I have decided I need to blog my misadventures in running. If nothing else, it will help keep me motivated. There's something about checking items off of a daily to-do list or having a rigid schedule that keeps me on track. If I'm keeping a blog, it's out there for the world to see if I decide to slack off and eat bon bons! I suppose that I should admit up front that by "running" I really mean "jogging at a snail's pace and walking when the strain of that becomes too much". Running is my goal, right now I'm just happy to get from point A to point B without collapsing!
It all started with the new year rolling around and I decided that was as good a time as any to get this project underway. I'd actually tried to get a simple running program started the year before but was sidelined by surgery for a couple of months and just never got around to starting over. I have never NEVER been a runner. Never. I was always the fat slow girl that you probably either laughed at or felt sorry for. No athletic skills, no speed, and definitely no grace. Kinda sad, huh? Unfortunately, that's all still in effect but now I just don't really care what I look like as I go lumbering along, I'm doing this purely for ME and what people think of me is irrelevant. I'm proud to say "I'm a runner", even though that may be stretching the truth just a wee bit.
So how did I start? I found a program called 3 weeks to a 30 minute running habit at http://running.about.com/c/ec/1.htm that started me at intervals of running 1 minute/walking 1 minute. I printed up a schedule, stuck it on the fridge (again, I love checking items off each day!), and got to work. I'd set up the treadmill in the basement, turn on a dvd, and do my work-out. Once I finished that program, I moved on to another program to develop my endurance. By the end of that program, I was up to doing 3 miles at a time. Woo hoo!! I ran my first official 5k in April (the Komen Race for the Cure). Although I didn't run in the competitive race, it was still a huge win for me. I never would have believed that I could finish a 3 mile run and I did it anyway!
That was about 6 weeks ago and I've let my schedule fall a bit slack. Without having a goal to push for, I wasn't pushing to improve but just kept going through the motions doing what I could already do. Last weekend I decided to find another 5k to run so that I'd have a goal to work towards. Instead, I found that my hometown actually has a half-marathon in the fall and that there is a training group available. Not only that, but their first run was in just 2 days. I emailed the organizer of the training, told him what I can do right now and asked if it was even possible for me to reach the goal of finishing a half-marathon. He's optimistic and said it's do-able, as long as I'm not worried about my pace. Hey, if I finish the route without being hauled away in the ambulance, it's a success!
I actually missed the first group run because I had to work, but attended the second run last night. OMG...it was only 3 miles but it was faster than my usual pace so I was really hurtin' to keep up! I never lost sight of the runners in front of me, but I was lagging so far behind that at one point I thought I'd lose 'em. I don't know whether she took pity on me or was tiring herself, but I did catch up with another runner and we finished together. I finished the run in about 32 or 33 minutes, faster than I've ever done 3 miles. Whew!!! Oh, and it was in a downpour to boot. I actually loved that, if we could just schedule all future runs in the rain I think that'd be great. It kept me cool and the water felt so much nicer than hot sweat! It didn't hurt that it kept all the other pedestrians out of the way--I really wasn't up for an audience! It was a nice route, through the university campus and then back downtown, a few smallish hills but nothing steep. I'll have to try that on my own sometime.
Today's run was solo so I went to my usual place--the indoor track at the Y. I timed my pace (which I hadn't done since the April 5k) and found it a miserable 13 minutes. I don't know if it's fatigue from the day before or if I just pushed myself that much harder in the group run. I suspect the latter. Our next group run is Thursday. I have to decide by Saturday whether to officially sign up for the training. I'll probably do it, even if I can't work up to 13 miles I figure it'll still be good for my running to work with a group. I may be the very last at every run, but it's better than watching!
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