Marathon Journal up till Today!!

Monday 8/6 (3 miles): This first day was pretty tough due to the heat. We had a great turn out though.. I was super excited to see so many people. I probably would have stopped to walk a little bit.. but Tammy (who hasn't worked out in over a month until today) was keeping it strong. I on the other hand have been jogging several days a week in addition to going to the gym.. so of course.. I couldn't stop and look like a weenie. Tammy and I finished our 3 miles in about 30min clocking about a 10minute mile. I found out when we finished our jog that Tammy wanted to stop too.. but was thinking the same thing I was. "If she can keep going so can I" This my friends.. is why a jogging group is so great!! Ha.

Wed. 8/8 (3 miles): Today was much better b/c the morning is sooooo much cooler than the evening. I however have a hard time getting up so early. But I knew everyone was waiting on me, so I did it (another reason this group rocks). Even though I made it I was late getting there (5min) and I couldn't find my headphones so I didn't have any tunes, boo. I'm a huge breakfast person and had not eaten anything (not that I want to eat too much b4 running.. but a little fruit would have done me good). I felt like I was doing so awful this morning, Tammy pulled way ahead of me (curse her long legs). I wanted to stop so bad.. but then was like.... "What the heck.. I did 3 miles in 90 degree weather day B4 yesterday w/ out too much trouble.. so don't be a pussy now... Man... I'm deff eating a litte something tomorrow" When we finished this morning I looked at my Ipod/Nike thingy (it tracks all your miles/ times/ and calories) and I had finished in 26min running an 8 min mile.. that's way better than Monday!! Wut Wut!!!

Thursday 8/9 (run 3 miles & walk 1 4 TOTAL) Last night Tammy text me to tell me she was going to be running on her own (she lives downtown so I don't blame her for not wanting to drive up here all the time), so I decided I was going to go ahead and join the 6am group @ Frisco Commons. At 5:30a.m. I looked at the alarm clock as it was sounding in my ear and then looked outside (still pitch black). The thoughts going through my head were... I won't even be able to see where I'm running; I'm just going to go at 6:45 like I have been. Surely there will be at least one person there. At 6:41 I shot out of bed. The alarm hadn't gone off again (I think I actually turned it off by accident), but intuition woke me up I suppose. I got ready so fast my head spun. I half ass brushed my teeth and stuffed some watermelon down my throat before I jumped in my car to Frisco Commons. I got there 14 min late and there wasn't a soul in site; just like I knew there wouldn't be. Soooo I turned around and decided that Max (my loyal Great Dane) was just as good a running partner as anyone else. I ran around the normal rout I take in my neighborhood. I had my headphones this time so my Nike/Ipod Pedometer told me when 3 miles was up. Max ran the whole way w/ no problems. We did a mile long walk for a cool down before heading back to the house. Even though I didn't have anyone but Max.. I still clocked good time; averaging an 8:48 minute mile.

Saturday 8/11 (4 miles) I woke up sleepy eyed and not so bushy tailed Saturaday morning. Tammy was here on time at 6:30am. We drove to Chilsom trail to begin our dreaded 4 mile jog. When we arrived there was another jogging group there meeting and stretching in addtion to the tons of other joggers. We were glad that we were not alone. We also enjoyed watching all the ducks that froliced around the park. The four miles was not as bad as I thought it would be although I did struggle w/ the last mile and my time went down a minute to a 9:50mm (minute mile) just for that last bit. Tam and I decided that since the event is farther away than 10 weeks that we are going to extend our work out schedule by doing each week's work out 2 weeks in a row starting w/ this week. That way we will be in better shape when the really long runs begin to take place. Here are my totals for this week.

Number of workouts: 4 jogs and 1 day weight training (5 total)
Farthest jog: 4.02 miles
Total distance for the week: 15.32 miles
Total time spent jogging: 2.64 hrs
Total Calories burned: 1444
Personal Best Time for 1mile this week: 7:51mm
Average Time: 8:44mm

Monday 8/13 (3 miles): Okay.. I couldn't get up this morning so I ended up jogging on the treadmill at the gym. I used this opportunity to check and see how accurate my ipod/nike contraption is. Turns out it was 400 meters off at the 3 mile mark. This means that I have not been jogging as far as I thought.. boo. Tomorrow Tammy and I are going to the track at the Frisco High School to calibrate our ipods, so that our runs are accurate from now on. I ran my first 2 miles at an 8:15 min mile pace and my last I slowed down to a 9:20 mm.

* I felt really crappy all day about not getting up and jogging in the morning..so I don't think that will happen again.

Tuesday 8/14 (4 miles): This morning I pretty much shot out of bed w/ no trouble what-so-ever. Go Me!! Since I found out yesterday that my ipod wasn't accurate I went ahead and added a half a mile to my 4 mile goal to be sure I ran a complete 4 miles. I figured it's better to over run than under run. I ran like a champ and could have kept going if I had wanted to. Max on the other hand started slowing down on that 4th mile; but he made it to the end. When we finished we walked another half mile back to the casa. I took a shower, ate breakfast & then crawled back into bed w/ my honey for another 45min of shut eye.

I didn't get to run last Thursday (8/16) b/c I stayed up so late w/ my sister at her 21st Bday party and couldn't get up in the morning. I had planned on hitting the treadmill that night, but it was my husband's Birthday that day and he and the Family wanted to go out to dinner. (8/17) Tammy and I decided to meet for out long jog on Friday instead of Saturday b/c of all the stuff we had going on last weekend w/ Chris's Bday and all. Tammy's knee started giving her trouble and she couldn't run. I walked with her for 4 miles so that we wouldn't be alone. Last week didn't turn out the way I thought.. but that's ok. You can't be perfect all the time.

(8/22) - 3 MILES: I had friends in town until Monday and Tuesday I was still recovering from out wild weekend. I started my runs yesterday. I will take Friday off and run on Sat. and skip Sunday in order to get back on track for next week. Yesterday I jogged up to the Frisco High School track so that I could calibrate my ipod. I ran one mile on the track for calibration. Then I ran/walked home (it was really hot last evening). It totaled a little over 3 miles of running.

Saturday 8/25 5 or 6 MILES: So this morning Patti picked me up at my place at 6:45AM. We drove over to our normal Saturaday morning jogging spot b/c we like that place the best. Tammy wasn't able to go this time b/c her knee was still bothering her (Bummer). Lindsey and her husband Andy both met us up there. Patti and Lindsey are on about the same level running wise so they ran together. I ran part of the way with Andy b/c he is running the longer distances and hardley ever stops. I found out my ipod/ nike thing is still off and was so mad. Andy had a GPS watch that tell exactly how far you have run. When my ipod said 1 mile, his GPS said we had gone 2.5. I was floored. Shortly after I found this out he began walking. I kept jogging so after that I was all alone. I ran till my ipod told me I had gone 4 miles. I figured that I had at least gone 5 (which was my goal) but that I had probably gone more. I think on my last mile or so I experienced what they call the "runner's high". It was wierd. I had been really tired and then all the sudden my body felt all tingly and I felt like I could run forever and never get tired or have to stop. It was so crazy. Anyhow after we ran we all went to breakfast at the new Bread Winner's in Plano. It was really good.

8/27 & 8/29 (40 minutes): The last two days have been pretty un eventful. Since I cannot trust my ipod to give the correct millage then I am now relying on time to average my milage until I can buy a GPS watch. I figure my average mile is no less that 8:40 on the fast side and no more than 10min on the slow side. Which means (over guessing) that 10min equals at least a mile or more. So I have set the time on my ipod to tell me when 40 minutes is up. That way I know I've gone at least 4 miles. I did this on both days and it seems to be working really well. Go me!

A lot going on.....

So I guess I'll just get straight to the point. There is a ton of stuff going on right now.. I feel like if my head isn't spinning now, it's going to be really soon. You might want to keep you're eyes open for that one b/c I'm sure it will be entertaining to say the least ( I mean a head just spinning around on a body... that's wack/ I know I know.. bad joke).



To start with I'm training for a 1/2 Marathon that I will be jogging on December 9th. That in tales getting up at 6:30am to go jogging 4 plus miles 4 days a week; plus one week of weights. I'm not used to getting up so early, but I think it's kind of getting easier. *Thank you Chris for helping my by practically pushing me out of bed when the alarm goes off. Although it's hard to get up; I'm so glad when the jog is over b/c that means my workout it done for the day and I don't have to worry about it anymore. That rocks!!



I FINALLY started back to school this week after being off for 2.5 years. Holly mackerel!! I cannot believe it has been that long. Where does the time go? (If you know please tell me b/c I'd like to go get some back) My major is now English and it will remain so until I graduate. I'm so over this changing my mind all the time. I probably wont even use my degree anyway. It feels wierd being back in classes. I'm just glad I'm not the old lady in class. At my school the average age is 35. Crazy huh? This semester I am taking: Literary Criticism, Shakespeare & Biology (complete w/ a 3 hr lab on Monday .. Boo). That is 9 hrs total.



I'm still working at Designagted Marketing in the A.M.s on Mon. & Wed. before class, as well as all day the day's I don't go to school. In addition to my regular job I'm doing tons of promotions on the weekends to make some extra cash. This whole month's weekends are already completely booked up with promotions. I'll have to say that's a first for me. Usually I only book them a week or so in advance. This is football season though.. so it will be getting really crazy here soon.



I guess that's it for now. I will be posting a second blog here in a min to update you guys on my Marathon training. Some of you may have read the first part of this b/c I'm just going to copy and paste it onto here from my Myspace Blog. The last few paragraphes however will be from my last three days of training. That's about it for now... Take Care!!

Getting to know Shanna!!

I'm a lover not a fighter. My husband rocks my world! I have a little sister named Shelby and I love her more than anything. My best friends are (in no particular order) Tammy, Jessica, Ashley, Alena, Carolina, Heather & Sherri. These ladies are my heart and soul. I was raised by my grandparents and they are my heros. Once apon a year and a half ago I lived in San Diego. Carolina and Heather live there and I miss them terribly everyday. I attend TWU and I love it; I'm majoring in English w/ a minor in art. I plan on being an elementary school teacher. In addition to school I'm a freelance promotional spokesmodel and I work 3 days a week for my husband's company as a stock analyst. I have a Great Dane named Maximus;to those who know him personally, it's just plain ol' Max. I love chocolate more than almost anything.. and if I don't eat it everyday I might just die. I'm also eaqually addicted to my morning cup of coffee. I'm currently training for a 1/2 Marathon in December and am a running fool. I love to laugh and do it often. You can easily hear me clear across a noisy room. My friends say that I'm a bad influence.. I say.. I just like to have more fun than them.. LOL. You wouldn't call me a girly girl; I classify better as chick. I love color; you would actually have a hard time finding anything black in my closet period. Speaking of clothes, I love to shop! I spend entirely too much money on overpriced ripped jeans and studded T-Shirts. My favorite alcholic beverage is Wine and I'm always looking for an excuse to drink it. I'm also quite fond of margaritta's. My life's dream is to travel the world (ALL OF IT). I love to snowboard and will drive w/o complaint long distances just to catch some fresh powder. I ride a 150 K2 Luna just in case any of you were wondering. I'm what some would call a health nut. I keep a food journal everyday tracking all my calories; but I give this up on the weekends b/c I absolutly love food. My favorite dessert is choclate cake (FYI: Maggiano's has the best). Working out for me is a "must". I work out religiously 4-5 (sometimes 6) days a week. My husband is HOT.. just so you know. I like to change my hair color every few months b/c I get bored easily. I have 4 piercings and no ink. I listen to cheesy 80's music all the time. My first concert was Bruce Springsteen, as well as my first CD (I have a small but inoccent obsession with him). I know all the words to Born in the U.S.A. I also know all the words to almost every Beach Boys song ever recorded. THANKS DAD. Beware of my handshake, I've been known to squeeze off the hands of grown men. My favorite cartoon character of all time is Pepe Lepew and I have no idea why. I go to the movies at least once a week. I read books as much as possibe and am not big on T.V. (unless of course it's Nip/Tuck). I rarley watch the news and know absolutly nothing about polotics. I could go on for hours..but I'm sure you've read enough all ready. I have no doubt I could turn even the geekiest of men into something to brag about.