My Magical Journey to Running the Half Marathon TR Link! p.107

[carissanboys]

Baxter is so cute!

You look great, Carissa! I know you can't wait for Chuck to be home.

Thanks Michelle! You've got that correct! 2 out of the past 13 months is not enough time to have my husband home.

But you have to feed them! Newspaper at least. Make it "The Times" or something respectable, you don't want them reading "The Enquirer" or "The Star". And you have to water them! The goal was for them to make compost, not be compost.

Goals change! I'm too scared to open the lid and see what's happening in there. There was a lot of newspaper added originally so if the heat hasn't killed them (which is a big IF with the temps we're having) then they should be fine.

 

[All7OfUs]

Hi Carissa!! Long time no post... Yikes, I'm so out of touch! Has the weather been hot? and that's why you're afraid for your wormies??

 

[mousescrapper]

girl you look awesome

can I hire you as my personal trainer

 

[carissanboys]

Hi Carissa!! Long time no post... Yikes, I'm so out of touch! Has the weather been hot? and that's why you're afraid for your wormies??

I'm not afraid for my worms, but I think Glenn is! I put the bin outside instead of keeping it in the house and they probably won't do well with hot temps. It's been hot and humid - tomorrow is supposed to be 99 with a heat index of 110.

girl you look awesome

can I hire you as my personal trainer

Thanks Julie! Not sure about a trainer, but I'm a great cheerleader!

 

[carissanboys]

My goal for a while has been to use the weekends for a long run. I figured I would start doing that more when Chuck returns home because I can't imagine trying to do long runs on the treadmill. But, in order to stay motivated with this whole running thing, I feel like I need to set new goals for myself to strive towards.

So, this morning I set my goal to run 4 miles. The longest I have done before was 3.1 so I figured pushing myself another mile wouldn't be too difficult.

I did it!!!

It took me just under 58 minutes to complete four miles, which seems like such a slow pace. But, I also slowed down my speed anticipating I would need to reserve my energy for a longer run. And it wasn't all running. I probably ran for 36 minutes out of the 57. On Thursday, I did my run at 4.7 so I am slowly working towards that big goal of 5.0. Today's run I mainly stuck to 4.2/4.3, but I did throw in an interval run at 5.0 and 4.5. My treadmill told me I burned 465 calories so not too shabby. And I've been much better about my eating lately and feel like I'm back in control.

Whenever I start to feel down about how slowly I run, I remember where I started. When I began the C25K program, I was only walking on the treadmill. My "fast" speed then was 3.3 - 3.5. So, I know I've come a long way. Not only that, but I need to stop comparing myself to other runners and focus on the fact that I just gave my heart, lungs, and legs a great workout for an hour! I may not run fast, but I sweat a ton. That's got to mean something, right?

Men, you might want to stop reading this update now or else your eyes might glaze over. I'm going to talk clothes.

I've been planning my outfit for Chuck's homecoming for a while now. I'm waiting on one more dress to arrive before I make my final decision, but this is the current contender:

The one I have is a chocolate brown with the underlayer being a hot pink color. We will be waiting for hours at the pier for the ship to show up, so I need something cool. And, well, I want to look good for my man!

These are the shoes I have:

Can you believe they're crocs??

In the next few months I will have to start focusing on what to buy for my half-marathon trip and decide what to wear for my two upcoming races. So much to think about!

 

[All7OfUs]

Wow! 4 miles!! YOu are soooooooooooo far ahead of me...

No way! Those are Crocs??!!

 

[glennbo123]

Congrats on 4 miles. That's more than I have gumption to do!

Thanks for the heads-up on the clothes discussion...I skipped right to the "reply" button to post a congrats.

 

[MeMom]

Congratulations!

The dress is cute.

Crocs has all kinds of different styles of shoes these days. Something comfortable for every occasion.

 

[mommyof2Pirates]

Great job on the 4 mile run You are doing great. I have to say I love the dress. It think that will be perfect for chuck's homecoming. I love the shoes and they look so comfy. I didnt realize crocs made shoes like that.

 

[eandesmom]

LOVE the outfit, you will look stunning!

And congrats on the four miles!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[winkers]

You are amazing!!

I love the dress and shoes! I can't believe those are crocs! How comfortable are they?

 

[carissanboys]

Wow! 4 miles!! YOu are soooooooooooo far ahead of me...

No way! Those are Crocs??!!

I started the program before you did! You'll get there soon.

Yup. They have so many styles out there now.

Congrats on 4 miles. That's more than I have gumption to do!

Thanks for the heads-up on the clothes discussion...I skipped right to the "reply" button to post a congrats.

I don't know you well enough to know if you're being serious or making a funny and in reality you took time to look at the cute girl in the dress...

Congratulations!

The dress is cute.

Crocs has all kinds of different styles of shoes these days. Something comfortable for every occasion.

Definitely! My favorite thing about crocs is that they don't smell even with sweaty feet.

Great job on the 4 mile run You are doing great. I have to say I love the dress. It think that will be perfect for chuck's homecoming. I love the shoes and they look so comfy. I didnt realize crocs made shoes like that.

Thanks. I've never worn a dress like that before so I'm somewhat nervous about it. It's very comfy though!

LOVE the outfit, you will look stunning!

And congrats on the four miles!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Cynthia!

You are amazing!!

I love the dress and shoes! I can't believe those are crocs! How comfortable are they?

They're fairly comfy. The top part cuts into my foot a smidge, but besides that, I like them.

 

[MRYPPNS]

Congrats on the big run! Cute dress!

 

[carissanboys]

Congrats on the big run! Cute dress!

Hey Heidi! Thanks!

 

[glennbo123]

I don't know you well enough to know if you're being serious or making a funny and in reality you took time to look at the cute girl in the dress...

Well, okay...I intended to just skip to the reply button, but if you're going to make me, I guess I have to confess that I paused, slightly, at the picture of the model.

 

[carissanboys]

Well, okay...I intended to just skip to the reply button, but if you're going to make me, I guess I have to confess that I paused, slightly, at the picture of the model.

You get bonus points for manning up to it. And if we're all being honest, I highly doubted any man would actually skip over the photo. The dress is from Victoria's Secret after all.

 

[glennbo123]

You get bonus points for manning up to it.

What choice did I have...you caught me red-eyeballed.

And if we're all being honest, I highly doubted any man would actually skip over the photo. The dress is from Victoria's Secret after all.

Several years ago Marlene had her birthday party at Build-a-Bear at a nearby mall. Towards the end of the party, I was standing in the doorway of the store, and I pointed to the Victoria's Secret directly across from it and said to Judy, "that's where I want to have my birthday party". All I got was an elbow in the ribs.

 

[carissanboys]

Several years ago Marlene had her birthday party at Build-a-Bear at a nearby mall. Towards the end of the party, I was standing in the doorway of the store, and I pointed to the Victoria's Secret directly across from it and said to Judy, "that's where I want to have my birthday party". All I got was an elbow in the ribs.

I wonder what they'd give out as party favors?

 

[jordanyosh]

Okay. I see what all the fuss was about....

I like the color of the dress...

Oh and those are CROC shoes? I would've never guessed.

Glennbo is a great man Carissa. No need to worry about him.

CONGRATS to you on your continued success. You amaze me and continue to inspire me. Inspire me to do what, I don't know..but inspiring nonetheless.

for your continued success and discipline.

 

[carissanboys]

Okay. I see what all the fuss was about....

I like the color of the dress...

Oh and those are CROC shoes? I would've never guessed.

Glennbo is a great man Carissa. No need to worry about him.

CONGRATS to you on your continued success. You amaze me and continue to inspire me. Inspire me to do what, I don't know..but inspiring nonetheless.

for your continued success and discipline.

Oh, I'm not worried about Glenn! He just didn't use any emoticons and I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. That's all.

Glad I can be generally inspiring.