hello all! with this being my first post, i thought i'd go back a little bit in time to catch people up on how i got to where i am. now, i'm going to try to keep this about my running and not about my personal life. so, what i hope to do is describe what i did each day or week for my training runs. mostly, i think i will put up my training results to have a record of what i've done. so, together with you all we can see my progression and countdown together how many days are left until the big day. however, there may be times when my personal life may creep in to this journal. i'll do my best to keep it short. i've told this story to many people already who have asked, "what made you decide to get in to shape? and "why running?"
for the latter question, i reply, "why, not?"
"but running is so hard?"
i say, " nothing worth doing if it's easy."
"isn't it hard on you knees? don't they hurt after you run?"
"no and no"
"my knees always hurt when i run"
i asked "do you even know how to run?" oddly enough when my knees hurt it's because of something else. not running. i feel absolutely no pain in my knees when i'm on the road even if the are sore when i go out for a run. weird i know but that's how it is.
anyways, let's get to the first question. 2 years ago i decided to get into shape because i was not well. i was always tired. i could barely make it through the day. so, one day i was sitting on a couch eating left over chicken wings and pizza from the night before and noticed how beautiful it was outside. i also happened to be channel surfing and came across one of those weight loss tv competitions. granted, i wasn't as big as these people but i was certainly on my way. as i looked outside, i became upset with myself. i decided that that was it. i had to get active. i want to be able to go outside and have fun. i didn't want to be tired all the time anymore.
i've tried working out before. i've had some success but not a lot. sometimes it was just too hard on me that i would just stop because i was sore. those days waiting for the soreness to go away became weeks and months. i'd go back to being lazy. not this time. i told myself that i had to start from square one. it had to be as basic as it could be. i knew how to workout. i would always try to go hard and fast thinking that was the way to do it. not this time. so, i needed to challenge my self. i needed to work towards something i knew i had a lot of trouble with. running. i knew i could not run for more than 5 minutes without feeling like i was about to fall over. 5 minutes felt like an eternity. i knew what i had to do.
i found a walk to run program. it was 12 weeks to get yourself to run non-stop for 30 minutes. 30 minutes? at that time i couldn't fathom running that long. even in my best shape, when i was younger, i would have to walk a bit before i could finish running for 30 minutes. this was a good thing for me to try. 12 weeks. 6 days a week. what? i had to make a commitment to train for 6 days a week. i kept telling myself that i wanted this. i needed this.
it was very easy going from the start. slow and methodical and it really worked. the progression was so easy that i didn't realize the changes i was going though. my energy kept building and by the end of the 3 months i was easily running 30 minute workouts. i was still a bit slow and it was tough, but i could do it. i just had to go out and run all the time.
after i finished the regimen, i felt lost. i had reached my goal. what was next? i just continued to run. i enjoyed every moment. i would just challenge myself to run a little farther or a little faster. for around 4 months i kept on running around 4 times a week until i decided i was time to try a 5k race. i had already been working out at that distance. so, it would be a piece of cake. i had so much fun in the race that i was very excited to learn that there was another to follow about 3 weeks later.
after those races, i was at a loss again, but i continued to run. by this time i was thinking about the marathon. the training is intense and with work it was difficult to get on the right schedule to actual participate in a race. when i made my decision, i had no time to train for a full, but i knew i could run a half marathon. around this time last year, i was training for my first half marathon. when i completed that goal, i knew i was hooked. i was so excited. i wanted to run another, but i had loads of scheduling problems because of work in another country.
now, i have found the time due to some major life changes and have got a confirmed date to shoot for and i'm chronicling my journey. come along with me if you'd like. i'd appreciate the words of encouragement. my major concern now is to stay healthy and injury free through this whole process. oh and of course finishing the run.
see you at the finish line!!!
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