Sometimes wheels are just nicer.

I went rollerblading today. Josh and I finally had a day off together and decided to make the most of the gorgeous weather, so I put on my wheels and he hopped on his bike. We went on the same trail that Pam and I run at least once a week. It's near the house and mostly smooth so blades wouldn't be a problem.

We had to take a quick detour at the beginning so Josh could put some air in the tires ... the bike had been sitting on the patio for a while and with the change in moisture and temperature over the past few months, the tires were over it. It was pretty funny though, because when Josh hopped on the bike outside the apartment he described it as 'trying to ride through mud' ... in which case I thought he was doing well to keep up with me! There is no way I would have been able to move the bike through mud  ;-)

For those of you wondering ... yes, I did wear plenty of sunscreen and didn't get burned  :)   I even wore a longer t-shirt to make sure I was completely covered. I never want to burn like that again!

So I decided to wear my Garmin GPS watch to keep an eye on the work-out. At one point we were moving at a 6-minute mile pace. All I could think was, "Oh my gosh, there are people in this world who run whole marathons at this pace ... and we are moving fast!" I couldn't imagine ever being able to run that fast. My fastest time ever is a 7.5 minute mile for 3 miles ... and had the race been longer, I am pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to keep up that pace!

The trail also went a lot faster. It was kind of nice for a change. There are days when I struggle to run that trail and here we completed it in an hour. Sometimes wheels just make a world of difference. Oh, and because there was no real impact on my joints, my left knee didn't ache at all :)  Hurray!

So yeah, I very much enjoyed the afternoon with my love. Sometimes it's fun to just get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors! Though I wish we had time to do stuff like this more often. I want for us to be an active family rather than a couch potato family. You learn so much about another person when you are out experiencing new things together! Not to mention, of course, the health benefits. Exercise should be fun ... not a chore.

Anyway, a good day indeed! May there be many more to come!
Onwards and upwards my fellow runners ... even if you did choose wheels today!

Starting My Journey

I decided to do this a few days ago while I was on the treadmill at 24 hour fitness. I was running at 4.6 mph, hitting 30 of 45 minutes and it was then that I decided the year 2011 would be the year I would complete my very first full marathon.

2010 is the year that I started taking running seriously. I started to think of it as something more than just exercise to do on a regular basis so I could continue my habit of In&Out.

In 2010 I completed 4 races: A 5k with my dad and friends. A 10k trail race that almost killed me as I had never ran a trail race before and I got lost, a 15k trail race which was beautiful and another 10k in which I came nearly last - only beating a dad with his 10 year old daughter and an 80 year old man with his caregiver.

I feel like those races were just to test the waters, to see if it was something I wanted to pursue. And I am itching to get back on the road and/or trail.

So just about 2 weeks ago I joined 24 hour fitness. I joined for two reasons: 1) So that Josh (my fiance) and I could spend more time together and 2) so that I could start strength training and cross training. 2 weeks in, and even though I am feeling very tired and a little sore, I am excited to continue.

I have started this blog so that I can take you with me on this new adventure. You can follow me, encourage me, join me, advise me or just tell me how crazy I am!!! I hope you enjoy my blog and I look forward to following your blog and reading any comments you leave me. Have a great day and keep moving!