Today is an important day

Today, I extended my contract for the next 3 years! In order to keep my new job, I have to stay enlisted, so here's to another 3! I did 3 and not 6 because at the end of this contract I will have 9 years in service. 9 PEOPLE! But that puts me under the half way mark of retirement so I won't feel as bad if I decide to get out. :)

My working out has kind of fallen by the wayside since the husband and I have been sick. I'm hoping for a good run tomorrow but I have a list of stuff to do since I"m leaving for the next week. Eek!

Hi! I'm here!

Sorry, I'm not good at this whole blogging thing but this may explain why.
Last weekend we were in Columbus, OH for the OSU vs. EMU game and our two year anniversary. Then we both got sick. And then.....

Tomorrow is the last day of my current job.
Friday I pack and leave for a wedding. IG will join me on Saturday after work.
Sat - wedding
Sun - Helping the bride get packed up and off on her honeymoon. I continue my journey to our state capital.
Mon - Fri I go to the state HQ to learn from my future colleagues.
Fri - head to my hometown for Aunt's rehearsal dinner.
Sat - Aunt's wedding.
Sun- head home....finally.

So, we've been busy. But I'm still here and will come around more when things settle down! Promise.

Back to the grind

Well things were busy this last week. I'm trying to start wrapping up loose ends at my job before I leave. Plus we had drill this weekend. I'm exhausted. I didn't get my run in today so I guess tomorrow will be a run and lift day then I will go back to my normal schedule.

Going to check out a gym tomorrow. Right now I work out at my office but since I won't be there much longer, I guess it's time to suck it up and get a gym membership. Ugh. The plus side is I may have already found a workout buddy.

Wish I could enjoy my day off tomorrow but with errands and having to go out and meet my new boss for my new job, that's not happening. And with that, I'm off to bed.

I did it!

I did the 5k! I ran my first mile right about 10 minutes, 2nd mile I was at 22 so I figured I'd finish just after 30 mins. Then, my calf cramped. Bad. So I started walking and once I started walking, getting back into my momentum of running was hard. But I finished none the less, with a time of 35:08. Not too shabby for my first 5K!

Went to eat with some friends afterward to celebrate. Hopefully I can dig up some pics soon. Off to bed, I'm beat!

Tomorrow is the day!

So today I did Stage 1, Day 2 of NROLFW. And for the record, I don't think I've ever done an actual back workout before. I'm SORE. Already. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring.

Speaking of tomorrow, my first 5K! I've already decided that I will walk if needed, especially with the back issue now. But we'll see how it goes!

Today, a friend of mine revealed some great news. First a little back story: my friend M that I've known since elementary school was pregnant. Her placenta erupted(the bag that keeps the baby safe) and she had an emergency c-section. She was 26 weeks pregnant. For those of you not familiar with pregnancy terms, it's 40 weeks total. Once you hit 28 weeks, they consider your child to be viable, as in, if something happens baby has a better chance of survival without complications. Anyway,

So my friend M's little girl has gone through so much. Feeding tubes, surgeries, IVs, breathing tube, so on and so forth. She got to move into her big girl crib in her own room now! The doctors are hoping to send her home in about two weeks. She's still only about 3.1 lbs and has a long way to go but it's miraculous that she's made such progress, she's an amazing little fighter just like her mommy! I hope she comes home soon, mommy has to drive an hour one way to see her little girl everyday. I really pray for those two every single night. Such an amazing story.

Anyway, that's about it! I'm off to rest up for the race tomorrow!

I can do this! Right?

So my friend J was supposed to run a 5K with her mom on Thursday. Her mom can't go anymore so she asked if I wanted to take her place. Umm...I'm only in week 6 of C25K, I still have 3 to go. And the furthest I've ran is 2.8. So why did I say yes?

I can do this. I may walk a little bit but it's not much further that what I normally do. I can do this. I'm going to have to keep repeating that.


On another note.....all inprocessed for the new job. Should go out next week to see my office and meet the people I'll be working with. Super excited! It was also fun to catch up with old friends while I was down at the HQ. I miss my battle buddies.

Here we go!

Today I completed Week 6 Day 1 of Couch to 5K. I did about 2.8 miles so I'm getting closer to the 3.2 that I need next month. Eek! Next month!

So, now that my PT test is accomplished, I can start my new lifting program. Tomorrow will be Stage 1, day 1 of New Rules of Lifting for Women(NROLFW). I'm excited to start this program to improve my body shape, strength, endurance and my PT score!

***** WARNING PICS OF ME IN MY SPORTS BRA!!!! ********


So in true Before and after fashion, here are my before pictures. I plan on taking pics about once a month to document my progress. Just since starting C25K I've lost about 5 lbs and my legs are starting to get more tone. Now to tighten up all over! So, *deep breath* here's the pics. I will measure myself tomorrow and post those as well.

Ha! Two posts in one day!

But I have to talk about my ice bath experience.

So after my PT test yesterday, I'm sore. Like really sore. I'm not sure why, since my workouts are usually harder but maybe it's because I pushed myself to run a much faster pace for my 2 miles. Anyway, I read on runnersworld.com that an ice bath can be helpful to speed up the recovery process of muscles.

To me.....a bath equals warm water, relaxing music, maybe a book. Not freezing my toosh off in some ice. But alas, I gave it a shot.

It was weird. There's the initial shock as your skin hits the freezing water, then you sit still so you get used it and it doesn't feel as cold. But then you move slightly and HOLY COW! The cold sensation is back all over again. And in full force.

So I settled in to my freezing tub with a book, hoping to distract myself from the cold. The article said they recommend anywhere from 10-20 minutes. I made it 18 whole minutes! I jumped out, dried off and went straight into sweat pants and a hoodie.

I think it really did help, I don't feel nearly as sore, or didn't once I stopped shaking and got my feeling back. Ha! Guess this is something that will become almost habit if I keep running. A lot of marathoners use this technique after a "long run." Oh boy.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

9 years ago today, we were attacked on our own soil. That hadn't happened since Pearl Harbor. We watched in horror as the Twin Towers were hit and burned to the ground. We watched as the Pentagon came under attack. And we rejoiced for the plane that landed in a field in the middle of PA, sparing thousands of lives.

Where was I? I was in high school, my freshman year actually. I walked into my English class and the TV was on, I was a bit confused. Then I watched as the second plane hit. I was horrified. I have an aunt and uncle that live outside NYC and that work downtown. We got a hold of my uncle, he was fine, my aunt however was trapped in the subway system. The train before hers had been hit and they couldn't move. It took us hours to get word that she was ok.

This day was a landmark in my life. I decided that day that I wanted to enlist. I wasn't sure what branch or what options I had but damn it I had to stop these people from ever doing this again. And 3 years later, I did just that. I enlisted in the Army National Guard and have been in almost 6 years now. It's crazy to me how one day can change your entire life. But as sad as this day was 9 years ago, it was truly a start to the wonderful life I live serving today.

Never Forget. 9-11-2001.

I'm still here!

Wow, I'm not good at this blogging thing! LOL.

Where to begin....took my annual PT test for the Army today. Apparently I've been so focused on my running that my push ups and sit ups now need improvement but my run time was awesome. So that brings me to my new workout plan. I frequent a board on thenest.com called Health & Fitness and they recommended a book called New Rules of Lifting for Women. AMAZING book! So informative and it comes with a workout plan, score! So this week will be

Sunday - Week 6 Day 1 of C25K
Monday - Stage 1 workout A of NROLFW
Tuesday - Week 6 Day 2 of C25k
Wednesday - Stage 1 workout B of NROLFW
Thursday - Week 6 Day 3 of C25K
Friday - Stage 1 workout A of NROLFW
Sat - Rest
Sunday start the next week.

I'm really excited to be upping my workout routines. I feel like I've kind of hit a plateau and need something to really step up my game.

While we're talking about my workout regiment, a friend, J that is running my 5K with me on Nov 6th, also talked me into a 5K for Halloween! So now I need to find a running friendly costume! Ha!

I go down to Springfield Monday to start inprocessing for my new job. I can't wait!

Now, I have a couple product raves:

Nike Pro Compression Shorts - super comfortable and great to run in
Bondi bands - best head band I have EVER used. It's the only one that doesn't fall off my head and it actually absorbs sweat! Perfect.
Road ID - it's a bracelet that I wear that has my basic info, name, husbands cell number and my medical allergies so that if something were to happen while I'm out running, I can easily be identified. Love it!

That's all for now! I'll be back later to catch up on some recipes!