1. I registered for the COLOR RUN this week! Very excited about this. We had tried to figure out how to get to Chicago for the Color Run there but then found out that they had added a run in Columbus. This looks like a fun day and I am hoping a 5K looks more doable by July. I am understanding why people do these races. Not only does it give you a date to get ready for but it is also a fun social thing. A group of us signed up and I already know that it will be fun to see everyone, run a bit, get together, etc. The social piece is big for me --another piece of this understanding.
2. I had a big fail run this week. Worst run in the whole 14 weeks of running. It was on Monday. My interval or time didn't go up but I was outside and it was just not doable at the end. I was supposed to do 4 sets of Run 7/Walk 1(minutes). I got to the last round at 2 minutes in and just couldn't get any further. I took about a 45 second break, ran for a few more minutes, took a 30 minute break and finished. I am not sure what happened except that the run was really long and really hard. It was windy and I wasn't going in with much energy. I realized later I should have tacked on the extra 1:15 in running but I didn't. I still "counted" the run and was able to do my next run (8min/1min for 3 rounds) on Tuesday. But I did that one indoor. These next two weeks look really hard and long. I feel good about where I am but these next two weeks are the final push to getting to 5K and I still have a long ways to go--quickly! (BTW, my sweet 21 year old runner-daughter said to me when I got home, "Mom, it's windy. I could hear the wind all day. I always have to take breaks and walk when it is windy." Not sure if that's true or not but she did make me feel better:-) In reflecting on this failed run, I realized I did not wear my Lululemon running pants. They were in the laundry so I grabbed another pair. My family informed me that it was ridiculous to even use that as an excuse but I am not so sure...
3. The track at the indoor rec center where I run is 1/13 of a mile. I remember those first few weeks of running when I couldn't imagine that I'd ever be able to run around the track once without taking a break. Now I am going at about a 13 minute mile--so about once around every minute. Which means I go around 8ish times every interval. It was amazing to me when I realized this the other day. It seems like it has been a long time but in 14 weeks I have gone from 30 seconds (or 1/2 way around the track once) to 8 minutes (8 times around the track). The numbers of laps, etc. help me see I am making progress. It is easy to forget where I started if I let myself because I still feel so incompetent at this running thing.
4. It might be time for me to run outside in the neighborhood. I have been running on the indoor track and on a 1 mile running loop outside but with increased time, the loops are getting boring. I all of sudden realize the need to find a 3 mile loop and to not feel like I am running in circles. I may have to run in my own neighborhood which may be too humiliating at this point. I am really slow and I am certain that I am not a graceful runner. And I get really angry and cranky while I am running and I get toward the end of the run. So, I am looking at options for where to run next. I am using Map My Run and really like it to help me figure out where to run/how far I went/etc.
5. So I don't use music but I've been carrying my phone for the time. I have a stopwatch/watch type thing that I can use and now that I don't have to look at the clock every 30 seconds, I feel like I need something to carry my phone. My running friend told me I needed my arms to be free because they were important to running. No idea what she means by that but I trust her. So I am on the lookout for a running/fanny pack type thing or an armband for my next runs. Not sure which will be the least annoying but I know I don't want to run outside without my phone.
6. I found this 9 RACE DAY TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST 5K on Twitter or a blog this week. Some great advice and I loved one of the last lines, " You only get to run your first 5K once a lifetime." Hmmm. I hadn't thought about that. I will be participating in a 5K on campus next week and am not sure if I'll participate or just cheer others on. I know I won't be ready for the full 5K but I might use it as my workout just to get a sense of the length and feel of a 5K event. I think my run for next weekend is 9min/1 min so maybe I'll do that just to get a sense of where I am in terms of a 5K.
7. I seem to be qualifying for lots of free health magazines. Who knew that when you register for runs, you often get free magazines with your registration? So this is my way of coming full circle I think. For years I would read these health magazines and not really use the information. So I decided to stop reading about health and running and actually start doing something. Now that I am running, I will be getting these magazines again. I am sure it will be a much different reading experience!
8. Most everyone knows that I hired an online trainer/coach for this running journey. Best decision I've made in years. Anyway, she also has a great blog that I learn from every day. She is a fun and positive person with such a great attitude about fitness and exercise. This week, I realized why she is such an amazing person to work with. This week, she put in a video application to be on a team for some race I don't quite understand....Hood to Coast. But I loved the video and can't imagine they wouldn't choose her to be on the team. I read her post about wanting to do the Ironman (which I only semi-understand). She talks a little about how slow her open water race time is and said it was possible she will come in dead last. I don't really think that's true but for someone so in shape to be so honest about her training challenges is amazing to me. So even though she is successful in all she does, she really does understand when I tell her that I am worried about how slow I am. She is always challenging herself so constantly knows the highs and lows of training. I get the sense, every time I ask her a question, that she really gets it. I have worked with lots of people over the years and having someone who really understands my struggles is key. I think we all gravitate to different types of people to help us with things like this. As I've said before, I need an entire village but so glad I found Tonia as my main go-to person for all of this. She is AMAZING! I am getting a little nervous because my 16 week training plan and work with Tonia is coming to an end. Hoping I can motivate myself for a couple of months and then get some plan to move forward with speed or something. But I am not sure I am ready to give up the support. I want to prove to myself that I can do this on my own but I am also worried that maybe I can't....
9. Katie was here this week and mentioned a few times how cute my hair looked. Now I had not really done anything with my hair and she mentioned it several times. Then she said, "Oh, well I guess I am used to seeing you at Yoga. I haven't seen your hair down for a while." Hah! If you could see my hair during yoga--it is dripping with sweat and pulled up in a Pebbles/Flinstones type ponytail on top of my head. Lately, I've added my Sparkly Soul headband in hot pink. I'm just cracking up that for the last few weeks, that is the only way Katie and other yoga friends have seen me! No wonder she thought my hair looked good...
10. So I looked back at some numbers from a past blog post. I started out running 30 seconds every 2.5 minutes so during Week One, I ran a total of 13 minutes. I reflected on this back in Week 8 and decided to do a little math this week too. The first 8 weeks looked like this:
Week 1 13 minutes
Week 2 17 minutes
Week 3 21 minutes
Week 4 25.5 minutes
Week 5 26 minutes
Week 6 41 minutes
Week 7 48 minutes
Week 8 48 minutes
This week--Week 14--I ran a total of 84 minutes!! That feels good to see these numbers. It has felt slow but in 14 weeks I have gone from running 13 minutes per week to running 84 minutes per week. Sometimes I do love numbers:-)
I say this every time I read your weekly post, but I am so proud of what you accomplished. I'm glad the numbers are speaking to you, because you've come so far, and you look great to boot! You should be so pleased at your progress.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, your hair, while cute in Flintstones ponytail, looks great right now. I will second Katie's opinion.