Life Update- I Do Actually Run!

Onelittletrigirl has been seriously busy!

I am exhausted, I won’t lie..but I am so focused on the long-term goals I have that I refuse to get down.  I am still keeping up with my running which is the priority training right now so as long as I am doing that I feel good.  After the Philly half, I am hoping to get into more of a routine as I get ready for winter training and my 2011 race schedule.  Is it a lot?  Of course.  Can I do it?  Do you even have to ask???? 🙂

Few updates:

• My swim/bike/strength training is really suffering right now so it is a good thing I am in the off-season!  My efforts to keep up with my running while getting used to my new schedule have kept me from doing much else as far as working out is concerned.  Once I get into my routine, I think know I will be fine, but for right now…if running is all I do until the Philly half, then so be it.
• Speaking of running- two runs this week.
  • Wednesday I went for a morning run and have nothing to say about it.  It sucked.  Got it done but it sucked.  I was tired and completely out of focus.
  • This morning I had my long run scheduled.  I totally was not into it- from the second I woke up I was mopey and unmotivated.  I think even made up a few “running sucks” songs while I drank my coffee and got ready.  But you know what, running doesn’t suck and I ALWAYS feel better after I run.  So I headed out despite my cruddy attitude.  About a mile in, I was basking in the gorgeous fall weather and loving the run.  I cannot say that my right calf loved the run as much as I did but it was a great run.  I used my first half mile as a warm up my last half mile as a cool down and still averaged 11:15/pace so my confidence level is high at four weeks from Philly.
• So the Phillies lost.  The truth is, they did not come together as a team.  Giants were definitely hungrier for it and we lost.  And it sucks.  Considering that the Giants and Texas teams have about 384 fans combined, this is slated the be the most boring World Series ever. I won’t watch because I dont want to die of boredom I don’t care, but for the record, I hope Texas wins.  I know what it feels like to root for a team that is the underdog and that no one thinks can do it- plus I got love for Cliff Lee.  So much as I hate the state of Texas, I will be rooting for them to win.  And meanwhile, I’ll be counting down the days till Spring Training and looking forward to the start of the Tarheels basketball season.
• File this under Things that only happen to Jillian: today on my run, I was about 4’ish miles in when I heard sirens.  A lot of sirens.  I jumped up onto the sidewalk and turned around to see a bunch of cops…and behind them a bunch of motorcycles.  And by a bunch, I mean like over 100 motorcycles.  Must have been some kind of event but it was really cool- they had flags and they were beeping and cheering…it was pretty fun to watch but totally random.
• My second job is going well but man do my legs hurt.  I forgot how much the first few weeks of waitressing killed my legs before and I am really feeling it.  It doesn’t help that my cheapy work shoes suck.  Next weekend, I plan to invest in some really good shoes so that my feet don’t suffer on account of having a second job.
• As I said, I am tired…very, very tired.  But I wrote out some long term goals to get myself more financially sound and secure and I feel better just seeing it written down and knowing that I can achieve these goals as long as I don’t lose sight of them.
• Once again- thank you for all your honest responses on this post and this post.  Love you guys!!!!

New Kicks!

Yeah, I think it was time!

Breaking them in at the track!

As always, I tried a few on but in the end I stuck with my trusted Brooks Adrenalines.  They have been with me from the beginning and I love them!  Do you have a trusted shoe or do you switch it up?

100th Post And Big News

This is my 100th post– yeah!!!!!

I mulled and mulled over what to do for a 100th post but really, I just couldn’t come up with anything.  I thought about a give-a-way, but nixed it…then I thought about a survey of some type and nixed that too.

So what to do, what to do…..

I figured it would just come to me.

And it did.

How appropriate that on this, the night of my 100th post, I GOT MY FIRST SUB-30 5K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, that’s right folks…slow Jillian is a slightly faster Jillian as of right now.  And you can probably see the glow on my face from your homes!  Let me just say it again cause it feels so good- SUB-30 5K.

Seriously. I can hardly wrap my brain around it.

The sub-30 5k (did I mention I ran that tonight!?!??!?!) was one of my biggest goals for the year- my best time up until now for a 5k race was 32:40.  I knew I would do better than that based on my training, but I still wasn’t sure of the coveted sub-30.  As of this morning, and even a little before the race, my shin was still bothering me.  I decided as long as I wasn’t in pain while running, I would push through- and if I had to walk I would.  I knew after the first mile I really had a chance but because I did walk twice (for less than 30 seconds, but still) I didn’t know…I just kept pushing. Hard.  And I got it. I FRIGGING RAN A SUB-30.  Holy mother of running!!!

Oh…and I also want to mention that it was my best pace time for a race of any distance ever!

Tonight was a good night. Tonight I love running. LOVE, LOVE and more LOVE.  Tonight is why I run.

So yeah…no survey or give-a-way for the grand 100th post…but uh, I got a sub-30 5K!

Race report tomorrow. 🙂

Hurricane Bill And I Are Not Friends

Yeah, Hurricane Bill is a jerk.

Today I was supposed to participate in the Wildwood Tri.  I was looking forward to this all summer- Wildwood is my home away from home and to do a tri there would have been awesome.  However, they had been saying for days that Hurricane Bill would be roughing up the ocean pretty badly and I wasn’t in the mood for a Duathlon.   I thought it over for more than a day.  Duathlon’s are races that, while I would do if I didn’t have a choice, I don’t want to do.  Finally at some point yesterday, I made the decision not to make the drive down the shore when I was fairly positive the swim would be canceled.  For me, it was a free race for having volunteered earlier in the season, so besides the experience, I didn’t lose out on anything.

While I am bummed to miss a race, especially this one, I am happy with my decision.  The storms here last night were absolutely horrific, so on top of the race being turned into a Duathlon, I would have been on very little sleep.  Storms normally don’t bother me (I don’t like them, but they don’t bother me), I typically sleep through them and I am not afraid of them, but this one was downright scary.  In fact, this was the scariest storm I remember in my lifetime.  It woke me out of a dead sleep @ 1230am and kept me up for close to an hour.  The thunder never stopped- it was one consistent super loud, rolling, cracking, booming thunder. And the lightning was even scarier.  I have two large windows in my bedroom and at one point I was a little concerned that I would be electrocuted in my own home!!! It was unbelievably intense.  If nothing else, Jersey has seen its share of rain this summer!

Up until about an hour ago, it was STILL raining and of course now that it has stopped the humidity is back to its unbearable self, so the run I planned for this morning has been postponed until tomorrow evening.  And because I didn’t run this morning, I went back to bed and watched Pay It Forward which is one of my favorite movies.  After the movie I dragged myself out of bed and got a lot of cleaning done, but I have a bunch of errands to run still and no energy to do them.  I know it is supposed to rain again this afternoon and I don’t want to get caught out in a storm.  Plus, the rain tends to do this to me; I get all lethargic and lazy and just wanna lay in my bed.

In other news, I finally bought NEW sneakers yesterday!!  I was in desperate need; I am sure I was close to or over the mileage on my current shoes and I was feeling it in my knees, calves and shins.  I went in, tried on a few but in the end I stuck with my trusty favorites- Score for a new pair of Adrenalines!

What is the sneaker you swear by or do you run in all different kinds?  I have been running in Brooks pretty much since the beginning and even though I always try other sneakers on, I somehow always end up back in the Brooks.  Silly allegiance perhaps…or maybe it is because I am just a creature of habit, but regardless, I do love my Brooks.