Updates :)

It's that time of year again when school takes over my life. No longer am I buried in fun-read books, blogs, and mindless reality TV shows, but required reading material presented by respective professors. UGH. School has kind of taken me away from blogging, so I apologize for a bit of a delay in updates of running and fun things.

Unfortunately, I made the super-tough decision of postponing 10k training. I'm really not happy about it, as I really started to make some progress, however the plan I followed was just not working out with my school schedule. The training plan I had been using required me to run/cross train 5 days a week, when I had only ran 3, which work perfect for the days I had class after work. The day I was up from 4:30am until 11:30pm absolutely killed me and killed my motivation for 10K training. I honestly cursed it all weekend when I couldn't "catch up" on sleep, and the last thing I want to do is get burnt out from training. I didn't want it to ruin my newly found love of running. So for now I'm postponing training, but I am in no way giving up running. I love it too much not to. (Again: 6 months ago, those words would have never been uttered out of my mouth. Crazy, I know.)

I signed up for the ISC Corporate Challenge (more info here) to run the 5k for my company. Reviewing the route this week has me absolutely giddy, as I was lucky enough to run this area of Indianapolis when I stayed overnight downtown for a concert a month or so ago. It's along the White River/Canal area of Indy as well as IUPUI, which has a beautiful campus. But, I'm quite nervous. As I signed up for the Challenge, I didn't exactly realize what type of event it was, as the event was only open to our Downtown/Indy campus locations previously; this year it was opened to all regions and employees throughout the state. Also, I didn't realize it was "competitive," meaning we gain points for how we finish. (I.E. Someone has to finish last, and it'll probably be me.)

Regardless of how I finish, I will updates on Twitter throughout the event (September 28), and you can follow along over on Twitter. I'm a shutterbug, so expect plenty of photos! You've been warned...

Overall, I'm really looking forward to it. It gives me a chance to see one of my friends who now works at another region, a friend who has really pushed me and cheered me on during my weight loss and running journeys. She is participating the 5k Walk, and I might join her as a cool down opportunity after running. We also plan to share lunch downtown, gelato after included, so I might need that extra 3 miles. ;)


While vising Toledo a few weeks back, I did decide to complete a 5k that was nearby. Through the power of Google, I found a 5k benefiting an organization that supports those with Developmental Disabilities in the Northern Ohio area. It was actually kind of neat signing up and putting my address on the event form, as it caught the eye of the volunteer registering me. She asked how I heard about the 5k, and all I could say was Google. Of course I didn't travel for the purpose of the 5k, as we were in the area for a close friend's wedding, but I figured, "Why the heck not?!" The registration fee went to a great cause, and the swag wasn't too bad either! I had a lot of fun running amongst strangers, and since it was so cool out first thing in the morning, I actually set a new pace record at under 11 minutes! For. All. 3. Miles.

That was definitely a neat accomplishment. I can easily say cooler weather definitely suits this runner. The only con to the event was that the road we ran on wasn't closed. We did deal with some traffic but not too much, and most drivers were respectable during the event. We actually ran near the Wabash Cannonball trail, unfortunately not on it though. Hopefully next time I find myself in Toledo, I will have the opportunity to run the trail, as it looked absolutely beautiful!

Overall, September has been a crazy-busy month, and now that I get to throw studying and projects with school in there, it's going to get much busier. I do still plan to run 3 times a week, and will hopefully have a race recap up in the near future for the ISC Corporate Challenge. I'm still sad about not being able to fit the 10k Training in at this time, but school won't last forever (even if it feels that way)! I still have my eyes on the prize for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon next May.