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.
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