Reason #6: Why I Like Cross Country

I improve so much without even realizing it!

I hope you guys are all in a great mood today! Cause I most certainly am!

I wasn’t…

but it was nothing a little running couldn’t fix!

See, it wasn’t actually even today’s workout that put me in a great mood! It was my workout on Friday and then something I READ today that put me in a great mood!

Friday was our first meet. It was 95 degrees. I was NOT in a racing mood.

But when the race was over, I knew it had been a good one.

First and foremost, when I crossed the line I used up my last ounce of energy. When you hit the complete rock-bottom feeling just as you cross the finish line you know that it was the best you could possible have done. So, that was my first clue that I had done well.

The second clue was…well….there weren’t really that many runners at the finish line when I got there. I mean, that’s pretty obvious. I would have counted then to see what my placing was but since the first five minutes after I finished I just walked around trying not to die, my counting would have been very inaccurate…

The third clue is that my brother told me that he counted 17 people come in before me. Now, obviously this is like a major clue…but I didn’t want to get TOO excited in case he had counted wrong or had completely made it up (he has been known, on occasion, to do that).

Anyways, I had to wait all weekend to see my time and placing and it was a little nerve-wracking, a lot exciting though. I knew that whatever the results were I would just have to accept it and move on.

But

I’m so happy.

With a time of 21:53, I came in 18th overall and 8th on my team! This was not only a perfect debut for my coaches but also vaulted me into the top 12 on the team, allowing me to practice with varsity girls!

First day of practicing with varsity girls: 90 degrees. Soooooo hot. And hard. I thought I would fall over. Literally.

But I’m glad I get to practice with them and be severely challenged so I can get FASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are your recent victories?

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Reason #5: Why I Like Cross Country

Everyone is so encouraging.

Today was NOT a good running day.

I was incredibly tired. It wasn’t only just being tired cause I’m pretty much used to that but also because it was one of those days where I really Really REALLY felt that tiredness.

I didn’t feel like rolling out of bed. I didn’t feel like getting dressed. I didn’t feel like biking to the high school. I got tired during the WARM-UP run! That was when I knew that it was gonna be a death workout. If you get winded during the warm-up run, then you know you’re in for it during the ACTUAL workout!

And today was intervals.

I thought I was going to die.

Or cry.

Or just fall over.

Or just stop.

Or even slow down!

But no. Coach told me to stay at the front of my pack. Then, I had to speed up to stay with the girls at the front! Last week, I was the one breezing through the 600’s. This week, I felt like a turtle that was about to keel over. Yet I still managed to hold my pace (just sticking that in there for a little bit of glorification….) constant and relatively fast.

At this point in the story, you are probably wondering how me feeling like I’m gonna die makes me like cross country. Well, I haven’t gotten to that yet.

See, the fantastic part is that I have all these girls around me, cheering me on! One of the varsity girls came and ran the last 600 next to me and pushed me to keep up with the front of the pack. She knew my name! How did she know my name? I have no idea. I don’t know who she was! But she was my saving grace.

And then there’s Kathleen. We are each other’s personal cheerleaders. When one of us needs it, the other one is there pushing us to give it our best and last shots. It’s awesome. I would be so much slower without her.

And those are just two! All the girls are so encouraging. The older ones give me tips which is nice! And when I say “Bye” I’m greeted by a chorus of “Bye Claire!” and “Great job today!” and “Way to stick with it”! And all those sweet little things! It’s so awesome. Cause I know they really mean it. Cause they’re nice like that. And they really care. And words of encouragement is so my love language!

Night y’all!

I Run the Night!

I ran six miles today!

I just ticked them off one by one!

And even though it wasn’t necessarily “easy” I did realize something very important to running long distances! You should run by minutes not by miles. It’s a lot easier to set out saying you will run for 50 minutes than it is to say that you are going to run 6 miles. I’m not certain why exactly this is the case but I’ve found it to be true every time I’ve run by minutes instead of miles.

I think it’s because it’s a lot easier to run for one minute than it is to run for a mile so it’s more rewarding. And instead of going, “Oh I still have a mile and a half to go and I’m about to die!”  It’s like, “Only 15 minutes to go!…..now only 13!” And the time ticks by so quickly!

Anyways, I ran it with an average mile of 8:07 which is really encouraging considering I hadn’t run that far in a long long time! It was also nice because usually I have no interest in running on Sundays but today I knew I needed to run for 50-60 minutes cause that’s what Coach said, so I just woke up with that mentality and bam! I ran it! Which means that I’ve run every single day this week! Running is going really great and I have been really really really enjoying cross country! I’m so glad that I’m doing it and not once have I regretted it! Even when I’ve had to get up so early! 😉 Although I will say I am counting down the days until practice switches to afternoons (Two to go! Can’t WAIT!) I’m a much more fun person when I’ve gotten sleep the night before! 😉 Also, even though I love my babysitting job I can’t wait to get some time back! Being a mom is a full-time job! 😉

Anyways, my first meet is on Friday and I’d really appreciate prayer for that! I’m nervous and excited to see how I will do! Hopefully well. Today I wasn’t running very fast but I still have another week to train and get faster! And of course I’m hoping to see dramatic improvement over the whole program (is that what it’s called…?)

Anyways, that’s all for now! How’s your training going? How’s your week going?  Talk to me people!

Oh and sorry I just had to name this post that cause I’m listening to that song right now! 😉

 

The Hard Parts (so far…)

The first week of cross country has been awesome.

And surprisingly easy. Our hardest day was hardly hard because it was the minimum of what I do any day I run. I have to say, so far the hardest parts of cross country have been getting up so early and running EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Geez.

I am NOT a morning person. I am a night person. And it does not make me happy to have to go to bed so early. Two nights ago, I went to bed at 9:30 and I actually FELL asleep! I am thankful that I could fall asleep so I wasn’t AS tired on Friday but still, 9:30? What am I: a 10 year old? I love staying up late. Last night, I knew I didn’t have to wake up early today so I actually stayed up late just cause I could! I’m such a little rebel! 😉

The other hard part is running every day. I’m not used to that. My muscles are soooooore. But I do like getting the exercise every day! I definitely need it! My six-pack is closer to disappearing then it has been for a long time. So, I need the exercise but I also need to get my “healthy eating” back on track! Initiate: Natural Food Week. I’m going to try to eat only natural foods this week. See, during the school year I eat quite healthily but over the summer I kinda went crazy on the sugar. Now that we are on the countdown back to the school year I need to get my healthy ways back on track. Wish me luck, people! I sure will need it!

As I already said, the hardest day of practice so far was a three mile interval run. It was hard cause we had to hold the same pace the whole time but I did that, I beat out some of the girls, I impressed the coaches. It was awesome. I was proud of myself for that and I was also thankful that my previous coach (being myself) insisted that I always run a minimum of 3 miles. It made that interval run a heck of a lot easier.

So as a random side note:

I know I have been very unfaithful to blogging over the summer but now that school is coming back and I’m online more (and running), I hopefully will get back to blogging at the very very least, once a week. But probably more than that. Also, hopefully I will get some awesome running pictures to post… we’ll see! 🙂

The end for now!

 

Pretty Predictable

Guess what!

I actually ran today.

Truth be told, I was more surprised it happened than you all probably are. You probably just thought, if you thought of me at all, something like, “Well yesterday she said she was going to run today, so she probably will!”  No, see I like to think that I am a resolved person. If I make up my mind to do something, then I will do it. And that is mostly true. But there is one exception. And that’s when I’m tired. I’m the worst tired person in the world. I’m crabby and lazy and emotional. It’s not fun to be around.

But you already know that from past tired posts…

I’m going to be honest: When I got back from my job I had no plans of running today. I figured I’d just do it tomorrow (famous last words). But something happened. I don’t really know what it is, just like this urge or craving to go run. So I did.

It was really hard. Like insanely hard. It was a beautiful day for running though. It’s about 80 degrees but really breezy and altogether beautiful. But still. I hadn’t run for almost a week. And I haven’t really been cross-training unless we’re counting freezing in a pool for 3 hours as some sort of exercise…which I suppose that is pretty good fat burn (nah, I’m just kidding about that last part… 😉 ). I was a little out of shape to say the least.

At first, I was all like, “I love this! I love running! Wow, look at that: I’m running a 7:30 mile even though I haven’t run for 6 days! Well, aren’t I just Little Miss Athletic!”

That’s the first mile.

The second mile, I was thinking, “Okay Claire you can do this. Just listen to your music and zone out. Oh wow, look at you still holding that 7:30 pace. Well well well, aren’t we impressed!! Yes, we are.”

The third mile, I’m like, “So I think I should run four miles. If I don’t run four miles, I’m going to be mad at myself. I’ve got to run four miles. I’m almost halfway through my third mile anyways! I should just do this. I can do this. I can. I totally can. I’ve run farther…

OH MY GOSH I’M GOING TO DIE!!!”

Fourth mile, “Almost there. Almost there. Breathe. Run. Just run. It doesn’t matter if you look like a grandma runner (no offense, people), just keep running. Gonna die. Wait half a mile left. Turn on my pump-up song (Pretty Girl Rock)! I can do this. Heyy and do the pretty girl rock… okay point-one-five of a mile to go.”

And then there’s this hill I have to run up at the end of my route. It is not steep. But at this point, it is a killer. I feel that burn of an empty stomach. Running running running.

And done.

And I can barely breathe but WHO CARES? Cause I just finished four miles! That’s one extra mile than required by my coach during every run.

And now, I feel fantastic. As I always do.

And I’m so glad I went. As I always am.

Pretty predictable.

WHO CARES?

😉

Much-needed Vacation

So. I actually got back from Door County on Thursday. I was going to post about it on Thursday night but decided to watch Men in Black instead! Then I was going to post on Friday, but I took my little brother to the pool and then ate cookies and watched Enchanted instead. I was going to post on Saturday but I went to a baseball game instead. I was going to post yesterday but the electricity was out and didn’t come back until early this morning. So, I decided that instead of waiting for tonight when most certainly another excuse would keep me from posting, that I might as well post now!

It was a fantastic trip! We all decided that it was by far, the best time! My grandma and aunt took Abby and I and we drove up to Door County and stayed at a bed and breakfast for three days.

Abby sitting out in the sun at the bed and breakfast. It is a beautiful place!

This is right outside of our rooms.

Okay so I know that I RARELY post pictures of myself.. So you really have no way of knowing when I got my hair cut. I got it cut on Monday. Yeah, it looks good. Yeah, I love it.

Yeah. We’re awesome!

I just love my hair. It’s so short now and flippy. I was so excited about it that I looked at myself in every single reflection. My aunt and grandma thought that was funny. Abby just thought I was being self-absorbed… heh heh.

We went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel the first night. It was good.

We also got cotton candy…

We also went to this really good pizza place in Fish Creek. I love pepperoni pizza.

This is Sturgeon Bay.

We went on a trolley tour.

Sadly, we didn’t visit any beaches.

Everything is so beautiful there.

You can rent kayaks and canoes and water skis and go out to these islands. I think this is one of the Strawberry Islands. It’s about a 45-minute kayak ride out there.

This is the third time we have been to Door County. Every time we go, we go to this restaurant. And every time we go to this restaurant we take a picture in this big chair.

We had a Dollar Tree shopping spree. Abby’s like, “Claire let’s put all of our stuff together so Nana can’t see who’s buying more!” She had 9. I had 5. Among our “treasures” we had fake nails, the plastic bracelets we are wearing in the picture (you can change what it says! O_o), and make up.

We watched Rock of Ages the second night and made rock signs and sang old rock songs for the rest of the trip! 😉

One of us was more into it than the other one… that one is generally the weirder one also. She’s also the one who thinks she should live in a Broadway musical because then when she breaks into song so will EVERYONE ELSE!!!! Oh wait. That she is me… 🙂

That she is awesome. But truthfully, Abby and I were discussing it and we decided that I need to live in a musical because then instead of getting awkward stares when I start singing, everyone will just start singing and dancing along with me! It’s a great idea. I wouldn’t mind living in Enchanted either. I mean they all go singing and dancing through Central Park. That is AWESOME! Why isn’t my life like that? Why isn’t my life like a movie? *sigh*

This is also Sturgeon Bay.

Back to the singing thing. I am notorious for singing in my family. Whenever we are in the car and listening to the radio, I can sing like every song. Every time a song starts to play I’m like, “OH! I love this song!” and then I start to sing it. If you don’t know that I’m like that, then we haven’t hung out enough. The other day we were at a baseball game and I could sing all the songs they played. Anyways, thanks to the movie, my new favorite song is Every Rose Has Its Thorn. But we have the Miley Cyrus version on iTunes so that’s what I listen to. I’m not a big fan of Miley Cyrus but she sounds really good in this song! 🙂

So, that’s my week! 🙂 What have you all been up to? What are your favorite songs? Do you want to live in a musical too? Or is that just something special about me…? (I’m thinking that’s a special Claire thing… oh well. )

 

Short and Sweet! :)

I know that I haven’t written in a long time and this is why:

This is a running blog. And I haven’t been running lately. Well, I hadn’t been running lately.

Today I went on a run and felt rejuvenated and energized. So I decided to post.

Of course, now I feel like I’m about to fall over dead cause I’m so tired. But I think that’s because I really haven’t had anything to eat yet today. Besides 6 ounces of a smoothie. So I’m starving.

I ran three miles. It was hard but nice. I kept my pace at eight minutes. I listened to my music. It’s windy and hot out today. But it’s the kind of hot where you don’t really notice it unless you’re in direct sunlight or you’re exercising. Of which I was both. So, by the end I was also very sweaty. But glad that I went on a run. Also, I’m not really sore apart from the usual post-exercise aches, so that’s really nice! No strained muscles or twisted ankles or disjointed hips. Sweet!

But the BEST part of the run (besides the whole “working off my weekend” fun) was that I got to run with my LRF or LRB or whatever I used to call her! 😉 LISA! She agreed to run with me after my three miles. Even though, we only ran 1/2 of a mile it was really awesome  that she came with and we walked after that so it still counts as “exercise”! 😉 She is awesome.

So, I am going to be gone on vacation from tomorrow until Thursday, but when I get back I will be relaxed and have MANY pictures to share with you all from Door County!!

On Sleep and Other Things

I have been tired.

Very tired.

And when I’m tired this is what I do:

Yeah, if you are wondering I just put in a google image. Which is weird. And totally blogger-ish. I’m fun like that.

And too lazy to take an actual picture of myself reading. Which would be weird, also.

Okay, HOW TO TELL WHEN CLAIRE IS TIRED.

1. I will either be completely depressed, super slap-happy, or nonchalant. When I am well-rested/ normal I am a CONTROL freak, so if I’m nonchalant, then I am tired. Or completely depressed. Okay, so nonchalant and depressed go hand-in-hand. Yesterday, I was depressed. Today, however, I was just nonchalant. And kind of….in a different sphere, altogether.

2. I will ramble. On and on and on and on and on and on and on. And on. About anything and everything. And if something can link to my current subject of discussion in ANY way, shape, or form I will hop onto that subject. Oh wait. I do that all the time. Okay, so I guess #2 should be more so, I say complete nonsense. Such as someone will ask me a question and I will reply with complete gibberish or a totally off-topic response which has more to do with what I’m thinking about in the back of my mind than the topic at hand.

3. I will do nothing. Or drag myself to do very simple things. Such as, I was starving all day but too tired to actually rouse myself to go make something to eat. Did I mention that for the past three days all I’ve really done besides exercise (and eat) is read.

4. I will only wear workout clothes. Which is fine actually. Especially in the summer when that’s basically all I wear anyways. Actually, my lack of formality might have more to do with summer than my lack of sleep because during the school year I was exhausted but I still dressed up.

5. I will forget VERY IMPORTANT FACTS. Such as picking up my little brother from basketball camp at 11:15.

Shoot. You should have seen how fast I biked over to the college. Very soon after 11:30, a very guilty older sister arrived at the college gym to pick up her long-suffering and very forgiving little brother. He even reassured me that I will be a fine mom and most likely NOT forget my children.

ON A TOTALLY RANDOM NOTE:

I ran five miles on Tuesday. It was 80 degrees outside. VERY HOT. I saw a new record of people I know on that run. Naturally it would be the run where my face was bright red from the heat and I was sweating a bucket a second.! 😉 It was a beautiful run though. And I ran FIVE MILES!!!! Which is great. And I, afterwards, took a long shower. Long COLD shower. My face was still red after it.

I thought about running today. I actually kind of wanted to. But opted for reading instead. Maybe tomorrow. Probably tomorrow. Even three miles would be good. Or four.

Good night! 🙂

I’m Coming Back!

Today I was so tired.

I couldn’t sleep last night. I woke up at 1, at 3, at 5, and then at 6:20 I was like, “FINE I WILL JUST GET UP!”

I was super thankful that we didn’t actually swim today. It was picture day so we just stood around for an hour and got a picture taken. I don’t think I would have had the energy to swim. I came home and crashed. I read and napped. I actually fell asleep while I was reading. That’s how tired I was. Peter took the book off my face while I was asleep. So kind! 🙂

Anyways,  I went out for coffee and ice cream with friends…and shopping! That perked me up until I got home and kind of crashed again from the caffeine. The only thing I could think of that I wanted to do was run.

So I went after dinner.

MOST. BEAUTIFUL. RUN. EVER!

Firstly, it was a lot cooler today than it has been the past couple of days. I had a WONDERFUL break from full-out sweating after the first half-mile. I was still drenched by the end but still…

I ran a new route. It wasn’t completely new; there were parts I run frequently and parts I recognized but it was a new order and a couple new blocks and it was really beautiful! I felt really relaxed. I wasn’t PLANNING on going fast.

I wasn’t really even pushing myself at the start. I was just going at a relaxed pace. Or should I say “relaxed” pace. Cause my first mile was 7 minutes! My average was 7:29 per mile. That is a minute faster than Monday! My overall run was four minutes faster than my run of the same distance on Monday. And I’m not even that sore right now. After my Monday run, my hip felt like it was pushed out of place and I was limping. But today, after my run, I wasn’t limping and I’m barely sore at all! So awesome!
I thought of another reason why I run! It’s the only sport I’ve never tired of. I get bored of all other sports. Except running. And I like to run even when I’m tired.

So yeah.

Running is cool!

Oh by the way, anyone know of any upcoming races they may be running in the Chicagoland area? I have remembered why I love racing so much and am looking for races in the area. Fun ones, preferably. And cheap. And if one of you are running it all the better cause then I will have a friend! 🙂

My Very Own Slap-happy Running Post!

For those of you who don’t know: today is National Running Day. And this morning, I was quite upset because I was reading all these slap-happy blog posts from slap-happy runners who actually GOT TO RUN TODAY. I never really realized how big a part of my life running really is! If I’m bored, I’ll run. If I’m upset, I’ll run. But also it’s just part of my schedule. My feet have been itching to get out there!!! I was complaining to my mom about how I couldn’t WAIT until swimming started in the mornings so that I could run in the afternoons. I was like, “MOM TODAY IS NATIONAL RUNNING DAY AND I CAN’T RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Her very comforting response was, “Oh! I should go for a run today!” Wow. Thanks Mom! 😉 Anyways, so all day, I will admit, I was in a bit of a funk, because I couldn’t go on a run. But then I got this brilliant idea! I could just go after swimming!!!!

So:

Today. I got to run!

It was awesome. I ran fast. And short. I only ran 2.2 miles. But I don’t really care because I also swam for an hour!

I feel so fit. 😉

How I know that I am getting more exercise than  usual:

1) I am always tired. I went to bed at 10:30 last night and got up at 9:00 today and I have been half-asleep all day! Okay, not half-asleep, just a little dazed.And, it’s not that I’m not used to being tired but I got 10.5 hours of sleep last night! After a sleep like that I should NOT be tired!! 🙂 Unless I’m burning more calories . Or growing! Growing would be nice also. But I’m pretty sure it’s just the extra hour of exercise everyday! 😉

2) I am incredibly sore. All the time. Right now, my arms feel like they are going to fall off.  And my legs are sore. Actually, basically everything that could be sore, is right now, sore. I’m not really complaining though because soreness means:

3)I am gaining muscle. Noticeable muscle. I have always had this kind of weird obsession with being muscular. My mom says it’s not ladylike but…I don’t care cause I think it’s awesome. Anyways, I now have muscles! 🙂 Not like amazing muscles but muscles enough and they will get stronger! 🙂

The End.

🙂