Big! HUGE! I am going to try to do this. Why? I am not really sure. It seems all of my friends are training for one, or have completed one (or more) of them. Even my husband has done it, so why can't I, right? I mean, seriously, how hard is it to run 13.1 miles.
Yep, that is right. I am going to start September 1st on working towards my first item of my Running Bucket List: Complete the Country Music Half-Marathon. I've heard it is kind of hard with all the hills in the downtown area, but I also figure Nashville is a great city to start my journey on running races longer than 5ks. Next up after this (maybe) would be the half-marathon in Knoxville, where you end the race on the 50 yard line of the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium. Hallowed ground for sure!
Anyway, I digress at this late hour of the day. Yes, me, newbie runner who will (hopefully) spend the next 8 months training to run 13.1 miles all at once. I am sure late nights for Joel, running the kids around town, traveling, and other daily life activities will try to derail me. But I also hope that my friends and family will help guide me back on my path and cheer me on as well!
Training plan for this week calls for an easy 2 mile run on Thursday (9/1/2011) and a long distance run of 8 miles on Saturday. EIGHT MILES! That is for sure the longest I will have EVER gone! Hmmm, maybe I need to rethink this.....
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
I'mmmmmm bbaaaaccccckkkkkkk!!!!
Or rather, Joel is back, which means that I am back to my workout schedule. YIPPIEE!! There are so many things that were dropped, or that I let slide, during this past year. And during this first week of his return it has been very nice for things to switch back. The kids are going to bed and not fighting me over it; I can tell my blood pressure has dropped a gazillion points; and at one point I was sitting around BORED! HEAVEN!!!!!! Love it!
Joel started a 1/2 day schedule last Monday....actually it was more like work 2 hours, get the next 22 off. Works for me! :) So we have had a lot of family time here at the house, a lot of playground time, and a lot of time back at the gym for mommy. I have to admit that while working out I am truly hating it...hate, hate, hate...but give me twenty minutes to reflect and I have to admit that exercising is a tolerable experience. It's not something that I wake up each day and look forward to, but it gives me some time alone to reflect on different things that are going on in my life. I never understood it when runners would say they like running because it gives them time to clear their heads....now I get it.
I started the week with a basic 1 mile run, figuring I should get a baseline of where I was after essentially a 1 year hiatus. I did the test on the treadmill at one of the gyms and ended with a time of 11:48. I took several days off since it was SO HOT! With temperatures over 95-degrees, and 103-degrees that Wednesday, even walking to the car was a sweat drenching affair for us. But here is how things broke down in my running:
August 1- 1 mile test run, 11:48
August 6- 1.26 miles, 13:28, pace of 10:41
August 7- 1.5 miles, 15:59, pace of 10:37
With each of these, I ran the entire time, no walking in any of it! WOW! That was pretty impressive, even if I say so. And you can see that I dropped a minute off my pace during that time as well. I think that first day I was just trying to "drip my toe" back into the routine. But still, I chalk this week up in the "Win" column for my adventures.
Joel started a 1/2 day schedule last Monday....actually it was more like work 2 hours, get the next 22 off. Works for me! :) So we have had a lot of family time here at the house, a lot of playground time, and a lot of time back at the gym for mommy. I have to admit that while working out I am truly hating it...hate, hate, hate...but give me twenty minutes to reflect and I have to admit that exercising is a tolerable experience. It's not something that I wake up each day and look forward to, but it gives me some time alone to reflect on different things that are going on in my life. I never understood it when runners would say they like running because it gives them time to clear their heads....now I get it.
I started the week with a basic 1 mile run, figuring I should get a baseline of where I was after essentially a 1 year hiatus. I did the test on the treadmill at one of the gyms and ended with a time of 11:48. I took several days off since it was SO HOT! With temperatures over 95-degrees, and 103-degrees that Wednesday, even walking to the car was a sweat drenching affair for us. But here is how things broke down in my running:
August 1- 1 mile test run, 11:48
August 6- 1.26 miles, 13:28, pace of 10:41
August 7- 1.5 miles, 15:59, pace of 10:37
With each of these, I ran the entire time, no walking in any of it! WOW! That was pretty impressive, even if I say so. And you can see that I dropped a minute off my pace during that time as well. I think that first day I was just trying to "drip my toe" back into the routine. But still, I chalk this week up in the "Win" column for my adventures.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Crickets, crickets
It's been four months since my last blog entry (sorry 'bout that!), and over a year since I have started this journey. So I figured I owed an explanation of how things have been going. Here it goes-
{Insert sounds of crickets.....and silence}
Yeah, sorry about that. With being the only parent around here, my free time is at a minimum. During the summer, I get approximately 3 hours a week during the daytime hours that are mine, and my chore list is longer than my arm. Usually what happens is that chores, or work, are louder in calling my name over running and exercise in general. Heck, finding a time to take a shower is getting harder during these busy summer months!
I am looking forward to Joel coming home for many reasons, but also so I can have someone push me out to the gym, and someone to take over the house while I am there! He won't be able to do my consulting work for me, but time alone, time when no one is going, "Mom, Mom, where are you?"; time when there is no fighting, no one hanging on to me. I am looking forward to time that is just.....mine.
{Insert sounds of crickets.....and silence}
Yeah, sorry about that. With being the only parent around here, my free time is at a minimum. During the summer, I get approximately 3 hours a week during the daytime hours that are mine, and my chore list is longer than my arm. Usually what happens is that chores, or work, are louder in calling my name over running and exercise in general. Heck, finding a time to take a shower is getting harder during these busy summer months!
I am looking forward to Joel coming home for many reasons, but also so I can have someone push me out to the gym, and someone to take over the house while I am there! He won't be able to do my consulting work for me, but time alone, time when no one is going, "Mom, Mom, where are you?"; time when there is no fighting, no one hanging on to me. I am looking forward to time that is just.....mine.
Monday, February 14, 2011
All you need is love!
Joel and I have a history of doing romantic things on Valentine's Day. I remember it was on this day in 2005 that we signed up for a gym membership in Texas and had our body fat measurements taken when we came up with a fitness plan with the gym's trainer. Nothing says, "I love you, Honey" like pinching the fat on your other (and sometimes better) half.
I love my husband for so many reasons. He makes me laugh, he listens to me go on and on and on about nothing, he has intellectual discussions with me about politics (one of my favorite subjects) and when we disagree we do so in a polite and non-combative manner. And he supports me in my half-hearted running habit and give me encouragement when I so desperately need it. I realize that while he has been home these past two weeks he lets me get out to the gym, either taking the kiddos to the playground, or chasing them around the house and being the POD (parent on duty) so I can get some much needed "Me Time", even if that time is huffing and puffing and coming nowhere close to blowing a house down. (Sorry, I just could not resist).
I love him for all of these reasons and more. I hope that one day we can cross the finish line to a half-marathon together. But in my life and marriage, I know that I love "running" *this* marathon with him.
I love my husband for so many reasons. He makes me laugh, he listens to me go on and on and on about nothing, he has intellectual discussions with me about politics (one of my favorite subjects) and when we disagree we do so in a polite and non-combative manner. And he supports me in my half-hearted running habit and give me encouragement when I so desperately need it. I realize that while he has been home these past two weeks he lets me get out to the gym, either taking the kiddos to the playground, or chasing them around the house and being the POD (parent on duty) so I can get some much needed "Me Time", even if that time is huffing and puffing and coming nowhere close to blowing a house down. (Sorry, I just could not resist).
I love him for all of these reasons and more. I hope that one day we can cross the finish line to a half-marathon together. But in my life and marriage, I know that I love "running" *this* marathon with him.
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