Up and Down

Hey guys! Not that anyone is reading this blog yet.. haha but hey anyways. Dear diary... lol

Last weekend, Boo and I went to the beach to meet up with my mom and little sister who is in the country for a visit. We only got to go one night but it was still a good time filled with lots of good food and laughter. But the highlight of my stay - and I never thought I'd say that in my life - was my morning beach run. I got up around 5am, it was still dark and maaan, was it cold. Since I've never run on the beach before and the only things I ever remember when it comes to shoes, is the sand in it and how irritating it can be. So smart me decided to leave the shoes inside and go for a barefoot run in only a tank top on wet sand in only 47*F. In all fairness, I don't actually regret it and eventually you lose feeling in your feet anyways so it stops bothering you but it was still pretty dang cold.

But it was also the best run I have ever had. I'm still doing short distances since I'm in Week 7 of the C25K program but that is still more than what I could do a couple of weeks ago. I did 3.11 miles and although I did take a break to warm up my feet in the pool after the first mile (and stopped the timer), I'm still happy with my time. Seeing how badly my first run outside went, I expected a lot worse. As it turns out, I shouldn't have worried so much. I still managed to finish with a less than 10 min/mile pace and that's all I had wanted. I actually had a good time, I didn't feel exhausted during it like I usually do and the scenery was absolutely fantastic. I would run outside a whole lot more if that's where I lived. I've never been interested in living at the beach until now. I can't wait to go to the beach again in May, albeit a different one.

But with Ups, there usually is Downs too. I struggled really hard last week besides the two runs over the weekend (great 5k run on the treadmill on Friday night where I beat my previous time by over a minute) and so far, this week isn't up there either. I did a full workout with running and cycling Monday but the running part was a struggle. Today, I only ran right after work and then just did my daily pushups and crunches. I finished the 2.5 miles my program asked for but I feel like by now I just shouldn't struggle so dang much anymore with that.

SUPER exciting news that I almost forgot.. WE SIGNED UP FOR A RUGGED MANIAC!!

I have about 50 days left to prepare. I'm not worried about the running part. We're only doing the 5k and with so many obstacles in between, I'm not worried about falling behind on the running. The obstacles though are a whole nother story. They look rough. And my upper body strength is nowhere near what it needed. I'm not sure yet what all I'm going to be doing to prepare but I'll definitely be keeping my running and cycling. And pushups and crunches and reverse crunches daily as of this week.

But whatever comes, WE GOT THIS. I made it through a whole Tough Mudder, so I'll make it through this one too!

Till next time!

- Chabela