Officially a Runner!

I think it is finally safe to say, I am officially a runner! 

Almost all my life, I have tried very, very hard to like running. I joined the high school track team my junior year and have struggled with running ever since. I joined for multiple reasons: first of all, it was one of the only high school sports teams I could join without having to try out (I was never very athletic), to get out of gym class (once again... I was never very athletic), to get some new sweats and t-shirts, and the best reason of all, all my friends were doing it. My days on the track team were very unsuccessful, and I can honestly say I never did actually RUN in a track meet. Because I wasn't used to running, my whole body ached. I limped around school for the entire season. I could hardly walk, let alone run. Needless to say, my experience on the track team (or lack thereof) pretty much scarred me for life. 

UNTIL, my junior year of college when I had a roommate that was crazy about running. She would hop on the treadmill at the gym and go 7-8 miles no problem. Her enthusiasm for running got me thinking that I could do it, too. But once again, running was such a struggle for me. I would run two miles and feel like death afterward. I would be sore for days. I tried sooo hard, but just never got the hang of it. Since then, I have been running on and off. I get really into it for about a month, and then I just... QUIT. 

My motto has kind of always been "I try really hard to be a runner."

Well, today I can finally admit that I AM A RUNNER!
For months now, I have been running my little heart out. I found two running plans that I thought would be easy enough to follow: 6 Weeks to Your First 5K and when I finished that, Spark Your Way to a 10K. Honestly, I am shocked that I have kept up with running for so long. I found that having a specific plan to follow has really helped to keep me motivated. Of course it was a struggle at first, but lots of ice in the beginning really helped me get past that 2 mile mark. I can now run 6 MILES... without stopping. 1 mile was alright, 2 miles was hard, 3 miles was even harder, but 4 miles, 5 miles, and 6 miles were not too bad to progress to.

Now if I don't get my scheduled run in, I miss it. But let's not get crazy, I still have those days where I just really don't.want.to.do.it. I focus on how good it will feel at the end, and that's what keeps me going.

Are you a runner, or do you try to be a runner?
What keeps you motivated to complete your workouts?

P.S. Since I am almost done with this running program, I plan to continue running 3-4 days per week. BUT, I am also looking for other workouts to do on the days I don't run. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

My First Ever 5K!

Sorry to interrupt the usual crafts and recipes, but I am so excited to say that I finally ran my first 5K! 

I always think about and/or plan to run a 5K, and then for some reason it never ends up happening. I forget to register, my running partner get injured, you know, life happens. Well, I finally convinced my sister to run with me, only because she got a t-shirt and lunch afterwards!

Going into it, I only had one goal, to RUN the whole thing WITHOUT WALKING! I was pretty confident that I could do it, and I honestly didn't care how slow my time ended up being. I just wanted to run the entire 5K without taking walking breaks. 

GUESS WHAT?! I DID IT, or should I say WE DID IT! 

I ran the whole thing with my sister, who needed a little more motivation than I did to just keep running.

She did great though, and I was so proud of her at the end!

I ended up crossing the finish line at 38:16 and decided that was a great time to try to beat for my next race!

Now that I ran my first 5K, I can't wait to run another and another and another! Maybe I'll even bump it up to a 10K sometime. Overall, I had a great time running with my sister! It was a great bonding experience, and I loved having someone to talk to during my run. But, I think it was probably her one and only. I asked her when she wanted to sign up for another and she made it clear she only ran it to cross it off her bucket list. If you know my sister, this probably does not surprise you.

So, now I'm on a mission to get my hubby back in shape after his knee surgery so he can be my running partner again. I think I'm officially addicted! 

First Day Of Classes

After a year and a half of searching for a full time job in my field, I have decided to go back to school. I like to say that I still haven't figured out what I want to do when I grow up, but that isn't necessarily true. The truth is, I would love to shop, craft, blog, and watch TV for the rest of my life, but society and finances tell me I can't. I figured I need to start doing something with my life (before I start popping out babies), so I have decided that I liked school so much the first time, I am ready to take another go at it.

This past winter, I applied to Saginaw Valley State University to pursue a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy. After pulling a few strings and meeting with the head of the department, I was able to take quite a few courses off my load, but I still have about 10-12 undergraduate classes to take before applying to the Master's program. More undergrad classes... just what every college graduate wants to hear, right?

Well, there's no time like the present, so I registered for Spring classes, and then registered again for Fall classes. If things work out, I will be applying to the Master's program this Winter, and starting graduate coursework Spring 2013. Two years of graduate classes and a few internships later, I will be a Certified Occupational Therapist. At least that's the plan anyways :)

Today is the day! I am was very excited to start a few classes today, until I read the syllabus for each class. Projects...quizzes...papers...exams...But like I said, I love school.

Although I will always be a CHippewa at heart, as of today, I am a Cardinal! Woohoo!

Has anyone else decided to go back to school after taking a long break? Did you find it easy or difficult the second time around? Anyone have any words of encouragement as I start this new adventure?