Wednesday, August 27, 2008

running, running, running

Last night was my first real run that didn't involve way too much walking in about 3 weeks. And it was AWESOME!! I put Simon and Emma on their bikes and told them they could go as far ahead as they wanted, as long as they stayed on the same loop I was on. They thought that was the coolest thing ever and raced each other all over the place.
I had the biggest smile stuck on my face. One older lady even thought I was just smiling at the the kids and told me the kids were cute. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was smiling at myself. She must have thought it was such a touching moment. oh well. It was great and I really realized what I was missing. I can't wait until I get out there tonight!
I didn't really set out for a planned distance, I just wanted to get out there. I ended up doing two miles, but with only two 30 second walks. I'm ok with that. I'm not really sure how fast I can ramp up to the distances I was doing 3 weeks ago. I don't want my ever present shin splints to get aggravated.....but I've got 8 weeks until the half marathon....ohh decisions. ok, I don't want to get silly..... how about 3 miles tonight, rest on Thursday, 2 miles on Friday, rest Saturday, and then 5 on Sunday. That sounds like an ok first week.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Update

When I started running in March, I was obsessed with all things running. I blogged about it, I read countless other running blogs, runnersworld.com discussions, books, magazines, you name it. I never found it boring, it never got old. And while I still love running, I think I overloaded on the extras. Throw in 3 weeks that went from hurt foot to sinus infections and strep throat to a hurt neck that wouldn't even let me comfortably walk, and I got a little depressed.

Right now the most important thing is to get back into my running routine. No more of the one or two mile jogs just to say I got out there.

The half marathon is in 8 weeks and as long as I start buckling down now, I should be able to enjoy the race. That is really my biggest goal. I want to have a good time and get a taste of what the marathon is going to be like.

I'm not beating myself up about falling off the wagon, for the most part it couldn't be avoided. But my foot doesn't snap and crackle anymore, I can breathe again, and no more piercing pain shooting from me neck, so its back to the trail. Stay tuned until tomorrow when I promise there will be a run report for run 1 of my homemade 8 week half marathon training plan.

WOO! Time to shuffle!! Cause that's what I do!!

Non running related side note: I'm gonna get hitched one year from yesterday. The venue I wanted can't be booked more than 365 days in advance and for summer Saturdays, it gets booked that first day you can. At least it made finally setting a date easy . Essentially, if I wanted to get married next summer, I had to buckle down and get it done.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I'm signed up!

Today I paid my dollars and am offically signed up for the half marathon. I guess that makes it real now, huh?

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

What do you think?

So it wouldn't kill me to lose a few pounds. This blog is never ever going to be called skinny girl running, but you know what I'm saying. And since this virtual running community has kept me going like I would never have been able to on my own, I joined a virtual weight loss community. The Daily Plate.com. One of my favorite friend Teresa has lost 46 pounds using it since January. There are forums to chit chat and ask questions on, and a log for everything you eat. You name it, they have it, including store brands. And you can pick your activities to log and based on your weight, they tell you how many calories you burned. So I pulled up running. There isn't just running, you also pick your pace. So look at the description for 10 minute miles (aka, miles I can't run)

Running - 6 mph:
Running at 6 miles per hour is considered by many to be at the low end of the fitness spectrum. A 6-mph running pace is equivalent to running a mile in 10 minutes. At this pace, it would take you over four and a half hours to finish a marathon.

LOW END?!?! Who writes this stuff?? I personally am pretty impressed with anyone that can bust out 10 a minute mile pace. Now I get that that pace isn't going to win any races, but its definitely something to be proud of.