The Next Step

After completing my second 1/2 marathon of the year on March 21st, I decided to take an unofficial break from distance running.  Immediately after the race, it hit me that I really do not like running long distances, but I do enjoy the challenge of the long races.  Surely there’s a way to continue running and participating in races without having to “stick to your long runs” or reach a certain weekly mileage goal?

I want to become a better runner, but I do not want running to feel like a burden.

After the race, I continued to workout at the gym and really enjoyed flying by the seat of my pants.  I tried new spinning and turbo kickboxing classes.  I quickly became addicted to the new workouts and also started to enjoy walking + reading on the treadmill.  For the first time in a while, I thought about what I wanted to do for exercise, rather than following what my schedule suggested.  One month later and I still consider myself a “runner” even though I am not running on a regular basis.  Instead, I am enjoying my healthy lifestyle and running when I feel like it.  My short runs have become more enjoyable and I find myself craving them more and more.

What now?  In addition to several fun workouts, I plan to prepare myself for a few more road races.  I hope to do this by mixing-up my cross training, regular strength training, yoga, and core exercises.  I will attempt to run at least twice a week, but I will stick to shorter distances.

Planned Road Races:

• Girls On The Run 5K, Saturday, May 30th – Success!!!  :)  I ran the race with my girls and they finished in 40 minutes!
• Goosechase 10K, Saturday, June 20th – I won a free entry to this race and am trying to mask my fear with excitement.

My Fitness Journey

Ever since middle school, I have faded in and out of fitness routines. As a child, I wasn’t necessarily athletic. I attempted various sports: soccer, softball, basketball, and tennis. Tennis is the only thing that stuck. I was actually a fairly decent tennis player and still enjoy the game today.

The one thing that I always wanted to do was RUN. I’m not sure why, except for the fact that it was always insanely difficult for me. I recall trying to run at least once a year throughout high school, but did not enjoy the process – just the result. It wasn’t until the end of undergrad that I really started to push myself. I incorporated treadmill runs into my workouts, but never stuck to it long enough to make recognizable progress. As a graduate student, I became friends with a few girls who were runners (experienced and novice runners). I started to run more often and even committed to running a half marathon. Despite being extremely distracted and not training properly, on April 26, 2008, I ran the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in 2 hrs and 9 minutes. It was one of the proudest days of my life.

I am currently training for my 2nd 1/2 Marathon. The Canyonlands Half Marathon is on March 21, 2009. I will write about my training and track my progress on this page. My goal is to remain true to my plan and train healthily for this race. I hope to have a well-rounded training experience in an attempt to run faster and feel better during (and after) the race. (I couldn’t walk normally for two weeks after my first 1/2 marathon.) Luckily, I have my boyfriend, Andrew to train with everyday. He is a natural born athlete that supports and encourages me constantly. I’ve learned so much from him through the whole running experience – the most important is to never give up and that I can do anything I put my mind to. This time around, we are sticking to Hal Higdon’s Novice Training Program even though it’s our second big race. Due to time constraints, we omitted the 5k and 10k races/training weeks from the program. We are currently about to finish the 4th week of the program.

Andrew and I after the Country Music 1/2 Marathon