Week 8 has officially begun!

I woke up really groggy but promised myself that running this morning had to be a priority so I just got up and got ready and hit the pavement with the Boyfriend.  I mapped a route for us but was so zoned into the run that I got confused and we ended up having to get creative with our route to get home.

This morning I had Fleetwood Mac to keep me entertained on my iPhone.  I was really able to just push myself and not worry too much about how much time was left.  I’m so proud of how far I have come.  It’s almost unfathomable at the thought of running 28 minutes.  BUT, I also know if I had to – I could have run another 2 and hit 30 minutes.  But that’s next week and I want to follow the program to a T.

Next run Wednesday and finishing up the week on Friday.  Next week is the final week.  This seems like a dream!

Week 7 of Couch to 5K is done!

Had a set back yesterday and had to put off day 3 until today.  I don’t know if it was the extra day of rest, but I was able to keep up an awesome pace for the first 15 minutes of running.

Chris exclaimed that this run “WAS EASY!” but I wouldn’t go that far. lol  I definitely can tell that my body is getting more and more used to these workouts and I’m so excited.  I’m also glad that the two of us are finally working out on a regular basis and have found something we can both do!

I also miss my running BFF and can’t wait for her to get back from her trip.  I hope she has a great Week 7 ending as well!

One day off – and then on Monday, Week 8 starts and it’s up to 28 minutes of running!

After seeing Liz‘s great 4 small goals for the rest of 2010 from Elsie, I thought I would post my own!

1. Don’t Stop Running! I’ve spent the last 7 weeks training to run a 5k and have put my heart & soul into it and would hate to lose it all by slacking off once I complete the program & 5k.

2. Take More Pics & Video I’ve got my Nikon D100 up and running again and want to get back into loving photography!  Also, my Flip Camcorder needs to get put to use!

3. Cut Back on Sugar Intake I eat a lot of sugar.  I really think it’s important that I cut back.  I think it will be a key part in getting more healthy.

4. Be More Frugal When Possible We’ve been trying to not spend as much money by cooking at home, buying in bulk, checking sales, etc.  I want to continue to be conscious of money we’re spending.

I’d love to see yours! Leave your link in the comments if you pic your own four!

For the last few days I’ve been participating in the Coach Poppy Content and today, while browsing through sites that are also in the contest, I found the Poppy bags in the poppy vines which means I win a prize. I won a $100 Coach Gift Card! I’m so excited – Coach is my favorite. This is such a fun contest – I love seeing so many great blogs that I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. See the vine to the right, if it’s got Coach Poppy bags in the vine – you win too! I would love for one of my visitors to win! Good luck everyone!

Hockey is a big deal in our family. This is our 4th year or being die hard Sharks fans and I am really looking forward to the season starting in October! (September for pre-season!) To prepare for the upcoming season, this week we purchased a La-Z Boy reclining loveseat. I found it on Craigslist and we were able to get an awesome deal on it. It’s a deep purple color – totally different than our beige loveseat! Not something we would have picked out in a show room but the price was right and the dark purple isn’t as bad as you’d think it would be.

Couple the new loveseat (that is SO comfy!) with our fake fireplace, and the big screen TV and we’re ready for Hockey season!

Today was quite the adventure.  For Day 2 of Week 7 I was on my own for the 25 minute run.  This was my very first long run by myself and as you can tell by my route – I had to get creative.  I didn’t want to stray too far from home but did get to see some cool areas in my neighborhood that I hadn’t seen before.

My body did a lot better today than it did on Monday.  It makes next week’s 28 minute runs not seem SO bad.  It’s amazing how your body can just get in a rhythm.

I have tomorrow off now from running and hit the pavement again on Friday for another 25 minute run.  I love this program!

Notice the beautiful Coach flowers on the right side of my site?  I have joined Coach’s Poppy Project!

To make the flowers grow, you have to tweet!  Once you tweet with my hashtag, my Poppy Pattern here will grow and you and I can both with some sweet prizes from Coach!   If you find a Coach bag on the right side of the screen – click it – you could win something!  To get in on the action, tweet the following:

Grow, Poppy! Grow! #CoachPoppy #rosebud http://www.coach.com/poppyproject

You can also tweet by clicking one of the bottom flowers on my page.

Thanks in advance for tweeting for me and good luck!

Today was Day 1 of Week 7 and I’m so excited to let you know that I was able to run the 25 minutes!

My body is pretty tired and worn out.  We did go into the hot tub for a bit when we got home to reward our abused bodies. lol

I’m really proud that all three of us were able to complete the 25 minutes – we’ve come a long way in 6 weeks!

I’m going to ice my shins for sure tonight and make sure I stretch a lot today and tomorrow.  And I get to run it all over again on Wednesday & Friday!

This post brought to you by the letter F.  For FRUSTRATED.  Or other F words.  I’ll let you use your imagination!

Today finished Week 6 of the Couch to 5k program.  I was only able to make it to the 20 minute mark of running and got a horrible side cramp.  I wanted to keep going and finish that last 5 minutes but it felt like I had totally hit a physical & emotional wall.  I broke down a bit when I couldn’t finish.  I know I shouldn’t be so hard on myself but I was so close – yet so far.

Monday starts 3 days of running for 25 minutes next week so I have more chances to redeem myself.  Congrats to my BRFF (best running friend forever lol) for doing great today and completing the run!  Chris also did a great job by running the 20 minutes with me after only doing a few days of the program!

I wore my Oscar the Grouch shirt while I ran – how appropriate!

Emo girl, out.