To become a runner...

I tasted it ...the feel of being a runner.  I dream of it, the freedom of running mile after mile.  The feel of the wind on my face,  the beauty of the woods around me, the peace of mind.  I am strong and untouchable...

Even my body wants it - to feel strong, to be healthy, and to be happy. To run.

I dream of running on the beach, watching the freighters in the distance and hearing the crash of the waves.

Or the sound of the fall leaves under my feet...

I dream of runner in the snow on my snowshoes, the beauty of the snow on the trees all around me, the silence of nature ... being part of the absolute perfection of a sunny winter day.

I must beat the battle of the mind.  The body can do it, the mind is stopping it. How can your mind want two things and fight itself? The mental battle is exhausting and ridiculous really. How can you want something so badly and your mind dream about it so clearly, yet your mind also be your biggest enemy?  How do you get your mind to push your body further instead of stopping your body before it even begins to reach its limit? 

My friends say anything I put my mind to I accomplish. But what happens when the mind says no?  And when did I lose control of my mind that it is allowed to say no?    This New Year, I am taking it back and I am going to beat the battle of my mind and I am going to run ... and run ... and run.

Running = freedom

I will find that freedom in 2011 and I will run the Detroit FP half marathon in October.

Training progress - or lack thereof!

It has been several weeks since I last posted.  My training hasn't been going well - but I have been working on Christmas stuff so my time has been limited.  My goal is to start running again after Christmas and get serious about training for a half marathon after New Years.

That said, I have completed two more 5k since my last blog!  December 11 - the Jingle Bell 5k in Delta Twp with Katie and on December 12 - the Jingle Bell 5k in New Baltimore with Lisa. 

December 11 - Jingle Bell in Delta Twp. 
This was an all women race.  Katie and I did it together.  She finished a few minutes faster then at the Fantasy 5k. It was so much fun - I was yelling at her to start running again every few minutes - she was hating me.  :)  We joked afterward that she would be filing for divorce, not against her husband, but against her sister-in-law! lol

 That is Katie's stance to look skinny!  lol   She looks great - but I am not sure the stance had anything to do with it!  lol  The weather was great this day - for a winter run.  A little ice on the route but not much and they had people standing around it so no one would slip and fall. 

Now the New Baltimore race - that was a different story!  I walked/run with Katie on Saturday and the plan was to run the entire 5k on Sunday.  We were lucky to survive the drive!  The worse winter storm so far this winter hit about noon on Sunday, the same time I left Lansing to go get Lisa and head to New Baltimore.  But we went, our clothes were frozen by the end and the drive back from SCS was almost 3 hours.  Needless to say, we didn't run because of the ice, snow and slush on the road.  We were almost dead last! lol  But neither of us cared and at least we got some exercise that day.  While we were walking neither of us were cold, but our eyelashes had icicles on them!! Lisa got hit in the head with a big piece of ice that blew off the electric lines.  

Before

After - check out the ice on Lisa's hat!

 This race had a little bit of a different personal meaning for me to.  My grandparents lived in New Baltimore when I was little.  The race course took uspast their street and grandma Nana's house.  We drove by the old house before we left town.  Amazing that the white house is still white.  Looks exactly the same - but smaller then I remember it.  And that Hill!!  Amazing the way you remember things and the way they really are. 

What was really nice though was for all the nightmares at that house, I was able to think of all the good memories.  The bad ones aren't important anymore.  Such a great thing to experience finally.  I remember grandma's roast dinners, corn on the cob, chocolate malts, sledding on the hill...  Even the carols at the church were a good memory. :)    They were out caroling during the race.  It was a good day even for the weather and the drive!

 Well - time to start planning for the next running goal.  The New Years Day 5k and the whether or not to join the Playmakers training team. 

A Simple Day is a Good Day.

Today has been a relaxing day.  Got all my errands done this morning and found out I need new brakes on my Jeep - that of course was more stressful than relaxing, but it didn't put me in a panic either.   While the Jeep was getting its oil changed, I was planning to do my 40 minute "long" run, however, I forgot my Nike+ transmitter so I lost my motivation to run. I want it to count!!  I still ran from the Marathon to the library, hung out there and then ran back. I would say it was about a half mile total.

Once I got home I decided I really needed to do some exercise today.  I got on my eliptical for 10 minutes.  It made me feel better, so I jumped on the treadmill with the goal of completing the rest of my 10,000 steps for the day. Mainly I walked, but I did some stregnth training for my arms and some incline workwhile on the treadmill.  Did 3.1 miles in 51 minutes...not bad for walking.  I felt great and was motivated to eat a healthy dinner before the hockey game instead of grabbing pizza at the game.  I burned about 500 calories and 160 fat calories. :)

While on the treadmill, I was thinking about my New Year's Resolution for this year. I usually make my resolutions on my birthday, my own personal New Year, instead of January 1. But this year I have decided to set some goals on January1 and re-assess on my birthday.  I would really like to start eating better and stop drinking any and all pop. I am hopeful that stopping the pop will help me lose the rest of my belly.    I want to become a true runner and start to think of food as fuel for my body instead of just eating because of boredom.

I have been trying to learn how to eat better from my magazines, but I think I should just reread the Chris Johnson book.  And start cooking! lol   Healthy food does not come in a box or in a potato chip bag! If only I had the will power to stop buying frozen mac & cheese and cook my own healthier version.  I did make mashed sweet potato's a couple of weeks ago.  They taste great and froze/thawed just as good.  They should be a staple food in my freezer all times.  I am not sure I can go back to just plain mashed white potato's.

Truly the only reason I don't eat better is just laziness.  I stay in bed an extra 10 minutes in the morning so I don't have time to make a healthly lunch to take to work. Although, this past week, I did grab a can of tuna to make a sandwich at work.  That is healthy.

Speaking of work, I also want to start working out over lunch. If I can't walk outside, I can at least start walking the stairs. It seems to me that would be a great cross training activity - walking the stairs a few times a day. 

Goals to consider:
1.  10,000 steps a day.  (I was doing this consistently until Scott and I split up - no reason I can't do it again.)

2.   Run 15 miles  a week, with at least one 4 - 5 mile run each week.

3.   Drink 64 oz of water everyday.   (I might have to go back to buying bottled water to make this happen.)

4.   Start cooking dinner at least 4 times a week.  (I have healthy breakfast down, and usually a healthy lunch,but fall apart in the evening - so cooking should help. And the off nights can be left overs.)

5.  Work outs at lunch at the office.

Well - I am getting tired finally, so off to bed.   Tomorrow's goal - get in a 4 mile run!   I have 2 races next weekend - need to be ready!

PS. I wanted to mention that I was able to re-connect with an old childhood friend today through FB - I am so excited to finally be in contact with her again.   That was the highlight of my day.

Why I am running

I started running a September to help deal with anger I was trying to deal with over a break up.  I wasn't doing so well committing to it, but knew it would help.  So I came up with a plan to run a race and decided that the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot would be the perfect goal.  I convinced a few friends to run with me and we all committed to training.  I don't know what I would have done without my girlfriends.  They may live an hour away but they have helped me more then they will ever know!

Anyway, at first I tried to just try walk/running and increasing my running time.  But it wasn't really working.  I finally found a 6 week couch to 5k training program and stuck to it - well part of it.  :)  I can't say I did the cross training piece faithfully, but I did the running as recommended.

In the meantime, my sister-in-law decided she was going to start running too.  So we signed up for the Run thru Hell on Halloween.  I walk/ran it and finished in about 48 minutes, but I got to learn how the race registration and start works so I didn't have to figure it out and be nervous about it on Thanksgiving. 

My goal was to be able to run the entire race on Thanksgiving, no walking!  And I did it!  But only because I ran super slow.  One of my friends has some foot issues, so I asked her to walk so I could run at her walk pace.  She was fantastic and did it for me!!  Love her!!  I think she is the only reason I made it through the entire race.

Now it it is the Friday after Thanskgiving and I have another race scheduled with my sister-in-law.  (Yes the very next day after my furst run!)  This was an evening 5k in Howell, before the Festival of Lights parade.  I really wasn't sure I would be able to run the Friday run, but again, I DID IT!  I was so excited.  And I improved my Thursday time by 4 minutes.  :)  I just kept telling myself I know I can do this - I just did it yesterday, so no walking allowed.  And to the guy in the crowd at the top of the last hill - loved you!  When I was ready to I can't go one more step he said - "doing great hon, only 2 more blocks".  He totally motivated me to finish! 

So that is my running story in a nut shell to date.  I decided I wanted to start this blog in hopes that it will help motivate me to keep going.  It is the Thursday after Thanksgiving and I have only ran about 2 miles this week so far.   I have two more races in about 10 days and one on New Years day.  So continuing to train is important.  Next year, we are all running the Turkey Trot again, but instead of the 5k (really called the Stuffing Strut) we are planning to try to 10k. So training is really important!! 

Now it's time to get off the couch and run!!