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Current Mood: proud

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Small Wins

Firstly, a link to an article I think is really interesting/important: Small Wins and Long Term Running Success. I think it's important for me to stop and appreciate any small gain with a goal I'm struggling with because I tend to be so focused on the end result, so this is a great article to reference.

And, in the spirit of the article, a quick cheer for myself: our last leg on the Couch to 5k was one where we ran 3 minutes at a stretch, and I did fine for the first leg and really struggled with the second, but even with the second the good news is that I developed a sort of running mantra that actually did help to motivate me to keep going. Small victories!

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Training Update

We're three weeks into our Couch to 5k program and I have some interesting thoughts/stories to share. Whenever I struggle during a run, I think about writing in this blog and being able to look back at those struggles, so perhaps I should update a bit more frequently, but here's an overview.

( Click to Read More )

So, a quick recap about things I've learned and funny moments and memories of our training so far:

Lessons Learned:

I will adjust to whatever I throw at myself, assuming I do it in a smart and controlled way.
Steady, at least, will win the race for us. We need to be focused on endurance and the speed will come.
When I am determined to do something, I do it. I don't notice myself waffling or trying to find excuses not to run because I know it's what it's time for me to do.
It's only hard for me when I'm in the thick of it, and I tend to forget most of how much I disliked that burning, out of breath feeling as soon as it's over.

Challenges Faced:

Moving from 60 seconds to 90 seconds at a time; needing to redo week 2
Pain in ankles and tailbone (kind of weird, but it seems to have passed). Need to find a formal stretching program for this.

Memories:

One of our first days out, we got chased down by a minature pincsher and a chihuahua. I knew I wouldn't have found it nearly as funny if it was a dog I couldn't kick if I needed to, but at the time I was doubled over as I ran, laughing and trying not to trip. Thankfully, they got bored of it pretty quickly (and Derick spraying water on them probably helped too) and went back home, but that was the quickest minute of our run so far, I think!

Derick and I listen to music on his phone, which is loud and clear enough that we just play it through the speaker. When a really funny song comes on, we get a great dance/jog on. We had a really fun time dancing through the streets and singing "Hey Ya!" by Outcast as we run. Again, moments like that make the hard parts bearable.

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Medicity
Current Music: Some sappy female drivel

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Remember What It Feels Like To Like Your Body

Back in high school, I biked everywhere. I would ride my bike to my girlfriends house on 90th S and 9th W from State and 6400 S. every night. Back then, I actually had a stomach that was impressive, and not in stature.

These days, I'm dealing with a reoccurring intestinal infection that makes it hard for me to enjoy a good 30% of the day at least twice a week. In addition, I get regular charlie horses throughout my entire body (stomach, ribs, chin...oh the chin, it's like someone has replaced all of my muscles with reverse rubber bands). Not to mention the horrible fact that I'm balding. Oh yeah, and I've gained at least 30 pounds since I got married.

Now, when I got married, I was super skinny. So I'm not looking to go back to that time, but even then I wasn't in good shape either. I couldn't walk up the stairs at Sungard without being completely out of breath.

I was thinking about how much I don't like my body, and then someone asked me about running in this race. For some reason, something in me said to do it. I was still a little unsure, but then when I talked to Amanda, she convinced me to commit.

So here I am, a year before needing to run 7 miles at a time and keeping an 11 minute mile pace and I am more excited about it than nearly anything else in my life. Already I feel better about my body and I've only been doing it for a week and a half. And that week and a half hasn't been so bad.

Right now, since we're running together, Amanda is taking a little bit more to get going than I am. I think that's probably just due to the fact that I've walked to work and around campus for the last 5 years, so I have a little bit of a head start. Unfortunately, I don't th ink this actually gives me an advantage. Instead I'm going to be feeling fine, while Amanda gets used to working hard I'm going to be "breezing by" for the next week or so. And then I'll hit the point where it'll be hard, and like many things in life, I may not have the stamina to complete it.

Amanda and I have spent a considerable amount of time talking about how we've spent so much of our lives simply succeeding without a lot of effort. Lots of things come naturally to us, and then the things that do not, instead of working hard on them, we avoid them. This has driven me to not complete classes that I'm actually interested in, because I didn't feel I would benefit from them; despite wanting to learn the content (Physics 2200, I miss you). So I'm afraid I'll hit that point with the running and want to stop.

Alas, with this, hopefully all of you can keep us committed.

Current Mood: excited

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What is Rangar and why are we doing it?

To answer this question, we have to go back a couple of years to the first time I heard about the race, from a man at my work named Dov Siporin.

( To read more about Dov, click here )

( More about the Wasatch Back Relay )