It's been a week.

So it's been a week since my last update. Here's what I've been up to training wise.

Monday: So after Saturday's eight-miler and Sunday's three-miler, Julie and I did five miles at the Nature Center in the early a.m. We finished in 52 minutes or so - I wasn't keeping time, but I think I remember that's what time Julie's watch said when she finished. After running a few of us girls went to the beach for the day.

Tuesday: After work I went to the gym for a Body Pump class, I hadn't been in probably a month so I was interested to see how my body would feel afterwards. I was a bit sore doing lunges and squats, but overall I felt fine. The running is definitely keeping me strong. The next day my triceps were sore, but nothing unbearable. In terms of what I ate on Tuesday, my diet pretty much consisted of this on the left (Thank you, Naty) - (I know it's bad, but it tasted so good). I pretty much finished everything on that plate before the end of the work day. I am going to try to eat better in the coming weeks. There are only 21 days until Broad Street and 35 days until the half.

Wednesday: So Wednesday was the hottest day of the year so far and me being the intelligent individual that I am thought it was good idea to do 5.4 miles in the middle of the afternoon sun in 87 degree weather. The run was definitely a struggle. Again, I didn't drink enough water during the day and there were a few times I wanted to stop, but I didn't. A special thank you to all of the hot guys (only the good-looking ones) at the park who were running without their shirts - you kept me distracted for a quick minute and helped me to forget the pain I was in. Another special thanks to the lil fat ladies in their short shorts - you kept me motivated to keep running so I never look like that. Ladies, when working out, please choose appropriate workout clothes. I know it's hot, but, please, do us all a favor and avoid all that tight spandex nonsense and teeny tiny shorts. If you don't got it, please don't flaunt it. So I finished 5.4 miles in 47:11 - I was really happy about that considering it was so hot.

Overall, I am happy with the progression I'm making. I've noticed how much my stride has improved. I'm feeling really strong when running these days. On Thursday I took the day off. After 8 miles last Saturday, 3 miles last Sunday, 5 miles last Monday, Body Pump on Tuesday and 5.4 miles on Wednesday it was time to give my body a well-deserved break. On Thursday evening a group of friends went out and I was happy to hear that my friend, Liz, is reading my blog. She's a new runner and it's really exciting to hear her talk about running and how she's enjoying the blog! Shout out to Liz! Keep running, girl!!

On Friday I rested for another day because I drove down to North Carolina with my friend, Katie, and her mom. We planned to run five miles on Saturday. We went out around 8:15 a.m. and the conditions were ideal - sunny, blue clear skies and about 50 degrees. I felt really good the whole time. We were in Burlington, NC and it's a really cute place. We ran past the country club and tons of beautiful homes. After our run I had a biscuit with bacon, egg and cheese from Biscuitville! The rest of the day was a trainwreck in terms of eating. I had tons of punch, cake, crackers, cheese, desserts and a lot of other really good stuff the rest of the day at Katie's bridal shower and a reception to honor the bride and groom later that evening. I probably gained 5 pounds in NC, but whatev!

Today we flew home and as soon as I got in I headed to Delcastle for seven miles. Again, I didn't drink enough water beforehand and I felt pretty crappy for most of the run. I ran through a few stitches and my legs felt tired. I finished 7 miles in 67 minutes - still pretty good for me considering I didn't feel that great. A few things that kept me distracted on my run were:

• Some chick wearing a dress and Ugg boots - please, sister, it's almost 80 degrees out. No need for those stupid boots.
  
• Man wearing black pants and a black longsleeved shirt
  
• I was inspired by a woman who was probably close to 250 pounds jogging around the park. It's encouraging to see people out there running regardless of shape and size! We can all be runners!! Around the time I ran past her I felt like I was hitting a block - I wanted to stop, but kept going - she inspired me to keep moving.
  

Looking at the coming week I'm planning on (this week is pretty busy in the evening so I'm struggling with where to put my runs):

Monday: Elliptical/stretching for an hour at the gym at 5:30 a.m.
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Body Pump (The HAC is releasing the new Les Mills workout!!)
Thursday: Treadmill at 5:30 a.m.
Friday: Elliptical at 5:30 a.m.
Saturday: 8 miles with Julie -we're going to try out Clif Shot Bloks
Sunday: 3-4 miles

Looking at this - I'm not really happy about all of these early-morning gym visits.

That's all.

Peace. Love. Run.