I made the mistake (?) of deciding to run around Forest Park by myself this morning.  Jen wanted to go to her boot camp (which ironically was canceled and she found out, oh, about five minutes after I headed out) rather than run with me 🙁 but I didn’t want to hit up Tower Grove.

It was about 87 degrees at 8:30 when I started out.  I ran about 2.5 miles and then decided to turn back around rather than run by the highway in the sun for the next mile.  So all in all it was 5 miles, and it was the hardest 5 miles ever.  The entire time I was a sweaty mess and occasionally had to walk until my head cleared enough that I was sure I wasn’t going to pass out.  I think I lost 10 pounds!

I suppose it probably wasn’t that bad.  But I had to burn off the pasta I ate last night for dinner, as much as I wanted to sleep in…I knew a ridiculously hot sweaty run would be just the ticket.  And it was.  It really was.

Last night we went to Sage for dinner.  Afterwards we may have finished off all the cake samples from earlier in the day. (Yes, yes we did.)

My legs are very sore.  Probably because I had my first workout in over a week.  Darned squats and lunges are going to be the death of me.  Mike thought I seemed nicer than usual.  I think that’s the influence of Suzuki Institute!

(See how happy we are?!)

We’ll see how long the Suzuki Camp influence stays with me…

Chris has been trying to run a bit, and we went for a run after I got home from work this evening.  It was fun!  He’s been trying to overcome his shin splint issues.  Hopefully he will get the running bug and start doing all kinds of races.  Perhaps someday we will finish a marathon hand in hand.

Today we went back to Bed Bath and Beyond to finish up our registry there, and finally got our hands on one of those scanner thingies.  It actually wasn’t as fun as it seemed like it should have been.  We are also registering at Crate and Barrel, and we aren’t quite done there.

Other wedding planning today:  finalizing the hotel rate block, setting up appointments for trying on wedding dresses and visiting florists.  Next week will be wedding dress week!  I also had a major freak out involving flowers and centerpieces and candles involving me yelling at Chris how I did not want to spend my wedding day putting together centerpieces. 

Here’s some stuff I like, though of course I’d want purple or silver rather than red (white is fine) and I don’t want a million things in the middle of the table, more like 1 to 3 things. 

Tomorrow we are testing out the new grill (Chris bought a new grill a few days ago and we are using it for the 4th of July party) and I am picking up the save the date cards and MAILING THEM OUT!  I am so excited to get them, and then in a few days I can show you all what they look like (after my guests receive them.)

Good night!

Tomorrow I have my first appointment with my trainer, Mike, since BEFORE Suzuki Institute.  As in, I haven’t lifted a weight (or a finger?) or squatted (except if I was picking something up) for almost 10 days.  I’m a WEE bit nervous that I will be awfully sore.  But it’s also possible I’ll be extremely well rested and awesome.  I have run about 20 miles since this so I’m still in some sort of shape.  Plus I ate a lot of fudge and bon-bons.

(That’s a bunch of containers of bon-bons)

(And no, fudge and bon-bons will be unlikely to help me exercise better.  In case you were running out to get some to help.)

Monday recap:

This morning Jen and I were going to go for a run around Forest Park.  Our usual weekend long run had been postponed due to gigs.

I woke up around 7:00 am to the sound of a really intense thunderstorm.  Another long run FOILED by our ridiculous spring weather.

So I slept for another…well…two hours.

Then it was OFF to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to work on the wedding registry!  Chris and I were looking forward to getting our hands on that scanner gun.  But NO!  FOILED by the ridiculous spring weather again, as the computer systems were down.  NOOOOOOO!

Instead the “registry consultant” had to do everything by hand.  She was wonderfully helpful, and we put lots of things on our registry that I just truly can’t really believe the price of.  I seriously feel like a completely greedy pig.  But I suppose it is what you are supposed to do, and is socially acceptable?  Did anyone else feel horribly guilty doing their registry?  Is that just me?

I taught three students (so tired!) and then managed to run 5 miles by my lonesome rather than with Jen.  Way less fun.  Once you get used to running while chitchatting with a friend it’s hard to run alone.  Though I enjoyed some Car Talk.  I’ve also been working on the wedding website so it’s all set to go when people receive their Save the dates.  It’s looking good!

So today I ran my first “virtual race.”  I read quite a few other people’s blogs, and one of the blogs I read is this guy named Adam from Phoenix who calls himself the boring runner.  Today he hosted a “virtual race” with random drawings for prizes and such if you ran the race, wrote about it, and send him the link.  So here we are!  I wasn’t entirely sure I would do it as I just got back from my week in Ottawa, KS last night, but I woke up this morning feeling good, and wanted to run either way, so I figured, let’s make it a race!

I didn’t notice that he had posted a race bib template until just a few minutes ago.

Oops.  So I had already made my own!

Confession:  I did not wear it during the race.  Why?  Because a) it would have been somewhat embarrassing 🙁 and b) I didn’t think the paper would hold up well.

I gave myself the number 110 because that was the number I had for the race I didn’t make it to in February (due to my boyfriend proposing the night before and being up quite late celebrating!)  It’s also Chris’s birthday.  I suppose if I had used the template I’d be #1 but oh well!  I did win the local part of the virtual race, so I was #1 either way.

I decided to run through Tower Grove Park, my usual running route.  I planned to walk to the park, hit start on my Garmin, and then run 3.1 miles as fast as I could.  I took the outer route since Pridefest was happening in the park and it was super crowded in the middle.

Now, I didn’t get a picture of myself before the race.  I tried, but I failed, and then gave up.  I was wearing an orange sports bra and green shorts, my iPod shuffle, and my blue mizunos.  Plus my skull and crossbones hair band because I am awesome and hardcore like that!  I have true grit.  Luckily it actually wasn’t THAT hot.

I am not a really fast runner.  I think of myself as a tortoise.  I’ll get there, but it’ll take me awhile.  I love the long run.  But I want to get better at 5k’s, and generally, I want to run faster.  I decided to really push myself today, and to go out fast.  I figured I’d run pretty fast and then just try to hold on to that.  Worse case, I’d get super tired and have to slow down, and would learn my lesson for the next time.  Best case, I’d keep it up and get an awesome workout/race in.

My last 5k was a PR, 31:11 on May 14.  That was a flatter course than today would be.  Though I was in costume for that one.

I started out really fast—I ran the first mile in 9:31.  I was seriously breathing hard but felt pretty good.  The second mile was TOUGH, and I managed it in 10:09 even though I was about to die.  Right after the 2 mile beep on my watch I had to stop and catch my breath and debate if I needed to throw up.  I knew I was getting a great run if I was on the verge of puking.  I did not puke, but I tried.  I then realized that I was in a race so I should get moving again.  My knee hurt a tad, and I walked about .1 mile, and then hit the lap button on my Garmin so the next time it would beep would be at 3.1 miles and therefore, the end!  I walked just a touch more and then decided I would just want to suffer through and run the rest of the way.  My knee felt okay again (I was a little worried, but it seemed absolutely fine after the short walk break) so I pushed through.  The hills were getting worse, and in fact, the last stretch of the race was (in true St Louis fashion) a steep uphill.  I couldn’t sprint, in fact, I was barely moving as I was “running” up hill.  But I finished the 3rd mile in 10:28 for an unofficial PR of 31:07!!

That’s 3.1 miles in 31:07, average speed 10:02 miles.

Right after I “finished” there was a bench to sit on.  I collapsed briefly, then realized I was still about 3/4 of a mile from home.  So I set off walking really slowly.  When I got home I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures.

Running a virtual race was really odd, but fun!  I definitely pushed myself more than I would have if I were simply out for a run, and I felt GREAT afterwards.  I also really rocked out on my speed so I’m super proud.  Thanks Adam, for a great race!

In case you have an obsession with half marathons, or you don’t like Rock ‘n’ Roll events, there is a new race in the St Louis area on October 2.  And yes, you could totally run both.  I just might 😉

St. Charles takes a cue from SNL skit for new half marathon

Another thing from that Terry Durbin talk earlier today was when he reminded us that you don’t enroll your child in violin lessons for them to be the best violin player in the world.  You do it because music is awesome and fun.  It’s okay to do something just for fun, and indeed, you should do stuff for fun.

I guess that’s part of why I run (fun and fitness, right?)  Last night I went for a run around campus.  The track was locked so I just chose a path around campus.  It was dark so I didn’t want to venture far.  I did three loops and figured it was about 2 miles.  I went online afterwards to check it out and realized each loop was .89 miles.  I must have been going faster than I thought. 

But who cares?  I was having FUN, most importantly.  I don’t have to worry and stress about everything.  I can relax and enjoy.  And after 5 hours of driving plus 4 hours sitting in class, I truly enjoyed moving.

I hadn’t run in the dark since one time last summer, and seriously it is pretty cool, not really being able to see where you are going!  I returned to my dorm sweaty and invigorated.  Perhaps I’ll do the same tonight.  I wouldn’t do that at home because I would worry too much about safety, but here it seemed okay, though I was still on alert. 

Do you run in the dark?  Wanna do the MO’ cowbell run with me?

By the way I am LOVING it here.  I needed my facebook break, but even more I think I needed to get away and recharge.  Even though I’m busy busy here and my brain is filling up, it’s a great change of pace.  I think I need to do a Suzuki Institute every summer forever. 

I’m not ready to run a marathon.  But how awesome is this course?  Seriously.  I love it.

Or maybe I’m just still upset by a certain race in April and anything different is simply a grand improvement?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  I’m just not ready to admit either way.

I can’t find anything better to post on the blog, but follow the link I posted and you can see it better.  Go run people!  The weather is fantastic, and if I can do it, you can do it.  I wasn’t even running a year ago and look at me now…sometimes both feet even lift off the ground!

Can you believe June is already halfway over?  I can’t.  I’ve finally got most of my summer mapped out, including a small trip to Chicago (woo!!  Yay for Avec and Karen!!!!!).  I love summer.