I said this post was going to be about football but we aren't even going to discuss that topic right now... If you were around App's campus at all Saturday you would know why :(. Yesterday I started out my six miles hoping the run would improve my mood. I had been feeling disagreeable all day and simply wanted to get out of my room. I ran around King Street then to the Convocation Center, up 105 and back. (details) By the time I was back on campus big gray clouds began to worry me. It was already sprinkling outside and I didn't want to be poured on and mess up my phone. I had run about four and a half miles when I stopped and went to the Quinn to finish the mile and a half on a treadmill. Sure enough, clouds broke loose and rain persisted for the rest of the afternoon. The run was very enjoyable. I was surprised that I could go on that long without becoming extremely uncomfortable. I kept my pace around 8 and a half minutes per mile which really isn't bad at all. My mood became much better as I ran on. I didn't stop to take pictures (I certainly don't have any from the game but I do have one from before the game just to make this post prettier) because I didn't want to stop running and then not be able to start back. I was proud of myself after this run. It makes me feel confident that I can run a half marathon and then hopefully conquer the 26.2 in the near future. I have been looking over my schedule and I may need to make improvments, especially since I don't have a half marathon lined up in my schedule yet. Today I am supposed to run three miles. Rain has been consistent lately so I may have to take this run inside. I went to King Street yesterday afternoon to shop for my mom a birthday present and as I was in Mast General Store I overheard one of the employers say that snow days in winter coorelate with foggy days in summer... and there has certainly been many foggy days in just the month that I've been here! I want to know if this is true. I'm getting excited for autumn with the cooler temperatures settling in and the tops of trees turning bright orange. I am definitely making a trip to the Blueridge Parkway in a couple of weeks just to see the beauty of these lovely Appalachian Mountains. But, autumn means winter is right around the corner and I do hope that lady was right about the snow days especially since we had such a dull winter last year. My hometown normally sees some snow every winter (we're right around the foothills) but certainly not as much as Boone. I love snow. Upperclassmen tell me that I won't love it by the time I graduate but I'm not going to believe them :). Have a good rest of your day! 

Proper breathing is essential to a good runner. Proper breathing is also very difficult when one has a cold... I woke up yesterday morning with the same cold as the day before but worse! I did not feel like running at all but that's when it's most important to run :). After a few sudafeds and ibuprofens and a good warm meal I was ready (sort of) to go. I decided since this was a short run that I would venture back to my trusty ol' trail in the woods. The beginning of this run takes me straight up the mountain, includes a few tretcherous stairs; and as the trail winds into the woods, is full up obstacles. (See details here.) I completed my two miles at a whopping twenty minutes. I wasn't discouraged, though, because the trail really is difficult and my cold completely messed up my breathing pattern. All runners know you're supposed to breathe in the nose and out the mouth. (I found out in my Anatomy class yesterday that this also helps prevent sickness... wish I knew that earlier.) Breathing in general is hard enough with a cold but it is almost impossible to breathe in through your nose when it's stopped up! Luckily my air passages did clear up enough through the run that breathing wasn't too terribly hard. (Must've been the increase in elevation...) I ended up enjoying my run like I always do. I stopped by a creek and took some pictures (left). It is so serene and beautiful out there; it's hard not to enjoy. I met a few chipmunks along the way and almost squashed one... They're so cute but I guess not bright enough to know when to get out of the way. I'm not sure yet but I think I have decided to rest today (besides the App vs. Citadel game of course!) and run the six miles tomorrow and then get back on track with three on Monday. Speaking of football, I'll probably end up putting up pictures and doing a summary of the game in the next post, just because I love football so much :). Well, that's all for now! Go Mountaineers!  

Hi! My name is Allison Floyd if you didn't already know. I decided to write this blog in order to keep myself accountable of my running adventures. If you check out my schedule, you'll see that today I was supposed to run two miles. I missed yesterday's four because I went to a group fitness class so I made it up today. Tomorrow morning I'll run the two miles that was meant for today and then Saturday I'll try for the six! I haven't ran this much in over a month so we'll see how it goes. Today's four miles began around 7:30 pm and I ran on roads the entire time. You can see the details here. The weather's getting nice and Autumny so the run was really enjoyable. I have a cold so my breathing wasn't on check, but it's ok :). The sun was setting and about half way through my run I looked up and saw gorgeous pink clouds and had to slow down to take a picture (look left). I love how I'm getting to the point where I get into a groove running and can just look around and think. It's nice to get away from my busy (and tough!) class schedule and just have some alone time outside. Last year when I found my trail behind my dorm I would sit near a creek about half way through my run and pray. I love talking to God when I'm surrounded by His creation. I have been listening to music while running but tomorrow I might try to go without it. I feel like I ease into that groove better without it. I guess I have to get my mind off everything in order to simply run. After I got back in my room I had an apple, plenty of water, and just streeeetched. The best way to prevent soreness is drinking plenty of water and feeding your body. In my Nutrition class we have a project that we complete in segments throughout the semester. Last week I had to turn in diet and activity records I took over a span of three days. It was very tedious but I suggest doing this sometime on a typical day. (You don't have to take as thorough notes as me...) It really shows how active you are and what kinds of foods you are eating. I also suggest going to MyPlate.gov and build a profile. This helps you keep track of your diet and lets you know how much and what kinds of foods to eat.