It's time for a little bit of blogging!
Last year was full of changes, most of them in done with forward movement: get more rest and sleep, eat with more thought and (and less emotion), reestablish PERSONAL relationships with less superficial interactions, etc., etc. As the year rolled over from 2014 to 2015 I found a coworker's post on FB that she was going to run the Portland 1/2 in May and, was anyone willing to join her. I am not sure what happened, but I found myself registering for it, posting that I had done so, and gung-ho-ishly asking friends the same thing! After my daughter and a couple of other coworkers signed too, I found a new (really an old) goal set with momentum in play!
You see, I turn the big 50 on May 21st of this year. Several years ago I said that I wanted to run a half marathon before I turned 45. It never happened. I let other things be prioritized first. I made excuses why I couldn't do it. And then I turned 46, then 47, 48 and, of course, 49. So this Portland 1/2 has come at the perfect time. I will run my very first 1/2 on May 17 and then joyously turn 50 four days later! PERFECT!!
I will be blogging about my training for the next 4 months. Isn't that just the most exciting thing you have heard in YEARS!!!?? Either way, I am excited to put down into words my journey as I work toward my goals!
So, here it is. Last week was my first week of training. I pulled up the wonderful site of HalHigdon.com and decided to jump in with both feet. For some odd reason I thought that my previous, sporadic years of inconsistent running would put me into the Novice 2 (versus the Novice 1) training. Surely I wasn't such a Novice that I had to do the "1" training! Silly me. ANYWAY, last week was my first official week and, I don't know how I did it, but I did it! And I completed it well!
Last week, this first week consisted of running three miles each run, three times, and for me it was on my treadmill. Then there was a rest day, and then the "long run," was 4 miles. My first day STUNK! I kept looking up at how far I had gone, with so much still left to run to make it to 3 miles and I wanted to quit about every 45 seconds! I did a little bit of walk/run/walk/run, mixed in with "hey!!! do 45 seconds of a faster speed," followed by some of the slowest walking I have done in years. Clearly I thought I was in better shape to start this training than I really was.
The next run, although still a walk/run, was a much improved experience. Because of my work schedule I didn't have to do the days directly in a row, which helped I think. That day I walked for the first 6 minutes, and then set mini goals and, again would increase my pace for 45-60 seconds at a time and walk if I had to. Overall it was a better run than the first. Then the third run, although I did much of the same increasing, was even better. My base pace was faster and I was able to up the pace for longer periods of time and I walked less.
That third run was on Saturday in the morning. That afternoon, my 15 y/o, Selah, and I headed to Spokane for a volleyball tournament she had the next day. Sunday morning I sent her to the tourney with another VB player and hit the hotel treadmill. It was to be my 4 mile, long run. This time I decided to set my base pace at 4.0 (which was up each day from 3.2 to 3.5, etc.), and to simply run comfortably. I wanted to run the whole 4 miles, I decided I wouldn't do the fartlek spurts. I started at 4.0, felt good about it for a while, then increased to 4.2, then to 4.5 pace (which was about 11.28 miles/minute). I ended up being the most consistent at about 4.3 (about 12.38mi/min) and ultimately ran for 4.28 miles. No walking! YEAH!!! Man! What a great feeling to have set the goal, hit my mark, and then exceeded it!
Oh. And I discovered that part of my magic bullet was listening to Led Zeplin and Taylor Swift---as well as having, "Little House on the Prairie," on the tele at the gym. But, hey, I still ran it all, very consistently!
First week done! We are now into the second week of training, so new posts to come! I look forward to seeing what I can do with this body!
OH! And, as my Fitbit clip and site have been helpful for the pedometer/stairs/calorie logging, I decided to take the plunge and upgrade. I wanted something to help with my running training. I needed something more than just a pedometer---I wanted something that would GPS, track my runs and my pace, and help me achieve my new goals. Last night I came home to find my beautiful, new Fitbit Surge delivered by my beloved Amazon! So, this gorgeous baby is sittin' on my left wrist and is just waiting to help me reach my 1/2 marathon! I am set!! 50's….here I come!!!
K
