Smells like a wet dog!

Is anyone else watching The Biggest Loser this season??  Well if you are you know it's the season of "No Excuses"!  Each week is titled after an excuse commonly used to avoid exercising, I don 't have time, I can't exercise on vacation, ect.  So this week my excuse was "The weather is too wet to get out and run!"   But I found my sea legs and Mav and I hit the pavement for a quick 3 mile run.

So excited to go for a run!OH NO!  I hate puppy kisses!

That's better, isn't he just the sweetest face ever?!?! 

Ok so on our run it was a like a monsoon.   Rivers of water flowed down the streets and the rain drenched us, but I was determined to have a good run, and what do you know...It was our best time yet!!  Average mile was 8:38!!  Maybe I should run in the rain more often?!?!  

We did have one mishap though...I'm out of poo bags so I made sure Maverick took his morning poo before we left, and he did so I thought 'ok we're good to go'!  But about half way he decided he had a little more left in him!  DANG IT!  Right in the middle of town on the sidewalk with all the morning commuters driving by!  So embarrassing!  I waiting for a break in the traffic and we sprinted off leaving the evidence behind.  I am always so good about cleaning up after my dog, so I felt pretty ashamed... But it's raining so hard, maybe it will wash it away??  LOL!  AHHH!  

So back from our run we are soaked and pumped up!!!  My hair was in cute little braided buns, but that only lasted about 1/2  a block!  Maverick is ready for breakfast and I'm ready for a hot shower and bed!    

I'm glad we pushed through our excuse of "it's too rainy to run" and I encourage you to push through one of your own excuses!!!  Whatever it is, just get out there and keep running!!  

Runners high

I have been running for over a year now and what prompted me to start was walking with Maverick.  From the day we got him I made a promise I would make sure he gets the proper exercise he needs to keep his mind and body balanced.  I knew the importance of exercise for dogs and we would go for 30minute long to 1 hour long walks pretty much daily.  We did this for the first year and and half.  Once Mav was around 18 months old we kicked up our walks and would jog a little, I wouldn't make it very far or go very fast, but he really seemed to enjoy it!  So every walk we would jog a little and go a little further each time.  Once our walks were more jogging than walking I realized I was becoming a runner!   While running, I felt horrible, I couldn't go on, this sucks, I hate this!  That's when I would say to myself "just keep running"  I knew at the end I wouldn't regret it and to push thru the pain and torture. .

A couple months into running my coworkers started asking me, "have you experienced runner's high yet?"  I wasn't sure what that was suppose to feel like so I looked it up; A feeling of euphoria that is experienced by some individuals engaged in strenuous running and that is held to be associated with a release of endorphins by the brain.

Once I knew the definition I thought, "oh no, I hate running, I defiantly haven't gotten any high from it!"   LOL

But now, NOW I can say I have experienced "runner's high"  I feel it in my chest and my whole body.  I want to keep going and I just feel overall happier!  I look forward to every run when I used to dread them. It's like the first warm/sunny day after months of rain.  It just lifts your spirits.  I think every runner should feel the high you get from running.  If you haven't felt it yet, don't give up!  It will happen, you just gotta KEEP RUNNING!!  

Have you experienced "runners high" yet?  How would you describe it?

Rogue Runner!

Well I hope everyone had as good of a weekend as I did!  Besides having to work all weekend, I had an eventful weekend.  Starting Saturday with a 5K in the beautiful Sellwood neighborhood to celebrate the opening of a new running store, Foot Traffic.  I had to work the night before, so I just got off work and headed down to meet my BFF who was doing the run with me.  BTW, I'm gonna mention my BFF a lot, and I feel it's so impersonal to keep calling her just "BFF" in all my posts, so I will start using her name, Dani!  YAY!  LOL!  So if anyone reads this from here on out, you'll know who Dani is :))  Ok back to the run, so I worked graveyard the night before and at about 4am my stomach just turned to knots!  I thought by 5am I was done for and wasn't gonna make the run.  I took some Alka Seltzer and hoped my stomach would calm down, but getting closer to 5:30 it wasn't getting any better, so I sent Dani an email telling her I thought I might not make it but would keep her posted.  Finally around 6:45 I was feeling totally fine again! YAY!  I was gonna make it! I really was looking forward to doing this run with her.  We met up a little before and walked around to warm up, oh a side note, I missed registration so I was sneaking in the run, but it was free anyways so I wasn't too worried. We also met up with another friend of Dani's and some of her friends, so we had a good little group.  Overall it was probably one of my favorite runs!  Dani and I stuck together the whole time and the day and scenery was beautiful!   

The rest of my weekend consisted of dinner for a friends birthday and a Portland Trail Blazer game Sunday night!  I won tickets earlier in the week so that was a fun surprise!  

So my only run for the weekend was the 5K.  Was hoping to get a longer run in, but my weekend was too full!  So I started off my Monday with a 6.25 mile run with my favorite running buddy Maverick! We ran along the Tickle Creek trail, which is about a mile of our run, and Maverick took advantage and took a couple dips in the creek to cool off and play.  The day was beautiful and it just inspires me to keep running!  Hope I have inspired anyone who reads this too to KEEP RUNNING!  

Shredmill

Well it's March and officially spring, but you would never know it with this unusual snowfall!  Over the last day we have accumulated about 10". So what's a runner to do when you can't get outside to get your run in for fear of slipping in the slush?  SHREDMILL!!  Of course you have to have access to a treadmill to get this workout in.  I had a neighbor that had one for sale and decided it would be a smart idea to buy it since the price was right and the weather wasn't cooperating.  I am not a fan of running on the treadmill so I looked into some ways to spice it up and came across Shredmill.  It's my go to workout when I can't make it outside or I need a to change up my workout.  
So to get this workout started you begin with Legs Pyramid:

• 20 squats
• 30 lunges
• 40 toe touches (head forward, legs straight, bend down & touch your toes)
• 50 second wall sit (sit up against a wall, legs at 90 degrees & hold it!)
• 90 second jumping jacks
• 50 second wall sit
• 40 toe touches
• 30 lunges
• 20 squats

 Now that your legs are burning it's time to hop on the treadmill!

• 3 Minute Brisk Walk
• 3 Minutes Jog
• 60 Second 'Sprint'- as fast as you can
• 60 Second Jog
• 60 Second 'Sprint' ~ just as fast as you can run- this speed can vary

Now hop off, chill for 20-30 seconds then do 20 pushups

Repeat treadmill

rest 20-30 seconds

20 situps

Repeat treadmill (this is the last one so give it your all!)

rest 20-30 seconds

30 second plank

And now you're shredded!  

This is a great workout to slim your thighs, which is one of my main goals.  I try to get this workout in 1-2 times a week.  

So while the weather decides what it's gonna do sometimes you gotta take matters into your own hands, whether its being creative and coming up with an indoor workout or sucking it up and getting outside.  After all, No Excuses, right?  

Whatever works for you, just Keep Running!

Life's a Beach!

Oh the gloomy Oregon coast! You can never have too high of expectations when visiting here!  Our first day was pretty, although cold, there was sun!  Something that has been lacking lately.  But it was short lived of course.  The second day of our trip greeted us with rain off and on.  Maverick and I actually took advantage of a break in the rain for a 3.5mile run on the beach and it was one of, if not my most favorite run I've done so far!  Running in the sand is quite a challenge but I know it was a great work out.  I let Mav run off leash and he was in and out of the freezing ocean and probably ran 10 miles to my 3.5!  I was hoping to get one more run in on our trip but day #3 has been gusty and raining.  I know weather isn't a great excuse, and most the time I'll suck it up and go, but hey, I am on vacation after all!  But I know once we get back to reality I'll have to hit the pavement as often as I can!  Vacation also means my diet isn't all that great :((

I look forward to getting home and running because I got some new running shoes!  WOO HOO!  The last pair I got I went more for looks than performance, now that I've had my stride evaluated and tried on a few shoes than would work best for me I think I got the perfect fair!  Super flexible and bright neon colors!  You can't miss me now!  Hope for no blisters as I break them in, last time I got such bad blisters I couldn't run for over a week.  So as much as I'm ready to run a marathon in my new shoes, I'll probably just keep my runs short for a bit while I break them in!

Ok fellow runners, KEEP RUNNING :))

Shamrock Run

The Shamrock run March, 18th 2012 was the biggest run I have ever done and it was a lot of fun.  My pace was slower but when you're running with over 12,000 people it makes it hard to keep a steady pace.  I wasn't trying to break any records or anything so I didn't let it bother me too much.

I was suppose to run with my friend Kim, but she had to work last minute, but her boyfriend, Cole, still came and my neighbor, Jenni, also did the run so we met up and all started together.  Jenni is a fairly new runner and I kept with her for a while before we got separated by the crowd.  Cole and I  kept together the whole time. It was nice to have someone to cross the finish line with.
Can't wait to do it again next year!  Will do the 15K next year!  It's quite the challenge I hear...
Until next time, KEEP RUNNING! :))

I'm Back!

So I started this blog almost a year ago thinking it would help me "journal" and motivate me to run.  After about 2 posts, I just wasn't all that into it.  Who would want to read this and who am I to be boasting about??  But my BFF encouraged me to start back up again so I will give it another try!  I smiled when I saw the name of my blog "Keep Running"  I had forgotten I named it that and that's what I use to say to myself during a run when I was starting to feel sluggish or I just couldn't go anymore. "KEEP RUNNING"!
So I have been running for well over a year now and love it more today than ever!  I have completed 3 races to date and am doing my 4th (the Shamrock Run) today!  My first race I signed up for by myself and I went "big" and went for the 10K!  I was confident because the race was in Sandy and that's where I run, so I knew the route and hills very well.  It was the first race for this organization too, so I look forward to doing it every year and being able to say "I've done every race"!  The race was in October and my nerves were sky high!  There was only a small group of people who were doing it, I think about 20-30 did the 10K.  I was worried I'd finish  last!  It was pouring down rain, which just added to the stress.  But I gave it my all and ran my best and finished 4th! Ok, maybe just 4th out of the women, but still WAY better than I thought I would do!  But by far the most rewarding part of finishing the race was my husband waiting for me at the finish line and the shocking surprise of my BFF with a homemade sign for me!!  We were all soaked but i didn't even care anymore.  I had accomplished something that I would have NEVER imagined and had the best support team!
By now I had my BFF ready to take up running as well, so she told me she would start training if I would do the Give 'n Gobble run with her in November.  That was my second race and first with her.  It was out in Sherwood and we did the 5K.  There were a lot more people (thousands) compared to my first race and it was freezing!  But we finished together and knew from then on we found a mutual hobby!  So that takes us into our next race together, The Game Day Rival Run in February on Mt Tabor.  That run was a bear!  The hills were insane and I thought I was crazy for signing up for this!  But I finished strong and was glad when it was over!
Looking forward to my 4th race today!  I have been up since 3 am, and that's thanks to my graveyard schedule.  I can never sleep thru the night now.  But I'll still be good to go!  There is going to be over 30,000 people there and I think it will be a blast!
I will catch up more later on the last year!  Don't want to put too much out all at once!  So until next time, KEEP RUNNING!