The stinkin' treadmill...

This morning I opened the door and what did I see? Huge raindrops coming down. Fortunately I work and live right on a campus that has a gym and a good treadmill so I have no excuses.

So I have found out that I hate running on the treadmill! I can't push myself and it is just too easy to go slow. I find it hard to use my mental Garmin games when I am on a thing that just keeps me in one place.

My time stunk today and I didn't get to breathe fresh air. Grumble grumble... I am thankful that at least I did it, I just didn't like it!

Running on emotions...

This could be such a bunny trail post but hopefully I will make sense of it all!

So today I just did some cross training - on the elliptical. I love the way it makes me sweat with minimal effort! I do feel like I moved my body and it didn't wipe me out so that is good!

Tomorrow I run 5 miles. Now that I am jittery about! I have perused blogs and since it is a weekend, many runners are out running races today. I am excited for them but also have a bit of apprehension about my own races to come. I guess that is why running is such a rush for many!

Running makes you live life to the fullest. One moment you feel sure of yourself, while the next you are full of self-doubt. This can be throughout the day as you look towards your goals or during a run. It is all such a mental game!

Personally, I haven't really run in ages, not that I have really been consistent in running at all! I ran a 5K in 2007, a 15K in May of 2008 and now have signed up for 3 races in two months! I am excited and nervous all at the same time.

My 5K is exciting as I feel confident that I can at least finish. LOL! My Half, well, only training will tell. I know that two months of training is a good amount of time to build up so I am hopeful!

Until then, I will continue to run like the wind!

Running fuel...

The other day I was at a hotel and out of my element. I woke up, went downstairs to use the gym and against my better judgement, didn't drink my morning cup o' joe. What happened? Well, I tuckered out after 2.5 miles. Pretty sad if you ask me!

So today I made sure I had a good dose of caffeine to wake me up and out the door I went! MUCH BETTER!! Ahhhh... I like running again.

Drink up and run like the wind!

Flexability...

Give me a training plan and I am good to go. My personality is one where you just tell me what to do, and I will do it! I read all of the books, listen to all of the guru's and follow the directions. Should be easy right?


Wrong... Well, maaaayyyybeee, I wasn't following all of the directions! The other day I was supposed to do 2 easy miles. So the last mile I wanted to time myself and I pushed it. I mean really hard! What did I get for that? A shin splint that hurt like the dickens.


I spent the next day and a half worrying if I had a stress fracture, if I would be able to run again, and how much will this set me back in my plan. Grrrrrr... I have paid good money for these races and I didn't want to loose it all!

So I popped some Vit. I, iced my leg and took it easy. Today was my 4 mile run and after talking with a runner friend who has many miles under his belt, he said to just take it easy on the treadmill. Ok, I said but deep down was disappointed as it "feels" different than the road. I don't want to get lazy now! His idea? Set the incline to 3. Ahhhh haaaaa!

Well, I no longer think that the treadmill is the lazy man's running game. It kicked my butt and I am thankful for it! Leg is good and I am happy again! Plus, it was nice to run in AC for a change... Ya know, I am acclimating to a November race --- Ha haaa!!

Alligators, mosquitos and spiderwebs... Oh My!

Maybe it was because we watched a Veggie Tales rendition of The Wizard of Oz since this title is all I had going through my head as I ran this morning!

I set out for my 4 miler this morning around 6:30. The sun had not yet come out and the animals were all making themselves heard. Because the light level was low, I was a bit apprehensive of going out on my run but I knew that in 10 minutes or so, dawn would be my friend. My iPod was going but very softly just so I could hear the outside noises. I was just getting into my groove when I heard a loud bellow! Could it be alligators calling this close to the trail??!! Run Forrest, RUN!!!

The sun was just starting to spread some light and the air was still.Because of the floods, the ground is extremely wet- perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. I was into mile 2 and the trail was closed off due to the lake's increased water level. I ran under the rope that closed off the trail and I couldn't believe my eyes! The water and air were swarming with mosquitoes! I was running as quickly as I could before they carried me away!

So I finally dodged all of the blood sucking mosquitoes and then found my next obstacle. Spider webs. This area of trail is gorgeous. Strong tall Oak tree's, palms and Spanish moss surround the trail. But because it is heavily wooded, it also lends itself to spiders, and their webs! Now how a spider spins a web across 4-5 feet of trail, I don't know! Uggghhh! They stretch over your face, your sweaty legs, your arms - just everywhere! So from afar, I would hate to see what I look like running down this stretch of trail. I am sure I look like I am having convulsions from slapping the sticky webs off of my body!

The positive from this run? I was nicely distracted from the actual act of running!!! I felt great this morning despite all of the natural wonders. So now go run like the wind!

A family affair!

 
Today I got up fairly late, too late to dash out of the house quietly so I grumbled a bit and stayed in bed with my ds who had joined me not a minute earlier. At noon I opened up the door and to my surprise, it wasn't that humid! I said, "let's pack a lunch and head to the park!" So in 10 minutes we were out the door.

My dh dropped me off 3 miles away from the park and I met them there.

 

I finished up the last half mile in the park area so my kids could join me in running. They love to follow me and beg me every day to wake them early so they could run with me. Oh for them to be just a few years older!

I pray that I can be a positive influence as they grow up and make their own health choices. For now I love it that they want to join me in this activity!

New shoes!

My old Brooks have seen better days so off I went to spend a bit of $ on shoes! My old shoes have fit so well and have never given me any trouble so I have been a bit sad to give them up. I mean, if it isn't broke, don't fix it! But that is not what the experts say - they say get new ones after a lot of road use. I would say 2 years of road use kind of fits there definition of over use!

Went to a great place called Fleet Feet that took a lot of one-on-one time to get me properly fit in a good shoe. It was a little intimidating at first but the employee's were so kind who made me feel more at ease. They offered some ideas for shoes and out they came. I was able to put them on and test them on a treadmill that had a camera set up behind it. They taped me and my running gate and showed how the shoe supported my foot. That is scary but really cool if you get over the embarrassment factor! LOL!

They also gave me inserts for my feet to correct my right foot. It seems to want to bend to the right and the inserts help out my foot alignment or something. It will take me a week or two for my muscles to compensate for the inserts so we shall see!

What I am up to...

To the left I am sure you see the tickers and yes, it is waaaay too many things going on at once! But I have a plan! Roll eyes here. If any of you know me in real life, I am the queen of impulse and spasticity but my hope is that by entering these races, I will be able to work towards something and because of them, keep me accountable. Will it work? We shall see one race at a time.

Actually Hal Higdon has a fabulous training program for the Half Marathon. Great for beginners like me who don't have a lot of miles under their belt. I have used his plans before and I enjoyed the results (hey I finished didn't I?)

So this is my plan. Now run like the wind!