A New Lease on Running

I ran this morning.  I got onto the treadmill (it's dark and very cold at 5:45, so it's treadmill time) and I ran.  For the first time in a very long time I ran for a 15 whole minutes without feeling like I was going to collapse.  Recently even running three minutes was pushing it.  I have felt like there was no oxygen in my muscles ( which, due to anemia, there wasn't and they responded as such). So this morning, I got onto the treadmill planning to do 5:1 intervals. I love intervals!  They got me through my first half marathon, so I have a huge loyalty to them.  But today, when I got to 5 minutes, I felt no need to stop. The point of intervals is to stop before you feel a need to stop, so you have as much energy at the end of the run as you did at the beginning.  So in theory I should have stopped.  But I wanted to see if I could make it to a mile.  I haven't run a mile willingly in a very, very long time. Guess what? I made it to a mile.  ME!!  I made it to a mile and I felt really good, so I kept going.  I made it to 15 minutes and for the most part I felt great and wanted to keep going, but a nasty stitch in my right side insisted that I walk a bit.  So I walked for two minutes and finished out to two miles.

This is huge for me.  Now I need to look at some races and make some strategies for myself.  My first goal is to complete a 5k without walking, if not the full 5k then maybe walking at distance breaks rather than time breaks.  I'm going to play with it.  There is a piece of me that felt like a runner today.  I got it today.  I got how people can go out and just run and enjoy it.  I've never gotten that before.  It's a whole new running life for me, I think.

already looking forward to running this race again

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Modern Cranberry Noir Christmas

Shop Shutterfly for elegant custom Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

What's new?

I posted the latest development in my training over on the Big Yellow Tent.  If you've ever had an issue with chronic fatigue during training, you may want to check it out.

Get Out!!!

I ran a half marathon! ME!! I completed a half marathon doing 3 minute runs and 1 minute walks and I was in pain for the last three miles and I smiled as I ran across that finish line. I completed it in 2 hours and 45 minutes. I'll never win one, but I will definitely try another one. If you asked me a year ago if this was something in my future I would have laughed at you. I never would have believed that I could do a half. And I don't know how many more I have up my sleeve. But I did one, and it was so unlikely that I would have completed one that I smile and giggle every time someone asks me about it. I ran with some very good friends. We chatted and cheered and complained as we plugged along and we saw beautiful scenery. It was amazing and I am glad that I had the opportunity to try it.

First Half Marathon in the Works

So on October third I will be running the Smuttynose Half Marathon in NH. I'll be running with a group of friends and I am excited and nervous. We did our 7 mile run today which was good, yet painful. It was very hot today and I'm still feeling it, more from the heat than from the run. At least it isn't humid, I'd probably be passed out. I still have a lingering headache and am very excited to go to bed tonight. It was good though. We've started using Jeff Galloway's run/walk technique. I'm not the type of runner who can just step out, run three miles straight and feel good. The run walk system helped tremendously today. I felt better at the end of today's 7 than one mile into our six mile run two weeks ago.

So to summarize. Half marathon ahead! Run+walk=happy me.

Stair Climb

So today I had a departure from running. I participated in a stair climb to benefit the American Lung Association. Holy Mother of Pearl, that was HARD. I sorely underestimated the difficulty of climbing 58 flights of stairs. But it was very much worth it. My good friend and I , who will soon be the star of a post here, went through many incarnations of game plans. We'll run a few then walk a few, we'll walk, then run then walk, we'l walk, then do by two, then run...but we'll definitely run at some point. Ummmm, no that never happened.

I started a little strong with a steady pace taking two steps at a time. By the time I hit floor 3, I was down to one step at a time. By floor 8 my chest felt like it was on fire. I rested at some point for a few seconds and I finished standing. I did not vomit, though that felt like a possibility and I can still feel the pain in my chest. It was all of ten minutes, if that. It was more challenging than anything I've done so far. It was more painful by far and very rewarding. I think it's the once event that puts you in touch with the people you are raising awareness for. Yes my lungs were burning, but it was for a short time, I'll be able to run tomorrow if I want. But people with lung disease, people with full on asthma? They end up in the hospital for breathing treatments. Or on oxygen on a daily basis. I am grateful that I was able to climb up those flights of stairs this morning, and grateful that I can breathe easy now.

Climb of your life

If you get a chance to do a stair climb, do it! It's not a marathon, but it's a whole new challenge.

A New and Interesting Challenge

So I signed up for a new type of race. On February 27th I will be climbing 56 flights of stairs to raise money for the American Lung Association. I'm excited, it's very different than running a race and it may get me psyched to try a half marathon which would be very different from the stairs.

I have a new post coming soon about my marathon relay last October. It's about a Nor'Easter, a relay adventure in Newport, good friends, and a girl who inadvertently runs a half marathon with no training at all.

Look for it, it's a doozy.