My body woke me up this morning at 4am. WTH? I could not fall back asleep try as I might, so I finally dragged myself out of bed at 5am, looked around on Facebook for a bit (it's boring at 5am, by the way...all the normal people are still sleeping), tried to lay down again but my bedroom smelled like sewage (alright, who had gas?!) so I decided it was now or never.......go for the damn run! I said I would start today, so I had better get my butt in gear before I change my mind. Got my water, my hat, chap-stick on (with SPF for my delicate kissers!), and my ipod. Crap! Freakin' ipod is dead! Damn it, now I'm mad! What ever. I'm going to use this time by myself to reflect on life's beauty. Uhhh, riiiiight. I'm using this time to concentrate on my ragged breathing so I don't give myself an aneurysm while I'm running up the hill that I live on. I don't know if I have mentioned this in any of my 2 previous posts, but I hate running. It's stupid! So, on my run, I'm thinking about all the articles I've been reading on "pushing past your mental roadblocks", I thought about my husband running up the hill the last time we did it.....he ran up it like a stupid gazelle, like it was so easy. I'd shoot that smug gazelle and make it into a coat if I could! My GOOD-inner voice was saying "Come on! You can do it! Just run to the stop sign, not much longer! You're so great! You got this!" My BAD-inner voice said to "F off! This sucks!" I let the bad side win for a bit, then I had a change of mindset and was able to run probably 2.90 miles...walked about .10 of it but in tiny increments. Only allowed myself about 10 steps of walking then would force my body to push through. Then I let myself into my house & collapsed onto my couch in a run-induced coma for 11 minutes, grateful no one in my family was up yet to witness this pathetic display of gratitude to be done with today's run. Where the hell is my "runner's high"???!?
All in all, this run was SO much better this time around then the last time I did the same route. It was blistering hot at 6:27am, so I guess I should try 6:00am next time (tomorrow?) Hopefully my calves are OK in the morning. Hubby was sleeping when I went for my run so I didn't get to tape the shins {crossing my fingers!}. I think I will stick with 3 miles this whole week, then shoot to go for 4 next week. Whatever. I can't go farther then I'm comfortable with, but maybe if hubby runs with me, I will feel more motivated to go longer...as long as he doesn't do that easy stride, smug face gazelle look! :)
PS- Happy Birthday to my beautiful "baby" girl, who is 7 today! I Love you!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Anxious
I have not run since Saturday's Mud Run. I'm dying to get out there and see how far I can push myself, but I'm patiently waiting until Monday to get back to running so that I can give my shins & calves time to rest. They don't feel as horrible as they have in the past, thanks to the KT tape that I used! I'm trying to trick my mind into enjoying the runs that I do by reading articles on how to push past mental roadblocks. My friend, Michelle, recently told me that she's been reading those articles that I've been posting on my Facebook and she said that they have really helped her mindset as she's running, so that makes me feel positive & motivated. Mind over matter, right? ;)
I'm anxious to get started on my Ragnar Relay training program also. I think If I can build my running up to 7 or 8 miles in a single run before October, I will feel so much more confident! They have 2 training programs laid out: one is for Novice runners (me!) and one for intermediates. I wish there was one that has the 2 combined. Novice seems a little bit TOO easy & the other one seems a bit too hard. Maybe I should stick to the easier one for a couple of weeks then move myself up if I feel ready. We'll see how that goes. As for my relay run, I am Runner 11 out of 12. This is what my course looks like:
3.6 miles *Easy / 6.7 miles *Hard /4 miles *Moderate = 14.3 miles
My middle run freaks me out, but I'm staying positive {talk to me when I start the training on Monday!} So in the meantime, we are trying to come up with a team name, and costume ideas. I'm thankful for Michelle being the team captain, since she's so on top of everything....I think this will be a fun process. Stay tuned to see what Monday brings me! :)
I'm anxious to get started on my Ragnar Relay training program also. I think If I can build my running up to 7 or 8 miles in a single run before October, I will feel so much more confident! They have 2 training programs laid out: one is for Novice runners (me!) and one for intermediates. I wish there was one that has the 2 combined. Novice seems a little bit TOO easy & the other one seems a bit too hard. Maybe I should stick to the easier one for a couple of weeks then move myself up if I feel ready. We'll see how that goes. As for my relay run, I am Runner 11 out of 12. This is what my course looks like:
3.6 miles *Easy / 6.7 miles *Hard /4 miles *Moderate = 14.3 miles
My middle run freaks me out, but I'm staying positive {talk to me when I start the training on Monday!} So in the meantime, we are trying to come up with a team name, and costume ideas. I'm thankful for Michelle being the team captain, since she's so on top of everything....I think this will be a fun process. Stay tuned to see what Monday brings me! :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Beginning of a journey:
Bear with me...I have a point to this. It may take me a bit to get to it, but I promise that I DO have a reason for this blog, and it's not just to hear (see) myself talk.
I'm not a runner. Seriously. What I am is a 37 year old mom to 4 kids (ages 5 to 14), a wife, an office manager, a taxi driver of sorts to my gaggle of kids....but not a runner. My husband is the one who likes to run. He has done a few full & half marathons, and does them with no problems at all. I have always told him that the only way you could get me to run is if someone was chasing me with a butcher knife....and even then, it's questionable if I'd hustle it or lay down and take my stabbings. ;) Well. Something has changed. Maybe I'm going through a funny, early mid-life crisis. Back in January, one of my friends mentioned that a Make-A-Wish 5K was coming up in February so I got a crazy idea that it would be "fun" to run it. Me. I had never run 1 mile, let alone 3.1 miles......so why would I think that would be fun? I asked a couple of friends if they would be willing to do it too, and they agreed. So now all I had to do, is find out if I was able to run the distance. Well, time came & went and I did it. My back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt and I didn't have fun doing it, but I finished it and my time was better than I expected. My time was not great in terms of time for people who run, but it was great for me & my first run ever. So since February, I did another 5K in March (with slightly better time) and this past weekend I did a Mud Run, which I sucked at, but had fun AFTER the fact (and I mean, when it was over!).
Now here's the funny part of this whole thing....as much as I SUCK at running, I think about it all the time! Before I go to bed at night I think of ways I can force myself to enjoy the act of it as I'm doing it, I think of doing trail runs, I read any article I can about running, I use mapmyrun.com constantly.....but seriously, I just plain suck at it. My chest hurts, my legs can't seem to propel me faster or harder, my mind plays tricks on my psyche & I just hate doing it. I think. Maybe I need to find my groove. How do I do that? I don't have a clue. What I DO know is that for now, I have gotten myself into a big, giant predicament. You will not guess what I have agreed to do! In fact, not only have I agreed to do, I was the big dummy who brought it to my husband's attention, then mentioned it to a friend: I have agreed to do the Ragnar Relay with 11 other team-mates. What? A 190 mile relay race that will take place in Las Vegas in October. Of 2010. This year. What the hell? What was I thinking?! I know this may not seem like such a big deal to a lot of people, and it may seem a little ridiculous, but it's a HUGE deal to me.
Hence, my blog. Or i could call it "my running diary". My purpose (I told you I'd have one!) of this is to document my journey from start to finish...from Wimpy Runner to ______? Decent runner? Good runner? I don't know. I guess I will find out. I don't know where this road will take me, if I will reach my desire to run faster, better, stronger or if I will simply plod along, flailing around like a jackass on my relay & 5K's, but I know that I have committed to do something that is beyond my comprehension of what "normal" should be, but I will do it. Along my way, I think (I hope!) that keeping a journal (this blog, duh) of my training, feelings, my highs & lows (there will be plenty, I'm sure)I will come to understand what it will take me to break free of my mental limitations & road-blocks and get me to the next level. Or I will die trying.
This is my 1st 5K (Make A Wish), with 2 of my friends / February 2010:
Springs Preserve 5K / March 2010:
Mad Mud Run / May 2010:
I'm not a runner. Seriously. What I am is a 37 year old mom to 4 kids (ages 5 to 14), a wife, an office manager, a taxi driver of sorts to my gaggle of kids....but not a runner. My husband is the one who likes to run. He has done a few full & half marathons, and does them with no problems at all. I have always told him that the only way you could get me to run is if someone was chasing me with a butcher knife....and even then, it's questionable if I'd hustle it or lay down and take my stabbings. ;) Well. Something has changed. Maybe I'm going through a funny, early mid-life crisis. Back in January, one of my friends mentioned that a Make-A-Wish 5K was coming up in February so I got a crazy idea that it would be "fun" to run it. Me. I had never run 1 mile, let alone 3.1 miles......so why would I think that would be fun? I asked a couple of friends if they would be willing to do it too, and they agreed. So now all I had to do, is find out if I was able to run the distance. Well, time came & went and I did it. My back hurt, my hips hurt, my legs hurt and I didn't have fun doing it, but I finished it and my time was better than I expected. My time was not great in terms of time for people who run, but it was great for me & my first run ever. So since February, I did another 5K in March (with slightly better time) and this past weekend I did a Mud Run, which I sucked at, but had fun AFTER the fact (and I mean, when it was over!).
Now here's the funny part of this whole thing....as much as I SUCK at running, I think about it all the time! Before I go to bed at night I think of ways I can force myself to enjoy the act of it as I'm doing it, I think of doing trail runs, I read any article I can about running, I use mapmyrun.com constantly.....but seriously, I just plain suck at it. My chest hurts, my legs can't seem to propel me faster or harder, my mind plays tricks on my psyche & I just hate doing it. I think. Maybe I need to find my groove. How do I do that? I don't have a clue. What I DO know is that for now, I have gotten myself into a big, giant predicament. You will not guess what I have agreed to do! In fact, not only have I agreed to do, I was the big dummy who brought it to my husband's attention, then mentioned it to a friend: I have agreed to do the Ragnar Relay with 11 other team-mates. What? A 190 mile relay race that will take place in Las Vegas in October. Of 2010. This year. What the hell? What was I thinking?! I know this may not seem like such a big deal to a lot of people, and it may seem a little ridiculous, but it's a HUGE deal to me.
Hence, my blog. Or i could call it "my running diary". My purpose (I told you I'd have one!) of this is to document my journey from start to finish...from Wimpy Runner to ______? Decent runner? Good runner? I don't know. I guess I will find out. I don't know where this road will take me, if I will reach my desire to run faster, better, stronger or if I will simply plod along, flailing around like a jackass on my relay & 5K's, but I know that I have committed to do something that is beyond my comprehension of what "normal" should be, but I will do it. Along my way, I think (I hope!) that keeping a journal (this blog, duh) of my training, feelings, my highs & lows (there will be plenty, I'm sure)I will come to understand what it will take me to break free of my mental limitations & road-blocks and get me to the next level. Or I will die trying.
This is my 1st 5K (Make A Wish), with 2 of my friends / February 2010:
Springs Preserve 5K / March 2010:
Mad Mud Run / May 2010:
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