Running for two--or, mostly walking

Here goes nothing.  I've given in and started running.  I figured out that, since I'm not very good at making friends in real life, I can try to have virtual friends.  I'll let you know how it works out.

 My first week of running has gone something like this, thus far.  Monday, bought new running shoes.  Tuesday, convinced Paul to create a running plan for me.  Tuesday night, couldn't sleep because my neck hurt so badly that I couldn't turn my head.  Wednesday morning, neck was the same in the morning, so I went in to see the chiropractor Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday evening, felt a little better after seeing the chiropractor, so I started my running plan.

 My "run" went something like this.  I left the house and started running.  After three blocks two things happened.  First, my windpipe started burning so badly that I could hardly breathe, so I was forced to walk to be able to catch my breath.  Second, I started to notice people lining both sides of the road and children running all over the place.  I couldn't figure it out until I saw the floats--it was the Logan High School Homecoming Parade.  So, it was my first run in a year-and-a-half, I was really slow, I had to stop and walk every couple of blocks, and I had hundreds of witnesses.  This is my idea of fun.

I didn't wear my watch today.  I am well aware of how slow I am, so I really don't need any reminders.  I figure I'll start wearing my watch when I can run a mile, or even two, without stopping to walk.  Until then I'll just enjoy the crisp fall air and try not to pass out.

Wow!  I feel so loved.  I knew my plan to trick you all into being my friends would work.

 So, about "running."  I woke up this morning and felt like those barnyard animals had visited me in the night.  Pretty sad, since I only ran/walked two miles yesterday.  Luckily the running schedule that Paul put together for me had me just walking two miles with him today on the Planet Walk. 

 I had kind of a rough day at work today (emotionally, not physically...I just sit for eight hours a day) and for the first time ever had the feeling like I really wanted to go out and pound the pavement.  Unfortunately, pounding the pavement wasn't in the stars for me, so I had to settle for venting to my hubby about my co-workers (I'm really glad he's so emotionally stable.  It keeps me pretty level-headed most of the time). 

 So, I'm pretty much just hoping that I don't get any visitors of the four-legged variety tonight so I can do some running again tomorrow.  I can't believe I just said that.

 FYI--for those of you who are trying to pressure your wives to join the blog because I did: Paul applied NO PRESSURE to me to start running or to join the blog.  My two main reasons for joining the blog were a.) I wanted to finally get fit like I kept telling myself and everybody else I was going to do, and b.) I was jealous at the St. George Pasta Party because everybody knew each other, but nobody knew me.  So, making friends, getting in shape, NOT the hubby.  Well, maybe the hubby a little.

They say it takes 21 days to change your habits, that is, to start a new habit or rid your self of an old one.  That is probably the only reason I went out and ran today, since I was (sadly) still feeling pretty sore.  I must be in worse shape than I thought I was.  I biked to work a lot this summer (4.5 miles round trip), but biking uses different muscles so I guess it didn't help.

 Anyway, my "run" today was passable.  I took shorter walking breaks, but they were more frequent due to the pain in my quads.  I couldn't ever run long enough to get tired, but I think overall I ran more than I walked, so that's good.

I also had to take a lot of just plain stopping breaks because I took the dog today and he has to sniff everything.  I'm sure that some of you have heard Paul talk about how our dog can't run.  I'm starting to think it's just that he can't run with Paul.  I can't run with Paul either, so that makes us a good pair.

I'm starting to get excited about Moab now.  We usually take a big group of people from Logan, but the people we used to go with have all moved away.  It'll be nice to get down there again next year (we didn't go this year because Paul was running the Relay Del Sol in Phoenix around that time) and actually see some familiar faces.  Less than 5 months to go!
 

Can I just say that I LOVE BETHANY!!!  Running is so much more fun when you have somebody else to do it with.  Also, since today was her first run and my third, I didn't feel like I had to impress her.  It was great to have somebody there to push me a little, somebody who is fun and funny.  I can't say enough good things about Bethany!  I'm hoping to see her on the blog soon.

 So, about running.  "Ran" 2 miles on the Planet Walk today with Bethany.  I had almost no pain in my quads this morning, so running didn't hurt as much as it did yesterday.  My legs felt pretty heavy by about 3/4 of the way through the run, but Bethany didn't have to carry me back or anything, so it wasn't too bad.  The biggest news: I ran half a mile without stopping to walk--halfway to my goal.  I'm supposed to run a mile without walking by Wednesday of next week.  I'll definitely let you know if it happens.  (If it does, I'll have to come up with a new short-term goal.)

Do you think it's cheating to count my walking miles as miles?  I figure that, since I can walk faster than I can run, those miles are probably legit.  If I was a running superstar like Paul I might think counting walking miles was cheating, but I'm no superstar.  Bethany tells me I'm too hard on myself, but I think I'm just realistic.  I'm like the Penguin.  He's okay with being slow and I am, too.  I'll worry about speed when I can regularly run without walking.
 

Taking the day off.  I know I only "ran" three days last week, but my body is glad to have a break.  My quads don't actually feel that bad today, which is good because the stairs were kind of a nightmare this week.

 The best news of the last 24 hours:  I talked to my sister last night and she is randomly going to be in New York the weekend of the Trials!  I haven't seen her in more than a year.  She called me and said, "guess what, I'm going to New York."  I'm really, really excited to see her!  They are leaving for home the day of the Trials, but not until evening, so I'm going to drag her along with me to watch Paul run.  She isn't really a runner, but she's going to get a workout that day ;)  I just have to remember to tell her to bring running shoes.

Their hotel is about 2 miles from ours, so I'll be able to get a run in when I go to meet her, as long as she gives me a ride back (I don't think I'll be up to 4 miles by then).  It feels odd to me to even think about that.  I think running is already starting to be a habit for me.  I'm actually worried about what taking a day off will do to me.  I know I need it physically, but mentally I think it could potentially hurt me.

I just have to say that running is a lot more fun this time around than it has been when I've done it in the past.  I'll attribute it to 1.) the fact that I made the decision to do it purely for me this time, 2.) I found a really fun running partner (hopefully I'll have 2 pretty soon--marci, that means you), and 3.) the blog just makes it way more enjoyable.  I'm using the word fun to describe running.  That in itself is a major step in the right direction.
 

I decided that Paul was right about me having a self-deprecating sense of humor and Bethany was right about me being too hard on myself, so I changed the name of my blog.  I'm not saying that I don't think I'm slow, I'm just saying that I won't put the emphasis there anymore.  Having said that, on to today's run.

I walked to the Planet Walk, then ran 2 miles with Bethany.   We only stopped to walk twice during the whole two miles (well, three times if you count the 50 yards at the end, which I don't) and probably ran more than 1.5 miles out of the 2 (Bethany, oh wearer of the Garmin, please don't correct me if I'm wrong about that, I'm feeling pretty good about myself).  I wasn't really sore at all today, but some of my muscles were tight.  I'll have to get a good stretch in tonight.

The first hitch in my running plan.  It came so early, but I think I'll be able to overcome it since I have so many accountability partners.  You will hold me accountable, right?

 Well, the truth is that I wasn't running today, anyway, but I was supposed to "Walk for 2 miles with Hubby on a trail."  It counts as miles if it's on my running plan.  Things didn't work out that way, though.  I ended up having to work until 5:00 and Paul scheduled a run/workout with Cody and Logan, so I just decided to call it and actually get some housework done today.  Yes, this is my life.

On a related note, I've been talking about my running so much at work that I've inspired my co-worker Brian to start running again.  His dad has done SGM ten times and he's planning on doing it next year.  I told him he needs to join the blog.  If he does that's at least one direct recruit.  Sasha, do we earn commissions for that?

Duh-d-d-duh (that was supposed to be a trumpet fanfare...it didn't go as planned) I ran my first consecutive mile today!  That's not to say that I did it quickly, nor am I saying that it was easy.  It's done, though.  So, a little re-cap: I decided to run really slow, so that I could make sure to run the full mile without having to stop.  By about a quarter of a mile in, I was missing Bethany, because I'm not very internally motivated and I generally want to stop when it starts hurting.  I pushed through it, though, and, despite my heavy-breathing, I started to feel a little better once I committed to finishing.  Now here's the kicker.  It started hailing (yes, hailing) at just before the half mile mark.  The old me would have packed it in and called it a night, but the new motivated (read: accountable) me didn't want to quit just because of some stupid precipitation.  I'm not sure what the people passing me on the road thought of the slow girl running in the hail, but I also don't really care.  At about a quarter mile left I had to start chanting to myself, "It's only a quarter mile, you can totally run that far.  You could run a quarter mile in your sleep, etc."  When I realized I was going to have a lot left at the end of my run, I decided to pick up the pace and finished at (almost) a sprint.  I still didn't wear my watch today, but from the time before and after my run, I'm thinking it was a sub-12:00 mile, which is pretty good for me.  Moab, here I come!

Double the fun today running with Bethany and Marci.  I was telling Marci before our run that she was going to pretty much kill me and she did.  I'm pretty sure the pace was slow (I stopped to walk at one point and could keep up with them walking), but the company was good.

 2 miles on the Planet Walk.  I think my favorite part is the little bush-whacking section.  I'm  not sure why because it's actually kind of irritating, but in a fun, adventurous kind of way.  (By the way, for those of you who are familiar with the Planet Walk:  the bush-whacking section is the part of the trail that you run on if you run out towards the road instead of just across the railroad tracks and then come back down to meet the section of trail on the other side.)  I'm so glad that I have people to run with.  It makes it so much easier to get out there.  I bought an MP3 player this weekend so that when I am forced to run by myself I will have something to keep me company.

So, I think Sasha might be right, I might be turning into an actual runner.  I'm enjoying myself more right now than I have in a long time.  If I can cut back to eight hour days at work, then I'll probably have more energy to do it, too.
 

I was supposed to take today off, but since I took Tuesday, I thought I'd go out today.  I wish I hadn't.  I could not get moving.  I should have just stayed home and done some housework.  That would have been productive.

 On a brighter note, I decided to try out my new MP3 player.  I love it, except for the ear buds that come with it (they are made for Dumbo or something).  I have learned something from this, though, and that is that I need to make sure to pick the right music for running.  It was kind of irritating switching the song every time there was a slow one.  The good part was that it's really easy to switch songs.  On my player I can set up playlists, though, so I'll put together some good running songs.  It does have a stopwatch function, so I decided to try that out.  I shouldn't have.  Since I couldn't get motivated to run, I was extra slow.  I started with Paul at 10:18 pace and that felt pretty good, but I ended up doing about 14:30 pace with all the walking.  So sad.  Oh well, I did appreciate that I didn't have to wear a watch to see how slow I was.  I really don't like wearing one.

 Well, hopefully I'll feel more energetic tomorrow for my morning run with Bethany.  I'm going to chalk my sub-standard run today up to working too much, getting up earlier than usual, and not being especially motivated (since I didn't have to run today).  I usually have more energy on Saturdays, anyway.
 

2 miles with Bethany on the Planet Run.  We both realized when we got there that we had forgotten to invite Marci.  It wasn't on purpose, it just kind of happened.  Sorry, Marci.  We'll get more coordinated next time.

The run was pretty good, though, despite being down one partner.  I felt way more energetic this morning that I have in the last couple of days.  It was raining when I woke up and I think it will continue for the rest of the day (good luck Paul and Logan...15 in the rain is probably more than I could motivate myself to do).  I was glad to see we weren't the only psychos out there running in the rain, but I was also glad that it wasn't as crowded as usual on a Saturday morning.

I actually like running in inclement weather.  There's something about it that makes it feel more like an adventure than a regular run.  That isn't to say that I like running in the rain more than in beautiful 60 degree sunny weather, I just like both.  I especially like running in the snow, so I'm looking forward to winter for that reason.  There's just something about a light snowfall on a cool evening that makes a run feel peaceful and quiet.  But enough about weather.

We ran the first mile without stopping and then took a walk break.  My lungs were not cooperating much today, so I had to stop two more times during the second mile to walk.  I have a rib that pops out of place and I'm blaming the pain in my ribs on that, rather than my small lung capacity.  Luckily I go to the chiropractor in two weeks or so, so I'll get that straightened out again pretty soon.

So, here's something only slightly related to running: I found another reason to love running, especially running in the evening.  Every night feels like a Saturday night now because I come home from running, take a shower, then put on pajamas and stay in my pajamas for the rest of the night.  Pajamas are so much more comfortable than regular clothes and you can't change into pajamas if you run in the morning (well, some people do).  Anyway, just another reason to enjoy the whole running thing.  It's true, I'm hooked.

2 miles with Bethany on the Planet Run (not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow when I need 2.5, since I'm not all that creative). An awesome run and I owe it all to her! We ran > 1.5 miles without walking, then only took one walk break and finished it off. I felt pretty good and probably only stopped to walk because I felt like I should have to stop. I'm not going to say for sure that I could have gone the full two miles without walking, but I might have gone a little further if I wasn't second-guessing myself.

Confession: I use humor to protect myself from getting hurt. I know, for anybody who has ever talked to me it's a real news-flash, but sometimes you have to say things even if everybody else already knows them. Anyway, it was good today for me to get real with Bethany and tell her about some of the junk in my past. That junk, while not pretty, helped to make me who I am today. It's just as much a part of me as any of the good stuff. So, thanks, Bethany, for listening. If you ever want to tell me about your junk, I'm all ears.

I got new glasses today, so I was slightly disoriented. I wasn't tripping over stuff or anything, but I am able to see things that I couldn't earlier today, so that's always a little weird. I suppose I'll have to get a picture up on my blog at some point so that people can see the new me.

I was feeling pretty good after blogging, so I ran the dog .5 instead of walking him. A little knee pain, but half a mile is pretty easy now.  Does that count as a 2-a-day?  There was only about an hour between my runs.  Yep, I'm hardcore.

2.5 miles with Bethany and Marci and (surprise!) it wasn't on the Planet Walk.  Really nice run at still a pretty slow pace (I know they could leave me in their dust, but they're just too nice to do it).  The big news for me: only one walking break (due to the slow pace).  I felt like I could have gone the whole time without walking, but we all just started walking at one point for about 30 seconds and then went, "Oh, we didn't mean to do that."  We couldn't get any satellites the whole run, so no time from the Garmin (dang!).

I've been thinking about my shoes.  I really like the ones that I'm running in (New Balance 408s).  They are really comfortable.  I have some old New Balance 717s that I wear to work that are really uncomfortable.  In fact, before I changed to run today, I thought I was having some serious knee and ankle pain, but when I took those old shoes off they instantly felt better.  I'm not sure why, but some observations that I made were that 1.) old shoes are bad even if you aren't running in them and 2.) the 717s have more support than the 408s, but the 408s are way more comfortable even for walking (possibly because of the age of the 717s, but possibly because I don't need a stability shoe?).

I'm thinking that maybe I should look for a winter 5k somewhere, but I really hate running in the cold / on ice.  Maybe there will be a Turkey Trot while we're in Indiana for Thanksgiving (Paul?).  I'm not sure that I will be ready by then, but if I had something to work towards, then I might push myself a little harder.  If not then, I might have to do one of the Striders races.  We'll see.

Ran from home today with my companion, Dustin Kensrue (his album "Please Come Home" is awesome!) and immediately felt the effects that all the running has had on my knees.  My pace was slow, even for me (13:30 pace, yikes!), due to the pain.  It wasn't pain like I hurt myself or anything like that.  It was more like the pain I felt after running/hiking down the Kaibab Trail.  I can't wait for my body to adjust to the pounding.  I'm slow because I can't breathe, but I'm slower because my body isn't used to running yet.  Some day.

 So, I've been thinking about my plan.  Not my immediate plan for the next two weeks, but my long-term running plan.  This is what I was thinking: I want to get up to a certain mileage and then sit on it for a while and work on my speed.  Then, once I get a little faster, I will start doing more mileage.  I don't think I'll ever do more than about 6 miles at a time, but I'd like for that 6 miles to take closer to 1:00 than 1:12.  That extra 12 minutes does make a difference.  Anyway, I talked it over with Paul and he thought that was wise.  It'll probably take me a while to get to that point, but I'll guarantee that y'all will know when I do.
 

Woke up this morning thinking that my knees and ankles were feeling better from a good night's sleep.  Then I stood up.  I wish it was muscle pain.  Muscle pain I can handle.  With muscle pain you hydrate, you stretch, you massage, you work through it and you get stronger.  However, this is joint pain that only occurs when I am standing/walking/running.  I'm hobbling and it's really kind of annoying.  I almost fell down this morning when I started down the back steps and wasn't holding on to the railing (or, actually, since there isn't a railing, I wasn't leaning on the wall).

So, because of the pain I decided that my body probably needed another rest day.  I'm going to take today off, do some stretching, some massage, some rest and hopefully be back at it tomorrow.  If I'm still hurting tomorrow, I'll probably go out and just do a shorter distance than what is scheduled so that I don't lose what little fitness I have already gained.  Well, that's the plan, anyway.  If the pain keeps up for too long while I'm running, I might have to get a gym membership and just do the elliptical for a while.  We'll see.

So, it's official.  I'm a big baby and I can't handle a little joint pain.  I know, wah!  In my defense, I basically went from sitting on my booty to running 2 miles a day and my body just isn't used to the pounding.  So, I have a new plan, which, if all goes well, still includes running the Moab 5 miler in March.

 The new plan looks something like this (without the specifics because I don't have it on paper yet):  I'll take the rest of the weekend off (and suffer the consequences of taking three days off), then join the gym on Monday.  I'll do some elliptical/recumbent and some lower body/core work in order to strengthen my running muscles.  I plan to do one of two things: 1.) take a few weeks off of running and just hit the gym, then start rotating in some running again; or, 2.) hit the gym a few days a week and still maintain a couple days running.  They're pretty similar, so I'll probably just find out what Paul suggests and go with that.

I'm pretty bummed, though, because if I stop running, then I'm really going to miss Bethany and Marci.  We might just have to get together for some yoga instead.  Also, I have a habit of starting up a new activity, being really into it for a while, then dropping it when something goes wrong or I move on to something else.  I really don't want to do that this time because I'm actually enjoying running this time (I know, alert the press!).  So, once again, I'm glad I have the blog to keep me accountable.  I hope it works.
 

Well, I did it.  For those of you who don't know me (pretty much everybody except Paul), joining the gym is a big step for me.  I wasn't even bored.  Paul showed me some hip/leg weight machines, then I hit the elliptical for 20 minutes.  I was surprised that I really enjoyed the elliptical.  I was half expecting to not be able to support the weight of my body for that long on my left knee and right ankle (since I almost fell down when I got out of bed in the morning) and was pretty much set on the fact that I would be on the bike, but when I got on the elliptical it was awesome.  I can't walk right now, but I can do 20 minutes on the elliptical like it's nothing.  I'm not sure how elliptical miles convert to running miles, or I'm not actually sure that they do, but at least I'm getting some cardio in while I'm on a hiatus from running. 

35 minutes on the elliptical.  The ankle is throbbing a little bit, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty good.  I think I was walking a little better today, too, so I might be able to run again by next week.  If I do, it'll probably be to the gym and home (1.5 miles round trip) and then maybe on Saturday.  I kind of want to make sure I'm up to it before I run again, though, because I don't really like being injured.  This is what happens when you go from being completely sedentary to running 2 miles a day.  I didn't want to start with 1 mile because it wasn't worth it to change my clothes to run a mile, but now I'm wishing that I had just done it.  Hopefully this will be a quick recovery and I can get back to training for Moab.