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Rex Lee Run 5K Recap

This race was great! And considering I didn’t want to actually run that morning, it was especially great to get an official PR!

The race started at 9:15 a.m., which was awesome. Gotta love that fact that it’s still cold enough in Utah to start the race later in the morning. The race was around one of our local universities and really familiar since I went to that school and ran at least part of that same course almost every day–not to mention that a lot of local races are run on the course . . . Anyway . . . It was still really chilly when I got to the race, so I debated a long time whether to wear a jacket. I ended up deciding to, and that was a good choice. I got a little warm, but not bad.

The race started promptly (love that), and we were off! I’d decided to run a solid effort of 30-32 minutes, depending on how I felt. Well, I felt great the entire time! The first half mile was uphill, so I trudged on up at a good clip, going by effort. Then the rest of the race was downhill and flat. I tried to keep a sub-10:00 pace, and when I glanced at my watch, I was actually running 9:38s. Crazy!

My final time was 29:58 (9:40/mi), which I was definitely pleased with. And it’s a PR! I guess I’m a faster runner than I thought! It’s awesome to see improvement, and I owe it to all the strength training I’ve been doing. I love having strong legs and a strong core. That will help my half marathon and marathon efforts this year for sure.

Back to the race, they gave us awesome food at the end and held a magic show for the kids and a raffle too. The raffle was kind of lame, but hey. Oh, and we got gender-specific tech shirts this year, which is an improvement over the normal unisex T-shirts. Overall, a solid race!

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I’m linking up with Jill for Fitness Friday and with the DC Trifecta for the Friday Five (Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia).

How’s your training going?

Are you racing this weekend?

Week in Review: February 2-8

I can’t believe it’s already Monday! Crazy! How was your week? My week was pretty solid, as you’ll see . . .

Workouts in Review

Here’s the rundown for the week:

Monday: 20 minutes on the StairMaster, weights, push-ups, crunches, sit-ups, plank

Tuesday: 3.1-mile run, push-ups

Wednesday: 1-hour yoga class, 38 minutes elliptical, push-ups, sit-ups, plank

Thursday: 1-hour pump class, additional weights (biceps, triceps, squats)

Friday: 5-mile run, stretching (week three of Jeff Galloway’s half marathon training plan)

Saturday: Lots of walking around town/on river path

Sunday: Rest

What I’m Most Proud Of

I found a yoga class I love. It’s a gentle/restorative class, which is perfect to add in during half marathon training. The class is small and the teacher really makes sure you’re doing the poses correctly. Perfect!

Where I Fell Short

I really should have taken Friday easier, which is what I have been doing. It was really hard to run so far the day after pump class. I was really sore and tired. Lesson learned!

Training

My long run went pretty well until the last mile or so. That’s when I really felt how tired I was from the day before. It’s all good now. This week is a cut-back week, so that will be good. I’m only running a 5K on Saturday. I don’t quite know whether I’ll race it or have fun. Oh well.

Thought for the Week Ahead

If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.

Dig deep and challenge yourself this week!

Don’t forget to visit Jesica’s blog and check out her weekly update post and other linked-up posts. I’m also linking up with Tara from Running ‘n’ Reading for her Weekend Update link-up.

What’s one of your goals for the week?

Are you participating the the #taketheleap yoga challenge? (Details here.)

Looking for Valentine’s Day gift ideas? Look no further.

Week in Review: January 26-February 1

Another week has gone by, and I had some pretty solid workouts. I’m seeing some serious progress, and there’s no stopping me! 🙂

Workouts in Review

Here’s the rundown for the week:

Monday: 38 minutes on the StairMaster. Good times.

Tuesday: 1-hour pump class

Wednesday: Run 2.6 miles

Thursday: 1-hour pump class (which included 100 lunges… yikes)

Friday: 15 minutes of yoga/stretching

Saturday: Run 4 miles (week two of Jeff Galloway’s half marathon training plan)

Sunday: Rest

What I’m Most Proud Of

I added in yoga like I said I would last week. I need to add more, but I’m okay with the effort last week. I’m also stoked I hit two days of pump. I’m addicted. 🙂

Where I Fell Short

I’m not logging everything I ate on here, but I definitely fell short on my eating. I’m working on less sugar and more vegetables this week.

Training

I’m training for a half marathon in May and have started my training plan. I’m following Jeff Galloway’s half plan, which I’m using so I won’t get injured. I’ve run intervals before, but I always did something like run 9 minutes and walk 1 minute. This time, I’m mixing it up, so this weekend for my 4-miler on Saturday, I ran 2:30 and walked 1:30. I don’t think the interval was quite right–I felt my walk interval was too long–so I think for my 5-miler this weekend, I’ll run 2:30 or 3:00 and walk 1:00.

Thought for the Week Ahead

It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.” –Jillian Michaels

Let’s work hard this week! Don’t forget to visit Jesica’s blog and check out her weekly update post and other linked-up posts. I’m also linking up with Tara from Running ‘n’ Reading for her Weekend Update link-up.

How was your week/weekend?

Did your team win?