1st Long Run of Marathon Training

My first long run was 4 miles. I really enjoyed my run today! It was soooo cold, though. The first mile of a cold day is always the hardest, bc you have to get your body temp up and convince yourself that you have a reason for getting out in the freezing cold and running. I reminded myself of the half-marathon I ran last year and how wonderful it felt hearing my name as I crossed the finish line then receiving my medal. I was so extremely happy that months of hard work paid off. Those moments get me through the rough days and especially the days that it's supposed to be 45 degrees outside but the wind makes it 25. All in all, today was a great running day. I also felt like I could keep running and running, but I opted to finish the 4 miles and walk a mile. Of course, I'm feeling it now, so I think I'll take a long hot bath to relax my muscles. Tomorrow is recovery run day, then week 2 starts Monday :)

3 miles

Today was my first run of marathon training. I went to Shakespeare park and ran the trail all around the park. I learned a valuable lesson today that you should never do a serious run at Shakespeare after it has been raining and hasn't had time to dry up. I got pretty muddy. My pretty running shoes are now stained with mud :( Mud seeped into my shoes at one point and got my brand new hot pink socks muddy also. The price of running. My run was pretty good. I kept having to stop to get around the puddles and mud, because I was afraid of falling and getting completely muddy. My aches of the day: My left calf is super sore and my right big toe feels funny, but it usually feels a little strained after I run. I promise, I'll figure out a way to make these entries a little more exciting. I'm watching The Soup, which is distracting me!

Day 1

Today was the first day of marathon training. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical. Running actually starts tomorrow. I am thankful for weekly cross training sessions, since it breaks up the pain of logging miles and allows the muscles to work differently. I love ellipticals, but they can be boring. To break up the monotony, I do the interval training workout, which consists of 2 minutes at low resistance and two minutes at high resistance. I alternate going forwards and backwards every 4 minutes just to work different muscles and to break up the monotony. I also like to bust out in dance moves while doing low resistance. That took years of balance control on the elliptical to figure out by the way! Today's musical selection was Kings of Leon "Only the Night." Such a good cd. Not a running cd, but not a bad elliptical cd.

I need to start stretching. I absolutely hate stretching. I don't know why. Maybe it's just because it's boring. I don't know. I do need to start implementing this in my daily routine. I even bought some yoga blocks and stretch bands to help me out. Hopefully, I'll start using them. I know the benefits of stretching, and I know how good I feel afterwards. I just don't like doing it. Any tips??

Well that's all for now!

Proposed Running Schedule for the Week

I'm on vacation from work this week, which will make this week a good time to start my training and get over some of the pain and fatigue of starting out.

Monday: Cross train--I will be using the elliptical at my apartment's gym. I love that thing!
Tuesday: 3 mile easy run
Wednesday: 2 mile easy run
Thursday: 3 mile easy run
Friday: Rest! Best day of the week! Lol
Saturday: 4 mile long run
Sunday: 2 mile recovery run

That gives me a total of 14 miles for the week. I'll keep you posted on my runs with my times and how I felt during each one.

It's Been a While

I have decided to start training for a marathon, and I finally came across a plan to help me accomplish this task. I'm still trying to figure out a particular race to run. I'm hoping if I write about my experience, it will help keep me motivated and encouraged. I have a love hate relationship with running, and I refuse to act like I don't have difficult training days. I will write about the good and the bad and will try not to hold back. I know there are several runners out there who will appreciate the truth. I read the truth of your struggles and triumphs, and I know you expect the same of me. Monday is day 1 of training. Pretty much the next several weeks/months will consist of the following:
Mondays: Cross training
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays: Easy runs, mixed with some tempo runs
Fridays: Rest!
Saturdays: Long runs
Sundays: Recovery runs

I have one more day of motivating myself to start!

What to do???

I'm at the point in my life where I wake up every day wondering what the heck it is that I'm doing with my life. I have a degree. I'm working on my Master's. I keep thinking that I'm not going to find a job in my field, and I'm not even sure that I want a job in this field anymore anyway. Then I just think...Wow, I've spent so much money and time working on these degrees, and I may never use them. Hmmm. It's slightly depressing, but I just don't know what I want to do. I'm working on my personal trainer certification, and I know that's something I really want to pursue. There's just that nagging voice in my head asking why I'm not using my degree. Ugh. I don't have much left to finish my Master's, so I hate quitting. At the same time, working on it has become a chore rather than something I actually want to do. So do I keep working on it or do I just give up and maybe the passion will come back later? I really just want to help people, and I don't even really care what that looks like. What I mean is that I don't care if that means giving out clothes, food, providing shelter, talking about Jesus, or any number of things. I just want to work with people and make this world a little better. I fear working in a church or parachurch will not get this accomplished even though that should be where most of the giving takes place. The church has just become such a negative place for people. I want to start a ministry that gives to people's basic needs and builds relationships in order to talk to them about Jesus. People are more likely to listen if you show actual interest in their lives and if they see that you actually live what you believe. I guess that kind of gives me a direction. It's just still so broad. Here are the things I'm passionate about: Jesus, children, helping people, exercise, food/nutrition, and education. Now I just have to figure out a job that uses these passions and my gifts and talents. Well, enough of that. I have to get some studying done.

Christa

Week 2, well sort of

So this is week 2 of p90x. Actually I'm kind of starting over...let me explain. Towards the end of last week, I was so sore and tired and pretty much done with p90x, when it hit me that it's ok to take a break. I decided that I would just use last week as a test week to get conditioned to the workouts so I can go hardcore this week. I took 2 days off, which was a great idea. My body had time to rest and recover, and I didn't feel like quitting any longer. When I started over yesterday, I was actually excited about doing the workouts. I now know better which weights to use and how many reps to perform. I do plyometrics tonight, which I dread. I'm not a huge fan of jumping all over the place. Last week when I did this workout, after 10 minutes I wanted to quit, but I kept saying just a few more exercises. After an hour of coaxing myself every 10 minutes, I made it through the entire workout. This was actually the DVD that kicked my butt and made me sore for the rest of the week. I am determined tonight not to get discouraged by this one workout and take more breaks. After all, I have 90 days to be able to fully do the workout, so why am I trying to make that happen right now?

I have also started my half-marathon training for the Mercedes half in February. Between p90x and running and work and school, I have no life...j/k. I'm learning time management and what my priorities are. Well, that's a long enough break. Off to write a paper :)