Another Race

Today I ran in a big race. I didn't run much, but I felt like I ran more than the last race. There were nearly 7000 people there and I felt very intimidated and nervous -- like I didn't fit in. I went alone and didn't know what I was doing but figured it out. I met up with my Weight Watchers leader and a couple other members, but we didn't get far together as I fell behind.

I feel disappointed today. My shins were hurting very much to the point where I actually stopped twice. My feet were numb. And I am sorry to say that I did worse than my last race.

Last race in May: 51:30 and 133/148
Today's race: 58:38 and 1808/1839

My face was bright red and splotchy, and I just felt dumb coming in toward the end looking so red. I actually left instead of staying with my group to watch the half marathoners come in because I felt like people were looking at my red face.

Okay enough whining. It comes down to me being out of shape and just needing to work at this. I wore my old shoes which didn't help (but I was afraid there would be lots of mud for my brand new shoes). I didn't run for the past 2 weeks. I was not properly prepared is what it comes down to.

So, back on the horse. I'll be at the gym 3 times this week starting back at the first day again. I can do this.

Falling Behind

I meant to go running this morning but couldn't get out of bed. I have a migraine today. I read that if you exercise it can make it worse. Does anybody know about running with a budding migraine? Will it make it worse?

In the meantime, I'm fearful I'll get too far behind with my running. I had company over this weekend and didn't go. Now we leave town this weekend. I think I'm making excuses because I could have gone in the morning this weekend, and on our trip I'm sure the hotel will have a gym. How do you motivate yourself in these situations?

Why Am I Running?

Last night I asked myself this question: Why am I running? I totally stink at it. It hurts. I feel like a dork doing it in front of other people who are better than me. I'm not in a position to race, let alone run an entire mile. So why the heck am I doing this?

Here are my reasons so far:

1. To do something new.
2. To do something that doesn't involve sitting on the couch, eating, or drinking.
3. To have goals to work toward.
4. To reduce my stress level.
5. To become stronger.
6. To become faster for when and if I need it in "real" life.
7. To get out and see the world on my feet.
8. To get some awesome tshirts from races (I'm not gonna lie -- I like this part).
9. To lose weight.
10. To have something to talk about.
11. To live longer.
12. To prevent and/or reduce health problems.
13. To have a reason to work out and go to the gym.
14. To prove to myself that this is not impossible.
15. ***This is the biggest one: To feel proud of something.

When I have completed a run, even if I didn't make it the entire way or length of time, I have consistently done as well or better than the time before. I am not moving at the pace that the program has set, but rather a little slower. This does not matter to me because the feeling I have when I've finished that day, and have done even slightly better than before, is unlike any other feeling. I feel happy, alive, proud, tired, accomplished, and changed. So that's why I'm doing this.

First 5K Running

This is a photo from the first 5K that I actually ran at all in. I only ran 4 times, for probably a total of about 6 minutes (I didn't time it). But some running is more than no running. This was 5/8/10. Next 5K I signed up for is on 6/6/10. I plan to try to run more than 4 times by then.

Made it Through W2D1!

Today I headed back to the gym with my newer new shoes. I wear a size 8 1/2 normally, and for some reason my toes touched the ends of this shoe until I got to a size 10. It felt like they were too big, but perhaps that's what helped.

My shins did NOT kill me this morning. My left foot only went slightly numb near the end. And I made it through the whole W2D1 run! Holy cow! I think these might work. Thank goodness because yesterday I was thinking running might just not be in my future.

I imagine that when I weigh less, it will help with my feet as well. Anyhow, I'm just happy today that I made it through. It's taking me slightly longer than average, but I don't mind as long as I'm moving forward.

Strating to Wonder if it Gets Better

I had a small break after doing that 5K. Some bad things happened at work that got me very sidetracked, and we left town for the weekend and I didn't keep up.

So I went back to do W2D1 at the gym 2 days ago. Dear lord, it was worse than ever. I was all excited because I had my new shoes. They had made my feet numb (as noted previously), but I laced them looser. Well this time, they not only went numb but my shins were burning so bad I had to slow down after 4 running intervals and walk at 2.8 mph the rest of the 20 minutes. I didn't even know if I could make it through that. So it was by far the worst pain and run thus far.

I'm not sure what happened or why it was so bad. I really want to do this but am starting to doubt myself and if I can be a runner. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I think hard about breath, keeping my back straight, relaxing my shoulders, landing on the middle of my feet, and not going too fast. What am I missing?

I went back to the running shoe store yesterday and they had me try on about 20 more pairs, saying none of them fit right. Finally I settled on Brooks "Addiction" shoes. They look like orthopedic shoes at the base, but maybe they'll work. I'm trying them tomorrow morning again.

Could this be from bad form? Being overweight? Not being built like a "runner"? Feeling discouraged but not giving up just yet.

Numb Feet

I figured that if I'm going to do this, I need to do it right. After all the foot and shin pain, I went to the running shoe store yesterday and bought new shoes. I tried on a million pairs. I have extremely high arches, and skinny heels, so it makes for shoe-fitting difficulty.

I settled on a pair of shoes and got some arch supporting insoles. Then went to the gym directly. Well, my feet went really numb and sort of painful. My left foot was a bigger problem than my right, but it happened to both all along the bottoms of my feet and into my toes. I felt so discouraged.

The new shoes did help with my shin pain, though, so I was happy with that.

I'm not sure what to do. I think I'll try them with different lacing and different arch supports tomorrow and see how that goes. I did make it through the entire W1D2 workout and thought hard about my breathing and keeping my shoulders relaxed. I also concentrated on landing on the middle of my feet.

Any suggestions are welcome, of course. I hope it's just a shoe issue. I'm also pretty overweight, so maybe the extra weight is making my feet go numb.

Finally Completed W1D1!

I never thought I'd be so proud of myself for completing the first day of this, but I must say I am. It took me a while to get to the point where I could even do the first day of the C25K. I'm still pretty uncomfortable with my one foot and other shin hurting, but was able to push through and make it today. I am left feeling quite uneducated on how to run or what good form is (also what a good shoe is). But it's a start.

So things I did today that hopefully helped:

* Walked at 3mph and ran at 4mph. I know this is slow, but I figured it's better than not making it through the workout.
* Thought about landing on the "middle" of my foot while running. Again, I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but it seemed to help a little.
* Thought hard about my breathing while running. I breathed in 3 counts and out 2 to 3 counts and avoided frantic, panicked breathing.
* Stretched a bit after I was done.

Things I will work on next time:

* I need to somehow remember to stretch before I get on the treadmill.
* Think about getting some new shoes and do some research on that.

Any suggestions are welcome.

My First Week

I went to the gym to do W1D1 of the C25K program. "Oh this will be easy to run one minute here and there," I thought. Couldn't have been more wrong. I did the 5 minute warm up, then ran at 5mph for one minute. That was ok. The second minute I ran after walking, though, my calves started to burn and my breathing got pretty heavy. Then the 3rd interval put me over the edge. My feet were burning. My shins were burning. I thought I was going to die. So I walked the rest at a slower pace, trying not to die.

The second day I went back with some advice to run slower. I set it for 4mph on my one minute intervals. My shins and feet still were burning. I was still out of breath. But I made it for 4 minutes of running instead of 3. Better is better I suppose.

I need some advice on running form. I watched the ABCs of Running on youtube, but wasn't sure what to do with the information. I also need some actual running shoes. I believe mine are made more for walking. Plus, I just need to lose some more weight and build up endurance. I think there are changes I can make, though, so it doesn't feel so impossible. I'm just not sure what. Running has always felt like hell to me. With this program I think I can do it though.

Of note: I'm especially frustrated, though, because I just got back from a business trip on which I didn't run. So I've been not running for about a week now. I took all my clothes and shoes and was ready to go, but got food poisoning the first night I was there. Finally today I'm starting to feel back to normal.

My motivation has faded a little having had that bump in the road. So I thought starting this blog and updating it would help me keep my motivation up.

I signed up for a 5K walk on May 8th. I'm not ready to run yet, obviously. I signed up for another 5K walk in June. My goal is to do one a month to continue to find inspiration by watching the runners, then by fall hopefully I can be one of them too!

A Bit of History

Last week was my first week of becoming a runner. I have been changing how I live my life to be more healthy since January of 2009. There have been a series of changes I've made, but none have included much activity yet. I have lost a bit over 30 lbs through changing my diet since that time. I kept saying I'd add exercise to my plan, but I'll be honest -- I hate exercising.

Then someone suggested I set a goal in order to stay motivated. So I signed up for a 5K walk in April. This was the first actual event I've signed up for in my life, and I'm 31. (I haven't been much into exercise since I played volleyball and softball in high school... so it's been a while.) I sort of forgot that I had signed up for it, but once I remembered I thought, "Oh crap, I had better make sure I can walk that far before I start!" That actually got me to the gym.

I started off walking a mile. Then got up to 2 miles at about 3 mph which left me breathless and very sweaty. Then a week before the race, I walked the 5K on the treadmill at 3.2 mph on a slight incline. I was tired, but I made it. I knew I'd be able to do the walk.

The next weekend I walked the 5K. I was there with my dad and husband who walked it with me. I was SO PROUD of the tshirt I got and crossing the finish line. I even took photos. But it struck me that I felt a little jealous of the runners. They got cool numbers to pin to their shirts. They finished it faster. And they were actually competing. Not only that, but a friend of mine was amongst them, and she had never been a runner before. How did she become one? The Couch to 5K program. That was enough to get me interested.

So, the week after that 5K walk, I decided to start the program. Here I am.