A 5K race and some works in progress

Lindsay Matthews Memorial 5K

If only the race had started at 8 AM it would have been a perfect day for a run.  I woke up earlier in the morning to rain, and hoped that the rain would stick around so that we'd stay cool for the run.  No such luck.  It was in the mid-80s and sunny for the race, which really was nice minus the humidity that made it sticky to breath.  Cait came with me and we ran into Katie which made for a pleasant morning despite the heat.  Cait took off ahead of me shortly after the first mile and I ended up doing more of a walk/run for the last mile and a half.  It started out on the road, wrapped around back to the park it started at and then ran on some gravel, up a hill (short but steep, Ithaca would have been disappointed in me for walking it) and then finished on a soccer field.  It was nice to have a change in surface, though running on the gravel when you're not used to it takes a lot out of you.  I have to say this race had great food for the after party: pizza, pasta, salad, veggies, fruit, drinks of all sorts.  Not that I go to a race for the after party, but it is nice when they provide more than fruit and water.  I finished in 33:15 which is reasonable for the heat but not quite fast enough to support a trip to the yarn store.  There is another 5K this coming weekend so I think I'll try again and see how things go!

Project: Late February Lace Scarf

I started this scarf yesterday as a break from the easy straight knitting I've been doing a lot of. I had started it back in February (thus the name) but got busy with school and kept having to rip it out so I put it aside for a bit.  I finally decided to pull it back out now that my mind is free and I don't have anything to really focus on.  It had been going quickly but once I finished the increases I haven't been able to get past line 5 of Chart B.  I keep losing a stitch somewhere though I can't figure out where.  I'm going to start again from the beginning of Chart B (Thank god for lifelines) but this time I'm going to count stitches every row and be very focused on the pattern: no talking, no distractions.  It is turning out very nice and I really hope I can get past this one spot in the pattern.

Project: Smittens

 This project is a fun on going project.  I'd go insane if I tried to make all 24 mittens at once but I've gotten to the point with the pattern where I almost don't need to look at the pattern anymore.  I plan to make it into an Advent calendar and put chocolates in each mitten for my parents and brother.  I'll have to finish it by Thanksgiving in order to set it up for my parents before I go back to school.  I have 14 mittens done, 10 to go and 3 months to knit them.  About 3 mittens/month if I can get one more done before August!

Progress Report: Run 5K in 30 minutes or less

In my original goal I set I said I would run 5 days a week even if just for 15 minutes to work towards running a 5K in 30 minutes or less.  

Have I?

Not this past week.

I only ran 3 times because of the horrid excuse of heat.  And work. And being tired. And I got a book from the library that is due back tomorrow and I really wanted to finish it on time... yeah, you get the idea. I'm the queen of procrastination and excuses.

I am finding it very hard to get myself out there, but I will try again this week.  I'm going to edit the goal for the week so that it is more realistic because even though making realistic goals is the first step in creating successful goals, I still somehow don't always make realistic goals for myself.

This coming week I will:

Run 4 times (and hopefully one of them will be a successful 3 mile run!)
Workout a total of 6 days (including days I run)

Finished Object: Beaded Purse

 

Pattern: Exploring Waves by Laurie Lee 

I made this as part of the group Mystery 220 on Ravelry.  Each week the moderators of the group would post a "clue" that we would knit and then wait eagerly for the next installment of the pattern.  This was the mystery from January (as embarrassed as I am to admit it).

Yarn: Dale of Norway Baby Ull in a nice heather grey

I'm not usually big on neutral yarns.  I'll go for bright colors, fun variegates, or stripes but I rarely go for black, grey or brown.  I decided since we were putting beads on this one that I didn't want anything too crazy.  Oh, and there's a little bit of blue variegated Yarn Bee Snowflake yarn in the cord which I used to double the yarn so I could crochet the cord instead of making an i-cord as the i-cord was getting on my nerves!

What I'll remember from this project: Beads! I was slightly intimidated by the beads but after working with them a little bit they weren't nearly as hard as I thought they would be.  I used the pre-strung method and hope some day to try the other method that uses a crochet hook. 

This project really shouldn't have taken me this long but I kept getting distracted, then I brought it home for break and left the yarn and needles when I returned to school.   I am glad that I finally finished it and that it turned out nicely!

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Update on 5K goal:

It has been really warm here so I haven't been great about running but I'm trying to make myself go out for a run no matter what, even if its a short run, hoping it will get me used to running in the heat.  I'm not sure the 5K on the 24th will be the goal maker but I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make it the best run possible!

Goal: Run 5K in 30 minutes or less

I know I can do this. I've run an 8K at a slightly under 10 minute/mile pace so I know it's possible to run a 5K at a less than 10 minute/mile pace. I need to get out running more often, get used to the heat and not let it become an excuse not to run.

What I need to achieve this goal? 

Motivation!

If When I reach my goal, I will:

Purchase yarn to start a sweater of my choice

How I plan to do it:

Go to the YMCA if I don't get up early enough to run in the morning

Run 5 days a week, even if only for 15 minutes

Workout in some way every day

What I Want to Do This Summer (well, the rest of it anyways)

As I was putting away the "Cryocuff" at my internship this morning I realized today was the 30th of June, which meant not only do I only have 3 weeks left at my internship, but the summer will soon come to an end.   So what do I want to do with this last month?

1. Make a hula hoop

My roommate this past year made hula hoops and on a warm sunny day would turn on some Moe., go into the back patio and hula hoop.  She did more than just your regular old "circle your hips" hula-hooping.  She did all sorts of tricks that were kind of fun to just watch.  When I was stuck with homework, unfocused or didn't want to run in the rain, I would grab one of her hoops and hula for 20 minutes as a way to let off steam. I kept meaning to ask her to show me how to make one, but I never found the time.  I found a website that shows how to do it, so my first goal is to make a hula hoop to have as a stress-reliever this coming school year.

2.  Run a 5K in 30 minutes or less

I enjoy being active but it is still sometimes a real chore to get myself out the door.  My best time for a 5K is 32 minutes and some seconds, even though I know I can do better than that because I've done 8K in 49 minutes. I think my biggest problem is that I look at the 8K as a real challenge, while a 5K doesn't seem like such a big challenge anymore because I've done a bunch of them. Then I show up at the starting line out of shape because I "got busy" and hadn't found time to run and start thinking that it was all a big mistake. I've registered for the Lindsay Matthews Memorial 5K on July 24th. I've printed out schedule and plan to place a sticker (yes, a sticker, just like in kindergarten) everytime I complete a planned run.  I hope to show up at the race in good shape, ready to run my best and set my PR.  Visit this site to register for the race!

3. Finish the books I've been reading all summer

I tend to start numerous books in a time frame and then read snippets of each one until I really get hooked into one and then I finish it and abandon the others for a while.  Currently I'm reading:

• Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
• Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Audiobook)

I listen to Juliet, Naked on my way to my internship, it's only a 15 minute drive but its still nice to have instead of having to listen to the radio.  The other 3 I have been essentially reading all summer and am at various points of each book.  I'd like to finish them and hopefully start and finish another book or two.

4. Finish 3 knitting projects

I have more than a few knitting projects that I have started but have yet to finish.  I hope to finish three of them this summer so maybe this fall I can justify starting a sweater!  I have a few choices as far as which I will finish (Sheldon, Gloves, Smittens, or Socks)  we'll have to see what I'm in the mood for when I get a chance to knit.  

I got my photos from these websites:

www.newsdaylaura.com

http://www.eclipsemultisport.com/

www.lindseypollak.com

A run, a barbeque and rain

Our Greek Life Picnic was scheduled for today at 3 pm.   I decided I would run down - It's 4.5 miles and the first 1.5 miles are down hill, so I figured it would be doable.  I did it and I never had a better run prior to that.  The weather was questionable the entire way down and it started to rain the last 5 minutes of it, but prior to that it was sunny with a breeze that cooled me off as I went.  It didn't feel like 4.5 miles and I'm sure its because of the initial down hill part.  It's difficult not to run down hill for a mile and half for a run that leaves campus since campus is on a hill.  I felt a bit of accomplishment though because normally unless I'm in a race I can't run for longer than half an hour or a couple of miles.  Maybe next time I'll have to try running back up the hill :-/

When I got there hamburgers and hot dogs were grilling so I patiently waited for my refueling. After receiving my hamburger, it promptly started to downpour again and people dispersed. 

I came back with the intent to study.  I instead showered and slept for a couple hours, ate and procrastinated a bit until I've found myself here at 8:30 no further into my studying than I was at 2 o'clock this afternoon.  Well, I should probably get to work. Anatomy - here I come!