My first official training day!

Since my new running shoes came in yesterday, I decided to start training for the my half marathon today! I have been highly anticipating officially getting started for a few days now! With the unlimited deal for Bikram, I have decided that on days that I can't make it to the yoga studio due to scheduling conflicts, then I will use those days to train for the half. 

Today I was scheduled to babysit from 5:15-8pm, but when I got to the house...no one was home. Uhhh....really?? So I call the lady and inquire about her whereabouts and she says "um, I have you down to sit for me on the 18th".  So I nicely reply (since this is my first time sitting for her) that the e-mails we exchanged clearly say, Tuesday, April 16th.  I was slightly blown at all of this because of course, I could have gone to Bikram tonight had it not been for rushing home to make it to this babysitting gig by 5:15.  

Either way, I am happy that I had a very productive first day of training.  I found a beginner's 12 week training schedule online for half marathon runners that I'm using.  The race is not until September 14th which is further than 12 weeks away, but since I've never ran further than 6 miles in one setting, I figured I'd start early. 

Today's session consisted of a 10 minute warm up and 1 minute hills (8x) running up the hill and walking back down. I was also supposed to finish it off with strides (4x), but I had to get going so I just jogged back to my car after the hills.  It took me about 40 minutes to do this and it wasn't too bad. I felt really accomplished when I was done and it was a great sweat session!! Having new running shoes was also an awesome addition to the run! I used to get serious shin splints when I would run, but with the Asics GT 2170's, I don't have that problem!

I wanted some cool colored running shoes, but the ones on sale and in my size simply came in all black...boo! No fun at all, but hey, shoes are shoes, and I'm not turning down a good sale just because of the color. I just took it upon myself to try to swag them out as much as I could by adding neon pink laces to them! It helped a little, but nothing too fancy.

Tomorrow will be a Bikram day which will be right on time since I will need the good stretch after all the hills. I think it'll be good to alternate running days and yoga days since Bih suggested that you most definitely place a large emphasis on stretching while training to prevent injury! 

So here we go! I'm off on a new fitness adventure and I'm going to give it all that I have!! :)

It's official....1/2 marathon here I come!

I'm proud to say that I have met my very first fitness goal which was to get down to my goal weight of 175 pounds! This takes me to a total weight loss of about 22 pounds! After achieving my goal, I knew it was time for a new fitness goal to keep me on track! 

I believe that once you achieve one goal, it's time to move on to another! I had been talking to a friend about running a 1/2 marathon and she told me about the Run Like A Diva 1/2 marathon and 5K (website here ). It's being held on September 14th in Wine Country in Washington, DC.  

                                            

I checked out the website and found this race to be extremely exciting and why not have your very first 1/2 marathon be something fun and exciting??? Well I had been kind of dragging my feet on registering, but finally yesterday, I took the plunge and I DID IT!!! There's no turning back now because I have paid for the event and there are no refunds! If you know me, then you know I am not the one to waste money, so it's a done deal!

With that being said, I'm ready to start training! I was directed to a page on Facebook that offers running tips and also there was a post for a 1/2 marathon training schedule for beginners! It's a 12 week program and looks pretty doable! I'm excited to get started...but first....I need new running shoes!

Any runner will tell you that good running shoes are imperative especially if you're going to be running for long distances.  Any pair just won't do!! Ain't nobody got time for injuries either so I knew it was something that I have to get on ASAP!! 

                                    

Today after work, I went to a running store to be fitted for a new pair of shoes (even though I already have been fitted before, I just wanted to go again to be sure nothing has changed).  The sales associate was very knowledgeable and kind and offered me another variation of the shoes that I currently own.  Of course the shoes were super cute (I love a bright colored shoe), but the only problem was the price!! I just couldn't afford to pay over $100 for shoes right now. I told him that I would need to think about it and would come back at another time.  Of course me being Frugal Frannie, I went online to search to see if I could find the shoes in my size somewhere for a cheaper price.  Well God was definitely looking out when I found a pair for $50 less than they were in the store.  The only thing is that I didn't really like the color that I had to get (only pair in my size), but I will just have to get over that and just jazz these up with some neon shoelaces or something! 

Best part is that the site I ordered my shoes from provided free shipping AND no taxes!!! Woop woop!!! I can't wait to get them so I can start training!! I'm going to be doing a lot of educating myself on tips for runners because I want to do my best and most of all, I don't want to get injured! I'm praying the blood of Jesus over me during this new adventure and I'm super excited about accomplishing yet another fitness goal!

Stay tuned for progress updates!!!