SUPAH STAAAAAAR

Today I ran two whole miles.... WITHOUT STOPPING.

I KNOW. It's crazy for the past two weeks, I have done the first mile, then stopped to drink water and sit with my grandmother for like 10 minutes and then be on my way again, back to my house. But today, my grandmother was still on her way home from the hospital (minor stroke, she's totally fine though), so I didn't have a place to stop, and so I said to myself, "SELF! You are just going to keep going today!"

AND I DID, AND I DIDN'T DIE.

And I didn't even want to kill myself or anyone else at the end! I was just like so pumped up that I DID IT. And then I had some water and a victory shower and it was AWESOME.

New records (per my Nike+ GPS app):
Farthest run: 2.07 miles
Longest run: 26:34
Fastest 1K: 7:05
Fastest mile: 12:44!

I AM A CHAMPION!
My very dear friend/boyfriend's sister Fredi has invited me to Pat's Run with her. Pat's Run is 4.2 miles, and it is, coincidentally, exactly two months from today. And I think I'm going to do it. It's not nearly as expensive or as exhausting and impossible sounding as the Tink 1/2, but it's sounds like a totally doable first step! I am really very excited about it. I shall probably register for it next week.

Also next week, I think I might try to add in another mile. Start pushing myself a little more. However I may wait until Thursday or Sunday of next week, because I will not be running on Sunday because I will be at DISNEYLAND. Booyah. I think it is okay to skip that day though since I will be walking around and on my feet all day anyway, and I plan to download the pedometer app on my phone so I can track how far I walked! So that will be fun.

But I can't believe I've been running for two weeks. I mean, look at all my pink little runing stick figures!

The pink marks before the 9th were for other things;
pay attention only to the little running men!

THIS

GUYS! I didn't run today, but I did find this, and I just had to share with you:

The Last Place Finishers at the first Tinkerbell Half Marathon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUmrVGsrR-o&feature=youtu.be

Sorry it won't let me embed it because it's an unlisted video on YouTube, but it is so worth watching and so motivational! Except that it kinda motivates me to finish last! hahahaha

That is all. I just wanted to share that and now it's back to studying! 335 more days... !

The right outfit makes all the difference!

I AM OFFICIALLY A RUNNER! Wanna know why? Cuz I officially have legit runner people clothes! Check me oooooooooout!


I had to do something to it to make it stay right side up.
For some reason the picture just really wanted to be upside down.

No I did NOT add the wings and the sparklies... That just happened. :)

But isn't that cool!? My parents brought me back an actual Nike running shirt and running shorts from Las Vegas! So now I'm official. :D It makes me very happy. And the shirt is GREEN! My favorite, and Tink's favorite.

My running continues to be awesome. I keep pushing myself a little bit further with my run/jog segments and then continue to like power walk between. My fastest miles now is 13:19, and I have officially run more than 10 miles! GO ME. My parents drove by me when I was running home and they waved and gave me thumbs up. It was nice. I love to have so much great support. :) My left knee started to bother me a bit so today wasn't my fastest, but I kept up my pace, not fast, just steady and not walking or running, somehwere in the middle for most of the way home.

But anyway, I have awesome running clothes now. And it made me so psyched yesterday to run today. Like I was jumping around and running around the house in them being like "YEAH TADA TADA YEAH I'M AWESOME."

And that's the end of that.

Don't Stop Believin': an appropriate song

You know how people always say that exercise can give you more energy? I've never really expected that to be true, because, you know, it just sounds counter intuitive. Like I'm going to get energy by going out and expending all this energy running around? Does not compute.
BUT IT'S TOTALLY TRUE.

Today I was making flash cards before the time I had planned to go run, and I was like FALLING ASLEEP in my chair. This is probably because I was up super late making adorable geeky Star Wars Valentines for my friends, but whatever. I was so tired, and I was like, UGH NOW I GOTTA GO RUN, but I got up and I did it and MAN did I feel energized after that! Myth: Confirmed!

Anyway, sorry I haven't posted since like Thursday, but FEAR NOT! I continue to run/jog/walk! And I am feeling so good, because HEY I have run a whole week's worth of running! I have run SIX WHOLE MILES so far! And I keep getting a little faster and less tired/winded/sore each time! For example, first day running, my legs were like HOLY CRAP JOVANIE WHAT DID YOU DO TO US WHY DID YOU DO THAT WE HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE THIS TORTURE. And they kinda kept making me go ow ow ow for like three days. Then on Sunday, they were like Ahhhhhh well this is still uncomfortable and we still hate you for it but okay. And then not sore really after that. TODAY, they are like, oh we ran today? That's cool, I guess we could do that again! And I am no longer having CRAZY COUGHING FITS after running! That happened the first two days which I forogt to mention; is that normal? But today that did not happen to me. So that was nice. Also, have a look at these numbers please:

On the way to my grandma's house, 0.9 miles:
Thursday: 12:09
Sunday: 11:58
Today: 11:29!

On the way back from my grandma's house, 1.1 miles:
Thursday: 16:13
Sunday: 15:05
Today: 15:27

Just getting teeny tiny bits faster every time! Yay! The last one is not really as exciting as this little detail: SOMEHOW I managed to run my fastest mile today! 13:42! Which surprised me a lot because I knew on Sunday I'd do better than Thursday's time because Thursday my ankle was hurting, so I went from I think 14:11 to 14:05, but today, it was REALLY COLD outside, for Arizona, and I've never run in the cold and my wardrobe is not equipped for running in the cold! So I was out in my tiny shorts with a sporty track jacket I've had (but never deserved) for years, and I thought I was going much slower than usual, but I think I'm just getting better at pacing myself with the running/jogging vs power walking. So when the little app voice went, "One mile completed. Time, 13 minutes 42 seconds," I was blown out of my mind! It feels awesome. Lance Armstrong gave me the little vocal high five at the end of my run, congratulating me on my fastest time.

I am feeling very good about myself and all this. I'm drawing little stick figures running on my calendar for every day that I run and that's fun to look up there and see the little pink running stick men! Except the first one wasn't very good, and looks like he's falling over, which I suppose is appropriate.

Oh and Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I'm glad I get to share my stories with people I love and who love me. Hopefully by next year, my Valentine will be with me and not very far away. And maybe we will go on a romantic run together. :)

Two whole miles!

I'M NOT DEAD!

I know, I'm amazed too. But I did it, I ran (some) and I survived! I ran two whole miles!

Well that's not exactly true. My total distance was two miles, but most of it was fast-ish walking with a little bit of speediness in there every now and then, especially at the beginning and at the end. And it wasn't two miles straight; I went to my Pita's house (that's my mama's mother), which is exactly 0.91 miles from my house. Then I sat with her for a bit to catch my breath and drink my water and then I came home, adding in a loop around a nearby cul-de-sac to make it an even two miles.

My Nike+ GPS app tells me that my average pace between the two runs was 14'07", it took me 28.22 minutes, and I burned 247 calories! Which is sad because I feel like I should have burned like A BAZILLION CALORIES. But oh well. PS if you are a runner, or like me, are starting to run, and have an iPhone, I hope you have the Nike+ GPS app, and if not, get it! It is awesome. It breaks down everything about my run, from my average speed to my fastest and slowest, as well as showing me on the route I ran where those fastest and slowest areas were. Like so!

On the left, my run to Pita's; much more green.
Then see that big stretch of red on the right?
That's when my ankle started hurting.

Also whenever you finish, it gives you a little motivational HURRAH from some famous runner or other. Which is very sweet. When I finished my run today I heard "I'm Ellie Golding, and as a fellow runner, I wanted to congratulate you on your fastest mile. Keep on shining." She is apparently British and it was just a nice little unexpected thing that happened. So get that if you can!

Anyway, it was a pretty good run! I had to slow down a lot, like you can see, but overall pretty good. Unfortunately my right ankle started acting up on my way back, and that was no bueno. Especially since that's not even the one I've sprained twice! But when I got home I got some water and an ice pack and went to cool off by lying on my mom's bed with the ice pack on my ankle. And then I took a victory shower! And then it's now.

I DID IT. Which feels awesome. I can already feel the soreness, especially coming up and going down the stairs. Oh and I took the stairs up 4 floors to the parking garage and have had at least 4 glasses of water today! It's the little things too.

Let's just hope I can walk come tomorrow!

They say there is strength in numbers, and I believe it.

So I told Leslie, the one who sparked this whole crazy Tink 1/2 idea in the first place yesterday, that I was gonna do it. She said that it was great and that she was really happy for me. I started telling her about how Bonster and CowboyChaser are planning to do it with me too (BONSTER WILL DO IT, she just doesn't know it yet). And she goes, "I would totally do it with you!" And then our other friends Melissa, Justine and Kelsey started showing up so we could get out to our clinical (Carpool FTW), and Melissa says she'll do it, and Justine says "uhhh maybe, I could do the 5K" and Kelsey says "HA NO, but I'll cheer you guys on and take pictures."

So guess what. This has officially become a thing. D7 IS GOING TO RUN THE TINK 1/2.

I should explain our group a little.

In our nursing program at Arizona State, we have 60 people in each "cohort" which is basically our class who will all graduate at the same time. Those 60 people are divided up every semester in to groups of 10 students, who will be your "learning community" for that semester. Our first semester of this upper division program, Jr. 1 we call it, DAMN did I luck out. I got placed into learning community D7 with 8 of the greatest girls I will ever meet. The 10th girl didn't really sync into our group, but the rest of us nine, man, I don't know how I would have gotten through last semester without them. They're still the ones keeping me sane through this semester, when I'm surrounded by crazy people (literally - psychiatric health :S). This group includes Bonster and CowboyChaser, as well as the aforementioned Leslie, Kelsey, and Melissa, and three other girls, Jennifer, Tessa, and Sarah. Also mentioned above is Justine, who was not part of the original D7, but was good friends with Kelsey before we were even D7, and has become honorary D7, making us a complete 10. I love these girls like family, but sadly by some crazy rule, the administration people dictate that every semester the learning communities be swapped up so we can meet new people or something ridiculous like that.

BUT WE DIDN'T WANT TO MEET NEW PEOPLE. We want to be D7 forever. And what's worse is that we are in a split semester; half of us are in psychiatric health, and the other half are in adult health.

HALF OF THE ORIGINAL D7 IS IN THE OTHER HALF.

This means we never get to see each other except during the lunch break we have at the same time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when we were used to spending HOURS together, five days a week. It sucks, but we're making it work, and with this new goal to bind us even closer together, we're gonna make it.

And I AM GOING TO DO THIS. With the support of my D7 girls, not only cheering me on, but running with me, I know for sure that I, that WE, can do this.

Wait this is running blog...

I will start running tomorrow! I have a plan laid out and everything. Apparently it is almost exactly a mile from my house to my grandma's house, so I will run to there, hang out with her for a bit, and then run back! That's like almost two miles! We will see if this works. I don't know how long it will take me, but hopefully it will be good. Today though I tried to eat better. I had an apple for a snack and a salad for lunch! Go me! I need to continue cutting down on the soda and drinking more water, though I did actually drink more water today! Go me again!

Well this post is humungously long all over again. SORRY. But hey, I'm a talker. Which means I write a lot. SO YES. The end. If you never hear from this blog again, it means that I have died on my run tomorrow.

Deep breath. Am I really doing this? YES. Yes, I am doing this. When I told my parents, they kind of looked at me like, "Okay, sure, but I know, and YOU know, it's not gonna happen." But I don't know that. In fact, I'm feeling more and more like it IS going to happen.

I am Jovanie. I am 22 years old. I weigh upwards of 185 pounds. I love food and I am completely out of shape and never exercise. And I'm going to run the 2013 Tinkerbell Half Marathon.

It sounds crazy. To anyone who knows me, it sounds IMPOSSIBLE. Ridiculous, and impossible. It even sounds like that to me. I have never been athletic, in my entire life, and have been overweight for nearly all of it. But I'm also a student nurse, and I know that I can't keep living my life like this. My health is suffering, and of course, I could lose a few pounds, to put it conservatively, to boost my image and self-esteem. I also know that I don't want to be one of those nurses who tells their patients that they need to start losing weight and exercising for their health, and have them want to throw that back in my face. I can't do that. I want to be more fit and more healthy; the looks will just be a perk.
I've been feeling this for a long time now, but just haven't really known how to start. Or what to do. Then, today, in what has to be the most BORING class anyone has ever had to take, I was telling my friends about what was going on at Disneyland. That's the other thing you should know. I'm a Disney-holic, as one teacher affectionately called me; I love anything and everything Disney. Anyway, I mentioned that last weekend was the first ever runDisney Tinkerbell Half Marathon. And my friend Leslie, who doesn't even know what she's started, said to me, "Jovanie, you should do that." And I'm like "um HELLO, ME? Run a half a marathon?" And she's like "Yeah, it's Tinkerbell, it's Disney, it'd be perfect for you."
And then I started thinking. The next Tink 1/2 (that's what I'm gonna call it for short because it's a pain to write out Tinkerbell Half Marathon every time) isn't for another 11 months. They allot three and half hours for the race; that's 16 minutes per mile. Even on my worst day, I think I could probably do that. And with 11 months to train, and start getting into running, it would probably be that much easier...
And then it was decided. I'm gonna run a half marathon.
It's still sort of sinking in; but I've been looking at the runDisney website, and they've got a lot of helpful stuff. There's a Training Program for Beginners, designed specifically for the Tink 1/2, by Jeff Galloway, who is apparently a champ and all that, and it only requires three days a week: Tuesday, Thursday, and a weekend day. That, my friends, is TOTALLY doable. Especially since Tuesdays and Thursdays are my short class days...

I can do this. I can. Despite my original comment about my parents, I'm surrounded by wonderful supportive people, and my family is the most. Once they see that I'm going for this, they'll back me 110%. My friends will too. My friend Bonster told me she had just started running and had started a running blog with our mutual friend CowboyChaser, and that just gave me the boost I needed to make it official. Maybe we'll all run the Tink 1/2 together. :)

So I will start on Thursday with the running. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try to really get myself to eat better and smarter, and drink more water. Because that's important, right?

If you want to follow me on my journey to earn my wings and my pixie dust, welcome aboard. All it takes is faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust. But a cheering squad wouldn't hurt.