Minus the extra hour of sleep I hate you DLS

As I was patiently waiting for the clock to strike 5pm on Monday, signally time to go home, I noticed that the sun was disappearing farther and farther into the west. I checked weatherbug to see what time she would set for good, and was gobsmacked that it was 5:16pm. That's how long it takes me to get home! Instantly my motivation to run was -poof- gonzo. I sat on the couch, convincing myself that if I would just go for a run, I could go buy new shoes after. Yes, on occasion I do have to bribe myself to run....what? You don't... :s

After that did nothing I thought, well what makes you more excited about running than anything??? Running in new shoes! Heck, if I get the shoes first, there's no way I could turn down a run. I'm a GENIUS! My co-worker had a 20% off coupon for the local running store, and I was excited to use it. :) I had planned to get the Asics Nimbus 11, but wanted to try some others on just to be sure. I tried on some Nikes and Mizunos just for giggles, but I'm afraid my heart will always lie with the Nimbus. If it isn't broke, don't fix it, eh? Unfortunately, they only had purple left in stock in my size. Now, I'm not a purple hater, but during football season, I absolutely am, especially after Sunday's game. :( I texted a friend who's a big Vikes fan and confessed my purchase. His response, "I bet you look really good in purple. ;)" Well obviously! Just as long as everyone realizes I would've chosen green if given the choice. Hah.

After arriving home with my new shoes, I couldn't wait to go for a run. I grabbed my new running pants, my new (to me) white running jacket, and gloves and set out for a 6-7 mile run. This time I decided to hit up another ond 'hood: my old college! :) I knew it was going to be a hilly route, but felt like my legs could handle it. I spent the 6 miles reminiscing about my college memories, classes, friends, professors, co-workers..... I know some people hated college, but it will forever hold a big ol' chunk of my heart. It was cool to see new additions to campus and to some apartments surrounding campus. It was sad to see my two favorite party houses torn down. Sniffles.

It was especially awesome to run up the HUGE HILL I used to avoid at all costs when I first started running again the summer before my senior year. I remember whenever I would accidentally include it in my running route, I would ALWAYS have to walk up it. It was waaaaaaay too steep, and I just didn't have the strength or heart to tackle it. Not last night. I trucked right up the puppy, and was rewarded with the view of our new stadium. It was a great run, and even though it was technically supposed to be an easy run at an easy pace, I actually booked it, especially considering all the hills!

I did 6 miles in 52:51 for a pace of 8:49.

1. 9:41

2. 8:42

3. 8:38
4. 8:22

5. 8:19

6. 9:05

I just realized that this was basically a 4 mile hill tempo run.  Sweet.  :)
Sidenote:  I look like I have cankles in both of the pics of my new shoes.  Hahahha.  I just noticed that, oh well.  Gotta show off the shooooooosies.  :)

Brick Workout (Ish) + You've got MAIL!

I had been looking forward to the weather on Wednesday all week. Sunny, warm, a reprieve from the horrendous cold rain. Could it be? My first nice weather day to take out Polly?!?!?! But first, my run. Work before play, ya know? I had to do an easy 4 miles. Since I was planning on taking the bike trail for my bike ride, I decided to do a hilly route for my run. Easy run....hilly run...same difference I suppose. :)

My Garmin started beeping at me at 1.39 that it was LOW BATTERY, all doom and gloom like. Oh garmin, get over yourself. I kept looking down at it, almost as a challenge to see how long it would last before giving up. Up hills, down hills, through hills, wait...what?? That puppy stayed strong through the whole run. Ok, well it did have one minor mishap where it tried to tell me I ran a mile in 4:30, but that sounds pretty legit, right? Luckily it was only the final mile that was messed up, and I know my ending point, so I was actually able to figure out my splits. Good to know that the low battery will go for at least an additional 2.61 miles. Heck ya.

I did 4 miles in 37:37 for a pace of 9:25.

1. 9:31

2. 9:39

3. 9:26

4. 8:59

Next up, the inaugural ride on Miss Polly. If you missed her big unveiling, here she is again.

Swoon. I checked weatherbug and determined that I had approximately 30 minutes to bike before sundown. Plugged in the Garmin for 5 while I found a sweatshirt to put on, switched it to cycling mode and I was off. To be honest, the first couple of blocks were a bit off. I haven't ridden a bike (other than a stationary) in probably 3 years. And since the handlebars aren't straight across I was kind of all over the place. :p After we got used to her, I was off.

Not kidding you, I was literally grinning from ear to ear the entire run. It was so much fun, and she's just so gorgeous. I did have some issues with the back pedaling brakes. I kept reaching for them on my handlebars and coming up with nothing. Hah. Also, there are a couple of hills that made for some trying times on a one speed, haha, but nothing too horrible.

I did 5.02 miles in 30:38 for a pace of 9.8 mph. HAHAHAH! Speed demon on the yellow beauty. I actually was biking VERY slowly especially around tight turns because I was super afraid that another biker would be flying through in the opposite direction and I'd crash, especially since I wasn't used to brakes, etc. Plus, I didn't by the bike for speed, merely fun. One of my good guy friends was making fun of my bike, and was shocked that I didn't get a "serious" bike since I'm such an athlete. I took that as quite the compliment, but know I'll only be biking for fun, and have no need for a spendy serious bike. :) I made it home just before the setting sun.

While wheeling my bike up to my apartment, I saw this growing out of the rocks by my sidewalk. A purple pansy. :)

These were my Grandma's favorite flowers, so whenever I see them I think of her. I took it as a sign that she was saying hello and that she also loved my sweet new ride. :) It is pretty random that it was growing wild, especially in some random rocks, and after 2 nights of frost.

Thursday night I got home from work and was BUMMED that I didn't have any mail. Doesn't it just make you feel unloved? Waah. But when I walked up to my apartment door, I saw this propped up against it.

First of all, I had to laugh because it was in an Asics running shoe box. I never buy boxes to wrap Xmas presents in, because I always have excess shoe boxes laying around. Haha. Too funny. I opened it to find this AWESOME collage made especially for ME. :) A while back I won a contest that Lacey put on through her blog Common Objects & Everyday Events. I was super excited because I never win anything, and I looooooove Lacey's blog. She's such an inspirational Faaaaaaaast runner, and always leaves such thoughtful and insightful comments on my blog. Have I mentioned how much I love the running blog community yet? ;)
Check out all this sweet loot!!! Definitely some really cool stuff in there I've never tried, a way cool magnet (which is already on my fridge for inspiration) and the DVD Running the Sahara, which I'm super excited to watch! Thanks for the giveaway Lacey. It was super fun, and I'm stoked I WON. :) P.S. I totally plan on cutting the sweet collage out of the box and displaying it with some medals/race bibs/etc. :D

Sadly, I've made the decision not to run the 5k I had planned on running tomorrow. :( I'm super bummed, but looking at the hourly forecast it's supposed to be a wind chill of 24 degrees, 17 mph winds, 20% chance of snow/freezing rain, and is supposed to snow tonight. I race for fun, and racing in that weather doesn't sound like too much fun. Which means I'll for sure be doing the 5k on the 24th, and hopefully the 10k on Halloween, because this girl wants to RACE (just not in the snow :p)!

Best of luck to all the bloggies who are racing this weekend. Kick some booty Mica, Morgan, Glenn, Jamie, XCountry2 & ChicRunner aka Danica, and all the others I've forgotten. I'll be patiently awaiting your results and race reports, since I'm a loser and axing my race. :p