Progress...5/2 x 4

Well, I'm up to running 5 minutes and walking 2 minutes for four intervals and it feels good! Though I have to say it's getting easier to accept my days off now. ; ) When I first started this thing, in all my exuberance, I thought "recovery days are for wimps", but I grudgingly followed the advice of my trainer and took them. Now I see how much they are needed.....and its probably why I'm still running two months later. All previous ventures into running have ended in frustration and pure burnout; these memories kept me honest with the schedule. Now I look forward to my runs and I can feel myself getting stronger and gaining stamina. How cool. Progress; who woulda thunk it? making my way steadily to the 8k.

51

days

1231

hours

73886

minutes

4433181
seconds

Baby Got New Shoes!!!!

Well, it seems my shoe woes are over for the next little while. After my run yesterday, I vowed not to run again until I got new shoes. It had to happen; it seems after running that one day in my terrible shoes, my feet were ruined even for my "good" shoes. So I emailed my coach and she sent me to Running Etc... in Norfolk. I walked in a bewildered newbie and walked back out 20 minutes later, still bewildered but with set of Saucony, Trigon 5s -- and feeling quite pleased with myself. I was almost tempted to put them right on but wasn't ready to ruin their pristine beauty in the sleet. So they have one more day in their pretty little box for tomorrow I run!

Wrong shoes...bad move....

So yesterday I went out for my first run of the week. Though before that, I had to run my son up to preschool and I slipped into my slip-on tennis shoes, thinking I would remember to change them before I went out running. Think again. I came home and went right out for my run, not thinking about my shoes until I was halfway done with my warm-up walk. I almost went home to change shoes, but then decided not to. Bad move: bad shoes, bad run. Boy were my feet miserable! Whereas I was hoping to pull an extra interval, I ended up just barely getting my assigned intervals done...and being happy about it.

So, I will never run in those again....and despite the fact that I have better shoes at home; they really aren't much better in comparison. So what's a beginner to do? I am not ready to sink tons of money into shoes, but at my age I need support for my feet. I'll have to turn to my personal running guru to find out what to get. Honestly, I have no idea how to choose a running shoe. Somewhere in my past I heard Reeboks were the bomb, but really they don't feel that great when I run. Any suggestions from my reading public are welcome. Remember: Beginner, middle-age, not too expensive. I'll think about sinking some real money into shoes after I get through the 8K ; )

So lets talk schedules....

Wouldn't it be nice if we could ease into everything in life with the likes of Interval Training? My goodness...running is NOT the misery for me now it has been in the past. I'm actually ENJOYING myself. Who would've thunk it? Of course, I'm still new to it all and I've just completed a week of 3 minutes running and 2 minutes walking -- next week on to 4/2.

Another thing I have is a running coach. Check her out here. I've got a ways to go to get to 8k, but I feel confident that I'll be able to do it. Though I can't participate in in person training because of my schedule; I have the benefit of emailed schedules and encouragement. It's nice to be able to get my questions answered, too. I've found that a coach can make all the difference. Otherwise, I would've done what I did in the past; put on my running shoes and headed out the door running until I was exhausted and not seeing any improvement. Inside of a month I'd give up. Now I'm full of energy and ready for more. Bring it on coach Mary!

I Committed Myself...

I went ahead and did it. Instead of just talking about, I went ahead and plunked down the money to sign up for the marathon. I am now officially registered and COMMITTED. I'm really going to do it. I'm going to pick up my packet, wear a number, and a timing chip. My run will be monitored and timed. I am in! To the right you can see an official count-down timer. I'm counting the days, minutes, and seconds I have to train myself. It's exhausting just to think about it; I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'll blog about my really cold run tonight.