Chuy's Hot-to-Trot, and On Being a Grown-Up

This past Saturday I did the Chuy's Hot-to-Trot 5K, which was a last minute decision for me. My biggest lure to sign up? The FREE $10 DICK'S SPORTING GOODS GIFT CARD. That means an addition to my Nike Tempo Shorts collection, of course. ;) The race was on the other side of town, and I had to get my packet before the race, so I made sure I left plenty early. Got there, parked (thanks to the extremely helpful volunteers directing traffic), and got my race packet with no trouble. I then made my way to the starting line via part of a running trail in the area (kinda funny, don't know why).

It was an unusually cool and breezy May morning here in Central Texas (about 65 degrees). I started in the middle of the pack in case they decided to turn off the mats a la the Bun Run last weekend. Started off at a nice pace, and gradually picked it up. The course was fairly flat (as promised), so that was nice. Started to get a little winded with about a half a mile to go, but I was okay with that since it meant that I was leaving it all out there.

Towards the end, I was kinda racing with a guy, and I could tell he was NOT okay with potentially being chicked. :-p I wasn't even planning on trying to pass him, since I was pretty pooped by then. But he kept looking over at me, and then took off. Had I not been trying to finish strong, I think I would have stopped and laughed. Anyway, I finished in 31:35, a PR for me. My slow-poke goal in the future? Break 30 minutes on a 5K! Grabbed a banana and some water, went home, had breakfast, napped, and went shopping for work clothes. Because...

I am now employed full-time.

Before, I was working two part-time jobs (I'm still keeping one of them for the extra funds) . Even though it almost added up to a full-time position, I never really felt like a "real adult." You know, one that gets up, goes to work, does stuff, has lunch, does more stuff, and comes home. This left me feeling a little aimless at times (and still in somewhat of a college/grad student mentality), but it also meant that I could run and workout pretty much whenever I wanted (weather permitting). But now, being a "real adult" and all, I'm going to have to put myself on some sort of schedule, like other real people do. I've got to decide whether I want to chiefly work out in the morning or in the evening, and stick to it. Maybe this fixed schedule will help me get out of a mini-funk I've been in with regards to exercise in the past few weeks. This week, I'll try evenings, and maybe next week I'll try some mornings. I'm not a morning person at all (I sometimes fell asleep in morning classes--in grad school), but it would be nice to have a workout done before starting the day (though it does mean starting said day at 4:40AM. Blech.).

Any thoughts on scheduling oneself?

Motivation and Four-inch Heels

So, I seem to keep losing motivation to run on Saturdays, when I've tentatively scheduled my long runs for half-marathon training. Everything's fine during the week, but then Saturday comes and I have no desire to get out of bed, let alone run in the morning. If I only had to do a short run that could be done on a treadmill later in the day, I don't think there'd be a problem. Or if it wasn't like the surface of the sun by 8AM, and I could just run outside later than 6... I guess I'll keep working on the scheduling of this training business, and we'll see how it works out. This week I'll either do my long run on Wednesday or Friday, with Saturday as cross-training. We'll see...

I was going to run this Saturday, but ("what had happened was...") my Dad was in town buying me a new car (!!!), and I figured I'd just stay in and make pancakes for him. After he left, I thought I might hit the treadmill at the gym, but...yeah. You get the picture. Later that night, I went out dancing for a friend's birthday. I haven't been to a club in ages, so I was kinda of excited to get all dolled up--which happened to include a rather fierce pair of four-inch heels. It was a fun night, with lots of hip-hop, dancing, and perhaps a few too many drinks. Since it had been so long since I'd been out to a club, I'd forgotten that my feet feel fine while I'm groovin', but the pain kicks in as soon as I slow down. Actually, it wasn't too bad, but I did decide to let my feet (and my knee, which also probably has a beef with the heels) a rest. Not to mention the fact that I didn't get home 'til about 3:30...

This week got off to a good start with a nice 3-miler this morning (would have been nicer if that lady's dog had been on a leash--who walks their dog at 6AM?!?). This week, I'll concentrate on getting my miles in before the weekend to avoid the end-of-the-week malaise.

How do you stay motivated during the weekend, when the temptation of laziness (or greediness?) sneaks up?