10 K- Actual

I set my goal based on my 5k, it was just under 2 times my 5k. My goal was to beat one hour.
I thought this was realistic for me as I have been working to bring my time down and doing longer runs. Normally for races breakfast is skipped. It is hard to eat even hours before running. Risking a bad run, I tested my theory that I could do better if breakfast was consumed. I think it helped a lot!

David complained the WHOLE ride over, the 10K is apparently not his favorite race. He was so anti 10K that we had to take the long route to the race as he missed the exit we needed. This was a good mistake as we got to see part of the course, not exactly the same as running it but I think it helped.

Lucky for me David had not been training as he should have for the run. That meant both David and Angela would be running with me. I have been trying to pace myself but it has proven difficult and unreliable. Having David and Angela to pace off of helped allot!

They were nice enough to act as my own personal support crew during the run. When we took the first mile out at 9:22 I was very worried. Good thing Angela was there, when I expressed my worry all she had to do was ask how I was feeling. When I said fine she advised me to keep it up and not worry about it. I'm glad I did.

My first 5K split was 29.00 a PR for me. Around Mile 4 I took off my 2nd jacket and despite her shock at my ability to run with a tank top on, Angela was nice enough to carry it (I would have asked David but he was tired). I crossed the finish line at 57:30.00. I do not have an official time as the generaters for the timing system went out for a good chunk of the race.

10 K

I am spoiled. The weather in NJ has been beautiful. My weekends have been spend running outside. No warm jackets or pants, just a light jacket to keep me a little warmer until I get going. Maybe it is the weather but I have been getting faster and looking forward to the upcoming 10K.

Last night as I was tempted to pack my bike helmet, a realization struck. I am going to Rochester. The beautiful weather around here is in danger from an incoming cold front. The weather has not been 'nice' for months. I am mentally prepared for a 10K in 50-60 degree weather.

Tomorrow will be a high of 44 and rainy. Perhaps it will work to my benefit, this will be interesting.

Royal Followings

I am not a person that normally follows celebrity gossip. Occasionally I will open an article on the MSN celebrity section, but not very often.

For some reason this whole Kate and William's engagement is fascinating to me. I have read more articles on their engagement and wedding planning then I care to admit. This of course struck me as I was reading about their upcoming wedding date.

At least the craziness will end in April.

Will Power

They say it is like a muscle, you need to use it to strengthen it. I say you should pick your battles.

Today I left work 30 minutes early (I mis-timed my swim and got in to work 30 minutes early). This got me on the road before the worst of the traffic giving me time to do some returns. I started at Target where I had one return and did not have to wait long because the nice guy was applying for a credit card and thought it may be a while (I only had one item). As we were waiting for the cashier to finish with the lady before us he was talking about being excited for his first card. He asked what they thought his limit would be.

I explained that it depended on his credit and such. He hoped it would be $500, he was ready for a shopping spree (who knows where this is going?). I just could not hold my tongue. I told him that he should not spend more then he could pay off in one month. This did nothing to reign in his excitement as he assured me he had a decent paying job. I let it drop and said a prayer for his future finances.

Then I went to one of my favorite stores, Bed Bath And Beyond. What cook can't spend LOTS of time and money there? I did my return and after a quick look around I left. With out buying anything. And I soo wanted to!

Heavy Lifting

We have the 5 gallon water coolers at work. I use a lot of water weather for drinking or making oatmeal so I have no problem changing the Jug (and I am perfectly capable). It is often out or close to out as lots of coworkers also drink their share of water.

Today the Jug needed to be changed and I got there just before another lady. She is a very nice lady and was insisting that she change the water instead of me. I had already lifted it about half way but told her if it was her exercise for the day that she could do it. She made it seem like it was so I placed the Jug back down.

She proceeded to place the new jug on the cooler saying that she should do it because it was to heavy for me!!! I should say that while she is not by any means old she is not only older then me but also much more petite.

It was all I could do to not laugh. (and next time I'll just do it).

Cookie Connoisseur

Pat's favorite cookie had always been the Girl Scout Thin Mints. He could eat a whole box the day they came in. The cookies I ordered finally came in today. I called Pat right away letting him know that he had a surprise coming to him tonight, he was excited.

The first thing I did when arriving home was to break out the cookies (risking a 'no cookies before dinner' fight). He thanked me and continued with the dinner prep. I jumped in to help and we had it done in no time.

After dinner the Thin Mints still went untouched. Wondering what was going on I asked if he was going to open a box. He said he might later. Wanting a chocolate chip cookie myself, I offered to put some home made cookies in the oven. This he JUMPED on.

Apparently he prefers the home made cookies. This is cheaper for us, but really bad news for the Girl Scouts.

A First

I have officially finished my first double digit run. I was supposed to do it yesterday but I was going so slowly and having to stop to use the rest room so often (to much tea) I scrapped the run after 4 miles. Today I was not messing around.

I grabbed some Poweraid and a granola bar and headed out to the park. It is a 6.6 mile out and back so some of it was repeated. I'm sure it would have been better if I had repeated one bigger segment instead of 3 smaller ones but it all got done.

I was still slower then I normally go but given that my inexplicable case of nerves before the run, it was probably necessary to keep my heart from exploding. After I had finished 7 miles and saw my heart rate back up to 200bpm I realized that the strap of the monitor was around my waist. I have no Idea what it was reading but when I got it on correctly my heart rate went back down. I may have run faster if I didn't think my heart rate was so high to begin with (though I may just have been stuck on slow this weekend).

Pondering

I am currently pondering a new goal in my life. While I am not ready to commit, I only have 360 days to get ready. It will be another month before a commitment will be made then it will be posted on the blog so backing out is not an option.

In the meantime my Garmin came in yesterday and I am slowly figuring it out. It can be a little moody but we will come to an understanding. Today will be our first workout together. Hopefully it will be a good run.