Welcome!

My name is Ashley. I am 24 yrs old and I am running my first 1/2 Marathon on 3.7.10. I will be heading from Boston to Orlando to run the 2010 Disney Princess Half Marathon. Please enjoy my journey over the next months, as I track my training and thoughts about becoming a runner!

My 1/2 Marathon is in....

Monday, December 14, 2009

9.1 Miles

I did it..I made it to 9.13 miles :)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

It's been awhile!

I have still been training. Not as much as I would have liked. I was sick for a few weeks. Then I fell running. Last night I ran 5 miles in the cold!! This weekend I am going to run between 7-10 miles with a group of marathon trainers! I am also signing up for a 10K on february 7th called Super Sunday. You get free Clam Chowder at the end!!!

Just a little announcement...I have run 110 miles since August 28th! Pretty cool for a beginner runner!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

8.2!

I ran over 8 miles today. Furthest run yet! Yay...my damn nike+ stopped working at 7.34 but my friend Trish mapped out the 8.2 run so we still finished the route. My lower back did start hurting after the 7.34 but otherwise I felt good.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Running in the Dark

Last night I ran 5 miles after work at running club. I have never run at night before. Now it is completely dark by 5pm here so I was a little nervous. I was planning on running 3.5 if my 2 running buds Liz and Anna werent coming. We run a slower pace than the rest of the group so I wanted to make sure they would be there so that I wasnt running alone in the dark. Just like anywhere you should be careful. I was pleasantly surprised that the route we run was more well lit than expected. Its kinda sketchy because we run along the Charles River and there are no fences preventing you from falling in so I try to keep to the street side, just incase of an accident. A few people in the group did fall last night. I ran a 10:31 min pace which was my fasestes 5 mile run. My first 10K was faster/further but in terms of my 5 mile running club session it was the fastest yet in 53 mins. I also won a pair of Mizuno winter gloves, for running outside in the snow/cold. Ive never won a raffle so I was pretty pumped :) All and all it was a good night!

Monday, November 2, 2009

My Farthest Distance Yet!

I broke 7 miles 7.2 to be exact. It was a big leap from  6.2 (10K) to 7.2 but I decided the easiest way is to add on my the mile or  if it gets too hard ill do 1/2 miles. My lower back is sore but It felt good other than that. I never imagined ever being a runner and its amazing what you can set your mind to! My step mom gave me the book "Born to Run" by Christopher Mcdougell which is supposed to be amazing. I cant wait to start reading. My 1/2 Marathon is approaching in 4 months!!!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Nike+ Human Race 10K!

Well I completed my second 10K in 01:05:04 today. I litereally just signed up a few days ago. I definitely wasnt planning on doing another one so soon! I was a minute slower than a few weeks ago due to inclement weather....rain puddles mist etc. This was being tracked by my Nike +, they didnt have chrono chips since it was a free race. But all in all it was more of a fun run than anthing. I highly suggest you get a Nike+ (See post on my other blog "A little Bit of Everything" to track your progress. Since 8/28/09 I have run almost 70 miles! So crazy! Definitely a cool race..free dry fit t and free food :)

Here is a pic of Derly and I after we finished!!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Spinning Victory

Tonight I went to spin class for the first time in over a month. I had been focusing on running since the end of August. I wanted to share that it was the easiest spin class Ive probably ever taken. I did the same resistance as usual. There were just a few subtle differences. It physically jsut wasnt as hard, I didnt sweat as much and I drank less water....these combined mean one thing...my stamina/endurance has built up! I could actually tell a huge difference and I know its because Ive run so much...over 50 miles since 8/28! Its really amazing how the human body can change and stregthen! Its a great feeling :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

10K under my belt!!

My official time for my 10K was 1:04:14 which was an amazing time! I thought id be finishing around 1:20:00 so that was huge for me. I did finish without stopping as well. I ran with a bottle of water so I was able to cruise through the water stations! It was a great day. Can't wait to start training for my half marathon now!!!!

This is a horrible action pic of me rounding the corner to the finish!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women

Wow I can't believe its here! I am running my first 10K on Monday. My Mom will be there to see me cross the finish of a 6.2 mile race. I will be happy when this is over so that I can move on to my new mile stone of half marathon training for March! I am so excited!!!

My goal is under 01:30:00 without stopping! Really shooting for 11 min miles 72-75 mins!

I will post the results on monday!

Have a great Columbus Day Weekend Everyone!

Monday, October 5, 2009

One Week Until my 10K

My first 10K is in 1 week! I cannot believe its finally here! I am confident that I will be able to run it without stopping! I am aiming for 11:30 minute miles finishing in less than an 1 hr 20 mins but we will see. Id rather it take longer and finish than to stop. I am excited to run this and then keep training. I am trying to get to 10 miles before it gets really cold. Then I can add on the other 3 in the spring when it gets a little warmer before the 1/2 Marathon in March. Tomorrow I am going to run 5 miles then rest the rest of the week up until the race. I dont want to risk getting injured too close to the race. Ill let you all know how I do!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Hatha Yoga

Happy Sunday....as I mentioned yesterday I fell while running so my knee isnt feeling too hot. I wanted to get some sort of exercise in so Brittany and I walked on the treadmill for 20 Mins and then did an hour of Hatha Yoga. This was my first time trying it...it was much more difficult than id imagine keeping balance and stretching virtually every muscle in the body...Here is my favorite pose the airplane....its definitely important to cross train on the days when youre not running which is every other day to avoid injury!


Saturday, September 26, 2009

Bittersweet Saturday

First the positive....I ran 6.47 miles this morning....I am totally ready to take on my 10K in a few weeks!!

The negative is that this morning I woke up at 9 to go to my running club, which starts at 10am. Of course the bus didnt come and I was 5 minutes late and they had all left without me :( so I was pretty bummed because I really wanted to run around Jamaica Pond. The run was supposed be around 3.7 miles....

Then I decided that I was going to go for my own run so I headed down brookline ave towards fenway and then went around the charles..then at 3.28 miles I was going up some stone stairs near the hatchshell, missed a step and fell. My right side took a pretty hard fall...knee gashed open even though I was wearing running tights. I walked it offf for a few then decided since I was downtown I would try running again....needless to say I ran over another 3 miles to get home on comm ave...putting me over 6 miles with just less than a few mins break so I was pretty proud of myself....ive been icing my knee and hopefully it doesnt bruise too bad.

I definitely learned how easy it is to fall so training outside this winter should be interesting for sure!

All and all today was successful despite missing the running club and falling!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Broke 5 Miles tonight!

I ran 5.10 miles in 56:11 at an average pace of 11:00 min miles....my goal is to get another mile in before the 10K on 10/12/09!!

5 mile Tuesdays

Today is my 5 mile run with the City Sports Run club....this is only my second time running that far....On Sunday I want to try to Run 6 in order to fully feel ready for the 10K in a few weeks....The first weekend in October I will be in NYC and will only be able to run on a treadmill if the hotel has a gym...I am starting to get excited to take on more and more miles in preperation for march!

Monday, September 21, 2009

1/2 Marathon Training!

I decided to track my thoughts,feelings, and training log for a 13.1 mile race in Disney! Please offer me feedback if you are a runner or any sentiments are greatly appreciated. Feel free to leave comments or email me at agniven@gmail.com