Tuesday, August 30, 2011

I'm going to Miami!


This time tomorrow I'll be boarding my flight to Miami. You have no idea how excited I am! And yes, I have been jamming to this constantly.

I will be visiting two of my friends from high school, Jennifer and Arielle. We have known each other since sixth grade. Both of them went to school in Florida while I stayed here. Arielle was at Florida State and Jennifer at University of Miami. They both came home for the summer but Jennifer went back to work and take another class she needs for dental school. Arielle is leaving today. She was in New York for the past month looking for a job. Needless to say we are all excited to be reunited!

Some of our plans include South Beach, seeing the Everglades, shopping, a weekend in Key West, and of course celebrating their  birthday! On Thursday we will be going to the Yardhouse for dinner and going out to a place called the Grove. It's like downtown Colorado Springs but better.

Anyways, I just checked in for my flight online and I still need to finish packing!

Arielle, Jennifer, and I over winterbreak on the Incline. Oh yeah, they are twins so I'll be twinning!

Monday, August 15, 2011

5k Race: Panerathon

On Saturday I raced my first 5k since March. This race was done through Panera Bread so I knew there was going to be good food at the end. It was a last minute decision since I registered last Wednesday and the deadline was Thursday night.

One of the biggest reason I wanted to do this race was because it was on a trail I train on (Santa Fe). I even pass the Panera on my longer runs or start by there. I felt like I could pace myself well and get a new time.

I had my hesitations since I was not getting my timing chip till race day and they did not include safety pins in my race bag. I like to have things prepared before the race. The race goodie bag was okay, had stuff I would use and the bag it's self is reusable. Another worry was strollers and dogs. Every race I have ran before this one prohibits dogs and strollers so I was worried about them getting my way. Most of the people with strollers or dogs walked and were behind me.

The race it's self was not that bad. We started near Panera and ran to the trail. This is where I probably lost the most time since they had the 5k and 10k start together. We split off but it was congested. The first part of the 5k was uphill and I knew I should take slow until the turnaround. I was passing people for the most part and found two girls who were keeping a decent pace. The turn around came at a mile and a half so I picked my pace then and passed the girls. I knew it was downhill so I used the hills to my advantage. When I came off the trail to Panera there was a hill and usually when I'm done with my runs I walk up that hill as a cool down. Since I knew I was close to the finish, I was able to pass people and keep a good pace. Once I was off the hill it said 3 miles and I picked up my speed to kick the .1 miles in the butt! I passed two people at the finish with my sprint with my dad and sister cheering me on.

After the race, Panera had sandwiches, baked goods, and bagels for the runners. Of course I refueled and enjoyed my reward.

The results were just posted and I had some idea of how I did. My Nike+ was acting up so it did not accurately record my time. I guessed 27 minutes but I did better! My time was 25:23, 40th overall finisher, 11th female, and a new PR :) I'm so excited I did well and hopefully I'll start racing more 5ks.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Running Playlist

When I started working out at the rec center at UCCS, I never brought an iPod. I had a friend I'd workout with but when she wasn't there, I was bored and listened to the crap on the radio. First off, the radio plays the same song 200 times. Secondly commercials. Last but not least, I couldn't choose what I wanted to listen to. I'm not a fan of heavy metal and that was a popular request. I didn't want to go ask the front desk to put it back to Magic FM so I could jam to the Britney.

To have options, I started taking my iPod with me. Over time, I started making workout playlists to keep me going. I need music with good beats to pump me up and keep me at a good pace. So here are current songs that I have been jamming out to.

Till the World Ends-Britney Spears. This is my summer jam as well. I like the beat and it's great to get my run started. Since I know all the words I can focus on that and forget about the pain.

I Wanna Go-Britney Spears. Yes, another Britney song and I'm not complaining! After hearing this song on Bravo to promote their summer line-up I wanted it. (I'll do another post about my Bravo obsession) The fast beat keeps me going and it's catchy. I like the whistle part :)


Where Dem Girlz At-David Guetta feat. Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj. David Guetta has grown on me after his hit with Akon. I'm digging this song because it's catchy and I sing along to it in my head.

Give Me Everything-Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer. I first heard this song in my friend's car and have been blasting it on repeat ever since. Whenever I'm at a house party or out with my friends we are jamming to this song. It's great for running since I can pace myself to the beat.

On the Floor-Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull. This song has a slower beat so I tend to start my runs listening to this song or Till the World Ends. I loved Jennifer Lopez after her first hit so I'm partial to her. She makes good music to dance to.

Thriller/Heads Will Roll-Glee Cast. I'm a huge fan of Glee so of course there would have to be a Glee song on here. I'm a fan of their mash ups and this one has been my favorite by far. I like both songs and would never thought to put them together. It's a great pump up song.

These are just a few songs to get me going. I'm currently working on a playlist for my 5k on Saturday and these songs will be on here :)

Summer Time!

This summer has been treating me very well! I have ran the Bolder Boulder and I'm doing another 5k on Saturday morning. I wanted to run more races this year but student teaching wrecked my immune system so my training was off this past winter.

But I try to get in a few miles every morning to start my day. It's been nice running outside and exploring the trails. I like to mix things up since I tend to get bored easily. I found a trail that runs beside Ute Valley and leads back into the park with a huge hill. This is my hard day workout which is easily 3 miles and then some.

Besides running I have been enjoying my first summer being 21! I have seen Colorado Springs in a whole another light. I learned roof top decks are a fun place to hangout and Thursday night is the best night to go out since it's always ladies night lol.

This is probably one of my favorites photos from this summer. My friend from Canada came and I showed her a good time at Copperhead Road.