Long Time, No Run

I didn't give up. Really and truly, I didn't. To borrow a line from some former students, see what had happened was... I was on a roll. I had completed more weeks of training than I ever had in my whole life. I was really proud of myself, and nothing could stop me. Then, oh then...I got sick. Really sick. Cough, congestion, achy. Sick. It lasted for about two weeks. And to top it off, during my cold, there were various and sundry, stressful family issues that took my attention from its happy place. The solution was running, and I knew that hitting the pavement would be the best way to relieve the stress weighing on me. However (and you knew there was going to be one of those), I was still suffering the remnants of my cold, and it was just impossible to run through the incessant coughing. Excuses. That's what the above is. I can explain away, but it doesn't changed the fact that I quit. For whatever reason. I did. Quit, that is. But quitting is not giving up. During my "pause", many things have happened. Ben got a job at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, AND he received word that he'd been awarded an international postdoctoral fellowship from the NSF which means we'll be moving to France next June. Our family has been in the middle of some exciting and stressful transitions during this time, and though running has always been in the back of my mind, I just couldn't manage to get back out there. But I did come up with another plan. A brand new plan. I scrapped C25K all together and opted for Jeff Galloway's plan. I'm starting today. In fact, I'm about to get out there now.

I logged my 12th run today to complete week 4! Moving up to 90 second runs was pretty brutal, but I got through it. I also managed to work in some time on the Wii Fit and some strength training with the resistance bands.

Unfortunately, I don't feel like I'm ready to move up to C25K week 3 (3 min runs, yikes!), so I'm going to repeat week 2. I have around a 4 week cushion with the 5k I want to run, so it should be okay.

Also, things are going to get hairy for me as far as scheduling my runs this week. I've been on a Tues, Thurs, Sat schedule so far, but Ben has to go to NOLA early on Tuesday to give a talk at Tulane. He won't be back until late Thursday evening, so I think I'm going to run Monday, Friday, and Sunday this week. I'm a creature of habit, so I don't know how I'm going to like messing with my schedule.

On a more personal note, Ben is on the cusp of completing his PhD in mathematics, so we're in the middle of a job search. This is a very exciting, yet incredibly stressful time for our family. My runs have truly been my escape during all the drama of the job hunt. And believe me, there is drama. I never knew that universities could be so dodgy when dealing with potential employees. They want to know where you stand with everyone else, but they won't tell you a darn thing about where you stand with them. It is frustrating, to say the least.

Too Much

Note to self: Do not run in the morning and then go on a marathon shopping trip.

This morning I got my run in as soon as the sun came up because I was going to spend the day in Atlanta with my friend Laurie. The run went very well, and I was able to get all of my intervals in without feeling like I'd overdone it. I felt great.

Laurie picked me up a little past 9:00, and we headed to various and sundry shopping establishments. There may or may not have been a stop at the Cheesecake Factory in there somewhere. We returned to Athens around 7:30, so needless to say, we were both exhausted.

I was in bed by 9:00. I never go to bed that early. I was absolutely out of steam, and I hurt in places I didn't know I had. I did go ahead and take ibuprofen in hopes that my muscle soreness would go away.

I'm happy to report that this morning I felt much better. I can definitely tell I ran yesterday, but it's a good kind of sore as opposed to the "OMG kill me now" kind of soreness I felt last night. Luckily, my next run isn't until Tuesday, so I have two nice recovery days.

Not to change topics too quickly, but I've been feeling the need to add something. Since I'm currently a SAHM with a hubby in grad school, there is NO money for extra equipment or a gym membership, but today I remembered that I have a set of resistance bands. I've been researching exercises and routines this afternoon, and I think I'm going to start that a couple of days a week. I know that it's important to work quads to balance the amazing calf muscles I'm developing (seriously, they are like rocks already), but I need to do a little research to find out more.

Moving on Up

Today marks the start of the actual C25K program for me. As I've posted before, I decided to modify the beginning of the program to keep myself from getting frustrated and quitting. I'm in this for the long term, and I don't want to burn out too quickly.

For those of you not familiar with the program, it starts out with a 5 minute warm up followed by 1 minute runs and 1:30 walks. The run/walk repeats 5 more times for a total workout of 20 minutes. After my first minute run, I started to doubt myself. I even thought very briefly that I would need to do as I have in the past and just do every other interval for a week before moving on to 6 - 1 minute runs.

But then my inner princess took over and shut that doubting heifer down. I slowed down and re-focused on my stride length and made it through. I did end up skipping the 5th run because of a sharp pain in my left shin/calf area while going up a hill. However, I extended my 6th run a bit to prove to myself that I CAN do this.

As I made my trek back to the car, the pain in my leg became difficult to ignore. Therefore, I sit typing this entry with an ice pack on my leg propped on the coffee table. I'll indulge in some ibuprofen later, and hope for the best.

Raising the Stakes

Although I wasn't scheduled to run until tomorrow, I decided to go ahead and get my run in this afternoon due to expected rain.

An hour before I set out, I started having some pain in my right hip. In researching the cause of this pain, I was reminded of my disdain for biological science, as I had a difficult time reading the diagrams. Who the heck can tell anterior from posterior anyway? I decided to stretch a bit, and then took a little jog around my living room. Avery giggled and looked at me as if I'd lost my mind, but I didn't feel any pain, so I decided to get on with my run.

I decided to go ahead and up my ratio a bit, so I did :45 runs and 1:45 walks. It was tougher than I expected, but I finished strong. I cut one interval short because I was quite honestly out of breath. My shins also began to ache, so I tried shortening my stride some. This seems to help, but I need to work on making it a habit. Also, one interval got cut short because of an equipment failure. Read: I dropped my iphone.

I've tried to convince myself that I don't need to go out and spend money on this new endeavor until I stick with it a bit longer; however, it has become obvious that I need an armband for my iphone. Stat.

Next run is Thursday, but I may try to walk a bit before then.

Almost two years ago, I went on my very first trip to Disney World. I spent months planning and reading every bit of information I could find. During the course of my planning, I came across the lovely forums known simply as The DIS. I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and perspective I wouldn't have otherwise found in reading trip reports from other users. We had an amazing trip!

After we returned, I found myself returning to The DIS to read trip reports. It seems that I couldn't get enough of them. Eventually, I came across a report from a lady named Carissa. She was planning on running the WDW Half Marathon, and I read her trip report with great interest. I had no idea such an event existed! Through her report, I found another DIS racer, Jenny, who ran the full marathon. I was in awe of these wonderful ladies who had run such a great distance. And they did it at Disney!

I have toyed with the idea of running many times. I enjoyed it as a kid, and it seems like something that one can do with very little equipment or training. I'd even attempted the infamous Couch to 5K program, but I quit. But after reading about RunDisney, I was determined to get back out there. I needed a plan. A good one. One I could stick to. I was so out of shape that even C25K was intimidating. So, I made my way over to the W.I.S.H (We're Inspired to Stay Healthy) forums over on The DIS. It was there that I found great encouragement and suggestions for starting out.

I decided early on that I would not be running to lose weight. If that happens, then so be it; however, my primary goal is to be able to play with my children and not feel like I'm going to pass out. My own mother's health is so poor that at the age of 58, she can barely walk across a room without getting winded. She is on oxygen, and has COPD, yet she's never smoked a day in her life. I don't want to be that person. I want to be healthy and active for my girls.

Now, my secondary goal...well it's a bit more selfish. You see, I want to go back to WDW. Badly. Oh so very badly. Therefore, I am going to run to Disney. Not literally, mind you. I know that if I make it to my goal, I can justify an expensive trip to Disney to reward myself.

So, now that you know my motivations and goals, here's my plan. I'm going to run the Princess Half Marathon in 2013. Though the dates haven't been released yet, I expect the race to occur in late February. That gives me 14 months to go from obese couch potato to seasoned runner. I KNOW I can do this. I've heard too many stories of people just like me who have done it.

In fact, I've already started! Yep, I just completed the first week of a modified C25K plan. Here it is:

5 min warm up
30 sec run + 2 min walk (x6)
5 min cool down

I still haven't decided what to do for next week. I still think that slow is the best way, so if I increase my ratio at all, it won't be by much. Perhaps I'll do 45 sec runs:1:45 walks.

I feel great. Actually I feel better than I have in years, though I don't expect it to always be this way. It will be one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I know that I CAN do it. And it will be so worth it when I have that medal around my neck at the most magical place on Earth!