IT'S AMAZING!! (so amazing)

IT'S AMAZING.

I'm the reason, that every body's fired up this evening.

I'm exhausted, barely breathin'

Holding onto what I believe in

And no matter what you'll never take that from meeeee

Sorry, 'bout to recap my LONGEST PROUDEST RUN TO DATE and just can't seem to get that little ditty out of my head.

Here's the Training Plan I've got going from Runner's World:

As you can see I'm not very good about following the plan.
The plan is mostly striked out where I've missed runs and the bright colors are what I actually did.

I can't seem to run on exact day they want me to run... work has been crazy with people gone on vacation these past few weeks which means double triple one million times the work for me.

I was supposed to complete the 5mi run on Saturday but that didn't happen because I woke up late and had to rush to meet my mom {hi mom!}  but I certainly made up for it on Tuesday!

My plan said to complete the 5 miles averaging a 11:33 pace... I was honestly nervous thinking I wasn't even sure I could complete the run without having to stop.  I was super stressed from work and in a terrible mood since I hadn't been fitting in workouts like I typically do but I mapped out a pretty scenic 5 mile loop with Mike around his place.  I paid attention to where each mile marker was, and he stuck a flashing runners light on my back since it was already 7pm when I was trying to leave -- thanks for worrying about my life honey, but there was probably a higher percent chance of me dying from running than there was for a car hitting me! 

COOL thing is that once I got started my SoftRace App started talking to me! 

I had forgotten I got a 30 day free trial run of their Premium features... I might buy in.

ANYWHO - at Mile 1 it told me I was at Mile 1 and 9:35... sweet!  The first part was basically uphill so that was awesome, I was nervous this meant I'd burn out soon but the weather was so gorgeous and my legs were feeling good so I decided to keep up the pace.  The next mile was more so down hill and flew by minus a short stop at a traffic light. 

When I made it half way through my 5mi run it was right overlooking a mini lake and I got SO excited because I still felt great! 

That's when my phone flashed at me "Only 15% battery remaining"

WTF PHONE?!?!

you had 90% when I left 28 minutes ago!!!!! no!!!!!!!!

I realized between SoftRace Pro GPS tracking and my Pandora Station it was killing my battery way to quickly.

Long story short, I switched from Pandora to my Music Player and it made it the rest of the journey (Thank God)

That was a close call.

I hit mile 3 and went into a pretty neighborhood with really big houses and it was getting dark so I stumbled a few times but nothing major.  The most difficult mile for me was the fourth because I kept thinking "I should've hit mile 4 by now... why hasn't my phone told me I'm at mile 4?  I have to be so close"

LOL It's funny how our minds think that way.  I just kept pace and trudged onward... once it told me I'd finally made it to mile 4 I felt relieved -- with only one mile left (and strategically planned the last half mile downhill!) I definitely could finish this thing without stopping AND blast that silly 11:33 pace.

I finished with the following stats:

Sorry it's blurry, the EVO won't take screen shots like the iPhone can so I literally took a picture of my phone using Mike's iPhone then texted it to myself bc I'm cool like that.

Total Miles: 5.02                        Time: 47min 8sec               Avg Pace: 9:21 min/mile

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umm that's a PR for me for sure.

I was so proud of my run and so much happier and less stressed by the time I finished.  You always feel better after a workout -- the hardest part is fitting it in.

Since I ran so hard Tuesday night I took yesterday off as a Rest Day.

A trip to Panera for lunch was pretty awesome...

Yes I was so hungry I ate a bite before I forced myself to stop and take this pic! lol

 I had an egg white Mediterranean veggie half sandwich with a cup of Broccoli Cheese soup (my fav!)

A super delicious Caramel Coconut Fudge Fiber Plus bar for a snack.

And a FANTASTIC Salad and my favorite cheese for dinner:

Brie, Crackers, & fresh White Nectarine

Ice Cold MGD 64

Incredible Salad

Closeup of Amazing Salad.

Ingredients:

So so much baby spinach

1/3 diced green apple

Sprinkle of Craisins

Sprinkle of Feta

Sprinkle of Sunflower Seeds

Light Honey Mustard Spritz Dressing

Yes.. more White Nectarines!!

The salad and nectarines were so good I actually didn't even have very many crackers.. that's a first.

Aaannddd Here's the part where I post a pic in case you've forgotten who I am.

Hi!  This is me in horrible work bathroom lighting again :-D

Dress: BCBG Outlet

I swear that's where 90% of my dresses come from. I love that brand!

Questions for the Day:

Do you ever run outside at night?  Do you use a runners light?

What's your current favorite salad topping?  (I have to specify current because if you're like me mine changes all the time!)