New Shoes

Well this weekend was certainly on the opposite side of the spectrum from last weekend. Simply put, my weekend wasn't very good. The reason why was pretty much a lot of little stupid things, and they all just started to add up. Plus throw some personal emotional stressors in there and... yeah. However! I despise reveling in the crappy things in the past, so we move on! One thing that did occur this weekend that was pretty good? I got new running shoes! FINALLY.

Oh, aren't they pretty? I think so. They're the upgrade of my old shoes because I just can't leave my Mizunos. I had the poor girl bring me so many different shoes, but I kept on drifting back to the Mizunos. Usually, if the shoes were fine as soon as I tried them I would just go with them. Alas, when I first tried the upgrade on, something wasn't right. They were a bit tight on the sides. Everything else felt fine, but I knew that would bother me. Finally, she offered to grab the next half size up which apparently was my glass slipper.

Good thing too, because the half size smaller was a hideous orange/blue combo. No good. Plus, the shoes I have seem to be 15th anniversary edition. Aw, I'm older than Mizunos. Hmm. That's weird. I'm so used to companies being older than I am.

I tried them out today, and they worked just fine. It was a treadmill run though, so we'll have to see how these babies test outside.

As for the mileage on my old Mizunos? Barely under 700 miles. Yeah. Truth be told, I wasn't that worried about the old guys. When I went to the orthopedics place, she was surprised by how many miles my shoes had due to the fact that they were in pretty good shape. However, I finally started to feel the mileage this week. Soo... new shoes.

I'll miss those old shoes. They were my marathon shoes! I'm just a sentimental fool.

Anywho, I'm excited for this week. Finally going to have a lot of appointments I've been waiting to have for a long time, like a hair cut. Weirdly enough now that I'm in college I tend to like appointments. Also, tomorrow I find out if I got hired for a job for the summer. Doubtful, but I'm still hoping. Just a lot of little things to keep me busy this week. I like keeping busy.

What brand of running shoes do you love? Have you switched, or stayed the same?

Fitting Things into the Day

A few things about today:

It seems that Thursdays have become my cleaning days. Last Thursday I ended up cleaning up my room because I felt ashamed of how messy it was when my mother saw it. I know. Ridiculous. Then again, I think I cleaned it just for myself because I always feel so much better in a neat environment.
Honestly, I don't understand how it can get so messy so fast. Just a few articles of clothing on the floor make it look like a train wreck.

You know what's more awkward than being in the other room while an argument is going on? Having that argument be in another language. Oy. I rushed out of there as soon as I could, which isn't fun when it's your own apartment.

Speaking of the apartment, I have no idea what I'm doing for a living situation next year. With study abroad, I'm going to be gone a term. I've been told that they have great ways to get roommates (like rooming with someone else who was in the program, for example), but now I'm nervous. Gaah.

My schedule is getting busier. Yah know what? I'm glad. I like to keep busy. It makes me prioritize my time a lot better. Still have a bit of trouble with that at times, but slowly getting better.
As far as my schedule went today, I had a lot of little chunks of time in between everything, and not one big long one. I think I like having a longer break better than a shorter break now that I think of it. You don't feel like you're rushing, and you can fit more things in during the long break.
 On that note, let's talk about a moment I had today. I was talking to someone else who also happened to have a pretty hectic day. I mentioned that I had gone on a run and she replied, "Wow, I wish I had time to go on a run today."

That led me to this thought: I don't see if I have time for runs, I make time for runs. Running is a priority. I make sure I run at least every other day. If I take off anymore than that, I feel wrong somehow. I'm not quite sure, but I believe the last time I took two days off from running was December 2010. Yeah. I plan for runs. I make sure I have time to do them. I will go somewhere sweaty and gross if I have to, but I'll get that run in. If I know I'm not going to have anytime to run on a certain day, I change up the day I do that run. Can't run Thursday, and my last run was Tuesday? Run Wednesday. Just make sure you do it.

Finally, I have one more running thing to talk about. I know, I know. Lately my sister and I have been talking about how expensive races are, yet we still want to train for something. So with that, she has decided to map out a half marathon race for us both, and whoever wants to join us in about two months. I'm excited to have something new to train for. I have to admit though, the farthest I've ran in the past few weeks is five miles. Man, that kills me. Hey, but the whole point is that I've been running, and it's never less than three.

Welp, time for a new day. Friday is going to be the complete opposite of today. Only one class. Ah.

Do you prefer a lot of mini breaks or one long break?

Running Safely

I certainly wasn't expecting this when I got up yesterday.

The snow hasn't melted much, so today's run certainly was an interesting one. I spent most of the time dodging snow. And speaking of running... (which seems to be the only thing I ever talk about anymore)

At my school, we get email about crimes that happen in the area. It's lovely getting an email about how someone was sexually assaulted a block from your apartment. Makes you more paranoid, which might be a good thing, but still. One email that I got recently gave me quite a fright though. A girl was running on one of the paths nearby when a grown man grabbed her. ...Yeah, that puts a girl's mind at ease.

The incident did make me think about running safety though, and what I do to be safe. Here are my little things, and some things you might do too.

Be aware of your surroundings
This may seem like an obvious one, but a lot of the time people aren't observant. Always look before crossing the street, see where you're going... all of those things. Sometimes it's a problem when you have music because you can't hear things. If you know you're going to be somewhere where you need to hear your surroundings better (like next to a road with no sidewalk), maybe go without.

Take a phone with you, or tell someone where you're going
Having a phone with you when you run can be an extremely useful thing. I like running with my phone not only because it keeps track of my distance but because I can use it if I need it. I used it a couple of times during my summer long runs when I'd end somewhere farther away than I'd like to walk from. Don't want to carry a phone? Don't have a phone? Tell someone where you're going then. Give an estimated time (give yourself some leeway) and head out. If you're not back by about a half hour later than your given time or so, then they might have something to worry about.

Run in well lit/well known areas
Alright, this isn't always possible with things like trail runs. Plus, during the summer when it's blazing during the day it's nicer to run in the evening. However, it's a good idea to go where people can see you for runs. Perhaps go on a trail that a lot of people go on? Then other people will see stuff going on, and they can help. If you pass out in the middle of no where you're not going to get a lot of help. The girl who got grabbed was running when it was darker, and that area can get sketchy at night.

Run with buddies
This isn't necessary, but sometimes it can be nice running with other people. There's strength in numbers. Plus it changes things up from time to time.

Look powerful
Sound ridiculous? Hear me out. When I was in cross country, our coach always told us to never look tired. If we looked tired, our opponents would see that and try to kick our asses. Why? Because they know they could. However, if you look strong no one want to mess with you. Now I don't know how well that works in the real world, but think about it: Two girls are running. One looks strong, ready to continue for another few miles. The other looks like they're going to pass out. Which one would a potential attacker go for? The one that looks like she can fight back? Yeah right. Then again, I don't know how a potential attacker's mind works. They might go for me anyways. Still, I always feel a little better when I look strong.

So, those are a few things that work for me. Not sure if they're the greatest tips, but... eh. Welp, I have a final to do, things to not be lazy about. I'll have plenty of time for that soon enough.

What do you do to stay safe when you're running?

The Start of Finals and Such

Is it Friday yet? I'd really like it to be Friday.

Today I had two of my first finals, and they turned out alright... at least I hope that Econ final turned out alright. One of my most important study rules is to get a good night's sleep. Might sound silly, but it helps the information actually stick. Well last night for some reason my brain thought waking up at all hours was a much better plan. I think I was worried about getting up on time, which is ridiculous. I've had an 8 AM class every day this term, so I think it's possible for me to wake up normally for a test at the same time.

I don't have anything on my plate for the next few days other than two more finals, a haircut, and the Hunger Games. You'd think I'd be worried for my two finals, but honestly I feel like I'm already done. Despite my lack of proper grammar in the blog, I know my grammar pretty well. I didn't even study for the last quiz and got 100%. I skimmed for the midterm and missed one. Knock on wood still. I'll obviously study a little though. The other "final" is a monlogue performance, and I think that'll be fine.

I'm finally getting a haircut! 'Bout time. I'm going to grow out my bangs instead of trimming them again because I'm done with them. Bah. I'll deal with my forehead instead. The rest of the world (people I talk to) think that I should keep it long, but I'm getting tired of it. When you get choked by your own hair in the middle of the night because you shift to the other side, you tend to wish for shorter hair.

I've been thinking about my goal of "living well" I set for myself at the beginning of January, and I need to get back into high gear for that. Sure, I've been eating fruits and veggies, but I need to think less about food. Well, less obsessing about food. Thinking about when I can eat, how much I can eat...
No. I need to eat like a normal human being.

Speaking of food... Don't you hate it when you're at the point where if you buy something now, you'll have too much of it by the end of the week, but if you don't you'll have to live without it for awhile? Currently, I am without English muffins. I eat them all of the time, and that includes for breakfast with peanut butter and jam. PB and J on toast is my breakfast almost every day, but I can't do that with no toast. I'd go to the store, but there are other things I should probably use up. I'm also out of craisins and frozen veggies, two other staples. Will I cave? We'll see. I have three days to last without.

On the last food note, I think I've realized I don't actually like baked goods. I like the batter. I was seriously looking at desserts and thought, "Man, I bet the bowl for that would be delicious to lick." Cookie dough is so much more satisfying than cookies. Banana bread bowls are meant for me to taste. I seem to like the taste of salmonella? Eh. You can have your chocolate fudge cake, just gimme the bowl and spoon.

Even though I ran today and yesterday, I'm considering a run tomorrow. I don't run three days in a row, so I probably shouldn't. Whenever I run though, I feel like I've actually done something with my day. Goodness, that is a bit concerning... but I don't have anything on my scedule tomorrow. Maybe I'll look for a running store down here.

Well. That certainly was a random post. Random post for a random day I guess? Finals week will do that to you.

How is your week going? Any big, exciting projects?

Running: With Groups and Training

I have a confession: I have written out almost complete posts, then deleted everything I wrote. ON PURPOSE. Why? Because sometimes I feel like what I wrote doesn't matter anymore, or it was gibberish. When I say doesn't matter, I mean I don't really care about what I was talking about anymore. Eh. It happens.

What I do care about is the fact that I went on a fantastic run today, and I happened to run it with my sister!

My sister and I tend to do runs together on Sundays, along with one of her friends. They're usually the easy runs of the week, and they're one of my shortest runs of the week. For today, we were doing a long run.
I thought I would be too tired. I thought I would be too hot or too cold. I thought my legs would be sore because I ran yesterday, and I usually don't run the day before my long run.

None of that happened today. I felt good and I probably could have even run more! (I should be running more, but I've been keeping it chill. I have no marathons in the future, thankyouverymuch.)Plus it was an exploration run, which always makes up a good run. The only part where I felt week was on the killer uphill, and that's why I need to work on my uphills more. Funny thing is my sister kills uphills, but hates downhills. I adore downhills and despise uphills. Too bad we can't trade off.

With running in mind, I'd like to think of what distances I would be in shape for right now. I totally could do a 5k, a 10k, or even a 15k right now. I think I could do a half marathon in a month from now if I set mileages, or do one sooner... if I wanted to be aching the next day, that is. The point of all of this is that races need proper training.

I mention this because of a certain blogger's post I read recently. In it she says, "And here's something that probably doesn't surprise you... I'm extremely unprepared."

I wish her well obviously, but at the same time that totally worries me. I don't know what "extremely unprepared" means, but it's not exactly a good phrase for your first half marathon.

Alright, I know that different runners need different mileages for training purposes. Heck, I know someone that ran 14 miles as their farthest distance before a marathon. Granted, I think it wasn't her first, but still. And she still ran it fine.
On the other hand, I know a guy who was in excellent shape that tried a half marathon. Problem was he was in good shape from swimming, not running. His longest recent run had been about 3 miles. He couldn't walk afterwards, he had to be helped.

Therefore, I think that training is very important. You don't have to run the whole distance (my longest marathon training run was 21 miles), but just prepare your body.

So Lexie, I wish you good luck (although by now I think you've already run it). I hope you can walk after.

Other than that... On my exam on Friday, I didn't do as well as I wanted. However, the professor added up my grade, and what I thought would be a B+ became an A-. This is why you do the extra credit, folks! I could try to get an A if I get a good enough grade on the final... but I don't have to take it. He drops the lowest of the three exam scores. Yup, that's a 100 level class for you.

Excited for tonight, and tomorrow. Just going to be good times.

Also, can I just say that the sun staying out after five is amazing? Ah.

Oh, I almost forgot! It's St.Patrick's Day! Happy St.Patrick's Day! (Obviously I have nothing planned around this event.)

What are your thoughts on proper training?

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

My motto for the day seems to be "Good things come to those who wait."

Well, I'm not sure if it fits for everything today, but it's a start.

One of the good things that came from waiting? Well, I applied for a paid internship recently and... I got it! I just found out last night, hooray! I suppose you could say that waiting to tell the world was good on my part, just because what if I didn't get it? Right? That's how I think anyways.

My main "Good things come to those who wait" point for the day is from my run today. For my runs, I tend to cut it into sections. On average, songs usually about 3-4 minutes. When three songs have passed, I assume I've gone a little bit around a mile in distance. (9-10 minute miles) I told myself that I would run for at least 60 minutes, and I would check my time at the end of the 9th song (about a half hour in). As my run went on, that was pushed back to the 12th song. Then to the 15th song. By the time I looked at it, I had only three minutes left! The more you check something, the longer it seems to take to get to the ending point. If I had checked it at the 9th song mark, I would still have about a half hour to go. I would have wanted to check constantly after the initial check, and that would have been annoying. "I still have so much left!" I would exclaim. Instead, when I didn't check my time I didn't think about it as much.

The last "Good things come to those who wait" idea for the day comes from just cooking, really. Sure, sometimes it's easy to throw some food together and call it good. On the other hand, when you actually take time to make something, it usually tastes a lot better. True story.

I'm a bit concerned with the coherency of this post. I've written more coherent posts while affected by other sources, but there is currently nothing affecting me. That is a bit concerning. Still, I wanted to get my thoughts out.

In other life news, my cold is disappearing quickly! Nice. I'm kind of surprised by it really. I pulled a college kid move and slept in until 11. Well, after waking up at 7 for an hour. Then falling back asleep at 8 because I thought it would make me feel better. And it did. What a concept.

What examples do you have of "Good things come to those who wait?"

Running Free

Let me start this off with sports make people into idiots. Bold statement, perhaps? Sure. I still fully believe it though. I'm not saying that there can't be smart athletes, oh no. However, when participating in a sport, your brain can go dumb while in the process. I'm just starting this post off with that thought.

As I've mentioned before, spring is here in Oregon. I'm not sure if the rest of the state has agreed with this statement, but once you've had three different types of weather in ten minutes, I think spring has officially begun in Oregon.

With that thought, I wasn't sure what weather to expect for my run today. The sky in the morning has said rain was heading in for the afternoon. Sure, it wasn't said by the forecaster, but you can't really trust the news report. That was rain sky.

Or so I thought.

Y'see, because of a change in the scheduling for the day, I ended up having quite a bit of time to run during. I definitely pulled a college kid and napped. As I awoke from my nap, I decided it was time to get my rear into gear. I had a long sleeve shirt on with running capris. I was ready for "just in case" rain. Imagine my surprise to see the sun shining like a June day.

As the run went on, I started to get really hot. It was certainly slowing me down, that's for sure.
Remember how I said sports make you stupid? Well, here's where my stupid moment went down.

I exposed myself to the world.

Alright, I didn't really expose myself, I simply took off my shirt and ran in sports bra only. For me thought? That's like exposing myself.

Now I'm not toned. I currently don't weigh more than usual, but I know that it's all fat and no muscle right now. I don't have that perfect body, but you know what? I think I'm allowed to run in a sports bra.

This situation actually reminded me of a funny occurrence a long time ago. I was driving with my cousin when I heard her exclaim, "EW! That old guy is so creepy!" She was talking about an old guy without his shirt on going on a run. He wasn't the most pleasant thing to look at, but at least he was running. He was keeping his body healthy, but he couldn't really help the extra skin that was there due to age. At the time, I too decided it was gross. But now I think, "Hey! It's hot out. I'd like to be as cool as possible while running.

Which brings me back to today. This isn't a normal occurrence, nor is it going to become one in the future. Would I have taken my shirt off to run normally? No. But my caveman mind kicked in, saying "Hannah HOT!" so stupidly I listened to it. I just happened to be over-heated during my run today, and it was too much. I suppose it's nicer when the super fit get hot too, but you know what? We all deserve to be able to adapt to the heat.

Once I finished running, I challenged myself to walk home shirtless still. You can bet your ass I was sucking my gut in the entire time, but it was all about the confidence I portrayed. Imagine that.


Welp, that certain was an interesting experience for the day. Remember: Never trust Orgeon weather.

How do you feel about running shirtless?

Spring, Change of Plans and Running After School Specials

I go outside to see the sun shining and I think that spring is just around the corner! Then I look at the weather report and see that it's going to pour this weekend. One can dream, right? Anyways hello everyone, how are ya doin'?

Okay, I didn't go to The Artist like I planned today. I was thinking I'd go at four, but then it would end at about six, when I was supposed to meet with people for dinner... I just didn't want to deal with people stressing out at me for not being there at said time I just... No. Don't want to deal with that crap if I don't have to. I wrote my blog early instead (just posting it later). Saturday it is then. Funny thing is, I actually just got an email from University Film Organization, and there's someone else who wants to go see it. Opportunity!

Today during my run I had a very "after school special" moment. It all started with forgetting my ipod in the car. The one time someone else needed to use it. The one time that I left it on the seat of the car, when I NEVER leave stuff like that on the seat of my car. Anywho, the point is that I had no music to run to.
A strange thing for me to worry about. Honestly, I ran 26.2 miles with only a cellphone and a water bottle in hand. So why am I in such desperate need of music now?

• It makes me go faster if I'm running to the tempo of an up-beat song
• It distracts from things like the tired legs that are pushing me
• It makes the run go faster

How slow was I going to go? Would I want to stop after a minute of running? These were the things that worried me.
You know what though? I ran the four miles. I didn't suffer. I was fine. As for the pace? I had the same pace that I ran my last four miles in, which was a good pace.

That led me to think, "So the power was in me all along?"
That's when the wise parent/guardian/teacher would say, "Why yes little Susie. Yes it was."
Hannah just doesn't fit in that situation, so I'm using the name Susie instead. You get the point.

I still like music though. If the ear buds will stay in my ears and not bother me, I'm fine.

Other than that, not much to say about today. Baked some bread, did classes, did some homework... Yup. Now it's time to clean. My room is getting ridiculous.

I feel like I've asked the music when running question before, so I'll ask this even though it's only Thursday:
Any fun plans for the weekend?

Runnin' Races and Goin' Places

Sometimes, it can be difficult to do something if you don't have a goal you're working towards. Many runners including myself need races to work towards, to motivate them to keep going. Want to make sure you train through the winter holidays? Schedule a January or February race. Want to make sure you get out there even if the summers are hot? Schedule a fall race. I've talked about the other reason why you should sign up for races, which is because they're so fun!

Right now, I'm stuck. Indeed, I do want to sign up for another race, but I'm not sure what.
I did have a race I was going to do with a team, but the team kind of fell apart. Thinking I would sign up solo, I found that the race was already filled up.
Too bad. I wanted a bottle opener medal. Darn.

So now I'm stuck without a race. I'm also $30 richer from not paying a racing fee, but still it's no fun.

The next race I'm looking for would be something either or the obstacle course variety, themed variety, or both. Preferably mid to long distance. ...No more marathons for awhile though. I have to do another before I turn 30, but I've got awhile. Remember my personal goal of doing a marathon for each decade of my life? Yeah, that's a thing.

One of the biggest things that sticks out to me for races is registration price. If it's a 5k, I don't want to be spending as much on that as a half marathon. I don't think it's worth it. I suppose I could have looked for a cheaper marathon, but the Portland marathon is THE marathon of Oregon in my humble opinion. Plus, it was the 40th year. I think it would be awesome to run the 50th anniversary marathon... We've got awhile.
For instance, I was looking at this race that looked pretty cool. It's called "Run for your Lives", and it's a zombie obstacle course 5k. How awesome does that sound? Then I saw that registration was $77 bucks and thought "No way." It may be themed, but I'm not paying that much for a 5K.

The other race thing I've been thinking about lately is running while abroad. I really want to sign up for a race while I'm abroad, because I think it would be cool to run a race in another country. Spreading my running around the world. I've run while in Canada, and ran in Mexico, why not in another continent?
I won't register for one yet, because I need to learn more about how my schedule is going to work while studying abroad. But it's still a thought.

For now, I'll just keep running. We'll see where it takes me next.

What's your favorite type of race to run?

Running Inspirations (and Enemies)

Man I need water. It's one of those days, y'know? Just did not start off with enough, and continuously didn't have enough.
This morning I went on an excellent run. (Yes, this is going to be another running post.) Not sure what pace I had, but probably went about 7 miles. Explored a bit, and was one of those people who runs to their next appointment, in the literal sense. I always think those people are cool, like, "Oh I ran to work, and I'm running home." They just seem so cool.

Throughout my running career, I've had the haters. Sure, they're not actually hating to me, but they're a general hater. The vibe of what they're saying is "Oh. You think you're doing well? Ha, what a loser." These are the people that make me feel like I'm not a runner. These people are what I like to call my running enemies.

One of these people? My director for Duck TV.
There have been many instances in the short time that I've known her that she's made my running feel inadequate. The first instance came when I mentioned the running club, and how I found out my pace wasn't fast enough. Sure, she told me it was B.S., but she also said "We could always use SLOWER runners." Do I really need the slower label? I suppose it's true, but it just sounded like it was filled with attitude.
The other instance was when I asked her about her mileage. She said six to seven miles a day.
"Every day?"
"Well, I AM a runner."

This comment kind of irked me. I run about 4 to 5 miles four days a week. Do I still think of myself as a runner? Yes! Do my friends and family think of me as a runner? Totally! And I believe that the people who run 3 miles four times a week are runners. Or, if you continuously run any distance. If running is part of your regular schedule, you are a runner.

Then again, she also gave me sass about running my marathon "too young". You know what? I already ran it. And I kicked ass. So you can shut yo mouth.

I do have one other running enemy, and that's anything that calls my pace "jogging". I'm running, dang it! I think 9 minute miles count as running! I'm putting a valid effort into it! Arg. Curse you online meters...

On the other hand, I have plenty of running inspirations. Amazing people who make me want to keep going. A lot of those people are bloggers. Reading about Kat's, Ann's, or Kate's running makes me want to impress them. I want to be running too! Pretty much any blogger that I see talking about running makes me want to run. I think "I can do that. I will do that."

However, as much as you ladies inspire me, I have one person that inspires me the most to run.

Ashley from Healthy Ashley

This girl is crazy amazing. She's run half marathons, marathons, ultras, triathlons, and Ironmans. That in itself is amazing. What makes her truly incredible though has to do with an event that happened about five months ago. She got into a terrible bike accident. Even as a reader of her blog, it was horrible to hear what happened. Would she race again? She had to get surgery on her hip, including screws being put in. But you know what happened?
She ran again. And she ran a marathon in January. THAT is incredible.

The funny thing is, I have very different views from her, or at least from what I've read in her blog. I'm not even sure if we'd get along in real life, we're so different. But the way she strives forward in running just makes me want to push myself even more.
It's good to have inspiration. For every hater, you should find someone that pushes you forward. Or at least someone who puts out that much inspiration for many haters.

Goodness. My body is not used to caffeine, because I am wide awake and I shouldn't be. I should be very tired. Hoo boy.

Who is your running inspiration? Do you have running enemies?

Running, Duck TV, and Time

Hello hello! Is it seriously already Thursday? Wow, didn’t even think about that. It’s also Groundhog’s Day! I always want to throw a little party for the heck of it for Groundhog’s Day, but I always forget about it. Ah well.

Lately I’ve been talking about waking up just a little earlier for my Tuesday/Thursdays and getting my run done in the morning. Well today was the day for that! It certainly was refreshing. The air was crisp and delightful. I started the run in the dark and ended it in the light. Now that’s a nice feeling.  The only thing that really bothered me about it was my pace. For my last few runs, I haven’t been looking at my pace until the very end. This technique had actually been working out quite nicely, but today was a slower day. That’s always frustrating to me. I do think that I was listening to slower tempo music, so that could have added to it. Dunno.

Anywho, the new episode of Duck TV aired last night. I thought I was going to be terrified of seeing myself on screen, but surprisingly, I was fine with it. The part that was mortifying? The sound during the viewing last night. It was SO BAD. Luckily, the sound is okay online (I checked, ha) but the filming seems a little weird. Eh. Man, I have a weird sounding voice.

As for my goals, I believe the first and the second have been successes. Yesterday, I did spend more than 2 hours on the computer… but less than 2 playing around! I don’t know if I said this before, but my goal was to spend 2 hours or less on the computer that didn’t relate to homework. My economics homework is online, so I spent a good chunk of time on that but only that. No surfing of any kind. Even then, my ECON homework took an embarrassingly long time to do. Tomorrow there’s a quiz as well. Hoo boy. Why must we do things with graphs? I’m terrible with them!

Welp, that’s currently what’s up with my life at the moment. I’m certainly wasting less time with less computer usage but there still seems to be so little time left. Hm.

For a bit of a random question, Do you ever keep track of Groundhog's Day?

Running Funk

Hello! The week is almost over, and I have a surprisingly free weekend! Huzzah! (Well, compared to last weekend.)

Recently, running has not been clicking with me. Sure, I've been running. However it hasn't been as nice as before. As usual (as of late), I wasn't in the mood to run. Still I knew that afterwards I would be happy I did it. During my runs though, I've been feeling iffy. Iffy because I'm pushing myself and I don't seem to be getting faster. Iffy because I think I'm actually starting to go slower. Iffy because I'm getting flashbacks to cross country during high school where I was slower than everyone else, and the same thing is happening here in Track Town.

I like being known as a runner. Not the slower runner, but just a runner. Pretty much everyone I talk to runs way faster than me, and it's bringing me down. Maybe that's why running has been feeling so icky lately. I know pace shouldn't matter, but it does. Especially since I've been slowing down. I'm pushing and pushing, but nothing seems to be working.

The thing is, I love how running makes me feel after I run. I love races. Then why has running sucked so much? Why am I running slowly? I'm not over training, so I don't know what's wrong. I just want to get my groove back.
The other thing is, I want to be a runner. I read a thing that said a good percentage of people who start running regularly quit in about a year. I've been running continuously for a year and three month. I want to have as many running anniversaries as I can.

Besides that, not much else to say. I seriously need to do my laundry but I'm making excuses like 1. My soap is over at my aunt's house (I hope) 2. I don't want to pay for it now that I can't do it at my aunt's anymore and 3.I don't want to hang around in a laundry room for a few hours. Yet, I now have no clean running clothes, and I need some before Saturday. Pish. Excuses.

I hate to be a downer! May happier posts be in the future. If it means anything, I had a good day. A few bumps, but nothing awful. Heck, that's life!

My cousin is going to be playing down here tomorrow, so that should be fun!

What do you do when you're in a running funk?

Time to Run?

It's another one of those "Let's talk about running!" days. Sorry if that's not your vibe.

Being a student, it seems to be easier to schedule in workouts. There tend to be random chunks of time that are in between classes, so you don't have to do it before work/after work. Due to how my schedule works, I usually run in the afternoons during the week.
Sometimes though, you run into a day like today, where you don't have the time to run until 5:00PM. When it's dark. And you tend to not run during said time.

Mainly, I was freaked out about the fact that it was dark, and someone could attack me. But you know what? It was FINE. Worrying over nothing, as usual. Especially since there were quite a few lights outside, so I never was truly in the dark.
Really, the biggest concern I had with this run was if it was going to be as crappy as my Saturday run. Saturday was AWFUL. I left too soon after I ate because of time constraints, and I wanted to hurl for the majority of the run. The overwhelming smell of bacon from restaurants did not help. However, today's run was delightful.

I'm considering doing early morning runs soon. On Tuesday/Thursdays, I don't have class until 8:30 (HA) so I have an extra half hour in the morning. I would get up a little earlier (Perhaps a half hour, 15 minutes) and wait to take a shower, but I think it would be a good idea. If you're an early morning runner, can you give me any tips?

Other than that, not much else to say. It's one of those days.

Do you ever run early in the morning/late at night? What time is your favorite time to run at?

First Impressions, and How To Fail at Them

First Impressions. They can make or break you, can't they? Well, that's pretty much what we've been told all of our lives. Yet, I have had experiences where my first impression wasn't good but changed for the better. Still for the most part? First impressions affect you and your judgement.
I constantly think about first impressions, because I'm currently at a point in my life where I have to make a lot of first impressions. Trying out for something is a first impression. Job interviews are a first impression. Making friends is an obvious one. One which I still suck at.

I tend to over think the first impression, but sometimes my first impression can be a hilarious blunder. Really, 9 out of 10 times my first impression is awkward or just plain ridiculous.

Let me tell you a little tale of a first impression I made today that I happen to find ridiculous, even at the cost of my own pride.

The story starts with the fact that rest of The Valley (the general area of Oregon where I live) has snow. My town? Does not.
What we are greeted with is the delightful presence of rain. Yup. Just how Oregon winters usually are.
Frankly, I did not want to go running in the rain. It was cold, grey, and unpleasant no matter which way you looked at it. However, I got my butt out there and ran 4 miles. (and messed up my phone for awhile. It happens)

Coming back to the apartment I see one of my room mates leaving the apartment. I ask her what's up, and she says she's off to hang out with a friend. I bid her adieu and toss on a dry shirt with no bra. Hey, there's no one else in the apartment, and I'll go back to my room in a bit.

As I walk back to the kitchen, I hear my room mate come back in.
"Hello! This is my friend!"
"Uh...Hello."
"Hi, I'm so and so."

When she was looking for an umbrella, I assumed she was going over somewhere else to hang out. Apparently not before she and her friend needed to stop back in. Oh, the shirt I was wearing was one of those sports materials shirts, that happens to show lines of anything that's close to the fabric. Yup. Doing an awkward model hunch to hide the surprise under the shirt was necessary.

Chalk one up for another successful first impression.
Speaking of, I need to write a cover letter for a job. Hm. Not something I'd like to do.

What's one of the weirdest first impressions you've ever made?

2012 Cascade Half Marathon

Well, today was certainly interesting.

Today was the 13th Annual Cascade Half Marathon, and it started off with a bang.
Y'see, this whole winter, it hasn't snowed. Guess what day it decided to start snowing?

Yup. The day of the race. In which neither my sister nor I had any training in snow. The last time I ran in snow was last year (think way before December), so... snow was an interesting greeting.

The race started off with the snow coming down, and we weren't sure if it was going to stop. Funny thing is, it stopped about 15 minutes in. Plus, it actually got kind of warm. Therefore the layers got pretty hot for a bit.

Overall, it was a decent race... for the most part. There was just one thing that made me very angry, and it affected my whole race.
My shoelace came untied in the first mile.

This might have been a minor annoyance. Just like, "Oh, that's bothersome." But the reason I'm so ticked about it? My time was 2 hours, 20 seconds. If I didn't have to stop, I would have probably had a sub two hour race. Like last year. FFFFFFFFFFFFF-

Okay okay, I shouldn't be that irked about it. But it does irk me. Nothing I can do now. Besides, I think the weather affected my run a bit as well. I had to take little steps to make sure I didn't slip. Still a decent time.

Still, the day was more about my sister running her first half marathon! Hurrah! She finished about a minute after I did, and she felt pretty good afterwards! Weird. My legs were dead when I finished last year. They're fine now, and were fine after the race.

I then proceeded to have sweets for dinner. I really have to learn some self control around the sweets though.

As for other stuff, it's been a very award-show induced weekend. Last night watched Miss America get crowned, tonight watched The Golden Globes. Yup.

Glad I have tomorrow off though. Ah, the joys of school.

What's something annoying that's happened to you in a race?

Running on Treadmills

Today, I did something that I may dare to call... daring. At least for me.

I ran 10 miles today. No, that's not daring for me, I've run that before.

I ran 10 miles on a treadmill. What witchcraft is this? Alright, I know for a lot of people, doing distances like that on a treadmill aren't crazy. For me? Insane. I'm the type of person that by mile 3, I'm bored out of my mind. Today though? I was able to go pretty well for ten.

The funny thing is, it wasn't even very cold outside. The weather actually has been pretty nice the last few days. I just didn't want to go outside. Eh.

I suppose America's Next Top Model is a pretty good distraction.

Actually, I'll have much more daring experiences coming up this weekend. But that's a story for next time.

What's the farthest you've ever run on a treadmill? Are you more of an outside runner or a treadmill-er?

Thanksgiving Recap

Alright, first of all I have no idea how some of y'all were able to post yesterday. Seriously, I had no time at all! Anywho...

Before I get into an actual recap, I suppose it would be best if I threw in my things to be thankful for. I was planning to do two posts today, but... no. That's not gonna happen. Well, what am I thankful for? The obvious things like family, running, education, and basically the ability availability I have to do so many different things.

Now, onto the Thanksgiving recap! Honestly, not sure how much I have to say about Thanksgiving, but let's just see what we can do. There has been one year where I only ate until I was content. This was not the year.

Before any of the feasting occurred, it was time to participate in the Treadmill in the Basement Turkey Trot. Part of the requirements was making a race bib. I felt a tad ridiculous wearing a race bib while not in a race, but you gotta do what you gotta do. As for the bib my biggest concern of the day was about even getting my run in. So having a proper bib? Not much on my mind. That means I had this attached to my jacket:

Yes, a bit sad. We make due.

My contribution to the Turkey Trot? 10 miles. I decided to do my long run that morning instead, which if we're being honest was just because of the upcoming eats that were happening.

After the run, obviously food cooking was in full swing, and appetizers were on. All you need to know about that is that's the point where I eat pretty much all I really want to eat for the day: Brie cheese. Wrapped in a crescent roll.  Honestly, that's all you need to know.

The rest of day included the obvious dinner, Apples to Apples, and also included the Annual Turkey Bowl. The Turkey Bowl is basically all of the family members heading off to the high school and playing a "game of football". I say it like that because it's really just throwing the ball around to each person, trying to have them run. Mostly the little kids. For the older gals (including me), that meant goofing off and recording videos at the edge of the field.

Later, there were card games and talking. There were other things too I think. I'm not sure I remember just everything that happened, but all I know is that the cousins? We all stayed up until 3:00 in the morning. Oh god. This does not work for someone who wakes up automatically at 9:00 AM.

Right now, I'm exhausted but I'm watching the newest episode of The Soup. Homework time starts tomorrow. I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving!

What did you do for your Thanksgiving?

A Hectic Sort of Week

It's been one of those crazy days, you know? Anywho, here's what's up with life for a quick update, or just random thoughts:

It's amazing how much family members can effect you, mainly siblings. I've been able to convince my sister to read cracked, and now she's addicted to that and reads some blogs. As for her effect on me, most of the music I listen to is because of her.

I've realized that I spend far too much time on the computer. Not a new development, but lately it has caused some problems. (Don't worry, I'm doing all of my schoolwork.) I'm deciding to try and wean myself off of using my computer so much, possibly not using my laptop and instead use the library computer until schoolwork is done. This isn't the reason for not posting yesterday, I just didn't have time. We'll see.

Most of this week was consumed by stress of classes and registration. One night after finding out certain classes wouldn't work in the schedule the way that I wanted them to... I had a mini breakdown. It happens. However, after I let everything out, I actually got down to thinking, and realized I was perfectly fine in the way of school scheduling. It's good to clear your mind with a good pouring out of emotions because then you can actually think coherently afterwards.

My croissants were indeed a hit. That's always a good thing.

I'm making a big decision. More on that later.

I'd really like tomorrow to be a relaxing day after the last few days I've had, but that's not going to happen. What can you do? Especially since I have to cram a 9 mile run somewhere in there... Oof. That's why I have to go to bed now. So night to all, and hopefully there will be more detailed posts from me in the near future.

What type of week was it for you? Any exciting weekend plans?

Here We Go Again

Wow, it's been over a month since my big race, hasn't it? And I said I would stop talking about it. Alas, here we are.

Indeed, I've been back to running for awhile, but it's been very relaxed. It's like I wish I had something to motivate me to train...

Oh wait. I do.

Yes, I'm going to be running the Cascade Half Marathon again, hooray! I always like being signed up for races. There's just something about them that helps with the motivation. Especially since I forgot what it's like to run when it's cold out.

I know, running my next half on the first ever half marathon course I ever did again? How boring. Still, I'm a little sentimental. I mean, it was my first ever half marathon! Plus the course is completely flat which is really nice. (A good way to block out the fact that it was pouring the entire time last year.)

Those are not the only reasons I'm running this race again though. There's actually a bigger reason, which is... My sister is running it! Yeah!
I know you might not want me talking about this on the blog Chloe, but it deserves to be said. Besides, it's a good thing.

This will be her first half marathon, which is so cool! Then again, she's already run that distance in her life before, so she'll kill it.

On other running related news, I'm quite excited to have been invited to the 2nd Annual Treadmill in the Basement Turkey Trot by Kat. I don't think I'll be running a half marathon, but I think a ten miler may be in the cards for the 24th of November. Five at the lowest.

The only thing I can really think about right now is how on earth did it already get to be almost 9:00PM? We are not amused. (Who is this we?)

I think any day that I go for a run is a productive one in some sense. It might have seemed like the day disappeared, but I did do something, right? We're going to say yes even though it doesn't feel like it. Buh.

Do you have any fun races coming up?

Voices in my Head

Oh goodness. Do you ever have a day that's just weird? Schedule wise? Mine certainly was. It started off extremely relaxed, believing I would have more time in the evening. That, due to events beyond my control, did not happen. And that's all I have to say about that.

One thing that I did plan on doing today was my long run for the week, when I usually run it on Saturday. However, because I'm not going to have much time for running this Saturday, I thought I would get it done today.
The run was 8 miles, and I was definitely psyching myself out before it. "I never do a long run during the middle of the week" I whined to myself. Then, I had a realization. This summer, I would eat my lunch while driving, get to work, run 8 miles, and be at work all sweaty. I've run 8 miles plenty of times on Thursday. So I slapped my subconscious silly and went on my run. The run wasn't so bad either! (I did have some stomach pain though. Ugh.)

This may sound a little weird, but for a lot of things I have two voices in my head: The complaining voice and the common sense voice. Other time that something like this happened was when I was looking in the mirror.
"I'm fat," the complaining voice said.
"Your weight is perfectly fine, it's in a good range," the common sense voice replied. "Your problem is that you're not toned, and that's what you're comparing yourself to. If you actually followed along with a good strength training program, maybe you could fix that."

Ouch common sense voice! Still, she's got a voice. Wait, she? This is all just my own thoughts, but I don't know what the right pronoun is.

Anywho, those are my thoughts. I have to do a little studying... I wish I had my flashcards earlier!

When was the last time you slapped your subconscious because of a ridiculous thought?