Wow – big difference

OK, on Tuesday it was raining but I still needed to train. So I went to the gym in my neighborhood to run on the treadmill. What a difference that made! Running outside I can barely run 1 mile without stopping to walk. Its so hard to push myself.  I LOVE being able to watch the time, watch the distance, and control my speed! Wow! I felt like a running machine! I was running… 1 mile… 1.5… 2 miles… wow!  I was almost to 3 and was so tired, but thought for sure I can do this… I can make it to 3. And when I hit 3, I pushed just a tad further and ran 3.1 – the distance of a 5k!  I’m still pretty slow, so it took me 37m 02s. Slow, yes, I know. But as I’ve said in other posts, I have no doubt that I am THE slowest runner on the planet.  Besides, speed wasn’t the big accomplishment. The fact that I ran 3.1miles without stopping for a walk break is what I was so proud of. I took Wednesday off since I was sore. Thursday I went to the treadmill again. I love the control it gives me. Same thing 3.1 and my time was 37m 04s. Took Friday off. Saturday I did 5 miles. Wasn’t able to run the entire thing but I did run the first 3.1 because I was challenging myself to beat my time and keep pushing on after that. So my time was actually 25m 54s! Slow, but faster than before. And then I kept running until I got to 3.5 miles. After that I used the last 1.5 miles to do some sprints – maybe that will help my speed in the long run. So I’d run .25 miles FAST then walk for .25 and RUN .25, etc. until I hit my 5 miles. All in all I did 5 miles in 58m 48s, which is faster than a 12min/mile pace.  Big for me.  I’m actually so motivated to run for as long as I can AND watch my time when I’m on the treadmill… but I also know that running on the treadmill is way easier than running outside on pavement.  But the way I see it, its better than not getting in enough miles if I’m not motivated to get out and run right?  I dunno. I need to research it.  Off to RunnersWorld.com I go…   OH but before I do. TODAY was my day off. I was taking the kids to the pool. But before we went there, I snuck in a quick 2 mile run   And guess what – I actually enjoyed it!!  Up until this week, since August 4th, the most mileage I’d logged in a week was 8.  This week I hit 14.  8 pavement vs 14 treadmill.  Not sure how that translates when it comes to marathon training. I’ll keep you posted.

WHEN will this get easier?!?

Have you ever seen someone running and they look so light on their feet and make it look so easy, and it motivates you to run too? Well, that happens to me sometimes. The problem with it is that when I go out to run, I do NOT feel light on my feet, and it ISN’T the least bit easy and then I wonder again why the heck I am putting myself through this torture in the first place… well, I know WHY I’m doing this, but I wonder when the H-E-C-K will this get any easier?!?!

I’m analytical, so maybe I can analyze it…

I do this a few times a week. Every week. Weekafter week. And it sure doesn’t feel like it’s getting any easier?!?! Why do my legs feel so darned HEAVY when I run?!?!  Sure, this is only week 7. And I haven’t exactly been running each and every run that I’m supposed to.  Okay Okay Okay. I get it I’m not running every run that I’m supposed to. And I guess I don’t have a GREAT excuse.  Other than I’m tired.  Full time job, full time mom, plus training. It’s alot…. but I guess the old saying is true “No pain No gain”

OH boy… thinking I need some motivation I was searching the www for some motivational quotes, preferably about running a marathon, here are a couple of the first I found:

To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.
Jerome Drayton

Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating.
John Farrington, Australian marathoner

“You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.”
Frank Shorter

After reading those, I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m not thrilled about the 3 mile run I have this evening.

I need a running partner. But I think I am the slowest runner. Ever. Seriously.

Back on Track

We made it through hurricane Fay, everything is dried out and I am getting back on track. I admit, in the beginning, I was using the excessive rain as an excuse not to run. But that hurricane hovered over Florida for so long, dropping so much water, that it really got to the point where I COULDN’T run because it was too dangerous to be outside with the storming and the flooding. So within my first month I had 2 weeks that were not what they should have been. But overall, I am actually proud of how much better I feel one month and 24 miles later.

That said, this morning I did my first 5 miler for my long-run. I was feeling pretty good, so I pushed a bit harder than I normally do – perhaps it was too hard because after finishing my 5 miles, I was cooling down and stretching, and within about 2 minutes of finishing my run I threw up. And no, I hadn’t just eaten, in fact I hadn’t eaten anything yet since it was so early when I got out. Not a pretty site. But on a positive note, now that its all over – I feel great! haha    I am 100% sure I will be sore tomorrow. I think I would have been sore anyway because we were out on the boat yesterday, knee boarding, and the water was so rough with hurricane Gustav on the horizon… so I got quite a workout from that too. I think we may be going out again today, afterall it is a holiday weekend. I wonder if knee boarding, water skiing, etc counts for my cross training?!?

Totally Bummed

So I wake up this morning at about 5:45 sooo tired.  Of course I was up until almost 1am watching the Olympics. I can’t help it. I HAD to watch Michael Phelps swim and I am addicted to watching gymnastics too!  So I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I knew that I had to. So I did.. about a mile into my run it starts POURING. Hard. Do I run through it or turn around?  Of course if I turn around I still am soaked anyhow, and I actually feel really good this morning!  But I decide to turn around anyway and figure I’ll make up for it this evening because I’m trying to shield my iPod from getting too wet – like thats possible, as I am already completely drenched from head to toe.  The rain actually felt great, but I was worried about my iPod. Unfortuneatly, it was too late   The iPod won’t even turn ON now.  One could use this to reason that I SHOULD HAVE procrasinated and stayed in bed afterall haha   But no no, I know better.

I WANT to be a runner

FINALLY… week 1 is over.  11 miles total, and here’s how I feel: Running sucks. I am terrible at it. It hurts. It is boring. There, I said it.

Everyone says to me – I didn’t know you were a runner?!?! My reply… well, uh.. I’m not. I mean, yes I do get up very early to run before work, and yes I am running in a marathon in January… but a runner I am not. I’ve never had the “runners high”. I’ve never even had my “second wind”.  Instead, I get really bad cramps, my head pounds, my skin itches like crazy, I can’t breath, and I get SOO flushed and red. And the redness stays with me for like 3 hours, even after showering and drinking tons of water. Out of shape? Yes, clearly. But even when I was younger, swimming competitively and competing in triathlons – running has never come easy to me. It is and always has been such a struggle.

So yes, its true. I do NOT enjoy running. WHY WHY then, have I committed myself to a half marathon in December and a full marathon in January? Because I really really WANT to be a runner.   I found an awesome quote today that I think sums it up and I love love love it:

“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” -Les Brown

Not that I have any real desire to be a great runner. I just want to feel great from running. That being said, I do have to admit, that even though I feel lousy and slow and out of shape during my runs, I do feel proud of myself for doing it anyway despite all of that.  So that’s something.

Day 1

Sheesh. This morning when the alarm went off I swear my head had just hit the pillow. 5am… somehow I was MUCH more excited about this yesterday than I was this morning. I thought about saying, to heck with this I’ll run after work. But who was I kidding? I know my limitations, so I rolled my butt out of bed to get dressed for my first run since… oh boy… yes, about 11 years ago. There I said it.

Stretched? Check. Water? Check. ipod? check. OK I think thats everything. Off I go, down my street at a slow jog to warm up… after getting down the road a bit I find myself surprised, thinking Hey, now this isn’t so bad. Maybe I’ve still “got it” afterall!  Heck yeah!!  Wait, I spoke to soon – cramp.  YEEOUCH. I try to run through it but the cramp gets tighter and I have to walk, no biggie Michelle – first day, go easy on yourself I think. So I look at my watch to see how much longer. What??? Tap tap… is this thing even WORKING??? 4 minutes?!? Its only been 4 minutes?!? You’ve got to be k-i-d-d-i-n-g.  Oh boy this is gonna be a long 6 months. Right now about all I can think is stupid. stupid. michelle this was so stupid.

So I grin and bear it through the entire *gulp* 2 miles. Yes, I know its only 2 miles, but hey. Baby steps, right? Surprisingly every part of my body is tightening up except my legs. Is that weird? I dunno..

As the day went on I could feel different muscles in my body getting back at me.  It started with my legs – they were kinda spaghetti-ish. My neck. And my head. Killing me all day. My back, my thighs right above my knees. Even my stomach muscles, all over. Wierd, I swear my body didn’t get sore ALL OVER like this when I trained for Chicago 11 years ago. Hmm… Wait. OK, yeah. No wonder. It was 11 years ago. I was 22, not
33. I guess that explains alot. Yeah.

Well tuesdays are “rest” days.  So in theory, I could pretend that I don’t know better, and take that literally. But I’ll make it known here for you all so you can hold me to it – REST does not mean rest. It means do something other than RUN. So tomorrow I’ll ride the stationary bike instead of running. Until next time…