Runner of Steel

Yep, I know, it's my annual post!

Anyhoo...Last September right after we moved I found out I was pregnant.  Where is the baby you ask? Well, in October I found out that I had what is called a "missed Miscarriage." The baby stops developing, but your body does nothing.  After a day trip to the hospital (NEVER go to Davis hospital if you can help it) I decided that I needed to plan something for the first part of May so I could focus on that instead of dwelling on the fact that there was no baby.  I did what any logical person would do, I signed up to complete the Pittsburgh Half Marathon with my sister on May 6th.  Now that we are less than a week away it feels much like having a child, you've done all you can to prepare, but you're never truly ready.  I'm still determined to prove that even a heavyset gal can be an athlete.  Wish us luck!

Why Summer SUCKS

Summertime colds+heat  = +3 minutes added to my pace (it was already super slow to start with, now I think a snail could beat me in a foot race!)

I just keep reminding myself that no matter how slow I am, I'm still faster than the person sitting on the couch.

From excuse to progress

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." - Willie Nelson

Over the past week my calves & Achilles have been really painful so I have had to back off on my training a bit.  I can't blame anyone but myself, I decided to increase my mileage more than the recommended 10% and now know why they say not to.

During my "down time" I started to feel like this was one more thing that I started & couldn't finish.  I finally decided that I'm not going to get anywhere if I keep making excuses, so enough is enough.  Yes I'm slow, have you ever tried to move 204lbs on your own?  It's not easy, but I'm doing it.  I've gone from a pace of 20 min/mile to somewhere around 16:30.  That's better progress than no progress.

In short, "I didn't come here & I ain't leaving." -Willie

Sweat

When I first began this journey it was because I wanted to cross off "run a marathon" off of my bucket list.  After a sprained/broken ankle & some research I decided that I was going to add "jog a complete 5k" as a step to getting to the marathon.  (A few years ago I met my goal of completing five 5k's in one summer, but I walked most of them)

Like I have mentioned in previous entries, my motivation seems to be melting with the heat.  If you know anything about me, you know that I hate to feel myself sweat, that's why swimming & skiing have always been my preferred sports.  Well there is no way to continue to train without some sweat, so after some more searching if found the quote that is perfect for me.

               "No one ever drowned in sweat."
                  -Author Unknown

I would put it on my mirror so I could see it everyday, but that might require breaking a sweat. 

5 Minutes

I FINALLY made it through week 4 of the Couch to 5k program & am halfway through week 5.  I never in a million years thought that I would look forward to running or be able to run 5 minutes non-stop.  Next up, running with a blister on the bottom of my foot & running for 15 minutes non-stop.

Cross Training

Fellow "waddlers" do any of you cross train?  If so, what do you do?  How often?  I'm in a bit of a rut & don't want to overtrain & end up hurt.

Stuck and other ramblings

I have been following the Couch to 5k program for over 4 weeks now & figured that I would see some progress by now, but rather than "dropping the lbs" (as my husband would say) I've gained 4 pounds!  I'm trying not to get discouraged, but when you add to that the fact that I'm stuck somewhere between week 3 & 4 of the program, it gets depressing.

By the end of week 3, you are jogging for 3 minutes x2.  Week 4, you jog for 5 minutes once.  I can't get past about 4 minutes before I'm ready to fall over dead.  I thought that it was because I had a cold last week, so I took it easy this week & just repeated week 3, hopefully I'll be able to get back on track next week.

In other news, I may not look like a runner, but I feel like one.  I have the aches & pains, but more importantly, after I have on my shoes & shorts, I feel like I actually belong out there drenched in sweat.  Maybe there is something to this "runners high" after all!