I was going to run 4 or 5 miles today, but thanks to some side effects of my new medicine, won't be. I am switching my running days and tomorrow will be the day. One the bright side, I am getting an ab work out.

5 Miles

Today I ran five miles. I ran it in 50 minutes and was kind of being laid back about it. During one of the laps I was looking down and considering if I wanted to sprint the last part of the mile or not. Then a big guy jumped in front of me all of the sudden. I would have screamed and made a fool out of myself, but I realized it was my cousin Hal. Gotta love family :)

Benches

I have learned that it doesn't matter how stupid you look, at least while you are exercising. :) I decided I needed to add more strength training into my running to mix it up a little more. So today I looked like an idiot. I was at the park and used the benches to do my chair dips and squating leg lifts. Thankfully it was stormy and rainy, meaning there weren't a lot of people at the park. I ran 4 miles, but I stopped after 2 miles for 8 minutes to do the exercises. Today wasn't a PR kind of day, but my time was decent. 4 miles in 39 minutes. That is after taking out the 8 min of exercise time :)

I have realized that I need to eat better. It's not like I eat a lot, but the past 4 days I have been eating junk. That is what I am focusing on the next few days to see if I can get myself off of this plateau.

All in all, a great day.

Hills

I decided to make today a cross training day since my knee was hurting. Nothing too exciting. Just put the treadmill at the highest incline possible and walked briskly for 15 minutes (probably not the smartest thing with an achy knee! ha ha) and then did chair dips, leg lifts and body holds for a while. Then I walked with Rissa and Kellie for 3 miles. Tomorrow I am running again. 4 miles. This is my step back week so this is the plan...

Tuesday:4
Wednesday:5
Thursday:4
Friday:Rest
Saturday:6
Sunday:Rest

Day of Rest

I want to go running! Getting treated like crap gets very old, and running is a good way to relieve that stress. It helps me put things into perspective. I made Sunday my rest day for a reason though, so maybe I will go for a long walk instead :)

To Finish The Race

"In 1968 a marathon runner by the name of John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in an international competition. 'A little over an hour after [the winner] had crossed the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari . . . approached the stadium, the last man to complete the journey. [Though suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration, and disorientation,] a voice called from within to go on, and so he went on. Afterwards, it was written, "Today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in human spirit, a performance that gives meaning to the word courage." For some, the only reward is a personal one. [There are no medals, only] the knowledge that they finished what they set out to do' (The Last African Runner, Olympiad Series, written, directed, and produced by Bud Greenspan, Cappy Productions, 1976, videocassette). When asked why he would complete a race he could never win, Akhwari replied, 'My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.' "He knew who he was—an athlete representing the country of Tanzania. He knew his purpose—to finish the race. He knew that he had to endure to the finish, so that he could honorably return home to Tanzania. Our mission in life is much the same. We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor."

Robert D. Hales, "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure," Ensign, May 1998, 76

7 Miles

My run was interesting today. The first mile had me more tired than usual and I could tell it wasn't going to be a great running day. Then the front of my leg, right above my ankles started giving me problems again. I hadn't found anyone that could tell me what these two bumps were from, but that area of my leg would get tight and hurt despite the many stretches I did. Remembering that I have a doctor for a brother, I took a picture and sent it to him for analysis. After some probing questions he determined that it was, "little spots of fluid that found weaknesses in your anterior compartment connective tissue called facia." Sounds smart enough for me to believe him! I asked him what I could do to help it, then was a little leery when I read "get a pair of steel scissors" because I sure wasn't going to perform surgery on my leg! Thankfully, all he said to do was massage the area to get the fluid out.

The run was ok. Since I stopped to take the picture and try to massage my legs a little bit, my time wasn't anything to brag about. 76 minutes. Not too shabby though.

There is a cute, old lady in town that always wears red, white and blue. She was exercising today and did a lap around Riverwalk. It was fun to pass her (she did 1/2 a lap in the time that I did 7) because she would stop her walker and start clapping. Ha ha! I asked her if I could use her walker for a while and she thought that was hilarious. I wish she was there more often, but this was the first time I saw her for my run. I would just like to point out that she was exercising for 3 hours today! Granted, it was a shuffle, but I was impressed at her determination. She was moving extremely slow, but she kept going. Kind of reminded me of myself. I may not be the runner with the best time and I may be tired, but I will keep going. That thought gave me something to chew on while I was stretching.

One thing I want to do is think of something, a characteristic, trait, experience, interest, feature...anything really, that I appreciate about myself and focus on that each week. This marathon journey is more than just running the 26.whatever miles, it is about me learning to love myself and reach a goal i previously thought impossible. Learning to be grateful for what I have been given. So this week, I am appreciative for my determination, aka stubborness :)

Tomorrow's run

I have my 7 miler tomorrow. Thinking about how I haven't run that far since 2002, the nerves started to make me doubt. I am excited to test myself though :)
Just a note about a little frustration I am feeling. I haven't been losing weight! I have been at the same weight for the past month. Running and cross-training like I have been, shouldn't I lose at least a few pounds? I am eating healthy and trying to get enough sleep. What am I missing? Agh. Maybe as I keep with it, I will see improvement. One day at a time.

Walking with Kellie and Rissa

Today is my cross training day, so I walked 3.8 miles with Marissa and Kellie. It was fun and mostly inappropriate. Between Kellie announcing very personal things to the mail lady, and me saying things that Marissa chose to take very dirty, it wasn't a boring walk. We walked around Dry Lake with Sabry, our dog. SOMEONE didn't go to the bathroom before we left so we had to stop at Kamei campgrounds and let her use the bathroom. While Marissa was in the bathroom pilfering the toilet paper, I was keeping Ben Smalley company outside with Kellie. Funny how you see so many people when you are sweaty, gross and smelly, yet when you actually dress up to go somewhere, say, Wal-Mart (ha ha ha) you never see anyone. Its nice to change things up every once and a while.

Never thought I would see this day

Today was my 5 mile day according to Hal Higdon. I know that is less than the 10K so I shouldn't have been worried, but I was. I remembered how tired I was at 5 miles and wasn't sure I wanted to do that again. But rounding up my courage I headed out to Riverwalk ( it is easier to keep running when you have an audience, don't want to appear weak ha ha). My goal time today was 55 minutes. I know that is 11 minute miles, but it was a realistic goal for me. While running, I kept thinking about how I wanted to be in control of my body. I was tired and my right foot started going numb, but it wasn't enough to slow me down. First mile: 9 minutes! Second mile: 10 min, Third mile: 10 min, Fourth mile: 10 min, Fifth mile: 9 minutes! I ran 5 miles in 48 minutes!! I was beyond excited. My body is a gift and for the first time in years, as I walked out my muscles and stretched, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for it. My body is helping me accomplish a goal that seemed unattainable last month. What a blessing! What a great day...

Humble beginnings

"I am out of shape! How did I let my fitness level fall this low in just a couple months?" Being in a bit of a limbo in my life, I needed a specific goal that I could be in complete control over reaching. Thanks to someone who ran their first marathon earlier this year, I decided that would be a noble ambition. So I signed up! The second I did I wondered where my sanity was taking a vacation to, hoping it was some place warm and on a beach, because it was definitely not with me! I am overweight and out of shape. Can I make it to the finish line?

Starting out, I decide to follow the Nova Challenge Marathon Training Guide. It starts easy at 1 mile, then it gradually, emphasis on gradually, adds mileage for 10 months until you are ready to run the marathon.

The first mile was pretty easy, but I was still tired and sore afterward, which reminded me of my lack of endurance. A couple of weeks later I moved up to 2 miles. Same story. Then 3 miles, and I stayed at this marker for a while trying to get used to the distance again.

Early April I wanted a closer goal to help me stay motivated and so I decided to run a 10K. Unfortunately due to a lack of money, I couldn't run in the 10K, but chose to measure out 6.2 miles and run it myself. This was one of the best things I could have done. I set my goal day for April 18th and my time for 70 minutes. I am not a fast runner, but that gave me a few minutes to spare. Earlier that week I ran my first 4 miler in 41:30 minutes. Two days later I ran it again in 40:00. I was ready for my first unofficial 10K.

I woke up at my normal time, and measured out my course. It seemed a lot longer than I imagined it to be, but I was still excited to see how I did. Listening to Emerson Drive on my iPod I took off. Holy hills, why did I pick this course?? It was full of inclines, and magically, very few downhills. I made pretty good time through 3 miles, at about 31 minutes so far and still had some gas left. But at mile 5 I was feeling it. I wasn't sure I would finish under my 70 minute goal time with the pace I was at. Then I reminded myself that "Pain is temporary, but pride is forever." Thanks to a volleyball chant and a text message encouraging me, my feet kept moving forward. Cursing myself for picking that course, I had to drag my feet up the second to last hill. That was it. I wanted to give up. I was at 62 minutes and only had 1/4 mile to go. That was when my mind decided that I was sick of letting my body dictate what I did. So I kicked myself in the butt and ran home the last portion of my 10K, finishing in 65 minutes. Proudly, I walked to my lawn and laid down to stretch before almost peeing my shorts. Why did no one warn me that you have very little bladder control when running?? or after?? All in all, a very good day :)