I just registered for the FSBPT. I guess it's time to study?!

Well, not exactly.

After breaking the bank, I am officially registered for the FSBPT, which is the National Physical Therapy Board exam. If I pass, I can practice as a licensed physical therapist. If I do not pass, I have to take the test again, which is something I want and need to avoid at all costs!

I am taking the test in late July and made a 20 week study plan, which starts on Monday. So, I am enjoying my last real "weekend off" for a long time.

Anyway, I have not posted on this blog for a long time. I changed the title of it since I am not running as much as I used to due to time constraints (which will probably change after I graduate in August). I am hoping that I will be making more posts my last few months of graduate school and my post-graduate life. Enjoy!

Taking a Small Break from Training

18 credits, at least 1 test every week, and 10 finals in 5 days during the week before Christmas. This is what I am dealing with this semester. And not to mention I work when I am not studying. 

Because of this, I am taking a semester off from training. I may do a 5K in late November but it will be for fun and not for PR. It is a chocolate run (how could I not do that?!). 

I am hoping to sign up and train for a race in the spring. School should be smooth sailing after this semester. I truly miss running and training but I cannot find the time to do any training at the moment.

That is it for now. 

Happy running (or studying for my sake)!

New Race!! Dirty Sock Run!!

I signed up for a new race in August! It is called the Dirty Sock Run. It is a 10K trail race. I never ran a trail race before and I am looking forward to it. The best part is that we get a free pair of socks after the race!! 

I would like to finish the race in about 55 minutes. But anything under 1 hour would be great. 

That is it for now. My training for the 10K will start soon. Basically when my semester ends...can't wait!

New goal: Start running again next week (after my Pharmacology exam of course)

It has been 2 weeks since I got sick with the sinus infection/bronchitis. I haven't ran since my half marathon on May 5th. And it is killing me (almost literally).

I finished my antibiotics 2 days ago and I have this lingering cough that comes and goes as it pleases. It it like that tickle in your throat that comes unannounced and it takes a while for it to go away regardless of how much water you drink or cough drops you swallow. Because of this, I am afraid to go running. I do not want the illness to come back or my cough to get worse. I don't want to run unless I am 100%; especially since I do not have any races coming up.

It is frustrating beyond belief. I am sure that many of you reading this know what it is like.

I am hoping that these coughing episodes that I have will go away by next Tuesday because I have my Pharmacology exam that day and I don't want to be coughing up a lung during it. I am still packing up on Vitamin C in hope that it will make the duration of the coughing episodes shorter.

That is it for now and thanks for reading!

I did it!!! Barely, but I did it!

All of those hard weeks of training lead up to last Sunday. I was so nervous and excited...and sick. Yes, sick. I had (and still have) a sinus infection/bronchitis, which I received 2 days before my first ever half marathon which was in Pittsburgh. Here is the break down of two of the craziest days and one of the most intense experiences of my life.

Some of the bridges that we ran over in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon

On Saturday, I only had 4 hours of sleep and Dad and I drove 7 hours to Pittsburgh. After we arrived in Pittsburgh, we had to go to the expo to pick up my bibs, bags and other marathon goodies. Throughout this process, I was feeling very light-headed, dizzy and lethargic. I couldn't eat and I could barely walk (I think having the lack of sleep and nervousness did not help my cause either). I was pessimistic that I would even compete in the race. We got back to the hotel after picking up all of our stuff. I took a shot of Nyquil at 7:30am, passed out within a hour, and hoped for the best.

5am, Sunday May 5th. Wake up from a long sleep. I still was not feeling well but I decided to run the race anyway since I spent a lot of time and effort in training for it. The new goal was to just finish and I didn't care what the time was at this point. We leave our hotel, get to Downtown Pittsburgh, check our bags, and get to our corral. We were in the last corral (corral E). The horn for the start of the race goes off at 7am. We crossed the start line at 7:24am.

The crowd in Corral E. Over 30,000 people ran this half and full marathon in Pittsburgh

The first few miles were not that bad. I was able to keep a respectable pace. I did find it difficult to focus on anything else around me because of the sinus infection/bronchitis. I saw the people in the stands, other runners, bands playing, and the environment around me. But I was in my own little bubble (even with my Dad running next to me).

Then I hit a wall around mile 6-7. Not eating a lot of food the day before really hurt me here. It didn't help that I could not breathe through my nose because of my sinuses. I had to breathe through my mouth which was constantly becoming dry and scratchy. It hard to breathe normally because of this. I also tried to take in the scenery (I think that Pittsburgh is a beautiful city) but my sickness and fatigue took over. Regardless, I was still determined not to stop running.

Mile 8-10 were not as bad at 6-7. The road was mostly flat and the GU that I ate started to kick in.

Mile 11 was the hardest out of all the 13 miles. I would say that 8/10ths of the mile was uphill. At this point, I was so tired. The hills were taking a toll on my joints. My knees and ankles would ache every time my feet hit the pavement. It felt like my legs were going to give out with every step I took. I was almost tempted to walk but I was too close to the finish line to stop.

Mile 12-13.1 felt the longest. It was all downhill, which did not help my legs at all because of the pressure that it put on my joints. Then I pulled up to the last few tenths of a mile and see everyone in the stands cheering. I tried to take it all in at that moment because I knew I was almost done. I think I actually started to speed up as I got closer to the finish line.

10am - My Dad and I finally crossed the finish line in 2:35:47. We got our medals, took a few pictures, and got free food and drinks. The pain in my legs felt like nothing I have ever felt before. It is extremely hard to explain what I was feeling. The uphills and downhills absolutely killed my legs.

Crossing the finish line!

We got back to our hotel to refuel, shower, and watch the Penguins vs. Islanders game (Pens won the series!!! WOOHOO!!!).

Me and Dad after the half marathon

My day was not over yet. I left Pittsburgh around 4pm to head back to Michigan, which was a 5 hour drive. I got back at around 9:30pm and had class the next day at 9am.

I am very proud of myself in the fact that I didn't stop. Not once. I was determined not to. I would have liked a faster time (I was aiming for about 2:10 before I got sick), but I am still happy with it considering what I went through on Saturday and Sunday morning. One thing I regret is that I didn't really appreciate the whole experience because I was sick. I wish I was able to enjoy the race, the expo, and the City of Pittsburgh a little more. Overall, I am happy with what I accomplished.

I would like to run another half marathon within the next year or so. I do not think I am ready to run a full marathon yet (I would like to run a half when I am 100% healthy first). I will probably sign up for a few 5Ks and 10Ks. If I do another half, it may not be until next spring because the upcoming fall semester is extremely demanding and time consuming.

So that is all from Michigan. I am currently on a high dosage of antibiotics, trying to fight off this sinus infection/bronchitis. Hopefully I will get back to the pavement soon.

Thanks for reading!

My March Madness bracket is still somewhat/not really intact and I achieved a huge accomplishment!!

First off, I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend or week (depending on which holiday you celebrate!). It was definitely weird not being around family for the holiday.

I was not with my family on Easter but at least I got a care package!!!
These will probably not help my running though.

And I am for certain that March Madness has not been kind to our brackets. I started off well (for the most part) and then it kind of went downhill after the first round. Except, my national champion is still in the running! I go to school at the University of Michigan and, by default, picked them to win. I guess we will see what happens this Saturday. And my alma mater Quinnipiac University is in the Frozen Four for the NCAA Division 1 College Hockey Championship as well. Gotta pull for my two blue and gold teams!

In other news that is more relevant to this blog: this past Sunday, I ran for over an hour for the first time ever! I completed 7 miles, in the misty rain in about 1 hour and 7 minutes! It felt awesome and I am still feeling the effects of it today as I am about to get ready for a 4.5 miler in the indoor track (boo).

I have just over 4 weeks left before the big day in Pittsburgh and I am feeling more confident each day. I know that the next few weeks will be hard since I have finals coming up!

It is time to head to the gym for the 4.5 super fun indoor track run. I am wondering when spring will finally come to Michigan.
Thanks for reading!

All I do is run run run no matter what...

There is nothing like waking up thinking that you are going out for a 3 mile run then you look at the training schedule and notice that you are supposed to run 6 miles. Oops. Well, I ran the 6 miles anyway in just under an hour. Those 6 miles were the farthest that I have ever ran. Ever. Needless to say, I was (and am) tired. I still feel a little drained and I am wondering if I have eaten enough after the run. I guess I will have to live and learn.

Cookies are a good post-run snack right?

Anyways, training is going well. I went home for spring break about 2 weeks ago. I tried to keep on track but there were a few days during the break where I did not do anything. This is what I mean by not doing anything: I worked 35 hours in 4 days, ate wayyyy too much junk food (and regular food), drove 12 hours each way to NY and back to MI, and spent much of my time in Long Island traffic commuting to and from work (yay). But I am back on track now that I am back at school and I want to run instead of study (typical).

Would you consider Sake junk food? I don't.

I also cannot wait for spring to come and run OUTDOORS!!! Seriously, running around a .09 mile track is killing me (and trying to figure out how many laps equals 6 miles). For instance, today while running, I had to keep track of how many laps I had to run. 6 miles = 64 laps. Yes, 64 LAPS. It gets really, really, really boring. And I am seriously starting to get really tired of the sub-30 degree weather.

Like, seriously?

I have 49 days until the big day in Pittsburgh. I really cannot wait. Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities and it is going to be fun to run through the bridges and the streets. Just have to push through this winter semester and the next few weeks.

Pittsburgh!!