Training

I have officially begun "training" to becoming a better runner. I have run 5K's before, and before my little bundle of joy was part of this world, I was an occassional/leisurely runner/walker. I've always enjoyed the outdoors and the hobby of going to a park and running the track. Never did I think that I would become one of those runners who actually LOVED to run. Well, it has happened. I look forward to my runs every day. I know that I have to take my rest days, but I honestly feel jipped when I can't run outside. I've never been a fan of the treadmill either. But, now that I realize that it's a good training method, I have learned to love it. Given the weather we are forced to endure here in Houston, learning to love the treadmill is a good thing. Now that it's almost June and still a short three weeks from the official beginning of summer, I believe the gym will quickly replace my 4-pm daily runs. I love taking the little munchkin with me to the park. It took a while to get her acclimated to the somewhat-rough ride at Memorial Park, but I think she's pretty used to it now. Although, an occassional scream is heard before the 3-mile marker, it's pretty rare that she wants out before I am done.

I have my second 5K this Saturday, and I am pretty confident that I will shave at least 2 minutes off of my finish time. This time I will not have to worry about a screaming Lola, as I did last time when my mom had to walk with her. I actually ran my best mile to date yesterday(thanks Nike+ for that nice tidbit of information), yep, when I ended my workout a nice voice congratulated me for running my fastest mile; a brisk 10.44 mile. Ha. Hopefully I will laugh one day when I see that number. I would really love to run an eight-minute mile! But, I digress...that "best" mile was while pushing 50 pounds of weight in front of me! That stroller business is serious. I do like the extra 100 calories that I burn, although at times it is rough to remain in full training mode while moving with that extra bundle.

So with that being said, the Impact-a-Hero 5K this weekend I will be baby & stroller free and running with my mom, who by the way, runs a 30 minute 5K. So, I won't push myself too hard, but I will try to keep up and beat my last finishing time of 36.38. I have ran 4 miles and 6 miles since the last race and I believe my endurance and speed has increased. I will be sure to post my official time Saturday evening!