Thursday Thirteen

1. Yesterday was my first official “trail run.” I met some friends at the Sansom Park trails. I figured it would take about 50 minutes to run 5 miles. Yeah, I was just a bit off on that. It took an hour and 12 minutes to run 5.28 miles. The first loop was pretty scary for me. I’m a klutz to begin with, so I stared at the ground (with my shoulders hunched over) and tried to avoid tripping on a rock or root. Needless to say, my back is killing me today.

2. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to “try something new.” Check.

3. I’ve been on a running streak lately – 7.15 miles on Sunday, 6.41 miles on Monday, 7 miles on Tuesday, and 5.28 miles yesterday. My feet feel fine (knock wood), and my pace is getting a bit faster (9:32-9:47/mile average pace). I’d like to get to the point where 9:09 (sub 4 hour marathon) pace seems more moderate (and less like a tempo run).

4. Today I’m doing the “Club Fed” boot camp class (45 minutes) during my lunch break. Oh, it’s going to hurt.

5. My 10-day yoga pass expired last Friday, and I squeezed in yoga session #10 just in time. I’m taking at least a week off to let my wallet recover. I have noticed some improvements in my “practice,” and I don’t want to lose those. So I need to get back into it soon (maybe tomorrow or Monday).

6. Cliff and I tried Texas Pit BBQ (which is apparently a chain?) in Saginaw on Friday night. It was pretty tasty. The atmosphere was a lot like Railhead. You order your food at the counter, and they have frozen scooners of beer. I got the special, a pulled pork sandwich with 2 sides and an iced tea, for only $6.75. Two thumbs up!

7. After dinner, we went home and watched “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Odd movie, but fairly entertaining.

8. The weekend was mighty productive. I cleaned the inside of the house on Saturday while Cliff worked on the yard. I did the grocery shopping on Sunday and also got a few hours of studying in.

9. I’m kicking some bootie on my CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) studying. I’m going to take the hardest part (financial transactions) first, and hopefully I’ll be ready in a month or two. I sent my application to Austin this week, and I’ve invested over $1,000 in this endeavor. Unlike the CGFM (Certified Government Financial Manager) and my remaining class needed to teach, I must complete this!

10. This weekend we’re heading to Ardmore. Meanwhile, I’m getting mentally prepared to camp on Saturday night ;)

11. I’m looking forward to a semi-long run around Regional Park and the Ardmore HS track. I haven’t run out there in quite awhile (excluding the lap around the track during the half marathon).

12. I made Kate’s banana bread recipe last week and brought it into work. Success! So I’m going to make some to take to Ardmore this weekend (like a good daughter-in-law).

13. Mother’s Day is on Sunday, and I conveniently left my mom a card and a wrapped present when I was home a couple weeks ago! For once, I’m not late on my gift giving!