Hurt but not out

Hi, friends!

Yes, once again I forgot I actually had a blog. I do have some updates though.

On October 27 I participated in the Run For Your Lives as a zombie. I was giddy for most of the day and it was well-worth the 4-hour round-trip drive. However, I also broke my left hand. Long story short, I think the runners forgot that the zombies were actually living people and they got too protective of their flags. It happened in the 1st 10 minutes of my shift and I figured it was probably OK so I finished the 3 hours. Then it was rather swollen the next morning so I went to Urgent Care and found I'd fractured a metatarsal. It was a bit of a circus trying to find an open orthopedist and contacting my doctor and insurance company since this was during the Hurricane Sandy hoopla, but I have a brace for probably 6 weeks. I can exercise/shower in it, so I can still run. Typing is a challenge since I can only really do that with my right hand. Despite the injury, I had an absolute blast and am definitely going to do it again next year. The makeup was amazing. If we're Facebook friends, check out the pictures.

Other than that, I purchased some gear for running in the dark. Woohoo!

Small Victories, Nerd Alert

Well, it has been quite awhile since I wrote. That's not because I stopped running - it's more because I forgot I had a blog. Funny how that happens.

Monday I had a small victory! I moved back home from the disastrous Boston experiment a year ago and back then I was taking long walks on Rock Creek Trail by my house. Monday I went for a run on the same trail and ran farther than my walks!! And I didn't even cheat! I've been doing intervals, which works for me much more than just straight running. Monday I was running 4 minutes and walking 1. I like it better because when I get really tired I look at my iPod (LOVE the free interval app I downloaded) I know that I only have to keep running for so long before I get a walk break. The app uses my playlists and plays a cuckoo sound when it's time to run and dings a bell when it's time to walk. I've been increasing both the run time and the number of intervals and that is working incredibly well for me.

It's my favorite time of year, and while that means Halloween, fading leaves and lots of orange and pumpkins, it also means that the hours of daylight are sharply decreasing. It would be a shame to halt my progress because of a silly thing like darkness, so I did some research on running in the dark, went to Amazon and got a headlamp with a strobe light feature and a reflective single earbud. Yeah, it's safer to run without the iPod at all but it tracks my intervals and I need some kind of musical motivation. This way the sound isn't compromised, I can have 1 ear on my surroundings without the unused earbud flapping around in the breeze, and the cord itself is reflective. Score! I also have to get some kind of reflective vest thing. Picture me with a headlamp, reflective vest and 1 earbud. Yes, nerd alert, coming to a neighborhood near you! Still, I've come to really enjoy running and this is a way I can continue to run outside. I really, really hate the treadmill.

I learned that Chicago has a Halloween marathon and half marathon every year in October. I think I'm going to train for the 2013 half marathon, which will put me in good shape to do the 2014 full on in Hawaii as originally planned. I can definitely get there by then. I heard some quote awhile ago that the difference between a goal and a dream is a plan. True story.

What else ... last weekend I signed up for an account on myfitnesspal.com. I was on Weight Watchers for awhile and it was expensive. This is free and has the same stuff. You log in calories rather than points, but it's all still tracking. I've found that I like this a lot better. The online community is really good and supportive, and they have a lot of ideas for things. The app is also really easy to use. I'm tired of being dissatisfied with how I look. Day to day I don't feel too bad about it, but then I see a picture and I'm like, "Ew. Get your act together." So I am.

Long time no blog

Wow, it has been about 2 months since I last wrote! I'm still here. I stopped running for a month and a half maybe - the DC area did its best impression of Hades and I couldn't bring myself to run in a heat index of 100+. I also got LASIK and couldn't wear contacts for a week before and couldn't exercise for a week after. With all that, I got out of the habit, and I'm good as long as I'm in a routine. Getting back into a routine is like pulling teeth for me. Oh well.

I joined the coed MCRRC 5K group. It started August 15 and I'm really enjoying getting back into running. It's nice that I don't have to start at the total beginning - I can actually run longer than we're supposed to and I'm not overly out of breath. I think it's starting to cool down outside too, which is nice. The tradeoff with that is it'll get darker earlier, and I don't know how safe it is to be running around the neighborhood before/after work when it's dark. Anyone have any suggestions?

One of the world's best marathons

Ultimate goal: running the Honolulu marathon at the end of 2014 for my 30th birthday. If I'm going to run 26.2 miles, there sure as hell better be amazing scenery along the way as well as blue water to jump into and umbrella drinks waiting for me at the end!! ;)

Reevaluating

Yesterday I did the 5K Run for Roses, and that marked the end of the Beginner Women Runners group. A couple people in my pace group and I decided to keep meeting on Saturday mornings to run together, and I'm glad for it. I've really enjoyed them and the group as a whole.

The 5K was good. My mom came to cheer me on and I was surprised to see her handing out water in the Brookside Gardens portion. I figured she parked there, saw the water stop and thought, "May as well hand out some water." (She said that's exactly what happened.) It meant a lot that she came, and it gave me the impetus to continue and finish the damn thing. My time wasn't great, but my feet started hurting in the middle, and I finished regardless.

I started re-evaluating my running goals while going the 3.1 miles. I decided against the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon in February because I don't want to push my body faster than it wants to go and injure myself. I was considering doing the MCRRC 10K program in the fall, but I think I'm going to do the coed 5K one and work on getting really comfortable with that distance. I've got 2 5Ks in the fall anyway - the Color Run in September and the Run for Your Lives in October. The fall 5K program ends with a race on November 4. Once I'm done with that, I'll work on other distances and go from there. Maybe work up to a half marathon in fall 2013. The ultimate goal is the Honolulu Marathon at the end of 2014 for my 30th birthday. I have 2.5 years to get there - no need to rush it right now. Granted, it makes the web address of my blog a little obsolete since I have no current plans to run with Mickey, but what are you going to do?

My weight loss efforts are paying off. I'd be irritated if I did all this and saw nothing. I'm still frustrated with the scale, but I got a tech shirt at the Run for Roses in a size smaller than I usually wear, figuring it will fit sometime soon, and found to my surprise that it actually fits rather well now! Then I dug around in my closet for my old jeans in a size smaller, and those fit too! I can sit down and everything! 3 people in a 24 hour period told me I've lost a lot of weight, and my grandmother added to that today. So, even though I've only lost 7 lbs since I started, the inches are definitely going away. Thank you, running and BodyPump! And Weight Watchers. The thing that bothers me about WW is it's so focused on the scale, but I knew I needed to tackle the food as well as the exercise. I was up a pound this week, but that's most likely because I weigh in on Friday mornings and our pace group dinner was Thursday night at Mamma Lucia. I'd saved something like 30 of my points for that dinner and though I was within my daily and weekly limit, there just wasn't time for it to digest. As long as the numbers generally keep going in the right direction, I'm OK with that.

Solo run

I was supposed to go to the BWR group tonight, but I had a meeting in Baltimore til about 6. It took an hour to get back, but luckily it's still light outside until past 8pm! I love the summer for that reason. Also, beaches. Anyway, I tried out a Garmin watch that tracks my pace and distance. That is a fun toy. One day I'll figure out what I did with the instruction book that comes with it and will learn how to program it to do things. That day is not today. Oh well.

I'm a little frustrated with how freakin' slow I am. I keep reminding myself that everyone has to start somewhere, but I don't really like the somewhere I'm starting. Goal for this summer: get to the 10K in October at a consistent 12-minute mile pace. I can work with that. Breaking down the larger goal into smaller ones is probably the way to go here.

In other news, I got health insurance in April so I've been able to get lots of things checked out. Some of you know that last year I had a cervical cancer scare and had to have a couple procedures to remove precancerous cells. The first one didn't get everything, so I had to repeat it in July and then my insurance ran out so I couldn't get it checked. As you can probably imagine, that has been weighing in the back of my mind for over a year since this whole thing started. I'm happy to report that it's all gone! Hooray!! I'm so grateful I applied for Peace Corps last year - if I hadn't, I wouldn't have had the tests that found it for another two years, and who knows at what stage it would have been at. It's disturbing enough that it was all clear the year before and it had already gotten to a stage this time where it had to be dealt with. One day I'll listen to my own advice not to Google medical conditions. Everything that came up mentioned a hysterectomy. I'm eternally grateful we caught it in time and I didn't have to undergo that! Just wanted to share my good news. I've been thrilled since I found out. I've still got to get tested every 6 months for the next couple years to make sure it doesn't come back on its own, but the likelihood of that is low.

First 5K: Done!!

Yesterday was my first 5K! I did the Race for the Cure in DC and there really couldn't have been a better day for it. It was beautiful outside - low humidity, highs in the low 70s, etc. I had planned on running most of it but I found another person in my running group and we made the trek together, which meant walking a good part of it. Not to be all competitive ... well, OK, maybe to be a little competitive ... but she's in worse shape than I am, which, not gonna lie, felt kinda good. I'd rather have someone to talk to for the 3.1 miles than go faster. It was a good time, and I'm looking forward to the Run for Roses on the 16th and the other races coming up in the fall.

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this process. I totally thought I'd have the idea to run a (half) marathon and then suffer through it out of pure stubbornness until I ran the damn thing. The key to this was probably joining the running group. Previously I'd decide I'd run and then get frustrated when I couldn't go very far and stop. The group has given me accountability and made me continue to go and stick with it, and it has been very cool seeing myself progress.

I read a good book the other day: Mile Markers by Kristin Armstrong, who happens to be Lance Armstrong's ex-wife (I didn't know that until after I finished and saw someone mention it in their review on Goodreads). The author talks about the various reasons why women run and uses running as a metaphor for pretty much everything. It made me want to continue to make strides (pun completely intended. Ha!).

Summer's here

It is HOT today!! 90+ degrees, complete with humidity. I'm not doing the track workout tonight. I'll get up early tomorrow morning and do it. It's easier for me to run in the mornings. I actually got up at 6:30 Friday morning to run - and did! Who knew?

I think MCRRC has a transition program for after this Beginner Women Runners group is done but before the Rockville Twilight 8K. I think I'll do the transition program - it's really nice having people to run with, and it makes me get out of bed on Saturday mornings! Doubt I'll do the 8K (4.97 miles) in July, though it isn't too much farther than the 5K I have coming up this weekend.

Speaking of this weekend ... I'm running the Race for the Cure to benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation. If you'd like to make a donation, I'd appreciate it! :)

What else ... I broke down and got a hydration belt last week. It's basically a glorified fanny pack, which is why I was resisting. There's a pouch for your crap and 2 10-oz water bottles. I was annoyed swinging my water bottle around as I ran and other people seemed to really like theirs, so I got one. It made such a difference!! I'll happily look like a fanny pack-wearing dork to have water that I don't have to carry.

The other day I came to the realization that I'm actually looking forward to the Disney Princess Half marathon rather than dreading it. Had I decided to go whole-hog and do the full Disney World marathon in January, I would be feeling the opposite. However, I'm enjoying myself with this running thing and I know I'll be ready for it. Also, my goal for it isn't to have a good race time - it's to have a good time racing, if that makes sense. Rather than aiming for under 2 hours or whatever, I'm just aiming to finish, have fun, and take pictures with the characters. I will probably be taller than all of them. Last time I went to Disney I was 8 and I don't recall the characters being much taller than I was. Except for Jafar. He was enormous. And terrifying.

Speaking of Disney World, I found this article today and it made my world a better place. Sweetest kid ever. Enjoy.

3 miles!!

I ran 3 miles today, 2 weeks ahead of when I thought I would!! My goal was to get an iPad when I can run 3 miles, and I'm psyched to report that happened today. It's really exciting to see how much progress I've made since the end of March. I had a hard time running at all when I started. Today I did 3 whole miles!! I did about the distance of a 5K! I have a 10K in October and the half marathon in February, and today I really felt like I can get there. I'm really proud of myself!

Yesterday registration opened for DC's Color Run. There are 2 dates this year: September 9 and October 21. I opted for the September one since I have the Run for the Parks 10K on October 7, the Zombie Apocalypse Run For Your Lives 5k (soooooo effing excited) on October 27, and will most likely be visiting the O'Malleys in Kansas the weekend of the 20th/21st. For those of you who haven't heard of it, watch this video - it looks amazing. So excited!  If you want to run it with me, click here!

2.2

On Saturday morning's run I got to 2.2 miles on the trail. That's progress for me! Yeah, some of you hardcore runners who read this (coughcough Pat O'Malley coughcough) are way beyond that and could probably do that in your sleep, but for me it's kind of a big deal.  I ran most of it too - we're doing a run/walk and we're doing 4 minutes running, 1 walking. I'm over 2/3 of the way to the 5K and not very far to the half marathon, but I've got time to get there.

Saturday morning I also went to a stride clinic put on by the MCRRC. I'd signed up for it when I had that hardcore knee and shin pain when I started, but the shoes fixed that. I figured I may as well go anyway, and I'm glad I did - as part of the clinic, I met with a podiatrist, running coach, massage therapist, physical therapist, and shoe specialist. The podiatrist said I was fine, the running coach gave me tips on what to look out for and correct, the massage therapist worked a major knot out of my back, the physical therapist stretched out my IT band and showed me how to do that on my own so I'll minimize injuries there, and the shoe guy didn't have too much to say. My shoes are still rather new so there's not too much for him to analyze as far as wear and whatnot. He said definitely bring those shoes when it comes time to get a new pair so the store can see where I put the most pressure. Oddly, the part that was more worn was in the front of the shoe rather than the heel. The running coach also said I'm a heavy foot striker and I should be striking on the midfoot rather than the whole foot, and I don't know how to do one without the other. Runners, any suggestions? I've also got to work on my cadence, which is wicked slow. Meh. The other thing the running coach told me was, "Don't take it too seriously and remember to have fun." My response was, "Oh. Right." I feel like I've been so goal-oriented that I completely forgot about that part.

I hung out with my good friend Priya on Saturday and we walked around Brookside Gardens. She said she'd come to Disney World with me in February! Woohoo! I was fully expecting to have to go alone, which I would have done but it would probably be kind of depressing. At first she said she'd come cheer me on, then I told her it starts really early in the morning and she said, "Well, maybe I'll come see you at the finish line." She also said she's really proud of me for following through on this wacky idea of mine. I like positive reinforcement. :) I'm also really grateful to have such a good friend who will come to Florida with me and hang out with Mickey, Minnie and Harry Potter. I'm telling you, we are SO going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And it will be AWESOME.

My reward for being able to run 3 miles is an iPad. I was on the Apple site today trying to decide what color iPad I want and what color cover I want. I have still not figured out which to get, and I'm fully aware that other people probably don't spend this much time debating colors for things. I did this with my car, too - I was between orangeburst metallic and blue raspberry. I'm happy with the orange but everytime I see the blue one on the road I think about how pretty that is. Anyway, I've been saving for it and I have the Race for the Cure on June 2, so I should be able to get it in less than a month!

I'm supposed to have the running group at the track tomorrow, but it's my brother's birthday (Happy 25th, Eric!!) and we're going to go to dinner around 7:30 or so. I think I'll probably go run around Brookside - it's so pretty and they've got that Heart Smart trail that's about a mile around. It's also probably rather safer than the trails.

Mixed Emotions

I have mixed emotions today. I weighed myself last night and was displeased. I've never been this heavy, and I hate it. I also hate the negative feelings toward my body. So, rather than just bitch about it, I decided to sign up for one of the online calorie trackers (which is so much easier now that I have a smartphone!) and got my ass to the gym. I signed up for a 6pm BodyPump class, which kicked my butt, and before then I actually walked/ran 2 miles on the treadmill!! That's IN ADDITION to the class I'd signed up for, which is kind of a big deal for me. I'm feeling strong and good after the workout and positive steps forward towards getting in shape and losing weight, though the current state of my body has me feeling gross. Thus, mixed emotions. However, I'm now no longer dubious I can do the 5K in June. No problem.

I think that's about it for now ... didn't go to the running group on Saturday because I went out on Friday night. As of now, no Friday night plans for this week so hopefully I'll actually be good and go early Saturday morning.

Conquering my fear of the treadmill

Oops, I haven't written in awhile. Oh well.

This morning I conquered my fear of the treadmill!  Previously, I avoided the treadmill like the plague. I had visions of my uncoordinated self thumping along on the machine like a hippo trying to do the ballet before spectacularly flying off the back end and wiping out a whole section of unsuspecting gym-goers. However, I'd heard colorful reports of men exposing themselves to women on the trail, masturbating in front of them and others trying to abduct them, so I decided that rather to subject myself to any of those unpleasant fates it would be better to attempt the treadmill. I'd stick to the trail if I had someone to run with during these scheduled solo run days, but I don't, so here we are. I have to say, I broke more of a sweat during the 20 minutes I spent huffing and puffing on the treadmill than I do when I'm running with the group. I'm happy to report that as much as I resisted that machine, I found a lot of value in it for training. I can easily do the run/walk training, for example, since the clock's right there and I can push a buton and have to keep up with it rather than looking at my watch and figuring out when I started whatever portion I'm on. Maybe I'll walk a minute, jog a minute, run a minute, jog a minute, repeat. Who knew? (Don't answer that. I know many people know of the benefits of treadmills.)

I missed the Saturday run last week due to an excess of sangria the previous night with my lovely friend Erin. I wasn't hungover, just not willing to get out of bed.

I'm a little dubious about my ability to run 3.1 miles in 2 months. Maybe I can, particularly with this newfound treadmill doohickey. I signed up for a 10K (6.2 miles) in October. Since I signed up early I get a free jacket. Score! This race swag may actually have people mistake me for an active individual.

What else ... I replaced my bike last week. Mine got stolen in Denver and I've missed it. I rode (along those same creep-infested trails) to Lake Needwood last Friday. It was fun! I didn't see any creeps.

Team Self-Care

Yesterday was the Saturday morning run. Our pace group divided into the faster runners, the slower runners, and the run-walkers. I'm probably the fastest in the run-walkers (hey, progress, right?) and was running with this other woman, Sally, when we discovered that we were both social workers. Then we learned that the others in the group were either social workers or LCPCs (LCPC = Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor). Random. We're supposed to come up with a team name and I vote for Team Self-Care, since that's what we're doing and it elicits a giggle from anyone who has gone through social work school. We did the Matthew Henson trail and it was pretty. It's nice getting to know some of these parks in the area. I'm keeping mental notes of them for when I do my Thursday runs/after this program is over in the middle of June.

The solo Thursday run was pushed to Friday morning. Allergies got the better of me on Thursday and I ended up passing out for a few hours when I got home from work. Oh well - I still did the run, just not on the assigned day.

I started reading this crazy book, "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner" by Dean Karnazes. Ultramarathons are anything past 26.2 miles, and at this point in the book he's running 200 miles by himself. It was supposed to be a relay and he did the whole thing himself. While I admire his discipline, passion and tenacity, I think I'll stick to my 5Ks in June, possible 10K in October, and Disney Princess Half Marathon in February, and I like the idea of doing a full one around my 30th birthday. A milestone birthday deserves a milestone achievement, I think. Maybe before then, depending on how all this goes. I turned 27 in November, so I've got about 2.5 years for the 26.2. I hear the Marine Corps one is a good one to run, and I think this year registration was maxed out in something like 5 hours. Crazy.

Progress!

I had my Tuesday night run with BWR last night and it went pretty well. There's a group of run-walkers that I'm running(/walking) with and thanks to my nifty new shoes and insoles, I'm no longer in massive knee pain! And thanks to that, I'm no longer the slowest! I mean, I'm like the 5th slowest, but I'm not the actual slowest. The nice thing about being a complete beginner is that I see improvement and progress almost immediately. Can't argue with that!

I'm really enjoying running outside among the flowers, but I am not enjoying allergy season. My adorable little spunky orange car has a yellow film on it. I'd wash it, but what's the point?

Oops

I slept through the BWR group run on Saturday. I'd set my alarm, but the volume was all the way down. Oops. I did a solo run on Sunday morning to make up for it. I went to the Aspen Hill park and picked up the Capitol Crescent trail there. The beginner pace groups were scheduled to move up to 15 minutes from 10, so I set a timer on my iPod to go off after 8 minutes and then turned back around. It's nice to see that I'm making some kind of progress. While I'm still walking for a good part of it, it's not as much as it was when I started. Here's hoping the progress continues! Also, no knee pain! Woohoo!

Good shoes!!

I took the new shoes/insoles for a spin around the block today and was pleasantly surprised - the only knee pain was residual from before and was substantially less than it had been! All in all, the store in Elkridge was definitely worth the trip out there. Here's hoping I can keep up with everyone tomorrow and that it doesn't rain too much ...

New car today! I'm impatiently waiting for work to end so I can go pick it up. :)

Road Runner Sports

At Tuesday's BWR session, the lead coach mentioned Road Runner Sports in Elkridge as a good place to get fitted for shoes. Since both Feet Fleet and RRS allow you to return shoes after you've run outside in them and I had a meeting in Glen Burnie this morning anyway, I decided to check them out during my lunch hour. They run a serious shoe-fitting operation there! You first get your feet measured, then you stand on this thing that figures out where you put the most pressure on your feet, then you run on a treadmill and your feet are videotaped, then they analyze that frame by frame, and THEN they potentially fit you for custom insoles. I was fitted for insoles since my feet do different things. It was interesting because they said the shoe I was in up til then was forcing my left leg to do things it wasn't built to do, which is probably why that knee (and only that knee) was hurting. I got the shoes and the insoles.

I was supposed to do a solo run today but didn't because I put a deposit down on my car!! I'm getting an orange Honda Fit and have named her Punkin. I'm picking her up tomorrow!! I feel a little bad for the Warrior, but I have to keep reminding myself that inanimate objects don't have feelings. Anyway, I've set my alarm for 6:45 so I can do a run tomorrow morning before work. I can bring ice with me to the office for my knees if necessary...

Frustrated

If you can't tell by the post title, I'm frustrated. I went to the BWR session today and didn't get very far before my knee started hurting. Well, to be fair, it never actually stopped hurting - it just tapered a little bit and then redoubled once the running movement started. I think it's an issue with the shoes. One of the coaches said the place I got my shoes from wasn't good, and she heartily recommended another one that's out in Elkridge or somewhere out in the boonies. Since I've got a meeting in Glen Burnie on Thursday, which is in the same part of the boonies, I'll check out the store then and bring my shoes. Also, supposedly Fleet Feet (Feet Fleet?) will take back my shoes even though they've been outside, so I'm not totally out $100.  I'll also ask them about the insoles Pat recommended.

Anyway, I stopped running after a couple laps because I didn't want to completely fuck up my knee, especially since my health insurance doesn't start until April 1. And even though it's not a competitive group, I'm still super frustrated that I can't keep up with the slowest people because of this damn knee issue. One of my coaches suggested MCRRC's upcoming stride clinic, so I signed up for that. I'll figure this damn thing out.

Disney Princess registration

I did some googling today and found that registration for the 2013 Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon starts July 10, so I have tons of time to figure myself out as a runner. It's about 3 weeks after my beginner women runner group finishes, and I'll probably end up doing another one of those groups for a longer-distance race if they have them for the fall. There's a winter half marathon one but it starts in January and finishes in May.

I'm finding I have left knee pain and right shin pain. Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop those? My mom has a knee brace she's going to lend me, so maybe that'll help me out. I was noticing on Saturday that my issue wasn't with my lungs and being out of breath; it was my legs hurting. I'm 27 - should I really have knee issues now??

I'm looking into replacing my bike. I had a Trek hybrid bike that I loved that got stolen in Denver last year. It would be good for cross training and also just because I really like to ride my bike. The DC area has some nice bike paths. I went to Revolution Cycle in Rockville yesterday and found a bike I loved, which turned out to be the newer version of the bike I had that was stolen. Hey, at least I'm consistent! ;)

Session 2 of BWR

I woke up dark and early this dreary morning to go run at Ken-Gar Park with the BWR group. When my alarm went off at 6:30 I thought, "Why in God's name is my alarm on?? Isn't it Saturday? ... Oh right, running group." I dragged myself out of bed by 6:45 and got there in plenty of time. It started out well, then I was noticing pain in my left knee and right shin. Whatever, I finished. We're starting out super slow and progressing gradually. Today we did .77 miles. Progress, right?

BWR

I had the first session of the Beginner Women Runners (BWR) group tonight. It went well. It started with introductions, and the coaches are all extremely positive, supportive and helpful. Then we had a time trial. We had to run around a track 1-4 times, depending on what we were comfortable with. I only ran/walked once since my knees started bothering me and I don't have health insurance for another 2 weeks. I did 1 loop in 4 minutes, which means I'll probably be in the slowest pace group, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Chi Running

I had my Chi Running workshop today and it went rather well! Some concepts I grasped immediately, some seemed to click once I got someone at the running store to fit me for shoes that make my feet do what they're supposed to do, and others will come with practice. I found that my shin splints generally seem to come from overextending my stride, so I have to work on taking smaller steps. I did it right once, and I was like, "But that doesn't feel like I'm doing anything." To which my instructor replied, "Exactly." Oh. Right. That was the point.

I met this really cool woman, LaVerne, at the workshop. She's 64 and started running a few years ago. Since then she's done the Marine Corps marathon, a few 1/2 marathons, and several shorter races. She did the running groups in MoCo that I signed up for and spoke very highly of them. She was also really encouraging of my beginner attempts and had some good stories. Many people there were very cool, but she's the one I ended up talking to the most. There were about 10 of us total.

I've heard from several varied sources that the #1 thing you should do when starting running is go to a specialty store to get fitted for the proper shoe. The woman at the store (Feet Fleet in Adams Morgan) saw how I walked, measured my feet, and came up with a few options. Then she told me to go run up and down the block in each of them. I ended up with Nike Zoom Structure +15s. They're way better than what I was running in before! I'll take them out for their inaugural spin tomorrow after work.

Once I got home I took a bubble bath and had a bit of an Ariel moment. Remember in The Little Mermaid how Ariel trades her voice for legs rather than a fishtail and she sort of sits in the water and is amazed at her legs and what they can do? I had a bizarre Ariel moment in the bath. When I was younger, I never thought about my legs. Once I got to college I started to gain weight and only thought about them in a critical manner. Then I went to Guatemala and, while still thinking of them as too big, they got devoured by mosquitoes and are still scarred from that, but I'm learning not to care. Anyway, today I started to think of them differently. Yeah, I'm curvy and most of that is in my hips and thighs. Yeah, they've got dings and marks and whatever. But they're also strong and getting stronger, and will be able to take me over distances at progressively faster speeds as I improve. I consider this progress.

I still haven't decided on which Disney race to do. I've scrapped the idea of the 2013 marathon, but I'm debating whether I want to do the 1/2 during marathon weekend in January or the Disney Princess 1/2 in February. A full marathon will still come at some point, but I think it's a better goal for me to start now with the half.

That was my day - how was yours?

Running group!

At the suggestion of a colleague, I joined the Beginning Women Runners group through MCRRC (Montgomery County Road Runners Club). It starts on Tuesday and consists of 2 weekly coached runs (Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings) with a bunch of other supportive beginner female runners. I'm excited! I think the Tuesday night ones start somewhere near the MC campus and the Saturday morning ones are at different places around the county. The coach seems really positive and enthusiastic, and she bakes! Score! My hope is that this will give me motivation to continue when I don't really feel like it, especially since I'm fully expecting to kind of hate it at the beginning, and will give me a solid foundation to continue on my own after June 16. Also, it's always good to meet new people.

Actually ...

I may do the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon because I can get a tiara that way ... hmmmm ...

Hmmm

I'm working on the running ...

Found that registration opens tomorrow for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon. I'm debating doing that (though I know it fills up fast) instead of the Marathon Weekend because it's over my birthday weekend. Not a bad way to spend a birthday! Then again, January 2013 is the 20th anniversary of the Disney Marathon Weekend. Decisions, decisions...

Blarg

I went on another run today (I use the term "run" loosely at this point) and I'm not feeling it. I'm not running properly and had some serious shin splints. I'd stumbled (haha) across a book called "Chi Running" that's supposed to teach you a technique so that you can run without injury and with a lot less effort, both of which sound right up my alley. However, I suck at that technique. I went to the book's website and there's a half-day Chi Running workshop in DC on the 18th, so I signed up for that. It's probably worth it to go to and have someone who knows what they're doing show me what I'm doing wrong. There's also an instructor in Rockville but she's expensive.

Today's run made me frustrated and I'm back to thinking, especially given the shape I'm in now, that January 2013's goal should be a half marathon. Honestly, a 5K's a stretch for me right now. Given that, I think I want to do the Disney Princess one at the end of February/beginning of March because that looks more fun. Then again, maybe I'll stick to the half during the marathon weekend in January and that may give me the impetus to complete the full one the following year.

Feeling good

Even though I only ran (OK, ran/walked) a mile yesterday, I'm feeling it. I'm actually feeling it a lot in my abs, which I was not expecting. This is good because I will generally not do sit-ups or crunches of my own volition, so score.

I didn't do any running today. Last night I went out with Tracy and her husband Dan to Bethesda and ended up kind of hungover this morning after a whopping total of 3 beers. Yeah, I really know how to live it up. What makes me feel even older is that they picked me up after 10:30 and I kept thinking, "This is so far past my bedtime." I swear I'm really only 27.

Mom said she thinks I can do the full marathon in January and she'll hold me accountable to it. There's a half marathon in Chestertown, MD on September 22 that's completely flat and that may be a good goal to work towards. I should probably be able to run 13.1 by then if I want to make the 26.2 a few months later, so I'll shoot for that. Disney also does a Wine & Dine half marathon my birthday weekend in November, and I briefly thought about doing that instead of the full January one, but it's sold out so it's a moot point. Still though, it's at night and you run through Epcot and they've got food there from all these countries. Sounds good to me. 2013? Or 2014, for my 30th? Damn, I'm getting old enough to start planning my 30th birthday.

I'm thinking maybe the half

OK, so be honest - any of you who are reading this. Am I better off with the half??? I read somewhere that registration for the January 2013 marathon weekend in Disney starts either late March or early April, which is a lot sooner than I was expecting. Perhaps it's better for me to do the half in January 2013 and possibly work up to the full in 2014 if I like the half. Thoughts?

I started!

Well, I started. It stopped raining (finally) and I went outside and did a mile around the track at the Jewish school that's sorta in the neighborhood. Mainly I walked with some spurts of running. I've gotta start somewhere, right? Once I finished my mile I got in the car and went home I remembered that I'd read something about going by time rather than by miles, and that the first bouts should be roughly 30 minutes. The mile did not take 30 minutes. Oh well - tomorrow/Monday I'll do that.

Welcome to the Zombie Horde!

"Greetings our future undead friend,

You are officially a member of the Run For Your Lives Zombie Horde.  Without zombies like you our event would not be a success and our hopes and dreams of a worldwide infection would never become a reality.

Before you know it, you’ll be chowing down on delicious brains but, until then, please take a few minutes to carefully read through the information below."

Words can't describe how excited I am right now. My friend Tracy sent me a link to the most amazing event EVER: http://runforyourlives.com/ I am officially going to be partaking in the Baltimore Zombie Apocalypse. I'm a stumbling zombie in the 3rd shift (2-5pm). I get lots of awesome fun perks and I think the most exciting one is that professional makeup artists and costume people are going to make me into a zombie. Oh. My. God. I feel like my day has come at last. The race is October 27 - HALLOWEEN WEEKEND! It's my favorite time of year, my favorite holiday, I'll get to be an effing ZOMBIE, and then I turn 28 less than 2 weeks later. Expect lots of pictures and you can be assured that if something goes terribly wrong and I become an actual zombie, I will have died rather excited and happy. Holy shit.

Yikes

I talked with the HR person and I won't have health insurance til April 1. Insurance always starts on the 1st of the month, and my 60-day requirement will be here March 3. So ... I have to wait another month. That's fine, I can walk and stuff til then. Yes, I could run without insurance, but with my luck and history that's probably a bad idea. I can stay in my happy place of research mode where I read about stuff without actually having to move all that much. But I really am anxious to start training. I know how lazy/out of shape I am and a freaking marathon is rather intimiding. Plenty of time ... right?

Possible marathon buddy!

I may actually have a tentative teammate! I texted a couple people to see if they would want to maybe run the Disney marathon with me, and my brother laughed (though said he thought it was awesome I was doing it), Erin C has an ACL injury that has put her long-distance running days behind her, BUT Erin B might do it! Erin, you know you want to go to Disney with me and run a freaking long way. We can be a team! And have costumes! Or maybe I'll just have a possible costume and Erin can stand a ways away and pretend she doesn't know me, that's fine too. :-P

I found out through Facebook that John, my high school prom date, did one of the Disney races and asked him for suggestions. He definitely came through - I got a good long message back with not only tips on the Disney race itself but also words of encouragement. When he started running, he said the first mile was awful, and then the first was OK but the second was torture, but if you get through that, you'll improve and running will be really beneficial in a lot of ways. Now he really likes running and has done several races. Long races, too, not just 5Ks. Honestly, it's nice to hear someone say that it sucks at first but gets better. Based on past experience, I'm fully expecting to hate this at first.

I have yet to find out when my benefits start. However, I did walk to the library during my lunch break (a crazy day involving someone else's poo all over the women's toilet seat had me clamoring to leave the office for a bit) and got a couple running/marathon books. One of them suggested starting with 8 days of walking for 20 and 30 minutes so your legs aren't completely shocked when you start moving them at a far faster pace than that to which they are accustomed. I can do that. I can even do that in the middle of the day for my lunch hour and eat lunch at my desk while I work, which is what I usually do. In John's message, he stressed making sure you take enough time to do the beginning stages in order to avoid injury.  Actually, everything I've seen so far has stressed that. I have over 10 months, so I can definitely afford to take the needed time at the beginning.

That's about it for today. I kind of like my research phase. I feel like Hermione Granger - when in doubt, go to the library. I bet she'd be a Google queen if Hogwarts had the internet.

Going Public

When I got to work today, the first e-mail in my inbox was from one of my coworkers who's putting together a Race for the Cure team. The Global Race for the Cure is in DC on June 2, and I signed up! It's a 5K. I also told a few people at PEP about my goal to do the 2013 Disney marathon and the reaction was mostly, "Holy shit, that's a lot of miles." Also, the super athletic person said she did a 12K once and thought she was going to die, so I'm perhaps a little intimidated.

I also had a couple minutes of "Why am I doing this again?" I told people and posted the link to the blog on Facebook, so I've gotta follow through. I want to continue my streak of actually doing things that others only talk about. Lazier and more out of shape people than I have finished marathons. Still ... it's a little overwhelming and intimidating.

Speaking of intimidating, I talked with a friend of mine today and he's aiming to hike the last 140 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Spain early this summer! He has to train too, so we're going to be each other's accountabilibuddies. You can do it, Matt!  Woooooo!

I also decided I'm going to get myself an iPad once I get to the point where I can run/walk 5 miles in one session. I was going to do it after I could run for 30 minutes without stopping, but it looks like the way to do distance running without injury is to incorporate spurts of walking early and often.  I know I could walk 3 miles if I had to, but 5 is unlikely. It's definitely something to work towards.

I called and e-mailed my HR person to see when exactly my trusty health insurance starts, but haven't heard anything back. If I'm going to run this damn thing, I want to start training! Til then I'm planning on continuing with the hot yoga and BodyPump classes.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions?

January 2013: Disney World (Half?) Marathon

For a long time I had a LiveJournal blog mostly for when I traveled. I haven't posted since I got back from Guatemala the summer before last, and now I started this one on Blogspot as a way to keep myself accountable to things. Really, just 1 thing: run a marathon.

Yes, for those of you who know me, the words "Kristy" and "marathon" don't really go together without a substantial amount of laughter. That's fair. In the past, I scoffed at runners and figured I'd just sorta start running if I was being chased. The truth is that I've been a little envious of runners: their mode of release, their dedication, their motivation, their bodies. None of those really seemed to apply to me ... until I realized that actually, yeah, they do. I've been able to do some pretty kickass things in my 27 years so far. I spent a semester in Italy, explored Japan by myself, taught indigenous Guatemalan kids (all in Spanish) during a rainy season in Central America, and earned two Master's degrees. If all of those don't require dedication, motivation and self-care, what does?

To me, a marathon has always seemed unattainable. That was a goal reserved for "those people" - you know, the ones who exercise for hours every day and look at chocolate like it's the devil. (Devil's food ... mmmmmmm ...) 26.2 miles is a hell of a lot of running, especially for someone who has broken her fair share of bones and tends to bake when feeling any sort of emotion. If something good happens, I bake. If I'm stressed or sad, I bake. Yes, I could bake things with whole grains, and sometimes I do, but usually whatever I bake has copious amounts of chocolate. Whatever. Then I thought, "People who run marathons can't all be the same; otherwise there would be a lot of really in-shape robots. At least some of them have to like to bake and eat chocolate." I think my point is that I can be who I am and still run a marathon.

So, this is how it has gone so far. This little idea of running a marathon has been becoming more prominent in my brain for awhile. In true Kristy fashion, I went into research mode and bought a new pair of shoes. I looked into different marathons, when they were, and training programs for the beginner. I found that there's a Walt Disney World marathon weekend in January. They have both a half marathon and a full marathon, and I think that's the one for me to do for a few reasons: (1) The minimum time requirement is a 15-minute mile, which seems doable. (2) It's 10 months from now. I'm not sure when registration for the 2013 one starts, but if I'm thinking that no way in hell could I do the full one by January 2013, I can do the half and do the full in January 2014. (3) It has enough to keep me entertained through the whole race. Besides the run through the parks, there are photo ops with characters who are dancing around on the sidelines, flipping around on trampolines, etc. Runners are also encouraged to wear costumes, which means I could run a (half?) marathon in an effing tutu. Amazing. (4) I haven't been to Disney World since I was 8, which would mean I'd be returning 20 years later to run their marathon, and that's kind of badass. (5) It gives me something to plan for and look forward to, and I tend to function better in life in general when I have a trip coming up. I could hang out at the park a couple days and go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as well! Wingardium leviosa, bitches.

The other part of my research is really how to run and train without injury. I don't run properly, and youtube and books have been helping me remedy that. The new pair of shoes is running shoes that are in ridiculous colors that make me happy. I ordered them on Zappos the other day so they should be here soon. I also started a marathon ipod playlist to keep me motivated. It has both ridiculously upbeat "You can do it!" songs and Disney songs. So when I don't want to keep running, I can picture Gaston flipping around on a trampoline ... and falling off, because Gaston's a male chauvinist asshole and that would make me snicker. Take that, you prick! Heh heh.

I haven't actually started running yet since I don't have health insurance and I don't want to tempt fate. I started my new job on January 3 and my benefits start after 60 days, so that's coming up in the next week or so. As soon as I get my insurance card, off I go!