Expanding my {fitness} horizons

Injury...a word avid runners come to know well. Or at least most of them.

A little over a month ago, I injured my left knee during a race. I had just taken two weeks off while the hubby and I were in Italy, and I had maybe squeezed in a week and a half of decent runs before taking home my FIRST first place finish (whoop!) at Zoom Through the Zoo. I felt great after, but then the next morning my knee had swollen to the size of a grapefruit.

A few days later, after trip to the orthopedic doctor, I was diagnosed with fluid buildup and put on anti-inflammatory meds and a light-intensity workout plan. Needless to say, a mild case of depression set in.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am rather passionate about running. One might call it obsessed. But obviously I've had to transform my training for the time being...and I have LOVED every minute of it!!

For the past month or so, I've been alternating swimming 2-3 times a week and biking at least 2 days. The biking has been somewhat satisfying, but the swimming...I never knew I would enjoy it this much!

A HUGE thank you to my dad, who paid for a month's membership for me at the Y, so I could see if I liked it. Not only is it something we can do together, but it's so much better for my joints, and my body just feels different. Who knows. Maybe there's a tri in my future?! For the time being, though, I think I'll stick with individual workouts. :)

New workout view!

Today was the first Road Race Series race of the year. I promised myself to keep it slow, so as not to injure my knee again. I kept a super slow pace (at least for the first 2 miles), finishing with my worst 5K time to date. But I'm not upset in the least. It was super fun, a new course, and my knee is feeling good.

Anyway, I'd have to say that my fitness horizons have definitely expanded. And regardless of how good the knee (hopefully) continues to feel, I'm going to keep up with the cross training.

Marathon training begins in less than a month!!

Another new PR!

I keep hearing "it’s not about the destination...it's about the journey." Though it's quite the cliché, I couldn't agree more, especially when talking about running.

Although I trained for my first full marathon, I really didn't think I would break 1,000 miles for the year. As soon as the marathon was over, I wouldn't say I totally slacked off, but I definitely took a break from distance running.

Thankfully the Memphis Runners Track Club Road Race Series started up in the summer, so I got back on a regular training schedule. My shorter-race times were nothing to be proud of, but my competitive switch must have turned back on, because even my training runs were steadily getting better. Now that could be from the amped up training, or it could've been the fact that I'm ALWAYS running late so I had to pick up the pace...who knows (or more appropriately, who cares).

Regardless, thanks to MapMyRun (and the iMapMyRun app), I've been able to log every single run for the year. And a HUGE thanks to Fleet Feet Sports for putting me in the BEST shoes, to Gu Energy Gels for keeping me alive during those 20+ mile training runs, and to my physical therapist, my friend Autumn, Brent, my parents, and so many friends and family for your support and inspiration. The total for 2011?

1,170 miles!!!!

Did you know that's the distance from Memphis to Cheyenne, Wyoming? You didn't? Me either...I googled it. :)

Cheers to a great year of running!

2011 NYC Half (which I just found out I got into again for 2012!!!)

2011 Country Music Marathon!

Half marathon PR!

I'm famous!

Buster and me heading out for a night run!

Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

Random Wednesday

Whew! It's been quite a hectic few weeks. With work projects up to my eyeballs, races, family stuff, my birthday, and projects at home, I've never felt so busy. Here's a recap of what's been going on.

September 1 was the first University of Memphis football game of the season. As usual, the tailgating was fun...the game, let's just say it's a good thing we've got Memphis Tiger Basketball to look forward to!

Fun times after the game (or whatever you want to call it)

That Friday was Zoo Brew at the Memphis Zoo. My company, Mahaffey Tent and Party Rentals, sponsors this event, and it's always a super fun time. 100s of beers to sample from all over the world (not to mention seeing your co-workers in rare form)...yes, please!

Mahaffey's tent at Zoo Brew

The weekend that followed was quite the debacle. From running into old friends at our favorite East Memphis restaurant, Pacific Rim, on Friday to bar-hopping one too many places downtown on Saturday, it made for a long few days.

Brent and me at Pacific Rim

Silly times at Silky's

Silly boys

We had my friend Kelly and her fiance over for dinner Sunday night. I was so glad Brent and Will finally had a chance to hang out. Monday morning was the annual Chick-fil-a 5K. Such a fun race in Downtown Memphis! Running it with two great friends made it even better.

My birthday was September 8. My family got together the Tuesday before to celebrate. No matter what's going on or where any of us are at, we always get together and have a great time celebrating birthdays and holidays. Being in a divorced family, this is a rare thing. We're very lucky! Got a bunch of gift cards, a poster with my first marathon pics and finish time (THANKS, MOM!!), a beautiful bouquet of lilies and roses sent to work and a day at the spa from my hubby. It was an amazing day!

After Bailey telling me "happy birthday cake!" :)

My fabulous assistant decorated my cube at work!!

The hubby surprised me with beautiful flowers at work
(P.S. Took this pic using Lightbox for Android...download it if you haven't already)

This past weekend was the Road Race Series 10K #1 at Shelby Farms Park. I ran it with Autumn, Erin, and Meredith. We got rained on while walking to the start line, but it stopped after just a couple minutes. The rain was welcomed, as it cooled off for our 6.2 miles. I'm going to miss the second 10K, as I'll be out of town, then we have two 10-milers, two half marathons, and then the St. Jude Half Marathon. It's a good thing I enjoy running. :)

Speaking of running, Autumn and I have started a once-weekly run at 4:15am. I know...we're crazy. But she's a teacher, and like me, she enjoys getting her workouts done in the morning. Since I don't have to be at work until 8, I get another hour or so of sleep after my run. It's actually not so bad...except for the fact that I have become a coffee drinker after 29 years of never needing it. Great.

Tomorrow starts our insane three weeks of travel...Seaside, FL for Brent's friend's wedding, New Orleans for Kelly's wedding, and then Vegas for a conference and our four-year anniversary. Looking forward to it all!!

Happy Wednesday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Oh how I love weekends like this! Friday was my sweet sis-in-law's birthday, so of course we had to decorate her cubicle at work:

It makes me so happy to know that there are other people who enjoy making as big of a deal about birthdays as I do. :) That night, my friend Kelly and I went to Painting with a Twist in Germantown. It was a BLAST! They have a theme picked for each night, and you pay $35 or $45 (depending on how long the class is). You can bring in your own wine, and they have an instructor there guiding you throughout the session. Friday's theme was "Wine Lovers," which was perfect for us. I can't wait to go back!

Saturday, I ran four miles, then got ready to meet Kelly for her very last wedding dress fitting. It's been so much fun going with her to all these fittings...her dress is STUNNING, and Will is going to die when he sees her in it. That's my favorite part of a wedding, when the bride starts walking down the aisle and the groom sees her for the first time. Such a sweet moment! After that, we went to ol' faithful Las Delicias for lunch. My tab was $4.37, and the food was quite delicious. No joke. This place rules.

That night, it was my company's annual Redbirds outing, so Brent and I rushed to get ready and headed downtown. It was a nice, laid back evening with co-workers.

After that, we walked over to Local Gastropub, of course. As always, it did not disappoint.

Sunday started with a super early morning wake up call at 5:45. Autumn, Erin, and I met at 6:15 and headed to the third RRS race: 5-miler #1. It was the PERFECT morning for a race. Cool, breezy, and overcast. We ran into some other friends while there and finished with a decent time of 40 minutes.

Brent and I made it to the 11:15 service at Hope, then went to Half Shell for an incredible brunch. After that, I went to the mall to finish shopping for Kelly's bachelorette weekend (got a few things for myself, too :), then met my sister at her house to watch her and Cary's wedding videos. They were SO great! The dancing parts were the best. :) Such wonderful memories of a beautiful wedding! That night, Brent made my favorite grilled salmon, asparagus, and bread for dinner, and I got to relax and watch my favorite night of television.

Such a wonderful few days!! I also got in just over 25 miles for the week, which I'm happy with. This week, I get to run three times with my awesome running buddy, so I'm pretty pumped about that!

Happy Monday!

2011 Road Races Series Begins!

Every year, I run 2-3 races in the Memphis Runners Track Club Road Race Series (RRS). However, I never sign up for the whole series. I finally did this year, along with several friends, and I'm looking forward to getting back in race shape (haven't been too concerned with time since the marathon).

For those who aren't familiar with the series, it's 10 races, two a month, at various parks around the Memphis Metro area. It starts with two 5Ks this month and ends with two half marathons in November, perfectly spacing out an increase in distance. It's only $75 for 10 races ($55 if you're a MRTC member)! There are two 5Ks, two 5-milers, two 10Ks, two 10-milers, and two half marathons. I believe you can still sign up for the remaining races in the series for $95. If you're not interested in that, you can still sign up for the other races individually (just $15): http://rrs.racesonline.com/.

The first race took place this past Sunday. The heat was brutal, and my time was nothing to brag about. But I'm looking forward to working on my pace...and the cooler temps the further we get along in the series.

RRS is a great way to prepare you for an upcoming half or full. I'll be using it in preparation for my FAVORITE race, the St. Jude Half Marathon! This race is over 80% full, so be sure to sign up today if you haven't already. Go the extra mile to raise money for this amazing cause and become a St. Jude Hero or donate to my page! :)