Three Things Thursday

1. Running Diva Mom's Virtual 10k
I woke at 430am a little tired but knew that if I didn't get this virtual 10K done this morning I probably wouldn't get it in tomorrow - especially since I have plans to swim tomorrow morning!

So, I flew out of bed, changed, and was to the gym and on the treadmill by 445am. It's nice to live so close to the gym and now have 24-hour access to the cardio and weight machines. Before 24-hour access was available, I wouldn't be able to get on the treadmill until after 5 and there was no way I would be able to run this distance and get ready in time for work.

I will admit, doing long runs on the treadmill is not ideal and I do not recommend it to anyone. I know that I run faster on the treadmill then I do outside, so I crank up the incline to "try" to give myself a more similar workout to running outside. Today I had it set on between 1.5 and 2.0 for the entire run. This also helps with my knees.

Breaking the run down - The treadmills are set to shut down after 30 minutes, so I broke my run down into 2 30 minute sessions, and then completed the rest of the 10K. (Unlike some of you, I need more than an hour to run a 10K.) Here's how it looks:

First 30 min = 2.56 mi(11:42 pace)
Second 30 min = 2.64 mi(11:21 pace)
+ 11:34 min = 1.1 mi (10:30 pace)
Total = 6.3 miles

For some reason, I always have this habit of adding a .1 or .2 to my runs. Don't ask. I just do it.

Overall, it was a good run and faster than I expected. My last long run left my right groin feeling a bit twinged, but today all was good. My left knee was a little tight, but I know that with a little extra stretching throughout the day and using the foam roller tonight, I will be golden.

Love, love, LOVE, these virtual races! Did you participate?


2. Brad Paisley Concert
This past Saturday, the BF and I and another couple, went to the Brad Paisley Concert at the Ralph Englestad Arena (Fighting Sioux Hockey arena) as part of the BF's birthday celebration. Even though we were up pretty high, our seats were perfect - just off the corner of the stage.

Justin Moore was the first opening act and even though I didn't know many of his songs, he did a wonderful job and I really enjoyed his music. Then Darius Rucker (Hootie) performed and did an AWESOME job. I would love to see that man in concert if he started his own tour. What an amazing musician he is! Brad Paisely did awesome as well. The music was a little loud for his concert and all of his mad-guitar skills, but overall it was a wonderful show! We definitely got our moneys worth with 3+ hours of music!


3. A Well-Needed Break
Next week we have Thursday and Friday off for NDEA conference. It used to be required that teachers go, or stay back and work in their classrooms, but now it's not part of our contract hours, so many don't go. Sometimes I miss how it was my first couple years of teaching and choosing to stay back to do grades, progress reports, prepare lessons, etc. However, I look forward to having these two days off. It will make for a nice long weekend ... to get some grad school homework done.