Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in a few days. Nothing really new and exciting as far as my running is going. I have a 5k race next weekend, but my running has been low so I'm not looking for a PR. I am looking to finish around 25 minutes, but we'll see what happens. I am finding it so tough to get back into my running routine. It's becoming more of "work" for me than fun. I'm hoping to change that.

I'm working all day Friday, then I'm going to the boyfriend's til Sunday. I'm excited!!! He's such a great guy :). Other than that, nothing else is really going on this week. Just wanted to write a quick post.

Back to Reality

Well everyone I'm back from my vacation. The cruise was amazing! We all had such a great time and met great people. The weather was extremely hot and sunny except for one day at sea. It poured and the ship was rocking like crazy. We were going through a storm, and you definitely felt it. Other than that, it was great.

In Aruba, me and my dad went tubing. That was a blast! I managed to stay on the tube, but it was tough! Next stop was Curaco. We decided to just stay on the ship and hang out in the pool. St. Maarten is one of my favorite islands. There we went to Orient Beach. It is a nude beach and when we walked down to that side, there were some sights that I wish I didn't see lol. We went banana boating with a great family we got to meet. It was a fun day! St. Thomas is my other favorite island. Our excursion got cancelled, so me and mom just went shopping. Then we came back on the ship and stayed in the pool for our last vacation day.

The nights were awesome too. There was always something going on. We made the best of every day and night!

It was the best vacation ever! We got to meet a great family and have a great time!

Here are the 2 links to my pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002886&l=cafd2&id=1331610058

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002887&l=0ff51&id=1331610058

Belmar 5 Race Report

Today I ran the Belmar 5 race. It's a flat fast course, but the weather killed it. We didn't start until 8:30 and it was already scorching out. When we started, the crowds were tough to get through and nobody was moving. I wound up running the first mile at 8:40 and knew I wouldn't PR, but I was ok with that. My legs were tight because of all the mileage I have been putting in, and the humidity didn't help it. At mile 3, I was at 26:06 and felt like stopping. The sun was beating on me and I was dizzy and light headed. I knew I had to finish. I didn't care if I collapsed once I crossed the finish line, but there was no way I was quitting. I walked through one water station because I needed to take a break. Everyone around me was pretty much at the same pace and we all looked like we were dying! I crossed at 43:46 and I wasn't disappointed. Once I crossed though, I sat down and thought I was going to die. The weather had a lot to do with my time, but it's ok because I ran strong.


Now I get to leave for vacation and have a nice peaceful week! I am beyond excited :)

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!

On Wednesday, I got in my second long run of the week. I moved it from Sunday since I'm going away and didn't want to miss it. Mom and I went to the boardwalk very early to run it. BIG MISTAKE. I guess my body had no time to recover from my 13 miler on Sunday, and I felt it. We got the distance in, but it was tough. My legs are tight and would not move. It was almost as if I was trying to run and my legs weren't going with me. I'm hoping that while I'm away, my legs will recover. I plan on 4 days of running, but short distances. 5 miles will be the MOST. Also, I won't be teaching any classes for a week. Both me and mom think that our legs need this "break". We are hoping to come back and be all recovered.

Tomorrow morning, we are racing the Belmar 5. Just because of my luck, the weather is going to be 91 degrees and 100% humidity. YES! Not :( It's scaring me because my runs haven't been as strong/fast in this weather. My 5 mile PR is 41:15 (which I ran 3 weeks ago). I'd love nothing more than to beat that, but I'm not having my heart set on it. I'll be happy with anything under 45 minutes. But if I do PR, I will be overjoyed!!!!!!

I guess these last few weeks have been different/difficult. I don't know what was up with me, but I'm not that person anymore. I'm back to my good old happy self. I've learned a lot. One thing I've always known and will never forget is to never trust anyone, NO MATTER WHAT! My family is the most important thing is my life and I would never to anything to jeopordize my relationship with them. I thank them for always sticking by me and being the best family anyone can ever ask for.

As far as guys go, I'm still single. I'm very happy right now. I want to just enjoy the summer and see what happens. I am not looking for anyone right now, but if someone good comes a long and is worth holding on to, then I'll see what happens. Everyone deserves a chance.

I'm pumped for our cruise! We are getting picked up Sunday morning at 5 am!!!! But it will all be worth it. We have about a 4 hour flight to Puerto Rico and then we board the cruise. Right now, the weather in PR looks good and it looks great in the islands as well. Let's keep our fingers crossed it stays that way. We want hot sunny weather!!!!

Well, I'll post pictures and a little report of our trip when I get back :).

Another Hot Day!!

Today was pretty hot here!! We just hung out in the pool and had a relaxing day. My puppy is crazy in the water. Chloe stayed in all day with us and just kept swimming and playing catch. On the other hand, Sandy my 8 year old lab is not doing well. She had to get blood work done yesterday and it all came back ok. It's good and bad at the same time. We were hoping it was her thyroid but it's not. So on the bad side, she has to get more tests done when we get back from vacation. I am keeping my fingers crossed she is ok and in my heart, I know she'll be fine!!!

I just did my 3 mile recovery run on the TM. It was suppose to be a 10:30 pace but I just couldn't help but go faster. It wound up being 3.1 miles in 30 minutes. At 6:30 tonight I have to teach my Zumba class. This is my favorite class to teach!! It's an hour of latin hip-hop. We def all work up a sweat.

Tomorrow I have my 15 miler scheduled in the morning. It's supposed to be extremely hot and humid here once again. We are going to the boardwalk early to hopefully beat some of the heat. And then at night, my run club runs start again. We have speed work to do. I may take it easy at night depending on how my legs are. I don't wanna push it too much.

So that's about it for today. Each day I'm getting more and more excited for the cruise. I just can't wait to be there already!!!!!!!!!

My Babies :)

Since having 1 dog wasn't enough, me and mom decided to "surprise" my family and bring home a puppy. She's now 5 1/2 months old and she's over 60 pounds!!! I had to share a few pics! Chloe (the puppy) is a golden lab and Sandy (my 8 year old) is a yellow/white lab. They are good together, but Chloe is a pain in the ***. She's always into trouble and full of energy. So we tire her out by letting her swim. She'll swim for a good 3-4 hours straight and then sleep all day!!! I love them both; they are part of the family!

13 miler felt like forever!!

Once again the weather here in New Jersey is as humid as it gets! Thankfully, the sun stayed in but it was 97% humidity. Did not make it easy to breathe. I went through several bottles of water and it still didn't feel like it was enough for me. Everytime I would check my garmin to see how many miles we were it, it was so low! When I looked the first time me and mom said we had to be up to about 3 miles, and it was only 1.50!!!!!!! We knew it had to get done, so we finished, but complained the entire time. My legs were tight and did not want to move. I was ready to quit at 12.50, but mom made me finish. I was beyond excited to look at my watch and see 13 miles. This run was harder than any of the 20 milers!! Ugh. I'm glad she made me finish, but at the time I was NOT happy with her! I made her run on the other side of the road hah. All these long runs during the week are really taking a toll on my legs and we're only 3 weeks in!! O well it'll hopefully get better and will all pay off when the marathon gets here! This is another brutal week of training. Here's the schedule for the week:

Monday- 4 miles
Tuesday- off
Wednesday- 15 miles
Thursday- 10 miles
Friday- off
Saturday- Belmar 5 race (hoping for a PR but this training is slowing me down)
Sunday- 3 miles (first day on the cruise)

Next week, my mileage won't be as high because there is no way I am doing a long run on the ship!

So tonight I'm hanging home. We leave for vacation soon so I'm trying to get some outfits together. I can't wait to just be on the ship sailing through the caribbean. It'll be a great 8 days!

4th of July

So yesterday's run was not successful. My knee and calf have been bothering me ughh and it def did not make the run easy. And the weather didn't help. I don't usually mind running in the summer, but the humidity is a killer.

Tomorrow, I am running 13 miles. Hopefully, it'll go well. My and I are running the boardwalk in the morning. I really can't imagine training without her. Right now, all of our runs are about 30-45 seconds FASTER than my training runs last year for the marathon. So far, that's a good singn. My knee just has to hold up!!

Well today was a lazy day for me. It's so hot here so I lounged in my pool and drank some Bailey's with mom :). Got nice and tan though which is always great!!

Just went to the gym to run my 4 mile recovery run. It was a little faster than it should have been, but I just couldn't help it. I did it in 36:50. I felt great and could have kept going BUT I strictly following the schedule so i don't get injured. Tonight I have to teach Zumba at my other gym. My legs are feeling it this week. They are tight, but I'm dealing with it.

Tomorrow morning is another long run, and then we go to a BBQ for the day/night.

Hot Day!!

So the schedule I posted yesterday had to be changed around a little bit. It is still going to be the same amount of mileage, just spread out. It was such a hot day here!! I got in 10.30 miles with mom this morning. We wound up keeping a 9:57 pace which I was happy with. It was so ridiculously hot and humid there was absolutely no clouds/shade. Definitely drank a lot of water and was VERY glad for the run to be over. I felt great the entire time, but was overheated. Legs were very tight from teaching my class last night. But it felt nice to jump right in our pool after I finished.

Tomorrow, I'll run about 4 miles at a slower recovery pace. And then Friday is an 8 miler in the morning. Saturday is my day off woahh!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna need it we're going to a big party for the 4th of July and it usually ends real late!

Well I'm just hanging out tonight! Hope everyone else had a great day!