Challenge Days 12, 13, and 14

Day 12 was 3.5 miles and Abs. Day 13 was 2.6 and abs and lower back. Day 14 was 3.7 and Abs. Days 13 and 14 my runs were cut short due to Thunderstorms. I need a couple of 5 to 7 mile runs this week.

Challenge Day 11

Ran 2.3 miles with my girls in the Shenandoah National Forest! We ran the Fox Hollow Loop and then a mile on the Dickey Ridge Trail. It was a beautiful day for running and for spending time with nature. I also did a 2.4 mile run after returning home around the neighborhood. I did an abdominal workout, the abs are looking nice ; )

Challenge Day 10

Ran 5.2 miles at a 9 minute mile pace. Felt good, but the only issue I had was sleeping last night. I went to bed around an hour after the run and my heart rate felt rapid at times last night. I guess I need to wait a little longer before going to bed. Taking my girls to the Shenandoah National Park later to do some trail running and hiking. I might add in a little run later to add more distance.

Challenge Day 9

Ran 4 miles around the neighborhood, with Abdominal workout. I planned to take the girls biking tomorrow while I ran, but Susie was put on a medication that make her sensitive to the sun. I'll be running around the neighborhood again tomorrow.

Challenge Day 8

Ran only 3 miles today at 28 minutes. Hopefully tomorrow I'll fit in a longer run. I took Molly on the 3 mile run too, she is becoming a very good running buddy. I did weight training with the upper body today, with some light abs and lower back exercises. My back has felt great the last couple of days, so I'm going to continue the light lower back exercises daily.

Challenge Day 7

Ran 4 miles at an 8:30 pace. Felt really good!!! I also did light abdominal exercises. One week complete only 3 more weeks to go. My allergy medications have worked really well, no issues with asthma for the past couple of weeks. Lock me in a small room with a cat and I'm sure not even the allergy meds could save me. LOL!!! Hopefully I'll pick up the pace on the runs that are 4 miles or less. I would love to have my 4 mile pace under 8 minutes per mile.

Challenge Day 5 and 6.

I took it a little easy this weekend. Ran 2 miles on Saturday and 3.3 miles on Sunday. My back has been sore, so I've been doing ab and lower back exercises over the past 2 days. These exercises decreased the back pain and I feel good today hopefully I'll get a good run in.

Challenge Day 4

Ran 3 miles at a 9:40 pace and did an abdominal workout. I'm really sore and stiff today, so I took things a little easy. I'll step it up tomorrow and run faster and put in 4 to 5 miles. Tomorrow will be a good running day with temps in the morning in the low 40s and mid-50s as the high.

Challenge Day 3

Went running on the Washington and Old Dominion while my girls rode their bikes. Chasing the girls on their bikes gives me a better workout, but the road crossings slow us down. We went 6.5 miles and it took about an hour. Also did a light abdominal workout. I'm thinking about doing another run on the W&OD very soon. It worked out very well with the girls on bikes.

Challenge Day 2

Did a lower body workout and ran 2.5 miles at a 9 minute mile pace. Did feel well during the run, so I decided to also do an evening run. Ran 4 miles at a 9:20 mile pace. Stitches come out tomorrow!!!!

Challenge Day 1

I did a light core workout, mainly abs. I ran 3 miles at an 8:33 mile pace. I plan to up the miles after day 3, after I have the stitches removed from a minor surgery last week. If the incision area has healed well, I might attempt a 7 to 9 mile run on day 3.

My 28 day Challenge!

I know that I disappeared for awhile, but I'm back on track. I took the winter off and mainly worked out with weights. To motivate myself, I ran a 1/2 trail marathon in Roanoke Rapids the second weekend in March. I ran this race without training for it, plus took 4 months off. My time wasn't good, but it wasn't awful either. It took me 2:18 to run on muddy trails. It was also entertaining to watch many of the runners slide around on the mud. My trail shoes prevented me from sliding on most of the muddy areas, but I had a few slips on the trails.

Now for the challenge! I'm going to train everyday for the next 28 days, no rest days. Some days will be more challenging than others, but I will run everyday, and do either a core, lower body, or upper body workout each day. Some days I may only run 3 to 5 miles and others will be long runs. I homeschool so that is a challenge too! I will have my girls follow me on their bikes on long run days. My goal is to run 25 miles under 4 hours after the 28 days are completed. I would like to set an exact date for 25 miles, but that is dependent on when my husband is in town and can act as my aid station at certain points.

I needed a goal for motivational purposes so I created my own challenge. Hopefully it kicks me into gear, so I can have a wonderful summer of trail running.