You guys should feel very special right now, because when I turned on my laptop Netflix was still open to episode of The Office that I fell asleep to yesterday afternoon. Instead of just resuming the episode, as I was tempted to do, I opened up a word document so I could share my latest running achievements and adventures with you.

I am running a bit behind schedule today. I slept in much later than I originally planned, so I might just end up writing this out now, and then editing it and posting later after I get off work (or the next day). So, I’m sorry for the late blog post this week.

Overall though, I had a much better week of running than I have in the past couple of weeks. This is especially good, since I am scheduled to start my half marathon training (officially) next Monday.

I’m excited about finally getting to start the training, I am also very nervous, and I still need to sign-up for the race. So, I’m sure this week will be very interesting. The weather looks great though! The weather app I use said that we’d have phenomenal running conditions all week, so I don’t have any excuses.

Anyway… let’s talk about this past week!

Outside Run and Thirty Minutes of Non-Stop Running

That pretty much sums up the highlights from this past week. I did one outside run last Monday. I just did one mile, because I haven’t done any outside runs in a while and I didn’t want to overestimate my abilities.

I did that run with my boyfriend, and afterwards we were planning times for other runs that week. He suggested the next run we do, that we go for thirty minutes straight. Immediately, I said something along the lines of, “Yeah, but with a couple of walking breaks, right?”

To my surprise, he said no! He then preceded to tell me that he thought I could probably run four miles straight.

We weren’t able to meet up for any more runs after Monday. We originally planned on going Wednesday, but it was very hot (like above 90^oF even after 7 p.m.) so we decided not to go.

I was pretty bummed, because Wednesday was Global Running Day, and I really wanted to participate. But, I am also okay with not exerting myself too much when it starts getting dangerously hot outside.

However, on Thursday morning, I knew that I had to run. So, I got on the treadmill and I pushed myself to run for thirty minutes straight. And I did it! I felt amazing! I didn’t even realize I was capable of running for that long, because I had been so use to just giving myself walking breaks every now and then.

I also tried my best not to look at the clock on the treadmill. I focused on watching TV and keeping track of how many songs I had listened to. I figured that on average most songs are about 3-4 minutes long, therefore I would need to listen to between 8-10 songs in order to run for thirty minutes. This really seemed to help because I wasn’t focused on watching the clock, which I think made running for the full thirty minutes a little bit easier. Plus, the Pandora workout station was playing some really great songs that day, which made things even better.

On Friday, I went for another run. However, I told my mom it was National Donut Day, and so she left to go pick up donuts right before I started my run. This wouldn’t have been a big deal, except I was running on the treadmill, so I saw when she came home with the donuts.

I then learned I have almost no willpower when it comes to donuts, because I was only able to continue running for about five more minutes before I had to go get a donut. I know I should be more disappointed with this, but it was National Donut Day, so I don’t really know what else we should’ve expected.

Also, one of the fitness/running/nutrition people I follow on Instagram is also in love with donuts and so I the entire time that I was trying to run while there were donuts in the house, I just kept thinking, “Yeah, she’d probably stop for a donut, right?” (You can check out her page @yeahgirlnutrition. And for the record, she didn’t post anything about National Donut Day, but she did participate in Global Running Day).

All-in-all, I’d say running one mile and then eating a donut is still better than not running at all and eating a donut. I mean, at least if you’re trying to train for a half marathon. Otherwise, I don’t really care when you chose to eat a donut.

Wrap-Up

Okay, I really need to start getting ready for work now. I’ll post this after I edit it and stuff when I get home from work (or the next day). Again, sorry for a late post.

I am super proud of myself for pushing myself to run more this week than I have in the past few weeks. Also, I ran for thirty whole minutes this week, which is still incredible to me. I think I am definitely ready to begin my half marathon training next week.

Thank you as always for sticking with me through this process. I cannot believe how far I’ve come in these past few months.

Motivation Monday (On a Tuesday)

“She believed she could, so she did.” –R. S. Grey

Okay, so really it took someone else believing in me for me to push myself to the full thirty minutes of running, but I had to believe in myself too.

That’s all for this week! I’m excited to read about your goals. I’ll be back to tell you more about mine next week.

Week 16:  
Miles run this week: 5.1
Miles run total: 59.30
Overall mood: Strong