Picking Up Speed

This past Saturday was my first group run. It was very exciting. Everyone had so much energy and it all just bounced off everyone to keep us motivated and in the zone. We had a shoe clinic before we ran. Someone from Road Runner Sports came to talk to us about getting fitted with the right type of shoe and such. After our brains got crammed with information we had our first timed run. It was only a mile and the shortest training session they said we'd have.

Let me tell you, I am definitely out of shape. I stretched with everyone and was definitely in the zone but that ONE mile was tough. I don't know how I'm going to get through 13.1 miles?! Having this damn bronchial asthma doesn't help much, in fact, it slows me down a lot. Though I did run most of the time. I think I only slowed down to walk and catch my breath maybe 3 or 4 times.
I did the mile in 13:43. That's waaay better than what I thought it would be. Now I just have to work on getting it down faster to, let's say, maybe a 10 minute mile. And then go from there. I think with a 10 min mile I should be able to finish the half marathon in about 2.5 hours or there abouts.

This is definitely going to be one of the most challenging things in my life and I'm looking forward to it. I have never run long distance before and so the stamina you have to have for this is totally different than it is for when I play soccer. Soccer players run in shorts spurts and not for miles at a time.

I got some new running shoes yesterday. We'll see how they work out. The one's I've been using are not made anymore and so I'm trying some new ones. If they don't work out, I can always take them back.

I went for a run today after work. I did 2 miles in just over 24 minutes. That's not too bad. I'm proud of myself. It's all surface streets and some up hill runs. I did walk a lot. My asthma kicked in sooner than I had hoped, but my handy dandy inhaler was too the rescue, though it only does so much. There were times when I wanted to give up and I had to tell myself "just get to that stop sign up ahead" or "the end of the street is in sight" or even "you're right around the corner from the house - just a little farther." If I made it to the marker, I could walk for a minute and then pick up the pace again. I find that those short goals I give myself help me get through the run. As great as it is running with my iPod - listening to my tunes - I think it would be more helpful to run with a partner. That's why I really enjoy the group runs we have on the weekends. It's more motivating. There's always someone there to help motivate you to go just a little bit further. But I'm going to work on my music playlist and maybe that will help. I don't think I have the right tunes yet. I'm in the experimental phase. If you've got suggestions, please let me know.

Tomorrow I'm doing some cross training. I think I'll do the elliptical. I mean, after all, I've got one in my house and I can watch TV for a half hour while I use it.

It's official. I'm now in training mode.

Let The Running Begin

I found a picture of me after one of my runs. I LOVE that running jacket. I don't get too hot in it when I run and surprisingly I stay warmer than I had expected. Good investment. =)

So on Tuesday, there was a Kick Off party for all of us trainees. We met our coaches and some of our teammates. There was yummy food and some wine. I think I'm really going to like this group. There was a lot of energy coming from the staff, especially Jessica. She is just all over the place, it is too cute. I sense she's going to be a great motivator for all those future rough patches.

I brought my mom along with me so she can see what she's gotten me into. My mom seems excited for me. I think she's going to be my biggest fan. =) I spoke with the executive director and she seems to think that I'm going to be one of those people that goes on to race in a full marathon after I complete this one. I don't know. Let me get through this one and see how it goes. One race at a time.

I'm really excited to get started. Saturday is our first group run and afterwards we have a shoe clinic. It's definitely time to get a new pair of running shoes. I've had mine for a couple years and I think they've been worn out. My heels are starting to hurt now when I wear them for an extended period of time. I think that's a sign, don't you?

I'll let you know how Saturday goes - how slow of a runner I really am.

Oh, I almost forgot. Click here to donate and help me reach my goal!

On My Way To The Finish Line

So I got up early this morning and went for a power walk around the neighborhood with the dogs. And this time I actually timed myself. I think I was totally wrong about how long it took me to jog last time. Just to power-walk the same route took 20 minutes and that was with the dogs stopping to sniff everything. So I'm guessing that the jog was between 10-15 minutes but I can't say for sure without timing myself once again. This weekend for sure. It's actually something to look forward to. The early morning walks/run are quite peaceful and there's always someone to say "good morning" to since they have the same idea to get out there in the morning and start the day off with either a walk or a run.

I'm going to Disneyland today so I'm for sure going to get a lot of exercise walking around. It's been a while since I've been there so I'm excited.

Next weekend we start our group training. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and beginning this new chapter in my story. I'm definitely up for the challenge this is going to bring. I know I'll have my ups an downs but in the end, it'll be worth it. 

From Soccer player to Long Distance Runner - Slow as a turtle

One of the many things on my list that I have yet to do is run a half marathon. I love to run. I don't do it well, but I really enjoy it.

About a week and a half ago, I decided to go to an informational meeting about Team Challenge - the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) program to train individuals to run or walk a half marathon while raising money to help find a cure for Crohn's disease or Colitis.
My mom sent me the info for it knowing that I was looking for a group to train with. It sounded interesting, but the location was what really pulled me in - Napa to Sonoma Valley. Who can resist wine country?!

So now I've agreed to train with them and raise $3500. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about raising that much money. It seems like a lot, especially since last year when I did the Relay For Life, I only raised about $600 - but then again, I didn't have 5 months to collect donations like I do for Team Challenge. I'm hoping that all my friends and family and their friends and family will help me achieve this goal!

With that said, I decided to start running on my own. I'm already sore enough from playing soccer 3x a week, so I knew that running tonight wouldn't be that easy. I was right! Granted, I did take the dogs with me, which made the running a little harder since they wanted to sniff and pee on EVERYTHING. But they did alright. Zoe was ready to sprint and Dolly was content with a light jog. Finding a happy medium took a while.

I started off with a short distance - just shy of a mile - in the neighborhood. I passed a fellow jogger, lit up by his blinking red light. I'm not sure how long it took me as I didn't have a watch with a timer - that's something I need to put on my list of things to get. I can't say if I did the mile in 15 or 20 min. If it was 20 minutes, then that's really sad. It's like being as slow as a turtle, if not slower! I'm hoping it was only like 15 minutes. Though I'm aiming for the 5-10 minute miles. I'm going to have to run 13.1 miles and at this rate, it'll take ALL day! Ugh. I hope this gets better.

I need a hot tub installed in my backyard. My body was aching after that. I'm getting old! More likely I'm just out of shape. Let's hope it gets better. I see the chiropractor tomorrow. My body will be thanking me and then maybe it will be better if I can get another run in tomorrow. I think this time though, I'll try it without the dogs and possibly get a stopwatch. Then I'll know for sure how turtle-like I really am.