Go Short, Go Long, Go Very Long!

Go Short, Go Long, Go Very Long is a run in Tulsa, OK that consists of a 5k, 10k, 25k, or 50k. I'm currently in marathon training for a marathon in April in Kansas and having never ran a race that was more than 13.1 miles, I had considered running this race. Well my mom signed us up for the 25K...
So I am running my first ultra half marathon on January 26th. I am super pumped!! It's Dr. Seuss themed :)
Below is a picture of the medal...

Elvis 10K

This past week I signed up for the Frozen Nose Winter Series in OKC. It's a 3 race series with a 5K (The Queen of Hearts Run), 8K (The Groundhog Run) , and 10K (The Elvis Run).
I decided to go ahead and knock out my 10K at the first race and ended up winning 3rd in my age group. As I was running the race, I was thinking about how windy it was, I was battling "runner's knee", and I was just ready to finish, not really caring about my time. So when they did awards and I had won 3rd in my age group, I was very surprised. There was a point in the race where I even took my headphones out and jogged beside some random guy. We ended up having a 15 minute conversation about I.T. band problems and runner's knee. The entire race is now a blur to me.
I really enjoyed the enthusiasm of the race.. The people dressed up like Elvis, the Elvis music, etc. So much fun!
Afterwards, I treated myself to some shopping and even stepped away from my strict clean eating diet to enjoy some sushi at my favorite, Sushi Neko in OKC. All-in-all good weekend :)
And now I'm preparing for my next race, which I will post about when it gets closer. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!

New Years Day Blast 5K, Polar Bear Plunge 2013

First off, Happy New Year!! I think wonderful things are going to happen this year and I cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store for everyone :)

I started my New Year's off the right way.. 2 races on New Years Day!
In the morning I went to Oklahoma City (an hour away) to run the New Years Day Blastoff 5k- it was a great course, fun, energetic, and the medal was my favorite part!!

I went right from OKC back to Shawnee and then took off to Tulsa (2 hours away), to run in the Polar Bear Plunge with my mom.. Last year, we decided to make the Polar Bear Plunge a mother-daughter tradition! 3 pools, 2 miles, 1 ice bath. It was an absolute blast! It was below freezing outside and it snowed so that made it 10 times better!! :) So far 2013 has been filled with some amazing things and I can't wait to see what else is in store. Happy New Year!

8 ways to declutter your mind

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of food, and hopefully a Turkey Trot 5K to help run off some of that food.
I participated in the Oklahoma City Turkey Tracks 5K with my family, to help raise money for Toys for Tots. I was amazed at how it was the end of November and I was wearing runnings capris and a t-shirt.. Crazy weather! Thankfully it is getting colder now.
I came across this "8 ways to declutter your mind" on a friend's Instagram and thought it was really cool.

1.) Accept what is
2.) Be kind to yourself
3.) Release your guilt and fears
4.) Let go of control
5.) Visualize what's important
6.) Focus on your energy
7.) Allow yourself to be vulnerable
8.) Find what doesn't serve or interest you and let it go.

This was something I found very interesting since we are getting close to a New Year. It's never too early or late to be thinking about the things that you can do to make you a better person for yourself and for others.

Let's get started!

I'm normally not too good at keeping up with a blog. I have promised myself that I will be better this time because it is important to me so I can track my progress, meet people, and give/get advice and ideas.

I just turned 23.. It wasn't the easiest birthday, that's for sure! It seemed like just another day this year.
My goal for the next year is to really improve my body. I've ran for 4 years and I enjoy running A LOT. In May, I started doing the arm machines at the gym. Within a week, I was starting to tell a difference in the shape of my arms and I loved it. Since then, I've tried to get an arm workout in 3 to 4 times a week and I've noticed a dramatic difference. I used to be one of those girls who wanted to be thin. Now, that won't work for me.. I want to be built. I think toned girls are pretty and they work for their body. A few weeks ago I started my clean eating and yes, I have splurged here and there. The first 2 days were difficult and I just had to keep telling myself that if I could get over that hump then I would be fine and I would begin to feel better and have more energy. After a week and a half, clean eating doesn't feel like a challenge anymore. I actually enjoy the fact that I get to have 5-6 meals per day. I look forward to the soreness that I have the day after a workout. I enjoy trying new things at the gym and experimenting with the weights and equipment. I feel like through blogging, I can get ideas about workouts, recipes, etc. as well as share my ideas and my story with everyone else. I feel as if blogging will give me a support system and keep me on track. : )