Warrior Dash was SO much fun! But it was really difficult too! I have to admit, that this was my first mud run and for some reason, I didn't think about the fact that we would be running on dirt...duh. At first I thought that running on dirt was way easier than running on pavement. Then the dust caught my lungs. All I know is that as hard as I tried, my lungs were on fire. Burning, searing pain. I couldn't breathe. Darn. How do people do this? So we slowed down and walked the majority of the run :-(
But here is the thing. I cleared all the obstacles quickly and wound up in the middle of my age group overall, based on time. Not bad I guess. I am determined to get better. I had a ton of fun swimming, climbing, jumping over fire, and getting covered in mud and I would do it again. If you are contemplating doing this, go for it! It's a blast. Here is a picture of Neil and I after we finished, covered in mud.... It makes me smile just looking at it. Two weeks until the Dine and Dash 5k....Here we go again.
Warrior Dash is almost here and I am stoked!! And scared! What have I gotten into?? Last week I was sick and couldn't train and now my five year old is home sick. Again. Yikes!! I am not where I wanted to be for this race. I am confident that we will finish, and I intend to do all the crazy obstacles, but I was hoping to be farther along in the training process.
I did get some exercise this weekend though. I took my bike on the Katy Trail and rode the whole seven miles. Plus I rode all around Dallas! With a friend of course. I swear we rode ten miles! It was so much fun! Who knew exercise could be fun??
So I am starting to stop hating exercise. Starting to. Not completely there yet. Starting to have fun though. Starting to get excited about the Warrior Dash!! I can't wait to report back!
I will tell all soon...
This week has sucked. No running, no walking, no exercise. I am sick. Tired. Upset. I want to push myself and know I shouldn't. So instead, I will ask..who is coming to Warrior Dash? As the weeks are passing I am getting more and more excited! If you haven't checked it out yet, then you really need to... Read my last post. Click. And join us.
WARRIOR DASH!!! One of my friends called me crazy the other day, and I am pretty sure I am, because on April 22 at 2pm Neil and I will be running the 5K, mud run, adventure known as Warrior Dash. Warrior Dash is taking place at DFW Adventure Park in Roanoke, TX and I am pretty excited to experience my first "mud run" and it is benefiting St. Jude's Childrens Hospital (Awesome Cause).
Check out this video of the Warrior Dash and tell me that it doesn't look cool (and like you have to be a complete freak to want to do it):
I can't wait!! Warrior Dash Here I Come!!
I am hoping that someone out there is starting to read this blog. If you are, and you live in the DFW area, then you should come join us at Warrior Dash! Sign up! Come on, you know you want to....
Email me if you are interested in meeting us for Warrior Dash at onerunamonth@gmail.com
The other day I was thinking. "I need to figure out a way to train for the next 5k" Something that will help me start easy and not kill me in the process. So I picked up my phone. I have an Android. And I hit the icon that said "Play Store" where I typed the word "running" in. I searched through pages of apps that I knew I didn't want until I found C25K Free. I could play music and work up to being a better runner in eight weeks. Hmmm..worth a try. So I downloaded. Week 1, Day one. Five minute warm up, then jog for 60 seconds and brisk walk for 90 seconds. Continue the jog/walk for 20 minutes and then a five minute cool down.
Yesterday morning (before the storm and tornadoes hit) I went out and tried it. Pretty cool. The phone cues you on when to start warming up, when to jog, when to walk, when to cool down and even congratulates you in the end! It was hard. My side hurt. My lungs hurt. But I was proud of myself for doing it.
Today, I have had so much going on and have just been feeling stressed out. And something impossible happened. I really, really, really wanted to get out and do it again. Go for a half hour jog/walk. Feel the cool air in my hair. Breathe. Yes, feel the pain...but get rid of the stress. And I didn't have time. Bummer. But I wanted to. Wanting to jog? Wanting to exercise? Not me. I am going to take my temperature now because I think I must be getting sick....
I will keep you posted on how the app works, but it is available for the Iphone and Android, and you can check it out here:
C25K Free.com
Ugh. Another 5K? Really? Could I possibly want to do another 5K? No Way. Well Maybe. Well...yes. Once I saw what the Firefly Run was all about, I was all in. A night run with lights. Cool. Very Cool. Beat the heat, glow, and raise money for Children's Medical Center (each city appears to have its own charity...Children's Medical Center was Dallas') ? So I told Neil I would be there. We made a plan to use glow sticks to light ourselves up just for fun. The Firefly Run in Dallas took place on March 31,2012. Just to give you a taste of what it was like, here is a video:
Firefly Run DFW 2011 from Firefly Run on Vimeo.
The Firefly Run is happening all around the country. I would totally recommend that everyone do it, and have fun! If you want to see where it is closest to you, go to www.fireflyrun.com
Just imagine running and looking ahead. All you see are red blinking lights running in the darkness in front of you. Tiny, blinking "fireflies". It was truly amazing. There was only one problem. Me. Despite the fact that I have been exercising 2-3 times for the last month and eating healthier, I still suck. I didn't even run a mile without having to stop. My throat was dry (next time I will bring my own water) and even though Neil and I ran walked, I got about half way through before I got an awful stomach and side cramp. I felt like I might vomit. But we walked for a little while and managed somehow to complete the 5K with a time of 45:35. Not too awful considering the women's average was 40:00. If I could just do a little better each time then maybe...
And that is how I got the idea. What if I did a 5K every month? One run a month. Could I get just a little better every month? Could this actually become fun? Would pigs fly and would the world stop turning? Maybe. I ran it by my running buddy Neil, and he was in. Welcome to my adventure. Stay tuned for what's next, oh and if you want, come and join us. The more the merrier.
I am not an athlete. Not a runner. In fact, to be completely honest, I really hate exercising. Really. Hate. Exercising. So a few months ago, when my friend Neil called me up and asked if I wanted to do the Color Run with him and some of our other friends my response was "The Color What?" The Color Run. A 5K with proceeds benefiting a different charity in each city. The Color Run is a 5K with a twist though. As you run you reach checkpoints where you get powder paint thrown all over you. Oh yeah and a white t-shirt is required. It's a bit difficult to conceptualize so here is a video that explains much better:
Ok...it did look like fun but "Are you guys actually running? Because I don't run, Neil."
This is me. My name is Heather. I am 33 and 5'2" and like I said before I am not a big exercise buff. I work hard to maintain a somewhat decent figure, but that involves what I eat more than it does exercise. At least it did.
"No, Heather...we are jogging or walking or jog-walking. Don't worry. We will all stay together as a group." I had to admit it did sound interesting. So I signed. What was the worst thing that could happen? There had to be paramedics there. I live about forty-five minutes outside of Dallas, TX and my friends live all around. It kinda happens in Dallas. You just get used to driving. So Saturday, February 18, 2012, we all woke up at 5am and got ready. What the hell was I thinking .. it was freezing and early and we were going run? Yeah, right. We drove to the city train and took it to Fair Park. And then a strange thing happened. I noticed all the other color runners on the train. And when we switched trains I noticed all the color runners. And they were all hyped. And I was getting hyped too. By the time we got in line at The Color Run, I was ready. We all were. And when the horn went off we started jogging at a moderate pace. It felt good. That is until we hit the first set of colors and my lungs were burning and I was shaking. Ok. I am out of shape. Way out of shape. So we walk-jogged the rest, and I was pretty proud of myself when we hit the finish line. It was really a pretty good time. And by the end we were laughing and covered in colors and just having a great time.
I wasn't completely convinced that I wanted to do another 5K anytime soon, but I did know that I needed to get in better shape. So I started exercising 2-3 times a week. One hour on the elliptical machine. And every week or so, I have been ramping up the resistance. And I am trying to eat healthier and walk more.
Oh and by the way, about a week after the Color Run I got another call from Neil. "Hey Heather! Want to do the Firefly Run in March?" Its another 5K...
