104 Days

This morning, I ran 3.5 miles, and it felt good. I started with running down into the oldest part of my town which is basically a trailer park with older trailers and modular home in which the people own the land. I haven't ran down there for a while because I prefer to start with going uphill and have the downhill at the end. This morning, I had to run about 60 minutes, though, so I ran downhill and circle back uphill on a new sidewalk on the other and into the neighborhood on the other side of mine. Then, I ran through that neighborhood to my favorite hills to run down back to my house. By the time I got to my last mile and a half, I was getting a lot slower. (This was the longest I have ran in a few years.) I am proud of myself for sticking to it and not cutting across the middle when it was getting hard like I would have done a year ago. I can't wait to see how much I progress over the next few months! 

107 Days

 

The fact that even if my times aren’t improving, the running is feeling better means I’m doing something right…I think. Today, I ran for about 40 minutes alone while listing to a Phil Collins playlist on Spotify. It was wonderful! I relaxed into the music and listened to my body to determine when to walk and run. I have no idea what intervals I ran or even if they would have made sense to anyone else. All I know is that it felt good. I came home knowing I could have done more with a smile on my face. I really couldn’t ask for more! 

109 Days

 

My run tonight felt great! I’m still not where I want to be with my running, but that didn’t matter today. My daughter and I got out and enjoyed a short, 30 minute run around town. The cool breeze felt great after a hot day in a hot house. It was nice to spend one-on-one time with her even if her “race walking” is the same speed as my running. I didn’t think I wanted a running partner after running with my husband a few times, but having a partner that is willing to try my speed was nice. I don’t know if she would want to do it again, and I know she will be fast enough that it won’t be fun for her to go with me for long, but it was nice tonight. 

118 Days

 

I have decided that I am not going to run the full marathon this year. I am going to run the half marathon at the same event. The more I thought about the marathon, the worse I felt. I am very out of shape and don't know if I can be marathon ready by the second week in October, but I'm fairly certain  that I can bring myself up to half marathon level by then. I was also worried about the cutoff of 6 hours. Even if I could finish a marathon, I am a very slow runner and could not complete it in that time. I believe I can finish the half in 5, though. I feel very confident about this decision. 

Today, I set out to run 3 miles and failed miserably. I wore new running shorts that had a bit too much compression. By the time I finished the first mile, my feet felt very heavy. I struggled to even walk, but I knew I had to make it home. After all, there was no one that could pick me up if I quit because Chad is at work and the kids are camping with their grandparents. I gave up trying after a mile and a half and just walked home. I have a 5K to run with my daughter next week. My plan is to run the distance each of my training runs during the coming week. I need next Saturday to be something to judge my progress. I'm hoping I am faster than I was the last one I did. 

127 Days

There are 127 days until Chad and I run a marathon. What am I doing to prepare? I’m following a training plan I found in a book. When I run, I am running for most of the son playing and walking at the beginning of each song. I have a long way to go and hope the plan I got out of one of my running books will get me to the finish line on race day before the cut off. 

Today, I ran 40 minutes which equaled about 2.4 miles. (Like I said, I am far from marathon ready.) at the beginning, it felt awful. I didn’t understand why it felt so much worse than it did Monday. Then, I looked at my watch and realized I was going faster. With that in mind, I was better able to enjoy my time running. 

I’m honestly a bit worried about this process, but I am excited to see what I can accomplish.