training log #10

Man I'm on fire!!! There's just no stopping me...I'm an addict! Diane tells me she and her running friends have a theory about night time running being easier. So since yesterday was my first night time run and it was easier I decided I had to test her theory and go again tonight...RAN 3.2 MILES IN 34 MINUTES 26 SECONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I feel AWESOME!!!!!!

Training Log #9

Today was suppose to be a rest day but when I saw tomorrow's weather report I decided to go today instead. I have to say that I'm quite proud of myself for going = ) considering my feet were throbbing from being on them for 9 hours at work!

I think I hit a major break through today! I decided that since my feet & legs were tired from standing at work and since today was suppose to be a rest day...to take it easy and do a slow short 3 mile run with the 5.5/1 intervals. My breathing felt so incredibly good through the last half that I completely skipped my last walk break and ran for 8 1/2 minutes straight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I decided to keep running as James Brown was screaming "I FEEL GOOD" in my ear (yes.....I down loaded it....I'm a dork....I know....)....I've decided that this song will officially be my war whoop...battle cry...mantra....whatever you want to call it! I don't know why but that song makes me want to start skipping down the street with my arms swinging wildly instead of jogging....I swear that's what I'll do if it starts playing during the marathon...now wouldn't that be a sight!

So anyway, I ran 3 miles in 36 minutes...I'm slow as hell....speaking of slow....I went to my doctors last week for a weird ear thing I have going on...and in our conversation the marathon training came up....well little did I know, my doctor does the relay at the free press event every year...so he says, "hey...we're looking for a 4th person...you should join us..... we had one last year but she was too SLOW"..........HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Boy did I get a chuckle out of that one! "Yeah, sure doc...let me put that one on my calendar....oh, by the way, I can only run 5 minutes at a time...ya think that'll be a problem??!!"

Training log #8

I spoke too soon yesterday. I experienced my very 1st "I really don't feel like running" day. My calves are very sore and my Chantix pill made me very nauseous this morning. But I decided to get dressed in my running clothes and see if it gave me a boost...it really didn't but the nausea subsided & I thought well I'm already dressed I may as well go. Today was a rough one. I did 3.7 miles in 42 minutes and struggled the entire time. My calves were burning, my breathing was out of control...just couldn't get into a rhythm this morning. My body is longing for tomorrow's rest day!

Training log # 7

Still going strong! Did 4.25 miles in 47.5 minutes. Increased my intervals to 5.5/1. Struggled the last mile...my calves are my weak link! Breathing was more of a struggle today I think because of the increase in running time...of course, the 3 beers and snickers blizzard that I ate at 10pm could have SOMEthing to do with it!....note to self....no beers or snickers blizzards day before marathon......Thanks Randy and Kelly for twisting my arm = ) ! But I was able to hang in there. I'm truly shocked that I haven't gotten to the point of groaning at the thought of getting in my run for the day. Usually, when I think of working out I can eventually talk myself out of it. But I don't really even stop to think about it any more...I just do it...It's becoming a routine for me. And I have to say that I've been eating like a flipp'n cow these last 3 weeks and haven't gained a pound...MAJOR bonus to this running business...now, if I could just control myself I may even lose a few pounds!

My friend Diane gave me a book called "First Marathons" and I'm loving it! Very motivating and inspirational. Every chapter is a different person's first marathon experience story. Many of them are people like me who never ran before but decided to do it on a whim...many of them started running late in life...thirties, forties AND fifties....and became addicted to running because of the wonderful experiences they had. It's a lot of fun to read but also very educational. I'm learning a lot.

Training log #6

Had a fantastic run today. Still stuck with the 5/1 intervals. Did 4 miles in 46 minutes. In the ran. Really enjoyed running in the ran! I'm SO glad that the entire group went this morning...I can honestly say that if I hadn't known they were going to be there I probably would have skipped it and made my long run tomorrow because of the rain. But now I know I won't melt...learn something new every day! It was also encouraging that even with my 1 minute walk breaks I always had my friend Kelly in sight...so my walk breaks aren't slowing me down all that much. I figured out that even if I can't improve my pace or running intervals and keep this same pace that I'm at now I'll be able to finish the marathon in under 5 hours....woooohoooo!

The 1st mile always feels the worst. Legs burn, can't control my breathing, always have a stitch in my side under my right ribs...and the entire 1st mile I kept thinking 'how in the hell am I going to do 4 miles if I'm struggling this hard with the 1st mile....but by mile 2 the stitch starts working it's way out and my feet find a rhythm...and by the 3rd mile I have my breathing completely under control. The start of the 4th mile was rough because my calves were on fire but before I new it I saw the parking lot...I forgot about my calves and was actually able to pick up a little speed for the last 10 seconds....and by then I felt like I could've kept going! My calves are going to REALLY hurt tomorrow!

My First Marathon Dream....Not a very encouraging one!

I have to share a portion of an email I received yesterday (hope this person doesn't mind....I won't say any names) and then I'll share in stark contrast the dream I had last night....

"When I was younger (into my early 20’s) I used to run. Not for distance or for racing or for anything. Just me. I used to “reach for a stride” when I ran and in a short time that stride turned into a glide. An almost effortless glide. When I broke my leg I could never regain that stride and for several years I had this recurring dream. I would be running, reaching for longer and longer strides until I was clearing entire city blocks in a single stride (Without a Cape) and then I was able to gain altitude by keeping my legs churning so I could clear houses (but Not faster than a Speeding Bullet). These dreams were a physical exaggeration, but not much of a mental exaggeration, of the way I felt sometimes when I was running."

K...now let me share the dream I had last night...I have to hurry before I forget it!

I was at a marathon and decided after the first several miles that I just couldn't continue...so I decided to stop and take a rest for just a couple hours at a hotel! So now I'm in a hotel sitting indian style on my bed watching the marathoners go by and sitting on the bed next to me is Sidney Poitier (I have NO idea where THAT came from)...also sitting indian style. We were both taking a test...because apparently if you couldn't run the marathon you could just test your way through it. Only, Sidney was plugging away at the test concentrating hard and I was just staring at the test...I had a huge Costco size bucket of animal crackers on my left and a big gulp Diet Coke on my right. My mouth was stuffed so full with animal crackers I couldn't speak to Sidney. ....and that was it!

I'm gonna try REAL hard to not analyze this one.....

Training log #5

Went to the park for my run this morning. Another beautiful day. Ran 3 miles of 5/1 intervals in just under 34 minutes...felt great! I think I'm going to keep the 5/1 intervals for the long runs on Saturday (we'll see how it goes) but try to slowly increase my running time each week during the weekday training. So starting next Tues. I'll try doing 5 1/2 minutes of running....don't laugh at me!.....I gotta take baby steps...My original goal in wanting to run the full 5 K by June 16th may have been a bit unrealistic for me. But we'll see!

I went to the Hanson's footwear clinic with the TNT group last night. It was very informational! I was impressed by the guys who work there...very knowledgeable. I found out that the 1 guy that helped me with my 1st pair of running shoes actually qualified to be 1 of 5 runners representing the US in some huge international race. The last marathon he ran he finished a full 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes!! HOLY SH_T!! Anyway, one of the topics that they were discussing is weather...and how some people hate running in the heat of the summer and some hate running in the middle of the winter. I sat there wondering which one I'll be. I can tell you that I'm a summer gal anyway, the hotter the better. Today confirmed it. The sun was shining and it was already 79 degrees out. I just love to sweat...I'm weird I know...but I love that feeling when your done doing anything strenuous and your face feels like it's on fire...you're just burning up....I loved it! I simply do NOT like to be cold! I have to say though that the bugs and flying fuzzy things were a major pain in the ass! If I wasn't sucking one up my nose than they were sticking to my sweaty skin! But I can live with that!

Reclaiming ME!

I've done a lot of joking around in the recent past to many of my friends about my self proclaimed "mild mid-life crises". I was desperately bored with my life. My entire life and identity revolved around my kids...being a mom...and being a wife. And as my kids gain their independence even THAT identity is slipping. My boys are in school all day and at the gym all night...Jordyn is at school a couple days each week and with her being the only one at home....lets just say one can only read so many Dora and Princess books before going out of her mind! Going back to work a couple days each week helped a lot but I still had nothing in my life that was just for ME! Of Course I love my kids and of course I love being a mom and wife; and I'm very grateful that I have an incredibly supportive husband who has afforded me the opportunity to stay at home all these years and raise my kids; And I'm comfortable with the job we're doing as parents in raising our kids; blah, blah, blah..... but during all this what goes through my head is "there HAS to be more to my life than this"! I'm sure that sounds selfish, and maybe I AM selfish, and I'm ok with that!

With that said, I feel like I've been walking around the last 4 days on a major "high". I'm so damn happy I could cry, and have! I'm a happier mom, a happier wife....just happy! I feel like I've reclaimed a huge piece of myself! And I'm supporting a wonderful cause in the process. It feels so damn good to be working towards this goal...it's all I can think about. I'm obsessed. I don't think there's anything in the world that could be more gratifying. I'm sure this blissfulness will wear off eventually, I mean it's only been 1 week. But I wanted to share the feeling while it lasted!

K...I'm done....no more gushing....go rinse your mouth....all that mouth regurge will leave a nasty odor (and rotten teeth).

Back to my running log. Did 3 miles again. Still doing the 5/1 intervals. Was even easier today than yesterday but I'm sure that's because I was on a treadmill (no hills). I felt fantastic when I was done. It's very gratifying to feel the progress I'm making with each run! Looking forward to Saturday's 4 mile run to see how I do.

There's 7 of us doing this. 3 of us are running it and the other 4 are walking. There are different coaches for the walkers than for the runners so when we train together on Saturdays our group gets split up. The other 2 runner friends of mine are running circles around me and leaving me in their dust. I was a little discouraged that I was the only beginner who couldn't run it. BUT my friends Traci and Kristina (both have never run before) have decided to come over to the dark side and try this interval training with me. YEAY! I may have a running partner after all!

I'm hooked

I exchanged a few emails with my TNT running coach and mentor looking for some advice on how to get my endurance up. They were very encouraging and told me their 1st marathon training days went much like mine. They told me that a lot of 1st time runners do well with interval training. They suggested running 4 minutes / walking 1 minute. So I was off to the park to give it a try...and of course...me being me....decided that wasn't enough...so I did 5 minute run / 1 minute walk for 3.2 miles!! I FELT AWESOME!!! I figured out on my GPS (was a little hasty the other day in giving up on it)....that in the end I had run a total of 2.83 miles...the rest was walked!! I've never run that far in my life!!!! Left the park with a smile on my face and James Brown's tune "I Feel Good" strumming in my head! I think I'm addicted to this...I seriously contemplated doing a second run tonight. I felt like one of those disgustingly happy people who typically make me crazy...I was one of THEM! I love it. It feels great to be working towards such an awesome goal.

Now on a very funny note...I have to tell you that part of the reason I ran so far was because half way through it I was chased by a goose! There were several families of geese and babies sitting in the middle of the trail. I tried to run around them but the big guy decided I was invading his territory. I laughed so hard at how ridiculous I looked screaming and running from this damn goose that I nearly.....well, never mind that! Then I laughed even harder at how silly it was that I was all alone on this trail laughing hysterically at myself...if someone had passed by at that particular moment they would have committed me!

It was a fantastic day! I now KNOW I can do this! No more "we'll see"...or "I'll try".....

I KNOW!!!

Much better day!

OK... so today, in light of my NOT so good day with the TNT group yesterday, I decided to do the full 6 mile trail by myself. MUCH better. I need to be by myself to avoid the pressure of trying to keep up with these other incredible athletes! So I did 6 miles of alternating running 3/4 mile and walking 1/4 mile. The 1st 2 miles were rough until I decided to ditch the GPS watch (actually the battery died in the middle of the 2nd mile...didn't make a conscious decision to "ditch" it....didn't have a choice). So it became much easier when I quit trying to concentrate so hard on keeping a certain pace...I just ran...by the 4th mile I learned that relaxing my hands, arms, and shoulders (had white knuckle fists for the 1st 3 miles) made it even easier yet. I really felt like I found my groove so to speak. Don't get me wrong...still had to stop and catch my breath after 3/4 miles but I at least didn't feel like I was going to pass out or drop a lung! I was REALLY having doubts yesterday about whether I was going to be able to accomplish this and today gave me hope!

THEN, I came home to find that my Aunt and Uncle (my Dad's side) sent in my very first donation!....an incredibly generous donation! This is SO motivating! My friend Traci (this is her 2nd marathon) decided to run with the TNT group again this time around and she told me that 1 of the main reasons she decided this was because of how motivating it is when the donations start to role in....I get it now! I mean I CANT quit now!!! That was the main reason I decided to start this blog. It's incredibly motivating to get all these email responses! The cat's out of the bag....so there's no turning back now!!

On another note...My 1st goal....I've signed up to participate in the Race for a Cure on June 16th with a couple friends. It's a 5K. I figured it would be a good way to see how this all works...being new to all this is intimidating. So my first goal is to be able to run the entire 5K without walking rests. It's just a little over 3 miles and I have 3 weeks to get there.

So I'm not bringing my GPS to anymore training runs....being my first marathon, I'm not concerned at this point in beating any times (as if that were even possible) I'm just going to stay focused on finishing the darn thing!

Matching Contributions

I forgot to mention in my "coming-out" letter that Dan & I have decided to match all contributions made on my behalf up to a maximum of $1,000.00. I figured that information was worthy of it's own post! = )

Rome wasn't built in a day!

Well...OK...1st day of training is over...time to move on to the next! I always considered myself a relatively "in-shape" kinda gal. Spent my first 22 years of life in a dance studio. VERY physically fit back then. Still work out these days after having 3 kids...maybe not as often or consistently as I should....but who the hell has time for consistency. So when this marathon thing came up I thought to myself...if they can do it why can't I?...How hard can it possibly be...I'm active...no major physical disabilities...I can do 45 minutes on the elyptical....I mean, I'm as relatively "in-shape" as the next guy!

yeah....not so much....

So lets list the positive sides of today....shall we?....because it's all about being positive!!!!!

1. I got a GREAT lesson in humility!
2. I didn't have the need to trip on anyone's heels...they were all MUCH further ahead than me!
3. I didn't get any blisters!
4. No-one laughed at me...at least to my face anyway!
5. I was able to get to my car in time before passing out in front of anyone!

We'll skip listing the negatives... it's all about being positive!!!!

Besides....people can live with only one lung anyway....can't they?