Check out my Team in Training Fundraising Website!

Like I said in my previous post, I registered for the San Diego 1/2 marathon yesterday through Team in Training. Last night they sent me a link to my fundraising website!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/rnr10/calilee

Commitment Officially Made

This morning I faxed in my paperwork to join Team in Training (TNT) for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll 1/2 marathon on June 6th. The kickoff party is this Saturday, so pretty soon I'll have a training team and an honored teammate and a training schedule. I am so excited to really get into this. I am even more excited for it to warm up outside so I can run on something other than a treadmill without wanting to die.

Speaking of running, I hit 5 1/2 miles on Saturday, which is another record for me. I enjoy building up mileage a little each weekend. The 3 mile runs during the week are nice, but I don't walk away feeling like I am Superwoman. Doing better at each distance run, however, definitely gives me that feeling. Let's see how long it takes me to Superwoman it all the way up to 13.

Now that my registration paperwork is turned in, TNT will create a fundraising website for me within the next few days. My fundraising (aka badgering, begging, guilting, etc.) will be starting very soon. I plan to hit up family, friends, Facebook friends, coworkers, my neighbors, people in the neighborhood I grew up in, my mom's coworkers, my friends' parents, and everyone else I can possibly think of. Get ready with your checkbook. :)

52 Adventures

My friend Aline introduced me to a blog called The Year of 52 Adventures (http://yearof52adventures.com/). A woman named Kimberly started a blog challenging people to have an adventure every week in 2010 and write about it. We are three weeks in and the blog is already very entertaining and exciting.

It is impossible to read something like that and not want to try it out myself. I am a little late, but last night I started making a list of all of the things that I would like to do this year. I don't want to plan out all of my weeks, because I am hoping that some of my adventures will be spontaneous and unexpected.

I have been keeping up with the year so far without even really trying. For the first three weeks of my year of adventures, I:

Ran 5 miles for the first time
Went to a ballroom class
Ate fondue

So far, my plans for the next 49 weeks consist of big, medium and small plans for adventure. Keep in mind, all of these adventures will be firsts for me. Hence the "adventure" part.

Bake a cake
Sew a quilt top
Take a cooking class
Run 10 miles
Run a 1/2 marathon
Go to New Orleans
Go to Six Flags in New Jersey
Graduate from college

I am open to suggestions! I would also love to hear any of your lists if you decide to participate in the 52 weeks of adventures.

Combined Blogs

Quick note: I was keeping another blog in addition to this one. It was about my running, but I was never updating it. Considering how much time/awesomeness has transpired since my last post, it was utterly out of date. So I brought the measly eight posts over to this blog and deleted blog #2. If you find a blog post that seems out of place, now you know why.

Half-Marathon?

Back in 2005 I worked at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Salt Lake City on one of their big fund raising events. I was always curious about the Team in Training program, but at that point I was WAYYY too lazy to do much more than be curious. From my couch.

I started running a little bit last winter and ran a 5K last June. This winter I have been running more and I was looking forward to running a 10K this spring or summer. I heard that The LLS Team in Training had added 10Ks to their program, so I decided to go to an information meeting and find out more.

Realistically, I could probably run a 10K next month without much problem. Talking to the people at the Team in Training program, I realized that what I really want is a goal to work toward. Not a crazy marathon goal, but maybe a not-as-crazy half-marathon goal. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a great idea. I would be raising money for LLS in the process, and I would get to travel to San Diego and run a Rock 'n Roll Half-Marathon.

Since I started running, a half-marathon has been on my "things to do before I have kids" list. (Right along with the Grand Canyon/Lake Havasupai hike.) And I have heard that the Rock 'n Roll races are a blast.

I decided that if I could run for one hour straight at the gym on Thursday night, I would sign up for the half-marathon. I have 19 weeks before this race and that seems like a good starting place. I jumped on the treadmill last night, set my sights on 60 minutes, and started running. It helped that I had a treadmill with my own personal TV screen, and that SpongeBob and iCarly (two of my favorite gym shows) were on back-to-back. After my one hour was up, I had run 5.25 miles, my hips were sore and I had blisters. Not bad!

That was my first step. I am going to take the next two weeks to make sure that I really want to make this commitment. Then my next step is to register at the kick-off party on February 6th. There I will meet my team and get my training schedule.

Along with training and running the race, I will be committing to raise $2900 for LLS. They will use some of that money to fly me to San Diego, register me for the race, give me some gear, put me up in a hotel, and throw the runners a party. The other 75%+ will go toward cancer research and patient services. I just hope that my friends and family will make the fund raising the easiest part of this project. If everyone I know gives me $20, I am good to go. Of course, they won't... so hopefully a few people will carry more weight.

I'm looking forward to getting a head start on the training over the next two weeks, then meeting my new teammates on February 6th. Then comes four months of training myself to run 13.1 miles and asking everyone I know for donations. Here's hoping that I stay as motivated (obsessed) as I have been for the past few days.

5K and 50 Miles in 30 Days

Regardless of the fact that I am online all day and part of every evening, I cannot seem to keep up a blog! Maybe there is some way to link it up to my Facebook since everyone knows I spend plenty of time there.

This spring/summer I ahve really been pushing myself to run as often as possible. I used to prefer weight training to cardio, but now that it is such a hassle for me to get to the gym after work, I would rather head out for a run and put off weights until the weekend.

One of the goals on my list is to run a 5K. Last weekend I decided to jump on a treadmill and see if I could make it all of the way to the end. Turns out, I can run over three miles without stopping now. I have come very far from my first 3/4 mile run last summer. After I ran three miles, I signed up for a 5K next Saturday in Alexandria. I am excited to accomplish taht goal and mark it off of my list.

I do not want to finish this 5K, then start slacking off on the running. I decided to challenge myself to run 50 miles in 30 days. I started on Saturday, June 13th and I will go until July 12th. That is somewhere between 1/5 and 2 miles each day. I am confident that I can make it, but it is going to be hard. What better way to push myself to keep running? I need to think of a fun reward if I do run the full 50. A massage? A small shopping spree? A day at an amusement park?

I have a few summer goals to keep me busy over the next few months. One of them is to sign up to finish school. I really really really need to just get it done. I told myself that if I got married and starting moving on with my life before I finished, I would never finish. I should have listened to myself! Now is the time, while we are living in one place and we do not have kids.

Anyone have their own exciting summer goal list?

Good News For the New Year

In my last post I complained that, despite my increased cardio stamina and decreased running times, I was not losing pounds. I decided to forget about the weight loss for the winter months and just concentrate on keeping up my new hobby.

Levi and I went home for Christmas, then we both came home sick, so it was hard to go to the gym. We managed to keep going at least once a week during that time. Now we are back to three times each week and cardio in between (when it is not too cold). Since the beginning of the year I have lost three pounds and I am well on my way to meeting my goal of losing four pounds by the end of January.

Because of the winter running lapse I am not doing as well with my endurance. I think I took a step back in that department, so I'll just have to keep at it. Again, I am more concerned with just keeping it going until it gets warm outside and running is fun again. I also cannot wait to take my bike down to the trail.

The dress goal is looking good. I went to Obama's Commander in Chief Inaugural Ball on Tuesday night. I wore a dress that was a size smaller than I would have a year ago!

Bundling Up In Winter Clothes

I am not doing great at keeping this blog up... fortunately I have been doing much better at continuing my running regimen. Judging from my first post, I started running at the beginning of July. My first time out I ran .7 miles straight without stopping. Not bad for a beginner. Now I am up to over two miles without stopping, and I am faster. I like to alternate between that and sprinting/running/walking for 35-40 minutes, and weight training in between. That seems to be a good routine for me.

It is fun to see how much looser my clothes are and how much stronger my arms and legs are. The tape measure usually gives me good news, but lately the scale has been stuck or something. Levi tells me that I should not pay so much attention to my weight since I am obviously gaining muscle, but it is hard not to be discouraged when I stay at the same weight for a whole month. At least I haven't gained any, I guess. And I have managed to lose 15 pounds this year, which is awesome. But none in the past month. Hmmm...

Here is my plan: Now that it is winter and the sun dresses are a few months off, I will bundle up in layers and coats and concentrate on getting my run time down and my endurance up. I will also work on my weight lifting goals. When the sun comes out in the spring, the smaller, cuter clothes will be a perk!

Cardio Cheer!

It's been a while since my last update, but my cardio is a lot better than I thought it would be at this point! I have built up my running endurance and each time I can run about 1/4 mile longer than I could the time before. When I get up to two miles, I am going to start working on getting my time down. I'll be able to run a 5K in no time!

As far as the sundress thing goes, if I keep this up, next spring I should be able to pick out some pretty cute ones! Right now, most of my pants are starting to look baggy. I am going to have a good excuse to go shopping in a month or so.

This week I knew that I would not be able to go to the gym on Thursday because we were planning on going to a baseball game with our friends. Since Tuesday and Thursday are our gym nights during the week, we decided to go on Tuesday and Wednesday instead. Tonight we are going to volunteer, but hopefully I can do some cardio on Saturday and go to the gym again on Sunday!

Since they closed down our favorite free gym on post, and the other gym has eight hundred people trying to share thirteen benches, we decided to go get a free week at Gold's Gym. The layout is ridiculous and it is unbelievably overpriced, but I do like the little girls room they have tucked away in the corner. I was able to run in piece while watching Wolf Blitzer next to a large woman who was talking on her cell phone and walking on the treadmill slower than she probably walks to her mailbox. Wasting $70 per month? You're doing it... pretty well akshully.

Iz Your Frigerator Running?

My fridge is not actually going anywhere, but I searched for "running" on Photobucket and found this gem. Also, that fridge could possibly outrun me at this point, depending on how tough those little legs are.

I have still been running a couple/few times each week, trying to get better at it. It doesn't seem like I am much better, but I do take a little longer to improve in just about everything. One thing that has changed... I went on a bike ride on Monday night, which I have not done for a couple of weeks, and my usual route kicked my butt. I am sure that fridge could have gone farther than I did.

I guess I need to mix up my running and biking nights. So much to think about! On the bright side, I am slowly getting smaller and stronger, which is a big plus. I must be doing something right.

Once I go out on a run, or jump on a treadmill at the gym, my mind kind of goes blank. I want to just run until I can't run anymore to see how far I can go. Problem is, the distance I can run is not growing. Everything I read says that I should aim for a time limit instead. To start out, alternate between running and walking for 20-30 minutes. Maybe that will help me feel like I am improving more than busting my butt for the first 15 minutes, then dying slowly on the way home.

A Whole Mile

Just like I thought, when our friend came into town, the running was put on hold. We got a fair amount of exercise from running around DC and going tubing all day, but we also took in an unbelievable amount of beer calories.

Yesterday I decided that I was taking too long to get back into it, so when we went to the gym I jumped on the treadmill. I ran my ass off for a full mile, which I was pretty excited about. There is some improvement there! When I go to the gym again this week, I will try to go 1.2 miles without stopping.

There is good news from the sundress front. I was digging through my closet for some clothes (but they were all in the laundry, because my housecleaning goes the way of my running when I have guests) and I came across a blue sundress that I bought for our wedding rehearsal dinner four years ago. In fact, it was exactly four years ago to the day. Our dinner was on July 19th, 2004 and I tried the dress on on Saturday, July 19! Ha ha... weird.

Anyway, I put on the dress and it looks great! Better than it did four years ago! After a little shoulder tanning and a pedicure, I will be ready to show it off.

The Joy of Icing Calves

My first day of running left me a little beat up for the next two days. I had no idea that my calves would give out on me like that! After a night of Tiger Balm, tons of water and stretching and bags of frozen vegetables, I was much better.

Yesterday Ashley and I went for our first run together. We went down to the George Washington Parkway since it is flat and beautiful and it has mile markers. We started our running and walked when we got tired. We went about three miles like that, and I was exhausted by the time we got back to the car.

I was more discouraged by the end of this run than I was the first time. It seemed to tire me out more and I think that is because 1) it was after a full day of work and 2) my legs were still recouping from my first-ever run on Monday morning. I learned a less this time and went home and immediately stretched and iced my calves. They feel much better this morning.

It was great having someone to run with. It was less boring and I pushed myself more. I did not want to stop running too early, so I would go just a little farther than I wanted to. It was also much easier for me to go on the run in the first place. We planned on going, and I didn't want to wuss out on her.

My next step is to find a 5K that we are both interested in running. I am thinking that it should be two months out. I am confident that we can train to run a full 3.1 miles by the end of August. Then we can move up to bigger races, like a 5 mile, then 10 mile. I am not going to think any farther out than that.

My friend is in town for the next two weeks, so it will be difficult to work my runs into this altered schedule. I just started, so it is way too soon to lose this spurt of motivation!

Day One: Strangely Nervous

It turns out that I am afraid of running. I have never been very successful at it in the past. Usually I put on my workout clothes, then go sprint until I can't move anymore and don't try it again for a very long time. There were a lot of things that I have done wrong in the past, so this time I am trying to be a little more prepared.

Before I went to sleep last night I told myself that I needed to get up this morning and go on my first run. No sleeping in, no hangover, no excuses. Apparently I made myself so anxious that I kept waking up during the night and looking at my clock. It was that same feeling I get when I am starting a new job or taking someone to the airport and I am terrified of being late.

The sixth time I woke up it was finally 6:30. I threw on some yoga pants and running shoes and my MP3 player, drank some water then left the house. My expectations were pretty grim. I figured that I would run past three houses, then stop to walk. Hopefully I could do that for twenty minutes, then crawl back home. Instead, I started running right out of the door and ran all of the way to the park that is about 7/10 of a mile from my house. I rested for a minute, then alternated walking and running back home. (I mostly walked up the hills and ran on the flat part. Running up hills is not fun.)

I am definitely not sprinting at this point, but I am not jogging either. Somewhere in between. And I don't totally suck at it! 7/10 of a mile right off is not bad for someone who doesn't run EVER.

So overall, I feel pretty great about my first day running. Not only did it burn some calories, but it also got me out of bed and moving early on. I ran off sleepiness and a faint hangover. I haven't been as tired and lazy today, and I drank much more water than i usually do. When it came time for lunch, I wanted something healthy because I did not want to undo the work I did this morning. If I can keep this up, I will be in summer dresses in no time.

How Summer Dresses Convinced Me To Run

Like anyone out there, I want to change some things about my body. Quite a few things, actually. Mainly, I want to be smaller. I enjoy going to the gym and playing with the weights, and I really love riding my bike around. I get a fair amount of exercise, and I have lost weight in the past six months, but there is so much more that can be done.

No style of clothing has made me want to lose weight more than this year's summer dress trend. I love the dresses! There are so many styles and colors and they look so lightweight and comfortable and sexy! I am sure I could find a dress or two that looks good on me, but I want options! I want to feel comfortable in the dress and know it looks great. In order to get to that point, I have some work to do.

I decided that the best way for me to amp up my (not very substantial) cardio workout will be to start running. That is something that I have always been terrible at, and I have always wanted to get into. I don't see many overweight runners... that's gotta tell you something.

Today marks the first day of my cardio campaign. Stay tuned to find out how it goes.