i did it!!

I made it through my 3 mile run on my third day of running in a row! Woot-woot! I really went back and forth about whether or not I would run today all day long. Especially after I spent 4 hours shopping (for work, people!) in almost 100 degree weather. I was hot, tired, and my knee hurt after all of that walking around. I had a couple of reasons for going ahead with my run for today. One was that I didn't want to run on Friday night so I wanted to get it out of the way tonight. Another was that I just really wanted to see if I could do it. I am learning that running is not a totally physical activity. So much of it is in your mind and how far you believe that you can push yourself. It's really pretty cool actually.

Physically tonight I felt really good. I didn't go out until almost 8:30 just because it was so hot. Luckily there was a slight breeze blowing which was a treat! My strides felt really "bouncy" tonight -like it took less energy to pick my feet up than usual. I was a bit slower than the past couple of days much I am going to chalk that up to it being my 3rd day of running in a row and that I didn't have a chance to eat lunch today. My knees are feeling good, but the blisters on my big toes are ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do about them, let me know. I did break down and take some ibuprofen after my run tonight. My bad (aka right) hip was giving me some trouble this morning and right now what I believe is my sciatic nerve running down my left side is not feeling too great. I really am going to look for a doctor. I don't want to do anything to treat my various aches and pains and make them worse. I bought a knee brace today but I am hesitant to use it in case it is the wrong course of treatment.

I have 2 days of rest ahead of me until my 4 mile run (first ever) on Sunday. I think I'm going to get started on that now. Goodnight :-)

p.s. i ran in just my sports bra and shorts tonight - luckily no catcalls this time around!

2 days in

I'm not going to lie, yesterday's run was a struggle. That's partially the reason why I didn't update last night - I was just too tired (and lazy.) I'm not sure if it was because it was the first time I had run 2 days in a row or if it was the humidity. It was probably a combination of both. I didn't feel like I was having a good run, but my average pace was 10:32 which I was pleased with.

Physically: My knees felt pretty good except for when I tried to walk DOWN a steep hill during my warm up. I guess I won't be doing that again! I am also developing blisters on the outsides of my big toes. I'm well versed in dealing with painful blisters on my feet and toes after years of dancing. But these blisters are different than the ones that my pointe shoes gave me. They seem to be on top of calluses and I'm not sure if I should try to soften the calluses and file them off or what. I guess I'll do some research on that. My feet look uglier now than they ever did when I was dancing though which is hard to believe! They are working feet though :-)

Ha! Remember how I said that I felt too exposed in just my sports bra and shorts? Well yesterday I threw on a tank top because on Tuesday's run (which I can't believe I forgot to mention) I got wolf-whistled at by I'm guessing a 13 year old boy. Wouldn't he be dsgusted if he knew how old I am? Yeah, evidently I've still got it - I told D to watch out because he's got some competition!

Today I am supposed to run 3 miles. I am trying to decide if I should go ahead and do it today or reschedule it for tomorrow. I am leaning towards waiting just to give myself a day to recover after running 2 days in a row before jumping into 3 days in a row. Plus it is supposed to be near 100 degrees today and that is just way too hot for a tank top over my sports bra!

first run

Well, my first run of this training program. And it was ONLY 3 miles! Ha! I had just worked up to 3.5 miles so starting off this week at 3 miles was a little bit of a break. With this program, I'm planning to run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays - with my long runs on Sundays. On Mondays and Fridays or Saturdays I plan to do a ballet workout that I have on DVD. Sounds like I'll be pretty busy these next few months!

Anyway, my run today went pretty well. Even though the temperature was near 90 today, the humidity was low. I went out for my run about 8:15ish so by then it was really comfortable outside. I wore running shorts and a sports bra with no shirt which always makes me feel weird to be so exposed. I am trying to get over that though because it is just way too hot with much else on. I know, I'm such a hussy.

I just got fitted for new running shoes a couple of weeks ago. They are finally starting to feel good on my feet and legs. I wasn't very happy with them the first couple of times that I ran and I was worried that I had just blown a ton of money. I added some innersoles to them and that has made a big difference.

I've been having some trouble with my knees lately and I'm trying to decide if it warrants a trip to the doctor or not. My knees and hips have taken a beating over the years dancing and horseback riding. I think they are protesting this new endeavor, but they are just going to have to get over it damnit. I am going to start looking for a sports medicine doctor though, for when the time comes.

So back to the run - I really felt good and I really felt like I was pushing myself in a good way. My pace has been in the 10:45 range lately and I have not been happy with that. When I first started running this spring my pace was much closer to 10:00 and right under. I don't know if increasing my distances has caused me to start pacing myself or what. But today I finished with a 10:31 average pace and I was happy with that. I'm interested to see how I feel tomorrow on my 2 mile run. This will be my first time running 2 days in a row. Piece of cake, right? Mmmm....cake.....

getting started

Let me start off by saying that I have never been a runner. I never even liked running. I thought it was boring. I thought it was too hard and not something that I could ever do. Well, that changed late last summer when I decided that I wanted to run a 5K on vacation. On vacation? What was I thinking? I started off doing the Couch to 5K training plan and ended up shocking myself by finishing my first (and only, so far) 5K in under 30 minutes!

After that race in October I took a few months off. I just wasn't committed enough to run through the winter in the cold and the dark. Once spring and daylight savings time hit, I was ready to get back on the road. I thought for sure that I would barely make it a 1/2 mile that first day out. I shocked myself once again for running about 2 miles without a problem.

I've kept at it and that brings me to where I am today. I'm training to run my first half-marathon later this year with my cousin. Hence the title of my blog - I am 31 years old and I'll be running 13.1 miles in November. I am following a modified version of Hal Higdon's half-marathon training plan. I say modified because the program is designed to train you in 12 weeks, but I have 20 weeks to play with. I am going to take it slow and probably repeat a few of the beginning weeks depending on how I feel.

I am so excited to be doing this! I hope to blog after each run to keep track of how it went and how I'm feeling. See you at the finish line!