One Crappy Run And A Beat Up Body To Go With It!

This picture was taken before my run this afternoon. I was in a great mood and ready to go kick a little butt on the running trails. It was my plan to run ten miles today. Monday evening I went on a six mile run and I took last night off because I knew I was going to do ten today. It was so nice here in Minnesota with temperatures in the low 70's....gorgeous by my usual standards. I was so looking forward to getting outside and enjoying some of the nice weather and sunshine! I wore a tank top and shorts:) Meg, I made sure to put on my sunblock and wore my visor. I grabbed my Garmin and sunglasses and basically skipped out of my front door! It was pretty windy and I was struggling with mile one. I was running down Weaver Lake Road and felt like something was off. I continued and figured it would just take a few minutes to get into the groove. After mile one I was so thirsty and already sweating! I looked down at my Garmin and I was maintaining a 8:50 minute mile pace. I felt like crap! My stride was off and I was getting frustrated because I just couldn't get it together. Sometimes I run on my toes...it is a sprinter thing to do and it is hard to stop once I start. At mile two my right hip started to mildly ache. It wasn't terrible but it was there. I was moving slower than usual and I was so hot! It was at mile four where my knee started to throb!! WTH!! I continued to slowly jog in hopes that it would just go away. I really wish that I would of taken my water bottle because I needed a drink. Mile five had a hill and I wanted to stop....I was on my flipping toes again taking small short steps. After I made it up the hill I started to feel a tightness in my ankles and shins. I am sure it had to do with running with terrible form and being an idiot and running on my toes instead of mid foot like I am supposed to!!! The sweat was running down the side of my face and I was dreaming of a cold glass of icewater!! I felt like crap...this run was crap...oh, my attitude at this point was crap too!! I was about a mile from home and I made a quick decision to put myself out of my misery! I jogged slowly home and limped into my house:( I looked like hell and felt worse!! I just don't get it!?! I sat on my steps wondering what tomorrow will be like. I got down on my floor and attempted to stretch out real good. It hurt and my body ached:( I took a few ice packs out of my freezer and put one on my hip and the other on my knee. Keep your fingers crossed for me...I want to get up tomorrow and be able to walk:)


Has anyone else ever had a bad run like this where you feel like your body is falling apart? Do any of you have suggestions for my running form? How do I stay off of my toes until it is time for me to sprint in a race?

I did my push-up challenge last night and I moved down a week because I was having such a hard time with it. I think I am skipping tonight and will resume tomorrow. I was looking at my calendar and I had my running schedule all mixed up. I actually have this weekend off from racing and will most likely drive to St. Cloud to run with the SCRRs. It is next weekend where I have my Run The Valley 10K race. The following weekend is the Earth Day half marathon and the week after that is my Get In Gear 10K:) Yes, I know that I am a nut case and will most likely regret signing up for so many races that are so close together! I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your week! Happy running and keep smiling:)

Tricia is having a Kettle Worx giveaway!
Misszippi is hosting a Runvervals DVD giveaway:)

My Push Up Challenge and a Running Group Weekend!

Well, I am back and finally blogging about this weekends St. Cloud River Runners Saturday group run. I wanted to get at least ten miles in so I arrived at 7 AM at our meeting place and met Amy, Deb, Pam, Nikki and Jeff. They led me out on a five mile run around the Sartell neighborhood and trails. It was a nice run and we ran at about a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile pace. Nikki and Amy had already been running since 5 AM and wanted to get 15 to 20 miles in for the morning:) The picture above was taken after we got back from our first five mile run. We stopped off at our meeting place and got in a bathroom and water break. The picture that I posted is small, if you want a larger version click on this and scroll down one picture.

This is a picture of Jeff and me.

Here is one of me and Deb.

This is Nikki and Amy. Nikki is going to Boston and Amy is training for a few Triathlons:)

This is Deb and Pam:) After getting our five to ten minute break our group picture was taken. Shortly after that the whole group started running again. It was just like a few weeks ago where we all started off together. The first mile was a warm up and then everyone just kind of adjusted to whatever pace they wanted to be running. For the next five miles I stayed with Deb, Shannon, Yvette and Pam. We ran at about the same pace as the first run. I thought that this five miles was a little harder than the first because there were a few hills. After our run we all got together and had breakfast in our hosts Patty and George's house. Everyone brought a different dish or food item to share:) It was really fun just chatting and getting to know more of the goup:) I had a very nice time and enjoyed myself once again! I was actually thinking about running in The Human St. Patty's Day 8k race in St. Paul today. I had asked Amy for her advice not really knowing what to do. If I would of ran the Human Race I would of done a shorter run on Saturday. Amy talked me out of it saying that if I was training for the Earth Day Half Marathon that it was more important to get a longer run in. I think that she was right and I know I made the right choice by not running the race. I have the next three weekends in a row sloted with different races!! Today I went on an easy five mile recovery run around the Maple Grove trail system. My daughter came with me on her bike. It was about 45 degrees and a little windy, but it was nice. I ran at about a 9:00 minute mile pace. My right hip felt fine but my right knee was bugging me a bit. This is a new developement and I am not sure what to make of it. I did feel a little sore this morning in my calves and in my arms & shoulders!! Thanks to Jeff:)

Here is a picture of the gorgeous creek that flows beside the running trails. It is hard to tell right now but once it greens up it will look so beautiful:)

Okay, so on to my 100 Push-Up Challenge that Jeff is organizing. Jeff posted about a challenge where other bloggers could work and train for six weeks and eventually be able to do an amazing 100 push-ups in a row! I am always up for a good challenge and thought, hell yes I will try this:) So this was my first week and it kicked my butt!! Here is a picture of one of my guns:) I can tell that they are getting more defined and toned! I took the initial test and I was able to complete 35 total. Now don't be thinking that doing this was easy because it was not. I can do 30 comfortably but the last three to five are harder than hell:) I looked at the plan and being 40 years old, I placed myself where the chart suggested. I think I am supposed to be at week four. Jeff, please tell me if I am doing this right because it was so hard!! I had to do five sets of push-ups doing 21, 25, 21, 21, and 32 push-ups with a 60 second break between each set. Holy crap is that hard!! Day number two was worse...five sets of 25, 29, 25, 25, and 36 push-ups with a 90 second break between each set!! Can I say, "Ouch and oh my God I hurt!!" Jeff, I am going to be honest with you...on a few of those sets, I took longer than the suggested 90 second break!! Day three consisted of five sets of 29, 33, 29, 29, and 40 push-ups!!! Yea, I sucked on day three!! The suggested rest time of 120 seconds was not enough for me! I could not do the suggested last 40!! I hurt so bad! My shoulders, arms and forearms screamed in protest!!! I hurt and I hurt bad but I did the best that I could:) I wish I could tell you that I am looking forward to week two:) Yea, not so much!! I might be a baby and move down a week:)

This is me and my little man:) He is a little boy and is always running and playing rough! Notice his wipe out ouchy under his nose! Apparently he bit the dust at daycare scratching part of his face:( This week I will continue to get my runs in so that I am ready for my upcoming 10k on Saturday. I will also continue to do my push-up challenge. I hope that everyone has a wonderful week full of great runs:)

Oh, and one more thing, I am going to be a proud mother and brag up my daughter:) My daughter Kay is in the 8th grade and runs for the Maple Grove track team. She is a fast sprinter!! Last week after one of her practices the Jr. high and Sr. high school track coaches asked her to run in a varsity track meet!!! They told her that she is doing great and getting noticed for her speed. The distance coach also wants her because she did so good on her 400 meter testing run! I am very proud of her and thrilled that she was asked to run in a varsity track meet! They asked her to run the 100, 200, be one of the legs in the 4 by 100 relay team and possibly run a 400:) Go Kay!!

Also, go check out Tricia's Kettle Worx giveaway

Short and Sweet!

Hello fellow blogger friends! Yes, I am still alive! I have been crazy busy with life in general:) Also, I have been kicked off of our computer so many times due to Kay's homework and my hubby's fantasy sports stuff. Anyhow, I am back. I promise that tomorrow I will play catch up on everyone's blogs! I feel so bad because you all know how much I love to leave you comments! Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments that I have received from my last post.....I really appreciate them and they always make me smile:) They also make me feel so loved!! I took Sunday off from running but still managed to do my push-up challenge homework! Jeff, I promise you that I will post my stats on Saturday! I have been very faithful to my plan and have been doing my daily workouts! Monday evening I went on a six mile run and it felt terrible. My legs felt like they weighed one-hundred pounds and my mojo was no show for the night. I managed to keep a nine minute mile pace. Like I said, it was crap! I really wanted to keep a 8:30 pace but I just couldn't do it. Tuesday evening I went out again and took a different running route. I only ran four miles but this run was felt so much better than Monday's. I attempted to focus on my speed and I felt like I was doing a much better job at keeping my breathing slow and regulated. Tonight was gorgeous and I was so excited for this run. I headed out to the Rice Lake Trails and ran around the lake. It was so beautiful. I think so many other runners had the same idea....tons of runners out tonight:)

After I ran around the lake I ran a two mile cool down, making my total for the evening seven miles:) My plan for the rest of the week is to basically run every night. Saturday morning I will drive to St. Cloud to run with the running group:) I have one more week before my next 10k....I have some work to do.I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of their week!! Congrats to Jill, Glenn, Georgia Snail, LMC, Jennifer, Ajh, Jon, JF, Colin, Sarah; Johann and Rick for doing so well at weekend races!! Woo hoo for all of you who PRd!! I enjoyed reading all of the race recaps:) Cheers and happy running!!

April is hosting a iFitness running puch and Gu giveaway!

Angie is hosting a Chia seed giveaway!

Suzy is hosting a birthday Starbuck's giveaway!

Marcia is hosting a Runningskirts.com giveaway!

Get Lucky! 7k Race Results

I set my alarm for 6:30am so that I would have plenty of time to get ready for my Get Lucky! 7k. Thursday I started to get a sore throat and cough and I was not feeling 100%. I debated last night on whether I should run or not. I figured with a good night sleep I might feel better. I did not but I wanted my medal and hoodie sweatshirt!! I ate a small breakfast and read a few blogs:) I then went upstairs to wake my hubby up. We drove into Minneapolis and arrived there at 9am:)

It was cold! Here in Minnesota we had been blessed with a few days of temperatures in the 50's and 60's. This morning it was twenty-five degrees and I was whining:( Maybe a month ago I would of been jumping for joy for a temperature of twenty-five....this morning, not so much!

You can see by the look in my face that the wind was a wee bit chilly!

Here I am with Mr. Julie:)

This guy was amazing!!

Here I am at the start line. This is before it got packed with runners and there was still room to move around.

Here are the people who were lining up after me.

Here is my view of the people who lined up before me. They did have pacer bunnies but no pacers. I saw that they had an eight minute mile and an eight-thirty minute pacer. I went back and forth between the two. I have never run a 7k before and really wasn't sure if I could run the eight minute pace. Last year my PR for the 5k was 23:10 which is a 7:27 minute mile. I was also in my prime at that time. I knew I would not be able to do that today:( I decided to start with the eight-thirty pacer bunny and figured it really didn't matter. There were originally 3,000 runners registered for this race but today only 2,591 actually made it! So here is how the race played out for me.....

We all moved up to the start and when the buzzer went off it took a bit for us to shuffle forward. Boy, did it seem like we were moving slow! I absolutely hate the beginning of these huge races because it seems to take so long for me to get to my true start pace. It seemed like I was just lulling along and I was seriously frustrated. Eventually things started to thin out and I felt that no other runner was in my personal space. I was shocked when I saw the mile one marker...I looked down at my Garmin and it read 7:50! Holy crap, I thought that I was moving slow! I just kept moving and tried to stay at a steady pace. I do not remember much of the race other than there were a few bridges that we ran over. The first bridge had a little hill and when I looked down to see my pace I was at 8:50. I really needed to pick it up a bit. After the first bridge I took a right turn and just kept on going. It was here were I took off my hat, mittens and tied my jacket around my waist. I was actually getting warm! There were two water stops and I skipped the first. When the second came up I grabbed a cup expecting cool water but got something blue! Yuck, not what I wanted! I ran a few more feet and grabbed a water. I kept on going keeping it steady and I was feeling pretty good! We came to an area where there was a cobble stone street to run on. I did not like this and was very happy when the road went back to normal pavement:) I knew that the race was going to end on the Old Stone Arch Bridge and I could see up in the distance that people were turning onto the bridge. It was at this point where my husband yelled, "Jules, you are almost done! You have a little less than a mile! He told me to toss him my hat. I was holding my hat so I threw it at him and I also whipped my jacket off throwing it down onto the grass right next to where he was standing. I started to pick up my pace. I did not look down at my Garmin and just ran steady and strong! The bridge finish strip seemed to take forever! When I was lined up before the start, the guy standing next to me warned me about the bridge. He told me that it is looks longer than I would think and to be ready. I kept on taking quick strides and sprinted in the last 400 or so. When the clock first came into view it read 34 something.! I walked a bit after I finished just so that I could catch my breath. I felt pretty good considering I wasn't feeling the greatest! My last two races were half marathons so this seemed like a walk in the park for me!! As I was walking forward on the bridge I heard someone yell Julie! I looked and saw Chris! Chris is also a blogger from Minnesota and I was hoping that I would see him! Chris was there with his girlfriend Lindsey and they both finished a little before me. It was so nice to meet him and chat with him and Lindsey for a few minutes:) Chris, you totally have a baby face! What is it about male runners and their baby faces? I had to wait for my hubby to make his way across the bridge. There was no way in hell he was running it, so I knew I would be waiting for a few minutes.

Here I am being presented with my very cool medal!

In this picture you can see the flow of people still coming from the finish line. I went on line and looked up my stats. They are..... 385/2591 overall, 113/1722 gender, 11/205 for age group and my chip time was 35:08! This turned out to be an 8:07 minute mile pace for me:) This was my first shorter race for the season and I am happy with my performance:)

Here I am with Chris after picking up our very awesome Get Lucky! sweatshirt hoodies! I was very happy to get my sweatshirt since my hubby did not remember to pick up my jacket and mittens:( Grrr! It is a good thing that my jacket was a Champion Target clearance item and my black mittens were one buck!!!

After the race we headed to Kieran's Irish Pub to collect our free beer!

Inside there was an Irish band playing:) They were very fun to listen to!

Here I am with my cold beer! Cheers! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekends!!

Angie is hosting a Chia Seed giveaway!

Suzy is hosting a birthday Starbuck's giveaway!

Marcia is hosting a Runningskirts.com giveaway!

Molly is hosting a God Never Blinks book giveaway!

Misszippi is hosting a Rockin' Refuel giveaway!

A Blogger Giveaway Prize and a Few Random Things!

First of all, I received my second blogger giveaway win in the mail a few days ago:) Thank you so much Sara! My prize consisted of a few of Sara's favorite running things! I scored a package of Honey Stingers, endurance sunblock, a Gypsy Runner Decal and two sticks of Mission Skincare lip balm:) I love it! Today was my usual day off from work and I actually got alot done. First, I drove to Edina to pick up my running packet for Saturdays Get Lucky! 7k. Pick up was at GEAR Running Store and there were about five other runners picking up packets. I asked one of the workers how many runners were registered and she told me that there were 3,000!

My bib number is 2828:) The race volunteer promised me that it was a lucky number and that I would awe and amaze myself with my performance! If only she was right. This race takes place in Minneapolis and is sponsered by Kierans Irish Pub:) After the race there is free beer offered at the Pub! As many of you know I am not a huge fan of beer. I had a very bad experience in my young and dumb days.....I was very ill! Okay, I drank too much beer and ended up puking the entire night! I also had a hell of a headache for the entire next day! That was pretty much the last time I had beer other than a sip or two of my husband's beer. Jamoosh, you will be happy to hear that I gave beer another try on Saturday night:) We went out for dinner and I ordered a Blue Moon with lime! It was okay. I am looking for something that doesn't taste like normal blah beer. I need a good beer with a little something-something and flavor:) Tony was kind enough to give me a few suggestions:) If anyone else has any ideas I would love to hear what you think and welcome any other input!

I have been running almost every evening after work. Sunday I decided to head out on a five miler and it was plan to attempt to run one mile as fast as I could and then do four normal steady miles. I set my Garmin and was off like a flash....the first 400 is all up hill! Yuck! The next 200 is all flat and then it is onto Weaver Lake hill...down hill:) I just kept moving and was really having a hard time breathing. This pace was totally out of my comfort zone!! I looked at my Garmin for distance I had another 400 before I hit one mile. God, I really felt sick....I really wanted to stop! No way, I am way too stubborn for that...I sucked it up and kicked it into high gear! What was my super fast one mile final time......6:53!! I was shocked! I was so sick:( I was gasping for breath, my head hurt and I was so sick to my stomach!! Yep, I almost puked:( As my head was hanging low and bracing for the worst, I briefly thought about Big Daddy Diesel's Pukie Award:) I hate getting sick and I did not want to...I focused on just breathing normal. This experience was so horrible that I most likely will not be trying this again anytime soon! Finally after a minute I just started jogging slow. It took me a few minutes to get back into the groove. My next four miles ranged between a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile pace. My runs this week have been between four to six miles. I will do one more three miler tomorrow night and take Friday off so that I have fresh legs for Saturday's race!

I have been really focused on improving my push-ups! I joined Jeff's 100 Push-Up Challenge and would really like to make it to 100. I can only do thirty-five right now and honestly, the last one or two are pretty pathetic:( My goal is to have nice tone arms and super sexy abs...possibly a four pack in my future:) A girl can dream! Well, that is all that I have for tonight! I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of your week! Happy St. Patty's Day:)

Suzy is hosting a birthday Starbuck's Coffee giveaway!

Marcia is hosting a Runningskirts.com giveaway!

Molly is hosting a God Never Blinks book giveaway!

Misszippi is hosting a Rockin' Refuel giveaway!

Erica is hosting an Oisselle clothing giveaway!

My First St. Cloud River Runner Group Run!

This is a picture of Amy...I ran with her for my first St. Cloud River Runner group meet:)

What a fantastic weekend!! It was the best weekend that I have had in a long time! Saturday morning I got up at 5 AM so that I could be ready to make the drive to St. Cloud and meet my running group! I was so excited not only to run with a group but to meet many of the other runners:) I arrived at the meeting place (Coborn's) at 7:35 AM. I was early and just kind of hung out until I noticed a few other runners make their way into the store. I then walked out side and started talking to a few of the other runners and got the low down on how things work. Before every run there is a group picture and we all lined up and watched the photographer run to take his place:) The photagrapher is the nice man in the right hand corner in the bottom row. I do not remember his name but he made me kneel front and center because I was one of the three newbie runners. This picture is pretty small if you would like to look at a bigger picture click on to this. There were several runners who showed up at 6:30 to start the run early to bank extra miles. Many of the runners are training for marathons. There are a few training for Boston. The course we were to run that morning was a 10k distance and I felt very happy when I heard that:) I could of done a ten mile but I didn't bring fuel with me. We all just started off together at a pretty easy slow pace...perfect for warming up. Before we started the run I asked if there was anyone who was planning on running around a 8:30 pace. One of the runners asked Amy if that is what she was planning on running. Amy was one of the runners who arrived at 6:30 and already ran 10 miles that morning. This 10k was going to be her cool down:) Honestly, I was a little scared that I would be in the slowest group. Most of these runners can smoke my times and then some:) I am happy to say that I was not the caboose in this 10k group running train:) Woo hoo!! We all ran together for the first mile and everyone was chatting and it was so nice to get to know some of these friendly people. The second mile was when the group started to break up a bit. Some of the guys and a few of the girls busted up ahead. I ran with Amy, Deb, Cathy and Shannon for the first few miles. Deb and Shannon are training for a marathon in May and needed to turn around after the third mile. They arrived early and had already ran ten miles. I ran with Amy for basically the entire run and we chatted almost the whole time. Amy is a tri athlete who does it all. She has children around the same age as mine so we had alot to talk about. I am not used to running with people other than when I race. This was so different for me. There were a few times where I felt like my breathing was labored because I am not used to doing both. I really like running with someone who runs about the same pace as me. I know that Amy can run at a faster pace...this was her cool down. I kept on looking down at my garmin and it was pretty consistenly staying at around the 8:30 to 8:40 range. The only time it went down was at the hill towards the end of the run. It was a gorgeous course of roads and the St. Cloud State University walking/running trails. When we hit mile five we stopped to wait for another runner who was getting a drink and I just ran in place. I would maybe say that we waited about two minutes before we slowly ran on. After going up the hill it was all road and we kept on going steady. When there was around a little less than a mile left Amy told me where the finish was and said that I could go ahead if I felt like sprinting in. I left Amy and started to pick up my speed. I ran pretty steady and got faster as I moved on. I sprinted in the last 800 meters and looked down at my garmin. It read 54:04! I was very happy with that considering we started off slower and we stopped at one point in the run:)

I went to my van and grabbed my water and my purs. After the run they meet inside the Deli and all have breakfast and coffee together. This is when I was able to meet more of the runners and just sat and talked. I had a really good time:) I sat next to a man who is the male version of me. He is a chatty Charlie:) I have never met a man who could talk as much as me before so I found this very entertaining. His name is Gary and he was the nicest guy:) I also had the chance to speak with a few of the other runners! Everyone was very friendly and welcoming:) I know I am going to love running in this group. I am kind of sad because next week I have a race and will not be able to make the group run!

This is a picture that was taken in the Deli. Shannon is the one sitting in the left hand corner and then there is me and Deb:)

Here is another picture of Deb and I. Deb joined the running group last year and she told me something fascinating. She said that when she started doing the group runs she was in the back of the pack and one of the slower runners. She has improved so much and she gives credit to the St. Cloud River Runners and running with this group. I am so looking forward to getting faster and running with people who run at faster paces. Deb is hoping to finish her marathon in May under 4 hours:)

Today was absolutely gorgeous here in Minnesota!! It got up to 56 degrees in the twin cities! I went on a five mile run today and I wore a long sleeved shirt and shorts:) Yes, I wore shorts! I did take a picture but my legs are scary white.....must get a slight tan sometime soon. I really do not tan, even in the summer I am lighter than most:( This is Weaver Lake Road which was the first part of my run. This portion is downhill and easy going.

At the bottom of that hill to the left hand side of the road is this wetlands and wildlife area. It the summer is it so beautiful:) I really wanted to run my old 10k running route from the summer and was pretty happy to see that the trails were free of snow:) This is the first portion of the trail system. No snow, woo hoo!!

This is a little bit farther down the trail. So far the run was great...perfect running weather and solid trails.

Until this...oh crap!! There was at least a foot or two of standing water and there was no way I was getting to the other side:( I was so disappointed because the best part of the trail system is a few miles down the trail. I needed to think about a plan B!

I turned around and ran back up Weaver Lake hill and turned off on a different trail. It is another one that I run if I am looking for a shorter run.

It is surrounded by woods so the snow was not totally melted:( I chose to push on and run on the snowy trails.

I did not have my Yaktraxs and it was pretty challenging in the snow.

This is a smaller steeper hill that I did some hill repeats on last summer and fall. This is another view of my hill.

Here is a small park that I run by and it is usally filled with children playing:)

This is the part of my runs that I like to do sprint repeats. It is nice and flat and it is towards the end of my run:) I love finishing my runs on this path:) I was able to keep a 8:50 mile minute pace for this five mile run! I was pleased with this because I stopped to take pictures and I ran part of it on snowy trails:)

This week I will be working on a getting a few 5ks in as well as one 10k. Next Saturday I am running The Get Lucky! 7k in Minneapolis:) I just purchased a green shirt to run in and I am getting pumped to run this one:) I hope that everyone has a great week!!

Here are a few giveaways to check out:)

Marcia is hosting a Runningskirts.com giveaway:)

Molly is hosting a God Never Blinks book giveaway:)

Misszippy is hosting a Rockin' Refuel giveaway!

Erica is hosting an Oisselle clothing giveaway!!

My Global Warming, My Ass! 6.66 mile Virtual Race Report

Yes, I am still alive! I know that I havn't posted in several days but my life is flipping crazy:)

I am finally going to do my race recap for Razz's Virtual 6.66 mile race! So here goes.....

Who: Me
When: Sunday March 7, 2010. My start time was 2PM in the afternoon:)
Where: I ran through my Maple Grove neighborhood. Basically sidewalks and a little of the road.
What: A virtual 6.66 mile race put together by Razz. It is officially titled, Global Warming, My Ass! 6.66 Mile Run.
Why: It was a great idea to get a bunch of people to run for fun and post a race report about our great adventure...or not:) I also needed to run anyway!
How: Well, I wore my old Asics and prayed to God that they would be good to me:) I also wore my Nike running pants, my green Autumn Woods Classic long sleeved race shirt and my Running Room jacket.

Here is how it all played out.....

Mile one: Oh boy, I feel like I am booking it pretty fast! Push it Julie..come on kick it into high gear! 7:48 Not to shabby:)
Mile two: Man I feel a little tired after mile number one, I can feel myself slowing down. 8:20 Alright, I will take it!
Mile three: Holy crap, I still have like almost four miles left! Stop thinking and just keep it going! 8:31 Well, I am keeping pretty consistent!
Mile four: I feel like I am finally warmed up and breathing pretty steady. Good steady..not gasping for breath steady. 8:37
Mile five: Oh crap, I am feeling a little lazy and this hill does not help. I know that I have slowed down but keep pushing up the hill:) 9:01
Mile six: There is a God because I am almost done:) Do a little dance, make a little love...get down tonight! Some more humming and random thoughts about what I was going to make for dinner that night:) 8:23
Mile seven: Oh what the heck, just go the full seven! Maybe Razz will give me bonus points:) Just finish strong...just finish strong, start sprinting! Move it! Move your butt! 8:33

Final time: 59:07 which is about a 8:30 something mile pace!! I will take it:)

Tomorrow is Friday!!! It has been a long week and I am ready for a few days off!! Saturday is my first official run with the St. Cloud River Runners:) I am so excited to meet some of their runners who are showing up for the weekly breakfast run!! I am bringing my camera and hope to take a few pictures:) Have a great weekend everyone!!

Also, go and check out Anne Marie's blog! She is hosting this wonderful Athletas running clothes giveaway:)

Erica is also hosting a Oiselle clothing give away!! Check it out:)

Misszippy has another giveaway to check out! She is hosting a Rockin' Refuel give away...looks good:)

A Beautiful Brown Package At My Doorstep And A Virtual 6.66 mile Race

Oh boy, I came home from work on Friday to find this baby just sitting on my doorstep!! It is the first blogger giveaway win that has made it to my house!! The joy of getting a prize....I feel absolutely giddy:) Adam from Iam Boring hosted a giveaway and I won!

I had some help opening it from my little guy! He was a happy camper and tore right into it!

Woo hoo, mamma's got a new pair of shoes!! Well, thats what my little guy thought:)

Inside that very cool shoe box was an awesome NATHAN water bottle and a few packs of PowerBar GEL!! There were two packs of strawberry banana and one pack of double latte:) I can't wait to try these out on some of my next longer runs!

I even found this in the box!! I love it!! Thank you Adam:) Your little brown package just made my day!! This is the first time that I have ever received anything from the state of Arizona! Just so you know....now that I have your address...you will be receiving the Julie's Running Blog family Christmas card:) Are you super excited?

The water bottle was made for me...seriously, I didn't have to adjust it at all. It fits perfect and is actually really comfy:) I have decided that when I get 100 followers I will host my very own special blogger giveaway too!!

This weekend was kind of crazy again because Kay had another fun packed weekend of basketball games. This is her last basketball weekend for three or four weeks. I am really looking forward to having my weekends free. Next Saturday morning I plan on driving to St. Cloud for my first group run with the St. Cloud River Runners:) I took both Friday and Saturday off from running but made it outside today to finish a 6.66 virtual run that I had signed up for. Razz put together a virtual Global Warming, My Ass! 6.66 Mile Run!! So, myself and about sixty-some other bloggers joined in and commited to run it and then report about it after:) Razz I will post my race report in a few days. I need to check out my garmin and get the details before I ramble on about this very cool run:)

I hope that everyone had an excellent weekend!! I need to drive college boy to the bus station....so that is all I have:) Happy training!!

Please go check out Anne Marie's blog she is hosting a wonderful Athleta's running gear giveaway:) The clothes are beautiful and stylish...you will not be disappointed!!