before the race: Holly, Paige, me, and Dana!


Me with the skirt guy!!!


All of us!


Me and Paige after the race!


All of us...sweaty lol!


Relaxing on the pier!

4.47 Miles!

Laura and I ran from my house this morning. We both decided to run slow today...we are still trying to recover from that fast pace we ran at the race Tuesday night. And we both needed a good run to boost our confidence! We ran 4.47 miles in about 51 minutes...an average pace of 11:24! The weather was actually cooler this morning which was really nice! And we had a few raindrops sprinkle on us too! About the last mile and a half we started seeing some lightning and hearing some thunder...we finished the run just in time thank goodness! The bottom fell about about 10 minutes after we finished!

I am running another 5K on Saturday! I know...craziness running 2 races in one week! But I just love it! This one is the Bushwacker 5K on Pensacola Beach! It's gonna be fun! Paige and Holly are running it too. I am halfway thinking about running it with them and not going ahead like I normally do. But I am not sure if my competitiveness will let me do that! Gonna attempt it though lol!

Crime Prevention 5K!

This race was so much fun! Except during the run part lol! Katrina, Christina, Laura, and I all had a goal to finish under 30 minutes. Not a very reasonable goal when the heat index was 110 degrees! When the gun went off...we all shot off! Big mistake for me! I started out waaaay too fast. I was trying to keep up with Katrina...who looked down at her Garmin and declared that we were running a 7:30 pace! We hadn't even hit the half mile mark yet and I had a stitch in my side. I ended up having to slow down and lucky for me Laura wanted to slow down too. Christina passed us trying to catch up with Katrina. Laura and I were miserable the whole rest of the run! It was so hard to keep going...I wanted to walk sooo bad. But we didn't...we ran the whole way and even were able to sprint to the finish line. My time was 31:48. Not my best (31:32) but not my worst either. The thing is that I knew I was starting out way too fast...and if I had run at my normal consistent race pace, I would've made around the same time. Katrina and Christina made their goal...they are both awesome! Katrina finished in 28:17 and Christina finished in 29:14! I was sooo proud of them!!! Maybe one day I will be able to finish under 30 but for now I am proud of my 31 and 32 times!

Anyway, we had a lot of fun! We dressed up really silly and it was fun hearing everyone's comments! And running under the finish line was fun...they called us out because of our rainbow socks!!! Here's some pictures!

Me at home before the race! I look cute, right??!!


My running girls! Without them, running would not be as fun! Christina, me, Laura, and Katrina!


Yep, we are silly!


Ready to conquer those 3.1 miles!


My ever faithful race partner and wonderful friend, Paige!

Run Data From Sunday Night!!!

Ok how cool is this? Christina let me borrow her Garmin forerunner Sunday night for my run. She posted my stats on her blog for me to see and gave me permission to post them on here. This is so awesome...another reason why I NEED (lol) a Garmin! Click on the photos to see them enlarged!

This is the route I ran:


And here are my stats:

4 Miles With the Sole2Soul Sisters!

Well tonight was another group run with the Sole2Soul Sisters! I so look forward to running with and encouraging these wonderful ladies! Christina, Katrina, and I met at the track a little early. Christina and Katrina ran the track some and did bleachers...I opted out of both since I knew I would be running 4 miles with the 10K group. But Christina and I did do some crunches, tricep dips, and the plank. So I got a little extra workout in there and that was nice! Tonight's run was HOT! We had a few ladies who felt sick...I am sure it was due to not being hydrated well enough. That is something I am always on top of...I drink plenty of water! The plan tonight was for me to run at the front of the group and once I reached 4 miles to stay there so I could tell all the ladies where to stop. So I got a good workout in...the run was great for me! I got to wear Christina's Garmin Forerunner again...I sooo need one of those! I looked down at one point and I was running a 9 minute mile pace! I knew I better slow down if I was going to hold out for 4 miles. I ended up running the 4 miles in 41 minutes and 57 seconds at an average pace of 10:29!!! Whoa! I am pretty proud of that time! Especially in this heat! This week is going to be a little different for me...my morning running partner, Jennifer, is on a cruise this week! So I may be on my own some. I am going to skip running Tuesday morning and run a 5K race that night with Christina, Laura, Katrina, and Paige. We are going to dress pretty goofy for that race...wearing our purple Sole2Soul Sister shirts, green plaid running skirts, rainbow socks, and pig tails in our hair! We should be a sight to see...don't worry I will post pics! Christina, Laura, and Katrina want to try to finish the 5K in under 30 minutes...not sure that is going to happen for me but I am going to try! :-)