Weekly recap

Last week wasn't too bad (unless you count the most painful & horrific dentist appt I've ever had on Monday). I went to Tuesday night track practice w/ the TNT group & it was a tough work-out, but I survived. I made the mistake of starting out WAY too fast in our drills, but it didn't take me long to get in the proper groove. It was the 1st time I ran more than I walked & I was quite impressed with how I handled it. I was exhausted when we were done, but my right hamstring & butt cheek weren't really bothering me at all. I made sure I stretched a lot right afterwards & thankfully I wasn't really sore that much the next day. It wasn't until towards the end of the work day Wednesday that my thighs started feeling sore.

Wednesday night was the big Coach/Mentor appreciation party thrown my the TNT office at PF Chang's. It was actually a really good time. The food was yummy, the company was great & most of us even walked away with door prizes (dry-fit shirts & hats from Luke's Locker). A couple of the girls & I really started planning our big crawfish boil fundraiser & I started to feel much more relaxed about my fundraising. If things go the way we think they will, we can probably make about $5-6K & one of the girls got a company to match up to $1000 of what we raise. WOO-HOO!!! The fundraiser will be May 20 & hopefully by then I'll have raised some more money on my own & this will top off my account. *crosses fingers*

Work has been CRAZY busy this past week & I had no energy to work out at all the last part of the week. I was a good girl Friday though & despite the fact there was a big St. Patrick's day party going on in the courtyard right outside my door, I left the party before 10 pm & went to bed like a good little girl so I could be rested enough to tackle the 10 miles I was supposed to do the next morning.

Saturday was absolutely PERFECT running weather. It was cloudy & very breezy with temps somewhere in the 60's. It was the 1st time in about a month that I felt really ready to tackle some longer distances. Our run was going from Memorial Park through the Heights, then back again. I made sure I didn't start out too fast (didn't want to aggrevate my hamstring) & waited until I'd walked about 2 - 2.5 miles before I started running. I felt I was going at a pretty good pace, but I knew it wasn't my fastest. I didn't mind because I really wanted to make sure I at least got through the run without re-injuring myself. However, for what was SUPPOSED to be 10 miles, it felt like it was taking a lot longer than it should have to reach the turn-around (which was the 1/2 way point). When we finally got to the turn-around, I looked at my watch. No WAY had I gone ONLY 5 miles. It had to be at least 6. I mean, I know I was going slower than normal, but not THAT slow!

At the turn-around, Carissa (who I'd been walking/running with the whole time) decided to keep running & left me behind. It wasn't long though before my mentee, Carmen, caught up to me. She & I stuck together the rest of the way back to the park & had a great time talking. We kept each other laughing & made jokes about what rock stars we are for being out there for so long. I promised her I'd map out the route when I got home so we would know exactly how far we'd REALLY gone & I was true to my word. After breakfast with the TNT gang, I headed home & mapped it out. And ya know what? I WAS RIGHT! It wasn't 10 miles. It was 12.25! Carmen was actually really excited because she'd never gone that far before. She definitely deserved a pat on the back. I told her she'll likely kick my ass in San Diego because even though she's never done this before, she's a much better runner than I am (she can keep it up for miles & miles) I bet she finishes a good 20-30 minutes before I do. And I'll be so damn proud of her when she does. :)

Anyhoo... by the end of the run, my butt & hamstring were really sore, but thankfully one of the coaches had a roller in her car. I rolled my leg & immediately felt better. I stretched a TON & rolled it again when I got home & after I showered & napped, I wasn't really sore at all. The only pain I had (& still have a little bit of today) was in my calves & that showed up Sunday. Hopefully the pain will be gone by practice tomorrow night. Tonight I'm going to do an hour of yoga to try to help that along.

This weekend is the Blue Bell Fun Run. I want to do it, but I also want to keep up my mileage & knowing me, I won't get out there & do more miles afterwards. And the following Saturday is my birthday & I was planning on sleeping in & skipping practice that day, so I really will need to get in some good distances. Eh. We'll see what happens.

A friend gave me a coupon for 2 free sessions with a personal trainer. I'm going to set up the appts & see how it goes & find out how much it would cost to keep the trainer. Carissa's aunt is also a personal trainer at Bally's (where I'm a member) so I'll compare the costs of the 2. I really need some extra motivation during the week & think it'll really help me stay on track & get better if I have someone telling me exactly what I need to do. Of course, if it's too expensive, I'll just have to fend for myself. Again... we'll see what happens.