I think I've lost my mind...

In addition to the 5K I signed up for (it's a week from Saturday... EEK!!) I registered for a Boot Camp Challenge session yesterday.

Seriously, what the hell was I thinking???

I'm horribly out of shape.

And the class meets twice a week at 5:45am and on Saturdays at 6:45am.

Have I mentioned that I am NOT a morning person? Quite the opposite, in fact. I prefer staying up late and often find myself starting a huge project, like laundry or house cleaning at 11pm. And I love Love LOVE sleeping in.

I proudly exclaim to husband every weekend, after rolling out of bed at the crack of, um, 10:30am that "sleeping in is my FAVORITE!"

So. I obviously need to make a lifestyle change if I expect myself to be up and ready for an intense workout pre-sunrise. Or fake an injury to get out of it altogether.

I kid.

I figured I might as well start my new routine this morning, even though the class doesn't start for 3 weeks. And I've got to get my ass in gear and train more diligently for the 5K. Alas... alarm went off at 7:30 this morning.

Uuuuggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Somehow I managed to get out of bed, narrowly avoiding stepping on Miles, make my across the room, get dressed and get out the door.

Not so bad thus far.

Then I started my run. I stupidly picked a loop this morning that starts on a pretty major incline. I barely made it to the top. After the hill from hell, my run wasn't so bad. I managed to make it about 1.7 miles before dying. I wasn't happy with myself for having to stop and walk but I seriously thought I was gonna pass out.

Damn you, irregular heartbeat.

I walked the remaining .3 miles back to the house. Miraculously though, my time was great. Before I tell you how I did, let's please keep in mind that I'm a slow runner. And when I say slow, I mean slow. I'm not trying to be all "woe is me, I only run a 9 minute mile... Gawd, I'm so slow." I really am slow. I expect to come in close to last place at the race next weekend. So much for self-confidence ;)

Last year when I was running regularly, my pace was between 12 and 13 minutes a mile. That seemed perfect for me. I could maintain my pace and run for 3-4 miles.

This morning my pace was just over 11 minutes a mile. And that included the walking. I really don't understand how I've picked up my pace so drastically... especially with the 5lbs I've gained since last year and the lack of a regular fitness routine.

I blame this increased speed however, for the fact that I haven't been able to make it farther than 2 miles on a single run so far this season. I really need to regulate. If I don't get my pacing under control, I don't think I'll be able to finish the 5K running. And it would be a total embarrassment (to moi) to have to walk with all of those people watching. Maybe I should invest in one of those runner's watch thingies. Anybody have any suggestions??

I did it.

I signed up for my first ever road race.


On June 5th, I will be joining thousands of women in the Friehofer's Run for Women in downtown Albany.


Thankfully it's only a 5k.


I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I've really been slacking in the running dept. this year. I blame the weather. Because one, I don't do cold, and two, I hate treadmills.


For about a week and a half (I'm awesome with committment), I was at the gym just about nightly, forcing myself to run a 5k on the treadmill. The first couple of days were fine. After that though, I would've preferred a punch in the face. Talk about boring.


Last night I dragged my butt outside (yay for nice weather!) and managed to run a whole... wait for it... 1.56 miles. And it took me 20 freaking minutes.


FAIL.


My goal for the 5k is to finish in under 35 minutes. Not gonna happen at this rate. I'm going to attempt a 2 mile run tonight. So if I don't appear tomorrow, please come search the side of the roads in my neighborhood ;)

Bathroom Re-Do Two

Remember this post? I finally decided to act on it, in an attempt to mask my bathroom's hideousness.

~BEFORE~

Unfortunately, this picture actually makes it look kind of attractive. In a red-headed step-child kind of way.

Being the impulsive person that I am, I made the decision one morning last week, mere minutes after waking up, to make a drastic change to the bathroom.

Drastic and semi-irreversible.

Pre-breakfast decision making is not something I would recommend.

~AFTER~

Two hours to prep, measure and tape, three hours to paint.

Not terribly happy with the outcome.

All I see is a circus tent.

I think the stripes are much too wide.

Although in my first inspiration pic, I love the broad width of the stripes. I guess vertical as opposed to horizontal can really make a difference. I was undecided... Husband voted for vertical. Decision made.

::SOURCE::

I love this inspiration room. The clean, simplicity of the black and white is so attractive. Maybe if I narrow my stipes down I'll come closer to this look. If black wasn't such a bitch to paint over I'd probably already have done it.

::SOURCE::

Although it's gonna take a lot more than a few strips of paint to turn my neglected 50's era bathroom into something respectable.

Anyone want to volunteer a tip or two?

Or a few thousand dollars to start completely over? ;)

Non-blogger of the year.

If there was an award for lack of posting, I'd easily win.

I've been terrible with the posts lately. I have quite a few things I'd like to ramble on about but truly just haven't felt like it. There have been far more important things to keep me occupied lately.

Like eating.

Apparently Miles gave daddy "money" for Mother's Day to buy me something. Not Bella and Miles. Just Miles. According to daddy, Bella is a bad little girl and didn't think I should get a Mother's Day gift. He's funny, isn't he? Hopefully he doesn't play games like this when we have actual children ;)

Anyway, "Miles" gave me a shiny box of Jelly Belly jellybeans. MY. FAV. Pick a night from the past week. Any night. I can guarantee you would've found me on my couch in my fun (i.e. stretchy) pants with the box of Jelly Bellys next to me and the computer open on my lap looking up Jelly Belly recipes. Yes, I am a dork. But did you know that if you combine a Chocolate Pudding JB and a Very Cherry JB is tastes JUST like a chocolate covered cherry??? I found it more than amusing to try different combos until I wanted to explode.

I've also been a little more than busy with work lately.

Good excuse for the lack of posting, right? At least I'm doing something productive and making money, right? Eh.

Work gets in the way of everything fun. I'd really prefer to win the lottery.

So. Posting.

Like I said earlier, I do have quite a few things to tickle your brain with. Let's see how many I can get through in the next two weeks. Who wants to set the over-under?

A little preview...

1. The brother's wedding
2. Lots of home improvements
3. The countdown to my first ever road race. i.e. the day I might possibly die.
4. A new recipe or two

Please don't hold your breath for these posts. I wouldn't want to be held responsible for your demise.