Ugly Sweater Run

A friend + I did the Ugly Sweater Run this past weekend.  She talked me into wearing my hair like Cindy Lou Who.  I didn't think we would really stand out because I figured everyone would be dressing crazy.  Boy was I wrong, haha.  Once we got out of the car everyone was staring and pointing at us.  We kept getting asked to take pictures with people and how we got our hair to do that (for those of you who will ask...a water bottle).  There's no telling how many pictures are out there floating around of us :)  We were pretty shocked when we didn't win for best team costume, but we got second.  We lost to bought costumes of the bunny and lamp from A Christmas Story.  They were giving away real Christmas trees :)  We had hot chocolate and candy canes, but the beer line was way too long.  It was so much fun!!!   

Life Lately, according to my instagram.

This time of year always seems super busy.  I'm getting lots of things done...or trying to at least :)

The Fast and the Furriest 5K

Zac, Vera and I walked the Fast and the Furriest 5K benefiting the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County on Saturday in 55:35.  We decided to just walk and take it easy on Vera.  It was her second 5K and she loved every minute of it.  She kept looking back at me so excited and like she was thanking me (maybe I'm just crazy).  It's one of the few 5Ks where you can bring your dog with you.  It was a lot of fun!  They even had baby pools for the dogs at the end.

The Color Run :: Memphis

Zac + I ran The Color Run5K on Saturday.  It was CRAZY!!!  I was shocked at how many people were there (10,000).  We got there early and the line up was already super long.  They let you go in waves of 1,000-1,500 people.  We were wave 5.  It was neat to see that many people dressed up in white in one place.  I was excited to get to the first color zone to see what it was all about :)  I stayed in the middle (low color lane) and covered my mouth with my buff band.  It wasn't too bad.  Zac didn't cover his mouth and he said he almost choked haha.  I left that first color zone without much color at all (bummer!).  Every color zone it got packed and there were lines on the outside to get the color so I pretty much stayed in the middle dodging people that were laying on the ground, haha.  I was trying to keep up my pace as much as possible, but it was hard to move around people.  Zac + I lost each other about halfway through the race.  I didn't even stop for water and made my best time ever which I was very happy about!!!  Yay!  I finished in 32:21.

Breakaway-Bardog Tavern 5k

before

during *Zac is in the orange :)

hitting the "turbo boost" towards the end

after

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

We ran a second 5K.  It was around downtown and along the river which was pretty cool.  Zac ran with me this time which was sweet :)  I beat my last time by a minute.  I thought I might do better than that but oh well.  I'm just glad I finished it and didn't get a worse time.  I'm not really that concerned with time right now.  I'm just trying to pace myself + not burn out.  I'm glad we don't have another 5K for a month.  Haha.

Our FIRST 5K // Elvis Presley

This past Saturday Zac + I ran in our first 5K.  I was so excited/nervous that I even dreamed about running it the nights leading up to the race, haha.  One of my biggest fears (along with many first timers) is that I didn't want to finish last or have the worst time.  I have been having some pain in my left foot, but thank goodness I didn't feel it on race day.  I made a playlist to keep me motivated with slower songs in the beginning to make sure I wouldn't wear myself out and fast songs towards the end to make me push harder.  I also used the RunKeeper app to track my time + mileage + coach me at certain mile intervals (slow, steady + fast).  I took walk breaks at the water stops and some of the bigger hills.  Looking back now, I could have run more but I'm glad I kept it easy for my first one.  I was really proud of myself and even started tearing up at one point.  It's really neat to look back to our first training day when I thought running 1 minute + walking 1 1/2 minutes for 20 minutes was tough.  Running in a race is very inspiring + I was shocked at how easy it was + how my time improved.  My official time was 40:09 and Zac's was 32:05, but he came back to run through the finish with me :)  We are running in another 5K this Sunday.  I hope to beat my time! 

I can cross run a 5K off my Summer Manifesto :)

Summer of Run (and love)

Zac + I started running this summer and it has been amazing.  Amazing seems like a crazy word to describe running/cardio/exercise, but it really has improved our life.  It makes you feel good about yourself, more energized + all around HAPPY :)  Don't get me wrong, it can be really hard + frustrating some days.  We have been running in the summer heat + humidity which is an extra challenge.  I'm looking forward to running in the Fall.  We started by using the app Couch-to-5K which I would highly recommend.  It tells you when to run + walk and then gives you your mileage + minutes per mile at the end.  I stopped a few weeks short because I started training with Women Run Walk Memphis group.  I run with them one day a week now + run with Zac two other days.  I now use the app iSmoothRun to keep track of our intervals.  It also tells you so much more information like calories burned, tracks your miles you put on your shoes, weather, etc. which I LOVE.  I have never run in my life + this summer have signed up for 5 maybe 6 5Ks.  I can't wait to see how the first one goes on August 11th!  I'll let you know :)

Do you run?  Do you LOVE it?  Any tips for me for my first 5K?  I'd love to hear ♥