Week 17

April 22- Rest

This week is already starting off really crazy and I am feeling the stress of classes. Tonight I was on campus until 11pm working with one of my groups on our project that is due on Wednesday. My plan was to hit the gym after meeting with my group, but because we didn’t finish until 11 I wasn’t able to make it (as this is the time when the gym closes…)

I know tomorrow night is going to be a long night as well as we try and finish up our project. I am hoping I will be able to run tomorrow, but know that getting to the gym this week is going to be a struggle.

April 23- 2 mile run

I was able to get a quick two miles in today at the gym. It wasn’t much, but it did feel good and it helped relieve some of the stress I am feeling from classes.

Sometimes getting to the gym or motivating myself to go run seems to be what stops me. Once I am actually running I always am happy I did. To help with this mindset, I started doing this simple task: put on my running clothes, lace up my shoes, and THEN decided whether or not to go on a run.

As I start to do this, I have noticed a change in my attitude to run. This little trick is something I want to continue, especially on the days where I am tired and am trying to talk myself out of going to the gym.

April 24- Full Body Circuit

Today was weight day. I completed my arm and leg workout, ending with a 5 minute stair climbing session. I started using the 12.5 pound dumbbells and I am starting to see the results in my arms. Not only am I getting more toned, but I am also starting to notice the muscle building as well. I am excited to see where I will be by the start of summer!

NOTE: Tonight I noticed a new little bump on my right wrist, near my wrist bone. After doing some research, I think it might be a ganglion cyst from weight lifting… Thankfully mine doesn’t hurt and it is fairly small, but I am worried it may get bigger if I continue to strain my tendon from weight lifting. So, I think I am going to stick to just running for a while and see if it will go away on its own. It looks like it might take a month or two… while this does put me back in my arm workouts, I think it is the best decision as I don’t want this cyst to get bigger and possibly cause more problems in the future.

April 25- 3.3 mile run

Today was another treadmill kind of day. I hoped on, put in my headphones and ran for as long and as fast as I could. In 30 minutes, I almost got in 3.5 miles, with miles times in the 9 minute range.

Now that I am going to be focusing more on running, I want to start cutting down on my mile times. I like the idea of staying around 3- 4.5 miles, as this is the distance that feels the most rewarding when I run them.

April 26- Rest

Today is my rest day and I decided to stick with this and focus on getting all my homework done for weekend. This is the first day I have had completely free this week and I want to take some time for me and relax!

April 27- Hike

Alex and I decided last minute to go and do a short hike (about 3.5 miles round trip). We hiked the Gold Mine Trail out in Sumas. It was pretty sunny out and the perfect temperature for a hike. As the weather gets nicer, I hope to try and get a hike in every weekend or so.

My goal is to post some of the photos from the hike on here sometime this week!

April 28- Rest

Today I toyed with the idea of going for a run, but opted out and chose to rest instead. I spent the day doing some homework and enjoying the sunny weather. I think the nicer weather is what is going to make my gym schedule harder to follow. As it starts to get nicer all I want to do is be outside soaking up the sun. I need to make sure I hold myself accountable and continue to run.

I am excited for what May will bring and the results that will follow in my running routines.

Week 18

April 29- Bike

I haven’t biked in awhile and thought I would give it a shot today. I biked for 20 minutes and was surprised by how much of a sweat I was able to work up! It felt good to give my shins and knees a break from all the harsh pounding from running on the treadmill or outside. It’s a great way to recover and something I should keep in mind as I work towards running everyday instead of weight lifting.

My wrist still has that cyst and sometimes I notice a dull ache in it. I am hoping it is not getting worse. It doesn’t seem to be getting bigger, but I wish I could do more arm workouts to keep them toned.

April 30- Rest

I was more sore than I thought I was going to be from biking. On my walk to classes this morning, I couldn’t believe how tired my legs felt. After my six hours of classes, I was beat and had so much work to do that I opted out of going to the gym. I have a feeling with this week being midterms, it is going to get pretty hard to go on runs. On the other hand though, it is supposed to be really nice and sunny this week. Hopefully this will hope motivate me to get outside and run!

May 1- 3.82 mile run

I got lost on my run today… I found a new trail and didn’t realize it was going the opposite direction I wanted it to. I turned my ideal 2.5 mile run into a 4 mile run. Although the run took longer than I had planned, it did feel really good to be able to go out and explore a new trail.

I am hoping to figure out a more direct route that can incorporates this trial as the weather continues to get nicer.

May 2- Rest

I wasn’t able to get out and run today. I got too wrapped up with classes and trying to catch up on homework and meet with various groups for upcoming projects. The quarter is picking up big time and a lot of my time is going to group projects.

This Saturday Alex’s family and I are signed up to do the Haggen to Haggen 5k. It will be good to get back into a racing mindset and run competitively. This is something I hope to do more of once I get more money (as some of them are a little expensive…).

May 3- Rest

This week I am really struggling to make my runs… I had to meet with a few groups today and by the time I was done I was exhausted and not wanting to go back out. Next week I really need to make sure I hold myself accountable.

May 4- Haggen to Haggen 5k

This run felt really good! I ran it in 26 minutes, which felt fairly fast but was so rewarding to sprint across that finish line. The one thing I noticed while running was how competitive I get when others are racing around me. I was pushing myself harder than I normally do when running alone. It felt rewarding passing people all the way until the finish line. The first mile of this run was mostly downhill which helped my time. It felt good to coast the first mile and push hard on the last two. I couldn’t believe how motivated I felt during this race and how much I was able to push myself to keep the 8:30 or lower mile pace.

Having the tough mindset is something I want to continue implementing into my weekly runs. This is what will make me a better runner and allow me to push myself longer distances.

May 5- Rest

Today was homework and chores all day. I spent time catching up on classwork and also spent time studying for a test I have on Tuesday. Most of my time on Monday will be dedicated to studying. I am still going to try and make it to the gym everyday this week though!

Gold Mine Trail

April 27th, 2019: Alex and I decided to venture out to Sumas Mountain and hike the 3.5 Gold Mine Trail. Along this hike we encountered an old gold mine safe door, a mine cart, some debris, and a cabin a top a grassy field.

This hike is filled with history, click here to check it out. Some of the history I will hit on throughout this post, but on the site above you will find much more!

Here is how the hike starts: a muddy trail right along someones property line who has a few cows grazing off in the distance. This is by far the most odd looking trail head I have seen. This part of the trail only lasts for about 10 minutes or so until you get into the forest and are on a more “legit” looking trail.

There were a few different trials you could take. The one on the left took you to the cabin and the one on the right took you to the old gold mine. We chose to go right. Below are a few photos I took of the old site:

This spot was really cool and only took about an hour to hike to. There wasn’t much to see, but the parts that we did find were interesting to look at. There was also a river that was close by, adding to the ambiance of these sites.

As you can see from the photos above, there are little pellets of hail all over the ground. It must have hailed not too long before we started our hike. Thankfully we missed this part! Below is close-up photo of the hail. It was beautiful how these pellets lined the trails and fell into the cracks of different things laying on the trail (like the photo below).

Since getting to the gold mine area didn’t take as long as we thought it would, we decided to go back and take the left trial towards the cabin. This trial added about another 30 minutes to our hike but was totally worth it.

This part of the hike was fairly steeper than the other part. It was so rewarding coming up from the steep trail and opening up to this flat, green area with a little cabin, fire pit, and outhouse.

At first, Alex and I were debating whether or not to take this trail up to the cabin, as it seemed a little too out of the way. I am so glad we decided to though. This cabin has a stove inside and areas to sleep if needed. It was well worth taking the extra time out of the hike to sit up here and explore the area around the cabin. It was so sunny and so green! This is by far one of my favorite reasons to hike in the PNW: there is green all around you.

Found outside the Cabin, I loved how vibrant they looked in the sun!

Overall, Alex and I really enjoyed this hike. It seemed short but it was a good way to start off our hiking for the season. I am hoping to get a few more hikes in this May! Stay tuned to hear about the other places Alex and I decide to adventure to!

May

I can’t believe how fast April went! As I look back at what I did this month, here are some highlights I wanted to point out:

Longest run: 3.6 miles
Increased the weight on dumbbells to 12.5 pounds on each side

With progress comes things I still need to work on: I took WAY too many rest days this month… about 2 or 3 a week. This is too many and I need to hold myself more accountable to my workouts. It is always hard to fall into a solid routine at the start of the quarter, but now that we are about a month in getting to the gym should start to become easier.

As I focus solely on running, due to that ganglion cyst on my wrist.. bummer 😦 I want to make sure I continue to increase my millage. By the end of April I want to be running around 4.5 miles consistently; meaning at least two times a week.

As it starts to get nicer out, I will be able to run outside and push myself to find new routes and easily get in a four mile run.

Another goal I have for this month is to hike a lot. I am hoping at least once every two weeks if not more. Many of these hikes will have to be local, as Mt. Baker is still too snowy.

I can’t wait to see what results May will bring me, especially as we start nearing swimsuit season!!

Monthly stats

May seemed to be full of rest days, especially during weeks 18-20. The majority of these weeks were rest days. But I did finish the month out strong on week 21 with a steady week of workouts. I’m hopeful this will NOT be the case for June!

Week 16

April 15- 3.17 miles

Treadmill running is starting to get old. I feel myself not pushing as hard and not motivated to even get on the thing!

So, today I decided to try a 2-1 workout. This means 2 minutes uphill at a faster pace and 1 minute recovery. At first this seemed easy, but about a mile in it started to get increasingly harder. I followed the 2:1 workout until I hit mile 2, where I ran flat at a faster pace until I hit 3.1 miles.

It feels good being able to switch up my runs like this. It makes them go a little faster and the uphill is a great way to train instead of always running flat.

I am longing for the sunny and dry weather to be able to get out and explore Bellingham!

April 16- Full Body Circuit

By 4pm the gym is packed and trying to maneuver around all the other people working out starts to become a chore. I was able to get a couple reps in on the dumbbells, using the 12.5 pound weights. These seem way heavier than the 10 pound ones I am used to… but the burn felt really good.

It is an important reminder to not get stuck in the same routine on the same weights. I need to make sure I am increasing how heavy the weights are when my workouts start to get easier. I have the form down, so now it is time to put in work and see how much progress I can make this month!

April 17- 2.72 mile run

Guess what?!?!? It was sunny out today! Meaning I was finally able to get a solid run in outside. I decided to take a new route through Fairhaven, cut over to Fairhaven Park, and run the trails through the park back to my apartment.

I still need to take time and figure out where all the trails lead, as I somehow ended up straying from the trail and ran through residential neighborhoods instead… It felt really refreshing getting outside and breathing in the fresh air.

My lefts were still a bit sore from my run on Monday, so I tried not to push it too hard on the hills during this run.

I couldn’t believe how refreshed and happy I felt after completing this run. It put me in a positive mindset and I was able to focus and get a lot of homework done.

April 18- Full body workout

I was feeling very sluggish today at the gym. Classes are starting to pick up in pace, and group projects are beginning to take up a lot of time. I completed my workout, but it didn’t feel as rewarding as it used to.

I need to figure out a way to have fun at the gym, so it doesn’t start to become a chore. I think I may need to start switching up my routine and see if that will help. I’ve been doing the same workout for almost 3 months now and I think it is starting to get a little old… this weekend I will do some research and find some new things to add to my routine.

April 19- Rest

I had to meet with a few groups today, which seemed to drag on. By the time I was finished with everything it was close to 4 and I was not wanting to go to the gym.

It seems like the days I don’t have classes are the busiest days out of the week. These are the days where I meet with groups, get ahead on my homework, and I often forget to take a break long enough to do something I want to do.

I need to make sure I have a healthy balance of stress and stress relief on these days!

April 20- Rest

Today is my moms birthday and also the funeral of Alex’s grandpa. We spent the whole day down in Renton and Seattle celebrating two very different things with both sides of our families.

It was really good to see so many people. Before we knew it, it was already 10pm and time to head back up to Bellingham. The went super fast, but it was also very tiring. I honestly done know the last time I was that social for so long!

April 21- Easter

Happy Easter! Today I spent the day catching up on homework, meeting with a group, and hitting the gym in the afternoon.

Again, today I felt very sluggish at the gym. I went through and finished most of my routine, but there was no urge to push myself harder.

I really need to come up with a new routine that will help keep my motivated to push myself harder.

Week 15

April 8- 2.55 mile run

Today was treadmill running. This run seemed to take forever! The miles were going by so slow and I didn’t feel motivated to push myself further than the 2.5 miles. I think part of the lack of motivation is from being on a new schedule and trying to adjust my sleep/ wake times to that.

As the week goes on, I hope I will be able to push myself a little harder at the gym and try to get back to where I was before spring break: running at least 3 miles consistently.

April 9- Full body circuit

After having three classes and sitting for almost six hours straight, it felt really good to go to the gym and move around for a bit. I used the stair climber for legs and the dumbbells for arms. I have also been starting to use the bicep curl machine, this machine feels really good on my muscles and I don’t feel like I am straining when using it. I think I am going to try and use more of the machines for my arms on top of the dumbbells.

April 10- 3.6 mile run

I pushed myself to get to the 3.6 miles. At first, I told myself I would for 2.5 miles and see how I am feeling. I hit the 2.5 and told myself I could go for another mile. I pushed through and made it that extra mile. It felt really good pushing myself like this.

It is so easy for me to get in my head and make excuses for not running longer distances. I think part of this is being stuck on the treadmill as it dumps rain outside. Usually when I run outside I will go a little further than planned exploring different routes to take or trails to try. On the treadmill it is a completely different story: I want off as soon as possible. I am aching for the nicer weather to be able to get outside again and start pushing myself to the 4+ mile runs.

April 11- Full body circuit

Today I decided to focus on my legs more than my arms. I used a few leg machines, then hopped on the stair climber for a bit. I also did a shorter dumbbell workout and used the bicep machine.

Overall, it feels good getting back into a routine of going to the gym everyday. I feel more relaxed after the gym and way more motivated to get homework done and study.

April 12- Rest

Not having classes on Friday’s is going to make it hard to get motivated to go to the gym. I am thinking I might make Friday’s my rest days and go on Saturday and Sunday instead.

I still haven’t made a schedule for April yet… I have gotten side tracked with my classes and all the work they are already requiring. I will get to this hopefully soon!

April 13- Rest

Today I was really lazy. I got up, ate, hopped back in bed, and watched Netflix for most of the day. Today was my mental health day. I didn’t do any homework, I just laid in bed and took a day to relax. It felt really nice having a day like this. I feel like I have been on the go this last week and a half and it was nice to just take some time to do the things I wanted to do.

April 14- Full body circuit

Today was focused on arms and legs again. I am starting to get more comfortable with the arm machines and am therefore spending more time on them. It feels good being able to switch up my routine with dumbbells and the machines. Today I mainly used the machines and did one set of dumbbells. I am thinking on Tuesday I will go with my dumbbell workout and if I am not too tired, use the bicep curl machine.

The stair climber is also becoming a usual part of my body circuit. I can feel my legs burning and the best part is, I can speed up the workout or slow it down. Today I did a quick 10 minutes on the machine, but was able to climb almost 1,000 stairs by increasing the speed of the machine. I definitely worked up a good sweat from it today!

Week 14

April 1- Rest

Happy April Fool’s! Today is Monday and the day before spring quarter starts. I decided to not go to the gym until tomorrow, as Alex has to buy the gym pass and it won’t activate until tomorrow. Today was spent reading through syllabi, getting notebooks ready, and trying to memorize by schedule.

Hoping this quarter goes as smooth as the last one did. I am also looking forward to the warmer and sunnier weather towards the end of this month and into May.

April 2- Run 3.1

The first day of classes went well, so I decided to hit the gym on my way home. I got done with classes around 4 and was done at the gym around 4:40. Usually I don’t like going around this time, as this seems to be the peak time where everyone is at the gym, but when I am only using the treadmill, it really isn’t that bad.

This run was definitely a little harder than I remember, since it has been over a week and a half since I last ran or worked out at all. This feeling is always bitter-sweet. I hate how much harder workouts become after taking time off, but when the workout is over the sore muscles is a nice reminder why I should be trying to workout every day.

I have a feeling this week will more of a challenge to go to the gym everyday as I have a whole new schedule to work around. By the end of this week, I should have a better idea of what my weeks will look like and be able to put together a gym schedule for this quarter.

April 3- Rest

After class today, I felt overwhelmed by all the information given out in classes. I decided to not go to the gym, but instead focus my time on organizing my planner and figuring out what is due when.

I still need to make a schedule for April. Hopefully I can get around to this sometime this upcoming weekend.

April 4- Full body circuit

After classes ended at 4, I hit the gym to do my arms and legs workout. I took it a little easier today since it has been so long since using weights. I used the 10 pound dumbbells and the stair climber. It felt good using these muscles again.

It feels good starting to get back into a good routine after taking so much time off over spring break. It makes me start to wonder what summer will be like, I am thinking I might need to get a gym membership somewhere around my house to do my weight workouts!

April 5- Rest

It’s Friday and that means no classes! Welcome to four day weeks and three day weekends!! Today I spent the day sleeping in, doing some homework, and then headed down to Seattle to spend the evening and weekend with my family. My grandma had a heart attack earlier last week and this weekend we are going to go visit her in Wenatchee.

April 6- Day trip to Wenatchee

The drive over to Wenatchee seemed to take forever, we ended up hitting some snow at the top of Stevens Pass which got the nerves pumping and after that it was dumping rain the rest of the way. We got to Wenatchee around 12, just in time to join my grandma for lunch. The afternoon was spent socializing and eventually time for dinner.

My family ended up going out to a local pub in downtown Wenatchee called Saddle Rock Pub and Brewery. The food there was SOOOO good! I would definitely recommend their pizza, salads, starters, and of course their beer. I also really liked this sign they had on one of their walls:

We got home from Wenatchee around 9:30pm. After the long day, we were all fairly tired and worn out from the 6 hours of being on the road. It was good to see my grandma, and I am glad she is doing okay after being in the hospital.

April 7- Back up to Bham

Back up to Bellingham I go. I feel like I have done so much driving lately. Between our trip to Spokane and the back and fourth from Wenatchee and Bellingham I am exhausted from driving! It will be good to be back in Bellingham where everything is accessible by bus or walking.

I used to day as a personal day. I got back up to Bellingham, did some homework, and just relaxed for the day. I am going to make sure I get on a consistent schedule this upcoming week and try to get around to making an overall schedule for April this week.

Week 13

March 25- 2.8 mile run

Today was my Green Lake run! It has been quite awhile since I ran Green Lake, but it brought back a lot of memories from my cross country years in high school. It felt good to get up, get ready, and go for a morning run.

The air was fairly crisp and cold. It felt really good to do a morning run. I don’t get to do these very often because of having morning classes. With my schedule next quarter I won’t start until 1o am or 12pm, so I am hoping to be able to fit in morning runs on Monday’s and Wednesday’s before my noon class.

Tomorrow we fly out to Vegas for a few days to celebrate my 21st birthday with my parents. I can’t wait for the warmer weather and to experience the strip as a 21 year old…

March 26- Heading to Vegas

Today has been such a long day! We flew into Vegas around noon and immediately checked into our rooms at the MGM Grand and headed for lunch at Wolfgang Pucks restaurant.

Today was mostly spent eating good food, drinking, gambling, and walking down the strip to the Venetian for dinner.

March 27- Full day in Vegas

We decided to head downtown today and check out Fremont Street. There were a lot of street performers and hotels to go in an check out. My parents, Alex, and I all had way better luck gambling down here than we did in the hotels… Maybe we should have come down here yesterday instead!

I really liked the feel of downtown. The hotels were quite a bit older, but the people and casinos seemed a little more laid back than the ones on the strip.

Tonight we saw the Ka show at the MGM. It was very well done and definitely worth seeing if you are ever in Vegas! After the show Alex and I decided to walk down the other side of the strip to check out some of the bars and casinos. We ended up
accidentally getting $25 margaritas at a place called Cabo Wabo, not knowing how much they cost before ordering them. We then made our way back to the Cosmopolitan and got drinks at one of the bars inside. Before we knew it, it was close to 12:30 so we decided to make our way back to the MGM to gamble a bit more and eventually head for bed.

March 28- Back to Seattle

Our flight back to Seattle wasn’t until 3:55 pm. We got checked out of the hotel and decided to walk to strip for a bit and do some shopping before we headed to the airport. We went inside the M&M store as well as the Coke store.

I think it is safe to say we were all pretty tired from the past two nights. So most of the day was spent hanging out before our flight.

By the time we got off the plane, out of Seatac Airport, and finally home it was around 7:30pm. Just enough time for me to do a load a laundry, pack, and head to bed before driving to Spokane.

March 29- Spokane Bound

Alex and I are heading to Spokane to meet up with a few friends! The drive itself took about 4.5 hours. We got there around 5pm, just enough to get dinner and head out for the night to meet up with a friend.

The night was spend hanging out, going out, and meeting a ton of new people. Overall it was a very fun night and great to see some people from high school.

March 30- Full day in Spokane

We spent the majority of the day trying new restaurants and watching the Elite Eight basketball game: Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech. Unfortunately Gonzaga ended up losing, so there were a lot of unhappy people in Spokane tonight… going out you could tell people were in a funk after the game and Alex and I ended up calling it early because of that.

March 31- Drive back up to Bellingham

Oh man! Today was such a long day of driving. We drove from Spokane to Ellensburg to meet up with one of Alex’s friends. He showed us around and we ended up staying for about an hour to grab lunch.

After that we hit the road again and ended up getting stuck in traffic for an extra hour and a half. Finally once the accident cleared, we made it back to my house in Seattle around 6. Just in time to grab some food, catch up with my parents, pack the rest of my stuff, and head up to Everett to grab Alex’s car and the rest of his clothes.

We eventually made it up to Bellingham around 9:30pm. I think it is safe to say I am tired of driving for awhile!

April

March was not too successful with the whole gym workout thing. As sit here and browse through my March weekly reports, two weeks of March were spent trying to recover from the flu and before I knew it, March was over and spring break was here. I only worked out about a week or two in March, but I am hoping to change that this month. With that being said, I need to work on a few things:

This month, I want to make sure I apply myself when I go to the gym. I need to make sure I continue to work hard every time I go to the gym and get the most out of the workouts I do.
Another thing I want to work on this month is staying motivated and making sure I make it to the gym 6 days out of the week. While this might seem like overkill, going to the gym acts as a stress reliever and this is something that will come in handy as classes start to pick up and midterms draw closer.

Here is my plan for the month:

Monday– Long run (at least 3.1 miles)
Tuesday– Full body circuit
Wednesday– Run
Thursday– Full body circuit
Friday– Rest
Saturday– Run/ bike
Sunday– Full body circuit

I am excited to see what this month will bring and the results that will follow!

Monthly stats

April looks like it was consistent across the board. There was a good mix of gym, run, and rest days, meaning I’m starting to find a good schedule to these workouts in each week. I wonder if the warmer weather has anything to do with this…

Week 12

March 18- Finance Final

It’s Monday and I am ready to get this finance final over with. My final is not until 3:30, so I spent most of the day studying and preparing for it. It is also one of my roommates birthdays, so I am planning on celebrating after my final is over.

Update: the final went well and now it’s time to celebrate! We took our roommate out for pizza and beer. It was chill and a great way to spend the evening.

Because of today’s crazy schedule, I didn’t make it to the gym. I was looking at the weather for tomorrow and it looks like it will be 67 and sunny. I can’t wait to get outside and run in the sun! It is going to feel so good getting out and running in the fresh air instead of the stuffy gym.

March 19- 2.5 miles around Lake Padden

WOW was it beautiful today! Alex and I started our morning off with brunch at Mt. Bakery Cafe in Fairhaven, WA. It was our first time there and it definitely didn’t disappoint! I am hoping to post pictures of it in the photography section later this week!

After brunch, was walked around Fairhaven for a bit and made our way down to Boulevard Park. It’s only 11 and already getting warm, it feels good getting a taste of spring weather.

After our food coma wears off, the plan is to do a slow jog around Lake Padden (as Alex and I are both VERY out of shape from being sick). I am excited to have the opportunity to not only spend time with Alex today, but also get out and go for a run while enjoying the sunny weather while we have it!

Lake Padden was a success, we ran 2 miles and walked the last 1/2 miles in the 70 degree, sunny weather. It was way warmer than I thought it was going to be, I was overheating in a long sleeve. I think next time I run outside I might need to break out shorts and a tank top… What a weird thing to even think about, as it was just snowing two weeks ago!

March 20- Rest

Today I decided to take a rest day as I was studying for finals and getting ready for Friday’s endeavors. I did do a quick ab workout tonight. It seemed a little more challenging than normal. I need to get back in a better routine of doing this, as it only take 2.5 minutes.

Tomorrow I am going to run Lake Padden again, I feel like I need to redeem myself from walking the last 1/2 miles on Tuesday. Can’t wait to get back out there and enjoy the sun!

March 21- 3.1 miles around Lake Padden

I decided to run the lake going the opposite direction I normally do. By doing this, it allows me to run a little over 1/2 of a mile extra around the lake before ending up at my car. I am able to rerun the flat 0.3 miles that I run at the beginning of the trail and back which gets me to an even 3.1 millage.

I was really motivated to run today and actually got really good times! I finished in 27 minutes and 44 seconds with an average mile pace of 8:55. This seemed fairly fast for me, as I am usually running a constant 9:20 mile on the treadmill. I guess this just goes to show how important it is to push myself harder on the days I am stuck at the gym on the treadmill due to weather. Fortunately, I don’t think this will be an issue as spring time draws closer!

It felt really good pushing myself. I usually try to take it slower on the uphills and speed down the downhills, but today I pushed myself on both parts. This was a challenge, as the uphill killed my lungs. I could feel the burning in my chest from my lungs trying to push oxygen throughout my body and it felt really good! I haven’t felt that feeling since running races back in cross country during high school.

I was in a racing mindset today. I could feel myself pushing past the burning in my legs and lungs and it felt really good. It made me miss racing competitively. This is the mindset I want to have during all my runs. I am not quite sure what made me more competitive today, maybe it has to do with being sick and not going to the gym as often I have wanted to these past couple of weeks.

I am excited for what the rest of this week will bring for my running, I am hoping to maintain this mindset and continue to push myself for better times and longer distances. I want to get up to running 4 or more miles again, but being sick really set me back. Hopefully by the first week in April I will be back to the longer runs.

March 22- Psychology and Marketing Finals

This morning was packed with back to back finals from 8am until 12pm. After these tests I was pretty tired and decided to take the day off from the gym. I finally made it to spring break and I can’t wait to go to Vegas with my family and then head over to Spokane to see a friend at Gonzaga!

This spring break will be very busy and I don’t think I will be able to make it to the gym most of this week… But I am excited to spend time with family and friends!

March 23- Packing day

The plan is to head home to Seattle tomorrow, so today was spent relaxing and slowly packing for my trip. I also just found a great show on Netflix called Scandal which I have been binge watching today.

I am excited to head home tomorrow and see everyone again!

March 24- Home to Seattle

Today was spent driving home and catching up with my family. I am hoping to run Green Lake tomorrow in the morning before we fly out on Tuesday to Vegas.

I can already tell this week will be too packed to make it to the gym, but I am going to make sure to run tomorrow to get one last workout in before the week picks up!