I went running with Jake last night for the first time since the summer. This time he said he was surprised at my pace (even though I thought it was slow) and he said that I definitely have improved since last time. :) I am so excited to finally hear it from someone else that I have improved. He also said that eventually I will be out running him. Hahaha. We were both going at very comfortably hard paces yesterday and I enjoyed the fact that he helped to push me. I did need to stop for a walk break a few times due to a side stitches from not being fully digested from dinner. >_O But eitherway I still made great time. :)

I'm also trying to add in more cross training by going to the gym and doing the elliptical and stairmaster when I can and incorporating weights and strength exercises. I'm hoping to make a lot of progress in the next couple of months. I bought a time master planner today and hopefully it will help keep me on track and allow me to actually schedule in time to exercise so that I don't panic over not having time to work or relax.

But yeh. I'm looking to enter this 5k race on Sept 25th here in Potsdam. Jake said he'd do it with me so I'm super excited about that. Races keep me on track and get me pumped.. But about my diet. Yeaaaaaah. Gotta work on getting that back on track.

I finally have a chance to update! I moved back up to college for RA training and it has just been really hectic. I am a bit relieved to finally be back and in a different environment. I feel like I keep needing a change of scenery every now and then. I really miss home.. but meh. What can I do? It's finally my senior year and I'm excited to finally be finishing the undergraduate part of my life..

I'm also glad to finally be able to run in Potsdam. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I love taking my runs around it. I'm also very happy to see how much faster I can do my old route. My old route used to take me 44 minutes to complete and now I am done with it in 29 minutes. I just love seeing progress like that.

The weight is coming off slowly.. but it is coming off. It was really nice to come back to college and have people compliment me on my weight loss. It was also very nice to fit into some jeans I left up here in college that did not previously fit.

Well enough ramblings. I'm going to go climb into my bath and then go to sleep..

I ran and completed the Brooklyn Bridge 5k yesterday without any walk breaks. That was one of my goals for the summer/running goals and I'm very glad I completed it before going back to school. :) I would have updated about it yesterday but I was super tired and just not in the mood for anything. The run was at 8:30 in the morning and I finished in 42 minutes. Not my usual 5k time or pace but I was still satisfied when taking into account how much uphill running the bridge consisted of. I knew that I should have scoped out the bridge before race day but whatev. Lol. Those uphills were all super killer. The bridge and the few was gorgeous. It was also amazing that I had NYPD officers and random bikers cheering me on. My favorite was this woman who was cheering me on at the end. She was super excited for me because I was an overweight girl who was doing the race. :) I placed somewhere like 643 out of 740. I had nearly 100 people behind me?! I don't care that there was 600+ people ahead of me. THERE WERE 100 BEHIND ME. It's good to know that I'm not last or close to last. Plus they stopped clocking in people I think a couple minutes after the hour. So there were probably more. I'm super excited. :) I hope next year to squash this race as well as do a Queens Half Marathon and be super thin by then.

I just really need to work on my emotional well-being. I have been incredibly depressed these past couple of months and I can't seem to shake the feeling at all. Running and racing and finishing make me feel great.. I love the post-run bliss but it only last so long. I wish that feeling would last all day. Towards the end of the days I find myself falling into really deep depressions and having to stay awake at night thinking and trying to sleep or thinking about him and crying myself to sleep. I really wish I was over him already. It would really make dealing with all the symptoms of my depression a lot easier. I'm starting to think that I won't ever have a life without my depression -- that it is a part of me that I will always have to live with. Blerg. Well.. this isn't the blog for feelings like this so I don't really want to focus on it right now.

I'm looking into races that are being held up by school but I'm having a hard time finding any that I close enough for me to get to without a lot of transportation. I might consider the one in Saratoga if I could find out how close the bus station is the to race site.. Hm. Maybe Jake might know. I'm also looking into races that are taking place when I'm home for turkey break and there are quite a few so I'm really looking forward to training for those and further improving myself and my running. :)

This morning took me absolutely forever to get out of bed. I am so so so sore from all the exercise I've been doing the past few days. On Monday I ran 5k, on Tuesday I didn't run but did Kettlebell exercises which absolutely killed me, and yesterday I ran 2 miles with my running group. My whole back is just like "Wtf are you doing?" Haha. I'm just blerg. I think today I'm going to only do a bit of yoga or pilates.. something extremely low impact. I think my body just needs some really good stretching and relaxing. I'm also going to go to the NBR track speed workout today where they are doings 400 repeats (Always the week I want!) but I won't run, sadly. I'll just cheer 'em on. :)

Other than that.. today looks like a good day to finally jump into working on my student teaching resume and portfolio, watching some Grey's Anatomy on the couch, and doing some crochet or knitting. Nice and easy day I believe is what my body is begging me for.

Friday I'm planning a very easy run so that I give my body enough rest for my 5k race on Sunday. I'm super excited. :)

Mmmmm. I love post-run bliss. The walk home today was just amazing. ♥ NBR, btw.

Mileage Today: 2 miles

So. I think I like my new schedule. I've cut back on the days that I run doing on Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat. I just have increased the mileage on the days that I do run. I've been doing a 2.5 miles without a problem so I think I'm going to be ready for my 5k on Sunday. :)

I keep thinking.. if I can run 3 miles at the weight I am now.. I keep thinking about how much easier it'll be when I lose the weight. I'll be so much faster and be able to do a lot more mileage. :D Today I imagined myself running at my ideal body and it really helped me to run a lot better and a lot more confidently. I didn't think of myself at the body that I'm in now that makes me so unhappy -- I saw myself how I want to be. I feel like a skinny runner trapped in a fat girls body. I've always felt like I've been trapped in this body for a long time. I've always liked exercise, being active, and being outside. I just need to get my diet under control and hopefully I'll continue to lose weight.

I'm also incorporating a lot more core exercises and strength training in general. Also doing a lot more pilates and yoga.

Well whatev. Really scatterbrained right now. Going to watch some TV.

Mileage Today: 5k -- 3.1 miles.