Zombie Bash Recap

Last Friday was the first race that I've ran in a while. I went into it thinking that I would keep it really relaxed (AKA run as an easy run) since I was going to run with a costume for the first time. Basically, I just wanted an excuse to be able to run slow without pressure.

Thursday night, I went to Goodwill and bought a five dollar dress. I then proceeded to destroy it and put red paint all over it. This was the extent of my preparation for the race.

Extent of my artistic abilities

I tried all week to convince my co-workers to go with me, but I was only able to convince one into going. Good thing I'm not a lawyer and don't live off my ability to persuade. Apparently just shouting 5K! Zombie! Thriller! isn't convincing.

Joe (co-worker) and I arrived at the race about thirty minutes early, since he didn't do the early registration. I don't understand that. Why would you give up a chance to get a free shirt? I like to get the most bang out of my race bucks.

But since we were there early anyways, we decided to get our make-up done. There were people doing hair and make up. I actually would have preferred getting my hair teased and messed up (especially since once I started running, the some of the make up ran into my eyes), but the lines were way longer for hair.

Make up booth. That's Joe!

After we were sufficiently zombified, we were off! It was a really simple, flat out and back course. There was no chip timing (bummer) and I'm pretty sure the course wasn't exactly 3.1 miles. My garmin read something like 2.9 miles, but I'm going to call it a 5K anyway. I do what I want.

We finished the run in 24 minutes and I finished as the 15th women. It was a fairly small race and most people were in it for the zombie-ing and not the running.

After the make up but before the race. With the sun behind us, it just looks like our faces are dirty.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to keep up a 8 something pace especially since I had eaten an entire Chipotle burrito during lunch at work. To be honest, I really couldn't have been able to do it without Joe. He refused to leave me behind even for the last 0.1 miles where I encouraged him to sprint it in.

Since I didn't want Joe's weak finish on my conscience, I picked it up and sprinted it in. This is why I love running with faster people. I felt terrible the entire race, but the aftermath was worth it. Clarification, I love running with faster people who stick with me and push me.

Did anyone race? Have you guys ever dressed up to do a race?

Zombifying my run

So at work yesterday, this happened.

A spontaneous 5K!

I just found out about this race Sunday night. This is going to be awesome!

1. I get to run a race! (Always exciting)
2. I get to dress up like a zombie! (Super exciting, but I may not be able to do it. I haven't prepared zombie stuff yet because I just signed up)
3. I get to do a flash mob thriller at the finish line. (Umm, who doesn't want to do the thriller at the end of an awesome race?)

And now at a 5K

All in all, this race is going to be a fun one. Of course, I won't be able to set a PR or anything. Why can't I PR all the time? But I just want to run a race in my new city and have fun. Also, it's this Friday night, so after Thriller'ing, if I so felt inclined, I could move over the run party to the bars.

I also managed to convince a few of my coworkers to consider signing up. #winning!

On a slightly different note, this also happened yesterday.

Boom! 

I'm just chalking up this run as a tempo run. Notice how I held about a 8:45/mile pace the first three miles? I kicked it up for the last mile and cooled down with the fourth. There's no warm up because it wasn't a planned tempo. But I feel like that still counts.

I guess what I should confess is that the weather was unusually cool and not humid yesterday, so the faster paces were doable. Fact: I even considered wearing long pants and sleeves to run, because it was that cold. But I didn't,so that I would remember what cold felt like. 

After the amazing run, I spent the rest of the day trying out a new class at the gym, zumba fusion. Awesome! I also went to a dance studio after that to learn the moves to the flash mob Thriller. 

To top it all off, I went to Starbucks with a coworker and tried out their Green Tea Latte. Now, I have a venti cup of it next to me in the office. All in all, yesterday was a great day! Here's to hoping that today is just as good. 

Another zombie graph humor for your pleasure

Do you guys have any fun races coming up? How do you determine your pace for a 5K? I usually run full out for the first mile and then slowly deteriorate, which I realize is not the way to do things. 

Shortcuts never work out

Today, I thought I was going to go run. But the combined effect of 90 something degrees weather with 1000% humidity and receiving of my new phone thwarted my plans. Sadly, the excitement of my new phone trumped the excitement of a good workout. On the bright side, now I can keep up with twitter.

But once I set the phone up, I realized that I wanted to celebrate my happiness with a workout, like a good blogger.

Happiness summed up in one picture. 

I ended up heading to my gym to try out their new Cardio Burn class. I figured a 45 minute class would be a fun way to get some sweat in. I should have known. Trying to take shortcuts (especially when it comes to workouts) never end up well.

The class was horrible in a super good way. You know you're getting a good workout in, when you start thinking longingly of running in 90 something degree weather. From the warm up, I knew I was in trouble. I would probably equal the workout to P90X Pyrometrics.

After a million squats and other killer moves later, I am convinced that I need to make this class a regular thing on Wednesdays.

I was so happy with the workout that I texted all the friends that I have down in Baton Rouge (like two) for some froyo. Yeah, I just celebrated working out by eating a huge tub of frozen yogurt. But apparently, I made some wrong friends. What kind of a person doesn't want to go to froyo all the time?

This is how I felt on the drive to the froyo place. 

This is why I need more running friends. If he/she blogs? Even better. I have yet to meet a running blogger who doesn't love froyo.

Luckily, I live half a mile from Yogurtland.

I just had froyo by myself and took a photo of myself. Best part about living alone, no one's here to judge. 

Tell me the truth. How do you feel about froyo? If you say you hate it, I don't know if we can be friends anymore. JK. I hope your day is filled with awesome workouts and desserts!

First World Frustrations

Just when I thought I was done with running and was ready to put away my running shoes, a bout of first world problems brought me back to it.

After last night's declaration of doing things other than running, I spent all day at work thinking about the nap that I'd take when I got home. Unfortunately, my girl coworkers started talking about their desire to lose weight. (FYI, they really had no more weight to lose. Especially since one of them wears a size 00. There are no sizes smaller than a 00?) Thinking about napping, while other girls are mapping out their weight loss goals and fitness achievements made me feel like an elephant. So unfortunately, I had to scrap my plans of being horizontal with Friends playing in the background.

This cat was what I looked like during the weight loss conversation. 

Fortunately, there was a body pump class at the gym at a convenient time. It would have been a perfect way to get into weight training, since it's guided and has good music. I actually managed to psych myself up for a workout when I noticed that the iphone that I had been waiting for was sent back to the UPS store, because I wasn't home to sign for it. (I finally bought an iphone, because I was up for an upgrade and I was tired of being the only one among peers without a smart phone.)

On the way home from work, I decided that I would go pick up the phone from the UPS store. I had already convinced a coworker to go with me, since I have this weird phobia about crossing over the Mississippi River. Once when I first started driving, I accidentally got on the wrong highway and crossed the Mississippi River. Of course that was when my car GPS decided to freak out. Long story short, I had little experience with driving and little knowledge of surrounding area and lost on the other side of the river. From then on, I've stayed on my side of the river.

When I got home, I noticed that I didn't get a little UPS slip thing, so I called UPS and was told that the driver will try to deliver it again at night. Meerrr. So I waited till 7:30PM to no avail, not even being able to take a nap, because I don't have a doorbell.

I love the first world problems meme.

After all this, I was going to cry if I didn't at least do something productive and get a workout in. So I hopped on down to the apartment gym (it's not very impressive) and got on the treadmill for a surprising 6 mile run at 9:18/mile pace.

Boom. The longest run I've done since I've moved to Baton Rouge. 

The good news is that I have nothing super serious to worry about that I can waste my time getting annoyed at lack of iphone delivery. All in all, I have a good life and legs that haven't completely forgotten how to run. I'm going to chalk up today as an awesome day with an awesome run.

On a random note, I feel like this bumper sticker is one that all runners should get especially if you drive to run. 

Thanks for all your advice last post. I plan on incorporating more non-running workouts and stop stressing out about getting a run in. Yay it's hump day! 

Running blahs

What is wrong with me? I fell off the wagon again!

This is how I feel every night I go to bed on days I don't run. 

For some reason, as much as I love the aftermath of running, I find it to be the hardest to be motivated for.

Aftermath of running is the ability to run races. And those are insanely fun especially when people have fun signs. 

Every day, I read tons of blogs written by people who can't get enough of running or is sick and can't run. It all makes me feel pretty guilty about squandering away my ability to run. I mean I'm not fast or anything, but I definitely can mosey along and get a decent run in without problems.

Last post, I was worried about being an idiot and increasing mileage too fast, but that was a moot point  because that's the last that I've ran.

Today, I thought about running, but then I got scared off by the weather. I then thought about running on the treadmill, but I made it 0.5 miles, before I had to step off. Fail!

I NEED to workout, so that I can be as sexy as this bear. 

My coworkers/friends suggested that I workout doing something else because I was burned out. Well, they suggested watching TV on my couch instead of running. I'm actually not sure how I got burned out without really doing any actual running, but they may have a point. I, however, am certain that all my coworkers are tired of hearing about running.

For so long (like a year), my identifier has been "runner." I don't think I want to give that up. I like being a runner. I love being  part of a crazy, fun community. I also love being able to set certain goals (time or distance) and be able to reach that goal.

In a fit of frustration, I actually went to the gym and got some information about hiring a personal trainer. Aren't they supposed to break you out of workout ruts and get you all pumped up? But then the price of sessions made me cry a little inside.

So for now, I'm going to try going to the gym more and get in other forms of workout. I don't know what yet, because I get bored on spin bikes and ellipticals are similar enough to running but easier so that I feel like I'm cheating myself.

I decided to not sign up for any races yet and stop stressing out about running so much. I put so much pressure on myself to keep a certain pace or run a certain distance so that I could race again. I need to take a chill pill and just enjoy being out on the lakes.

What kind of workouts do you guys engage in when you are not running? Also, how do you know what to do for weight training? I never know which machines to use. 

How to combat idiocy

Do you ever do something stupid? And while you're doing it, you know that you're being stupid but you keep on doing it anyways?

Did I tell you that the Starbucks barista already knows my morning order? 

Well, that is the place in life that I am at right now. I know that I shouldn't increase mileage drastically. And seeing as how for weeks, my weekly mileage total has been in the single digits, I should be starting off slowly and maybe go for 2 miles each run. If I followed the running rule, I'd be running pretty much 0. Because 10% of nothing is nothing.

So in an attempt to counteract some of my idiocy, I've been super good about stretching and foam rolling after runs. I also showed up to work like this.

Boom! Compression socks. 

Side note: Best part about my engineering job, I can wear my retired Brooks to work.

I was actually thinking about maybe doing some cross training today to celebrate yesterday's awesome 5.25 miler.

But at work, I was approached by two of my coworkers who wanted to go run with me at the lakes. And since I was in no position to refuse any running opportunities or friends, I gladly accepted.

You mean you'll be my friend and run four miles?

Also, running with friends made me let go of my anal-ness. Usually, whenever I stop for any reason during a run, I stop my watch and don't move from the place as to not mix up my walking mileage with running mileage, but then I had to let that crazy shit go. I just cried inside silently and decided to call it a fartlek.

My guy coworker actually pushed my pace during the times we ran. And then we'd walk to let my girl coworker catch up.

Since there were no set intervals or speed goals, I'm just going to call this run a fartlek.

All in all, it was fun. I wish it was more running and less walking, but I guess you can't really be insane if you run with others. On the bright side, I didn't have to navigate through afternoon LSU traffic, so it was a win.

Afterward, all my coworkers, not just the ones who ran, and I went to a bar for some good boozing. I did not partake in the debauchery, because well 1. I don't like beer and 2. I'm trying to make up for my idiocy by doing healthy things. 

Do you guys follow the 10% rule? Is it bad that I'm blatantly ignoring it?

Nailed it

I had an awesome run outdoors today!

Since the last time I posted, I have given up on waking up before work to go running. I'm usually out the door of my apartment at 6:20AM at the latest to go to work. Since, I'm probably not going to wake up at 4AM any time soon, running before work is probably not going to happen again. EVER!

I feel like this every morning when my alarm goes off. 

Usually thinking about running after work makes me want to kill myself, thanks to the weather. But today, I just went out and did it. Yes it was annoying to have to drive to a place where I can run, especially since traffic around LSU is crazy. But the aftermath was definitely worth it.

I definitely did not negative split. In fact, I gradually get slower. After 3 miles, I was ready to call it in, but I was not close to the car and I really wanted to get as close to 6 miles as possible. 

This is the longest run that's ever happend in Louisiana sadly. But on the bright side, this run made me realize that I could be a runner again with the right motivation.

I really wanted to run 6 miles, but I kept on getting slower and every step felt torturous. With the excuse that if I get too bad of blisters and chafing, I won't be able to run next time, I just called it quits. 

I still had to walk back to the car because I planned my route ambitiously, but it was nice to be able to walk. I also awkwardly attempted to take my own picture, but then my sweaty hands kept on messing it  up.  

This is pretty much the only place that I drive to in order to run. 

 I briefly considered doing some sit ups when I got back to the parking area, but then I had no more f*cks left to give. All I wanted to do was to take a nap, so I drove home.

Exactly what I felt like after finishing the run. 

Hopefully, I'll remember this run and be motivated to run more. During last year, races were enough to keep me motivated for most of the year, but now I don't think it's working anymore, maybe because I haven't put down any real money for races yet.

How do you force yourself to get out the door? I feel like the hardest part of the run is always the beginning. 

Also, a little Louisiana humor for your amusement. What do you call a bayou that's lonely? 

A bayou self!! You're welcome for the laugh. 

I need to budget

After getting my first paycheck, I got in to this sort of a bad habit of buying everything I want (mostly everything) Also, the fact that I eat my lunch at my desk in front of a computer and the advance of internet shopping is really killing my bank account. Not to mention, there are tons of lessons that I want to take such as hip hop lessons and etc. 

There was no way I could not buy this shirt. Do you get it? (Spoiler: it's cow tipping)

Long story short, I need to seriously get my stuff together and budget so that I can start saving some money. 

Just today, I ended up buying a good bye present for Stefan, since he's leaving Baton Rouge soon to get back to school. (Best girlfriend ever!) And that was seriously going to be it until my co-worker invited me to a site with cheap running shoes. 

I feel like inviting a runner to a site with cheap outdoor gear/workout gear should be a crime, something like giving a gin and tonic to a recovering alcoholic. 

He had originally just sent me the invite because he thought I'd enjoy the selection of Brooks on the site, but then I found out that they were also selling a pair of Hoka One One's for $60 something dollars. The one shoe that I really wanted to try out but couldn't afford was on sale! Yeah, you guys can probably figure out how this story ends. And while I was there, I picked up a solid looking running bra. 

Unattractive compared to my past running shoes, but if it'll help me run better, I'll wear  clown shoes.   

I'm super excited for my purchase to come in and hopefully the new shoes will fuel my motivation to start training for real. Technically my training started last week, but I missed the first week of training due to sleepiness. (This week, I had to be at work by 6:00AM! 'Nuff said, no running got done.) 

Hopefully, now that I've gotten a pair of running shoes and enough of household things to last me a while, I can actually start saving some money and maybe even figure out the whole 401K thing. 

Hopefully this won't be me. 

A quick question: Do you guys have the Roth 401K or the before tax contribution 401K? Also, do you guys budget running into your budget? Race fees and running gear is so expensive! 

PS - If you guys want an invite to the site with the running gear, send me your e-mail! 

If I was an Olympian

Sometimes it frustrates me that I have little to no willpower. Something always comes up and I always end up using it as an excuse to not stick it through. I was on a great exercise kick for a while. If I didn't feel like actually working out, I would at least go for a zumba class and trick myself into thinking that dancing would be a fun way to spend an hour.

But after Monday's hip hop class, I just stopped getting up for a run or a gym class. Even yesterday, when I was starting my new running training plan, I let sleep and dinner plans get in the way of getting in my 3 miles.

This morning, as I was snoozing, I thought if I was an Olympian, where would I be? At the lake getting a run in, duh. So despite the late night (midnight is a crazy late night for me now), I jumped out of bed, who am I kidding, it was more of a roll, packed up my gym bag and went for a run at the lake.

On a random note, I also completely forgot to pack a bra in my gym bag, so I'm going to have to sit in my sports bra all day at work.

The view at the start of the run. 

I covered the 3 miles at a 9:50/mile pace, which was a struggle. I would like to blame the heat and humidity. And I guess the no running for a while could have had something to do with it. 

Much brighter by the end of the 3 miles. 

So begins my training for a possible half in October and/or possible half or full in December. Not the best the start, since I did miss the first day, but thanks to the Olympics I got the miles in. 

I did think if I were an Olympic gymnast (Gabby), where would I be? That made me think about stretching, but clearly seeing as I'm not an Olympic gymnast, I skimped on that part. Don't worry I'll maybe stretch later. Maybe . . . if I am watching TV. 

Apparently this is the hardest vault ever in gymnastics. I bet she stretches a lot. 

You guys try it! Think, if you were an Olympian, where would you be? I might go out to lunch with my coworkers and eat like Michael Phelps, but that's just me. 

Not the best person

So I'm not the best person in the morning. As much of a morning person as I am, I still am cranky in the morning and want to jump back in bed. For me, I just call myself a morning person because I can't stay awake past 10:30PM.

This morning, my mean girl was out in full force. I did not end up running my planned 5 miles during the weekend. By the time I wake up at 9AM on weekends, it's way too hot to run outside. So I got in 5 miles on the treadmill (9:14/mile pace).

The run itself was good, but I was definitely snarkier than usual. There were these two women walking on the treadmill next to me.

Woman #1 - You should really put up the incline to at least a 0.5. It burns so much more calories.
Woman #2 - Really?
Rena (in her head) - You should really try running. It burns a lot more calories.

I should have totally said "Omg, I love how much calories you are burning. How do you do it?"

I am so nice in the morning. In my defence, Woman# 1 sounded really arrogant like she was better for walking with an incline. People say that running makes you a good person (dedication and good mood and all that), but I feel like I get bitchier when my body is tired. I guess the endorphins can't win over my inner bitch.

Even though I didn't get any runs in, my weekend was awesome! On Saturday, I fit in a zumba class. The only bad thing about the class was that it was a cop out for me. I would have gotten a much better work out if I had run, but I was feeling lazy. But I tried to get a maximum workout  from the zumba. I tried so hard to make each movement big and more of an effort that when the class was over, the woman behind me asked me how long I've been zumba-ing.

After the zumba, I went on a tour of an alligator farm. I figure I have a small window of opportunity to do the tourist thing while Stefan is in Baton Rouge visiting.

I'm sitting on a six foot alligator. I would like to point out that the gator's mouth isn't taped. 

Stefan is trying to eat the baby alligator. He was hungry. 

The tour was fun. The only thing that bothered me was that the tour guide said that the alligators lie out in the sun so that it could soak up the sun and convert that into energy later when the sun isn't out. Unless my schooling has been a lie, I was pretty sure the alligators weren't photosynthetic. I guess it's sort of snarky to think that you know more than the tour guide and I hate to be THAT guy, but I couldn't help it. I didn't say anything, but I felt bad for all the little kids who were eating it up. 

All in all, it was a great weekend. Did you guys do anything fun during the weekend? 

Holy Humidity

You're lucky that you're getting this update through an internet blogpost and is not chatting with me in person, because I'm a one sweaty mess. I don't mind sweating when I'm working out, since sweat=awesome workout. 

And Monster=giddiness. A Monster a day keeps the Starbucks away. Yes, I know this picture is sideways, but my computer was being stupid. 

But it's not fun to be all sweaty and hat haired at work. I am finally beginning to do some real work that is helpful for the company instead of just attending training. Unfortunately, this also means that I spent the entire morning out in the Louisiana heat and humidity tracing lines in the plant. Because of safety concerns, I also had to be out wearing long sleeve collared shirt, long pants, steel toed boots, hard hat, and safety gloves. 

True story, except my boss doesn't think I sleep through the day. I hope not. 

Knowing that I'll be outside walking up and down flights of stairs, when my alarm buzzed at 4:50AM, I opted for more sleep. I knew a spin class would have made me feel better, but I also thought that might kill me at work, so back to sleep it was. It's a lot easier to justify going back to sleep when you're half asleep and cozy in bed. 

Now that we got the work talk out of the way, let's talk about running. Despite this being a running blog, I haven't written about running in a while. Let's be honest, I haven't written anything in a while. The bad thing about a running blog is that you have to run in order to blog. 

Yesterday, remember how I said that I went to a Body Pump class before work? Well, after work, I actually headed out for a 3 miler. It felt like I was dying, but I got in 3 very sweaty miles at 9:47/mile pace, which is faster than I've been running outdoors. 

The only reason that I ran "so fast," was that I felt like I was going to die if I stayed outside for longer. Note to self, bring water on runs. 

Photo of me if the heat was the moose(?) Is that a moose?

Hopefully, now I'm ready to get back into running and I will soon be able to tell you about exciting things like mile splits and emergency bathroom runs track workouts. A big maybe on the track workouts, since I never really did them even when I was in the racing mode. The emergency bathroom stops will definitely come up more often than I'd like since the route that I run has zero bathrooms. I mean seriously, what do all the runners do when they need to go? The woods is not an option because it's heavily populated and right by major roads. 

You knew this picture will be in the post since it's so relevant. Here's to hoping that won't be me and there's some hidden bathrooms on the route. 

I'm also now in the process of looking for new shoes. I feel like I should break in new running shoes while my old ones are still good. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the Asics that I have. Now, I don't know what brand to try. I'm thinking about a different line of Brooks or Sauconys. I really want to try out Hoka One One, which I found out about from this awesome blogger who doesn't know I'm alive. But she's cool and she swears by these shoes. Fun fact, Marshall Ulrich, ultra runner, also loves them. 

Now I'm off to trace some more lines and hydrate so that I don't faint off the unit. How did you guys find your shoes and how did you know that they were the one? Was it love at first wear or do you need to develop the relationship? 

Peacocks

Did you know that there's a song about peacocks by Katy Perry? Errr . . . .it's not exactly about peacocks per say (hint: take out the pea), but it's my new favorite song. Apparently I've been living under a rock and this song has been out for a while, but yesterday was the first time I've heard it and I'm in love.

Not the best movie ever, but the best peacock costume. 

Yesterday, I went to my newly subscribed gym (do people say subscribe to gyms? well, you know what I mean) for a hip hop dance class. The class was amazing. The teacher is super funny, and we dance to fun beats the entire class. We even learn a little routine at the second half of class, and I get to feel like Britney Spears and Britney S. Pierce (Bam, glee reference).

To be honest, I've sort of been in a workout funk. While I love the after run feel and racing, I am not the biggest fan of heading out the door for a run. It's especially been difficult because I have to drive to wherever I want to run, which really takes the convenience out of running. So yesterday, I forced myself to actually use the gym pass and go dance. Best decision ever!

Did not look as good as this cat during the dance, but I felt super awesome. That counts.

That fun workout was all I needed to jumpstart my workouts. Today, I actually got up at the ungodly hour of 4:50AM-who am I kidding, I actually got out of bed at 5:00AM-and rushed out the door to make it to 5:30AM body pump class, which solidly kicked my butt. Fun fact: I have no problem running without food (it seems to suppress my appetite), but weight lifting without food, bad idea.

Turns out, if you never ever EVER strength train, you'll be struggling with 3.5Kg weights (each side) on a bar, while people around you silently judge. Just kidding, I'm sure there was no judging on other people's part. Since I wasn't able to keep up with the reps, I did lots of judging admiring.

Yup, I've got a long way to go. 

I still haven't tried out any of the equipments, but if I attend the classes, I think I can get my money's worth. The best part is that I sincerely enjoyed each workout despite the inhumane wake up hour.

Hopefully, I can get a mini run in after work today to wrap up a solidly productive (workout-wise) day.

Now, please share! How do you guys keep out of a workout funk? Any good tips to stay motivated? You guys know, I need all the help I can get!

Treadmill Run

I attempted to head out for an ill fated 4 mile run today. I was supposed to meet up with a coworker to get in about two miles with him, but due to my lack of skill in the direction giving area, we never met up.

I assume this is how confused he was. Except he's not as cute as this very confused giraffe. 

Heads up to future running buddies, I may give you bad directions.

Our attempt to meet up was also doomed by the fact that it started pouring as soon as we got to the lake area. And that there's tons of apparent bridges and parking lots that look similar. Let me tell you something about Baton Rouge. The weather here doesn't know how to do something half heartedly. When it rains, it doesn't just drizzle, it goes all out in a downpour.

Totally true. And sort of relevant, because it started pouring right when I got to the parking lot. 

With the whole weather and being confused about the meeting point, I ended up doing a sort of a interval ish run of 2 miles at 8:30/mile. I ran faster than I would normally to each bridge and waited for a while under it to see if he was waiting there. Let's just call that a fartlek workout. Anyways, by the end of the two miles, my clothes were wet and heavy, and my sneakers were seriously waterlogged.

Now comes the dilemma. I would love to meet my major running goal for this year and run a marathon. There's a perfectly timed one in Baton Rouge in the first weekend of December. However, I am not certain I'll be able to get all my training runs in outside.

In an attempt to not fall off the wagon again and also so that I could get some cross training in, I signed up for a gym today. My plan is to go to group classes like spinning. Now that there's some monetary commitment, I'll at least get some good cross training in.

So I know that I'll most likely always have a treadmill to get my runs in. Other than the crushing boredom, I'm worried that running at the treadmill will make me super unprepared to run an outdoor race.

This is totally what I do. I sneak looks at the speeds of everyone around me. I'm glad I'm not the only one. 

Flat, air conditioned treadmill runs do not adequately prepare a person for a varied terrain and humidity. What do you guys think? Do you think it's possible to train for a race with a lot of the miles logged on the treadmill? 

In a random note, I brought the sexy back in my newly obtained prescription safety glasses.

Whoa close up. But look at the side shields on those glasses. Yeah, this is how us chemical engineers do it. 

Happiest day of the Workweek

I love pay days. It's so nice seeing your balance jump from almost nothing to something more overnight. 

I had so many grand plans for my new found money when I was in school, but now that I'm actually trying to make it in the real world, there's so many mandatory things to spend money on like insurance, rent, utilities, and etc.

Now, I'm supposed to choose how much contribution to make to my 401K. It's so hard to start to think about retirement when I've just started working. And I could put that money toward something that I want more. Ahem, movie tickets to Magic Mike. 

Who wouldn't want to go watch this? 

One major dilemma that I'm facing (and this is such a first world problem) is to TV or not to TV. I had originally planned on no TV. Who needs TV when there's things like running and netflix on the computer? But after weeks of my coworkers talk about how awesome their new 50 inches were, I am starting to think that I'm missing out. What's your stance on a TV? Necessary or not?

Speaking of Channing, I love this picture. This is why I haven't watched the the Vow. I probably can't relate to a character who doesn't think like the above picture. 

On the non lazy front AKA non TV front, I've actually been trying to work out more. I went running Wednesday night (3 miles at 10:18/mile pace) at this awesome running path at University Lake. I looked so hard for an apartment near it when I first moved, but I gave up. It's right next to the school, so all the apartments are crappy college apartments. 

The path was nice except for the duck poop smell at occasional points. 

I would love to drive there everyday to run, but what I had loved most about running back when I ran consistently was that I could just step outside and do it. So today morning before work, I ventured out for a 3 miler (9:49/mile) around the apartment. The run itself was good, but I ended up just rounding an outdoor shopping center over and over again. 

I think I would definitely drive to the lake even on week days if I could leave straight to work from there and change/maybe shower? at work. I would even buy a gym membership if that said gym was on the way from the lake to work, but that doesn't look like it'll work out. 

Good thing it's the weekend and the only thing preventing me from running at the lake is my laziness. Have a happy Friday!