Off-road workout...

A few months ago I found out about a local trail that leads to a waterfall. I'm a sucker for this type of stuff & I love waterfalls. Planned to go a couple times but it's always fallen through. This weekend we were kid-free. Saw a movie last night & vowed to do the hike today, rain or shine. It rained. We went anyway as we promised ourselves & I'm SO glad we did!! It was muddy & chilly but absolutely incredible!! It even cleared up. We got a killer workout & my legs feel it for sure!! The falls were amazing. Fantastic day!!

Wow...really?!?!

Ok so it was hard to roll out of bed & hit the road this morning. I managed it though. I've been doing a bunch of squats so my legs/feet felt like lead. I decided to just take it slow & use it as an easy day but keep moving. Through my music I could hear my program progress updates but didn't think much about it...until toward the end. I hit the 2 mile mark earlier than usual so I got a bit pumped. It wasn't until I finished & was logging the workout that I got REALLY excited!! On this day, when I was feeling so awful, I averaged an 11:38 m/m which was way better than before AND set my fastest mile EVER at 10:14!! Wait...what?!?! HAPPY DANCE!!!!

Wake up world!!

First morning out on my road in FOREVER!! It felt amazing!! The fog was beautiful, watching the neighborhood wake up, the quiet, unseasonable nip in the air, my neighbors waving & motivating me, & even one telling me it was good to see me back. He's one of the early risers & used to see me often. My pace was even great. I love morning runs!! Great run!!

Fun with some great friends!!

Met up with some great friends for a run tonight & even met 2 new ones!! Didn't look at my program during the run. Just followed the prompts. I was thrilled to see we had gone a full half mile further than the last time we did the same program. Finished a full 3 miles this night. I'm a LONG way from my mini but I'm on the right track!!

Breaking in the Brooks!!

We went for a stress relieving fun run with my guy to break in our new Brooks. Just a couple miles but thru pavement, gravel and grass and my knee still feels great!! These things are amazing!! 

Happy Birthday to me!!

SO excited!! My boyfriend surprised me with my birthday present a day early. He took me to have a foot evaluation & bought me my first pair of Brooks!! I've wanted these since I started running. He's an amazing support system!!

It all starts here...

About 4 years ago I started running. I wanted to lose weight and get healthy. I did! I completed 17 5K's and lost over 80 pounds. Then life took over. I had my second beautiful baby. My marriage fell apart. Spent months going through a divorce. I started planning more races than I ran which limited my training time. During all this I put back on much of the weight I worked so hard to lose. Now I'm making a comeback! I have decided to run my first mini marathon. I have support and encouragement from some GREAT people in my life. One of these ladies I met through a race I'm planning. She works with an organization called Supporting Heroes, Inc. This great organization provides financial and peer support for the families of police/firefighters/EMT's killed in the line of duty. She suggested I try the Indy 500 Mini Marathon. She and I have decided to run it together and pull together a team. We are running in honor of fallen first responders and taking up donations for Supporting Heroes. I decided to blog this experience along the way. Thanks for the push Lanett, this will be a life changing event!!