And on this day last year (11.11.11) I ran my first race. It was a Veteran's Day 11k race.
I had such a great time and it hooked me even more on running. I am now preparing for my first half marathon.....something I NEVER thought I'd be doing! Let me start with my story on how I got running in the first place:
About 4 years ago my husband ran his first marathon. Then after my second daughter was born (3 years ago) he was still running nearly every day after work. I made the comment one day after a rough day at home with 2 young children that "it must be nice to come home from work, eat dinner and then go on a stress relieving run." Remember: I had a baby and a 3 year old and it was "one of those days" so please don't judge me for my harsh comment!
Anyways, so my hubby (sarcastically) replied that any time I wanted to go running I could, but he bet me I couldn't do it. He knew I hated running, but to me that was beside the point. I just wanted a few minutes to myself where I could breathe and think without someone pulling on me, crying for me or needing something.
On a side note, I've never been a runner. As mentioned before, I HATED running. I've always been pretty active though. I played t-ball and softball from the time I was 5 to 8th grade and then was a cheerleader from 7th grade to 12th grade. But I remember when I was a cheerleader and we'd have to run laps around the track and I would be one of the last ones finished because it was hard and wasn't something I enjoyed.
So anyways, the next night after dinner I went running. And it felt good! And the next night I went again. We started going on family runs every night with both girls in the runner jogger and I was running so often that I overdid it and my knees started hurting so bad I could barely walk. At this point I was probably only running a mile a day, but I did it every day and wasn't giving my knees a break. So I realized I was going to have to go every other day if I wanted to save my knees.
I quickly became addicted though. Once I got good running shoes and focused on proper breathing it became easy. I never knew running could be FUN! It has now been about 2 years since that "bet" my husband made with and I have never been more healthy, happy and stress free (most of the time). If I ever get stressed, a good run usually takes it away.
I've been running 2-4 miles, 2-3 times a week. It is a good amount that keeps me active, fills my addiction but doesn't take away too much of my "free time". Now that I am in training mode for my half marathon in January I'm having to step it up a little. I am so excited for this half marathon though. It is a bucket list item that I can't wait to check off! For those of you thinking about starting to run or have been trying to run but its just not working for you the Couch to 5K program is a great starting point. Or if you're lucky enough to be in an area where there is a Soul 2 Soul group, join now! The original group was started by some friends of mine and its a great Christian environment full of love, encouragement and helpful runners with great advice to get you on the right running path.
I thought I would share with you my Half Marathon Training Schedule if you're looking to get to that point sometime.
Run #2 – Hill repeats
Long Run - 5 miles
Week 2 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 1 mile warm-up, 2 miles up-tempo, 1 mile cool down
Long Run - 8 miles
Week 3 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 4 X 600 meters (0.37 miles)
Long Run - 5 miles
Week 4 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – Fartlek on flat for 35 minutes (This is an interval type training)
Long Run - 9 miles
Week 5 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – Hill repeats
Long Run - 5 miles
Week 6 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles up-tempo, 1 mile cool down
Long Run - 10 miles
Week 7 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 5 X 500 meters (0.31 miles)
Long Run - 5 miles
Week 8 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – Fartlek on flat 40 minutes
Long Run - 11 miles
Week 9 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – Hill repeats
Long Run - 5 miles
Week 10 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles up-tempo, 1 mile cool down
Long Run - 12 miles
Week 11 - Run #1 – 3 or 4 miles
Run #2 – 6 X 600 meters (0.37 miles)
Long Run - 7 or 8 miles
Week 12 - Run #1 – 3 easy
Run #2 – None or 2 miles easy
Long Run - RACE
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