Another Milestone

Today I conquered three miles. Although "conquered" is a little misleading. I had a hard day running. I wasn't sure I was going to get one, let alone two, let alone three miles done. I've realized that Wednesdays are difficult days for me - running-wise. I'm still recovering from Monday's run and here I am pushing myself to do even more! It was probably the most shuffling and sloppy run of my life. It was by far the slowest too. Not only that but about half way through my toe started hurting. Turns out the nail of one toe was gouging another toe. I also have a big old blister. With all these wounds and the state of my aching muscles you'd think I just finished a marathon.

Good Run

Today was a good run. I think it had to do with the nice cool breeze and non-sweltering temperatures. It also could have been because I was coming off a two or three day hiatus and was well rested. If time hadn't been an issue, I think I could have run for quite a while. But, I had to get back home so my husband could get to work. Instead, I ran two miles. And two miles is becoming the norm for me. Time to push it to three! The difficulty with three though is finding the time to do it. I'll need at least a 45 minute time slot to accomplish it.

Speed. I Am Speed.

Ok, not really. I've decided to set a goal to get my speed up to a respectable level. I feel I have the mile pretty much conquered. Now to get to it a little faster.

Tonight, since I wasn't able to get out until well past dark, I decided to stay close to home and run a 1/4 mile stretch back and forth while working on going a bit faster. That was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Through this process of running I've learned something: even though I may set a goal for myself that does not mean that I will quickly meet that goal. And if I don't meet the goal right away, I'm not a failure. It's just something to continually work toward.

So, tonight was my first time out working on speed. I started off fast and confident. That soon withered to slow and huffing and puffing. But, even those few seconds of fast running got me closer to my more respectable mile time. I'll continue to get stronger and faster.

I'll continue.

I Could Weep

I honestly did not think that my crooked little feet could carry me a mile. But they did. And tonight they conquered something bigger than a mile . . . they conquered TWO miles. For the first time in my life, I ran 2 miles.

I RAN 2 MILES!!!

The Best Time to Run

I honestly love the idea of running first thing in the morning. Here's why:

1. Getting out the door when the rest of the world is just waking up
2. Accomplishing something at the start of day
3. Doesn't interfere with family time since they're still sleeping
4. Getting it done right away so that you don't spend the rest of the day talking yourself out of it
5. It's cooler

However, I've come across a few really big cons to running first thing in the morning.

1. I worry that I'll wake someone up in the morning while I'm getting ready and that makes me anxious.
2. My mind seems occupied with all I have to accomplish that day.
3. I have absolutely zero energy causing me much frustration at my lack of progress
4. This is the biggest con for me: my blood sugar is super wonky in the morning. Sometimes I'll be fine, other times I'll have the shakes, dizziness and nausea that I'll have to forgo the run. Typically when I run in the morning, the first thing I do when I get up is grab a piece of cheese and some juice to munch on while I'm getting ready. But I don't have the time to wait for the juice to kick in to get my blood sugar back up.

Last week I decided to try an evening run. I've held off on running in the evening because, well, it's darker outside. But I loved it! Why I loved it:

1. The day is over, no chores or errands hanging over my head. A great time to unwind.
2. I have energy. Usually I'll have eaten an hour or so before hand giving me an extra boost (and no blood sugar issues).
3. It's darker. Yes, this could be a pro or con. But I honestly like the anonymity it gives me.
4. Darker=cooler. Important in Arizona!
5. The kids and husband are usually unwinding as well. Chores and homework are all done. Dinner has been eaten. Everyone is just chilling and I don't feel like I'm taking away from or missing anything that's going on.

And the cons:

1. It's darker outside. I try to go before it really gets dark but if that doesn't happen I'll just stay close to home, making the running not as fun.
2. BIGGEST con to date: The smell of everyone's dinner cooking. Neighbor BBQ-ing, neighbor's spaghetti, etc. And it makes me want to puke. I just don't want to get a whiff of that stuff while I'm running. It literally turns my stomach. (On the other hand, my neighbor has a beautiful rose bush that I often pass - heavenly!)

The Ups and Downs

As you saw from my last post, I had a pretty bad run.

Then last night happened . . . a mere two days after the bad run.

I ran the entire mile (a nice portion of it was uphill)! And I could have gone further, except I felt I didn't want to set myself up for failure. Eh. I have low self-esteem or something.

I did end up running another half-mile though. But that happened after I walked a wee bit and caught my breath.

I was really really proud when I finished my mile. And in fact, I ran as fast as I could for the last 100 yards or so.

**Favorite thing about running: isn't exactly the running part but instead coming home, taking a shower and crawling into cozy pj's.**

I Am Running Challenged

The title sounds better than "I Stink At Running."

Except for once or twice last year (and do those times really count when it was all downhill?), I haven't been able to run a mile. What is wrong with me?

I'm honestly feeling defeated and I don't know how to push through the wall. I jog insanely slow, but still after 5 minutes I'm beat . . . can't carry on a conversation . . . can't even eek out anything but a grunt.

Oh, and what drives me up the wall is that EACH time I go out is so completely different. One day I can jog 15 minutes straight, the next time I run I can barely go for 5 minutes. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it.

I know so much of this is mental. But when I feel like I'm going to puke in the bushes (which almost happened tonight - how embarrassing would that have been? Puking on the side of the road - RIGHT BY MY HOUSE), pass out, or when my body just can't go another step at a pace above a walk, I don't know how to get past that and I really want to!

I almost wanted to try a 5k - that's a wee bit over 3 miles - but c'mon . . . I can't even do 1 mile (unless of course it's downhill)!

Arg. Ok, this was just a big fat frustration post. Carry on.

Music!

I haven't been running to music. I wanted the music of nature to fill my soul with delight and determination as I battled the pavement each day. Bahahahaha! Does the blaring of car horns and too much bass count as nature? Yeah, not really. Not only that, but being left alone with my thoughts probably isn't the best thing.

Plus, in Run Like A Mother, they covered a section about the pros of running to music. Thought I'd give it a try.

So, for the past few days I listened religiously to the 80's and 90's channels and compiled a play list of songs I'd like to run to. Here it is in all its glory.

Somethin' To Believe In - Poison
Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks
Independence Day - Martina McBride
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
500 Miles - The Proclaimers
Against All Odds - Phil Collins
Follow Me - Uncle Kracker
I Hope You Dance - Lee Ann Womack
Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
Take Me Home (Country Roads) - John Denver

I have another 50 songs I'd like to add (Guns N Roses, baby!), but for now this is a good start.

Last night I ran for the first time with my play list and HOLY COW! So much fun. And I pushed myself more than I would have. I'd say things like, "I won't stop until the end of the song" or "I can do one more song!" And every once in a while I'd sing out loud (really it was just huffing and puffing to a beat, but if you listened closely I was really singing, I swear). There are songs in there that soothe me, inspire me, motivate me and just plain make me feel good.

I'm hooked.

What Makes a Runner a Runner?

Well, what makes a writer a writer? Are you only a writer if you've had something published?

Are you only a runner if you've run in a marathon?

Or are you a runner simply because you run on a fairly consistent basis?

I am a mother because I mother on a consistent basis. I'd like to say I'm a writer (I have a TON of stories swirling around in my overactive mind), but hardly do I put pen to paper, so I can't claim being a writer.

Oh how I want to claim being a runner! But, I don't want to take the glory from those that actually run on a consistent basis and are true blue runners.

So for now I'm a wanna be runner. I hope that in short order I'll be able to confidently claim being a runner - and that it will be a true claim!

Run Like A Mother

I got this book free on my Kindle. And since it was free, it was definitely for me! I didn't really intend to read it actually. But wanting to read something "light" while waiting for my son's karate class to finish up, I dug in.

And now I'm hooked. So hooked, in fact, that today, after months of not doing more than a walk, I was inspired enough to get up early and go for a jog. I took my 10 year-old daughter with me. She had a fabulous time - she loves being outside, she loves being active. She loved seeing the sun come up and the many bunnies that crossed our path. We didn't jog the entire time. Instead we'd see a landmark and say, "think we can run to that pole/tree/house/street?" At one point I pointed to a tree, we jogged to it and when we got there, my daughter said, "I bet we could make it to that pole." And we did! So for a mile we jogged off and on. Not bad for my first time out in MONTHS. We walked the mile back, taking a detour through the desert.

So, back to this book . . . I've only read perhaps 15% of it so far, but have learned so much. I've learned that it's okay to take time out of my day for myself. It's okay! Also, one of the writers mentioned that by tackling a run first thing in the morning made the rest of the day feel like a breeze. Everything else was easy after a grueling run! It's nice to feel tough and to have conquered a difficult task first thing in the day. My daughter said something similar this morning. She said, "I feel like I've already accomplished something today!" And here we were, jogging when most of the world was still asleep. We accomplished something right off the bat today. What a great way to start a day.

I'm so glad I got this book. I think it'll be my running bible. Wisdom in that book, there is. Wisdom that this fledgling "runner" so desperately needs.