Training so far...

It's been great!

Okay, but I've slacked off. I don't think I've completed a full week of training since I've started, but this week is shaping up to be the best yet! You know why? Because I just bought a 6 month membership to the rec center! I love it! Now I can run on the treadmill or the indoor track instead of in the heat and I can use the weight machines and the bike machines and...it's AWESOME.

Going to the rec center again will be a great thing for my training. Now I can do adequate cross-training, which are activities that do not involve running, on days when I don't run. I can bike outside, now, too! I finally fixed my bike after three months of a flat tire, and this morning I took it for a spin. Still works like a charm!

Something I realized after my first workout at the rec center- I have become extremely slow! I used to be able to do a 10-minute mile way back in January, but now I struggle with even that! How pathetic is this? That is why I am now implementing treadmill running into my routine. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be back to a 10-minute mile. Also I need to work my abs every day if I am going to be able to run comfortably- all that extra flab around my middle does not help me be faster at all!

So, new training plan:

• Run my weekday runs on the treadmill at the rec center, since they are only 30 to 45 minutes long.
• Continue running my Saturday long runs on the streets. Several hours on a treadmill at a time may be too much for me!
• Work my abs every single weekday, especially after running on the treadmill.
• Stretch after every run. Sometimes I forget.
• Be able to do 15 good push-ups by the end of the month.
• Have at least one strength training day at the rec center, most likely Fridays.
• Don't wear a gray shirt to the rec center when I run (the sweat marks are nasty!)

All in all, even though I am progressing well, I still have a lot of work with regards to speed and simple consistency.

I am still very excited for October 3rd to roll around!!! Only 115 more days!

first 2 weeks

Well, the first two weeks of marathon training are done. Here is what I have learned:

• Even while you're running and obviously busy, the missionaries will still try to ask for references. Sorry Sisters and Elders, I just don't know anybody who needs to hear your message! Keep up the good work, though.
• Arizona weather changes fast. Yesterday I set out in cool, cloudy weather, and came back with a sunburn and near heatstroke. I did have plenty of water though!
• Freestone park is a lifesaver for one reason only- bathrooms.
• I should probably wake up early for my runs from now on. This week of nice weather has spoiled me.
• I am still out of shape. Still. After almost 6 months of running. Oh well. It's getting much better!
• New running shoes make a HUGE difference. Turns out I was wearing a size too small for 5 months. No more injuries for me!
• Training runs throughout the week are just as important as the long run on Saturday, without them I would be dying on the long run!
• If I think that 6 miles is hard now, imagine when I am doing twice that. Or three times that. Or four. What am I getting myself into!?
• Guys like it when I tell them I am training for a marathon. Hahaha!
• Running clears the mind. Really.
• There is so much more, but I don't feel like writing it down...

As I really get into training, I find myself a happier (although tired-er) person. Endorphins are great!

YES! YES! YES!

I got into the St George Marathon!!!

You have no idea how happy I am!

Out of over 10,000 applicants, I am going to be one of the privileged 7,200 who get to line up at the starting line on October 3rd, 2009. The reason I am so excited is because I thought for sure I wouldn't make the lottery. They put my name in a pool with these thousands of people, and it is pure luck on who gets drawn to run. I am so excited. Beyond belief. Now my running has a purpose again!

(This is the logo for the marathon....AH!)

For the next four months or more I will be kicking my butt on the roads. Right now, training is my top priority, although I may need to find a job soon....grrr. Anyway, wish me luck on this crazy venture. I must be crazy, right?

Procrastination...

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit it. I procrastinate in everything! It doesn't matter if it is school or anything else, you can bet it will be done last second or I will be late to something. I call it Alicia standard time, like Mormon standard time only worse. I'm always running late, but what can ya do, you know? Anyway I suppose the reason I bring up this horrible sin called procrastination is because that is what I am doing this very second! I should be studying for two finals tomorrow... economics and math. Boo on both of them. I will be sooo glad when it is one o'clock tomorrow afternoon because that means I am done with the semester!

Speaking of tomorrow...I find out if I got into the St. George marathon.... and seriously it is all I can think about right now. And starting tomorrow evening, the running begins again, whether I get in or not! Running shoes, it has been a lonely life without you these last two weeks. Maybe first I will wash you up since you have mud and dirt and chicken poo on you. Then we will both set out on an adventure together, just the three of us. Me, left shoe, and right shoe. Those beautiful Asics 2130's...

Can you imagine if I really spoke to my shoes like that? Boy, I must be getting lonely...

Tomorrow at one o'clock is my official beginning of SUMMER!

Oh! The suspense!

So I find out this coming Monday if I got into the St George marathon.....

Can it be Monday now, please?

Purty please?

Seriously though, it is so hard to get in and if I do, I shall be the happiest person ever. If I don't.... well then, the opposite will happen. And I won't know what to do with myself! I'm currently in week 2 of my two or three week break from running, but tomorrow I am FINALLY fixing my bike and going for a dang ride. And I will go swimming. And obtain a sexy tan. And find time to do a big english portfolio project. Hmmm.... priorities. 

The parentals are coming home on Saturday! Huzzah! I can't wait to see pictures from their ultra-awesome Europe trip! And maybe gripe and complain about how jealous I am....

Okay this had to be the most random post ever. Are you happy to get a glimpse of my craziness?

MONDAY. 

Now I know what a hamster feels like....

I have been in one of these!!!! On Wednesday I had a slightly horrible day, it was just one of those days where nothing is wrong, and yet everything is wrong...ya know? Well, to take my mind off the crappy day and to cheer myself up, I went for a run to Freestone Park and back (even though I told myself no more running until official training in May, but whatever. It was an emergency). So anyway, I'm running along the gravel path and way up ahead I see three people rolling this huge white thing across the path, right by Freestone. So I'm thinkin like what the hey? So I get to where they are a couple minutes later and I see that it is a huge hamster ball, just like the one in the picture. It was that big, too! So I ask them (they seemed about my age) where they got it and they got it from New Zealand! Then the girl asked me if I wanted to go for a ride in it, of course I said yes!! So I took off my watch and my shoes, because they put water in it so that you don't get rubber burns. They held it while I got a running start to jump through the tube that was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Took me a couple tries, but I finally got in and noticed that there was straps inside so you could strap yourself in. Well, one of the guys said that it is much funner without the straps, then he pointed me in the right direction and said RUN! Welp, I started running for about ten steps, then lost my balance, almost drowned in the water that was on the bottom, and then it started going really fast! Everything was a blur, only because it was almost dark and I couldn't really see anything around me. All I know is that when I got to the bottom it stopped and I had a huge wedgie from sliding around! It was a blast. I kind of wanted to run around in it, but it was getting dark and I needed to get home, and I didn't want to take up their time by playing with it. Seriously though, it was sooooo much fun!

I wonder how much they cost?

ah-maze-ing Sat-ur-day

Saturday morning- me and Chels did Pat's Run! Although I will admit that Chelsie beat me, and I didn't do as good as I thought I was going to- it's all about having fun though, right? Chelsie did it in about 40 minutes, while I came behind at 45 minutes. I kind of wish we had people at the end taking pictures of us, but we made my mom take a couple when we got home!

Aren't we so hard core? Ha ha. The reason I think I didn't do so swell is I ate a Clif Bar about an hour and a half before, and since I haven't eaten one in a long while, and they are kind of heavy and filling, my stomach freaked out on me and I had stomach cramps for most of it. I still had a blast though, running with 20,000 people really makes it a great experience! I took it easy for the first half, although I took it a little too slow, because I was three minutes behind my goal time at mile three. The last 2.2 miles I tried to speed it up. I would look ahead, spot a "victim", and attempt to pass that person. Then, I would pick a new victim. This is actually a fun strategy only because I am slightly competitive when it comes to these things, and picking out different people to pass was pretty entertaining! All in all, it was the biggest event so far (people-wise) and I had so much fun. Good job Chelsie on beating me!

Then, I had about three hours to shower up and get ready for our big kayaking trip. We had twenty people, and we were lucky to get 18 kayaks and a canoe. It was so much fun! I love just chillaxing on the kayak on the slow parts, and chatting with people throughout the whole thing. Braden was a punk and jumped on my kayak and completely sank me! Now, first of all. I hate the river water. Hate it. But I hate the river bottom even more. Nasty algae and moss and fish and dead bodies....NASTY. So of course I screamed bloody murder as my kayak sunk from under me. It tipped over, and I hauled myself on top of it, trying my hardest not to touch the nasty bottom. I saved my shoes and my paddles though! Then I commanded the people nearby to drag me to shore. Everyone was laughing pretty hard, and I definitely was too! I don't get mad about things like that, I just laugh along with everyone else. After Julie's friend Isaac was nice enough to help me empty my kayak of water, we were on our way again. Overall, it had to be one of the funnest kayaking trips ever, only because there were so many people!

Needless to say, i was pretty exhausted after waking up at 5 for the morning's event and then kayaking, but I still had to go home, take a quickie shower, then go to the benefit concert at Gilbert High. The concert was for the family in Gilbert who were in a small plane crash last August, and the mom has horrible burns over most of her body. She has extensive medical bills, so the concert was to raise money towards that. There were so many awesome performers, including Jordan Bluth, Debbie West Coon, and......Brooke White! Now, I wasn't exactly a huge fan of hers on American Idol, I just thought she was alright. But after seeing her perform four songs live, and seeing her hilarious personality (the girl is a spaz!), she has grown on me. Her voice was so much better last night than it was on AI, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole entire night. After that, I went home and crashed at like 10:30...first time in forever that I have been to bed that early!

Well, I hope everyone had as amazing a weekend as I did... Sunday has been awesome too!