Slower than molasses

Geesh! I never knew I was such a slow runner until I started doing mapmyrun and runkeeper.  It is quite ridiculous if I say so myself.  The other day I ran for 40 minutes... I thought MAYBE it was about 3.5 miles because it was terribly hot and humid and I felt like I was dragging majorly.  So I got home and mapmyrun'ed it and it was a measley 3.1   what?!  Seriously?  Now today I did 42 minutes and it was 3.5.  Thats still about 12-13 minutes/mile... will I ever be able to get to 10 minutes before november's half? I don't know, but I do know that I'm going to try.  This is just ridiculous....

Post-Graduation update

Woah, talk about a lot of changes since graduation (only 11 days ago!).  It has been a rollercoaster of emotions.  One of our classmates was diagnosed with cancer the week of graduation, and shortly thereafter (maybe 10-14 days) passed away.  Her funeral was yesterday and boy was it huge.  The church was standing room only and was so telling to how many people she touched in her short life.  Needless to say, that was a really hard day for all of us.  The past 2 years have bonded us all in a way that I can't really describe... especially on a blog :)

I've had 4 interviews (2 with managers and 2 with peer interviewers) and got turned down for both jobs.  I had an inkling I wasn't going to get one, but the other one I had a good vibe and was feeling optimistic about it... so it was kinda sorta devastating.  I'm really hoping that I hear something soon about getting another interivew, but for now I am focusing on studying for NCLEX (the nursing boards). 

So anyway, the only problem I have when I run is getting bored.  I do run the same route usually (just in the neighborhood... sometimes I switch it up with the exact path, but same neighborhood in general), but I always take my ipod and listen to music.  I am not tired, my legs are not tired, but my mind is tired and it slows me down.  I did 3 miles on monday this week (and it took me so long!! 35 minutes!!) and it felt like 30.  I am going to bed now in anticipation for my run in the morning.  I hope to do the same route plus another half loop around the neighborhood.  I've got to work up to 13 miles by november... i think i can i think i can!! 

Update on my training and job related stuff

So far I've stuck to my training plan.  That is my goal... to just do it.  Today I just did a quick 5 min warm up with 20 minutes of running and another 5 minutes of cool down.  That was enough for me at noon with no shade in sight.  It was HOT!!!

I also had a job interview this morning (a peer interview).  I was so nervous this morning, but I think it went well.  I should find out on monday (or tuesday).  I also have another peer interview monday morning for another hospital.  I'm just so hopeful that one of these jobs works out for me.  I don't even know if anybody reads this thing, but if you do... please keep me in your prayers.  I've worked so hard to get this far, and I really know that I am going to be good at this. 

Mapping out a plan

So I decided I need a plan... I can't just go at this half marathon all willy nilly.  So, lastnight I worked my way backwards from november.  I surely hope it works.  I'm usually pretty good at sticking to a plan, so I'm hoping I've done this correctly.  Tomorrow will be my rest day.  Yesterday I had this awful pain running from my hip down the front of my leg to my shin area.  I'm pretty sure that it was some kind of nerve pain (I've had that before a few years ago), but I just decided to take a few NSAIDs and sleep it off without doing any more exercise lastnight.  This morning I woke up at 5:50 to get out and run before MJ woke up.  My goal was to be back in the house by 6:30 and hopefully she would be sleeping still.  When I got home (6:32) she was laying in her bed crying from a bad dream (something about God being turned into a statue and there was a spider on it and the blood got on her hair... it was interesting).  I felt horrible, so maybe next time I will have to get up and go about 5:30 instead.  At least the hubby was still here sleeping, but he sleeps so soundly she would have had to get up out of her bed to wake him up.

I'm getting ready for an interview I have this afternoon.  Anybody who is reading this, please say a prayer for me!!

Greenway... too much, too late!

So meeting with a friend today to walk around campus on our final week of nursing school, i discovered that our school has an access trail to the greenway! Ugh!  Why do I discover these things so late in the game? Wouldn't it have been wonderful to figure this out 2 years ago??? So first we ran almost a mile and walked back... then we went to study, and then we decided that after a quick trip to the store we would go back for more... and we did!  We did another almost 4 miles of running and walking and sprinting, etc.  It was so so so much fun!  I loved it, and I hate that it took me so long to figure that this wonderful place even existed, but it's a start and apparently there is a whole entire system of greenways in the area so I might be able to find one closer to home now that I won't be in school anymore. 

This week has been so up and down for me.  I am so so so excited to be done with nursing school.  Honestly I only survived these past 2 years by the grace of God.  With my husband's year long deployment, solo parenting during that time to him coming home and me finding a job... it is hard to be a full time student, almost full time worker, wife, and mother... not to mention being a human being with needs like sleep, food, etc.  It is almost impossible.  But... I did it.  Well technically I have one more final to take tomorrow morning, and if I do OK on that test, I will have made it through the second 2 years of my BSN program (i only had to take the last 2 years b/c of a previous degree fufilling the prereq's) with only 1 B.  How sweet is that? Pretty sweet.  And now I must go b/c my little girl is crying.  Must have been a nightmare :(

In the beginning...

First of all, I am a very impulsive person.  So when my sister-in-law texted me the other day (when I was fast asleep, by the way) to see if I wanted to do the 2011 Battleship Half Marathon in november... of course I said yes!  I didn't think about the fact that I haven't run in 3 months or that a half marathon is 13.1 freaking miles, but I was up for the challenge in that dreamy/foggy/sleepy moment.  So before I could back out, I went online and signed up.  Yep, it's official: I'm going to run a half marathon. 

Healthy eating started immediately and my running training started today.  I walked 5 minutes to warm up, then ran 5 minutes, walked 3, ran 5, walked 3, ran 5, and walked 5 for a cool down.  I covered 2.6 miles.  It is a start, and with 6 months left to train for the half marathon, I think I will be ok!  Will it be tough? yes.  Will I enjoy it? probably not.  Will it be totally worth it? yes.  And so that is why I am doing this... to prove to myself that I can do whatever I put my mind to.